Posts made in January 2019

SambaFunk! Perform at Senator Kamala Harris for President 2020 Campaign Rally

Bay Area artscollective SambaFunk! performed Sunday, January 27th as part of the Senator Kamala Harris for President 2020 Campaign Rally in Oakland.

Theo Aytchan Williams, Samba Funk! Artistic Director said, “We are beyond honored to have been invited to participate in this historic moment in time by performing at the Senator Harris for President Campaign Rally.”

The group recently released a new version of the classic “Lift Every Voice & Sing” to coincide with Black History Month in February and to celebrate the song’s 120th Anniversary.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” often referred to as the “Black National Anthem”, was originally written as a poem in 1899 by James Weldon Johnson to be recited by 500 students at the Stranton School in Jacksonville, Florida as a welcoming poem to educator Booker T. Washington in commemorate of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. It was later put to music by John Rosamond Johnson and adopted as the Black National Anthem by the NAACP.

The SambaFunk! version of “Lift Every Voice & Sing” comes on the 120th anniversary of the song being written in hopes that the new release will shine a light on the Black Experience and ignite a sense of pride among Black and oppressed people worldwide. Historically music often plays a significant role in bringing people together for positive change. The group hopes this song evokes conversations between Americans of all backgrounds.

Williams said, “2019 is the perfect time for the message of this monumental work to be heard around the world to help raise our collective consciousness and present a living example of how music can play a significant role in unification.”

Many are already celebrating the song and its goodwill message including several NBA teams who will be performing the song as part of their Black History Month presentations.

Samba Funk! will also be seen in the EPIX documentary series, Elvis Goes There on February 11th with host film critic Elvis Mitchell, performing “Lift Every Voice & Sing”.

Mastered in the world-renowned Bernie Grundman studio in Hollywood, the song was released Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, January 20th and is available wherever music is sold and streamed.

To learn more about Samba Funk! and listen to “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, visit the website at sambafunk.com.

ECD AUTO

E.C.D. Automotive Design, known for their prestigious, high-end luxury vehicles, recently completed an aggressive LS3-powered custom Defender 110 in a stunning Crystal Covelline Blue finish.

Project Azure was designed to embody the iconic, yet subtle look of the British classic, but with something unique to the client. Pictures do no justice for the stunning Crystal Covelline Blue paint. Underneath the hood is an aggressive 6.2L LS3 V8 engine paired with upgraded headers and a full Borla Performance exhaust system for more power and an ultra-fierce growl. A set of 18” black Kahn Defend 1983 wheels pull together the clean exterior of this custom Defender 110.

The interior of Project Azure looks quite posh with Cadence Buckwheat and Black leather throughout. Occupants ride comfortably in the hand-trimmed custom seats. There are plenty of modern luxuries as well, such as a Sony infotainment system, a full JL Audio sound system, in-vehicle WiFi, wireless charging, and rear air-conditioning controls for all passengers.

If Project Azure is a preview of what’s to come from E.C.D. Automotive Design in 2019, then it’s a safe bet that they will continue to dominate the custom vehicle industry.

McKenna Grace Wows in LANOOSH

Starlet McKenna Grace was spotted wearing LA-based clothing brand LANOOSH at Sundance this past weekend. McKenna is the star of new movie Troop Zero with Viola Davis and Alisson Janney.

*Photo by Aaron Richter

AUBREY MILLER

The ever-so charming teen actress, dancer and pop singer Aubrey Miller just released her own original single “Crossing My Heart.” The upbeat lovestruck pop single, released just in time for Valentine’s Day, is accompanied by a music video that showcases Aubrey’s versatile dance chops.The video was choreographed by Hollywood’s elite dance instructors Kevin & Dea Nguyen and features some of the top youth dancers in the game Saryna Garcia, Jadyn Hernandez and Sheaden Gabriel.

Aubrey is best known for her series regular role in Amazon’s Just Add Magic, which will be returning with a new season on February 1st, 2019. She has additionally made her mark on the dance community, often posting renditions of KPop dance routines. Aubrey’s single and music video were influenced by the KPop arts and includes Korean-spoken lyrics laced throughout the chorus as a nod to the KPop community. With this single, Aubrey has taken a step back into the limelight as a recording artist on the rise and a full-on triple threat to look out for.

