Just Announced RHS & DeBarge

Hey Soul Mates,
just a really fast note to announce that Rush Hour Soul will be opening for '80's pop/R&B sensation DeBarge featuring Chico & James DeBarge. They had a string of top R&B and pop hits for Motown including Rhythm of the Night, Who's Holding Donna Now?, and All This Love. The show will be on Weds. Dec. 14 at the Rumba Room on the Universal Citywalk. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets and at the door. The promoters are expecting this show to sell out. The Old School Concert series at the Rumba Room is sponsored by Hot 92 Jamz (Mega Old School & Today's R&B).

This is a great opportunity for us to open for an established act. And the venue is really hot. We hope that some of you will be able to attend. Tickets are $30. But don't forget, we've got our Free show on Thursday Dec. 1 at the Gig, too.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love, Power, Peace

Sweet Dreams

Hey Soul Mates,
we were here last year, too. I'm going to put in my two cents about the American Music Awards. It was an entertaining show again this year for all the wrong reasons. The absolutely stunning (though thick) Mariah Carey opened the show. She really sang, but she nearly killed herself losing balance in her high heels. Girl, leave the dancing to Ciara. Things went downhill from there. Most of the performances were either bad or country. My appreciation for the musicianship of the country performers was elevated by the wretched pop performances.

Sad, horse-toothed Hilary Duff lip-synched her way through a "brand new song." Yawn. She practically tripped over her backing dancers and was clearly not singing. But she was preceded by the new brunette version of Linsday Lohan who did sing. Awfully. Her voice was weaker than diner coffee and the sound engineers did her no favors. Her movement was awkward and she kept her eyes closed for most of her routine. A clear sign that she was scared to death. It was like watching a kitten drown. Compelling, guilt-inducing and ultimately unbearable. As her song came to a close, I breathed a sigh of relief... until she launched into an inexplicable cover of Stevie Nick's Edge of Seventeen. What the hell?! And it went on and on and on. I thought I'd never see a performer more out-of-place or stroke inducing than Ashlee Simpson. My apologies Ms. Simpson, but you just got your crown stoled!! I still love Ms. Lohan as an actress, but this should be the swansong of her singing career. And go back to red hair.

Cedric the Entertainer was alright at the MC. Babyface introduced some hilarious clips that highlighted past broadcasts. The show need more of these. Or maybe less, because it punctuated the fact that last night's show was lacking in anything interesting going on or any compelling performances.

The highlights of the night? The ladies of the 80's. Cyndi Lauper did a wonderful acoustic version of Time After Time. But the show-stopper was Eurythmics. They came blasting out of the gates with Missionary Man, which segued into Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). They flat out rocked and Ms. Annie Lennox ruled the stage. She sang with more gusto than any of the macho country or hip-hop acts. Her vocals were authoritative and soulful. Of course, you have to credit Dave Stewart, the duo's multi-instrumentalist for keeping their signature sound intact. Their singles in the 80's are classics in my experience. I remember going to the record store and plunking down $1.99 for their 45s. And Eurythmic's lp Be Yourself Tonight is still a powerhouse. I really hope they tour behind their new greatest hits lp. They showed what a band should do on live TV. The only other "band" performance last night was All-American Rejects who gamely made their way through a song. We need more bands!

Of course, it's a sad state of affairs that the show had to be rescued by two 20 year old acts (even the Rolling Stones were boring via satellite). But they both made convincing arguments for their consideration for the Rock Hall. Ms. Lauper may only be nominated, but Eurythmics belong in the Rock Hall. Good God, y'all. I'm going to play them in the car today.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Love, Power, Peace and pumpkin pie.

200

Hey Soul Mates,
it's my Bicentennial blog. It's pretty cool to have reached two-hundred. I don't expect any one to go back and count (I certainly wouldn't), but Blogger keeps up with the tally. So, what have I got for you? Big news.

Rush Hour Soul is now available at iTunes, the worlds largest retailer of music on the internet. All four tracks from the EP are on sale for $0.99. We hope that all of our fans will go to iTunes and purchase our songs. You've heard them on the various podcasts and snippets on MySpace, but now you can have them for your iPods and your harddrives. Now, you don't have to own an iPod to enjoy the songs. Anyone can download a free iTunes player from the site and use it to play music on your computer. The jukebox will work on both PC and Macs and it's easy to use. From there you can even burn your own CDs with our music. And it's legal.

We hope everyone will go get A Talent For Loving, Done Lost My Mind, Everyone's Ingenue and Down By Love (which hasn't gotten any exposure on the web, yet). Not only will you have our cool tunes, but you'll be helping the band. Much like Billboard, iTunes keeps a record of sales on a chart. We're not expecting to beat out Madonna and Fall Out Boy, this week. But you can help us make a splash. If enough of the Soul Mates purchase the songs, the industry will notice. And at only a dollar a pop, it shouldn't be too hard on the pocket book. Of course, you can download all sorts of music and video at iTunes besides us. I ask that you begin buying the songs starting Monday, Nov. 21 (The charts track from Monday to Sunday).

Finally, any one who purchases our new singles or the entire 4 song EP can write reviews of our music for the international music buying public to see. So, be sure to leave us some hype on the Rush Hour Soul page. You can do the same if you purchase our CD at CD Baby. There are already 3 fan reviews.

We aren't particular about where you get your Rush Hour Soul, so long as you get it. Thanks for all of your support. We are truly excited about being part of the digital age and being available on the download services. Now all of you out-of-towners will be ready to sing along and dance when we roll into town. I've created an actual shopping page for our website which should be helpful. If you have any questions about iTunes, the digital downloads, etc. please e-mail me. I want everyone to be hooked into what we are doing. I'm very proud of what this group has accomplished. Now we really get to share it with the world.

Let's see, I started this blog entry and the website work at 8:09 am today. It's now 9:41 pm. Whew. It took awhile, but there have been some major changes on our website. I hope you like them and that they streamline your visit a little. Any link to a site outside of ours will be created in a new browser window, so you can easily remain in contact with our site. Drop me a line if these changes are useful or not.

Have a great week. Now go get those songs!
Love, Power, Peace