Since Josh is a local worship pastor he has roots deep in Santa Cruz, CA. and the bay area. His friends, family, and fans have all been loyal since his early days in his rock outfit band Shindig. I never heard his early stuff, but this new release is sure to turn some heads and solidify his place in the Christian music scene.

Radiant was recorded in Nashville, TN with  Jason Ingram (Grammy nominee and Dove award winner),  Paul Maybury (drummer for Michael W. Smith, HIllsong), Stu G (guitarist for Dilirious), Meredith Andrews (worship leader at Harvest Church in Chicago), and many more artists. The guests on this album could easily be a “who’s who” of the Christian music industry.

All pomp aside, this album is worth a listen. It carries you to a place that we all long to be, that place where our hearts are warmed with the peace that only God can deposit inside us. This album rings out anthem qualities that will be stuck in your heart and mind, and get you thinking about the stuff that really matters in life; this is what a good worship album is supposed to do.

Keep your eyes peeled for the official RADIANT album release is slated for sometime in mid-March.

Good job on this one Josh, it’s beautiful!

Jesse West and Explosion Productions

Vintage Faith Youth joins with jr. high and high school students, professional bands, and skateboarders to bring a high-energy fun atmosphere to the youth. This event is open to all jr. high or high school students looking for something fun to do on Saturday, January 16th.

Students are invited to come and hang out at this exciting event! Have you ever played a game of ³SKATE² before? This is for ALL skaters at any skill level (you must be in jr. high or high school to participate). There will be skate ramps, kickers, rails, and other fun stuff for youth to participate in at the event.

Don¹t skate? That¹s okay! We have plenty of students who don¹t skate who will be participating in various games of ³Rock Band,² and other high energy activities designed for students!

We are also excited to present fun rock music by Picture Atlantic, The Mess, and Taylor Rae! This event is open for the whole Santa Cruz community!

Come to the Youth Skate and Rock at Vintage Faith Church between 4:00-8:00 pm on Saturday, January 16th, 2009. There is $5 suggested donation.

There is something hauntingly unorthodox about her music that I can’t quite put my finger on. I had the luxury of seeing Rae perform  live a few years ago and the room was captivated by the rawness of her lyrical and compositional exposition, it was something that left people wanting more. 

I highly recommend Rae’s EP to anyone with a taste for something different. You won’t be disappointed.

Click here to listen to Ray Albrecht’s music.

-Jesse and Explosion Productions

-Jesse

Hints On How To Submit Music For Review 
By Jodi Krangle - 02/28/2007 - 10:06 AM EST

© 2000, Jodi Krangle. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.
(First Printed in The Indie Contact Bible newsletter. Thanks for lighting a fire under me, Dave! :-))

Getting the attention of music reviewers can be almost as difficult as breaking into a bank - and let’s face it - sometimes far less profitable. But a good review is worth its weight in gold. So how does one go about getting reviewers to give your particular package the time of day? I receive quite a few of these packages myself so while I’m no expert, I do have a few suggestions:

BE POLITE WHEN MAKING A FIRST CONTACT:
This may sound like it’s too obvious to mention, but trust me - if you contact a potential reviewer by demanding their submissions address because you are simply the best thing that has happened to music since the microphone and the reviewer would be out of his or her mind to pass you up, you’re likely to be disappointed at the response you receive. Sure, every artist deserves a chance. But you’re biasing a reviewer against you right from the start if you use that tactic. Reviewers despise being taken for granted. Never assume you *deserve* a review - ASK for one.

Your initial contact should be polite and brief. A simple, “Hello, my name is (so and so) and I’m interested in a possible review in your (publication/web site). Would you be able to supply me with the proper contact information so that I can send you my CD?” will be kindly received. Even if it takes the reviewer a little while to get back to you - whether it’s by regular mail, e-mail or through the feedback form of a web site - their reply will usually be helpful.

One last word on the subject of “first contact”: PLEASE don’t send an e-mail with your web site address and only a “Check this out!” line for clarification. You don’t want to know how much spam e-mail I receive in a day and messages like that simply make me feel as if I’m being asked to check out the latest in cheesy porn. I delete such messages on sight and I honestly don’t know many reviewers who pay them any attention either.

LEAVE THE KITCHEN SINK AT HOME: 
Your package should include an intro letter that addresses the reviewer by name whenever possible, a bio that’s hopefully no more than a page long, a CD (CDs are the preferred medium these days. I’m afraid you’re kidding yourself if you think otherwise), no more than three reviews in other publications and/or web sites, and that’s about IT. Pictures are nice but they don’t really matter as far as most publications are concerned. If a publication requires further material, you’ll be contacted for it. Frankly, for myself, I’d rather give other reviews a complete miss. I rarely pay attention to them. I prefer to make up my own mind rather than read others’ opinions before I’ve even had a chance to listen to the music myself. But I think that’s really dependent on the type of publication you’re sending your package to. Some publications and/or web sites might feel that favorable reviews elsewhere lend more credibility to the artist - which is one of the reasons you’d be asking for another review in the first place, right? Just because I disagree with that sentiment, doesn’t mean that all reviewers will feel as I do. However, keep in mind that if you include too much, you run the risk of it all being ignored. After all, it’s the MUSIC that really counts.

