You Know Her Name

I am pleased on so many levels to announce that one of my favorite rock icons from the 90's is truly back with an amazing new single and video.

OK, I love (pun intended) Courtney Love, I love Hole too...get with this program and you can be my friend forever. If you don't want to, I'll still like you, but it won't quite be the same.

Not to mention the flip side "Wedding Day."

Courtney is kicking it with her Rock/Alternative roots on  "You Know My Name" this icon/artist/force of nature is truly brilliant and knocks the shit out of way more paler artists today...I'm not calling anyone out on the mediocre scale who is wildly successful for no Mother F#@king reason, Rihanna..

Lay your pimp hand down, and rock out with whatever you want to pop out with Courtney!

Thank you universe that rebel rock is not dead...Can I get an enthusiastic YES!

                                                            "You Know My Name"

You know here name now follow her ass: https://www.facebook.com/courtneylove

Trick Or Treat, Beyonce & Jay Z At The Met Gala

Put A Damn Ring On It!

Halloween came early this year, get a load at most of the outfits celebs wore to the Met Gala, there were plenty of fun treats!

There were also some fancy PR tricks. The winner in this game goes to Beyonce and Jay Z, for the most endearing one that was oh so perfectly timed..."Put A Ring On It!"

Beyoncé and Jay Z were the final stars to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York City Monday, and the power couple made in their Givenchy Haute Couture were the paparazzi's wet dream.

At one point, one of Beyoncé's Lorraine Schwartz rings slid off her finger and fell onto the ground. Fortunately, her knight in shinning armor, Mr. Jay Z located it — instead of merely handing it back to her, he decided to stage a mock proposal for the cameras.

Ms. Knowles gave an enthusiastic "Yes!"

Next month, Beyoncé and Jay Z will kick off their 16-date On The Run tour. 

You guys win this weeks best PR stunt, as obvious as it was, it was also endearing and clever.

"Put A Ring On It" at: http://www.beyonce.com/

B.B. Is King In "The Life Of Riley"

B.B. King is the word...

Cardinal Releasing Ltd., MVD Entertainment Group, and Syndctd Entertainment are pleased to announce the US release of The Life of Riley, the much-lauded feature documentary film on the extraordinary life of Blues legend B.B. King. The film will be in theaters nationwide starting on May 21st, on VOD June 1st, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital platforms on June 17th. Tickets for the theatrical screenings will go on sale beginning May 1st only at www.BBKing.com

King worked closely with Director Jon Brewer for 2 years to create this powerful film. The heartfelt contributions from a plethora of music's superstars were a vast indication that this was the time for his story to be told. At 88 years old, King, his family, friends and contemporaries unveil the true-life drama that was the springboard for the future 'King of the Blues'.

Battling unrelenting racism and the humiliation of segregation whilst working in the cotton fields as an orphaned child, Kinglived to overcome the toughest critics in the entertainment industry and ultimately be hailed as one of the kingpins of an entire genre of music. This candid biopic of the life story of one of our living legends is highlighted by rare archive footage and beautifully shot scenes of the deep American south. Informative and visually stunning, The Life of Riley is the definitive document of a true American treasure.

"We all have idols," said King. "Play like anyone you care about, but try to be yourself while you're doing so."

The Life of Riley includes appearances and contributions from: Aaron Neville, Bill Cosby, Bill Szymczyk, Bill Wyman, Bono, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Willis, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Carver Randle, Derek Trucks, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, George Benson, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, John Mayer, John Mayall, Johnny Winter, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mick Taylor, Morgan Freeman, Paul Rodgers, Rev. David Matthews, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Slash,, Susan Tedeschi, Tina France, Walter Trout, and Wayne Cartledge.

The DVD and Blu-ray release features live footage from the Royal Albert Hall, some of which includes special guests Ronnie Wood, Susan Tedeshci, Derek Trucks, Mick Hucknell, and Slash. In addition, there are bonus interviews from Buddy Guy, Mick Hucknell & Ronnie Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Bobby Bland, Walter Trout, Susan Tedeschi, Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa, Dr John, John Mayall, Slash, and Leon Russell.

