Privazy Album Release

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I’m back again with Privazy, an artists who actually does what he says! After teasing a single with us, his album ‘Grey Habits’ is now out… on time! That’s pretty hard to do, there are so many things that can go wrong.

Tony Coke: What were the biggest challenges in getting this album done, and done on time?

Privazy: Before we get started man I just want to say I appreciate you for having me. Every bit of help is a stepping stone to helping me reach my dreams. But one of the biggest challenges of making this project was deciding which songs to place on it, and the exact track order. To me: the rollout is everything. How the consumers experience the product determines that special connection between the listeners and the artist. Timing wasn’t too big of a problem because I always plan to the worst case scenario. I try to record more than enough material, not only for you guys but for me; I really enjoy my own music.

Tony Coke: Walk us through the process of how you and Oliver North put a track together.

Privazy: So me and Oliver pretty much had the blueprint of this project laid down 4 months ago (That’s how long it took to piece it together). What we were aiming to do was give every song it’s own special moment & feeling. Just based off of how technology has changed the music industry and how people listen, I’m completely aware every person who clicks my music isn’t going to fall in love with EVERY song. That’s part of the reason it’s only 8 tracks long. So our objective was to make every song so different conceptually, that whatever the favorite song was, they could continuously play it back without feeling bored of it. Every song should have its own feeling or visually present something different over & over.

Tony Coke: Very cool. Is this a Soundcloud only release? Or can people purchase it else where?

Privazy: The easiest way for people to find it is www.privazymusic.com: but yes the main host of the project is Soundcloud and it can also be found on Audiomack. We don’t have it on iTunes just yet because it’s such a long process with the samples & paperwork but in time it’ll be listed on there as well.

Tony Coke: Why did you put this release together?

Privazy: The sole reason Oliver, Devin (Publicist), Zook (Visual Director) & I put this project together is to display diversity. I don’t like labels. I don’t like categories. We wanted to create music that no one would be able to put into a box. I look at my music as art, literally. Sounds cheesy, but I take it serious. You can tell me I’m good, you could tell me I’m bad, my response to you would be, “Compared to who”? Why is music the only art form we have to judge so harshly? When people go to an art gallery do you think they compare paintings from an artist to their previous work?

We want to change the way people think & experience music. It should be all about the sounds and pictures it creates for you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so to be completely honest, I don’t care who doesn’t like my music. All I care about is the people who like it. If I have one supporter, or millions, I’ll still feel the same way about my craft.

That’s the reason I don’t publicly display my view count, likes or whatever ridiculous stats that are out there. I have songs that have 20 thousand views and I have some that are at 500 views, does that determine the greatness of the song? Why do we judge artists based on their popularity and not their actual work? It pains me because a lot of my friends that are artists who make great material, they just don’t have the exposure. It shouldn’t be about anything other than the music that forms your opinion at the end of the day. Well, at least that’s how I see it.

Tony Coke: What’s up now that it’s out? How will you market it? What are your goals for the release? Are you already planning another?Privazy Light

Privazy: Now that it’s released, I just have to keep believing in my team and let them do the great job I know they can do exposing it to as many people as possible. All I focus on is the music and creating the best music I can create. I have to let it live it’s life on its own and let it grow; along with me as an artist.

And yes, I’ve already started on my next project. I’m not moving my focus from ‘Gray Habits’, I’m just simply working to perfect my craft simultaneously. This is only the beginning, I hope everyone is as excited as I am for my next release. I’m going to work my ass off on it to make it be able to stand great alone without comparisons to ‘Gray Habits’.

Tony Coke: Great, I for one am looking forward to it, and good luck with the release of ‘Grey Habits’.

Give ‘Grey Habits’ a listen at www.privazymusic.com.

Girl Toronto

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My buddy Michelle over at http://www.RAWartists.org, has once again contacted me about another talented band they are showcasing, this time out of Toronto, Canada. Girl, features Guy Rubino on guitar and vocals, Jean Sebastien Roy with more guitar and vocals, Grant Brain Scott playing drums, James Atin Godden on keyboards, and Joe Gervasi handling the bottom end. Here’s a little back and forth with the front man, Guy Rubino.

Tony Coke: Do you think there are any advantages or disadvantages of being from a major market such as Toronto?

