Issue #14

independent.music.dedicated August 2010

All The Way

Read also about:

2

Editorial Note/Imprint:

50K MUSIC MAG (www.50kmusic.com) is mainly written

and solely published by Mario Putzar, D-99947 Bad
Langensalza, Contact: mario(at)50kmusic.de

The parts of the MAG written by other authors are signed

as follows:
(AM) - Andy Marczak
(CM) - Cecile Morel
(CS) - Catself (Agnieszka Holm) - member of Talentcast
team
(CW) - Casee Wilson
(FJ) - Fleur Jack - Kiwi FM
After a long period of silence I decided to publish a new (ps) - Pete Strobl - posts from his bottom-end blog
issue of 50K MUSIC MAG again. If you'd like to support (Lu) - Lucretia
the MAG, please help me writing it. Because it's a very (NV) - Netvalar - Researcher Extraordinaire
time-consuming job. It would be very appreciated if I (PMcM) - Paul McMaster
could get some more support from the community. I hope (MC) - Multicorriente - Argentinean magazine
you have fun reading it. And of course, if you like the mag (RSV) - Ronny - Slim Void
please spread the word. (sab) - posts, news, informations from Sellaband webpage
(TC) - information from Talentcast webpage
So, who are the artists spotlighted in this issue? First we (Th) - Thor
have our cover story about Gisel de Marco - written by (UBG) - Utterly B Groovy
Wolfman, a real true fan. We have articles about Scott (WM) - Wolfman
Brunger, Matt Springfield, who raises funds on akamusic,
The Tender Hooligans, BOA, a member of new 50K Articles written by other authors do express the opinion of
MUSIC Squad, The Wha's, Amycanbe, who are #1 for the particular author, not necessarily the opinion of 50K
several weeks at Indie TOP 100, and of course Tula, who MUSIC.
raises funds on two platforms at the same time.
All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be
So enjoy reading the MAG and please give me your copied or distributed without the permission of the
feedback. Authors and topic suggestions are always publisher. Copyrights of photos and pictures of artists
welcome as well. Send your hints and suggestions to used in this magazine are owned by the artists. Articles,
mario@50kmusic.com. feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please send them
to my e-mail adress.
Besides I'm still looking for correspondents who like to
work for the MAG - get/keep in touch with local SellaBand
artists, observing the (SAB) music scene and write
articles/reviews/reports for the MAG from time to time. Friends of 50K MUSIC MAG are:
You should live in France, Germany, South America, www.sellaband.com
Japan. So get in touch with me and we can talk about a www.multicorriente
collaboration soon. www.petestrobl.com
www.talentcast.nl
www.evolutioncoop.com
www.knifelady.blogspot.com

mario@50kmusic.com
www.50kmusic.com This magazine is made with Scribus - www.scribus.net
 3

Scott Brunger ... 4 The Tender Hooligans ... 5

Matt
Springfield
... 6
LilleBOA ... 17 ... 8
Mulder
The Wha's ... 12

Tula Amycanbe
... 14 ... 18

Gisel de Marco ... 8

Trail ... 18

In this issue

Editorial 2
I Write Songs from the Heart not the Head 4
Can't Beat the Buzz of Playing to the Crowd 5
Modern Sound with an 80's Spirit 6
All the Way 8
100 Days of New SellaBand - Five Questions to Michael Bogatzki 11
The Return of The Wha's 12
Introducing: The 50K MUSIC Squad 13
You're My Music, You're My Drug 14
Band with Mingled Feelings 17
A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose 18
4
50K MUSIC: Who are you, where do you come from, ...?
Please tell us something about Scott Brunger.
Scott: My name is Scott Brunger, I come from Maidstone
in Kent and I'm 27. I was brought up on a council estate in
Maidstone, I never finished school yet went on to get a
degree in music at Chichester University in West Sussex. I
am proud of my education but I am also aware that it is
useless, I wrote songs from the heart and not the head
before uni and still do now. I am a father of two beautiful
girls but other than that I am just a songwriter and
Introducing yet another promising newcomer – Scott
Brunger plays his music from the bottom of his heart
… and you can hear it. He raises funds to bring pure
and true Country music back to its homeland.
nothing more. I live only to see my music succeed and that
one fact about me describes almost everything else I am.
50K MUSIC: How did you discover SellaBand?
Scott: I had a burst of energy one morning whilst looking
after my youngest daughter and decided to join all of
Reverb Nations affiliates. I particularly liked Sellaband as I
had not come across that kind of format before.
50K MUSIC: How are you going to convince people to
believe (and invest) in you?
Scott: I find it hard to portray myself as something special
at the best of times but I truly believe that my style of
Country music will satisfy true country tastes in the same
way most alternative music does. I don't call it "Alternative
Country" because I was brought up on 80's country-rock-
pop pap, that I feel is the Alternative to good country
music. I believe people will follow a cause more willingly
I
Write
Songs
from
the
Heart
not
the
Head
than just one persons ego and I really want to bring
country music back to the good songwriters and away
from the multi-billion dollar American music industry.
50K MUSIC: You've just started your project on
SellaBand. Have you thought about the time after reaching
the goal of 20k yet? What are your plans then?
Scott: I need investment to be able to take my music to
America, I believe that the old tour-bus way is the best,
play as many states as possible and build support in the
home land of country music. I don't believe America is the
be-all and end-all of music but to dirty up the clean
generic crap being passed of as "Country" you need to start
over in the same way people like Johnny Cash, Tom Petty
and Bob Dylan did.
50K MUSIC: And last question: How can we support you
to speed up raising your budget?
Scott: The goal is to get me on the road, so money is only
needed if its needed, I can only see as far as travelling
costs, food money etc because I have very little knowledge
of how things are done, the most valuable thing is
professional support. I need a manager or an agent or just
someone who knows what there doing and what I want to
do. That is worth more to me than all the money in the
world. My heart is with the music, the performance and
the recording, the money is for anyone and everyone who
gets me there.
 5

