There should be an Emergency Alert sent to all phones around the world to warn people that Hunnypot Live! is about to broadcast. Those that joined us for show #401 could have prepared themselves. Hot Tub started with a DJ set of tremors to maximum Richter rock and dance music. Scott Reifman put on his best typhoon wear and jumped in the tub with us. We talked about his musical journey through life and he popped in a playlist to please. The Living Street brought us life with a tornado avenue lined with acoustic pop gems. Grace Blue returned to Hunnypot with their dark oozing lava, upbeat electro sounds. Bizou only came out at night with a flood of organic instrument future rock and Jessica Foxx was like a hurricane with a pop storm in her voice and eyes. 10/01/2018
Talent Buyer at The Satellite, Founder at Odds On Agency and Talent Buyer at The Mint LA
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The Living Street is an indie-folk duo consisting of Nick Guckert (Guitar/Vocals) and Edward J. Angelo (Bass/Vocals) formed in July 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA. Guckert and Angelo grew up in Lower Burrell, a small town just outside of the city and less than a mile down the road from one another. Both developed a love for music early on in life, but it wasn’t until the two met in school sports that they recognized a shared passion, burgers.
The official beginning of their friendship as they recall was over a handful of burgers nearly a decade ago (so, really, if there is any one person to truly thank for bringing The Living Street together, it’s Dave Thomas). From there, they started jamming out original ideas together as much as their parents could handle it, often escaping to the empty baseball field dugout right behind Angelo’s childhood home. It was in those moments Guckert and Angelo realized they shared a special collaborative bond bringing only the best out of each other artistically. There was only one option at this point.
In their freshman year of high school, Guckert encouraged Angelo to come along with him to practice with the band he was in at the time. After one successful jam, it didn’t take long for Guckert to convince the other members to make Angelo an official member of My Friday Slacks.
Guckert and Angelo remained primary songwriters taking collaborative approaches with every member of the band thus creating a unique sound differing from the original vision. Eventually, Guckert and Angelo started a new side project where they could have full control of musical direction, The Artless. As The Artless, they allowed their artistry to truly blossom and were able to play in support of several national acts including: The Front Bottoms, GEOGRAPHER, Chairlift, Lissie and The Boxer Rebellion.
After graduating from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a marketing degree, Angelo decided to move to Pittsburgh in the Lawrenceville neighborhood to join Guckert and begin working on a new writing project that didn't even have a name, but they shared a common goal — play music together for life. Playing and writing music and entertaining an audience are Guckert and Angelo's favorite things to do, and it has not wavered since the early days in the dugout behind Angelo’s house. The two are dedicated to their careers as artists and performers.
After a decade of writing together on and off, they brought it back to the basics: just the two of them and an acoustic guitar writing honest songs through observation and self-reflection. They released their first single "Can't Steal My Love" on September 20th, 2017. The Living Street left for a tour of the east coast after the release of their debut self-titled album The Living Street on January 5th, 2018. They returned home in April of 2018 to get back in the studio and prepare for a west coast tour in the fall.
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Based out of Los Angeles, CA, Grace Blue is a duo comprised of vocalist Grace Mogz and keyboardist Joseph Arazi who had the pleasure of meeting each other in their hometown in Israel. Grace Blue's first video for their current single "Our Eyes" has garnered over 100,000 views on YouTube alongside rave reviews. Their next video/single "Nowhere To Go" will be released this spring. We're proud to welcome Grace Blue to the Hunnypot Family. Check out their full 5 song EP at the link below. All songs are Represented by Hunnypot, Master and Publishing.
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Former members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Light FM, Wax Idols and Tennis System serve up cotton candy at a beach bonfire for Goth kids.
Mina Prietto (vocals) Nicole Fiorentino (bass, backing vocals) Josiah Mazzaschi (guitar, programming) Nicki Nevlin (Guitar) and Erin Tidwell (Drums) have individually had much success in bands in Los Angeles the last decade. Having played and backed such bands as Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, Tennis System, Wax Idols, Jennie Vee, and Light FM.
Over the years, through the music scene, they become great friends and realized, more than anything, they wanted to play in a band with each other. From this, Bizou was born. Bizou dishes haunting and honest vocals, backed by the melodic and hard-hitting guitar, bass, and drums reminiscent of the synth-pop, post-punk, new wave the music scene so desperately needs. Some might say, they're serving up cotton candy at a beach bonfire for goth kids. And, hey, goth kids need love too.
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Humbly raised in a small farm town in Connecticut, growing up Jessica Foxx had not so small dreams for herself. She started dancing and performing at the young age of 3 and began taking voice and acting classes shortly there after. In 2014 she decided to take the leap and move to Los Angeles to pursue her passion to be an artist. She enrolled in the Vocal Performance program at the well renowned Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA and started to release her original music in 2016.
A perfect cocktail of electro pop and dark pop, Foxx is paving a new and edgier path in the world of pop music. With or without modern pop production, her voice is unbelievably refreshing. Tongue-in-cheek, gutsy songwriting is what puts Jessica Foxx in the ranks of the new pop generation.
Completely independent, Foxx has made some great connections over the years. Her debut single “Heartbreak Tastes Like Summer” was co-written with the upcoming songwriter/artist Leland who has since written for acts like Selena Gomez, Troye Sivan and Sabrina Carpenter. She co-wrote her most recent single “Cake” with BMG songwriter Jeremy Thurber (Meghan Trainor, Trisha Paytas) and was mastered by Randy Merrill (Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry) at Sterling Sound in New York City. Her self-funded music video for “Cake” debuted on May 3, 2018 on YouTube and racked up 3.2k views in under a month.
While she is confidently vulnerable with every song, her main focus is to connect with her fans and build a genuine community around her music. She may be on the road to Billboard success but she refuses to let that distract her from what’s most important, her fans. Through her social media, you can tell Foxx is very interactive with her fan base, the "Foxx Mafia" and devotes time to connect with them on a daily basis.
The 131ers was founded in 2012, the band has grown from a two-piece blue-veined American folk project to a full scale quadraphonic tour de force. The solid foundation of friendship between founding members Kaleb Davies (vox/guitar) and Ryan Dawson (drums) permeates every note, eventually shepherding fellow members Chris Graue (bass) and Greg Wilmot (guitar) into the fold. The 131ers have claimed their own unique genre-bending sound by successfully infusing rock n’ roll with funk, edge, passion and soul.
The 131ers are from Torrance, California and play indie-folk-rock that frequently draws comparisons to "classic Americana." The band records all their music in their home built studio and produces their own music videos. A little bit of their blood, sweat, and tears can be found in everything they produce. But not literally, because that would be gross.
Check out 131ers' music video Crazy, don't you feel a little hungry after watching this?
Make sure to come out to our Hunnypot Live at the Mint Party on November 12th, The 131ers will be joining us and perform live!
Hunnypot was the runner-up to fly to the moon with Space-X but that square Elon wouldn't share his weed with us so we bounced. Our 400th show got our minds off of that trip. What a show! Hot Tub Johnnie launched the night with hot hits towards distance stars. Kii Arens returned from Mars (or other) to drop new music from his band Jinx, new stories (and old) and to spin some out of this world tunes. Jason Hawk Harris kept us grounded in classic country music, Kemo the Blaxican came baxican to the hot tub with rock steady California beats and bars, Nigel Stargate opened a portal of funk and rap and even brought some extra special friends through including Hip Hop Legend Dana Dane and we finished off the night with another famous Hunnypot Dance party that lit up the night sky. Recap: J. Gray / Photos: J. Gray, R. Taalbi, J. Born 09/17/2018
Kii Monroe Arens was born in St. Paul, Minnesota to parents Robert and LaVae Arens. He has two brothers and one sister. From an early age, Arens had an affinity for morning cartoons, notably Sid and Marty Krofft. The show, coupled with his interest in fonts, colors, spacing and layout, set in motion a growing fascination with art and design. His early passion for music was also strong, augmented by growing up in a musically inclined family. By the mid to late 1980s, Arens was DJ’ing around the Twin Cities, and had a brief stint in Rap music, under the alias ‘2 Percent’, opening for Gang Starr, EPMD, DJ Quik, amongst others.
