The Hunnypot Live! Holiday Party was a recitation of our most naughty list. Jonathan Lane put on his best swim trunks and joined us for the first time in the tub to talk about music, life and his impact on in Star Trek fandom. Aloud turned up on a Monday to rock n roll us right, NYIKO delivered emotional energetic poptronic songs, Caroucells spun us in many directions with eclectic, moody rock music, Emerson Star shone brightly and put out pop melodies and Mannequin Medicine were four hard rock wise men seeing their music baby come to life.  12/11/2017

JONATHAN LANE (TAPESTRY MUSIC/5 ALARM MUSIC INTERVIEW/DJ SET)

Jonathan Lane’s journey to the music industry started at Fresno State University, where he attended college on a scholarship for drums and percussion. During his time at Fresno State, he changed his major to English and actively pursued becoming a professional writer. Jon’s first introduction to the world of synch licensing was by writing about it. He was hired on as a freelance writer for various music companies to write them press releases and do album reviews. His first job out of college was at Warner Bros. Consumer Products where he supported a very busy department and learned a great deal about the world of product licensing and creative product development. Jon spent 5 years working at the studio before deciding that music was beginning to take over his life again, as his band at the time UpRooted began to take off and became a focus. Knowing that music had stolen his heart, he left the corporate world to pursue music licensing full time at Atrium Music, an independent music library, where he was instrumental in growing their TV and film music licensing business and brand awareness.

Years later, and with a firm understanding of the industry, Jon accepted an offer at Audio Network where he was one of the first employees in their Los Angeles office. At Audio Network, Jonathan was responsible for managing the company’s Music Supervisor, studio, film, and trailer relationships. Jon was also instrumental in managing their relationship with the Guild of Music Supervisors and helping to develop their local marketing strategy. In 2015, Jon and his partner Caitlin Payne were yearning for a more creative outlet. To help fulfill this need, they created Tapestry Music Services – a full scope Music Supervision company for TV, film and advertising.

To present day, neither Jon or Cait could have expected for Tapestry Music to be as successful as it became. Over the last few years, they’ve provided Music Supervision services to the advertising and creative content divisions of Herzog & Co., Trailer Park, and Midnight Oil, Ayzenberg North America, and more. You can hear their work in marketing campaigns and home entertainment content for films likeThor: Ragnarok, Thank You For Your Service, Battle of the Sexes, Pitch Perfect 3, Dr. Strange, Pitch Perfect 2, Transformers: The Last Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, The Danish Girl, Straight Out of Compton, Trainwreck! Today, in addition to Tapestry Music Services, Jonathan Lane is the full time Director of Synch & Licensing at 5 Alarm Music (an Ole company) where he looks after TV and film licensing. He enjoys frequently supporting live music, collecting records, being an unapologetic EMO fan, sipping a fine glass of whiskey, and spending time with his dog Sonny.

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ALOUD

After years of honing their craft, Aloud has traded in New England winters for Los Angeles’ endless summers. The band, co-fronted by husband and wife songwriting team Henry Beguiristain (vocals/guitar) and Jen de la Osa (vocals/guitar), took their uninhibited rock n’ roll show across the country en route to their new home. Always eager to embrace new ways of connecting with fans, the band partnered up with Acid VR to create a 360° virtual reality tour diary of life on the road to Los Angeles.

Aloud’s roots run deep. De la Osa and Beguiristain have written and performed together since they were teenagers growing up in Miami, Florida. Over the years, they have created a catalog of songs wide in range, but always anchored by the 60s soul and rock music they grew up on—with a particular affection for harmonies. The band is backed up by bassist Charles Murphy, drummer Chuck Ferreira, and their horn section The Feelgoods—affectionately named after the Aretha Franklin song.

Aloud has completed recording a follow-up to their critically lauded album It’s Got To Be Now with producer Benny Grotto (Magnetic Fields, Ben Folds, Weird Al Yankovic). The upcoming record is being mixed by Guy Massey (Paul McCartney, The Libertines, Manic Street Preachers). They are continuing to experiment with the role of virtual reality in music and touring throughout the year.

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NYIKO

NYIKO (“nee-koh”) is an American recording artist, producer, and visual artist.

After being hardened but the sub-zero winters of the Northeastern US, they relocated to the never-ending summer of Los Angeles where they continued exploring their signature brand of synth-pop. Just a few months after arrival, NYIKO was featured in MTV and the AV Club for their viral commercial work with ‘Disney Raps’ - a Disney-made web series focusing on hip hop tributes to their classic films and shows. NYIKO’s recent single, “In The Middle,” received accolades across the blogosphere with International House of Sound calling the track “an instant classic… that gets better and better with each replay of the song.”

NYIKO has performed alongside acts such as Beach Fossils, Alvvays, Vacationer, Pure Bathing Culture, and more.

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CAROUCELLS

Caroucells is the brainchild of LA session guitarist Rod Castro. After a decade of working with artists from CeeLo Green, Snoop Dogg & Fishbone, working on film scores and shows like X-Factor & America’s Got Talent, Rod decided to set much needed time aside to focus on his own music. Caroucells is very much influenced by his tenures with world artists including egyptian pop star Dina El Wedidi. Blending waltzes, with aggressive guitars and ambient soundscapes creates the unique sound of Caroucells. “The story behind the name is that i believe a large majority of us find ourselves in cycles of repetition. Whether it be in relationships, jobs, or any vice, negative or positive. We get sick of the circles we run in, only to break out and run in a different circle until we get sick of that as well. Caroucells - What Was It For? E.P. coming soon!

Tapestry Approved!

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EMERSON STAR

Sometimes all you need is a simple guitar line and a moody melody. Other times you need dissonant three part harmonies over tantric rhythms and heavy lead guitar fuzz. And once in a while you just need a shot of whiskey and some pickle juice.

Well these happen to be a few of Emerson Star's favorite things.

Based in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles, Emerson Star began as a three-piece consisting of brothers Shannon and Taylor Inouye, and their childhood friend, Sean Thomas. Having grown up singing together in various school choirs, it was only natural for the trio to start writing together, with a focus on harmony heavy indie tunes with a pop sensibility.

Craving more of a rhythm element, the band added bass player extraordinaire, Garret Lang into the mix. It was then during a magically intuitive late night jam session with Garret’s friend from Oakland, Colin Fahrner, that Emerson Star found their drummer, the perfect spirit animal to lead any peyote soul searching quest into the wilderness and beyond.

The band has made a name for themselves in the Los Angeles music scene, performing regularly at venues such as the Echo, the Satellite and the Bootleg Theater. That has led to the band to doing a deal with Wax Records and entering the studio with producer Wally Gagel (Zella Day, Best Coast, Muse, Lykke Li, etc …) in September 2017.

Look for their new album to be released in the winter of 2018 along with plenty of touring around America and Europe. Tapestry Approved!

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MANNEQUIN MEDICINE

Mannequin Medicine is a Los Angeles based hard rock band formed in 2017. The members consist of industry veterans, Adolfo Delannoy (vocals, guitar), Jeff Galland (drums), Pete Risi (Lead guitars) and Donovan Hernandez (bass). Their music has a unique sound that has been compared to Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Tool, QOTSA, Clutch and Deftones. The band has recorded their debut EP “Medicated” to be released in December 2017.

