The Music Gardener - Artist Manager, Music Marketer

School starts back this week in Nashville and in other cities around the country over the next couple of weeks. Parents begin the task of getting their kids up early and ready for school. Pressure and stress rise to peak levels as the new schedules make it tougher to get to work. Wouldn’t you like something to get your morning going along with that cup of coffee?

THE ANSWER - Listen to Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers new song “Get On Up” Play it for your kids as they are getting ready or on the way to school. Then play it for yourself as you are rushing to work. This is guaranteed to give you a positive start for your day! Leave a comment here on the blog today and win a chance to receive a personal morning wake up call from Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers himself!

YOU CAN OWN “GET ON UP” FOR ONLY 99 CENTS!  Click Here!

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am the President of Artist Garden Entertainment, an artist management and marketing company. I only recommend music that I personally believe is exceptional and would be enjoyed by my readers. We do manage Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers and are compensated indirectly when someone purchases his music. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Brandon Bee Creation West 2010

The Music Gardener spent the last two weeks of July on a musical adventure that took my wife and I on a journey through the beautiful states of Washington and Oregon. While its good to be back home in Nashville, we are already missing the cool dry northwest weather.

Our first stop was Enumclaw, WA for the Creation West festival. The new festival location made for a different experience than in the past. The views from the Gorge of past years were missed, but Mt Rainier as the new back drop wasn’t such a bad thing. One of our artist, Brandon Bee, had the privilege of playing for the communion ceremony just after the Newsboys performance. I must say that Brandon did a fabulous job leading 10,000+ people in worship while Harry Thomas, founder of Creation, presided over the ceremony.

The following day, another one of our artist, Holly Starr, took the main stage revealing some new songs from her soon to be released record, Tapestry. Showing a new rock side to her show, Holly strapped on a Fender Strat for the first couple of tunes. It is always nice to see an artist you work with, giving it everything they have to entertain and engage an audience and Holly did just that!

Mr Talkbox, Mike Silva, Kevin Thornton

After Creation, we took a drive down to Albany, OR for Mike Silva’s Willamette Celebration. Circleslide took the main stage on Friday evening and rocked out 18,000 attendees just before Skillet and the Newsboys. The following day Brandon Bee and Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers brought their music to the festival. Brandon Bee and his band really rocked it out in the 100 degree heat just after the Metal Mulisha did their motorcycle stunts.  Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers the did his thing bring the crowd to their feet and making the evening a blast for festival attendees.

We then traveled up the Columbia River Gorge towards Quincy, WA. What an unbelievable drive! Diana and I spent a couple of days on Lake Chelan in strategy meetings with our newly signed artist, Holly Starr. We held most of our meetings on a boat sitting in the middle of the lake. I think that has to be one of the best meeting locations we have ever used! Isolated from the rest of the world, we were able to accomplish some great planning.

From Lake Chelan, we made our way back to Seattle via a scenic pass through the majestic mountains of Washington. Another beautiful drive! Seattle then became our home base for the remainder of the week. We had marketing meetings with our partner, Save The City Records, and prepared for the Soul Shine event topping off the week. Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers, Bejiman, Kevin Thornton and Rachel Lampa really brought an incredible show to the Experience Music Project in Seattle on Friday night!

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

The Soul Shine Tour

If you are in the Seattle area, you don’t want to miss this tour. Byron “Mr Talkbox Chambers (keyboardists for NSYNC, Britney Spears, Tobymac), Kevin Thornton (Color Me Bad) and Benjiman team up with Save The City Records and Luis Palau to bring an incredible night of entertainment to the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Get your tickets now at iTickets.com. Stay tuned as other dates will be announced soon!