Arens’ early immersion in the Twin Cities music scene exposed him to many elements of what would become important features of his graphic art, including: album art work, package layout, photography, poster design, creative direction, music video direction, merchandise design/creation and music production. Although Arens created artwork continuously growing up, his career as an artist was substantively set in motion with a design gig for the Woodstock ’94 festival. Originally brought on as a hotel coordinator, he was invited to attend meetings about the festival’s design direction, and raised concerns with what he saw as an overly nostalgic festival look (one that recalled too closely the Woodstock ’69 festival).
After returning to the Twin Cities, he started working for Niceman Merchandising. Arens’ album design/layout career continues to this day, and has featured many projects, including: Dolly Parton’s Backwoods Barbie and latest, Blue Smoke,Eagles of Death Metal’s Heart On, Ziggy Marley’s Wild and Free , Glen Campbell’s Ghost on the Canvas, Pete Yorn’s Back and Forth, and, most recently, LA musician/producer Jonathan Wilson’s Fanfare.
In 1994, Arens joined his brother, Brynn Arens (Obsession/Fun House/Oddfathers), in the rock band Flipp, active from 1994–2003. He assumed guitar and backup vocal duties. The band had a penchant for cartoonish stage presentations and costuming, and embraced the Glam-rock genre reminiscent of the early 1970s, even amidst its decline as a result of bands such as Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. Their Hollywood Records debut, Flipp (1997), saw them opening for bands such as Oasis, The Ramones and Cheap Trick. They released two follow-up albums, Blow it out your Ass (2000) and Volume (2002). Although Flipp has never officially disbanded, they have not performed live since 2003.
A visit to Los Angeles in 2003 prompted Arens’ move to his current location on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, California. As his work in album art and band merchandising continued, he began creating unique, non-music associated art pieces. His pieces soon appeared in many galleries around Los Angeles, notably: M Modern, Subliminal Projects, Gallery 1988, and his own gallery, La-La Land Gallery, which opened in 2004.
Arens has exhibited in many shows, notably: Happy War… It’s the bomb, the first official show at La-La Land, which featured the work of Arens and many local pop-artists, including: Shepard Fairey, Chris Reccardi, Gary Baseman, Niagara, and many others. Art in the Dark, another show, was an exhibition of Arens’ own pieces, images created using black light reactive paints and lighting rigs, which concealed hidden content that could be revealed upon the flip of a switch. In 2005, he traveled back to the Twin Cities, to exhibit a gallery show at Ox-Op gallery. The show was based around Spin-o-Paint/Paint-by-numbers/Oil paint. Later that year, lalalandgallery.com was created, an online venue for a series of customized lightboxes created by Arens. The lightboxes were also exhibited at La-La Land, and featured in a story by the Los Angeles Times. His “Hot Lunch Artshow” followed in Oct. 2005, and featured classic tin lunch boxes customized with local Pop art. By 2008, Arens found himself as curator of an art show based on the concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. It included pieces for artists such as Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, and Femi Kuti. His first major concert poster was completed that year as well, for a Beck/Spoon/MGMT show at the Hollywood Bowl.
This has spurred a career in concert print creation that continues to present, with over 250 pieces created for artists such as Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, The Weeknd, Sonic Youth, The Who, Queens of the Stone Age, Devo, Diana Ross, Divine Fits, The Pixies, Tony Bennett,Glen Campbell, Bruno Mars, Tame Impala, The Beach Boys and many others. He also created posters for various All Tomorrow’s Parties events, as well as Goldenvoice’s Coachella. In 2010, Arens created a print for Radiohead’s Haiti benefit concert in Los Aangeles. Two editions of 250 prints were sold, and helped add to a grand total of $572,754 raised by the band during the event.
Arens’ co-direction of the music video, What We Do, for the band Devo (2011), began to broaden his creative endeavors. The video centers the viewer in a full 360-degree scene, allowing them to choose to participate in many different interactive visual aspects.
In November 2011, his second co-directed video, Ghost on the Canvas, was done for country musician Glen Campbell. It features Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, who also penned the track. Arens’ admiration for Campbell lead him to co-direct two more videos for the artist. A Better Place (2012), featuring Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age,and Hey Little One (2013), a tribute to Glen’s wife, Kimberly “Kim” Woollen, who helped Campbell in his battle with Alzheimer’s. Most recently, Arens co-directed the video for Vampyre of Time and Memory, a track from Queens of the Stone Age’s sixth album, …Like Clockwork (2013). The video featured three separate rooms that the viewer can navigate, creating a unique viewing experience.
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Years before developing his own brand of confessional, cathartic country music — a sound he describes as "meta-apocalyptic country/Americana grief-grass" — Jason Hawk Harris chased a different muse as a classically-trained composer.
He was rooted in the orchestral influence of modern classical music from the 20th and 21st centuries. He loved the theory behind the genre. The atonal arrangements, too. It all started with a fondness for Queen, whose albums accounted for some of the most frequently-heard records in Harris' Houston household. The band sounded progressive, mixing the punch of rock & roll with the complexity of symphonic music. From there, Harris discovered Debussy and Mozart. He eventually enrolled in music school and graduated with a degree in composition, which he immediately began putting to use.
After writing thousands of measures of classical music, though, Harris found himself drawn back to the country, folk, and rock music that had soundtracked his early childhood. He'd grown up listening to classic crooners like Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, Jim Croce, Patsy Cline, and Elvis. That music had laid a sort of musical bedrock that couldn't be ignored. Later, after hearing bluegrass musician Michael Daves playing a stirring guitar solo, Harris knew he needed to somehow incorporate his country-loving childhood into his songs.
"Hearing Michael Daves tackle that solo really woke me up," he remembers. "There was something wild about the way he played. He played with abandon. Something sparked in me again — the same spark I'd heard when I first discovered Brian May's guitar solo on 'It's Too Late' — and everything changed."
Harris began cutting his non-classical teeth with the Show Ponies, an Americana group based in L.A. He played guitar for the band and produced most of their albums, racking up several million Spotify streams along the way. Meanwhile, problems arose in his personal life — including a family history of addiction, which ultimately resulted in the early death of his mother — and began fueling Harris' need to write his own music.
Released in November 2017, the five-song Formaldehyde, Tobacco and Tulips marks Harris' debut as a solo artist. It's an emotional EP about joy, pain, sorrow, and grief, tied together with autobiographical lyrics and sharp, detail-rich songwriting. The record also paves the way for Harris' full-length album, which draws a distinct bridge between his country and classical roots.
"I love country music because it's built upon a collision of the sad and specific," says the songwriter, whose music evokes comparisons to imaginative Americana frontmen like Daniel Romano and Robert Ellis. "I want to treat it like an art form. I want to show people how seriously devastating it can really be."
Although performed with traditional country instrumentation — including acoustic and electric guitar, pedal steel, bass, strings, piano, and the occasional harmonium — Harris' LP reaches far beyond the genre's rootsy influence. There are complex chords, acrobatic arrangements, and unexpected intervals. There are cathartic songs about love and addiction. A classically trained composer turned country singer, Jason Hawk Harris proudly operates within his own lane, proving that there's something stirring and compelling about musical culture clashes.
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Five Delinquent Habits albums, three solo albums and countless tours around the globe including the UK, Europe, Japan, South America, Mexico and Taiwan - Kemo the Blaxican? of ?Delinquent Habits? ?is releasing his first "Trifecta" a 3 song EP titled Ugly At Times ?featuring GODFORBID? of ?That Handsome Devil?. These one-of-a-kind projects is something Kemo chose to name Trifectas. For this first release, this duo packs a dynamic punch on the three piece trifecta. West Coast swagger fused with East Coast swank. Ugly At Times? is a collaboration of two prominent veteran hip hop artists with undeniable chemistry saturated with ambitious vision that beautifully defines the art of hip hop. The EP brings together two potent MCs to deliver a brutally honest impression of hard lives lived, question intention, and convey a deep powerful message about love. With production duties handled by Dr. Quandary & Louis Mackey, Ugly At Times ?packs enough musical and lyrical punch to satisfy even the most fever pitched Hip-Hop addicts. Ugly At Times ?is slated for release nationally Friday August 17, 2018 on Dead Silence Records.
