Music FridayLive!

Meli Malavasi, a Costa Rican  artist based in L.A., is a triple threat:  singer, dancer, songwriter…and a powerhouse artist in English or Spanish.  She was a finalist in the "International Songwriting Competition".   She was named "Best Female Dance Artist" at the Indie Music Channel.  She has performed in some of LA's stop clubs like The Whisky a Go Go, The Viper Room, House of Blues and Los Globos.  You have heard her songs in TV shows like “Bad Girls Club”. Malavasi is currently working on her next Spanish EP with Musical Director and keyboardist of the 20 times Latin-Grammy Award Winning Band Juanes, while she tears up clubs and stages in Los Angeles.

Since winning the Grand Prize in the National Lilith Fair Talent Search in 1998, San Francisco-based essence has been signed to RCA Records, Way Cool/MCA Records, and Or Music. She debuted with the successful indie release Conception, which established a devoted fan base.  Her second album,  Mariposa garnered critical acclaim and prompted a national tour opening shows for Jason Mraz and Shawn Colvin. Her  2009 release Feels Like the Future  won the Grand Prize for the Great American Song Contest and 2nd Place in the International Songwriting Contest. Her songs have been in television and in films, and she has opened for Tom Petty, Shawn Colvin, Chris Isaac, Sarah McLachlan, Pat Benatar, Linda Perry and many others. She has played at venues ranging from NYC’s Bowery Ballroom to San Francisco’s Fillmore, LA’s Rose Bowl and Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live. She will release  her new album, Black Wings,  this Friday and we get to preview it on Music Friday Live!

Bob Malone has toured the world as a solo artist for two decades and has played keyboards with rock legend John Fogerty since 2011. His sound is a one of-a-kind hybrid of rock, blues, and New Orleans R&B, delivered with high-energy piano virtuosity and a voice all his own. Currently based in Los Angeles, he still plays with Fogerty’s band  plus an average of 100 solo shows a year.  Malone has shared stages with Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Rickie Lee Jones, The Neville Brothers, Rev. Al Green, among others.

Toronto-born, LA-based ARI finds healing and her unapologetic voice in music. Her education is in psychology but her art is music that deftly dances in and out of genre lines, moving from entrancing alternative pop to gritty hip-hop production under a cover of electronic elegance. At the same time, the visceral lyrics transmit messages of hope as often as they ponder tragedy. Her sound comes to life in the middle. “There’s dark and light inside all of us,” she says. “Every opposite is a complement. You can’t have beauty without pain. You can’t have success without failure. You can’t have the ying without the yang. You accept yourself amidst those demons.”  Her album Tunnel Vision plays by its own rules, reflecting the meaning of her name – “eagle “ in Nordic and “lion” in Hebrew.  Together they make for one of the most interesting artists in the current music scene.

Adam Hawley, PhD. is a jazz guitarist signed with Kalimba Music,  the label founded by Maurice White of Earth, Wind, & Fire.  He also teaches at Musician’s Institute, Chaffey College, and Saddleback College.  His first release on the Kalimba label,  Just The Beginning  debuted this March and the first single,  “35th St.”  shot to #1 on Billboard, #1 on the Allen Kepler Smooth Jazz Countdown, and #1 on Mediabase Chart.   Adam is also a prolific sideman, appearing with a who’s who list of artists including Dave Koz, Jennifer Lopez, Brian Culbertson, Natalie Cole, Gerald Albright, , and American Idol to name just a few. Best of all, her is appearing on Music Friday Live! this week.

Sandy Carroll grew up in rural West Tennessee but has seen the world.  Her Memphis blues music reflects her upbringing and her  vision of the world through the eyes of musician:  “no color, no sex, no lifestyle - what mattered is if you were GOOD … that is, if you could PLAY.”  She is both good and can play, touring both throughout the US and the UK and seeing her songs recorded by greats like Albert King and Luther Allison and nominated for Grammys. Always a proud Southerner, after 30 years  Sandy Carroll has returned to her childhood roots  and recorded “The Last Southern Belle” as a  New Southern Woman  who stands firm in her own power and her own truth and her own music.

