Eric Stanley discusses what inspired him to start playing the violin. Eric also talks about what being “normal” means to him.
“Walking Cross the Road” is coming soon on iTunes. Stay Tuned!
Archive for the ‘Music101’ Category
ERIC STANLEY | NORMAL – @Estan247 @Bee_AutoFocus
Posted: May 13, 2013 by hhod in Learning, Music, NewsTags: ERIC STANLEY
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Feed The Hood:Food & Clothing Drive @UrbSocietyMag @NifNDaStreetz @HipHopOnDeckcom
Posted: May 13, 2013 by hhod in Events, HipHopOnDeck, Learning, Media, NewsTags: #nifndastreetz, #Philly, feed the hood, UrbanSocietyMag
By Lateef TheIndustryDude
The National Black United Front organized the “Feed The Hood: Food & Clothing Drive” at the Miles Mack Recreation Center in Mantua, Philadelphia.
The day was beautiful, the scene was important. The National Black United Front organized the “Feed The Hood: Food & Clothing Drive” at the Miles Mack Recreation Center in Mantua, Philadelphia. Residents from the neighborhood trickled in to get food and clothing donated various individuals &UrbSocietyMagazine.
Hanif of HipHopOnDeck.com was a premiere sponsor for the event. Which will be organized several time a year. We all pride ourselves in helping the community. Come out and donate at the next “Feed The Hood: Food & Clothing Drive”.
TheBestSalvia.com | A Lesson on the Global Phenomenon Salvia Divinorum @bestsalvia @etalaze
Posted: May 8, 2013 by jdobypr in LearningTags: Mazatec people, Mazatec shamanism, Oaxaca, Psychoactive drug, Salvia divinorum, Sierra Mazateca, United States, Wikipedia
English: Salvia divinorum parade in Berlin 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So everybody knows that in this new day and age, there is a huge market for different types of shall we say, personal diversional materials. We have gone beyond Jack Daniels and cigars with our feet kicked up chillaxin, there is a an aggressive search for legal mind altering items and its HUGE business. Enter Salvia Divinorum aka “Diviner’s Sage.” Now this is not your mom’s sage spice you find in her cabinet or that she adds to her spaghetti, this is some pure diversional stuff right here! I’m not sitting in judgment of anyone’s habits, but I just felt the need to speak on this new phenomenon and I found a great site to give me some information, www.thebestsalvia.com it was pretty descriptive about the benefits and history of the herb.
One of my interests in this subject is because we see so much talk in the music industry surrounding drugs like Molly, X and of course the ever present marijuana. It seems everywhere we turn, we are inundated with songs and videos about this drug or that and so I figured I would explore one of the currently legal diversions. Since having your mind in an altered state is such a huge subject within the music/entertainment industry…lets have a class!!!
According to Wikipedia, “Salvia divinorum (also known as Diviner’s Sage, Ska María Pastora, Seer’s Sage, and by its genus name Salvia) is a psychoactive plant which can induce dissociative effects and is a potent producer of “visions” and other hallucinatory experiences. Its native habitat is within cloud forest in the isolated Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows in shady and moist locations. The plant grows to over a meter high, has hollow square stems, large leaves, and occasional white flowers with violet calyxes. Botanists have not determined whether Salvia divinorum is a cultigen or a hybrid; native plants reproduce vegetatively, rarely producing viable seed.
Mazatec shamans have a long and continuous tradition of religious use of Salvia divinorum, using it to facilitate visionary states of consciousness during spiritual healing sessions. Most of the plant’s local common names allude to the Mazatec belief that the plant is an incarnation of the Virgin Mary, with its ritual use also invoking that relationship. Its chief active psychoactive constituent is a structurally unique diterpenoid called salvinorin A, a potent κ-opioid and D2 receptor agonist. Salvia divinorum is generally understood to be of low toxicity (high LD50) and low addictive potential since it is a κ-opioid agonist.
Salvia divinorum remains legal in most countries and, within the United States, is legal in the majority of states. However, some have called for its prohibition. While not currently regulated by US federal drug laws, several states have passed laws criminalizing the substance. Some proposed state bills have failed to progress and have not been made into law (with motions having been voted down or otherwise dying in committee stages). There have not been many publicized prosecutions of individuals violating anti-salvia laws in the few countries and states in which it has been made illegal.” (Wikipedia.org)
The site www.thebestsalvia.com is much more entertaining than Wikipedia and presents the material on the subject quite well. I liked the fact that it was easy to navigate and even broke down the strengths and possible effects. The color scheme is appropriate too…green LOL. While I haven’t tried this product and at my age have no desire to, at least I found a place to give me some quality information.
I am hoping to spark (pun intended) some conversation not only about the site www.thebestsalvia.com, but about the product and the prevalence of these items within the music community. I sit and listen to my children of various ages over 18 as they converse about these things and damn do I feel left out! Does anyone else get that feeling of being on the outside looking in with this stuff?
