Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music’s queen died Saturday, February 11, 2012. Now she rests eternally with God, who she affectionately called The Rock in one of her gospel singles from the Preacher’s Wife Soundtrack called “I Go to the Rock”.

The 48-year-old singer died Saturday on the eve of the Grammy Awards. She had been expected to attend a pre-Grammy gala but was found dead hours before the event. Paramedics attempted to revive Houston, but were unsuccessful.

Like everyone who is born on this earth, Whitney had many ups and downs. Unlike the majority of us, her ups and downs played out in front of the world. While Whitney wanted desperately to at least a corner of her world to remain private, the picture happy papparazi, gossip columnists and the list goes on were equally as desperate to invade even the least bit of privacy she could ever hope for.

I admit that I wasn’t an early fan of hers but once I really listened to her vocal prowess, I was on board. Whitney had such a distinguished voice that whenever she dropped a new track and you heard her sing, you knew exactly who was singing even before the radio personality announced who was singing.

Whitney, much like Michael Jackson, was a once in a lifetime phenomena. When asked to name just 1 favorite Whitney song, its hard to narrow down but if I had to pick a performance, I’d easily choose the Superbowl performance of the National Athem in 1991. That had to be one of the most rousing renditions of The Star Spangled Banner in history.

Whitney Houston, gone to soon but never forgotten. Prayers go out to her daughter, Bobbi Kristina and her mother, Cissy and all of her family and close friends. We love you Whitney!

8:30pm
LeRouge is located at  7730 West Sand Lake Rd Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: 407.370.0909

North Orlando’s Best Wine on Wednesday Venue
Enjoy three full hours of wine and saki samplings from around the globe while listening to the smooth sounds of saxophonist, Kevin Scott. It makes for a very relaxing Wednesday.

Most artists and bands now use Twitter to promote their music and connect with their fans. But like with all promotional tools, there are certain things you should avoid doing. I’ve searched through literally thousands of artist accounts on Twitter and noticed some alarming trends. Here’s a quick Top 5 things that could cause you to lose your fans on Twitter:

This guest post comes from Dave Cool, the new Blogger In Residence at musician website and marketing platform Bandzoogle.

This latest article was written by Ariel Hyatt, PR guru to hundreds of current artists. Her Cyber PR ® Campaigns place musicians on blogs, podcasts, and Internet radio stations and coach them to create authentic relationships with fans.

I’m just back from the mighty ASCAP Expo in Los Angeles where I spoke on a panel, did a book signing and sponsored.

I learned so much from the hundreds of artists I spoke to over the 3 days there and I boarded the plane with a whole new perspective on just how confronting marketing and social media is to 90% of artists.

You guys REALLY hate this stuff

You hate it so much that I literally felt like I had been beaten up over the concerns, complaints and sheer confusion directed my way.

So I will kick off with this: Making it in music is HARD

No matter what side of the fence you are on. My friends who are managers and agents and club owners work just as hard as my artist friends. And, music industry professionals are getting laid off left and right. This game (if you choose to play it) is not for the meek!

And now you, the artist are required to do a WHOLE LOT MORE than you might have 7, 8, 9 or 10 years ago (if you were lucky enough to have a label).

But here’s the thing:

The basic rules for success are still the same.

They have always been the same and those artists who understand this succeed: To Increase Your Bottom Line (no matter how you define your bottom line) you MUST focus on your fans!

The first step towards this is building rapport with everyone you come into contact with in person, social media and on your email list.

Everyone always references the astonishing Amanda Palmer as the poster child for success in this paradigm – the woman focuses on her fans!

You know how Amanda does this?

She STAYS at the venue after each and every show signing every CD and piece of merch and scrap of paper put in front of her

She STAYS until she has personally touched the last fan.

Then she STAYS in touch with them long after she has left their town with her newsletter, her blog, her Facebook posts and her Twitter stream.

She understands the rules of engagement.

It’s not magic – its just hard work.

