50K MUSIC MAG - issue #13

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13

March 2010independent.music.dedicated

M AGThe Travelling Girl Lille's New Album - thoughts by Pete Strobl

Read also:Album Updates+ Civilized Tears + Inge M + Kathie Thompson + Interviews+ Aryn Michelle + Trail + John C Fraser + Apryl EvansPromising Newcomers+ Sunset Riot + My First Robot

and a lot more ...

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Editorial

A lot of work lies behind me again to finish and finally publish this issue of 50K MUSIC MAG. If you'd like to support the MAG, please help me writing it. Because it's a very time-consuming job. It would be very appreciated if I could get some more support from the community. I hope you have fun reading it. And of course, if you like the mag please spread the word.

So, who are the artists spotlighted in this issue? First we have our cover story with the Travelling Girl - Lille Mulder - no SellaBand artist this time on the cover (part of the new strategy). But so many people who are well-known to the SellaBand community were involved in the production of Lille's album. A number of artists update us on their album production projects - Civilized Tears, Inge M, Katie Thompson and Aly Cook.

Promising newcomers focussed in this issue are Sunset Riot and My First Robot. And we have interviews with Aryn Michelle, John C Fraser, Trail, Apryl Evans ...

Utterly B Groovy reviewed Francis Rodino's gig at IndigO2 and Bim at Punk for us. And Jurjen unveils the winners of last years Airplay Challenge and announces the start of a new round this year.

And not to forget four songwriters who raise funds on artistShare are introduced by Jane (from artistShare) - among them Chris Barron, well known as the voice of the Spin Doctors.

So enjoy reading the MAG and please give me your feedback. Authors and topic suggestions are always welcome as well. Send your hints and suggestions to [email protected].

Besides I'm still looking for correspondents who like to work for the MAG - get/keep in touch with local SellaBand artists, observing the (SAB) music scene and write articles/reviews/reports for the MAG from time to time. You should live in France, Germany, South America, Japan. So get in touch with me and we can talk about a collaboration soon.

[email protected]

Note/Imprint:

50K MUSIC MAG (www.50kmusic.com) is mainly written and solely published by Mario Putzar, D-99947 Bad Langensalza, Contact: mario(at)50kmusic.de

The parts of the MAG written by other authors are signed as follows:(AM) - Andy Marczak(CM) - Cecile Morel(CS) - Catself (Agnieszka Holm) - member of Talentcast team(CW) - Casee Wilson(FJ) - Fleur Jack - Kiwi FM(ps) - Pete Strobl - posts from his bottom-end blog(Lu) - Lucretia(NV) - Netvalar - Researcher Extraordinaire(PMcM) - Paul McMaster(MC) - Multicorriente - Argentinean magazine(RSV) - Ronny - Slim Void(sab) - posts, news, informations from Sellaband webpage(TC) - information from Talentcast webpage(Th) - Thor(UBG) - Utterly B Groovy

Articles written by other authors do express the opinion of the particular author, not necessarily the opinion of 50K MUSIC.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be copied or distributed without the permission of the publisher. Copyrights of photos and pictures of artists used in this magazine are owned by the artists. Articles, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to my e-mail adress.

Friends of 50K MUSIC MAG are:www.sellaband.comwww.multicorrientewww.petestrobl.comwww.talentcast.nlwww.evolutioncoop.comwww.knifelady.blogspot.com

This magazine is made with Scribus - www.scribus.net

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Editorial 2Always Move Forward 4I'm Full of Excitement 6Album Update - Inge M 7Artist News (I) 7The Travelling Girl 8Determined and Fearless 10Artist Survey 12Civilized Tears Album Update 14Katie Thompson Album Diary 15artistShare for Songwriters 16The More You Listen the More You'll Find 18Greetings from the Kiwisofa 20On Stage with ... Francis Rodino 21On Stage with ... Bim 21My First Robot 22Jurjen's Airplay Challenge 22Sunset Riot 24Artist News (II) 25

In this issue

Aryn Michelle ... 4 John C Fraser ... 6

Lille Mulder ... 8

artistShare ... 16

Apryl Evans ... 10

Trail ... 18

Civilized Tears ... 14

Katie Thompson ... 15

Aly Cook ... 20

Sunset Riot ... 24My First Robot ... 22

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50K MM: For all those who don't know you yet (if there is anyone at all) please tell us something about Aryn Michelle. Where do you come from, what are your roots?Aryn: I was raised and have lived most of my life in Texas in the United States. I started writing music and teaching myself to play the piano when I was about fifteen years old. I inherited my love of music from my family, all of whom are very musical, and my first experiences with music were singing in church and public school. I went to two different colleges, Southwestern University and the

Berklee College of Music to study vocal performance, songwriting and music technology. Over the years I have dabbled in alot of styles of music including singer/songwriter, folk, pop, rock and jazz; but I've finally settled on "alternative pop" or "fringe pop" as my genre definition of choice! I know work as a musician full time writing, performing, and running a small demo making studio.

50K MM: After almost two years on SellaBand you finally reached the goal of 50k. What happened on this March 2nd 2010?Aryn: It was a very tense time when Sellaband changed hands through the bankruptcy to new ownership, but amongst that turmoil, I made a decision to stand strong

and assured my believers that I would finish funding my project. I anticipated that the bankruptcy and the new T&Cs might slow down my progress, but actually quite the opposite thing took place. Because several other notable artists made the decision to leave SellaBand, made believers began to rally support for my project because I had announced in a strong and public way that I intended to stay. So many people showed their strong support in the last few days of fundraising; it was overwhelming and amazing! My biggest believer, mdwh, also gave me some

very strong "nudges" in the right direction at key milestones, which was a tremendous help!

50K MM: You're a member of Dream Team and The Pack. Do you think this memberships helped you to succeed in reaching your goal?Aryn: Absolutely! I could never thank Phil and Wolfman enough for starting this groups and inviting me to become involved. Both groups are filled with an amazing collection of artists and believers who sincerely believe in their goals and help each other to make things happen. Because of my involvement in the groups I have taken on collaboration projects with other artists, and had opportunities with increased exposure through websites, Facebook, Twitter, collaborative videos, etc. I would encourage any artists on

Aryn Michelle was the first artist to reach the goal of 50k $ after SellaBand got a new management and new owners. And her SellaBand album will not be her first one. So most of her believers can't wait to hold it in their hands I guess.

Always Move Forward

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SellaBand to find a group of people who have similar goals, believers and artists alike, and work on projects together. Working together and helping each other can do nothing but good for the community.

50K MM: How have SellaBand and the time there changed your life?Aryn: I was thinking about this alot the other day. When I joined SellaBand I had been writing my own music for many years, but hadn't really begun to take the big "next steps." Because of my involvement in Sellaband, I felt more compelled to seek out high profile performance opportunities, invested the time and money to get better sound equipment, get professional photos taken, and eventually to record my first professional indie album. Since I have joined SellaBand I launched my own website, now have music available for sale on ITunes, and have taken the time to get training in music technology so that now I can record and mix my own demos. Without sounding too cheesy or over-dramatic, I really think joining Sellaband changed my life as an artist, because it gave me a "big goal." It gave me the motivation to become a better artist and a reason to take a chance to take the big "next step."Also, I can't forget to mention how the members of the community have profoundly changed my life. Getting to know so many people from all over the world who have shown me such great love and support has really transformed my vision of what a successful musician should be.