Can't
50K MUSIC: It's about one year since Tender Hooligans
disappeared from my radar I must admit. What happened
since then?
T.H.: Well until before summer we were mainly writing
and taking a break from all the constant giging we were

Beat the
doing. We went into the studio in March and got 3 tracks
down which we're really pleased with. Now we're giging
hard again, played the Moor Musci Festival last weekend
which was awesome and playing some great events such as
Leeds Festival Fringe, Little Heroes live event and

Buzz of
supporting Exit Calm in September which we're really
excited about.

50K MUSIC: You started to fund an album on SellaBand

in 2009. What are your plans now regarding the album?

Playing
T.H.: We really just let that go by the way side and
decided that wasn't the best way to go. It was more of an
experiment really to see how far we could get with it.

50K MUSIC: What other plans can you unveil to us?

to the
T.H.: Well we'll garry on giging hard for the next few
months and then we plan on going to London to record a
few more tracks and hopefully play a couple of gigs down
there. Take the Tender Hooligans to the south and also
hoping to get signed to a small label of some sort to elavate

Crowd
us to that next level.

50K MUSIC: You play a lot of gigs at the moment. How

important is it for you to play live?
T.H.: Yeah it's what it's all about really, you can't beat the
buzz of playing to a crowd who's enjoying your music, it
makes it feel all the more worth while.

This band hailing from Yorkshire (UK) is definitely on the

top of my playlist since I discovered them on SellaBand. The
Tender Hooligans describe their SellaBand efforts as an
experiment. But they are absolutely worth to keep an eye on.
I asked them about their further plans - here are the answers
6

Modern
Sound
with an
80's Spirit

Matt Springfield wants to

bring the spirit of the 80's
into the 21st century. And he
is very successful doing this.
He has already funded his
single "Things I've Said" on
akamusic. And ... he is one of
the members of Dream
Team.
50K MUSIC: For all those who don't know you yet, experience! It's been recorded at Modern World Studios in
please tell us something about you. Where do you come the UK with acclaimed producer Greg Haver (Manics,
from, what are your roots? Melanie C.) and mastered in NYC by Ryan Smith
Matt: I'm a french singer/songwriter. I'm influenced by (Beyoncé, Nada Surf, Erasure...). I worked with cool and
bands and artists such as Depeche Mode, U2, Coldplay, great people : Andy Taylor, Beth Gibson and Clint
Keane, The Killers, Robbie Williams and many more... I Murphy. I really enjoyed the session and learned a lot!
started in music by playing the violin!
50K MUSIC: When will the single come out?
50K MUSIC: You have already raised a budget of 15.000 Matt: The single will be released in september. It will
€ to produce your single “Things I've said”. What were contain 2 tracks. On one hand, there’s "Things I've Said"
your experiences during the funding process and later the that creates a relaxing cyber-atmosphere, which puts you
production of the single? in a half-sleep state, and on the other, there’s "Haunted"
Matt: It was a great experience. During the funding which makes you want to get off your chair and shake your
process there was a lot of exchanges with the 372 booty. The idea behind my work has always been to uplift
believers. They gave me advices and we also had a lot of the listeners to a state of emotional well-being!
fun!! The recording session was also a fantastic
 7
50K MUSIC: Are you satisfied with the fundraising for
your album “Erase All Data” so far?
Matt: Absolutely! I started the fundraising for the album
about one month ago and we already reached 34% with
124 people investing in this project. I think it's great
known that the single isn't out yet. I hope that the release
and the promotion of the single will also help the
fundraising of the album!

