The Strange Case of Bob Lefsetz vs Gene Simmons

Right up front, I have to state - rather emphatically - that this is not a random posting about Kiss because I felt like it. Over the last couple of weeks Ida has been mailing me various links to an “argument” that has been gathering no small amount of momentum on the web and as a Kiss fan I find it more than intriguing. The two sides appear to be this: Gene recently spoke at a music seminar, Bob retaliated saying it wasn’t very good and that Gene had his head up his ass. Gene came back with a few choice comments resulting in Gene and Bob appearing in a live debate situation which you can view here. (http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2009/03/13/gene/) VIDEO HERE: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ziIwZRl7U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Flefsetz%2Ecom%2Fwordpress%2Findex%2Ephp%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F14%2Fyoutube%2Dclip%2F&feature=player_embedded)

If you can put aside the mudslinging for long enough to think about it, it comes down to this: Gene is old school. He thinks that talking relentlessly about himself and/or his product will sell himself/his product. Bob on the other hand thinks that there is a new music business model afoot and the odds on Gene being correct are very slim. This is putting it nicely. Check out the video - there’s some killer laughs in there… mostly at Bob’s expense.  Gene’s comment of “I don’t even know who the fuck you are” is well placed. I don’t know who this guy is either but he does make a good case. I think. Call me shallow, but I found it hard to take they guy as seriously as I should have while he’s slouched in a chair. It’s always the little things…

Let’s ramp up the experiment a little and hope I don’t get my chops busted for standing in the middle of the battlefield. Let’s say I have a band. Let’s call this band Baby Dynamite because that’s what my band was called (hey - shut the fuck up… I learned from the best!). Baby Dynamite has a rough cut of an album called Blacklisted and we’re looking to crank our careers up to the next stage. This means, as Gene rightly points out in his speech that we need some help. We need either a) a company who will figure out all the crap for us, advance us some cash to clean up the album, sort the merchandising and get our name in front of as many people as possible, very fast or as Bob also rightly points out, b) an internet based plan whereby we build a loyal following direct with the fans and take all of the money from low sales (at first) instead of very little money from a lot of sales.

Bob makes some excellent points. MTV does not play music anymore… not really, but to be fair, if I’ve made a great video for what I consider to be the lead single off the album (incidentally called Creature Feature), I know who to ask at the Scuzz channel (UK audiences only!) what our chances are of getting it aired - even if it is on the other side of the witching hour. Nobody I want to sell to watches MTV anyway - they are watching Scuzz because that’s where the action is. I can also post it wherever the hell I like in the next five minutes and begin drip feeding the entire globe with a link.

The real-life scenario however is this: Baby Dynamite (there I go again) are so hungry for the big time, that we’re going to do both. Any serious band would! No band in their right mind is going to turn down development under the wing of Simmons/Universal, but likewise, we are dubious about the end result. Van Halen aside, no band Gene has touched has really made a serious dent in the world - and there have been many. I love Black n Blue as much as the next guy, but it really didn’t happen. Then again… looking back on my band (Baby Dynamite in case you missed it), which split in 1995 after seven years of not very much happening.. well, there is my point illustrated exactly. Looking back I would give my eye teeth for what Black n Blue had - four decent albums and a few trips around the globe. Hey - Tommy even got to be a member of Kiss and while the hardcore amongst us sometimes reel from the fact that Ace isn’t in the band anymore, if Gene hadn’t made the decisions he did, we wouldn’t have got much past Destroyer without it imploding.. and then there would have been no Baby Dynamite.

What’s that line from Three Men and Little Lady? “It’s tough being Papa Bear…”

I’m finding this hard going now because as an editor/fan/critic whatever you want to call me, I don’t really care where the model comes from. All I want to do is hear great music. So long as I get to hear it, it’s your problem as to whether or not you’re as clued in as me once I’ve told you about it. If Kiss choose to release their next album through the mega-chains in the States, that’s fine, count me in, but I’ll also be churning up independents such as The Dreaming (ex Stabbing Westward guys) who are running the gauntlet pretty much alone and I’m going to listen toand talk about just as much. Business models aside, this is how the world works now. Fans are greedy and will take their music from wherever they find it - and tomorrow it will be two different bands.

