Tag Archives: profile

Blunda | Music Profile

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Artist: Blunda
Location: North Hollywood, CA
Styles: Indie Rock, Synth Pop, New Wave, Lo-Fi Indie, Electronic
Similar to: Wild Nothing, Beach House, Neon Indian, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure
CD: “Messages” digital download only

Blunda

Accolades:
* Guitarist for Fastball 1997-1999
* Guitarist, Keyboards for Paloalto on American Recordings 2 albums with
producer Rick Rubin 1999-2004 opened for Supergrass, Johnny Marr, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots
* Guitarist for Jason Falkner late 2000’s 2 Japan tours including Fuji Rock
* Composer for many TV shows including theme song for Showtime series
“Polyamory: Married and Dating” also Storage Wars, American Hoggers and
most recently Appalachian Outlaws on History Channel
* Winner of ASCAP Film and Television award in 2013 for music in highest rated show “After the Catch” on Discovery

Members/Instruments: Andy Blunda all instruments except tracks 4 and 5 drums played by Fernando Sanchez.

Production: Recorded and Mixed by Andy Blunda out of professional home
“Studio B” in North Hollywood
Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge NYC
Assisted by Rich Morales

Tracklisting:
1. A Broken Case
2. If You Want Me
3. Messages
4. Devil Inside
5. The Money Side

Websites:
Official
Facebook

Bio:
Blunda is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Andy Blunda. A classical pianist at University, Blunda landed a touring gig with the texas trio Fastball at age 20 where the success of their song “The Way” kept him on the road for 2 years.

Shortly after he joined Paloalto, who recorded two albums with producer Rick Rubin on his American Recordings label. After years of touring and recording in bands, Blunda made the decision to start recording his own material which he had been writing off and on for the last decade. Messages is Blunda’s second solo EP, and it is his most focused effort to date. It was recorded, produced & mixed by Andy out of his home studio in North Hollywood. The sound is a blend of 80’s new wave & moody indie pop delivered in a very unique style.

 

New Mongrels | Music Profile

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Band: New Mongrels
Location: Los Angeles (me and 6 others); Atlanta;  Decatur, Alabama: Boston; Seattle; Vancouver, B.C.
Styles: Folk/Roots, Americana, Indie, Folk Rock, Acoustic
Similar to: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Lumineers, Decemberists, Blind Pilot, Dawes
CD: Raised Incorruptible
Release date: Jan 14, 2014

Accolades:
* NM are an artist collective spanning 7 cities.
* One of the members is Indigo Girls member Amy Ray
* Michelle Malone is a grammy-nominated touring artist
* Laura Hall was the house musician for the TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” * * Kubilay Uner is a film composer
* Haynes Brooke is an actor and playwright.

Members/Instruments:
Haynes Brooke: guitar, vocals, mandolin, piano, ukelele, percussion
Katie Green: vocals, violin
Kubilay Uner: bass, keyboards
Jeff Mosier: drums, vocals
Michael Lorant: vocals
Michelle Malone: vocals, guitar
Amy Ray: vocals
Laura Hall: vocals, accordion
Rick Hall: vocals
Lucy Brooke: vocals
Mike Moynihan: trumpet, vocals
Ken Palmer: drums, vocals, harmonica
Nicolas Green: guitar

Websites:
Official
Facebook
Soundcloud
Youtube

Bio:
Raised-Incorruptible_450x406The New Mongrels’ Raised Incorruptible is a new record from a 148-year-old band.

Those familiar with group will know the bizarre history of band member Haynes Brooke and his great-great grandfather Henry.

Deaf in one ear, shell-shocked, a 17-year-old veteran of  the civil war, Henry  founded the “Smythe County Mongrels Society” in 1861. He stated their purpose as “the joyful promotion, through song and rhythmic utterances, of a unified moral code for all creatures.” Apparently the group met to drink hard cider and sing the entire book of Psalms to their own improvised melodies. Dogs and instruments welcome. Great-great grandpa rocked.

Brooke found the charter of the “Mongrels,” as they were called, legally intact in the Smythe County courthouse and brought the group back to life as the New Mongrels.

Today this underground society of musicians, artists and writers still operates under an amended version of the original by-laws, which calls for, among other things, “membership by invitation without regard to species affiliation.” This makes for strange committee meetings but great music.

Raised Incorruptible began in a rented house on the Rogue River in Oregon, when some impromptu mongrel recording sessions yielded promising results. Back in LA, Brooke created a calamitous batch of low-fi demos working with drummer Ken Palmer, house percussionist for Tim Robbin’s Actors Gang Theater. These demos went out to mongrel members across North America for input and review in keeping with the group’s odd collectivist procedures. Field trips to New Hampshire and Canada brought back musical contributions, then Brooke’s garage became the main recording facility and as mongrels passed through LA they were added to the final project. The record was mixed by film composer and mongrel member Kubilay Uner.

