Rebel salute launch - and Happy newYear

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Looking forward to an even "more live" year in 2011. Stay safe, support the music. be blessed

Recession hits concerts: 2010 ticket sales down

The box-office take for the 50 biggest grossing tours in the world fell 12% to $2.93 billion, from $3.34 billion in 2009, according to Pollstar, a trade magazine considered the leading monitor of ticket sales.

In North America, the drop was even more pronounced, with a 15% decline to $1.69 billion.

Underscoring how the industry leans on aging but tried-and-true acts, Bon Jovi's 53-city tour was the biggest in the world this year, grossing $201.1 million.

By comparison, a 31-city tour by U2 topped the list for 2009, with a haul of $311 million.

Even before this year, signs of trouble had been brewing. Though industry-wide total grosses had increased in eight of the previous nine years, that growth had largely been driven by rising ticket prices, even as the number of tickets sold held roughly even.

That led many in the industry to warn that if fans' tolerance for rising prices were to wane, the gravy train could grind to a halt.

That appeared to be part of the equation in 2010, even as promoters scrambled to offer last-minute discounts, slashing prices for some underperforming shows to $10 or $20 a ticket.

Among the acts whose tickets were discounted were the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, Santana with Steve Winwood, Creed, Maroon 5 and The "American Idol" live tour.

World-wide, average ticket prices increased 3.9% to $76.69, up from $73.83 in 2009.

In North America, the average price declined $1.55, or 2%, as concert promotion giant Live Nation Entertainment Inc. engaged in widespread last-minute discounting.

Despite those efforts, the number of tickets sold declined both world-wide and in North America—and even more steeply than the number of shows did, suggesting weak interest among fans.

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Bon Jovi performs on stage at Rod Laver Arena on Dec. 10.

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Throughout the world, concert-goers bought 38.3 million tickets this year, down 15% from 2009's 45.3 million. The 26.2 million tickets sold in North America represented a 12% drop from the 2009 level of 29.9 million. The ongoing slump in recorded music sales has been a major hurdle to getting top acts to accept less money for concerts, as concerts have become an important financial cushion.

Some in the concert industry had argued that because a live concert is a unique experience that can't be duplicated digitally and downloaded, their business would be immune to the problems that have pushed down recorded music.

U.S. album sales are down 13% this year compared with 2009, to 319 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Sales of CDs, which are often more profitable for record labels than cheaper digital albums, are off 20% so far this year. Sales of individual digital songs have ticked up a mere 1% compared with 2009, to just over 1.1 billion.

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Those shifts have hit many acts in the pocket book, and older acts with established fan bases turned increasingly in recent years to concert tours, with regularly rising prices, to steady their finances.

Irving Azoff, Live Nation's executive chairman and the manager of numerous major acts, last year told The Wall Street Journal that recorded music represented as little as 6% of some clients' income—down from 50% a decade ago.

Last month, in a conference call with stock analysts Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino vowed to reduce prices. "We know that if you lower the price, they'll come," he said. "If you want to get a casual concert buyer to come to a show that he's debating, we know in the amphitheaters that if you price it at $20 all-in they will come."

Live Forever from Pittsburgh: Bob's Swan Song

Bob Marley’s last concert was held in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1980; he died of cancer the following year at the age of 36. In February, Universal Music Enterprises/Tuff Gong International is releasing a 2-CD set of the performance titled ““Bob Marley & The Wailers—Live Forever: The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA, September 23, 1980.”

Marley historian Roger Steffens, author of “The Reggae Scrapbook,” says the Pittsburgh concert had an emotional ending. At the close of the second set of encores, Marley went to the edge of the stage and, in an unusual move for him, shook hands with people in the crowd. After the end of the performance, the reggae great called the band to his room and informed them that he could not continue with the tour.

“Thankfully, the power of the moment is captured fully in this historic recording, and it is only the third official live recording of Bob’s to be offered to the public, a summation of a career that covered all the different elements of Jamaican popular music,” says Steffens

December is Live!: From the Deck to the "Bones"

Live music is again flourishing in Kingston - with several venues updating monthly and even weekly live rosters - among them the Deck, which recently hosted a great live variety show, and the new red Bones the Blues Cafe, which has picked up in its new location, where it left off in supporting live acts at its old. There's also Pulse,Susie's and the Village Cafe and other set to come on stream.

some photo highlights from recent shows

Battle Of The Bands Is Back

When the Jamaican leg of Global Battle of the Bands competition kicks off at the Redbones Blues Café next week, it will be much different from its first staging in 2005.

