Subject: Are You Experienced?, a 1967 release (on Reprise Records) by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with cover photo & design by Karl Ferris

Considered by many music fans and critics as one of the (if not THE) greatest debut record from a rock-era artist, Are You Experienced (with or without the ?) also illustrated how records were produced, packaged and tailored for distribution to the world’s music marketplaces. Released in the U.K. in May, 1967, the record was a compilation of the fantastic music and performances that had been wowing crowds in London theaters up to that point. Those crowds included most of members of the leading musical acts of the time - including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Hollies, The Who (and many others) ­ who’d all come to watch and listen in stunned amazement to the trio’s musical magic.

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In the 40+ years (yes, that long ago!) since its release, the record’s influence on both the musicians who’ve striven “to play guitar like Hendrix” and those who create “Best Of” lists continues, with EVERY top guitarist today confirming Hendrix’s influence on their playing and the record’s positions on Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” (#15) in 2003 (following up its #5 ranking in 1987’s “Best Albums of the Last 20 Years” and #5 on a similarly-titled list published in 2001 by cable net VH-1. It is now also a national treasure in that it has also been selected to be permanently preserved by the Library of Congress’s National Rec! ording Registry and archive.

The performances included on the album include many compositions that would become Hendrix’s signatures, including “Purple Haze”, “Manic Depression”, “Hey Joe”, “The Wind Cries Mary”, “Fire ” and “Foxey Lady”. After 3 of the band’s singles hit the Top 10 charts in the U.K. and the incredible buzz following their mind-boggling performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, the act’s record label rushed to release the record in the U.S. by the end of August.

While the music on the LP represented the leading edge of musical prowess and technical sophistication, the packaging in the U.K. was not what Hendrix thought accurately matched the act’s psychedelic and forward-reaching nature, and so he took this complaint to manager Chas Chandler, who then called upon well-known London photographer Karl Ferris to work with him and the artist to come up with imagery for the upcoming U.S. release that would be a better match to the music. Karl was kind enough to provide Cover Stories with excerpts from an upcoming biography and coffee table book of his most-recognized photos so that we could give you the complete story about “the making of” the universally-recognized psychedelic image that was used on the cover of this seminal record. So, if you’ll ’scuse meŠ.

In the words of the photographer, Karl Ferris -

The first time saw I Jimi Hendrix was at his debut showcase of “The Experience” at the “The Bag O’Nails” club in London in January 1967. This was where I saw members of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Graham Nash, Eric Clapton and many other in the ‘rock elite’ watching awestruck as Jimi unleashed his powerful music on them. They were thunderstruck and completely blown away as evidenced by the awesome silence after he finished, followed by a thunderous applause, with all those jaded ‘rock stars’ going crazy over his performance. Pete Townsend turned to Clapton and said “We might as well go and work for the Post Office now”. Jimi was the talk of the London after thatŠ

Later, in May 1967, apparently Jimi saw my Hollies Evolution cover which had recently been released and said to his manager Chas Chandler that he wanted something similar - “something psychedelic” - on his Are You Experienced? album when it was to be released in the USA. He was not happy with its UK cover which, he said, ‘made him look like a fairy’, so he sent Chas off to contact me. We set up an appointment to meet at Jimi’s flat in London, and I took my portfolio along.

He loved my work - especially the psychedelic shots - and asked me if I would create a newalbum cover design for the Reprise Records release in the U.S. I said ‘yes’ and that I would have to absorb his music for inspiration. He said that I should accompany him to Olympic studios, were he was recording his next LP, titled Axis Bold As Love. I was totally mind-blown by what I heard there. The shear power of his psychedelic experimentation was awe inspiring, but when taking a break from playing he was a very nice, unaffected and a shy kind of a guy. He asked me where I was from and I mentioned that I had lived in Vancouver for 4 years. He was surprised and said that he also had lived in Vancouver with his grandmother for a while. We then started smoking joints and swapping Vancouver stories, and we got on fam! ously.

At 4am the next morning, I went home with some tapes of the session and the music from the UK Are You Experienced record to use for inspiration for the US album design. I played the music all day and raved about the music to my girlfriend Anke, saying that it sounded so “far out” that it seemed to come from outer space. This gave me the idea of the group traveling through space in a Biosphere on their way to bring their unworldly space music to earth, and so I then set about sketching some designs of this.

For the cover, I decided to use my new “infrared” technique which I had invented, which combines the photographic color reversal image with the heat signature (and, seemingly, the ability to see the Life Force of plant and human life - it even appears to capture auras !).

To create the spherical photo I decided to use a giant ‘fisheye’ lens invented by Nikon (which was much bigger than my Nikon F camera). I would shoot in Kew Botanical Gardens in London, where they had the kind of foliage that would react well to my “Infrared” technique.

Jimi loved this idea when I explained to him how this technique worked, and as I leave nothing to chance and design all the elements of my album cover shots (I had fashion and styling experience from my work in fashion photography), I wanted to pick out the clothes that the group members were going to wear in the shot. I first went to Jimi’s flat to see what he had, and when I looked in his cupboard I saw a painted jacket that an artist had given to him, saying “I painted this for you”. It had large double-pupil eyes painted on the chest, smaller eyes circling the back and psychedelic swirls everywhere else. I said, “This is it! The eyes represent the ‘mirror to the soul’ and the psychedelic vision”. Jimi agreed and said he felt is was part of him and called it the “Gypsy Eyes” jacket.

Later that evening. when Jimi was coming out of the shower before the gig later that night, I was amazed to see his hair all knapped out, as he would normally wear it like the English guys, straightened out and lacquered down into a long ‘Beatle cut’. I said to him, ‘Why don’t you wear it like that, it looks far out’, but he said ‘it looks like shit!’ I countered ‘No man, it looks unique and spacey ­ it’s just what we need for the cover’. His hair just needed to be evened up and so, at my suggestion, his girlfriend trimmed it into a ball and we had what was later called an “Afro”, after the Sudanese Africans who had always worn their hair like that. The next day, when Jimi’s bandmates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell saw his hair, they really liked it, so I suggested that they have it, too. My hair stylis! t Johanna permed their hair into “Afros” so they would have a uniform look and we then went shopping in Kings Road boutiques for outfits for the guys.

When everything was ready, we hired a Rolls Royce limo and drove down to Kew Gardens, where I found the perfect tree which had foliage that reached the ground. I had the guys stand back inside the leaves and shot them through the fisheye lens from a low angle, to emphasize Jimi’s hands. We didn’t shoot long as we had arrived late and we ran out of light, but we returned the following day and shot some more. After the session, to celebrate we walked across the road to an ancient Elizabethan Pub and downed many ales and smoked joints in the garden (it was a good thing that we had a chauffer to drive us back to London!).

