A SINGERS COLLECTION OF SNAPSHOTS

The high-spirited singer-songwriter has also been called "The Tasmanian Devil of the coffee house set." Goldmine magazine said, "(Blair) delivers pop music with a conscience, framed by jazz, punk and techno."

"I've always been a fan of 'big production,' but a part of my audience kept asking me to go organic," says Blair. On "Snapshots," he "goes acoustic," drawing from blues ("I'm a Jerk"), old school pop/rock and gospel standards ("Workin' on a Building").

"Snapshots" culls from TV broadcasts, concerts and studio sessions tracked in California, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Live cuts include an energetic cover of "Dancing Barefoot" (Patti Smith) and a neo-prophetic, Staples Singers-styled remake of Stephen Stills' "For What it's Worth," performed on slide 12-string guitar.

Novelists are outsourced for Blair's ideas, heard in the Beatle-esque "Unresolved (Graham Greene's Script for Laurel and Hardy)" and "Steinbeck Found the Valley," an instrumental with accordion, cellos, piano and trombones. "Desert Ruby" is a semi-autobiographical "Los Angeles allegory," with images from The Bible, Raymond Chandler and T.S. Eliot.

"I'm Too Ugly for TBN, Too Stupid for CCM" is already getting attention as a satire of contemporary Christian media. Blair asks, "If Jesus were around today, would He tolerate this much image over substance?"

Blair is based in Williamsport PA but has lived all over the United States. His movements includes a five year stretch as a bike messenger in San Francisco. These "street experiences" provided material for songs about baptism, bus stops, coffee drinking, hope, love, smiling, racial harmony and religious hypocrisy.

"Snapshots" and Blair's previous recordings, "Fire" and "Exotic Animals & Beaches of Pennsylvania," are offerings from Fire Inside Productions, a musical partnership with Davy Jones (of The Monkees), who appears on Blair's projects. His music has charted around the world.

Recently, Blair recently collaborated with The Badlees to cover Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" which will be issued on a Lou Reed tribute album in March 2003.

Blair says, "Here's my job--do music that picks people up and do it with conviction." He has shared the stage with Blessid Union of Souls, Jerry Garcia Band, Buddy & Julie Miller and others. His admirers include surf-guitar hero Dick Dale, Brit-pop legend Cliff Richard and Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), who called Blair "a virtuoso."

"Snapshots" is available at Rockstation Records in Williamsport or at http://home.earthlink.net/~the3blrs

Wampus Multimedia releases Heavy Denver, the stunning new CD from England's tvfordogs. Not since Radiohead's auspicious debut has a British band arrived on American shores with such distinction and versatility. It's no exaggeration: IndieCrit.com has named Heavy Denver one of the world's Top Five Indie Releases of the Year.

You might think of tvfordogs as the next Coldplay or Foo Fighters, but that would sell this ground-breaking outfit short of their place in the pantheon of compelling modern rock acts. Although you might hear enticingly familiar snippets in the alchemy, you'll soon detect an undeniably personal view of our postmodern world. And you'll drop your drink. And then you'll be along for the ride.

"Trust me, you will not have a minute to daydream or become bored listening to tvfordogs. This CD is concrete proof that TV is for dogs and music is for humans." --MuzikMan, MusicDish

"Heavy Denver is strongly reminiscent to the Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape. Since I think that particular album is one of the most dramatically underrated rock albums of the last several years, you can imagine I'm pretty pleased with what's coming out of my headphones right now." --John Scalzi, IndieCrit

"Unlike most rock, which has all the depth of a one-trick pony, tvfordogs, like the best rock bands past and present, shifts gears and blends songs in a way that not only puts the individual songs in best relief, but takes the listener on a journey." --Mark Kirby, MusicDish

MUSICIAN'S "MOUTH" WINS SONGWRITING COMPETITION

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - - January 6, 2003 - - Sarah Lewis of the band Jag Star has been named "Overall Grand Prize Winner" of the 2002 USA Songwriting Competition, the largest international event of its kind. The Knoxville singer/songwriter also took home first prize in the "Pop" music category for her song "Mouth." The winning track was among a trio of Lewis' tunes that made it to the finals. All three of the nominees can be found on Jag Star's current recording, Crazy Place.

"Mouth", the lead single from Crazy Place, received substantial radio support at a number of commercial rock outlets throughout the Southeast. Steady airplay on "specialty" shows at stations like Atlanta powerhouse 99X and opening slots for Michelle Branch, Macy Gray and Res, have further fueled Jag Star's ascent. Noted for carving its own niche in the pop music landscape, Knoxville's Metro Pulse remarks ". . .the dark ache of (Erin) Tipton's viola, the energy of Sarah Lewis' vocals and J's unabashed guitar clatter combine for an appealing freshness." The band's unique instrumentation featuring three-part harmonies fused with provocative lyrics, hip-hop beats and a smart pop sensibility earned Jag Star the Jim Beam B.E.A.M. grant award and a spot as finalists in the Lilith Fair Talent Search.

