Rainmaker Public Relations Blog

L.A. Based Rock Powerhouse People signs with Rainmaker PR in anticipation of their new release, The Cliche.

rainmakerpublicrelations — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:29:39 +0000

L.A. BASED ROCK POWERHOUSE

PEOPLE SETS OUT TO ROCK THE U.S.

WITH THE CLICHÉ, WHICH

WAS PRODUCED BY THE LEGENDARY
DAVE JERDEN (JANE’S ADDICTION, ALICE IN CHAINS)

AND FEATURES THE FINAL RECORDED

PERFORMANCES BY BASSIST GIDGET GEIN

The brash and edgy sarcasm of Jimmy Young, frontman, guitarist and songwriter of rock powerhouse People, inspired him to dub the L.A. based band’s debut The Cliché—but in reality, between their blistering live performances, hard hitting, deep and melodic songwriting, futuristic space punk rock vibe and inspiring star-studded rock collaborations make them pretty damn original.

While the album’s first single and video for “The Kids” hit nationwide and build mightily on People’s intense West Coast cult following, old and young modern rock fans looking for the real deal will love the fact that Young got veteran punk/metal producer Dave Jerden (Jane’s Addiction, Alice in Chains, Mary’s Danish) to produce and Jerden’s right hand sound guy, Bryan Carlstrom (Billy Idol, The Offspring) to engineer.

Before they even get acquainted with Young’s sharp, cliché free songwriting, these discriminating fans will no doubt claim the ten song set as a piece of rock history because it’s the last recording to feature former longtime Marilyn Manson bassist Gidget Gein, who died of a heroin overdose in October 2008, five days after he played with People at The Roxy and just before the band was set to do a Northeastern tour with Semi Precious Weapons.

While the current lineup of the band—including co-founder and Chicago bred drummer Matty O. (aka “O”), keyboardist Grant Rhodes and new bassist Matt Powers—is excited about celebrating the legacy of Gein and the inspiration his musical and visual art brought to People’s first full-length recording, they’re definitely focused on the incredibly bright future. The major buzz they’ve generated from the two years the group has headlined in L.A. (at The Troubadour, El Rey and Sunset Strip landmarks like Viper Room, House of Blues) is about to reach the Midwest as People performs in New York at Sullivan Hall in June and at the indie rock festival D-Fest in Tulsa (known by many as “the next South By Southwest).

The video for “The Kids”—a track lamenting the lack of social consciousness and political motivation of those who grew up in the grunge era—will soon air on outlets like MTV2, Fuse and Much Music, and People has over 30,000 online fans between the band’s myspace page and that of Powers, a solo artist in his own right who released his debut album Neverending Aftermath in 2007. Another cut getting major traction is the blistering “Song For The People,” which addresses the hypocrisy of bands who act too good for their fans and reminds them that at the end of the day, we’re all the same, and no matter what we go through, we’re still alive and kicking. “Cheap Money” is Young’s ode to the way materialistic people in L.A. think they can use money as a way to manipulate people.

Dave Jerden says, “I’ve made my share of records, but every once in a while a project comes along that is just plain fun to do. Working with People was not only fun but a creative experience for myself.”

Press Conatct: Rhonda Brilliant/Rainmaker PR

RnmkrPR@aol.com/617-445-4383

Rainmaker PR releases Estrella Cristina’s Debut EP, This IS Life

rainmakerpublicrelations — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:39:27 +0000

MULTI-CULTURAL L.A. BASED SINGER/SONGWRITER

ESTRELLA CRISTINA’S BREAKTHROUGH WITH HER

DEBUT EP ‘THIS IS LIFE’

WAS TRULY WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Sometimes, the old adage is really true. The stars align a certain way and it’s up to us to use our innate talents to discover the call of destiny. Emerging now, at a time in our cultural history when her unique half Panamanian, half Trinidadian heritage can be celebrated rather than obscured, Estrella Cristina’s musical course was set the minute her mother called her the Spanish word for “star.” “Imagine,” the Los Angeles based singer/songwriter says, “sitting at your window and looking up at the stars and thinking about what you wanted to be when you grew up. For me, it was always music.”

