Bristol Recording & Voice Studios-169 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115
www.bristolstudios.com 617-247-8689
Send news to: Promo@BristolStudios.com

INDEX

• Auditions & Events
     Featuring an Online Listing of Performance Opportunities!
• Bristol Success Story
     Hear What People are Saying About the Performance Workshop Part I!
• Latest Studio News
     Featuring Madonna's Music Director Stuart Price, Stanley Porter, Bryce Aubrey, Emmy Cerra, Amy Famiglietti and A Capella Mania!
• Voice & Performances
     Featuring Christina McGhie, Concept6, Keith Capozzi and Jada with Carl Thomas, NESS and One Luv!
• Interview of The Month
     With Internationally Acclaimed Vocalist Andrea Gerak!
• National/International News
     VIP Night at FELT, Jazz on the Cape, France Fights Internet Piracy and Sony Merges with BMG!
• Upcoming Workshops
     Performance Workshop Level I Coming Soon! Register Today!
• Industry Tip of The Month
     "Free Online Gig Promotion!"
• Studio Specials and Reminders
     Sing for the Sox with the National Anthem Package!
• Upcoming Concerts and Performances
     From Jada, The Camelia Latin Jazz Trio, Captain Morgan and the Rum Runners and More!
• Services
     A Complete List of Services Offered by Bristol Recording & Voice Studios!

BRISTOL SUCCESS STORY

This Success Story comes from vocalists who took part in the PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP PART I offered by Bristol Voice Studios.

"I feel that as a performer I have now found the tools that I need to become successful in my field. I am now able to be more comfortable and more daring." - AB

"This workshop gave me confidence which allowed me to concentrate on the song, to feel it and to be able to express it. I felt very comfortable performing in front of people I'd never met before. I never thought I could feel that comfortable! Thanks!!" - DD

"I feel that I gained more vocal confidence through the exercises we did, and especially confidence in my stage presentation! I feel more comfortable in front of the crowd expressing myself." - MG

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH:

This month's interview is with Andrea Gerák, a successful professional vocalist from Hungary. She attended a weekend Vocal Seminar in Hungary delivered by Ric Poulin, creator the Pop/Gospel vocal method taught at Bristol Voice Studios. Andrea had her first stage performance at the age of 5. Since her youth, she has been dancing and singing with several folklore groups in Hungary, including the Borsod, Avas Csepel and Bartók dance ensembles. Often she was the featured solo singer and/or dancer. Today Andrea is heavily involved in singing. She is known for singing Hungarian folk songs, performing without accompaniment or with electronic instruments. Her repertoire also includes a variety of styles like pop, rock, jazz and musical tunes. Bristol: What did you think about the weekend vocal seminar you attended with vocal coach Ric Poulin? Andrea: Amazing! There were a few pro singers there, as well as people who simply liked to sing and also some beginners who were dreaming of the day they will dare to sing and others wouldn't escape from hearing them. A big part of the seminar was about rehabilitating the ability and the willingness in a person to sing. It gave us a clear view on this: why is it so, that a little kid loves to sing and he CAN, with no restraint whatsoever, but by the time they grow up, they just can't any more. I could see people going through all kinds of emotions when Mr. Poulin coached them with the different vocal exercises. Finally, all of us (more than 30 people) could do ALL the exercises, including standing in front of the audience like a star and performing with great stage manners! Me, who was making a living on my singing, personally gained a lot just from seeing others succeed. This made an unforgettable impact on me, and from that day on, I am able to say to people who ask me about being a vocalist: "Anyone can learn how to sing".

Bristol: What did you get out of this seminar?

Andrea: Most important is the confidence that I can sing anything I want, any genres and styles, and the skills to be able to do so. It was very needed for me, indeed. I had been singing for many years, but I didn't know too much about vocal tools. I'd spent a few years at music school when I was a child, sung in the school choir and I was a dancer with various folk groups, through the years, where we were singing very intensely. Later on,
when I decided to build up a career as a singer, I started out as a folk singer, changed my mind and simply learned a couple of pop, rock and musical songs plus a few jazz standards and just started to perform them. My audience loved it but I was just singing these songs with no real technical knowledge about how to sing them. Mr. Poulin's seminar came to town at exactly the right time for me.