Kemo the Blaxican? hails from the Lower East Side of Los Angeles and is an original member of Los Angeles based Hip-Hop group Delinquent Habits?.He’s equipped with a soulful style bilingual rhymes and profound lyrical content. You hear the smooth-yet-powerful baritone vocals delivered with a distinctive tone. You recognize the voice as it commands attention with provocative lyrics over flavorful tracks. This MC shifts the rhyme from English to Spanish, and then back to English again seamlessly. Your head nods the whole way through. Godforbid,? a distinguished veteran of the East Coast underground: he cut his teeth in the 90s & early Oughts, as part of the rap group Alaskan Fishermen, with the legendary Thirstin Howl 3rd. For the last decade, "?Godforbid"? ?has been the frontman of the nationally-lauded gypsy rock band That Handsome Devil?, but always keeping his hip hop roots close.
Kemo the Blaxican's? latest release Upside of Struggle? on Dead Silence Records is series of hip hop tracks inspired by his roots; specifically southern California culture and the music that influenced his youth—from west coast funk, soul, and classic hip hop, to traditional Latin music. The album also features guest appearances by Sen Dog? (Cypress Hill) and Tetsuya Weeping Willow? Nakamura (formerly of War) on the track“Just What You Feelin,” as well as contributions by Sick Jacken? (Psycho Realm) on the album. ?Upside of Struggle? is Kemo’s third solo album on Dead Silence Records. The 12-track incarnation bursts with musical styles and compelling arrangements. Kemo’s lyrical skills stretch back and forth between L.A. street slang and barrio Spanish. He moves the listener through moods, harmoniously encapsulating contradiction, antagonism and the co-existence of good, even during bad times, all with mind bending ease.
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A Stargate is a universe that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations and the Megastar Nigel Stargate embodies this sentiment in his music. The alter-ego of Rapper/Producer Caviar, Nigel Stargate comes from the “Hills” of Compton, California. A magical place where hip hop music meets posh royalty, two distant locations. Stamped by the renown Dana Dane, Nigel Stargate is produced by Caviar and has recorded a vault of eclectic posh hip hop music at Caviar’s The Vault Studios in Hollywood.
Nigel Stargate’s treasury of music contains songs with artists like Marsha Ambrosius, Cee Lo Green, Macy Gray, Trinidad James, Big Gipp, Kokane, Keith Robinson as well as the legendary MC, Dana Dane. “When You’re Rich” one of the tracks recorded at The Vault, was Nigel Stargate’s breakthrough song featuring Cee Lo Green. Nigel worked with Music Video Director, Mike Marasco, to visually capture the life of Nigel Stargate who receives the traditional Hollywood perks when he is transformed from a homeless person to a rich man in the “When You’re Rich” video. Nigel loves everything visual and his desire to tell his stories pictorially resulted in a collection of music videos for all of his songs.
Nigel is fresh and creative and his craving to fill the void in the music business brings originality back, an element that has been absent in hip hop for a long time. Imaginative lyrics, fresh hooks and new beats took their proper places on Nigel Stargate’s songs in lieu of lifeless lyrics, humdrum hooks and boring beats. The Greek Philosopher Plato said that “Music is moral law. It gives soul to the universe” and Nigel Stargate is the portal.
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Attention Marijuana enthusiasts: In celebration of our 400th Live Event stream Hunnypot is again offering a very special private Cannabis tasting event.
This Tasting Session is sponsored by the fine folks at White Buffalo,
Our event is located in the Green Room directly behind The Mint. Their will be surprises and give-aways throughout the night, bring a friend or two!
+21, 7-11PM
Green Room (behind The Mint)
6010 W. Pico Blvd.
LA, CA 90035
Hunnypot Live! is the Woodward & Bernstein of music discovery. We also have a reading level of at least an 8th grader. We opened the watergates and flooded Monday night with amazing interviews, playlists, live music and dancing. So much dancing. Hot Tub wrote a forward with bangin' beats to start the night. John Alexander graced us with his presence in the hot tub to share his music industry journey from hit rock artist to hit A&R man. John brought along some great music he was involved with and even brought a friend, Mark Hudson, to vouch for him. Elwell key'd up a synthesized pop performance, Kisspanic didn't even flinch at delivering a smorgasbord rock sound, The Clumsy "tripped" us all out with high energy rock n' roll. h2the returned with beats and besties Novi, Woolf, R.E.L. and Kendal Lake to shake and bake our blues and we closed another show chapter with a crazy all out dance party. 09/03/2018
John Alexander began his music career playing in bands while in High School growing up in Ottawa Canada. He enjoyed success fronting the band Octavian who signed with MCA Records and had a few top 10 singles at that time. After the band disbanded he started managing groups including The Teddy Bears, Sheriff who had a #1 Billboard hit with "When I'm With You" and Luba. In 1984 John became the head of A&R for MCA Records Canada, he was responsible for signing artists to the MCA Canada label and writers to MCA Music Publishing rosters, while there John signed a young Alanis Morissette to her 1st record deal and publishing deal resulting in the 30 times-platinum album Jagged Little Pill and 5 Grammy's for Alanis.
In 1997 John became the Senior Vice President of membership for a A.S.C.A.P. and served the songwriter/publisher community for 12 years.
John has been active in the careers of Avril Lavigne, Ringo Starr, Justin Timberlake, LeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Johnny Resnick, Daniel Lanois, Ryan Cabrera, Ashlee Simpson, Tal Bachmann, Sarah Kelley, to name a few.
John is currently managing the band Boulevard who are signed to MCA with an album getting great response throughout the world.
Elwell is a Los Angeles by way of Minneapolis based musician/songwriter/producer. (Andy)
Elwell released his debut LP Let The Rain Come In in 2016. "Claps" & "Dark" singles came out in 2017. This year saw the release of 2 new singles "Find Me" and "Weary".
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Kisspanic is a Modern Rock trio from Los Angeles CA. The band is formed by Rudi Meibergen, Thomas Rojo and Fer Fuentes. They are about to launch their first album with Darryl Swann in Hollywood
RUDI MEIBERGEN, (creator) - Rudi is a chilean music composer. He has worked on the music of several Hollywood productions including shows for Netflix, Fox and HBO (*). But Rudi's passion extends beyond scores and orchestral music to his first love, rock, the reason why he was the frontman of the band Weiza for more than ten years to then create Kisspanic.
THOMAS ROJO, (bass player) - Producer, and Owner of Pattern Recording Studios in Culver City, Los Angeles, CA. Rudi met Thomas in music production classes. They became friends, then co workers for several productions, and finally decided to start working on the pre production of the album together.
FER FUENTES, (drummer) - She played and recorded with the Latin Grammy and MTV Award-nominated band MammaSoul, and toured through Europe and South America with La Banda en Flor. Has performed with artists like Debbie Gibson, Abraham Laboriel and Oscar Hernandez. Fer had worked as a sessionist with Rudi back in Chile for several music projects. When they knew they were both living in LA, they decided to start working together again on this new production.
KISSPANIC - The band is finishing producing their first album with Darryl Swann, triple platinum producer known for working with artists such as John Frusciante, Rock Rubin, Macy Grey, Stevie Wonder, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, and the Black Eyed Peas, among many others. Darryl was Rudi´s teacher at UCLA. One class Rudi showed some mockups of what he had in mind for his album and Darryl believed in the project and became his producer. The album was recorded at Clear Lake Recording Studios (No Doubt, Jimmy Eat World, Anthrax, Back Street Boys, and Ringo Starr...). At the same time is also recording a sinngle for a music compilation that supports the refugees over the world in 4th Street Recording Studios (Incubus, Muse, System of a Down, Nelly Furtado and the Beach Boys...).
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“Brilliantly blending 80’s synths with an new cutting edge sampling style, rising hip hop/experimental producer h2the released his debut single titled “Taste Of The“, a teaser/cut-up off his new beat tape exclusively available on cassette!” – UGHH
URB Magazine wrote that “[h2the] is something else…in a profound kind of way,” calling his sound titillating and “juicy for the ears,” while The Village Voice described his productions as “adventurous and banging.”
2DOPEBOYZ and Vibe Magazine’s allhiphop.com have also noted h2the’s rap flips of 80?s inspired sonics. It’s the producer as auteur as every track takes you through the emotional space of the artist, like Kanye or Godard. Erez will feature LA based Future Folk artist Woolf, Woolf (Facebook) Woolf (Instagram) Woolf (Twitter)
Hunnypot Live breaks so many rules, we should be surrendering to the FBI every other Tuesday. Show #398 ruled!