The Life of Riley Original Soundtrack, available digitally on May 20, 2014, carefully follows the specifically chosen music sequence used in the film. The soundtrack contains career spanning songs as featured in the movie from his 1951 hit "3 O'Clock Blues" to his 2000 GRAMMY© winning duet, "Riding With the King," plus two live songs never available on digital or CD "Walking Dr. Bill" and "Sweet Sixteen."

Official Website and Screening Tickets:
http://www.bbking.com/

Link to pre-order DVD: http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVD6345D

                         Blu-ray: http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVD6344BR

"Say Something," It's "A Great Big World"

A Great Big World

A GREAT BIG WORLD TO EMBARK ON "A GREAT BIG WORLD TOUR"

NEW SINGLE "ALREADY HOME"

“ROCKSTAR” COVERED ON “GLEE” APRIL 1

Always remember: It's A Great Big World and you just live in it, carry on....

A Great Big World will be crisscrossing the globe this year when they launch an expansive international run, the appropriately titled "A Great Big World Tour". This marks their return to Europe and sees them hit numerous territories for the first time. The tour also perfectly coincides with the launch of the group's latest single "Already Home". With an elegant piano intro, the song builds into another impressive, inspiring, and infectious chorus from the group. It's another majestic anthem from A Great Big World following upon the stratospheric success of “Say Something” with Christina Aguilera which has reached international multi-platinum sales.

About “Already Home”, A Great Big World adds, "We wrote this song years ago, but it's kind of spooky how much the lyrics mean to us now that we've been away touring for months. We're realizing that 'home' doesn't need to be a tangible and physical thing. It can be that quiet place that is always there inside of you, or the love that exists between two people, no matter how far apart. So in that sense, we are always 'home."

In support of the song and critically acclaimed debut album, Is There Anybody Out There? [Black Magnetic/Epic Records], the tour starts on May 10^th with the iconic Los Angeles radio show Wango Tango, and then sees the New York pop duo of Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino visit at least twelve countries over the course of four months.

Axel and Vaccarino preface the tour saying, "It's pretty unbelievable that we've reached a point where we're able to travel half-way across the Earth, and have fans coming to see us and support us. That's why we write. That's why we perform - to connect. The world is beginning to feel a lot smaller than our name suggests!"

On April 1, A Great Big World’s music returns to hit Fox show Glee as the group’s uplifting anthem“Rockstar” will be covered by the cast during a pivotal episode. This is the second time Glee has chosen to perform one of the group’s songs. In 2013 the Glee cast performed “This Is the New Year” (video) and helped launch the song to its viral success.  Get ready to hear “Rockstar” like you’ve never heard it before.

It's been a magical journey thus far for the group. In addition to debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top 200, Is There Anybody Out There? received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in January. 

Their breakthrough triple-platinum mega-hit with Christina Aguilera, "Say Something,” ignited a fast rise to success back in November 2012. Axel, Vaccarino, and Aguilera gave a stirring performance on NBC's The Voice followed by enchanting and electrifying turns at the American Music Awards and The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. 

As their profile grew, the single entranced the entire world, eventually selling over three million digital songs at a rapid rate in the U.S. alone. It went on to occupy the #1 spot on iTunes, Billboard's Digital Songs Chart, Billboard's Digital Track Chart, Spotify, and Shazam in addition to going Top 10 on sales charts in 19 countries. They've also performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, ABC's Good Morning America, LIVE with Kelly and Michael and had a live stream of their sold out New York Highline Ballroom show with VH1.com.  VH1 also selected the group as their first 2014 “You Oughta Know” Artist.  Finally most recently they were asked to perform as the first-ever musical guest on Late Night With Seth Meyers and gave a riveting performance at the prestigious Clive Davis annual Pre-Grammy party this year.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES:

