Moby kicks ass and he does great things for the world and he speaks the truth and he makes great music....

Oh, Moby. You always do manage to set the mood, eh?

I’ve been listening to Moby since I was a teenager and, I must admit, I stopped following his music for a while. I’m not quite sure why because I’ve never met a Moby song I didn‘t like. Perhaps I felt as though he’d entered into the realm of that which is, for lack of a better word, ‘mainstream,’ and being the rebel-without-a-cause that I am, I tend to resist a lot of popular music. Well, I’ve been missing out, and I do happen to dabble in the industry of mainstream media so shame on me for being a hypocrite. I’m listening to his “Wait For Me” album as I sit here and type this, and I’m being whisked away to a magical place just as I always have whilst listening to his magnificent sound creations. Thank you, Moby, for being consistently perfect.

I had the privilege of meeting Richard Hall, aka Moby, for the first time ever at an event in Beverly Hills, Ca., on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in mid-March. We shared a brief chat and he was absolutely delightful. His attitude is far from mainstream, and his music is popular because, well, it’s just really good. We dished on music and his new book, “Gristle.” Proceeds for the book go to animal organizations.

Musicwire TV: Tell me about the book that you‘ve got coming out.

Moby: I’m putting out a book in a week that I just edited, and it’s not a fun book. It’s called “Gristle” and it’s about the consequences of animal production. There are fifteen different contributors - scientists for the most part - writing about the affect of animal production on communities, on health, on children’s health, on the environment, on global warming, so it’s more factual than fun, but I’m here just trying to draw attention to that.

MWTV: How long did the project take?

M: One of the things about editing a book is that it’s not that much work. It’s for a small non-profit book publishing company and whatever money is generated by the book goes to animal charities. All together, it took about three years of sort of slow steady work, but there’s actual contributors who did all of the writing.

MWTV: Oh, ok. So you just put the ideas together.

M: Yeah, and then we compiled the different people who contributed.

MWTV: I’m looking forward to reading it.

M: Like I said, it’s informative but it’s not fun.

MWTV: Sometimes I prefer that. And what can we expect musically from you right now?

M: Well there’s my album that I put out last summer and I’ve just been on tour for the last fourteen months, but at this point even though I live in the states, ninety-five percent of my touring is outside of America because I think the music scene in America is awful, so I spend most of my time in either, like, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and I almost spend more time touring Canada than I do in the states.

MWTV: What are some other artists that you’ve been listening to recently?

M: I listen to a lot of old punk-rock and old blues.

MWTV: You've collaborated with so many amazing artists over the years. Is there anybody in the music industry at this point that you’ve never worked with that you’d like to work with?

M: I mean, I really just like working with people that can sing well and so it doesn’t matter to me whether they’re famous or unknown. In fact, the truth is I’d rather work with unknown artists because they’re not pains in the asses yet. You know, you don’t have to go through the layers of management, etcetera, etcetera.

MWTV: Or ego.

M: Yeah! It’s just generally easier and more fun to make records with your friends than to work with celebrities because celebrities are annoying by definition.

Bullet & Snowfox take over Crazy Girls!!!

The stellar Indie-electro duo that is Bullet & Snowfox performed their third ever live show on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at Hollywood’s “Crazy Girls.” Those of y’all who live nearby in La La Land know that Crazy Girls is synonymous with tiny dancers, silicone, and booze, but who would’ve pegged this place as the go-to hot spot for up-and-coming musicians?

Bullet & Snowfox hit the Crazy Girls stage a little after 9:00PM and were joined by a handful of ladies prancing around in barely there bikinis, but that didn’t stop the audience from focusing their attention on Bullet & Snowfox’s adorably sexy front woman, Kristen Wagner, who’s fierce vocals and firecracker energy made the dancers seem almost invisible. Throw in some super-sick guitar riffs from the other half of the uber-talented duo, Josh Shapiro, and you’ve got yourself one hell-of-a badass show. Also joining Kristen and Josh on stage at Crazy Girls were Baron Von Luxxury on bass and Pablo Amador on drums.