Hot Tub conspired to get everyone to dance and sing with his introduction set up music. Matthew Belter jumped to the other side of the lens to sit down in the tub and talk about his newish photography career and love of all music. Luke Loww went high wet with reverb-soaked melodic rock, Inspired & the Sleep powered their trio with pop/rock panache, Arisara gave us an interlude of introspection and melodic inspection, Adam Cola effervesced with pop tunes and dance moves and DJ Vron Irwin closed out the night with a dance party so large we had to use the stage as well.
Photos & Recap by J. Gray 08/20/2018
Matthew Belter started viewing life through the lens in high school and continued that practice during his more than 20 years in retail. Executive roles for a variety of companies provided him with the opportunity to travel the country. His camera gave him the means to appreciate and remember every stop on the journey.
A year after leaving the corporate world to join and expand his brother’s ice-delivery company, Matthew found himself buried in the day-to-day of a booming business, with no creative outlets to feed his soul. Out of frustration, he picked up a camera and started recording what he saw. It wasn’t long before his reawakened passion for photography became the thread that pulled his life back into balance.
Now he specializes in live concert photography, as well as portraiture, landscapes, and sports. Live music has long been a hobby, and he appreciates the challenge of representing the raw joy, focus, determination, and effort he sees on stage. He continually seeks to tell the story of the people around him and strives to capture moments and expressions of artistry and emotion.
Matthew is currently editor-at-large and current house photographer for Hunnypot Unlimited, one of the premier destinations for discovering new music in Southern California through publishing, representation, and live events. He is also a photographer for The Vinyl District, a collaboration of passionate and enthusiastic music lovers coming together to give you an inside look into some of today’s hottest and most intriguing artists.
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ARISARA, a Grammy winning songwriter, has celebrated placements like, Greyhounds (De La Soul), Better Together (Ziggy Marley) and Something Beautiful (Tori Kelly). ARISARA, aka Jeanette Steiner, hails from Orange, Texas, the deep south. Pronounced /ah-ree sah-rah/, her artistic brand is a name of Thai origin and describes one that is tenacious and unstoppable. Her unorthodox life and extensive, immersive time travelling abroad has only elevated this hippie-gypsy, soul-sister’s ability to understand and relate to all kinds of people. Her writing elicits a graceful perspective and inspires compassion for the human experience. Her lyrics express a variety of contemplations on the ever-marvelous concept of love, a portion of which she shares in her latest album release, With Love.
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Pop music is often built on personas – stage names, alternate identities, faces hidden behind hair, helmets, makeup, or masks. Sometimes, the artist’s mission is to hide his or her true self behind a haze of mystery. But that’s not the case with Adam Cola.
Across every one of his creative endeavors, the emerging pop star’s primary message is to embrace your true self – to be proud of each and every facet of who you are. It’s a message he’s championed since the very start of his music career, and one that’s partly responsible for the acclaim and accolades he’s garnered thus far. But most of the attention to come his way has been on the back of his innovative and intriguing brand of danceable electro-pop. Anchored by the artist’s unmistakably smooth singing style, the music is magnetic and inviting, commanding focus and forcing anybody it reaches into motion. “I want to inspire people to let their light shine bright,” says Cola. “I’ve gone through dark times. I’ve felt inhibited in the past, like I couldn’t be myself and didn’t have my own voice, and music has been the thing to lift me out of that. Now, that’s what I want to do for other people.”
The Montreal-born, L.A.-based singer is a natural performer, having realized his penchant for performing early on. “Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved acting and dancing and putting on shows for anyone that might come to my house,” he shares. He was drawn to music and dance and always had the full support of those close to him to pursue his passions, though it wasn’t until much later that he realized the truest of those passions was singing.
Having moved to L.A. to study acting for the stage and screen at a prestigious institution, Cola had his first foray behind the microphone in a high-end recording studio. “It just felt so natural,” he admits – and others noticed. Soon, he was collaborating with a who’s who of award-winning songwriters and producers that recognized heaps of potential in the early twenty-something.
Now, after plenty of hard work with his own dedicated team, Adam Cola is set to drop his full-length debut. The 12 tracks are ripe with infectious, dance-inducing beats that incorporate influence from decades worth of pop music but with a fresh and modern motif. “I’m drawn to tracks with that mysterious kind of groove – that intangible sexiness that you just can’t ignore,” he says, and that’s more than clear throughout the collection. At times it’s subdued, sexy, and alluring; others, exciting and exhilarating. But all of the time, it’s powerful and encouraging, thanks in large part to the artist’s uplifting lyrics.
Right from the opening track, Adam Cola promotes his mantra of being free and uninhibited, of being proud and embracing your true self. “I don’t follow any guidelines myself and am not trying to be anything other than who I am,” he unapologetically admits. “We all feel vulnerable sometimes, but we need to realize the things that make us different are the things that are most beautiful.”
That individual beauty is one of the many things to celebrate while getting lost in a dizzying, euphoric dance thanks to Adam Cola. From the stage or stereo, he’s pushing boundaries and sending bodies into sync. Music has been medicine for his own soul, and now, he’s looking to share a dose with anyone in earshot – uninhibited, uncompromising, and unapologetic.
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My name is Veronica Irwin and I am a student, writer, and arts journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a current student at UC Berkeley, studying Media Studies and minoring in Music and Journalism.
I have been fortunate enough to write for The Quietus, Hunnypot Unlimited, and The Berkeley B-Side, some samples for which can be found on this website. I have a special interest in urban and rock music, and tend to write about artists' relationship with their communities both politically and creatively.
Hunnypot Live! isn't the kind to respect you in the morning. We don't exhibit reverence until at least 2pm. Show #397 wasn't gentle for first-timers either. Hot Tub Johnnie starting by paying homage to good music by broadcasting a set of semigogue songs. Rilan sat down for a quickie interview and a preview of his live set. Our guest "DJ" Stephan Pine returned to the water to share his MARVELous tales of his music career and brought a great set of music to share. The Tremolo Beer Gut bloated us with watery riff rock instrumental madness, Rilan delivered a compact stadium pop extravaganza, Miranda Glory sang sultry R&B styles, Mike Martinez Music performed emotional pop music and the night capped off with our world famous dance party. 08/06/2018
STEPHAN PINE (DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP MUSIC, GUEST INTERVIEW/DJ SET)
Guest DJ Stephan Pine moved out from Ohio a decade ago and is living the LA dream. Working within the ABC Music Dept under the mentor-ship of the great Dawn Solar, Stephan has learned the ins and outs of music supervision, clearance and licensing. And being a guitar player he loves ROCK!
Stephan is supervising several popular Netflix originals from the Marvel universe, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and The Punisher. BIG SHOWS! Come on out for the hang and congratulate Stephan on being an official newlywed!
The Tremolo Beer Gut are from Denmark/Sweden and there touring the US west coast from Seattle to San Diego. A 98% instrumental garage rock/spy surf combo. 5 LPs and a bunch of 45's on the rap sheet. Low maintenance/High performance 4 piece
Formed in a different millennium by Yebo and Sune Wagner from The Raveonettes – later joined by Per Sunding from Eggstone and The Great Nalna (when Sune moved to the states) and Jengo.
Nalna and Yebo has also played with Jon Spencer and Matt Vert - Ray’s Heavy Trash combo, Yebo also with Junior Senior, PowerSolo and Thee Attacks.
All in all a well seasoned and very spicy combo with a lot of garage rock pedigree and a guaranteed hot live show at your party/show/mother’s house.
Twenty one-year-old singer, songwriter, and dancer Rilan is a study in contradiction. The independent artist, who first appeared on the scene with his 2015 EP Chemical, is a charismatic looker who describes himself as a “freak” and a “weirdo.” Because he dressed like an emo kid and wore makeup to his preppy high school in New Orleans, his classmates assumed he was a troublemaker, when he was actually a straight-A student who never disobeyed his parents. He’s a former musical theater kid who loves ’70s glam rock and ’80s synth-pop. He’s chatty and warm in person but insists he has no social life and few friends. “I don't connect with people easily,” he says. “I like to sit back and observe, and report on how I’m feeling through my music.”