Guy Rubino: The advantage of being in a band in a large city like Toronto are the obvious ones, more venues to play, influential radio stations, home to many record labels and of course a larger audience to play for. But the disadvantage is there are many more bands to compete with and therefore getting noticed in the crowd is much harder. 

The internet allows us to enter the market easily but without either hiring someone to do your social media or assistance from a strategic partner (like a record label or promoter), you’re left out there alone so to speak. In this day and age, you literally have to look at a band as a entire company, you need marketing, advertising, and  financial strategies over and above content. The internet hasn’t in my option knocked down the borders when your starting out,  I think once you have gained popularity in one city its much easier to scale your product and the internet then becomes way more effective in knocking down those borders but only after the fact. 

Tony Coke: Girl has been getting some spins on 102.1 The Edge in Toronto, have you seen a rising in web traffic because of that, and have you converted any of that traffic to fans?

Guy Rubino: Yes once we had made the Top 20 in 102.1 ‘s Next Big Thing Contest we did see quite a bit of traffic from radio play. We as a  band in general, capitalized on the success of making the Top 20 through social media. Getting that acclaim from 102.1 really helped to legitimize our efforts to date.   It also opened the doors introducing us to new promoters in the city, who then in turn booked gigs for us to play in venues we had never played before. 

The opportunity to enter the contest was a natural process, as in reality, their are only a few stations our music is geared too and 102.1fm is definitely one of them. I was literally driving in my car heard about the contest and entered as soon as I got home. 

Tony Coke: Your have a show coming up Sep. 11th at the Mod Club, with the RAW: natural born artists organization. Have you played one of those events before? How did that come about?

Guy Rubino: Yes, we did a RAW Event back in May and it was a glowing success for all parties concerned.  Michelle Bylow was coordinating that event and she was familiar with Girl’s music and thought it was a good fit. Clearly she was right as the response we received from the audience was overwhelming. The whole evening in general for all artists was a hit and we are delighted to do it all over again…

Tony Coke: The image you use on several of your social media sites, is an old photograph of a young girl. Is that girl someone special?

Guy Rubino: The name Girl originated by paying homage to all the women in our lives that have touched  us in a positive way. This could be a mom, sister, girlfriend, wife, 1st grade teacher, famous musician, etc. We wanted to capture this women in her formative years on her way to greatness, hence the younger photo we used. The idea is with every release we send out there will be a different photo featured of a different girl. In this particular case we used Jean Sebastien Roy’s (one of the founding band member’s) mother. 

Tony Coke: What is on the horizon for you guys after the RAW show? What are your goals for 2016, and how can people connect with you?
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Guy Rubino: Our plan is to continue to build our audience which keeps growing at a steady rate. In order to do this we will to continue to play shows as often we can while reaching out through social media channels. We also will begin to look for strategic partners via promoters, and or a record label to help this process grow quickly. As I mentioned earlier, this is a business like anything else, and to expand, we need to either invest internally or work with equally savvy partners to ensure success. Knowing our work ethic, we will likely do both. 

We plan to release our first video shortly, as well as a very socially interactive web site. The plan for 2016 is to record new music so that we can not only build our audience but keep the ones we have now. Currently we can be found on Twitter, Bandcamp, Facebook & Soundcloud until our website is up and running. 

Kid J Interview

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Going against the grain is the best way to be heard. Kid J is a Christian Hip Hop artist from Cali, which certainly sets him apart from the typical persona portrayed by rappers today.

Tony Coke: Are you a Christian that found rap, or a rapper that found Christianity?
Kid J: Actually Tony, I was raised to know God but never had a personal relationship with God and was not saved till I was 14 when I started Christian rap. So I guess I found them together. Which is how I knew that’s what God wanted me to do.

Tony Coke: On your track, “Livin My Life”, there is some looped guitar. Do you play guitar as well? Where did you lay down that track?

Kid J: Actually I can’t play any instruments I can only rap ha! Pariecee McGriff out of 777 studios produced the beat. Very talented producer.

Tony Coke: Where are you located and what is the music scene like there?

Kid J: I’m located in small town Tehachapi California the music scene is filled with hiding artists but I’m the only Christian artist here.

Tony Coke: I hear you have a big show coming up, give us the down low on that.