Well on her way to making her longtime dreams come true, Estrella shares her innermost heart with the world for the first time on her four song EP This is Life. Performing with the three guitars she has named Phoenix (acoustic), Crimson (electric) and Achilles (a plug-in acoustic), the multi-talented performer engages in exciting collaborations with bassist Frank Coglitore (also her longtime guitar teacher who has played with Taylor Dayne, Beth Hart and Marie Digby), drummer Craig Macintyre (Digby, Josh Groban, etc.), guitarist Lance Konnerth (Hilary Duff, Enrique Iglesias) and singer-songwriters Lane Lenhart and Greg Haptor. Cogliotore produced the soaring, energetic pop-rocker “Brighter Than Sunshine,” while Haptor and Lenhart helmed the session for hip, edgy and grooving “Nonstop,” which Estrella penned with Lenhart.

This Is Life is already available on iTunes as a three track EP, but the hard copy CD will also feature “Brighter Than Sunshine.” “NonStop,” a hopeful song about finding Mr. Perfect (who will love you “nonstop”!), is set to be featured on FUSE TV’s “Rad Girls” in late May 2009 and Estrella’s music is currently streaming on several radio outlets besides iTunes radio: WQTQ 89.9 FM in Hartford, Connecticut and KGRL, which streams online at http://www.kgrl.fm.

A natural talent who began playing violin at age 6, trained operatically for a few years and auditioned for many musicals while growing up, the singer took a lot of fascinating and inspiring stylistic detours before choosing the singer/songwriter route. Born in Sacramento and growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico and Nebraska, she experienced a unique multi-cultural upbringing with parents who exposed her to their native music–Spanish and Latin sounds (through her mother) and the soca rhythms of Trinidad (via her father). Her palette was rounded out with the pop music her brothers loved to listen to, ranging from The Cure and O.M.D. to INXS.

After graduating from Cornell University in New York as a Textile and Apparel Design major, Estrella headed back to her home state to pursue her goals in the music industry. Acing a hard to get audition, she put her original plan to be a solo artist on hold to sign on as the fourth and final member of a Destiny’s Child-like R&B girls group (VIP) that was under consideration by J Records. When that didn’t pan out after a series of showcases, she focused on developing her own pop/rock sound, starting with learning the guitar with Cogliotore, who challenged her to start writing on her new instrument.

Her musical autobiography begins with “Brighter Than Sunshine,” a co-write with Coglitore in which she sings of coming to a city not knowing a soul, having no job or place to live, and feeling all alone. It’s about finding that special someone—or something in her case, i.e. music—that makes the journey a lot less lonely. The title track “This is Life” is about the struggle towards reaching that lofty aspiration and figuring out at some point that “the moment” when things work out isn’t a single occurrence at all, but a series of stops along the way.

Press Contact: Rhonda Brilliant/Rainmaker PR

RnmkrPR@aol.com/617-445-4383

Rainmaker PR has expanded its roster to include folk rock troubadour Ronda Matson.

rainmakerpublicrelations — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:06:01 +0000

Rainmaker PR has expanded its roster to include folk rock

troubadour Ronda Matson.

NEW ENGLAND BASED FOLK/ROCK

TROUBADOUR RONDA MATSON

CONNECTS WITH AN AUDIENCE HUNGRY FOR HEARTFELT

HONESTY ON HER NEW ALBUM ‘TRUTH BE TOLD’

A longtime believer in the philosophy that “sometimes you really just have to draw the line and step over it…take the chance,” performing songwriter Ronda Matson has long had a date with musical destiny. Along the road, life threw her some crazy curveballs—some wonderful (a husband and four children), some challenging (a serious medical condition)—but the good news is, she finally found the time and space to return to her first love. Truth Be Told (the name of her latest CD), it’s hard to imagine her songs having the emotional impact they do without the wisdom she gained and the trials that have shaped her over the years.