Rilan’s songs are an object lesson in not judging someone or something by its appearance. “It drives me crazy,” he says. “It’s probably why I got bullied in high school. I would get in fights with people who made fun of kids for wearing what they wanted. I don't want to be normal. Normal is boring and pointless. I find beauty in mystery and obscurity.”
In Rilan’s music, dark, sad emotions are dressed up in glossy dance-pop packages, like the house-influenced single “Blindfolds,” featuring Naz Tokio, which is about being rejected by someone you love and not being able to let go. On the surface, bouncy electro-pop tune “Not Sorry” appears to be about a one-night stand. “But if you dig deeper the song is really about me and how I deal with the world,” Rilan says. “That I’ve got nothing left to lose by pursuing music and I need to be unapologetic in how I present myself to people. It’s kind of my own personal anthem: I’m not sorry about doing this because I believe in myself. So it’s about not being afraid to be yourself.”
Rilan’s music — which he describes as “a gothic dance party, because it’s fun on the surface, but its heart is black as coal” — is indeed unapologetic. “It comes from this angry, guttural place,” he says, “I'm terrible talking about how I feel, but if you just listen to the lyrics, they’re kind of this empowering vessel that lets me show the world who I am.”
The New Orleans native has been expressing himself through performance since he was a child. Rilan got his start at age five doing theater, then took his first dance class at age 11, going on to study ballet, jazz, tap, and modern dance. “I had all this anxiety built up inside of me and I could channel it into moving my body,” he says. At 14, tired of being told he was “singing it wrong” by musical theater directors, Rilan began writing songs. “They were about running away and breaking social norms,” he says of his earliest compositions. “I wrote about a guy wearing makeup. It was me. I was like, ‘This is my commentary on your society.’ I was thinking about how these preppy kids from my school were getting drunk on the weekends but would come to school looking all country club. I looked like I was going to kill the neighbor's cat and sacrifice him to Satan, when in reality, I came home, did my homework, then went upstairs and played piano for hours. That’s how I escaped from human interaction.”
Growing up in what he describes as a “big, traditional, Italian, Catholic family,” Rilan was the black sheep. “All my older cousins played sports,” he says. “Even the girls in my family were athletic.” His parents were very protective of him, as well as indulgent. “I think because my parents were so happy they finally had a child that they just said, ‘Do whatever you want.’” Rilan says. When Rilan was 10, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and his family was displaced to Houston for six months. “You could go back to the city, but there was no infrastructure,” he says. “The power was out and it was kind of a ghost town. I had never lived anywhere else, so it was very hard. Houston felt sterile, there wasn’t enough weird, creepy stuff everywhere. New Orleans is the most haunted city in the continental U.S., which probably explains why I’m dark as fuck,” he says with a laugh.
With Rilan disconnected from his hometown, music became his closest friend. He gravitated toward gender-bending artists like Prince, Adam Ant, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, and David Bowie. “Bowie’s whole career was like an allegory for how you can see your potential if you are limitless and don’t confine yourself to a box,” Rilan says. He also fell in love with powerful, rule-breaking female artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna, whose songs he would sing while dancing on the coffee table as a kid.
At 14, Rilan began to look for producers in New Orleans to work with, to no avail, so he pursued his dance career, going to conventions and traveling to L.A. to audition. Then two years ago, he hooked up with Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Damien Lewis (Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyoncé) and the two began writing songs together. One of their first efforts, the twisted love song “Chemical” became Rilan’s debut single. The visually sumptuous video for the title track, directed by Ethan Lader, has racked up more than 2.2 million views on YouTube. “That song set the tone for everything we did after that point,” Rilan says. Rilan moved to Los Angeles in early 2014 and has since worked with such top producers as Dallas Austin (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga) and Justin Warfield (She Wants Revenge, Depeche Mode). He’s also performed multiple shows around the city, and last year, was cast as a Warbler in the final season of Glee.
Despite his many talents, it’s music that remains Rilan’s focus and his vision is crystal clear. “There isn’t this kind of androgynous male artist who's doing something weird and strange but still making tangible pop music,” he says. “I want to do that. And I want it to be very visual. I’m not just going to sit on a stool and strum a guitar. I want to make pop music that is freakshow-esque but done in a tasteful way.” And how does he hope people will feel when they hear his music? “Understood,” he says. “I want to be a voice for people who feel like there’s no one to talk to. I want them to feel lifted up by my music. I want them to know that it’s okay to be weird. I'm gonna wear crazy things and I want everyone to feel comfortable wearing crazy things and expressing themselves in any way that they can.”
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Miranda Glory is an LA based singer/songwriter. A graduate of the Professional Performing Arts School in NYC, whose halls have been graced by the likes Alicia Keys and Britney Spears, Miranda Glory headed to Boston after high school to the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where she earned her degree in early 2016. She scored her first major solo success when she was selected to record a vinyl LP in Valencia, Spain, under Berklee’s label. Miranda continued to write and record, and began to release her music independently online. In late 2016, she was discovered and selected to the exclusive Neverland Songwriting Retreat in Costa Rica, which heralded her arrival as a songwriter. After that, she went bicoastal, ferrying back and forth from New York to Los Angeles to write with established songwriters and producers, including Autumn Rowe (Fifth Harmony, Cher Lloyd), Sheppard Solomon (Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears), Zac Poor (Tori Kelly, MNEK), David Brook (Eminem, Charlie Puth), The Fliptones (Jason Derulo, Flo Rida), and others.
Last year, Miranda released her debut singles “Blue Eyes feat. Matty Owens” & “Take” on iconic NYC-based label Tommy Boy Entertainment, gaining attention from prominent streaming playlists and blogs. Of the vibey Alt Pop/R&B “Take,” the music blog Gems and Secrets wrote that its “a slow jam that’s perfect for getting yourself in the mood.”
In late 2017, Miranda signed a worldwide deal with Selected/Sony Music Germany & Ultra Music US for her single “Instant Gratification” released on December 15th, while simultaneously co-writing and featuring on RYNX’s single “Want You”, which has amassed over 10 million streams across platforms.
2018 was off to a great start, as Miranda collaborated with established European Artist & DJ Tujamo on the single “Body Language (feat. Miranda Glory & Haris)” released on Spinnin’ Records in March, which can be heard all over clubs worldwide. Next came a collaboration with one of the world’s top DJ’s, R3HAB, & Noah Neiman for the single “We Do (feat. Miranda Glory)” which debuted on 25 of Spotify’s New Music Fridays worldwide, released in April. Most recently, Miranda released her single "Stain" with Colin Chase & Gill Chang on KnightVision Records.
Miranda continues to write & record in the studio and is currently gearing up to release her next single “Hypochondriac” July 20th, as well as an EP set to release later this year.
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How can we get our hands on some of that Martian lake water to fill our bongs? Oh sorry, this is supposed to be about show #396. We just filled our bongs with LA tap water on this night. Hot Tub started the show with a flowing river of mellifluous melodies. Jackie Subeck took us through her music career beginnings through the wormhole to her work as a Marijuana rights lobbyist and educator and she brought a cool set of music that tells her story. Jackie also brought out White Buffalo and Mary Jane University for a sampling session in our "Green Room" to display and educate our guests on some cool Marijuana products and services.
LA Femme Pop helped us curate the night of live music and they shot the moon and then some.
Serena Foster blasted us off with pop music pomp, Marygold was a diamond of delicious music and dancing, Ralphy returned to rock and stage roll with choruses and choreography (and costume changes!) and Robin Taylor hip checkered us with hop and pop and special guests.
If that wasn't enough our world famous dance party with DJ Hot Tub capped the night late.
Photos and Recap by J. Gray 07/23/2018
Jackie Subeck, a dynamic and strategically-minded entrepreneur, is Chief Executive Officer and founder of Hey Jackpot, LLC, a lifestyle cannabis brand focusing on business consulting, live events and advocacy. Up until early 2017, she also served as Vice Chair of Women Grow Los Angeles for nearly two years, developing and producing one of the most successful cannabis business networking events in the LA area, now rebranded as Connecting Cannabis. Prior to engaging in the cannabis industry, Jackie spent her time as founder and CEO of Footprint Worldwide, a China-centric entertainment marketing, branding, and production company based in Los Angeles and Beijing. With achievements spanning across the globe including 30 years in the music industry and 13 years in China, Jackie most recently served as Music and Post Production consultant to DreamWorks Animation in Shanghai. Throughout her career, she has produced hundreds of projects and combined forces with high profile talent including Madonna, Linkin Park, Quincy Jones, and eight time Grammy winners, The Manhattan Transfer.
