HOWELLDEVINE "MODERN SOUNDS OF ANCIENT JUJU"

Joshua Howell started playing harmonica when he was 14, and by 17, he was sitting with many of the San Francisco Bay Area's blues bands. He quickly became the desired house harmonica player in clubs such as Eli's Mile High and Your Place Too, though his under-age status limited his exposure to only those clubs that could circumvent the age restrictions. During this period, he took up guitar, intently focused on learning the techniques of the Mississippi greats such as Fred McDowell, Bukka White, Robert Johnson and RL Burnside. While living in Santa Cruz, Joshua pursued a successful career in guitar making, developing the Howell & Forsyth Guitar Company. Though he continued to focus on playing music and gigging locally, music as a profession took a back seat to lutherie. It wasn't until he moved to Thailand that he dedicated himself entirely to musicianship, taking on over 15 gigs a week as a solo artist. After three years playing professionally in Thailand's mountainous north, Joshua returned to the U.S. and continued to perform in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he crossed paths with drummer and percussionist Pete Devine, they recognized their similar influences and musical sensibilities. Their common approach effortlessly generated a powerhouse combo of inspired and unaffected blues. HOWELLDEVINE

MELLY FRANCES AND THE DISTILLED SPIRIT "THE ALBUM"

Melly Frances & The Distilled Spirit is a USA based American blues, rock and soul band formed in 2012 by vocalist and songwriter Melly Frances. They are set to unveil their first studio album cleverly titled "The Album" on May 1st 2014 as unsigned artists independent from a record label. The band--Melly Frances (lead vocals, songwriter), Bryan Whelan (guitar), Matthew Labarber (bass, vocals), Peter Williams (drums), Devon Shae (fiddle) and Lance Dieckmann (harmonica). Frances brings forth hard-hitting soul vocals that deliver a blast from the past. Singers like Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Otis Redding, and Etta James are key influences and can be heard in her raspy, sultry, vocal style. The band themselves are a classic fusion of these roots rock favorites: The Black Crowes, Alabama Shakes, Led Zeppelin, Marshall Tucker Band, The Band, Canned Heat, Little Feat, Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Van Morrison, & The Rolling Stones. MELLY FRANCES AND THE DISTILLED SPIRIT
 

Learn how to put a song on itunes at ReverbNation.com

THE BRANDEE YOUNGER QUARTET "LIVE AT THE BREEDING GROUND"

Harpist Brandee Younger, is known for sharing the stage with Jazz Royalty Jack Dejohnette & Ravi Coltrane, laying down tracks with Grammy-Winning Rapper Common and Artist and Producer Ryan Leslie, as well as bringing to life the Classic Impressionistic work of Maurice Ravel. Her ability to feature the Harp in genres of music where the instrument is often absent is a testament of her love for the instrument, and her cross-reaching ability as a musician.The Brandee Younger Quartet makes you rethink the traditional jazz combo. No piano...instead, a concert harp, upright bass, drumset & tenor sax/vocalist, the sound is reminiscent of vintage Dorothy Ashby and ethereal Alice Coltrane, with a whole new identity. THE BRANDEE YOUNGER QUARTET

THE HALLEY DEVESTERN BAND "FABBO! BOFFO! SMASHO!"

Halley was born in Manhattan and moved around the US before settling back in New York City, where she and the band call home. Halley’s voice is huge - somewhere between Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin. She earned a BFA in acting at Boston University, and that pedigree shows in the her performances. In fact, Halley fronted Janis Joplin’s legendary band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, on a recent US tour and brought down the house every night.Well-seasoned road gods, the band members have earned their chops with the likes of Roger Waters, Shawn Mullins, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, Gatemouth Brown, Zen Tricksters, and Mickey Dolenz. Halley and the band have shared the stage with Gov’t Mule, Bonnie Bramlett, Jimmie Vaughan, Son Seals, Johnny Winter, Donna the Buffalo, John Hammond and Antigone Rising. THE HALLEY DEVESTERN BAND
 

Sell music on itunes at ReverbNation.com

MONIQUEA "YES NO MAYBE"