Despite the sometimes cumbersome procedural demands of their organization, a dispersed and evolving group of Mongrels built a powerful and unified sound. An ear-catching,  mixed-breed blend of styles emerged, anchored always by the unique and lyrically rich songwriting of Brooke. Each cut has its own strong personality; together they have the combined intensity of a pack of wild dogs.

The New Mongrels: 131 years old and still rocking.

“Writing songs is a constant in my life,” says New Mongrel band leader and producer Haynes Brooke.

Why then the big gap between albums from his celebrated roots-folk outfit?

“The Mongrels are an unwieldy bunch to coordinate – and everyone has their own artistic pursuits,” says Brooke. “The time has to feel right for a record to emerge.”

“I’ve been busy myself with other projects. In recent years, a lot of my songs have actually ended up on the stage. I’ve written three full-length musicals for the underground theater scene here in LA, and I think the exercise of writing from the point of view of a range of characters has probably broadened my creative skills.”

Last year Brooke sat down to go through some of his songwriting archives.

“I realized a group of songs was emerging that felt like they needed a home. Then new songs started coming that felt like they belonged to the same family. Time to make a record, I thought.”

“I played some demos for another LA mongrel member, film composer Kubily Uner, and he not only liked them, he agreed to help produce and mix the record. We made a plan, double-checked that it was in accord with our weird mongrel by-laws, then hit ‘record’ and started playing. When other mongrels started joining in, coming down to LA from Seattle or on tour from Alabama, the thing started to take off,” says Brooke.

My main thought was, ‘Why did I wait so long?'”

The Plum Magnetic | Music Profile

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Band: The Plum Magnetic
Location: New Orleans, LA, USA
Styles: World/Fusion/Rock
Similar to: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Umphrey’s McGee, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Talking Heads,Grateful Dead
CD: Terra Animata
Accolades: Have opened for NoHayBanda Trio (Italy), World Service Project (UK), The Magnetic Ear (New Orleans)

Members/Instruments: Trent Ciolino- electric 6-string banjo,vox; Andrew McLean- guitars, tabla; Jon Solomon- bass; Oliver Burke- drums

Production: Trent Ciolino and The Plum Magnetic; Engineered by Andrew McLean; Mixed by Andrew McLean and Kevin Sweet; Mastered by Paul Marinaro at Piety Street Studios, NOLA

Tracklisting: Spring; Trece Leches; Sweet Confusion; The Electric Jungle; Shesh Besh; Parallax; The Delicious; Terra Animata

Websites:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter

 

Bio:
The aim of The Plum Magnetic is to blend elements of music from all over the world into a synergistic whole and through this genre-melding approach to both represent and promote a harmonious unity-through-diversity. The depth of emotion, melody, The Plum Magnetic musicand structure of Indian Classical music; the ecstatic pulse and rich, repetitious, patterns of Africa; the manifold great American forms, including Jazz, Blues, Rock, Folk/Bluegrass, Fusion, and beyond; all of these are deftly interwoven to produce a sound that is broad in scope, rich with intent, and full of surprises.

The Plum Magnetic was formed in late 2011 out of relationships built over years of involvement in the New Orleans music scene. Trent (banjo/vox) and Oliver (drums) met while playing in super eclectic local group Eve’s Lucky Planet, and over years of extended jams based in African, Reggae, and Afro-Cuban styles developed a unique musical bond which serves as the backbone of The Plum Magnetic’s developing sound. In considering personnel to expand the project’s line-up, Andrew McLean (guitar) was the obvious first choice. Trent and Andrew met through a shared love of Indian Classical Music; Andrew (having studied raga and tala for over a decade at the esteemed Ali Akbar Khan College of Music) as teacher, and Trent as a beginner sitar student. Last but not least, the group needed a bassist, and after experimenting with a few different players, Jon Solomon (founding member of Gravity A and bass player about town) was a natural fit. With his great feel and sensitivity he rounds out the sound, allowing the group to present music that though at times exceedingly complex, is always firmly rooted in the groove.

Drawing comparisons to groups ranging from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Grateful Dead, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Talking Heads, and Umphrey’s McGee, The Plum Magnetic is one of the most diverse, engaging, and original up and coming groups in the New Orleans scene and beyond.

