Monthly Archives: June 2015

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    BackStory Events Live Interview Series to Host Guitar Icon Joe Satriani

BackStory Events Live Interview Series to Host Guitar Icon Joe Satriani

BackStory Events, a new series of curated live, feature-length interviews with iconic artists and musicians, announces guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani as an upcoming guest. The event will focus on Satriani’s new album Shockwave Supernova, and much more, and will take place Friday, July 24, 2015 (the album launch date) at the AOL Studios in New York City. 

Hosted by legendary music journalist Brad Tolinski, the event will allow guests to enjoy a seat at an exclusive, career-spanning live interview, a meet-and-greet with Satriani, an autographed copy of Shockwave Supernova, plus complimentary beverages. Satriani will be interviewed one-on-one by Tolinski as they discuss the new album and much more. Tickets are available at www.backstoryevents.com. 

The album sees Satriani once again joining forces with co-producer and engineer John Cuniberti. Satch and Cuniberti share production on Shockwave Supernova, as they have on numerous albums, including 1986’s Not of This Earth and its legendary followup, Surfing with the Alien. Satriani assembled a trio of world-class musicians for the project—keyboardist and guitarist Mike Keneally, drummer Marco Minnemann and bassist Bryan Beller. More info and pre-orders at www.satriani.com.

BackStory Events kicked off in mid-June with guitar and production mastermind Nile Rodgers, who discussed his two-day, all-star event, FreakOut! Let’s Dance Festival. Upcoming guests include world-renowned producer Timbaland as he launches his new autobiography, The Greatest; among others to be announced soon. 

The live interview series is produced by Tolinski and partners. Best known as the editor-in-chief of Guitar World Magazine for 25 years, Tolinski is a respected journalist and the author of Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page. Throughout his career, Tolinski has skillfully interviewed hundreds of musicians and plays guitar, violin and mandolin himself.

More BackStory events will be announced soon. […]

New Music-Making App Rututu Launches Kickstarter Campaign

EarthMoments today announced the launch of a new Kickstarter campaign to fund its unique Rututu app. Slated for release later this year, the Rututu app offers an easy-to-use, touch-based interface that combines authentic, pristine samples of indigenous ethnic, world and Western instruments, along with several bundles spanning different genres like rock, pop, hip hop, dubstep and more. Its unique, custom-designed control surface and non-linear music composition tools make it extraordinarily easy for both musicians and non-musicians to create original music.

Based around a series of recording sessions with musicians from all over the world, the library in the Rututu app will bring a variety of hard-to-obtain sounds to the fingertips of all types of musicians, which combined with the touch-based control surface will make the Rututu app an intuitive and easy-to-use tool for beginners and skilled musicians alike. Users will be able to easily incorporate the Rututu app sounds into both traditional and modern music using the loop-based composition and beat-making features in the Rututu app. Listen to demo tracks made using sounds from the Rututu app here.

“The Rututu app offers several things not available in the market today, starting with the ease of producing top-notch, professional-sounding music through its unique interface. Additionally, most producers and musicians don’t have access to the kind of instruments made available through Rututu, because they are not available outside of the sacred communities the EarthMoment team visited. It took extensive research to develop an intuitive platform and to locate the best musicians and instruments –– and with Rututu, users will be able to easily add these unique flavours to their songs,” said Rututu Project Manager Yoav Rosenthal.

The Rututu sounds and loops in the app will be able to be […]

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    Mad Sun at 2015 Summer NAMM: Panels, Concerts, and Much More!

Mad Sun at 2015 Summer NAMM: Panels, Concerts, and Much More!

The Mad Sun Marketing team is making its yearly trek to the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 9-11, 2015, and between panels and concerts, it’s looking to be an action-packed three-day weekend. Below, our schedule of events:

Thursday, July 9, 8:30 – 11:00 p.m.: The Women’s International Music Network, founded by Laura B. Whitmore, hosts the 2015 She Rocks Summer NAMM Showcase at The Listening Room Cafe.
Friday, July 10, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Laura B. Whitmore moderates Leading Women in Audio Sound Off panel at the TEC Tracks, Booth 354
Saturday, July 11, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Laura B. Whitmore hosts One-on-One: An Interview with Hit Songwriter (name TBA) at the Idea Center, Booth 654
Saturday, July 11, 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Laura B. Whitmore and Pauline France hold 12 PR Tips for Musicians, Music Businesses and Everyone Else panel at the Idea Center, Booth 654
Saturday, July 11, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Laura B. Whitmore and Tom Gilbert hold Social Media Insider Tips panel at the Idea Center, Booth 654
Saturday, July 11, times TBA: Laura B. Whitmore introduces bands at the Acoustic Nation stage, sponsored by Guitar World magazine.

