I'm in Chicago...

In Chi-town today with BC getting ready to perform this afternoon at an event called Flava Fest and tonight at UChicago's Dance Marathon. We touched down last night and already have some funny stories to tell...more on that when I get back to L.A.

My name: in the Wookipedia?

So I admit it. I google my name from time to time. The last time I did so, this entry in the "Wookipedia" came up, lol. I'm not joking.

"Jarells were a humanoid species native to the planet Oon Tien in the Kathol sector. They developed a primitive society on their homeworld, organized into matriarchal city-states, before contact with colony ships from the Galactic Republic approximately three centuries prior to the Galactic Civil War. Jarells were a historically violent species; the various monarchies that ruled Jarell society forced their own young into periods of indentured servitude in exchange for weapons and technology. Since their discovery by the Republic, Jarells migrated to several other planets in the Kathol sector, and were often found serving private citizens, corporations, and criminal organizations as hired muscle."

Oh and if you're really into this there's more:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jarell

My friend on CNN for the DREAM ACT

Matias and I were roommates for a quarter at UCLA - he's opened my eyes to so many things in public policy and immigration form, so you can imagine how hyped I was to see him on national TV keeping the DREAM alive.



Sign the petition at www.dreamact2009.com

Performing at Mighty Mic! Benefit for Burma

CRISIS IN BURMA from Scott Denton on Vimeo.

Tomorrow night, UCLA students can catch my partner BC and I performing at the 3rd annual Mighty Mic Human Rights Awareness Concert with Blackalicious, Daphne Loves Derby, and Audible Mainframe. This year's event is raising funds by donation only to benefit the impoverished and oppressed people of Burma.

Little is known about the nation formerly known as Myanmar, and that's because the military-run government won't let any information in or out. Although a new leader was elected democratically years ago, she was not recognized. So for more than 40 years, the civilian population has been forced into submission by massive human rights violations:

"political dissidence is punishable by imprisonment and torture, forced labor is the primary labor resource in most government projects (such as major infrastructure like roads and bridges), Burma's health services rank 190th out of 191 nations. and kidnapping of children to train as soldiers is an accepted practice (there are as many as 70,000 to date)"

Learn more about silent suffering of the Burmese and what we can do to help here.

BC and I were commissioned to write a song specifically addressing the crisis and we'll debut it during our set. The show starts at 6:00PM.

yes, they spelled my name with an extra R. for relief. or rights...

Performing for a cause this morning.

Me and the boys from JP and the Ambassadors are waking up early to do a long set closing out Relay for Life, an event focused on raising money and awareness for cancer research. I'm proud to be a part of it.


From the official website:

What is Relay For Life?

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length.

Teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds to fight cancer and raise awareness of cancer prevention and treatment.

No matter who you are, there’s a place for you at Relay. To participate, form a team, or dedicate a luminaria at your local American Cancer Society Relay For Life, please call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit http://www.cancer.org/.

Relay For Life is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people to:

• Celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer. The strength of survivors inspires others to continue to fight.
• Remember loved ones lost to the disease. At Relay, people who have walked alongside people battling cancer can grieve and find healing.
• Fight Back. We Relay because we have been touched by cancer and desperately want to put an end to the disease.

more at www.relayforlife.org

Kill the Record Labels

KILL THE RECORD LABELS (OFFICIAL TRAILER) from charles rand on Vimeo.

I fully endorse this product.

I'm so glad I came up on this, a true "must" for people like me who grab mp3s from music blogs everyday. It's a Firefox plug-in that automatically skips that annoying ads and pop-ups that accompany most file-sharing sites like zShare, MegaUpload, etc.

http://skipscreen.com

In the papers...

Check out the Daily Bruin article that quoted me, "Music industry struggling to adjust."

Upcoming show schedule

Apr 16 2009 10:00P BruinTent LOS ANGELES Apr 18 2009 4:00P Relay for Life LOS ANGELES Apr 21 2009 6:00P Mighty Mic 2009: Benefit for Burma w/ Blackalicious LOS ANGELES, California Apr 25 2009 8:00P University of Chicago CHICAGO May 8 2009 7:00P UCLA SPRING SING - Pauley Pavillion LOS ANGELES May 21 2009 9:00P LIFE on Wilshire LOS ANGELES Jun 12 2009 5:00P I graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles LOS ANGELES

Getting Things Done, for real.

From time to time I wander on to this hugely popular blog called Zen Habits - it publishes a ton of content related to making the most of your time and staying productive, which is a goal I am constantly pursuing. Today I just happened to come up on these Seven Productivity Tips specifically for creatives like me who have trouble sticking to a detailed system. My favorites are right in the middle of the set:

4. Define your daily ass-kicking. What is your Something Amazing? Take the time to clearly define your deep reason for moving toward that goal. Now make a post-it note of out of it, or schedule a daily reminder of that deep reason on your email program.