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Nashville's SoundCheck Under Water

The Nashville Flood of 2010 will have an impact on music like no other disaster in history! Floods are never a good thing but as an artist manager I am realizing the impact that this particular flood will have on the sound of music created in Nashville.  SoundCheck, the largest instrument storage and cartage company in Nashville, was submerged in water for almost a week. Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and many other Nashville artists and session musicians lost their most cherished instruments. One can only imagine how that will affect the sound coming from Nashville studios and live shows in the days to come as many of the vintage instruments can’t be replaced. Other artists and musicians lost instruments and equipment in their flooded homes. The news footage of Kenny Chesney climbing in a boat and saving his guitar after his home was flooded says it all. One of the artist we manage, Gabe Martinez of the band Circleslide, lost most of his gear as his home was flooded with 4 feet of water. As I helped Gabe sort through his gear, we were met with a rush of brown nasty water as we opened road cases. We opened one case to find a flooded mixing board that had quickly become a home to maggots. Gabe was fortunate enough to save his vintage guitars which we are thankful for! As reality began to settle in, I was reminded of production cut backs that instrument manufacturers put into place over the last year due to the recession. The demand for new gear from Nashville musicians could create a major drain on the instrument/gear supply chain. For those fortunate enough to have flood insurance or enough cash to replace instruments, the race is on. My advice is to get in line quickly because it’s going to be a long one! For others around the world who have been looking for the right time to sell those vintage instruments, now would be a great time to list that gear on Craig’s List.

Amidst all the loss, Tennessee is proving itself to be worthy of the name “Volunteer State” as residents are pouring out in droves to help neighbors. Several benefit concerts have recently been announced. This Sunday, May 16  7-9pm there will be a benefit concert at the Ryman Auditorium featuring Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Lady Antebellum and Jaci Velasquez. For more info visit http://www.wsmv.com/entertainment/23501009/detail.html

There is also a great opportunity to help Nashville Flood Victims for only .99 cents. Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers and Key of B Productions will be donating all May proceeds from iTunes download sales of his song “Everything Works Together” to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Nashville Flood Relief Fund. Click this link for more info http://bit.ly/c53LhC

While the flood may have silenced a few instruments, one thing is sure, Music City will rebuild and the show will go on!

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Byron Chambers and Manwell

As an artist manager, it is a very special time when your artist is honored for excellence with an industry award. This year’s Dove Awards were extra special as our artist, Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers, was awarded Hip-Hop/Rap song of the year for his writing and production on Group 1 Crew’s “Movin”! The Dove Award comes at a perfect time as Byron just released his new record “My Time”. Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers has been doing a great deal of work for artists behind the scenes over the last 10 years. He has toured as a musician with NSYNC, Britney Spears, Martha Munizzi and Group 1 Crew. I would encourage anyone who reads this blog posts to visit iTunes and pick up his new record “My Time” Byron is making music that is much different than most in the Christian industry. His music is relevant to the music that is happening in the mainstream while holding strong to his positive message. Please trust The Music Gardener on this one. YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RECORD! Byron is currently on tour with Tobymac. If you are interested in having Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers play your event, please contact Artist Garden Entertainment.

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

The third week in April, which is normally Christian music’s biggest marketing week of the year, has morphed into Christian music’s biggest day of the year. As this year’s GMA Dove Week (formerly know as GMA Week) was approaching, I felt this sense that I may be missing something that everyone else knows about? The plethora of GMA Week activities from the past were not to be found. As I spoke with publicists, record labels, artist managers and others in the industry, I realized I wasn’t “out of the know”. There simply was very little going. I did have one meeting at the Renaissance Hotel and it was odd to hear silence in a place that would normally pose as the heartbeat of Christian music.

In the midst of the week’s silence, there were three events that I enjoyed attending.

Indie University is a yearly conference that Keith Mohr puts on for independent artists. I had the privilege of serving on the artist development and artist manager panel at the event. This conference is a great thing for independent artist as it gives them an opportunity to learn better ways to navigate the music industry while providing them an incredible networking opportunity. Even though I have been in the music business over twenty years, I still learned some things from the publishing session I attended.