Back then, it was a big competition with 16 bands participating in the event that was held at Backyaad Entertainment Complex in St Andrew. Live Wyaa was the winner of the contest and they went on to make their mark in the world finals in London.

Fast track to this year, the competition will be held at Redbones Blues Café, 1 Argyle Road, New Kingston, on December 11, starting at midday.

National Director of the competition, Seretse Small said a lot has changed over the years.

"Everything is different," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

"We had no cash sponsorship in 2005. This year, we have cash from Red Bull and Scotiabank. In 2005, it was bigger at Backyaad. This year, we scaled it down, it will be smaller and more intimate."

There will also be a change in the judging process. In the last staging, there were seven judges who were mostly associated with dancehall and reggae music.

international judges

This time around, there will be international judges like John Baker and Ray Hitchins, as well as local judges like Mikey Bennett and Ibo Cooper.

"In that judging, there will be more of a balance and greater credibility in terms of the international market," said Small, who is also the CEO for Griot Music Limited.

Media coordinator for the competition, Michael Edwards, said there have also been changes in the live-music scene in Jamaica.

"The sound has kinda advanced with technology. The capability, in terms of reproducing music has advanced since 2005," he said.

While the bands will be playing music, they will not be allowed to do any cover versions of songs. Instead, they will be required to enter the competition with original music.

"No covers, everything has to be original. What we want to get away from is the notion of the band backing an artiste. We want to show the band being the artiste," Edwards told The Sunday Gleaner.

On the day of the competition, each band will be given two separate stints of no more than 10 minutes to showcase their material.

And, there will be no limitations on the genres of music that they will be allowed to do.

"The more the merrier," Edwards said.

Meanwhile, Small said there is no set number of bands yet, as some people are still registering. So far, he said Irie Connections is the only band that has formally registered. However, other bands like Crimson Heart Replica, Dubtonic Kru and Mojahrock have shown interest.

They will be competing for a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the world finals on February 26. They will also be given 20 hours of studio time at Red Bull studio, which is located on the Tuff Gong Recording Studio premises.

In addition, the winner will get a video package courtesy of the Creative Production and Training Centre and three months of media and public relations services from Nanook Enterprises.

When the competition is held, Edwards said he is expecting to see work of a high standard.

"I think the quality will be very good and I am looking forward to the expositions that the bands will perform. Overall, I am optimistic and I think we will have a good competition," he said.

And, with the energy that is expected to build around the competition, Small said other bands are going to wish they had entered.

While the winner will be hard to choose, Small said that the band will do well on the world stage, although it will require some creativity on their part.

"It will be a little challenging going up against a lot of rock and techno bands. Our groups, because we are in Jamaica, may not be as innovative in some ways as the foreign bands," he said.

But because reggae is loved worldwide, he said Jamaica is always a crowd favourite and people will really want to see the winning band because of Jamaica's five-year absence.

Therefore, in order to be more competitive, he is encouraging locals bands to experiment more with their music.

"That's what I'm promoting here, for our bands to be more internationally minded. To be able to keep our identity and to broaden it," Small said.

Sounds of Freedom

Sunday last was a good night for music. Got things going with Nambo Robinson and Idren Workshop at Hidden Hut on Balmoral Avenue (aptly named, for I'd never heard of it B4). So great to see a real live band, with horn section kickin' out the Jamaican classics. Big up to Nambo for soldiering on with the project and check the blog for notice of return engagements.

then, it was up to 56 Hope Road, where I managed to catch a great set by C-Sharp (why aren't these guy stars yet? well, its inevitable, I think) The line up also included Jah9 and Fyah Blaaze. also caught up real quick with filmmaker Storm saulter, rightly excited about the upcoming premiere of his full-length feature, Better Mus Come

"Black M-terprise": David M for popular biz/lifestyle mag

David M will be featured in the October 2010 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine which hit the streets September 10.

the singer's musical artistry has seen him perform on the Rochester Music Festival and Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. His music video for the single “Lest we forget” has been featured on BETJ, Music Choice, Tempo and BET “Lift Your Voices” programme respectively. Now, David M Girls Night Out single has started to make an impact in radio and television land locally, the artiste is quickly becoming a household name. The streets and clubs are no different as the campaign has intensified as the video for Girls Night Out found itself among the top 5 on popular video channels HYPE, CVM TV's and R.E.T.V. Internationally, Girls Night Out video has been put in rotation on CIN which covers five boroughs in the United States namely Queens, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn. David departs Kingston, Jamaica mid September for the US Tri- State area to start his month long campaign in preparation for Black History Month celebrations February 2011.