When I got the shots back from Kodak, I was amazed and pleased with spherical fisheye picture and the colors that had been created in it. As it turned out, the shot used on the Are You Experienced? U.S. cover was the first frame on the first roll - it was just meant to be ­ and another fisheye image from that session would later become the international Smash Hits photo cover.

The Kodak lab manager had great praise for the pictures when I picked them up, so when I next took them over to Jimi’s house, he was very pleased and excited and said that the shot was really psychedelic and truly represented his music. ‘You are the only photographer that is doing with photography what I am doing with music - knocking down the barriers and going far out beyond the limits’. He said that he wanted this image for the covers of his U.S. and international releases of his debut album and that I should design the whole album cover for submission to Warner/ Reprise Records. I said that I would be delighted. He then called up Mitch, Noel and Chas to come over and see the new album cover shots. Everyone was very pleased, as they were seen as the perfect images to represent “The Experience” worldwide.! We planned a big celebration party that night. We took some LSD and went to the Bag O’Nails club (where Jimi jammed with Jeff Beck) and then took some groupies back to Jimi’s flat and partied all night.

The next day, I began work on designing the album cover. I started with the ’spheres flying through space’ concept, but as this would be a very wide format, this would only work on a double gatefold cover. I found out from Chas Chandler that Reprise was being cheap and would only produce a single cover, so I had to rethink the design. I began with the approved fisheye shot, over which I placed a gold leaf matte with a hole cut to fit the circular photograph, and added purple filigree psychedelic lettering printed on the gold metallic matte, which would make the lettering also seem metallic. I had an artist friend of mine do the lettering, for which I paid £20 UK to own.

I then organized a photo session in my studio for the back cover shot. I wanted to make a group portrait - emphasizing the group’s Afro hair styles ­ and so I shot it in black and white with their hair backlit to make ‘halos’ around their heads. The guys loved that shot also.

I then made a printer-ready ’slick’ of the finished design and sent it to Reprise Records for printing the final cover. Unfortunately, they decided to pursue a cheaper route and not use the gold matte design layer, but to print it all together - photo, lettering and border all in one layer - using gold ink instead for the gold matte surround.

Disappointingly, by choosing this cheaper arrangement, the label’s Art Director was given the AD credit, although it was still my same design and art direction. When Jimi saw the release, he was very upset, as it lost a lot of its visual impact he wanted by using the gold ink border instead of the metallic gold matte surround layer, and also because they had claimed the Art Direction credit. He was very apologetic to me and disappointed, but as it was already out, there was nothing he could do about it, but he said that he wanted to use one of the studio portrait shots for the Axis Bold As Love album that he was currently working on. He said that although the design for that record was by someone else (featuring a Hindu poster design from India), they wanted to use my head shot of the group as an illustration to replace the Hindu god heads that were featured in the center. And so, as it turned out, with the photos I supplied to Reprise for the cover of 1968’s Electric Ladyl! and album - the final ‘Experience’ album that was released - my images were on all three of the U.S. ‘Experience’ albums issued in Jimi’s lifetime.

I was fortunate and am very proud of my association and friendship with Jimi. He was a prince of a man and we spent many creative hours together discussing philosophy, art, and music. I was also fortunate to have been able to watch many of his mesmerizing performances in the studio and on stage.

He was the ultimate performer - you just couldn’t take your eyes off him. He once told me that “the music played him”, but he played the guitar with total mastery, with every inspiration that came into his mind instantly transmitted through his fingers to caress, slide, strum, beat and squeeze the music out of his guitar. Like a wizard, he would move around his instrument concocting musical magic that would entrance everyone who heard it. He had perfect pitch and timing. He would first play the melody and then go further out in his improvisation than anyone else could, and all the while you could still hear the melody, he could immerse himself deeply in a psychedelic, electronic improvisation and then suddenly, on the beat, he’d bring it back to the melody of the tune. He was the perfect combination of! soul and technique - a total genius, an Amadeus Mozart for the Twentieth Century.

Here is a recreation (”AYX Alternate Bubbles”) of the very first double-gatefold cover design that Jimi’s new US record company (Reprise) did not want to do, allowing him only a conventional single-cover design.

About the photographer, Karl Ferris -

Karl Ferris is known as “the Innovator of Psychedelic Photography”. A photographer to the “British Rock Elite” - Eric Clapton, Cream, Donovan, The Hollies and Jimi Hendrix - Ferris was invited as their personal photographer to create their “Images”. He was given an insider access to the “Experience” that defined the 60’s and the world.

As a World War II baby, who grew up in Hastings, England in the 50’s, Ferris learned two things that would later affect his life, the first being the history of Hastings, conquered by the Normans in 1066. This peaked an interest in this medieval period of history and he would bicycle around Norman castles and fantasize about battles, knights, chivalry and heraldry. The second thing he learned was an appreciation of art, having a showing of his early paintings at the Hastings Museum. He later went on to study at Hastings College of Art focusing on the Pre-Raphaelite style of painting which would later influence his psychedelic photography of the 60’s.

After school and with dreams of traveling to India, Ferris signed up as a steward on a P&O liner that went to Australia via India. After returning to England he served two years with the Royal Air Force for his National Service (Conscription) as an aerial photographer. During this period he became friends with a fellow conscriptee, who was a member of a Liverpool Mersey Beat group, and he was introduced for the first time to this type of music.

He was invited back to Liverpool to see a new group - The Beatles - who were appearing at the Cavern Club and was introduced to them. He was then hooked on “Beat” music from which the Beatles took their name. After his military service, Ferris immigrated to Vancouver, Canada working as an assistant to master photographer Harold Nygard. From him Karl learned the skills of composition, form and texture. He also began an involvement in the “Beatnik” lifestyle and began hanging out in “coffee bars” listening to poetry readings and progressive jazz of such artists as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coletrane and Ornette Coleman. He shot his first music subjects at these gatherings for local newspapers and magazines. He also began to take fashion shots of girl friends and models, building up a Portfolio. Nygard told him that he had a real talent in this, but should return to London where the Mod Fashion scene was going on.

In 1964 Karl returned to England and the happening Beat scene. Ferris received commissioned work as a fashion photographer for Teen magazine “19″ and later Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, French Mode and Marie Claire. These commissions brought him to such locations as Paris, Cannes, Munich, Ibiza and Morocco. When he wasn’t working he would join into the “Scene”, after meeting up (and eventually dating) Denmark’s Top Superstar model of the time, Karl was introduced to a Pop group called the ” The King Bees” who invited him to sing “Rolling Stones” cover songs with them, so he began touring in and around Copenhagen doing this.

