Happy New Year, everyone!  I’m pleased to announce that Nick’s CD was reviewed in the current January issue of Music Connection Magazine, and it was the highest rated CD in their New Music Critiques section (page 52)!  (Full text of the review also available here.)

CDs are available at CDBaby, iTunes or through NickDaugherty.com.

Just wanted to thank all the musicians once again for their contribution to Nick’s project:

• Don Peake (Wrecking Crew)
• Paul Marshall (Strawberry Alarm Clock & I See Hawks in L.A.)
• Alex Del Zoppo (Sweetwater)
• Voyce McGinley, III (currently touring with Kitaro)
• Lee Thornburg (Tower of Power, Chicago)
• Mark LeVang (BERN)
• Skip Edwards
• Clydene Jackson (former Raelette, Ray Charles)
• Andrea Robinson (veteran session singer)
• Marcy Vaj and Elizabeth Wright (seasoned string players)
• Gary Popenoe (Severin Browne)
• Chris Cardenas (Skinny Little Twits)
• Tim Wingate

You’re all amazing talents and I applaud each and every one of you for giving so much of yourselves to help make Nick’s debut CD the best it could be!  It’s such a pleasure for me as a producer to have your support and energy on the projects we work on together.

I also want to thank the folks (Marty, Jim & Matt) at Sound Image for providing us with the opportunity to have a top-notch studio!  And, of course, thanks to mastering guru Ron Boustead for putting the icing on the cake.

I’m looking forward to seeing you back in the studio during 2010…making more wonderful music together!

Nick Daugherty is a Los Angeles-based pop/rock/soul singer and songwriter in the vein of a John Mayer or Jason Mraz. Recently chosen as one of the “Top 100 Unsigned Artists for 2009” by Music Connection magazine, Nick Daugherty is releasing his much-anticipated debut album “Movin’ Higher” on Skyrocket Records May 23, 2009.

Although this former military officer-turned-troubadour makes his living as a real-live rocket scientist (consulting for organizations like NASA and Boeing), he immerses himself in pop, blues, jazz, and rock. He lists influences such as Sting, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Billy Joel, Dave Matthews, Paul Simon, Kenny Loggins, Hall & Oates, and Derek Webb (Caedmon’s Call). Now, with 14 years of guitar experience and 8 years of songwriting, Daugherty is finally ready to launch.

1. Movin’ Higher
2. Out Of My League
3. Sick Day
4. A Thousand Times Tonight
5. Can’t Say I Love You Anymore
6. Staring At The Sun
7. Jamie
8. Giving You Up
9. I Won’t Stand For Watching You Fall Down
10. Something More
11. Please Come Back Home

Album Notes:

• All songs Written/Performed by Nick Daugherty
• All songs published by Nick Daugherty Music [ASCAP]

• Produced by Mandi Martin
• Engineered by Matt Lavella
• Additional Engineering by Mandi Martin and Jim Crichton

• Horn Arrangements by Lee Thornburg
• String Arrangements by Marcy Vaj

Other Credits:

• Don Peake: Guitar
• Tim Wingate: Guitar
• Chris Cardenas: Guitar
• Paul Marshall: Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Alex Del Zoppo: Keyboards, Acoustic Piano
• Mark Levang: Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
• Skip Edwards: B3
• Voyce McGinley III: Drums, Percussion, Marimba
• Marcy Vaj: Violin, Viola
• Elizabeth Wright: Cello
• Gary Popenoe: Harmonica
• Lee Thornburg: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trombone
• Dave “Woody” Woodford: Tenor/Bari Sax
• Andrea Robinson: Backing Vocals
• Clydene Jackson: Backing Vocals
• Harrell Holmes, Jr.: Backing Vocals

Other Credits:

• Paul Marshall: Bass
• Elizabeth Wright: Cello
• Voyce McGinley III: Military Snare Drum

“The song is great! If it can only be played in every language and in every country in the world!” – Michael CY Tsang

“This song is the most relevant social song for this or any other war generation that I’ve heard.” -Gene Herd

Thanks to Nick Daugherty for his wonderful collection of songs, all the talented pro musicians who made them come to life, to Marty, Jim & Matt at Sound Image Studios for giving us a home and Ron Boustead at Precision Mastering for putting the icing on the cake…all of you helped to make this a great project to work on! 

• Nick Daugherty: Vocals/Guitar;
• Paul Marshall: Bass/Acoustic Guitar/Background Vocals;
• Don Peake: Guitar;
• Tim Wingate: Guitar;
• Alex Del Zoppo: Piano & Keyboards;
• Skip Edwards: B3
• Voyce McGinley, III: Drums, Congas, Tambourine, Shaker & Marimba;
• Andrea Robinson & Clydene Jackson: Background Vocals.  YOU ALL ROCK!

We are working on 10 more songs for his debut CD, which will be available this summer.

