TALENTFILTER ARTIST UPDATE -- Figured it was high time to catch you up on the happs of some of our favorite TALENTfilter artists...

L.A. indie-popsters Colorforms, who recently signed with the boutique label Orphan Records, finally realized that The Colorforms Corporation might have a lil' issue with their band name. So they've changed it to Obi Best. Peep their MySpace page to hear a few new songs...

Jessie Baylin, now signed to Verve Forecast, will see a release of her debut Firesight full-length on June 24. Los Angelenos should go check her out at the Hotel Cafe that night to help us celebrate the album release!

Andrew Paul Woodworth, whose Eddy Ate Dynamite album was recently released in Europe through Rodeostar Records, posted a pretty funny EPK on YouTube... Chaggadout here:
Eddy Ate Dynamite is still available to be licensed outside of mainland Europe. Check out the video for his remake of the Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right" here:

Ingrid Michaelson is out on a headlining tour of the U.S. through mid-July. She'll then jump onto the road as the opener for the Dave Matthews Band. No biggie.

NON-COMMVENTION - A SUCCESS! -- First off, kudos to WXPN Philadelphia's Dan Reed, Bruce Warren, Roger LaMay, and Jim McGuinn for being fantastic hosts - this was a really enjoyable conference. Gotta say, the Non-Comm and AAA radio programmers are some of the nicest folks in the biz - no one is 'too cool for the room' - and they're all REAL music fans! So refreshing, considering we're come from the Alternative world where EVERYONE is too cool for the room. Anywhoo -- to check out some photos, check out the piece that Media Sponsor FMQB posted on their website.

Some of our highlights included daytime performances by Nicole Atkins (we had no idea she has such a great voice not ever seeing her live before - her album leaves a little to be desired, though, perhaps something a bit grittier next time around?) and of course one of our regular faves, Ingrid Michaelson. The nighttime shows were all pretty great too -- our faves included The Hold Steady, Dr. John, L.A. kids Carney, Back Door Slam (can't BELIEVE how YOUNG these dudes are!) and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

The daytime panels were ...well ...panels. Always entertaining, but not much is REALLY learned from them.

Overall, a great experience and we're definitely gonna go back for next year's event!

TALENTPHILADELPHIA -- Team TALENTfilter will be representin' in Philly this week at the 8th annual NON-COMMvention ...While we won't be there to spot unsigned talent, we'll be shaking hands with some of the most forward-thinking and adventurous radio programmers in the U.S. The Non-Comm guys are really the true music fans in radio and they can get away with supporting and championing up-and-coming talent...

This is where labels should be sending their A&R reps. We're going on our own dime 'cuz we know how valuable these relationships are.

Hey, that being said, we'd love to entertain conversations with labels looking to put some 'scouts-in-the-know' on the payroll -- we'll gladly sell out -- have a look at the list of acts we've featured prior to their signing (to the right, in red) -- we've done good so far, huh! Hit us up at TALENTfilter@gmail.com

UPCOMING L.A. SHOWS OF NOTE:

May 27 -- Brendan James -- Hotel Cafe
May 27, 28 -- Aushua -- House Of Blues Anaheim
May 28 -- Meiko -- Hotel Cafe
May 28 -- Sonia Leigh -- Room 5
May 29 -- Matthew Moon -- Viper Room
May 31 -- My American Heart -- Troubadour
June 1 -- Brian Van Der Ark -- Hotel Cafe
June 7 -- Medusa -- Fais Do Do
June 9 -- Aushua -- Viper Room
June 10 -- Jeremy Enigk -- Spaceland
June 12 -- Meiko -- Hotel Cafe
June 17 -- Buddy, Parson Redheads -- Boardner's
June 18 -- Jaymay -- Troubadour
June 19 -- Meiko -- Hotel Cafe
June 23 -- Rebekah LeBeau -- On The Rox
June 24 -- Mighty Six Ninety -- Troubadour
June 25 -- Astra Heights -- Viper Room
June 26 -- Meiko -- Hotel Cafe
June 30 -- Iglu & Hartly -- Viper Room

CAVES (unsigned, unpublished) -- Portland, OR quartet Caves has been around for a few years - they self-released their debut album, Get On With It, late last year. We were recently turned on to them by our friend, former KNRK Music Director Jaime Cooley (who is taking over the manager's wheel for the band). If you like your Alt-Rock sprinkled with The Clash and Wire, you'll really like Caves. Hot Hot Heat-ish, if you will. Peep the title track from Get On With It on their MySpace page (where they've got some upcoming west coast dates posted as well). Good stuff!