50K MM: In May 2009 you released your album "Lockless Heart". So the SellaBand album is not your first album project. What kind of album can we expect?Aryn: One of the big reasons that I made "Lockless Heart" was to give the SellaBand community a taste of what I could do in a professional studio environment. This project was completely self funded and promoted, so the Sellaband album will be a much grander "expression" of what I know that I can do. I think believers should expect an album with great focus on originality of lyric, and a sonic texture that blends in singer/songwriter sentimentality, ambient moodiness of trip hop, over a firm foundation of positive pop/rock. Several of the newest demos that I released towards the end of my fundraising (Desperate Times, Nomad, The Last One Standing...) are strong contenders to make the project, but I am sure there will also be several never-before-heard tracks on the album as well.

50K MM: What are your further plans for the album production?Aryn: Right now I have drawn up a tentative budget and will talk to Sellaband HQ soon about getting approval for that budget. After that I will be finalizing my studio/producer choice and then setting up pre-production sessions. (These will be sessions to work through preliminary song arrangements and possible work out some rough demos) I'm also currently contacting players that I am interested in working with for recording the album and doing the follow-up tour.

50K MM: Have you chosen a producer yet? Can you unveil who it is?

Aryn: I can tell you that I am 99% sure about my producer choice at this time, but I can't unveil who it is until I get the budget approval from HQ. So at the moment, I will have to hold you in suspense on that one!

50K MM: How can we support you during the time of album production?Aryn: I think people can help by just showing there support through my online presence. Following me on twitter and Facebook, rating and commenting on my YouTune videos, leaving comments on my website, etc. Also, please let everyone know that if they would like detailed information about how to be involved, I can subscribe them to my monthly e-mail newsletter. Anyone who'd like to receive the newsletter can send me an email to [email protected] and let me know they'd like to be added.Lastly, tell your family and friends about my music! Lockless Heart will continue to be available on CdBaby and ITunes, and I always welcome helpful comments, tips and suggestions for gigs sent to my email: [email protected]

Also I want to mention that I plan on doing video blogs about our time in studio during pre-production and tracking, so be on the lookout for those to start popping up on SAB and on my YouTube channel within the next couple of months.

50K MM: And last question: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know.Aryn: The one thing you should know about myself and my music is that I am never satisfied with something until it is better than the last thing I produced. My goal is to always continue to move forward in a positive direction!

www.arynmichelle.com

Always Move Forward

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50K MM: In last issue of 50K MUSIC MAG we have talked about how you plan to reach your goal of 10k. Now that you've reached it, how do you feel?John: I’m full of excitement actually! I never expected the financing to go this fast. The last 300 parts were raised in less than a week. Much faster than I’d expected. Specially concerning the situation Sellaband was and in some sort of way still is in. For me it feels good to know that people have faith in my project and that I’m the first under the new management to reach my target. I hope this means a new era for Sellaband with good produced records that might even gain some success!

50K MM: In between there was a week of confusion and uncertainty. What were your thoughts when you heard the news that SellaBand filed for bankruptcy?John: When I first heard about Sellaband’s bankruptcy I was in disbelieve. The weeks before I’d spent so much time on promoting the website and my project through diverse media. And all this time spent now seemed to be for nothing. When the site came back online I had my doubts on staying. For me my believers had the call. If they’d still have faith to keep their money on Sellaband I’d continue.

If they would have said they were withdrawing I’d leave too. But to my surprise almost all of my believers said they had faith in my project on Sellaband and so I stayed! And decided to put even more energy into it. Which resulted in achieving my goal!

50K MM: How will the album production go on now? When will the album be released?John: Within two weeks I’ll be in the studio. We now have 17 songs to record. I’m not sure if all of the songs will make it to the record. But wel will record them. The first session we will record the instruments. Mostly live because that’s what we (me and my wonderful band) are good at! After that we will record additionals like electric guitar, string quartet and backing vocals. And the last thing we will record are my vocals. All of this will happen in the month of april. After recording the mixing process will start. We hope to have the mixing done in the beginning of may so we can release the album in the end of may 2010!But besides that we will also have the recording of the Limited Edition live CD. This will happen on the 25th of april. See it as a small celebration of Sellaband being back online again! All of my believers are invited and they will recieve the invitation very soon!

50K MM: Do you have any plans for album promotion yet?John: We (me and my plugger) allready got some confirmed appearances on dutch national radio for the album release. Some 3fm shows and Tros Muziekcafé the radio program with the most listeners in the Netherlands.Besides that we will also release a new single of the album

to give it even more exposure. As for now it seems there might also be some TV appearances for the album release!50K MM: Will we see you on stages soon, maybe even throughout Europe?John: Me and my band will be touring to promote the album. As for now we are planning to tour the Netherlands in september 2010. This will be a small club tour throughout the entire country. Besides that I’m looking for some places to perform throughout Europe and maybe even the USA. But I’m still trying to find someone who is willing to help me out on planning gigs in each country. So if you feel like helping me out: let me know! Also for artists who want to team up: holla at me!

50K MM: How can we support you during the time of album production?John: I think positive energy is all Sellaband needs right now. And that also counts for my album release. Mistakes have been made in the past, but let us all give the new management a chance! Once negativity will overshadow my album release I doubt if it might become a success. Let’s all put our shoulders into this and make it work!

I'm Full of ExcitementJohn C Fraser reached his goal of 10k $ on March 2nd and he seems to be on schedule with his album production

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After the big shock of the Sellaband bankrupcy I am so happy and relieved that I can continue the recording process! Everything was already arranged, the studios were booked. The whole budget was calculated.

My two producers (Coen Molenaar and Jeroen Molenaar) and I have picked the songs that we are going to work on. I wanted to have at least 10 songs on the album, plus a bonus track. We picked 13 songs that we are going to record, and after that we can choose which ones will finally make it on the album. I sent all songs to my producers, and also sent them the separate vocals of those songs. My producers are now working on the arrangements and re-recording the music to my songs. The new music added to my vocals give me new demos, that I can listen to and comment on. As a co-producer, Angela Groothuizen is also listening to the demos and giving her advice. Angela is a very famous Dutch singer and performer, and also a judge in X-factor. I have already met her once and will meet her again on March the 18th.

The coming weeks we will be finalising the work on the demos. I will also do several vocal coaching sessions with singer Des'ray (from 2 brothers on the 4th floor).

Then on april the 19th the instruments will be recorded in the FendalSound studio. A week later I will start recording the vocals.

Mixing and mastering will take place in May. So if all goes well, the CD will be ready before summer. I hope so!!

xxInge M

A day in the life.(by Fleur Jack)Today I woke up. I met a man about a distribution deal. I went and saw my grandma and my sister for her birthday. I went to my day job. I dashed out for a soundcheck, then back to work and i'm just waiting to hit the road to my gig.

My rock band The Twitch toured around NZ in Feb and not only did we have a great time we had packed out shows and sold most of our cd's that we printed. We got a two page write up in the NZ musician mag which is one of the leading music mags in the country. I was written about in the local paper this week (check my photos for that one). My new project Pavlova and the Jandals are in the studio most nights mixing getting ready for our album release which is out in less than a month - we kick off April 15th and head out for two weeks of shows around the country. I'll get back from that tour and have a couple of weeks to get ready for the next Twitch tour which starts half May.

