The Orchard Live!

20.00hrs Thursday 28th February

Ginglik, Shepherds Bush, West London 

 

It’s hard to believe it’s upon us already! We set the ball rolling before Christmas when, if you remember, we had what seemed like round after round of votes and nominations for the two acts to join Francis Rodino and Second Person on stage. It seemed a long way off then, but the night is here and we are rubbing our hands in anticipation. We just hope West London is prepared…!


The line up, after a small hiccup, is now perfectly complete, with Daniel Ward-Murphy occupying first slot on the bill, as voted for by The Orchard, followed by the Believers' choice, Miss Kaitee Page.

For those of you not on our exclusive Believer list (whose tickets will be available for collection from 15.00-17.00hrs on the day, from the venue), then please make sure you are at Ginglik this Thursday as soon after 19.00hrs as possible to guarantee purchase of these highly sought after tickets (at a very reasonable GBP5 each).

Doors open at 20.00 and the show kicks off at 20.15 with the line up is as follows:

Daniel Ward-Murphy
Kaitee Page
Francis Rodino
Second Person

For those of you not acquainted with the lovely environs of West London, here is a link  to a map showing exactly where the famous Ginglik is located.

See you there!

 

 

Maitreya: Close To Home & Playing Live


SellaBand Recording Artist Maitreya is proud to announce details of his upcoming SellaBand album. Recording and mixing of the album, which will be entitled 'Close To Home', is finished and the album will be mastered later this week by none other than Grammy Award winning mastering engineer Vlado Meller.


'Close To Home' is the result of 15 years of songwriting and documents a career from the humble beginnings of Christchurch New Zealand, to the studios and stages of New York, London, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.  The track listing for 'Close To Home' will be as follows:

1.American Dreams
2.Harlem Streets
3.Christchurch 1995
4.Sin City
5.So-Lo
6.Close to home
7.CHCHur
8.Loose Change
9.Waitaha
10. Auckland 2001
11.Been Around
12.Lotaluv
13.Alone

The Limited Edition CD will contain the following extra content: Four remixes: One by BIM, one by nz crew SUBSTAT:C, one ft. Simeon and the "Uptown Delux" mix of Harlem Streets.  As well as this, two videos:  The Making of "Close To Home Video and Harlem Streets Video.

The album was recorded and mixed in New York and London. Maitreya spent the last couple of months in the UK capital, but is about to travel back to his native New Zealand, from where he will begin his 'Close to Home' campaign. To celebrate the completion of the album as well as his departure from London, Maitreya will play a very special concert on March 7 at Lockside Lounge in Camden, London. Among the many special guests will be Francis Rodino and Mark Maclaine and Alvaro Lopez from Second Person. The evening will be hosted by DJ Beatnik. Admittance is free and the show starts at 8PM...

 

Adam's Apples 

 

Tony Richard and the Kman Band

 

An old school r&b rock ‘n’ roll band with horns, bags of energy and a singer with plenty of front. The live recorded “Lisa Lisa” sounds like John Mellencamp meets The Clash and rocks like crazy. Nothing new or fancy here, just a hot band having a great time. And what’s better than that?
Playlist: Your Word.

Amber Ojeda

 

West Coast Nu Jazz/R&B from an impressive singer with a voice in the Erykah Badu and Rachelle Ferrell style. Not totally convinced on all her repertoire but “Don’t Trust" sounds like a smash. There’s obviously plenty more to come from Amber. Watch this space.
Playlist: Don’t Trust.

Six Strings And The Piece Of Wood

 

Guitarist Radomir Vasiljevic and his collaborator/producer Goran Kulic have developed an exotic and highly enjoyable blend of easy listening and virtuoso guitar playing in world/classical settings. And Radomir really is a great guitar player with plenty of feel and great technique.
Playlist: Salsalata

Ali Weiss

 

A San Francisco area singer/songwriter with three exquisitely produced songs from her indie released album showing a well developed writer with a fine and expressive voice. The vocal harmonies are gorgeous (“How Long” especially) and this is an artist that could really go far here. 
Playlist: How Far

 

 


Q + A
Ellie Williams


Not even a full month on SellaBand, and already on Page 2 and over 10K in budget. There is no denying the pure talent and appeal of Ellie Williams. Here's an introduction to a  serious contender to break the 80-days-to-50K record from Nemesea...


Who is Ellie Williams?

"I'm a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a friend. I'm just a girl with an inescapable love and will for singing and writing songs."  

What made you join Sellaband?

"After so much time and soul searching I had begun to lose sight of the importance of dreaming in everyday life. I had just finished writing a song inspired by my nephew, when I found myself with the weight of what I was asking him and my niece Rosa to do. In Fin's Song, I was saying "laugh with all your lungs until it hurts some, stand with all your strength though it might take some, BELIEVE in all your dreams and you might make some…" and I realized I had stopped doing this myself. My husband Steve mentioned SellaBand after he saw it on a news site called VNUNet.com. I took the time to read articles and reviews about it, and something just felt right."