He eventually returned to England for a “shoot” offer with Vogue. The Beatles had just released ” Rubber Soul” and Karl had the chance to meet up with their official photographer, Robert Freeman, who encouraged Ferris to experiment with different styles of images - which he promptly did - in his unique psychedelic style. On a trip to the Spanish island of “Ibiza” he met and began shooting the “Fool” - Simon and Marijke’s Innovative Psychedelic Fashion designs. They were eventually printed in the fashion section of the London times. This was the first time such psychedelic photography and fashions had been seen anywhere. He and the Fool were invited to come to London to shoot some more “Psychedelic” fashion features.

From this Ferris received many commissions. He also began working on “Psychedelic Happening shows” combining projections of colored liquid and photographs over freeform dancers. The likes of Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, Eric Clapton, T Rex, Pink Floyd and John Lennon dropped by and began participating, by playing music, with these shows. Ferris was also invited to do a stage light show for Pink Floyd, which is believed to be the first one ever done in England in 1966.

Ferris met with Jimi Hendrix in 1967 through Chas Chandler, who “discovered” Hendrix. Karl received the compliment of a lifetime when Hendrix remarked to him, on seeing his portfolio, “You’re doing with photography what I’m doing with music - going far out beyond the limits”.

Karl also created the Album cover images for Donovan’s “Gift From A Flower To A Garden”, “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”, For The Little Ones” and “Hurdy Gurdy Donovan” and for The Hollies’ “Evolution”. He was also instrumental in creating their “Images” for the shoots, which then became their recognized public image. During the years 1967-69, Karl Ferris was one of the preferred photographers to the British Rock elite, shooting also many PR photos for them.

In 2003 Ferris began his quest to re-visit a time in music that defined a generation with, “The Ferris Experience” Happening. Exhibiting the famous Record Album cover photographs and a Psychedelic multimedia video and slide show, opening in Vancouver, Canada at The Exhibitions Gallery . It was be the first time in 35 years that such an exhibition had been unveiled. In 2005, Karl’s Happening show and photo gallery exhibit began a tour of major cities in the USA starting with the San Francisco Art Exchange (continuing in Toronto and other cities in 2006). Also in 2006, a filmed documentary called “Psychedelic Revolution - The Karl Ferris Experience” went into production (to coincide with the 40th anniversary of “the Summer of Love”). To watch this 17-minute documentary on YouTube, please click on the following link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp54sT9qGQk. In 2008, books of his Hendrix and Donovan photographs (including DVDs) will be published.

All images featured in this Cover Story are Copyright 1967 and 2008, Karl Ferris and Karl Ferris Photography.

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Songwriters of every genre converge on Music Row for The Nashville SongWriters Festival on the third week of June, each year. It’s part festival, part music conference, part business networking opportunity and part gathering of old friends. Tune smiths share their original music on multiple outdoor stages and Open Sing Rings located directly on Music Row. Writers can also attend classes, workshops, and Q & A sessions about the craft and business of songwriting between jam sessions. Another fest feature is the Open House held by participating music related businesses where writers drop by to ask questions, exchange samples or discuss what part they play in the music biz. The live performances, education and Open House are concurrently running events. Attendees take in all or parts and can play it by ear.

“The fest is open to all forms of songwriting, from the novice to the professional. There are no pre qualifications to play or attend. Everyone is encouraged to come as they are. All attendees will have the opportunity to share their words or music and find their place in the mix. The festival is not a contest or competition which makes for a more relaxing creative atmosphere,”says festival producer Cornelius “Popcorn” Robertson. There is no set registration fee to attend the fest, Each individual determines how they can contribute to help be a part of the music magic.”

“Last year Curb Music, Artist Partners and others helped out with stage locations. Staff writers from Sony/BMG, Warner-Chappell/Ash Street Music, Curb and many others chipped in some top notch songwriting talent, Brian White, Dillon Dixon, Don Poythress, Billy Montana to name a few.” Popcorn continues, “Industry professionals Dave Gibson, Stan Web, and others hit writers hosted sessions at the Writers Retreat. Sure Fire Music participated in the Open House and so on. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC writers all came together. Publishers, recording studios, producers, song pluggers, managers, and others were in attendance as a broad spectrum of the industry, past, present and future were there getting the feel.”

“This June 20-22, another historical gathering begins to shape up as Stella Parton (27+ charted songs) to Guitar master Boomer Castleman (inventor of the Palm Pedal guitar) throw down at this years congregation to celebrate the spirit of the songwriter. Many special guest and surprises await but the real featured writer is you, as we glimpse into the past, present and future of songwriting together.”

Sign up’s are open for the 2008 season. For more information visit www.SongWritersFestival.com, call 615-424-1491 or email Popcorn@SongWritersFestival.com

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If you’re like most people, you probably think that you need a mind-expanding experience like you need a hole in the head. There are others ­ artists, intrepid explorers of the mind ­ who would say the opposite, that you need a hole in the head in order to have drug-free, altered states of consciousness and to experience the clarity and exhilaration of perception that one did as a child.

The act of boring a hole in the skull for such purposes is called trepanation. This subject is thoroughly explored in the documentary film A Hole In The Head, directed by Eli Kabillio and conceived and produced by Cevin Soling, leader of the post everything rock band The Love Kills Theory. Inspired by an offhand comment and following a trail of rumors, Mr. Soling discovered a group of people, trepanauts if you will, who practice this form of surgery that had been prevalent in ancient civilizations found in Africa, South America and the Far East. This surgery is thought to increase blood flow to the brain thus making it function the way it does before the skull completely forms and hardens with age.

In this film we hear comments from those who have had trepanation by choice ­ and one who had it by accident ­ and swear by its benefits, as well as those in the scientific community who think it is a bogus and dangerous practice used by wackos who are just after the next high. It is a fascinating film that does what documentaries are meant to do: bore through the flesh and bone of a topic and explore its nooks and crannies in the pursuit of truth.

[Mark Kirby] Why did you produce this movie?

[Cevin Soling] I had read an interview with Paul McCartney in Musician magazine where he talked about having dinner with John Lennon, who suggested that they both get trepanned. Lennon was always on the look out for all sorts of ways to “expand consciousness” and exorcize demons while McCartney, who was also curious, tended to be more skeptical, as he was in this instance. Generally, interviewers always asked the same questions to the Beatles, and hence, gotten the same answers, so this reference to trepanation was fascinating for being an aberration in addition to its content.

The subject reappeared for me when I saw Donna Kossy’s book, Kooks, where she seemed to indicate that while the practice is extremely unconventional, there might actually be some benefit from it. That was the part that intrigued me since I am not interested in pathology or freak shows, but am fascinated by intellectual potential. After doing further research, I learned that skulls have been found all over the world with holes cut into them dating back as far as 10,000 years, and that these holes were made while the people were alive and most lived many years with a hole. There are theories as to why it was done, but it still persists as an anthropological riddle in the situations where it wasn’t done in response to head trauma. In addition, there weren’t any conclusive studies on the effects of trepanation on brain function and I wanted to see if there was a correlation and if, perhaps, this might have been a reason for prehistoric trepanation.

