She Lion – Ariel de Lion Interview

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To make it in today’s music industry, you have to think big and have your hands in many different things. Brooklyn based, Ariel de Lion, is a prime example of this. With radio, multiple music projects, as well as multiple businesses, he’s a busy guy, so I’m thankful to have gotten a few minutes of his time.

Tony Coke: I was up in Brooklyn at CMJ a few years ago and it seems like a cool scene. Has that been growing or evolving lately?

Ariel De Lion: Yup, things have changed dramatically in the past 2 years of 2013-2014. With a massive gentrification going on in Bushwick and Bed stuy. The good part about it is that we basically almost never go to Manhattan anymore, its all here.

Tony Coke: For other musicians out there, what would you say is the #1 most effective marketing technique you’ve utilized to spread the word about She-Lion?

Ariel De Lion:She Lion will be my 7 studio album and maybe the 10th Musical project im leading in the past 20 years of doing Music. Each project have different marketing approach, if its an underground Piece like “Hostel Ayalon”, its goes best by email lists and mouth to ear. If its Hard Rock like De Lion’s “Trash, Birds? Rats. Idea!” it goes best with a Label so most of the effort goes to find one. Here’s in She Lion its EDM with live instrument which probably will go best with good youtube video and lots of shows… will see…

Tony Coke: What is it in music that you just couldn’t live without?

Ariel De Lion: Good one, I have no idea… I’m doing Music since I’m 8 years old. Seriously I think I just have to do it, like eating, sleeping and fucking… making music and writing stories. Make me wanna live a lil bit more…

Tony Coke: Do you handle the website and social media yourself? It looks great, someone in the band must be a graphic artist.

Ariel De Lion: We have an amazing Graphic designer, Jason Naylor that came up with all the amazing graphics for She Lion, also Naty Tea took amazing Photoshoots for the cover with the first She Lion, Victoria Elizabeth, @Gypsyfoot, modeling and body painted by Badder Israel. So for your question, good stuff are never one person mindset, its a team.

Tony Coke: What’s coming up and what goals are set to be accomplished the second half of 2015?
Ariel De Lion: Apart from She Lion, I am working now on a collection documentary and a Record, that will sum up the 2-3 years we lived in The Music Wagon StART up collective in Bushwick 2011-2013, 150 people, artists, DJ’s, visionary preachers were living there along those 2 magical years and the Blue Bus. Emerging from the Lower East Side, The Living Theatre, LES.FM radio, the Ludlow studio, Mr. Bugsly present and the Rainbow gathering along with the House Of Yes across the street, Aldorado Afters with Burymeinbrooklyn under our shaking asses. I got so much materials and finally i got the time to work on something to remember, super excited. Gonna be super real s**t!

Tony Coke: Sounds like you’ve got your plate full! Best of luck and we’ll look for some cool shit coming out of Brooklyn this year.

Ariel de Lion is an Israeli-American, Brooklyn based Artist, Musician and Entrepreneur. As both a conceptualist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Ariel has led several musical and Art projects most known by DE///LION, Punk hapoalim, Casino Ayalon, She Lion and Hostel Ayalon. Best known for his Multidisciplinary approach, He is also the creative force and founder of the Start-up company and Brooklyn Art collective, Music Wagon. The founder of the Lower East Side radio station, LES.FM at the Ludlow Studio and The founder of Hostel Ayalon, non-for-profit venue in Tel Aviv, Israel.

http://she-lion.com
facebook.com/shelioninbed

3rd Twin

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3rd Twin is a hip hop artist making big noise and doing big things out of Portland, Oregon.

Tony Coke: Does the Portland hip hop scene have it’s own style, or does it align with west coast rap and hip hop?
3rd Twin: The Portland hip hop scene has a lot of talent… I think we’re one of those states that is a diamond in the rough…
Where not a small city but we just don’t have the opportunities that other big cities have
as far as music goes. In my opinion I don’t think I sound like anybody I have my own style and sound.
The rap game in general is changing and evolving and we as artists have to change and evolve with it, so in a sense you could say that’s our identity because I believe the rappers in my town do a good job with staying current and relevant but at the same time keeping Portland weird like our slogan says.

Tony Coke: What made you decide to get back in the game?
3rd Twin: Well 1st of all I should’ve never left the game in the 1st place… I spent 6 years away from music and that whole time I felt like a piece of me was missing. I mean my life is just one really long rap song so I never stop writing and creating music I just stopped recording and pursuing music.
And looking back on it now that was probably the biggest mistake I ever made because I was lost without it.. I truly believe God blesses you with talent and if you don’t use it, he’ll take it away from you…
And when I got back on the stage for the 1st time. It was like it all started to make sense, I felt like me again. It was like I came back home…
I said to myself, “This is where I belong!” I knew then what I had to do..
And the rest as they say is ‘History in the making’.

