Archive for the 'Announcements' Category

24
May
12

Eric Czar – Melody and Movements for Electric Bass DVD

           

After decades of working in bands as a professional bassist in New York City, and touring all over the US, Canada and Europe, Eric Czar is finally stepping out from the shadows of sideman status; exploring his own voices as a composer and performer, and utilizing the unique timbres of custom made, 7 string fretted and fretless basses as, “Strangely evocative” lead instruments.

Eric believes the “Extended range” bass has much to contribute to the evolution of modern music. The feedback, testimonials, and press he has received thus far would tend to indicate the public agrees. They also serve as an ever growing testament to the influence Eric is having on players (and listeners) of all genres of music.

To date, Eric’s solo videos and recordings have all been done at home with little to no budget. Written and performed by Eric, and fundamentally experimental, his compositions draw inspiration from all genres Eric has entertained over the years; classical, rock, funk, jazz, and ambient.

As a result of Eric’s rapid growth in popularity and influence on Youtube, Facebook and other platforms, his goal is to remix and master the existing recordings so they are suitable for broadcast, sale and most importantly, enjoyable listening. Eric explains this is easily accomplished, thanks to the digital era. Eric plans to utilize a professional caliber studio and engineer, along with the equipment, resources and objectivity that is above what he has at home. He hopes to improve the overall sound quality and clarity of his recordings, with the intent of releasing them as digital downloads on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby etc. in both CD and DVD format. Eric explains that the video performances will serve as an educational tool for players (reminiscent of the instructional videos that inspired him in his youth), and also provide insight to how this unusual music is written and performed.

Eric’s goal is to raise $3,500 to cover the costs of remixing, mastering, duplication of hard-copy CD/DVDs (featuring his own artwork) as well as some promotional costs.

Through this sponsorship/pledge drive process, Eric Czar hopes to finance what’s quickly become a documented source of inspiration for musicians and composers all over the globe. According to Eric, “I honestly didn’t expect my home videos to be this well received, but now that I see they are, I’m hoping to offer the best quality product that I can.”

FOLLOW THIS LINK to view Eric’s Kickstarter page, to read more about Eric and this exciting project, to see how many pledges have been received so far, and to view a short 2:39 sample video. Be sure to also check out the different incentives offered for the different pledge levels.

PS: When you visit Eric’s Kickstarter, click the green “Back This Project” button and read through the Q&A’s on the right side of the page. When you pledge, you provide a credit card number through Amazon Payments – however YOUR CARD WILL NOT BE CHARGED until Saturday June 23rd (a month from now) and even then, ONLY if the project has been successfully funded! You can pledge today and not worry about paying a dime for 30 days!

PPS: Facebook folks, please go to the comment page for this post and share this on Facebook. I’d like to get this information in front of as many people as possible.

Good Luck Eric!

14
Mar
12

A Request For Help From Our BS BLOG Readers!

I’d like to take a minute to ask you for your votes, to help my wife’s elementary school (hopefully) win a “Technology Makeover” from Lenovo. The winning school will receive $50,000 worth of laptop computers for the kids. Although it’s a nationwide contest between literally thousands of schools, her school is currently in 4th place in the United States, so your votes will not be wasted – they have a real shot at pulling this off!

To vote for her school, visit Lenovo’s website. You will need to register before voting, but it’s quick and easy. You then vote for drawings that were submitted by students (like the one above). The name of the young (3rd grade) artist who drew this picture is “Tecaela” and she’s in my wife’s class.

To vote for my wife’s school click on “View and Vote” and you will be taken to a section that says, “Find Your School.” Select Washington for state, Bremerton for city, and then West Hills Elementary for school. Then just click on any “West Hills” drawing to display it, and then click “Vote For This Entry.” If you want to vote for Tecaela’s “Rock Star” drawing it’s on page 3 of the West Hills grouping, but any West Hills picture will work. I just thought her drawing fit the BS BLOG quite well :-)

If I can really push the envelope and take advantage of your generosity, you can vote daily (hint-hint). I would also be very grateful for everyone with a Facebook account to share this post on your wall. Just click the “Leave a Comment” link that appears under the post title above, and then click on the “share this” box that will appear directly below this post – and select Facebook.

Thank you very much!

05
Mar
12

Ronnie Montrose, 1947-2012

Ronnie Montrose lost his protracted battle with prostate cancer, passing away on March 3, 2012. 

Ronnie Montore played on Edgar Winter’s 1972 classic, They Only Come Out At Night which featured the hits Frankenstein and Freeride. Then together with Sammy Hagar, Bill Church and Denny Carmassi, Ronnie Montrose released the iconic (and considered by some the be the first true ’Heavy Metal’) album ever recorded with Montrose’s self-titled debut album in 1973.

I was a senior in high school when that album came out, and I remember being blown away. As I mentioned on a different forum, it was a kick-the-doors-down, in-your-face, air-guitar-players-dream!