I really want to like Bob because I hear what he’s saying. Sadly, the other guy on the stage is a) one of my heroes b) dressed for business c) articulate d) massively intelligent and e) quick witted even if f) I suspect he might be wrong. Case in point: Gene rallied around his artist BAG a few years back. It’s a great album, it really is. Did you hear it? No you didn’t. Where is he now? Who cares - and that’s the sad truth about this. Gene gets more mileage from pimping his acts than his acts do - there’s a serious lesson to be learned there. Gene is Gene. Anybody who gets into that bed should expect nothing less. He is the Vince McMahon of rock and to pick a fight is utterly foolish. Bob can never win this argument because of that simple fact. Nobody knows or cares who he is. What would have been fantastic TV was if Bob was Marilyn Manson or Trent Reznor.. man, I would have paid to see that.

In the aftermath, Bob was still very vocal about how badly Gene treated him on TV. Gene however went back to making money and forgot all about it, whilst I considered the impact on my life of putting Baby Dynamite back together.

I learned a lot from Gene Simmons over the years. Today I learned a lot from Bob.

If you’re going to bring down a giant, get your shit together before you start and polish your shoes.

Sion Smith is the founder and editor of BURN magazine. He is also the writer/creator of the comic book series Too Hot For Dogs and some other inane fiction. If you’re in the mood to follow the semi-daily ramblings of a man with too much information in his head, check in with his personal blog at http://zodiaclung.blogspot.com/.Every Sunday he spends some time in Kiss or Alice Cooper make-up to remember why this journey was started in the first place. 

 FURTHERANCE FROM OUR OTHER GUEST BLOGGER:I have, of course, been following this and must say it is a match made in butt-ugly heaven for both Bob and Gene. You might recall that I knew Gene before the success when he and Paul (Stanley) would come into the Music Box record store on Union Turnpike in Queens where I worked during college. Paul would brag about their future success and Gene would act like a mute. Sadly, I really don’t relate to either POV from Gen or Lefsetz. Their topic is not the music biz. It is a self-centered scenario allowed by the internet for bob and celebrity for Gene. None of it has much to do with music.