From Sonny Terry to Busta Rhymes: Elektra Records @ 60

They've covered everybody and everything in popular music, from folkies and blues acts to rock, metal,punk, reggae hip-hop and even the uncategorizeable. That's what music should be about and what a record label roster should look like. Now, if only someone here could step up to the plate.

Tanice on iTunes

Singer Tanice Morrison, who has been steadily building recognition over the last several years, is set to release her debut long format record, entitled, No Limitations on her own TP Music label. The official release date for the 14-track disc is September 25, but it is already available via popular Internet music service iTunes.

Morrison describes the long anticipated album as a blend of Reggae/Soul with some elements of Jazz. "What I try to do with my music is to fuse various elements together in a way that is recognizable yet unique," she says by way of explanation. Although several covers grace the set (including two hits by r&b singer Brandy) the album features many originals, including To You Mother, which almost without saying goes to the individual Morrison describes as her main inspiration, her mother.

The Kingston-born Morrison was involved in music from an early and had resolved by age 12 that it would be her chosen field of endeavour, even though she did detour into teaching. Her first break came in late 2004, courtesy of the return to Jamaica of US country legend Kenny Rogers. She shared the bill, along with Ernie Smith and Maxi Priest on Rogers' return engagement, this time on the lawns of Kings House.

M Power: singer David M steppin' up

David M
REMEMBRANCES AND RENEWAL

The first time the video for his song, the haunting remembrance piece, “Lest we Forget” made it onto a major cable channel (the former BET-J), he didn’t even see it - but others did.
“It wasn’t like there was any kind of push behind it,” he recalls. “they saw and heard it and decided that it had to play, and fortunately it was still in the days before everything got centralized (the channel was subsequently rebranded as Centric and is part of the media giant VIACOM).
These days, he’s keeping full track of the progress of his latest single, the bouncy dance number Girls Night Out.” Its playing quite heavily on several local cable channels and, with a concerted effort at promotion this time, it should have a significant impact overseas. “We already getting some play in a number of clubs in the US, which is very encouraging.
There’s been a lot of ground covered between those two datelines – and not all of it pleasant. He has had to cope with the illness and death of his mother, a development which undoubtedly called a temporary halt to his career push. The Grim Reaper also claimed the mother of one of his associates. “Yeah, it got us really bent out of shape for a while, and pretty much at the crest of the summer.”
But time has worked its nearly inevitable work of renewal and, while the loss is still fresh, the attorney-businessman and entertainer is now firmly looking forward and moving ahead with his longtime love: music. He is completing his debut album, which the artiste and his camp have targeted for a spring 2011 release. “We want to give the songs some time to percolate,” he says, “to seep more fully into the public mind, so that by time the album cmes out, people can say, ‘Oh yeah David m, that guy have some wicked tune –let me check this out’”
Its that balance of commercial and creative that has been the hallmark of his musical output to date, as well as the willingness to take on more of the creative and production duties, where appropriate. The fact that his cohorts on the album include some of the best in the business – names like Bowie Mclaughlin, Gibby, Mikey Fletcher and Kirk Bennett – served to encourage rather than deter the still formative singer to have his own input and stamp his own personality on the disc’s 10 tracks.
M has also been busy putting his media grounding in place, doing a number of appearances – mostly in the Us Northeast - and giving sound bites (including to the BBC). In this regard, he’s met some influential fellow travellers, one of whom is James Mtume. The name may not be familiar to the under-30s, but in the early 80s the percussionist-songwriter-producer also led and R&B group that bore his name (their hits included “Juicy Fruit” which was in turn co-opted by the late rapper Biggie Smalls, and “You, Me and He”) and before that he recorded with jazz icon Miles Davis.
He’s also made a link with ace U.S. publicist Tracy Miller, whose current roster includes Amy Winehouse, India.Arie and rap icon DMC (one-third of the legendary group RunDMC with Jam Master Jay). He hopes to realize significant benefits from that connection – and not only in the U.S. “While America is the major market for us right now, we’re not limiting ourselves in any way, and already we have interest coming from Europe, but ant to solidify the base and then expand.”
The “expansion” also includes a heavier presence on the home front, where the aforementioned “Girls Night Out” is garnering much attention, more so than the preceding single, the Euro-beat banger, “here Comes Your Life.” For the “Girls” video, M again turned to trusted ally, Adrian Lopez of Liquid Light studio. “Adrian did another tremendous job for us,” he says. “The whole production is first rate.”
M, who has performed at rebel Salute and a few other local venues, will be stepping up his presence here as well as overseas as the album release approaches. “I feel a real sense of accomplishment with this record, and its not an ego thing,” he reflects. “The balance of songs is great – we have the dance numbers like Girls Night Out and we have weightier songs like Lest We Forget, and I even have a number, called “Remember Me’ that I rap on, so all in all, its a good statement for me at this time.”
A statement which the music world seems increasingly ready to hear.

