My Next NYC Gig: March 31st at SUGAR BAR

I’m returning to SUGAR BAR!!!

Taken at my last Sugar Bar gig on Sept 23, 2009

This lovely Upper West Side music venue and restaurant is owned by legendary songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)”, “Solid (As a Rock)”, “You’re All I Need to Get By”), and I’m excited to be performing there again.

Nearest subway stop to Sugar Bar:
West 72nd Street Station; Trains: 1, 2, 3

For dinner reservations, call (212) 579-0222

March 31st – Carla Lynne Hall plays Ashford & Simpson’s SUGAR BAR

• Moxie Entertainment: Carla Lynne Hall
• Date: Wednesday, March 31st 2010
• Time: 9:00pm
• City: Carla Lynne Hall in New York, NY
• Venue: Sugar Bar
• Address: 254 W. 72nd St. (Bet Broadway & West End Ave.)
• Venue phone: 212 579 0222
• Country: United States
• Admission: $10
• Age restrictions: No Minors
• Notes: This show at Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar is presented by Make It Happen Entertainment
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Popularity: 2% [?]

“Lucy & Ethel” to be featured in THE WOMAN’S VOICE Trios Concert Series

On March 17th, my song “Lucy & Ethel” will be performed by a group of singers and musicians during
THE WOMAN’S VOICE presented by the Trios Concert Series.

Featuring music by women composers (including Lady Gaga!), this performance series celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Women’s Month. I can’t even put into words what this means to me. Wow.

• Moxie Entertainment: Carla Lynne Hall
• Date: Wednesday, March 17th 2010
• Time: 7:30pm
• City: Carla Lynne Hall in New York, NY
• Venue: Madison Baptist Church
• Address: 30 E. 31st St. (at Madison Ave)
• Country: United States
• Admission: $10
• Notes: This performance of THE WOMAN’S VOICE, presented by the Trios Concert Series, will feature my song “Lucy & Ethel”. Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Women’s Month, a group of singers and musicians will feature music by women composers (including Lady Gaga)!
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Popularity: 2% [?]

FORMER GUNS N ROSES GUITARIST SLASH TURNS TO WEB 2.O AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO MAKE NEW RECORD

Talking with Andrew Hand about this contest, the new music economy and why education and innovation are keys to success.

One-time GNR axeman Slash has teamed up with FameCast and national retailer Guitar Center to offer a contest for fellow artists to win a chance to make an EP with him and have national distribution of the single through TuneCore plus other prizes. By registering for an account to pick Who Slash will record with you will be able to vote once per day for as many artists as you like. The catch is you only get one vote per artist per day until the competition closes May 15th. With a multitude of musicians out there and the vast sea of social media networks vying for your attention, it will be interesting to see what this contest produces. One particular NYC
artist, Andrew Hand, is seeking your vote to choose him as the artist Slash will work with.

When I asked Indie Rocker Andrew Hand about this contest and why he joined he offered this. “I’m a little bit old school rock. Think David Bowie meets Bono with some Jim Morrison and John Lennon thrown in. I think that would be a pretty intriguing pairing don’t you?” Hand continued, “…there’s so much more music out there than before and we really need to use web 2.0 and social media opportunities to help bring ourselves as artists to the fore-front.” Hand admits that the registration process “…might discourage some fans from bothering”, but he says, “I actually went through it and made a video to show how simple it is…there’s nothing to lose and for the fans that make this happen, what a sense of accomplishment, I’m encouraging everyone to just do it, be part of the movement! This is a pretty cool contest and it seems like a great way to marry the old with the new. I mean Slash is an old major label dog and now we’re seeing these labels struggling, artists are dropping off them or leaving them so as to stay relevant and be totally in control of their careers, but we still need exposure.”

Exposure is the key. There’s no doubting that social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube rule the world of online sharing and that artists have had proven success using these outlets to gain exposure and reap financial rewards. There’s Amanda Palmer’s $19,000 one day Twitter take, or the amazing Beatle like welcome overseas for Boyce Avenue, indie favorite Jill Sobule’s $85,000 fan funded album also the case of Pamplamoose Music turning down major labels to remain indie. These are a few examples that show the power that online fan engagement can have. In the offline world, contests like America’s Got Talent, Rockstar Supernova and American Idol have shown that there’s a large audience in place for unknown talent being discovered and rising to notoriety through mainstream media too. Hand adds, “This is a great time for a new artists to break and say hey, look – there are still creative ways to take our music to a world-wide audience through new media partnerships and opportunities as long as the fans are with us and we’re not giving up too much control and remain mindful of the balances worked out.”