]]> http://mandimartinmusic.com/2008/03/29/movin-higher-released/feed/ 4 http://mandimartinmusic.com/2007/04/12/amy-kuney-alan-oday-at-coffee-gallery-backstage-april-15th/ http://mandimartinmusic.com/2007/04/12/amy-kuney-alan-oday-at-coffee-gallery-backstage-april-15th/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:57:38 +0000 Mandi Martin http://www.mandimartinmusic.com/2007/04/12/amy-kuney-alan-oday-at-coffee-gallery-backstage-april-15th/ Come join Amy, as she opens for hit singer/songwriter Alan O’Day on Sunday, April 15th, at 7 PM, at Coffee Gallery Backstage, located at 2029 North Lake, in Altadena.  Alan is most remembered for being the writer and artist on the #1 record, “Undercover Angel.”  Alan is one of the most fun performers to experience live. 

Alan is also the writer of Helen Reddy’s “Angie Baby,” Billboard #1; co-writer of the Righteous Brothers’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven,” Billboard #3; co-writer of songs for Jim Henson’s Emmy-winning animated CBS TV show “Muppet Babies” (8 seasons). His songs have been recorded by Cher, Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Mathis, 5th Dimension, Tom Jones, Peggy Lee, Nancy Wilson, Ted Neely, John Travolta, Paul Anka, Ray Price, Tony Orlando & Dawn, and many more! Don’t mss this unique performance! cost: $15.00 All Ages; Reservations/Information: (626)398-7917 http://www.coffeegallery.com/showsat.htm

5JHN5HaUg28

————-
Thursday

Mandi’s Playhouse
at Kulak’s Woodshed

5230-1/2 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA

No Cover Charge!

Featuring:

• Amy Kuney
• Nick Daugherty
• Michael-Ann
• Michael Doman
• Jennifer Vazquez
• John Andrew Parks

LIVE WEBCAST of this show!

Click here to watch
from anywhere in the world!

Enjoy! –MM

*****

“Hard Work and a Whole
Lot of Perseverance”

Passenger Profile: Amy Kuney

By Kenny Kerner
Listen to ‘How The Wind Must Feel’ by Amy Kuney:

I can tell by reading many of your profiles that you’re taking our advice and getting up and taking charge of your own careers. I can tell by your e-mails to me and by the success stories you tell TAXI.

But this profile is special. Amy Kuney has lived a lifetime in her 21 years. This is about a TAXI member whose life was changed on March 28, 2003 while in Guatemala. She and her friends were brutally attacked by gunmen and one of her friends was murdered before her eyes. Amy Kuney was 17 years old at the time.

Today, the memory still a vivid one, Amy is a junior in college and a successful independent artist with quite a career ahead of her. Let’s find out more.

When did you first think about getting into the music business?
I come from a very musical family. Both of my parents were musicians and so were my two older sisters. My parents had me playing piano when I was five and, since then, I have always been involved in music somehow. I guess I realized I wanted to pursue music as a career when the Hanson brothers became really popular. Our families were in the same home school group and they had always been friends of the family. I remember watching them when they appeared on Letterman. I was 12 years old and I wanted to do what they were doing.

What instruments do you play and when did you first begin learning to play?
I play guitar and piano. I began piano lessons when I was five years old and played mostly classical music and hymns for church. I started guitar on my own when I was 16 years old.

Were you self-taught?
With guitar I was self-taught, yes. I actually learned from a huge chord poster that my dad bought me from Wal-Mart. With piano, I have always taken lessons. My parents always pushed for piano as my main instrument. Even when we moved to Central America, I thought I could get out of taking lessons. (Laughs)… but no, they hired a woman from Cuba to teach me. I didn’t speak Spanish, and she didn’t speak English; but, then again, music is a universal language!

How did the incident in March 2003 influence you as a songwriter and as an artist?
Until March 2003, I had spent so much of my life wishing I were somewhere else, doing something else. I had been living with my family in Honduras for close to four years by that time. I was biding my time until I could get out and “start” my life. After the incident, I realized just how short life really is and, if I have a goal I want to achieve, I should pursue it like it was my last day to live. I wasn’t sure if I was going to live through the incident and I sort of made a “deal” with God and told Him that if He would just get me through, I would do my part in working towards my dream. The incident also knocked my thinking to a new level. I was able to experience and communicate feelings of sadness, fear, and joy with more intensity.

How were you able to get three of your original songs on an NBC soap opera?
Mandi Martin played the finished master of my debut CD for Paul Antonelli, the music supervisor of Passions. He loved all of the songs on it and asked her to please get a CD into his hands as soon as it was ready to be commercially released. She got it to him in January 2006, and I had my first song (“So Help Me God”) used twice in the show in early February, a month before my CD was officially released for sale! Then a few months later, Paul called and said he was using another song (“How The Wind Must Feel”) three times in one show and, a month after that, he used the third song (“In The Dark”) three times. Paul’s been great to me!

