Life of Brian



Vegas Dragons Studio Report



Now more than halfway through the exciting process of recording their SellaBand album, we invited Brian Taylor to write an update for the Tribune. This is what the great man has to say...




"Hello dear SellaBand community!

Vegas Dragons are proud to announce that all the music for your CD has been recorded. The icing on the cake took place this week when Sellaband guest vocalists Celine Wadier , Joyce from Sarah's Smile and Tiffany Gow added their magic to the CD. The limited edition CD will contain extra tracks and some real great bonus content.
 
The time we spent in Sony studios recording was very special. It was great to see millions of dollars worth of equipment being used to record our songs. The time at Phil Tweed's studio was just as special because we really brought a lot of magic to the songs there. It was also great to have Believer Shane Seymore there as our guest for a few days. Thanks for coming so far to share the experience with us.

The songs are now in the process of being mixed by David Hemmings from www.redsocks.com.au  who is considered one of the very best musical engineers in Australia. Mixing should be completed this month.


The songs will then go to www.studios301.com in Sydney where they will be mastered in April. The artwork is being done by Chris Lawrence who did such a great job with our first CD "One life only." The artwork will be of the highest standard and made to stand out on the shelves at any music store.
 
It is hoped that we will be able to share the music with our friends on Sellaband in late April and that your CD will reach your doorstep in May.

A great deal of care has been taken to get everything right. We know that this is our one real chance to show the world what we are about and we really want to make it special. Thank you for your patience and we hope that you think it will be worth the wait.


The CD is mean, dark, heavy and gritty. We believe there are songs on there with tremendous potential and that it will make a lot of people (within and outside of the SellaBand community) take notice.

Thank you for investing in us. Without you, this dream would probably never have become real. We hope we can play live to you sometime in the future.

Vegas Dragons, March 9 2008"

 

 Still Going Strong: Black Jack

 


 

In which we offer a platform to SellaBand artists who have been with us for a while and have not been featured in the Tribune for a while. The road to 50K may be long and winding, we salute those who are still going strong regardless. This week we honor Black Jack, who also have some exciting news to report...

What's been going on in the world of Black Jack, lately?

"First of all, we want to thank you for the opportunity to be in the Tribune once again, it's a space we really like and we read every week. We also take the chance to thank and greet all our friends and Believers. This period has been very important for the band. Last autumn we bought a new little studio and, above all, we have started to work strong with Claudio, the new drummer and now we are finally ready to perform on stage. This is also a very creative moment for us and we have a lot of new songs ready to be recorded and played live. Currently we are very focused on expanding our local fan base and to do that we are organizing a lot of gigs for this spring/summer season. We think that the stage is the keystone of our work and it's the place where we can express better our emotions. Of course, the gigs will be also very important to take new Believers on SellaBand!"  

 

Are you still having fun on SellaBand?

"Of course!!! We still spend a lot of time in the community and we always like to be in contact with our friends and Believers and to meet new interesting people . The thing we like more about SellaBand is the chance for our music to receive feedback from an international audience. When a new Believer decides to join our project or an old one increases his or her belief in us, is always a magic moment We can't forget the strong friendships born here with a lot of persons all over the world. Just now we're waiting for our great friend Erwin Wijnen, who will come again to Roma in May and we will have fun a whole week all together….Erwin, we are looking forward to have you here!!!"  

 

What's the most frustrating element on the Road to 50K?

"Why frustrating? There are no frustrating elements here. Of course when a Believer decides to withdraw it's never funny, but it's all part of the game and we accept this rule. We know we have a personal and different way to reach 50K.  We may not be so "explosive", but we're persistent  and, as we have told in our first Tribune feature, we are sure to have the right mix of strength, passion and maturity to keep this project alive until we have become successful."

Will 2008 be the year of the Black Jack?

"Well, it depends, in large amount, on Believers;-) What we are trying is to become a pro band and we're spending all our energies in doing that. We will use this year to complete an important part of our road and we are sure to achieve the first goals, thanks to our hard work and to the closeness of our supporters."

 

Please tell us about RoCkolosseum...

