About Us
Contributors
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Anonymous |
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Political Beat is written by an anonymous author who has worked at a high level in the political, media and entertainment sectors. Anonymous has a BA in History from an Ivy League university and recently graduated from a New York law school. Although Anonymous is not a member of any political party, the Political Beat will tackle the political issues which influence and shape the entertainment community and seeks to change the community's views -- and reveal its biases -- on the government and the political process, issue by issue, person by person.
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Dave Allen Business Development, Intel |
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StarPolish contributor Dave Allen has had a varied career in the music business as a performer, a record label executive and pioneer in the digital music space. Allen played bass with seminal post-punk band Gang of Four, joined XTC’s Barry Andrews in Shriekback, and co-founded World Domination Recordings with the Gold Mountain Management team of Ron Stone and Danny Goldberg. Allen has also served as director of Internet strategy for Koch International, and as Emusic’s general manager. Currently, Allen is content services business development director at Intel, and will release a second solo album this spring.
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Kevin Anthony Control-One Studios / electro-land |
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| Kevin Anthony is one half of the electronic duo known as electro-land and along with musical partner Gene Harper they also own and operate their multimedia facility called Control-One Studios in NYC. Electro-land is the creative musical outlet for their releases in the electronic music genre while Control-One Studios is the commercial outlet for web/multimedia audio, with clients such as the United States Navy, Rapp-Collins Worldwide, Fashion500.com, Cyber-NY, Fuji Film North America, Act-Trade Capital, Starpolish.com, Absolut Vodka and TBWA Chiat Day. Kevin has performed with several bands throughout his musical career that started in Galveston, Texas. During his time in Texas he performed in several acts that had the privilege of opening for large touring bands such as New Order, Book of Love, Faith No More, Curve and Cracker. He attended the Art Institute of Houston and graduated with a degree in Commercial Advertising in 1989. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Bruce Armstrong |
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Bruce Armstrong writes StarPolish's "MUSIC IS MY BUSINESS” column. Bruce has shared the stage as a working musician in the 1970’s with names such as Steppenwolfe, Patti Labelle, Rod Stewart, The Coasters, The Kingsmen and other notables of the time. In the 80’s and 90’s, he decided to get a real job, advising millionaires on investing and financial planning. Getting bored with that during the dotcom heydays, he started a media company and nationally syndicated radio feature, interviewing artists and players as diverse as rock stars and label presidents. He now lives in both worlds, and is currently receiving treatment and therapy. Email your questions and comments to him at bruce@dejamuse.com Current Issues:
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Moses Avalon mosesavalon.com |
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Moses Avalon is author of "Confessions of a Record Producer: How to Survive the Scams and Scams of the Music Business," and "Secrets of Negotiating a Record Contract: The Musician's Guide to Understanding and Avoiding Sneaky Lawyer Tricks." A music industry consultant and advocate, he has produced and engineered records for Warner Bros. and BMG. Avalon’s work with Grammy award-winning artists has earned him five Platinum records and several Billboard and Ampex Golden Reel awards. |
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Carolyn Ballen The Indie Music Forum |
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My career in the music industry started at Disc Makers, where I was introduced to the independent side of the music business. I worked in every department of the company, eventually landing in the marketing department where I was a marketing manager for five years. My responsibilities included media buying, merchandising, and coordination of our music conference involvement, including sponsorships and production of the necessary marketing materials. I've traveled all over the country planning, moderating and speaking on panels at various music related events such as The Philadelphia Music Conference, Nemo, LMNOP, The Folk Alliance, Kanahwhapalooza, The Songwriters Hall of Fame, Millennium Music Conference, Women In Music, The RockrGrl Music Conference and many more. I believe it was after the third panel I put together that I knew I had found my calling. With my business and marketing experience in hand, I created The Indie Music Forum . I'm proud to have an event where I can provide interested knowledgeable speakers and information to musicians, managers or small record labels just starting out in the music business. It’s also a rich environment for those looking to network and to find new ideas to expand on their current music business endeavors. In January of this year, I also managed a tour from L.A. to Philadelphia for the band Sonny Bones. Finally, I do live and candid photography and am currently teaching an 8-week course on Event Planning & Promotion for the Continuing Education program at Baruch College in New York City. |
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Ben Berkman Principal, Octone |
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| Ben Berkman has spent the majority of his young career working on developing artist projects at Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Among these acts are System of A Down, Our Lady Peace, The Lo-Fidelity Allstars, Train and most recently Wheatus. As a journalist, he periodically writes for The Fader, a monthly music and pop culture review. Currently, Ben is a partner in Octone Records, a New York City based independent label. Distributed by BMG, Octone has a joint venture deal with J Records (Clive Davis' new label). Ben got his start in the music business working as an intern to Sony CEO Tommy Mottola. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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J Bills StarPolish, TEG |
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J Bills joined the StarPolish team in June 2000. Currently J directs the marketing and design of SP, including managing day to day operations. J came to Manhattan from Kansas City, having previously worked as a Graphic Designer for ABC and later CBS. Coupled with his design experience and computer skills, J also has a strong marketing background, having been the Mercury Records Alternative Marketing Representative for the Kansas City market for 2 years. While with Mercury, J provided radio, retail, video, press, lifestyle, and campus marketing as well as tour support. J worked with a diverse group of bands, from drum n bass pioneer Roni Size to alternative rockers 311 to rapper LL Cool J to teen sensation Hanson. J is also a musician himself, playing drums, bass, guitar and keyboards/programming. J has performed with several bands and also has compiled a considerable DJ resume, spinning clubs/opening for bands and hosting KUJH's weekly music video show from 1997-1999. J received his B.A. in Film from the University of Kansas. Current Issues:
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Rishon Blumberg Brick Wall Management |
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Rishon began his career in the music business while in college as the talent buyer for the University of Pennsylvania, where he booked shows with Living Colour, De La Soul, BluesTraveler, Cypress Hill, The Indigo Girls, and others. He then had short stints at Major Music (artist management: G-Love & Special Sauce, Fun Lovin' Criminals), at Susan Blond PR, and in the Epic Records marketing department. He then went on tour with Natalie Merchant, handling her merchandising and acting as assistant tour manager. After this, he worked in concert promotion at Nederlander Concerts and then SFX/DelsenerSlater Ent. (now owned by Clear Channel Entertainment), where he worked on the promotion, sales, and marketing of shows for artists as diverse as Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Coughing, Sonic Youth, Alanis Morrisette, Hole, Rancid, and others. In 1995 he and Michael Solomon formed Brick Wall Management, an artist management and entertainment consulting firm. As a partner in Brick Wall, Rishon co-manages all of the company's artists and is on the board of advisors for Musicians On Call. Current Brick Wall clients include John Mayer, The Clarks and Marc Broussard, and past clients have included Velocity Girl, Marcy Playground, Tuscadero, Cinnamon, and others. Brick Wall Management also consults for Jon Landau Management (Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain) and StarPolish and administers The Kristen Ann Carr Fund. |
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Mike Bobbitt BOHA Entertainment |
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Mike Bobbitt holds a BA in Urban Studies from Harvard University. As a former A&R, business affairs, video production and marketing person for StepSun Music (a joint venture with Tommy Boy Music), Mike has seen the recording industry from various capacities. Mike's marketing ideas helped to promote StepSun as an "eclectic" full service label, while the videos for which he served as Executive Producer enjoyed play on major national outlets like Black Entertainment Television (BET). Following StepSun, Mike worked at Chris Rock Entertainment Inc., and then served as the Vice President of Marketing and Promotions at Mouth Almighty/Mercury Records. Mike has directed the promotion, marketing and production of projects as diverse as Allen Ginsberg, Chris Rock, Timothy Leary, The Last Poets, Mr. Paul Mooney, Miss Jones and others. His experience spans various genre of music, including spoken-word, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, acid jazz, rap and reggae. Mike has also served as panelist and lecturer, book reviewer, seminar director, music video director's representative and member of the Board of Directors for an artists' writing and producing collective (Inner-City University). Mike is currently a partner in BOHA Entertainment Inc., an artist management/development and strategic consultation company.
