FEBRUARY 2010 SONICBIDS “ARTISTS 2 WATCH”

MAW: It feels really great, I am really very humbled.

MAW: For starters I am working on finishing my 4th CD of material, also I am working on using my music to endorse a lot of products worldwide via film,tv,web and mobile apps. Working on using my music on a few commercials, I just wrapped up having some songs placed in a few indie films and some of my artwork was placed in a pilot miniseries.My music is on a variety of online and land based radio stations,one of them is a great new service called www.TONESTAC.com, Last.fm, Jango.

 Skope: If you have any videos on Myspace or Youtube that we can show readers please incliude the URL?

MAW: Around 4 pm-12 midnight anytime really I just find that I am more creative late in the afternoon, unless I am jamming with my band.

MAW: I am in the process of finalizing a deal for placing some of my music in a documentary’s about Vietnam for possible showing on  a prominent cable  channel. People can learn more about me by visiting www.markallanwolfe.com and I am also putting the finishing touches on a few online stores for my artwork,merchandise and music cd’s. I am available on itunes, amazon.com and my one store is http://zazzle.com/markallanwolfe.

Mariami: I am beyond thrilled to be recognized for my sound and artistry among such talented and passionate musicians! The exposure is fantastic, I am pumped that my sound is getting out there. It’s really an honor to be associated with a community that cares so much about independent artists in todays highly commercial industry.

Mariami: Getting my message out there is my main priority. As a songwriter, I want to make music that gets to the core of the human condition. If people can connect with my sound and feel better, feel inspired, feel refreshed, then I know I’m doing my job right. Only thing now is sending that musical message all across the world!

Mariami: My favorite time of day to write is usually when the sun is going down, it’s not too early, but it’s late enough that I have plenty of inspiration. There is something about night that heightens emotions, in a righteous way.

Mariami: I am playing a pretty stellar gig at the Bitter End in NYC Feb. 12th @ 8PM. My self titled album is slated to drop in mid February, loaded with edgy, sexy and original tracks. Readers can tune into my Sonicbids page for upcoming shows!

Emily O’Halloran: This kid is smiling…I’m honoured. It is a beautiful and humbling feeling to be recognized for your artistry. I make music for the love of it, play songs at my kitchen table to no-one. So the days when you get a little recognition, someone coming up to you after a show, or an article like this, it is an added bonus and really does give me the faith to continue writing and singing my songs.

Emily O’Halloran: I am saving my pennies, sometimes quarters, to master my record, “Morphine and Cupcakes”. Once it is mastered i plan to release it myself.

Emily O’Halloran: I am a nighttime cat. That dusk till dawn period, theres a quiet and a magic about it. Everyone is sleeping, there is a softness, a melancholy, something that makes you feel held. An incredibly fertile energy about those midnight hours. I find the daytime harsh and abrasive and not condusive to creativity at all.

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?Emily O’Halloran:” I am putting a new line-up together for 2010 and have been collaborating with some great musicians. Then it will be gigs, more gigs, campfire sing-alongs, busking on street corners and the usual hustle. For the LA crowd i have a poetry book, titled “Waking to Morning” which is sold at Skylight Books on Vermont Ave in Los Feliz. My song “Kindness”, is going to be on the soundtrack to the movie, “Circle”, of which I’m also shooting a music video for. I’ll hooking up with some muso’s from back home in May, and we will be doing an East Coast tour in the summer…Cheers!

Devils Elbow: First of all, Hello out there to yo folks at Scope and all readers, thanks for taking time to spend a little time with a band from a small bay on the east coast of New Zealand, it’s great to be chosen, any interest out of NZ is always appreciated.

Devils Elbow: We have just finished a New Zealand tour with Grant Hart (Husker Du) so we are getting back into the studio to finish a couple things off on our debut album ‘Sand On Chrome’ which will be out in a month or two.

Devils Elbow: Devils Elbow – KO (Live 27 07 2009)

http://www.vimeo.com/6186302 we also have a bunch of footage from the recent tour also which we are sorting through, so we’ll have some of that stuff on our YouTube channel real soon. http://www.youtube.com/user/devilselbowofficial

Devils Elbow: Anytime the ideas start flowing, usually late-afternoon, by then the days jobs are done and I’m free to communicate with the song Gods.

Devils Elbow: Once we finish a couple bits of the album, we will putting it out and planning some shows around it, then I want to start the next batch of tunes, maybe an EP recorded live in studio. The best source for updates is www.myspace.com/devilselbowofficial from there you can find us on Facebook and a few other places, myspace is the hub.

Katie Garibaldi: I am thrilled! There are so many talented and hard-working artists out there, and I’m excited to be recognized in the indie music community.

Katie Garibaldi: I recently released my sixth album, Next Ride Out, and I’m currently working on booking some touring for the summer and fall this year to continue to support my album. I’ll also be playing at a RipStar Bay Area Spotlight Showcase in SF on Feb. 27th, which I’m really excited about being a part of!