Spoiler alert: in this film you will see a lot of skulls with holes. Some are damn big, too. And there will be blood, so this film is not for those who are particularly squeamish. But the filmmaking style is so academic and unassuming, while still being entertaining, that you feel like you’re watching a BBC documentary and not some reality T.V. show. One never gets the sense that there is a filmmaker smirking at or mocking the people interviewed. This should be normal in a documentary but with FOX news, CNN and the advocacy style of Michael Moore (³Fahrenheit 911,” ³Sicko²) lowering or raising the bar, depending on one’s point of view, this fairness stands out, and refreshingly so.

[Mark Kirby] Tell me about the director, Eli Kabillio. How did he become involved in your project?

[Cevin Soling] Eli was a friend of a friend who I hired to do the camera, lighting and sound. I had the idea, and tracked down all the people and set up and conducted all of the interviews and did all the research. Once we completed filming, I had no idea what you were supposed to do next because I had no film background at that time. Eli was so intrigued by the project that he ran with it without any expectations for payment and oversaw the editing, including tracking down stock footage. Eli got the director credit even though the project was mine because of the post production work he did where he gave the movie its form. He also is responsible for getting it sold to Discovery, so I am very appreciative for that, too.

After that project, Eli and I became partners and friends. I don’t think I have ever met anyone with his work ethic. He hardly ever sleeps. We worked together on a few more projects and then focused on our own things independently. In addition to the many films he directed and produced, he handled all the company business and has a family. Recently, we amicably went our separate ways and I formed Spectacle Films.

[Mark Kirby] How does this film project relate to your philosophical interests, especially Situationism?

[Cevin Soling] I think the goal of philosophy, or any intellectual discipline, is to improve the human condition. I see the Situationist movement as an attempt to raise awareness so people can improve the quality of their lives and trepanation is also an earnest attempt to find a way to improve one’s state.

[Mark Kirby] The people who have had the surgery in the movie are such characters. How did you find them?

[Cevin Soling] Those people were the pioneers. They were the first to study the practice and perform the procedure on themselves. Their names were easy to find since their efforts have been documented, it just took a bit of detective work to track them all down and persistence to get them to agree to talk on camera after they had been treated so unfairly by the press.

[Mark Kirby] The people who were interviewed seem sane and intelligent. How were they off-camera?

[Cevin Soling] Without exception, they were all incredibly friendly, generous, and enthusiastic about their lives in general. They are sane, intelligent, and warmhearted people. Some were initially guarded about discussing trepanation due to brutal press they had received in the past, and I was proud to present their positions without bias.

[Mark Kirby] How would a person who wants to find a doctor or hospital who is willing to do ­ or knows about ­ this procedure?

[Cevin Soling] Generally, they can’t and that is a big issue for the people who advocate this procedure. There was a doctor in Mexico who performed this on demand, but his practice got shut down as a result.

[Mark Kirby] Do you feel that the skepticism toward trepanation is rooted in actual science or is it part of our culture’s mistrust and disdain for consciousness raising and exploration?

[Cevin Soling] That is an excellent question. I think it is both. First, the science isn’t there because it hasn’t been something most researchers have had the inclination to study. This does not mean that science won’t someday prove (or disprove) the efficacy of the procedure. In fact, one of the people who had the procedure done has been spearheading research with a prominent Russian physician that has been yielding some promising results. Even if that research leads to an article published in JAMA, I don’t think there would be a response to make the practice available.

There are several reasons for this: one is due to what Thomas Kuhn described as the need for a paradigm shift with regards to scientific revolutions, and the other is that doctors are only trained to repair something that is not functioning properly. The notion of performing a procedure that provides enhancement is typically seen as taboo. Whether that harkens back to a response to Nazi medical experimentation or fear over opening a can of worms with regards to biological eugenics, there are certainly reasons for concern.

The argument levied against that by the trepanned is that the procedure is a corrective restoration of consciousness to the time before the sutures on our skull sealed around the age of eighteen. In general, though, consciousness is not seen to fall within the domain of the medical profession beyond whether you are conscious or unconscious. For politicians, the only socially acceptable way to alter ones consciousness is through religion.

[Mark Kirby] The subjects in the film and the filmmakers themselves specifically request that you don’t try this at home. It could be dangerous and is probably not covered by health insurance. Does it work? Check out the film and hear what the people who have done it have to say and judge for yourself. And remember this: medical science, at various times over the years has stated with complete assuredness the following concepts: black people have smaller skulls and brains than people of European descent, Puerto Ricans are a mongrel race with degenerate genes, women are emotionally unstable and depressed because they lack a penis, and insanity is caused by demons. Okay, that last one might be true.

A Hole In The head is now available on DVD, visit www.holeintheheadmovie.com

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AirPlay Direct also has over 2,100 radio station members, with current membership spanning 90 countries globally. And to date, AirPlay Direct has now delivered over 1,500,000 digital packages on behalf of our members saving them over $15,000,000 in the process.

“I am very pleased at the on-going and exponential growth AirPlay Direct is experiencing. It has taken us three years and a tremendous amount of effort by all involved (including our members) to grow the company to this point. 2008 is going to be a very big year for AirPlay Direct as the music industry continues to evolve and embrace digital delivery as never before.” Robert Weingartz, CEO / AirPlay Direct

AirPlay Direct is currently looking for strong strategic partnerships and investors to accelerate our growth and technology initiatives. Interested parties should respond to office@airplaydirect.com .

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MusicDish will host two video premieres this coming March on MusicWorld3D.com, a video-game style user interface designed to provide a totally new way to experience and shop for new music, network and showcase, advertise, and perform live on a global stage. MusicDIsh has been working closely with Musicworld3D’s “Virtual Venue” concert series to help transfer the popularity of virtual communities to the world of music.

“Virtual events have offered our artists a unique opportunity to interact with fans who may never have the chance to witness a live performance, let alone chat with their favorite musicians,” said MusicDish’s Eric de Fontenay.

WHAT: Paul Nash’s “Jazz Cycles”
WHEN: March 20, 9:00 PM
WHERE: Jamlantis - Underwater Concert Venue, MusicWorld3D.com
ABOUT: Manhattan New Music Project (MNMP) Records Presents Paul Nash’s “Jazz Cycles” performance at New York’s Cachaca Jazz & Samba Club last year will be screened on March 20th, featuring a special group of performers associated with MNMP, including Shane Endsley (trumpet), Bruce Williamson (soprano & alto sax), Tim Ries (tenor sax), Jim Ridl (piano), Vic Juris (guitar), Jeff Carney (bass), Grisha Alexiev (drums). Jazz Cycles’ producer Julia Reinhardt will be on hand for a night of great jazz and rare insight into this incredible jazz composer and performer’s legacy to his lifelong career.

