Fifth Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest 2008

Once again, Classic Rock band Aged Inventory will be rocking the house at this year’s Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest, but this year we’ll be playing on a bigger stage to meet the demand. So instead of playing at the A Leg to Stand On (ALTSO) long-time home at BB King’s in Times Square…

We’ll be playing at The Hammerstein Ballroom!!!

The Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest event is a “Battle of the Bands”, featuring bands made up of hedge fund managers and other Wall Street professionals. Rocktoberfest raises money for A Leg To Stand On, a non-profit organization that provides prosthetic devices for children in India, Haiti and Colombia. The organization was co-founded by Octagon Asset Management chief C. Mead Welles, who doubles as the drummer for The Subscribers, the hedge fund band that organizes the annual concert. It’s rumored that this will be the Subscriber’s “Farewell Show”, but we’ll see about that!

What: Fifth Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest 2008
Where: Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34 St, New York City
When: October 16th, 6 pm onwards

Tickets Before September 30th – $150
Tickets after October 1 – $200
(Price includes: Unrestricted admission, open bar, food, open seating)

To buy individual tickets, click here

For more information, please contact info@altso.org.

Crystal Blue Radio Podcast Interview with Carla Lynne Hall

Earlier this week I participated in the 3rd Annual Digital Press Conference, which was an awesome opportunity to get interviews with tons of podcasters, internet radio DJs, and other new media maven. I’m gathering photos and other stories to prep it for Rock Star Life Lessons, but in the meantime, here’s a link to my interview for the Crystal Blue Radio podcast with Dan Herman.

More about Radio Crystal Blue

**To hear Radio Crystal Blue live, please tune into the Live365 network Sundays 7pm ET http://live365.com/stations/142950

**To subscribe to the Live365 podcasts, go to the RSS link or click inside the FeedPlayer:
http://bigcontact.com/radiocrystalblu/rss

**To stream the podcasts for Live365 Go to http://radiocrystalblue.com and look for the FeedPlayer window, with mp3s of previous shows. Use the different buttons to subscribe, to syndicate, or to simply listen.

New iProng Magazine Features Interview with Carla Lynne Hall

The summer 2008 edition of iProng Magazine is out today, and features an article with yours truly! iProng is an online magazine for iPod and iPhone users, and is available via iTunes.

Click to read the latest issue of iProng Magazine here.

Me and iProng Magazine publisher, Bill Palmer

Overcoming Creative Jealousy by Carla Lynne Hall

What’s green and felt all over? It’s Jealousy, that evil monster. Yep, folks, it’s the dark side of being an artist, and not very pretty. I guess we are all susceptible to it, though some times are worse than others. Some may disagree, but I rank jealousy with masturbation. Ninety percent will admit to it, and the other ten percent is lying.

What I’m here today to discuss on my soapbox is not that jealousy is an evil thing, but that it’s normal. Of course, I’m not condoning the shredding of a rival diva’s costume minutes before she goes onstage (which has happened in real life to a friend). I’m only saying that when she gets on stage, looking totally fly, singing fierce, singing her ASS off, it’s normal to want to strangle her. And if she’s a bitch to boot, it’s even more difficult to be happy for her (”Gee, I don’t know why God decided to give me all this money this year. Isn’t it great??” – Yeah, right). Before I go on, I want to make it clear that I admire tons of musicians, but I’d be lying if I said that there had never been any moments that I thought, “Damn, that was good. I suck.” To be fair, maybe someone has thought that during one of my shows. Maybe not, but it’s still a fact of life for an artist.

Being an artist of any medium practically is an ongoing challenge. Commercial demands aside, as an artist you are constantly faced with a blank sheet of paper, canvas, or lump of clay. Sometimes you feel inspired. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you come up with roses, other times it’s manure. An artist is rarely happy with his/her work At least, not for long. You finish a project, and you can’t believe that you created it. The next day (or sooner), you wonder if you can ever do it again. Creating art, like dying, is something done alone.

The helplessness of an artist probably contributes to various addictions. When you add the demands of the marketplace to the equation, it can get ugly. We ARE our demons…Of course, I can still find the positive spin to all of this. When you see someone else kicking butt, especially someone you know (and usually like), listen to your heart. The jealousy and envy stem from wanting something they have. Deep down in your heart, you always know what you lack as an artist. When you watch someone who has it, it hurts. It’s WAY too easy to get stuck in “Oh, she slept with the producer”. Maybe she did, but I have yet to see ANYONE get ahead just because they knew “who to do”. It takes a lot of work to go forward. Besides, the producer probably made her dress up in a Wonder Woman costume. He may even have incriminating photos of the moment as well that she will forever worry about. Tell me that that’s not hard work!

