New Releases

• Julia Rose celebrated the release of her CD, Suspended in Air. A mix of alternative and folk rock, the CD was co-produced by Michael Sheppard and Julia Rose and recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA. Players include Rose, Gary and Greg Grainger, Dan Reynolds, Susan Jones, Tim Anderson, Don Berkemeyer, Carol Rose Duane, and Jody Marshall. For more information, e-mail Rose.
• SAM Records now has distribution for all three Kevin Johnson and The Linemen titles, Memphis For Breakfast, The Rest of Your Life, and Parole Music. The distributors are Redeye, Crosstalk, and I.R.D.
• Sally Martin's debut CD, Journeys, is now available through All Aboard Music, Inc. or at Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, and Borders Books & Music. For further information, call 202-237-5325 or e-mail aboardmus@aol.com.
• Global Village Records announced the release of Windmill Saxophone Quartet's new CD, This 'n' That. The all-woodwind ensemble was recorded by Pierre M. Sprey at Mapleshade Studio. For more information, visit the Global Village website at members.aol.com /GloblVillg/index.html.
• Blues/roots rocker Mike Cotter recently released his new CD, Radio Saves. Featuring 14 songs and including guest artists John Jennings, Paul Bell, Jon Carroll, Robbie Magruder, Jim Robeson, Rico Petruccelli, and Tommy Lepson, the CD is available by calling 703-321-7375 or via e-mail at cotterdude@aol.com.
• Bonnie Rideoutcelebrated the release of her new children's CD, Gimme Elbow Room, with a party at the National Geographic Society Auditorium on Saturday, October 17 at 11:00 a.m. For tickets, call 202-857-7700.
• Catscan Records is set to release W. C. Spencer's latest CD, Bluescat. For more information, call 401-817-4311.
• Southern Exposure Management announced the release of Andrew McKnight's newest recording, Where This River Runs. Guest artists include Bruce Molsy, Ralph Gordon, Tom Prasada-Rao, Terri Allard, Lisa Taylor, and John Rickard. The CD was produced with Les Thompson. For more information, call 540-687-6759.
• Once Hush announced the release of their latest project, Superior Machines. Recorded at The Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, VA and produced by John Morand, the album was recorded in three weeks. For more information, call 410-666-4372.
• Dan Reynolds held a CD release party at Lewies in Bethesda, MD for his new recording, To Be Sure.
• Blue Yard Garden released their second CD, No Good Sundays. For more information, call 804-897-2324 or visit the website at http://www.infi.net/ ~sunday/byg.html.
• Dead Girls and Other Stories announced the release of their latest CD, Full Of Life.
• First Power Records announced the national release of hip/hop/R&B artists, Da Foundation.
• Sheryl announced the release of the new CD, Past Echoes. For more information, visit the website at http://home.aol.com/fisher331.
• Mindshaft announced the release of their CD, Over Matter.
• Clator Butler recently released his new CD, A Critical State of Affairs. For more information, visit the website at http://www.clator.com.
• Lowry Hamner released Secrets Of The Heart (Alien Chants Records).
• Tramps Like Us celebrated the release of their new CD, Wishful Thinking (Splash Records).

Seminars, Workshops, Conferences, Showcases, Grants, Awards & Contests

Creative Outreach

Creative Outreach, a non-profit organization that provides free live entertainment to needy nursing homes is looking for volunteer musicians to serve in DC, suburban Maryland and Virginia. We' ll set you up where and when it is convenient for you. Solo acts to groups of any size and any style. Time commitment is only a couple of hours per month, and it' s rewarding and fun. Please call Lisa Jones Bromfield at 540-869-0885, leave a message at 703-715-0155, or e-mail COReach@aol.com for more info. Demo tapes can be sent to Creative OutReach at 111 Weems Lane, #281, Winchester, VA 22601.

JazzTimes Convention

The 1998 JazzTimes Convention has been set for October 30 - November 2 at the New York Marriott World Trade Center in New York City. For more information, contact JazzTimes Convention, 8737 Colesville Road, Fifth Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3921 or fax 301-588-5531.

Bluestock '98

Bluestock '98, the national blues showcase convention and festival, will be held October 23 and 24 in Memphis, TN. Currently searching for blues bands to perform, they can be contacted by phone at 901-526-4280; via mail at P.O. Box 41858, Memphis, TN 38174; or via e-mail at crossroads@wspice.com.

Baltimore Songwriters' Association

The Baltimore Songwriters' Association invites regional songwriters to join them for their bi-monthly meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are held at Funk's Democratic Coffee Spot, 1818 Eastern Avenue in Fells Point, MD. For more information, call 410-325-5493.