In early 2015, Jackie made a pivotal life decision that her experience, passion and years of startups and business knowledge would be far better served in the nascent cannabis industry. Coming into the marijuana field as an outsider provided Jackie the unique opportunity to enjoy fresh and untainted perspectives, to think differently, and to design, develop and execute new models to service the entire global cannabis space. The launch of Hey Jackpot! is her first startup in the cannabis business.
Jackie is a member of NCIA, the National Cannabis Industry Association, The Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force and the Drug Policy Alliance and sits on the Governing Affairs Committee for the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. She worked on the Adult Use of Marijuana Act/Prop 64 campaign to legalize cannabis in California and continues her advocacy by working closely with the State’s cannabis bureau on licensing and regulations as well as locally with cities including West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to help create fair, equitable and inclusive cannabis policy for everyone.
Jackie was educated at University of California Santa Barbara and regularly volunteers her time to advocacy, education, policy, and philanthropic organizations spanning from entertainment to cannabis.
Serena Foster is a upcoming new artist from Los Angeles. She started singing at age five, began writing songs on guitar at age nine, and then writing songs on piano at age sixteen. She was born and raised in a musical family in sunny California.
Some singles Serena has put out so far include her Spotify hit "Hollow", as well as her other singles "Show Me The Way", "Flat Line Love", and now “Eruption” which is her latest single.
Serena recently finished a bunch of singles, which she will bee releasing later this year, with the very talented producer Raz Klinghoffer, whose work can be heard on television shows such as "American Horror Story," Ink Master" and "The Flash."
Serena also worked with J2 Producer, who has produced and remixed songs for artists such as Beyonce, Shakira, LL Cool J, The Pussy Cat Dolls, and Cassie. They made a epic movie trailer cover of "Come Sail Away" which came out last year.
Serena has teamed with Fenton Music Management as her new representation and could not be happier to be represented by Rob Fenton.
Currently you can find her performing all over LA, so be sure to keep close eyes on her social media to find out when her next show is!
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Los Angeles singer-songwriter, Marygold, has been performing for over 10 years; and is known for her use of dramatic and 80's pop influences. She recently released her single titled Goldmine with producer Zak Lloyd (Leona Lewis, Keane), and is currently preparing an EP.
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There must be something in the water ‘Down Under’ because we have another amazing Aussie making huge waves over in the U.S. After the success of her single release ‘LOVER,’ the LA based independent pop sensation RALPHY is once again receiving an overwhelming response to her new EP ‘PEACE LOVER.’ Ralphy will be releasing her song "Hesitate" on the day of the event, July 23.
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Cutting-edge urban pop artist Robin Taylor is turning heads; and volume dials up. Catchy pop melodies ride hip hop beats sung by a powerhouse vocal with R&B flavor. With years of performing around the NYC club scene, Robin brings her energetic edgy vibe to the west coast. Already two new releases this year, and more new singles set for release throughout summer, there's no stopping her, cuz it's 'time 2 ride'.
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Attention Marijuana enthusiasts: Hey! Jackpot and Hunnypot are again teaming up to bring you a very special private Cannabis tasting event.
Selected Cannabis distributors and merchandisers will be showing off their current and upcoming products. This Tasting Session is co-sponsored by the fine folks at White Buffalo,
Our event is located in the Green Room directly behind The Mint and corresponds with our Hunnypot La Femme Pop event. Their will be surprises and give-aways throughout the night, bring a friend!
+21, 7-11PM
Green Room (behind The Mint)
6010 W. Pico Blvd.
LA, CA 90035
Listening and watching a Hunnypot Live broadcast is a Scary Home Companion but if you are there it's even more frightening.
Show #395 was scary good. Hot Tub started the night and put beats to the outside heat, Maura Duval floated in to talk about her work and history in music, Stoll Vaughan joined us for a quick interview and an beautifully tender solo set, Colin Magalong got everyone dancing to disco rock music, Ali Stone did a pop up DJ set, The Songery broke hearts and got us to dance along and the night finished off with Hot Tub's famous party music. 07/09/2018
Maura Duval is currently the Creative Director, Pop/Rock in ASCAP’s LA office. She has been with ASCAP for three years and began as a Associate Director, getting promoted to Director after two years. Maura’s primary focus at ASCAP is finding creative opportunities for ASCAP’s many writers, producers and artists that operate in the Pop and Rock space. She also collaborates creatively with the LA industry, including managers, A&Rs, attorneys and also helps host many of ASCAP’s events in the LA region. Prior to ASCAP, Maura worked for Michael Lynton (CEO, Sony Entertainment) and also spent a couple years as a day-to-day artist manger and tour manager at a company called SQE Music. Maura has a Bachelor’s of Science in Music from CU Denver as well as a decade plus of classical violin training.
If Stoll Vaughan sounds familiar -- his music, if not the name – it might be because the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter’s efforts have been heard, but not necessarily identified, on major motion picture and network TV series soundtracks like True Blood, Shameless, Friday Night Lights and The Office.
Stoll’s intriguing new album, The Conversation, comes out independently via the Commonwealth Artist label on June 29 and is likely to, at last, identify the artist with the music he’s been creating for quite some time. It’s not as if Stoll has been completely anonymous in light of the fact that he’s toured with such top and varied artists as John Mellencamp, Marty Stuart, Def Leppard, John Fogerty, Journey, Don Williams and James McMurtry.
At the start of his recording career, he released two albums (Hold on Thru Sleep and Dreams and Love Like a Mule) that were produced by Mike Wanchic, Mellencamp’s co-producer and longtime guitarist. Both, in fact, hit the Top 10 on the Americana chart. Thereafter, he composed the music for David Lynch’s Webby Award-winning 2009 Internet documentary series Interview Project, directed by Austin Lynch— son of David Lynch and Stoll’s best friend since school. The younger Lynch has now directed evocative L.A.-centric videos of acoustic performances by Stoll of five of the 13 songs on The Conversation.
The album itself was half-produced by Wanchic at Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall studio near Bloomington, Indiana, with backing musicians including Mike’s Mellencamp bandmates Andy York on guitar, drummer Dane Clark and keyboardist Troye Kinnett. The other half was produced in Nashville by Stoll’s pal Carl Broemel—guitarist for My Morning Jacket—with that band’s bassist Tom Blankenship among the session players.
Stoll counts such legendary singer-songwriters as Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, James McMurtry, and Bob Dylan among his influences, as well as eclectic Nashville contemporary country music greats Marty Stuart and Greg Garing.
His experience is even more wide-ranging than those names might seem to indicate; he also starred in the 1990s Indiana hardcore punk band Chamberlain, after which he worked with Wanchic at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington where Broemel, incidentally, played in the rock band Old Pike.
But Stoll, who hails from Lexington, Kentucky, and has been honored by his home state with the esteemed Kentucky Colonel award for public service, had been living in Nashville—and became embedded in its Americana scene—prior to hitting the road as opening act for co-headliners Def Leppard and Journey in 2006 and 2007.
“I’d been doing a lot of touring—also including a Mellencamp- Fogerty tour—and had lived in New York for a second before the Def Leppard/Journey tour came about,” Stoll recalls. “I was the ‘fluffer,’ taking the stage before those household names came on. Even though I was a solo acoustic guy, I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. I wrote some songs with [Journey’s] Jonathan Cain--and sometimes the band would come out and play with me. So it was really positive.”
Stoll, who had also founded his own music publishing and artist development companies, came to L.A. to write and produce an album for the wife of Rick Allen, Def Leppard’s drummer.
“I moved from Nashville to Los Angeles in 2008—when everyone else was making their exodus from L.A. to Nashville!” says Stoll, who immediately went to work on his own, meeting with music supervisors and landing TV show song placements when they needed country/Americana music. Several of them now appear on The Conversation and include “Further Down the Line” (The Open Road), “Meet You in the Middle” (The Office finale).