Relating her multitude of sometimes tough, often exhilarating life experiences in song, the multi-talented folk/rock troubadour has been gigging regularly these past few years throughout her home region of New England. Mixing in a few classic rock covers (Stones, Clapton, etc) with her hard hitting originals from her 2006 debut EP The First Seven and Truth Be Told, Ronda—who plays both guitar and harmonica onstage–has performed at Rossi’s Restaurant in Millis, Massachusetts (her adopted hometown), Coffee Sensations in Medway and Firefly’s in Framingham. Looking for more intimate venues—which are more conducive to the deep personal connections she creates with her fans—she is also starting to perform on the public library circuit.

Although it would be easy to tell the story of Ronda’s emergence as a sudden change of heart that brought her back to music, Truth Be Told, the classically trained performer—who studied piano as a child and guitar, violin and voice throughout her adult years, and even played her grandfather’s 1920s-era mandolin—was writing or singing privately on and off over the years. Her decision to pursue a professional career began gradually after she closed her private personal training and Spinning studio in 2003. She played for many of her clients and ultimately started performing her backlog of original material at local shows.

Ronda originally recorded The First Seven as a gift for the people she knew, but as she acquired new fans, she responded to their demand and turned it into an official EP release. While her influences range from Johnny Cash and Mark Knopfler to Chrissie Hynde and Warren Zevon, something about the mix of folk and classical she loved growing up stuck with her when she began writing and performing. Musically, her childhood was defined by a rarefied realm where Mozart and Chopin met Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel. Her father was a Lutheran minister during a time when folk services were all the rage, and Ronda honed her chops performing in these energized church settings.

However listeners “hear” the material on Truth Be Told, its 11 songs truly have the power to transform them both emotionally and spiritually. The heartfelt title track was inspired by the breakup of someone close to Ronda; while the sadness of the song hits people first, ultimately while the song is filled with regret for what is lost, there’s no good guy or bad guy, and the focus is on moving forward. Another tune that is resonating greatly with her audiences is “Bonny Call,” a lilting, Irish flavored song of encouragement to her daughters Erin and Amanda, who are both interested in pursuing careers as opera singers. She says, “The word ‘Bonny’ in Scottish means ‘excellent and beautiful’ and I made up the phrase ‘Bonny Call’ to insinuate ‘excellent or beautiful path, with the hope that all four of my kids will follow theirs!” Four of the other tracks—“Weight,” “Illusion,” “Blind” and “Run”—are thoughtful explorations of the many emotions involved in dealing with some very personal conflicts, once again affirming the raw truth we get to hear, unfiltered, from Ronda’s truest heart.

Rainmaker Public Relations signs groundbreaking artist, Kaleo Futuristo to 2009 Roster

rainmakerpublicrelations — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:06:11 +0000

GROUNDBREAKING L.A. BASED

HIP-HOP/POP/ROCK ARTIST AND PRODUCER

KALEO FUTURISTO MAKES A BOLD AND

OPTIMISTIC DECLARATION FITTING

IN THIS AGE OF OBAMA:

THE FUTURE IS NOW!

Now that we’re in the age of Obama and quickly moving past the color and culture boundaries that once divided us, The Future Is Now! for groundbreaking multi-cultural artists like hip-hop/pop/rock artist and producer Kaleo Futuristo, whose explosive sound and powerful presence is primed to bring to the world a new and raw flow of positive energy.

Fully embodying and expressing the optimism that the 44^th President drew upon to captivate the hopes of an anxious world, the multi-talented, Pasadena, California bred performer—whose name in the Hawaiian language means “The Voice, The Music and The Song”–includes the Obama tribute “Air Of The Night” (an adaptation of Phil Collins’ classic “In The Air Tonight”) on the UK release of The Future Is Now! through Redskin Records. He also released a popular video for the song on his myspace site, YouTube and other outlets. The album is distributed in the U.S. through Fontana/Universal Music Group.

