If you’re any friend of mine you will. Even if you’re not, you’ve gotta go see The Glass with American Princes.

NETWORK AND LEARN FROM THESE INDEPENDENT MUSIC POWER PLAYERS….

ROCK PANELISTS:

Steve Manning, publicity head of Sub Pop Records (Nirvana, The Shins, Postal Service, Iron & Wine)

Shawn Rogers, Television & Film Licensing, Sub Pop Records

Attorney J. Reid Hunter (Drive-By Truckers, Soundtribe Sector 9, Redeye Distribution/Yep Roc Records, Ray Lamontagne, The Fray)

Music Journalist Andria Lisle MOJO/Spin/Paste/Harp/Wax Poetics Magazines

Michael Allenby, Associate Manager, Red Light Management (Los Lobos. North Mississippi Allstars, John Butler Trio)

URBAN PANELISTS:

Michael Watts, Founder & CEO, Swisha House Records (Label to Paul Wall, Mike Jones and leading distributor of chopped & screwed recordings)

Mike Clarke, VP Marketing/Promotions, Swisha House

Billy Hume, Producer/Mixer (Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris, David Banner, Lil John, Nelly)

Vanessa Satten, Deputy Editor, XXL Magazine

Lil Keke, Artist (Houston, TX)

Wendy Day, President, Rap Coalition (Coined major label deals for Eminem, Master P, Cash Money, Twista, Ruff Ryders)

DANCE PANELISTS:

Patrick Moxey, President, Ultra Records (Indie label DJs John Digweed, Ferry Corsten, The Crystal Method, Morcheeba)

DIGITAL MUSIC PANELISTS:

Rick Reed, Label Relations Representative, eMusic

Lindsey Collins, VP of Operations, CD Baby

Neeta Ragoowansi, Director of Artist/Label Relations, SoundExchange (digital royalties)

Steve Mack, LUX Media (podcasting, webcasting, streaming)

Workshops Include: Indie v. Major: What’s Your Goal?; Common Cent$: Financial Management; Keep Hustlin’: Marketing, Public Relations, Promotions; Intellectual Property: A Real Money Maker; Take The Digital Plunge; Label Operations; Studio Prep; Management, Booking & Contracts; and an exclusive recording workshop hosted by digidesign.

CALL 901.525.1340 NOW FOR INFORMATION AND TICKETS!

SEATING IS LIMITED!

http://myspace.com/cherryblossomspecial is the address to go to for show dates, new songs, and other various and sundry ramblings and insanities. Feel free to add me as a friend. Any friend of mine is a friend of mine.

It’s true. If you’re at the DeSoto Civic Center on Saturday Night for the final Riverkings game of the season, you’ll hear yours truly belting out the Star Spangled Banner before the game. The first 1000 visitors get a free Riverkings t-shirt, nope I don’t have any free tickets, and I hope some of you will be there!`

It hardly matters that it’s not true, but its a funny phrase nonetheless. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever be able to utter that phrase, but I think it’s got some heat. Phrases like:

• Oscar-Winners Triple 6 Mafia
• Academy-Award Winner Frayzer Boy

Did you ever think these phrases would be uttered? I am still sitting here beside myself, mostly because i’m still sick as a dog and I’m only barely fighting it.

Let’s talk about my trip to The Church Health Center. If you’re poor and you’re sick, you have only one option: The Church Health Center on Peabody and Bellevue. The clinic opens at 7am for appointment setting, but if you’re not in line by 6:45, you can expect not to be seen. The clinic is only open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. If you’re indigent, jobless, or without health insurance, you can be seen at the clinic and receive all of your medications for a total cost of $30 payable upon rendering of services — check or cash only, no exception.

I was second in a very lengthy Monday morning line. I was checked in and seen by a doctor before 8am. No bloodwork was done, and though I described my symptoms in depth to the good Doctor (including the fact I had been taking OTC remedies to mask the symptoms), the best she would do is to give me some Flonase and Allegra for my allergies and send me on my way. I was livid. I explained that I had a history of Tonsilitis, that at one time my doctor had put me on a steroid-pak to keep me from having to have them removed. She “disagreed” and then, as I waited for my meds, suspiciously discovered they had no Allegra on hand. Meanwhile, I’m watching patients walk out with handfuls of medications to deal with problems. I’m sitting there (as I am right now) suffering from chills, nausea, random sweats, swelled-up tonsils and body aches, the doctor is going to argue with me.