James J. Spina

VP Editor in Chief
20/20 Magazine

The Greatest Song In The World: Not a Tribute

by Sion Smith/UK journalist & editor

From the humble office desk to the most raunch-infested tour bus, the eternal question has been posed more times than that of the existence of Santa.  “What is the greatest song ever?”  I can answer this - but you’ll have to put up with a few hundred words before I do, otherwise it would be a pointless exercise (not that it isn’t anyway, but that’s half the point of a blog isn’t it?). As time has meddled with my plan for immortality and whittled down my options, I find I must have posed the question to myself many times and I believe that until very recently, my response was based on the song that happened to be my favourite at that particular time - which is a mistake many people make - you need to dig far deeper than this. Part of the solution can be found in the names of the songs that repeatedly turn up on such a list, but first, let me give you some examples of making grievous and shallow errors in judgment using this criteria: 1. At some point in 1987, I would have sworn on my life and yours that the Poison cover of “Rock n Roll All Nite” from the Less Than Zero soundtrack was it. Reasons? a) Kiss cover b) party song c) the cool addition of the words “Mr Rocket” at the beginning. I see now that this is foolish in the extreme - particularly after listening to it again as I write this just to be sure. Idiot. 2. The first song that ever made me cry was “Red Army Blues” from the Waterboys - this was a strong contender for many years but if it had been that good, surely more than seven people would know what I’m talking about… One could carry on like this for a long time, but I’ll save you from the inanity of it all and myself from any further embarrassment.  The other mistake people make is listening to others opinions. The two stalwarts of this list that are the easy way out for all radical non-free-thinkers of the world - Stairway to Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody - are misnomers. They are two of the greatest rock songs ever but they don’t sweep the board of all the pieces. Respectively, one is captivating and brilliant in its execution, the other is captivating and brilliant in its execution of attracting people that simply don’t get the first choice. We must cast our nets much wider than this.  We must avoid ABBA (see previous blog post) due to their appeal to only homosexuals and housewives who never go out of the house (OK, and me). We must avoid the catalogues of the Gods also. The Beatles, the Stones, The Who, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis and Roxx Gang are not allowed to play. The choices are too obvious and whichever song you choose, a like-minded fan is able to come along and say things like “but what about….” and you will respond “Hmm - that’s a good point” and then out-think yourself. Is there any mileage in including anything from the last decade? I think we can all agree that would be a waste of time. How about two decades? Let’s make it three! That’s a little bit harder but nothing is springing out of the trap-door that can wipeout my pitch. Which basically leaves us with approximately thirty years of music to dive into - 1950 to 1979 and that’s a mighty big playing field.  One really doesn’t have to look too hard through those years though. There are many mighty songs from all three decades but I’m talking about the ones that stay with you forever. The ones that make you reach for the volume control when it comes on the radio. The song must transcend gender, generations and genre-fication. The damn thing has to make you stand naked out in the street and cry because you wish you had written it. The tournament was not however won without a fight. There were some strong contenders: Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Carly Simon (and Toni Stern) - It’s Too Late, Don McLean’s materpiece American Pie amongst others, all fought hard for the title, but it was a no contest before they even got in the ring. Without question, the best song ever written in the entire history of songwriting comes from the magical pen of Tom Evans and Pete Ham. I can hear what you’re saying… who the hell are they? These guys are from BadFinger and the track in question lay buried - and with good reason, still does - at the tail end of their 1970 album No Dice. There it would have stayed forever were it not for the keen ear of one Harry Nilsson who took it, gave it a good shake and delivered the most brutal song the world will ever witness.  That song of course is Without You.  Most people think Nilsson, as one of the most prolific and talented writers of the era, wrote it himself - a fact that I’m sure he wasn’t overly vocal about correcting. Anybody who knows anything about songs and their structure, either from an educated level of having done it themselves across to those who are simply able to appreciate the art-form, will find nothing is missing from Without You. There is not a lyric out of place or a chord that doesn’t seamlessly melt into the next.  Many have tried to ride the coat-tails of Nilsson and all have failed. Even Mariah Carey didn’t have the balls to pull it off. This is because Without You is a man’s song. It doesn’t sound right coming from lips of a woman. When Nilsson delivers it, you see a man on his knees, a man about to cut his heart out with a rusty spoon. A man who above all else, has lost his single reason for being. Carey delivers it like the great singer she is but that’s just not good enough to cut through the ethereal ribcage that protects the soul from harm. Women may be the only ones who bleed but it takes the emotional train wreck of a damaged man to truly show the high price of being human. Now - if I can get Ms Langsam to activate the comments on this blog, Let’s see who’s with me. You know I’m right.

Sion Smith is the founder and editor of BURN magazine. He is also the writer/creator of the comic book series Too Hot For Dogs and some other inane fiction. He can be contacted through the new Burn website at www.burnmagazine.co.uk or, if you’re in the mood to follow the daily ramblings of a man with too much information in his head, check in with his personal blog at http://zodiaclung.blogspot.com/.
Every Sunday he spends some time in Kiss or Alice Cooper make-up to remember why this journey was started in the first place.

The Year the Earth Stood Still

I found myself at a real dumb-ass New Year party this year. Admittedly, it’s the first New Year party I’ve been to in about ten years but I do remember what parties are supposed to be like to know this one fell into the ‘below-par’ bracket. The last one I went to lasted for three days and finished 280 miles away from where it started. This one was at a neighbours house and to be fair, most of the street voluntarily turned up with the intention of a good time rather than a fist fight. After a few drinks, for once in our lives, we were all getting on swimmingly well. With the assistance of a few close Bud’s, I ‘weised up to the fact that this was a functioning microcosm of the ‘general public’ - not something that those of us in the music business experience very often. In other words, it’s the chance of a lifetime to base my 2009 predictions on what’s happening in the ‘real world’.