Vanessa Campagna is a young pop singer/songwriter based in Nashville who blows away audiences wherever she sings. I have seen her live and am still tingling.  She has  an accomplished past and a brilliant future who has been described as a precociously gifted vocal powerhouse and a mature singer reminiscent of a young Celine Dion.” And, she is a great interview.  you will love this classic MusicFridayLive from January.

Canadian-born, LA-based Neo-Ragtime singer Dessy di Lauro describes herself as a "Feathered Frohawk Futuristic Art Deco Centric Harlem Renaissance Hep Music'' singer/songwriter.  She is also the leader and producer of a spectacular  Las Vegas Show that run at the  at the Cosmopolitan Her latest EP was released for her 2015 her world tour in parallel with Madonna’s Rebel Heart tour. I have seen her live and her show is a knock out.  you willlove this interview from January 29.

 

THIS IS A CLASSIC MUSIC FRIDAY LIVE FROM JAN. 29, 2016

Salme Dahlstrom – a.k.a. Salme -- is a New York-based  musical artist who writes, performs and produces  irrepressible dance music.   She is releasinga new album and we are going to debut  it Friday on MusicFridayLive!

Romance and Rebellion. Emerging from the bubbling hip warren of production studios, venues and meetups in the Echo Park district of LA,  David LaViola (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Aaron Medina (Lead Guitar, Harmony Vocals), Kyle Jordan Mueller (Drums), and Brandon Davis (Bass, Harmony Vocals), formed the band Romance and Rebellion in 2015 and quickly gained traction in the crowded Los Angeles market.  After capturing the attention of famed producer Stefan Litrownik (Andy Grammer, One Direction), they began work on their debut EP, a project that would produce the addictive, beat-driven single, “More Than Friends.”  They are the essence of youth exuberance and their growing local fanbase will soon be national.

Goodbye Blue is the duo  Charlotte Kendrick and Dan Rowe who write and sing  melodic,  personal Americana-Folk  reminiscent of classic  story-telling artists.  Both Charlotte and Dan grew up playing music and their separate lives took many turns – including Charlotte’s 2 years in the Peace Corps – before they met through a music producer relative of Dan’s.  They synced immediately and played and toured extensively until a family of three children arrived, which slowed them to a crawl musically (although not logistically!). Their new album  “Worth the Wait” marks their re-emergence into Americana music

Diana Rein is a magnetic Indie Blues  artists known as "the Six String Siren" by her adoring fans. With a sharp tongue, driving blues guitars and melodic solos she is rising fast in the blues world. Born in Romania and raised in Chicago, Diana came onto the scene as an acoustic rhythm guitar player in her hometown with the release of her first album of 8 originals, "The Back Room". It wasn't long before she was doing solo and band shows all around Chicago. Now Diana finally stepping out as a lead guitarist and vocalist on her new album "Long Road". 

New York-based M.A.K.U Soundsystem is a band of immigrant artists, most hailing from Colombia, that embodies a  quest for identity through sound and bodies in motion and music for everyday people. Born in 2010, the band has independently released two full-length albums, one EP, and toured across the U.S. with their fiery grooves. The newest release, Mezcla captures the sound of their native countries and blends them with rock and indie music moves feet and hips with powerful  groves and  lyrics that  reflect the lives of the band.

Born in London to Greek parents, Athena finally got the piano she wanted at 16 and has been performing in English and Greek ever since. An extraordinary singer/songwriter she sings and records and performs at major festivals and has scored films and television programs in Europe.  Athena now lives in Los Angeles and has released her first US-produced record, and 4th studio album. The album, Ready for the Sun, part 1 was created at the legendary Village Studios in Los Angeles with producer Ethan  Allen. Athena recruited a star-studded lineup of collaborators including Jimmie Paxson from Stevie Nicks' band to put the music behind what is arguably one of the finest voices and songwriting talents in the country. The official release party is May 20, 2016 in Hollywood. Music Friday Live has a preview copy and kicks off the festivities with an exclusive interview.

