Ahhh! My head is spinning, so busy with finals right now!! On top of an amazing 12 hour session with my 7 piece band, “The Makebelieves” at the beautiful live recording studio East Side Sound with 4 time Grammy winning engineer Marc Urselli, this past Saturday. I’m so excited!! We have such amazing material to work from to comp this album, we’ve been rehearsing for the past 6 months for this recording, and were able to lay down 9 songs in one day- the live energy was amazing-this was my dream come true. I’m blessed with an amazing band, and let me tell you its a lot of f-ing work to organize constant rehearsals and shows with a 7 piece band! But it’s all worth it at the end of the day. I’ve learned so much this past year leading my own band, and I have so much respect for musicians and the life they bring to a project. “Manhattan Makebelieve” the album will be coming this spring!! I’m going to LA in January to finish the vocals with my producer Ray Cervenka. It’s been 5 years in the making-I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to get this music out there!!!!

Some pictures from the session below:

I’m like please no pictures, this was in the final stretch- I was oh so tired by this point.

Allan Mednard -holding it down on the drums, the rock of our group.

Sean Lewis-on the bass, all day every day holding it down

Sean also co-wrote two of my favorite songs on the album

Alex Violette-the character of all characters, Sax extraordinaire

Jud Neilson- piano man, keeping it funky at all times

Matt Meade- on the guitar, one of the most creative players I know

Marc Urselli- Engineer wizard, East Side Sound is his studio, which is one of the most beautiful live recording studios in the city- check it out if your looking to record: www.eastsidesound.com

listening through at the end of the day, making minor adjustments- Tim Shipman in the background, who held it down on the guitar as well- along with Robert Ball on the Trombone!!

I’ll have some video footage from the session up soon!

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And before I go, I’d just like to give a big shout out to my favorite British Singer Florence from

Florence and The Machine!!!

Who just won a Brit award!! The critics choice!! go Flo!! I discovered her on an MTV Europe contest keep a look out thing when I went to go vote for my girl Santi (Santogold) when she first dropped last year, and I got hooked on Florence and been following her ever since. We’ve been intouch via myspace, and she’s the best- so freaking talented and creative-she just signed her major deal and she’s on her way to the top!!!

I found these videos on youtube, to give you a taste inside the magical crazy world of Florence

Florence and the Machine “My Boy Builds Coffins” Video/interview

Until next week! When my finals are done!!! I’ll be on winter break!! woo-hoo! One more year left, almost finished with school!! New Media and Studio Composition, I can’t complain I’m a big nerd- I love school. Probably because I only study what I love, that always helps : )

be sure to go to www.mizmetro.com and check out my songs and videos

much love,

Laura O’ a la Miz Metro

Yes indeed- this is the first of many I’m sure hot holiday mix cd’s from one of my business partners.   A design firm I work with.  7One8. They pimp out profile pages, create fresh html templates, email blast designs, websites and blogs.  In fact-  they designed the layout for The Bloom Blog. You like?     I have also sent a ton of business to them.  I refer so many companies/brands to them and so far everyone’s happy…So for this holiday season they decided to give thanks and acknowledging their clients by creating a fun and groovy mix.  One of my artists is on it.  Dirty Fuzz

It’s an eclectic mix of Rock and Club/Hip Hop and dance tracks.  Everyone from Game Rebellion, Jaiden, Dirty Elegance, Marc Villa and more-  Intrigued yet?

You do want to hear more- of course you do……Can’t blame you…… You’ll love…..Happy Holidays from 7One8….

Listen Here:

So Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR and I were talking about that this morning… We were meeting up this morning brainstorming on a fabulous event we’re producing for President’s Day- Feb 16th… Stay tuned……..So yeah– wondering why it’s just a handful of publicists taking advantage of the social media space…..Most don’t blog, a lot aren’t even on Facebook or not active and only a handful on Twitter. Not to mention- Friend Feed, Fast Company, Imeem, a channel on YouTube, Flickr and tons of others…..So we’re publicists but we need to treat ourselves as brands too and since the world of traditional media- print publications, TV and terrestrial radio is diminishing everyday or should I say- Social Media is growing bigger and more meaningful by the hour….Ok- so true- we don’t know where it will be in 12 months but in these next few months– might as well get as active as possible- build the brand- make it more powerful- help your clients/projects get more visibility in this space as it’s already been proven that artists/people can get TV shows, Production deals, Book deals, brand endorsements- You name it!

Let’s PAY MORE ATTENTION!!!