Norine Braun “Coventus The Eye Of The Heart” | Music Profile

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Norine Braun "Coventus The Eye Of The Heart"Artist: Norine Braun
Location: Vancouver BC
Styles: Roots Rock, Blues Rock, Adult Album Alternative, Funk influenced
Similar to: Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, KD Lang, City and Colour, Grace Slick, Sade
CD: Conventus The Eye of the Heart (Advance)
Members/Instruments: Norine Braun vocals and guitar Adam Popowitz lead guitar and bass, Elliot Polsky drums and percussion Alice Fraser keys and Huggybear Leonard blues harp and penny whistle
Production: Adam Popowitz produced and engineered at Rear Window Song and Sound Coquitlam BC
Bio:
Canadian artist Norine Braun bridges the gap between a singer-songwriter and a rock and roll performer with her new release Conventus The Eye of the Heart. Norine Braun’s music falls somewhere in between the intimate, heartfelt approach of folk and the energy of pop, roots rock, just as if Joni Mitchell, kd lang and Colin James would join Patti Smith and Prince for a jam, somewhere in the vast wilderness of the Canadian landscape.
Her music blinks an eye to the past, while firmly looking forward, blending timeless elements such as blues, rock, funk and country and presenting them to the audience with a freshness and balance that are in tune with today’s sensibilities.
Norine’s diverse approach to songwriting and her prowess as a heartfelt performer are the fundaments of her solid reputation within her local scene, and beyond: This talented artist received recognition from events such as L.A. Music Awards, The Best Female Musicians Magazine and many more.
Ever the chameleon, hardworking DIY Norine Braun is set to release her ninth studio album, adding to her impressive and prolific catalogue. “Conventus The Eye of the Heart”, an inspired piece of music centered around the concept of “unions”, something that affected Norine’s life in several disguises. Vancouver’s finest musicians have joined her again on the musical journey for Conventus. Adam Popowitz has produced, engineered and performed guitar and bass on Conventus, Elliot Polsky performs on drums and percussion, Alice Fraser performs on keys and Huggybear Leonard performs on blues harp and penny whistle.

Emotional, heartfelt and eclectic: Norine Braun in 3 words. “Her voice has the viscosity of a jazz crooner, the elegance of a gospel singer, and the heart of a folk or blues artist.” Bryan Rogers
About her latest release, Norine says “Conventus The Eye of the Heart is my new and ninth album born out of life’s unions and struggles. The past couple of years I encountered many unions in different disguises. I was diagnosed and cured of colon cancer. As I lay in my hospital bed last January, I listened to my roughly recorded demos of these songs and I let them show me the way to health. Music was a healing activity that held my interest and focus in my recovery.
This past year I also embraced a most magnificent union. I married my partner of 25 years on Halloween 2012 the anniversary of our first meeting. I watched my partner’s mother dementia advance and witnessed a great love and strength as we moved through this life transition. I looked at the union in my own family of origin relationship and how my life’s journey as an adoptee has greatly shaped who I am. All of these unions, union of self and body, self and spirit, family union, union of love and marriage are found in the creation of these songs and my new album.
This music is not only my story, it’s also your story in fact it’s our story, it’s everybody’s story. We have all known someone who felt lonely, defeated, betrayed, rejected, scared, and yet found the strength to get back up, fight and win. We all know when we find that union with someone, something or within ourselves we can overcome and celebrate and cherish everything. This is what Conventus is about for me. Conventus is a celebration of union and of life”
What do you think?

Survival of the fittest: Dirk Nowitzki’s Adaptability

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When Dirk Nowitzki was first drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the ninth pick in the 1998 draft, he sported a 7-foot lanky frame with quite a reach and a long wingspan to prevent perimeter defenders from swatting the ball. He was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he was labelled as soft and delicate. You see, the German cager was not an immediate powerhouse. With his thin physique, he relied on spot up jumpers and chances from beyond the arc. Nobody expected the future star to provide an impact early on. And surely, during his career, Nowitzki shot a few air balls and had plenty of rookie mistakes, but that did not stop the Maverick forward to improve and expand his style of play.

Sharp shooting days
With the height that he possessed, the Wurzburg-born Maverick was a nightmare for his shorter defenders. Although quicker than most players in his position, the young Nowitzki was easily manhandled and out-powered in the low post. His slashing skills were still undeveloped. He cannot be trusted as the main go-to guy to handle the ball in the post or while driving to the rim. With a thin frame, the ball is easily swiped off by tinier and quicker defenders. Instead of being discouraged, the 7 footer developed his signature one-legged fade away, which up to this day is almost impossible to defend. It’s a good thing that he was teamed up with Steve Nash in his early years.