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Right after the annual holiday gorging of supermarket foods, Hunnypot Live! continued our 12 year anniversary party and dressed the music and entertainment dinner table with new holiday delicacies. Hot Tub Johnnie cut the ribbon for the ceremonies with a musical appetizer of things to come. Jules Shear joined us in the hot tub for tales of his brave utility and then hit the stage to break our hearts with new music and a few choice hits. Maggie Szabo blew in to sing soul music from the great white north, 1 AMVRKA stripped down to pop off melodic raps and Zack Attack and The Neon Windbreakers played some hits from the 90's to help us reminisce with music that helped spawned the Hunnypot Live! life.  11/27/2017

Jules Shear (Interview/DJ Set)

Shear has recorded more than 20 albums to date. He made his first appearance on vinyl with Funky Kings (along with two other songwriters, Jack Tempchin and Richard Stekol). After their second album was rejected by the record label, he formed a new band, the critically acclaimed (but commercially unsuccessful) pop group, Jules and the Polar Bears. This band, with Shear writing and singing all songs, would release two albums (Got No Breeding and f??net?·?ks), merging a tight rock sound with the emerging synth-pop of the early 1980s. Their third album was rejected by their record label but released as Bad For Business in 1996, long after the band had broken up. With Jules and the Polar Bears finished, Shear bounced back with several solo albums. The first, Watch Dog, was produced by Todd Rundgren, and featured such players as Tony Levin on bass and Elliot Easton of The Cars on lead guitar. During the sessions, Shear and Easton struck up a friendship, based on their shared musical tastes, which would lead to various collaborations later on. The album featured the original version of "All Through the Night", which Cyndi Lauper would eventually turn into a top-five hit. The album's opening number, "Whispering Your Name", would reach No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart when Alison Moyet recorded her version of it; Moyet also performed the song on Top of the Pops. Shear then released an EP, Jules, which contained selections from Watch Dog on one side, and two mixes of a club-style dance number, "When Love Surges", on the other side. Shear's next full-length album, The Eternal Return, was a highly polished, synthesizer-heavy effort, produced by Bill Drescher (of Rick Springfield fame). The album opened with "If She Knew What She Wants", which The Bangles would make into a hit. It also featured what would prove to be Shear's only hit single under his own name, "Steady" which he wrote in collaboration with Cyndi Lauper. The single reached No. 48 in the U.S.

Shear would go on to form two more bands, Reckless Sleepers and Raisins in the Sun. He also conceived (and hosted the first 13 episodes of) the MTV series Unplugged.

His songs have been more commercially successful in the hands of other artists, notably Cyndi Lauper, whose recording of "All Through the Night" reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and The Bangles, whose recording of "If She Knew What She Wants" reached number 29 in 1986. In 1988, singer-songwriter Iain Matthews (still using the spelling "Ian" for his first name at the time) recorded an album of Shear's material, Walking A Changing Line: The Songs of Jules Shear, with synthesizer-dominated arrangements. Some of these Jules Shear songs were previously unreleased. Matthews previously recorded Jules Shear songs on other albums.

Shear was the subject of a song by 'Til Tuesday, "J for Jules", after the end of his relationship with that band's singer, Aimee Mann. Shear co-wrote the title track of that album, Everything's Different Now, with Matthew Sweet, and collaborated with Mann on the album's leading single, "(Believed You Were) Lucky", which performed respectably, reaching No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.

He described his Sayin' Hello to the Folks as a "mix tape" of his favorite songs. "I felt like recording songs that I like a lot that I didn't write," he told Paste's Eliot Wilder in 2004. "I thought it would be good to record songs that didn't have a life but should've had a life. This is my attempt at giving them a life." He and Stewart Lerman, the album's producer, selected 12 songs from an original list of 60. These included covers by Todd Rundgren ("Be Nice to Me"), James Brown ("Ain't That a Groove"), Bob Dylan ("In the Summertime") The Dave Clark Five ("I've Got to Have a Reason") and Brian Wilson ("Guess I'm Dumb").

In January 2013 Jules and his wife, artist/songwriter Pal Shazar, released Shear Shazar. Produced by Julie Last, this is the first time Jules and Pal have made a full album together, though the two had recorded duets on Shear's albums before, such as "Here S/He Comes" on The Eternal Return and "Dreams Dissolve in Tears" on The Great Puzzle. This was followed later in the year by another Shear solo album, Longer to Get to Yesterday. In 2014 Shear Shazar followed up on their debut with the five cut EP Mess You Up.

Jules Shear (LIVE)

Jules Shear isn’t being cagy when he insists he doesn’t know what the songs on his 13th studio album, One More Crooked Dance (Funzalo Records) – and first since 2013’s Longer to Get to Yesterday – are about. He really doesn’t, at least without being able to consult a lyric sheet, which is nowhere in sight at the moment. With nary a guitar, bass or drum in earshot, Shear didn’t have to wander far from his longtime Woodstock, N.Y., home, corralling locals Pepe (piano), touring partner Molly Farley (vocals) and the legendary John Sebastian (harp) at his neighborhood health food store and somehow cajoling them to join him at his friend’s nearby home studio.

Indeed, Shear will admit One More Crooked Dance is not a young man’s album, but from someone who has lasted over two decades (“I honestly don’t know how long we’ve been together,” he says) with wife and creative partner Pal Shazar, and is now examining that relationship in terms of his own mortality. Of course, Shear will only nod and offer, “I just write ‘em. And let them speak for themselves. And people will think what they wanna think.”

With just piano, vocals and the occasional harmonica interspersed, the 13 personal songs on One More Crooked Dance — its title a sly, Leonard Cohen play on man’s favorite sport — evoke the likes of one-time Woodstock resident Dylan (whose former house Jules can see out his window) Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, Elton John and Neil Young. The spare instrumentation, the effortless harmonies and Shear’s world-weary vocals give the record a gravitas deserving of his 40-plus years in the music business, starting with the Funky Kings (a precursor to the country-rock singer/songwriter sound), moving on to Jules and the Polar Bears and then an impressive solo career, with hits like Cyndi Lauper’s “All Through the Night,” The Bangles “If She Knew What She Wants” and his own “Steady,” a co-write with Lauper. Not to mention catalog mainstays such as Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ “If We Never Meet Again”), Til Tuesday’s “[I Believed You Were] Lucky” and Alison Moyer’s Top 20 U.K. hit, “Whispering Your Name.” And he was the host (and co-creator) of the influential MTV Unplugged.

It’s safe to say, in his long and varied career, Jules Shear has never put out an album without guitar, bass and drums, so this is certainly a first, but when he’s asked about his method, he shrugs, “It was something we tried, and it seemed to be working out good,” he said about the stark, minimalist approach. “So we just kept going.”

The plainspoken approach covers the conundrum of maintaining passion while feeling safe, examining the domestic “Rules of the Game,” the things we do to self-medicate (“Painkiller”), “Tangled Up In Blue” love songs (“Be With You” the Elton John gospel plaint of “Looking for Me”), the war of the sexes (“The Hunter and the Hunted”) and the closing one-two punch of the exquisite Beach Boys harmonies in “When It’s Right” and the harp/piano interwoven through “Wrong Again,” the ultimate rejoinder, “You think to me/It’s nothing personal/And you’re wrong again.”

Jules Shear may be coy about lyrics like “The only way you get old is from wishing/Never wishing is a waste of time” (“This Flame”) or tease the primal mind-body dualism of “Half- Hearted Head,” but don’t believe him if he tries to tell you One More Crooked Dance isn’t personal. Or that he forgot what the songs mean. Or the dog ate his lyric sheet. Or whatever story he’s trying to sell you.

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MAGGIE SZABO

Maggie Szabo is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has been winning over audiences worldwide with her stunningly soulful vocals and empowering pop anthems. Hailing from small town Ontario, Szabo is now an accomplished musician living in Los Angeles and is using her music to conquer social injustice.

After quickly becoming one of the most sought after songwriter/vocalists for DJs and notable film and TV placements, Szabo’s latest work has focused primarily on her solo project and was written in some of the most beautiful and exotic places on earth, including Greece, Amsterdam, London and Thailand.

‘Don’t Give Up’ is the first single off of Szabo’s upcoming EP, entitled Worthy. It’s a beautifully authentic and heartfelt song dedicated to transgender youth around the world who live in fear and suffer from rejection and exclusion. ‘Don’t Give Up' showcases an emotional rawness rarely found in music today, whilst addressing a subject which is imperative within today’s society. With soaring layered vocals, Szabo sings an uplifting and encouraging message of hope and acceptance. The single features a driving rhythm section and gospel inspired backing vocals, creating the perfect empowering anthem for those in need. 'Don’t Give Up’ was written and recorded in Los Angeles along with Stefan Lit (One Direction) and Chaz Mason.

The powerful and poignant narrative of ‘Don’t Give Up' is reflected in a exquisitely cinematic video, that follows a girl who is struggling with her gender identity and the pressures of conformity in high school. Szabo’s ultimate messages to fight for social justice and equality, “people are people, love is love. Society needs to stand up” professes Szabo. “I can’t stand by and watch millions of transgender youth live in fear for their safety, outcast from their homes and marginalized by society simply because they are struggling to understand their gender identity. I want to stand with them.”

