Monthly Archives: May 2012

AT&T Launches New Online Drama Series Daybreak

AT&T has created a new online webisode series entitled “Daybreak” that will premiere at 7:00 p.m. (central time) Thursday, May 31, 2012. Daybreak is an original drama series AT&T developed with Heroes and Touch creator Tim Kring to give its customers a new way to experience the AT&T brand and innovation story across multiple layers of media.

Kring is credited with bringing the concept of “transmedia” to Hollywood with his cross-platform entertainment. He is also known for his exploration of themes like inter-connectivity and global consciousness made possible through technology. After visiting AT&T Labs, he was convinced that AT&T’s technology could help him lead the future of storytelling, and Daybreak is a product of that.

The series will unfold through five roughly 10-minute online films, websites and a smartphone app, each exploring different facets of a complex character journey. The journey debuts on www.daybreak2012.com. Viewers can also tap into other channels (www.jackboxers.com) to dig even deeper into the Daybreak universe.

The journey begins on Touch (www.fox.com/touch), the FOX TV series also created by Tim Kring and starring Kiefer Sutherland. A mysterious object called a dodecahedron is introduced during the final three episodes, including the Touch finale airing on May 31 from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. This object will become a “central character” in Daybreak, and FOX and AT&T will also cross-promote Daybreak and Touch on each other’s sites and other media/content assets.

Joining fans of Touch, you can follow the dodecahedron onto Daybreak, where our story unfolds around a reluctant hero, Ben Wilkins, who becomes trapped in the center of a global conspiracy. Ben will use AT&T technology on his quest to return the dodecahedron to its rightful place in order to change the world for the better… or unwittingly aid in its destruction. As Ben faces adversity from one of the world’s most powerful and corrupt families, an underground group called the Jack Boxers comes to his aid.

You can play a part in Ben’s mission on www.daybreak2012.com and www.jackboxers.com by viewing bonus content and interacting with the Daybreak storyline, characters and other fans. Soon, a Jack Boxer app will be available to help you support Ben on his mission.

Common Talks First Verse and Influences In Outtakes from Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap

Ice-T takes us on an intimate journey into the heart and soul of hip-hop with the legends of rap  music. This performance documentary goes beyond the stardom and the bling to explore what goes on inside the minds, and erupts from the  lips, of the grandmasters of rap. Recognized as the godfather of Gangsta rap, Ice-T is granted unparalleled access to the personal lives of the masters of this artform that he credits for saving his life.  Interspersed with the performers’ insightful, touching, and often funny revelations are classic raps, freestyle rhymes, and never before heard a cappellas straight from the mouths of the creators.  What emerges is a better   understanding of, and a  tribute to, an original American art form that brought poetry to a new  generation.

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap hits the big screen on June 15th. For more information on the film, visit theartofrap.com, www.facebook.com/ArtofRap, www.twitter.com/artofrap.

 

Spring Awaking Music Festival In Chicago

React Presents is thrilled to announce the inaugural Spring Awakening Festival, the first long-overdue all dance music festival to ever hit Chicago, the home of house music. The two-day festival takes place at Soldier Field at Stadium Green, the Southside of the field in Chicago, IL. The inaugural year houses some of the biggest names in dance music, including the three- time Grammy-winning Skrillex, Dutch house maestro Afrojack, a rare DJ set from Moby, Laidback Luke’s Super You and Me Tent, Wolfgang, Diplo, A Trak and countless others. For more information and tickets to the festival, visit http://tinyurl.com/springawakening2012.

Shaq Entertainment Announce Dates For The All Star Comedy Jam Tour 2012

Shaquille O’Neal and Jeff Clanagan, through their company, Shaq Entertainment, in partnership with AEG Live, announce dates for the All Star Comedy Jam Tour 2012. The tour will kick-off on Friday, June 15 in Chicago, IL, and will end with a bang on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta, GA. Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 1 beginning at 10am at http://www.shaqallstarcomedyjam.com .

With the beautiful and legendary DJ Spinderella as the featured DJ on tour, there is a fresh new ‘spin’ to the show. The All Star Comedy Jam Tour 2012 line-up will include: tour Host Gary Owen, fresh off his co-starring role in the blockbuster hit “Think Like A Man” as well as Capone, known as “The Gangsta of Comedy,” Tony Roberts, known as “The Comedians Comedian,” and Michael Blackson, “The African King of Comedy.” There will also be special surprise guests on select tour dates.

