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The nominations for the 2009 RAMI (Rockford Area Music Industry) awards have been announced. You may recall that a Darkhouse artist (Jonathan Bradley) won last year's "Song Of The Year" award! Well, this year we have even more to celebrate! Six of Darkhouse's friends & colleagues are up for awards.MATTER OF FACT is nominated in the "Rock Acoustic" category. This is probably based on the strengh of the acoustic EP they released last year, "Sidecars & Handlebars". This was a special Bonus Disc that came with their debut full length album "No Destination". Darkhouse was proud to be a part of these albums and present them as the first offerings from Darkhouse Records. If you haven't seen MOF live or haven't picked up the album yet, get out to a show and do both...you won't be disappointed.INANITY is up for the "Punk/Indie/Alt Rock" award. Eric & Steve brought their Sax skills into the DH studio for a special guest appearance on the MOF track "Million Dollar Man". It was our first time working with a brass section and it was a blast. I believe we may see the return of Inanity when Eric & Steve are back in town for the summer...let's hope so!PENNY MAE DIXON BAND has been nominated in the "New Act" category. PMD brought Darkhouse it's first taste of the local Country scene, with the high energy "Dirt Sleddin' Digger". The band received a lot of attention & radio play with their homage to High Octane Tractor Pulls!! I'll admit, their energy and attitude quickly persuaded me to fall for their brand of "Hillbilly Music"!!!WYKKYD VYKKER is also up for the "New Act" award. WV tracked a three song covers demo a few months back, in hopes of landing a few shows. Well, they put that puppy to good use as they've been playing all over the Stateline ever since. They're currently prepping to return to Darkhouse with the first new original tune, which will more than likely spawn a full album later this year...who knows, it could happen!!AGNUS JACKSON has been nominated in the "Hard Rock/Metal" category. Darkhouse has been blessed with a long standing friendship with the AJ crew. From our design work on their first disc "Mesmerized" to the mastering and design of their latest album "One Night Stand". It's always a joy when these guys give me a call, because I know there'll be some quality work on both sides of the coin!!!THE MERKINS are up for the "Modern Rock" RAMI this year. The DH connection with the Merkins goes waaaay back into the "Old School" years @ OHS. They're a great band and even greater friends. They worked their asses off this last year and presented us with a great album in "Sonic Delight". It's always a blast seeing them live as well. I'm glad to see them get the recognition they deserve...they earned it!I've posted a very RAMIcentric playlist this week. Now you can check out some of these guys and the music they've brought into the Darkhouse! To vote for our friends (or any of the other great nominees) visit www.ramiawards.com NOW!!!It's also time for another round of the RAMI's "YOUTH CHARITY JAM". Darkhouse was privileged to sponsor last year's competition with a free recording package going to the winner. "Hope Despite" cashed in part of their Grand Prize to record two great songs with us. The Beatles' "Come Together" and U2s "Love & Peace". This young band's talent definitely shone through to put their own unique mark on these well known songs. Darkhouse will again sponsor this awesome event with another recording package to add to Grand Prize. We're excited to see what the YCJ delivers us this year! To learn more about the event and the participants check out www.youthcharityjam.com It seems that Spring is already in the air a bit. And you know that means some spring cleaning isn't far behind. It's time for a new look and a fresh face, and that's exactly what we've done with the studio. While we've always captured & produced some great performances to treat your ears. The ambience of the studio left much to be desired when it came to the eyes! Well, that's all changed now. We've been hard at work over these long winter months getting the visuals of the studio to be as creatively condusive as the audio!! It's taken awhile, and there's still more to come, but the atmsophere has really warmed up and felt more & more like home! I'll post some pics of our new look soon. But, if you can't wait to see it, give me a call and book some recording time!! :)The warmer weather has also got me in the mood to roll down the windows a let the music play! And it seems I'll have plenty of great music this Spring to keep me driving for awhile! Joey from Kirkland text'd me the other night, letting me know they were fast approaching the end of mixing on their new full length album "When You Got It You Got It". I was lucky enough to have the chance to mix four tracks from this album for an internet sampler late last year. If the new songs are anything like the one's I've already heard, this is going to be a REALLY good album!! So prep your car speakers for a Kirkland takeover! I've posted one of the sampler tracks, "Simply Divine". I'll post some more of their new songs as soon as we can get them done!!!We've also had a couple of other artists already grace the studio with some new music this year. "Monster Bait" brought their eclectic mix of influences in for a 3 song EP. (The first of many this year...all leading to a full length!) I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised as the songs took shape. They definitely have a fresh & original feel to their songs. I swear I even heard some "Faith No More" undertones in there...and for me, that's VERY cool!Ms Nikki P brought her self-sufficient entity "Elements Of A Firefly" into Darkhouse in January as well. I've been waiting to work with her for some time now and we finally got things going with the track "Introduction". After spending a long time with the raw demo she'd given me months ago, it was an amazing experience watching this song grow & evolve as we added each new piece of the puzzle. Again, I swear I heard a little "Faith No More" in there?!?! You'll get a chance to judge for yourself in a couple of weeks. I'll post tracks from each band very soon. If you want to know more before that, check out their MySpace pages. (Both are now in our Top Friends). I'll also post a "Surprise" track soon, to help celebrate the coming of warmer, longer & better days!!! Better Days To Hit the Road...While the eternal quest for a Rally's Cheeseburger is enough to get me up and moving, I suppose I might want to include something else to do. Luckily, a windfall of upcoming concerts has gave me just the excuse I needed. I'm looking forward to a little bit of Motley Crue, Blue October, Flight Of the Conchords, Beatallica and maybe even a little Cheech & Chong to keep it interesting. That's not a bad lineup to get the Spring feeling moving?!?!While I'm in the mood to get out of the house, I might just get even further out of town...or maybe even out of the state!! Frankenstein Vs. The Wolfman might help me do just that! FvTWM will be screening at two AMAZING film festivals this spring. April 17th - 19th @ The Xanadu Las Vegas: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror & Media Con!!! If you're in Sin City, stop by the Plaza Hotel Casino and give FvTWM your support!! If that wasn't cool enough, maybe this will be. March 13th - 15th, you can catch Frankie screnning in the Paranoia Horror & Film Convention, Long Beach CA. Here's the REALLY cool part! This is held on the QUEEN MARY!!! If you don't know about the Queen Mary, it's the most haunted ship in America, "Google" it...I dare you. Get all the horror you can stand and possibly get the crap scared out of you by a real ghost! OUR MOVIE SHOWING IN THE MIDDLE OF A HAUNTED CRUISE LINER!!! Un-Fn-Believable!!!AND THAT'S JUST WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST MONTH OF '09!!! Hmmmm...Could be an interesting year huh?!?
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