Szabo’s successes to date include over 13 million views on YouTube, extensive media coverage from high profile outlets such as Perez Hilton, Yahoo Music!, PopCrush and Huffington Post, as well as being featured on multiple airline playlists and numerous notable film and TV placements. She recently was the featured vocalist on the album for German electronic DJ Schiller, who has so far sold 7 million albums worldwide.

With a quickly growing fan-base and a social media following that tops some of the nation’s most established pop artists, Szabo has effectively used the internet to showcase and market her songs to the world and her dedicated fans. ‘Don’t Give Up’ is set for release worldwide September 2017.

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1 AMVRKA

A duo whose music combines the sensibilities of pop, Americana, and hip-hop, while their lyrics celebrate the common struggles of American life, 1 AMVRKA (pronounced "One America") was formed by Jesse Scott and Rudy Maya. Scott is a vocalist and lyricist who scored a hit in 2014 with the track "FML (F My Life)," while Maya is a producer, instrumentalist, and composer who has worked with Rihanna, Anahi, and Rye Rye. The two paired up and began writing material together, taking the name 1 AMVRKA to reflect their desire to make music that would help unite a divided nation by offering something for everyone. In 2016, the duo had landed a record deal with Capitol Records, and in December of that year they dropped their debut single, "Raised in the Wild." A number that reflected the struggles that played a frequent role in Jesse's life, "Raised in the Wild" fared well on streaming services, and a follow-up, "American Muscle," followed in February 2017. ~ Mark Deming

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Zack Attack and The Neon Windbreakers

From the depths of suburbia comes ZACK ATTACK AND THE NEON WINDBREAKERS, a fun-loving and high energy band dedicated to playing their favorite 90’s rock cover songs! With hits from artists like Nirvana, Green Day, Blink 182, Bush, Weezer, Hole, and The Goo Goo Dolls, ZACK ATTACK AND THE NEON WINDBREAKERS is sure to get the party rocking & singing along!

ZACK ATTACK AND THE NEON WINDBREAKERS are: Greg – guitar/vocals, Mike – guitar/vocals, Amy – bass/vocals, Adam – drums

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We made it back just in time from our overseas shoplifting trip and started the two part celebration of 12 years of Hunnypot Live! Hot Tub Johnnie stole our ears and hearts with a criminally great set of music to start the night. Steven Briggs funny boned us, long time Hunnypot hero John Cate gave a star studded and studly song farewell to LA performance before he books back to Boston, Paper Chains gave us strong bonds of beats, Pom Poms joined us in the hot tub for an interview early and then took the stage to Pom Pummeled us with rock n roll, Serena Foster adopted us all in to her musical dance cult and Grace Blue blew us away with their electronic duo dancing music. No Anniversary is complete without a closing dance party and we did just that.  11/13/2017

Steven Briggs (Comedian)

Steven Briggs has a unique, high-energy style of music and comedy that keeps his audiences on their toes. His amusing anecdotes are enhanced by his use of beatbox sound effects. Steven's debut album can regularly be heard on Sirius XM Radio. When Steven is not entertaining audiences across the US, he is performing overseas for our troops in Egypt, kuwait, Iraq, Italy and many more.

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John Cate

John was born in Liverpool, England, to American ex-pats who later settled in the Boston area.

John toured early on as a bass player with the fusion outfit Zamcheck, which featured Mark Zamcheck (Downbeat Magazine’s “Up and coming jazz pianist of the year”) on keyboards and Michael Levine (Film composer and “Kit Kat” jingle writer) on violin. Zamcheck toured with Gary Burton and Pat Metheny and performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1974.

John later embarked on a business career which included work as a founding principal with eMusic where he conceived the industry’s first-ever digital rights licensing strategy (WSJ) that was rolled out to labels and artists including Rykodisk, Phish, Elvis Costello and many others. John was also a founding principal of TuneCore, a digital music delivery service for independent artists, now the largest distributor of online music in the world. John also developed the market entry strategy for Audiam, a new digital music publishing company.  John currently works as a full time performing and recording artist with the van Gogh Brothers and Voices of van Gogh featuring Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan) and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Durrill, and as a principal with his music publishing and media advisory company, American Music Partners.

John is a prolific songwriter. He has written more than 1,000 songs and recorded 12 albums since returning to music in 1996, two of which have been released by Blue Rose Records in Germany. Producers include Anthony J. Resta (Elton John, Collective Soul, Duran Duran, Shawn Mullins) for “A Whole New Day”, “X”, “The Wonder Show”, “Livin in the Moment”, David Minehan (The Replacements) for “Wild Way”, “X” and “A Whole New Day”, and Rob Fraboni (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan for “Two Brothers”.

John’s songs are featured in film, network television and on DVDs, including such projects and programs as “NCIS”, “Justified”, “American Idol”, “Num3ers” and many others.

John created and hosted the highly successful Americana Showcase at the original House of Blues in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which ran for 8 years. John also worked extensively with legendary promoter Billy Block hosting Western Beat Entertainment showcases Boston.

John appears regularly in Los Angeles, his new hometown, with Voices of van Gogh and in Boston with his long-time band, the van Gogh Brothers.

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Paper Chains

Paper Chains is an indie pop band from Los Angeles featuring Stereo Diamonds and Jonnyontherocks.

The band was formed when Stereo and Jonny relocated from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles in 2014. Mixing Art, Fashion and Rock n’ Roll, they draw from their diverse backgrounds into an exciting multimedia experience.

Stereo Diamonds’ (known as a stylist/creative director for Conquer Loud) sexy but smart vocals cut through battling guitars and synths over driving dance rock beats. This wall of sound is created live, without pre-recorded tracks giving the band freedom to push musical boundaries at any time.

Jonnyontherocks (known for his band Rocky Business and production of BC Kingdom) writes and produces perfection with this project.

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Pom Poms

The world of her music is the important point. Her songs begin and end, as all songs must, but they never truly vanish. They are, in some respect, like the bubbles in that second glass (just arrived) of champagne—rising, rising, and rising just once more until they empty into the air and become, well, the atmosphere we breathe. Yes, Pom Poms make that. It is neither nostalgic nor new. It is not retro or future. It is music outside of linear measurement. Yes, it is timeless. And isn’t that the ultimate goal? Take “Betty,” for example. “The minute we finished writing ‘Betty’ we knew something was special about that song,” says Marlene Gold of Pom Poms, the “we” referring to her songwriting partner and producer Billy Mohler. “We were so proud of ourselves. We can churn out a lot of songs. We have that wonderful dynamic of just being inspired by each other. But when ‘Betty’ came around, we were like, ‘What are we going to do with this? We’ve got to do something with this song!”  The entire world of Pom Poms was built, if not in a day, then out from that moment ‘Betty” was born. The mercurial task of harnessing a sound so distinctive so soon in the life of a group (let’s not call them a band) is rare. So the two of them raced to follow that white rabbit around every turn in the magic maze. All was possible. Things were clicking into place. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.  “A tree fell on my car,” recalls Marlene. “I was done. I didn’t know what was left. That’s when I decided I would create something only if I felt like it. That became my motto. ‘I am going to do this only because I want to.’ I was going to put myself into everything. Wherever I was going to land, I was going to land. I just needed to survive. I had no choice.” 

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Serena Foster

Serena Foster is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles. She started singing at age five, began writing music and words on guitar at age nine, and writing music and words on piano at age sixteen. She was born and raised in a musical family.

From 2012 to 2015 she worked with two time Emmy winning composer/producer, Lars Deutsch. Serena released two singles, "More Than Friends" and "Silly Games” in 2015, with Mr. Deutsch, as well as some jaw dropping music videos to go with the songs.

Currently, Serena in the studio finalizing a brand new radio hit album 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 is also working with J2Producer who has produced and remixed songs for artists such as Beyonce, Shakira, LL Cool J, The Pussy Cat Dolls, and Cassie.

Serena has teamed with Fenton Music Management as her new representation and could not be happier to be represented by Rob Fenton. “In The Night” was the first single from her new sound, released April 7th, and is summer jam you can't get out of your head!

July 29th, she released a heart themed record titled "Hollow" that is garenteed to get you feeling some things in your chest! The music video for the record came out August 2nd, and is stunning piece that touches on a serious topic of domestic violence that Serena is an advocate about.

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GRACE BLUE

"Grace Blue" is an alternative-pop music duo based in Los Angeles, California.
The music duo, that consists of vocalist Grace Mogz and keyboard player Joseph Arazi, have decided to move to Los Angeles this past May in order to pursue their passion and hunger for music.