Shooter Jennings x Marvel’s The Punisher

Singer, songwriter, and Grammy-nominated producer Shooter Jennings surprised fans by appearing in season 2 of Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix. Jennings performs his songs “The Outsider”, “Outlaw You”, “The Other Life”, and “The Real Me” throughout the season’s debut episode, which is available to stream now exclusively on Netflix. Watch a trailer for the season HERE.

Last week, Jennings also appeared on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live. Watch his performance of “Bound Ta Git Down”, “Fast Horses & Good Hideouts”, and “Denim & Diamonds”.

Jennings released his eighth studio album Shooter via Low Country Sound/Elektra Records on August 10, 2018. Produced by Dave Cobb at the renowned RCA Studio A on Nashville’s Music Row, Shooter sees Jennings fulfill a fairly straightforward goal: to simply make a great country record. Praised as “a rollocking self-titled LP that would’ve made dad Waylon proud” (Entertainment Weekly), “a God’s honest country-rock record” (Garden & Gun), and “a succinct but rowdy listen” (Rolling Stone), the album allowed Jennings to truly puts his own mark on country music. Following the release of Shooter, Jennings delivered a rousing performance of “Bound Ta Git Down” on CONAN and appeared on influential podcasts WTF with Marc Maron and The Joe Rogan ExperienceShooter is available now HERE.

Jennings recently collaborated with longtime friend and Low Country Sound founder Dave Cobb to co-produce Brandi Carlile’s critically acclaimed sixth studio album By The Way, I Forgive You, which graced countless year-end lists and is nominated for Album of the Year and Best Americana Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Additionally, album track “The Joke” received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Americana Performance, and Best Americana Roots Song. It was also recently revealed that Jennings served as producer on legendary Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan’s forthcoming solo album, which is expected to be released later this year.

Shooter Jennings is currently on the road in the US and is expected to announce additional tour dates throughout the year. A complete list of upcoming live dates and ticket information can be found HERE.

Shooter Jennings 2019 Tour Dates

January 27-February 01, 2019 – Tampa, FL – Outlaw Country Cruise 4 – SOLD OUT

February 20, 2019 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat Lounge

February 21, 2019 – Bozeman, MT – Rialto Bozeman – SOLD OUT

February 22, 2019 – Hailey, ID – The Mint – SOLD OUT

February 23, 2019 – Zillah, WA – Perham Hall – SOLD OUT

March 08, 2019 – Iowa City, IA – First Avenue Club

March 09, 2019 – Pittsburg, KS – Kansas Crossing Casino + Hotel

March 16, 2019 – Fort Worth, TX – Fort Worth Harley Davidson Grand Opening Rally

March 21, 2019 – San Antonio, TX – Sam’s Burger Joint

March 23, 2019 – Abilene, TX – Outlaws & Legends Festival

March 28, 2918 – Austin, TX – Mohawk Austin

May 16, 2019 – Tustin, CA – Marty’s On Newport

May 17, 2019 – Angeles Camp, CA – Calaveras County Fair

May 18, 2019 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley

Pardon My French Announce Epic Concert

When one of the hottest artist brands in dance music aligns with one of the world’s most beautiful concert venues, you’ve got the recipe for an event that’s truly monumental. This is certainly the case when Pardon My French – a collective of French DJ/producers DJ SnakeTchamiMalaa and Mercer – join together for the first time since 2016 at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on April 26.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a geological phenomenon – the only naturally-occurring, acoustically perfect amphitheatre in the world. In over 75 years as a performance venue, Red Rocks has hosted some of the most significant artists in music ranging from The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead to Radiohead and Daft Punk, among many others. You’d be hard pressed to find a more idyllic location for a night of the best that French electronic music has to offer.

The April 26 Pardon My French Red Rocks event will be highlighted by full live sets from DJ Snake, Tchami x Malaa and Mercer, custom production and a pristine backdrop that’s simply unlike anything else in the world. Tickets will be available via AXS Presale and AEG Presale from Thursday, January 31 @ 10:00 AM MT and General On-Sale from Friday, February 1 @ 10:00 AM MT. Click here to buy tickets (presale passcode: PMFRRX)

Pardon My French was created in 2015 with the aim of bringing French electronic music artists together to share their their vision and passion for music with the world.

Pirelli Motorsport Commitment in North America

Pirelli is involved in 10 major championships at the forefront of American motorsport, with 40 Pirelli personnel committed to a variety of races and rallies every weekend, supplying tens of thousands of tires.