50K MUSIC: What are your plans for album production

and promoting the album once it's released?
Matt: I've already written about 10 tracks for the album.
I'm very pleased about the sound of the single and I hope
to work with the same team for the album! Greg Haver did
an awesome job on the single! The album will be
distributed in France by Universal. I also really enjoy the
promotion process : going to radios, getting interviewed...
Music is great as it could bring people together!

50K MUSIC: On your akamusic profile you state that you

want to bring the 80s into the present. Do you think this
could work?
Matt: 80's music is a big influence for me! Depeche Mode,
U2 and The Police were the first bands I listened to. I also
enjoy bands and artists such as Coldplay, Keane, The
Killers, Muse. I think they're all a bit 80's influenced! I
found the sound I've been searching for in the studio. Greg
Haver really understood what I've been looking for : the
songs have an 80's and "poppy" structure, at the same
time, they are clearly and gently sprinkled with catchy rock
instrumentations and dreamy electronic sounds. A Matt: I've always been really found of english pop music
modern sound with an 80's spirit! I hope it will work!! that's why I wanted to work with english people and that's
why I sing in English. I wanted that my music has an
50K MUSIC: You are hailing from Alsace but your songs "english sound"!!
are in English. Are there any reasons why you don't sing in
French? 50K MUSIC: Your producers on akamusic get 40% of the
benefits and a CD. Are there any more incentives for
people who invest in your music?
Matt: Yes, they get 40% of the benefits and a signed CD
before its release! They could be involved in the
production if they want to. We share a lot on akamusic.
Believers can give advices, choose the tracks they prefer
with polls for instance...

50K MUSIC: Do we have a chance to see you on stage

this summer?
Matt: No, I have no musicians for now. But I'm looking
for musicians to go on stage and promote my songs! After
achieving a first dream recording my songs with a great
producer, I dream to play gigs and share my passion
playing live!

50K MUSIC: How can we support you raising your

budget?
Matt: You can help me spreading my name around the
world and sharing my music with your friends and family!

50K MUSIC: And last question: Please tell us one thing

about you and your music everybody should know.
Matt: I make music with passion and my only dream is to
share it with the world!

http://de.akamusic.com/matt_springfield
8
Wolfman shares his thoughts about
Gisel de Marco’s journey towards her
debut album “All The Way”
(WM) Throughout my life, I’ve always surrounded myself
with music. I was a big fan of ‘70s and ‘80s Rock music,
groups like Deep Purple, Led Zepplin, Heart, and many
others. But as time passed by, I found myself listening to
slower tempo music like the Eagles and Elton John. My
musical taste continued to expand into new age, jazz,
reggae, and pop music; but like so many others, I listened
to the mainstream artists. That all changed on April 22,
2008, when I first heard “Roma” on Sellaband.
In that instant, Gisel de Marco was stamped in my music
memory forever. I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but that
didn’t matter to me. Gisel’s passion and incredibly
beautiful and angelic voice captured my attention like no
artist before her…I became an instant fan. It didn’t take
me long to join Sellaband and purchase my first 10 parts
in Gisel; after which, I received my first comment from
her. There was so much appreciation in her message and
she was so excited knowing that she was the first artist I
invested in, that it touched me deeply…learning that my
small investment in her music project meant so much to
this independent artist from Argentina. It was that first
message that started me down the road of discovery and
support for Independent Music and the artists I support,
also known as “The Pack”. I owe so much to Gisel…
Over the next couple of days, I received some songs from
her and we exchanged many messages. As I was listening
to her music, one thought kept going through my
mind…”how is it possible, that this artist is not being
played on the airwaves?” It didn’t make sense! That is
when I set out on my mission to help this incredibly gifted
and deserving artist in any way I could.
At the time, I was working as a Network/Windows
Engineer for a global company and I understood operating
systems and networks, but really didn’t know anything
about web design. Like Gisel, I don’t let obstacles get in
my way and I took a big leap of faith in my ability to learn
new technologies quickly when I asked her if she would be
interested in an English website.