I get to see the country and break some hearts along the way~

Francis Rodino's Pledge campaign (from Fran's website)I am reaching out to all my friends and fans for help with a unique "PLEDGE CAMPAIGN" in order to raise funds for our next studio project – an EP (Extended Play). We are also giving 10% of our campaign profits to The Maria Watt Birmingham Foundation For Childhood & Teenage Leukaemia .

Please take a moment to look at what we are doing and get involved to make a difference, it will really mean a lot to me.

Here you will see all the unique and exciting items that you can pledge for including:

* Digital Download (MP3 and CD Quality Audio) - £8* Signed Limited Edition CD - £10* Personalised and signed CD artwork - £15* Your name in the credits - £50

...and many more, please see our list! Everyone who makes a pledge will get exclusive (Pledger only) acces to the project, the artists, and the creative process through regular updates (video, audio, blogs etc..)

We are are currently unsigned and not supported financially so we have to find the funds do this independently. So many of you have enjoyed our music and have supported me for so long - please show that support by contributing financially to the recordings.

Thanks for making this happen - Make a pledge now!Fran

Album Updateby Inge MInge gives us some infos how album production evolves at the moment

Artist News (I)

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I made the switch from gym rat to studio rat when I realized that breaking fingers on the basketball court didn’t add much to a bass track. So I hung up the old sneakers, grabbed my bass with both hands and took my gym rat mentality with me into any studio with a good espresso machine. What can I say? The things I would forego for a chance to be in the room with the guys and gals is a very short list. And that is why I jumped at the invitation to travel to Holland to work on Traveling Girl with some good friends who also happen to know their way around a recording studio.

I was picked up at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport by the Traveling girl herself, Lille Mulder. As we knew each other only by email, we both did a few laps around the terminal before the process of elimination successfully put us into the car together. The two hour drive to Dick Kemper’s Studio in Doetinchen gave us a chance to tell our life stories and lay the groundwork for the two week’s work ahead.

S&K Studio reflected all the know how of the seasoned musician/engineer/producer that is Dick Kemper. Dick toured the world as the bassist of Vandenberg sharing major concert venues with Metallica and Ozzy and that experience combined with the intervening years of recording have served to create a consummate studio pro. I was here to work with Lille only on the vocal tracks but a quick tour of the studio and a listen to the basic tracks told me that she would have plenty of inspiration to draw upon when it was her turn on the other side of the glass.

As good as Dick is at his job, any engineer or producer will tell you that they are only as good as the talent holding the guitar or bass, or in the case of Nico Groen, hitting things with sticks. And in this department Dick had plenty to work with. The producer of The Traveling Girl is my good pal Casper van Vulpen and Casper started the project off with plenty of wind in his sails by choosing great songs to record and the right combination of players to make the magic happen. This project was truly an international effort as Casper had gathered the forces of a Russian from Poland, a Polish songwriter from England, a British writer from London, an Austrian from Los Angeles, a rhythm section from Holland and one of the best singers I’ve worked with in years. Lock the doors and get the coffee going. This was going to be more fun than a pick up game at the Fourth Street cage in the Village.

Lille was a dream to work with. Many singers can be temperamental, moody or demanding. Lille was all of these but in a very unique way. Where some singer’s moods or demands are driven by insecurity, inability or lack of preparation, Lille took full responsibility and her demands were only of herself. And where some singers might hit the wall of their endurance or storm out of the room blaming it all on the headphone mix or the color of the pop filter, Lille forced every mood directly through the microphone and into her vocal performance for upwards of eight hours at a stretch.

The Travelling GirlPete Strobl reports about Lille's new album. Read who was involved in the production process and listen to Lille's music - it's definitely worth it.

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The main focus of my involvement was in creating authentic and sincere vocal performances with a singer in English as a second and sometimes third language. Regrettably, I only know how to say “Goddammit” “Two Beers” and “Screwing in the kitchen” in the Dutch language but Lille and I were able to work together in German as well as English. I find sincerity to be the most attractive element of any vocal performance and this must be based on not only a thorough understanding but also a convincing belief in the lyrical content of a song.

Whenever studio rats get gather in the temple of sound they follow a timeless ritual. Everyone let’s everyone else know who they know, which new plug-ins they use, choice of recording software, past, present and future drug, alcohol and gambling profile and whatever other factoids seem pertinent to the session. It’s just a bit of canine butt-sniffing really, but it serves to lubricate the initial get-to-know-you period better than passing out resumes. We already knew each other via the internet so the circle sniff was just a bit if handshaking and joke telling. Before I hit the pillow that first night I felt warmly sniffed into the pack.

My second day in Holland Lille and I went to work in earnest. As we went line by line dissecting the finer points of pronunciation we also discussed the inner meaning of every phrase. Sometimes when writers create in a foreign language they might say something that makes perfect literal sense but loses symbolic meaning or poetic value in the translation. There were a few corners to smooth over in this department and we changed a few words or phrases to insure that Lille was portraying the feeling behind the meaning with belief, conviction and precision.

I had initially thought to coach Lille into a strictly American pronunciation but her delivery has a certain international charm which we certainly did not want to lose. So we concentrated on clarity and those areas where letter sounds differ between Dutch, German and English while retaining the feel and passion which went into the original demos of the songs. On a technical level, most problems arise when losing the distinction between voiced and un-voiced consonants. Using the word “Love” as an example, the ‘V’ must have pitch. Dutch and German speakers pronounce the word as “Luff” because their ‘V’ is our ‘F’ and so “Live” becomes “Life” and “Very” becomes “Fairy.” Another pitfall is the American ‘TH’ sound which doesn’t exist in many European languages. To make the sound one must extend the tip of the tongue between the teeth and blow out a puff of air. Euros tend to replace the ‘TH’ with either the hard ‘D’ or the sibilants ‘Z’ or ‘S’ as in “Vaht do you Sink about ziss.” And, as the sentence indicates, even our ‘S’ sound has voiced and un-voiced versions as does the ‘TH’…hear the difference between “This” and “Think” “What’s” and “Was.” And then there is our ‘W’ which is their ‘V’…so our “Was” would be pronounced “Vass” two corrections for the price of one on that one.

The key was to make the corrections seem effortless and allow the vocal performance to be driven by Lille’s amazing sense of phrasing. As I got to know her day by day I learned that Lille is fierce when it comes to learning new things. She was hell-bent on mastering whatever I suggested and made notes on the lyric sheets, wrote on the leg of her jeans, pounded the table and repeated the ‘TH’ sound until I had to cover my coffee cup. But I didn’t want her to obsess so the best and most efficient learning came through simple conversation. We decided that when in the studio we would speak only English and I would try to catch and correct every mispronunciation as it happened.

There are many structured exercises aimed at engaging the diaphragmatic-intercostal musculature but none is more efficient than uncontrolled laughter. Being among new friends gave me a fresh audience for the jokes that elicit groans from my stateside friends and I took full advantage. Teaching the jokes to Lille was also a way to practice Americanized idiomatic pronunciation. What seemed to be breaks in the work were actually quite useful and her delivery of the songs as well as her complete understanding of the intent behind them improved at a fast clip. Two weeks later my job was done and Lille dropped me at the airport where she had first found me. We were in the studio every day and the two weeks seemed like one long session. Working with Casper, Kostek, Dick Kemper and especially Lille had made the time go much too quickly and on the Los Angeles bound flight I wished that we had been making a double album. The musicians played their asses off, Lille sang her ass off, Dick engineered his ass off and now my ass was off for home.

