International singer-songwriter Anne Marie Bush has been topping the charts from her home in Copenhagen, Denmark to Los Angeles, CA. Her latest single and video for HiTech Chick is hot, hot, hot. I can’t sit still when I listen to that song! Fans love a good back story, so I asked Anne Marie to tell me more about HiTech Chick: “I was listening to some tracks in my home studio here in Copenhagen, and I had the feeling that I was turning into a geek. I’m always on my gear, recording and playing my instruments. I wanted to write about it. Then, the hook HiTech Chick came up and I built a story around it.” One of my favorite Anne Marie Bush tracks is her funky hit Supasexual. It’s an amazing dance tune and the song has a fun back story too: “I wrote that song when I was living in LA. I was hanging out with my friends Bill Champlin, lead singer from the band Chicago, and his wife Tamara at their house along with Michael Caruso. We started to play. Bill picked up the guitar and started playing a riff. Then, we came up with the hook Suprasexual. The song evolved from there. We wrote it in a few hours. We did a demo and then decided to record it for real in the studio with producer Peter Roberts. We released it on my own record label and it became a Top 10.” Anne Marie Bush has been performing her entire life, since before age 12. As Anne Marie told me, “I’ve always been writing songs. When I was 12, I begged my mom to buy me a piano. I had some really great internships while I was in elementary school and...

What is the essence of music? Is it superior technical prowess, or is it having a sense for what moves people? Whoever you ask will have a different answer, but I think that all musicians will agree that at its core, music is about collaboration. Music is a tapestry created by an underlining appreciation for past forms and by the desire to weave our own new and exciting contributions to this rich musical history. In Evolution, the new album I just released under the name of Alan Hewitt and One Nation, we took this to heart. My first serious role in music was as a drummer when I was growing up in Michigan. I was around 12, playing in clubs with guys who were older than me. Later on in those early days, during my musical upbringing if you will, I started touring as a drummer with different types of groups playing all types of music. You could say that it was through experiences such as these that I developed a taste for working and creating music with others, in and out of my comfort zones. It was at the Berklee College of Music that I got serious about keyboards and became interested in the composition and production side of music, which eventually led to working on many film and TV projects. In the past, I have had many incredible opportunities. I had the honor of producing alongside Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire for over half a decade. I wrote and played keys on Warrant’s Cherry Pie record as well as Jonathon Butler’s Lost to Love CD, which went Gold, and many more.  We were fortunate enough to reach multi-platinum status with both Cherry Pie and with EWF’s Greatest Hits. Since 2010,...

I first started playing music around the age of 6, when I picked up the harmonica and played along with my favorite records. I never would have imagined the way it would all play out. Now, a few weeks away from releasing our new EP Faces of Love with The Jon Collins Band, it’s fun to look back at different events that have led to this point. After playing the harmonica for about ten years, I started playing in studios with different musicians. During my college days in North Carolina, I got my first taste of what it felt like to tour as a front man and as a singer. It’s safe to say that I’ve been hooked to the feeling, as I’ve been doing this type of stuff ever since. When I came to Los Angeles, I continued making music and had some stints as an actor in both theatre and on television programs such as Will and Grace and Scrubs. Great experiences though they were, my main focus was music. It was here in LA that I began working with George Daly, the former VP of Columbia Records who signed The Cars and now works as CEO for About Records. With George, I co-wrote several songs that have gone on to be used by other artists and in film and television. In 2012, I formed the Jon Collins Band with some friends in San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios, the same studio that had produced records by artists like The Grateful Dead and Green Day. Not a bad place to get started. Our first album Hero was released in 2013 and it spawned the singles Ashley and Let Love Live. Both of those singles received airplay, and the former reached #60 on the...

I invited Birgitta Sunding Thorsen a.k.a. Queen Bee, CEO and Manager of the Artista Group, to give our fans insights into the music business. For those who aren’t familiar with the Artista Group, I asked Birgitta to tell us about her company: “We are a management company, which means we manage artists from around the world, mainly Europe and the United States. What is artist management? Birgitta explained the business aspects first: “We look after the business side of the industry and product, to make sure everything is working for the artist from A to Z. We get a hold of record labels, companies to work with, artists to collaborate with and we do the booking to make sure they go on tour.” In addition, artist management includes perfecting the artist’s image: “We look to see if the artist needs to change anything about their personality or anything about themselves as an artist, such as the genre they work in. We work on artist development, from where they start to where they want to end.” Birgitta Sunding Thorsen has an interesting history. She’s from Denmark, and she started her artist management business while working as a trained chef: “After I finished working in the restaurant business, I got into catering. Every time I did catering for people, they would ask me to get the entertainment too.  As part of my service (I wouldn’t get paid for it), I would get whatever band or standup comedian or speaker they wanted. I did that for a very long time; and then it dawned on me, all these bookies and managers are earning money with the artists that I’m getting them jobs for. I had all these contacts. So, I decided the next time a client asked...