"RoCkolosseum is a big SellaBand gig that we are organizing in Roma. We thought it was the right time for an important event, in order to make SellaBand more known in our country. To reach that goal, we have asked the collaboration of an important 50K artist. Kaitee Page will come with her band and share the stage with us and we really look forward to perform with such a great and nice artist. Our friend and believer Pietro will introduce the night to the audience and we're sure it will be an unforgettable night of good music!!! We are incredibly happy of that and we're already contacting the Italian media to advertise the event and spread the word of SellaBand! We will perform in a quiet big club in the university zone, near the centre of Roma and, by now, we're very engaged to organize every details. Actually we're  thinking about a third SellaBand artist and, during the next days, we'll launch a post in the forum, maybe a little contest, if there will be many compliances..so..fun has just begun;) RoCkolosseum will be this May the 9th at 10 pm at "Sotto Casa di Andrea" (www.sottocasa.org) and all the friends, Believers and, of course, SellaBand staff are invited to join the night and to spend a funny weekend all together in Roma."

 

Radius' Cover Up!

 

Rising stars Radius have come up with a very creative competition and asked us to write about it in the Tribune. Well, it goes something like this...

  

We are proud to announce the "RADIUS SLEEVEFACE COMPETITION".


This is so amazing, this is fun!!
It is easy, just use your imagination.
Click here to see our introduction video.
Click here to see another fantastic Sleeveface video.
You can download some Radius pictures right here
You can do it on the beach, on your bike, at the gym… just use your imagination.

Your results:

VIDEO: Upload your video at www.youtube.com
Account: sleeveface4radius
Password: iwannawin

PHOTO: Send your picture(s) to: sleeveface4radius@gmail.com and we will upload them at www.flickr.com

You can watch them here after publishing.


We will give away some fantastic prices, an mp3 player with some Radius tunes, gift parts, some Radius t-shirts and more.

And the winning picture will be our profile pic for a week. If it's a movie; we will not only put it in the movie section but also on our Hyves and MySpace sites.


This all will be judged by:

CUBWORLD
ED THE CHEESEHEAD
DANNY

Closing time is April 10, midnight CET. Radius are looking forward to as many contributions as possible!

 


 

Q + A
Natalia Safran



There are currently over 35 artists who have raised over $5,000 in budget on SellaBand (not including the 17 artists who have already 'arrived'...). Among them is Natalia Safran, a relative newcomer on this platform. Dividing her time between Europe and the US, it turns out she favors SellaBand over a major label record deal. Read on...



Who is Natalia Safran?

"A singer-songwriter obsessed with music, a dreamer, lover of all arts, a major late nighter and a super hard worker. Mom of a sensational 2 year old baby daughter Lou Lou. I was born and raised in Poland, used to live in Paris and now I am based in Los Angeles California, sharing my time between Europe and the US. I started modeling at 18 by a funny twist of fate and ended up working for the big designers like Valentino and Chanel. I enjoyed the high energy and traveling that came with the job, but it was never really what got my heart thumping. Music was. I finally realized that I had to write and record or I would explode. And that brings us here..."


How did you find out about SellaBand and what made you sign up?

<"My brother Mick Jaroszyk, who is an awesome musician, my major inspiration and who kicks my butt every day to keep focused and work till I can't see straight (he's a bit of a slave driver..). He read about SellaBand in an article in a Polish newspaper about Julia Marcell and thought that it sounded like a great phenomenon. At the time I was in contract negotiations with a major label and on concert tour in Poland, so I did not follow up on his discovery right away. My musicians and I really wanted to get on a label and get our record produced, but to cut a long frustrating story short, after weeks of back and forth we just felt that we could not sign the deal. Then I looked at SellaBand and, I remember that night, January 20, I was so excited that I kept looking through the website and listening to all this independent music and I could not go to bed till the sun came up. To be honest with you, it sounded too good to be true. It did not take me long to understand the way music industry worked and to get fed up with it. Way too much industry and not enough music. And a lot of that music is so generic and over-fabricated. And here was SellaBand, which seemed like my dream come true. So I put my profile up, wearily, and almost immediately there was Phil Sommersby, my wondrous first Believer, Mawa, Paul, Shane Seymour, Maarten, Samu and all these incredible people reaching out to me and lending a hand. I was exhilarated. I think that Phil and Ed the Cheeshead bought a part before I even had any text on my profile! Since then I have been in touch with the most interesting, enterprising and passionate music lovers whose energy is awe inspiring and completely infectious. I feel that I am part of a revolution. We join forces and are changing the face of the music industry forever. So now, in my seventh week on Sellaband, I can tell you that it is not at all too good to be real and that it is my dream come true. Well, it very soon will be '-). But it is not just my goal of reaching that 50K. It is being part of this awesome music community with direct access to like minded people that inspire me on a daily basis, it's the friendships that develop, the vast wealth of music and the maverick spirit that makes SAB my dream place to be."

