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ARTIST DEVELOPMENT t

Artist Development is something that Major Record Labels and Publishing Companies are doing less and less every day. That's when Production Companies come in. A production company may be interested in a certain artist and they may invest their time and money by having the artist record with their own staff producers of course, a set of four songs more or less. This works out great for the artist because basically they are getting a free demo! A production company may also want to sign the artist to the company and that's only fair, but sometimes, a verbal understanding between artist and company may just be as good.
At e5, depending on the situation we do both. First, the artist needs to fit e5's needs and second, the artist needs to like e5's music productions. When these two things come together and both, artist and producer seem to be heading in the same direction, there's almost nothing that can stop them from writing great hit songs.
"There are not many things on this planet that give me more satisfaction than listening to the final product with the artist at the studio and see them smile and move their heads to the beat, happy, because they can't believe that those late night sessions and all that nonsense music terminology, digital processors & computer manipulating, turned into a great final product," says Waldhorn.
"I use 3 basic elements:

- Creativity:
to compose and produce great music.
- Technology: to have the right studio gear and record the music getting the best sound possible.
- Business: to get the final product to do what it's meant to do: $$$!

NOTES FROM THE CEO:

1- "The music industry is saturated with too many pretty faces with little or no music talent. Real artists have been replaced by the "Hollywood Look". Standards have changed. Live shows have become much more visually entertaining to divert the public from paying attention to the artist's voice and natural music talent. Lots of dancers & fancy lights on stage take pressure off the artist.
We also have forgotten that singing is not about what you can do with your voice, it's about how your voice makes that song sound better to make people feel it; it's about the song and the artist.
Music is constantly evolving, as well as the music business. I hate to say this but at the present time, you have to give the A&R what they "wanna hear rather than what you wanna do". Maybe you are smart enough to make something that both you and the record label like, with the help of THE PRODUCER!"

2- "EGO. Please leave it at home or know hot to handle it. Music today is not like it use to be and it's always changing. If you think a friend or a producer is negatively criticizing your music when they say that "you may need something better" or something similar, that would only mean that "maybe" you haven't got to where you wanted to be with your present music and "maybe" you should seek help, from a Producer of course! Ego should only be used on personal matters but not on business; no ego, use "logic" it's free and better. Please artists, don't get offended by criticism, that's the only tool you have to be a better artist! Imagine if we all said we loved what you did, how would you get better at it?"

3- Vocal coaching and exercising. For some reason, maybe because most artists don't see themselves as professionals yet, singers and rappers can't get the picture right. Vocal coaching and practicing are a must! The voice deteriorates as time goes by anyway, so imagine without practicing! You don't have to imagine, just listen to yourself over time.
The energy on stage is a good fooling mask to "normal" people; it covers up the bad stuff. In reality, if you are a body builder and stop working out, your muscles will soon show it. Get it? You must practice even if you don't want to get better but at least, to maintain what you already have! You know it! When you see those hot artists that sell CDs like crazy, they sound good on the CD but when they perform live, they sound awful! That's the difference between loving music and doing it for the $$$$$$!!!
If you are making $$$ with music, why would you not be a professional artist and deliver quality music & entertainment to the people that are "PAYING FOR IT?!"

4- When producing an artist I often find myself repeating certain things. I really like to say, that when it comes to recording, if there's a time to be 100% honest to your music and to yourself, 100% open minded, 100% creative, relaxed, checking your ego out the door as needed, is when you are in the studio recording your own material. You will be printing your creation in a CD that will be there for you and other people to absorb every time it is played! It could luckily even be very frequent!!! So, you should prepare yourself emotionally if you consider you are professional, dedicated, meticulous, a real artist! Once the product of your creation is out there, it is the reflection of YOU. I usually bring that out of artists at the studio, but it would be so much easier if they could have that incorporated and make it a way of "being".