Tony Coke: How has music made a difference in your life?
3rd Twin: Music for me is therapeutic. And I swear This **@%t is in me and not on me. I couldn’t stop rapping if I wanted too…
I mean making music recording and performing is the greatest feeling in the world to me. My
music has taken me places I never thought I would be, it has shown me things that I never thought I would see as well as giving me and my family opportunity’s we probably never would a had. So even more than changing my life it, became my life, and like I said before without it I’m lost.

Tony Coke: What has working with Thorncity Syndicate done for you and how did that come about?
3rd Twin: Not to sound too dramatic but Thorn City syndicate has saved my life. It’s a label that I started with my best friend and godfather to my son… Na’eem “Name” Hall. He’s always been my biggest fan and supporter. And to be honest, he probably was the most disappointed when I stop rapping. And I’m sure he won’t admit it but I think he kinda trick me… ’cause he asked me to just record 5 songs and he’ll pay for it…
Just so he can have some of my music to listen to!!!
But deep down I think he knew that would spark something in me… And boy was he right…

_DSC0668Tony Coke: What’s up next for 3rd Twin?
3rd Twin: Right now up next for 3rd Twin and Thorn City Syndicate, we’re actually involved in a few great new up and coming, game changing movements, but first and foremost is finishing up my long awaited, highly anticipated and long overdue first solo album.
It’s been a long time coming and i’m extremely excited to finally release my first solo project called HIT’M EP/Documentary ‘History in the Making’ with newly acquired partner Matrix Media Group NW, a Social Media Production Company located here in Portland, Oregon.
This puts the final pieces of the puzzle together and really allow us to take things to the next level.
It gives us the opportunity to really focus on putting as much content out as possible.
The plan is to put the project together and get out on the road, push our movements and share my story to the world.
One of the movements we’ll be pushing is Thorn City Syndicate’s agreement with South Beach Miami based upscale advertising agency, Art Deco Images, to represent their new Music Store 2 the Future, and become our exclusive advertising agency to promote the brand and its artists like me with its “Go Green” Point of Purchase Concepts through the advancement and acceleration of QR code technology placed within Point of Purchase concepts and capabilities in a variety of styles of technology.
ATM video point of purchase ads, interactive video mirror ads, taxi-screen ads, point of purchase t-shirts, sunglasses and more.
Be on the lookout its going to be a game changer www.musicstore2thefuture.com

Next up is a Music Video distribution agreement with Revohloo Studios the music game will never be the same REVOHLOO – THE REVOHLOO-TION OF MUSIC VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT Powered by
Revohloo-tionary technology Revohloo is reinventing all aspects of music video entertainment, from creation to monetization, by partnering with Artists, Directors and Producers, in some cases Revohloo Studios will even fund the production of Artists IMVMV or Revohloo with no recoupment required by Revohloo Studios. Revohloo is also partnering with directors in effort to encourage the adoption of their technology Revohloo is offering Directors and Producers the opportunity to share Revohloo’s portion of the revenue, in effort to create a self sustainable and vibrant digital music industry. Revohloo is developing a premium consumer music video platform to help recording artists and labels create a superior end-user experience for fans. They’re focused on increasing the total number of engagement of any artists music video and premium content. Their technology allows fans to create 256 versions of a single music video. Revohloo creates a new and needed revenue stream to monetize music video entertainment.

Tony Coke: Sounds like you’ve got your plate full! I’ll be sure to keep up with you to see how it goes and please keep us updated.

You can keep up with 3rd Twin via the following links.

http://www.3rdtwin.com
http://www.thorncitysyndicate.com
https://twitter.com/Gemini_3rd_Twin
https://www.facebook.com/roymoore3rd
https://soundcloud.com/3rdtwin12/honesty

Privazy Interview

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I’m talking with hip hop artist, Privazy. There’s buzz building about this guy. He portrays a kind of mysterious persona, which is cool since so many hip hop artists are the exact opposite.

Tony Coke: Give us the run down… who is Privazy, and where are you from?

Privazy: Privazy is a kid trying to push the limits of creativity through music. I’m from a small town in New Jersey called Millville. If yall watch baseball much: I went to high school with Mike Trout.

Tony Coke: Damn, he’s a beast! There must be something in the water in Millville. Do you make your beats or focus solely on the lyrics?

Privazy: I wish I could take the credit for my beats but I can’t. That’s my brother Oliver North. He’s sick. But yeah I focus on pretty much everything. Even if I may not be the one who created it. I don’t think I would be able to be considered an artist if all I did was focus on the music. I have my hands in everything I do from choosing the production, all the way to down to the way my publicist sends out emails. I want to do it all.

Tony Coke: You’ve been getting play in the UK, did that just come from word or mouth, or how did that come about?

Privazy: And man did you see that!? I was so stoked. That’s all thanks to my many different promoters. Im grateful. It reached out there and then somehow a few of those people got in touch with me. So sick.

