Press

Date: May 2007
From:
American Songwriter Magazine

Catharsis on Cahuenga
by Dan Kimpel

Songs rule at Hollywood's intimate Hotel Cafe, a listening room in the heart of the rapidly gentrifying Cahuenga corridor. Located south of Hollywood Boulevard and just north of a notorious male prostitute bar, this room continues to present the hippest shows in town. Joshua Radin, a new Columbia Records artist whose debut entitled We Were Here, likens the scene to a school of painters influencing and supporting each other's creative endeavors. "Artists nowadays are making a living by putting out their own albums and pitching your songs on TV and film. I think we've all congregated to get our songs to these mediums."

Pack a corkscrew with your capo...returning to Buellton, Calif. in the vineyards made famous by the film Sideways, comes the annual "Durango Songwriters Expo: Santa Barbara Wine Country." Two hours up the 101 from Los Angeles, the event attracts a killer crew of writers, industry professionals and artists from Hollywood, Nashville and other regional markets across the nation for showcases, panels, pitches, critiques and conviviality. The event's intimacy makes for close proximity; the overall vibe is friendly and supportive, and the fabled Pinots, Cabs and Zins impart a rosy glow. Don't miss the hit songwriter show on Saturday night. www.dorango-songwriters-expo.com.

Stephen Bishop gets a new stamp in his musical passport as his unmistakable tenor floats abovesophisticated chord changes and intricate percussion that typifies the music of Brazil on Suadade, his new release. His classics, including the signatures "on and On," "Separate Lives" and "Save it for a Rainy Day," are paired with new tunes conceived for the project. 180 Records, the releasing company, has forged a strategic relationship with retail giant Target to distribute the album exclusively on their website and in all 1,494 Target stores nationwide. Bishop went down to the Target near his home to check out the display, and he reports that he was pleased with the placement. "While I was standing there by the rack, a woman looked at the album and asked me if I thought it was any good," he says. It is. Find out more at www.stephenbishop.com.

Final Note...independent Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Sacha Sacket is releasing his third CD, Lovers and Leaders, and advance copies delivered to select press members reveal a melodic song cycle coupled with extraordinary lyrical depth. Sacket has supported his previous releases with concerts at more than 100 college campuses while garnering airplay on more than 150 independent, college and NPR stations. Given the potency of the newest projet and the promise of forthcoming videos, expect to see and hear him in your town soon. www.sachasacket.com.

The author of two bestselling books, Networking Strategies for the New Business and How They Made It: True Stories of How Music's Biggest Stars Went from Start to Stardom, Dan Kimpel contributes to a dizzying variety of publications, websites and other electronic outlets. Visit him at www.dankimpel.com.

All original material © 2007-2010 Sacha Sacket Source. All other material property of their respective owners.