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AUDIO PRODUCTIONS

At e5 music, we have developed our own unique special sound.
"That's not an easy thing to do," says Mr. Waldhorn, e5's CEO. "Basically, by being open minded about other styles, not necessarily liking them all, but listening to them, taking what you need from them, by merging sounds, colorature, feelings, words from different countries, cultures, moods, by playing ONE instrument really well, that's what it takes for me".
Audio Productions consist in not just creating whatever the artist wants or requests but what they really NEED. That means studying the artist's likes and dislikes. What this artist is about. Music has to match 95 to 100% with the artist's personality and taste, otherwise no one's going to believe their music comes from within. The music has to match the artist so people may feel that these artists created their own music themselves. Sometimes they do write them themselves. People don't really care who wrote the song until later, when they get to read about these things. By then, they usually see that there are lots of people that collaborated in the writing of these songs and they may be shocked about it but currently, it's how it gets done...
Having a producer is like having your mechanic check and fix your vehicle before you drive it. You can make sure the vehicle looks good, your mechanic will make sure the vehicle runs like is supposed to.
"I'm not saying that not having a producer is bad, I'm saying that is Very Very Bad, and that's for any style of music", says Waldhorn.
Artists at e5 always sound better than ever before and so good, that the artists themselves can't believe they sounded so good on tape.
"The trick is to put lots of LOVE into what you do, no matter what the budget may be and of course, music knowledge is always a great tool!" says Waldhorn.
At the studio, the producer should be the KING. Nobody knows more about music and music consumers than the producer, and yet, they are so open minded and sure about themselves, they can take suggestions or ideas from the artist or whoever is present at the time of production and turn that into something great. If the producer doesn't behave like a king, well, you got a problem!
It's just a matter of getting the music right. Who's the one to blame if it doesn't sound good? That's right, THE PRODUCER.

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO SAMPLES


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OTHER MUSIC PRODUCTIONS

At e5 music, we also do several types of music productions such as music for video games, music on hold, websites, radio jingles, advertising campaigns, theater productions, etc. Please contact us for any music service. We do it all!


LIVE SHOWS PRODUCTIONS

Live shows productions is only being performed by Eliot Waldhorn at e5 music. Service varies upon the different types of shows, but it basically includes the following:

- Meeting with label, artist, management, etc. to plan show
- Meeting with artist and band to go over show and assist last 3 rehearsals
- Coach artist and band to perform at their best - Work final song/show arrangements
- Meet with lighting engineer (if applicable)
- Meet with the sound man to go over gear
- Do the live sound at the concert

This service will make sure your show is as good as it can possibly be, guaranteed! Contact us for pricing.

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MUSIC LICENSING

e5 music's is proud to announce their new all music site featuring a great collection of great songs and cues. You will find over 350 titles so far and that's increasing every week. The site is called 1000TRACKS.COM. This library is available for national and international licensing. The most popular material being licensed right now includes our Hip-Hop, RnB, Rock & Latin Instrumental music & full songs, which can be used as theme songs for shows as well as for background music. The following shows are currently using our material:

KTLA show "Dawson's Creek", also for MTV shows "Pimp My Ride", "Date My Mom", "Parental Control", "Making The Band", "My Own", "Next", "Engaged and Underage", "Final Fu", "My Super Sweet 16", "Run's House", "Tiara Girls", "I'm From Rolling Stone" & "True Life", CWTV America's Next Top Model, CBS TV show "That's Life", "And Never Let Her Go" a CBS mini-series, NBC "Passions", Showtime "The Next Episode", Discovery Channel, "Outward Bound", "Felicity", "The Shield" & "Hitchhiker Chronicles" FXTV Series, Degrassi, "The Next Generation" & "Instant Star" on "N", "Mr. Woodcock" New Line Cinema, co-production of a songs featuring Bandidos De Amor for movies "Two Weeks Notice" Warner Bros. & "Collateral" Dreamworks/Paramount, "Gangster Party", a Maverick DVD release, and other TV shows and Films. WALDHORN credits also include commercial jingles like "La Popular" one of the biggest Latin furniture stores. Waldhorn's music gets national & international rotation in countries such as Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Venezuela & United States. Waldhorn's has accomplished over 4000 national and international music airplays to-date including DVD, film, television, internet and air radio.
For a complete audio library please contact us.

PLEASE VISIT 1000TRACKS.COM >>>


- MUSIC AGENCY LOOKING FOR MUSIC FOR REALITY SHOWS!


VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

Our video productions are very basic for the purpose of being a "demo" but they also look very professional and we put them on DVD format. What we do at e5 is preparing a very nice video clip out of the best song to show the interested parties the artist's moves and looks on camera. It's all done digitally and edited professionally to make it look the best. It definitely does the trick. Record labels, management companies, they all love these videos because they can actually see who they may be signing and/or dealing with. It's a must for your DEMO package!

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO SAMPLES
(allow 1 to 2 minutes after clicking)

FIASCO - Rap (Explicit Lyrics) SHON - Urban/RnB LANCE - Pop/RnB

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STAFF

Eliot Waldhorn
- CEO/Producer
Lippman Entertainment - Music Consultants
Mark Cuddy - Music Consultant
Kenny Ketcham - Music Consultant

CONTACT US

CURRENT PROJECTS AND LATEST NEWS

2009
- Waldhorn collaborating with singer songwriter Andrea B. on a pop-rock song to pitch to shows.
- Beto Hale recording tracks for theatrical production.
- Majaca playing in various venues including Fins, Vino & O Hotel.
- Lit soul performing all over Los Angeles with Waldhorn on guitar.
- 1000TRACKS.COM looking for POP young material for record labels.
- Lit soul rehearsing for future gigs.
- Waldhorn and 2 other musicians are working on 8 Tango PD songs and a video for possible licensing and touring. 2 guitars 1 bandoneon.
- Working on 18 rock songs - full band.

- Waldhorn is doing a clinic at MI (musicians institute) in January about music licensing and reviewing music for licensing.
2008
- Waldhorn is doing a clinic at MI (musicians institute) on "Wearing Different Hats". Not a fashion show, this is about music production, engineering, some licensing.
- Latino Rapper Gabriel and his crew came back to e5 to record some new hot joints..
- Rick Robles, famous voice over talent, came by the studio to do a jingle on a new project of his own! Thanks Sash!

- Eliot Waldhorn is playing as a guitar duo in Encino every week at the vinowineroom.com.
- 1000TRACKS.COM made a deal with Pol-Ka Argentina on music for the entire catalog! Also Telefe and TYC are interested!