This is the scale of Pirelli’s competition involvement this year in North America, with a motorsport history that stretches back from more than 110 years but has never been more relevant.

Motorsport in fact represents an essential part of the Italian firm’s research and development program, as an open-air testing laboratory. This is why Pirelli places such an emphasis on motorsport in every global territory, as it’s only by pushing the extremes of performance on track that the best Ultra High Performance tires are created for the road.

As announced recently, Pirelli USA has renewed its agreement with Porsche Club of America for the next three years, enhancing its backing further with the addition of the Werks Reunion Amelia Island, which Pirelli will support alongside the five national programs: PCA Club Racing, PCA High Performance Driver Education (HPDE), PCA Autocross, Porsche Parade, and PCA Treffen. Pirelli will not only supply tires, but also trackside support.

In a new venture with Porsche enthusiasts for 2019, Pirelli will now also support the Air-Cooled Cup USA for two years. This championship is for Porsche models from pre-1966 to 1998, and features seven rounds starting in April at Portland International Raceway in Oregon.

But there are also many long-standing associations that have been renewed. The Trans Am Series has been an iconic name in American motorsport since its inception in 1966 and Pirelli has been the headline sponsor since 2017. The 2019 season will mark the start of a five-year extension, taking the partnership through to 2025. There will be 12 races for the 2019 season, and Pirelli will once again be at the forefront of each event, providing tires and support.

Similarly, Pirelli has equipped the Intercontinental GT Challenge since 2014 and will continue to do so for the coming years. In this championship, Pirelli provides its renowned P Zero slick tires for a grid made of a variety of different high-performance prestige brands. The 2019 championship starts in February with the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia and visits the United States one month later when it comes to the stunning Laguna Seca track in California, for the California 8 Hours.

Key parts of the Pirelli USA program are also the P Zero-equipped single-make championships from Ferrari (Ferrari Challenge) and Lamborghini (Lamborghini Super Trofeo), which have become iconic fixtures on the American motorsport calendar.

Pirelli’s motorsport activities in North America are centered beyond the USA. The Challenge Xtreme Elite series in Canada is a rally series that Pirelli has supported for three years and will continue to do so for another three: underlining Pirelli’s heritage in off-road motorsport as well as on circuits. The first event is in February in Quebec, where competitors will face heavy snow and subzero temperatures.

In Mexico, Pirelli is supporting the grass roots of motorsport with the Formula 4 series: designed as an introduction to single-seater racing cars for the champions of the future, running on P Zero tires.

These are just some of the championships that Pirelli will support in North America throughout 2019, setting new standards of performance, style and professionalism.

About Pirelli
Pirelli was founded in 1872 and has its headquarters in Milan, Italy. Pirelli focuses its business on the high end, premium product segment where it is a world leader. Pirelli has a commercial presence in over 160 countries, and 19 factories in 13 countries. Successfully competing in motorsports since 1907, Pirelli is currently the exclusive supplier to the Formula 1 championship, the Superbike World Championship, and many other championships around the world.

Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA) includes the Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) facility and research and development center at its Rome, Georgia headquarters, a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Silao, Mexico, sales and marketing offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Montreal and Mexico City, and a prestige flagship store in Los Angeles. The company manufactures, distributes and markets original equipment and replacement tires for export and domestic car and motorcycle applications. For more information regarding Pirelli, please visit www.pirelli.com

Neurotriggers

In the early to mid-1970’s, a million dollars was a great deal of money, and thinking about becoming a millionaire was thinking very big indeed. A million dollars was a fortune to be amassed. Today it is a yearly income, or, at best, a couple years’ income needed by anybody attempting to amass a real fortune.

In a documentary on Ted Turner, he was bemoaning the loss of much of his wealth thanks to AOL/Time Warner, and worrying about being “down to a billion” while still in his 70’s — he said he hopes to have enough left to retire on someday. You can, he pointed out, get by on a billion if you’re careful and don’t buy too many planes or yachts. He was speaking tongue-in-cheek, but not totally. Just as 80 is the new 60 and we hope 100 will soon be the new 80, a billion is the new 25-million.

The first arsenal of skills and strategies one should master are those of survival. How to be broke but live well. How to pay one credit card with another. How to look the part and act as if. Some of these skills have lasting value, but most become an impediment, standing in the way of developing the different set of skills one needs next. I think overall, one of the hardest things we do in life is shed the thoughts, attitudes, skills, habits, associations that worked for us when doing “A” but hold us back and get in the way of doing “B”. We shed skin easily and automatically. We do not shed thoughts and behaviours so easily.