RIP Ronnie, and thanks for the countless hours of absolute rock-and-roll joy!

08
Feb
12

Shameless Self-Promotion

Another Animoto video, this one for The Download Superstore – a new project I just became involved with. I was impressed with the selection and unique nature of their products, so I signed up.

Put the video together and uploaded it to Youtube last night.

Interested in dipping your toes in the Internet Marketing pool? Shoot me an email (contact information is under my link, just below “The BS Blog” banner). I can hook you up with some great (and free) resources to get you started.

My latest video!

19
Jan
12

Sneak Peek! New Cindy Alexander Music!

Cindy Alexander is wrapping up work on her new CD titled Early Rise and Fall, scheduled for release on March 12th of this year. Recently I was fortunate enough to receive an email from Cindy with a link to one of her new songs titled Wonderful.

Lyrically, Wonderful tells a story similar to the title song from her amazing 2003 release Smash, but in a different setting and with a more personal and sensual vibe…yet all the while, retaining Cindy’s trademark sense of self-assuredness and cutting insight. 

Listen to Wonderful here. If you would like to pre-order this CD, please see my post from last November regarding Cindy’s new record.

15
Jan
12

A New Look For The New Year

I thought it was time to change things up a bit to coincide with the new year (and our new domain name, www.thebsblog.net). It’s somewhat reminiscent of our original black theme, but a little cleaner and easier to read than that one was.

Maybe the temporary novelty of our fresh look will encourage Bill and Randy to come back and start posting again (hint-hint). I think they’ve grown to prefer the more interactive and dynamic exchanges of Facebook…

03
Jan
12

Thank You!

I just noticed that the BS BLOG surpassed 100,000 hits on New Years Day! Thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone. I look forward to a great 2012.

So, is anyone counting down the days until the end of civilization and the Mayan Calendar on 12-21-12? 

It’s interesting to note that Major Ed Dames and his Remote Viewing crowd are having trouble seeing past that date from what I understand. Additionally, the ancient Hindu Calendar supposedly matches the Mayan Calander, even though their ancient cultures had no contact with each other. The ancient Egyptian ’Great Pyramid Stone Calendar’ ends in 2012, and supposedly Nostradamus also predicted the world would end in 2012.

The Cherokee Indians also have a calendar with an end date of December 18th, 2012, which is pretty darn close. Hopi Indian legend also fortells the coming of a ‘Blue Star Spirit’ and a ‘Trembling of the Earth’ (perhaps a killer comet or asteroid?)

Happy New Year, and thanks again!

23
Dec
11

The BS BLOG Gets A Real Domain Name

The BS BLOG has been on good behavior this year, so I thought I would buy it a Christmas present.

Our URL has been http://esarsea.wordpress.com (and that will still work) but we can now also be found at http://www.thebsblog.net.

Note that WordPress automatically removes the “www” from URLs (I’m not sure why) but because of that, http://thebsblog.net will work as well.

Cheers!

11
Nov
11

New Album Coming From Cindy Alexander!

The other day I was listening to Cindy Alexander‘s Wobble With The World CD on my iPod, and thought to myself, “I wonder what Cindy’s up to, it’s about time she put out a new record.”

I visited her website and was thrilled to read the following:

June 3, 2011
 
Deep Breath. I’m Ready.
 
***Calling All Angels*** Most of you know that my cd’s have been fan funded since Angels & Demons. It’s because of YOU that I have been able to continue to make music, so I guess I have to credit my friends and fans for keeping me sane all these years. Yeah, you’ve funded my version of therapy. I’ve been 110% committed to being Mommy for the last 2 years and although my commitment doesn’t wane, I am reclaiming Cindy Alexander (besides being “Jette and Perry’s Mommy”). I’ve always strived for balance in my life, but I just have a few more things to balance these days. Since life is more expensive with a family AND a babysitter to support while I’m in the studio, I am once again reaching out for assistance in continuing to live my dreams. I’ve been a fountain of creativity recently so I’m heading into the studio TONIGHT with Dave Darling to lay the ground work on the new record. If you’re inclined, here are some ways you can participate in OUR (yes, you are included if you want to be!) project:
 
$15 Pre-order the new CD and receive free downloads and access to exclusive versions of new tunes as I progress. I will also keep you up to date with sneak peak videos from the studio. You will be the first to receive the autographed CD off the press.
 
$100 All of the above downloads and sneak peaks, PLUS – You will receive 5 autographed copies of the first printing of the new CD, 2 tickets to the CD release party, and a mention in the liner notes as my ANGEL.
 
$250 In addition to the downloads and sneak peaks, you will receive 10 autographed copies of the first printing of the new CD, 4 tickets to the CD release party AND a special swag bag with a T-shirt, guitar picks and home made cookies. And of course you’re an ANGEL.
 
$350 You get all of the above AND a personal skype/video chat serenade at a mutually agreed upon time.
 
