ONOFFON

[onoffon]

The ONOFFON SSP of the Day is Von Babasin's Radio Show - I got upgraded! My show was moved from a small AM station in San Bernardino/Riverside counties to a small FM station in the heart of Los Angeles - KCLA FM, 99.3 in L.A. - but it's also on the internet! Yes - no matter where you live, you can listen -"JAZZ IN HOLLYWOOD"Every Wednesday Evening at 6:30 PM Pacific Standard Time, onhttp://www.KCLAFM.com/Stop by for a half hour and listen to some great jazz! Mostly, I play music exclusively from the Jazz in Hollywood museum archives. But, part of the mission statement of the museum is 'the innovative evolution of the artform', so, I play some comtemporary jazz artists from the west coast, like ONOFFON and guitarist Michael O'Neill, who has played rhythm guitar for George Benson for 20+ years and is a dear friend of mine. I'll be debuting music from his new CD on my show in about a month from now.Cheers!Oh, I almost forgot to mention - I've received my official press credentials through the radio station so, now I'm a bonafide, card carrying member of the paparazzi!!!

[onoffon]

The ONOFFON SSP of the Day is - American Idol Underground - ONOFFONhttp://www.idolunderground.com/Pages/Profile/U ... ID=31988Go to this page and listen to our entered song, "You Know I Can't", and vote accordingly. You can rate it from '1 - 5', hopefully you will rate it a '5'... I am a little disappointed, though, since I originally requested our song, "Mardi Gras", be entered. But, as is the case with artists that are entering a contest for 'free', they decided to choose the track on a random basis so we had no say in the matter. Regardless, I stand by our track, even though I wouldn't necessarily have put that particular track in the 'Jazz' category.Funny how things work, eh? Thanks to all who help us out...

[onoffon]

The ONOFFON SSP of the Day involves American Idol Underground again...Last night, I attended the American Idol Underground launch party, held at The Cabana Club on Ivar in Hollywood. It was a happenin' place - my wife and I had a great time!They had three stages with live music playing on all - an R&B stage, a Pop/Rock stage, and a Jazz/Acoustic stage. I think we would have done well in the jazz room... maybe next time... Met some very cool people as well.... some VERY cool people... BTW - speaking of VERY cool people - it looks like a few of you may have visited our page and rated us rather favorably - sincere thanks to those who have taken the time to do so... you know who you are... Cheers!

[onoffon]

No SSP today - ONOFFON is an online casualty of Hurricane Wilma. The servers that house the ONOFFON website are located in Boca Raton, Fla. which was severely hit by Wilma. We were completely knocked offline yesterday and today we've only been back intermittently. First, the power went down and then the back-ups failed. We'll see what is left after they get back to normal.They say they should have services back in full by tomorrow - but they said the same thing yesterday...Can't even receive email.This, too, will pass... Que sera sera...

[onoffon]

Well... I have a very interesting ONOFFON SSP of the Day today. As you know, the International Online Music Awards chose us as their 2005 "Artist of the Year". The organization that hosts these awards is called R Cat Communications - they are a promotional music community based in Canada. They also have a record label, video and DVD production company, and WOMDA (Worldwide Online Music Distribution Association - launched in April 2005 by R Cat Communications as a collective alliance representing the interests of the world's most innovative independent artists, record labels, and digital music providers and distributors).This company has shown intense support for the independent music scene - especially to those artists they see as being the "cream of the crop". As a result, there has recently been an announcement over on the RCat BBs that I would like to bring to your attention -"... everyone should know that very very soon.. onoffon will be featured in the R Cat Films DVD... I have seen the footage and it's coming along nicely... If anyone who is a WOMDA artist would like a copy when it's released... just let us know and we will send it to you free of charge!!!"This DVD is going to be distributed throughout their promotional network that includes a HUGE media giant that, for now, will remain unnamed. Suffice it to say - they don't get much bigger...As we all know, nothing is ever a certainty. But I have to believe, the more doors you keep knocking on, the better your chances are that someone will eventually let you in...

[onoffon]

The ONOFFON SSP of the Day is with the R Cat Communications - in connection with the promotional DVD they are producing, they have just created a wonderful EPK for ONOFFON in pdf files - you can download it directly from here -ONOFFON EPKhttp://www.womda.com/artists/onoffon/OnOffOn.pdfR Cat has requested to represent us in their promotions - while we will maintain the posture of 'non-exclusive', we will be working extensively with R Cat and helping to further the credibility of the internet independent music movement. The specifics of our ongoing association will remain confidential but we hope for mutual success for all involved...These are amazing times for independent musicians...