At that time, she had a website, but it was written in the
Spanish language, which limited her exposure to English-
speaking fans. Well, Gisel was thrilled at my offer, so with
my back against the wall, I bought some web design
software, a lot of books, and set out to create her first
English-speaking site. Over the course of the next two
months, Gisel and I worked together on our first version of
her site and our goal was to get it up before her gig in
Salzburg, Austria on July 4, 2008. We met our goal and
received many nice comments about her new site.
With her website up and running, I turned my attention to
helping create interest for her project through reviews and
many, many comments. My desire to help Gisel was the
driving force in how I wrote my messages…I took my time
and proof read everything, multiple times. I wanted the
best for her, because having worked with her on the
website, I learned about her as a person and the struggles
she endured, as well as her many accomplishments. A
great friendship was born!
Having grown up in Argentina, Gisel didn’t have what
people in other countries have, so she developed an
appreciation for things that so many others take for
granted. She always loved music, but never realized how
much or how it would change her life, until her friends
convinced her to sing at a Karaoke bar on night. She sang,
“Hero”, by Mariah Carey. In an instant, the crowd went
completely silent and Gisel made a connection with them
she had never experienced before and it became the
defining moment in her life, because it was then, that she
found her first and greatest love…singing for people. Since
that time, she has been singing, writing, and performing in
many towns and cities in Argentina, as well as the United
States and Europe.
9
As if this weren’t enough…you will see Gisel in a way never
seen before. Benjamin Furland, her photographer from
Buenos Aires, Argentina, used his magic to capture Gisel
in absolutely stunning and incredibly beautiful imagery.
I’ve always told her she is the most beautiful woman I’ve
ever seen; and after you see her photos…you’ll understand
why.
Gisel sings about love and when you read her lyrics, you
get a sense of what to expect; but when you hear her
sing…she will leave you wanting to hear more! The
passion she injects into every song is incredibly powerful;
and then, when you hear her riffs…her “soft” wispy
voice…the super high notes she hits…and the power with
which she delivers her message…you know this is an artist
that will soon be recognized around the world…and it
starts with her debut album.
Gisel de Marco has a breathtaking voice and when you
hear her debut album, “All The Way”, I think you’ll agree.
I have eagerly been waiting to hear “Roma”, the song I
believe to be the first of many masterpieces she will bring
us. When I first heard “Roma”, Gisel's message was so
clear to me. Some of the best songs have a special
meaning to the artist and if they are able to transfer those
emotions to the listener, without overdoing it...they have
truly created something special. Gisel accomplished that
with “Roma”; but what is even more amazing to me, is the

Getting back to her journey on Sellaband, Gisel

experienced something she never thought would ever
happen. On August 25, 2008, she became the 25th
Sellaband Recording Artist! 356 people, from around the
world, believed in, and invested in her dream of recording
an album. As I watched her celebration video and how
much this meant to her, I got choked up and couldn’t hold
back my tears of joy for her. She’s special in so many ways
and when you hear her album, you’ll understand what I
saw in this incredibly gifted Argentinian artist.

So what can we expect to hear on her debut album? For

starters, 20 musicians from the Bratislava Symphony
Orchestra performing on nine of the 12 tracks! I told her
from the very beginning that with her world-class voice,
she deserves an orchestra, so what did she do? Not only
did she get one…she got an orchestra that specializes in
pop music!! The Bratislava Symphony Orchestra is
comprised of musicians with years of experience, who
create a compact and powerful sound, perfect for Pop
music. This girl is simply amazing!

Gisel arranged a nice mix of ballads, pop, up tempo, and

dance songs. It was important [to her] to give her
believers the best representation of who she is as a singer
and songwriter. She also included 2 bonus videos on the
Limited Edition CDs: “I Wish I Could Fly” and a very
unique behind the scenes video from her photo shoot, with
“I’ll Never See You Again” as the background music.
10
fact she was able to do that in her native language of
Spanish, which I do not understand. She masterfully
accentuated every single word perfectly and empowered
the melody beautifully...I felt her pain, her love, and her
strength. There is certain innocence and longing, but the
passion she injects conveys an overwhelming sense of
sentiment and sadness. I found myself crying for
her...caring in ways I never experienced. Her heart-felt
delivery touched my deepest emotions and the compassion
I felt was indescribable. Gisel has a 4-octave range and
she is a brilliant, extremely talented and gifted
singer/songwriter who will evoke intense emotions in the
listener…you will feel her passion in every song she sings!
On Sunday, August 1, 2010, 301 people from around the
world joined Gisel in a 4-hour listening session of “All The
Way”. The reactions were unanimous. “All The Way” is
the best album by any Sellaband artist yet…in fact, many
agree, it could be the best album of 2010 by any artist! For
me, this is all the proof I need when I say that her music
transcends international borders.
The road to the release was just under 2 years; but well
worth the wait. Gisel is a perfectionist and she knew what
she wanted. She states, “I've spent a lot of time writing
new songs, choosing the right producer, orchestra, and
photographer, which will be very noticeable as soon as my
album is out. The idea is not doing an album fast, but
doing the best album possible..." I asked her how she liked
the final result and she said, “I tried to make a commercial
album…but without sacrificing quality, and I'm very proud
of it! I'm so happy!!!!!! I have to say that I absolutely
loooooove my album!!” I couldn’t agree more, because an
album of this quality takes time and patience for all
involved; but there were also delays she could not control.
All in all, the end result is a world-class production with a
BIG sound worthy of this incredible artist who is destined
for the big stage.
Now the real work begins…getting Gisel’s album heard by
as many people as possible. Thankfully, with the Internet,
that job is not as difficult as it would have been before the
Internet was invented; but the challenge is difficult none
the less.
If you enjoyed “All The Way” as much as I, please share
your thoughts with your friends and acquaintances using
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media.
Together, we can prove to the Sellaband community that it
is possible to turn a fan-funded CD into something bigger.
You see...we are the lucky ones. Not only are we a part of
the most incredible album of 2010, we also have the
opportunity to help Gisel achieve her dream and perhaps,
give hope to the rest of the Sellaband community that it is
possible to turn our investments into something good.
On behalf of Gisel, I would like to extend a sincere and
heart-felt thank you to everyone who supported her. The
journey has been a long one, with many ups and downs;
but in the end, it was all worth it. “All The Way” exceeded
even my expectations and for that, I am pleasantly
surprised; but so very proud of my dear friend. Gisel de
Marco is truly the best I have ever heard!
Wolfman
www.giseldemarco.com

