http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/ All the comings and goings of Maurice the Fish Records en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/ http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=49 General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=49 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:27:56 -0500 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=48
If you don't already know, I am a published poet in the US, and Internationally, as well as working on my first novel. So today I received this letter (email) from my publisher . . . I am very honored!!!

"Dear Terri,

The International Library of Poetry's Editors recently notified you of your selection to participate in The Best Poems and Poets of 2007. You were one of a select group of poets chosen because of your exceptional talent and the artistic foresight displayed in your poetic writings. All of us here are confident that your unique talent and artistic vision contributed to the importance and appeal of this special contest. In recognition of your poetic achievement, you are now a member of an exclusive group of the "Best Poets" from all around the world."

So what this means is . . . I submitted one of my poems for review to be included in "The Best Poems and Poets of 2007" anthology - about 10% of those submitted are even considered -- so for me this is HUGE!!

The poem I selected was accepted and will be published ... I am sharing this with you because the poem I selected was inspired by none other then the Chief Fish - Raymond Hayden - after I heard "September Sky" for the very first time in January 2008. Its title is "Music from the Soul" ... I am totally excited that it will be forever in print immortalizing my interpretation of Ray's music!! Dang!! It's just so cool! Thank you Ray for the inspiration!!!

Following is Terri’s amazing poem:

Music from the Soul
I close my eyes
Absolutely mesmerized
I sit listening with my heart
Weeping silently from the start
The melody washes over me
As a summer breeze caresses trees
I am a voyeur; peering inside
The music I feel is his disguise
His hands float across the ivory keys
Making bare for the world to see
Releasing the passion through his art
Opening the window to his heart
Music arranged beautifully
Unencumbered; completely free
Each note healing the pain
Releasing emotion with each refrain
A composition from his soul
Restoring shattered pieces to a whole

Copyright ©2007TerriLoisDowns

We are SO proud of you Terri!!]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=48 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:39:12 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=46 “Mystic Rhythm” was accepted into the HDFEST Film Festival!
Following is a portion of the email sent to Ray:

“Thanks again for your patience in waiting for the HDFEST announcements in regards to your music video's participation. And we have good news! Your film was indeed accepted, the HDFEST Review Committee viewed it among the best music videos submitted this year.

…. The event is the last week of January in LA. We will have the exact screening time for your video shortly for you.”

This is an amazing achievement for Ray and Art, who directed the film.
There will be more details coming…….
]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=46 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:22:30 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=45
This Thursday, October 2nd, several Maurice The Fish Records artists and staff will be taking Alaska by storm! On Friday, October 3rd, and Saturday, October 4th, the band Maurice The Fish will be performing, Raymond Hayden, Rob Rigoni, and BooJu will be playing their original music as well, at The Glass Door in the town of Yakutat. How fitting that it is a fishing village! We will be in Alaska for four days and three nights, with a flight tour thrown in. I can’t wait!

HUGE news for Danielle Egnew…… The Native American Music Awards Advisory Board has nominated her album, RED LODGE, as BEST FOLK RECORDING!!! Congratulations Danielle!!! And YOU can help her win! Just go to http://votenative.com/vote.cfm to cast your vote for me and RED LODGE! The 10th Annual Native American Music Awards (N.A.M.A.) will be featured in a free live internet broadcast via Single Feather Media, LLC on Saturday, October 4, 2008. The broadcast can be viewed by visiting WWW.NATIVEAMERICANMUSICAWARDS.COM or
WWW.SINGLEFEATHERMEDIA.COM.

Rikk Beatty has finished the recording and mastering of his album “Guitar Farm”! Rikk and his band have worked very hard to produce this amazing CD. There will be a release party soon, but in the meantime, check out a couple of the tunes on www.rikkbeatty.com.

Rob Rigoni, Raymond Hayden and BooJu’s Eric and Julianna Montgomery have been busy writing and performing new songs for CD’s to come after the first of the year. Rob has already recorded a few songs as well.

We have a busy year ahead and I’ll try to update you all more often. Thanks so much for your support.

Much love….Susan
]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=45 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:05:46 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=44
The McCormick Woods Show was a screaming success! To quote Shelly Maas, our Associate Director, “It was HOT, HOT, HOT, and I'm definitely not just talking about the weather”. To start off, the location was GORGEOUS! The stage was set up on the driving range of McCormick Woods Golf Course, a big, beautiful, grassy clearing in the woods. We set up 16 VIP tables in front of the stage and loaded them with lots of goodies such as CD’s, stickers and artist signed posters. There was a giant food and beverage tent filled with McCormick Woods and Silver City Brewery staff who gave outstanding service to everyone who wanted something to eat and/or an ice cold beer.

The merchandise table was manned by three young Maurice The Fish Records interns named Kasey Burdge, Keaton Luppino and Lauren Spahn. They did a great job getting the product out there and helping people with their questions.

People started arriving about 4:00 pm to get a good spot on the grass or to claim their VIP table. The VIP table wait staff was amazing, buzzing around the tables making sure everyone was well taken care of.