That control is the important part and it’s what separates the old world music mindset from the new music frontier. The days of record labels exploiting artists and taking the pirate’s share of the treasure are behind us. Artists now know what they can do on their own and have more of a sense of what is actually a fair trade-off. New sites and companies seeking to partner and grab a share of an artist’s revenues won’t ever stop because there is always money to make and let’s face it, we live in a capitalist society, so better to embrace rather than fight this mindset. The key is to be educated and be innovative, which is what myself and colleagues (Bob Baker, Derek Sivers, Ariel Hyatt and more) seek to help artists accomplish. And that brings us back to Slash’s contest.

Andrew is using both his innovation and education: writing blog posts, creating videos, spreading the word via email to his fans and distribution to his Twitter, Facebook and YouTube sites. So why would you want to vote for this indie rocker? That’s a question Hand confesses, “…only you can answer that. I am all about making great rock songs and having something positive to say. I think this would be a cool opportunity to take my voice and style and pair that with an icon of Rock n’ Roll history. I want to take a message of inspiration and motivation to the world and would really love to have fans support that.” One thing is certain: with a wide open pool and lots of competition, Hand will most certainly need your vote.

Where will Your Next Record fall in this pantheon of new sites with new opportunities? Hard to say. With the recent fall of Sell-A-Band and sites like MySpace and GarageBand.com not being what they once were, it is certain to expect change. Try new things but never put all your eggs in one basket. Work a lot of different angles and be everywhere. That way when an opportunity does arrive you’re ready to capitalize on it. The contest has begun, it will end and their will be a winner. Just who that winner is and what the reception will be has yet to be seen.

If you’d like to vote for Andrew Hand you can do so by Voting for Andrew and Slash to Make a Record. Andrew also offers free motivational music downloads via his website and invites you to come visit. Voting has opened and Slash is waiting, now it’s up to you to go out there and vote, and vote and vote some more for who you think is worthy.

————————————————————————————————–

Carla Lynne Hall is a musician and music marketing consultant based in New York City. She has released three CDs on her Moxie Entertainment label, and has toured the world as a singer/songwriter, and professional vocalist. Her current CD SUPERNOVA has been described as “Norah Jones meets Sade for tea on their way to meet The Beatles.”

In addition to being an Associate Writer for MusicDish.com, Carla is also the former music business columnist for Vibe Magazine, and her writing has been featured in publications around the world. She is the author of The DIY Guide to the Music Biz and Twitter for Musicians. Carla also blogs about the life of an indie musician at Rock Star Life Lessons.com

P.S. There seems to be some buzz building around a mysterious substance called DruPaxl, What is it?

###

Contact Carla via
Web: Rock Star Life Lessons.com
or email moxiemaven64 [at] gmail {dot} com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Tom Paul’s Brooklyn Songwriter Circle!

For the past few months, I have been a regular attendee of the Brooklyn Songwriter Circle, Brooklyn’s favorite songwriter gathering. Hosted by Tom Paul, the Brooklyn Songwriter Circle is a fantastic place to share your songs and get honest feedback in a supportive environment.

March 8, 2010 marks the 2nd Anniversary of the Brooklyn Songwriter Circle, and I made a video to surprise Tom and the gang!

Happy Anniversary Brooklyn Songwriter Circle! Here’s to many more!!!

Learn more about The Brooklyn Songwriter Circle
Brooklyn Songwriter Circle Fan Page on Facebook
Brooklyn Songwriter Circle on Twitter

Popularity: 2% [?]

February Album Writing Month – Crescendo

[I read this email yesterday, and was so happy I thought I would cry. I am going to complete this songwriting challenge after all, dammit!]

Dear carlalynnehall,

A quick love letter from FAWM HQ:

* You can do it! Whether you have one song to write or thirteen, it’s been done before and you can make it happen again. And by golly, writings songs is fun!

* A title is all you need. Titles are all you need to post at FAWM.ORG for them to count officially. Lyrics and demos are always optional, and you can add them later. So focus on writing songs instead of polishing demos if you must. A lot of commenting happens in March and April.

* Midnight at the International Dateline. You can continue to post songs as long as it’s still February somewhere in the world. That means 7am March 1 in New York, 4am in Los Angeles, noon in London, etc.

And remember to donate to FAWM.ORG if you haven’t had the chance yet!