WHAT: Hole In The Head Film Debut
WHEN: March 27, 9:00 PM
WHERE: Jamlantis - Underwater Concert Venue, MusicWorld3D.com
ABOUT: Cevin Soling, producer for the cult film ‘A Hole In The Head,’ will be on-hand for its virtual premiere screening in the MusicWorld3D virtual community on Thursday, March 27th at 9:00 PM EST. Cevin will introduce the hour-long film about trepanation - the process of boring a hole in the skull - as well as take questions from the avatar audience. The film won the Best Documentary Award at both Atlantic City Film Festival and Brooklyn International Film Festival, and was later broadcast on the Discovery and Learning Channels.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER MUSICWORLD3D
1) Click here to download the 3D browser. If the yellow Information Bar comes up, right click it and allow the download. If you’re asked to Run or Save it, go ahead and click “Run” to install it after the download completes.
2) After the install is complete you can sign into the 3d world and click the sign in front of you to go to the Virtual Concert.
3) Please follow this link to sign up as a citizen for more options (It’s FREE!!!). However you can visit as a tourist without joining if you want to check it out before joining.

MusicDish Network is the artist development department of MusicDish LLC, a leading music magazine publisher and marketing firm, combining content and brand development, content syndication, online street teaming, relationship & viral marketing as well as fan management tools. Our music business magazines, MusicDish.com and Mi2N.com, reach over 50,000 subscribing industry professionals through its newsletters and sponsor major conferences around the world such as MIDEM, CMW and Popkomm.

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This first-of-its-kind DCIA event is scheduled for Friday March 14th at the Princeton Club of New York, and is being held in conjunction with Media Summit New York (MSNY).

“We are pleased to announce a very exciting agenda of keynotes and panel sessions featuring industry leaders from all over the world as well as plans for a highly topical conference luncheon,” said DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty in making the announcement.

MusicDish Network Sponsor

“In addition to our primary focus at this global gathering on commercial development, we will also invest time to discuss the renewed debate over net neutrality, exploring the latest arguments from content providers and ISPs, and current actions by regulators and consumer advocates responding to these forces,” he added.

P2P MARKET CONFERENCE keynotes include BitTorrent’s CEO, Doug Walker; VeriSign’s VP, Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Steve Condon; RawFlow’s President & Co-Founder, Mikkel Dissing; Pando Networks’ CEO, Robert Levitan; Move Networks’ President & CEO, John Edwards; Zattoo’s Co-Founder, Chairman & CTO, Sugih Jamin; 1-Click Media’s CEO, Arthur Madrid; Trispen Technologies’ Founder & CEO, Jaco Botha; TVU Networks’ EVP, Business Development, Kap Shin; Microsoft’s Director, P2P Networking, Windows, See-Mong Tan; and FTI Consulting¹s Senior Managing Director, Bruce Benson.

The conference luncheon will feature a report from the P4P Working Group (P4PWG) by its Co-Chairs Pando Networks’ Laird Popkin and Verizon Communications’ Doug Pasko; and a special address by QTRAX’s Chairman & CEO Allan Klepfisz.

Panelists include Abacast’s Mike King, AHT International’s Mohan Nihalani, Azoogle Ads’ Don Mathis, Brand Asset Digital’s Joey Patuleia, DigitalContainers’ Chip Venters, DoubleV3’s Benjamin Masse, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz’s Rick Kurnit, JamboMedia’s Rob Manoff, Javien Digital Payment Solutions’ Leslie Poole, KlikVU’s Lowell Feuer, Manatt’s Bill Heberer, MediaDefender’s Chris Gillis, Media Global Intertainment’s Jakob Schwertz, MediaPass Network’s Daniel Harris, Oversi’s Eitan Efron, PeerApp’s Frank Childs, P2P Cash’s Tom Meredith, Rebel Digital’s Robin Kent, RightsFlow Entertainment Group’s Patrick Sullivan, SafeNet’s David Hahn, TAG Strategic’s Ted Cohen, and Ultramercial’s Dana Jones. More panel speakers will be announced.

There will also be a VIP networking cocktail reception with live entertainment.

The P2P MARKET CONFERENCE will highlight progress in advancing new business models and revenue generation at various levels of the emerging distributed computing industry.

In the business-to-consumer (B2C) arena, developments are now moving beyond conventional ad-supported, subscription, and paid download methods of monetizing the distribution of copyrighted works, as value propositions shift in response to increasingly empowered users.

In the business-to-business (B2B) arena, work is also now underway that similarly reflects the value of improved quality of service (Qos), speed of delivery, and dramatically reduced costs for participants at multiple points in the distribution chain, who are taking advantage of the latest P2P-relating offerings.

The P2P MARKET CONFERENCE is being held in conjunction with Media Summit New York (MSNY), and registration for both events yields a substantial savings for attendees. For more information, please visit www.dcia.info/activities/p2pmcny2008.

Pre-registration rates, which save attendees up to $325 end March 7th. To register please visit www.dcia.info/activities/p2pmcny2008/register.html.

P2P MARKET CONFERENCE sponsors include FTI Consulting, Javien Digital Payment Solutions, and QTRAX. For sponsor packages and speaker information, please contact Karen Kaplowitz, DCIA Member Services, at 888-890-4240 or karen@dcia.info.

About the DCIA

The Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA) is a non-profit trade organization focused on commercial development of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and related distributed computing technologies.

DCIA Membership is organized into three Groups: Content, Operations, and Platform. The DCIA conducts working groups and special projects, such as the P4P Working Group (P4PWG), P2P Digital Watermark Working Group (PDWG), Consumer Disclosures Working Group (CDWG), P2P PATROL, and the P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE). It also publishes the weekly online newsletter DCINFO.

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Psychedelic rock in the 1960’s had two edges and came from two different strains. One was the heavy and intense Acid Rock of bands like Buddy Miles’ Electric Flag, The Zombies, and countless other fuzzed-out, guitar-led bands going on sonic mental trips. The other strain of that period’s music followed the hippies’ path, a search for and return to a lost innocence and authenticity. Some artists like Jerry Garcia found jug band blues and mountain swing. Others, like Donovan and the British band Pentangle, mined the rich tradition of Emerald Isle folk music (which touched on Celtic myth and magical other-worldly creatures like fairies and sprites, things seen sometimes on extreme doses of LSD, perhaps fueling curiosity about the music). It is this strain that Hobbyhorse has pursued.