The second arsenal one should master are those for making money. Lots of it. In chunks and surges. These days, to be a millionaire is not all that complicated. If you happen to be young, 20 or 30, you can very, very easily reach and surpass that benchmark purely with an intelligent retirement plan (or other tax protected savings plan) by saving and contributing the maximum amount allowed every year. Or by buying a few good homes and owning them for the long haul. That will get you a million dollars someday.

To take it one step further, earning a million dollars per year – even though that certainly puts you at the 1% pinnacle of society – is also actually not all that difficult. A great many businesses or combinations of businesses provide such opportunity. It is, for example, nothing more than 1,000 transactions of $2,000.00 each with 50% net. Or 100 at $20,000.00 each. Or 1,000 customers giving you $100.00 a month. Or 2,000, giving you $50.00. I just read a report of a Gourmet Bacon Of The Month Club providing its owner with such income. Bacon.

Making lesser but still significant income, $100,000.00, $200,000.00 a year, even easier. A good handyman with nothing but a cellphone could have a ‘concierge practice’, with, say, 25 clients each paying him $300.00 a month…$7,500.00 a month, $100,000.00 a year. Just not that tough. More mental barriers than anything.

But if you start to think in terms of creating and keeping a small fortune in the 10-million to 50-million-dollar neighbourhoods, rather than just a million or two, the arsenal of required once again changes substantially. The knowledge needed, different. The mind-set needed, different. Here, in this space, an odd combination of daring, speed, grabbing of opportunities must be counter-balanced with a concern for preservation of capital, a diligent management of the money, not just making it.

I spent time the other day with one of my long-time clients who personally earns about 5-million a year and is worth about 4 million. He is busily involved in dozens of high-pressure projects. He said, “I often fall into shit. Sometimes I come up with gold. Other times I come up with shit. My success rate does not distinguish me. Being willing to dive into shit, that distinguishes me.” Different mindset.

We’ve talked about speed. To become a millionaire, you can do things slowly, methodically, logically, sequentially, neatly and cautiously. To be a multi, multi-millionaire, you cannot.

To stay a millionaire once there, you need to conserve. To buy carefully, spend reluctantly, invest wisely. Never paying more than is necessary. To stay a multi, multi-millionaire you need to be more aggressive. You often cannot afford to get the very best buy, as your time and lost opportunity is far more valuable than the deal available across town.

There is a hierarchy of sorts for independent business. It is: shopkeeper; business owner, entrepreneur; entrepreneur-investor; investor-entrepreneur. One of the painful aspects of moving through these stages is doing less of something you’ve mastered (and can do easily), in favour of doing other things you’re clumsy and uncertain at; the constant setting aside of old tools with which you’re expert in and picking up new tools you are profoundly inexpert with; of climbing Maslow’s step again and again and again.

Questions: What skills do you have that are useful not just at present but for where you want to go? What present skills are holding you back? What skills do you lack currently, but will be needed for the spot just ahead on your chosen road? Do you even have a Personal Skills List each ranked 1-10, and a list of New Skills In Development?

For additional information visit http://neurotriggers.com/

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Kamala Harris, Here’s A Taste of Your Own Medicine

By M. Marie Brown

Another snake slithers out of the swamp. If you wanted an antidote to Mr. Trump, this creature is not it. Please, someone over the age of 35 with ethics, step up!

In the meantime, in the interest of determining fitness for the job and as you say, “the American public deserves to know the character of someone who will serve” in an important federal office. We will follow the lead of your heraldedblunt” style that includes proudly publically reeling off George Carlin’s Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” with the favorite being mother*****.

Let the questions begin!

1. Are you aware of the perception in certain communities that you got ahead by having sex with a married man twice your age?

It was a wide open secret that you were corrupt San Francisco politician Willie Brown’s “new steady” despite the fact that state assembly “Speaker for Life,” the “Ayatollah of the Assembly” was married, 60 (to your 29 years). What kind of person comes out publicly as his date at his 60th birthday party, despite his wife of 36 years being in attendance? Do you believe having your paramour’s wife discuss your affair with her husband would “offer a clearer picture into who you really are”? “Listen, she [Harris] may have him at the moment, but come inauguration day and he’s up there on the platform being sworn in, I’ll be the b***h holding the Bible.”