Thanks for reading and please chime in…I need some company!!!
Related articles
- Salvia Divinorum, The Pastime Drug You Will Absolutely Delight in (salviadivinoruminformation.wordpress.com)
- The Numerous Benefits and Functions of Salvia Divinorum Plant Extracts (salviadivinoruminformation.wordpress.com)
- An Unforgettable Encounter (salviadivinoruminformation.wordpress.com)
- In the name of God … smoke this. (trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com)
Prescription Drug Abuse PSA by @RyanRstar @ShotByDC
Posted: April 27, 2013 by hhod in HipHopOnDeck, Learning, NewsTags: PSA
“Prescription Drug Abuse PSA” Starring/Written by @RyanRstar Shot & Edited by @ShotByDC
Beyond my music career I do a lot of entertainment marketing for my company, Royal Heir Entertainment and speak at music conferences across the country (LA, Oakland, Detroit, Cleveland and more).
I moderated a music conference in Cleveland yesterday and something the promoter told me really stuck in my head which prompted me to write this.
One of the artists, who also performed, complained that the turnout wasn’t good enough and he wanted to perform for more people and angrily demanded a refund claiming he knows everything we were teaching. (despite his whole crew being allowed in, fed, and another person was allowed to perform).
It got me thinking about what he said and what could have caused him to say this…he OBVIOUSLY didn’t “know everything” because if he did…I would know who he is…if he KNEW these things then he’d be on the radio, all over the internet, all over the blogs I write for and his name would mean something…Either that or they’re just lazy. If you KNOW these things then why not DO them?
To him, and many rappers, bands, singers and entertainers it’s about the quantity and not the quanlity and [for situations like this] it should be the opposite.
No, there weren’t thousands of people there watching but the biggest Radio and club DJs, writers, bloggers, promoters, DVD magazines, and a distributor with over 200 gold and platinum records were there….so you still want a refund? No one in the group even got any contact information from any of us OR the other attendees (which included graphic designers, DJs, and photographers, too).
I can’t tell you HOW BADLY I wanted to get deeper into the topics of royalties, distribution percentages, and more but with arrogant people like this attending and complaining about the same regurgitated material then I never can until they actually DO what we’re teaching them.
REMEMBER
- Conferences are as much about networking as they are education
- Be professional, bring CDs, business cards, or some way to promote yourself
- ASK QUESTIONS, if there’s something you want to learn that we aren’t answering ASK. Closed mouths don’t get fed.
- Don’t be an arrogant bum
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I’m an MC/Blogger but by trade run Royal Heir Entertainment which specializes in online marketing and branding.
The Breakdown with Scratch DJ Academy
Posted: July 25, 2012 by jdobypr in DJs, Hip Hop, Learning, Music, Music101Tags: Academy, Hip hop, Jam Master Jay, Music #DJ, Run DMC, Scratch
“The turntables might wobble but they don’t fall down”- Run DMC’s “Peter Piper”
As Run DMC ignited a revolution in music by breaking barriers and bringing hip-hop to the front lines, Jam Master Jay, who originally joined Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels because he just wanted to be a part of the band, pioneered the art, and established the legitimacy, of the DJ as a true musician in mainstream music culture.
Public Relations campaigns on a nearly zero budget! pt.1
Posted: May 24, 2012 by jdobypr in Learning, Music101Tags: entertainment, Media, Social media
All our press releases (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)
The original title for this was “Low budget publicity for musicians” and I have been meaning to write an updated piece which “leapfrogged” the original to bring it out of the now dark ages of publicity and as my readers know, I am taking my Music Business degree program at Full Sail University, SOOO I get these assignments which just so happen to give me an opportunity to use my articles as class work…I almost feel it is cheating because, I happen to actually work in the music business and write these articles anyway.
This post ala class assignment is the first in a multi-part series hopefully providing some insight and direction to bands/labels that simply can’t afford to hire a publicist but also can’t afford to NOT have publicity! It is going to be a pretty cut and dried layout to avoid confusing anyone…here we go!
Step One: Press Kit…include Bio, photo, contact sheet or business card, promo music and discography, an EPK which contains digital versions of these items may be used as well and actually has become the industry standard.
Step Two: Determine the region/market you are going to attack; stay focused and realistic, working on several key areas at a time and expanding from that. Think about the pebble in the pond, throw the pebble in the water and it creates a small splash locally but the effects are ever expanding circles covering more area over time. There is nothing worse than working too much area at one time and running out of materials to service the markets you have approached. Often, you only get one shot at getting the outlet’s attention.