PEREZ HILTON PIMPS OUT TALENTFILTER ARTIST -- BOOYA! Our fellow music-loving blogger Perez Hilton has been hipped to Brendan James, an artist we've been following and rooting for since even before our first posting about him way back in June of 2007...

Yesterday, Perez posted this nice little piece on Brendan, and today he's got the #1 Folk single on iTunes and over 12,000 MySpace plays. You seriously can't deny the power of that dude's blog -- and we've gotta say - he's got some great ears!

Don't be surprised if you start reading about more TALENTfilter artists on Perez' pink pages, wink wink...

SIGNINGS AND RUMORS, RUMORS AND SIGNINGS...

Minneapolis band Camera Cant Lie signs to Atlantic Records…

'Tween TV star Miranda Cosgrove (star of Nickelodeon’s "iCarly") signs to Columbia Records…

Is the publishing derby just about closed up for L.A. rockers (and TALENTfilter faves) Five Finger Death Punch? The band, signed to The Firm in April of ‘07, has sold over 120,000 albums and is currently touring with Disturbed…

Mercy Mercedes signs with the Militia Group…

Massachusetts punkers Energy have signed with Bridge Nine…

Santa Cruz, CA Cookie Monster Rockers Decrepit Birth sign with Nuclear Blast…

Brooklyn glam-rock revivalists Semi Precious Weapons sign with Razor And Tie…

Las Vegas hardcore act Anthems signs with indie Cavity Records…

Is Interscope leading the derby for Eli “Paperboy” Reed?

Is Roadrunner the frontrunner (heh) to sign TALENTfilter artist Dommin?

Multiple labels and publishers were at the Hotel Cafe this Saturday to catch Atlanta singer/songwriter Sonia Leigh -- we expect ALL of them to see her again on May 28 at Room 5 in L.A. -- she and her band put on a HELLUVA set. Very much in the vein of early Melissa Etheridge / Lucinda Williams / a younger, country-fried Joan Jett even...

LEEDS OUT AT NY TIMES -- Just saw on Idolator that NY Times Music writer Jeff Leeds has been let go. Hey, Jeff, if you'd like to contribute to the TALENTfilter blog, we'd love to have ya!

UPCOMING L.A. SHOWS OF NOTE:

May 14 -- Simon Lynge -- Hotel Cafe
May 15 -- South and Johnny Lloyd Rollins -- The Echo
May 16 -- Joe Purdy, Quincy Coleman -- the Roxy
May 17 -- Sonia Leigh -- Hotel Cafe
May 19 -- LoveLikeFire, Eli Paperboy Reed-- Spaceland
May 27, 28 -- Aushua -- House Of Blues Anaheim
May 28 -- Meiko -- Hotel Cafe

AS HINTED YESTERDAY... -- (From HITS): Veteran A&R exec Michael Goldstone will leave his post as President of Sire Records to join Q Prime, where he’ll be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the management company’s soon-to-be-named indie label.

***LATE-BREAKING WHISPER OF THE DAY!***

What happened at Sire Records today?! We were sworn to secrecy, but crazy crazy!!

SIGNINGS AND SEGUES -- Sire Records signs Canadian Norah Jones-ish singer Meaghan Smith - they'll release her album Stateside in August...Universal/Republic signs Nashville singer Erin McCarley...Capitol A&R gunslinger Louie Bandak segues to Interscope for similar duties...Chrysalis Publishing's Sara Kapuchinski makes a move over to Stage Three Music to take a Creative Director position...Universal Publishing's Brad Aarons moves over to David Massey's Liberal Arts Publishing and will work as the company's GM...are changes abound in the Epic Records A&R department? Stay tuned!