But I digress. The trick, I think, is using that feeling to energize your own improvement. Personally, I find that watching someone who has something I need to improve upon makes me work for it even more. It can be painful, no doubt, to watch someone on stage have a seemingly flawless performance when you feel that your own stage presence lacks, due to nervousness. Well folks, one thing I learned is that there is NO magic involved to great performances. It’s really true that practice makes perfect. Whatever you want to improve, you can. You think you’re not connected, get out and meet people. You want to write better songs, put in the time. You want to know more about the business, read some books.

You know what I hate? People who go to the same seminars that I do, but ask the same question (or different versions of it) time after time. I just want to say, “You got your answer last month. Get on with it!” There comes a time in each life when you have to own up to what you need to do to make it happen. If you can’t or won’t do it, perhaps something else is meant for you. I say all that to say this: sometimes jealousy tells you what you need to do. Other times, it’s plain old envy. Just don’t let it rule your life. By focusing on others, you’ll lose track of your own growth. This year I challenge you. Work on ONE thing that will bring you closer to your goal. You know what it is. Just do it.

Excerpted from The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Guide to the Music Biz by Carla Lynne Hall. Available at http://DIYGuide-MusicBiz.com

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More music biz articles can be found in the Rock Star Life Lessons Reading Room.

New Supernova Review in Feminist Review!!!

Have I mentioned yet that I’ve hired the fabulous PR team at Ariel Publicity? I’m in the middle of my first three month campaign, and in addition to getting songs from my Supernova CD added to internet radio and podcasts, I’ve also been getting CD reviews. The reviews are now coming in, and this one from Feminist Review is pretty awesome:

“First, they should try to get the Top 40-friendly “Supernova” (or its “Reprise”) onto as many radio playlists as possible, and maybe even pony up the money for a well-edited music video to promote the single. The twang and vocal stylization of “Long Distance Love” could work on radio stations with a more traditional county and western format. The soul-stirring “My First Child,” the uber-passionate “My Body’s Keeper,” or the sweepingly romantic “Fallin’” would all boost record sales as follow-up singles. (Incidentally, the seamless arrangement of the horns, organ, and Hall’s voice on “Fallin’” had me hitting the “repeat” button several times.) And “Lucy and Ethel”, a bittersweet ode to female friendship, can be included on the soundtrack of a tear-jerking chick flick.”

What great adjectives this writer uses: “Soul-stirring”, “Uber-passionate”, “Sweepingly romantic”! WOW!!!!!!

And this is only a small part of this great review, although I’ve included my favorite parts here. To read the rest of this insightful review, check out Feminist Review here.

I am surprised at how much the country twang elements were highlighted in this review, to the point where the funkier/pop songs seemed, in the reviewers opinion, out of place in comparison. While Supernova definitely has a bit of country to it (for example the pedal steel featured on “Long Distance Love”), I’m not sure if this CD really defines me as a country artist, as the reviewer believes. Still, I love hearing how my work is received, and I’m grateful for the time taken to listen to Supernova and write an opinion.

Love and thanks to Ariel, Christina, and Stefan at Ariel Publicity for all their attention and hard work. Keep the reviews comin’!!!

The New York Songwriters Circle

One of the best things about not having to get up early in the morning is staying out late to see live music. Last night I went to NYC’s legendary Bitter End to check out the long-running New York Songwriters Circle, run by songwriter Tina Shafer. Held the first and third Monday of every month, this songwriter’s circle has celebrated its 18th anniversary as a series Billboard magazine has hailed as “One of the best showcases for original music in New York City.”

Says their brochure, “The concept is simple: songwriters in the spotlight, sharing their songs in an intimate, unplugged format and, equally important, sharing the responsibility of filling the seats in the club.”

I love watching songwriters in the round for the intimacy and immediacy of the performance. Showcasing songwriters in various genres and status come together to present their songs. Last night’s songwriters were Valerie Miller, Colin McGrath, Matt Munball, Jason Reischel, and Mike Logen. I enjoyed everyone, and I think I signed up for everyone’s mailing list.

Checking out other singer/songwriters is a great way to get inspired and motivated. Participating in these events is also pretty cool too! For more info on future songwriter showcases, check out The New York Songwriters Circle.