Their debut music video for the single "Our Eyes" was released June 4th and had reached over 100,000 YouTube views, followed by their self-titled debut EP, that has been released July 29th.

Their music is a combination of dark emotionally driven vocals, alongside catchy, up-tempo alternative-pop.

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Hunnypot Live! presented another mischievous night of entertainment. Hot Tub Johnnie soaped up and fogged the windows with a scary good rock set. Hunter George (Aquaman) gave us his "origins" story, left the flaming bags of dog poop for amateurs and blew up the whole damn thing with his killer DJ set. Dr. Madd Vibe (Angelo Moore) & The Missin' Links stole all the candy from lesser musicians and delivered sweet treats for the ears. Sumo Princess returned for the champions belt and "toilet papered" The Mint with their hard rock happening. Tabitha "egged" us with riffs to raise the dead and Hot Sauce Holiday were devils knights in disguise for all of the spooky spirits.
Happy Hunnypotoleen indeed. 10/30/2017

Hunter George (Guild Of Music Supervisors, Interview/DJ Set)

Hunter George is a Multimedia Producer/Composer in the entertainment industry. Evan serves as the Executive Director with the Guild Of Music Supervisors, working with many of the top Music Supervisors, Studios, Labels, & Publishers in entertainment.

His latest credit includes the television series 'Training Day' by Bruckheimer TV for CBS/WBTV. Working with veteran Music Supervisor John Houlihan, Whom he has worked closely with since early 2015. 

Hunter has Produced multimedia content for for comic book legend Stan Lee, Sanrio (Hello Kitty), XJapan, Madison Square Garden, New York Comic Con, Comikaze Expo, E3, Purplehaus Music, J2 Films, Sonic Fuel Studios, Skee TV, Huf, Diamond, Hypebeast, Elite Daily, & Many More.

In 2009 He Started Can1live, a multimedia production collective. Can1live acts as a house for all his creative endeavors. He is currently producing his second studio album titled ‘r0ut1nes.exe’ which is A follow up to his debut 'Golden Ratio’. The album is due out in Fall/Winter 2017.

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Dr. Madd Vibe & The Missin' Links

Angelo Moore began his career in the early l980s as lead singer, saxophonist, and creative force behind the legendary band, Fishbone. Fishbone’s ability to blend social commentaryand humor with a blazing fusion of rock, punk, funk, jazz, ska, reggae, gospel and R&B led to their recognition as one of the most notable acts in American music. After over 25 years in the biz, Moore continues his role as frontman of Fishbone. The band has released l0 full-length albums. They have created the music for movies such as “Last Action Hero” (Arnold Schwarzennager), “The Mask” (Jim Carrey) and been featured with roles in movies such as “Idlewild” (Outkast) and “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka” (Keenan Wayan). Angelo has additionally collaborated with the likes of Little Richard, Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton, Rick James and Spike Lee to name but a few.

A versatile artist, Angelo performs under the guise of his wildly energetic alter ego, Dr. Madd Vibe. Linking poetry, performance and music, this visceral artist’s solo performances range from pure spoken word and movement to playing the Theremin and various saxophones as well as reciting poetry accompanied by the Dr. Madd Vibe Aukestra. Stemming from his experiences growing up as a “fly in the buttermilk” in the predominantly white suburbs of Los Angeles, Angelo Moore addresses “Real Racism,” “Social Corrosion,” “SpiritualOvertones,” “Family Affairs,” “Personal Satisfactions and Suffocations” and the human condition in a world gone mad. Dr. Madd Vibe brings a spiritual and cathartic dimension to his performances in the tradition of innovators such as George Clinton, Sun Ra and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Between l997 and 2010, his solo efforts have spawned literary books and comic books that come equipped with soundtracks and the full-length album entitled “Dr. Maddvibe’s Medicine Cabinet” in which he wrote and played all of the music and instruments. Angelo has also created a Dr. Maddvibe orchestra with whom he has directed and performed in venues in the United States and in Europe.

Angelo Moore has taken his spoken word and sound power to the stage throughout the world and has appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show, The Magic Johnson Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Roseanne show. Angelo has performed as a poet at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Black Rock Coalition benefits and was featured speaker of the Spitfire Tour. Most recently, he has published “Dr. Madd Vibe’s Ivy League Invasion,” a book of poetry published in conjunction with his artist residency at Yale University (2007). 

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Sumo Princess

Los Angeles based, bass and drum duo Sumo Princess is the brainchild of bassist/ vocalist Abby Travis (The Go-Go’s, Eagles of Death Metal, Masters of Reality, Farflung, The Bangles, Beck, KMFDM, Elastica) and drummer/cohort Gene Trautmann (Queens of the Stoneage, Eagles of Death Metal, The Miracle Workers, The Twilight Singers, Mark Lanegan, Drag News, Mojave Lords)

After working for 30+ years, as a gun for hire: Travis got sick of being appropriate and tasteful so she started creating a new, post political, music from her gut. Sumo Princess has the balls of teenage rebellion with the experience and chops of two alt rock music veterans. Travis and Trautmann have been friends since the 1980’s when she was in The Lovedolls and he played drums with paisley undergound stalwarts The Miracle Workers.  The sound they are creating draws heavily from their misspent youths with direct lines to the Residents, Butthole Surfers, Devo, Black Flag, acid during the Reagan administration and legendary LA punk rock clubhouse Rajis.

Improvisation and strange vocal stylings are main ingredients in Sumo Princess’ work. When singing, Travis seems to take on different characters in each narrative.  This is big departure from her earlier, more personal, solo work.  (Cutthroat Standards & Black Pop, Glittermouth, IV, The Abby Travis Foundation) Through filtering her bass guitar through a myriad of strange pedals, she creates a new sound she calls “Artcore”

Travis is surprised that such reactionary, non results oriented work is resonating so deeply with fans:  “I started this band to preserve my own sanity”, Travis says,  “My initial goal was just to play at my brother’s club. (Dave Travis/ Café Nela) I’m amazed at the audience response we are getting.”

Trautmann says: “When Abby asked we to play in Sumo I was stoked because I knew her musicianship and drive would challenge me to better my own playing and to do things I wouldn’t normally do in the standard rock paradigm.  We’re really hitting marks across the spectrum of style and I like it like that.  Also I get to sing and play orchestral percussion, which is awesome.”

Look for the debut Sumo Princess release in ‘17.

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Tabitha

Tabitha is a new Heavy Rock band formed out of the ashes of two of the members' previous bands (The Binges, BOOST), but now is solidified as a trio.  Okai sisters Mayuko and Tsuzumi play the guitar and bass, respectively, and are joined by Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction and Porno For Pyros on the the drums.  While the sisters are originally from Tokyo, Japan, Tabitha calls Los Angeles home.

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Hot Sauce Holiday

Hot Sauce Holiday is for everyone that wants to kick over their office desks and start dancing. We are for the eccentric outsiders, the burners, and the lovers. Join us in taking on the banality of convention.  

Hot Sauce Holiday is a five piece cabaret rock band from Los Angeles. Their live shows emphasize crowd participation and a great deal of improv. Bongo-solos, skits, poetry, and dance numbers have been known to break out. They have been known to feature burlesque dancers, hula hoop artists, and scandalous routines involving Playboy playmates. Genre-wise the sound varies from song to song drawing influence from 60's psychedelic and folk, to early punk, 80's electro, disco, and even a bit of barbershop. The song lyrics are surreal and witty with every band member trading off on vocals or singing in harmonies. In addition to over 20 originals the band has a variety of party cover songs they are able to play ranging from George Michael to Motorhead. So leave the outside world behind you for a couple hours and come experience the originality,  joy, and chaos that is Hot Sauce Holiday. Hunnypot Approved good time guarantee!