- Lit Soul's new album is done!
- 1000TRACKS.COM made a deal for a commercial with Aeria Games Mojo for Time Warner NY.
- 1000TRACKS.COM just added a new category of music called NEWS due to 3 possible licensing deals in South America. TOO HOT!
- Padrino coming back from Utah to record 3 new joints. kick ass!
- Shon "Demo" Reddick and Waldhorn to start working on a documentary and the release of his album. wow!
2007
- C-Blunt's new album will be available January 15, 2008 digitally and February 12, 2008 physically. HOT! 12/07 LISTEN
- Waldhorn wrote a great modern rock oriented jingle that deserves great placement. (available at 1000TRACKS.COM) 11/07 REQUEST AT THIS SITE
- Singer/song-writer Lizzie and Waldhorn started writing some pretty hot pop songs to pitch to several medias. 11/07
- Movie Mr. Woodcock has been released featuring a song called "Daeya" by Waldhorn-Rawlins. 09/07
- Danny Boy and his US Army group, have recorded some really cool and innovative cadence with music at e5 studios. 09/07
- Rapper Padrino and female rapper Malicious from Utha, have recorded a super hot track at e5 studios using Shon "Demo" Reddick for vocals on the hooks. 08/07 Off the hook!
- More tracks from Waldhorn have been placed on Court TV. Cool! 07/07
- 1000TRACKS.COM just had another network company license tracks. CMT. Hot! 07/07
- Singer Tigre came to the studio to have a song produced by Waldhorn. Nice! 07/07
- Three new shows are using e5music/1000tracks.com's libary now, America's Next Top Model and MTV shows "I'm From Rolling Stone" and "Band In A Bubble". 05/07
- RnB singer Ruth is recording a new song at e5 music having Waldhorn produce and mix her vocals to the hot beat. 05/07
- Mastering of C-Blunt's finished and super hot new album by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman's. We were very pleased to have Bernie do the mastering for us. Very pro! 04/07
- e5 music has lunched a whole new music site called 1000TRACKS.COM - This site features music from Waldhorn's expanding music library including several other artists. Check it out! 04/07
- New MTV shows "Final Fu", "My Super Sweet 16", "Run's House" & "Tiara Girls" started to use e5 music'c catalog. ($$$)
03/07
- HOT NEWS! The song "Deaya" by Waldhorn/Rawlins, was just placed on upcoming new film Mr. Woodcock, by New Line Cinema, feat. Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William & Scott Susan Sarandon. The movie will be released on May 11th. 03/07
- Known Mexican pop singer "Pako Madrid" has returned to LA to record more songs and to mix and wrap up his album at e5 studios with Waldhorn/Aranda as producers and engineers. 03/07
- Continue working on Lit Soul's new rock album, Padrino's new album and C-Blunt's new album. 02/07
- Acceptance of new rock tracks written by Waldhorn for licensing with a major licensing company. (awesome!)
02/07
- Mixing of a hot track called Scream featuring RnB singer Gigi, production by Teddy Harmon. 02/07
- The song "Love Is a Key To Zion" by Shon Reddick and Eliot Waldhorn, will be featured in "Engaged and Underage" MTV, this Monday the 29th at 6:30pm. (sweet...)
01/07
- C-Blunt's album is almost done and too hot to put it in words, and Mark Cuddy at the Midem show in France hooking up some HOT deals. (hot hot hot!)
01/07
- A show from MTV NY, True Life, has just started to use a few songs from the e5 catalog. (really cool!)
01/07
2006
- Collision, rock band co-produced by Waldhorn, played at the Viper Room and they kicked ass! 12/06
- Waldhorn and Aranda started producing 3 songs for new and upcoming Mexican solo pop artist "Paco Madrid". 12/06
- Waldhorn played elelctric guitar at Shon's B-day party at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach along with Teddy, a great keys player and Shon on vocals. Fun! 12/06
- Mixing of C-Blunt songs at Dave Aron's. More of Padrino's hot songs done. 11/06
- Universal RnB artist Eddie Cane, picked up 2 new hot beats from e5 music, for possible use on his new and upcoming album. 10/06
- Production of C-Blunt's new album has started. Album is due by January 2008. 10/06
- MTV's music supervisor for shows Parental Control and Making The Band, is moving to NY to do news and documentaries for MTV and she's taking Waldhorn's catalogue to use. (Sick!) 10/06
- All the way from Utah, Padrino, an upcoming new hot Latin rapper, is coming back to e5 studios to continue production for his new album. Production by e5 music. 10/06
- Lit Soul's founder, Robert Chevelle, is recording his 3rd album at e5 music studios. 09/06
- MTV show "My Own" started using e5 music's material. (Neat!) 09/06
- Degrassi "The Next Generation", has used 2 songs as themes songs: Chasin' Cheese and It Don't Stop by artist Fiasco. (Hot!) 08/06
- Rapper Jesus "Padrino" Montano just finished recording at e5 studios 2 songs over Waldhorn's hot trax. Co-produced by Waldhorn, with guests Shon "Demo" Reddick & Monica Mancillas. 08/06
- Famous opera singer Priti Gandhi, just recorded an a-capella version of the National Anthem at e5 studios. Incredible voice! We got her a great sound also! 08/06
- Shon "Demo" Reddick, former e5 artist, just re-mixed a song at e5 called "Much Luv" featuring legendary singer "Terry Stanton, AKA Pretty Terry of the Polyester Players" and famous rapper "Medusa". 08/06
- Two more MTV shows are featuring E's hot tracks. "Making The Band 3" & "Parental Control". 07/06
- C-Blunt's album will be finished soon and released overseas thanks to a recent indi record deal. (Frickin' sick!) 7/06
- Waldhorn just started to produce the emo-rock band collision. (Great band!) 07/06
- MTV show "Next" has used a lot of hot trax from the e5 hip-hop catalogue. 02/06
- The Canadian series called "Instant Star", used Fiasco's song "It's Going On". 01/06
2005
- A rock CD with sick rock tracks has been accepted by MTV Networks for TV show "Date My Mom". 09/05
- 5 of Waldhorn's rap songs have been aired on MTV show Pimp My Ride in the first month! 08/05
- 2 MTV shows, Pimp My Ride & Date My Mom, have signed a deal with e5 music for R&B and Rap music. 7/05
- Mixing of Mad City's new album at the HOB Encino, is all done. We want to thank Alex Rodriguez for mixing it. It sounds great! 05/05
- Recording of rock band Mad City's first album has ended successfully and everybody is very excited about it. It really sounds great. Great job Mad City! 03/05
- Hot News! Many national and international record labels at the Midem in France, have showed a vast interest in C-Blunt, Mad City and other bands/artists working with Waldhorn. 02/05
- Waldhorn has been hired to produce a super hot rock band from Memphis, Tennessee, named "Mad City". The band is scheduled to arrive to L.A. in March 2005. 02/05
- The Bandidos came back to e5 studios to record their 3rd album. You can see Bandidos at the Mexican & Collateral. 01/05
- Midem show in France presenting Rapper C-Blunt and Hot RnB and Hip-Hop Trax from Waldhorn. 01/05
2004
- C-Blunt's production of first album has already started at e5 studios and it's hot as hell. 08/04
- Eliot Waldhorn and Donna Rawlins have agreed to donate a song called "River Flow" by Donatella to a short film about global warming. 07/04
- Donatella's song "Under The Moon" was placed on 13 more radio spots at the Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. 05/04
- Waldhorn has been hired to produce 6 + tracks and supervise and co-produce 2 whole new albums of an upcoming Latin rapper named C-Blunt after choosing one of Waldhorn's tracks as the single. 05/04
- New Latin artist has started working with Waldhorn. Ruben Dario. This is a hot soul Latin singer! Check it out at the music page. 05/04
- Submission of Rap tracks for known artist Xzibit, Sony. 04/04
- Famous artist Ray-J stopped by e5 studios to do vocals on a new Waldhorn/Shorty Mack song. He's also considering doing a couple of Waldhorn's tracks to maybe include on his up and coming new album. 04/04
- Donatella's song "Under The Moon" was placed on 7 radio spots at the Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. 03/04
- Shorty Mack just recorded a new hit song with R-Kelly and Ray-J for Ray-J's new album at Paramount Studios, Hollywood. 03/04
- Submission of 2 music tracks for known artist Shakira. 01/04
- Rap tracks for known rap artist Lil' Flip for Sony Records featuring Shorty Mack on the hooks. 01/04
- Hip-Hop track for song from famous 1967 film "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" for Capitol Records featuring Ice Cube. 01/04
2003
- Carlos Santana called e5 music artist Shon to congratulate him for the song City of Lost Angels. 11/03
- Re-mix on Obie Trice's hit song "When Shit Hits The Fan" for Shady Records. 11/03