$500 You will receive all of the above AND instead of a skype serenade, you can hang out with me in the studio during a recording session.
 
$1,000 You will receive all of the above AND appear on the CD ~ yes, we’ll find something for you to play even if you are not a musician (with proper credit in liner notes).
 
$1,500 All of the above AND you have the honor of shaving my producer’s head (Dave Darling needs a hair cut) or wax his legs – your choice.
 
$2,500 (only 1 available) Not only will you be featured somewhere on the CD (with proper credit in liner notes) and receive all the goodies above, you will also receive my personally owned Ernie Ball Music Man electric guitar – Lipstick Red with white pearl inlay, the Silhouette Special. It’s in mint, pristine condition and was played on stage by me at the world famous Troubadour. It was the night my guitar player (only used him once) knocked me off stage by smacking me in the butt with HIS guitar. A night to forget.
 
$5,000 A private acoustic house concert for you anywhere in the USA (I’m sorry to my overseas buddies – it’s just too much to fly these days!!!), autographed cd’s for all of your guests, and credit in the liner notes as EXECUTIVE ANGEL. This event would occur after the release of the new CD at a mutually agreed upon time. You will also receive the above mentioned swag bag & goodies, and tickets to the CD release party. You will also have privileges to attend any recording session of your choice and we can arrange video chat if you’re not in town so you can see what’s happening!
 
Feel free to get creative and offer up another package – I’m game.
 
HOW TO PURCHASE ANY OF THE ABOVE PACKAGES:
Paypal pnutsings@aol.com and please include your name, mailing address, email and telephone number.
OR preferably, you can send this information and a check or money order to:
 
Cindy Alexander c/o JamCat Records
2658 Griffith Park Boulevard #829
Los Angeles, CA 90039-2520
 
With my deepest gratitude for your continued support,
xo
pnut

I dropped Cindy a line and asked her where she was in the process, and how she was doing with the “Angel” thing. I had talked to Cindy in the past about doing some sort of feature here on the BS BLOG but never quite got to it…so I thought this might be a good opportunity to help spread the word.

I received this email in response:

STU!!  So great to hear from you! Been wanting to write you since Wednesday but my girls run me ragged and overtime….  

I was in the studio this week recording vocals – I’m about 1/2 way done with the record but I need to go back and re-record the first 4 vocals because I just didn’t have my voice back at that point (August/ September).  My production was severely halted because of health reasons.  I got whooping cough and Haemophilus influenzae (had to google to spell it right) last October and literally had a horrid cough and breathing problem until May.  Then I got Srep over the summer that triggered the cough. Basically my immune system was shot from a twin pregnancy that ended with H1N1 and then pre-ecclampsia.  It left me very vulnerable to a lot of junk that comes with exposure to parks, Mommy n Me stuff and the like.   Last week’s vocals are the first ones I’m happy with…..AND I’m finally feeling healthy :)  Knock on wood I stay this way!!!
  
SO, now it’s just about covering the project financially.  I still need to raise about $5,000 more to cover mixing, mastering, artwork, pictures and manufacturing.  SO many people have been hit in this horrid economy and although I’ve had a lot of participants in the case of pre-orders, I haven’t had as many angels.  Many past angels have done the pre-order amount rather than the angel amounts- and I TOTALLY understand and am grateful for whatever people would like to contribute to the project.  It may take longer to complete but it WILL get done.  I’m trying to sneak in some house concerts on nights that Chip isn’t gigging (my husband gigs almost every weekend night) so that he can babysit.  Those are much more lucrative than club shows and I have extra $ to put towards my record.  Chip  is my drummer but suffice it to say that I’ve been doing acoustic shows lately because by the time I go to soundcheck, do a show and stay after to greet fans, the babysitter makes more than my band members! 

I’m hoping to have a song or two to share in the next few weeks and will keep you in the loop.
 
How are YOU and what’s the news on your front?  I definitely plan on getting to the Northwest when the new CD is done.  If you or your friends are ever interested in hosting a house concert, they are EASY and affordable and don’t cost the host a dime.  I don’t care if it’s 15-20 people, we can make it work.   :)  

XO
Cindy

I know I’ve shared this story here before, but I first met Cindy when she was opening for Joe Bonamassa in Seattle and became an instant fan. She’s a tremendous singer-songwriter who continues to produce outstanding music, despite being relatively unknown outside her modest but intensely loyal and growing fan base. I’ve got every CD she ever released on my iPod, and will continue to do so.

Here’s a review I wrote on Amazon back in January 2008 regarding Cindy’s last album.

So there you go. Make it a point to check out Cindy’s website and her music. If you like what you hear, please consider pre-ordering her new CD (and if your budget allows, consider being an “Angel” at whatever level you are comfortable with).

The house concerts are also a great idea. Cindy’s done a number of them and they are always well received. If you’re interested in putting one together, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch.




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