Summer Block Party Near Madison Square Park, NYC

This Thursday, July 26th, I’ll be playing with Aged Inventory at New York City’s Madison Square Park (Madison Avenue and E. 23rd Street)

Actually, that was the original plan, which has morphed a bit. Aged Inventory, investment bank Credit Suisse’s resident Banker Band was slated to play at Madison Square Park for the Fixed Income Division’s Summer Party. However, the powers-that-be in the Fixed Income division realized that Aged Inventory has a huge following, and having the gig across the street at Madison Square Park might be a logistical nightmare if they had to rope off an area that could only accommodate 300 people. The Fixed Income department alone is more than 300 people, not to mention all of our friends in other parts of the firm who want to come. So now the show has become a BLOCK PARTY!!!

We’ll still have tasty burgers catered by Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, but we’re moving the party to the street in front of Credit Suisse (Madison Avenue and E. 24th Street. Security will have more control over the crowds this way, and employees exiting the building will not be able to miss us. Non-employees won’t have access to the free food, but since Shake Shack is right there, you can still grab a delicious meal and hear some great music. And since we’ll be outside playing LOUD, you won’t be able to help but see or hear us.

Ain’t no party like a summer block party! Hope to see you there!

Thanks for coming to My Songs of Love Show!

Thank you for your support with last night’s Songs of Love fundraising performance at The Cutting Room. Thanks to your generous donations, two chronically ill children will receive their own personalized songs from the Songs of Love Foundation, which was my original goal. But even better than that, I was absolutely tickled to learn that some of you even volunteered your voices and resources to Songs of Love directly, to create additional song CDs. Wow!!! Music has an incredible power to heal and inspire, and these songs mean so much to these children. The results of last week’s show were better than I hoped, and I couldn’t have done it without your support.

And thanks to the Songs of Love team, who invited me to sing their “NASDAQ Song” with them during a recent NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony on August 18th. That was fun!

For more information about Songs of Love, please visit www.SongsofLove.org

CUTTING ROOM, NYC – AUG 17th – BE THERE!

Before we continue on our regular Rock Star: Supernova programming, it turns out that I have a gig of my own to announce. On Thursday, August 17th at 7pm, I’ll be performing at New York’s The Cutting Room. For you Sex & The City fans, The Cutting Room is a nightclub owned by Mr. Big (Chris Noth). I can’t promise he’ll be there, but you never know…This will be a fundraiser for The Songs of Love Foundation, a special organization that creates personalized songs for children and teens with chronic illnesses. Can you imagine being a child stuck in a hospital, having to undergo all kinds of treatment, and then receiving a CD with a song written just for you? These songs incorporate the favorite people and activities of the child too, which is pretty cool.

I first heard of this charity from David Lee Roth when I did a gig with him a few months ago. He performed with my band as a special guest, and then turned 100 percent of his appearance fee over to the Songs of Love people. I’m a Van Halen fan from way back, and it was cool as hell to sing with Diamond Dave, but my respect for David Lee Roth went up tenfold with that gesture. Now that I’m playing out more, I’m happy to do a gig to help the kids. I’m charging $10 at the door, and giving Songs of Love 100f the profit. If you’re in town, please come out and support this cause.

Okay, the first elimination round is about to begin. Cannot wait!!!

Back Home from my Rock Star Reality TV Show Audition

I arrived at the audition an hour before it began at 10am, and my audition number (# 147) wasn’t called until 3pm. Some people had even camped out the night before. It was very cold that day, and I needed another jacket as most of the line took place outside. About an hour before that, a production assistant came down the line to tell everyone that they needed to shorten the auditions to 30 seconds of a song sung a cappella. I was actually quite excited about singing a capella, because I have a strong voice. I figured that singing a capella would give me an edge, so I was very excited. At the same time, the guy in front of me started complaining about singing without his guitar, and after about ten minutes more of griping to anyone who’d listen, he left. I was surprised that someone could wait that long for this chance and still leave before their audition. But I figured that my opportunity was that much closer.

I sang a verse and chorus of “I’m Just a Girl” by No Doubt (Gwen Stefani – lead singer), and I nailed it! The experience was a bit surreal because the auditions also attract people with dreams but without strong talent. In addition to the regular musican types like myself, there were others, like a guy about 60 years old, and another woman, mid-40s in a beige suit carrying an acoustic guitar. Strangely enough, the guy that auditioned before me looked like a younger James Hetfield from Metallica. I bet people tell him that all the time. The Rock Star audition sparked fantasies, and it seemed like a lot of people were hoping to make their dreams come true. I wanted the wanna-bes to go home so the judges wouldn’t be worn out before my turn came.

I had a really good feeling about my audition. We’ll see what the future holds…