Click below to see all the artists

Click below to check out prices on music productions


CONCERTS REVIEWS BY "E"
- BANDS AND ARTISTS

First of all, my respects to you all people for doing music. Because I'm so passionate about music it's why I have to write about what I see, the good and the bad and maybe we can make it better.
There's small stars next to each event, from 1 star to 5 stars, which represents my given scoring.



- Return To Forever*** Sound ***
At the Universal Amphitheatre. 06/2008. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White and Al Di Meloa. First set wasn't that good honestly. Chick was playing modern keys instead of vintage. The mini moog didn't sound very vintage at all and that turned me off. When Chick plays the piano you can really appreciate his talent as a piano player and composer. Al Di Meola and his electric guitar playing can take a hike Forever Not To Return. His non-existent melodic capabilities, his limited imagination for scales that I've heard many times repeat over the course of the show ending always on the same bent high note… What's that dude? And what is it with the “helicopter” playing? (Playing dirty notes as fast as possible) La Technique De La Pick? His playing actually bothered me the whole show, but some friends that were with me loved him so I didn't want to spoil that for them by saying anything. Then he played a SPANISH guitar with a PICK and he did the same. Maybe Al should only play acoustic guitars where he can actually shine. Stanley Clarke was pretty good. I didn't hear melodies in his solos, something I consider a must, I mean, a melodic solo and some scales here and there, not the other way around but anyway, fats stuff all over, some fast slap, ok, can we groove? Well, when he played the upright he was incredible. The second set was acoustic so I really enjoyed that much better. Lenny wasn't good. He wasn't bad but he didn't really shine at all. He was a bit in the back as far as attitude. The sound of the drums where nice but we couldn't hear them well since soundmen usually suck!