In segment 1 we talk to Heidy Flowers, founder of  Los Hollywood, the Latin-rock-fusion band with a songwriter in Tijuana, Mexico and musicians in San Diego. Founder Heidy Floreswill givepeeka peak at their project now in the studio with Thom Russo, producer for  Michael Jackson, Tom Morello, Johnny Cash among others.  In segment 2 we  interview one of the breakout artists of 2015, the 20 year-old Malibu native Destiny, who joins us with her new song “Oblivion”, following her #1 ReverbNation song “Love Hurts”Hurts”, plus stories about how she moved so far so fast.  

 Los Hollywood is the artistic vision of a American Latino Music band formed by Heidy Flores (vocals / bass) Gustavo Mojica (drums) and Mark Mondragon (guitar).  They create contagious rhythms which undergird  Flores' stunning voice  on songs like "No Te Aguites" which went to the top of iTune’s Song of the Week picks and garnered more than 60,000 downloads. The band has been working on his new album with famed producer and engineer Thom Russo, producer for Michael Jackson, Tom Morello, Johnny Cash and many others

Destiny, named as one of the 25 Break-Out Artists of 2016, by Shutter 16 Magazine, is a California born and based 20-year old phenomenon. Her  20115 song "Love Hurts" shot to  #1 on the Local ReverbNation Pop Charts. Though new to the scene as a solo artist -- Destiny was  5  when she first appeared on Univision as part of al tribute for 911 victims  -- before turning 12,  Destiny had written 5 songs played on local radio stations. She has just released a new song, "Oblivion"  and will be touring this summer to support it.

Florida-raised, LA-based Kris Angelis’ first album, The Left Atrium, was awarded Best Female Album of 2013 by the LA Music Critics Awards.  She has toured with Songs & Whispers, opened for Tyler Hilton and has been invited to join the Extreme Tour in the US to bring music to underserved communities and youth. She has played at the New Orleans House of Blues, made the finals in the Belk Southern Musician competition,  played at Sundance, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, SXSW and NAMM 2016. She has just released her newest project, the Heartbreak Is Contagious EP with songs written with and produced by Morgan Taylor Reid and Alexander Cardinale.  And she joins us this Friday with songs from the new EP, and an old favorite or two.

Jessica Rotter is an LA-based singer  with a unique musical  history – her grandfather wrote songs for musical icons like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. The family talent rubbed off early; Jessica was 4 years old when she started singing. Which may be why her songs and her voice are achingly beautiful and have been heard in movies like Perfect Pitch 1 & 2 and Frozen as well as TV shows and commercials and  in backing vocals and collaborations. The list of artists she has worked with reads like a who's who of the music industry today: Daft Punk, Carole King, Alicia Keys, Sam Smith, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and others. She has released a new album, Plains, following the success of charting #1 on HypeMachine with her mashup of “Stay/Animal “. We were at the lauch party for the album and we ahve the songs - and some of the behinds the scenes stories. Tune in for a chat with a TV star from a Hollywood music family and a blockbuster debut album.

Since we focus on emerging artists at Music Friday Live!, we thought we would take a look at a prime source of those artists nationally, right here in Los Angeles, the Paramount Academy of Music. Paramount teaches playing and recording all genres of  popular music – rock to jazz - with nationally known artists who record and play with headliners offer not only technique but music biz lessons and maybe a few connections.  Music Director Carl Restivo who wrote and recorded with Wyclef Jean, and founding CEO Marisa Gariano will join us.

Sin Color is a South Los Angeles -based band that transforms traditional styles of music into pop soundscapes. Driven by the opera-trained voice of lead singer Crisia Regalado and the amazing guitar chops of David Aquino , the band mixes  bossa nova, cumbia, and disco with indie pop into danceable beats and memorable hooks. They have played the major clubs in LA, been on NPR and are poised to move on to the next level.