Thank God It's Toby Highlights

I am an aspiring rapper/musician from South Africa, Soweto. Ever since I was a youngster, I had been in love with music. I started writing poetry when I was in primary school, and my poem got featured in a literature book. It was in the 5th grade if my memory serves me well. My genre of choice is Hip-Hop, which was inspired by other genres of music ofcorse. My dream is to bring together my passion for music and business. Creating jingles (soundtracks) for well established companies/individuals is where I hope to be one day. One step at a time.

Further to being an aspiring musician, I have a love for business and education. I completed my Bcom Marketing Management degree at the Pearson Institute of Higher Education the end of 2014. I then also completed my Honours in Business Sciences (Marketing) at the University of the Witwatersrand, of which I am excited about. Through my internship at the UK Trade & Investment company, I have gained office administration experience in activities such as; conducting research, capturing client information on a database called the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, making telephone calls to clients, and providing assistance in the process of planning events. The internship has enhanced my communication skills, through interacting with clients, as well as colleagues in the workplace. I participated in boardroom meetings, which has given me an overview of what to expect in the workplace. I’ve also worked at other high profile companies as well. My interests are; meeting new business partners, interacting with my supporters/fans on Facebook, and making quality music.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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From the high energy catwalks of Fifth Avenue to the prairies of Houston, Lori Dansby is a rising star in a galaxy littered with musical pretenders. The reign for this Queen is long overdue as she has shared her natural gifts with the world for many years through fashion, film and music. Her undeniable singing ability mixed with her striking beauty and sweet spirit has captured the attention of many power hitters and business professionals in the entertainment world. The royal path continues as Lori has most recently partnered with Global Keys Records Corporation led by music and film producer Ash Davito for her new single “I CROWN YOU” featuring R&B artist Jon Glenn. Highly skilled and professionally trained in various areas of theater and music, Lori’s throne away from the stage is at home where she proudly embraces motherhood while teaching the importance of wellness and healthy living. As a woman with many talents, Lori keeps a steady balance between being a mother and being a vocal sensation in high demand for her live performances with her band of musical geniuses. Vibrant and full of life, Lori Dansby is in her musical prime leaving iconic performances into the hearts of those blessed to experience her graceful sound and demanding stage presence. This business savvy boss beauty is most intriguingly known for her intelligence and humble character that touches everyday people. Lori Dansby’s new single “I CROWN YOU” is now available on all music streaming platforms along with the music video. More music is on the way as she continues to build new material and creatively exercise her variety of talents. Once you experience the sound and presence of Lori Dansdy, your heart may fittingly say, “I CROWN YOU”.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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James Roberts is a wheelchair basketball player and Paralympic athlete based in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, Wales.Roberts was born with a disability called femoral dysplasia. He started out in his sporting career as a swimmer, and progressed on to other Paralympic sports, such as rowing and sitting volleyball. He competed for Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, finishing fifth in the trunk and arm classification in adaptive rowing. He also competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, finishing 8th in the sitting volleyball. More recently he has begun playing wheelchair basketball for local side Rhyl Raptors.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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Cody was addicted to crystal meth for five years, the events of the book are based on actual events in his life. He has been clean for 14 years. the book took 3 years to write. He is currently a truck driver and has done crime scene clean up in the past.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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Destinee and her friend Bailey have a podcast where they comically review movies and everything that surrounds them. They are just about done with the first season of their podcast and have a second season coming up.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mauri Dark’s autobiographical debut solo album Dreams Of A Middle-Aged Man invites you into dark, folky, timeless, intimate, and acoustic songscapes. There is a story behind the record, says the artist: 

“The songs and lyrics were made amidst the changes of breaking up from a 7-year relationship, my mother’s death of cancer, and finding happiness again, getting married, having a firstborn daughter and making music.”

Equipped with a baritone guitar and his deep, low voice, Mauri Dark is an experienced musician and songwriter. For his self-produced-recorded-performed solo album, he got to work with his dream audio team. Associate producer Jussi Vuola is a band mate and a musical blood brother. Mixing engineer / associate producer Hiili Hiilesmaa is famous for his work with HIM, Apocalyptica and Amorphis. Vlado Meller has previously mastered albums for Johnny Cash, Metallica, and Michael Jackson, to name a few. 

“Dreams Of A Middle-Aged Man is the record I have always wanted to make, Mauri Dark says. “It is an emotional, honest and sincere acoustic album full of moods and stories in the spirit of Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake, and polished by the finest audio professionals and equipment in the spirit of the old times when albums were made to last.”