Katie Garibaldi: It really just depends when inspiration hits me. It can be any time of day or even the middle of the night when I wake up with an idea. I’ll get a melody and usually some lyrics along with it going in my head. When that happens, I have no choice but to stop what I’m doing and pick up my guitar. If I don’t, the melody usually disappears and it’s lost forever! I’ve had that happen too many times so recently I downloaded a voice recorder app on my Blackberry so when I don’t have my guitar around or I’m in the car, I can capture my idea before it escapes me.

Katie Garibaldi: Some big SF Bay Area shows are coming up for me this Spring and then I can’t wait to hit the road for some touring this summer! Readers can visit my website for all info and my schedule at www.katiegaribaldi.com. They can also connect on MySpace at www.myspace.com/katiegaribaldi

Subanez: Surreal!   I almost spilled my coffee on my cat, but thankfully he’s quick on his feet.   I’ve been checking out skopemag.com for a while now, and to be chosen to be featured with the other great musicians is awesome!   I keep thinking I’m going to wake up any minute and this will all have been a crazy dream.

Dani J: It’s feel great! I am honored to be featured in this publication. I am a new recording artist and it feels awesome to be acknowledged and receive good feedback from doing what I love.

Dani J: Currently, I am recording my first full length album. The title has yet to be decided on but, it will be an album that reflects my life experience with love, heartbreak and happiness up until now. I am also building up my fanbase on sites such as twitter, facebook, myspace, and jango.com.

Dani J: I create music at anytime of the day. Whenever lyrics pop into my head, I jot them down or type them into my phone immediately. I don’t want to chance loosing a good song!

Dani J: I have several events coming up. On February 27, 2010, I will be performing at the University of Buffalo’s Black Explosion, Western New York’s Largest Fashion Show. On March 19, 2010 I will be performing in the PUSH Talent Showcase at the Forbes Theater in Buffalo, and in April I hope to participate in the ArtAwake Showcase in Rochester, NY. My single “Love Intervention” is on the Unsigned Hype Countdown for radio station WBLK, Buffalo’s #1 station.   I plan to release my debut album in May/June of this year. You can learn more about me and my upcoming events at my website www.danijmusic.com

Cosmos: It is indeed a pleasure. It feels great to be able to promote the music of Dan Patch.

Cosmos: Well, we released our debut CD just before the new year and now we’re starting to ramp up the number of shows we’re doing in and around NYC. We’ve really hit our stride as a live band and found a groove in developing new material as well. We’ve been getting a ton of plays on Jango, which is encouraging also. Between that and working to open up more and more avenues through which the music can travel; I think we’re firing on all cylinders.

Cosmos: Not at the moment. There will be a You Tube channel soon.

Cosmos: I find that in the early morning when I first wake up I am still in that semi-dream state and I can pull things from my subconscious that I wouldn’t be able to access as easily later in the day. I’ve even woken up and captured songs from dreams.

Cosmos: We have a few great gigs coming up. We’ve been doing Friday night headlining shows at Fontana’s in New York and we have another coming up on April 23rd. We have a few more cool things which are listed on our website http://www.danpatchmusic.com. There is a myspace as well. http://www.myspace.com/danpatchmusic. Hear and enjoy!

The Vaudeville Class: We’re thrilled to have been selected to be part of Skope Magazines A2W Feature.   We love the idea that our music is being noticed and appreciated.

The Vaudeville Class: Musically, we’re always writing and always trying to perfect what we do.   It’s always fun to learn new things.   Most importantly we’re playing live a lot as this is our passion and our live shows prove that. At the moment we are working on finishing a new EP, as well as preparing for our first single release in April.   This will be a downloadable single of our song “Devil at my Door”.

The Vaudeville Class: It differs depending on our mood.   We don’t feel that songwriting can be dictated by seasons, time of day or external factors like that.   It depends fully on how your feeling at that moment and if the creative juices are flowing.   Although, most of our msic has been written at night when it’s dark, quiet and eerie.   Maybe thats when we come to life.

The Vaudeville Class: We have just been put through to the next round of Live and Unsigned 2010 preparing for the next one in Newcastle on 14th March. We’re also making our first music video and as always, enjoing playing gigs around the UK. Plans are being put together for our ver own charity gig for Love Music Hate Racism, so very busy at present.

Skope: How does it feel to be chosen as an “A2W” artist for February 2010?
THE CELLOPHANEFLOWERS: It’s an absolute pleasure as we are big fans of Skope! We feel very privileged to be here.

Skope: What are you currently working on in your musical endeavours?
THE CELLOPHANEFLOWERS: It’s a very busy and exciting time for The Cellophane Flowers. We have just come out of the studio where we have recorded two brand new songs with our producer Oli Wright (Mystery Jets, Jarvis Cocker), they are sounding amazing! We are now working hard to finalize our pr campaign which will start in the next couple of weeks and will culminate with a single launch in May….On top of all this we are gigging around London as much as we can, catch us if you can!

Skope: If you have any videos on Myspace or Youtube that we can show readers please incliude the URL?
THE CELLOPHANEFLOWERS:
Oh yes we have myspace:      
www.myspace.com/thecellophaneflowers
and youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/cellophaneflowersuk
make sure you watch the video of our track “If I was a girl” as it’s quite an experience!