Step three: Create an electronic version of your press kit…services such as Sonicbids.com or Reverbnation.com allow the artists to create a band page with photo, bio, music and lyric sheets. You will be given a unique band url which you can use to direct bookers/promoters to review your music for consideration to be added to a show/tour/project. Other sites you may use are Musicxray.com and indiecharts.com.
Step 4: The announcement press release…you have a new single/album and you want people to know about it, you may already have a fan database which is great but you also want the music media to review your project as well. Your press release should be creatively written but contain the basic elements of any informational copy, i.e., who; what; when; where; why and of course a great tagline. The tagline is equivelent to the subject line of a business letter. The tagline makes the reader go to paragraph one, instead of deleting the message! Free resources for distributing press releases include mi2n.com (part of the Music Dish Network); PRlog.com and many many more.
Step five: After deciding which markets you are approaching, creating your hard copy press kit/EPK, writing and submitting your general press release, it is time to work the specific markets you have chosen…this means research. You will need to find outlets specific to the market which have an online presence, newsletter, college radio, indie radio, internet radio, etc. From your research results, you will create a database of relevant outlets for each market. You will send initial contact queries in preparation of providing hardcopy/epk materials for their review. Make certain your pitch letter touches on key points from your Bio, as this will engrain your information in the reviewer’s mind when you follow up with your actual materials. Also, as different outlets have specific submission guidelines, ensure that these are followed to the letter.
To be continued…SOON
If you don’t see the update to this article, you can be sure my fellow publicists have incapacitated me!!!
Related articles
- PR Does Not Stand for Press Release (and Other Misconceptions) (prbreakfastclub.com)
- How to Prepare Your Press Release for the Search Engines (bloggingtips.com)
- New Do-It-Yourself PR Kits Offer Tools that Help Businesses Understand, Develop and Manage Comprehensive PR Campaigns (prweb.com)
- 5 Ways to Create PR Opportunities for Your Freelance Business (freelanceswitch.com)
- When it comes to PR, press releases are popcorn (dsprel.wordpress.com)
- 10 Tips for Writing Press Releases People will Love – Part 1 (buildinggoodpr.com)
- Calling All Indie Artists: Need Radio Play? (whoneedsagenre.wordpress.com)
The Urban Link’s Purpose [Full Sail University class assignment]
Posted: May 7, 2012 by jdobypr in LearningTags: Blog, Blogger, Directories, FaceBook, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Parks and Recreation, television, Twitter
“JD”
My college marketing class has given me an assignment to describe the mission of my blog and its reason for existence, as well as making some cosmetic changes like including a search box for the site. As the readers of my blog know, I DESPISE writing about myself and what I am doing however, this assignment gave me some incentive to think about WHY I blog and what I hope to accomplish with this thing that actually began as an experiment! I had no idea what a blog was or what to do with it when I started so I put up some random stuff and was VERY surprised that I received any type of response at all, well look at The Urban Link now LOL. I have met some incredible bloggers, been educated by engaging with my readers and learning how great the exchange of information is with my blogger friends around the world.
Ok Ok on to the actual purpose of this post! My goal for this blog is to provide an informational outlet about the urban entertainment community, create an archive of helpful tips & tricks that can help guide the independent artists and labels through the maze of this ever changing industry. I have been blessed with several great guest post authors who share their knowledge and expertise which also helps ME grow as a professional as well. I have also been able to gleen useful items from blogs I follow and can pass on to any reader interested.
I have also been told that my blog informs those on the outside of the industry who like to get their information without all of the fluff and nonsense one can get from some of the “tier 1″ media outlets and that I take as a huge compliment! In closing and I know it should be another paragraph however, I am going to encapsulate that last paragraph into just these few words, the purpose of my blog is to inform, entertain and learn from my readers in an even exchange.
There now I am done! Thanks for reading.
Related articles
- Do you want to be a better blogger? (poeticaperture.com)
- Versatile Blogger Award! (leajurock.wordpress.com)
- Confessions of a Reluctant Blogger (tvwritings12.wordpress.com)
- The last of the accurate, engaging and relevant titles: The Final Post (tvwritings12.wordpress.com)
- Reflection Blog: 7 “End of Semester” (shardey22emac.wordpress.com)
How Much Music Must You Sell to Earn Minimum Wage?
Posted: May 3, 2012 by essince in Music101Tags: Essince, free music, music business, Royal Heir Ent, Selling music
I saw this posted on unsigned hype and had to share this. A lot of artists are putting their music on Spotify and other sites [for free] and expecting to make money. The whole free music vs sales is a big debate now and I thought it appropriate to share this chart.
These are the rates on digital album sales. Do you still want to give everything away for free?
*To read my article on the Music Business on a Minimum Wage Budget click here.
*To read my article on Effective Social Media Marketing click here.
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I am an MC/blogger and founder of Royal Heir Entertainment which specializes in online marketing, branding and music consulting.
