Thursday, May 05, 2016

May Top 40 Itty Bitty Bum Bum - the Return of Jim Jewels






ITTY BITTY BUM BUM


J. Jewels ft. Ucmee & Tommy Knockout - Itty Bitty Bum Bum [Lyric Video] V.2

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TahBEY-pIvc
 ___________________________________________

Exclusive behind the scenes footage of Itty Bitty Bum Bum recording session 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHEsauhg-xA





_____________________________________________



A Jewel in Medford Square
Originally published July 14, 2009

By Joe Viglione, Correspondent

Few people in Medford realize there is a talented group of producers/engineers/artists making great music in the heart of Medford. Jewels Enterprises, Inc. at 22 High Street is a world hidden from the eyes of the cars and foot traffic on the main thoroughfare in Medford, creative sounds and intellectual property are generated inside the office building - an important contribution to the arts in this city that, for some, has flown under the radar screen.

Yes, Film/Video/Media producers Gravity Boston LLC used to be at 10 High Street but have since moved to Winthrop Street leaving Jewels Production and Recording Studio as the sole creator of commercial music and video in the heart of Medford Square.

The Medford Transcript spoke with producer/studio owner Jimmy a.k.a. "J. Jewels" from ten PM to midnight one evening in June and listened to some amazing sounds that the studio has put together for musicians, for radio commercials and even a proposed TV program.

Transcript: When did the facility, Jewels Production & Recording Studio, first open?

Jewels: The Jewels production name I came up with years ago after I graduated High school back in '94. I went into producing music for local talent but the office here I opened in 2006 and changed the name to Jewels Enterprises Inc so I can do more than just production.

Transcript: Was the facility always in Medford Square?

Jewels: Yes.. Since I opened I have been in Medford Square.

Transcript: Who is the founder?

Jewels: I am the founder of the company.

Transcript: What were your first musical inspirations?

Jewels: I have had a variety...from Bob Marley, Method Man, Adina Howard, Michael Jackson and more... I love variety.

Transcript: Are you a musician as well?

Jewels: I play a little Keyboard here and there, mostly what I do is
oversee production as an executive producer.

Transcript: How did you get started in the music business?

Jewels: Again I got started when I was real you probably about 16 years of age. I used to DJ friends parties, Film Family weddings and charge a fee for doing it for them.

Transcript: Who are the people at Jewels Production & Recording?

Jewels: Right now I am the face of the entire company and Susan Coombs is basically my right hand girl who handles a lot of the marketing and brings in new clients. Other than that My artist King Spyda who has an up-coming album and another artist I work closely with is Mighty Mystic.

Transcript: How many engineers?

Jewels: Right now I handle most of the engineering when I do get real busy I get freelancers to come in and handle projects for me.

Transcript: Are the clients basically from Medford or do they come from out of state and out of the country?

Jewels: My clients come from all over the place. I do have some in Medford and some from all around New England.

Transcript: What recordings have been released from the facility on High Street?

Jewels: Omega red has released music recorded here, Mighty Mystic has recorded music here, the most current song is called "Slipped Away". You can listen to that by visiting the record label page www.myspace.com/jewelsincmusic

Transcript: What are some of the accomplishments the studio/engineers are most proud of?

Jewels: Well right now we are putting together A MUSIC PROGRAM FOR kids in the Medford area...where they can come in an learn about recording and releasing music.

*  *   *   *   *   *

Jewels likes to surround himself with positive people who are looking to get into a better future...and the Medford resident who is a family man likes to be a positive role model and help out his community.  That community extends from the area musicians he records like reggae artist Mighty Mystic and rapper/hip hop artist Omega Red (originally from Boston but now in New York) and New Hampshire artist Timmy Tunes who Jewels met through Omega Red and who is now an important part of Jewels' team.

"We're getting ready to put out a record with King Spyda. The project is called "Hood Fella" Jewels told the Transcript, a long-term endeavor that the studio's been working on for the last eight or nine months. 

Jewels has the promotion end of things down as well.  His YouTube site  http://www.youtube.com/user/Jewelse has an enormous amount of information in sound and video - material they create in-house as well as videos received from clients.  They air all the material through the JewelsE Inc. broadcasting arms which include the internet, 3G Radio and cable TV.