[onoffon]

Okay - it's the BIG DAY!!!!!!I do my regular installment of my 'Jazz in Hollywood' radio show in a little over an hour, and... then... later this afternoon...REGISTRATION TIME AT THE ROAD RALLY!!!!!!Hope to see some friendly faces.... So, for the next few days - ONOFFON's SSP of the Day will be reports of Road Rally excitement...

[onoffon]

Well....Registration went off without a hitch. I showed up early and I'm glad I did. Note for those attending future Road Rallys - stand in line early instead of late - you're going to wait a long time either way, but you will ensure getting your first choice of mentor and, if you live close by, you'll be home for dinner. Saw Michael Laskow first thing - very personable fellow - greeting TAXI folks.Ready for this afternoon. I won't be attending the early festivities - I really have to prioritize my Rally time with the rest of my life. Just the way I have to deal with it. Next ONOFFON Road Rally update - tomorrow morning...

[onoffon]

Day two - Road Rally...High expectations - low results. First, I wanted to hit one of the most popular 'Driver's Ed Classes'. Problem was - if I stayed to participate there, I would have to miss the Listener's Panel I was looking forward to seeing. So, I bailed on the class after 45 minutes of stuff I basically already knew... one down...On to the Listener's Panel. Disaster. Obviously, everyone attending puts their CD into the genre boxes in wild hopes that theirs will be chosen and played in front of the panel. Except, nobody (but us honest folks) puts the correct genre music into the correct genre boxes. Consequently, about 15 of the maybe 20 songs they sampled were in the wrong boxes. Now, either artists don't care and put their CDs in any box just to increase their chances of getting picked, or, they don't have a CLUE!!!! It was very disheartening... I know if they had heard our CD it would have at the very least, been appropriate for the panel and I might have actually heard something that I could use... after all, this is the only panel that actually includes the 'jazz' genre so it was my best hope... better luck next time...I had to bolt out of there since the panel ran over time and I had to get to THE most anticipated event for me personally - the one on one mentoring session. I very carefully read every mini-bio so I could make the most apropos selection for ONOFFON. I was sure I had the man I needed to talk to.It's time - I walk into the room and locate my mentor. He's warm and personable and very receptive to everything I had to say. He told me I had an amazing story - he listened to a song - he said our music was fantastic, creative, well played, flawlessly produced, and everything else you would hope to hear from a mentor. Except, where I go from here. He told me I'm doing all the right things - 'just keep doing what you're doing'... well.... I have no choice but to keep doing what I'm doing... that's what I do... So, no pearls of wisdom, no new directions, no minor suggestions, nothing that gave me a feeling of revelation... no light bulb moment, as Oprah would say....Yet, I still hold out hopes for today - first up is a panel that includes Derek Sivers from CD Baby. We've had such a long association, I like to consider Derek a friend of mine. It will be good to see him again...Next ONOFFON Road Rally update - tomorrow morning...

[onoffon]

Day three - Road Rally...What a difference a day makes!For everything that went wrong the day before - it went right yesterday. First off - the DIY panel. Anytime one hears Derek Sivers speak - it's an inspiring time. I know he was up there with four other panelists who all contributed pearls of wisdom, Derek has a very unique take on all things indie and is truly the personification of the indie music movement.After the panel, I got to catch up with Derek and we had a great talk. Music - life - stuff... very cool...I also had the extreme pleasure of talking with Gilli Moon - artist, writer, webmaster - she's done some amazing things in her career and was very encouraging to speak with. Another DIY'er you might recognize is Bobby Borg - artist, writer - also a self made entrepreneur. We had a great talk and I will be seeing him again today to talk about some very cool things for the future.Had a walk-up mini mentor session with Carl Byron, who was even more positive than my original mentor. One thing I have to say - there were still no light bulb moments yet I went home in a positive, contemplative state of mind. Even though I don't really have anything specific to focus on, there is a general sense that we're on the right path.When you hear a dozen major industry professionals pretty much all say the same things, you have to believe that it's only a matter of time. They all agree - the music is there, the production is there, the image is there, the whole package works artistically and promotionally...What else could I ask for?In the long run, I think the Road Rally is most beneficial to those artists that are starting out and have to be put in the right direction. Not to seem egotistical, but I feel that I could have been a panelist. I know we're not 'monetarily' successful but the kinds of press ONOFFON generates would be inspirational in it's own way.Well... up next is the morning's Music Library panel. I intend to put one of our new CDs in each panel members hands and hope for the best. And then, my meeting with Bobby Borg...Next ONOFFON Road Rally update - tomorrow morning...