Offering the perfect mix of universal themes (“Save The World”) and high energy party music (the potential first radio single “Love Slave”), Futuristo’s 13 track opening statement is the culmination of several years on Los Angeles’ vibrant club scene, where he performed at all the Sunset Strip hotspots (The Whisky, The Roxy, Key Club, Viper Room, House of Blues) either as a headliner or as a member of hip-hop and electronic dance funk groups. The rapper/singer’s all-star rolodex allowed him to collaborate and produce with a dynamic mix of hip-hop, gospel and R&B producers and artists, including co-producers Nyalle Iameh and the Grammy nominated Marvin Davis; French producer N-Jay; platinum recording artist Jon B. (the hypnotic and sweeping, uptempo blast “Live It Up”); Don Chel (who has written for Daddy Yankee, on “Live It Up” and the hard thumping “My Lady”); EJ Flower, one of Prince’s longtime backup singers; underground rapper N8E; female jazz singer Shelitha (the blistering funk/rocker “Rock Hard”); and up and coming R&B songstress Tania Young.

Kaleo’s keen balance between high energy fun and thoughtful serious reflection comes across on a few key tracks. “Save The World” addresses the state of things on the planet and what role we can play to make it a more loving, habitable place; it’s about taking personal responsibility and realizing that to save it, we must act before it’s too late. Another powerful socially conscious statement is “Susie Q,” about the dilemma of a 14-year-old who is pregnant; it asks the listener to make the decision of having the baby or terminating the pregnancy. “Young Ones” is an edgy, hypnotic tale about a kid in foster care who commits suicide. On the much lighter end of the spectrum are “Love Slave” and “Rock Hard,” a fired-up celebration of the wild and crazy rock star lifestyle.

Coming from a childhood racked by poverty and mental illness in the family, Kaleo’s optimistic spirit which he is now sharing with the world is a revelation and inspiration to anyone who has ever been challenged from the start. His life has been filled with obstacles, but he has always seemed to rise above all the possible stumbling blocks and created a quarry of positive stepping stones along the way. He received a full scholarship to art schools so he could study visual art, earned a Bachelor’s Degree and having never played organized football, made the UCLA college football team as a walk-on. He later worked as a teacher in the Pasadena Unified School District.

Rainmaker Public Relations signs Cary Judd to 2009 Roster

rainmakerpublicrelations — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:05:38 +0000

In the six years since releasing his debut album Perfect Uncertain, Cary Judd has achieved great success as an intuitive observational and existential singer/songwriter because of his keen ability to fully embrace each person and place along the road and make the most of every experience.

As he’s traveled across the U.S. playing up to 120 dates a year at colleges, house concerts and stadiums alike, the Southern California born and raised multi-talented performer has performed with or opened shows for Rocky Votolato, Rooney, Of Montreal, Owen, Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos, Joshua James, Tristan Prettyman, Citizen Cope, Isaac Hayden, Pedro The Lion, Tyler Hilton, Ryan Shupe & The Rubber Band, Raining Jane, and, as he likes to say, “many others that we’re sure you would be impressed with if he could just remember them!” In his down time, he’s stopped the smell the proverbial roses and soaked in uniquely American experiences like the Grand Canyon, Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Along those lines, “Huang Shan (The Ah-ha Song),” the infectious first single from Judd’s eclectic new album Goodnight Human, is a slice of spiritual pop-rock heaven inspired by his visit to China’s Yellow Mountain National Park, the sister park to Yellowstone in the singer’s adopted home state of Wyoming. While his debut and its follow-up, 2006’s Looking Back From Space, sold well, Judd’s belief in his latest collection of songs and his desire to reach as many people as possible prompted him to launch his first ever radio campaign for “Huang Shan”; he recently sent CDs to 200 Triple AAA stations across the country, and the track is already being played on the pop outet KVFX in Logan, Utah.

“The song is about the enlightening experience of being in this amazingly beautiful national park in China and having the sensation of falling in love,” he says. “It was truly one of the most amazing spiritual days of my life. What I love about ‘Huang Shan’ is that it’s accessibly poppy but it’s about something much deeper and more heartfelt than the average three minute pop song. Long ago I realized that songs were like a songwriter’s children and nobody will care about my tunes more than I do. So anything I put my heart and soul into is worth sharing with more and more people.