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Greg Boggs A&R, Columbia |
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| Boggs graduated with a Marketing degree from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, and began his career in the marketing department at performing rights organization BMI. He left BMI for a position signing artists to BMI competitor SESAC. After three years at SESAC, Boggs re-joined BMI's Writer Publisher Relations staff, signing various artists from Creed to Kid Rock. He then took a job as East Coast A&R for Time Bomb Recordings (Arista/BMG). Since mid-2000, Boggs has been A&R for Columbia Records in New York, where he works w/various artists including lostprophets, Aqualung, Acceptance, Elkland, & The Lashes. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Steve Brown |
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Steve Brown is the lead singer and songwriter for the Philadelphia-based band The Rigbees (www.rigbees.com), who have received national airplay on PRI’s World Café and are currently booking a regional tour of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in support of their debut release AM Radio Companion. Steve runs his own publishing and management company (Flare Gun Music) and is also a self-proclaimed music scholar/freak, freelance music writer and photographer. Current Issues:
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Richard Burgess Burgess Worldco |
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| Richard James Burgess has achieved chart success as a studio drummer, programmer, signed major label artist, record producer, published author and most recently as an artist manager. He helped define the computer programmers’ and samplers’ role in modern music with Fairlight CMI (the world's first digital sampling machine) firsts such as Kate Bush’s Never Forever album and Visage’s Fade To Grey. With Dave Simmons, he designed the first electronic drums, the famous hexagonal shaped SDS5. Richard’s reputation for being ahead of his time began with three appearances on the BBC TV program Tomorrows’ World: the first featuring his own electronic drum invention, then his innovative use of computers in pop music, and finally as one of the first users of the Fairlight CMI. This was in the seventies when the “staples to be” of the eighties and nineties-- electronic drums, computers and samplers-- were virtually unknown in the music business. In the early eighties, Richard emerged as a pre-eminent producer of what was later dubbed the “New Romantic” movement by producing Spandau Ballet’s first two gold albums and first five hit singles, a compilation of which is double platinum. Other productions include: Adam Ant, King, New Edition, Melba Moore, America, Kim Wilde, Five Star, Tony Banks (of Genesis), Fish (of Marillion), Living In A Box, Princess, Virginia Astley, Errol Brown (of Hot Chocolate fame), When In Rome, Shriekback, and a pioneering ambient album by the award-wining British group Praise. Richard’s NYC productions of Colonel Abram’s “Trapped” and “I'm Not Gonna Let” are widely considered to have been influential in the beginnings of the House Music phenomenon. Richard’s mixes include tracks for the movies 9 1/2 Weeks, About Last Night and artistes Thomas Dolby, Lou Reed, Yossour N'dour and many others. His compositions and productions have appeared in many TV shows and movies. His book “The Art of Record Production” has become required reading in many colleges that have music production courses, and he has written many articles for technical and music magazines. Richard also wrote and presented the program “Let There Be Drums” for the BBC World Service. As a producer he has created 24 hit singles and 14 hit albums. Many major-label artists have recorded his songs. He has won a Music Week sales award for biggest selling singles producer in Great Britain. Richard currently runs his own Independent Label, Booking Agency and Management Company on the East Coast of the US. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Edie Carey |
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Edie Carey's musical career began the moment she stuck her two-year-old head between the green, sticky seats of her baby-sitter Grace's car and belted out "Love lift us up where we belong!" Since then, Carey has attempted Aretha, growled to Sam and Dave, and even embraced her puritan side as a singing Hester Prynne, but somewhere around fifteen she accidentally fell into the world of folk music. However, though she considers folk her real home, she has never forgotten the day that someone told her she had "white girl soul." (Needless to say, she was relieved to discover that there was a special soul category for privileged white girls from Boston with cousins named Flip, Skip, Trip, and Nip.) Regular New York venues include Fez, The Bitter End, The Living Room, CB's Gallery, and The Postcrypt. Carey has also headlined prestigious folk rooms such as Club Passim in Cambridge, Fire and Water in Northampton, The Mercury Cafe in Denver, The Rich Forum in Stamford, and The Met Cafe in Providence. She has performed the streets of Telluride during its annual Bluegrass Festival, and stolen the smaller stages at the Newport Folk Festival, earning friends and fans from across the country. Carey recently began a series of tours around the U.S. to promote her first album, "The Falling Places." Along with Ani Difranco, Sandra Bernhard, and Rufus Wainwright, Carey was recently nominated for a 1998 GLAMA award in the Acoustic/Folk category for her song, "If I Were You." Carey's debut CD, "The Falling Places," recently released through Accidental Poet Productions, can be heard on several folk-friendly radio stations, including WBOS and WUMB in Boston, KOTO and KGNU in Colorado, WPKN, WRTC, and WSHU in Connecticut, WJFF in New York, and WYMS in Wisconsin. She has appeared with such artists as Leo Kottke, Cliff Eberhardt, Luka Bloom, Brooks Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, Dee Carstensen, Melissa Ferrick, and Sandra Bernhard. Edie’s second album, entitled “Call Me Home,” was released on August 22nd, 2000 as a follow up to her critically-acclaimed 1998 debut, “The Falling Places.” “Call Me Home” features such acclaimed musicians as drummer Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live, Shawn Colvin), bassist T-Bone Wolk (Shawn Colvin, Carly Simon, Saturday Night Live), and Red House Records Recording Artist, Cliff Eberhardt. Current Issues:
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Dino Covelli SonicNet.com |
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| Dino currently works with the MTV Interactive Group as an Audio Engineer, where he creates both streaming and downloadable audio content for sonicnet.com and is responsible for attaining, editing, encoding, and publishing media. But more importantly, Dino is a musician. Kicking to the beat in the womb was a pretty good foreshadowing of Dino becoming a musician. In fact, had they made wireless handheld computers and had there been an Internet back in 1975, Covelli would have promoted his Placenta Rock Beats online. Dino graduated in 1997 from the State University of New York College at Oneonta with a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Music. He has been performing with rock outfits since the late 80's, and continues to perform and back-up different musical acts. Two cover bands, Rock Culture and Jake And The Mountain Men, keep Dino grounded in the current rock/pop scene. His main project is Mad Machinery, a pseudonym for his solo works. Covelli promotes this and all of his other projects on his website . | |||||||||||||||||||||