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California wild fires continued to burn at the Hunnypot get-down. Hot Tub Johnnie started the spark, Michael Levine reinforced our reality with his life’s hard song selections. RahRah’s set saw the flames engulf the club, Georgi Kay had the lone wolfs howling. Kozze added pop fueled gas to the flames. Chanel & The Circus had us bouncing and fire walking over hot coals. Al K (Whoalk) closed out the live performances with introspective and inspirational rhymes. The Hot Tub dance party turned The Mint into Hunnypot’s own version of Burning Man.  10-16-2017

Michael Levine 

Michael Levine has been widely regarded as one of the world's premier branding and media expert for the last thirty years. He has represented a record breaking 58 Academy Award winners, 34 Grammy Award winners, and 43 New York Times best-sellers, authored 19 books (including 5 best sellers such as "Broken Windows, Broken Business" and "Guerrilla P.R."), and appeared on countless TV shows as a media expert including regular slots on "Good Morning, America" and "The Today Show" for the last 20 years. His work has also included media council to former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Born with dyslexia, Levine is also the only person without a college degree to lecture at both Harvard and Oxford University. According to his success as a publicist, Michael Levine has also become a sought after public speaker. And through his career at  Levine Communications Office (LCO) he represented many celebrity clients including David Bowie, Sandra Bullock, Michael J. Fox, Demi Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Prince and Barbra Streisand among many others. Levine even represented the King of Pop Michael Jackson in 93 & 94'!

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RahRah

RahRah is a multi-talented Singer, Writer, Producer, Artist and Musician. Based in Los Angeles. She's finding success with several singles including the awesome track "Midnight Vibes".

To my past, current, and future RahMixers: I want to take this time to introduce to you a part of my “everyday life”… my diary. My music is here to make you feel and understand I’m just like you. I’d like to thank every single one of you that have joined me on my journey. I thank you from the bottom of mi Corazon for your support. My #1 goal is to make people of all ages enjoy my sound.
Let’s do this, Let’s have fun. -Rah.

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Georgi Kay

With a love for creating and looping electronic beats, bass, synths and vocal chops - GEORGI KAY is a British-Australian artist based in LA who has received multiple awards for her original work, songwriting and collaborations over the years. She has won both an ARIA award, multiple APRA awards and received a Grammy nomination. Her voice has featured in numerous DJ sets worldwide by some of music’s biggest names and she has collaborated with international EDM/dance artists including Tiesto, Kaskade, Steve Aoki, David Ghetta, Lipless, M-Phazes and many more. Along with EDM collaborations, Georgi has also acted in and written for several films and TV series, often offering her voice and original songs as main titles or featured throughout. Gathering inspiration from old sci-fi and horror films, elements of deep house, 80’s inspired synths and a love for the weird and the macabre - audiences around the world have been seduced by GEORGI’s hypnotic and energetic live shows, her brooding, husky vocal tones and her honest, symbolic and often ambiguous songwriting – always leaving them wanting more.

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Kozze

Kozze is a contemporary Hip-Hop and R&B artist setting the pace for the popular music landscape in 2017. He is a Multi-Instrumentalist who writes, produces, performs and engineers most of his material. His second EP “Sellouts” delivers introspective themes of Life, Love and Triumph in today’s complicated world. This is the perfect follow up to his 2016 debut, “Episodes” which offered an array of haunting vocal melodies and syncopated rhythmic patterns, infused with soulful, inspired vocals and melodies. “Sellouts” puts a calculated spin on the formula that made “Episodes” such a stand-out record. "Kozze" began his musical career in several touring rock projects for which he served as lead vocalist and songwriter, but has always had the passion, affinity and talent for R&B and Hip Hop.

Kozze is currently back in the lab working on more great music as well as the video for the first single on “Sellouts”, the mid-tempo banger titled “Bounce”. Stay tuned to Kozze’s official website, Instagram, and twitter for upcoming releases, tour dates, videos and announcements.

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Chanel & The Circus

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AL K (WHOALK)

(Pronounced Woke), Al K is a 22 year old artist from Long Beach California, his debut album simplicity has over 63k streams and counting. The 6'5 rapper also enjoys the sport of basketball, some of his main music influences are Andre 3000, Mick Jenkins, Boogie,H.E.R, and Bryson Tiller. Whoalk has an album set to drop September 8th, 2017 tilted I Love Her. Growing up in Long Beach on the northern side frowning up with the likes of Vince Staples, O.T Genesis. He chose to oppose the gang life culture and stay focused on sports and Music.

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Music lovers come to Hunnypot to play and everybody gets a participation trophy and a joint. Hot Tub Johnnie "gamed" the start of the night with a snake eyed music set. Rosie Howe joined us for "soaks and ladders" in the tub and caught us up with her journey in to music supervision, Addison Scott came alive to not say "Sorry!" for his pop music party, Michete returned to the tub and stage a year later to rap us through her game of "Life", Princess Vitarah is already famous and has a "Monopoly" on the raunchy rap game and Killa F, EZ The Great & G5YVE formed a rapper guild on stage to slay dragons in dungeons. FLOW KANA was our Sample Sessions sponsor.  10/02/2017

ROSIE HOWE (StraightUp MUSIC SUPERVISION INTERVIEW/DJ SET)

A lifetime lover of music and film, Rosie Howe has  dedicated her life to  the art of music supervision. 

As an active member in the entertainment industry since 2011,  she is committed to  creating memorable projects by pairing content producers with the best musical talent.  She has contributed and secured placements in  television, short films, feature films,  documentaries, and restaurant curation.

Coming from a musical family, Rosie has a strong background in instrumental performance. Instruments include: violin, piano, and percussion.  She has performed in various ensembles and music groups, including the Madison-based samba group, the Handphibians. 

As a firm believer in social investment, she provides helpful feedback and answers questions. She is committed towards sharing ideas and information that will help create a stronger and more prosperous community.

2015 - Transitioned from Chicago to Los Angeles to begin her pursuit towards music supervision

2016 - Started the music supervision and licensing company, StraightUp Music Supervision

Recent Projects include:

Panofsky’s Complaint - Short film

Kairos Dirt and the Errant Vacuum - Feature film

Newborn King - Feature film

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ADDISON SCOTT

Los Angeles based Addison writes songs that tap into a source deep within, stimulating the imagination and stirring the soul. His anthemic voice cuts through a crowd and latches onto the hearts of the audience, regardless of age, culture, sexuality or denomination. Addison’s major influences range from Jeff Buckley to Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.

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MICHETE

Combining venom-filled disses, crass sexual come-ons, and left-field pop culture references with an androgynous gender presentation that is equally inspired by glam rockers, anime villains, and drag queens, transfeminine rapper and producer Michete is on the fast track to becoming one of hip-hop’s most polarizing and exciting new acts. The dagger-tongued MC is unapologetically queer, delivering punchlines with a genderfluid braggadocio that sets Michete apart from her peers, frequently making listeners uncomfortable in the process. Drawing influence from a wide range of artists including Kanye West, Peaches, Nicki Minaj, and Kesha, Michete combines her unique lyrical stance and vocal demeanor with chintzy, economic, self-produced beats to create a sound that’s completely her own.

Growing up in Spokane Valley, WA (a city she describes as being a “cesspool of white nonsense”), Michete is a former theater kid who had a natural charisma and an unhealthy obsession with Lady Gaga, honing her performance skills by singing in talent shows, acting in plays, and performing improv comedy all throughout middle and high school. Michete began dabbling in music around the time she graduated high school in 2010, and in 2014, decided to make a serious commitment to pursuing a career as a rapper. Michete released her debut EP, Cool Tricks, in June of 2015, and received considerable attention and acclaim from journalists and listeners alike, securing a spot opening for recording artist Shamir in Seattle the following September and later appearing on SPIN Magazine’s year-end list of The 50 Best Hip-Hop Albums.

With the foundation set for a successful career, Michete plans on releasing the next volume of the Cool Tricks series this year.

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Princess Vitarah

Princess Vitarah is a Nigerian-American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She was born in the United States but her family moved back to Nigeria to the family’s village in Arochukwu—when she was little, then she lived in Houston for a while before moving to Los Angeles in the summer of 2015 to pursue a musical career. Princess Vitarah began her career as a rapper by releasing material through the internet in late 2015. She earned public recognition after two of her songs, "Nigerian Pussy" and "I Want 20 Inch Dick", went viral on video sharing websites such as WorldStarHipHop and YouTube, receiving 3 million views on Facebook in the first day alone. Subsequently she has been featured in The Fader, Vice, and Noisey to name a few.