Hobbyhorse starts with these influences and creates an individual sound. It is organic in the sense that the duo — comprising Annie and Phil, who play guitars and a variety of other instruments including harpsichord, organ, and percussion of various sorts — sound natural, like they’re playing in the living room of a cottage in the woods for friends, instead of for an “audience” of “fans.” Their new CD, Break in the Clouds, captures the essence of psychedelia, that other-worldly concern with mythology, the occult, the fantastic, and visions from altered states (chemically induced or not). Lyrical storytelling is accompanied by music that is cinem! atic. The CD’s lush instrumentation and Annie’s dark angel voice give the listener more with repeated plays - a disembodied guitar twang there, a chord here, organ drones that sound like they’re coming from another room in your home. The songs are memorable, particularly the sweet “Good Morning Moon,” the surreal “Museum,” and my favorite, the eerie “Melesina.”

[Mark Kirby] What are your earliest musical memories?

[Annie] My earliest musical memories are of listening to 70’s am radio. I loved so many of those songs. The songs of that era often told stories. Even though many of them were sort of corny, they were so sincere.

[Phil] My parents and sisters played classical music with varying degrees of skill. When I was a six or seven, my grandmother gave me a transistor radio and I carried it with me wherever I went. But even before that, I listened to my parent’s records of folk songs by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and the Weavers. I could memorize long, complicated songs way before I could even read. In the late 1960’s, I used to listen to underground FM radio. “Jelly Pudding” was the name of the show, hosted by “Michael Xanadu.” He played the latest, hippest bands from San Francisco, England and other psychedelic scenes. Those sounds really captured my 10-year-old imagination!

Hobbyhorse performs ‘Lullaby’

Hobbyhorse performs “Lullaby” live for the Open Mix Documentary (www.theopenmic.net) at Freight & Salvage Coffee House on April 3, 2007.

[Mark Kirby] Break in the Clouds opens with “Lullaby,” a gentle song that has the wispy yet earnest spirit of the summer of ‘67. The guitar comes in with delicate chords backed up by the subtle percussion of tar (a middle eastern frame drum) organ and bass. Annie’s voice is delicate, ethereal, singing words that conjure lost innocence: “Snake in the grass - little lion in the tree / My love holds tightly on to me / The sun comes up behind my closed eyes / Dream of a lullaby.” The full effect of classic psychedelia is aided by the sitar that enters half way through the song, creeping up on the listener like ’shrooms after a full meal.

“Angus Og” continues in the same vein and captures the psychedelic feeling musically by using electric sitar to play the opening musical theme; organ and cymbals adorn this simple song about the life a woman dreamed of and loved by Angus Og, the Celtic god of love. The lyrics, voice and instrumental textures are akin to painting with rich yet opaque watercolors: its simplicity veils its subtle complexity.

What are your individual musical pasts?

[Annie] I took uninspiring piano lessons when I was a kid. It wasn’t until I was at college that I picked up a guitar. I did it because my friends all played instruments. I learned a few chords and within a couple of weeks I figured out, from a folk songbook, how songs were constructed. I wrote my first song before I could hardly play. It was one of the most satisfying moments of my life.

[Phil] In 1965, I used to pretend to play guitar along with Rolling Stones records using an old tennis racket. My parents noticed this and bought me a real guitar, and signed me up for guitar lessons. One of my early guitar teachers was a jazz player and he taught me to improvise. So I was always more into playing my own thing than into copying anyone else’s style.

[Mark Kirby] What were the first groups you were a part of like?

[Annie] My first group was also the first incarnation of Hobbyhorse. I sang my songs and a friend played guitar, he played bass. The problem was that he could not really play. We had one gig at one of his friend’s parties. He got stoned before the gig which made him even worse. I abandoned him there and never played with or talked to him again.

[Phil] My first band was with some 4th grade school friends. We played “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” (by the Monkees), “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” and a few other songs like that. I played through an amplifier that my father built for me. Our drummer had a snare drum and one cymbal. Our keyboardist played my little sister’s Magnus Chord Organ. We practiced a lot and performed once or twice in a community variety show. When I was 10, I played in a rock band with some older kids who were 13. We had a girl bass player and a Hammond organ along with drums and guitars. We played songs like “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and “Little Bit of Soul,” not to mention the classic “In the Midnight Hour.” I was in several other bands through my teenage years and played lots of Bar Mitvahs in that period.

[Mark Kirby] What are your musical and artistic influences?

[Annie] The mood of many of my songs is influenced by the mystical sound of Donovan’s Sunshine Superman record and the haunting sounds of Pink Floyd. Some of the female singer/songwriters I am influences by are Suzanne Vega, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. Led Zeppelin has made me more aware of riffs. There is nothing like a great riff! I have studied middle eastern percussion and have developed my own percussion style through these studies. However, with all of these influences, the truth is that I feel I have little control over how I sound and write. I have found that accepting my own limitations and natural expression has made it possible for me to be a musician, writer and artist.

[Phil] Psychedelic rock from the 1960’s was my first serious influence and obsession. In the 1970’s, I discovered John Fahey and he had a profound influence on my guitar work. An older cousin introduced me to late period John Coltrane, and along with Miles Davis (Bitches Brew, in particular), that opened up yet another direction. Karl Berger had an enduring influence on me through my brief period at Creative Music Studio, in Woodstock, NY circa 1977. I have listened deeply to almost every style of American music, most European music, a lot of Indian music, and at least a little bit of music from every other culture in the world. I steal ideas and concepts from it all.

[Mark Kirby] How did you arrive at the style of music you are currently playing?

[Annie] It was a natural collaboration between Phil and I. It is a combination of my songwriting style and Phil’s playing style. We both love the dreamy, psychedelic sounds of the 60’s and the haunting sounds of music like Pink Floyd. Our sound comes from these influences.

[Phil] Hobbyhorse music is the sound of me and Annie each doing what we do best, and loving what we do. Hobbyhorse plays to Annie’s strengths as a songwriter, and at the same time allows me freedom to create music that sounds the way I have always felt music should sound.

[Annie] I named the band Hobbyhorse after the Dada art movement that took place during WW1; Dada is another word for Hobbyhorse. Hobbyhorse also means an obsession. Music is not a hobby to us. Everything else is a hobby. Music is the real thing. Eventually the most important meaning of Hobbyhorse emerged: It stands for the freedom of the imagination. We describe our music as psychedelic folk/rock. Sometimes we call it progressive folk/rock. It is intricate and poetic.

[Phil] In the first psychedelic era, a door opened between the everyday world and the eternal world. It was like a very brief but very bright spark, and the spark lit a lot of fires that are still burning today. Hobbyhorse music lives in that door between the worlds and acts as a conductor for that spark

[Mark Kirby] Magical worlds are evoked in most of the songs on this CD. “Museum” speaks of a museum with magical instruments, a place that could exist only in this twilight zone. Yet contemplating such a place, even in a song, helps to open the mind to other possibilities. Isn’t that the essence of psychedelia?