“I’d started my artist development company in LA, built a studio and found some artists and was working on developing them,” Stoll says. “But when it was time for me to get back to the process of writing songs for myself, I didn’t really know what to say, and thought maybe I should reconsider everything: I’d been in music, but it wasn’t about the music, if you know what I mean. Being out there hustling and having to raise money, I’d kind of left myself far behind doing things I wasn’t good at. It was so painful that I started going to a therapist— and brought my guitar!”
Luckily, this returned him to his songwriting strength, and his confidence returned with it.
“Forgiveness’ really was a strong song for me in getting back into the groove, and songs started coming to me as I trusted the process again, as I had before I went off on those tangents. It became all about forgiveness, hope and love.”
The album’s title, Stoll says, signifies “being in a continual conversation regarding people, God, and the fears we carry around—and how music interplays with everything emotionally and spiritually. But it’s really me trying to listen, and then relying on trusted friends to help me put down what I heard.”
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Colin Magalong emerges as an artist with a refreshing vocal range and infectious melodies. Magalong grew up on the San Francisco peninsula where he was heavily influenced by artists such as BreakBot, Michael Jackson and Kid Cudi. He studied at the Colorado University of Denver and has since moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides. Having spent the last year writing his debut EP with a small pool of collaborators- as well as writing for other artists on their projects - Magalong is ready to bust out in 2018. With 90’s inspired hooks and nu-disco grooves, Magalong ’s debut EP is set to be the new soundtrack of your weekend.
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Electronic music isn’t the realm of many women in Latin America. Colombian producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and DJ Ali Stone is starting to make waves with her music, and she’s managed to craft impressive works along the way, making movie soundtracks, remixes for top artists such as Katy Perry and Camila Cabello, playing festivals like EDC and most recently being one of the opening acts for Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour. Stone, a classically trained musician, was also featured on the international campaign project “Empowering Women”, which promotes gender equality on male-dominated jobs.
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Writing songs that deal with every color and nuance of life, The Songery aims to push mental boundaries through genre-bending pop and theatrics. The concepts, ideas, and messages behind the songs are more important than the songs themselves and every move, every sound, every visual is developed with care and intent in a final attempt to peel back the mask that humanity can so easily wear.
When asked why one person would decide to call herself “The Songery” she replies, “The Songery is more than a persona. It is a call to arms, a spearhead signaling for spiritual awakening, symbolic of an ideology that the world seems to be lacking severely and yet constantly surrounds us. For this reason, my project is grounded in story-line, integrity, concept, and character. I feel very secondary- as if I am the one driving the car, and it’s my car… but I am not the car. The Songery is a name I feel very intertwined with, I feel it so perfectly encapsulates the whimsical world I strive to show people. I’m not quite there yet. I’m still developing, completely on my own, so it is a process… but I’ll get there.”
-I also feel the name gives me freedom to play with all these abstracts and to adopt such a wide range of tones and subject matter. Some very light, some very dark, ranging substantially in color yet all unified within this world. I have been writing songs and performing since I was a little girl, and never really had the belief that I could or should be trying to make a career out of it… until The Songery came along. It sparked a purpose within me. I believe in The Songery with such passion that I want to keep fighting until I see it realized. The Songery comes with power to me. It is more than me. It is bigger than me. If I forfeited the name, the music would not feel the same. Nothing would feel the same. It would not be the same.
The Songery loves Jonsi, Sigur Ros, Regina Spektor, Danny Elfman, Queen, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Beethoven, all the random hits of the 80s, and pretty much any film score.
Toys R Us & Pressed Rat and Warthog may have closed down their shops but Hunnypot Live! is still ringing up point of sale musical moments. . . I assure you Hunnypot Live! #394 was opened with a genre busting set by Hot Tub Johnnie. Alana Davis Artist Page left the warm Jamaican waters for our backyard bubbler and talked about her journey that took her to her brand new record release. Then she dumped convention for our guest DJ's and jumped on stage with a full band to do it live. . . JEMS jammed 3 part harmonies that felt like they were born from canyon country, Gabe Kubanda gave us a stripped and "Warped" acoustic power pop set, BINX buzzed in and brought her own musical honey to our 'Pot, Them Evils practically raised rock n roll demons and DJ Vron Irwin brought the beats for our famous dance party. 06/25/2018
Alana Davis was born into a musical family.
Her father was the acclaimed jazz pianist Walter Davis Jr. who! played with Charlie Parker, Art Blakey,and Dizzy Gillespie and whose albums Davis Cup and In walked Thelonius are considered jazz classics. Her mother Anna Scho?eld was noted jazz vocalist whose 1963 Atlantic Records release "Anamari" was produced by the legendary Nesuhi Ertegun and featured jazz greats Art Farmer, Grady Tate, Jim Hall and Clark Terry. Her family's West Village apartment was the nexus for many of the jazz greats of the early 60s.
Alana attended the famed LaGuardia School of Performing Arts in New York City on a Scholarship. This led to her ?nding her voice and eventually a deal with Elektra Records. Her debut album Blame it on me contained the hits "32 ?avors" and "Crazy" and was nominated for a Grammy award!
One of the songs "Murder" was sampled on Jay Z's song "Murder" on his Vol. 3 The Life and Times of S. Carter album. Alana was the only female artist on the H.O.R.D.E tour of 1998 and also part of the iconic Lilith Fair tour with Sarah McLachlan and others.
Her two subsequent critically acclaimed follow up albums Fortune Cookies and Surrender Dorothy saw Alana continuing to tour and landing her spots on all the major TV outlets.
Following these albums Alana took time off from the music industry to start a family but Continued to do one off shows in the Caribbean and United States every now and then.
She also toured as guest vocalist with Thievery Corporation. Alana has recently completed her new album Love Again and has begun a series of shows to support the release on Cleopatra Records.
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JEMS is a trio made up of Singer/Songwriters Emily Colombier, Jessica Rotter and Sarah Margaret Huff. Through collaborations on their own projects, they discovered how beautifully their voices blended and decided to share their music with the world. Sarah Margaret Huff’s bright soaring timbre is combined with Emily Colombier’s soulful earthy quality and met in the middle by Jessica Rotter’s colorful blend of the two. Through rich three-part harmonies, JEMS weaves stories, sounds, and raw emotion with a shimmering fervor. Listeners of all kinds can’t seem to resist the songwriting prowess and vocal alchemy of JEMS.
“Sun-soaked singer-songwriter vibes with just a bit of boho” - LA Magazine
“You can’t look away in the best way possible… It’s the only thing that matters in the world right now” -Liz Wood, KUCI
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Gabe is one of those rarities in the music industry – self-made, entrepreneurial, stays out of the red tape and lets the music and his actions speak for himself. Since leaving his former band of 7 years, being a featured castmember on Season 2 of VH1 Classic’s: Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp, creating the Epic Proportions Tour, and taking other bands with him on the road, he’s performed over 600 concerts, played for our nations military, is an industry panelist at major music conferences, has performed on Vans Warped Tour, Summerfest, SXSW, CMJ Festival, NAMM and many more.
The sophomore followup to his first EP “Let’s See What Happens…”, Flow Fail Prevail features 15 songs, including interludes, remixes, and a one-of-a-kind track featuring vocals from his fans, friends and bands. Look for Gabe and his Epic Proportions Tour in your city!
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BINX recently performed at the NAMM Grand Finale and Grammy Showcase Party 2018 in Los Angeles and she is currently an intern at Music Connection Magazine and signed with Lip Sync Music in early 2018.
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Southern California rock band Them Evils have started off fast and are accelerating rapidly. The band is endorsed by no less an icon than Zakk Wylde, who had them open for Zakk Sabbath in 2017. They have also toured with the likes of The Pretty Reckless and Alter Bridge; they have hit the stage at some of the biggest Rock festivals in the US – including Louder Than Life, High Elevation and Aftershock. With the upcoming release of scorching new single "Got Me Rockin'" on March 23rd and an EP of new material in May – recorded and produced by Kato Khandwala (The Pretty Reckless, Blondie, Drowning Pool, Pierce the Veil), the band is prepped to have a breakout year in 2018.
Them Evils' late-night joyride through Rock N' Roll's seedy underbelly was born in the shadows of neon vice and nocturnal living in Las Vegas, when Jordan and Jake met in High School. They started writing and playing together and knew that they had a chemistry that was undeniable. In 2013 they made the move to Southern California to pursue their music professionally – with nothing to fall back on other than their drive and belief in their music and each other. They connected with David through a friend that worked at a bar with Jordan and who knew they were looking for a permanent drummer. Delaney auditioned for Griffin and Massanari, and all 3 knew it was a good fit immediately. The nasty energy befitting their name grew from there.