Bristol: How has what you've learned affected your singing?

Andrea: It happened several times that when I was learning a song, let's say a rock tune. I was practicing and practicing, but it just didn't sound the way I wanted it to or it was difficult for me to reach the higher notes. Then I thought: okay, what did Ric say about this? Then I kept his instructions in my mind and voilá! The information that you learn at this seminar is really applicable. Once one learns it, then drills himself in the technique, he can do it -- of course, if you want to perform a song to an audience, it will take some more work but with these vocal exercises, no song should be a problem to sing. Also, after this seminar, I didn't have any real problems with singing different styles of music. Before, it was a big issue for me, am I a folk singer or a pop singer or some other type of singer? Since then, I have performed with various kind of musicians: jive, pop, rock, even some metal, blues, soul, latin, jazz, folk, contemporary and now I can sing all the styles much more freely.

Bristol: What are you doing now with your music career?

Andrea: Today I am mostly involved in world music. I've returned to the good old Hungarian folk songs. These I perform most of the time a cappella. People like this very much from me because it's different than what they hear every day. I'm also working with two composers who make completely modern music with synths and other electronic instruments. It's a very exciting mixture. Some songs can be classified as new age, pop, ambient or whatever you call it. One composer is Sandor Fekete Kiss from Hungary, the other is Effi Shoshani from Israel. One album I've worked with them on will come out in the fall, and I have also made a new CD featuring a cappella songs. Every once in a while, for one or two gigs or just for fun, I sing original songs and cover songs with fellow musicians, let it be rock or whatever.

Bristol: What success have you had from your recordings and performances?

Andrea: I recorded an album featuring Hungarian folk songs in 1998. It is only my voice singing songs in different moods from various parts of historical Hungary. Today, after 6 years, this CD still sells well, people love this recording and I get very good feedback from them. Also, Effi listened to this CD and composed music for a song on it -- this is how our collaboration started. This song, "Lonely Is The Bird", received excellent chart positions at several places, as well as great reviews from listeners and critics. One person wrote me to say that this was one of the most beautiful songs he has ever heard. As a singer, I've performed at clubs, restaurants, exhibition openings, private, corporate or church events, benefits, street shows, promo concerts, and in countless towns in Europe. I had a very successful performance in August, last year at the Symmetry Festival in Budapest where I did one improvised piece with Sandor and a new kind of music was born.

Bristol: Thank you Andrea!

Attention Boston Party People!!

The show V.I.P (Video Interactive Party) is hosted by KISS 108 Boston personality Chris Shine and features music videos and artist interviews plus live performances. The show and is taped on location at our downtown Boston studio in FELT nightclub (533 Washington Street Boston, MA) every Wednesday night and is open to the public. The program airs 9 -11PM on XY TV.

XY.tv is a music video entertainment channel with 24-hour programming that targets the X and Y generations. The station airs in over a million homes on RCN cable in the greater Boston area, Galaxy Cable in Mississippi, and Time Warner Cable in New York / Vermont / Connecticut.

"Jazz to Jam In Chatham"

Starting in July and continuing through August, Brian Walkley and the crew at Willow Entertainment will be bringing some of the biggest local and national jazz acts to the renowned Wequassett Inn in Chatham, MA. Hot jazz and cool vibes will take over the Inn every Tuesday, Wednesday and some Thursday evenings as Walkley brings his Cape Cod Jazz Festival to Pleasant Bay. Featured performers will include James Williams, Rachel Z, Kenny Werner, Harvie S., Bombay Jim, Michael Kelley and the Hot Blue Q, Harry Fix, John Licata, Mark Greel, Dick Johnson, Daniela Schaechter, and the White Heat Swing Orchestra.

