Let's Get Charitable! Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven

SWEET RELIEF lll: PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
TO BENEFIT THE SWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND

FEATURES RECORDINGS BY ARTISTS INCLUDING
JACKSON BROWNE, SHE & HIM, BEN HARPER, RON SEXSMITH,
k.d. lang, SHELBY LYNNE AND MORE!

AVAILABLE ON SEPTEMBER 3rd

 “Musicians are always among the first to give their energy and talent to help other people in times of emergency, though they are very often without health insurance themselves, and need our support when they fall prey to illness and hardship. Sweet Relief has been helping musicians for years, and has helped some whom I am very much indebted to for enriching my life. I am very happy to take part in this CD project, and for the chance to support Sweet Relief's very soulful work.” – Jackson Browne

“Getting a chance to do something that benefits Sweet Relief combined with working with my dear friend Sheldon Gomberg is an opportunity I jumped at and something I can't wait to do again.” -  Ben Harper

Sweet Relief Ill:  Pennies From Heaven - The third compilation album in support of the Sweet Relief Musician Fund - features new recordings by various artists including Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, Shelby Lynne, Victoria Williams, She & Him, Ron Sexsmith, Rickie Lee Jones and Joseph Arthur. The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling while facing illness, disability or age-related problems.

Click here for a look at the live in-studio video of Joseph Arthur with special guest Pearl Jam guitarist Jeff Ament performing the song “If I Needed You” from the upcoming release.

Each of the artists on Sweet Relief lll: Pennies from Heaven chose songs with a theme of support and assistance such as “How Did You Find Me Here?” (k.d. lang), “King of the Road” (She & Him), “Crazy Love” (Ben Harper), “Change is Gonna Come” (Victoria Williams) and “Big Spender” (Sam Phillips) plus many more.  Click here for a sneak preview of some of the songs.  See full track listing below.

At the helm for this third installment, producer Sheldon Gomberg stated, “Making this record for Sweet Relief has been such a great experience. I got to work with all these fantastic artists, while at the same time giving something back to the music community that has been so good to me over the years. A huge thanks goes out to all the artists that participated in the making of this record!” 

This latest recording commemorates the 20^th anniversary of the first highly successful inaugural release Sweet Relief: A benefit for Victoria Williams - a project inspired by Williams who founded the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund upon being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. That collection and the subsequent Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation – The Songs of Vic Chesnutt included contributions from artists like R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Indigo Girls, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins, Cracker, Dog’s Eye View, Live, Lou Reed, The Jayhawks, Lucinda Williams, Soul Asylum, and more.

Sweet Relief III: Pennies from Heaven features cover design by acclaimed artist Peter Max. To learn more about the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund visit www.sweetrelief.org

SWEET RELIEF III:  PENNIES FROM HEAVEN Track Listing

Ron Sexsmith                  Pennies From Heaven                                              
Shelby Lynne                  Brother Where Are You                                                                       
Sam Phillips                     Big Spender                                      
k.d. lang                           How Did You Find Me Here
Ben Harper                      Crazy Love               
Genevieve Toupin            Heart Of Gold
Joseph Arthur                   If I Needed You                     
Rickie Lee Jones              Surfer Girl                             
Tina Schlieske                  With A Little Help From My Friends 
Victoria Williams               Change Is Gonna Come                   
She & Him                         King Of The Road                                                     
Eleni Mandell                    I'll Be Home
Jackson Browne               Don’t Let Us Get Sick
 

10 Seconds With: Message to Venus

Photo: Chris Martin

What series of events unites a few strangers to make music together? Is it a cosmic anomaly or destiny? Jandre Nadal, John Feliciano, Edgar Ramos and JuanMa Font gravitated towards each other because of a shared desire to create intoxicating and sublime music. “Message to Venus” has yielding blistering tracks with great depth, melding dreamlike sounds with unheard-of guitar strength, tight bass, high-energy drums and powerful melodic vocals since 2009.

With their well received EP “The Envelope” “Message to Venus” is hard at work on their first full length album titled:  “Victims & Villains” - Here to give us the 411 is band member Jandre Nadal.

MS: So why the band name “Message to Venus”? There’s got to be a story behind that.

JN: When I was working on the “Message to Venus” project initially, it was going to be a side gig. I just wanted to do music I really enjoyed playing. I was looking to do something a little more 90’s style rock, ya know I was really into “Pearl Jam”, “Stone Temple Pilots” “Alice in Chains”…I grew up with bands like that, I listened a lot to the early albums of “Bush”.  I wanted to play rock music that had an edge and was aggressive, but that my girlfriend at the time could appreciate it as well.

What I had in mind was something heavy, but very melodic. I didn’t want to go for the “I hate you, I’m gonna rip your head off” ya know “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh” type of thing. (laughs) I love that music, I still listen to it, but it’s not what I want to do.

MS: Very cool.

JN: “Message to Venus” is actually a song, it was the first song I ever wrote. The song wasn’t working, but the lyrics I loved and I always liked the title. Contrary to popular belief “Message to Venus” does not refer to a woman, it describes the vibe of the music I wanted to make. Very spacey, a lot of guitar and vocals - I listened to a lot of “Pink Floyd” I wanted to mix a lot of that 60’s & 70’s rock with the modern, early Y2K music.

Got a message? Send it to Venus: www.messagetovenus.com