We selected Celeste Buckingham as our ReverbNation contest winner because we absolutely love her hit single and video for Run Run Run. Of course, I had to know the inside scoop about the song. Did you know Celeste Buckingham wrote the song when she was 16? Celeste told me: “I decided to get up at 2 am in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. I sat in my room with my out of tune guitar and wrote this song. The next morning, I played it for my younger sister, who’s also a singer-songwriter and my biggest critic. She said that she liked it, so I took it to the studio and recorded it. I honestly did not believe in that record very much, and it blew up in my face overnight. It gave me the opportunity to be played on the radio in Europe; I toured with that song; and it was endorsed by different companies. This song was a magical accident.” This month, Celeste Buckingham released her new single Unpredictable, so I just had to know more about that song too: “I’ve been in the studio for the last six months with my producer Earl Cohen in New York. I’ve been working on a new album and this is the first song of that new material. It reminds some people of Run Run Run, which is great. I would love it if people could find themselves in that song. We’re faced with a lot of unpredictable situations, good and bad. I feel that if I can help people find themselves in a song, then I’ve achieved what I wanted to do as a songwriter.” Unpredictable was recently released online and through PopCrush. The song will be played exclusively on Radio Disney for two weeks...

It has been said that I play the tunes you like to hear in my own unique style. This saying could not be more true, and it is found in bold letters on my website. Not to sound full of myself, but I do consider myself to be multi-talented and I have my hand in just about everything music. To give acknowledgement to my entertainment abilities and unique style, Roy Raftis the C.E.T. President in Edmonton, AB said this about a past Christmas party: “Everyone told me this was the best Christmas party that we have had, and I attribute the success of our weekend to you getting us started with the Friday night entertainment.” As an artist, in addition to my own songs, I also like to cover other artist’s songs and turn them into something different. They all have one thing in common: They are all “Jimmified”. When I’m not doing classic remakes, I like to focus on my music, which includes everything from jazz to reggae to pop and anything that comes in between.  I recently wrote a smooth jazz song called Agi’s Tune, which I dedicated to my late wife who lost her battle with cancer. Another song that I recently released was Dear Mr. Benson, which pays homage to one of my biggest idols, George Benson. Although these two songs are not all that I have written, they prove to be the most emotionally captivating for me. These songs have been played on various radio stations, including KSBR 88.5 FM, KJJZ 102.3 FM and on SmoothJazz.com Global Radio. I love to perform all over the world.  I was born in the US, but at an early age, I moved to Germany because my father was in the Army.  My family...

Hi, I am Obaid, a Bangladesh-based singer/songwriter/musician. My music can be classified as Alt-Rock-Indie-Pop. I recently released my debut double albums titled Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2, which mean Enigma & Progress. Both albums contain a total of 15 of my original songs. These are acoustic guitar-based studio double albums, the first ever attempt by a solo artist in the history of Bangladesh’s music. All the music was written, tuned, composed, sang and produced by me. I wrote all the lyrics. I also played all the instruments that went into making my albums, including rhythm, lead and bass guitars, drums and percussion. In addition to self-producing these albums, I am also responsible for the artwork as well. All the inside illustrations of the albums, including the cover art for both albums, were painted by me. The songs speak to my inner-spiritual quests and experiences, my strengths, my limitations and my attempts at finding peace and serenity within my own self in the vicinity of this majestic Universe. The lyrics as well as the melody of the songs are my own take and understanding of life in general: the struggles, ambitions, dreams, the longing for positivism and the efforts to better myself as an individual by fighting off all sorts of negativity and pessimism. I hope that listeners can easily identify themselves with these earthly and soothing songs. Some other key characteristics of my music are that they are very confessional, absolutely sincere and very serious. I would like to think that Prahelika-1 & Prahelika-2 are great works of music. As far as my musical inspirations are concerned, I am mostly influenced by 80’s hard rock as well as the mainstream pop of that musically wonderful era. Music from the early 90’s grunge and alternative movement and rock music...