Traveling Girl will be available online and represents the hard work of very talented people from all corners of the globe (yes, I know that the globe doesn’t have corners, just go with me on that one). It was a ton of fun to be involved with the project, the music and, most importantly, the people. I hope you all enjoy it.

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50K MM: First, please tell us something about you. Where do you come from, what are your roots?Apryl: I am from the United States, only about ten miles from New York City, so my roots are firmly planted in the culture that I grew up around being so close to one of the biggest cities in the world. Music, art, and theater were so accessible to me from a very early age so of course it was only natural for me to fall in love with music – and I sure did fall in love with it!

Although I was so close to New York City, however, the town I was raised in was very small, so it was nice being a “small town girl” with the ability to jump on a train and be in New York within 20 minutes, instantly morphing into “city diva”. I’d say that I ended up with a best of both worlds scenario and that’s really shaped me as a person and an artist.

50K MM: How would you describe your music and your style?Apryl: The core of my music is pop, but there are some serious hints of R&B, Soul, and Dance, with a touch of rock. I have very eclectic tastes in the music I listen to and, of course, that naturally comes out in the creative process of writing and recording. My music is reminiscent of the “glory days of pop”, as I like to call them – the 80’s and 90’s. I take a lot of inspiration from the music of that

time, especially from artists like Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Gloria Estefan. Even still, I definitely put a significant modern spin on my tunes and, of course, make sure the songs have my own “signature” on them. I have been told I have a very unique and voice and style of music – like one of those definitive sounds that you know could only be one artist - which, to me, is the ultimate compliment for an artist.

50K MM: I have noticed that you announced a plan to split your fundraising into two phases. Please tell us a something about the reasons behind this decision.Apryl: I first got the idea from Hind’s current plan and thought it was a fantastic idea for so many reasons. Before I launch into the reasoning, however, I want to tell everyone a little bit about what my intentions are. I am splitting my project into two phases, the first of which will be the production phase and the second of which will be the promotion phase. The production phase is going to cover everything from recording an 8-10 song album in the studio to the cover photo shoot and the pressing of 1,000 CDs. Once I have reached this goal, which will be officially set at $16,000 once HQ updates my plan, I will almost immediately launch Phase II – the promotion. With the promotion part of the plan, I would like to really focus on getting the music out there for all to hear – be it through touring, magazines, radio commercials, mailings

Determinedand Fearless... that's what Apryl Evans is. The SellaBand album she raises funds for at the moment is not her first one. She's talking about where she comes from and where she wants to go ...

11to radio stations, etc. Naturally, I think that is how most artists put an album together, focusing first on recording, then on promoting their masterpiece. And I think this plan will allow me to really pay extra close attention to each individual phase – just as it was meant to be.

I put a lot of thought into this new method of fundraising, and in the end, I really do believe that this will give Believers of each (or both) of the phases of the project a lot more insight into the recording process. By keeping me in the public eye while recording my Sellaband album, I will be in touch with Believers on a daily basis, posting up photo and video footage of me hashing out the songwriting process, working in the studio, practicing for gigs, heading to photoshoots, etc. This will really give everyone a glimpse into the creative process and make all of my Believers feel as if they are going through the process with me. And honestly, that is how it should be because without Believers, there is no recording studio – no creative process. You guys really are the record company and I want you there throughout this journey with me!

50K MM: You've recently released your EP titled "One Of Those Girls". I've read some good comments about it. Would you please talk about the EP and the inspiration behind the songs.Apryl: This EP is a culmination of all of the time and hard work I have put into my career thus far. I wrote so many songs over the course of the past couple of years and when it came time to record, I chose the songs that I felt best embody who I am as an artist and a person. I am a very strong and tenacious woman and in my songs “One of Those Girls” and “Dear Friend”, you can totally hear that.But like everyone, I have my moments of weakness, as is illustrated in my award-winning song “I Shouldn’t”. Each of the songs represents a different side of me – sometimes I am sassy and fun, sometimes I let my anger get the best of me, and other times I am torn apart by emotion – and you get all that in one album. This EP truly is a testament to the complex soul that is Apryl Evans…

50K MM: I saw you are going to play at the "Bitter End" in New York City this summer. Some of the biggest names in music industry have played on that stage. Do you have a date for the gig you can share with us? What can those lucky ones who will manage to be there expect from this show?Apryl: Let me tell you what an honor it is to be playing this venue. I will be performing on May 25th at 8:00pm EST at the Bitter End in “The Village” area of New York City, which is the artsy, kind of bohemian area of Manhattan, and by far my favorite hangout scene. So many artists –Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel and literally hundreds of other famous musicians – have played this stage and just knowing that gives me goosebumps! I am going to be putting on quite a performance, singing all three songs off of my EP with a live band and a whole lot of energy. I am so excited for this gig!!

50K MM: How come that you will perform at „Bitter End“?Apryl: I was actually chosen as one of four artists set to perform as a part of “Chick Singer Night” from a quite a large pool of female artists who submitted their press kits

for the gig. “Chick Singer Night” is a really amazing not-for-profit showcase that has been on stages all over the world for the past twenty years and has featured singers like Norah Jones, Daru, and even guest male performer Amos Lee (who I am such a fan of), perform on its stages. Chick Singer Night was founded with the intention of showcasing some of the best female singers in the country, so to be a part of this is such an honor.

50K MM: How can we support you raising your budget?Apryl: Well, of course, the best way to support me is to become a Believer in my music project – every little bit helps me on the way to my goal. But even if you can’t become a Believer, just having as much support as possible is so appreciated – everything from a nice comment to spreading the word about my music. It all means so much and at the end of the day, it is all about sharing my music with as many people as I can.

50K MM: And last: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know.Apryl: I think the most important thing that everyone should know about me is that I am one tough chick – haha! Really though, what I mean is that I am determined and fearless when it comes to my approach to the music business and I am going to be in this industry for a long, long time. You can expect my future Sellaband album to be a reflection of that, just as my EP is, but with each album there will always be a ton of growth as an artist and I can’t wait to share all of my inner-most desires, dreams, drama, and demons with all of you through my favorite medium – the art of song.

www.sellaband.com/aprylevans

12

50K MM: What were your thoughts, when you heard the news that SellaBand had filed for bankruptcy?Aly: I was mortified....panicked in the middle of a creative process..luckily I didnt look at sellaband while I was in the studio ... It was only when I came in from the airport and woke up the next morning to it.. and for me personally It was just before a major event here where I am the Entertainment, sponsorship and Publicity Co-Ordinator..and singing BVs for a major artist.. so I could not have come at a worse time for me..

50K MM: Did you perceive any changes in your fan community after SellaBand has restarted?Aly: Naturally some believers would have left. However as I ascertained early in the piece I could get things done in NZ for much cheaper so am as far as I know the first artist who will manufacture and distribute to my believer base from NZ .. A second email will go out to my believers to see if they wish to have direct contact with me .. I am offering all beleivers the opportunity to be on the artwork and have my autograph .. so easier to do it from here. but have to respect privacy policies.. My point being I have most of my believers direct contact and think they are happy with that ...

50K MM: What are your future plans inside and outside of SellaBand?Aly: Well to continue with the social networking growth http://www.facebook.com/alyrecord for my fanpage.. look to plan to do live gigs around the launch later in the year I just sung backing vocals for Sharon O'Neill who is a big artist from the 80s down here http://www.sharononeill.com.au .. she has also done a guest spot on my album .. will cover that in the update I send following this ..