International Roots Homecoming Festival

The Gambia's International Roots Homecoming Festival takes place in June, 1999. The Roots festival promotes the Gambia as an attractive vacation spot, celebrates the richness and diversity of Gambian culture, and showcases the Gambia's indigenous industries.

The festival's primary objective is to promote tourism, but the festival also provides opportunities to promote the Gambia as an attractive investment destination. In September 1998, The Gambian Secretary of State for Tourism and Culture, accompanied by the Gambia's National Ballet Company, will travel to the United States. A support group of Americans from diverse business areas is assisting with the planning and promotion of the International Roots Homecoming Festival scheduled for 1999.

The National Organizing Committee for the Festival extends and invitation to entertainment people to attend and participate in the festival. If you are interested in participating, attending, or receiving more information about the festival please contact WAMA Board Member Charles Berrin, who is also on the National Organizing Committee for the Festival. Mr. Berrin can be reached at by telephone at (202) 223-9802; (202) 213-5488; by FAX at (202) 223-9805; or by e-mail at hmexport@erols.com.

First Power Recording Studios

First Power Recording Studios has been busy working with Arista recording artist Wanda B of KLM. Will Harris, guitarist for Funkadelic, completed four tracks of his debut CD, 30th Century Man. Gadsby's Museum are in the mixing and mastering stages of their recording. Da Foundation, Coffee, The Hylandas, The Chosen One, ProvenWyze and Mothership are all currently in production for their national CD releases.

Airshow Mastering

Airshow Mastering has added high-resolution HDCD (high definition compatible digital) processing to their Boulder location. In other Airshow news, Charlie Pilzer, mastering engineer in Springfield location, has completed mastering Africans in America soundtrack for WGBH/Rykodisc and Luminous Spirit: Chants by Hildegard Von Bingen, performed by Rosa Lamoreaux.

Omega Recording

Omega celebrates its 30th year in business this year. CPP Media Records, a division of Warner Brothers, has released 4 CDs produced and recorded in Omega's Studio A. Omega also has recently completed a significant upgrade in Studio A, including installation of a 60 channel Neve VR console (which replaced the 40-channel Neve V3). The console features Flying Faders automation, and has eight mix busses. Dave Sanborn recently completed recording Song of the Shepherd, a musical based on the life of King David. Written by Sanborn and his mother Ellen Sanborn, it was engineered by Dave Durr and mastered by Dave Cannon.

• New York's Roz Winter was one of the top winners in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Gospel/Inspirational category. The song, Healer of Hearts, will be recorded by multi-Grammy winner BeBe Winans along with the Hezikiah Walker Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, and will be produced by Keith Thomas.
• Ascension celebrated the release of their CD, NakedSoul, at Grants Jazz Bar in Richmond . For more information, contact Ascension at 1-800-625-1489 or visit the website at freeyellow.com/members/nakedsoul.
• Ralph Litwin & the Band With A Thousand Names released a self-titled CD. The CD includes eight new original tunes with a total of 18 cuts.
• Singer/songwriter John Russo and his NYC-based band has just released their new CD entitled Two Weeks From Tuesday, a CD of 11 original acoustic rock songs. For sound clips, visit http://www.musicreations.com.
• Salem, Virginia's Katrina Landon has released her new CD, River Voice (Encrypted Records).
• French composer and musician Elisabeth Blin recently released her CD, Lifetime Too: Soul to Soul, an album of 13 original jazz songs.
• Karl Conrad released his CD, Late Bloomer, which was produced by Jaime Brockett. For more information, visit the website at www.folkweb.com.
• California artist Debra Farris has just released her CD, Comes The Dawn. The album was recorded at Beagle Studios and Gremlin Studios and features Farris, Brian Fox, Cougar Estrada, Barrett Nelson, and Dana Olsen.
• Boulder, CO artist Ben Stevens released his new album, The CD Reservation Blues. Recorded at El Rancho DeVille in Boulder, the project was engineered and produced by Charles Sawtelle. For info/orders, e-mail blurustr@henge.com.
• California-based John Bankston recently released his new CD, Better In The Morning on John & John Records. For more information, call 703-769-3810 or e-mail connerly@erols.com.
• Don Wayne Reno has released his CD, Heroes. You can visit the website at www.renomusic.com or call 615-889-4197.
• Detroit artists Mudpuppy recently received three Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding Blues Recording (Mudpuppy, White Bread and Hot Sauce) Outstanding Blues Artist (Mudpuppy) and Outstanding R&B Recording (Mudpuppy, White Bread and Hot Sauce). Congratulations!
• David Scheiber, a resident of Florida and formerly of Centreville, VA, won the Grand Prize in the 14th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for his country song Catch Me in The Net.
• California-based Keeva recently released All The Home We Have (Keeva Records), produced by Chris Whetstone and Neal Jiminez.

Classified Advertising