Firstly though, let me tell you what this microcosm had to reveal about the state of the world: ABBA will never go out of fashion. Ever. No matter what business people tell you, ABBA are without doubt the most popular band in the universe and also the best songwriters this planet has ever seen. Fact. The only reason the world thinks it is the Beatles is that Beatles fans are obsessive. (*editor: Yes, we are, and damn proud of it!)  ABBA fans run with the wind and could care less about owning “the gatefold sleeve” version. In fact most of them don’t even own CD players let alone ipods. ABBA song lyrics are culled by the masses from the combined memories of a time gone by. I’m not too proud or too ‘rock’ to say that I actually won the competition that followed by knowing all of the words to Gonna Sing You My Lovesong and Sitting in a Palm Tree - songs that all of these people had never even heard of. That would be their second album from 1974 if you’re asking. This illustrates two important points: 1) Radio made ABBA what they are - that and the almost annual release of the Greatest Hits album for the last 30 years and 2) A good song will tattoo itself indelibly on your psyche until the day you die. In another world, ghosts probably like to haunt to the sounds of Move On (ABBA - The Album, 1977). Let’s make it three points: 3) My head is full of useless information.

Anyway, much like the mythical Millennium Bug, good as it is, the leviathan of Chinese Democracy arrived without that much of a bang. Truth be told, although we’ve all been using the phrase for at least a decade, the music business really has turned into a treadmill. No matter how much the media builds Act X to be the next big thing, tomorrow will see Act Z take the belt from them and so the 24 hour cycle spins. We’ve brought it on ourselves. All that’s happening around us is a self fulfilling prophecy of ‘freedom’. I did wonder for a time if I was simply damaged goods. The days of me hunting down a copy of an album in a particular format are over and that’s really sad. Download. Done. Next. Still, this is the world we created. The ‘real people’ present at said party however will content themselves with listening to all of this on via radio.

I suspect that in 2009 glam rock will come back with a vengeance. Not the garish, lovable style of olde, or indeed the big hair variety of the late 80s/early 90s but a new harder edged version. The emo/goth fraternity have made ‘dressing up’ and make-up very acceptable so it’s only a matter of time before this genuinely has to spin off somewhere else - and there ain’t many places left to go. If I was Generation X and the proceeding posse was Generation Y, then this forthcoming/already here Generation-i (I really should copyright that), will change the future of music for the foreseeable future. We’ve had enough misery now and with pop bringing back feeling good as an acceptable way to be, it can’t help but filter back out into the system. This will be propelled in the US by a new feeling of optimism with your new Mr President coming into office, though over here in the UK, it looks like we’ll have to put up with our lovable Mr Brown for a little while longer. Even the name summons up images of monotony, so over here, we’ll have an Anglo version which will be called Glum Rock. This will be spearheaded by the dreaded Coldplay who already have a head start on making us all feel like walking the plank…

As chains of banks and well known stores hit the bricks, so there will be record company casualties. Maybe not so much at the top but certainly in the mid level arena. Only this morning I was watching an episode of TNA Impact! (the wrestling show) and saw Billy Corgan pimping his independent song to the masses. The winners? Billy Corgan and TNA who now both have something cool to peddle. The losers? Well the absence of a record company suggests artists are starting to prove they don’t need big guns in their corner. As I said in my previous post, we’re now in the hands of publicists and marketing strategies and only the very smartest free thinkers will win that war. There is a little caveat to this though. How does the artist become big enough in the first instance to pull something like this off? That is one of the questions we’ll all have to chip away at through 2009.

Maybe it will come in the shape of bands contributing free slices of their music to independent movies in exchange for exposure. It will also come from authors, comedians and other public figures who freely pimp their favourites to an otherwise uneducated audience. Just take a look at what Neil Gaiman achieved by working with Amanda Palmer. Wise musicians will be gearing up for this - to churn up an example, there must be a rock band out there who are prepared to write a worthy theme tune to the re-imagining of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser - and for those who see what I’m talking about, there are hundreds - even thousands of indie movies made every year who normally have to pay for soundtrack songs without the budget to do so. It may be nothing, it may be something, but one thing is clear - you now have to think outside the box. The plus side of this of course is that these type of escapades give you some collateral as an artist, so if you really do want a good record deal, you have something to bring to the table as opposed to being just another band who thinks they can.