That said, the presentation of the CD itself is probably the most important element of your package. It’s that CD that will give the reviewer his/her opening impression of your music - and (unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) your professionalism. That doesn’t mean you have to have spent thousands of dollars on your presentation, a huge CD insert, a gorgeous color cover, etc. That just means that your “look” should be consistent. Some of the packages that impress me the most are the ones that have an actual design in mind carried through from the CD to the stationery the cover letter is printed on and further. If you’re not getting a professional printing of anything, a color inkjet printer creating your own letterhead along with a similarly designed CD covering sticker, will work quite nicely. Simplicity is often the best way to go. Above all, avoid sending in a blank, recordable CD with black marker written on it. Your contact information should be on both the CD and the insert and/or cover. No matter *what* you do, make sure your contact information is easy to find. The insert certainly doesn’t need to be in color but there should *be* one if at all possible. The insert is the perfect place to put contact information, credits (the reviewer is often fascinated by who did and wrote what, I know *I* am!), anecdotal information, etc. - the things that make you special and different from the other folks the reviewer will be listening to.

I know what you’re thinking. “Why not just include that stuff on a separate sheet of paper inside the package?” Well, for the same reason that your contact information NEEDS to be on the disc itself: the reviewer may not actually be taking all of your package around with him/her (in fact, it’s pretty unlikely!). The CD might become separated from the rest of your package and for that reason, you want it to be able to stand on its own as a professional piece of work, whether it retains its case or not. You want the reviewer to be able to contact you from that CD alone.

AS A RECAP:
Things to send in your package:

• A brief cover letter addressing the reviewer by name (a MUST)
• A bio (1 page!)
• A CD (tapes are a thing of the past, folks!) - preferably with an insert of some kind.
• Up to 3 reviews if you really feel you need them (try to keep this on one or two pages)
• Keep the “look” simple and professional. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to accomplish this!
• Make sure your contact information is on EVERYTHING.

Keep in mind that if your CD itself is a nice little package all on its own including inserts, you may not need the bio or the reviews and could probably get away with just sending in the CD and a cover letter. If you have a web site and include the url to that site in your cover letter, the reviewer can find out tons more information on you should they wish to. As mentioned earlier, sometimes simple is best.

BE PATIENT: 
I don’t mean to say that you shouldn’t ever re-contact the reviewer. Not at all. Remind the reviewer you’re around! Just don’t do it every day. Wait a couple of weeks between contacts. Reviewers have a lot of demands upon their time and are frequently several weeks - or even *months*! - behind in their reviews depending on the publication(s) they write for.

BE POLITE: 
I mentioned that once before, didn’t I? Probably because I consider it to be very important. The way in which you treat people will reflect upon your professionalism even more so than the look of your CD. It takes years to build up a good reputation and only a few minutes to completely destroy it. As with anything in the music business, you never know when someone you were kind to will be in a position to return that kindness. It’s all about relationships. Make sure you’re the sort of person who fosters good ones and it’ll all come back to you.

How does this relate to tips about getting reviews? Above all, try to be pleasant. It may not seem like much, but believe me - the reviewer appreciates it a great deal. Don’t demand to know why your CD wasn’t chosen for a review and/or spotlight if you are told that it wasn’t - not unless you actually want to hear what the reviewer has to say. And if that reviewer *does* let you know why, don’t bad mouth him/her for telling you. You asked! I prefer not to review CDs that haven’t impressed me, for whatever reason. I don’t like the idea of putting up a lukewarm (or even BAD) review on a web site where people can be referring to it forever. I don’t feel that’s fair to the artist. In other words, if I’m not giving you a review, don’t consider it a rejection. Consider it a kindness. Move on and keep in contact with the reviewer. It might be that a future release of yours will be better received.

I hope these hints have helped. Meanwhile, good luck with your music! 

Bloodlines is THE album that will stay in your cd player for two months straight before having to burn another copy for yourself because your car cd player has a tendency to warp cds that get played more then 500 times. Bloodline is special, kind of like the way you feel about your favorite pair of jeans… you wear them at least three or four times before acutally taking them to the wash - because, “they just wear better after a few days.”

At first listen you feel like you experienced something special, and you might even want to share the new Bloodlines album with all your friends, but you hesitate…? After pondering for a few minutes you decide not to pass this album along just yet because you like the idea that this is an artist that your friends haven’t heard of yet -and for some reason you never find the cool artists first? Could this finally be your chance to rise up and introduce all your music loving friends to an artist actually worth listening too!! After thinking for a minute you decide that you’re going to sit on this album for one day so you can memorize all the lyrics to every song before sharing it with your friends for the first time. Because, we all know just how important it is to rub in the fact that you already know all the lyrics to your new favorite artist before playing it to your friends for the first time.

But wait… here’s a little advise from your friends at Explosion Productions: Listening to Travis Oberg’s music is special, so don’t hold out on your friends -share the love!