When asked about the reasoning behind this year’s festival programming, Walkley said, “The basic idea is to bring great jazz music to the hearts and ears of the summer Cape vacationers and present a wide variety of styles to appeal to listeners young and old.” This is evident with the variety and depth of the artists as Cape Codders will be grooving to the Latin vibes of Harvie S (8/19), bopping with Dick Johnson (8/18) and Daniela Schacter (8/3), and chilling out with Rachel Z (8/10) (who is fresh off a tour with Peter Gabriel). Piano jazz fanatics will be in for a special treat when world class pianists Kenny Werner and James Williams pilot their trios into the Wequassett Inn for two very special nights. In over a quarter century of performing Kenny Werner (8/11) has played with such musical luminaries as Bob Brookmeyer, Ron Carter, Joe Williams, John Abercrombie, Bobby McFerrin, Lee Konitz, Marian McPartland, Joe Henderson, Tom Harrell, Gunther Schuller, Ed Blackwell, Paul Motian, John Scofield, Jack eJohnette, and Eddie Gomez. What’s made international recording artist jazz pianist James Williams (8/31) compelling for more than 20 years is his signature jazz style. His solos are stately creations and have warmed the hearts of jazz fans worldwide. Williams hits the Wequassett for one night to let loose some Memphis grooves. Downbeat Magazine has said that Williams “expresses himself with direct concise power, plenty of emotional warmth and an early material eloquence.”

Brian will also be bringing in his band, The Brian Walkley Band featuring the Real Deal Horns, on August 26 for a fabulous night of funk, soul, and dancing. The all-star cast of musicians in this band have performed with and currently record with the likes of David Bowie, Steve Smith (Journey), Chaka Kahn, Tiger Okashi, Jean Luc Ponty, and Kevin Eubanks (The Tonight Show). And on August 1, Ricardo Monzon performs a special program of Jazz for Kids. “I fervently believe that it is of the utmost importance to bring the joys and messages of jazz to as many young people as possible.” says Walkley, “It is the only way that jazz will thrive in the ears of the younger generations.”

"French Strike Deal on Music Piracy"
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=e0e16d3430b6bb08

French Internet providers and recording industry executives have pledged to cooperate in the fight against music piracy, Daily Variety said Wednesday. The Internet companies and the music industry officials signed a charter in Paris that calls for a number of initiatives to fight piracy, including the establishment of online sites where consumers can pay to download tunes. The charter calls for concrete and efficient measures in favor of the respect of intellectual property, Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said. He said the agreement provides that Internet users who illegally download music will receive warning notices, and Internet providers will not condone advertising campaigns that associate high-speed connections with illegal downloads. Details of a similar charter covering illegal film downloading are expected to be announced in September. Variety said about 16 million songs and 1 million films are illegally downloaded from the Internet each day in France -- four times the number legally acquired.

"Sony & BMG Merge to Form World's Second Largest Music Company"
By Nick Patch
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-07/21.shtml

Yesterday, Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (aka BMG) announced that they have merged to form the world's second largest recorded music company, coming in a close second to everyone's favorite media conglomerate, Universal Music Group. Sony BMG now controls more than 22% of the global music market, with sales totaling around $8 billion annually. The merger now leaves the music industry with just four major labels: Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, WEA, and EMI. The European Union approved the deal yesterday, despite opposing a similar merger between Warner Music Group (WEA) and EMI four years ago.

Apparently, the EU's main concerns with the merger this time around had to do with fixed pricing on CDs and market collusion (roughly translated: more expensive CDs and fewer music choices), but they ultimately decided they couldn't prove the likelihood of either. Which is sort of amusing when you consider how many bands were dropped from their contracts (nearly 300) when Universal merged with Polygram back in 1998.

Around 2000 of the two companies' staffers are expected to lose their jobs (25% of their total workforce), according to the Hollywood Reporter. However, the companies are insisting that "core Artists and Repertoire business" will not be affected. The 50/50 merger was lauded by both companies, as Andy Lack, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music said: "We have recognized that the creation of Sony BMG is an appropriate and necessary response to current market conditions." There's no indication as to whether any of the bands on Sony BMG's staggering roster will be threatened, but a quick gander at the artist pages on the companies' respective websites should be enough to get the paranoid juices flowing. Then again, maybe it'll just give Merge Records a few new bands to sign.
Sony Music: http://www.sonymusic.com
BMG: http://www.bmg.com

PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP LEVEL ONE IS STARTING SOON!
CONQUER YOUR STAGE FRIGHT!! If you're serious about succeeding as a performer on a local or national level or just want to finally get up there on stage for fun, and feel that you need improvement in ANY of the following areas, then this workshop is a MUST for you!!
 •Being comfortable and confident on stage.
 •Handling nervousness and overcoming stage fright
 •Being comfortable talking to audiences (and what to say to them)
 •How to put emotion into a performance
 •How to achieve star presence and star quality on stage
 •Physical movement including gesturing in songs
 •Stage manners
If you are interested in signing up or learning more about this phenomenal workshop then call Amie at 617-247-8689 today!