Tony Coke: What kind of marketing and promotion has worked best for you so far?

Privazy: The best marketing that’s worked for me is honestly not doing the same method over and over. I honestly don’t even know how I get these promotions and get blog placements. It’s all so random. I normally just find dope people on the internet and I ask them for an opinion. Some people spread the word & others hook me up with more connections.

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Tony Coke: What’s on tap for Prizacy through out 2015?

Privazy: I have so much coming up soon it’s crazy. I have an EP coming out in a few months that I’m real excited about. But other than that just music. I have to keep working and developing myself to be the best I can be. I have a lot of collaborations and projects I’m assisting on that’ll be out soon. That’s gonna be tight. But I’m just going to really be putting out a lot of stuff as much as I can in a quality, creative way. I’m going to shove my name down everyone’s throats. I have a lot to prove and get done, I won’t get there by not giving it my all.

Tony Coke: Cool man… I look forward to hearing more sick tracks coming out of your camp on the new EP.

To connect with Privazy, hit him up on Twitter and check out his soundcloud.

www.twitter.com/privazymusic

Rundown Kreeps Interview

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Fresh off the road, the Rundown Kreeps guitarist and singer, Richard Lamas, chats with me about booking, touring, and owls!

RDK

Tony Coke: You guys are finishing up a tour. How did it go?

Richard Lamas: This past spring tour with Straight Shooter went really well. At least I think so. We had the privilege of performing with a lot of awesome bands and we also met a lot of rad people that we’re glad to be able to now call friends. Overall I think that our music and stage show was received extremely well with every audience that we performed in front of, and in my opinion that’s all that really matters.

Tony Coke: Do you guys do all of your own booking or do you work with an agent or someone that handles that for you?

Richard Lamas: I technically do all of the booking for the band via email and internet messaging. But for this last tour we pretty much just rode along with the guys from Straight Shooter. We essentially received a great opportunity and were asked to be direct support for the guys on an already scheduled tour. Everything has been pretty DIY punk rock for us at this point of our existence and I really enjoy that asthetic.

Tony Coke: That’s so great when you can jump on someone else’s tour and let them handle booking! Give our other musician readers a word of advice or a struggle that you’ve overcome pertaining to touring or booking?

Richard Lamas: Keep at it. That’s the most relevant piece of information I can give to anyone no matter what their creative outlet is. Be persistent, write honest music for the purpose of impressing no one other than yourself, and play every show as if you’re performing for a sold out crowd no matter the turn out. Keep yourself happy with what you’re doing. Oh, and pack a towel. This tour was some of the guys first experience with being on the road and they didn’t pack a towel. They had to rely on using dirty T-shirts and it left them smelling kinda musty. And that’s no good for anybody. Especially if everyone is going to be stuck in a van together for hours in the heat.

Tony Coke: Ya that’s nasty! What is the hardest thing about being in a band, other than the smell?

Richard Lamas: Is there suppose to be a hard part? I really can’t think of one. I do what I do because i wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t, and if I thought it was hard to be myself I wouldn’t be me. If that makes sense.

Tony Coke: Fair enough! Give us a crazy story from the road.

Richard Lamas: We accidentally ran over an owl that just found lunch on our way to Roswell, New Mexico. Well it was more like owl suicide. I was in the passenger seat acting as navigator while Horacio from Straight Shooter was driving the van. Everyone else was passed out, we had the first shift driving over night. It must’ve been sometime between 4am-6am. The highway was dark and vacant like something out of a horror movie. When all of a sudden an owl swoops down towards the right of the van, picks up a rabbit, then flys directly in front of the van. There was no time to react so we unfortunately collided with the bird and it’s lunch while they were mid flight. I felt bad, but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel like it was kind of the owls fault. I mean we don’t blame the conductor when someone gets killed trying to cross train tracks while there is an oncoming train visible and no time to do so. That owl had a death wish and I guess the van played the role of Jack Kevorkian in the mess of it all. The weird part is that about 14 miles later when the sun began to make itself evident we made eye contact with another owl that was chilling on what seemed to be the only tree on that particular stretch of the highway. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that it knew.
Rundown_Kreeps_Logo_300-2

Tony Coke: Oh damn, and a rabbit!! How’s it going on the management and business side of things?

Richard Lamas: It’s good, the guys from Dunton have been pretty rad to us and they totally understand us because they know the music scene that we derive from. I’m definitely looking forward to what will come out of our partnership with them. I appreciate having those guys on our side of the ring and I’m glad to be able to call them friends.

Tony Coke: Cool man, best of luck to you guys. I hate that I missed you when you came through Dallas, hopefully I’ll get out to LA soon and catch yall there.

Check out Rundown Kreeps music and videos and hook up with them on social media.

Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/rundownkreeps
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rundown-kreeps
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RundownKreeps
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Rundownkreeps
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rundownkreeps
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rundown.kreeps

Management: Ken Gonzalez – Dunton Records