5/10       Los Angeles, CA                 Wango Tango

5/11       Reno, NV                              Kitting Factory*

5/13       San Francisco, CA              Regency Ballroom*

5/16       Las Vegas, NV                     Red Rocks Lounge*

5/17       Tucson, AZ                           Rialto Theater

5/21       London, UK                         Heaven*

5/22       Paris, France                       Tabendo*

5/23       Zurich, Switzerland          Plaza*

5/25       Vienna, Austria                  WUK*

5/26       Cologne, Germany            Luxor*

5/27       Berlin, Germany                                Postbahnhof*

5/29       Amsterdam, Holland       Paradiso*

6/3         House of Blues                 Boston, MA

6/15       Northampton, MA           Pearl Street*

6/17       Montreal, QC                      Corona Theatre*

6/20       Richmond, VA                    National*

6/21       Sayreville, NJ                      Starland Ballroom*

6/22       Dover, DE                            Firefly Music Festival

6/24       Toronto, ON                       Danforth Music Hall*

6/26       Detroit, MI                          Royal Oak Music Theatre*

6/27        Chicago, IL                         House of Blues

6/28       Milwaukee, WI                   Summerfest

6/29       Minneapolis, MN              Mill City Nights*

7/05       Birmingham, UK                                Wireless Festival

7/06       London, UK                         Wireless Festival

8/01       Sydney, Australia             Hi-Fi*

8/02       Brisbane, Australia           The Tivoli*

8/03       Melbourne, Australia      Russell*

8/5         Auckland, NZ                      Powerstation*

8/14       Seoul, Korea                       Super Sonic Festival

8/16       Tokyo, Japan                      Summersonic Festival

8/17       Osaka, Japan                      Summersonic Festival

*Headline Dates

Album available now at their official site, Amazon, iTunes, or a signed copy at Target.com now!

A Great Big World:

www.agreatbigworld.com/

www.facebook.com/agreatbigworld

www.twitter.com/agreatbigworld

www.youtube.com/agreatbigworld

Keep Calm And Dolly Parton

The Unsinkable Dolly Parton

To all you Dolly Parton fans, do you ever ask yourself: "What would Dolly do?" Well if she were an ordained minister she would marry same sex couples. 

Oh wait, she is an ordained minister, alright what same sex couples want Dolly to officiate their wedding ceremony? Better take a number...

The unsinkable Dolly told the Huffington Post: 

"I think everyone should be with who they love," Parton, 68, continued. "I don’t want to be controversial or stir up a bunch of trouble but people are going to love who they are going to love. I think gay couples should be allowed to marry. They should suffer just like us heterosexuals. Ha ha ha!"

What can one say? Dolly is an amazing entertainer, activist and pop icon..."Keep Calm and Dolly Parton!"

Dolly's 42nd studio album "Blue Smoke" drops May 13th - get it, get it!

Keep up with what Dolly would do at:  

Facebook.com/DollyParton or: http://dollypartonentertainment.com/

Look What April Showers Bring...Tamar Braxton!

Tamar Braxton

TAMAR BRAXTON ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE 2014 TOURING PLANS 

SUPPORTING R.KELLY IN ARENAS THIS SPRING

EMBARKING ON LOVE AND WAR HEADLINE TOUR

Now that the age old mystery of what April showers bring beside May Flowers has been solved, acclaimed Braxton, Tamar (Yes, in case you were not aware Toni isn't the only one with vocal chops) - is on the loose extensively touring. Perhaps she will be in your town, or near you either way watch out for her...I mean it...!

Known for powerful and passionate live performances, Tamar Braxton will bring her dynamic and unforgettable show to audiences across North America this spring and summer.

The Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, personality, and television producer is set to be direct support for R&B legend R. Kelly on his upcoming arena jaunt followed by a headline run of her own. She joins Kelly starting April 18 in Montgomery, AL through May 11 in Louisville, KY, while her solo Love and War tour commences May 16 in Miami, FL and culminates in San Francisco, CA on June 23.