I had been looking forward to this panel discussion on Social Media for many weeks now - it finally happened this past Tuesday, December 9th at Tribeca Cinemas- produced by Media Bistro.

An esteemed group of panelists discussed Social Media- Here now and in the future. Why be in this space, should we be? Where is it going the next 2 years- Will there be life after Social Media- something else that’s hot and buzzing! Is Branding dead? Who said that….

So—– Saul Colt from Fresh Books, Jeff Howe from Wired, Tony Hsieh of Zappo’s, Lynn Johnson of Fast Company, Thor Muller of GetSatisfaction, and Craig Newmark of Craigslist were the speakers and the discussion was moderated by Keith O’Brien of PRWeek.

There was definitely some valuable insight being shared and some of us were enlightened and others merely entertained by some of the humorous commentary.

Firstly- The best title anyone could ever want. Head of Magic….The coolest panelist or at least the one I got to know the most- Saul Colt is Head of Magic. Wow… I’d also never heard of Freshbooks until that night and was very impressed with his knowledge and passion for giving the customer above and beyond special treatment. Freshbooks cares…I like that. I’m going to look into Freshbooks for my business. Oh and he loves puppets!

Ok- so second- did you know that Zappo’s trains all their employees on Twitter. That’s pretty remarkable. Employees learn their way around Twitter and the applications as part of the Zappo’s training program. Tony Hsieh also mentioned Company Culture which is a buzz word for me as I haven’t heard a CEO use it in that context. He too is very caring about the customer and will go to extremes to please them and they spend a lot of time with their employees- caring about their welfare and interests too….Zappo’s gets a big thumbs up!

Read the rest of this entry »

Today is a typical December day,

Upside down, round and round.

I’m lying in my bed and trying to

find the inspiration to get out of bed.

….NOT HAPPENING!

Only becasue I typed that  upside-down-thing I’m here now thinking of the Diana ross song:

….still not motivated. Don’t know why December does this to me :(. Good thing is that X-mas is getting closer

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Wanna check out  Kissey’s blog ? Yes! …NOOO!

Wanna see/hear the new Fresh-myspace? Yeeeessss!…naw!

So it’s not everyday that an artist that’s endorsed by Pharrell Williams signed to Star Trak, works with Neptunes, featured on Common’s new single-  well yes- it’s not everyday– Chester French made a video for me.  Well, I requested it- rather than do a regular interview via phone or email I decided or let me give Jessica from Giant Step credit too- we said let’s make it a VLOG special for The Bloom Effect. I came up with some pretty rad questions- I think…..By the sounds of it and the results of the video- they enjoyed my questions too.

Check it out- let me know what you think…. Oh they have a hot EP  called ‘She Loves Everybody’.   Just looking at their myspace music player- over 5,000 plays today!  Not bad mate!

I guess I just missed their tour……Someone please tell me when they’re in NY next or again!   I know they had a secret show I heard about back in the Summer at The Box.

Who is Chester French?  2 Harvard School Grads changing up the Pop game with their eclectic sensibilities and keen noble writing abilities…Delightful!

REMIX YOURSELF!!
Jazzy Peach Recording Artist April Hill has launched ‘THE SEARCH’ REMIX CONTEST-

Soul/R&B artist April Hill is gaining momentum and the buzz continues to grow as well as the critical acclaim for her debut ‘ Love 360’. Her first single ‘Wanna Be Free’ climbed up the radio charts and knocked people off their programming seats.

Jazzy Peach has called out for all Producers and DJ’s to submit a funky sexy and HOT Remix of her new single ‘ The Search’. There have been over 150 submissions so far and there are still more to come….The deadline for submissions has been extended to Dec 31st due to technical issues on the server receiving the tracks and this also gives more time to any creative types with any writers block! If there is some problem uploading still please email to contest@aprilhill.com

In the first round, entries will be considered by an esteemed panel of judges.

Kevin Harewood- Edclectic Entertainment
Marlon Saunders- Black Honey Records
Shawn Lucas- Gaviamst Publishing
April Hill - Recording Artist
Fiona Bloom - The Bloom Effect

The Best 3 Remixes will be posted on April Hill for a final vote by April’s fans around the world.

Cash Prize: $1,000

Deadline for submission: December 15th, 2008

Winner chosen: Feb 15th, 2009

To sign up– Log on to April Hill.