SICKEST SHOW WE'VE SEEN SO FAR THIS YEAR:

C-Mon & Kypski (unsigned, unpublished) at the Roxy in Los Angeles. Watch this new DVD trailer to get an idea - and know that there was only ONE A&R rep from ONE major label in attendance at last night's L.A. show:

KATE TUCKER & THE SONS OF SWEDEN (unsigned, unpublished, no legal representation) -- This is the first time we've received a tip from a reader that we liked enough to share. See? We read your E-mails! The band is based in Seattle, WA and their self-titled debut was produced by Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, Metric, The Gossip). They put the record on sale about six months ago, and songs have since been given Indie Spotlight features on iTunes and regular-rotation airplay in Starbucks stores nationwide.
Our friends at tastemaker WXPN Philadelphia say: "Tucker sounds a little bit like Beth Orton and Neko Case...and her self-titled debut is a confident collection of multi-textured and colorful rock based songs. We say: keep your ears on the lookout for Kate Tucker!" Very very cool. New York TALENTfilter readers should know that the band will perform at Piano's on May 17.

LIVE 105 ANNOUNCES FESTIVAL LINEUP, COOL LOCAL BANDS SPOTLIGHTED -- Tastemaker Alternative KITS (Live 105) San Francisco has announced the lineup for their “Live 105 BFD ‘08”concert – it takes place June 7 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre …Cypress Hill, Pennywise, Everlast (no, it’s not the BFD ’98 lineup - we swear - keep reading) Flobots, The Whigs, The Kooks, Alkaline Trio, MGMT, Atreyu, Airborne Toxic Event, Flogging Molly and Middle Class Rut will play the main stage…

Live 105 also hosts, in our opinion, the best local music stage of any commercial radio station festival. Playing this year’s “SoundCheck Local Music Stage” are the following bands (with four-word descriptions to save time…yes we’re douchebags):

The Phenomenauts – new wave rockabilly garage

Love Like Fire – Female fronted indie rock

Here Here – Cool sound, iffy vocals

Magic Bullets – Echo And The Bunnymenish?

Apside – Sylvia Massy producing album

The Hundred Days – See Magic Bullets description

The Federalists – MySpace friends: Wilco, Spoon

The Action Design – Former Tsunami Bomb singer

RUMORS, ETC. -- Did Los Angeles band The Airborne Toxic Event turn down a hefty deal from Columbia to stay true to their indie roots? Is TALENTfilter artist Stacy Clark (tipped in Jan. 08) thiiiiis close to doing a deal with a new, well-funded indie label? Has our most-written-about unsigned artist FINALLY decided on which label he/she will be signing with? Is iTunes close to figuring out the word Folk scares away potential music buyers and that they should change the genre name to Singer-Songwriter? Which Greenlandish artist we first tipped to you in June 2007 is currently being talked about in several major label A&R meetings? (hint - click here)...

91X-FEST IN SAN DIEGO SPOTLIGHTS GREAT UNSIGNED ACTS -- Alternative 91X San Diego announced their “X-Fest” lineup today…this year the concert will take place May 16 at Concerts on the Green at Qualcomm. Mainstage headliners include, well, exactly who you’d expect – Offspring, Pennywise, Jimmy Eat World, Ludo and My American Heart…

The Revolt Magazine-sponsored "Loudspeaker SD Side Stage" features some quality local talent worth checking out:

The Material -- Female-fronted rock ...not as squeaky-clean as Paramore, but not as dark as Flyleaf. What we've heard could be spun on any Alt-station out there.

Weatherbox -- Signed to indie label Doghouse, these guys sound a bit like they were part of the Cold War Kids' fraternity.

The Burning Of Rome -- This band intrigues the shit out of us - they're a seven-piece outfit, and while they might live on the same sonic block as the Polyphonic Spree, they leave you with a lingering feeling that at any point, they're gonna launch into some crazy death metal jam-session and light the stage on fire. Or, they're gonna drop it down a notch and sing you to sleep with a lullaby. Remember the feeling you had when you started delving into some of the deeper solo material that Mike Patton was putting together in his early post-Faith No More days? Not as ENTIRELY carnival-wacky as Mr. Bungle, but close? THAT'S what The Burning Of Rome reminds us of.