The Objective was an event put on by Scott Macleod for indy artists. This event was designed to encourage indy Christian artist to chase after ministry as opposed to the idea of being a “rock star”. There were mentors on hand for the artist meet with. I was amazed at the attendance and had an opportunity to meet some incredible people.

Seth Holloway’s “Back To Music” showcase at 12th & Porter proved to be a great night of music. Seth has been doing this showcase for years during GMA Week. Thankfully, Seth continues to press on with his showcase as he presents some great music. Highlights of the evening were a band called True Story, and a rock the house performance by Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers! Major label A&R and publishing companies were in attendance so I wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of these indy artists find themselves a major label home.

As I reflect on the past, I can’t help but wonder why GMA Week disappeared? Finances obviously played a big role but did the GMA lose focus on it’s purpose?  Did it serve the industry as a whole? Did it address the current needs of the industry?

What suggestions do you have for the GMA?

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Diana Stancil, Danny Gokey, Byron "Mr Talkbox Chambers, Keith Stancil

Artist Garden Entertainment announces the signing of Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers to an exclusive management deal. The partnership began in October when Artist Garden Entertainment was hired by Key of B Productions as a marketing consultant for Byron’s new record “My Time”. Best known as co-writer and performer on Tobymac’s “Diverse City”, Byron is known as “Mr Talkbox” to music fans. He has quite the touring resume including serving as keyboardist for NSYNC, Britney Spears, Jordan Knight and recently as multi-instrumentalist for Tobymac. Byron arranged Danny Gokey’s performances for American Idol last season and he was recently nominated for a Dove Award for his co-write and arrangement on Group 1 Crew’s “Movin”. We look forward to helping Byron’s music reach bigger audiences in both the Christian and Mainstream markets.

Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers “My Time” is available now on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/my-time/id356335600

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Byron "Mr Talkbox" Chambers

The Music Gardener’s “Pick of The Month” for February is Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers. Byron began his music career touring as keyboardist for NSYNC, Britney Spears and O-Town. He co-wrote and performed on “Diverse City” , one of Tobymac’s biggest hits to date. Byron has also written and produced hits for Group 1 Crew, Martha Munizzi and he did the arrangements for Danny Gokey’s performances on American Idol. Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers now brings his own music to the world with “My Time”. This Talkbox thing that colors Byron’s music is something new and fresh that I think you are going to enjoy. You can see Byron live on tour with Tobymac.  Please visit my “Pick of The Month” page to hear songs from “My Time”

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com










Disclosure of Material Connection: I am the President of Artist Garden Entertainment, the company that was hired to market this record. Regardless, I only recommend music that I personally believe is exceptional and would be enjoyed by my readers. I am not compensated in any way for reviewing this record or for the “Pick of The Month” with the exception of receiving free music for review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Music Gardener recently had the opportunity to visit Yamaha’s Artist Relations office with Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers. As an artist manager, I have formed relationships with many of the instrument dealers but Yamaha was one of the few on my short list that I hadn’t connected with. The ironic thing is that their headquarters for North America Artist Relations is located in Franklin, TN which is right in my back yard. Byron secured an endorsement deal from Yamaha earlier in the week so we went by for a visit.

Byron "Mr Talkbox" Chambers @ Yamaha Office

Ben James, Yamaha Artist Relations Guru, gave us the tour. Yamaha keeps a low profile in Franklin to avoid heavy tourist traffic. So low that you would never know this beautiful office space even existed on the 2nd and 3rd floor of one of the old buildings on the Franklin Square. Beautiful hardwood floors and ceilings, floor to ceiling windows overlooking main street and a wonderfully stated kitchen. Best of all is the artist room which houses the Yamaha Discklavier Baby Grand along with a Yamaha home theater complete with a leather sofa. The office has such a cool vibe that Byron and I thought about moving in. We are excited about Byron’s new relationship with Yamaha and he is looking forward to making some great music together with them.

Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers “Ground Zero”

http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com