His official biography gives the story, a career that started as a disc jockey, record producer, videographer and show MC.  J Jewels put his creative ideas into the world of marketing and promotions as well, with concert and event planning for local and national artists and then larger scale events.

The bio also notes: "J. Jewels, also known to his friends and family as Jimmy Jules, was born in Port-au-prince, Haiti. He remained in Haiti until he was about 10 years old and then was sent for by his parents in Medford, Massachusetts." 

What J.Jewels has created is an impressive array of sounds - both for his corporate clients and his creative artists - in a comfortable atmosphere that the city of Medford should be proud of...and should support.

Here are some links to J. Jewels MySpace, You Tube and main site:


http://www.myspace.com/jewelsinc

http://www.youtube.com/user/Jewelse

http://www.jpnrstudios.com/services.html

http://www.jpnrstudios.com/aboutus.html


__________________________________________________________


J. Jewels presents Itty Bitty Bum Bum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQquGSWuZQE

_______________________________________________________________

POSITIVE NEGATIVE MAN
REVIEW BY ED WROBLESKI,
HOST, TALKING HENDRIX RADIO SHOW
Talking Hendrix
https://www.facebook.com/groups/386159081588529/



Positive Negative Man - Broken 

Reverb Nation
https://www.reverbnation.com/positivenegativeman

Reviewed by
Ed Wrobleski
March 8, 2016


  The Broken album by native Boston area power trio - as this reviewer will call them - is a grunge masterpiece and, hopefully, a shape of what's to come from these three guys known as Positive Negative Man. The alternative rock combo consists of Peter Tomilloso-Bass, vox Mike Feeney-Guitar, vox, and Ian Wilson-Drums, and they pack a powerful punch.  Let's look at the Broken compact disc track by track.

1. Gasoline 3:46
The one thing I can say about this track is that its hard rockin', driving beat will keep it on "repeat" in your player.  Vocalist Mike Feeney has an edge to his voice that I can't imagine anyone coming close to imitating, it certainly is a unique voicing, and musically on this one it comes across as what I will call "Grunge Metal" part grunge rock and part heavy metal.

2  Keep It Together   3:09
I can visualize this being re-recorded by some of the garage rock bands of the sixties such as the Nashville Teens (famous for their classic rendition of "Tobacco Road",) in fact,  you can hear the beat of that great classic throughout the piece.  Peter Tomilliso voice is perfect for what I would hope to be the next single from the album.


3  The Waste  2:27

What I find interesting about the vocals on here, as I stated, is that they are one of a kind.  I can't imagine anyone out there in the music biz replicating the uniqueness of Mike Feeney's voice.  I also can see where Positive Negative Man got the name (other than the Avengers TV episode, "Positive Negative Man," of course) some of the tracks have more dark grunge basement sound while others have that light uplifting classic rock sound to them.

4  With No Machine 3:04
A really upbeat and something to dance to in the clubs type of tune, it's pretty basic dancing type material to this reviewer but has potential.

   The Ice Queen of Space 5:32
This has so many different sounds that I hear in this that it sounds almost like a tribute to a lot of great classic rock  stars in here I hear some Rolling Stones, Lou Reed,  and even a sprinkling of the late David Bowie as well. I'll give you the break downs as to where I hear  the icons the Rolling Stones is in the guitar sound of
 the track and the vocals by Mike Feeney come
across at times like the late Lou Reedd and David Bowie, and also the title even reminds me of something Bowie would have done  during the "Ziggy Stardust" period.

6  Kings  4:04
The fact that this has a mix of the upbeat but dark sound blended together and both vocalists harmonizing on the CD for the first time creates a stylistic kind of Beatles aura.  Not sounding like the Beatles, but a Fab Four influence, for sure. 


7  Balling the Jack 3:05
An interesting sounding upbeat grungy metal tune that if (and where) they still do mosh pitting  in the clubs you can certainly get with the program here, or even headbang
 if they still do that as well.



8  Newport Beach  3:29
I hear a taste of Nirvana and even a little of Lou Reed again , the Nirvana part in the melody of the song. Would almost  consider this a part 2 to  Nirvana's
 classic "Come as you are" with Lou Reed style 
 vocals. It would be interesting to see hear what it would have sounded like had Kurt Cobain and Lou Reed  ever collaborated. Consider this the collaboration that never happened.


