http://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-Rogers/147487728602745

Taken from Robin Roger’s Facebook Page:

Last week Robin was to undergo TIPS surgery to keep blood from further entering her belly and breaking down into unsafe elements. The surgery would also have kept the swelling from threatening the integrity of the banding operation previously done to relieve esophageal verices (enlarged veins). Robin has had Hepatitis Type C and this condition has attacked her liver and has caused multiple complications. A CT scan prior to the procedure revealed a cancerous tumor on her liver. The tumor is untreatable given the condition of her liver. She is also not a candidate for a transplant as the drugs required to help the body accept a transplant would be ineffective and dangerous.

Robin is at home now and hospice has been called in. Tony and their family respectfully ask that despite the best of intentions, you do not stop by or call. They need their private time to be their own. At this point basic living expenses are the most pressing need. Robin will not be able to return to the stage and Tony will be out of work for the foreseeable future. Expenses for medicine are extremely high. Their medical fund does not cover any of these expenditures. Donations can be made directly to Robin at:
Robin Rogers
1134 Hardin Road
Dallas NC 28034

Benefit concerts in Michigan and North Carolina are being finalized as well as other fundraising efforts. There will be a benefit with a silent auction at the Double Door Inn in Charlotte on October 24. Details very shortly. There is now a Facebook group you can join to stay on top of Robin’s benefits http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/group.php?gid=132068270172379&v=wall

Robin Rogers new cd,”Back in the Fire” is scheduled for release Sept 14 on Blind Pig Records. She will not be having the record release events that were planned for this month. You can help Robins cause, as she and her band are now essentially unemployed by purchasing the new cd directly from Robin via her website www.robinrogers.com.

We Love You Robin!

More news on Robin

Renowned Gastonia blues musician battling effects of chronic illness in hospital - Gaston Gazette (8/31/10)

BandaGiG LLC and 5:16 Records have joined forces to form Venture Records International (VRI).

BandaGiG LLC, a Belmont North Carolina Independent Record Label opened for business in May of 2010. The company is operating as a Booking Agent for local groups and can provide live sound and recording services.

5:16 Records, an Independent Record Label based out of Charlotte North Carolina, is run by Producer/Engineer Nathan A Dowdy and is geared toward the talent development of local bands.

 BandaGiG LLC and 5:16 Records remain as separate Independent Record Labels. However, the joint venture will be the creation of an Intermediate Record Label. This means that upon meeting specified criteria, groups working either independently… with an independent label or with contract management can focus on a structured path to negotiations with Major Record Labels.

This criterion lets the major record labels know beforehand that groups signed with VRI have already reached a certain level of professionalism.  However, some of the larger recording companies will require that distribution has reached a certain level. VRI will only require that a group have produced material and reached the distribution level. Some of the majors will want to see a specified level of distribution. For example, one might want to see over 100,000 sales while another might want to see only 50,000 sales and yet another may prefer to work with talent that has only met the minimum requirements to sign with VRI. This is the type of criterion that VRI will be establishing with every available major label so that groups can target their objectives to meet the goals of organizations they seek to work with based a structured and identifiable plans developed at the independent level.

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Soul Watt is described by fans as “the most talented and versatile local/regional band around.” This high energy trio combines their truly stunning musical prowess with impeccable vocals to present the most wide-ranging playlist one could only dream of until now!. Without missing a beat, Soul Watt flows from modern/classic rock– to authentic blues, to supremely danceable funk, and many genres in between.  Members Dougand Randy each sing lead; but can also blend their voices into “an auditory eargasm” of 2-part harmonies unlike you will hear in any other “local or regional” band.

http://www.soulwatt.net/

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For decades The Embers have been making music by playing a mix of rhythm and blues and heart and soul.
Rhythm and Blues became the foundation and essence of SOUL music and the Motown sound, but in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, the name that applies is “Beach Music.” Some believe that Beach Music is simply lyrics that are easy to sing with simple melodies and pretty harmonies that accompany them. Bobby Tomlinson, drummer and leader of the band, believes that Beach Music is music with a memory.

To say “The Embers play Beach Music” is an understatement. After eighteen albums and numerous single releases, THE EMBERS are one of the most popular and active groups in the country. THE EMBERS boast an average of two hundred fifty dates per year all ranging from Toronto to Florida and westward to California, Hawaii and most recently South Korea. Over the years they’ve played for presidents and princes, students and bankers, at the beach and in the city, on record and in concert, for our armed forces and audiences all around the world.

http://www.theembersband.net

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http://www.theaccentrix.com

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IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders

Trivia

His song, “Chevy Van,” reached # 5 on the pop music charts in May of 1975, and inspired the plot of the movie, The Van (1977).

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You can find Blind Manifest Online at:

Official Website
Gig Masters
Facebook
MySpace

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Young enough to know what’s hip; experienced enough to realize it doesn’t matter. North Carolina’s Red All Over is, like every great artist, a black sheep.

“Underground music will always reinvent itself,” asserts the band’s bass/electronics wizard Jarrett Bury. The sound of an era lasts and lingers until it circles back upon itself, newly formed and ready for a new generation of listeners. Named after a song by 90s shoegaze band Revolver, Red All Over, is poised at a peak of renewed interest in the postpunk, shoegaze and trip-hop that inspired Bury and his foil, singer Eliza Grey.