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D2 Media D2 Media |
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| D2 Media was formed in 1998 to provide leading edge technology and creative design solutions for the Internet. We pride ourselves on the energy we bring to the entire solution development process. It’s this energy that has allowed us to work with not only StarPolish, but also companies from diverse industries including non-profit, manufacturing, and publishing. D2 strives to be a boundary less organization of visionaries who aren’t afraid to challenge existing standards in creating revolutionary technology products and solutions. Please visit us at D2Media.com or reach us at 888-865-4321. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Robert Doerschuk StarPolish |
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| Robert L. Doerschuk spent seventeen years on staff at Keyboard magazine, where he won two ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music journalism. From 1995 through '99 he served as editor-in-chief of the late and lamented Musician magazine. In the years since Musician's demise Doerschuk has concentrated on Internet publication, holding staff positions with Sonicnet, Allmusic.com, Music Player Network, and Harmony Central, in each case abandoning ship as investors bailed out. Currently on relatively solid ground as a freelancer, he contributes to StarPolish, Launch, CD-Now, and other publications. In addition, he has edited several books, including Rough Guide's Tipbook series on musical instruments and an upcoming volume of classic artist interviews from GPI. Doerschuk's second book, 88: The Great Jazz Pianists, will be published by Backbeat Books in January. He lives in Nashville, where he is looking for gigs as a piano player; his first Music City session was on legendary songwriter Fred Koller's latest album, No Song Left to Sell. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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David Fagin The Rosenbergs |
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David Fagin: singer, songwriter, music activist, writer. David is the guitarist/vocalist for, The Rosenbergs: The New York City "Power Popsters" whose legacy is tied to both music and how the music industry shall forever treat its performers. The Rosenbergs signed a deal with King Crimson founder and music maverick, Robert Fripp's label, DGM. The deal is unique in its design to provide an alternative to the major label stranglehold on rights and earnings, by allowing the band to retain ownership of their masters while still receiving tour support, marketing and distribution. In cooperation with Napster, DGM and The Rosenbergs released 10,000 copies of their record, MISSION:YOU, with a free, full length, extra "Napster copy". Almost as integral to their rise to prominence in the music industry as their music was their face off with "Jimmy and Doug’s Farmclub.com". Invited to star on the show in exchange for a record contract which David and the band viewed as perpetuating the industry’s imbalance, they soundly refused to relinquish control of their art, or destiny. Ultimately it was Farmclub which folded under the pressure of artist versus industry, largely due to the well publicized battle with The Rosenbergs. Being poster children for artists' rights, David speaks to students at universities around the country. He’s spoken at Harvard Law School, Georgetown University, the Washington Area Lawyer's Association, and was the keynote speaker Feb. 22 at a joint venture between Emory University Law School and Georgia State Law School. He recently appeared on the Howard Stern show with Gene Simmons from, Kiss and, along with Alanis Morissette, testified on behalf of the Webcasters at the Copyright Arbitration Royalty hearings in Washington, which resulted in an appearance on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter. His recent appearance with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Krist Novoselic(Nirvana,Jampac), and Tim Bierman (Pearl Jam) at the Future of Music Conference in Georgetown, landed him on the front page of the "Arts" section in the NY Times . The band just supported Echo and The Bunnymen on their North American tour. The band's most recent video, "After All", was directed by Anna Gabriel and Adria Petty, the offspring of Tom and Peter, and is airing on Much Music as well as MTV Japan. David is not fearful for the band to me more well known for what they say rather than what they play, as president Bush just signed a bill proclaiming their music more important.
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Peter Finestone |
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Peter Finestone began his musical education at the age of fifteen as drum roadie for seminal LA punk band the Circle Jerks. After being introduced to fellow San Fernando Valley misfits, Bad Religion, Peter began a relationship that lasted over 13 years. Starting as a roadie, Finestone ultimately graduated to full-time drummer with the band, and over the next two decades recorded on such ground-breaking albums as Suffer, No Control, Against the Grain, and others. Today Bad Religion’s influence can be heard in the music of Pennywise, Nofx, Offspring and Blink 182. Finestone’s whipsaw, memorial drumming has influenced many of today’s stellar players. Since leaving Bad Religion, Peter has continued his drumming duties with local bands, and he has widened his musical involvement by writing profiles and reviews for Music.com, Riffage.com and currently, Starpolish. We also hear that he has a wicked left-hook. Current Issues:
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Sara Gibson sonicnet.com |
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Sara Gibson is currently Director of Publishing at sonicnet.com, a division of the MTV Interactive Group. She oversees the All Music Directory-- sonicnet's comprehensive database of artists, genres, labels, magazines, stores, newsgroups, concerts, radio stations and web events. She also supervises the digital downloads process, in which sonicnet procures free, legal MP3s for its users. Sara produced VH1's first-ever online auction-- The 1999 Bruce Springsteen Charity Ticket Auction, which eventually raised over $190,000 for Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to promote and complement the healing process. Additionally, Sara has designed, produced and promoted giveaways, sweepstakes and contests on sonicnet proper, including online promotions with record labels such as Artemis, Atomic Pop, Astralwerks, Beggars' Banquet, Capitol, Columbia, Elektra, Epic, Grand Royal, Interscope, Mammoth, Mercury, Risk, Sire, TVT, Virgin and Warner Brothers; and with a host of companies as diverse as Amuznet, Chevy, DVD Express, Electric Artists, Kappa Clothing, Kik Wear, K2, Manic Panic, Milky Way, Technics and more. Prior to her work in the online space, Sara held positions at both Mercury Records and Interscope/Nothing Records in alternative marketing, video promotion, product management, and A&R. Sara graduated from UC Berkeley in 1997.