"This workshop allowed me to overcome my stage fears. By the end, I let more of myself show through, and I became less reserved. I felt more confident and also made some great friends along the way." -JG

GET THE TRAINING YOU NEED TO BECOME A RECORDING ENGINEER! Bristol Recording Studios offers: Small class sizes! Hands-on training! The most current and innovative audio and production techniques! Real life recording scenarios! We are currently accepting registrations for all engineering courses. These courses are led by experienced, talented industry professionals and they are specifically designed to help you succeed in today's recording industry. Call Craig today at 617-247-8689 for more course information and don't forget to ask about package discounts. As of now, we currently offer the following courses:
Basic Courses:
Audio Engineering I
Audio Engineering II
ProTools I
ProTools II
Advanced Courses:
ProTools III
MIDI
Digital Performer
Audio Production I
Audio Production II
NEW COURSE JUST ADDED! Reason 2.5

"I came to Bristol Recording Studios after one semester at Berklee College of Music. It seemed that it was going to be semesters before I could get into any music production classes at Berklee. I found out about Bristol and I enrolled in an audio engineering class to get a head start. I liked the teacher Chris Billias and I liked the studio. Viktor Kray had a studio upstairs like I had never seen before. I completed the course and signed on for the internship, which was awesome. It was my first real experience in a recording studio environment. I loved it. To make a long story short, I left Berklee & Bristol after one year and quickly found employment in studios out in Los Angeles
thanks to my experiences in Boston." - CF

Specific tutorials designed to fit your individual educational needs are also available. Call for details. If you would like more information on any of these courses or if you'd like to register for our program, please contact Craig at 617-247-8689.

ATTENTION SINGERS! YOU SHOULD BE RECORDING! Sign up for the RECORDING WORKSHOP FOR VOCALISTS and you can...
LEARN IT! Learn the ins and outs of the recording process. Bristol Voice Studio has been successfully training singers how to correctly produce the great tone qualities currently in use by the top singers today. But how do you get these onto a recording and make it sound like a record? Find out once and for all in this unique workshop.
SING IT! Discover how to produce a record quality vocal performance. Vocalists who can get a great sound in a studio are very valuable and sought after by producers, songwriters, advertising agencies and record labels. Learn the tools of the trade and get a chance to practice them in the studio.
RECORD IT! CREATE A DEMO TAPE! Take the mystery and fear out of the studio environment and the recording process. Let our experienced engineers and vocal coaches guide you through the recording process and capture your performance to create that all important great sounding vocal demo tape.

For more information on the Recording Workshop for Vocalists presented by Bristol Voice Studios, please contact Amie at 617-247-8689.

INDUSTRY TIP OF THE MONTH

"No-Cost Ways to Promote Your Gigs Online"
Courtesy of www.TheBuzzFactor.com

Musi-Cal at http://www.musi-cal.com/ is a cool site that lists lots of music concert and festival listings. The great thing about it is that Musi-Cal (which I assume is a name that combines the words Music and Calendar) allows visitors to add artists and venues to the online database. The site is part of the Folk Music Webring, and many of the featured artists fall into folk, country and roots rock categories. Take a look around. If your act fits with the format, start listing your gigs.

Musi-Cal appears to be associated with another music event site called Mojam at http://www.mojam.com/ -- only Mojam covers a wide range of genres.

The Dirty Linen Gig Guide is another no-cost folk music directory. Submission details can found at http://www.dirtynelson.com/linen/special/faqs/gigguide.html

One more similar site is Upcoming.org, a collaborative event calendar, completely driven by site visitors. Submit events you're attending or performing at or comment on events entered by others.

Gig listings for the New England area can also be submitted to promo@bristolstudios.com to be included in the monthly email newsletter which is sent to about 9,000 people in the New England area, local and national music magazines (print and online), and posted online monthly at www.bristolstudios.com/bristolnews.html

Bristol Recording Clients and Bristol Voice Students are also encouraged to send in news, pictures and press releases about recording projects, live shows and any career successes.