- Musiq Soulchild *** Sound **
At the Roxy, Hollywood. 03/02/07. Why 3 stars? The dude can really sing his ass off no doubt, in key, with goove, but dude, I'm there to sing along with you all those beautiful songs I've learned when I got your CDs. Why would you change the melodies so much? You don't want me to sing, to relate with you? And why do you need to practice your scales and your complicated and annoying runs on stage instead of at home? SING THE F…. SONG THE WAY IT IS! I WANT TO HEAR YOU SONGS NOT YOUR SCALES!!!! Yes, give me a couple of runs here and there, but all the time? This is a big misconception "Music Stars" have including C. Aguilera, W. Houston, M. Carey, etc. SING THE SONG OR YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A CLOWN! Producers and artists spend so much time writing and editing the songs in the album to make it just perfect. A live show NEEDS to be in the same format than the CD is with the only addition of the extra energy on stage, the lights, the people and the place itself. I can go on and on about this issue...
The sound was not good at all. All muddy! Of course! Nobody knows how to do live sound anymore, anybody cares about that??? Maybe it's only me. (try me at a show, I'll kick your ass doing sound)

- Helmet ***** Sound ***
At the Troubadour, Hollywood. 01/31/07. Kick ass show! I'm not a super fun of "Rhythm Bands" but these guys were very well rehearsed & they sounded tight as a man's anus, as Borat would say! When I say "rhythm band" I mean that the foundation of the music is based on rhythm instead of melody more or less like Hip-Hop music. The rhythm makes you bounce and that's the primary music weapon they use to get to people. I'm more of a melody type of guy but I can appreciate bands like that, especially when they show great musicianship. They were using VHTs amps for the guitars, which sounded just amazing. The drummer was hot too although he made a couple of mistakes. The bass player was good but his image didn't match the rest of the band's. Page Hamilton was really good. He's showing skills playing guitar and singing and also having a great attitude all the time. He was very smart and professional organizing the songs in such order that people wouldn't get bored at all and not leaving too much space in between, which I would have hated. Great job Helmet! Thanks Paulo for the tixs! The sound was ok but I couldn't hear the guitars that well and this is a guitar band.
- Latin Rap Showcase ASCAP * Sound *
At Forbbiden City. Hollywood. 11/15/06. I got there and I knew. A joke! No need to explain too much. Horrible sound. All playback and the sound wasn't good? Oh my god! Is that possible? YES. And the few bands I saw were a joke too. I left without looking back and I ain't going back to that!

- Collision ***** Me doing the sound ***** (I got a few people at the place including the house sound man congratulate me)
At Safari Sam's. Hollywood. 11/08/06. Dude! This band was good! Yes, I'm kind of helping them part time, but they were so good! They rocked the place out! I did the sound and I was good too. I was so happy to do the sound because I'm always complaning about it when I go to concerts and again, I proved my point of being possible to do a good sound when someone cares!!!!!

- Pepe Romero *** with the New West Symphony **
At Thousand Oaks Amphitheatre. 11/11/06. Ok. It seems young people don't go out to listen to classical music. I was one of the few, not so young anymore but still. In other words, it looked like if the theatre was giving away free wheelchairs. The orchestra, very boring sounding, opened up with 3 classical pieces, then Pepe Romero came to the stage for a couple of songs, then intermission, then a couple more of Pepe's guitar then back to the orchestra with another 3 to 4 more pieces. I went there to see Pepe, not the boring orchestra. I was more like a guest instead of the main event and of course I hated that. The orchestra was very boring and so boring, even the old crowd wasn't clapping that much at the end of each song. Pepe was really good but I wish the guitar was louder and longer!