Inside of this new world order that we have created, I also predict the return of the ‘celebrity journalist’ and ‘celebrity

photographer’. Actually, I think the photographers pretty much kept that mantle sacred anyway, but there’s certainly room for new blood to make their mark on the world. The writers however, are so out of vogue it’s untrue. Cast your mind back to the ”70s and ’80s. I could name a phone book full of writers whose names were known and even respected from back then, but as we moved into the ’90s there was suddenly a flood of ‘taught’ writers, all as nameless and faceless as each other. Come full circle, there are now so many magazines and websites - all featuring the same bands/movies/books/shows* (*delete as applicable) - that the only way to rise above is by building up the writer again. Writers with a little flair, writers not afraid to piss off the editor now and again, writers who write like they are alive not report. It will come. I know this because there is no other answer to the problem. My sweeping statement is a tiny little bit unfair as Chuck Klosterman is rocking the house down wherever he goes. Lucky is the publication that has his name onside. Kudos Sir.

It’s no stretch of the imagination at all to know that downloads are the new base commodity. Over here, our (very worthy) X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke hit the Christmas number one slot with a version of Cohen’s Hallelujah. Scarily, fans of Jeff Buckley rose up behind this and instigated a rebel uprising, pushing his version of the song to number two based on downloads and fan fury alone! That my friends is how the future will work - it’s amazing what people do in the name of ‘justice’ so long as it costs less than a dollar. As the Amazing Digital Man®, I think this is fantastic but I still hanker for something extra and I’m not the only one. Thus I also predict that bands will start putting out ‘extras’. Great looking hardback tour books, spin-off non-music related projects and killer merch will all play their part in the new world. Sometimes, these things will become more essential than the music itself. Take a look at Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy and tell me that doesn’t boost MCR’s profile during their album downtime.

I’m probably at the limit of my word count here (see above about pissing editors off), so I’ll wrap up with the following five predictions;

1. Due to the advent of RockBand, Guitar Hero and SingStar, there will be less new bands on the block this year. Is there a way of measuring this? This will pay off sometime in the future by keeping the talentless busy in the evening instead of wasting all our precious time. I also predict that somebody will have the idea of televising such games. At this point, the world will truly end.

2. Leona Lewis will become the biggest star on the face of the planet by releasing a song that will make every human being cry.

3. Rolling Stone and/or Spin magazine will suffer a huge blow and find itself having to publish exclusively digitally to save the brand. This will set a precedent in which we will see the western world following suit with more products than they ever believed possible.

4. Season five of Lost will be the best show there has ever been on TV although 24 will give it a good run for its money, but Californication will still be my favourite.

5. Somewhere in the world, a bell will fall from a clock tower and injure exactly one person who thoroughly deserves it. (I’ll be in serious demand if that one comes off.)

Until next time - be cool to each other.

Sion Smith
Sion Smith is the founder and editor of BURN magazine. He is also the writer/creator of the comic book series Too Hot For Dogs and some other inane fiction. He can be contacted through the new Burn website at www.burnmagazine.co.uk or, if you’re in the mood to follow the daily ramblings of a man with too much information in his head, check in with his personal blog at http://zodiaclung.blogspot.com/.

Every Sunday he spends some time in Kiss or Alice Cooper make-up to remember why this journey was started in the first place.

As we head into 2009 in just a little under 10 hours, I want to wish you all the very best for the new year.  May we all experience health, happiness, success and prosperity.  The one good thing about a recession (if there is a good thing) is that it generally prompts artists to use their creativity to express their frustrations.  Therefore that bodes well for lots of new talent to come to our attention over the coming months.  Will there be another comeback a la Britney this year?  Another reunion like NKOTB?  Another teenage fantasy craze like “Twilight” - or will that continue?  Who knows, but it’ll be fun to watch it all unfold, participate in it, and then reflect on it next December 31st.  So to you wherever you are from me here in a very cold somewhat snowy New York City, I send musical, magical wishes that you have a fun and safe celebration as you watch the ball drop in Times Square just 11 blocks away from ISL PR headquarters.  I’m going home to watch the craziness on TV just like most of you.  CHEERS!

 The Amazing Digital Man

It sounds like a comic book, but it’s not. It’s me, it’s you. It’s all of us - but please, if a comic book should surface in the near future, remember you saw it here first.