Expect to hear and see her Streamline/Epic debut, Love and War, come to life vividly and vibrantly on stage nightly. Her instantly recognizable voice always captivates, while her presence remains invigorating. Idolator has called her live show, "very impressive", while Perez Hilton claims, "her vocals are ON POINT". You'll definitely feel Love and War stage when she rolls through your town.

Right now, Tamar is also compiling ideas for her next forthcoming release and preparing for the nationwide launch of The Real— the syndicated, one-hour daily talk show set to launch nationwide in Fall 2014 on Fox Television Stations and premiering in a second window on BET. Viewers can also catch her on the WE tv hit series Tamar & Vince and Braxton Family Values.

In just the past year, Tamar has solidified herself as one of R&B’s leading divas. Love and War became the #1 R&B album upon debut, selling 400,000 copies since its September release. In support of the record, she performed to packed houses across the U.S. on a 30-city tour supporting John Legend, engaged in a whirlwind European promo run, and even picked up two 2013 Soul Train Awards, after performing at the event in Las Vegas. She also released her very first holiday album, Winter Loversland. On top of it all, she gave birth to her first son, feeling like as she puts it, “I won!”

Yep, It's Her, Again

Love and War hit #2 on the Billboard Top 200 upon release, making for 2013's highest debut from a female R&B artist. Meanwhile, it also topped the Billboard Top R&B Albums Chart and iTunes Top R&B Albums Chart. Press acclaim also showered the release. Vibe described the record as "Emotional and amazing", while ARTISTdirect.com called it "everything a classic R&B record should be and so much more". After gracing the cover of Ebony Magazine, she celebrated the album's release with performances on Good Morning America, Live With Kelly & Michael, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 28th at TamarBraxton.com

R. Kelly Tour Dates:
May 1 – Tampa, FL @ Times Arena
May 3 – Jackson, MS @ JSU Stadium
May 4 – Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center
May 9 – Bossier City, LA @ Century Link Center
May 10 – North Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
May 11 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center

Headlining Tour Dates:
May 16 – Miami, FL @ Fillmore
May 18 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
May 21 – Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore
May 22 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
May 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
May 28 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
May 29 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
May 30 – Mashantucket, CT @ MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort
Jun 3 – Detroit, MI @ The Garden Theater
Jun 6 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
Jun 9 – Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29
Jun 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Jun 14 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
Jun 16 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Jun 17 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Jun 20 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Jun 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency

facebook.com/TamarBraxtonHer

twitter.com/TamarBraxtonHer

instagram.com/tamarbraxtonher

"The Day The Light Went Out" The Strange Familiar, Returns

The Strange Familiar

The Pop/Rock Band The Strange Familiar are back! After the success of their album "Chasing Shadows" the group took some down time for various reasons. That down time went on to shape their new, and in my opinion best effort yet, "The Day The Light Went Out."

I caught up with the band front woman, Kira Leyden Andrea to get the 411 on their latest, and the things that life throws at you...

MS: Hi Kira, I was watching a "Pretty Little Liars" rerun before you called I remembered when songs  from TSF's "Chasing Shadows" were featured prominently on a previous season. What about songs from the new CD? Do you think they will be heard on the show?

KLA: I hope so, I believe the music supervisor for "Pretty Little Liars" has a copy of the album. I'm hoping they'll use it, I think they are kind of waiting for something super emotional and dramatic to happen, but hopefully they will. (laughs)

MS: "Pretty Little Liars" is always super emotional and dramatic so I am sure it will happen. (laughs) While listening to the album last night all I could think was: "Wow, this is really good."

KLA: Awwwwww, Thank You!

MS: Reading some of the comments you guys made about the album, like how much more personal and deeper it was than your previous efforts, "Well, yeah." Talk about that.

KLA: We did the songs on the album at two different times and somehow they ended up fitting together. The first couple of songs we wrote were "Surrender" & "Painkiller" we had those for a little while, we played them live, sort of "road tested" them you might say, we noticed they were getting a great reaction from fans. The songs were totally a different direction than what we had done on "Chasing Shadows" in the sense they were coming from darker places.