“The reason why I think [Nigerian P*ssy] got so big is because I am never afraid to be creative and more importantly I am not afraid to be bold” - Princess Vitarah

Her feminist and sexual lyrical content has gained her music much notoriety across West Africa, America, Europe, and other parts of the world. Her song "Nigerian Pussy" broke the record for most downloads in 24 hrs and was initially banned but now has more than 100,000 streams on Spotify. Princess Vitarah has been praised for opening doors for women concerning expression of sexuality and a writer for Pulse.ng wrote that, "Princess Vitarah goes head in on topics that chicks wouldn't be caught dead talking about in public before" and that she is paving the way for change and lots of women "raise their fists to it". With goals of becoming a top female artist throughout the African Diaspora and her music already playing on radios and clubs worldwide, Princess Vitarah’s reign has just begun.

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KILLA F (FiNaTTicZ)

Los Angeles based Rapper Killa F, who's hit single, "Don't Drop That Thun Thun Thun" (FiNaTTicZ) garnered over 43 million viral views is back with a brand new banger called Rapper, Trapper. Killa held no stops for this joint by collaborating with YG affiliate, G5yve as well as production heavyweight, YKizzy. Also available on all Digital Music Outlets.

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EZ The Great

Compton based Rapper/Producer/songwriter at Finatticz Inc.

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G5yve

Compton based Rapper/Producer/songwriter at Finatticz inc & G5YVE PRODUCTIONS.

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The Dancing at Hunnypot Live at The Mint​! probably disrupted tectonic plates last night. Hot Tub Johnnie​ lead off with a shaker of a party set. Sean Mulligan got in the tub to talk music & media and had a most excellent playlist. Michael Tullberg​ returned with a new book of The Raver Stories Project​, Sarah Rogo​ gave everybody the damn blues, ADA sat us on the couch for some therapy pop, Lafayette Stokely​ warmed up the party crowd for Latasha Alcindor​, L.A. herself brought the truth with a beat. Off Task​ Rocked us to the dance party.  09/18/2017

FLOW KANA was our Flower sponsor,  Woo-Hoo!

SEAN MULLIGAN (ROCK STEADY MUSIC INTERVIEW/DJ SET)

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MICHAEL TULLBERG (THE RAVER STORIES PROJECT INTERVIEW)

Michael Tullberg is one of the longest-running and most respected electronic music photojournalists in North America.  Beginning in 1996, Michael comprehensively covered the rave scene across the country, and around the world as well.  His words and visually pyrotechnic pictures helped define the public face of the American rave scene during a time when the mainstream press was largely content to present the scene solely as a source of controversy. 

Through the peak years of the rave scene in the 1990s and 2000s, Michael’s images, interviews and articles appeared domestically and abroad in the pages of magazines such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, URB, BPM Culture, Mixer, Insider, Mixmag, Q, Hybrid (Japan), Lotus, Sweater, and others—more than any other electronic music photojournalist of the period.  During that era, he also shot album covers for several of the world’s major dance music DJs and artists, including icons like Carl Cox, Ferry Corsten and DJ Dan. 

Michael is also the author of DANCEFLOOR THUNDERSTORM: Land of The Free, Home Of The Rave, the groundbreaking coffee table photo book about the rise of electronic music in North America. Containing hundreds of vintage photographs, DJ interviews, rave fliers and memorabilia, DANCEFLOOR THUNDERSTORM has won praises from the likes of Mixmag, VICE, Buzzfeed, Insomniac.com, Paper, and more. Michael is presently working on THE RAVER STORIES PROJECT, a new book about the most memorable and amazing moments that people experience in the rave scene, which is due out in the summer of 2017.

Today, Michael Tullberg photographs for Getty Images, contributing entertainment pictures from the red carpet, concerts and celebrity benefits.  He is also the CEO of 5150 Publishing, a new independent book publishing house established to put out works devoted to electronic music, and pop culture in general.  And, he still shoots raves when he can find the time.

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SARAH ROGO

Sarah Rogo has long blond hair, loves to surf and play the blues on her National guitars. While she may look and sound like your prototypical Southern Californian, the 25-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter was born in New England. She moved to the seaside beach town of Encinitas, CA, less than two years ago, and has taken the local San Diego music scene by storm.
“Everyone in my family has always known California was my home,” she says. “Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve dreamt of being a surfer.”

A nominee for Best Singer-Songwriter at the 2017 San Diego Music Awards, Rogo first picked up a guitar at 13 as a way of performing the songs she’d already written. A self-proclaimed band nerd, she played saxophone, bassoon and clarinet and conducted the school marching band.
Growing up, Sarah spent hours listening to music in the local public library, where her tastes ran from klezmer and Middle Eastern sounds to a 1991 live album recorded by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Alone and Acoustic, which changed her life. “The whole thing is in the key of E and you just know they’re making up the words as they go along, but it totally captivated me,” she enthuses. “That’s the kind of music I wanted to play. I knew the blues had to come from the soul. That’s what made it so magical, what moved me, that authenticity, the mojo, even though I had no idea what those words meant until later. The blues just overwhelmed me.”

Rogo apprenticed and performed with local Boston musicians, guitarist Paul Rishell, who once played with Son House, and world-class harp player Annie Raines, along with acoustic country-blues guitarist Woody Mann, a former student of the legendary Reverend Gary Davis. They introduced her to artists like Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Led Zeppelin and the bottle neck slide on the National Resonator Guitar – for which she’s since become a spokesperson -- then took her out with them on tour to Arkansas and Mississippi.
Sarah proved an apt performer, and before long, she was writing songs in the vein of those whose music she idolized, evoking such contemporary singer-songwriters as Bonnie Raitt, Rory Block, Eva Cassidy and folk rockers Dawes. “The common thread in my writing is the dance between dark and light. I’ve learned to dance with my demons in a healthy way. Life is inherently hard and the blues has taught me how to navigate hardship and guide me into balance. In a nutshell, blues is the yin and yang and I take refuge in that. It’s a meditation and a prayer… it’s a wish, a hope.”

That’s reflected in Rogo’s joyful and spunky performances on-stage, where her energy is contagious. She takes her inspiration from nature and the nearby ocean, always writing outdoors, where inspiration can strike at any moment, and usually does. “I’m fueled by nature. When I’m writing or wandering the woods or the beach I can hear the whisperings of my heart. There are melodies in nature and I scoop them up and take them home.”

An eager student of the industry, Rogo met her current manager, veteran Mike Lembo, at the Durango Songwriter Expo in Ventura, CA, where they had an immediate connection. “Sarah’s fearless and talented, and I was drawn to her personality without even hearing her play,” said Lembo. “When I heard her sing and play guitar, I recognized an old soul, someone who can not only become a successful artist, but a world-class surfer as well. Sarah has what it takes to make it, and I’m looking forward to working with her on doing just that.”

Rogo is currently writing the songs for what will be a proper debut album, working with possible collaborators and auditioning producers. She’s paid her dues and is ready to ride the wave into a promising, exciting future. “I just want to learn and have fun with new people in new places. I live to perform and collect stories” she says. “I want to dive right in and fearlessly be myself in this giant shark tank known as the music business” If anyone can surf those dangerous waters, it’s Sarah Rogo.

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ADA

Singer/Songwriter Ada was born in Moscow and immigrated to the United States at the age of six. Ada was classically trained on the Violin, winning numerous competitions and awards.
Ada was awarded the Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music (a full ride),
It was there that Ada discovered her passion for Songwriting.

Ada recently released her single "Perfectly Imperfect" which is blowing up on Spotify, having had 100,000 Spotify Plays in less than a month.

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Latasha Alcindor aka L.A.

Latasha Alcindor, also informally addressed as "LA," is an independent artist based out of New York City. Her form-free art travels through a wide range of inspiration found in Experimental, World and Hip Hop music. LA’s energetic calls and performance-based sound have opened doors for her to perform at culturally prestigious events like SXSW, A3C, and Manifesto. In the beginning of 2016, she performed as the headlining act for Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays and had her music featured on Refinery 29’s show The Skinny.

Latasha finds resonance in speaking on political, social and cultural experiences in her music, promoting a much needed agenda for those looking to find inner peace, specifically young women of color. With all of her depth, the beauty in LA’s creative style exists due to the juxtaposition of both her thought-provoking, influential messages and her blithe, unbound sound that carries in strong vibration. Her journey is continuous, and with a nonrestrictive formula it actively speaks to those that come across her experiences.