Twenty years ago, my one room studio apartment was wall to wall with vinyl, cassette tapes, books and comics. In that relatively short time-space, my literary collection is pretty much intact and grows by the day. My music collection has not fared so well. It’s all still with me but it now lives in various and slightly more compact spaces, namely an ipod and an external hard drive that’s used as a jukebox in the house. I own no vinyl at all and have but five CDs to my name. Us Brits love a good list, so forgive me this little indulgence:

1. Kiss Alive Box Set (Just because, y’know)
2. Coheed & Cambria: Good Apollo… (the greatest album of the 21st century)
3. Shark Island: Gathering of the Faithful (Richard Black signed it for me and I haven’t the heart to sell it)
4. A Castle Blak/Monster Island 3 Disc Box Set (I wrote the liner notes but it’s a great box set anyway)
5. Journey: Frontiers (Not sure why I still have this…)

Ironically, these are all digitized as well. I know you Yanks don’t do irony so well, but trust me, it’s irony. As a magazine editor, my other obvious love is magazines. I have many of those, although none that date much past 1979 (apart from my own) in the shape of back issues of Creem.

Here’s some more irony: I’m currently editor of Burn Magazine (which is my own) and also editor of Planet Rock magazine, which is a newly launched publication for the Sony award winning digital radio station Planet Rock (I have to say ‘Sony award winning’ wherever possible. Apologies). Do I love the smell of them? Are my hands covered in paper-cuts from fawning over them? No. Both of these publications are digital and I will never hold one in my hands again. We (we being the team at Dark Hollow) looked long and hard at the business model for this before we committed to “no print”. You may not be in the publishing business but if you have a head on your shoulders that’s good at analogy, read on. There’s wisdom here somewhere.

The first mountain we had to climb was that a digital magazine is not perceived to be as genuine as a paper magazine. So why is my workload not smaller than before? To pour water on this fiery myth, we launched both magazines back to back at 6pm on Friday evening. At 6.10pm, we had our first subscriber. Under print rules, that magazine would still be on a truck or languishing in a warehouse awaiting distribution. As I write this not two days later, we have a very healthy subscription rate - fuelled, I have no doubt, by the fact that it’s a good price and a click here and there results in the job being done.

The other plus is that we can run right up to a few hours before we digitize before we call time on submissions. So, should Chinese Democracy happen to be available on the morning we ‘go to print’, the review can be included. Advertisers also get the benefit of what we like to call the ‘hole in space and time’. For instance, let’s say your band puts an advert in for your new album. Click on the advert and you’re whipped into an affiliate page such as amazon where you buy it there and then. For those smart enough to figure out how this would translate into digital sales at an online store such as itunes, this is us - you and I, doing the business with no middlemen taking so many percentages that we’re both left with not much more then the small change for a burger. Did you know that in the UK, a store will take up to 60% of your cover price when they sell your magazine? That goes for CD’s too and I doubt it’s much different wherever you are in the world.

You can all see where this is going and what the long-term implications are. Which begs the question, if you’re in a band, are you still hunting down a deal? Are you still producing CD’s to promote yourself? I’ve been there and done that and the answer you’re looking for my dear friends is not this. Take the money you were about to spend on physical product and invest it wisely in a publicity or marketing company who understand the digital world. Let the record companies hunt you down because you are now a worthwhile commodity - that’s the way successful music business will be conducted in the future.

The digital revolution is well and truly underway. It isn’t without it’s own can of worms, but neither was the old way. Personally speaking, at least I’m in control. I can screw up on my own terms these days - and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to make enough money to buy myself a Sony Reader. Then I can truly live out of my pockets.

Sion Smith

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Sion Smith is the founder and editor of BURN magazine in the UK. He is also the writer/creator of the comic book series Too Hot For Dogs and other incredibly inane fiction. He can be contacted through the Burn website at www.burnonline.co.uk or, if you’re in the mood to follow the random daily ramblings of a man with too much time on his hands, check in with his personal blog at http://zodiaclung.blogspot.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 2, 2008 

STATEMENT FROM MICKEY LEIGH:

“It has been brought to my attention that Linda Cummings, using the name “Ramone,” has recently been in the media joining with the Palin family and the McCains to attempt to aid their campaign for the Presidency.  As a President of Ramones Productions, and brother of Joey Ramone, I just want it to be clear that Linda Cummings does not represent the political views of the Ramones.  Surely, as for Joey Ramone, the only Ramones song he would sing at a Republican campaign event would be ‘Glad To See You Go!’