“Melasina” is the darkest and most eerie of Hobbyhorse’s songs. The music immediately conjures images of the Red Room in the Black Lodge, the place of evil in another dimension, on the show Twin Peaks. Musically, this song captures a feeling of other-worldly dementia. Just as on the Twin Peaks T.V. show and the (horribly underrated) movie, violence against women by one familiar, with all the attendant symbolism of evil attacking innocence, weak against strong, and the assault on innocence. The music captures this. Dissonant keyboards and disembodied guitars, sounding like distant thunder and winds, cascade from the first note.

The voice sings a virtual monotone over a patchwork atmosphere of descending ringing keyboard chords, guitars that sound like buzzing bees, and sounds that evoke the feel of vast spaces like the ocean: ” Your hands felt so familiar / As they caressed my cheek / Suddenly, transformed with rage / They pulled me down deep / . . . The wind blows against the waves / Midnight falls into the sea / I swim against memories / That darken my dreams.” The concise lyrics and emotional and visual music combines to make a virtual movie in the listener’s mind, like a passage of good prose.

Your website mentions that you are influenced by myths. Which culture’s myths do you draw from? Why and how do you apply them to your music?

[Annie] I write songs inspired by myths from anywhere around the world and from any time. They are timeless stories. Writing the song helps teach me about the myth. I let my mind dive into the story. I extract the essence of a character or event. Writing the song helps the story come alive. I usually write the music first and then the story will fit in like the pieces of a puzzle coming together.

[Phil] Many of the songs I write are allegorical and use a lot of alchemical imagery. I am most familiar with classical Greek and Roman mythology, with Egyptian mythology being a more recent interest. I have also studied many world religions and draw from those traditions.

Hobbyhorse performs ‘Yellow Feather’

[Mark Kirby] When you perform live, do you have just the two of you or do you have a larger band?

[Annie] Currently, we perform only as an acoustic duo. The sound is unique and different from our recorded sound. On the recording we play all the instruments ourselves, but overlap them in an arrangement. And we play some electric and some acoustic instruments on our recordings. We plan to form a band in the near future so that we can have the flexibility to play as a band or duo.

[Mark Kirby] You spent about a year on the new record? Why so long?

[Annie] The CD formed gradually through experimenting with home recording. We were recording song by song and then realized one day that we had an album. During that time we also designed the website. It was a lot of work. We had unique ideas that we wanted to realize: conscious choice pricing, guest artists, a special section for people who sign up. I painted all of the artwork for the website. We wanted a break from live performance.

[Phil] Each song has a unique voice, a unique story to tell and a unique form. Annie never writes the same theme twice nor does she use standard song forms. I put the same care into arrangements. Every arrangement is crafted to the specific song. No arrangement ever uses the same combination of instruments, the same motifs, nor even the same recording methodology. So we put a lot of thought into writing and arranging, and we experiment a lot with recording techniques. It takes a lot of time!

[Mark Kirby] The song “Walking Away” is textured to resemble and conjure the image of a caravan going across a desert; this is created by the combination of ringing bells, droning bass sounds melding with the low rumble of the frame drum, and searing guitar lines made of long, extending notes. This melange of sound is painterly in its composition. “Pheonixology” is an instrumental interlude. Perhaps Annie and Phil sought to put words and singing to this track and then realized that it didn’t really need it. A simple xylophone motif opens and anchors the song throughout. Bells, organ and bass play counter lines until it all comes together at the end, an end that promises more. The song’s pregnant pause ending flows into the aforementioned “Angus Og” comprising a mini suite, a musical voyage.

How did you decide to create the Hobbyhorse Café?

[Annie] We decided that we wanted a website that catered to the listener. So many sites on the web are geared toward booking. They are more like press kits. Or they are sites with thousands of musicians on them that are probably visited only by the musicians themselves. We wanted Hobbyhorsecafe.com to be colorful and fun and sort of like a little virtual music venue. Some of the artists on our site have been friends of ours. Others found Hobbyhorsecafe.com and contacted us. We choose people whose work we like. We like the musicians to be local or visiting so that we can make a unique recording of some of their songs so that their fans have something new to listen to. Phil has a portable recorder, so we can record live performances. It has been really fun to have guests on our website.

[Mark Kirby] What is Conscious Choice Pricing and what is the concept behind it?

[Annie] We have flexible pricing on our website. You have three choices, a minimum, standard and patron of the arts choice. Hobbyhorse or the guest musician set a minimum price, standard is 99 cents and patron of the arts is open ended. I am working on having special items available for our Patrons of the Arts.

[Phil] We were initially inspired by Jane Siberry’s online store, which was our first encounter with flexible pricing.

We are consumers of music as well as producers of music. As such, we see both sides of the question “what is the fair monetary value of music?” And there is no easy answer! Our solution is to allow fans to make a choice with a range of prices (and artists with a choice in how they set their prices). The outcome of this system is that you have to think consciously about the value of music whenever you make a purchase. We don’t make any judgement about the price level that you choose - it is entirely up to you. But we do appreciate our Patrons of the Arts!

[Mark Kirby] What are Hobbyhorse’s future plans?

[Phil] We are playing out a lot more this year and will gig even more next year. We plan to tour a much larger region. Also, we continue to write and record new songs and have about half of a new CD completed. There is no planned release date, but Regulars (i.e., subscribers) at hobbyhorsecafe.com will hear about it first, as well as gigs and interesting news items. It is entirely free for you to sign up at www.hobbyhorsecafe.com and we only send two or three emails per month.

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LicenseQuote provides an easy to manage online solution that helps independent artists, labels, producers and music publishers to license their own songs, recordings and related assets directly from their own web sites.

“Private beta testing has been completed and we’ve been getting excellent feedback from a sampling of independent artists and labels” said Doron Erblich, co-founder and CTO of LicenseQuote.

The basic LicenseQuote (aka LQ) Music Licensing Calculator embed widget is free to all music artists, labels and publishers who have authority to license their various copyrighted music materials. LicenseQuote does not charge any sales commission percentage fee to the sellers and is also completely free to all music licensing buyers.

“Music publishers can use our music licensing calculator to sell, negotiate and manage their music licensing deals directly from their own web pages”, said Michael Borges, co-founder and CEO of LicenseQuote.

The LicenseQuote Free calculator features include: 17 standard licensing types, standard pricing profile, description and usage details shown for each selected license type, instant price calculations, “captcha” protected email sending, print out feature and option for custom bid price negotiation inquiry.

LicenseQuote - Music Licensing Solutions gives independent artists and music publishers unlimited opportunities to license their copyrighted materials to the music, advertising and broadcast media industries for commercial usage including: TV, cable, radio, advertising, film, video, theater, corporate, websites, music on hold, plus many more innovative and custom-requested applications.

The LicenseQuote service gives media industry buyers direct access to artists, labels and publishers who are offering LQ enabled music licensing sales via the internet directly from their own websites, blogs, emails or other pages.