You also did some acting in Gilmore Girls. How did that come about?
Mandi arranged for me to play two songs at the July 2005 L.A. WoMen In Music Soiree in West Hollywood. A local radio deejay, Larry Wines, was in the audience and came over to us after I performed. He invited me to perform on his radio show, he exchanged cards with Mandi and we kept in touch with him. Then, in October 2005, the producers at Gilmore Girls called Larry and asked him if he knew of any performers who might be right to play the part of a college-aged folk singer on the show. I was one of three or four artists he recommended. The casting office called Mandi and asked me to learn “Tom Dooley” and set up a live audition. I went to the Warner Bros. lot and auditioned for all of the show’s producers. We were barely out of the parking lot after the audition, when Mandi got the call on her cell that I had the part! It was my first audition for an on-camera part. The first time I was on the show, I played and sang “Tom Dooley” in a club scene. The second time, they asked me to do one of my own songs, “Relationship Wrecked,” in the season finale. I’m in the studio now recording that song for my second CD with Mandi Martin and Peter Barker, my two producers.

How did you first hear about TAXI?
Actually, I first heard about TAXI when I was living in Honduras. I was “Googling” around on the Internet, trying to find contact information for producers, and I ran across the TAXI Web site. I wanted to be a member, but, at the time, I had no demo to send in. When we first started working together, Mandi invited Peter Barker and me to be her guests at the 2004 TAXI Road Rally. Mandi had been a TAXI screener and was doing one-on-one song critiques and the mentor lunch that year. We were about to start work on my debut CD later that month. Mandi felt it was important for me to be educated about the business of music, as well as learning and growing creatively.

With songs on TV, acting experience, award nominations, etc., why join TAXI?
I believe TAXI can provide so many opportunities for artists like me to gain huge exposure. I really want to take my career to the next level and eventually gain national exposure. TAXI has thousands of resources and a highly trained staff that really puts those resources to work for the songwriter/artist. TAXI also saves artists like me hours of valuable time by sorting through the good and bad opportunities out there and helping me to stay focused on songwriting, recording, and performing.

How has TAXI helped your career?
Mandi introduced me to vocal coach Steven Memel at the 2004 TAXI Road Rally, where he was doing a workshop, and I have been working with him ever since. This past November, I attended the 2006 TAXI Road Rally in Los Angeles (as a member this time) and was chosen to perform one of the nights on the main stage and there were hundreds of people there. During the A&R panel on the last day, Tony Ferguson (from Interscope) heard my song “Breaking Bad Habits” and requested a copy of my CD from the stage. I felt very special, since my CD was the only one any of the panel members asked for. I found the A&R panels, the Driver’s Education classes, and the networking opportunities very helpful and insightful and I have been able to apply what I learned to my own career. I’ve also received two TAXI forwards since we began submitting my songs in November and we’ve also had some new interest from record labels.

What things have you learned from being in the music business so far?
I have learned a lot from my producers Mandi Martin and Peter Barker. From day one, they have made it a point to keep me in the know about the business. The first time we worked together, Mandi and Peter gifted me with John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. Mandi, who is also my manager, has always emphasized how important it is to know about the business of music, in addition to the art of it, and that I only have one chance to make a “first” impression. I have learned how important it is to maintain healthy relationships with the people I work with. I have learned how important it is to study and dissect a contract, taking drastic precautions before signing anything. And, I’ve learned that it’s a tough business and it takes hard, hard work and a whole lot of perseverance.

“…hard, hard work and a whole lot of perseverance.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. And TAXI, of course, for the networking opportunities, encouragement, and critical comments about your original songs. Way to go, Amy!

I headed out for a few minutes with Pep to Trader Joe’s to pick up a treat for when the rehearsal was all over and Pep, being the electrical genius he is, offered to replace the light dimmer in my family room that had recently stopped dimming! So he dropped me at T.J’s and drove around to the other side of the mall to Home Depot to find the perfect replacement dimmer.

When Pep and I returned from our shopping excursion, Voyce had already arrived with his wife Nancy and was all set up and ready to go. It wasn’t long after that, Paul Marshall arrived and, within minutes, music was in the air! And, before the guys were done working out the first tune, Pep had replaced my dimmer! Talk about multi-tasking!!!

Our biggest concern for the first rehearsal was to make sure the charts were right and to find the best tempos and grooves for each of the six songs we will be recording. And, of course, this was the first time for this configuration of musicians and so this was their bonding time! Needless to say, it went great!

About half-way through the evening, Papa John’s delivered and everyone’s energy was replenished for the last three songs!

I couldn’t be happier with the way the night went. I think everyone felt the same way. We ended it all with some great minature cheese cakes from T.J.’s and the cars and truck were loaded and the first night of daylight savings time had come to an end!