“The songs on Goodnight Human are a reflection of my life over the past few years, and I’m creating some fictional characters based on things I have seen in other people as part of this expanded consciousness. I’ve definitely grown as a songwriter and artist since the first album, and I’m proud to say that I produced this one on my own for the first time. The album title is meant to be intriguing and everyone reads something unique into it based on their overall outlook on the world. Some think it’s the dark, prophetic end of humanity while others think I’m riffing on the famous children’s book ‘Good Night, Gorilla.’”

Judd first realized the vast appeal of his music to people of all ages when he started playing at a coffeehouse in his hometown of Thousand Oaks, California. In line after the show waiting to buy a CD and get his autograph were soccer moms, 15-year-old emo kids and 60 year old men—all of which help him debunk the stereotype that, despite his success on the college circuit, his brand of spirited yet lyrically rich songwriting is limited to a younger crowd. His song titles are as provocative as the album name. “The Apocalyptic Love Song” puts everything he could think of into a jangling, uptempo pop song—his worldview of humans as a species, the repetition of history, the fallacy of our monetary system. The peppy pop-rocker “Angel With A Cigarette” is an exciting exercise in imagery-filled lyric writing about a character based on someone he knows.

“I’ve learned over the years that there’s no substitute for a great song,” says Judd, “because a great song is something anyone can listen to and has universal truth. It can be deep and personal yet the average person can say, ‘I know what that guy or girl is going through. Now that I’m really where I want to be as a writer and artist, my goal is to expand beyond the regional touring I’ve done and develop into an artist whose songs are heard and appreciated throughout the country. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to make a living purely from making and performing music for many years and it’s freeing, and I am at peace, just knowing that I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.”

Rainmaker Public Relations Signs Instrumental Duo, La Forza, to Their 2009 Roster

rainmakerpublicrelations — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:43:41 +0000

WASHINGTON STATE BASED INSTRUMENTAL

DUO LA FORZA DREAMS AND AWAKENS

NEW REALITIES ON THEIR GENRE TRANSCENDING

DEBUT ‘DANCE MUSIC FOR YOUR MIND (VOL. I)’

While fans of popular music always keep a laser focus on Seattle for the latest explosive trends in rock and roll, the most innovative and provocative sounds in instrumental music these days are coming from 40 miles down the road. Nestled beside a lake overlooking Mount Rainier, the beautiful small town of Yelm, Washington (pop. under 4,000) provided the perfect natural environment for Austrian born classically trained pianist and electronic music expert Divina Klein and underground hip-hop producer Douglas Mackar—whose combined musical energy is reflected in their collective name La Forza—to create Dance Music for Your Mind (Vol. I), a lushly textured landscape of party music for the motivated and focus music for the dreamers.

With its fascinating mix of dreamy ambient soundscapes, beautiful solo piano compositions, exotic global percussion, rich textures and compelling melodic movements over infectious dance beats, La Forza is driven by Klein and Mackar’s mutual passion to create sounds that are interesting, intelligent and provocative but that also appeal to a people with wide ranging musical tastes. Both organic and otherworldly, the 12 tracks on Dance Music for Your Mind (Vol. I) are about transcending the typical limitations of genre and inviting listeners to enter a place within themselves where anything is possible.

By exploring emotional and spiritual dichotomies—their songs are simple and elegant, complex and concise, serious and fun, introspective and outrageous, frequently wild and psychedelic—the duo provides their listeners with the opportunity to be creators and not simply consumers. An album that moves with fluidity and purpose, “(Vol. I)” is energetic, poetic, and inspiring. The collection is a project of multiple moods where, in true indie fashion, unpredictability and spontaneity are virtues. The free space of an expansive, ambient piece like the opening track “Vision Quest” gives listeners the exciting responsibility to instigate and apply their own creative agendas, the fuel to explore their own imaginations and pursue unique ideas. Driven by Klein’s compositional and orchestral arrangement skills via her Roland Fantom X7 and Mackar’s expertise with drums and percussion, La Forza’s vision is to create not only soundtracks to mindful films but also to mindful lives, “scores” that support transformational processes and the conscious creation of reality.