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Michael Goldberg Co-Founder/Editor in Chief, Neumu |
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Michael Goldberg is Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Neumu, an online pop culture magazine; and president/CEO of insiderone.net, a consulting and production company serving the online and offline entertainment business. He is a distinguished pioneer in the online music space; Newsweek magazine called him an "Internet visionary." In 1994 Goldberg founded Addicted To Noise (ATN), a highly influential music Web site and the first with original content. At ATN, Goldberg created and oversaw the Addicted To Noise Music News of the World. This well-respected round-the-clock music news service developed a global reach into over 40 million homes. Goldberg's other innovations included the world's first online album review with audio samples, as well as Cinemachine, the movie-review search engine. In 1997, Addicted To Noise merged with SonicNet, and Goldberg was named Senior Vice President and Editorial Director of SonicNet. MTV Networks acquired SonicNet in July 1999 and Goldberg was named Editor in Chief, SonicNet. While Goldberg was at SonicNet, the company won Webby awards for best music site in 1998 and 1999, and also won Yahoo Internet Life! awards for three years running as best music site in 1998, 1999 and 2000. At SonicNet, Goldberg co-created SonicNet's FlashRadio, a service that pioneered the convergence of music and Flash animation. He created MTVi's first download area, D-Rev 2000, which combined digital music news with a multi-genre annotated download section. Also at SonicNet he wrote, produced and directed "rrrebel.com," a futuristic, sci-fi Flash animation serial. Prior to starting Addicted To Noise, Goldberg was an editor and senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine for 10 years. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Esquire, Vibe, Details, Downbeat, the New Musical Express and numerous other publications. The Bay Area native began his professional career — for which he prepared by running a poster business in junior high school, promoting concerts at his high school and publishing local rock magazine Hard Road — as a columnist for director Francis Ford Coppola'sCity of San Francisco magazine in 1975. Goldberg's weekly music column, "The Drama You've Been Craving," appears in StarPolish's "Current Events" area. It also runs on the ARTISTdirect network of music sites and on neumu.net.
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Andrea Goode Barber |
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| Andrea Goode Barber began her career in the music business wanting to be Jon Landau. She managed local bands throughout high school in Chicago and college at American University in Washington, DC. Andrea had her first real job in the music business working at a small management company in New York, which she got through the friend of a friend of a friend. From there, she went to Elektra Records doing promotion and marketing. She founded the AAA promotion department, and worked on AC, Jazz, NAC and Soundtrack formats as well. Seeing that all of the senior executives at labels were lawyers, she left Elektra to attend Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School. She spent four years in the Legal and Business Affairs department at RCA Records. She left RCA for a long dreamed of opportunity to manage her own clients, including Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and Ellliott Murphy. Tempted to go back into the corporate world, and excited by the emerging technologies, Andrea then took a job at Disney in the internet group. When Disney closed the internet division, Andrea started her own law practice, representing various artists, producers, Columbia House record club, software firms, and other corporate clients. She can be reached via email at ASGoode@aol.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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John Hipple, Ph.D |
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John Hipple, Ph.D., is a psychologist at the Counseling and Testing Center, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. Dr. Hipple frequently counsels music students at UNTs nationally recognized College of Music. Musicians with questions for Dr. Hipple can contact him at editorial@starpolish.com. Current Issues:
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Alee Hoffman Contributor, StarPolish.com |
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Alee Hoffman is a valuable member of the StarPolish editorial staff, and has been a panelist and interviewer on the NYC Metro Channel’s daily show “Studio Y”, and a regular contributor to FemaleMusician.com. She pens music and entertainment features for publications in New York and Boston.
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Greg Johnson The Blue Door |
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As a twenty-five year veteran of the music business in several areas including retail records, journalism, publicity, concert promotion and consulting, Greg Johnson’s passion has always been with the performing songwriter. From his many years in retail in Central Oklahoma to his decade in Austin as a leading supporter of the singer/songwriter scene, Johnson has been involved in the careers of many of today’s best singer/songwriters including Lucinda Williams, Kevin Welch, Jimmy LaFave, Micheel Fracasso, Ellis Paul, the Red Dirt Rangers and many others. These experiences enabled Greg to open the Blue Door venue in Oklahoma City, one of the country’s leading venues for performing songwriters, which he continues to run. Greg is also a free-lance journalist, with work appearing in the Austin Chronicle, Austin American Statesman, No Depression, Oklahoma Gazette and Oklahoma Today magazine.
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Gary Kaplan, Esq. StarPolish, TEG |
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| Gary joined StarPolish in January 2000 as Director of Business and Legal Affairs. Prior to joining our Team, Gary spent three years at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the world's preeminent law firms. Gary was a member of Skadden's Intellectual Property Department, focusing on patent litigation, and also working on copyright, trademark, trade secret, and new media law matters. He volunteered his time successfully representing indigent clients seeking Social Security Disability Benefits. Gary also represented developing artists through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, combining his love of the arts, his passion for the law, and his desire to support the arts and entertainment community. He is currently an active volunteer and a member of the Board of Advisors for Musicians on Call, a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to promote and complement the healing process. A violinist since age three, Gary comes from a long line of musicians and is thrilled to return to his roots. Gary received a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science and graduated Cum Laude from the Fordham School of Law. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Tom Kitt |
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The Tom Kitt Band has created quite a buzz in New York. The band has been consistently packing venues such as the legendary Arlene Grocery each month. Their new CD “Find Me,” was recently released at the Digital Club Festival, where the band was featured. The band consists of four incredible musicians: Tom Kitt on piano and vocals, Damien Bassman on drums, Dan Grennes on bass, and David Adler on guitar. Combining a pop sensibility with their innate musical gifts, The Tom Kitt Band is one of rock and roll’s best new bands. As the main songwriter, Tom’s influences consist of pop, funk, folk, jazz, and classical music. His gift lies in his ability to draw from these styles in creating his own unique sound. While his music has been compared to Duncan Shiek, Dave Matthews, and Ben Folds, his biggest influences are The Beatles, Elton John, and Billy Joel, who he performed with while attending Columbia College in 1994. Tom and Billy performed together with Tom playing and the two of them sharing the lead vocal. Regarding his musical career, Mr. Joel told Tom, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Tom also works in musical theatre, most recently as the musical director/pianist/conductor for the rock musical, “Hair” at the Actor’s Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. The show was a huge success, and created more fans for Tom while he was able to solidify his musical skills.