"All The Way" was produced, recorded and mixed by

Marcus Bishop of Quantum Leap Studios in Dover, UK
(www.quantumleapstudios.co.uk); Chris Wong, guitarist,
co-producer, and arranger; Mastered by Paul Grundman
of Bernie Grundman Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
(www.berniegrundmanmastering.com).

Through her music and friendship, Gisel taught me many

things...hope, love, forgiveness, humility, laughter, and all
things beautiful. I have shared in her joy, her sorrows, and
her pain. Gisel is the most remarkable person I've never
met; but known. My hope is for others to find that same
joy, and they can...through her music.

The price of her Limited Edition CD is minuscule

compared to the satisfaction the listener will experience
...for she has a gift to share. The gift of love and hope,
knowing deep inside that everything will be alright...no
matter how bleak the journey seems. I sincerely hope you
join me and lift this Argentinian princess up on your
shoulders, by purchasing her Limited Edition CD through
her website, giseldemarco.com, and believer’s stores on
Sellaband, and by sharing this article with your friends.
Sellaband provides the platform to unite believers and
artists, but once the artists reach their budget, it becomes
the artist’s and believer’s job to spread the music.

100 Days of New
SellaBand -
Five Questions to
Michael Bogatzki
In February this year Michael Bogatzki took over the job as
the new SellaBand CEO. Since the New SellaBand has
started he had to solve a number of problems. After his
first 100 days it was time to ask him a few questions.
50K MUSIC: A little bit more than 100 days ago you took
over the job of SellaBand CEO. Do you regret this step
with hindsight?
Michael: Not at all! It has been and still is a great
challenge and I´m happy that we´ve managed the
takeover and the first 100 days together with a vast
majority of the Believers and Artists.
50K MUSIC: What was the hardest challenge for you
after the new start?
Michael: I would say that all the regulatory and legal
issues have been most challenging, since this is something
you can not completely influence. On the one hand you
have to follow certain rules and requirements and on the
other hand you are looking for a creative an positive way
to realize a workable solution. Beside of this it wasn’t
always easy to find the right priority because there are so
many demands and interests we have to take care of.
50K MUSIC: Are there any issues you wanted to tackle
but haven't solved yet?
Michael: Yes, I would love to be faster with the progress
of the front-end and usability. Everything else is in a good
11
situation. Things could happen faster – as always, but
right now I would say “we are on schedule!”
50K MUSIC: A lot of (active) believers and a few artists
have left SellaBand after the bankruptcy. How do you plan
to bring the community back to SellaBand?
Michael: We have to offer new features – we need more
marketing power, and support the artist as an consultancy,
provide proper distribution partners, promotion
activities... We will have some nice new features, TV shows
and are expanding into foreign markets. This will give a lot
of attraction for our former believers. We will setup
satellites around the Sellaband Planet. Those satellites will
create a 360 degree full service for Artist and should be
very attractive for all our “old” believers.
50K MUSIC: What are your plans for the next months
regarding the website, promotion and SellaBand in
general?
Michael: As said we are working on the TV appearance,
we will have some more competitions like Rocken am
Brocken or the Intro co-operation. There will be some nice
changes to the website, functionality and appearance in
general within the next 6 month, but of course we don´t
want to spoil anything right now.
Thanks Michael for the interview.
12

The Return
of The Wha's
It made me a little bit sad when I heard the news lately that
The Nancy Wha have split up. You can imagine how happy I
was when I noticed that they will continue to play their
music as The Wha's...

I asked Henrik, singer and guitarist of the band, for a short
statement what their plans are now, what happens with
the announced Nancy Wha EP:
"Yes, we will continue as The Wha´s and we are all very
happy about it. What happened to The Nancy Wha was
that the drummer and the second guitarist, who hadn´t
really been in the band for a long time, quit the band
because they wanted to play another kind of music.
Well, we were surprised first but then we noticed that it
was really a good thing and we felt reliefed cause now we
could play the music we wanted to. We found a brilliant
new drummer and decided to change the name to The
Wha´s. It felt like a natural thing to do. Then we found a
great guy who plays organs and we all felt that the band
was completed.
The EP won´t be released in it´s current form, but the
songs are likely to be released as The Wha´s and sound
the way they were supposed to. We now concentrate on
new songs, but we´ll keep our old ones as well."
www.myspace.com/thewhas
 13

Introducing:
The
50K MUSIC Squad
A few months ago I had the idea to start something new on
50K MUSIC - the 50K MUSIC Squad.