See you at the finish line,
Burr Settles
(Founding Fawmer)

UPDATE: I uploaded my 14 song titles by FAWM’s International Dateline Deadline:

YES!!!

February Album Writing Month

Popularity: 4% [?]

February Album Writing Month – Week 4

Last week’s co-writing dates with Dave Jay Gerstein have been quite fruitful, and we’ll be meeting again this week. I’m not sure if I’ll have 14 songs by the end of the month, but I’ve already written more songs this month than I did last February – YAY!

This Week’s Songwriting Challenge: Week 4: Time

It’s the last week of FAWM 2010, folks, so we’re running out of time. BUT! Maybe we can earn some of it back by writing songs… about… time…? Eh?

Exmples: “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Halley and the Comets, “Time Is On My Side” by The Rolling Stones, “The Times They Are A Changing” by Bob Dylan, “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

Visit February Album Writing Month for more!

Popularity: 6% [?]

February Album Writing Month – Week 3

This Week’s Songwriting Challenge: Week 3: Neither Major nor Minor

Write a song this week using a musical scale that omits the third, or uses a third that is in between the major and minor notes. To composition newbies: this can be based on power chords, open tunings, use a “bent/crushed/blue third,” quartal harmony, or non-Western scales such as ragas, quarter-tone scales, etc.

Examples: “Taxman” by The Beatles, “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, “Soundtrack for Alien” by Jerry Goldsmith, “Petrushka” by Igor Stravinsky.

This week I have a co-writing date with Dave Jay Gerstein (writer of “Would You Be My Co-Dependent Valentine” and “My Pet Pickle”) so you know it’s gonna be fun, not to mention interesting!

February Album Writing Month – Let’s go!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Online Music Marketing for Indie Musicians

Online music marketing is one of my specialties, and I’ve created a new dedicated blog (yes, another one ) at Online-MusicMarketing.com to showcase my articles on the subject, as well as become the new online home for my music marketing specialist work.

This new site is currently under construction, and will eventually take the place of all the other music business related blogs that I have floating out there in the blogosphere. I’ll be consolidating all of the various online music marketing content that I have on this site, and I’ll eventually delete the rest. Future plans include a new newsletter and e-courses for musicians, and I’m very excited!

Best to keep my online music marketing issues in one basket, as opposed to scattering them around. I’ll keep you posted.

Check out Online Music Marketing at Online-MusicMarketing.com

Popularity: 10% [?]

Blizzard 2010 aka Snow Day!

So today, (Feb 10, 2010) there was a blizzard in NYC (as well as other parts of the Northeast). There was so much snow expected that most schools and some businesses were closed.

My roommate Tym Moss and I both work from home, and Tym came up with the great idea of going to the park to make snow angels. What a great idea!!!

Popularity: 10% [?]

February Album Writing Month – Week 2

With three rehearsals and three gigs, last week was a helluva week! Now that things have calmed down a tiny bit, I’m getting back on track with February Album Writing Month aka FAWM!

Last night I attended Tom Paul’s Brooklyn Songwriter Circle, and while discussing FAWM with the gang, I realized that one of the goals of February Album Writing Month is to get us to be less precious with the songs that we write. It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking that all of the 14 songs that we’re challenged to write have to be hits, or songs that will be performed. With that kind of pressure, no wonder it’s so hard to begin!

So I returned to the FAWM site, and checked out the songs that have already been uploaded by other FAWM participants. Mind you, some FAWM-ers have already made their 14 song goal, but I’m not concerned about that. Besides, I sang and performed my ass off last week, and I wouldn’t trade last week’s awesome opportunities in order to have written more songs. Anyway, after checking out the songs, I realized that they are not all masterpieces, and that’s okay. The point is to keep the channel open, and to create.

So I revisited the lyrics of the song I started at the beginning of the month, “Sunday Night Blues”, edited them, and uploaded them to my FAWM page. Now that I’ve broken the seal, I’m free to write more songs. And who knows? Perhaps I will have a masterpiece by the end of the month!

This Week’s Songwriting Challenge: Week 2: Inanimate Objects

Write a song from the perspective of an inanimate object. Lyricists: this could mean telling the story from the object’s point of view. Instrumentalists: this could mean using sounds, samples, or melodies that somehow reference the object.

Examples: “The Lighthouse” by Nickel Creek, “Small Blue Thing” by Suzanne Vega, “Birdhouse In Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants.

It’s still not too late to get started. If you’re interested, visit February Album Writing Month

Popularity: 10% [?]