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Carrie Klein Nasty Little Man |
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| I moved to New York in September of 1993, after graduating from the University of Virginia. I expected to stay here for three months, then move to San Francisco and get a job at some cool left-leaning publication like Mother Jones. Didn’t happen that way. This city sucked me in. After I finished my internship at Rolling Stone, I somehow ended up working in the beat-up VW bus that sits in the middle of Wetlands, a popular NYC venue. During the day I did freelance fact-checking for Rolling Stone’s Encyclopedia of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and at night I sat in the bus and sold bumper stickers, daisy patches, copies of High Times and other liberal propaganda to a bunch of hippies. I made $40 a night and then spent $12 on a cab to the Upper East Side. Needless to say, I didn’t last long (at the job or living uptown). Next I worked in the publicity department at Atlantic Records for a little over two years. The corporate structure and hierarchy didn’t really suit me, so I eventually left the comforts of a real office with windows and air-conditioning and returned to club-land. I worked at The Mercury Lounge for three years and also at The Bowery Ballroom from the day it opened in 1998; I was responsible for booking and artist relations. Working at these two popular NYC venues gave me amazing access to an incredible range of industry contacts: booking agents, managers, promoters, label executives, journalists and of course the musicians themselves. I left this job in July of 1999 and started my current stint as a publicist at Nasty Little Man. We have an amazing roster that includes the indie-est of indie bands to the big superstars. I now work with artists like Ween, Sonic Youth, Supergrass, Ben Harper and Chris Mills. At Nasty I have found the perfect middle ground-- it’s a small company without any of the corporate politics that you find at a label, but it’s also big enough to offer a sense of stability that’s hard to find when you’re working in the basement of a bar. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Meredith LeVande |
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Hmmm, about Meredith LeVande…Lets get Personal…… Got some shoe strings and some glue? How about some old stained Popsicle sticks? Well if you do, Meredith LeVande can probably build you a guitar; well not literally, but if there’s one person who can make something out of "nothing", she’s the one. Maybe its because she’s had to fight her way for everything. Born a "natural singer", LeVande doesn’t share the endless performing and early discipline of child staging and star search competitions like so many of today’s other singers. Her challenges were a bit more complex and her story a bit more inspiring. Always singing as a small child, LeVande’s discovery of self awareness and where you could turn for peace came from singing to help heal the confusion and ostracization that came from having a mother with a severely disabling illness that no one could understand or accept. Raised by her grandmother who died when LeVande was 15, LeVande gave up the idea of singing as a career because she thought she had something to prove to the outerworld who would so likely peg her as a "failure" due to her adverse background. "I wanted so desperately to be seen as strong and smart, and above all be self sufficient, so as a teenager I convinced myself that the only real way to get anywhere was through staying focused and academic," says LeVande. An English major and honors student, LeVande hid her voice in a variety of different "shadows" until she graduated college. A prevalent theme in Meredith’s music is return. She started writing again with the melody’s she could remembered writing just before the death of her what she calls, "Nanny" and began her career as a singer/songwriter. Now one of the hottest acts on the college coffeehouse circuit, LeVande hasn’t done too bad of a job packing up NYC venues either. A featured artist on MP3.com, a CMJ reported artist, on a Borders Books and Music Listening Station, usually only preserved for the majors, a prevalent voice in the Starbucks coffeehouse community, an almost sold out local artist at HMV record stores, and various interest from labels, "through the clouds" is not only selling at a rapid rate, but it impacts the listener to "Go" and make changes. One of the few contemporary artists that can catch you with a flavorful catchy pop melody, LeVande has something substantive to say. In this respect, she feels like the creative muses come to her and that she welcomes them. "They give me the melody and I as the artist interpret it," says LeVande. Her melodies come from the places, that if we allow ourselves to "tune in" to our creativity and strip away the layers and pollution, we make our way "through the clouds" and find and live by our truest most pure selves.
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Marisa Lowenstein freelance writer |
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Marisa Lowenstein has a jones for music. Her editorial experience at numerous on-line publications including eFit.com (health and fitness), Alloy.com (teen girls), and Guyville.com (guys) led up to her most recent gig as a digital music consultant for NewMediaMusic.com , a leading news source for the on-line music space. It was here that Marisa discovered her jones, and decided to follow it into the dressing room of an Arrested Development concert in San Francisco, where a chat with lead singer Speech spurred the idea for her first StarPolish piece. She now spends her days on the prowl for the music stories everybody else is missing. She is excited about the prospects the Internet holds for music, the current shake-up of the traditional music industry, and the Food Network. Marisa's energetic editorials will be featured in upcoming issues of StarPolish, as well as other leading sources of music, travel and health/fitness news, both on-line and off."
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Mary Lyn Maiscott |
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Mary Lyn Maiscott is a writer, singer, and songwriter who lives in New York City. As a staff columnist for the website New Media Music, she specialized in writing about artists. Her work has also appeared in The Village Voice, Word Up, Songwriter, Cosmopolitan, and other publications, and she was the project editor for the biography Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon. She has played such clubs as The Bitter End, Folk City, Don Hill’s, and the Improvisation in L.A. Current Issues:
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Lynne Margolis |
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Lynne Margolis became a journalist because her father nixed "dead poet" as a career option and because the job of Spinal Tap publicist did not yet exist. After spending too many years toiling as an ink-stained wretch at newspapers in Pittsburgh and elsewhere in Pennsylvania, she made the leap to Internet-based freelance journalism, which isn't as messy and eliminates the tree-killing guilt. Her work has appeared in six MusicHound Essential Album Guides, the Christian Science Monitor, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Public Interactive (a public television and radio Web network), and several prominent Web sites including Wall of Sound, Virginmega.com, Launch.com and MusicDirect.com, plus others that have bitten the dot-com dust.