- Rancid (Punk) ***** Opening bands: Rocket * Maniac Hispanics *** Sound ***
Henry Fonda Theatre. 10/22/06. The opening act "Rocket" was a joke and an insult to all Rancid fans. An all women band playing out of tune, flirting and posing, sexy and Hollywood wanna be wild, stupid childish tunes starting nowhere and going nowhere. I couldn't believe it! There I was, at a Punk concert, and who the hell approved this band? The next band "Maniac Hispanics" were cute. Great guitars sound and their drummer really played well. They were too playful and joking around too much for my taste of punk. To me, punk is a serious thing. It's a way of being not a way of acting. But then Rancid started. Sh…! They are so great!! They sounded so tight but not tight due to rehearsals, due to f… playing a lot! The best! They moved, they interacted with us, and all of that without missing a single note or beat. Without loosing the cool when some people were fainting, and without acting/posing at all! A true Punk band for sure! The sound was ok. The bass kick on the drums was so loud, you couldn't hear the guitars that much but I'm so used to not getting a good sound anywhere that I tried to focus on the band only. The lighting was non-existent. Just white light. They were playing videos in the back of the stage, but nobody had the brain to lower the front lights sometimes so we could appreciate the videos a little bit.

- Shakira (Latin, pop, techno, rock and whatever else you can throw in there) ** Soundman **
Staples Center. 8/16/06. A friend got me to free tickets close to the stage. Here's my review. Very good lighting show. Shakira is talented. Anybody can see that. She's really hot too. But then, how many talented and hot women are there are out there? Many right? But are they all on stage calling themselves artists? Now, there aren't many that are very talented for sure, still there are many hot ones. She has a good attitude and good energy and sings very well with that voice that's natural until she uses that throat voice, which I hate. I did a small playback show, yes, I was hired, for Shakira back in 1998 or something like that when she was just coming out with her red hair and rock songs. I liked and respected that! But then, I guess Emilio Stephan got her and she made her be just another "Britney" with a cheap show. Why cheap? 50% playback and the band on top, even on ballads!!! That is cray-z, loco! And cheap! You could hear instruments like trumpets that weren't even on stage! Drum machines, lots of back vocals, percussions, keys, and more! WHY!!!!!! The band was excellent, why do they need the SUPER BIG SOUND X 2! You know whose fault that is? Michael Jackson and Luis Miguel's. They started that or made it more popular. Anyway, the songs were so mixed up! Techno, pop, rock, stupid non-sense ballads, whatever mix with no artistic purpose at all. Just another Hollywood-type show. I also know that if Shakira was doing her own rock thing like before, she wouldn't be making even 5% of what she makes now. Money... the biggest enemy of the artist. Also, Shakira's vocals had so much highs (high freq.), it was killing everyone!

- Otmaro Ruiz (Latin Jazz or whatever Latin mix we all call it) *** Sound ***
Great keyboard and piano player and composer. I know Otmaro since he used to play with Alex Acuña. I saw his band in 2006 and this is what I have to say. Great compositions, some a little complicated by force but overall very nice. Set the keyboard speaker high on a chair and not down on the floor since the high ends get lost; he lost definition. The bassist and his upright was incredible but I wish it was louder, very good taste. The drummer was a virtuoso but he needs to get thinner cymbals and not rock cymbals. Also he should play with brushes and follow the song and not show off his talent only. I didn't go there to see the drummer, I went there to see Otmaro and listen to SONGS! The sax player was very very good, not too loud, not too much playing, good.

- Cecilia Noel (now just Salsa)
* Soundman **
I've been to Cecilia's gigs since 1991 at least. She used to be great playing Salsa/Jazz with incredible musicians that would twist the rhythm to make it unique and fun. The Wild Clams. Music was fun not to dance but to listen to also. I went to see Cecilia to Temple Bar on 2006 and my god, what a disappointment. The musicians were a joke and to be honest, without the great musicians including the great singers she had before, the music is nothing but cheap Salsa now with a not so good front singer. I'm sorry to say this but I used to be a fan.

- BB Chung King (blues)
** Soundman **
At Cozy's 2006. Good voice, good guitar playing overall. Too many vocal scales and runs for no reason. BB, can you just sing the damn song please and leave runs for home? The bassist was very good. This black guy with all this energy playing too loud for my taste but really good. The drummer. Ok. The drums were too big for such a small place and stage. Do you know that you should play a small set with a small kick, a small snare and small toms when you play at a small place? What don't you understand about that concept? The snare was so big it sounded like a shoebox and had no definition at all. His timing was off. Off! Playing blues! The soundman was so stupid too! He would go back and forth to the small board on the wall to adjust levels that would never change. If he would have told the bassist to turn down he amp, it would have been so much easier to do the sound.