While Los Angeles is certainly inundated with some exceptional bands, Bullet & Snowfox stand out in many ways. They have a truly unique sound that’s just the right blend of notable influences like New Young Pony Club, The Breeders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and other electro and rock groups, along with, of course, their own signature sound. Kristen essentially writes all of the lyrics and Josh the music, and while they admittedly have very different taste in music, they still manage to create the perfect marriage between vocals and guitar.

The song, “Neuroric Nancy,” was an audience fave at the Crazy Girls show, and also the track that the band opened up with. It‘s a really catchy tune that‘s really Kristen poking fun at herself for her various girly neuroses that many of us chicks can relate to, like wishing we‘d curled our hair before leaving the house, or worn a different pair of shoes, etc., and many-a-girl in the ladies room were overheard from behind stall doors singing the lyrics, “crazy, psycho bitch I’m getting’ antsy. All my friends call me Neurotic Nancy!” B & S played a number of other great tracks and kept the audience singing and dancing throughout.

Josh and Kristen formed the band less than two years ago, and they have managed to put together an impressively long song list in this time without sacrificing quality or originality. The show was virtually flawless, and considering that it was only Bullet & Snowfox’s third time ever performing for a live audience, I’d say that you had better keep an eye out for ’em because it’s only a matter of time before these guys go viral!

Campy? Certainly not! Camp Freddy's as GREEN as they come...

This year's pre-Oscar Global Green event at Avalon Hollywood on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010, brought out the likes of some great talents, including Mia Maestro and Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden, but in my opinion, nothing tops a good Camp Freddy show. I've had the privilege of seeing these bad boys perform on numerous occasions and they never fail to entertain and provide the audience with some damned sexy vocals thanks to Donovan Lietch and Mark McGrath, sick shreds by Billy Morrison (also vocals), Billy Gibbons, and Steve Stevens, and last but not least, killer guitar and base lines that flow seamlessly from one song to the next bought to you by one of the band's core members, Dave Navarro. Oh, and let's not forget Matt Sorum on drums. I mean, could you ask for a better team of musicians? Most of these guys make up the core crew of the supergroup, but it never gets old watching some of the greatest musicians of our generation get up on stage and play all of your favorite rock n' roll covers.

The boys graced the audience with their presence at Global Green on Wednesday, following Joel and Benji's performance, and played an awesomely bad-ass set filled with faves like Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," and I've gotta say, it really doesn't get any better than "Rebel Yell" performed live with Steve Stevens on guitar. He's still got it! Oh yeah, and Juliette Lewis joined the band as well, belting out some bitchin' vocals at the end of Camp Freddy's set. The entire show from start to finish was as high-energy as it gets, and lucky for us Los Angeleans, Camp Freddy performs often and are a pretty accessible band if you know where to look for 'em. So basically, if you live in Los Angeles and you haven't seen Camp Freddy yet, what the hell are you thinking?! Get out from under that damn rock and go catch a show!

http://www.myspace.com/campfreddy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJxBhs2eDNY

MUSIC WIRE LAUNCING SPRING 2010!

For Immediate Release

Elizabeth Rosselle
musicwiretv@live.com

***MEDIA ALERT***

MUSICWIRE TV LAUNCHING SPRING 2010

With the turn of the decade and the beginning of a new era in music media comes the launch of Musicwire TV; an all-music based website that gives users up-to-the-minute news on some of their favorite Indie rock artists, in addition to great dish on established musicians who’ve been on the scene for years and have helped shape the music industry. Musicwire TV will include regularly updated music blogs, live concert coverage, rare band footage, MUSIC VIDEOS, and exclusive on-camera interviews with today’s hottest new artists brought to you by host and Musicwire TV founder, Elizabeth Rosselle, with the help of an awesome team of media pros.

Musicwire TV promises to not only keep its users up on the latest and greatest in music, but to entertain them by delivering an internet-based media outlet that’s not only a source of up-to-the-minute music news, but is also, in essence, music television online. Remember when music television networks used to show music videos and all sorts of fun, music-related programs? You know, before those networks became inundated with reality TV shows that have absolutely nothing to do with music? Well we, here at Musicwire TV, remember those times very well. We miss them dearly and aim to bring them back via a fun, interactive, and user-friendly platform that caters to both the internet savvy user AND the passive music television junkie.