Kid J: Yes I do, I have a few shows coming up. But the big one is November sometime not decided yet, but it will be with a good friend M.A.D (Bruce yokley) and other good names. But the word is Stevie Stone (tech9s last featuring artist) will be main eventing. My first shows huge! Gods blessing me.

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Tony Coke: What’s on Kid J’s agenda for the rest of 2015 and how can people connect with you?

Kid J: I’ll be touring California doing shows. I’ve got more songs coming out soon. Just gotta stick to God always. You can connect with me through my Facebook page, kidjentertainment.

Tony Coke: Good talking to you, best of luck!

Kid J: Thanks God bless.

Facebook: Kid J Entertainment
Instagram: Kid J Entertainment

Kimia – Interview

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I meet so many awesome and inspiring people with BandsRising, some turn out to be right in my own backyard. Kimia is a very diverse and talented musician from London, currently living in Dallas, Tx. She writes and records several different genres of music, and has traveled the world connecting and collaborating with other musicians.

Tony Coke: Some of your music is singer / songwriter based, some of it leans towards electronic, some even has hints of country. What type of music do you most identify with, what do listen to when you put on your headphones?

Kimia: 
My background is classical and I’m a huge jazz fan as well. Much of my writing for my personal projects is singer/songwriter but I love participating in a variety of genres (jazz, hip-hop, electronic, pop, world, Celtic) because I love meeting people and trying different things. I’ve lived on three continents and have been influenced by a lot of different music and cultures as a result, so I have very eclectic taste when it comes to music. The electronic music is a collaboration with a talented young DJ and has been a lot of fun. I’m also working on some hip/hop violin and reggae with a local artist in Dallas and that is a lot of fun too! I’m always happy to accompany friends as a violinist on their projects too (or fiddle as they call it in Texas ☺).

Tony Coke: You have a new project to be released soon, give us the down low.

Kimia: It’s a pop album with a full band. There will be a couple of songs on the album that are acoustic and that is because I wanted the lyrics to be the focus of those songs. I wanted a lot of space and didn’t want the songs to be overproduced. As a musician as well as a writer, I try to find a balance between space for the musicians to shine and letting the lyrics/message be the focus.

Tony Coke: Why did you write it, what was your inspiration?

Kimia: So, as well as being a professional musician, I’m a professional psychologist. I spend a lot of time helping others work through situations but often don’t take the time to process my own feelings! ☺ This album focuses on lessons from life and love. I wanted to be more real and personal with this one. Some songs are about my experiences and some were written for friends, e.g. a remembrance song written on the 1 year anniversary of a friends death from cancer.

Tony Coke: Wow, very impressive, you must be super busy! Is the album already completed? Can people see videos in the studio or get involved with the recording?

Kimia: The recording is almost completed and the album will be mixed by the end of the month. There will be behind the scenes videos on my facebook page over the next few weeks www.facebook.com/kimiajourneys

Tony Coke: When does it come out and how will people be able to listen?

Kimia: The release date is on October 16th and the album will be available in person at the CD release party in Dallas, as well as on iTunes and other online retailers.

Tony Coke: How involved are you in the beats and production of your music? there is piano in one of your tracks, is that you as well?

Kimia: I’m very involved in the production of my music and select session musicians based on a sound I’m looking for, but I’m always open to their ideas as well. The beauty of bringing a track to life is in the collaboration. We have a great music scene in Dallas and I’m fortunate to know and work with some really talented people. I specifically have to give a shout out to my friends The Funky Knuckles, Whiskey Holler, The Selkie Girls and Crystal Clear Sound.

Tony Coke: We were talking beforehand, and you mentioned a world music project you were working on. What are the details on that?

Kimia: I love to travel and meet people from different cultures. I also think its important that we work together and learn from each other. Recently I had the opportunity to travel to India to write with and produce music with two different groups. I was looking for a tabla player and was thrilled to meet one and work with him too. I’ve been enjoying working on several different genres this year so I decided to split my projects into three different releases. I’ll have my pop/singer, songwriter album, an electronic music collaboration album and a world genre collaboration with influences from India, Africa and the Middle East. It’s been a special year so far and I’ve made some great new friendships along the way.

Tony Coke: Very cool! What’s the best way for people to connect with you?

Kimia: Please find me on facebook! www.facebook.com/kimiajourneys