Bryan Takes his "Art" to Ottawa

Singer Bryan Art is off to the 2010 Ottawa reggae Festival and will spend the weekend in the Canadian capital with the likes of Sean Paul, Tarrus Riley, Barrington Levy and others.

The singer, whose debut full-length disc, 20ten, has been released to overwhelmingly positive reviews, will be staying busy as the summer closes and through the rest of the year from which the album gets its title. His current singles include "Best of My Love" "ready or Not" and "Murder Dem A Play" featuring Queen Ifrica

Have You Had your [DUB]Tonic today?

DUBTONIC KRU, captivating audiences in the U.S.A

The founding members of the five member Jamaican dub/reggae band, Dubtonic Kru,are Deleon “Jubba” White and Strickland “Stone” Stone, a dynamic Drum & Bass duo who, over the years have contributed to the development of modern Roots Reggae, with their unique sound and approach that intertwines Jubba’s mesmerizing Reggae/Jazz Fusion drumming with Stone’s groovy, yet pulsating bass lines. This duo has gained about a decade and a half of experience from touring and or recording with the legendary likes of Max Romeo, U-Roy, Burning Spear, The Mighty Diamonds as well as modern day artistes such as Bushman, Junior Kelly, Richie Spice, Lutan Fyah and Voicemail to name a few…

Their music is a rare and eclectic mix of roots reggae and explosive dub instrumentals with influences from many different genres of music that appeals to a wide range of audiences across the globe.

Dubtonic Kru, in addition boasts two up front vocalists: Kamau, "the quiet warrior" adds a powerful and revolutionary voice, along with his energetic role on percussions and Jallanzo's equally unique and versatile voice, not to mention his guitar riffs, twirling around the keyboard melodies of Luke Dixon's magical hands on the keyboards.

The group's first album, "Jungle Fever" debuted the awakening of a new breed of musicians taking traditional Roots Reggae music to a whole new level.

The first single off the album, "Hold on Still" enjoyed the #1 position for over 10 weeks on a prominent UK radio chart as well as significant rotation on a slew of radio stations and sound systems across Europe.

In the summer of 2009, after a hectic European tour, Dubtonic Kru took the stage at the prestigious "Reggae Sumfest" festival in Jamaica. They performed on "International Night One" to rave reviews

The Kru's second album, "DUB TONIC" was released in November 2009 and was once again met with overwhelming response.

In Spring 2010 the band and their new album were warmly embraced by US audiences that rocked and grooved to their sound on their first American tour alongside Grammy award winning Mykal Rose (former member of Black Uhuru). It was this response that summoned the Kru back to the States in the summer to perform at a number of venues across the Mid West and West Coast including the acclaimed Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.

Dubtonic Kru has put on many outstanding performances in many countries...among the most notable are Ostroda Reggae festival (Poland), Uppsala Reggae Festival (Sweden), Rototom Sunsplash (Italy), NOWA Reggae Festival (Spain), Reggae Sumfest (Jamaica), Reggae on the Mountain (Utah), Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (California), and Bay Front Reggae Festival (Minnesota).

Dubtonic Kru will once again be back in the U.S.A for an extended tour this fall.


Stay tuned for their tour dates coming this fall.