Just for the record, Brown appointed Harris—a young deputy district attorney in Alameda County—to high-profile, lucrative patronage positions on the state’s Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (at $97,088 annually for two meetings a month) and the California Medical Assistance Commission netting her more than $400,000 between 1994 and 1999. And a shiny new BMW!

2. Are you aware of the perception by many political observers that your narrow win in the race for California Attorney General was, shall we say, questionable? Despite registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans statewide by thirteen percent, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley (endorsed by the Sacramento Bee, the state capitol’s newspaper) led you by 34,000 votes after more than 7 million were counted. Some observers believe there is “reliable information” that you spoke with someone in Sacramento and magically enough provisional ballot votes for you to eke out at 0.2 percent win appeared? Wait. “I think you’re thinking of someone and you don’t want to tell us.” “Be sure about your answer, ma’am.”

3. Are you aware of the perception by some that you were either a poor manager of the San Francisco DA’s office or amazingly willfully ignorant? We can take the word of a judge’s 26-page ruling that found that while San Francisco DA you violated defendants’ rights by hiding damaging information about a police drug lab technician suspected of stealing portions of cocaine samples that later led the San Francisco police to shut down an entire section of the lab.

One wonders about your honesty when asked about your knowledge of a top aide of yours for 14 years made a $400,000 gender harassment settlement: “I did not.” “Nope.” You never answered whether you believe the accuser since you had “not talked to her directly.” Her name was not Christine Ford, thus not to be believed unconditionally.

4. In a “search for the truth” would it be beneficial to hear the testimony of former San Francisco DA and State Justice Department employees who are undoubtedly credible and honest because they have nothing to gain? These deputies attorney general don’t see you as particularly committed to the work of the office. You were rarely sighted in Sacramento, where much of the Department of Justice is located. You spent much of your time in Los Angeles and San Francisco running for higher office.

5. If you are “For the people”, why would consumer advocates say, “She has no presence.” “She has no involvement. She has no leadership. You have no sense of her being out there on the front saying we’re charging forward to do what’s right.” Or those who think you are soft on public corruption because it might cause “friction” with fellow Democratic politicians or that you avoided privacy issues for fear of losing Silicon Valley support.

6. Were you aware that some people have the perception that you are a partisan tyrant who does not follow the will of the people? Like when without explanation, you did not enforce a citizen initiative passed by 70 percent of voters barring paroled sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and parks. And by assigning “egregiously unfair” descriptions to voter-sponsored citizen-driven initiatives that cast them in a bad light when they run counter to certain Democratic special interests. Propositions from pension reform to limiting tax increases that the people will never see because the sponsors withdrew them after you deceptively entitled them. Or that you demanded that conservative-leaning nonprofits file with your office unredacted donor lists—confidential information typically submitted only to the Internal Revenue Service—exposing supporters of such groups to the risk of disclosure and retaliation. Remember, as the ACLU said, the first target is rarely the last.

7. Surely, being fearless, you wouldn’t avoid the press. We know giving a straight answer regarding sanctuary cities is tough: “To be honest with you, San Francisco’s policy has changed in the last few years; I haven’t looked at the details, so I can’t comment on it. On the infamous illegal immigrant killer of Kate Steinle: “My reluctance to answer these questions [about Kate Steinle’s infamous killer]…is that I don’t actually know what happened…you’re talking about important details…and I don’t have any knowledge about what actually occurred.”

8. Were you aware that some people in the blogosphere have this perception about you? No dignity. No self-respect. Just naked ambition. She is vulgar, unprofessional, deceitful, two-faced, ambitious to the extreme. I pray to God that I never stoop to this level to either: A.) keep a man or B.) get power/money.

It was good of you to leave the posh Los Angeles Brentwood neighborhood where the median price of a home is $3,136,500 and has a black population of 1.7 percent and pose as an Obama wannabe by giving your big speech your “birthplace” Oakland although most of your youth was spent in Canada.

So we have a potty-mouthed incompetent phony who learned tricks at the knee of a California politician who is famous for being corrupt. If she were a white male she would be vilified. Sadly, in today’s world of check the right identity politics box, her greatest attribute is that she is an ethnic female.

But to this ethnic female, she is a total disgrace – not what our young women should aspire to.

*The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s.