Moniquea was born in Gary, Indiana and raised in Pasadena, California. She vividly recalls watching her mother rehearse as a lead singer alongside other relatives and friends in the Pasadena-branded group The Roses. As a youth, she was exposed to countless volumes of 70’s soul and the electrified sounds of 80’s R&B, which shaped her sound immeasurably. Today, she counts a wide range of artists as influences, from Deniece Williams and Etta James to Stevie Nicks. Her voice carries two distinct characteristics that play into each other perfectly – A “so-retro-it’s-actually-new” twang that harks back to Evelyn “Champagne” King; the second, a jazzy vibrato that easily evokes the tender, smoky voice of Erykah Badu or even Billie Holiday. Moniquea is vocally equipped to sing contemporary R&B/soul, go the Amy Winehouse route, or bring back the synthy, dance-friendly sound of 80’s boogie funk – her current musical direction.  MONIQUEA
 

LIZ MANDEVILLE "HEART 'O' CHICAGO"

Born and raised into a musical family in Wisconsin, guitarist and singer Liz Mandeville grew up in an arts-filled environment. Her father played guitar and sang folk songs while taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago on the GI bill. He taught his daughter to paint and sing, and Liz often accompanied her father to art museums, gardens and art galleries, wherever his work took him. Her mother was an actress and she saw to it that her daughter had a proper education in the theater arts as well, something which came in handy many years later when Mandeville decided to pursue a career as a blues singer.Musicians and artists were frequent guests in the Mandeville's home, and the young Mandeville was encouraged to write songs, poetry and short stories. Family vacations around the south exposed young Liz to blues, bluegrass, traditional country and folk music and New Orleans jazz and funk.Her first professional gigs were in coffee houses around Wisconsin, playing songs her father had taught her. She cited as influences on her earliest attempts at music people like James Brown, Muddy Waters and Lightnin' Hopkins.Known previously as Liz Mandeville-Greeson, Mandeville played the bars in and around Chicago for most of the '90s and 2000s, and she made occasional tours to points east — New York City — and West, to California, as well as many cities and towns in between. She spent much of the late '80 touring across the U.S. and Canada by van with her then-band, theSupernaturals. During the 2000s, she worked with a band called the Blue Points.In 1994, she met Chicago bassist Aron Burton and subsequently performed with him at the 1994 Chicago Blues Festival. She recorded two tracks with him on his 1996 album, Aron Burton Live, and that led to her being signed to Michael Frank's Earwig Music Company.Between 1994 and 1999, Mandeville was a frequent sight on stage at the Blue Chicago nightclubs, where she had the chance to work with a short who's-who of Chicago-area musicians, including Willie Kent, Maurice John Vaughn and Michael Coleman. She recorded her first two albums with musicians from that scene,including Burton on bass, Allan Batts, keyboards, and drummer Dave Jefferson.Among her awards and distinctions: she was nominated for Blues songwriter of the year in 2008 by the American Roots Music Association, was named semi-finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for her composition, "Life Sentence of the Blues," and she received an award in 2005 for Best Songwriter in the USA Songwriting Competition, for her humorous tune, "He Left It in His Other Pants."Her albums, showcasing her spry, sometimes humorous original songs, all for the Chicago-based Earwig Music label, include 2008's Red Top, Back in Love Again (2002), Ready to Cheat (1999) and Look at Me (1996). She has performed on a slew of other albums by Chicago-based blues performers, including Johnny Drummer's 2000 release, Unleaded Blues, Aron Burton's Live from Buddy Guy's Legends and a compilation of Chicago-area women blues singers, Red Hot Mamas for the Blue Chicago label. LIZ MANDEVILLE
 

Promote your mixtape at ReverbNation.com

HARLIS SWEETWATER BAND "PUT IT IN DIRT"