9  Twister  4:06
The vocals, and an awesome guitar riff repeating throughout, and the intangible that grips true rock fans, 
 this is ultimately bound to be something that should be around the Positve Negative Man live set for a long
 time to come.


10 Just Don't Think   3:19
An awesome closer for this album and should also be for their live sets in club,a song with lots of interesting
but defining elements.  A very Greenday sounding beat from their early days, with harmonizing vocals like the
Rembrandts that sing the classic theme to the show "Friends," a tune that will get stuck in your head for sure.

I give this CD a 5 out of 5 star rating  and i'm sure we'll have plenty of more fantastic writing and music to come in the future from Positive Negative Man.



__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Keep It Together" - Positive Negative Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlWoK2Cpk0


GET IT TOGETHER, GRAND FUNK 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bCRhhClXSU

KEEP IT TOGETHER  - MADONNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHek0kaNXjY 


AVENGERS: THE POSITIVE NEGATIVE MAN
A scientist is killed by having been hurled through and embedded in a wall. This is the latest death of a person engaged in the government's Project 90, whose documents can also not be ... See full summary » http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0516927/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

3)MIGHTY MYSTIC
 
http://www.myspace.com/mightymystic
http://www.myspace.com/mightymystic

Date:      Tue, August 4, 2009 5:01 pm
  
  

Medford's Mighty Mystic to perform with The Original Wailers


By Joe Viglione

On Saturday evening, August 15, 2009, Medford's Mighty Mystic and The Strings of Thunder will be performing on a bill with The Original Wailers (featuring guitarists Jr. Marvin and Al Yasha Anderson), Tosh-1 (the son of the legendary Peter Tosh, a former member of The Wailers), Dis-N-Dat Band (a five piece reggae calypso band from Lynn, Massachusetts) and Ila Mawana (an 8 piece "touring army of musicians").  


The event starts at 8 PM at Club Lido on 1290 North Shore Road, Revere, Massachusetts.  It should be an incredible show, repeated somewhat in two weeks when The Wailers and Mighty Mystic appear on August 28th at Joey Harrison's Surf Club, Ortley Beach, New Jersey.

MM's new single, "Here I Am", starts off with some quasi-psychedelic hip-pop Hip hop, cool sound effects that surround the rap.  It features feat Shaggy & Lelie and is off the forthcoming Mighty Mystic CD album "Wake up the World".  If you go to MightyMystic.com the catchy song plays incessantly, while a very cool video is on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhHmUllK9I - the video with high production values differs from a shorter YouTube version which plays to just a poster of the artist.  Mighty Mystic has the voices and the moves, and backed up by lead guitarist Steven Thunder, bassist Mark Smith, Brent on drums and Greg on the
keyboard, this regional group is poised to break-out internationally.

"Can't Pull Me Down" is only one of the eight other distinctive songs that play on Medford reggae/hip hop artist Mighty Mystic's 
http://www.myspace.com/mightymystic 

page along with "Here I Am". "Can't Pull Me
Down" is a slow and simmering reggae blues with a self-empowerment message, much like Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" in theme, though certainly not in style. 
While the closest Elton came to Jamaica with his hit recordings was "Island Girl", Mighty Mystic has a more earthy approach which continues in the slow-paced and
grooving "Revolution", a harrowing video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MBdx7OC78E gives the admonition almost 40 years after John Lennon's blistering and loud cry to take up arms was played (and, no doubt, garnered him further attention from J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI).  Mighty Mystic takes a more methodical approach, "What's in the dark, will come to the light", images of Osama Bin Laden and Hitler blowing up and cut alongside onstage footage and peaceful protests.

WHO IS MIGHTY MYSTIC?

Kevin Mark Holness was born in 1980 to Morris and Sonia Holness in the Country side of St Elizabeth, Jamaica.  According to his official biography, "his family relocated to Boston that Mighty Mystic's interest in music began to change from something casual to something far more realistic. At this time
Mystic began experimenting with the local urban and Hip Hop Scene of the early 90's, and started to develop a buzz."

So the Joe Vig Top 40 asked Mystic some questions about his life and career:

JVT4: What year did Mighty Mystic move to Boston and what were his musical interests at that time?

Mighty Mystic: I moved to Boston in 1989 though Reggae was my foundation music i
fell in love with Hip Hop at that time and began to experiment with it.

JVT4: How young was he when he left Jamaica, does he have memories of the island and its music - and does he go back there to perform?