The mission of LicenseQuote is to pioneer the world¹s most powerful and cost effective self-managed music licensing solution for professional publishers (licensors) to enhance their opportunities for doing business directly with their existing or new customers including various media industry buyers.

The LQ business philosophy is focused on creating unlimited direct licensing access points where publishers, artists, labels and buyers can do business as never before. A variety of LQ music licensing service plans will provide a powerful array of self-managed sales and licensing tools to sellers and complimentary (free) self-service tools for buyers enabling both to trade efficiently and profitably over the internet on a truly ³direct access² global market scale.

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South by Southwest Conference and Festival from March 12th through 16th welcomes several French acts for 2008. March is a busy month for US and Canada music business professionals, as they will gather again in Austin, TX for the 2008 edition of the world renowned South By Southwest conferences and festival March 12th through 16th.

With hundreds of showcases, panels and conferences, SXSW is one of the major events of the year for the music business. The highlights of this edition include the presence of Lou Reed as a keynote speaker and the live performance of R.E.M.

As each year, the French Music Export Office will be in Austin to support and promote French produced artists, and will also participate in a speed dating session involving French and American music professionals.

Speaking of French produced artists, the festival will welcome 13 of them, covering a wide range of musical genres. Le rock-n-roll à la française will be represented by Neimo (recently signed in the US by Shangri La), The Parisians, Adam Kesher, Cheveu and well, RocknRoll (who were recently chosen to succeed to Pete Doherty for Roberto Cavalli’s worldwide ad campaign). Don Cavalli, Herman Dune (both on US label Everloving Records) and The Rodeo will delight the crowd with their subtle indie folk, while Thieves Like Us, Digitalism, Guns n Bombs and the trendy DJ’s Fluokids will surely get audiences dancing to their electronic beats. Last but not least, Yael Naim, recently featured on the Apple worldwide commercial, will celebrate her recent #1 peak position in iTunes singles charts, as well as the release of her first album on Atlantic Records (out in the US on March 18th) with a performance in Texas.

Schedule by artists (additional showcases to be announced soon)
Cheveu
Fri, 14 March - Spiro’s: 615 Red River St (1 am)
Fri, 14t March - Spiro’s Amphitheater: 616 Red River St
Sat, 15th March - TBA

Digitalism
Sat, 15 March ­ Pangaea: 409 Colorado St (1 am)

Don Cavalli
TBA

Herman Dune
Fri, 14 March - Stefen F’s Bar: 701 Congress Ave (9.30 pm)

Fluokids
Wed, 12 March - Beauty Bar Backyard: 617 E 7th St (9 pm)

Guns n Bombs
Thu, 13 March - Beauty Bar: 617 E 7th St (8 pm)

Adam Kesher
Fri, 14 March - Pure Groove and Key Productions showcase: 1308 E. 7th Street (1pm)
Sat, 15 March - The Rio: 301 San Jacinto Blvd (12 am)

Neimo
Thu, 13 March - Home Slice Pizza: 1415 South Congress (TBA)
Sat, 15 March - Lamberts Patio: 401 W 2nd St (9pm)

The Parisians
Fri, 14 March - Maggie Mae’s rooftop: 323 E 6th St (8 pm)

RocknRoll
Thu, 13 March - Bourbon Rocks Patio: 508 E 6th St (11 pm)

The Rodeo
Wed, 12 March - Stefen F’s Bar: 701 Congress Ave (10 pm)

Thieves Like Us
Thu, 13 March - Beauty Bar Backyard: 617 E 7th St (8.45 pm)

Yael Naim
Fri, 14 March - Victorian Room at the Driskill: 604 Brazos St (11.30 pm)

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In my thirty years in the music business, I have never once written a letter to any publication to discuss or oppose a “review” of my artist’s work. Any artist or manager who has survived a dramatically changing musical landscape, and experienced some longevity throughout, has a clear understanding that both good and bad reviews are part of the scenery.

However, this letter was not written to address a bad “review” but rather a fabricated album review that your magazine published even though your “music critic” had not heard more than one song.

In our business, a fabricated review is a serious concern that may ultimately harm all artists because it calls into question the credibility of the entire review process.

A February 20th email response from a Maxim representative stated in part:

“On the rare occasion that we are not given music because of our lead time or unavailability of the tunes, we make an educated guess … Of course, we always prefer to hearing the music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former.”

In your publication’s first attempt to deal with this issue publicly, a Maxim representative had only this to say in their official statement:

“Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more.”

As the media coverage increased dramatically, it seems that your publication realized that the above statement failed to address the scope of the issue, and then released the following:

“It is Maxim’s editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers.”

Mr. Kaminsky, your explanation would be interesting as to why you felt it was acceptable to address only your readers in your apology statement and completely neglect to mention The Black Crowes, whose music your publication denigrated in a fabricated album review.

I believe that after the flood of negative media coverage directed towards Maxim, only then did the publication feel it necessary to issue a public apology to its readership to contain the damage caused by its actions.

I also believe that the reason you omitted The Black Crowes from your apology was because your only concerns during this entire situation have been to protect Maxim’s bottom line and the potentially tarnished perception to your readers.

Yesterday, you were quoted in an Associated Press interview stating in part:

“I will be the last person to mince words here: This is a mistake. … There should be no blurry line between what’s a preview and what’s a review.”

Contrary to your above referenced statement, it seems that your magazine’s actions have created an extremely blurry line, if there is any line at all, between “what’s a preview and what’s a review.” Shouldn’t a proper “preview” notify the reader that an artist’s work is forthcoming, whereas a “review” offers an opinion of the material after someone has actually heard the music?

In this case, Maxim’s preview offered an opinion on an entire album based on having heard no more than the one track that had been released to radio, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution,” and went so far as to assign a star rating.

Please enlighten your readership and me, or at the very least your staff, as to what your definitions and guidelines are for previews versus reviews.

Apparently the “mistake” has allegedly occurred with another artist. The recording artist Nas publicly stated that Maxim gave his unheard, unfinished material a 2.5 star rating. Was that a preview or a review that rated his material while he was still in the recording studio? In either instance, I feel it is indefensible.

In yesterday’s Associated Press article, the full extent of your accountability to The Black Crowes was covered as follows:

“In his interview with the AP, Kaminsky officially apologized to the Crowes.”

After three public statements made by your publication, I feel that offering an apology through an Associated Press writer without addressing the band directly is offensive.

Although my comments may be perceived as unforgiving, the fact remains: Maxim has yet to issue a public apology directly to The Black Crowes.

Although I maintain that Maxim should act in good faith and issue a public statement of apology to The Black Crowes, as was done for your readers, I feel that this issue was important to expose on behalf of all artists and expect that Maxim will follow the publication’s claimed policies in the future.

Sincerely, Pete Angelus Angelus Entertainment

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