Inspired by equal parts of rock giants like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Queens of The Stone Age, among others, the band pays tribute to their roots while carving out their own unique sound. Them Evils music is at times throwback without being too derivative and is thoroughly modern. "We pretty much made our own scene," Griffin says. "We started out doing straight up rock and roll, and that's what we're still doing... That said, we're always evolving.”
The band has released Two EPs: their debut self-titled EP (2016) and "Rollin' Stoned and Livin' Free" (2016). They made inroads @ Active Rock Radio in 2017 with "She's Got Nothin", which peaked at #22 on the BDS Rock Indicator chart.
They were born for the stage and have been road warriors for the past 4 years - constantly touring clubs, as well as with the aforementioned The Pretty Reckless, Alter Bridge, Zakk Sabbath and 10 Years, among others. To support the new "Got Me Rockin'" single and to set up the May EP release, the band are set to embark on a west coast run with Red Sun Rising followed by their own headlining tour this spring. They will play Welcome to Rockville, Carolina Rebellion and Rock on The Range – with more tour dates being booked for the summer.
Jordan Griffin - Guitars/Vocals
Jake Massanari - Bass
David Delaney II - Drums
If anyone ever asked Hunnypot Live! to denuclearize our shows, we'd tell them to go stuff a Korean cucumber.
Show #393 initiated with a meltdown musical set from Hot Tub Johnnie. Matt Lilley splashed in the heavy musical waters and gave us a primer for everything that happened in his life since hearing Steely Dan. Then he worked his saxophones and performed live with his isoDOPE band Jazz Butchers.
ZaZa Maree radiated a pop music dose of fun, Malik & The Loved Ones worked our molecules to an excited state with conscience rap n' roll music, Nk-Riot brought nearly weaponized sick beats and visuals and Hot Tub closed the night with a dance party set that has a half-life of at least 20,000 years. 06/11/2018
Recap: J. Gray
Photos: J. Gray / R. Taalbi
Matt Lilley created MCL Music Services in 2009 to provide Music Clearance, Licensing, and Supervision services to the Film, Television, and Advertising communities. Previously the Director of Music Clearance in the Feature Film division at Paramount Pictures from 1996 - 2008, Matt was responsible for much of the clearance negotiating and licensing in many of Paramount’s most successful films and soundtracks over that span of time.
In late 2008, Matt was named Vice President of Music Clearance and Licensing at Lionsgate Entertainment (in charge of the Film, Television, and Marketing divisions of the company) which he transitioned into maintaining as his first client under the umbrella of MCL Music Services.
Over the past several years MCL Music Services has expanded its services and now works in Music Supervision in the independent film and documentary world and Catalogue Administration.
An avid fan of jazz music, Matt is a lifelong saxophone player, performing with The Jazz Butchers and his jazz quartet in the greater Los Angeles area.
Matt holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix (2003) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Industry Studies from California State University, Northridge (1997).
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The original Jazz Butchers have evolved into the current musical line-up featuring Matt Lilley on Sax, Dave Curry Bass, Gustavo Ramirez on keys and Jim Matthews on drums. In addition to these musicians are Leddie Garcia on Percussion, Composer/arranger Ron Blake on Trumpet and Flugelhorn, and Big Band arranger/composer Brent Fischer who's band contributed string and horn parts to several of the album titles.
The Jazz Butchers performs primarily in the greater Los Angeles/Southern Cal area. Compositions are all original with elements of modern, alternative, and "straight ahead" jazz, and fusing these with Latin, Blues, Funk and other elements making the experience unpredictable and spontaneous.
The songs are upbeat and Inspiring, having a unique local sound reminiscent of the experimental days in Los Angeles circa 1970 -1980. The music on this album is inspired and attributed to people and places that developed the albums character.
They play originals, plus Weather Report,, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, and more!
Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, ZaZa took musical influence from the local music scene as well as some of her favorite musicians, including Pink, Avril Lavigne, and Madonna's early work. She has played music her entire life, starting with violin and piano at age 3 and picking up guitar at age 11. She began writing songs on guitar and piano at age 12 after learning to cover Taylor Swift’s entire collection of released music at the time. ZaZa continued to cover songs from all different genres and artists, and landed acoustic performances around Las Vegas showcasing these songs as well as her original music.
Aside from music, ZaZa spent her childhood in cheerleading, gymnastics, dance, and acting, and later in horseback riding and aerial acrobatics. She appeared in both national and international commercials as a child, representing national brands including Longines watches, and has recently been featured on RAI network in Italy.
A competitive tennis player from the age of 8, ZaZa spent ages 9 through 14 traveling for tournaments on the national junior circuit while still developing her creative skills in music, dance, acrobatics, and acting.
A natural performer from a young age, ZaZa always had a love for performing whenever the opportunity to be on stage arose, usually talent shows or dance recitals.
She began her ascent into the music industry in 2011 at age 14, when she headlined the House of Blues Las Vegas with her then duo partner. The duo landed dozens of gigs after that night, performing for more House of Blues venues, clubs, and radio stations across the West Coast.
ZaZa began her solo career in 2013, when she released her first EP #Forever with her production team at Neon Pink Records. Immediately following this release, Dance Moms star Asia Monet Ray joined Neon Pink Records to further develop her music career. ZaZa and her team wrote and produced a number of songs for Asia and were used in Lifetime Network’s Dance Moms spin off Raising Asia.
ZaZa released her next single 'Go Back' in 2016, after taking a break from releasing music and performing to attend college and work on other projects. Her new single was followed by features and another track, ‘Just Fine’ a few months later. ‘Just Fine’ proved to be ZaZa’s most successful single up to that time, reaching 1 million views on combined platforms and attracting hundreds of remixers to the track’s official remix contest. Her next single ‘With You’ proved to be equally as popular, attracting new fans and creating a social media buzz.
As of 2018, ZaZa has headlined shows across the US, and opened for acts such as Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Afrojack, and Trina and she has collaborated with brands like Into The AM and Vertigo Music App.
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Malik & The Loved Ones is a seven piece Hip-Hop/Jazz/Funk/Soul group based out of Los Angeles, California. Started by Writer/Vocalist Malik LovesYall in 2017, The Loved Ones serve as an instrumental part in the manifestation of his vision; to use story-telling, live sound & performance to inspire Authenticity, Community & Self-discovery within both themselves, & the people they meet. Consisting of Saxophonist Iris Pechenik, Drummer Jon Kane, Trumpeter Nick Coggiola, Bassist Will Taggart, Keyboardist Joe Fournier & Guitarist Luke Jurow – The Loved Ones provide a rich and sonically boisterous backdrop to LovesYall’s powerful storytelling & magnetic presence. Together,
Malik & The Loved Ones remind us to Get Up, Get Free, & Do What Makes You Happy…hoping that their music inspires you to do the same.
NKRIOT is an electronic music pioneer and inventor and a founder of the music genre known as “goji.” Hailing from Boyle Heights, California, NKRIOT champions a unique, kinetic sound based around an ever-evolving custom rig of hardware known as the RIOTLAB.
When performing live, the artist known as NKRIOT (real name, Kristopher Escajeda) wears his signature hand-made mask. This mask is not merely a prop; it’s a working electronic instrument that allows the artist to interface with the original music he’s performing live, for example by allowing him to process his own vocals in real-time while singing. None of the music performed during live NKRIOT’s shows is pre-recorded, not even the original productions composed by Escajeda himself. Instead, more akin to a live band or live musician, NKRIOT performs his compositions with instruments, using electronic effects controllers, an electric guitar, drum pads, synthesizers and other elements to create a wholly new experience. No two NKRIOT shows are exactly the same.
NKRIOT’s first full-length studio album, Riot, spawned the single, “Reality Pages,” an idiosyncratic track that caught the attention of corporate brands like LinkedIn and Jarritos and caused them to sign Escajeda as a brand ambassador, tapping into his authenticity and street cred. The follow-up album, Virtual Climax Recordings, is due for release in May 2018 with the first single being, “Shogun 8.0.” available online now.