Lorenzo to Play Two Shows with Fuel

While Lorenzo figures out what their live schedule will be for 2013 in support of their new album, Ignition, the band play two dates next week with Fuel.  Fuel, who have hits including "Shimmer," continue to tour extensively and the Lorenzo/Fuel dates make a great billing.  Leading up to the shows, Lorenzo meet this weekend in Cincinnati for rehearsals for Fuel, and possibly a few more dates before the end of the year.

Lorenzo/Fuel

Date                       City                                      Venue                      
November 24       Ft. Lauderdale, FL          The Culture Room
November 25       St. Petersburg, FL           The State Theatre

Lorenzo's "Ignition" Out Now and Draws Sparks at Radio

Lorenzo's long-awaited new album, "Ignition," is out, and as expected, gaining traction at radio.

It's very early in the game for "Ignition," but fans and radio alike are reacting enthusiastically to the new disc.  Spearheaded by the group's first single and video, "Not Ready to Say I'm Sorry Yet," Lorenzo has picked up airplay heavily in the midwest and east, including Canada.  Spins have been steadily increasing and there is no reason why the momentum won't continue into the western region.

Led by singer/guitarist, Marko, the band has been redefined over the last year with the likes of Stuart McConnell (guitar), Aaron Farrier (drums) and Heathen mainstay, Jason Viebrooks.

As the story at radio builds, the band has its eyes set on a healthy tour beginning by early next year.

To be continued...

Five Finger Death Punch Grabs Gold Again with 'American Capitalist'

Five Finger Death Punch's latest album, American Capitalist, has been certified Gold in the United States.  ('Capitalist' was certified Gold in Canada, earlier this year.)  American Capitalist is 5FDP's third Gold album in as many releases and should cross the 500,000 in sales in the U.S. very soon, if it hasn't all ready.  Coupling strong support at radio with songs such as 'Under and Over It' and 'Coming Down,' and successful touring, the album hit the half-million mark in the shortest period of time of all the group's releases.  The album was co-written and produced by Kevin Churko.

In This Moment's "Blood" Debuts at #15

In This Moment scores its first top 20 album with "Blood."  ITM opens at number 15 on the Billboard top album charts.  Kevin Churko co-wrote and produced the new release.  Key touring (including with Five Finger Death Punch) certainly helped fuel sales of the band's new album.

Habana Eva Finally Gets Released in U.S.

"Habana Eva," the Fina Torres ("Woman on Top")-directed film has finally gotten a commercial release in the U.S.  Airing on cable outlets such as HBO, the critically well-received romance/comedy apparently is being well-received by viewers.  Cisco DeLuna co-wrote the score to this Venezuelan picture.

New ITM Album, "Blood," Due Out August 14

The new In This Moment album is due out August 14.  Kevin Churko teams up with the band again for  "Blood," which is also the first single, out now.  Churko co-wrote and produced the upcoming release at his Hideout studio.  Kane Churko (Kevin's son) writes on four of the songs, as well.

Airbourne is in Las Vegas writing with Kevin Churko for the band's new album.  The Aussie rockers are looking to build on their success from their last album, "No Guts. No Glory."  Writing sessions are at Churko's Hideout studio.

Rapper MattyB's video, "That's the Way" explodes on youtube

Kevin and Kane Churko (Five Finger Death Punch) are working with eight-year-old rapper, Matty B. The Georgia rapper has a growing fan-base that has only swelled with the young man's new video and song, "That's the Way." With over 1.2 million youtube views - and counting - it's starting to look like MattyB is the real deal.

Is There a Latin Alternative? - Answer: Yes

I won't be attending SXSW this year, so I will not know what transpired, first-hand. Now that I've put that out there, I want to say a few things about a panel that will be taking place there. The panel is called, "Is There a Latin Alternative?" For those not in the know, the answer is yes. Here is the full description of the panel:

A Spanish-language band can gain instant access to the growing Hispanic audience and sponsors targeting that demographic by marketing themselves as "Latin". But how limiting is being marketed as a "Latin" band — even Latin alternative? Can bands and labels eliminate the need to "crossover" by avoiding the term altogether?

In absentia, I would like to respond:

Question #1 - But how limiting is being marketed as a "Latin" band — even Latin alternative? Answer: It's not limiting; it's liberating. This is a new genre with plenty of growth ahead. There isn't even a commercial radio format for it (yet) in the U.S. As mentioned in an earlier post, in certain demographics, Hispanics (and some non-Hispanics) love this music. Ximena Sariñana, Zoé, Café Tacuba, and so on, is just the beginning. When artists like these perform in the U.S., the people show up - in droves. Wait until owners of radio stations finally get smart and switch to an Alternativo format. The word "limiting" will no longer be associated with the genre.

Question #2 - Can bands and labels eliminate the need to "crossover" by avoiding the term altogether? Answer: Not initially. You need the label, "Latin Alternative" or "Alternativo" or some variation in order to a) Alert music fans that there's a new genre of Latin out there and point them in the right direction and b) To identify the music. Once the genre has been established, then maybe the term will be dropped.

Now that I have answered the questions, I have a few questions and comments of my own. First, why would you want to eliminate the need to crossover? Wouldn't artists and record companies want to reach a larger audience? Wouldn't you want to include a guidepost like, "Latin Alternative," in order to lead audiences to the music? Lastly (and this probably opens another can of worms), from my experiences in speaking with major labels about groups like Austria, the Latin divisions have claimed that Alternativo is not mainstream enough, and that there isn't a large enough audience in order to support these kinds of acts. The English-speaking divisions of labels "don't do Spanish." The answer to this dilemma? When the majors sense that Alternativo is a moneymaker, they will create divisions within their labels in order to properly market and promote these acts. When the genre is well established, it's possible these departments will dissolve into the Latin division.

But for now, Alternativo just needs to keep growing.

By the way, if anyone does attend the panel, feel free to report how it went, especially if my comments were way off base (I'm not ashamed of being wrong).

Lorenzo Recording Follow-Up to "Love Shape Bruise"

In between live shows and lending band members out for other projects, Lorenzo has finally found time to begin recording their follow-up to "Love Shape Bruise." Recording in an apartment in South Carolina (the band members live in various parts of the Southeast), what is emerging is a tougher and very meaty Lorenzo, but still keeping the Lorenzo sound. Once tracks have been laid down, Kane Churko (Kevin Churko's son) will be called in to mix at least part of the record for a second or third quarter release.