Harlis Sweetwater, as a singer /guitarist/ songwriter and frontman, has share the stage with everyone from Jimmie Vaughan, Everlast, Chris Shifflet (Foo Fighters), ZZ Top, Los Lobos and Brian Setzer to R&B/Blues legends Etta James, James Cotton, and Wilson Pickett to name a few.He has been called "the best singer in any genre" by music critic Robert Kinsler of the OC Register, While SugarBuzz Magazine had this to say: "From the heart, Harlis Sweetwater,you know instantly the real deal is upon you. This man knows the blues."Harlis Formed the band earlier this year to get back to the Blues/Soul music he loves. He enlisted fellow musicians Jimmy Sena on Drums and Jason Holser playing Bass; both with extensive recording and performing experience, to lay down a solid fountaion of groove for His wild, bluesy & intense guitar playing and broad, gravely soulful voice.The groups chemistry makes for high energy performances that both entertain and mesmerize, and often times the party on stage, rivals the one in the audience, making the Harlis Sweetwater Band one of the more fun and enjoyable bands to see live.The group recently released it's album "Lights Goin' Down" in Oct. 2012, and is already garnering great reviews. Gary Schwind of the Examiner.com stated "This Album Is Brilliant." while Blues Rock Review Magazine had this to say: "the Harlis Sweetwater Band gives a nod to blues history while forging forward with their own hard blues style." and Incognito Magazine wrote in its review of the album "If you want some music you can feel and not just hear, check out this band." HARLIS SWEETWATER BAND 
 

BJ BLOCK DAWN PEMBERTON "THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE"

BJ Block and Dawn Pemberton are a powerful musical force, who have masterfully crafted songs rooted in soul, jazz, R&B, and funk. The duo's newest release entitled "II", is the result of a unique collaboration between the two accomplished musicians and is a potent follow up to their 2010 release, "The Land of Make Believe" which was nominated for a 2011 Western Canadian Music Award. "II" explores the grit and the goodness of life lived and loved and reflects a deeper lyrical and musical evolution.Learning 40 tunes in two days for a four hour set in a club with no air conditioning in the middle of a record heat wave.   Debuting new songs at a gritty east side club more accustomed to hard rock and than soul.  Surviving jazz school and attempting to find a voice that will be heard through the cluttered maze of the music industry.  These are just some of the experiences that would provide the context and inspiration for this unique collaboration.In the Spring of 2010 BJ Block began work on a follow up to his debut instrumental album 'Glitterball'.  This next record was to be another instrumental album with the addition of an occasional background vocal for ambiance.  After playing a number of gigs together around the city it seemed only natural to recruit Dawn Pemberton, a staple of the Vancouver RnB, Funk and Jazz scene, to provide the vocals.  Dawn agreed and the two would meet a few months down the road to collaborate once the tunes were mapped out. The album was nearly finished when the two ventured on an experiment; there was one song in particular that had potential for lyrics throughout, so for the fun of it and with no expectations in mind, the two began writing together, with Dawn taking on the task of writing melodies and lyrics to the track.  After only one writing session, the two met a week later and effortlessly played the song from beginning to end.  This first draft would remain unedited and became "Just Be", the first single off the debut album.  Initially approached as a children's album for grown-ups, "The Land of Make Believe" explored adult challenges through the eyes of a child.  Rooted in Soul, Rn'B, Jazz and Funk, the album is uplifting, playful and thoughtful,  showcasing musicianship developed from years of playing, practicing and touring. The duo's newest release entitled "II", is the result of a unique collaboration between the two accomplished musicians and is a potent follow up to their 2010 release. DAWN PEMBERTON
 

Learn how to make a free Electronic Press Kit

RYAN KEBERLE & CATHARSIS "INTO THE ZONE"

Few musicians have managed to navigate the richly varied avenues of New York City’s abundant music scene with the same passion and adaptability as trombonist and composer Ryan Keberle. Since his arrival in 1999, Keberle’s diverse talents have earned him a place alongside a staggering array of legends, superstars, and up-and-coming innovators.Leading his pianoless quartet Catharsis or arranging for the little big band setting of his Double Quartet, Keberle draws upon lessons learned playing alongside masters of a multitude of forms, from jazz legends to indie rock ground-breakers, R&B superstars to classical virtuosos. That includes playing with jazz greats including Maria Schneider and Wynton Marsalis; hip-hop and R&B superstars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys; Latin jazz leaders like Pedro Giraudo and Ivan Lins; indie rock ground-breakers such as Sufjan Stevens; or playing in the house band at Saturday Night Live, on the soundtrack of a Woody Allen film, or in the pit for a Tony-winning Broadway musical. RYAN KEBERLE & CATHARSIS