The All Star Comedy Jam brand has showcased many of the top urban comedians in the country and has spawned highly popular 1-hour television specials. These specials have aired annually since 2009 and has become one the highest-rated comedy specials on cable. The first three television specials have been seen by over 3 million viewers and one very special event, taped during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Kevin Hart’s “Laugh At My Pain,” was filmed for theatrical release that same year and opened #1 at the box office.

Tour Dates:

June 15            Chicago, IL                 Auditorium Theater

June 16            Detroit, MI                Detroit Opera House

June 29            Milwaukee, WI          Milwaukee Riverside Theater

June 30            Raleigh, NC               Progress Energy Center

Sep 1                       Las Vegas, NV            The Joint

Oct 19             New York, NY            Best Buy Theater

Oct 20                   Nashville, TN          Ryman Auditorium

Oct 26             Charlotte, NC          Ovens Auditorium

Nov 2              Norfolk, VA                Chrysler Hall

Nov 3              Washington, D.C.       DAR Constitution Hall

Nov 9              Cleveland, OH            Playhouse Square

Nov 10            Baltimore, MD           Lyric Opera House

Nov 16            Boston, MA               Wilbur Theater

Nov 17            Philadelphia, PA         Academy of Music

Nov 24           Memphis, TN             Orpheum

Nov 30           Los Angeles, CA         Club Nokia

Dec 1               Pittsburgh, PA            Benedum Center

Dec 28             San Francisco, CA      Louise Davies Symphony Hall

Dec 31             Atlanta, GA                 Cobb Energy PAC

The Foreign Exchange Hits The Road Again

Join The Foreign Exchange and their live band for their first string of shows in 2012!

The Foreign Exchange live: Phonte – lead vocals + Nicolay – keyboards/samples, with Sy Smith – vocals, Jeanne Jolly – vocals, Zo! – keyboards, Chris Boerner – guitars, Kush Elamin – bass and Tim Scott Jr. – drums.

Sun Jun 3, 2012
Capital Jazz Festival @ Merriweather Post Pavilion , Columbia MD

Mon Jun 4, 2012
Music Hall of Williamsburg , Brooklyn NY

Tue Jun 5, 2012
The Middle East, Cambridge MA

Thu Jun 7, 2012
Shaka’s, Virginia Beach VA

Fri Jun 8, 2012
Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh NC

Sat Jun 9, 2012
The Emerald Lounge, Asheville NC

More tourdates:

Zo! & Sy Smith

Wed Jun 13, 2012
Blues Alley, Washington DC

Nicolay with The Hot At Nights

Tue Jul 3, 2012
Nighttown, Cleveland OH Tickets on sale soon

Thu Jul 5, 2012
Trane Studio, Toronto ON

Fri Jul 6, 2012
Privé Deux, Detroit MI Tickets on sale soon

Sat Jul 7, 2012
Reggies Music Joint, Chicago IL

Sun Jul 8, 2012
The Frequency, Madison WI

Mon Jul 9, 2012
Honey, Minneapolis MN

Tue Jul 10, 2012
Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines IA Tickets on sale soon

Wed Jul 11, 2012
House of Loom , Omaha NE

Thu Jul 12, 2012
Blue Room, Kansas City MO Tickets on sale soon

Fri Jul 13, 2012
Lola, St Louis MO

Sat Jul 14, 2012
The Mad Frog, Cincinnati OH

Sun Jul 15, 2012
The Emerald Lounge, Asheville NC

Eric Benet Discusses New Project The One

In his new web series Track by Track, R&B superstar Eric Benet invites fans into his world for his latest project The One. Benet takes fans on a ride through the inspiration and creative process of “Harriett Jones” and “Gonna Be My Girl”

Tracklist

1. Harriett Jones
2. News For You
3. Real Love
4. Runnin’
5. Red Bone Girl featuringLil Wayne
6. Waitin’
7. Hope That It’s You featuring Shaggy
8. Gonna Be My Girl
9. Come Together
10. Muzik featuring India Benét
11. Lay It Down
12. Here In My Arms (Lucia’s Lullaby)

 Also coming up in June, Eric Benét will hit the road to join soul vocalist Ledisi on her summer tour making stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and for the full list of tour dates, please visit www.EricBenét.net

VH1 Storytellers Returns For A 16th Season With Jill Scott, Norah Jones, and More

A new season of VH1’s critically-acclaimed original music franchise, “VH1 Storytellers” will return on Monday, May 21, 2012.  This season will continue to deliver the intimate stories and live performances from some of the most popular and influential music artists of our time. Featured artists premiering this season will include multi-platinum selling artist Jason Mraz , Grammy-winning chanteuses Norah Jones and Jill Scott and roots rockers Grace Potter & the Nocturnals .