You can have what she has too and here is how:

Today we are going back to three very important basics

(I’m not going to focus on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and all the social media that drives you bonkers this time – you can read many articles I wrote about social media on this blog)

Your Newsletter
Your Product Line
Asking Your Fans What They Want

Your Newsletter

I have seen it countless times – artists that misuse their email lists and ONLY reach out to their fans when they have something to SELL them (a show, a new release etc.) but they never reach out to their fans for other reasons: to bond, share a funny story, or invite everyone out to the local bowling alley on a Tuesday night for a hang (I’m serious).

Every study on sales has proven one thing: People hate to be sold to, however people love to buy, and people always love to buy from people whom they like and trust. People in Amanda’s circle of followers trust her.

Great sales people sell by creating relationships with their customers and knowing how to stay in their customer’s hearts and minds until the customer is ready to buy.

Now you may be freaking out here a bit – your Fans are NOT customers in your mind. Your fans don’t “buy” from you and you do not consider them in that light – I totally understand this but I am asking you to shift from your artist mind for a moment and get into your business mind.

You (your music and your art) are a brand and if you want to make money you should consider this: Your fans are your customers.

They give you money to support your creative livelihood (if they are not yet, you need to put an action plan into place to make this so)

So there are some things to consider here based on looking at it in this light:

First: Do you have fan base to sell to?

This means:

A) An email list

B) An active Facebook community

C) Twitter Followers

D) Blog readers (and your blog cross posted on other sites such as, Last.fm, Facebook and through Twitter links, etc.)

I consider a real fan base a MINIMUM of 5,000 across your social networks and 1,000 on your email list.

Your Product Line

Second: Do you have a product line?

Do you only sell CDs and MP3s?

Do you have assorted merchandise?

A fan club / monthly offerings?

Do you tell your mailing list you are available to play private events, parties, weddings or BBQs?

If you do not have many things to sell you music begin to think about this.

Third: Do you send well-designed, track able monthly newsletters?

If not you should switch to a service that has helps you create them and tracks how many people open them.

http://www.reverbnation.com

http://www.fanbridge.com

http://www.bandletter.com

http://www.mailchimp.com

You should also install widgets for mailing list building. I love these:

http://www.tinyurl.com/reverbfreebribe

http://www.tinyurl.com/pledgefreebribe

Asking Your Fans What They Want

Fourth: Have you asked your fans what they want to buy?

Interview them and ask!

Your fans may want coffee mugs or yoga mats and unless you ask you will never know.

In a Newsletter: Use Survey Monkey

Use the wonderful Survey Monkey http://www.surveymonkey.com/ To run a survey on your newsletter list and ask what your fans may like to buy.

For Twitter: Use Twtpoll

Use http://twtpoll.com to send a survey via Twitter

For Facebook: Poll Daddy Poll

Use http://bit.ly/5RCBTY to send a poll to your Facebook or Facebook Fan Page!

Fifth: Do you have another talent that your fans don’t know about?

Do you paint?

Do you write?

Do you bake?

Is there another way you make money that your fans may want to know about?

You can start a Pledege, Rockethub or Kickstarter campaign and show off your other talents while you raise money for your music allowing your fans to support you even more!

Sixth: Can you create some sort of monthly continuum program that your fans might pay a premium for?

How about a live track of the month club or a special new song you are working on? Would your fans pay $2 a month for that? (If you think so that’s $24 per fan and that adds up. Read all about how artist Matthew Ebel has achieved this here! http://tinyurl.com/1000truefans-ebel

So to recap:

• Build your email list!! Every day think about whom you can get on your list.
• Communicate regularly and consistently using a real email program.
• When your list gets to be at least 1,000 strong ASK them what they may like from you and how much they will pay.
• Create products and fan clubs and house concerts to satisfy your fans!
• Create a continuum program to get paid consistently or launch a fan-funding project.
• Get paid more to do what you love.

Source: http://arielpublicity.com/category/blog/soundadvice/

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing an estimated 8,700 people in the US in 2010. AIM for a Cure, the Orlando Chapter of the AIM at Melanoma Foundation* was founded in 2009 in Orlando, Florida by Lori Luedtke as a way to honor her brother, David Eagleston, who lost his battle with melanoma in 2006. Through her love for David and dedication to the cause of eradicating melanoma cancer, she organized their first fundraiser event in just two months, netting an impressive $8,000 for melanoma research!

