Texas Music Journal » Publishing

Houston Attorney to Rally Music Industry to Benefit the Homeless

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:15:55 +0000

In times like today, Americans realize the most powerful song one can write is one that expresses care for others. That’s why at 9am Oct. 16, 2010, producers, artists, record label executives and other music industry professionals from all genres will gather in Houston at St. John’s Downtown Church to collaborate on one such song, serving the homeless population as Cross Media Live presents its seminar, “Make More Money When Releasing Your Music.”

The event organizer, Attorney Leslie Cross Jr., is asking participants to bring in toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, wash clothes, hand sanitizers, etc., which will all be given to the homeless population served at St. John’s Downtown Church. Selected participants will also collaborate on an upcoming inspirational single.

“Just as I’m sharing the knowledge and wisdom I’ve learned with the music industry, I want the music industry to share with the less fortunate,” Cross said. “I couldn’t think of a better way to do this than to partner with Pastor Rudy at St. John’s.”

The event has already garnered support from the both business and music professionals including Kasino Brown Music, LLC, Jayen Associates, Inc. , Skytone Productions, Houston Business Developers and The Cross Firm, P.C., to name a few.

“The knowledge Attorney Cross possesses is phenomenal. What’s even more exciting is his willingness to share and empower musicians, recording artists, producers and other industry professionals outside a paid consultation or retained relationship,” said Jewel Johnson, owner of Jayen Associates, Inc.

With recent developments drastically changing the music industry, Cross Live Media seized this opportunity to inform, educate and empower the music industry. Topics such as investors, distribution, promotions, contracts, ASCAP, Sound Exchange and more will be discussed. More than 10,000 artists, record label executives, and music industry professionals will learn of this event through marketing tools such as social media, email blasts and peer group marketing. However, space is limited to an expected audience of 200; thus, attendees should register early.

Cross Live Media exists to self-empower individuals and companies through the use of innovative and motivational learning materials and lectures to have the freedom to pursue, overtake and accomplish their purpose and/or mission in the entertainment industry.

For more information or to request an interview, please contact Monica Coleman at 832-377-1657 or send an email to mcoleman@theservantmedia.com. Follow updates and news regarding recently added sponsors for this event at http://www.musicbusinessheretic.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-Business-Heretic/301141641268. Or register for the event here.

Copyright © TexasMusicJournal.com, All Rights Reserved.
This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. The commercial use of this feed without the express written permission of TexasMusicJournal.com is prohibited. If you are not viewing this content in your news reader, the web page you are viewing may be infringing on this copyright. Please contact TexasMusicJournal.com to request license rights or to report a suspected violation of this copyright. (Digital Fingerprint: 99fbb508a0ef45a3f8979540b294ba14 (38.107.179.231) )

Texas Musician Learns What Talent Trust Is All About

Sam Moore — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:04:29 +0000

Austin, TX — When self-styled confessional singer-songwriter Elizabeth Wills of Austin takes the stage of La Grange’s The Bugle Boy on Saturday, February 13, for a show of folk-pop cuts from her new album, LOVE COMES HOME, she will be living a new concept in recording: an arrangement between artist and venue based on trust, giving back and paying forward, business, and the future of music and musicians’ careers.

Wills plays a CD Release Show at 8 p.m. on Valentine’s Eve in the intimate listening room called The Bugle Boy, 1051 N. Jefferson St. in La Grange — the venue from which the unique Talent Trust program springs, a program conceived by Bugle Boy founder and executive director Lane Gosnay that invests directly in select artists’ albums. Tickets: 800.838.3006; information: 979.968.9944; www.thebugleboy.org.

Elizabeth Wills

The Bugle Boys is an intimate 80-seat listening room with theater-style seating for residents of and visitors to the La Grange area, for true live music connoisseurs as well as newcomers to the thrill that comes when artist and audience really connect. It hosts concerts by new and established independent, professional singer-songwriters and developing artists in blues, rock, country, jazz, swing and other Americana genres. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, on select Sundays and on occasional Thursday nights. Check Web site for schedule.

Wills is the first participant in the Talent Trust, whereby she received finances for the studio recording from the privately funded non-profit Bugle Boy Foundation and in return pledged to donate back the funding through door receipts from performing regularly at The Bugle Boy in coming years and to mentor the next Trust recipient so that the program — as well as musicians’ creative integrity and the venue’s future show calendar — is nurtured and sustained.