50K MM: What were your thoughts when you heard the news that SellaBand had filed for bankruptcy?Catself: My first thought was: this is so typical, just when I'm getting close - just perfect timing! I wasn't even surprised. Then I thought how lucky it was I had email and Facebook contact with a lot of my believers. Then I made some rough alternative plans, and next thing I heard that SellaBand was going to be bought and the site was coming back after all.

50K MM: Did you perceive any changes in your fan community after SellaBand has restarted?Catself: A few of my fans have left SellaBand, which made me sad but which I completely understand. Some of my earliest fans were among them, and I know they would have never withdrawn their funds otherwise, so that was a shame. I will be in touch with them though and there is going to be a way to support my project outside the site as well.

50K MM: What are your future plans inside and outside of SellaBand?

Artist SurveyOld SellaBand's bankruptcy has shocked the whole community - I asked artists how they deal with the recent change to New SellaBand ...

Aly Cook

Catself (photo with Calle Lindholm)

13

Catself: On SellaBand, I am a little relieved to have my profile in a place where it can be more easily found. I hope it means I can relax just a little now in respect of online activity and have more time for the music itself and some other things. When I make songs, I often end up being in some way inspired by whatever takes up my thoughts the most. Since I signed up on SellaBand, I have made something like nine SellaBand protest songs in various styles and moods. This is not what I want my album to be so it's really time to take my thoughts off SellaBand a little more often!

Outside SellaBand... well. I have planned to start advertising my project outside SellaBand once I was on a high enough position but now that I reached No. 2, the situation on SellaBand is unclear and I feel it is not the right time. When we all know for sure where the site is going, I will be able with honesty to promote the site and my project there to new fans. For now, I am concentrating on music, gigs and of course also making plans for when I reach 50 K. And doing some skiing while the winter lasts!

50K MM: What were your thoughts, when you heard the news that SellaBand had filed for bankruptcy?Sylvain: I was still determined to succeed in music and I stayed serene

50K MM: Did you perceive any changes in your fan community after SellaBand has restarted?Sylvain: 2 believers with just 1 part have leaved my project, I am not worried.

50K MM: What are your future plans inside and outside of SellaBand?Sylvain: I want to record my album quickly. I will change my fund raising plan to ask less money but it was planned before. I think about the promotion and the distribution of my album because it is very important for my success.

Sylvain Zebo

Talentcast

is the passion of three people:

Johan JongeriusMissYand

Catself (Agnieszka Holm)

Listen to:

SellaBand and

MySpace Artists,Song of the week,

interviews and chat

every Saturday night on

www.talentcast.nl

14

(TB) In this month's update on the Civilized Tears Album, I didn't want to get bogged down discussing the Bankruptcy of Sellaband so I won't, but it is something I need to address briefly as it's had repercussions on the album.

It was definitely a positive sign when the German Media company bought up SAB a few weeks ago, but I knew that this would mean certain changes and set backs.

The payments to Civilized Tears clients have been held up and that is never a good thing in business. However, after several weeks of financial juggling in Germany, I have been informed that payments will go ahead. These issues mean that the album completion date has been delayed by a month a half. So by April 8th, fingers crossed, Civilized Tears will have their first album completed !

In life nothing is certain and in the Music Business it seems even more so.

What's the next step for CT? We are now looking at the promotion of the album and releasing our first single coupled with a cutting edge music video. September will be a good month to release these as it gives us the time to build a solid and comprehensive PR / Marketing campaign.

We have an excellent Video Production team in the frame to make the video and we also feel pretty confident about the choice of our first single. ( We will have a poll for the fans to vote on this too)

How will we fund this?We are currently setting up a fund raising site and will release the details in the next issue of 50K Music.

What's our Target?We believe that with the right strategy and promo plan in place, it's possible to become the - ' first unsigned, fan-funded ' band to make the iTunes top 40 charts with our first single. If we can achieve this, then we'll achieve a place in music biz history and it is sure to create its own positive spin. Yes, it's a pretty big goal to attempt but we'll definitely give it our best shot.

To find out more please feel free to join us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CIVILIZED-TEARS/106264292368

Many thanks for tuning in.

Tim CT

www.myspace.com/civilizedtears

Civilized Tears Album UpdateEvery month Tim Bennett writes on this place about the latest progress of Civilized Tears album production

15

Katie Thompson Album Diary

And here is Katie's update:Long time no blog so I thought I better get one together. And this is a goody!

I am delighted to announce that Greg Haver will be producing my up and coming album. Greg is a talented producer with a background in engineering, drumming and programming who initially built up a reputation within the Welsh music community for his diverse production skills and innovative arrangements with artists such as Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Lost Prophets and Bullet For My Valentine.

We are currently confirming the finer details and they will be released once we know for sure but one very exciting thing I can tell you is I’m on my way to London. I will be travelling over early August and will hopefully get to meet up with some of my favourite believers. I will be recording at Modern World Studios and then hopefully do a little tiki tour around while I’m over there. Why not ay!

Sooo the next couple of months will be full of sorting the budget, prep on the songs and raising some more funds for my airfares as I want to put as much money and effort as I can into the album. I am totally stoked (a.k.a. happy lol) that I have managed to get such a high calibre of people involved in my project and can’t wait to get this ball rolling.

So stay tuned for updates! As always if you wanna check out Greg or Modern World Studios Google it or flick me an email.

Over and outKatie

... to be continued ...

Harry & Katie on his birthday

... having a jam

Singing Monteiths on Tap

Greg HaverBusking Wildfoods Weekend

16

This 22-year-old singer-songwriter whose style is best described as blues-inflected pop; has a passion to make blues more mainstream similar to how Norah Jones put jazz back on the pop charts. "I believe that music is about telling stories" says Abby, "and my songs attempt to reflect everyday experiences, particularly those of women. My parents were huge hippies -- they named me after The Beatles album "Abbey Road" but changed the spelling because we're Jewish!" Abby's first vocal teacher, a black blues gospel singer had a strong influence on her musical development. "Blues women...they laid it all on the line and when I'm writing now, I try to capture that raw, unedited emotion while also fusing it with a more modern sensibility."

You could call Kate Schutt a musical triathlete. She is a creative triple threat - a guitarist, producer and singer/songwriter of rare skill and originality. Jon Garelick of The Boston Phoenix recently hailed her "as a phenomenal up-and coming singer," saying "Harvard and Berklee kid Kate Schutt is an assured singer/songwriter/guitarist with a smoky, understated delivery." A provocative, soulful performer and a constant collaborator, Kate has worked with the likes of John Ellis (Charlie Hunter), Terri Lyne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), and Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Bill Frisell), to name only a few.

artistShare for SongwritersA few weeks ago I got in contact with artistShare, a fan-funding platform with an approach very different from the SellaBand concept. 50K MUSIC MAG introduces the four songwriters who raise funds on artistShare at the moment.

by Jane (artistShare)

Abby Bernstein

KateSchutt

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om/A

SFS/

17

“Nobody sings like Tony Harnell” commented a famous DJ one night after one of his typical jaw dropping performances in New York City, “This was the best show I have ever seen”. Statements like that have followed this California bred, Big Apple resident his entire career. An unlikely beginning for a rock singer, Tony was ripping it up as a pro skateboarder and avid surfer in San Diego during his early teens. In a city more known for it’s beautiful beaches and laid back lifestyle than for it’s rock scene, one of the worlds most under rated and influential vocalists would emerge. Most of the hard rock community knows of the impressive work Harnell delivered with famed Norwegian band TNT, but what most people don’t know is how diversely talented he truly is. With a youthful

voice that has matured like a fine wine; still stunningly powerful, yet uniquely beautiful and lyrics that can effect change in people, carried by melodies that lodge themselves deep under the skin, this guy gets to people. With that said, we are proud to present Tony Harnell the prolific songwriter. Tony’s strong worldwide fan base combined with his powerful new sound makes for one hell of rocket ride. Commencing countdown...enjoy the ride!