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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Rod is a musician that likes to write songs and teach guitar lessons.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allow me to set the scene: it’s the thick of the pandemic, I’d been forced to put years of hard work on hold and leave Los Angeles to come back to a bitter Canberra winter, live in my parents basement with no work or income or purpose, and my relationship was completely falling apart. Many people looking in were convinced this was the best time for me to turn my heartbreak into music but if you’re a human that’s ever experienced any level of emotional pain, you’ll know how impossible it can feel to be productive in this mental state. After a couple of months of rapidly-building anxiety, and my first ever anxiety attack, this track was created in it’s entirety in one 2-hour sitting. Sharing deeply personal emotional strain on a public platform is a first for me but after sitting with this song for 9 months, having many nights alone with my own mind, taking my mental health for romantic dinners and runs around the lake, and having countless healthy conversations with personal and professional support, I’ve come to the wild realisation that it was okay to hit rockbottom. Now, from the comfort of my daily meditation routine, steady and thriving live-performance job, and a loving new relationship with myself and someone that loves all of my personalities, I’m proud to introduce Don’t Want To Start Again to sunlight. 

I pray this track can be someone’s loving reminder that diamonds are made from intense pressure, and you can’t have a rainbow without a lil rain.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk, professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of "Ruby Tuesday", her composition "What Have They Done to My Song Ma", and her 1970 international breakthrough hit "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" (inspired by her experience of performing at the 1969 Woodstock music festival).

In the 1960s, Melanie started performing at The Inkwell, a coffee house in the West End section of Long Branch, New Jersey. After high school, her parents insisted that she go to college, so she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where she began singing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village, such as The Bitter End and signed her first recording contract.

Initially signed to Columbia Records in the United States, Melanie released two singles on the label. Subsequently, she signed with Buddah Records and first found chart success in Europe in 1969 with "Bobo's Party" which reached No. 1 in France. Melanie's popularity in Europe resulted in performances on European television programs, such as Beat-Club in West Germany. Her debut album received positive reviews from Billboard, which heralded her voice as "wise beyond her years. Her non-conformist approach to the selections on this LP make her a new talent to be reckoned with."

Later in 1969, Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People". She was one of only three solo women who performed at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the inspiration for her first hit song, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", apparently arose from the Woodstock audience lighting candles during her set (although most of the "candles" were actually matches or lighters). The recording became a hit in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States in 1970. The B-side of the single featured Melanie's spoken-word track "Candles in the Rain". "Lay Down" became Melanie's first top ten hit in America, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard singles chart and achieving worldwide success. Later hits included "Peace Will Come (According To Plan)" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday".

In 1970, Melanie was the only artist to ignore the court injunction banning the Powder Ridge Rock Festival scheduled to be held on July 31, August 1 and 2, 1970. She played for the crowd on a homemade stage powered by Mister Softee trucks. Shortly following this performance, she played at the Strawberry Fields Festival held from August 7 to 9, 1970, at Mosport Park, Ontario. She also performed at the Isle of Wight Festival held between August 26 and 30, 1970, at Afton Down, where she was introduced by Keith Moon and received four standing ovations (she also appeared at the 2010 Isle of Wight festival). She was also the artist who sang to herald in the summer solstice at Glastonbury Fayre (later the Glastonbury Festival) in England, in June 1971. She performed again at Glastonbury in 2011, the 40th anniversary of the original festival.

Melanie left Buddah Records when they insisted that she produce albums on demand. In 1971, she formed her own label, Neighborhood Records, with Peter Schekeryk who was also her producer and husband. She had her biggest American hit on the Neighborhood label, the novelty-sounding 1972 number one "Brand New Key" (often referred to as "The Roller Skate Song"). "Brand New Key" sold over three million copies worldwide and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

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Randy Seedorff has been writing and performing for over 30 years, with his interest in music starting at the young age of 11 when his mother gave him his first guitar. A veteran singer, and songwriter, Randy comes from a musical family with a strong heritage in country music.

In 1992 Randy joined the popular Kansas City based bluegrass group Greenside Up as its lead singer and guitarist and performed with them until 1999.  During that time he fell victim to an armed robbery that profoundly changed his life.  The experience turned his full attention to both his life and music, and he rededicated himself to serving God.

Randy founded the group Soul Purpose in 2010.  They released their studio album Rearview Mirror, produced by Larry Gann  of Awe Struck Studios in 2014.  Randy released his 7 track EP, Elevate, in 2017.  The first two releases from that project reached number 1 on Christian Radio Charts.

Randy serves as pastor of worship and discipleship at Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Independence, MO.  Soul Purpose plays frequently at churches, festivals and other events, bringing the love of God, through the vehicle of music to as many people as possible.

A prolific songwriter, Randy is a member of both ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and GMA (Gospel Music Association).  All his original music is published by Danjartay Music.  Randy has artist endorsements with Petersen Tuners, G7th Capos, and Reverend Guitars.

Randy’s new single, “Family Tree” is out on MTS Records, January 2021.

Highlights from Toby's Friday afternoon show on Shout Radio. Featuring chat with top showbiz guests.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.