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Dave Marsh Music Critic/Historian |
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Dave Marsh is perhaps the best-known rock critic in the country. He was one of the founders of Creem Magazine in 1969, and was a music critic at Newsday and an editor of The Real Paper before joining Rolling Stone as an associate editor in 1975. His syndicated record reviews have appeared in over 200 newspapers, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Nation, and TV Guide. His record reviews currently appear in Playboy. StarPolish’s Current Issues section houses “American Grandstand”, a monthly column on music and politics that he's been doing since Rolling Stone. He has edited Rock & Rap Confidential, a monthly newsletter about music and politics, since 1983. In addition to his columns, newspaper, magazine, and newsletter work, Dave is the author of numerous books on pop culture and rock criticism, including the best-selling Born To Run and Glory Days (The Bruce Springsteen Story Volumes 1 and 2), 50 Ways to Fight Censorship , Louie Louie: The History and Mythology of the World’s Most Famous Rock ‘n’ Roll Song, The Rolling Stone Record Guide, The Book of Rock Lists, The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, and many others.
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Mark Maxwell, Esq. |
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| Mark H. Maxwell is in private law practice exclusively counseling entertainment clients in the music, literary publishing and film industries. His client’s include record labels, artists, authors, songwriters, managers and producers. Mark began his career with Word Entertainment’s Myrrh Records label in 1984 as Publicist and then National Director of Radio Promotions. After marketing records by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith among others, Mark then served for eight years as Myrrh’s Executive Director of A&R in Los Angeles and Nashville where he discovered and developed recording artists, many of whom received Grammy, Billboard and Dove awards and nominations. While in A&R, Mark served as the Executive Producer on numerous album recordings and artist videos; conceived a variety of album cover concepts; and, initiated distributed label acquisitions and licensing agreements. As a Regent University School of Law graduate, he was the founder and President of Regent’s Entertainment and Sports Legal Society and a member of the Dispute Resolution and Client Counseling Board, where he was a national finalist in the American Bar Association’s Negotiation Competition. Following law school, Mark served as Vice President/ General Manager for the EMI Music’s distributed label, Gotee Records “40 Records” imprint while initiating his law practice in Nashville, Tennessee. Mark is a frequent lecturer and judge at music industry seminars, talent competitions, college events and music festivals. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Max McAndrew House Of Blues |
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| Max McAndrew began his career in the music business at International Creative Management, Inc. (ICM). He was drafted into the Agent Training Program, where he was promoted to Assistant Music Agent. He apprenticed under Mike Krebs and Steve Kaul, and was then promoted to Music Agent. In his capacity as Agent, Max oversaw all Club Department bookings for the South East section of the country. This included booking, coordinating, organizing, and routing various national tours, in addition to scouting for and developing new talent. Max Departed ICM to take a position in the Talent Department at The House of Blues, where he is currently employed as an Assistant Talent Buyer and Concert Promoter. The acts that he has worked with or will be working with include Stone Temple Pilots, Wu-Tang Clan, Widespread Panic, The Deftones, Edwin McCain, Vertical Horizon, Splender (who he absolutely loves), Nine Days, and many others. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Joseph McCombs freelance writer |
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Joseph McCombs is a freelance writer based in Boston, MA. He's done everything from CD reviews at OnAir.com and Choler.com to music/tech-related articles for Digital Music Weekly, RadioSpy and ZDNet Music; however, he has not yet done a "think piece" for Rolling Stone. (Give him time.) In the meantime, his greatest claim to fame is a winning performance on VH1’s Rock & Roll Jeopardy, proving to his family and friends once and for all that there really was a reason to know that the Captain's real name is DarylDragon. Joe is eager to involve himself with any and all music projects of a biographical, historical or sociological nature (not to mention, of course, reviews), and can be reached at jmccombs@earthlink.net.
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David Moser, Esq. |
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David Moser is an entertainment and intellectual property attorney who represents primarily music industry clients such as record companies, music publishers, songwriters, recording artists, producers and managers. Moser is also a professor in the Curb School of Music Business at Belmont University where he teaches courses in Copyright Law, Music Publishing, and Legal Issues in the Music Industry. He is the author of "Music Copyright for the Millennium" and has recently received a Fulbright Scholar Award by the United States government to do research on copyright enforcement in the Philippines. |
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Chris Mugno |
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Chris Mugno is an assistant editor at StarPolish, and is assisting with StarPolish Managament, the newly launched management arm of StarPolish.
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Rozz Nash |
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Rozz Nash's strength as a singer shows not only in the power of her voice, but also in her talent as a songwriter. She incorporates various genres and styles to create a sound all her own. Her most recent recording is "The Sun Shines On," featured on Soul Bossa trio's latest album "Rad 2000." She also co-wrote "I Remember," which was the first single to be released on Repurcussions' second album on Pony Canyon, Inc. (Japan). Currently, Rozz is working on two separate EP's to be released later this year. She also recorded for the Sony Classics film "The Myth of Fingerprints" on Velvel Records with her jazzy soul band currently known as Rozz Nash. Rozz's touring credit includes an 18-month nationwide tour with the Groove Collective - singing and promoting their hit single "Lift Off." Rozz made her own touring debut in Italy, October 1998, and recently completed a three- week tour in Australia with her soul band this past winter. Rozz Nash can be seen at venues such as CBGB's Gallery, the Izzy Bar, Wetlands and Mercury Lounge. She is now working on several projects including co-heading a women's artist/entrepreneur organization called W.E.R.I.S.E.. She also composes and lead-sings for a hard rock band called iNRSPACe. They have received special recognition as one of six groups chosen for the 1998 Discmakers competition at Tramps in New York City. Keep an eye out for both the Rozz Nash Quartet and iNRSPACe at local, national, and international venues.