Chris Barron is many things to many people: the voice of the Spin Doctors, the face of the jamband scene, an MTV superstar, an East Village troubadour, the author of some of the 1990s’ most enduring radio hits, a father and a teacher. But these days, the Spin Doctors singer is most at home when he’s simply playing rock and roll. “You tend to write yourself into the places you want to play,” Barron admits. “There was a time when I was writing bedside songs for the walls of my room, but these days I am writing what I like to call ‘bar music for big theaters’—stripped down, honest rock and roll like The Last Waltz meets Exile on Main Street.” Bursting out of seminal New York watering holes like Nightingale’s and Wetlands in the early 1990s, the Spin Doctors helped popularize the neo-jam scene with their funky, infectious brand of rock and roll. The group’s marathon high-energy performances — found the Spin Doctors packing rooms across the country. The Spin Doctors’ multi-platinum debut Pocket Full of Kryptonite became a grassroots success story, spawning ubiquitous hits like “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” “Jimmy Olsen's Blues” and the chart-topping “Two Princes.” The group was nominated for a Grammy, scored the cover of Rolling Stone and shared the stage with luminaries like the Rolling Stones. Now playing with his current band, The Time Bandits, Barron finds himself with another tried-and-true rock band. “You go and see a lot of solo acts, and they come off as a guy who pays other dudes to play his songs,” Barron says. “But from the start I’ve always said ‘let’s form an identity as a band.’ ” Yet Barron hasn’t forgotten about his best-known hits. “I love those songs, and we continue to play them,” he

assures fans. “The cool thing is that we started goofing around with some of those old songs and I said, ‘don’t listen to the Spin Doctors version and don’t worry about remaking certain parts. Let’s make them our own, but make them recognizable.’ We’re not going to do ‘Little Miss Can’t be Wrong’ as a tango or ‘Two Princes’ as bossa nova.’” “The reason classic-rock became classic is that it was rooted in the music that came before classic-rock,” Barron firmly states. “Bands like The Rolling Stones and The Band were standing on the shoulders of giants— guys who weren’t making any money but they knew how to rock. My former teacher, Arnie Lawrence, used to say that the only time anyone really sings the blues is when a baby cries before it knows it is going to get picked up. After that it’s all show business

Tony Harnell

Chris Barron

18

The More YouListen the More You'll Find

A few weeks ago Trail released their album "To the Rest of the World" and I am sold on this album. I asked the guys a few questions and here are their answers.

50K MM: For all those who don't know you yet please tell us something about Trail. Where do you come from, what are your roots? Trail: We are all London born and raised except Minco who we don’t really know but he has a strong Belgian accent when he tries to speak English.

50K MM: You have produced your album “To the Rest of the World” together with Matt Wallace over the last few months. Please tell us something about this time. Trail: We spent a month in L.A. recording it which was 1 week of fine-tuning the songs in a rehearsal room

and then 3 weeks of intense recording at Matt's studio. We wanted a very rich sounding record so we layered each song with multiple guitar parts and vocals. To get it all done in time we were doing 10am-10pm every day for 3 weeks which was pretty tiring but we are very happy with the results.

50K MM: Your album has been reviewed quite different, it got a great review from Kerrang! rock magazine. How do your fans like the album? Trail: The reaction from the fans has been very positive and that’s always the main thing. It’s great to get recognition from magazines like Kerrang! but it’s our fans who are the ones who believed in us from the start and come and support us at gigs.

50K MM: How have the fan-funding of your album and the album production changed your life? Trail: Without our fans we wouldn't be who we are today and without our investors we wouldn't have had the chance to go to LA and record with Matt. The Slicethepie method of funding is very good for bands in the position we were in because it recognised the promise we showed as songwriters and gave us the means to become a finished product. We are all

very grateful to everyone who saw the potential in us and got behind us, it was a really exciting time as we hit our target whilst we were in LA, that was a good night out!

50K MM: What are your plans to promote the album? Will your fans be involved in promotion activities as well? Trail: As much gigging as possible, trying to get the songs airplay, synched to TV shows, social networking and yes we want to get our fans involved in this as much as possible.

50K MM: Do we have a chance to see you on stages throughout Europe soon? Trail: We really hope so. We are doing a mini tour of the UK at the moment and hopefully Europe will be the next stop. Watch this space.

50K MM: How can we support you promoting your album? Trail: Tell your friends about us, post links to our videos on your myspace and facebook profiles and just help spread the word. If you have a venue near you that you’d like us to play at let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

50K MM: And last question: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know. Trail: The more you listen the more you’ll find!

19

celebrates it’s first birthday in March.

That’s why I have thought about a competition for designers (hobby and professional) – the 50K MUSIC Tee Art Competition.

There are two awards to win:1. the 50K MUSIC Customer Award – the community decides by poll – 20 SellaBand Gift Parts* is the prize + 50% of the net earnings of the prize winning tee sales,

2. the 50K MUSIC Special Award – awarded by 50K MUSIC – prize: 10 SellaBand Gift Parts* + 50% of the net earnings of the prize winning tee sales.

And here are the rules of this competition:

- everyone can take part to create an eye-catching indie music artwork t-shirt,- the topic is independent (SellaBand) music (sure you can include 50K MUSIC, the MAG, the first birthday),- artwork in .png, .jpg, .gif or .bmp – min. 50 x 50 px, max. 3,000 x 3,000 px- images/artwork may not infringe third party rights.

The Competition runs until 31st March 2010.

Please send questions and your artwork to mario(at)50kmusic.com

* SellaBand T&Cs do apply

Tee Art Competition

20

Well despite all the changes at Sellaband work has continued on the Aly Cook Album at http://www.alan jansson.com

I flew to Auckland last week of February and laid the guide tracks for the first 6 songs for the Aly Cook album are in progress.

Here in myhome town I help to run a charity event called Taste Tasman. The main guest performer was Sharon O'Neill http://www.sharononeill.com.au who is from my town originally and is a NZ & Australian music icon..

I performed in the backing band with Sharon O'Neill on Sunday 7th of March, 2010.

On Wednesday 10th of March I organised as a side event to Taste Tasman, the sounds of Tasman Music Seminar where Sharon and her husband Alan Mansfield spoke, Alan spent 25 years in the studio and on the road with Robert Palmer, also with Dragon, Bette Midler & UB40. He was a wealth of knowledge and great to work with on stage.

The seminar also had figures from APRA and NZ Music commission who spoke on songwriting, copyright etc. Also flying to speak at the conference was producer Alan Jansson. After the conference we went the vocal booth at the local radio station where Sharon put a guest vocal on on "Brand New Day" One of the songs on my album and my co-vocalists here in Nelson Kate Holland and Chrissie Small did a vocal on "Grow" . Katie also played the Boran on GROW.. So we are making progress. Next Trip to the studio in Auckland will be 22nd to the 26th of April to probably start laying in backing vocals in. Other players are being bought in in my absense to build the tracks up.