Sharp shooting plus rim slashing
As Dirk aged and developed by the entire cast of the Mavericks, the German expanded his style of play to make defenders second-guess his offensive tactics. In fact, the German PF notched his first NBA Championship in 2011 and earned his MVP Finals title too. He combined aggressiveness in the post while combining a finesse in a finger roll finish to his arsenal. It’s a good thing that he had Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler to lighten the defensive and rebounding load. Unluckily, the Mavericks failed to go for a back-to-back and even failed to enter the 2013 playoffs. They could go early with their summer workouts or Marion, who is known as a poker lover, may want to host a friendly game of cards. Luckily, Nowitzki can participate anytime with the availability of online sites like PartyPoker Deutsch. It’s also a good way to improve rapport and focus. Just like basketball, there are basic skills in poker that are needed in order for the player to survive and even win the table. Focus, for one, allows a player to concentrate on his cards and the community cards as well even with the distractions of other players such as facial expressions and blatant bluffing methods. Also, poker players need to be snappy with their decisions, making a split-second move without compromising his play. Finally, playing poker is a good way to create a healthy camaraderie between you and other players even if there are real stakes involved. However, chemistry is always the key—and poker might just be the formula—come another 82 games next season.

 

 

SPRUCE UP YOUR DATING PROFILE

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Almost six million Brits are now dating online[1] but with so many people and so many profiles in the digisphere, it pays to be creative. Standing out from the virtual crowd has never been more important if you are hoping to meet a long term partner online.

“Whether you have signed up for the first time or have been online dating for several months, never under-estimate the power of your dating profile,” says Dr Gian Gonzaga, world-renowned expert in the field of compatibility and relationships for eHarmony®.

“Your online profile is a virtual window into your life, your passions, your goals and accomplishments. There’s no set formula for a ‘great profile’ as everyone’s different, but every profile should be positive and lively. Like a CV, it should show off your best points, but instead of a dry list of achievements it should be conversational in tone and full of personality.”

So, if you’re thinking of starting on the online dating journey, follow Dr Gonzaga’s ten tips to ensuring your profile gets you a first date, and lots more:

1. RELAX AND TURN OFF DISTRACTIONS

The first step is to get comfortable and relaxed and have a bit of distance from noise and distractions so you can concentrate on thinking about all your positives. Sit down on the sofa, put some music on, and start jotting down some thoughts about what makes you unique on paper, or the computer.

2. DO YOUR RESEARCH

What better way to research than reading other people’s profiles and looking at what you like about them, and what you don’t. Make sure your profile isn’t the same as others’ though. You’re unique.

3. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS SAY ABOUT YOU?

Everyone finds it difficult writing about themselves. It’s often easier to write about other people; so ask your close friends to describe your best qualities. Your friends can reveal a lot about your character that you may never spot.

4. STAY POSITIVE!

Avoid negative tones and always be positive about yourself. Your profile is essentially your dating CV. You wouldn’t want a future employer to read anything negative on your CV, so why would you want a potential partner to read anything that isn’t positive?

5. ADOPT A WRITER’S STYLE

Many people find poor grammar and spelling a turn off, and the best of us can make mistakes, so be careful on this point. Always write in full sentences, don’t abbreviate or use text speak. Then read your profile aloud, or ask a friend to double check it. Then put it into Word and use your computer spell check for final peace of mind.

6. UPDATE YOUR PHOTOS

Pictures are an essential part of your profile so use them to full effect. These are a few good examples:

– The Full Face Close Up: Great light, no sunglasses. You’re simply smiling!

– The Full Body: Ideally standing outside.

– The Waist Up: Sitting down and smiling.

– Your Passion: Doing something you really love – snowboarding, sailing etc.

– Your Favourite Place: Local park, the beach or garden, it’s a great conversation starter.

7. BE SPECIFIC

When you’re writing about what sums you up as a person, talk in specifics to give a full flavour of who you are. If you love travelling, say where your favourite place is and why. Anything concrete like this brings you alive to anyone reading, and improves your chances of there being some connecting points.

8. HAVE FUN!

Most people want to find someone who can make them laugh, so show people you have a sense of humour. If you can make someone laugh or someone can make you laugh, it’s a great icebreaker and could get your conversation off to a great start.

9. TWEAK AS YOU GO

Be prepared to tweak the profile as you go along, you can always come back to it and change it if you feel you didn’t quite get it right the first time. Add in your current achievements or hobbies, so if you’ve just started a photography course, then add that to your profile.

10. PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES

And finally, think about what you would think if you read your own profile. Are you interested in you? If you feel curious then you are off to a flying start.

eHarmony.co.uk helps its users to meet compatible matches through its patented Compatibility Matching System using data from its detailed Relationship Questionnaire. Unlike other dating sites, eHarmony.co.uk uses the results of the Relationship Questionnaire to match you with others who share similar characteristics, attitudes and beliefs – proven indicators of long term relationship success.

The site also provides its users with a free and in-depth Personality Profile which offers insights into who you are and how others perceive you – as well as what your needs are in a partner. Your profile, in and of itself, can be a valuable dating tool to you in your quest to find true love that lasts. The more you know about yourself, the more you will know what you need from a potential life-partner.