On May 1st Laura and her team will be doing it all again! Ember (Downtown, Orlando) will be hosting this year’s 3rd Annual AIM for a CURE Fundraiser for Melanoma Research on May 1st at 4pm. Tickets are limited, so be sure to buy yours today! Click here to purchase tickets. For more information visit www.aimforacure.com

*AIM at Melanoma Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax I.D. # 56-2427805

Ember
42 West Central Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 849-5200

Get directions

ATTENERGY

Voice on Violin

Attenergy is a compilation of 16 beautifully crafted performances. Each track is a direct reflection of the album title, which Jaye defines as “a combination of attention and energy that generates creativity.” Some highlights on this soon to be classic CD include covers such as “Good Weather,” a tribute to Weather Report; George Benson’s “On Broadway”; and Chick Corea’s “Spain.” Each and every instrument heard on Attenergy is recorded solely by Jaye, which showcases his mastery of the art of songwriting, arranging, performance and production. In describing his passion for creating music Jaye explains, “I’m a singer and a musician yet I think like a painter, where every note is a color and every beat is a brush stroke.” Attenergy is a true reflection of this passion.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Miles Jaye studied music theory, classical violin, and jazz studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for more than 10 years. In 1987 he released his first album, Miles, on Top Priority/Island records. As an accomplished musician and producer, Jaye is best known for his chart-topping hits, “Let’s Start Love Over”, “I’ve been a Fool For You”, “Heaven”, and “Objective”, featuring the great saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., who said, “Miles stands out as someone who always looks for new musical direction”. Jaye has collaborated on recordings with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world — Eric Gale, Roy Ayers, Nat Adderley, Jr., Grover Washington, Jr., Brandford Marsalis, and George Duke, who said of Jaye, “This guy can do it all and do it well.” Now thirteen albums later, with the release of Attenergy, Jaye truly validates those words.

The first radio single, “You Are the Sunshine Of My Life”, an instrumental remake of Stevie Wonder’s classic hit, releases on April 18, 2011. An arrangement that would certainly have Stevie rocking.

For more information, visit www.milesjaye.com.

On April 30th join Miles Jaye, Norman Brown, Spyro Gyro, and Marcus Johnson for a Pre-Mother’s Day concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. You don’t want to miss this evening of incredible jazz.

Date: April 30, 2011
Venue: Constitution Hall
Address: 18th & C Streets N.W., Washington, DC 20006
Time: 7:00pm
Click Here For Tickets – $50

The 2011 Florida Music Festival celebrates a Decade of Making Music History in the heart of Downtown Orlando, by traversing the sonic spectrum welcoming more than 175 emerging artists on more than 10 stages! Click below to have your advance tickets waiting for you at Will Call at FMF2011!

GET YOUR FMF2011 TICKETS HERE:
•3 DAY PASS: CLICK HERE: $25…all shows for 3 Nights!
• THUR, APRIL 7th: CLICK HERE: $15… Minus The Bear, Mofro and more…
• FRI, APRIL 8th: CLICK HERE: $10… Easy Star All-Stars, The Ettes and more…
• SAT, APRIL 9th: CLICK HERE: $10… Better Than Ezra, The Supervillains and more…

All passes to pick up between 6pm-1am the night of the show at the Wall St Plaza WILL CALL
(MAP: corner of Court/Central by History Center Park).

Venue capacity limitations and age restrictions apply.

www.floridamusicfestival.com

The Legacy Fundraiser

An Evening of Jazz, Fine Wines and Silent Auction
Featuring

Miles Jaye

Friday, March 25, 2011
7:00pm
Rachel D Murrah Civic Center of Winter Park
1050 West Morse Blvd
Winter Park, FL 32789

Tickets: $40

This fundraiser is to benefit Hannibal Square CLT, Hannibal Square Heritage Center & Welbourne Avenue Nursery & Kindergarten

Tickets can be purchased by calling or email :
Hannibal Square Community Land Trust at 407 643.9111 or hscltinc@gmail.com
Hannibal Square Heritage Center at 407 539.2680 or bcms212@gmail.com
Welbourne Avenue Nursery & Kindergarten at 407 644.9569 or welbank@embarqmail.com