If you’re attending Summer NAMM, stop by one of our events (or all of them!) and say hi.

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    The Women’s International Music Network Announces 2015 She Rocks Summer NAMM Showcase Performers

The Women’s International Music Network Announces 2015 She Rocks Summer NAMM Showcase Performers

The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) is pleased to announce the finalists selected to perform at the 2015 She Rocks Summer NAMM Showcase, taking place Thursday, July 9, 2015, from 8:30-10:30 p.m., at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 2015 Summer NAMM trade show.

Featured performers include singer-songwriter and guitarist sister duo Grace and Chelsea Constable from Jonesborough, Tennessee; Chicago-based singer-songwriter Pearl; San Francisco-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Katie Garibaldi; Nashville-based singer-songwriter and actress Bryce Hitchcock; and singer-songwriter Taylor Tote from New Jersey. The performers were chosen based on their submissions to thewimn.com.

“The selection process for the 2015 She Rocks Summer NAMM Showcase was difficult but extremely inspiring, as we received a lot of submissions from tremendously talented women from all over the country. We are very excited to showcase talented women spanning multiple genres,” said WiMN Founder Laura B. Whitmore.

Grace and Chelsea Constable started playing guitar when they were 9 and 10, respectively, and are a powerfully dynamic sister duo. At 13, Grace has just completed writing, arranging, and producing her debut CD. With her Taylor 812ce in hand, Grace has set goals to make a living as a singer/songwriter/guitarist, and is truly honored to have an association with her favorite guitar manufacturer, Taylor Guitars. Chelsea was considered a prodigy at 11 years old, filming an instructional video and demoing products for several different companies. She’s been featured and advertised in many major guitar publications, and at 13, closed the show at Muriel Anderson’s All-Star Guitar Night featuring Les Paul and Steve Morse. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/chelseaconstablemuzak.

Pearl is a Chicago-based singer-songwriter whose voice is reminiscent of Corrine Bailey Rae’s richness and style. In early 2013, she shined as one half of […]

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    SongTown and Nashville Unplugged Launch Sunset Songwriting Festival

SongTown and Nashville Unplugged Launch Sunset Songwriting Festival

Songwriting community SongTown and hit show Nashville Unplugged have partnered to launch the first-ever Sunset Songwriting Festival, a three-day music immersion event taking place Oct. 9 – 11, 2015, at the Sunset Station Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The brainchild of hit songwriters Clay Mills, Marty Dodson and Aaron Benward, the Sunset Songwriting Festival will offer exciting performances by top music industry professionals from Nashville, music supervisors from Los Angeles, hit songwriters, professional development workshops, unique networking opportunities, and more. Workshop topics include:

Song placements in film and television, presented by acclaimed music supervisors from Los Angeles
How to maximize social media to build your career
Writing songs that move audiences from indie stages to hit radio
VIP pitch session to pitch songs to top publishers/music supervisor professionals
Networking event with hit writers and publishers

“We’ve designed this festival from the ground up to be a great experience for fans, artists, and songwriters, including hit writer/artists and up-and-comers. It is a great platform to make industry connections, learn about the songwriting business, and most of all, have a fun time,” said Mills, GRAMMY Award-nominated hit songwriter and co-founder of the Sunset Songwriting Festival.

The Sunset Songwriting Festival is open to the public, and will offer four ticket packages to choose from. Space is limited. A complete line-up of hit performers will be announced soon.

Submissions to perform at the Sunset Songwriting Festival are being accepted through August 25, 2015. Performers will have the opportunity to play in front of songwriting influencers, prominent producers and publishers, and other top industry professionals.

To register for workshops, fill out the submission form, and see official rules and regulations, visit sunsetsongwritingfestival.com.