-Jesse West

Below are 5 “Guerilla” ways to promote your band online: 

1. Set-up a MySpace Music Page 

MySpace isn’t just for kids, in fact most MySpace users are in their late teens to early 40’s likely the demographic your band is looking to market to. MySpace music pages allow musicians the ability to post information about upcoming events and even upload their songs. The Black Eyed Peas, U2 and Don Henley are just some big names bands who have leveraged MySpace for promoting their band. 

2. Start a Blog 

Blogs are simple and free to start. They allow you to connect with your audience on a more personal level. Blogging is a great way to build word of mouth advertising and support for upcoming shows. 

3. Create a Profile on Last.fm 

Last.fm is a website perfect for band promotion, it logs every song you play and like MySpace, you can upload songs to your band profile for people to listen to and comment on. Last.fm allows you to build communities and connect with fans from all over the world. 

4. Utilize Flickr 

Band promotion is made easy with Flickr. A one step upload process allows you to share photos of your band with friends, family and fans. 

5. Post on YouTube 

Do you have any video of your band playing live? Throw them up on YouTube, it’s free and people are bound to watch it. 

The internet offers countless ways to assist you with your band promotion efforts. 

Unleash your creativity today and explore the guerrilla in you!

***IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to maintenance work the music submission process may be unavailable periodically over the next several days. We hope to have the work completed as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience.***

—————————————————————

Thanks for thinking of Pandora!

This is now the only process for submitting your music (or your band’s music) to Pandora.

You’ll need:
* a CD of your music
* a unique UPC code for that CD
* this CD to be available through Amazon (must be a physical CD, not just MP3s for download)
* MP3 files for two of the songs from your CD
* the legal rights to your music
* a standard free Pandora account, based on a valid email address, that will be associated with this submission

Once you have all of these items ready to go, you can submit your music to Pandora here:
http://submitmusic.pandora.com/
To obtain your own UPC code at a low cost, click here. If you already have a UPC code through your record label, just use that one.

To make your CD available on Amazon (after you have a UPC code), you can sign up for the low-cost Amazon Advantage program (click here).

NOTE: We cannot accept music available only as downloads through the Amazon MP3 store; you musthave a physical CD for sale.

NOTE: Make sure you are listed as the “Artist” (not “Performer” or any other field) and that “Tracks” are correct for each track on the CD. If you need assistance correcting your album art or information on Amazon, click here. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to make sure all information is correct on Amazon before submitting your music to Pandora!

Note: If your CD is being physically sold through CDBaby, and you checked “sell through Amazon,” you may need to have CDBaby correct the meta-data delivered to Amazon for your album before you can submit to Pandora.

Note: If your CD is being physically sold through TuneCore, it may be 1-2 weeks for the meta-data to be completed on the Amazon side. Once you see track listings appear for your physical CD in TuneCore, you’re ready to submit to Pandora.

Note: If your CD is being physically sold through Amazon’s CreateSpace program, you should be able to submit to Pandora.
The Pandora Indie Submission process starts when we verify the UPC code for your CD through Amazon. Then you’ll be prompted to upload your MP3 tracks, and we will review the music you’ve submitted for possible inclusion.

Please don’t write to check up on your submission, as that will just take away time we could be using to work on listening to submissions! An updated status message for your submission can always be viewed here:
http://submitmusic.pandora.com/submit/status
NOTE: You’ll need to sign in with the same Pandora account that you used to submit your music in order to see your submission status.

If your music is included in Pandora’s Music Genome Project, then we’ll get in touch to ask you to send the CD to us, along with a form legally authorizing Pandora to play the music on your CD.

We hope the new process will be faster, easier and more transparent for submitting musicians.

Thanks again for your interest in having your music on Pandora!

I am listening to Davey Drapers self produced and recorded album and must say that I am very impressed with what I am hearing. There are hints of David Bazan, Benjamin Gibbard, Iron and  Wine, and other bands that let their guard down long enough to allow truth to spill out. These songs all seem like stories in the life of a young adventure sensitive bohemian; perhaps  this is a travel anthem album of songs on the road… Either way it is filled with life, love and faith! You certainly can’t go wrong by getting your hands on this album, it is certain to turn heads as surely as it turned mine.

Davey and I are old friends from another life. I feel like this album gave me a glimpse into his heart these past few years. Way to go!

 I am excited to see what’s next from Davey  and this rising indie-folk-acoustic influence.

//::Jesse West and Explosion Productions:://

They have hints and flares of Coldplay, Hazel and vine, The Pilots Wife, and other killer bands!

Picture Atlantic

The band is called The Weather Inside and it is based out of Oklahoma City. The Weather Inside is incredible and definitely worth a listen. The music off the new “Colourful Year” album release is hypnotic with hints of Radiohead, The Cure, Sigur Ros, and other bands that will blow your mind. Jesse Cohen is the lead architect of this rhythmic and purcusive based indie-rock outfit. Jesse Cohen masterfully crafts these songs that will no doubt leave their mark in the earholes of all who give it a real listen. But don’t take my word for it, go and download this inspired work of art and take a listen for yourself. You can download this album at itunes, cd baby, and all other major online distribution channels! I will be telling all my friends who have a textured taste for good music about this project release.

The Weather Inside
 

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