Honey LaRochelle has come up with this crazy fresh conceptual mixtape that’s full of lust and flavor— Known as the Urban Honey Bee…

Vancouver born, Texas raised, Florida reformed, Brooklyn saved, Denmark adopted, Croatian loved, Miss Honey Larochelle has been making audiences around the world laugh, cry, and jump out of their seats. Fresh off another European tour, “The Urban Honeybee” has been buzzzy in the studio crafting a kaleidoscope of music that spans adventures in love, sex, dance, intimacy, and honesty. “Clean Lust and Dirty Laundry” is a juicy exposé that showcases her crisp, soaring soprano gift and captures her dynamic songwriting and production skills.

Honey collaborated with an amazing line up of producers on “Clean Lust and Dirty Laundry:” Lions Share (Anthony Hamilton, Pharoahe Monch), Caviar (T.I), Danish Reggae producer, Pharfar (Beenie Man), and several up-and-coming geniuses. Her warm yet edgy mash-up of classic soul, hip-hop, and electro-pop is sure to make an impact on her listeners and on the industry itself. With the final touches blended and mixed by fellow Canadian Super-DJ Miss Erica Dee, you should bee excited. Bee very excited.

Honey Larochelle, the “Urban Honeybee” with a modern day pin-up girl image, airs out her growth, transition, mistakes, and passions on a clothing line for the world to see. This is not your average mixtape built on other people’s beats or songs. The honey of this record is all-original ear candy.

And download her mixtape here:  Pay what you want….Clean Lust and Dirty Laundry

A couple weeks back we highlighted Mobile Backstage. This week we’re all about Artists recommending other Artists. Enter: Headliner.FM

I first learned about them via Twitter when I saw certain artists I follow tweeting about other artists they were into to their fan base.

I thought it was brilliant.

Natural, organic and effective.

I watched their moves- researched the growth of a new artist that was endorsed or broadcasted and fans started multiplying.

Then…more and more artists/labels started using the platform and the next thing you know…SUCCESS.

I ran into one of the founders in SF a few weeks back at SF Music Tech Summit - Bill Cromie…. Here he shares his vision and values..

1) Tell us about your platform/app.

Headliner.fm is a new social sharing application that rewrites the rules of sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms. On Headliner, artists who make music similar to yours recommend you directly to their fans in their newsfeeds and timelines on Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms–for free.

2) What makes it attractive/compelling and different?

On Headliner, musicians recommend each other to their fan bases, much in the same way that artists open for each other in the real world. With Headliner, musicians can choose who they want to recommend to their fans, just the same way that they pick who they want to be their opening act at a gig. Fans get curated recommendations of music that their favorite bands like, and the bands help each other reach out to new fanbases.

3) How do you provide a richer experience for the user/fan–what’s your end result?

In the end, it’s about enabling the community of artists to help each other, and about artists choosing to recommend music to their fans that they think their fans will like. We believe that the traditional marketing model where you pay to play (and it doesn’t matter what you sound like, it only matters how much of a marketing budget you’ve got), we think that model is broken, especially in the world we live in now, where artists and fans can communicate with each other in real time on the social web.

4) What was your motivation behind creating/inventing this tool/vehicle for artists?

Artists have always supported one another by touring together, writing music and releasing tracks. We wanted to allow this type of behavior for people on Facebook and Twitter and make it easy for artists to find and support each other. We realized that the tools available to market and promote yourself were really focused on the needs and budgets of big brand name companies. Technology and the internet has democratized the creation and distribution process for artists and musicians, but the one remaining piece of the puzzle, marketing and promotion, remained far too costly.

5) What’s been your biggest impact in the marketplace thus far?

Well, you know, people always ask about the big name artists who use Headliner, and we’ve had some amazing experiences working with people like Pitbull, All Time Low, 3Oh3, Diddy, Travie McCoy etc. But the real story is the thousands and thousands of bands that are helping each other out every day on Headliner.fm, recommending each other to their fans, spreading the word, and making it happen. On average, we send out recommendations to about 15 million people a day. That’s the power of collaborative marketing, and that’s huge!

6) Where do you see music and technology going in the next 5 years?

We think that the music and technology scene is rapidly accelerating, just take a look a the explosion of the streaming music world. Music has always been at the forefront of both the technological and social world, often despite the best efforts of the traditional music industry. Now that technology has become social, I think we will see a renaissance of creativity. We had four major genres in the past because Walmart needed some way to organize chunks of plastic; similarly the distribution channels required the release of an album. Now, there are genres being created every day, every new song or recording is pushed live on the spot. So many of the traditions of the music business stemmed from limitations that simply no longer exist, and as we move into a sharing/streaming/social/always-on world, the importance of collaboration and cooperation will be paramount.