With Mick, my brother, producer, motivator and co-conspirator

 

 

Any regrets, so far?
"That I didn't do it sooner!"

You are from France originally, aren't you? When and why did you move to New York?

"I am actually from Poznan, a gorgeous city in Poland, but lived in France for a while before I moved to the States. I always wanted to see New York with all its busyness, energy and great music scene. So at the age of 21 I left Paris and moved to New York and continued working as a model. I loved New York but a few years ago I did a photo shoot in Los Angeles and stayed. You just can't beat the weather..."

How tough is it to get a decent break in the Music Industry?

"A lot depends on your standards, but I think that it is pretty tough. I have not been doing it long enough to get bitter though. Because you see with music it is not really the ultimate goal but the whole journey that make it so incredibly exciting. Even without a record deal you are still writing and recording and playing gigs and even in the crappiest of venues, and I have played some holes-in-the-wall, it is just as exhilarating as anywhere. And our chances are getting better with SellaBand, aren't they? This is where your music really gets to shine without the marketing and men in suits telling you how they see your image. You get to do this here in your own style and see if you can fly. The truest test of how good your music really is."


With my amazing guitarist Maciej Sobczak 

 

What are your ambitions?
"To get to my 50K at neck breaking speed and put out the sweetest album this world has ever heard. Or at least one of them! To make tons more people take notice of SellaBand and, when I walk in that studio to record my second album, to be doing it with the SAB that is the most powerful music recording enterprise out there. To make music that moves, that gives someone chills up and down their spine and makes someone else feel like they have never felt before. To make my Believers rich -;). To stay true to myself, to carry only what I feel, to be the perfect mother, the perfect friend and companion, to help this aching planet, to do more charity work, to sleep more."

What will your SellaBand album sound like?

"To quote Peter S my Believer: sugar and spice and all things nice. There will be some great ballads for sure, but also some faster songs that you can really groove to. The lyrics will make you think and the melodies want to hold on to somebody real tight and slow dance in the moonlight. He-he, well you know what I mean – I promise that it will be dreamy. So please let it be real soon!"

Why should people Believe in Natalia Safran?

"Just come check out my profile. I will not stop until I reach the stars. And I believe in dreams.

 

Community singing:

 


The space in the Tribune where artists and Believers can submit their creative ideas, collaborations, gigs and competitions. New entries to: info@sellaband.com

 

CAYA wants your Company...

 

Caya's busy bee Casper is organising a get together in his hometown Almelo (NL) in April. His musical talent is much bigger than his writing skills (his own words, by the way), so he asked Believer Kristen Wood to write the story for him. Which she did...


Do you live in the Netherlands? If not, you might want to think about scheduling a holiday. Grab a train, take a plane, or hitch a ride on a comet if you have to, but don't pass up this invitation! "For what?" you ask. Call it the premier party of spring, complete with food, fun, and music (of course). And here are the details:

Date: 12th of April

Time: 16:00 Doors, 20:30 Concert

Location: The Shamrock, in Almelo, Netherlands (first floor reserved for guests/artists/bands of this SellaBand event)


The Shamrock in lovely Almelo...

Food: A Grand Buffet in the restaurant at 18:00 for all bands, artists, believers, and guests. The cost for the buffet is 15 Euros per person to be paid to the restaurant. Please Note: You must RSVP on the forum thread for the buffet, per the venue owner.

Entertainment: Radius, Snelle Fellas, EinsteinBarbie, Kostek Andreev Mr. KK, theName, Marynka, Marcel Luntungan, CAYA, MR-10, JoOp Wolters and possibly more to come.

After Party: Until 5:00

Entrance Fee: FREE

Free??? Yes, you heard (um, saw?) that right! We want to thank the SellaBand Community for their support and friendship, so we have organized this amazing party. And who knows? Maybe we'll even gain some new believers out of the deal! The Shamrock is anticipating 500 people to attend, including a lot of their regular patrons …Wow!

Make sure to keep an eye on the Music forum for more details as they develop. We hope to see you there!

Organizer: Casper (CAYA)
Flyers: Nolio (Snelle Fellas)
Venue owner: Ruud (Shamrock)
English Tribune Story: (Kirsten)