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OFF TASK

Off Task is an energetic alt-rock band consisting of Jimmy Winick (guitarist/vocalist), Thelonious Cundieff (bassist/vocalist), and Martin Velasquez (drummer). They just released their newest single "how" which is out everywhere and will soon be a part of their 6-song EP. They are all 17 years old entering in their senior year of high school, and have been playing music together since 4th grade!

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Hunnypot puts in the work and labor so you can enjoy every show. Hot Tub Johnnie started the night with a "Gray Day" set of music to make Jeff happy. Jeff Gray got in to the hot tub as a guest and had a surreal conversation as himself to talk about himself with Hot Tub and Ryan. Thompson Springs sprung from a well of song oriented rock, Highland Kites soared above the din with passionate and poignant music, Justin Levinson kept the piano pop spirit alive, Cosmos & Creature returned to continue to expand their big bang feature music and Dylan also came back to rap and roll the crowd right before the world famous dance party.

Recap: J. Gray Photos: J. Gray & R. Taalbi  9/04/2017

JEFF GRAY (formerly known as Pesci) 

Music Supervisor/Music Copyright Specialist

A bio is a self serving list of achievements & accolades to impress those who have yet to meet you in person. If you meet Jeff Gray in person he will gladly regale you with tales and anecdotes about his important and professional work with music, music copyrights and some impressive names of more famous people he's worked with. Jeff Gray prefers to let you know that he is capable, qualified, approachable, humble & available for hire. He also is a very good guitar player.

Jeff has been a Hunnypot staple for years. Co-hosting with Hot Tub Johnnie, Jeff brings life to the show with his eclectic questions and joking personality. His experience shines on the show through his interviews and now we can't wait to have him be the interviewee. This is bound to be one colorful broadcast! 

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THOMSON SPRINGS

A collaborative side-project, Thompson Springs became an outlet for a backlog of songs Matt Smith gathered over the years. The band consists of a rotating crew who shaped his tunes into folk-rock gems whose casual valor and languid language convey an everyman’s candor that rocks gently and goes down easy. Produced by Rob Laakso of Kurt Vile and the Violators, the mini-collection of rambling self-reflection simmers in sing-along homilies and hitch-hiker’s poetry for a laid-back treatise that makes for a fine traveling companion on the winding road of life. As a taste of things to come, “Artifacts,” packs promising calm for uncertain journeys.

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HIGHLAND KITES

Highland Kites is an independent alternative folk/rock band based out of Los Angeles, formed in late 2013. It’s the brainchild of Marissa Lamar, who sings and plays keys & guitar in the band alongside drummer Neil Briggs and lead guitarist Alex Edwards. They are currently working on their 4th release, an EP titled "I'm Not Weak" which is set to release on the 29th of July.  

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JUSTIN LEVINSON

The son of singer/songwriter Bob Levinson, Justin Levinson grew up in Vergennes, VT.In high school, he was introduced to Lester Bowie and Fontella Bass, who were traveling on a grant to bring jazz to rural areas. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, accepted in part due to a letter of recommendation from Bowie.He started out studying jazz trumpet, before switching to and getting his degree in songwriting.

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DYLAN

Dylan, 21, is a lyrically driven, fun-loving Hip Hop artist from Los Angeles, which clearly influenced his West Coast sound. His style represents a  soulful old school brand of Hip Hop but with an updated flavor and presentation. Sometimes political, sometimes fun & carefree, he was initially inspired by early 90's rap all the way into current, more mainstream Hip Hop music. Excitable and confident, he creates to inspire others as well as provoke ideas.

In the late 1970's the moon resolved to make herself known to the sun sent a golden rabbit gift to him. Years later some dude cheated at a game and found this golden rabbit in a park in England (Masquerade). Last night Hunnypot Live! held the after party for the rare meeting of moon and sun. We did not cheat any of their love. Hot Tub Johnnie kicked it high like a solstice with some party music to start. Chris Jackson hinted at his future and brought a music playlist that, of course, "eclipsed" all other eclipse music sets. Rachel Price got in the tub to talk about her new record and performed a moon rock(ing) set. MALSI MUSIC delivered cosmic rays of music revelation, My Native Tongue gave aural and audible celestial tones in rock music, Masai "cratered" to the audience with zero gravity rhymes and beats provided by Hamilton Augustine, who continued the dance party DJ set through the night.  8/21/2017

Recap and photos by J. Gray

CHRIS JACKSON

Chris has faithfully served the Film/TV Music community for over 2 decades. As the former VP of Music at NBCUniversal, Chris oversaw the music services team focusing on the E! and Esquire Networks and Wilshire Studios. Chris also worked on operational and planning aspects of music services across NBCU’s television properties, including catalog development and exploitation, international platforms, technology solutions and strategic initiatives.

Prior to NBCU, Chris was a partner in Beatscape, providing music supervision for Film, Television, Trailers and Videogames.  He also co-founded MustVote, a groundbreaking voter registration campaign coupling viral and social media marketing with the passion of music fans.

Even further back, Chris co-founded Rightspring, Inc. a pioneering marketplace for searching, licensing and digital delivery of creative assets to professional users. Chris has nearly 20 years’ experience in all facets of the music business including major and independent labels, event production and digital media.

In his spare time, Chris is working on challenging AlphaGo to the ultimate DJ battle.

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RACHEL PRICE

To singer-songwriter Rachel Price, “home” represents a number of very special things. One is her hometown of O’Neill, Nebraska – population 3,700 – to which she’ll always be deeply connected. Another is her memories of road trips with her dad, listing to rock ‘n’ roll in the car, which deepened her love for music. And then Nashville, Tennessee, where she settled almost three years ago to pursue a life in music full time.

It’s also her heartfelt new six-song EP Home, on which Price both acknowledges her enduring bond with her roots on the range, and looks ahead to shape her identity as an artist with new journeys. With her sweet voice tinged with a touch of rasp – both earthy and delicate – and a charmingly off center knack for organically feeling her way through a song with simplicity and conviction, she is smoothly cruising down that road.

Price acquired her first guitar when she was 11, and started recording pop, rock and R&B covers, posting them online. When she headed off to college, her plan was to become a veterinarian. She kept posting songs though, and her music caught the attention of two producers in Los Angeles. “We wrote songs over Skype, and then I went to L.A. and we recorded four of them in the studio,” says Price. “It was an amazing experience.”

One of those songs was “Little Nebraska Town,” Price’s ode to the communal excitement of hometown Friday night football games. A former teacher of Price’s introduced her to internationally renowned photographer and Nebraskan Bill Frakes, who was working with the Nebraska Tourism Commission on content for The Nebraska Project, an initiative and website celebrating the people, places and stories that are the essence of the state.

“A video was created for my song, which was used to spotlight the culture of football in Nebraska,” says Price. “It got more than a million views. Having so many people relate to something I wrote sparked my interest in making music for the rest of my life.”

Price took a break from school, and with the support of her parents, moved to Nashville in 2014 so that she could be in an environment surrounded by the music industry. “There is so much energy and so many people to feed off of creatively here,” she says. “It forces me to be really uncomfortable on a daily basis – in a good way. In new situations, I’m learning how to adapt. And writing music here is an everyday thing. I love it.”

In 2016, she connected with Australian-born, Nashville-based producer, composer, and musician Michael Flanders. She co-wrote four of the six songs on the new EP with Michael’s wife Chaise – a noted songwriter herself – and son Ben. The title track “Home” is wholly Price’s, and “Falling Off The Earth” is a collaboration with singer-songwriter Luke Wade.

The lead track and first single is the lilting and hopeful “Lemonade,” which she wrote with Chaise. “We wanted to write a happy summer song. I looked out the window and thought even though it’s raining outside, I’m so happy,” says Price. “On days where it’s not all sunshine, you have to make yourself happy.” The dark-edged, jazz inflected “Falling Off The Earth“ is about a situation with a guy that went wrong. “I was freshly through that when we got together to write, I was feeling really sad, devastated,” says Price. “Luke said, ‘it’s like you’re falling off the earth, and he’s watching you.’”

The EP closes with “Home,” Price’s wistfully beautiful love song to her hometown. “I was picturing how I grew up. I thought of bare feet. It was so vivid. That one thing sparked the whole song.” She wrote it solo so that no one else’s vision of their hometown would interfere – that being said, Price’s authentic evocation of longing for that special place will ring universally true to everyone who feels the same about from where they came.