7) In your own musical discovery, who have you listened to in last 10 days that you found either from recommendation tools or curators/DJs?

I’ve started listening to this band Tinariwen, that I found through my friend Jeff Smith of the Lucent Dossier Experience (who are also an amazing band/circus/dance troupe/extravaganza). Tinariwen are this amazing Tuareg blues band that has a seriously funky groove to it.

Lastly, who is one of your favorite Thought Leaders(role models) today and why?

I’m a huge fan of Paul Graham of ycombinator.com. Headliner.fm isn’t a ycombinator company, but I love his outlook and his essays on startups, software, culture and business. Reading his essays ( here: http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html ) gives one a concise insight into not only how startups live and thrive, but why they die, how they change, and what it’s like to live, breathe, sweat and hustle in a startup.

Thank you Bill- great answers/ very educational—

Artists if you’re not using these tools and this platform– get on it straight away!!!!

Produced by none other than Revive Da Live. Celebrating their 5th Anniversary.

Featuring The Revive Da Live Big Band under the direction of pianist Marc Cary and trumpeter Igmar Thomas - With special guests.   I can only imagine who will be in the house– going to be a night to remember!

The Elam family will be in attendance and the proceeds and donations go to his son K.C.Elam.

Here’s a very special exclusive video from DJ Premiere interviewed and shot by Eric Sandler.

Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at door.

10PM-   Le Poisson Rouge - Thursday April 21st!
Guru meant a lot to me– I came up in my career with him whether rocking Gang Starr on the radio when I DJ’d back in the day in Atlanta or my first record gig at EMI/Chrysalis working ‘Hard to Earn’- 3rd album and then staying in touch supportive and even through his illness- we were talking on phone about me doing publicity for 7 grand and his next project….  Life is so fragile.  We have to live each day as if it’s the last as tomorrow isn’t promised to us!

I’m there in full force and spirit Thursday- It will be very touching and beautiful!

I went to this Uganda Break Dance Project screening of a film called ‘Bouncing Cats’ at NYU not long ago and I was introduced to this girl Genesis Be by my friend and esteemed colleague Martha Diaz of the Hip Hop Education Center/Hip Hop Association.

Genesis hosted the affair- I was immediately drawn to her charismatic personality and energy.  We stayed in touch and I asked her to rock an Efficacy which got a great reaction from fans when we premiered it on ThisIsRealMusic - It’s now up on my Youtube channel-  peep it here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Genesis Be is not your average MC by any means- firstly- she’s deeply rooted in the south- Mississippi to be exact – it’s very much reflected in her rhymes and rhythmic arrangements.  She moved here to NY to study at the Clive Davis School of Recorded Music..She’s also a self-starter/entrepreneur and has formed an organization called StriveTillIRise - What started out as T-shirts has now become a movement.  You can read more here: Washington Square News.

I’m expecting big things from Genesis Be so stay tuned.. I’m trying to convince her to call the album  ‘Mississippi to Manhattan’

Special shouts to The World Samess for the post which I’ve duplicated–

Details:
WHEN: Sunday January 16, 2011
Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
WHERE: Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NYC
TICKETS available here
Cost: $15 in advance; $20 day of event

In honor of the memory of the legendary Ari Up a/k/a Ariane Forster, lead singer of the pioneering girl punk band the Slits, True Warriors and more, Vivien Goldman, Dunia Best, Aram Sinnreich and friends are throwing a PUNKY REGGAE PARTY on January 16, 2010 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg at 66 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, NYC. Participating artists include original and current members of the Slits, including Tessa Pollitt, Hollie Cook and Neneh Cherry; members of the Slackers, Brave New Girl, Bruce Smith from Public Image Ltd., Band Droidz, Tamar-Kali, Honeychild Coleman and many luminaries from the punk and reggae worlds backed by the True Warriors performing classic Slits hits and dancehall originals by Ari Up and the True Warriors. Special DJ sets by Ras Kush Black Redemption.

Loved her quote “I’m not here to be liked, I’m here to be heard”

I wish I could make the event but I’ll be in Atlanta for my WRAS- 88.5FM 40th Anniversary Reunion..

Read Vivien’s remembrance of Ari over at the Huffington Post.