Skope: What is your favorite time of day to create music?
THE CELLOPHANEFLOWERS: Definetely late morning, this is why we can’t wait to leave our daily jobs! At the moment we practice evenings during the week and mornings during the weekend.

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?
Our myspace page is the best place to learn about us. We update our blog weekly and always post new pics and videos, all the news, gigs eccetera…
THE CELLOPHANEFLOWERS: We are working on a website so hopefully we will have one soon.

Skope: How does it feel to be chosen as an “A2W” artist for February 2010?
Marc Berger: Awesome!

Skope: What are you currently working on in your musical endeavours?
Marc Berger: My latest project is a concept record, called “Ride”, inspired by my longstanding obsession with the American West- its landscape and mythology.   John Ford did it in film, Frederick Remington in painting and sculpture, A.B. Guthrie in fiction. Now “Ride” contains eleven cinematic recordings aimed at capturing the vastness and romance of the West, while exploring its deep roots in the American psyche and relevance to the post-modern world.

Skope: If you have any videos on Myspace or Youtube that we can show readers please incliude the URL?
Marc Berger:
http://www.myspace.com/marcbergermusic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz13B7I1LTg  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-TSkmXiW9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EouDdrC6j-E

Skope: What is your favorite time of day to create music?
Marc Berger: 1:49AM

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?
Marc Berger: “Ride” is about to be mastered.   One of the songs on it, “Nobody Gonna’ Ride On The Railroad was an honorable mention in the 2009 Billboard Songwrtiting Contest.   You can hear it, along with other tracks from the record, and view some live performance videos at my Myspace.  

The Shants: It feels great! We’re honored. 2010 is proving to be a really great year for us so far.

The Shants: Well we just released an EP through High Scores & Records, called Russian River Songs. It was meant to just be a demo, so we headed up to a cabin near the redwoods North of San Francisco and recorded a bunch of songs live. It’s rough around the edges, but it felt and sounded great so we decided to release it. You can get it from iTunes, from highscoresandrecords.com, or directly from us online or at shows. Other than that, we’re just playing shows regionally and planning a West Coast tour this summer.

The Shants: We’d have to quote Big Joe Turner and say that the night-time is the right time! Seems like the only time we ever write songs or get together to play is after the sun goes down.

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?The Shants: We’re opening for Basia Bulat on March 10 at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco, which should be a lot of fun. Then we’ll be playing in Sacramento on April 23 at the Naked Lounge, and Petaluma on April 24 at the Lagunitas Brewery. We’re hoping to start recording our full length debut this year, and of course playing lots of shows!

You can keep up with The Shants through the following channels:

Ballhog: Writing and creating music has its ups and downs — it can be very rewarding and very frustrating at the same time – so receiving the recognition as A2W artist for February 2010 is a real honor for us. Getting a pat on the back along the way is always a welcomed and much needed lift for musicians. Sometimes you write a song and you think it’s good but you don’t know until you play it for a large crowd and see how they respond. This recognition of our music tells us that we are on the right track

Skope: What are you currently working on in your musical endeavours?
Ballhog: We have a new CD, “Ballhog! 2” literally on its way back from the press as we speak so we are gearing up for a CD release party and then a great summer to follow

Skope: If you have any videos on Myspace or Youtube that we can show readers please incliude the URL?
Ballhog: we have videos on Utube some are located on our website www.ballhogmusic.com and we also have a Youtube Chanel   http://www.youtube.com/user/Ballhogmusic

Skope: What is your favorite time of day to create music?
Ballhog: Creativity tends to demand your attention when it hits you so if it happens when you are in the car, in the shower, right before bed or as you are waking up form a dream you better be ready to capture the idea with a pen and paper

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?
Ballhog: We are looking forward to a great year of playing throughout the Southeast to support the release of our new CD. We have a new Web site up and running at ballhogmusic.com

Skope: How does it feel to be chosen as an “A2W” artist for February 2010?
The Electric Riot: We’re grateful to anyone who takes the time out to listen to our music or follow us around our live shows.

Skope: What are you currently working on in your musical endeavours?
The Electric Riot: We’ve just written a new track called “Speak Of The Devil” which we’ll open our Proud Camden set with, plus we’re reworking “LSD To Mars”. We’re also going to get into the studio and nail two of our big live tunes in “The Thriller” and “Rioteque” so keep an eye out for those tracks…they’re a bit tasty!

Skope: If you have any videos on Myspace or Youtube that we can show readers please include the URL?
The Electric Riot:
Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/theelectricriot
Alive & Direct – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8aHMmZgobU

Skope: What is your favorite time of day to create music?
The Electric Riot: Tuesday!…If you want to make a dream come true then vote for us on the Q Music Competition to play Glastonbury: http://www.qthemusic.com/glastonburynewtalent/peoples_choice.shtml

Skope: What is coming up for you and where can readers learn more about you?
The Electric Riot: The usual online places, but I recommend your readers come and see us live, say at Bangers & Mash or Meadowlands Festival…we won’t disappoint you!