Calli Cuccardi (daughter of Shawn Cuccardi) started off the evening with an energetic version of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall. This little gal is a great talent and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from her in the future (Maurice The Fish Records Artist in training?).

BooJu, consisting of Eric and Julianna Montgomery, were up next. Their intro was hypnotic and they ramped it up from there. Their beautiful harmonies and musical arrangements were amazing and set the bar high for the rest of our Artists.

Our own “Jimmy Buffet on steroids”, Rob Rigoni, came roaring onto the stage with “Goodbye Zodiac” and got everyone in party mode. Along with the Rob Rigoni Band, he flew through his originals, some rock and some “sensitive”, showing his versatility.

Rikk Beatty was in FINE form as he started the next set with The Rikk Beatty Band; Kenny Wood, Chris Korzin and Tim Hogan. Rikk’s guitar playing was mesmerizing as he played tunes from his up-coming album “Guitar Farm”. His version of “Amazing Grace” echoing off of the trees surrounding us was nothing short of spiritual.

Next up was Raymond Hayden and The September Sky Band. Ray has been writing some incredible songs of late and he played several for us. Upbeat at times, and soulful at others, his voice was strong and his piano playing incredible.

Danielle Egnew took the stage with her Whiskey Roadshow Band, Rich Vaccaro on bass and Pam Jacobs on Drums, as the Headliner. As always, she was full of energy and her energy was contagious. She drew the crowd in with songs from her solo effort “Red Lodge”, as well as tunes from her bands Pope Jane and Junky Cousin. Her set ranged from folk to rock and her voice was outstanding on every one.

Following all of this music was a tremendous Band Jam where everyone came back up on the stage to play whatever came to mind. It was a spectacular way to end the evening.

A big thank you to everyone who supported Maurice the Fish Records. The wives and husbands, and significant others who pitched in wherever they could. Thank you to Courtney for the “Green Room” (more gas next time, heehee).
Next year will be even better!

A quick note from our fearless leader, Ray:

This weekend's ROCK THE WOODS event was a huge success. The official turnout was 325...based on tickets collected at the gate, sold and VIP attendance and a head count during the middle of the show. Official people count: 325. Believe it or not, there were 325 people there...just spread out. The 250 that were coming from the military weren't there due to the Aircraft Carrier Stennis going out to sea early.

For those of you, who attended and stayed till the very last note, thank you for your support. We had so much fun performing for you and look forward to next years' second annual event. It means so much to all of us at my label that you spent so much time with us.

Don't forget to check in at our website for up and coming shows, events, merchandise, BLOGS, and new music...etc....]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=44 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 01:50:09 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=43
There will be a BLOG about the event coming soon from our very own Susan Renville...and more photos. Just got back from hanging with Danielle Egnew and Rob Rigoni and had these great live shots of Calli Cucciardi in my email basket. Past and click on the following hyper link:

http://www.chrisshealy.com/maurice/callicucciardi/index.htm

Calli did a wonderful job of singing KT Tunstall's song....we are very proud of her here at Maurice the Fish Records....

much love,

raymond

P.S. Here is a shot from a fan:

]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=43 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:18:47 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=42









null












]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=42 Thu, 7 Aug 2008 23:44:31 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=41
]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=41 Wed, 6 Aug 2008 01:30:49 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=40
"A Day in the Life of a MTFR Street Team …

So Raymond asked me to blog about the Street Team adventure this past weekend. Of course I was honored that he asked; however, the more I thought I gave to it; I just wasn’t sure how to write about it. This is more like journalism of which I am not acquainted. You see I am a poet and spiritual writing – writing only from my heart with deep and intense passion and emotion. I see this as a challenge and opportunity, so here we go … I intend this little story will make you smile and laugh out loud.

The night before I said an intention that the following day’s venture would be successful and that Shelly and I would be received well by the communities; that they would be supportive in our effort to promote “Rock the Woods”. It never hurts to invoke your Higher Power and ask for assistance when traveling outside your comfort zone. As I drifted off to sleep I was wondering just what the heck I’d gotten my self into. I’m no sales person and some what shy … yes, I am!! But dog gone it I was going to put every ounce of energy into promoting these people that have filled my heart with joy over and over again. I was determined!

I arose at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning … I had 4 hours to prepare and I still wasn’t ready when Shelly arrived at my home at 8:30 a.m. … right on time! Mind you neither Shelly nor I knew each other prior to this … of course we’d seen each other at label parties and such, but hadn’t even had a conversation. We had never been introduced; however, by the end of the day we would know each other quite well. We were a great fit!

By 9:00 we had my little red coupe loaded and hit the road. Much to my chagrin I learned that Shelly was no more experienced in Street Teaming then I was … this was truly going to be an adventure and learning occasion for both of us.

Although the weather man promised rain, the sun was shining; the traffic was light …a perfect morning for a long drive. We spent our 45-minute drive to Port Orchard getting acquainted; sharing our “how we met Ray” story and how we got involved with the label.