Here is an article on Taste Tasman in the local paper about the gig has some comment from me on it www. stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/entertainment/3403361/80s-rock-chick-returns

Someone who originally set up my facebook fanpage .. chose to start posting in my name and I had to delete my Fanpage on facebook. So I have new one http://www. facebook.com/alyrecord If your on Facebook if you could please join it .. and then suggest to friends or post on your page that would be really helpful !!

All for now .. Don't forget to come join me on http://www.kiwisofa.tv

I am producing, manufacturing, autographing and sending out to my believers from NZ.

Therefore I am gathering contact info for my believers for sending your CDs and also who you would like your CDs autographed too. Under sellaband's policy I have to give you the option to have direct contact with me. I would prefer it is you did, as I can keep you directly informed about the project. However it is totally your choice.

Please contact me if you have not already done so. on [email protected]

The Kiwi Sofa is on air every Saturday at 22.00 CET on www.kiwisofa.tv - watch it and chat with Aly.

Greetings from the Kiwisofa

Aly Cook tells us the news about the progress of the album production

21

(UBG) So we’re on the tube schlepping to The O2 Arena and bump into Nik Hollis, which is nice. Never having been to the O2, or indeed the smaller IndigO2 venue, before it’s great to have Nik leading the way … and what a way! I knew the place was massive but was still bowled over by the scale of it. It’s a large town in a tent!

We let Nik wander in and we go grabbed a bite to eat at one of the very many restaurants which unfortunately meant we missed Tamanda and most of Jetson (jazz funky). Chasing Ora had a great sound with a good female lead vocal. The Brays were really great and worth a look for sure. After Francis, and headlining, were Kubla Kahn and it’s a good job it’s a big stage as there were load so them, including a brass section. They put on a good show and would make a good night out!

As many of you may know, Francis has been working with Ruth Lorenzo, of X-Factor fame, and it was great to see Ruth and Diana Vickers in the crowd, not to mention Jen Delaney who I’d seen the previous night singing with Dan Ward-Murphy.

The Boys came out to much cheering from the crowd and with a much shorter wait than usual, Francis runs out to join them and they kick it with one of the new ones, Other Side. This is fast and furious and doesn’t fail to grab the attention of the crowd. Fran pulls the crowd in, always giving us the usual 110% and the crowd gives it right back as Don’t Say Never takes over, followed by Burn. All these Circles and Squares tracks are so great to hear live and they continue with Walk With Me, Science, and Drink always fires the crowd up, and tonight is no exception, and the crowd are jumping.

The lads leave Francis to play More Than Before on his own on his acoustic guitar. I love this song and even though this set seems shorter than usual (though I don’t think it was much shorter, just time flies at an FRB gig!) it’s great to break up the tracks in this way.The boys return for the last one as Any Day Now closes the FRB Show. Good Job guys! Great songs, but then we already knew that. Huge presence and energy on stage, and again, anyone who's see you live already knows that too!

As some of you may know, Francis Rodino has setup a FanFunding page on PledgeMusic to get them back into the studio to record an EP. He’s been lucky enough to secure Steve Bush (Stereophonics, Corinne Bailey Rae, and of course our very own Francis!) as producer again. I say “lucky” but I’m sure Steve wouldn’t be doing it if he hadn’t enjoyed the making of Circles and Squares.

Best of luck to Francis on that, and as I write this he’s around half way to his target already. I’ve got my CD already paid for and I can’t wait to hear the results and I’m just so happy to have the opportunity to continue being ever so small a part of his journey!

(UBG) Well here we are in London again, but this time near Tottenham Court Road, so we obviously swung past The Pillar’s Of Hercules for a swift half on the way to PUNK. I’ve been wanting to see Bim (AKA Tim Davis and Rebecca Rosier) live for quite some time now ‘cos I love their self titled EP which they so kindly gave me at a Francis Rodino gig a few years ago.

I loved the well crafted songs with the beautiful melodies and the fit of Tim and Rebecca’s voices which seem to harmonise together so well. Could they do it live was the question and Saturday at Punk was going to provide the answer ...

Yes. Yes they can. They’ve got a band behind them (who’s names I don’t know) and Tim on keys and laptop (oh how the music biz has changed eh!) and Rebecca in her hug rug. As any who know of Bim will attest, there’s a depth of production about Bim music that requires the playing of samples (if that’s the right word?), hence the laptop. Whether that makes playing live alongside easier or harder I couldn’t comment, except that it at least looked easy.

After a new (as yet unnamed) track to kick off their set we were treated to The Battle which has long been my favourite from their EP with the finely interwoven aural textures somewhat reminiscent of the later Tears For Fears songs ... and I simply love it! I was sceptical as to whether they could pull it off live because there seemed to be so much in it, so many layers, but it was a real treat to hear it performed live ... that’s exactly what I wanted. Many Thanks!

After A Loving Side, which is new to me, but undoubtedly “Bim”, we were treated to another from their EP – Ready To Love which continues to provide the Bim experience of finely crafted songs with haunting harmonisation from Tim and Rebecca. Another new (at least to me!) one Today’s The Day follows and builds the impression of Bim having the beginnings of a formidable repertoire of cracking tunes. A tight schedule for the evening means they skip Stay In My Memory and finish their set with a new (as in very first outing) track Head Over Heels which nicely completes the Bim portion of the evening and is one they’re considering for a new album they are looking to record somehow, somewhen.

Definitely worth coming out to see and I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for their next gig too ...

On Stage with ... Francis Rodino

On Stage with ... Bim

22

50K MM: Who are you, where do you come from, ...? Please tell us something about My First Robot.Ivan: This is a bit complicated. I (Ivan) came to Trier, Germany because of a job offer in Luxembourg. Since I spend most of my time making music I instantly started searching for a suitable band. Luckily Jim (vocals, guitars) noticed my ad in a local magazine and contacted me. This happened in September 2009. Jim already had a band with Stefan (drums) and Christian (bass) but they wanted to do something new, something that differs from the generic rock band sound. So we started to experiment a bit, wrote a few songs and it seems we might have found our own genre or style: A bit of rock, a lot of electronics and catchy vocals.

50K MM: How did you discovered SellaBand?Ivan: I actually already knew about SAB before. I had a project there but since back then I was based in Hungary I couldn't do much to get attention. Most people in the east don't or wont believe in the concept. It is much easier to get people involved in Germany or the Benelux.

50K MM: How are you going to convince people to believe (and invest) in you?Ivan: We have a good plan. It's simple and we are really pushing things to happen. Just in February we wrote and recorded two new songs and had our first photo shooting. We are only raising 10k and I think that's achievable in one year. We are also constantly looking into ways of getting fans more involved; we have a principle to give

How important is airplay for an artist? How much Sellaband-artists reach some airplay for their music? How can a believer challenge an artist to recruit more airplay?Many questions, but there is just one answer: to setup an Airplay Challenge.

The Airplay Challenge 2009 / 2010 did have two real potential winners:John C Fraser and Meg and Mark. They have made a great competition of The Airplay Challenge.

Till the end it was a exciting competition. Meg and Mark did have evidence that they have reached 21 radiostations and at the same moment... John C Fraser reached his final 10k with the amazing amount of 23 radiostations.

It made John C Fraser the first undisputed winner of The Airplay Challenge.