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Dan Ostrowski Alive! with the Arts |
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Dan Ostrowski is the founder of Alive! with the Arts, an entertainment company operating within the college market. He represents artists such as Keller Williams, House of Hoi Polloi, One World Tribe, Rubberneck, Joules Graves, and Pat Burtis. Dan played drums for 6 years in the group Plato’s Cave, from Erie, Pennsylvania. He has toured colleges and universities, booked and managed artists to success in college towns, worked with schools to present national acts, and founded/produced music festivals with national and local talent, such as NW Pennsylvania’s Grape Jam Music and Arts Festival. He resides in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Lisa, and can be reached at (410) 882-1191 or alivearts@aol.com.
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Bruce Pollock |
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Veteran journalist, lyricist, novelist, humorist, essayist, columnist, editor, music historian, and record producer, Bruce Pollock has written for such publications as The New York Times, Saturday Review, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, Musician, Family Weekly, USA Today, Playboy, The Gannett Westchester Newspapers, and The Village Voice, He is the author of eight books on music, including Working Musicians, The Rock Song Index, Hipper Than Our Kids, and In Their Own Words, as well as three novels. He is the founding co-Editor in Chief of GUITAR: For The Practicing Musician and was the Editor of 17 Volumes of Popular Music: An Annotated Index of American Popular Songs (1983-1999). He is currently a record producer in NYC and at work on his 12th book.
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Jeff Rabhan |
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Jeff Rabhan was the Executive in Charge of Soundtracks for Elektra Records and Executive in Charge of Film and TV for the Warner Music Group/Warner TV prior to music supervising over 10 feature films independently, including the box office smash “Scream”. As music manager and talent scout, he has had the opportunity to work with a Grammy Award winning artist and was responsible for shopping Hanson for a record deal. He began his career in music as a journalist, working for both Rolling Stone and SPIN, and has returned to writing recently as the A&R Editor for HITS Magazine, the music industry trade publication on the record business. In this capacity, Rabhan writes the authoritative column on artist signings, music trends and film soundtrack recordings. As a music expert, he has appeared on Fox Morning News and E! Entertainment. A graduate of New York University in 1992, Rabhan currently resides in Los Angeles. |
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Madelyn Scarpulla |
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Madelyn Scarpulla began her career in the music industry in 1985 at rock radio station WIYY in Baltimore, Maryland as Assistant Program Director. In 1987, she segued to PolyGram Records where she was Local Promotion Manger for the Mid-Atlantic region until being promoted to Product Manager in 1989 at PolyGram's New York offices. She left PolyGram in 1991 to take a position as Marketing Director at Horizon Entertainment, a management firm working for John Mellencamp. After the disassembling of Horizon, Scarpulla started her own management company, Madhouse Entertainment, where she managed artists including KIX and Skin & Bones. The following year brought Scarpulla to Arista Records for a stint as a Marketing Director in the Sales Department. In 1994, Scarpulla returned to the PolyGram fold as Senior Director of Marketing for Mercury Records where she remained until the Universal/PolyGram merger in 1999. After that, Scarpulla moved to Columbia Records holding a Senior Director of Marketing position. Most recently, Scarpulla made a move to Atlantic Records. Scarpulla received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from Loyola College, Baltimore, in 1985. |
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Rob Siano Spinning Images |
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Spinning Images began 40 years ago, somewhere in coastal England. The myth was passed on for generations, until finally reaching its peak sometime in 1994. The Spinning Images Torch was passed to four new members sent on their own to make music in a world that has destroyed what was once beautiful sounds. Spinning Images set out on a tri-state mission to find people who would also like to hear something different. The people came and they hated it. But that didn't stop them. They played and played everywhere that had a PA system, eventually selling 9000 CDs over the span of 47 years. Without any help, the band has created a scene of violence and hatred of them personally, and the music. John Hagedorn grabbed the torch and ran like a bandit in a crack house. He began writing songs about girls and other ridiculous material. Swindling and swiping from legendary greats like Maccaus, Sunny Day Real Estate, Epstein, and Colon Cancer. He offends everyone on stage with his unorthodox antics and swearing. But don't let that stop you. Buy an album. Rob Siano is the drummer. Coming out of NYU like an insomniac investment banker, Rob has tricked many clubs, radio stations, and record stores into promoting the material. He plays drums like somebody else, specifically Joey Stopin, Mitch Mitchell, William Goldsmith, and Tobias Wilson. Either way is fine. Brian Kearins is the face of the new millenium. Playing licks like Clapton, Malmsteen, Satriani, and Sting, this boy has recently lost his mind. This Manhattanville College student also teaches little boys guitar lessons in his spare time. His stage performance is sticky and he moves like a rod of lightning. Check him out in your local grocery store. Todd Goldfinger, former bassist of Spinning Images, has re-united once again with his tribal mates. His West Indian Totem Pole and luscious black hair have been quoted on the black market for over $4000, bid on either of them at www.spinningimages.com. He plays bass like Chief Big Horn, Iron Maiden, and Steve. On stage, this stud wreaks havoc in the hearts of all the ladies and fear into little boys.
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Joseph Siprut, Esq. |
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Joseph Siprut is an attorney based in Chicago.