My latest album Listen to This was released just over a year ago and has soared to new heights. Although I stayed away from making records for almost a decade, I came back strong with my fourth, and I feel it’s my best record yet. My newest single Come in From the Cold debuted at #43 on the on the Mediabase Smooth A/C chart which was two places ahead of Sam Smith the day after the Grammys. Since February it has moved to #5 on the Mediabase Smooth A/C chart and #6 on The Wave in Cleveland. During a recent interview, I was asked to explain my quote, “I sing because I must. I am compelled from within, the force sometimes ebbing, often flowing, the rhythm of it all out of my hands. I follow where it leads; it is an essential part of my being.” To put it in simple terms, I follow my heart and my heart is in music. I’ve worked with world-renown producer Rahn Coleman who has produced legends like Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Barry White, Ray Charles and Tom Jones. Listen to This took over 5 years to complete. It was recorded with tender loving care utilizing Los Angeles’ finest, including soloists saxophonists Rickey Woodard and Pete Christlieb, pianists John Hammond and Joel Scott, and trumpeter Nolan Shaheed. One of the many things that I am excited about is that my husband Phil Cabasso played piano on the record. I was born and raised in Cleveland, but I now reside in California. I have always been drawn to music, and I think music is part of my DNA. I was surrounded by music from the moment I was brought home from the hospital. My parents loved all styles and...

My name is Victor Greywolf. I am a writer, low budget filmmaker and actor. I’ve produced a hit one man show that won awards in three festivals and premiered in two. I also produced a biography documentary and two more stand up shows. A lot of people get inspired by watching movies on television or the internet, but some of us decide to actually give it a shot. Sometimes, watching a movie inspires you to pursue a dream of sorts, and that is what makes us who we are, as people. I was inspired by a lot of movies and television shows, and that is what got me to start making my own. A lot of people will tell you that you can’t make a movie on your own because you don’t have a known name or you are not famous or you don’t have millions of dollars or you don’t have the right political connections. For those of us who have done it, we know those excuses are nothing but a bunch of bull crap, and that’s being polite to the naysayers. Thanks to technological advancements, books and the internet, it is easier than ever to make a low budget movie. All you really need is a script, along with actors who are willing to work, for either free or low money. Most importantly, go out and just do the job! When your film is finished, research places to submit it. Try submitting to film festivals, since they are the latest craze. Film festivals give those in the movie business a chance to see your film. Also, look into film contests. I know a lot of artists are very frustrated. Being out there is hard, especially with the fact that unless you know...

My name is Van Leeuwen and I am a 21-year-old hip-hop recording artist, certified audio engineer and producer from Grove City, Pennsylvania. I have been in and around the professional music industry for 10+ years learning everything I can while perfecting my craft. My passion first and foremost is making and performing music, but over the years, I developed a keen ear for sound quality. I recently went to school for Audio Engineering at SAE Institute in Atlanta, where I received my diploma as well as a few recommendation letters. I feel being an artist and an engineer only helps me, because I know what it feels like to be in the artist’s shoes, wanting someone to help make your vision come to life. My advice for hiring a good sound engineer is to find someone who is, first and foremost, knowledgeable with studio gear and, secondly, someone who has experience and a good ear. Listen to their previous works with a good set of speakers or headphones. Ask yourself, “Does this sound like it could be on the radio?” If so, you’re probably in the clear. The newest project I’m currently working on is a new single that I’m dropping tomorrow: That Weight produced by d’Millionaire, producer a few of my previous successful singles. The song is really upbeat, fun and totally written, recorded performed and mixed/mastered by me. It’s really dope, if I do say so myself! Another really dope project me and some fellow artists previously released is Fresher Than A Dead Man, which you can find on YouTube as well. This is a single by me and an artist from my area named Izzo and features Rhythm of RMA (the Ying Yang Twins new EDM group). I am on the...

I was already a big fan of rocker, comedian and actor Bill Zucker, before I noticed his entry to our ReverbNation contest. When I clicked the link to his song submission, I fell in love with his single Stranded. I love the song and the live video kills! Of course, the first question I asked Bill Zucker was for him to give me the back story behind this song. Turns out, Bill Zucker told me the song has quite a history: “This is an older song of mine that keeps on coming back to haunt me, because no matter what I do new, people come back and say ‘There’s something about that song, I just love it.’ The original studio version was recorded before I formed the Bill Zucker Band. I played all the instruments. Each member of the Bill Zucker Band is someone I’ve had my eye on for years. After I formed the band, I took off my guitar tracks and replaced them with parts by the two guitar players in my band.” Who’s in the Bill Zucker Band? Bill Zucker sings lead vocals and plays acoustic and electric guitars, piano, synthesizer, drums and harmonica. Sean Harrison is also lead vocal and plays percussion, some guitar and keyboards. Tony Marvici plays guitar; Joe Boyle also plays guitar. Donald Main sings and plays piano and synthesizers. Lenny Roberto is on drums and percussion. Steve Earnheart plays bass guitar. Dee Micaud and Kelley Leigh sing backing vocals. Terry Sanger plays sax and sings vocals. Wow, what a lineup! Bill Zucker is dying to play live and tour with his band: “They would kick ass on tour! It’s tough. The music business is in such a bad state right now. Record companies are folding and...