Make-Up Designory Hosts the Launch of ‘MUD Cares’ With NextAid and DubSpot DJs at the NYC MUD Shop
Saturday, December 13, 2008

New York City, NY - Join NextAid, Make-Up Designory (MUD), DubSpot and The Bloom Effect on Saturday, December 13, 2008 between 2:00 - 5:00pm at MUD’s newly renovated and expanded 2000-square foot MUD shop – now with ground level entry - located at 375 West Broadway, #202, New York, NY 10012, between Spring and Broome, under Anthropologie. Come hear some tunes spun by Dubspot DJs Alexis Fair and Suhae Grace, buy NextAid eye-shadow palettes for holiday gifts and get a free NextAid t-shirt. Refreshments will also be served. For more information please call 212-925-9250 or visit Makeupschool
In an effort to help orphaned children in Africa who have lost their parents due to the AIDS epidemic, NextAid, a non-profit organization whose goal is to help create safe and sustainable communities for orphaned children in Africa, and Make-Up Designory, the nation’s leading make-up educational institution, have teamed up in an effort to raise $25,000 to build a home for the orphans. The MUD Cares Palette of Eye Colors was hand-selected by members of NextAid to bring out the natural beauty of every skin tone. Stay grounded with Spanish Gold and Dulce de Leche, create a warm glow with Cashmere, or visualize a better world with vibrant Moss. When you purchase one of these limited-edition palettes for $25, 100% of the proceeds will be going to NextAid to help build the house. For more information, or to purchase this palette, please visit Mudshop.

“We’re both excited and proud to be involved in this program,” said Tate Holland, Make-Up Designory CEO. “Our goal is to raise $25,000 and we’ve chosen to do it by co-branding with NextAid. By selling just 1,000 pieces, we will be contributing to these needy communities and investing in the futures of countless children.”

NextAid is a non-profit organization, based in the dance music community, which channels the positive energy from the dance floor to projects that help children affected by AIDS in Africa. Well-known DJs and industry leaders such as Louie Vega, Miguel Migs, DJ Dan, OM Records, Green Galactic, URB Magazine, The Bloom Effect, DubSpot, and Fusicology have rallied behind NextAid in an effort to help finish the construction of its pilot project, a children’s residential village in Dennilton, South Africa. The project broke ground in 2005 and since then twelve buildings have since been completed. With eleven buildings remaining, MUD has chosen to fund the building of one of the children’s homes. All buildings are made with energy efficient designs and natural building techniques. The homes, like the one MUD has adopted, can house six children and one caregiver.

About Make-up Designory:
Make-Up Designory is a private post secondary institution that provides training every year to hundreds of students from around the world to work in fashion, film, and television. Specialties include beauty make-up artistry, hairstyling, portfolio development, character make-up, and special make-up effects. The school has two locations, one in Los Angeles (founded in 1997) and one in New York. In addition, the school has its own cosmetics line, with retailers in the US, Asia and Europe.

About DubSpot:
DubSpot is a world-class electronic music production and DJ institute in New York City. As one of the first Ableton Certified Training Centers in the world, DubSpot has become the premier music school for both aspiring and experienced producers and DJ’s. Most importantly, DubSpot is a growing community of musicians, visual artists, DJs, audio technology professionals, industry veteran producers, and enthusiasts of all genres who all have one thing in common: a love for music. For more information please visit

About Bloom Effect
With over 15+ years in the entertainment industry, The Bloom Effect is a unique one stop that specializes in branding for artists, labels, and lifestyle brands. Created by music industry maven Fiona Bloom, The Bloom Effect brings a huge roladex of global contacts from around the world to its clients providing a wealth of insight/knowledge and consultation for getting your project seen and heard. The Bloom Effect specializes in launch parties, international music events, live shows, album publicity, digital marketing, A&R consulting, and promotion. The Bloom Effect has produced over 1000 shows, consulted on 200+ album projects and has been a part of over 300 artists’ careers. The Bloom Effect clients have included The Lyricist Lounge, BabyGrande Records, Tommy Boy, Spectre Music, Penalty Recordings, MIDEM, StonesThrow Recordings, Mixtape Riot, Game, Bloomsbury, Nelson George, Mudville, Aloe Blacc, Maya Azucena, Bill Laswell, The Renaissance Hotel, Anthony David, Roxy Cottontail, Sway Dasafo, Saian Supa Crew, and others. The Bloom Effect has always prided itself in having its fingers on the pulse and always being ahead of the curve. Understanding and appreciating real and innovative talent without compromise. Whether you just need consulting, advice, publicity, want to put a listening party together or need some help with direction overseas— The Bloom Effect is at your service. Creating The Buzz, Spreading The Bloom -

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For more information, images or to set up interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.