There are already the Dream Team and Wolfman's Pack

for supporting and promoting artists in- and outside of
SAB. I've thought about starting another team of artists
who get my special support and superior promotion on Talentcast
50K MUSIC.

50K MUSIC Squad combines a wide range of music styles.

It represents my favourite music and therefore it's a very
subjective choice I have to admit.

And this is what I have in mind supporting the Squad

members:
- focussing on Squad members when investing on SAB,
aka music, STP,...
- special promo activities on 50K MUSIC, Facebook, ...
- own profile for Squad members on 50K MUSIC,
... more to come.

These are the members of 50K MUSIC Squad so far:

Listen to:
Alex Highton
BOA

Civilized
Tears

t . n l
n t c as
w. t a le
ww
Fleur Jack
14

You're
My
Music,
You're
My
Drug
Everyone who is familiar with the artists
of Dream Team and Wolfman's Pack will
sure know her already. Tula raises funds
for two projects at the moment on AKA
music and SellaBand with the strong
support of her truest fans.

Read exclusive 50K MUSIC interview about where she
comes from and where she wants to go:
50K MUSIC: For all those who don't know you yet (if
there is anyone at all) please tell us something about you.
Where do you come from, what are your roots?
Tula: I am a 28 years old self trained pianist (started at
the age of 5), I compose, write and and sing. I was born in
1982 in Tel Aviv , Israel.
My dad is a former trombonist, son of a Lithuanian
Symphonies and Opera Writer, stopped playing 40 years
ago, since in his eyes music was only for the soul and when
he stopped playing professionally he stopped playing. My
Parents didn't accept my music and till now they still think
I am just dreaming and will come to my senses eventually.
For a long time I tried to be someone else , I got a
Molecular Biochemistry Degree to please my parents. I
worked in labs like the "mad scientist" in day time, waiting
for it to be night so I can make my music, take the mask off
and be me. I worked for years in the pharmaceutical
industry , trying to combine my ultimate passion and a
way of means.
Then a year ago, I met the love of my life, my dutch
fiancée, in the Netherlands, and one month after he came
to live with me in Israel. We went through a lot of
struggles to be together, but we believed and still do. We
currently live in Antwerp, Belgium. I left Everything
behind for my love and for music. I couldn't have done it
any other way.
50K MUSIC: How would you describe your music and
your style?
Tula: I make Gothic Symphonic Metal music. This is a
genre that combines Heavy Guitars and drums parts from
the metal music with the beauty of Gothic dark notes of
my piano and Symphonic orchestrations.
I was influenced by artists like : Evanescence, Within
Temptation, Nightwish, Epica, Kamelot. Anouk is one of
my favourite artists and a lot of people compare me with
her, which is a huge compliment.
50K MUSIC: You are member of Dream Team. How has
this influenced you? How do you think this will help to get
15
more believers and fans?
Tula: Joining the Dream Team really changed my life. I
met Sommersby (Phil) on SAB and he invited me to join
the team. The team is a very warm, supportive group of
independent talented artists from all across the globe. It
was very exciting to meet people who are artists like me
and are pursuing their dream in a very unique way.
Supporting and helping anyway they can, truly amazing.
I recently met Phil, Inge M, Cecile More, and Lindy at
Inge's House in the Netherlands. I can say that was a great
experience. We shared thoughts about music, listened to
music, and enjoyed a great company, while Phil made us
laugh all through the evening.
I think that the Dream Team is an amazing platform, it
gives exposure due to Phil's Great support and devotion:
We have our own Facebook Group Page and it's already
starting to draw a lot of attention from believers and fans.
We have a newsletter which is updated every week with
news and events. I feel there is a Team of people behind
me, pushing me towards my dream coming true. It's the
best feeling in the world.
I am also part of "The Pack", which is a group of
independent artists from all around the world. I want to
personally thank WolfMan, the founder of the pack, for his
support of us artists. He made an amazing website for the
pack: http://www.wolfmandesigns.com/wolfpack/blog/
with a newsletter, a blog and social networking exposure.
He is a true Believer, gives endless support, and an
amazingly supporting soul. I can say that I feel like he gave
me the family who believes in my music, the one I never
had. I think that joining these two fabulous groups of
artists has donated a lot to the exposure of my music.
With the help of the Dream Team and The pack I won
Indie top 10 Radio Noise Corporation Belgium
competition which landed me a 3 months hearing in the
playlist of the radio.
Another great thing is meeting artists and making
connections via Facebook communication agencies that
helped me with promoting my fan page on Facebook, the
live stream TV shows of other artists as Aly Cook has
helped a lot with exposing my "Hey You" Video.
16
50K MUSIC: You're raising money even for two projects
at the moment – for a single on AKA music and for an
album on SellaBand. This means a lot of work for you I
think. What are your plans in detail?
Tula: On AKA I am raising funds for a single album (15k).
I mostly turn to the French audience, since AKA is more
French and concentrate on exposure on French Stores and
online sites. In the end of the fund raising I will release an