The album by Wills, a winner in the prestigious B.W. Stevenson Songwriting Competition, was produced and engineered by noted Austin music maker Mark Hallman (Carole King, Eliza Gilkyson, Sara Hickman, Ani DiFranco) and recorded at Congress House Studios.

On tracks such as “One by One,” “Favorite Thing” and “Million Angels,” the singer-songwriter “breaks your heart and tugs at your fragile heartstrings, yet exquisitely captures your every emotion … [with] introspective lyrics of wide-eyed honesty, acoustic melodies and an ethereal voice that will haunt you for hours,” according to Sheila Dichoso of Campus Circle. Wills, who plays acoustic guitar and piano, was joined by Michael Lefkowitz on drums and Hallman on electric guitars, bass and organ. Hallman and Sara Hickman, Susan Gibson, Shelley King and Betty Soo added harmony vocals.

The new Elizabeth Wills CD package will also include live recordings from her Oct. 10, 2009, concert at The Bugle Boy. Distribution is by CD Baby.

Before the CD Release Show, Wills will given a Key to the City of La Grange by the Honorable Janet Moerbe, mayor, on Thursday, January 28, after a short performance for the Fayetteville Lions Club at The Bugle Boy.

At 8 p.m. Friday, February 5, Wills plays the Fifth Street Coffee House in Wesley Hall of First United Methodist Church, 800 W. 5th St. in Fort Worth. Information: 817.339.3887.

Wills, born in Fort Worth, wrote her first song on piano at age 6 and began singing in both her church and school choirs. She learned to play the guitar as a teen and by 18 she was playing open-mic nights, coffeehouses and clubs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. She recorded her first full-length album at 19 and has released a total of five. LOVE COMES HOME is her sixth. Other accolades include being named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition Finalist.

She’s performed on radio shows from New York to San Diego and showcased at the South By Southwest, Kerrville and Austin City Limits music festivals. Her songs have earned regular airplay on XM Satellite Radio; college radio in the Northeast, West, California and Texas (including Austin’s KUT); and NPR affiliates in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth. She’s shared stages with Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Carolyn Wonderland, Ruthie Foster, Sara Hickman, Janis Ian, Patrice Pike and Jimmie Vaughan, among others.

“Elizabeth Wills possesses the perfect intrinsic combination of talent and tenacity,” says The Bugle Boy’s Gosnay. “She is publicly poised to make LOVE COMES HOME a cornerstone in her career as an independent performing singer-songwriter. The Bugle Boy Foundation is proud to be in a position to assist Elizabeth as she continues to move her career forward.”

For more information, visit www.thebugleboy.org and www.elizabethwills.com.

Have a Happy and Musical New Year

Sam Moore — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:46:27 +0000

2009 was a great year for Texas music. It was also a very nice year for us at the Texas Music Journal. We launched our inaugural web site here. We interviewed some of the best and brightest of the Texas music scene. We met some of the stars of tomorrow. And somewhere along the way, we began to develop what we hope will be a long range plan to bring you the ultimate Texas music information and entertainment source.

We have a lot in store for our followers in 2010. An improved website will bring much more information. The ability to bring audio and video clips will make our site much more entertaining. And we have some surprises in store to unveil throughout the year.

We at Texas Music Journal would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2010. Keep those songs coming, and we promise to keep those Texas music stories flowing.

Larry W. Jones completes 6,000 song lyrics

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:12:28 +0000

Larry W. Jones, aka Kingwood Kowboy, has completed his writing of 6,000 song lyrics. Two collections of songs are currently available.

Real Country Lyrics is a collection of 2,000 classic and vintage country, cowboy and western songs, published in eight volumes of 250 song lyrics each. Island Song Lyrics is a collection of 4,000 island-themed songs written in the vintage style of “Territorial Hawaii” and other Pacific islands, which was popular in the early 1900′s when tropical dreams came true, published in eight volumes of 500 song lyrics each.

All his lyrics are properly copyrighted and the titles are registered through BMI, therefore ready for YOUR editing, arranging, music, recording and marketing. To view one or all, visit his website Kingwood Kowboy Song Lyrics

Recording the Beatles

John South — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:40:57 +0000

The Recording Academy® Texas Chapter in partnership with the Producers & Engineers Wing presents The P&E Tour 2009. The event in Houston will showcase Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan discussing their book “Recording the Beatles”.

The event will be at the Hard Rock Cafe, 502 Texas Avenue, Houston, Tx on Saturday, July 11th. The program itself will be from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, followed by a mixer from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

More information about the event can be found at the Recording Academy website.

Further information about the Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy can be found at the Recording Academy .