- Scott Henderson (blues and rock and whatever and invented mixing all the styles)
**** Soundman **
At MI, Hollywood, 2006. Scott has no fears. He knows what he's doing and will show you how it's done. If you like it or not that's your problem and not his. I love Scott because he has gotten crazier and dirtier with age, and usually it happens the other way around. He is unique and his mind is very advanced since whatever he plays makes total sense even when it sounds weird which is most of the time. It's harder to play weird and make sense but he doesn't do it on purpose which is the most valuable thing. The band was great as usual but the soundman was the worse. How can MI, the Musician's Institute have a soundman that sucks? Usually all soundmen suck because they are technical engineers that look like musicians but know little about music and music concept. The whole band was on the PA system for no reason. The guitar was so loud on the PA that if Scott had created a sound with he amp, the soundman had altered it using his taste by amplifying it with more high ends and volume that Scott intended. Get it? The soundman thought that Scott needed a different sound! That's insane! He placed 2 mics for overheads that looked similar to the 414's and with that he amplified the whole drum set. That's a big no no. The drums sounded like a metal box. Horrible work dude! The bass was also amplified and so muddy but the show was still good because the band rocks!

- Medusa (boiling hot, roots, black, groovy, RnB/Hip-Hop)
**** Soundman **
Knitting Factory. 2005. I went to see another band before Medusa that sucked and after that bad experience I was so lucky that Medusa was playing. I knew about Medusa but never saw her live. The band was good but Medusa was great. I remember loving the material and disliking the sound. I looked back and I see the "white soundman" talking to an "Asian girl", flirting instead of focusing on the sound. Now, Medusa is not just another act. I was so mad I went up to him and ask him to please focus on the sound and put more kick and overall more drums. I couldn't take it! I usually can't take it because most sound man suck! So, after that they sounded better but not as good as the equipment would allow you to. Medusa, you need to hire or have somebody in your team to do your sound!!! But you are great.

- Juana Molina (not sure what she's trying to do and what to label it)
* Sound ***
At the Knitting Factory, Hollywood. It started kind of interesting since she would do her own and live loops with a keyboard and she would then sing on top but the more she did it the older it got. After the 3rd song and using her voice as a rebel child, she's not a child anymore, it just got stupid and boring but me and my friends stayed since we know Juana from Argentina and for being on TV. Her music was trying to be like a mix of Portishead and a 16 year old innocent girl. I'm so from Venice/Hollywood that even if I'm over 40 I wanna be a 20 year old artistic new talent. After the 4th song we all started looking at each other thinking where the heck that show was going until something happened that made us make a great move. She started barking like a dog and she wouldn't stop. Yes, she got crazy thinking that barking like a dog as part of her song would be even more appealing to us that her other songs and that we would think that she is so unique and rebel that we would become fans!? I was the first to stand up and leave but my friends followed me and we where all shocked by it. Maybe we didn't get it! (please someone tell me that I didn't get it!)

These comments are here to help you believe it or not. Strong criticism, I believe, makes you aware. You don't have to have major credits to criticize, just a computer in this case. If you say wonderful things to people that need to improve their overall music concept or their musicianship, techniques, etc., how will they ever do it if you keep telling them they are great? Valid point?



I'm proud to list and briefly describe my experiences in this music business with some of these so-called "companies". We should be aware of them.

1- International Music Network (IMN) Publishing Company? Category: Quick Buck. These guys charge you to submit your music. You should never pay to submit to a publishing company that may profit from you.
2- True Talent Management Song placement agency? Category: No idea on what they are doing. Jennifer Yeko doesn't know what she's doing at all! One example. She asked for an Argentinean song with English lyrics. I got the perfect song! Argentinean rhythm, called Chacarera, with English lyrics. Great song. I sent it to her and she replies: "I need something more Latin". Ok, that itself shows lack of knowledge. But then when I explained to her the fact that the subject song it's what she asked for and she should show it to the people that requested it, she said, "Ok, then submit it again". She is trouble!

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