While most musicians this proficient in these kinds of instrumental works become “studio rats” who prefer the glow of monitors to sunlight and the process of recording over live performances, La Forza is also a force to be reckoned with in concert. Overcoming obvious logistical challenges re-creating multi-track recordings live, Klein builds layer upon layer of harmonies using a Boss RC-50 Loop Station (“dancing” by playing pedals with her feet as her hands work the keyboards) while Mackar mans the drum machines and sequencers. In the spirit of jazz, their live performance consists of arranged songs interwoven with improvisation, the spontaneity of which insures the audience that their experience at a La Forza show is always based on true passion and the absolute presence of the band. After a series of local parties, La Forza is gearing up to perform at the Whidbey Island Emerging Artists Festival on Memorial Day weekend and will be adding more outdoor live venues to their summer schedule.

Several key tracks on Dance Music for Your Mind (Vol. I) convey the magical essence of La Forza’s musical expertise and diversity. On the hypnotic, densely percussive “Blossoming Flowers,” Klein’s soaring piano melody dances over a breakbeat/drum and bass style groove, creating a multi-tiered vibe that’s driving and uplifting while also being dreamy and gentle. “Fountain of Youth” is an exotic and loping, Eastern music tinged excursion that typifies the duo’s lack of cultural boundaries, while “To Connect to Eternity” achieves its titular goal by blending a classical piano melody with the sweeping sounds of strings (viola, violin, cello and contrabass), all played by Klein on her Fantom X7. La Forza is currently in the studio recording their next album, “The Plane of Bliss,” an ambient/down-tempo/chill-out album designed for focus and meditation.

Rainmaker Public Relations signs German studio trio Schleusolz to their 2009 roster

rainmakerpublicrelations — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:41:12 +0000

GERMAN STUDIO TRIO SCHLEUSOLZ

CREATES FASCINATING SOUNDTRACKS TO AN

ALL IN YOUR MIND, RETRO CIRCUS VARIETY SHOW THAT

HAILS FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF SPACEAGE/EXOTICA

Driven relentlessly by a trippy, whimsical, almost childlike desire to create soundscapes and themes to movies that run only in the listener’s mind, Frankfurt, Germany based studio wizards Worsel Strauss, Schani Wolf and Zodi Paulinen—collectively known as Schleusolz—create a fascinating modern “Retronica” vibe with a swirl of colorful melodies, beats and sounds that hail from the outskirts of spaceage/electronica.

Consisting of 17 tracks—mostly tongue in cheek instrumentals under two minutes, with a cool smattering of vocals on a few—their debut album captures some of the most feel-good aspects of the music of the 50’s, 60’s, 80s and the future while asking the world the pointed question, “If you were Running Out Of Time, and you needed something to lift your spirits, isn’t this the kind of album you would be listening to?” Because life has given you a choice, right? As Schleusolz says, “You can let our body move in the dance floor frenzy of these energized slices of musical quirkiness, make your heart go boom, or alter your mind with aspirin. After all, the movie is in your head.”

So far, fans all over the world (including the nearly 140,000 curiosity seekers who have visited their myspace page) are getting it. No two critiques are alike, and that’s as it should be. They describe the band’s aesthetic as “Henry Mancini on acid” and “Raymond Scott meets the Art of Noise.” They know Schleusolz, whose many sonic textures are driven by Shani’s and Worsel’s arsenal of synth and vintage equipment, is about being silly while being educated, waxing political without pointing fingers. The music is about cynicism tempered with happiness, and probing the second layer if you’re willing to pay attention. Being left not right, beatnik rather than hippie. It’s about rediscovering the joyful parts of your childhood despite of all the good things your parents wanted for you. And provoking the listener’s imagination so they can dream up things and feel trained and untrained at the same time.

Because it explores both past and future, Running Out Of Time recalls the days, not so long ago, when technology was still the solution and not the problem. Overall, the album is about the principals (Zodi is part-time, and they hire drummers as they see fit) trying to remember the melodies they heard on the radio when they were six. Or, if it’s possible, attempting to recall the tunes from when their parents were teenagers through some strange echo in their genetic material.