Outside of music, Price continues taking courses toward her college degree. She’s switched majors and is now focused on interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on business. She’s an avid dog sitter and walker, an avocation that both gives her the animal lover fix she needs, and serves as a reliable “day job” – that is, until she fulfills her dream of “making a living just making music.” The release of Home brings her closer to that goal. “I’ve never been more excited about anything in my life,” she says. “New songs for the whole world to hear.” 

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MALSI

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MY NATIVE TONGUE

Mitchell, Garrett, and Spencer have been playing instruments and performing live in bands since they were seven years old. These 17 year old brothers originate in Southern California, just an hour away from LA & Hollywood. They also grew up acting on various television shows, such as "Days of Our Lives" and "Big Love", The trio's latest project has one goal: to write more creative and challenging music. Inspired by many influences, such as Bombay Bicycle Club, The 1975, Mumford and Sons, Tokyo Police Club, Twenty One Pilots, As Tall As Lions, Son Lux & Foster The People, the trio has developed their own sense of musical style. My Native Tongue's sound would best be described as indie-pop with a hint of funk, heavy reverb, and synth-melodic melodies. 

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MASAI

Born And Raised in Los Angeles California Writer/Rapper/Singer, Masai is an artist that’s representing a different side of Los Angeles. Growing up in Ladera Heights and The Crenshaw District which in some eyes these are two different worlds, he learned how to bring the two together. Masai was in the choir and also constantly in the studio. This year Masai was invited to curate a playlist to be apart of Hamilton Augustine’s S3L3CTA Playlist Series. Masai works with various artists as well as his first body of work called Technical Difficulties Vol. I, expected late November 2017.

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HAMILTON AUGUSTINE (S3LECTA DJ SET)

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Hamilton Augustine has been producing and hosting events in the city since he was 17, fostering an indie scene and collaborating with other creatives to curate nightlife experiences that have helped to bring many artists to greater platforms for exposure. At a young age, Hamilton could see the opportunity for event production to provide valuable chances for businesses to market to an audience, and he has partnered with many companies and artists to help them send their messages through music and events. 

In 2012, he began working at Swing House studios which offered him experience as a DJ, co-curating, hosting and producing Swing House Radio on IHeartRadio alongside Phil Jaurigui, the studio's CEO. Since leaving radio to pursue more opportunities building platforms for indie acts and working on personal projects, he has traveled to Australia where he expanded his exchange of ideas and music internationally. After returning from his year long trip he served as an ambassador for Swisher Sweets, where he was able to endorse such acts as Blackbear, Tha Dogg Pound, and Bone Thugz N Harmony. 

This year, Hamilton has curated a mixtape series from 25+ of his favorite artists, creatives, and industry influencers, entitled S3L3CTA, to cross promote and build another new platform for indie music collectivism.

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METALLICA is arguably one of the biggest bands on the planet today.  There extensive resume of accomplishments includes the release of 10 studio albums, 39 music videos, and 37 singles.  They have sold well north of 115 million records worldwide, and are considered one of the most commercially successful groups of all-time.  In addition, Metallica has won a ridiculous 8 Grammy Awards along with countless other accolades making them one of the most decorated rock bands in history.  It’s no surprise that 36 years later, this band of brothers is still selling out stadiums all around the world.  On Sunday, August 6^th, METALLICA roared into San Diego in support of their 2017 WorldWired Tour. For the tens of thousands who packed into Petco Park that afternoon, there was a true sense of excitement and anticipation as show time neared.  Many had traveled in from all-over the country to see their all-time favorite band.  Expectations were high, and there was energy running through the crowd so intense you could cut it with a knife.  My only question going in was, would METALLICA hit a home-run “America’s Greatest City”?  Well, we were minutes away from show time and would all soon find out.

As the clocks hand hit six, French heavyweights GOJIRA were the first to hit the stage.  They started off their set with “Only Pain” off their most recent release, Magma. Their sound was so intense and caught many METALLICA fans who had never heard the band by surprise (I’m not sure how that’s even possible but we’ll leave that discussion for another day).  Joe Duplantier’s voice sounded incredible and the band was totally dialed in for their 9-song set.  My only wish was that the sun would have been a bit lower as the bright sun was literally blinding the band throughout their complete set.  GOJIRA closed with “Vacuity” off 2008’s Way of All Flesh album.  Great song to end their performance and left everyone in Petco wanting more.  If you have not taken time to really dig into this band, give their catalog a spin.  Definitely worth the time and you’ll no doubt end up loving this killer band from Bayonne.

Next up on the bill was Huntington Beach’s very own, AVENGED SEVENFOLD.  Probably one of my all-time favorite bands, I was super stoked to see them on this bill as direct support for METALLICA.  Understanding this was going to be abridged set, I had a general sense of what songs would make up their set (as I had recently see them the week prior at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA).  2016’s “The Stage” started off the show, followed immediately by “Afterlife”.  Surprisingly enough, sound quality seemed much better in San Diego vs. Pasadena and can only attribute that to size of the venue (The Rose Bowl is so expansive).  Next up was one of my favorites, “Hail to the King”.  I was blown away by M. Shadows vocals combined with the amazing guitar tandem of Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates.  As usual, Johnny Christ killed on Bass, and newest A7X drummer Brooks Wackerman took it to a whole new level on Sunday evening.  He’s a perfect fit in this band and has a great chemistry with his band mates.  The 10-song set wrapped up with “Unholy Confessions” off 2003 staple Waking the Fallen.  Pure magic if you ask me. 

And now for the pièce de résistance, METALLICA!  There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, and Robert Trujillo were going to implode Petco Park, and in the minutes leading up to show time there one could feel the energy levels throughout the stadium jumping off the chart.  The general admission area on the field (including the infamous snake pit up front) was bulging at the seams, and fans from all over the world were anticipating their rock and roll heroes taking the stage within minutes.  As lights dimmed, the now capacity crowd went crazy as the massive video screens lit up with the final scene from the 1968 Clint Eastwood masterpiece, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”  Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold” blasted from the sound system, and this was the signal for many that the show was about to begin.  Then out of nowhere, METALLICA appeared from the darkness and launched into set opener, “Hardwired”.  And as the boys were launching into hyperdrive, everyone in the pit knew at that moment, “We’re so Fucked!” Great song to start off what was to be an incredible evening of no-nonsense rock and roll with over 40,000 friends.

After crushing “Atlas Rise!”, Kirk and James took center stage and began the all-too familiar intro to “For Whom the Bells Toll”.  The general admission floor surged forward and many were seemingly levitated off the ground because of the push.  It was as if something or someone had taken over the crowd and from that point forward, there was no going back.  Each song in the set became more intense, and with each passing moment the energy and frenzy across the stadium grew more intense.  Classics like “Creeping Death”, Whiplash”, and Master of Puppets” sounded just as good live as they did on their respective albums so many years ago.  And when you add in what may have been one of the best stage setups I have seen in years (including lasers, video, and pyrotechnics), you could not help but be literally out of your mind with excitement throughout this show.

METALLICA wrapped their epic 2+ hour set with a three-song encore comprised of “Fight Fire With Fire”, “Nothing Else Matters”, and probably their most popular commercial release, “Enter Sandman”.  It was a fantastic way to end this impressive show and put a major exclamation point on what turned out to be one of the most amazing live performances I have seen in the last 15 years.  As the show came to an end and lights flickered back on, James, Kirk, Lars, and Robert came back out to center state for their final bow.  But they did something surprising that most bands don’t do.  They hung out on stage for another 5-10 minutes - high fiving fans, launching guitar picks and drumsticks, and sharing in all the energy that was will still radiating from the crowd.  A video then played highlighting the fan experience in San Diego, and many watched intently to see if they were captured at some point throughout the day.  Pretty incredible if you ask me, and highlights why 35+ years later METALLICA still sits atop the pinnacle of all things metal.  Until next time…

Stay Frosty and Rock On!

Setlist

• Hardwired
• Atlas, Rise!
• For Whom the Bells Toll
• Creeping Death
• The Unforgiven
• Now that We’re Dead
• Moth Into Flame
• Wherever I May Rome
• Halo on Fire
• Whiplash
• Sad But True
• One
• Master of Puppets
• Fade to Black
• Seek & Destroy

Encore

• Fight Fire With Fire
• Nothing Else Matters
• Enter Sandman