Psychosomatic EP which is almost completely recorded to
the French media.
I started on SAB, and I would like to say that recording a
full length album is my ultimate goal. I am raising 50K on
SAB to not only fund the my album "My Music My Drug" ,
but to also work on the "Psychosomatic" show. I give a
physical CD to every Believer and a very generous
incentive plan for my believers. I have a couple
merchandise surprises up my sleeve for my believers, I
think they deserve it all. I also give 50% of my revenues to
believers, since the album is their like it's my own.
My Detailes Plan is to raise 50,000$ which will be used to:
Record my album "My Music, My Drug" with producer
and music legend , Oliver Philipps (Everon). He is the
German producer in charge of the new upcoming metal
star "DELAIN" and "SERENITY". He worked with
musicians form "Within Temptation". Like him, I am
loyal, he was the one who made my demos, who believed
me when I didn't have a dime, and he made My Music My
Drug for me. We would start working as soon as we reach
the Funding Target.
The amount will also cover costs for the Psychosomatic
show, that will run through Europe, focusing on the
Netherlands, Belgium, Germany. This new concept of a
show, never seen before, combining my Molecular
Biochemistry abilities (yeah I am a scientist) with making
music. At the end of the Psychosomatic show my believers
will receive a special recipe from my Music Laboratory, a
new surprise each time (New Singles, T shirts, Backstage
passages and more to go). Some of you may also Play with
me on my Secret Formula Piano.
I am donating 10% of my rights revenues and income to
charity for animals, since I am a hard believer of giving. I
also have 2 dogs I adopted from a shelter, and they mean
the world to me, you should see how much love an animal
can give, it's incredible. My plan is to invest in each of you,
cause you are precious to me for believing in me.
50K MUSIC: You have raised 1,200 € on AKA music and
1,690 $ on SellaBand so far. Wouldn't it be more effective
to concentrate on one project?
Tula: I think the two platforms are approaching different
exposures, one more to the French Audience (AKA) and
the other is a more global platform (SAB). I also have
different targets, one is for an existing EP to make a more
appropriate exposure and the other, which is my mane
goal is to record a full length album.
I think having both platforms only promotes my music, my
fans and believers can join both my projects, and that
brings a different crowed to every platform.
It's not about effectiveness, for me, it's about getting the
music to the listener's ear, that's why I am also using
Reverbnation, Facebook, Myspace and other platforms.
50K MUSIC: How can we support you raising your
budgets?
Tula: You can always help with exposure to Believers and
Fans, become a believer yourself is always great and
supportive. I think the idea of the 50K music squad is very
cool and I would love to be part of it. I think the key to
supporting an artist is exposing his music to the crowed,
so thank you for doing that for me .
50K MUSIC: It's still a long way to go on both platforms,
but have you already thought about your plans for
promoting your single/album?
Tula: Sure, my Gemini personality always makes me
vision ahead, so here are my plans:
The remaining fund after recording the album would be to
- hire a professional promoter specializing in the
METAL/ROCK field to advertise and promote the album
and the Psychosomatic show via social networking
(Facebook fan group currently 650 people, Myspace
90,000 hits), book interviews on TV and written music
magazines. He would also use to daily update my official
website with special surprises (backstage passages to
believers and purchasers of the album, through a special
internet code)
-The promoter will also contact Festivals organizers such
as Park pop, Pink pop and other big musical Events and
shows to get the psychosomatic show in.
- Contact a Publishing company to start spreading the
news about my music to get the album in stores across
Holland, Belgium, Germany and France.
- Produce promotional merchandise (Tula logo shirts,
which I already made the design for) and pay for design
work, as well as covering manufacturing of specially
packaged limited edition copies of the album and a run of
standard packaged copies of the album to distribute to my
believers first and to the market later as special limited
edition items.
- I have already started working with my producer Oliver
Philipps (Delain, Serenity, Imperia, Ancient Rites,
Everon), which puts me on the map immediately in the
eyes of the media regarding interviews about the album.
- I want to have a special appearance artist on my album,
(his identity is still a secret), the artist will donate his
musical talent to help me promote my music. I think this
is just the beginning. I have a lot more ideas ... stay tuned...
50K MUSIC: And at last: one thing you always wanted to
tell your believers, fans and investors.
Tula: Oh, I am so glad you asked that, since they are the
reason for all this. I want you to know that inside that
rough angry Metal Singer, lies a little girl, who only needs
a hug.
You give it to me each day, and I just want to say Thank
you , from the bottom of my heart.
This one is dedicated to you:
You're my music , You're my drug.
You're my saviour , you're my hug
You are everything I'm not, and all I really am
You're the power of my thoughts, you make pleasure out of
pain. (Tula, My Music My Drug)
www.sellaband.com/tula
 17