Many bands contacted Jurjen that they wanted to join. But most were not able to qualify. The threshold of at least 10 stations was to high. These bands can learn from the current finalists... it is possible for an independent artist with sufficient quality, energy and courage to qualify.Airplay is important for the artistname / brand and for the future of the performer(s). Without attention no interest!

So, the show must go on. The competition continues for a new year. Will Meg and Mark be the next winner? Or will there be new qualifiers with amazing results? We see in The Airplay Challenge 2010 / 2011.

Jurjen's Airplay ChallengeJurjen started his Airplay Challenge last year and has announced the winners

now. And Airplay Challenge goes to second round this year. So join it!

www.sellaband.com/myfirstrobot

My First Robotfinally a promising newcomer from Germany again

23

everyone a CD for free who comes to our show. Since you buy the ticket you should get a CD. Investing in ourselves is another important point. Even if we have to cover half of the 10k we are happy because fans helped us raising money.

50K MM: You have raised about 2% of the budget so far. Have you thought about the time after reaching the goal of 10k yet? What are your plans then?Ivan: As soon as we reach our goal we are going to hit the studio without delay. By then we will have all the songs written that we want to put on the album. When we have the CD ready we are going to hit the road and tour Europe. On the tour we will massively promote and give away our CD on each show. Since this is our first album it has to be

perfect and basically free for people who pay to see us.

50K MM: And last question: How can we support you to speed up raising your budget?Ivan: These are hard times for bands on SAB. Believers are busy pulling money out of projects and it is very hard to convince people to invest in us. I think being in the 50k mag is great for a start. The best way to support us is to invest. We think that SAB is a great concept and it should work when the people behind it have the proper knowledge. But most importantly we need to make great music and there's still a long way to go.

www.sellaband.com/projects/myfirstrobot

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24

50K MM: Who are you, where do you come from, ...? Please tell us something about Sunset Riot.SR: Sunset Riot is a 5 piece hard rock band from Western Sydney. We've been together for around 10 months now and have been gigging solidly for 9. We all love music that is uplifting and heavy hitting, music that is played passionately and that is inspiring or moving in some way. Sometimes live music can become a bit stale so we strive to make our live stage shows as energetic, explosive and entertaining as possible. Recently we recieved a call from producer Steve James (Cold Chisel, Screaming Jets, Mental As Anything, Airbourne, Guitar Hero World Tour) who wanted to cut a record with us. We are currently working together to produce our very first EP; which is very exciting!

50K MM: How did you discovered SellaBand?SR: We actually discovered SellaBand thru Classic Rock Magazine. I (Del) happened to be browsing thru and noticed a small article on Japanese rock band Electric Eel

Shock. In the article they mention that they funded their first record thru SellaBand so I thought I'd check it out.

50K MM: How are you going to convince people to believe (and invest) in you?SR: We are very much a grassroots band. We write about everyday issues dilemmas, problems etc. We have a drink with fans after the show and we interact with fans during the show. We intend to continue building our fanbase as well as fan commitment by contant communication (thru blogs, video-logues, updates etc). We do regular updates on our youtube channel (www.youtube.com/sunsetriot) which helps to build a sense of community. Everybody wants to feel like they 'belong' an we recorgnize that we cannot do this on our own. This is a journey and we encourage participation, the whole 'let's do this together' attitude.

50K MM: You have raised about 3% of the budget so far. Have you thought about the time after reaching the goal of 15k yet? What are your plans then?SR: We have in fact thought about what we could do with the money once its raised, in fact the sooner the better, haha! The plain and simple truth in the music industry is that you MUST advertise and you MUST tour; both of which cost money. Our plan is to make a hard as steel rock record, then advertise and tour as much as we can. Overseas (Europe, Asia) touring is a big goal, there are so many more people there which means our chances of playing to bigger crowds rise substantially.

50K MM: And last question: How can we support you to speed up raising your budget?SR: I thought you'd never ask ;) Any sort of promotion is great, simply by running a story on us you've helped us already, featuring a link to our myspace or facebook (or both) and SellaBand page, mentioning our name, publishing followup interviews or directing people to our youtube page so fans can get to know us better. As I said before we feel like we are a grassroots rock band, we put on a pretty full on stage show but we'll always be 'the people's band' so get to know us :)

SunsetRiotVery promising newcomers coming from Australia - listen to their music!

www.sellaband.com/sunsetriot

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Fleur Jack(from her newsletter)Combining alt-country, pop, folk, and rock, Pavlova and The Jandals is a collaborative project between five prolific Auckland musicians, all of whom play in other well known bands. The band formed in winter 2009 and recorded their 14 track album live over a weekend in ‘The Commune’ in the wild west of Waitakere. Their Auckland shows have been such a sold-out success that they have decided to take it on the road, to the rest of NZ. It will be the first time that the Pavlova and the Jandals crew have gathered together outside of their hometown of Auckland and they are excited to share their creations with the country.

Featuring Fleur Jack (The Twitch, Kiwi Fm), Chris Howard (The Sproutts), Simon Ross (Yebiisu, We Dunno), Joel Vinsen (Black Sand Diva), and Todd Beeby (Kitsch, Dr Colossus, Coach), Pavlova and the Jandals has a diverse and distinctly Kiwi flavour. With four songwriters, and such a wide pool of experience and style, Pavlova and the Jandals delivers a vibrant and original show, with band members swapping instruments between sets, having a laugh and generally keeping it tight and heavily entertaining. Their sound has been described as “I'll wash, you dry”. Pavlova and the Jandals’ debut album will be released at the Kings Arms in Newton, Auckland on 15th April. Following this show they will be travelling the country, purveying their original brand of deep, snappy and fluid dynamism at a venue near you. Do not miss it.

For more information, contact:http://www.facebook.com/pavlovaandthejandals Email: [email protected]

Lily Vasquez ... is Back! (from her newsletter)... with her new Video for "Nunca Dejes de Hacerme el Amor"! Two New Singles to be on iTunes soon!

After her last hit release of "Pasion de Mujer", Lily Vasquez returns to the stage more sexy than ever! Soon

her two new songs "Nunca Dejes de Hacerme el Amor" and "Me Marcho de Aqui", will available on itunes! Check up all her upcoming events/updates at LilyVasquez.com!

Alive 'n' Kicking(from Africa Unsigned's newsletter)Have no fear, we’re busy bees behind the scene putting the finishing touches to Africa Unsigned. So get ready the countdown is approaching when we’ll be ready to propel the project into the world. Even at this fledgling stage we have 100 supporters who have chipped in more than $1000. As pioneers you are sparking a true music revolution, leading the way for others to then follow, just like the dancing man:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ. So a big thank you to all our supporters and keep spreading the good music!

Alex Highton(from his newsletter)at SUMMER SUNDAE FESTIVALJust got the news from BPA Live that I've been booked for the Summer Sundae Festival in Leicestershire. One of the best festivals in the country. If you happen to be going along please track me down and say hello.www.summersundae.com

Upcoming Gigs31st March - What's Cookin', Leytonstone, London - www.whatscookin.co.uk1st May - Unitarian Chapel, Bury St Edmunds, in aid of Action Medical Research11th June - The Institue, Kelvedon, Essex - www.liveattheinstitue.co.uk20th June - The Beehive Pub, Swindon - Sunday Afternoon21st June - The North Devon Music Festival, Barnstaple14th August - The Summer Sundae Music Festival, Musician's Stage, Leicestershire

Artist News (II)