"Painkiller" is asking the question about going through life and living it numb and letting all of these things pass you by. It started with those two songs, then when we went to do the second half we had "Rain" which we didn't even think we were going to end up using. We were really short on songs, honestly (both laugh) we had a few that we liked and we thought were good, and solid, we knew we needed more and it needed to fit with the other stuff. But we didn't know if the producers would go for it, we showed all these songs to them including "Rain" and they said this is definitely going on the album, I thought: "Really?" We really thought of it as just this cute little song, this little lullaby - we kind of went with it. I like the song on the record because it does fit. It talks about being in the desert, and it talks about being in a dark, tough place in your life that someone is bringing you through. It's a cool thing.

We went through a lot of that too, like having the baby and when I was sick for a while...you  know I was in intensive care after I had the baby, and it was scary. I was really, really sick with an abscess and I think that plays into the rest of the record. That's "The Day The Light Went Out" so, yeah.

MS: I remember seeing that on your Facebook page, I believe your husband Jeff posted it, about how ill you were. One can definitely see how it influenced the album, sometimes the best stuff creatively comes out of the most challenging of times.

Kira And TSF's Latest CD

KLA: To me the message of the album is you can experience horrible things and tragedies in your life, but out of those, that's where you really become who you want to be. It's where you become stronger and you grow so much, while you're in it, it's like: "Whoa!" But when you look back at it, you think I wouldn't be who I am today without that, believe it or not it's a good thing actually.

MS: If you actually make it through you do become a different and better person.

KLA: Yeah, I think so.

MS: Me too. What was it like being in the hospital for you?

KLA: Well, you are really going in and out of morphine la la la feelings. (both laugh) In my situation I did not know how big my abscess really was. You can't see it and you feel horrible. One day I remember this one Doctor came in, one I had never seen before and said: "Where changing your antibiotic" and he did to this really super strong one, and I'm like, Okaaaaay. I was freaking out about all these antibiotics, and the Doctor says: "You have to you are in intensive care and you are really sick." That's when it started to sink in that "Dang this is serious." We were scared and it was a really dark time, I just wanted to go home and be with my baby, I feel like I can appreciate things so much more, there are people who are stuck in the Hospital who don't get to leave for months. You can relate and empathize more with them. That's part of what feeds into the album and it's title, "The Day The Light Went Out" a lot of it too does have to do with my faith.

Because I am a Catholic, a Christian, I just like to be honest the song does have to do with that. You don't have to believe anything I believe - to appreciate the message of the song that out of something horrible and dark can come something beautiful.

MS: One of the things I like about you guys is that I get the message you put out there is an inclusive one.

Hey Everyone, It's Us!

KLA: Yeah, it doesn't matter at the end of the day we are all human beings. We are all going to go through suffering, experience loss...we can all relate to each other and that is the message I want to bring to as many people as I can.

MS: It's a good message. All the songs do fit together well, "Surrender" was a particular favorite of mine.

KLA: Very cool, that's actually my favorite. We are going to shoot a video for that one, that is our next big thing, to try and get that video done. (laughs)

MS: "Surrender" is the perfect choice for a video! So let's talk about something a little lighter, (both laugh) how is your daughter Rayne?

KLA: She is great! She is so full of life and so fun, the happiest little child. She is starting to talk and walk now.

MS: My goodness, that went quick!

KLA: She's a total person walking around, she says Mama, Dada, door...(laughs) Also she has to say "Hi" to every person she sees.

MS: It so much fun to be around kids because they see the world so differently.

KLA: Everything is exciting, everything is an adventure and everything you do is fun when you are a kid. (laughs)

Turn and face "The Strange Familiar" on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestrangefamiliar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsfmusic
Own The Strange Familiar Here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_srch_drd_B00199RF86?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=digital-music&field-keywords=The%20Strange%20Familiar