Any way you look at it, Running Out Of Time is a hefty listening endeavor which may require a few guidelines–so here they are, at least for a handful of tracks, straight from Worsel’s witty brain. The moody, loungey, percussive opener “They Are Here!” was inspired by a German 60s SciFi TV series, driven by the idea of restricting themselves to just brass and Hammond B-3 like back in that era. The trippy marching tune “Make My Heart Go Boom” was inspired by Worsel’s listening to an alternative radio program on Finnish tango. The highly syncopated, circus like “Two Canadians in Mockba” came out of the band’s watching all the episodes of the “Thunderbirds” on DVD. The wistful, Old West flavored “The River of Love” was inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s song “River Of No Return” from the 1954 film of the same name. The hypnotic, space-age jam “Neo-liberal Coffee Bar” is about neo-libs in a coffee bar who are designing our future. “It amazes me,” Worsel says, “that I could see it all coming when I wrote this tune.”

Schleusolz is current working on two albums that they are planning to release simultaneously in the spring of 2010; their tentative titles are “The Weinheim Experiment” and “10+ Movies.”

http://www.myspace.com/schleusolz

Rainmaker Public Relations Signs NYC Based Singer/Songwriter Foster McGinty to Roster

rainmakerpublicrelations — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:01:00 +0000

Officially, New York based singer/songwriter Foster McGinty is only in his mid-20s, but birth certificates don’t reflect the musical soul, do they? DNA tests may never prove that Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton’s classic trio Cream reproduced, but the tag of ‘skinny white boy reincarnated spirit of Jimi and Cream’s love child’ was pegged on the multi-talented rocker from the time he grew up in the Missouri farm community of Cape Girardeau. Settled in and thriving in NYC after playing a summer in Memphis, McGinty is finally bringing his organic, retro-meets-modern rock to the masses with the release of his full-length indie debut album Peach Red.

The deeply introspective singer–who masterfully blends ‘heart on your sleeve’ vulnerability with the kind of sexy Bad Boy swagger that defines classic rock–brings to both his live performances and the ten compelling cuts of Peach Red a cool batch of fascinating experiences from along the musical road. He’s traveled a lot in pursuit of his dream, getting his first band together in St. Louis and writing and playing guitar in L.A. while still trying to figure out his direction. Returning to the Midwest with a greater sense of purpose, he formed his first trio and hit Memphis before following his calling to New York, where he jammed at holes in the wall in the Village before establishing himself with headlining residencies at hotspots like Kenny’s Castaways, Sullivan Hall and The Bitter End.

Ever since he announced that he was putting out a follow-up to his 2007 State Of Mind Music Box EP, McGinty has been fielding questions about his title Peach Red. An ode to the South, perhaps? Sure, he played in the city of Stax, but that was just for a summer – he’s a city dude now with Midwestern roots. But while the name of the project isn’t based on any specific moment or time in his life, he’s excited about the full expression his songs give about where he’s been (the soul searching, all the trial and error), where he is now (very happy in the moment) and where he’s going (hoping to rejuvenate real organic roots rock for people who were there the first time or just discovering it). He’s reflecting what it’s like to believe in himself, to throw himself into the fire of a career in music and to truly want to show the joy of making music that gets back to basics.

A few key tracks on Peach Red show that McGinty is not only carrying on the traditions of his greatest influences, but is also a master at heartfelt and observational songwriting. The edgy simmering (and ultimately exploding!) blues/rocker ‘Can’t Help But Shine’ takes a witty look at the dolled up punksters and hipsters he used to see when he lived on St. Marks Street above some headshops. With all that pretension in the air, he thinks a person who is just him or herself walking into a room is refreshing.

He wrote the hard grooving and romantic ’10 Moons’ in a hotel room in Chicago when he was missing his girlfriend; it’s about the longing he has when he’s away, stopping in his tracks, running red lights and going back to the arms that love him. The quirkily titled ‘Hard Jelly’ takes us back to a time when he was pursuing his current love. At one point she gave him the runaround and he was caught up in the chase–sure that he ‘used to have a backbone till you turned me into jelly.’

Media Contact:
Rainmaker Public Relations
Rhonda Brilliant
617-445-4383