5. Allow yourself to suck. One of the biggest reasons we avoid doing what we love is that we’re afraid we’re going to fall flat on our face, in front of everyone. And then they’ll laugh or think we’re not amazing and all our theories about how we’re not really a genius will be true. Here’s some good news: You probably won’t be as bad as you thought you were. Here’s some bad news: You’ll never be great unless you first allow yourself to suck. So embrace your suckiness. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from doing what you love.

6. Focus on the Three C’s. When it comes down to it, there are three major groups of things we need to do to succeed at whatever it is we want to do. We need to Create, we need to Connect, and we need to Consume. Or in other words, we need to produce/share, build and nurture relationships, and keep ourselves savvy in our field. An imbalance in these areas will stagnate our progress. If we’re always consuming, but never getting our ideas out there, we won’t make any progress toward our goals. If we’re connecting without creating, we’ll have nothing of value to share. And if we’re creating without continually learning, we’ll become outdated. Defining a focus of one of the Three C’s helps us stay focused on our purpose for the day. It also helps us realize that spending time on Twitter and socializing is just as important as creating. It’s all about balance.

From zenhabits.net. Read the rest here.

How do you get things done?

Ryan Leslie doing it again

Ryan, Fab & Keri Studio Session from Ryan Leslie on Vimeo.

Questions from the Daily Bruin

Yesterday I got a message from Alex Goodman of the Daily Bruin asking for my take on the recession and its impact on the music industry. I guess I had a lot to vent about - ended up virtually writing the article for him. Who knows how/if i'll be quoted, but I thought it'd be something interesting to post.

Questions:
How has your music career been going?
How has the economy affected your career?
Have you had to change your plans or methods because of the economy?
Have you seen a change in album sales, or attendance at live shows?
Have you seen other up-and-coming artists approach their careers differently?
Do you think the economy is discouraging musicians from pursuing their careers?

Answer:
I think the recession has really just accelerated the earth-shattering changes technology has brought to the record industry. Major labels and the RIAA are finally coming to terms with the fact that online-file sharing and free music via streaming and illegal downloads cannot be stopped. The traditional business model for labels and indie artists alike is breaking down before us and now everyone is scrambling to find or create a new (and successful) one before CD sales plummet to absolute zero.

In a sense, I believe it is the best of times and the worst of times to be an artist. On one hand, with so much music available for free and consumers opting-out of regular show attendance to save money, it's hard to imagine making a decent living. On the other, the rapidly changing industry leaves a huge space just waiting filled by the next big thing. And personally, I find that pursuing music while making a living through various side hustles is a comfortable place to wait-out the terrible job market. It's like, what do you have to lose?

For those bold enough to push through the hard economic times, it's an opportunity. For others it's a burden.

I see up and comers including myself obsessing themselves with online viral marketing through social networks like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and YouTube because it's free and allows a sense of control over your destiny (connecting with fans) that wasn't available. And giving away free downloads and even whole albums is quickly becoming the norm, because for new artists, the exposure is always more valuable than the money.

As far as my career goes, I am much more focused on exposure than profit at the moment. By strategically offering my music for free and connecting to fans personally through the internet, I feel that I'll have a better chance of succeeding when the right business model finally comes into play. I'm currently seeking out publishing deals that will help me capitalize off of some of my work in songwriting; that's the next step. In the meantime to get by, I have a normal job, sing for demos and collaborations, and my band makes a little bit of cash from shows here and there.

I guess the term "starving artist" didn't come out of nowhere, right?

So I guess I'll never make it to platinum lol

In the first quarter of 2009, zero albums that made it to platinum status for sales of over 1 million units. No better sign of the rapidly disappearing market for compact discs.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/daves-download/2009/04/02/no-platinum-albums-as-teens-buy-less-music.html

Hudson Mohawk - Overnight

Art

Tanya Davis took the words out my mouth (rather, the thoughts out of my head) with this one:

milk and cereal

Today's one of those days I just feel like eating some cereal and going back to bed. Milk and cereal days haha. But I gotta keep movin!

Upcoming schedule is full of great things but it stresses me out. Ten weeks til graduation and time is like a grain of sand slipping through my fingers. I'm trying to stay positive about what the future holds, even though my plans have a ton of unknowns.

In the meantime, I take every ounce of my energy and every minute seriously. So I get frustrated when I'm stuck in a meeting when I could be writing, or spending hours rehearsing one song when there are so many new ones waiting to be born. Not to mention my job and school.

Just gotta close my eyes and remember how crazy blessed I am to have the opportunities (and how crazy BOLD I am for trying to tackle everyone and follow this big dream).

This weekend I'll be writing a song with BC for Mighty Mic 2009: Benefit for Burma. This annual human rights awareness concert is going to raise money for relief efforts in a nation where nothing goes in and nothing comes out - complete suppression of freedom. More on that later. Mighty Mic is April 21 - clock ticking!!!

And SPRING SING tickets on sale today!! I'm going to be performing with BC and others in a band we call FDR. Long rehearsals but it should be fun - this is my third year in! Spring Sing is May 8th.

I'm off to class.