Band with Mingled Feelings

Thats how Göteborgs Posten (GP) titled about Swedish being back on stage after a long summer holiday, although
pop band BOA. BOA were one of the 16 finalists of GP the performance took a few minutes really. Every band
Scen who played on Gothenburg's Järntorget on August 14. played the song they were in the contest with, so when I
felt that the pre-nerves settled and we were up and in the
A few days before they got great feature in GP's music we had to stop, but I think all the other bands felt
entertainment section. Their music was described there as the same way."
"lighthearted melodies accompanying with dark lyrics".
www.sellaband.com/boa
Orsi and Olof represented the band when they met with
the GP people. Attila and Botond were in Transsylvania at
this time. Drummer William jobbed in Eskilstuna over the
summer. But they all went back to Gothenburg to play
their song "Push" at the GP Scen final. "It's going to be
smashing. Spontaneous and magnificent", Orsi stated in
the GP interview.

"Push" has also got airplay on Mix Megapol, a well-known

Swedish radio station. But it was not their radio debut, as
GP noticed. TalentCast was the first radio station to play
there song. "Probably it gave us not so much attention. But
it was cool to listen to our sound coming out of the radio",
said Orsi.

Sadly they did not win the competition, but the media
attention they got, will surely give them a big Push.

After the GP Scen show I talked to Botond and got a short

comment on BOA's gig:

"The GP Scen Final was a good experience, it was great

18

A Rose
Is a Rose
Is a Rose
If you regularly keep an eye on the activities of
Friend Vote Indie TOP 100 you surely have
noticed this band from Ravenna (Italy).
They are number one for two weeks now with
their song "Rose is a Rose".
Please welcome Amycanbe on 50K MUSIC.
I talked to Mattia Mercuriali (bass/guitar) to
find out who they are:

50K MUSIC: For all those who don't know Amycanbe
yet, please tell us something about the band. Where do you
come from, what are your roots?
Mattia: We come from Italy ... on the northeast coast of
the Adriatic Sea. We are 5 guys playing too many
instruments!!! ... ;-) ... and, well .. our roots are so wide
different ... everyone has his own taste ... so, about mine, I
can tell I'm currently listening to a lot of Italian library
music from the 60's, Beach Boys, Primal Scream ... and so
many others.
50K MUSIC: What is the basic message of your songs?
Mattia: Considering every song has some "picture" in it ...
they talk about a specific moment ... about a meeting most
of the times ... so each one has its particular message or
"flavour".
50K MUSIC: Congrats on being number one on Friend
Vote Indie Charts. Do you think this will help to spread the
word about your music?
Mattia: We DO hope this will help ... let's make some
other spamming please!!!!!!!!!
50K MUSIC: You toured Italy and the UK so far. Did you
notice any difference between the audiences in these
countries?
Mattia: Yes, substantial differencies ... first of all ... in UK
people usually listen to you ... that's not obvious when you
play in Italy ... we miss some "listening-culture" ... it's a
fact of manners I suppose ...
50K MUSIC: Will we see you on stages in the rest of
Europe soon?
Mattia: We are definitely trying to! Crisis is
EVERYWHERE.
19
50K MUSIC: You're currently working on a new album.
Please tell us how you come along with the project and
what we can expect from this album.
Mattia: If you have been listening to our first 2 issues ...
you will be pleasantly surprised by this one ... it is far more
dense ... full.
50K MUSIC: What are your plans for album promotion?
Mattia: Mainly making people and press spreading the
word, planning shows, making people comining to see us
and stuff like that ... we cannot afford great budgets and
almost nobody can I guess! ... so ... nowadays for a band
like us all is mainly based on playing live, and using the
web at the best of its potential, a good communication of
course with a smart and social PR ... not by default I mean
....
50K MUSIC: What other plans do you have for the next
few months?
Mattia: A gig in Tokyo ... and ... mmm ... a new van ... the
peace in the world ... :-)
ah ... ouch .. it is not the genie in a lamp question, is it?!? ;-
)
50K MUSIC: How can people support you promoting
your music?
Mattia: Please come and join us on our gigs ... spread the
word ... and, almost all ... tell us what you like or not like ...
we are curious people!
50K MUSIC: And last question: Please tell us one thing
about you and your music everybody should know.
Mattia: You have to know ... that the new songs are
great!!!!
www.myspace.com/amycanbe