Mystic: I was 9 years old when i left Jamaica. I have a great many memories of the Island and its music, I remember as a boy i would always be singing Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" around that time is when i began realizing that i enjoyed singing
and performing. I have and still go back to Jamaica on a regular basis.
JOEVIGTOP40: The biography says Mighty Mystic hooked up with Jimmy Jewels in 2001 - since both artists are Medford residents, how did this come about?

Mystic: We were introduced by a mutual friend/Artist Anthony "Nomad I" Berriola. And
had an instant musical connection and has continued to work together since.
JOEVIGTOP40: "Roll With Me" was the first single from the team of Jewels and Mighty Mystic, how is the direction different from the earlier singles and releases on compilations?

Mystic: You know music is a reflection of life so as the years pass and trends come and go we as artist change and grow and bring what weve leaned along the way into our music. So with that said you can expect so modern sounds and elements to be evident in our production and my lyrical content is more grown and mature as I've grown up since since our first combination "Roll With Me".

JOEVIGTOP40: How did reggae stars Tanto Metro and Devonte get involved with Mystic’s
“Been So Long” single?

Mystic: At that time Jewels was putting on small tours in New England, myself, Tanto Metro and Devonte and several other artist were on the tour. It just so happened
that from spending so much time on the road together we all became friends and fans of each others music and decided to do a track together. This working relationship
is still going on to this day.

jv TOP 40: When will the new album be released, and is everything recorded here in Medford?

Mystic: I expect the new album to be released before the closing of this year.


Approximately half of the album is and will be recorded in medford... It features Reggae superstars Shaggy, Elephant Man, Cecile, and New Commers Lutan Fyah, Stephen Thunder and the Strings of Thunder Band and many More..

Thanks for your time, Mighty Mystic!



Here I Am on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5-9ApC_tSg

Links
http://www.mightymystic.com,
http://www.split2ent.com
http://myspace.com/mightymystic



4)I HEAR A SYMPHONY   THE SUPREMES
REMIX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb-kzbqogv4
____________________________________________________________________________


Joe Vig’s First Impressions

May 30, 2016




Gary Santarella and Roger Kimball are veterans of the New England area music scene, and on Saturday, May 21 they brought their five piece ensemble to the Village Tavern in Slame, where they usually perform as a duo every Saturday from 4 – 7 pm.    Playing their dizzying array of covers – Santarella goes from the Rolling Stones to Neil Young/America and beyond. He embraces everything Beatles (both Lennon and McCartney, as schoolmate Brad Delp of the group Boston did for so many years) and James Taylor – which – if you close your eyes – sounds exactly like James Taylor.


The five piece Ditto band, which is what they are called as opposed to the Ditto duo or duo of Ditto, had the place rocking, and the focus was on the new CD, Unconditional Love.   “Don’t Kick Me When I’m Down,” perhaps the best known of Gary Santarella’s originals having received lots of 50,000 watt airplay in 1986 and heard by many a record executive, to “Rocky” – an irresistible song about a beloved doggy, where the album’s title was drawn from, to “Daddy-O” and what is shaping up to be a regional hit, “Punta Cana.”
“Punta Cana” has all the elements.  Think the vibraphone and joy from Elton John’s “Island Girl” with the fun of “Margaritaville,” but without Jimmy Buffett’s intentional frivolity.  “Punta Cana” is serious, melodic, and the audience responded to it.  Great party which they will hopefully replicate in the Boston area, the group mostly touring on the north shore and the Cape Ann area these days.

RAPHAELLE

“Simple Things” from Raphaelle has all the elements, grand production and a voice full of emotion wrapped in an appealing tonality.  In the same style as Elton John’s  “Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” – perhaps a sequel to Elton’s classic, the gorgeous video is a nice backdrop to the sterling production and presentation   And she even has Elton’s drummer from the A Single Man album, Grammy-winner from McCartney and Wings, Steve Holley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfioLMww0Kk


