What can I say! What an amazing night. The Celebration Party for the Launch of the ART OF MEN CD COMPILATION (At the Mint, Los Angeles, Wed August 26) went off, without a hitch. Out of the 35 male artists on the Double Cd compilation, 10 performed here in L.A to celebrate the launch. They flew in from around the world, including australia, the U.K, Canada, Florida and Colorado, plus some local LA artists.
Before 7pm, people were lined up outside the MINT in Los Angeles waiting to get in. It was a long line and I even took a photo. The tables ended up being packed. Before we even began the first act, it
was standing room only.
We had everything in place. The Warrior Girl Music banner blazing behind the drum kit on stage, the artists were all in the room, drinks were being served, and the air was electric.
J.Walker and I entered the stage as co-hosts for the night. As Executive producer (me) and A&R relations (J) of the compilation, we were excited to do a tandem effort on introducing the artists, and it
was great fun.
First up was Mitch Siegal who came all the way from Florida, with his wife (who celebrated her birthday as well), for this night. Mitch set the scene with a lovely Spanish guitar instrumental and then delivered lovely tunes to the captive audience. J.Walker then gave us a little poem ditty, “it’s 8 O’clock on a Wednesday, the Art Of Men crowd shuffles in…” He did his own rendition of the Piano Man, called the “Poetry Man”. Laughter arrupted and drinks started to be poured.
Randamen came up next. A full band headed that drove out especially from Colorado for the night, they packed a punch with their uptempo rock songs. Randy’s lead vocals and smile really increased the
cheerful mood in the room. After Randamen, I did a little ditty, “Temperamental Angel”, acting as the female rose between the male thorns of the night. A bit of feist, a bit of male jilted love humor.
It was a perfect segue for our next artist, Mark Bonner, who flew ALL the way from Sydney Australia just to perform tonight. He did a great job with his acoustic guitar and vocal performed songs, and one of the most humble artists I’ve met. He was also great with the safety pins earlier in the night, pinning our banner up on the wall! Thanks Mark!
Billy Moschella and his 3 piece band Serenity took to the stage and the drums lit up. Billy had brought a big crowd tonight and they were hooting and hollering before he could even say a word. They looked smart, sounded great and were a delight to watch.
As Christopher and Natasha Barran got ready, J. and I sung “Why I Cry” - a little hip hop and a little pop. That’s what we do. We got people thinking about how to uplift the kids in this world. Chris and
Natasha have a very new age flow to their music. It’s very sensitive and melodic and it was a nice touch while everyone was dining. The one cool thing about the ART OF MEN cd is that all the male artists have a somewhat sensitivity to their music, which is great.
Now that the dining and mood music was done, it was time for some Action with a capital A. Alexen was up next and wow did he create a change in the sequence of the night. Head set on, shiny tight blue tee, and terrific dancers, Alexen performed a few dance songs that had everyone tapping their toes and gyrating their bodies. This boy is ready for the nightclub scene before. Great set. ALL the artists all night were terrific. Such a diversity. Wow.
J and I had another ditty to allow the next artist to get ready. From acoustic to dance to now full on heavy rock, we took the edgy turn to watch Paul Killion and band rock the stage, and Paul to down several drinks just to show us he was nasty. The guitars, the drums, the songs: it was a wall of sound and Paul will do well at the Viper Room, Whisky or Cat Club. He has the dark look and songs to go with it. Ending Paul’s set, a few of us hopped up and gate crashed to sing “Need More Green” that Paul, J. and Candace Kruse wrote (in 1 hour at a previous Songsalive! Songcamp). We jammed, we sang, we got the audience to sing,… we spread a strong message about the environment. It was so much fun.
And finally, as dessert was being eaten, and the mood lights flickered, we brought up the last act of the night, James Keen and his band Magazine Gap. They had flown all the way from London, U.K just
for the night. Wow. What a voice. What a groove. What songs. James Keen is the next artist to watch. People were coming up to me and saying, literally, “I feel Iike I’ve just seen the next Sting”.
Another person said to me “I feel like I’m witnessing the launch of the Beatles”. Another said to me “I feel so privileged to be seeing the rise of a new Dave Matthews band”. I mean, these guys are going to be big. People who were tired and were going to leave after the first song, sat with their jaws dropped until James’ very last song and note. No one wanted to leave.
I am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing artists. The Art Of Men Cd compilation launch was a huge success. All the artists brought fans. The Mint staff (Deana at the door, Chris on sound, Chloe “the”
waitress, and all the staff), were exceptional. My team, Audrye Noble, Dave Harvey and Bill Flower, were fantastic in helping with stage management, artists and merch. Also to J. Walker for his extraordinary partnership in all I do.
It was a TEAM EFFORT.
Since starting with the Females On Fire compilations, and now the Art Of Men compilation, I truly can say COMMUNITY is everything. How we can all come together as artists and make things happen (SHAKE THIS WORLD) is so, so powerful.
Our compilation is now available to purchase on iTunes. Get it at http://www.artofmencd.com
thanks to BFM Digital (www.bfmdigital.com) for distribution. Thanks to sponsors Cd Netrom (www.cdnetrom.com) and Mastering Solutions (www.masteringsolutions.com), and Songsalive! (www.songsalive.org)
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ABOUT THE CD COMPILATION: Produced by polymedia artist, gilli moon, the ART OF MEN CD Compilation celebrates 35 independent male artists and their songs dedicated to messages empowering human equality, communication and vitality - it is released by Warrior Girl Music and will be available to purchase for the first time on the night and worldwide on iTunes, and other digital stores. CD drops Aug 26. Sponsored by CD Netrom (CD Manufacturer) and Mastering Solutions. Distributed by BFM Digital. http://www.artofmencd.com
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PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT: You can see the photos of the night by Steven Escobar here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027788&id=1551682973&l=e4bf0689c5
These will be linked from the main site soon.
Peace.
Gilli Moon
Artist, producer, entrepreneur, community builder, music lover, wife.