Amidst discussions with several major labels, the quintet continues to tour full time in support of Crazy Place. Formed in 1999, the group is armed with a grassroots ethic entrenched in winning fans on a show-by-show basis. Jag Star is; Sarah Lewis (vocals), Erin Tipton (violin, viola, vocals), Jay Daniel (bass), J (guitar, vocals) and Brad Williams (drums).

For information in cyberspace, log on to www.jagstar.com

INDIEBANDMANAGER ONE OF TOP 5 "BEST SITES 2002"

The buzz continues to build for the Indie Band Manager database software from IndieBandManager.com as it was named one of the top 5 "Best Sites of 2002" by Music Connection Magazine.

"To be included in the same list with such great grassroots organizations as Just Plain Folks, Muses Muse, and The Indie Bible is just incredible," said Indie Band Manager President and lead developer Charlie Cheney. "It's very cool that so many leaders in the indie music scene feel our software is worthy of such acclaim."

The powerful all-in-one database software for indie musicians has also garnered ringing endorsements and rave reviews from OnStage Magazine, Derek Sivers of CDBaby, Madalyn Sklar of GoGirls Music, Daylle Deanna Schwartz of GetSigned.com, and grateful bands in seven countries including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Belgium, UK, Australia, and Germany.

For more information please contact us directly or visit our website at www.indiebandmanager.com or our new shorter address at www.indiedb.com

Wednesday 1st January 2003: CodeRedHosting & Internet Services, the UK-based hosting company, is proud to announce the launch of new hosting service, ArtistHoster.net.

ArtistHoster.net is dedicated to unsigned musicians who want to get their material across to a wider audience. The services offered give musicians the ability to do this at a cost effective price.

CodeRedHosting Managing Director, Andrew Cranson says:

"We launched ArtistHoster.net as a separate brand to CodeRedHosting after an increasing number of unestablished musicians were coming to us to help them extend their fan base by simplifying the process of building an online community with pre-installed community forums and full Microsoft and RealNetworks audio streaming support.

"From first hand experience working with numerous musicians we know that a strong internet presence is essential for any band that is looking to gain recognition around the world. We have been working very hard for months to make ArtistHoster.net possible."

ArtistHoster.net Product Manager, Christopher Mason says:

"We decided that it was time to offer these packages as a dedicated service at the lowest possible price whilst offering the feature rich, high quality services and devoted customer support that CodeRedHosting & Internet Services is renowned for."

ArtistHoster.net is offering the first 1000 customers half-price web hosting to get the brand off the ground. Starting at only £19.99/$29.99/€29.99 per annum the new service is great value for money for any musician wanting a new web host. The new services offer fast webspace, high bandwidth availability, domain name registration, Microsoft & RealNetworks Media Streaming and WAP support along with fully configured and customisable community forums.

No hidden costs and a price-freeze policy ensure that your account fees will never increase. With a 6.2Gbit connection and 99.8% uptime guarantee, our servers are provided with one of the largest commercial gateways in the world ensuring maximum availability and redundancy for your website.

ArtistHoster Website: www.artisthoster.net

GATLIN

The unsigned local Cleveland rock act Gatlin debuted at Number 1 last week with UNDIVIDED on WDUB in Cleveland (12/14-12/20) beating out such bands as Our Lady Peace, Green Day, The Used, 3 Doors Down and Cake.

Gatlin was also put on rotation at 88.3FM as the most heavily requested song (UNDIVIDED).

The band has had interest from no less than 7 labels after selling out Clear Channel's The Odeon (900 Capacity) 3 times in one year.

They are planning a showcase to invite labels on 2/28 at the Odeon in Cleveland.

For more information on the band, please check out www.gatlin316.net

NATTASHA CRESTANI

Singer Songwriter Nattasha Crestani has been nominated for Best Female Vocalist for the third year running in the 2003 Victorian Country Music Awards.

Last year she was also nominated for Song Of The Year for her hit single "Million Dollar You" (co-written with Adrian Hannon).

Catch her live at the Ringwood RSL on Jan 10, at the Red Hill Country Music Festival on January 12, and at the Tamworth Festival from January 20.

The debut country album "A Girl With Spirit" and new single "Look My Way Cowboy" will be released in February.

Check out the official site at: www.nattasha.com