THE “NORTHERN TROPICAL” STYLE OF KC TAKES HOLD

IN the ultra-competitive world of popular music, one must be consistently spectacular or face the prospect of non-existence.
For Kerwin” KC” Clarke the latter has never been an option and from his base in the “northern chill” of Toronto Canada, he has been busying himself in creating heat among lovers of dancehall/reggae music. He spent his formative years absorbing the sounds and lyrical stylings of Beenie Man, Bounty Killa, Kartel Movado and other giants of dancehall in the hope that he would one day be putting out hit records and drawing top billing as they do.
Now that dream is drawing closer to reality, as the singer and DJ – having made a name for himself in the T.O. is fast on the next level and seeking to insinuate himself in the local scene. “This is where the music started and where it really lives, in spite of everything,” he states. “so I’m really looking forward to making a solid impression with Jamaican fans as I build my career.”
His initial forays have been promising, and while he is yet to collaborate with any of the aforementioned idols, he is laying the foundation for wider acceptance, particularly with the singles “{Look Good] Inna Yu Jeans” and “Baby Girl”. Moving through the local music scene, he has hung out with several top entertainers. “ Once you get into music with music people, the vibe is alright.”
Armed with this attitude of confidence, and with good initial reactions to his efforts, KC Has big shows like Sting in his sights. Before that though, he returns north to perform on the anniversary show for his label Don Crissas Record, which will go down at Toronto’s reputable Northern Tropics Club.
Then he’ll be zig-zagging between Jamaica and Canada to fulfil obligations and promote the tunes, all the while aiming to cover the wider Caribbean - and eventually, the world - as well. “My music is from everyday life, people can relate to it right away,” he says. “Once people get to know me and react to me, whether Jamaica or elsewhere, I know it will be positive.”
A video is forthcoming for Inna Yu Jeans, and in the meantime, the burly entertainer says the majority of his time is spent on music. Of course, he will allow space to interact with his family, and he’ll definitely make space for a game of football (soccer to the Canucks). He proudly followed the historic World Cup tournament in South Africa. “Africa is somewhere that I definitely want to be performing in sometime,” he says.
But even before kicking off, KC is likely to do a little impromptu music, even a capella. Its just in his nature and part of his ongoing journey as a legend in the making.

Oneil is our 1st "ATM" (Artiste of the Month)

Our Artiste of the Month feature commences in September, with O'Neil Peart (If y'all are good, i'll toss in a few extras on No-Maddz as well)
watch for it.

Oneil Peart - BEYOND STARDOM

As one might expect, Oneil Peart well recalls his experience as a Rising Stars finalist
"To me, it wasn't so much about whether I won or went home, I was really grateful for the opportunity to give Jamaica a glimpse of my talent, that was my primary objective. And I was even more pleased with how the people responded." His song “Judge Dem”
produced by Shane Brown which was done for the compilation album with the other finalists has become quite popular with the teenagers and in the UK / Europe market.

That was only the beginning that alone will not be able to define him. WOW

The son of rural Jamaica admits to not coming under any direct musical influences while growing up (no one else in his immediate family had any notable musical abilities, or interests) and it was only upon entering Excelsior Community College that he began to gravitate toward music as a serious occupation. Thereafter, his innate abilities emerged, and while does acknowledge help in certain aspects; his musical acumen is largely self-taught.
On leaving EXED, he sought to gain wider exposure, and the Rising Stars competition came along at just the right juncture.

Now, Oneil Peart is ready to be judged on the merits of his own offerings, rather than merely singing along (his guitar notwithstanding) to the works of others.” I’m confident that I have something to say, and music is something that I'm involved in for the long term. I see myself as an artist, and as such, I intend to present my own music, with my own perspectives, to Jamaica and, in time, the world."

To this end, Oneil is balancing his current day job as a teacher, with making records and is moving toward making his presence felt on the music scene. And despite not having much of a physical presence since the competition, he's still being remembered and noticed by serious music connoisseurs. He was given the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in 2008 which is the perfect platform for a sure winner this year written by the Jamaica Observer.

His second single “Still Got the Blues” just released by Red Nile Music along with a spectacular sexy video to compliment the song.

And so, in comes a dedicated and substantial musical talent, at another interesting and opportune juncture in the music sphere. This time, it’s a permanent engagement.

E-M-X is on!

Look out for updates on Oneil & More

visit our other sites:

www.turbodonkeycart.blogspot.com
www.mikethemovies.blogspot.com
www.jazzbus1.blogspot.com
www.eurojamcar.blogspot.com