ABOUT MUSICWIRE TV AND ITS FOUNDER: Musicwire TV is the concept of media veteran, Elizabeth Rosselle, who has worked in the entertainment reporting industry in various capacities for many years. Elizabeth currently writes for popular entertainment weekly publications such as OK! Magazine and Life & Style Weekly, in addition to music-related publications like Outburn magazine. She has also worked as an on-camera host for various online media outlets, including Star Cam and Live Video, and spends her spare time working as a DJ, spinning at popular Hollywood nightclubs and red carpet events throughout the Los Angeles Area. Her passion for all things entertainment and love for music has inspired Elizabeth to create Musicwire TV, your NUMBER ONE source for all things music. Log onto musicwire.tv and this Spring of 2010 and be prepared to see the music-media world restored.

Special thanks to everyone who has and will continue to help make this happen, including Garry Sun (videographer), Billy Barrera (videographer), Ned Harris (filmmaker), Courtney Jones (actress, friend, and "crew"), Karen Williams (singer/songwriter), Dilana Robichaux (singer/songwriter), Josh Shapiro (musician - Bullet & Snowfox), Kristen Wagner (musician - Bullet & Snowfox), Fallbrooke (band - musicians), Forever the Sickest Kids (band - musicians), and many, many more.....

The Bravery at Spike TV's 2009 Video Game Awards: A Music Wire Exclusive!!!

One of my absolute favorite Indie-Alternative bands, the Bravery, jammed out under a giant tent atop the West parking structure at L.A’s Nokia Theater for the 2009 Spike TV Video Game Awards this stormy Sunday afternoon, December 12, 2009. They performed their hit song (and theme song for the evening), “I’ve seen the Future.” The boys hit the stage mid-show, and once again at the tail end of the evening, sharing the stage with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Hammil, Olivia Wilde, and a slew of genius video game geeks. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed both high-energy performances, and Music Wire had a chance to catch up with the guys pre-show. In keeping with the themes of the day, we talked music and video games, and the group were an absolute delight!

The Bravery - Mike Hindert, John Conway, Sam Endicott, Michael Zakarin, Anthony Burulcich:
MW: You guys have a theme song tonight, right?
John: We do! Our song on our new record, “I’ve seen the Future” is our theme for the show tonight which is pretty cool, so we’ll be playing that. And our first single on the new record, “Slow Poison” - we’ll do that as well.

MW: Would you guys ever like to do songs for video games?
John: We haven’t written a song specifically for a video game, although some of our demos sort of sound like that, but we’ve had a few songs in video games, which is a really cool place for bands to put music out now.

MW: You guys recently wrapped up a mini-tour, right?
Anthony: We did, like, a two month before the record came out to kind of ‘re-juve’ the fan base and then that finished right around the week the record came out. We’ve been doing a lot of, like, Christmas and holiday radio shows. We’re kind of flying all over the country.

MW: When you guys are touring, do you have video games that you like to bring with you?
John: The big one on our tour bus now is a UFC game. Anthony and I have a big rivalry in that. I’m looking forward to the new MotoGP Game. I’m a big motorcyclist so that’ll be good!

MW: And what are you guys looking forward to today?
John: I think just playing and seeing who’s around. We’re pretty big Battlestar Galactica fans. I think there might be some cast members in the crowd tonight who are presenting, so maybe we’ll get to meet them.

MW: Have you discovered any new artists on sites like Pandora recently that you’re really into right now?
John: I’ve been using Pandora to find old music, like sixties garage bands. Like, type in a couple of those and other stuff comes up for modern ones. The Cynics is my new Pandora discovery.

I WANT MY MTV!

by Elizabeth Rosselle

What ever happened to MTV? Remember the days of music videos, "Liquid Television," "Headbanger's Ball," and who can forget Karen Duffy (better known as "Duff") - the coolest VJ ever to grace the TV screen? I used to stay up all night watching "Aeon Flux," "Beavis and Butthead," and, most of all, a lot of really great videos. And yes, there were shows in addition to the videos, but they were still very Rock and Roll. On "Beavis and Butthead," Beavis wore a Metallica t-shirt, Butthead wore an AC/DC shirt, and those kids played air guitar, like, every five minutes. Aeon Flux, on the other hand, just oozed early nineties goth-rock-chic style like no other in her skin tight patent leather body suit with her ever-so-edgy black a-line bob. And then there were all of those great videos! MTV played everything from Color Me Bad, to Siouxsie and the Banshees, to Megadeth and you could catch them all in one sitting. They even played a lot of obscure tracks, like live bootlegs from The Cure, and this was mainstream television.