“We’re so proud to announce these exceptionally talented artists as part of our 16th season of VH1 Storytellers,” said Tom Calderone, President, VH1. “Our audience is hungry for the kind of deeper musical experience and connection to artists that Storytellers brings. That connection has cemented the series’ status as a jewel of the entertainment world where artists intimately share their music and the often revealing and poignant stories behind their songs.”

Premiere dates for the upcoming season of “VH1 Storytellers” include:

Jill Scott – May 21
Jason Mraz – June 1
Norah Jones – June 8
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals- June 15

“VH1 Storytellers” is a VH1 original series in which singer/songwriters perform and tell stories in front of an intimate audience about their lives, lyrics and careers.  The series premiered in 1996 with Ray Davies.  Since then, “VH1 Storytellers” has showcased some of the greatest names in music. David Bowie, Kanye West, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Green Day, Elton John, Coldplay, Jay-Z, Billy Joel, Pearl Jam, Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Foo Fighters, John Mayer and Christina Aguilera and many others have graced the Storytellers stage.

For more information about the series and to watch video clips from past performances go to Storytellers.VH1.com.

Q Parker of 112 Gives Preview of New Video Show You How

Grammy and ASCAP award-winning NeWFAM Ent./MALACO Records artist and 112 co-founding member, Q Parker, is making a strong return to the music scene with his new single, “Show You How,” from his upcoming album, The MANual.

Recently Q filmed the video for his hot new buzzworthy single. To vividly bring the “love-triangle” storyline to life, Q enlisted help from VH1’s “Love And Hip Hop” co-star/Dollaz Unlimited recording artist, Olivia, and former Bad Boy Recording artist (now Atlantic Records artist) Willie Taylor of the MTV “Making The Band” group, Day 26.

Representing the respected Fat Cats multi-media production team, the video for “Show You How” was directed and produced by G. Visuals and Randy Marshall respectively. The video “Show You How” will not disappoint with the display of on-screen eye-candy and chemistry between the co-stars. The video which is slated to debut in early April, will surely spawn plenty of conversation and debate as to why people often remain in unhappy and/or unhealthy relationships.

Highly touted rapper, Stalley, of Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, Bravo TV’s Personality Chef Roble, and Q’s former Bad Boy Recording label-mate, Pam of the group Total, stopped by the Brooklyn set to show love.

Q Parker’s debut single, “Show You How,” is now available via iTunes and Amazon for download.

Q Parker of 112 Gives Preview of New Video Show You How

Grammy and ASCAP award-winning NeWFAM Ent./MALACO Records artist and 112 co-founding member, Q Parker, is making a strong return to the music scene with his new single, “Show You How,” from his upcoming album, The MANual.

Recently Q filmed the video for his hot new buzzworthy single. To vividly bring the “love-triangle” storyline to life, Q enlisted help from VH1’s “Love And Hip Hop” co-star/Dollaz Unlimited recording artist, Olivia, and former Bad Boy Recording artist (now Atlantic Records artist) Willie Taylor of the MTV “Making The Band” group, Day 26.

Representing the respected Fat Cats multi-media production team, the video for “Show You How” was directed and produced by G. Visuals and Randy Marshall respectively. The video “Show You How” will not disappoint with the display of on-screen eye-candy and chemistry between the co-stars. The video which is slated to debut in early April, will surely spawn plenty of conversation and debate as to why people often remain in unhappy and/or unhealthy relationships.

Highly touted rapper, Stalley, of Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, Bravo TV’s Personality Chef Roble, and Q’s former Bad Boy Recording label-mate, Pam of the group Total, stopped by the Brooklyn set to show love.

Q Parker’s debut single, “Show You How,” is now available via iTunes and Amazon for download.