The Sess -- We've only heard one song from this band -- good stuff if you like noisy, trebly melodic punk

Shark Attack -- DJ duo Patrick Heaney and Mike Delgado bring it to ya ala MSTRKRFT, LCD Soundsystem and Justice.

A&R WANKFEST - TWO HOURS TOO SOON -- It was a 'who's who' (or should we say 'snooze snooze') of record biz geniuses lined up in the way-back of L.A.'s Hotel Cafe tonight to see Erin McCarley (seriously, like, even the CFO of one particular company was up in that place on his Crackberry) ...But they were, of course, about two hours too early, as the show they should've seen was from Cali girl Lex Land ...Yes, Erin is talented, and hot, but her songs aren't relatable. It's simple psychology - girls won't like Erin because she's hotter than them and her songs won't hit that special place in their soul that makes them listen over and over. Guys will like her, but they sure-as-shit won't buy her CD. Lex, on the other hand, is kinda like the girl you work with in your college cafeteria who happens to have an absolutely AMAZING voice and writes songs that you listen to, by yourself, at home - over and over and over again. Hey maybe we're wrong, here, but if labels are shooting for a 'Sarah Bareilles only hotter', then they REALLY need to re-assess.

WE'RE ON LINKEDIN -- SO ...ERM ...LINK UP WITH US!

BRETT YOUNG (unsigned, unpublished) -- Brett Young is a Newport Beach, CA-based singer/songwriter in the vein of Gavin DeGraw/John Mayer/Dave Matthews/Brett Dennen -- If Colbie Caillat had an older brother with model good looks and the voice of a man who has experienced more than his years allow, Brett Young would be him. Seriously -- this is another easy one, label peeps -- get on it!!

THE SNOW (unsigned, unpublished, no management, no legal) -- Here's another recent fave of ours - although we haven't seen them live yet... KROQ Los Angeles has been supporting them with airplay on their "Locals Only" show - "We Want It All" is a big fat no-brainer Alt-radio hit. The Snow is a band that comes from the ashes of another group called Hayes that was floating around from 2004-2006... Their debut album isn't available on iTunes or CDBaby yet, but the band plans on getting it up for sale soon (you CAN, however, find it on AmieStreet.com). L.A. label geeks can check The Snow out on April 17 at Safari Sam's. If singer Aaron Smart can pull it off live, The Snow will be a force to be reckoned with.

JOE PURDY (unsigned) -- We've been fans of Mr. Purdy for quite some time, but we haven't written about him because, well, he's been so successful on his own that he hadn't felt a need to even deal with a label (side note: he's published by Warner Chappell). Here's a quick run-down of his accomplishments: Sold over 400,000 iTunes downloads on his own... he's written, recorded and released TEN albums to date...he's currently got a song running in a national TV ad for Kia...about ten songs placed in big TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy", etc. Anyway, Joe is a prolific songwriter (obvz) and isn't looking for a label to own his masters -- HOWEVER -- he's happy to talk about licensing them (we're sure he'll want to keep digital rights as it looks like he's got a pretty good handle on that!) ...Our sources tell us that Universal is interested, as well as a yet-to-be-announced new Warner Bros. j/v label...

IGLU & HARTLY (unsigned, unpublished) -- If you're an industry weasel based in Los Angeles, you've probably seen / heard about Iglu & Hartly a trillion times by now. We here at TALENTfilter have certainly heard about them, but had never seen them -- until last night at the Viper Room. We can officially confirm that this shit is REAL. Not sure what the holdup is on the label front, but somebody needs to close this with the quickness.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE A&R DEPT. AT CAPITOL MUSIC GROUP? Our TALENTfilter moles are hearing of a mass exodus over the next few weeks...stay tuned!

TALENTFILTER ARTIST UPDATE

Brendan James (Featured in June 2007) -- Now signed to Decca/Velour, Brendan will see a Spring release for his debut album, The Day Is Brave -- The first single will be “Green.” Brendan is still available for publishing – get on this pubcos!

Jessie Baylin (Featured in March 2007) -- Now signed to Verve Forecast, Ms. Baylin is taking part in some of the Hotel Café Tour dates and will continue on the road through the end of May, opening for Newton Faulkner and Teitur.