From these lasting influences comes a synthesis of spacey pulse and textured melodies. The bass pushes a melody through the guitars’ scorched chords and the keyboards’ ambient hums. It feels spacious but heavy, like a wet sky over a neon-lit city sidewalk, colored light splashed into dark puddles.

Grey says the music is somber. Then hesitates. Not quite somber. Maybe moody. It creeps and swells, but it pulses and drives, too. It’s a culmination of diverse tastes and an adventurous spirit. Grey travels the world, drawing inspiration from new geography.

Bury, meanwhile, draws from extensive listening across genres and from the experience that comes from playing almost 1,400 shows over 14 years in countless bands. Its members are constantly pulling new ideas into Red All Over. Nothing sits long enough to stagnate.

“Everybody has these ideas about what we’re supposed to be because we’re ‘electronic,’” bemoans Bury. They expect techno, a monotonous dance groove. But what Red All Over delivers is anything but monotonous; it builds like dance music, it has pop’s core repetitions, but this is about mood and atmosphere, setting a scene and building a pulpit for Grey’s rich, dynamic voice.

But expectations are for the tragically hip, trapped in their steadfast definitions. Red All Over is about knowing what’s expected and then doing something deliberately surprising.

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http://www.myspace.com/chriscookmusic
http://www.chriscookfanclub.com

I wanted a bike for my 9th or 10th birthday, but Mama thought I was fit for a 1960′s Kay guitar. I think she paid fifty dollars for it, and boy was it a beast to play! I hated it. The strings were at least a half inch from the fret board. It may as well have been a ball-field length for young tender fingers like mine attempting to play “House of the Rising Sun” or the “Boogie-Woogie”. With the resentment of not getting the bike, on top of sore finger tips I think I remember breaking all but three of the strings on it and chuckin’ it under my bed until I was around twelve years old. When I realized how hip it was to even have a guitar to start with, it wasn’t long ’til I was picking with school friends and learning every Eagles, Skynyrd, Zeppelin, AC/DC and Bob Seger record I could get my hands on. It was the challenge that hooked me.

I dropped out of night school to go jam with what would eventually become my first “real” band, Stone Blue. I remember one of our first paying gigs was at a place called Cadillac’s in Hickory, NC opening for Quiet Riot. I think we made fifty bucks and a case of bud in the can, but we were damn sure there and thought we had arrived! We ended up on the “good side” of the owners, Rocky and Carmine which  landed us opening slots at their clubs for the likes of The Fabulous T-birds, Night Ranger, Mother’s Finest, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Foghat and others. Stone Blue played their last show on September 12th 1993. It was my 21st birthday.

By this point, I had started singing more, blowing harp and wanted to start my own group as the lead singer and writer. I quit my “day gig” at the local mill and formed Zeke’s Wheel, a full-time working band with great players and singers who could play anything from the Allman Brothers to Doobies to Beatles. We mainly stayed in the Carolinas playing 100 or so nights a year and were a great band, who loved to play music, drink and party our asses off.  After a short two to three year stint, Zeke’s Wheel would roll no more.

From 1996-2000, I was chosen by the Department of Defense to entertain and boost morale for troops stationed abroad in South East Asia, the Mediterranean coast, Greenland and Cuba. I had never even been on a plane, but there I went sometimes for two months at a time and eventually landed the role of Tour Manager. It was a very cool period in my life and a great experience that I will always cherish. God bless the Armed Forces!

My debut solo record came the following year in 2001. “Heartless Road” was put out with the help of the internet, numerous friends, family and fans. I think I sold (and gave away) about 2000 copies. Not bad for peddling ‘em out of my truck at gigs! My follow-up effort “Small Town Gone”, produced by renowned percussionist Jim Brock (Joe Walsh, Kathy Matea, Delbert McClinton, John Mellencamp, etc.) was released in 2004. With “Small Town Gone”, I was fortunate enough to branch out into the European market, specifically the United Kingdom, Denmark and Holland. I’ve been touring in Europe sometimes twice a year since its release.

Now comes “Bag of Emotions”. With the help of Motown legends Bob Babbitt on bass (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, and Robert Palmer), drummer Ed Greene (Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Steely Dan) and notable Nashville keyboardist Steve King (Keith Urban), I was inspired to dig deep into my Rock, R&B and Blues roots. There’s not a single fiddle or steel guitar within a mile of this recording. It’s an electric guitar and Hammond-organ-driven record that I truly feel has captured my essence as a guitarist, singer and live performer. Now you be the judge…

Film Credits
Great Wall of Sound (Sundance Film Festival 2006)
Songs: “The One That Got Away” and “Go Back to Sleep”

Nominations
Charlotte Music Awards 2007
“Best Overall Performer” and “Best Songwriter”

Recordings
“Heartless Road” (2001 Fatfried Music)
“Small Town Gone” (2004 Gaff Music)
“So Low” (2005 Fatfried Music)
“Bag of Emotions” (2008 Bandore)

Past Tours
Unites States/Guam
United Kingdom/Ireland
Denmark
Greenland
Netherlands/Holland
Turkey
Greece/Crete
Italy/Sicily
Japan/Okinawa
Korea
Cuba
Spain

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