“I should add that when Johnny stated ‘God Bless George Bush’ at the 2002 Rock&Roll Hall of Fame awards, I realize now that he was on to something.  Because if it were not for George Bush and his handling of our country the past 8 years, I doubt so many Americans, including so many highly regarded Republicans, would now be getting behind Barack Obama.  So, yes, thank God for George Bush for paving the way to Obama.”

~ ~ Mickey Leigh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7upCXyj70jU

We knew Amy Lennard was a great talent when we started working with her some months back, and are excited that so many journalists agree.  In the spirit of sharing good news, here are quotes from some of the most recent reviews:

Elmore Magazine: “…a well done, unpretentious album with a human feel, one that any fan of Americana-type storytelling ought to enjoy…Lennard conveys both emotional vulnerability and determined strength with equal conviction…”

JSI TOP 21: “Singer/songwriter Amy Lennard works her way to the hearts of every coffeeshop-folk lover worldwide.  A solid voice, a perfect level of production, and intensely personal lyrics personifies what it means to be an emotionally driven artist.  Keep an eye out for Lennard’s rise to stardom!”

Muzikreviews.com: “With her first full-length album, I Need To Love, NYC singer-songwriter Amy Lennard reveals a personal, emotional side…The vocal are straightforward and strong; unlike most female vocals today, they are not overly digitalized, leaving them with a raw, natural feel…folk/pop rock songs that will be well received by a mainstream audience.”

CashboxMagazine.com: “Lennard is without a doubt in the league of some of the best song writers and story tellers of our time…some very real, perceptive, strong and vulnerable lyrics that are better than anything you’ll find on reality television.”

DailyVault.com: “..it feels fresh and immediate in the way timeless music always does…Amy Lennard has a gift for crafting songs that reveal deeper and more dangerous truths than most songwriters…are willing to expose.”

It’s time for you to discover this talented artist, too.  An industry showcase is being planned in the near future; you can watch this space for details or contact us directly with your questions. 

A & R ALERT NEWSLETTER DEBUT ISSUE RELEASED;

FEATURES MOJO GURUS, SKULL AND BONE BAND, EMIKO, AND LORRAINE FERRO

October 2, 2008, New York, NY: ISL Public Relations announces the creation and servicing of the debut issue of their A&R ALERT newsletter.  Approximately 1,500 A&R talent handlers will be serviced monthly via email with news and spotlights on some of the most artistically gifted musicians on the rise who are worthy of attention.  The information is disseminated to representatives at labels, management offices, booking agencies and music publishing houses.

In addition to a brief description of each band or artist, the A&R ALERT newsletter includes direct links to their websites, MySpace and/or Facebook pages, and the URL to hear examples of the artists’ music via online streaming.

Ida S. Langsam, head of ISL Public Relations, explains: “Having come in contact with so many talented and as-yet-undiscovered new artists and bands, all looking to get noticed, I wanted to aid those who have the best to offer. Everyone’s looking to sign that Next Big Star, so why miss the opportunity just because you didn’t know they were out there?  The field is so crowded with one and all scrambling for the industry’s attention, our A&R ALERT newsletter helps shine a spotlight on a select few to whom I believe my colleagues in the industry should be aware.  We’ll make the introduction, and the talent experts will follow through with contact and offers.” 

For additional information about the A&R ALERT newsletter, please contact Ida S. Langsam at ISL Public Relations, 917-338-6199 or AandRAlert@aol.com.

Welcome!  Welcome!  Welcome!  This is the first entry to our new ISL PR Blog.  We plan to use this space for work, for fun, for opinions and news and announcements and general rock and roll-ness.  We’re going to have two guest bloggers who will chime in from time to time with their musings and reflections on anything and everything.  They are James J. Spina, former rock critic for Women’s Wear Daily, W and Hit Parader as well as co-creator of seminal fanzine Jamz, Rock Marketplace and New York Rocker; and Sion Smith, UK scribe and creator/editor of Burnmagazine.co.uk (www.burnmagazine.co.uk).  Both gentlemen are outspoken and will tell you exactly what’s on their mind in clever and humorous ways.  So please come back often to read what we have to say.  Cheers!  ~ ~ Ida

ISL PR is proud to debut our new blog. Check back here for updates on our clients and other topics. Feel free to contact us!