Beggars can’t be choosers, but I smell a might of discrimination. Apparently, I need to be poorer and less enfranchised than I currently am (meaning out in the street pushing a metal cart full of Ding Dongs and umbrellas up Madison singing “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) in order to benefit from the Church Health Center’s program. Next time, I’ll wait until I’ve been sent to the emergency room to call on them — by that point, maybe they’ll alter their prognosis.

I am so sick I can barely stand up, I haven’t been able to hold down solid food since yesterday, my tonsils are swelled up like golf balls, and I’ve just learned that Memphis’ own Three Six Mafia win the Academy Award for “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp”. I am speechless, mostly because my throat hurts too bad to talk. Congratulations, peeps.

If you were one of the lucky ones who caught Undertow Orchestra tonight, you know the power that this group yielded on that stage. The Brad P. Family Players opened the show to a silent and friendly crowd, putting on an outstanding performance. Not to be outdone, Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel, David Bazan, Will Johnson, and Scott Danbom took the stage and put in a two-hour performance that left people blissful throughout. Each artist performed songs they or their respective bands have made popular to a near-capacity crowd at the World Famous Hi-Tone. The seemingly unlikely casting of David Bazan as drummer and Vic Chesnutt on bass could not have been more special. David, unbeknownst to me, apparently played drums on each of the Pedro The Lion albums except for one of their EP’s. Vic confided to me that he never played bass before this tour. When I left, Mark Eitzel was holding down the bar with Marcus Battle (of Half-Acre Gunroom) having a friendly debate over philosophy that I really didn’t want to tear myself away from.

Memphis, I am proud to call you my home and I want to personally thank you for supporting all the great music that has been coming through the last few weeks. Now I have to sleep, I will be at work at 8am. How is this possible….

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David Bazan, Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel and Will Johnson will be touring together as the Undertow Orchestra. This is a very special collaborative tour with David Bazan (Pedro The Lion, Headphones), Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-matic) all sharing the stage, rotating between each songwriter’s material, while serving as backing band on various instruments for each other’s tunes. Scott Danbom (Centro-matic) will join the Orchestra on piano and violin. ANOTHER SHOW YOU SHOULD NOT MISS.

Ending off an amazing weekend at The Hi-Tone was a first for Memphis: an appearance by Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters. I should have known something was going to go down when there was a line outside the Hi-Tone by 9pm, and by 9:30 people had taken it upon themselves to completely re-arrange the chairs and tables inside the venue — primarily pushing chairs right up to the edge of the stage to sit down and watch. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that move before at the ‘Tone, but whatever. For the majority of the night, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop in the place last night. At $10 at the door, I almost feel guilty for not paying more.

After an opening set of blues-influenced roots music from Walter Gently, Kozelek took the stage and tore through a wide swath of his work. Starting with the Red House Painters song “Summer Dress” and easing into a Sun Kil Moon version of “Never Ending Math Equation” by Modest Mouse, the rest of the night turned into a furious blur of heartbreaks and lost highways. I managed to actually hold it together during most of the show, but when he launched into “Grace Cathedral Park”, I finally broke down and bawled my eyes out. Once he got to “Cassius Clay” in his encore, I finally recovered myself.

Kozelek, for his part, had some difficulty getting the audience to snap out of their hypnosis. Several times in-between songs, he would be tuning and ask the audience, “So….what’s up?” which brought on uncomfortable laughter. “Usually I’m really funny at these things and I have stuff to say but tonight I’m just…I dunno,” he told the crowd. After several attempts at getting people to talk, he finally looked over at me, sitting on the speaker stage left, and said something that sounded like, “Can you get these guys to talk to me?” So I asked him if it was his first time in Memphis. That seemed to break the ice, because he launched into an explanation about how he had never been here before, how much he liked it, and how overpriced the tour of Graceland is. We suggested a visit to Graceland Too, and when we told him it was open all night he was like, “Hey, let’s get out of here and go!”

Sometimes shows come to town that are pretty cool or kinda interesting or sorta fun. Unlike some of those kinds of shows, this show was far too good to be limited by that kind of lingo. Words like “memorable” and “unforgettable” come to mind. If you weren’t there, I am so sorry you missed out.

I really, seriously recommend attending this show. Kozelek is an incredible songwriter, and you will not be disappointed.

Mark Kozelek – Up To My Neck In You