Andrew Paul Woodworth (Featured in March 2007) -- This L.A.-based singer/songwriter's latest album has been licensed by Rodeostar for Europe. He will embark on a trip overseas in April for a month of dates in Germany ...Woodworth is still available for licensing outside of Europe, as well as publishing, management and booking.

Kate Walsh (Featured in March 2007) -- Now signed to Mercury UK and Verve US, will embark on the “Amoeba Music Tour” of the States in May with another TALENTfilter artist, Quincy Coleman.

Rebekah LeBeau (Featured in January 2008) -- Rebekah has had her song “Nobody Has To Know” licensed and featured in the March 24 episode of MTV’s “The Hills”. Rebekah is available for management, signing and publishing.

Lionel Neykov (Featured in January 2008) -- This talented young NY-based singer/songwriter had one of his home-made videos (for the song “Freeze My Senses”) randomly wind up on the front page of YouTube – the video now sports over 440,000 views and his debut album, Songs Of Want And Loss, shot to the #1 spot on CDBaby’s Best Seller list. Lionel has some NY-area dates lined up in April – check his MySpace page for specifics – he’s available for signing, licensing, publishing, management and booking. Here's the Youtube video:

RANDOM LABEL SIGNING UPDATE -- The Wombats have signed to Roadrunner in the U.S. Their album will be released Stateside on July 29… Victory Records signs The Scenic…Universal Music Publishing has signed Foals… San Diego screamo act Sever Your Ties signs with Solid State... Wichita has signed The Dodos for the UK ...Century Media signs Terror…

THE PANGS (unsigned outside of UK, unpublished) -- Damn. We haven't heard something this refreshing in a while. If Maroon 5 were less femme, from London, shared rehearsal space with Gorillaz and were best buddies with Aphex Twin, they'd sound like The Pangs. Check the video (fucking WICKED -- and made for about 1000 pounds!):

UPCOMING L.A. SHOWS OF NOTE:

Mar 27 -- Bob Schneider -- Safari Sam's
Mar 27 -- Colorforms -- 3 Clubs
Mar 28 -- Camp Lo -- Knitting Factory (c'mon -- remember "Luccini"?)
Apr 1 -- Astra Heights -- Silverlake Lounge
Apr 3 -- Iglu & Hartly -- Viper Room
Apr 7 -- Aushua -- The Echo
Apr 9 -- Whole Wheat Bread -- Knitting Factory
Apr 12 -- The Jakes -- The Roxy
Apr 13 -- Meiko, Holly Conlan -- El Rey
Apr 19 -- Stacy Clark -- Hotel Cafe
Apr 19 -- Anal Blast, Meat Shits (c'mon!!!) -- Knitting Factory
Apr 23 -- Lucinda Williams, Zack de la Rocha, John Doe, Michael Franti, Meiko -- Skirball Center
Apr 27 -- Dead Rock West -- The Echo
Apr 28 -- MUSEXPO Conference -- House Of Blues Sunset
Apr 29 -- MUSEXPO Conference -- House Of Blues Sunset
Apr 30 -- MUSEXPO Conference -- House Of Blues Sunset

WE BLEW IT... Apologies to the folks who'd asked for our SXSW Tip Sheet... We got really busy preparing for this year's festivities and totally slept on posting it...

Check back next week, though, for a full TALENTfilter recap!

(or...check in throughout the week to see if we decide to post some late-night drunken showcase reviews -- YEEE HAWWW!!!)

WBCN BOSTON GOES BACK TO THE '90S: From AllAccess -- Alternativ(ish) WBCN Boston announces the return of the "WBCN River Rave" on June 1st at the Tweeter Center with (seriously) Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, Everlast, Pennywise and more to be announced. What the shit?! Who's the "more" gonna be, Spacehog? Tracy Bonham? Primitive Radio Gods? Geez, ya think Geggy Tah is available? Maybe Edwyn Collins?

Anyway, the other cool thing they're bringing back is the 30th annual "WBCN Rock N Roll Rumble" -- 24 local bands will compete for a whole-bunch-of- stuff-that-helps-bands-out and a spot on that 90's-rific stage. Last year's winner was Township.

Harvey Danger maybe? Cornershop? What's Ruth Ruth doin' these days? OK we'll stop.