When confronted with the topic of what MTV has morphed into over the years, solo artist and former member of the popular rock group, Bush, Gavin Rossdale says, “Well, I think that it’s [the music video] not shown on MTV like it used to be, but there’s something amazing, like on YouTube, there’s, like, 1.6 million people who have seen my video for ‘Love Remains the Same’ and, you know, ten million people saw the Beyonce video and I think that people just don’t need to watch MTV. You know, kids they have YouTube and Live Leak.” ER1

Okay, so I have to respect Gavin’s opinion because after all, he is Gavin Rossdale, but at the same time, it’s frustrating to me that there are established musicians out there who have grown to accept the fact that MTV has turned from music television into something else entirely over the years. I know that we have the internet, and MTV2 on some ridiculously hard-to-find channel like 9511, but why does mainstream now have to be so mainstream and, most of all, trashy? MTV was relatively mainstream and accessible back in the eighties and nineties, but it was still cool. In terms of music videos, they played a wide range of genres, and the shows were off-beat, colorful, and edgy. The network is now inundated with an absurd amount of reality shows featuring the most mundane characters on television. “The Hills,” for instance, which for some God awful reason happens to be one of the most popular shows on TV, is some of the worst television I’ve ever seen. And no, I am not one of those girls who secretly cuddles up on the couch in my pink slippers with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and watches this trash. It’s not a guilty pleasure for me, thank you very much. Sorry LC and camp, some of you do seem like very nice girls, but I’m just not a fan.

Unfortunately, however, there aren’t many alternatives on TV these days during the majority of the watching hours and so people have become accustomed to and, in turn, have grown to love shows like “The Hills,” or “Date My Mom.” I find this very sad. The New York Times recently reported the following: “Shows such as ‘The Hills’ and ‘A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila’ have pulled the cable giant [MTV] out of a steep ratings rut.” (source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/02082008/business). Really? Ratings were down due to the lack of shows like “The Hills” and “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila?” Why? Probably because we aren’t given very many preferable alternatives and are force fed a lot of this crap.

When asked how he feels about what MTV has become over the years, Guns n’ Rose’s guitarist, Slash, has a completely different point of view from Rossdale’s. Slash says that “it’s very frustrating! You wanna have music television what you think it’s supposed to be and it never has been! Even in the very beginning, it was like it was pretty good but it wasn’t what I expected it to be and then over the years it just turned into something else. I think they should change the name or come up with a new network!” ER2

Amen to that, Slash! While I respect both Gavin Rossdale and Slash as musicians, I definitely tend to agree more with Slash with the exception of his comment that it was only “pretty good” in the very beginning. As for Gavin’s point of view, I do agree that YouTube and Live Leak can be great resources; however, both lack the organic quality that a network like MTV had back in the day when there were live VJs presenting the videos, along with shows like “120 Minutes” where viewers were shown all sorts of new stuff in music, along with some really incredible and rare tracks. I would equate YouTube versus MTV with going to the library to pick up some poetry from your favorite writer, versus going to the Fillmore to hear Leonard Cohen speak to a live audience. Both have their place, but when going to the library and picking out exactly what you want, there are no surprises, whereas when attending a live spoken word event, it’s a treat where you don’t really know what you’re going to be exposed to, but if you’re a fan of the artist that you’re going to see, then you are likely going to enjoy it. It’s that element of surprise that makes it so much fun. And MTV was always chock full of musical surprises back in the day. Perhaps now it’s chock full of crotch shots and who’s dating who on “The Hill’s” types of surprises, but like Slash says, come up with a new name for the network. And for God’s sake, give us a new one that’s as good as the old one, if not better!

ER1: Gavin Rossdale told all of this to Elizabeth Rosselle at a Global Green event at Avalon Hollywood on February 20, 2009.

ER2: Slash told all of this to Elizabeth Rosselle at an Oscar viewing event at Mr. Chows in Beverly Hills, Ca. on February 22, 2009