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Janine Small, Esq. Partner, Carroll, Guido & Groffman |
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| Janine S. Natter was recently named Junior Partner at Codikow, Carroll, Guido & Groffman, LLP, where she has been an associate since 1993. The firm specializes in the drafting and negotiation of proposals and agreements concerning music industry transactions and represents prominent recording artists, record labels, producers, executives, Internet ventures and music festival organizers. Janine graduated from the School of International Service at the American University and spent a semester abroad in London, England. She attended law school at U.C. Hastings College of the Law where she was the Senior Research and Symposium Editor of the Hastings Communications & Entertainment Law Journal and President of the Association for Communications, Sports & Entertainment Law. Not only is Janine a great lover of all music genres and a musician herself, she has also authored several articles and presented symposia on various aspects of the music industry. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Michael Solomon Brick Wall Management |
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Michael began his music career in the marketing department at Mango/4th & B'Way/Island Independent Labels (Eric B. & Rakim, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopracy), where he learned about life at an independent record label. Upon leaving Mango, he joined the 1992 Bruce Springsteen European tour, working with both Winterland Merchandising and as a tour assistant for Thrill Hill Productions and Jon Landau Management (Bruce's production and management company). Following this tour, Michael began a three-year stint at Epic Records/Sony Music, in the International Marketing Department. There he worked with artists as varied as Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, The Allman Brothers, Gloria Estefan, Rage Against The Machine, G-Love & Special Sauce, Living Colour, Babyface, Spin Doctors, and many others. Michael left Epic to pursue the entrepreneurial path, co-founding Brick Wall Management, with partner Rishon Blumberg, an artist management and entertainment consulting firm. As a partner in Brick Wall, Michael co-manages all of the company's artists (John Mayer, The Clarks, Marc Broussard). Brick Wall also consults for Jon Landau Management (Bruce Springsteen, Train) and StarPolish and administers The Kristen Ann Carr Fund. Finally, Michael is involved in many charitable pursuits, most notably as the Co-founder and Co-chairman of Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to promote and complement the healing process. |
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Vivek Tiwary StarPolish, TEG |
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As founder/CEO of The Tiwary Entertainment Group and StarPolish, Vivek J. Tiwary is involved in production, management, marketing, and investment in film, theater, music, and television. Vivek is also an accomplished writer and director of music videos and short films, and a record producer of musicians in all genres. Vivek is the writer and director of “The Fifth Beatle” (www.fifthbeatlemovie.com), a feature film currently in development and based on the life of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. He was a lead producer of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of “A Raisin In The Sun,” starring Sean Combs, and he is a Limited Partner in Mel Brooks’ Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and touring show "The Producers." Vivek also serves as CEO of multi-faceted music company StarPolish, whose divisions include Artist Management, Marketing, Live Events, Music Production, and Online Education/Empowerment. StarPolish manages Columbia Records recording artist Ari Hest and rock bands The Alternate Routes, Virginia Coalition, and Red Heart The Ticker. Finally, Vivek has been a consultant for numerous arts, entertainment, and new media properties; current projects include Counts Media, a company that Vivek helped found which develops Mixed Reality Games and Immersive Entertainment Experiences utilizing the most cutting edge technologies. Prior to founding TEG and StarPolish, Vivek held a number of major label music-industry positions, including launching and running the Alternative Marketing Department at Mercury/PolyGram Records, and managing Video Promotion for Mercury/PolyGram, where he worked closely with MTV and VH1. Vivek has worked with artists covering the entire musical spectrum including Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Kiss, LL Cool J, John Mellencamp, Allen Ginsberg, Oasis, Hanson, and The Mighty Mighty BossTones to name but a few. Among many charitable pursuits, Vivek is the Co-Founder of Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to complement the healing process. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of both the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences. Vivek holds a filmmaking certificate from The New York Film Academy and is an acting student of Susan Batson/Black Nexxus Acting Studio.
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Liquid Todd DJ, 92.3 K-Rock NYC |
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Liquid Todd is the host and DJ of “Solid State,” New York’s Saturday night electronic show (Midnight-4am on 92.3 K-Rock). During the rest of the week Todd records original songs and produces remixes on a digital Pro-Tools studio and DJs all over the world. An electronic pioneer, Liquid Todd was the first DJ to bring electronic music to the commercial airwaves in Boston - first on 101.7 WFNX, then on 104.1 WBCN - and New York - on the mighty K-Rock (WXRK). Todd also broke new ground in Washington DC and Cincinnati, Ohio when Solid State had broadcast runs on WHFS and WAQZ respectively. Long a champion of what some call “electronica” Todd has created thousands of new fans for the music he loves from his radio shows, mix CDs and electric live performances - including supporting Paul Oakenfold on his spring and summer 2002 US tours. |
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Ron Wasserman Fisher |
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Ron Wasserman did basically all of the first 12 months of internet marketing for Fisher, and is the somewhat silent partner of (Kathy) Fisher. He co-wrote the songs and produced and co-engineered the indie and current Fisher CDs. Links http://www.fishertheband.com http://www.mp3.com/fisher Current Issues:
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James Willcox StarPolish |
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Jim Willcox joined the StarPolish team in March, 2001 as Editorial Director, overseeing all editorial content for the company. He has since added the title of Vice President of New Media, with responsibility for all the company's Internet operations. Before joining StarPolish, Jim Willcox was Director of Content for Etown.com, where he oversaw all aspects of editorial content for the site. Prior to Etown.com, Jim, a Columbia University alum, was a founding member of and Editorial Director at Riffage.com, a seminal online music company offering downloadable music to fans, and educational, marketing and promotional support to the musicians' community. Before his online initiatives, Jim served as the Computer Editor of TWICE magazine, and a contributing editor/writer to Audio magazine, Audio Times, Video magazine and Video Review. As a freelance writer and journalist, Jim's work has appeared in newspapers such as The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and magazines including Audio, Maxim, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics, popular Science, Rolling Stone, The Source, and Unlimited, among others. In his spare time Jim enjoys playing slide guitar and racing around town on a customized motorcycle - hobbies he has not yet figured out how to safely combine.
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John Williams The Clarks |
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| John Williams is currently Tour Manager/Merchandiser for The Clarks and has been working for the band for 6 years in various capacities from marketing and promotions, to tour coordination and merchandising. Prior to his current position, he was employed in retail management for 8 years in records stores around the Pittsburgh area. He created many contest winning visual displays. Included among his winning displays is “Carudsia,” the official car of The Urban Dance Squad (thanks BMG!). | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Gail Worley |
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Gail Worley, Freelance Rock Critic, is a native of Southern California who moved to New York City's East Village in 1988. Gail loves to rock and has been obsessed with rock stars and all things rock since the age of five, when she discovered the Beatles. She is the author of ReQuest magazine's Dr. Feelgood column and contributes regularly to Launch.com, Modern Drummer, Rockpile and KNAC.com. Her work has been published by Allstar/CD Now, Amazon.com, DrDrew.com, Metal Hammer England, Pandemonium Online, PopSmear, Sonicnet, Metal-Sludge.com and numerous regional publications, but she is perhaps best known for her internationally famous and wildly popular internet column, The Worley Gig, which ran on the late Seattle-based webzine Pandemonium Online for over four years, and now has a home on StarPolish. Gail balances her rock and roll hipster cache with her more metaphysical side. She is a practicing Reiki Master whose clients include many local area musicians.
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Rebecca Wright |
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Rebecca Wright, a graduate of Smith College in Massachusetts, started out in 1995 working for Dave Matthews Band's management in Charlottsville, VA. Her next job was tour manager for Enclave/Emi artist September 67, whose small label she also ran. In 1998 she began as an assistant at PolyGram Publishing in New York, where she remained during the 1998 merger of Universal and PolyGram. At Universal Publishing she was promoted from coordinator, to manager, to creative director, which is the title she holds today. |
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