No More Pillow Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFP3wYLDEV0 is four minute and twenty-nice second black and white video with a dual storyline, Raphaelle narrating while a break-up with her lover is playing out behind her – the invisible wall that goes up when talk is cheap and the thought of communication is over. An update of Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” from decades ago. Where King was matter-of-fact about how she once “loved you” (probably written about her ex husband and ex songwriting partner, the late Gerry Goffin,) Raphaelle is far more determined for it all to end here. 
www.raphaellemusic.com
IG - raphaellemusic
Twitter - IamRaphaelle
Burt Bacharach  A Life in Song
When Burt Bacharach performed with Dionne Warwick on the Boston Common in 1987 it was a thing of beauty.  Though Whitney Houston had three sold out nights that same summer, and brought the house down, even though Houston was under the weather, it was the Bachrach/Warwick pairing which hit it out of the park.  29 years is not too long to wait (just ask Sly Stone fans!) for the master to have this exquisite release on Eagle Vision.
To know the power of Bacharach, listen to the bonus tracks which are not the familiar material which permeates this beautiful recording. Even that unknown to you sounds magnificent…those three bonus tracks include:“Be Aware” – Josie James, “Waiting For Charlie” – Donna Taylor and “God Give Me Strength” – John Pagano.
On it Burt tells the host/interviewer, Michael Grade, that he met Elvis Presley once; the closest I came to Burt Bacharach is that he phoned my hotel room at the Cheateau Marmont sometime in 1989 looking for Jimmy Miller, producer of the Rolling Stones, Blind Faith and so many others.   Darn we could have had drinks with him!   A Life In Song appears on PBS stations every once in a while, but it is one of those keepers that you need to have on your shelf, even to keep on in the background without viewing…the audio every bit as good as the video.     
“The Look of Love” is in the “movie medley” – one of the all-time greats recently a focus of our radio show where along with Dusty Springfield’s multiple takes we aired renditions from other artists. This medley features Bacharach himself singing the classic – it’s an elegant and unique addition to the collection, the backing vocals sublime in this all around first rate show.  Hearing others taking on the magic memories is very special, a compelling remake for the theme to the original Arthur motion picture, case in point: just lovely.   “What’s New Pussycat” is more restrained than the explosive Tom Jones hit version, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” also subdued from B.J. Thomas’ ability to make a middle-of-the-road song sound rock and roll. Ditto (see first paragraph) for “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” which Gene Pitney had so wonderfully over-the-top in its original form. “Making Love” belongs to Roberta Flack, but it comes to life again here in another dimension, and does so just fine.  It is these new perspectives which are the refreshing key here, and keep the Bacharach legend rolling on.
The press sheet notes: featuring performances by Joss Stone, Justin Hayward, Alfie Boe, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Shaun Escoffery, Rebecca Ferguson, Michael Kiwanuka, and Laura Mvula. Filmed at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2015, A Life In Song presents on-stage conversations between Burt Bacharach and Michael Grade traversing different aspects of his years in music, interspersed with performances of many of his best loved songs by a diverse cast of artists. The evening culminates in a medley of some of Bacharach’s most famous film songs performed by the man himself and his band, and a performance of “That’s What Friends Are For” featuring the entire evening’s cast.


Check out Boston area band Mokita - 

Mokita features Andrew Harris on guitar and vocals, Chris Harris on guitar/vocals, Daniel Jurgens on bass, vocals and Nick Wilder on drums.  The bright, sunshine pop of “Don’t Take Me For Dead” is simple but exuberating in rock and roll joy.   The second tune, “Roommates,” is a cute, romantic invite to living together that jams out and then blends nicely into David Bowie’s music and some words from “Heroes” - which David took liberally from Lou Reed’s “Waiting for the Man.”

Mokita’s music & lyrics are written by Andrew and Chris Harris
Recorded at Goldie Studios in Salem, NH and in Daniel's bedroom in Boston, MA - recorded and mixed by Jacob Peters and Daniel Juergens.
Released February 25, 2016  Find more at http://heymokita.bandcamp.com/
Every Wednesday you can hear all sorts of music, including the music in this column, on the Joe Vig Pop Explosion 1-3 pm on Boston Free Radio dot com.
Hear the show at this link: http://tinyurl.com/jvpopmay25
 



Gary Sohmers Roar's Back March 8 with Collectibles Show, To Jah Nature Ellis, Tom Hambridge New CD, Keith Richards Waiting for the Man, Sean Walshe American Son, Clive Davis with Anthony DeCurtis

Top 10 1)Gary Sohmers 2)Tom Hambridge 3)Nature Ellis  4)Keith Richards "Waiting for the Man" Lou Reed's Birthday 5)Sean Walshe...