Over 6K in 2 weeks. What happened?!

"Exactly!!! The response has been totally wonderfully overwhelming. Once I joined SellaBand, I did everything I could on a personal basis to try and make it a success. I wrote to every local newspaper and radio and TV station, explained what SellaBand is and what I am trying to achieve. This resulted in a couple of articles and some radio play (some of which was thanks to a wonderful believer). I also sent an email to literally every single person I could think of asking for support, I then asked them to send it to another ten people to just try and get the word out. In that first week I had fantastic support from friends and family and met a lot of existing SellaBand believers to. My Believers are fantastic. They are willing to give you advice and tips on how to keep going and are even prepared to promote you themselves, this is something I was not prepared for and it took my breath away."

You mention on your page that this could be the beginning of an online dream, how could this continue?

"For me everyday a little bit of the dream is coming true. I wanted to take the songs that I wrote in my bedroom and have people listen to them and enjoy them. That in it's purest terms is what SellaBand has done for me. I was worried to begin with that I couldn't produce a "professional" sound, but I hoped and found that SellaBand Believers could see through that. My dream continues by the fact that I am meeting people from all over the world, and I like to think that soon I could meet some of them and record a fantastic album that we can all be proud of."

What inspires you to write songs?

"As a great philosopher once said 'You have to let a little bit of crazy out at a time' and that's what my songs do. I tend to write songs about real things that have happened, good and bad, not just to me but other people. I feel quite a lot and sometimes I can't escape that. Sometimes it's just how I make sense of things."

What are your ambitions?

"Simply, for people to listen to my music and for them to take something from it. I want to record an album with all the things I can hear in my head but can't play! I want to perform live for as many people as possible and I could think of nothing better than being able to live for something you love."

When realistically, do you think you could be at 50k!

"I would love to think that the album could be a reality within the year and I've been taken back by the current momentum, but I am here with Sellaband for the long haul and as long as it takes! As I write I'm just past 8k but I'm sensible enough to realize that I have been lucky with my start and I'll never take that, or my Believers for granted."  

How much time do you dedicate to your Sellaband account?

"A lot! I have a day job and had to be really strict to keep my mind on that as I found myself wanting to look every 5 minutes. I do log on everyday though and have been trying to keep my profile up to date. I love chatting and having a giggle with my Believers so it's something that I'm enjoying as opposed to something I find difficult . I make sure I keep my mind on the music as well. I'm also working hard on Myspace and Facebook to keep all lines of communication open! My husband has just designed a website with a Believers access only area where they can download songs, so I'm keeping up to date with setting up accounts for that. Loving it! I'm a Believer too, so I like to take time out to listen to other musicians as well."

Why should people Believe in Ellie Williams?

"If the music moves you, if you hear past the home recording to the root of the songs and if you know that my heart and soul is with SellaBand all the way."

 

Still Going Strong:

GD Allan

 

A weekly column, in which we offer a platform to SellaBand artists who have been with us for a while a may have some new and interesting developments to report. The road to 50K may be long and winding, we salute those who are still going strong regardless.

 

 

This week: GD Allan

 

Hi GD, How are you doing?

"I'm doing great!  Life is beautiful and gets better each and every day!" 

What's been going on in your world, lately?

"Apart from organizing my recorded material ready for a collection of my best work for a CD to be pitched at global distribution, I'm settling into my role of Mr Mom.  I've been spending most of my time at home looking after my wonderful daughter Mali watching old school "Sesame Street" episodes (man that's funky!); pulling down walls in our house to make way for a new laundry; patching holes in the studio walls to make way for a fresh new color scheme; reading positive uplifting books; practicing yoga; enrolling in a web design course; teaching singing; giving plenty of love to my family; helping my gorgeous wife, hero and buddy Sonia renovate the kitchen and generally making my life a great experience and my future something to look forward to. I set myself personal goals each and every day. That's my world!" 

How difficult is it to keep the momentum going on SellaBand?

"I make an effort to maintain a steady momentum on SellaBand.  I'm always moving towards the 50K goal and I know I'll get there.  Some days I post Believers inviting them to my page, telling people they receive 10 high quality mp3 downloads if they buy a part.  I find that activity on SellaBand and investment go hand in hand, so I check SellaBand every day.  I get around other artists pages and listen to their music and read the forum from time to time, but I'm pretty focused on getting people to my page listen to my songs.   Nearfield sitting proudly in the top artists of SellaBand provides me with plenty of motivation to keep rising (Thank-you Alexx!).  There are many cool people out there who dig creativity, artistic process and support music that pushes the boundaries."

Will 2008 be your year?

"2008 is already my year!  It's already off to a great start.  My expectations are focused entirely on living well, having a good relationship with my inner self and creating a healthy environment around me and my family.  I have an overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation about the future.  I set my personal goals and have processes in place to ensure I grow in a healthy direction.  My music is an important part of this process and SellaBand is an important part of my music."

What can we expect from GD Allan in the near future?

"A positive attitude and plenty of surprises!  Expect the unexpected!"