We took the first Port Orchard exit and found most of the businesses closed. After all it was Sunday and not quite 10:00 am. Our first stop was Lowe’s. Here we would learn a valuable piece of information … most large chains do not allow advertising to be posted in the public area. The little gal at the information desk said she would post our flyer in the employee lounge. We were back on the freeway within 20 minutes and heading toward the next exit. Next stop “Auto Zone”. We walked into the store armed with flyers and “September Sky” CDs. Our experience here set the tone for the day. Not only did they post our flyer right by the front door, but we were given the name and number of their district manager … a potential corporate sponsor. Now we were pumped!!!

The first dozen or so businesses I took the lead and Shelly handed out the goodies. It didn’t take us long to get into our groove; one playing off the other or jumping in when we thought the other was loosing the “sale” … we meshed well. After 20 or so businesses we pretty much had our pitch down pat and took turn giving our little chat. It was working for us. It was funny how we just seemed to intuitively know which one of our little hooks would grab their interest. We found there were three that worked well … it’s a family event; the musicians are local artists; or it’s a community event and on the Chamber of Commerce calendar. I have to thank the Universe for giving me the idea of contacting the Chambers ahead of time and asking to have the event put on their calendar. WOO HOO!!

We became particularly fond of strip malls; hit every one between the freeway and downtown Port Orchard. Not only did we get a little exercise, but we could cover a large area in a short amount of time. At some point I decided we needed a goal … 100 businesses by 4:00 pm. Well we had to adjust the goal to 75, but hey it was our goal and we could change it at any time.

We rewarded each and every business with a CD … our way of saying thank your for supporting “us”. So Shelly says “do you see how there face lights up every time you hand them the CD?” Gratitude is a beautiful thing and I have no doubt this went a long way in securing our success. There were a few people that showed a great deal of interest and excitement … so we rewarded those people with a complimentary ticket. Shelly and I would like to send a special thank you to the guys at Good Year Tires, the gals at Desert Sun Tanning Salon, Godfather’s Pizza, Hobby Outlet, and Dairy Queen … winners of our complimentary tickets. You guys ROCK and we’ll look forward to seeing you at the concert.

The most difficult thing for me was staying focused. All those retail businesses, money in my pocket and so little time … I so love retail therapy! Shelly was instrumental in keeping me from wandering off … “I see you shopping with your eyes” … LOL! I’m definitely going back to the Variety Mall.

Here are few memorable moments from my partner:

“The lonely Auto Zone guy, who might have talked our ears off all day, but he was very sweet.”

“ALMOST going to Popeye’s instead of healthy Subway, but we had willpower and we did earn our DQ! = )” [We did take a 20-minute lunch break.]

“Last, but not least struggling to get out of your car, since I usually step down out of my big truck.” [She did learn how to roll out of the coupe by the end of the day!!]

“Overall, I had a great time with you and I hope to do it again sometime (or some other assignment).”

So our journey continues …

Four or so hours into our journey Shelly says “you know we haven’t even found downtown yet.” WHAT!! I didn’t know the area and I was amazed that we still hadn’t hit the heart of the town. Shelly will tell you I was “directionally challenged” and made a number of small detours and U-turns . . . I call them “Terri Adventures”. However, we were an unstoppable force and nothing was getting in the way of meeting our goal.

Nearly 6 hours and 77 businesses later we found “downtown” Port Orchard. OMGoodness we could have spent another 6 hours and still not hit every business. But alas most of the businesses were closed by that hour. We learned that Sunday may not have been the best choice to Street Team in small town USA. We walked out of business number 78, a little wine shop, feeling a bit smug and quite pleased with our work. We headed for DQ and our much earned ice cream treat. Truth be told, it was what kept us going that last hour or so – we were exhausted. We sat for 30 minutes enjoying ourselves, chatting, and recapping the day. We made a mental list for our next escapade … more people, go on a Saturday, uhhhh find out where downtown is before you hit the road and take label T-shirts! I was wearing mine and we did have a request for one.

So that about brings our story to an end … no wait … our adventure was not over quite yet … LOL! I must tell this part of the story – its Shelly’s favorite! As we “attempted” to merge from 16 to I-5 a 36-foot motor home, towing a trailer was intentionally blocking cars from merging in front of him and holding up the entire merging process. Dueling with this less then kind commuter was not my idea of fun, but we were running out of time and lane! It was at this point that Shelly was treated to my vast array of colorful vocabulary. I lost the battle, but did manage to merge before our lane ended. We moved over a couple of lanes and passed the motor home, cheering!! So a short time later here comes Mr. Motor Home passing us on the right and I made an amazing discovery … Shelly knows sign language … LMAO!!! We decided karma would have a hand in teaching this man a lesson or two about road etiquette … ya’ know what goes around comes around … and left it at that.

We arrived in my driveway a short time later totally spent. We said our goodbyes with smiles and hugs still reveling in the satisfaction for a job well done! We visited 78 businesses and posted the flyer in 75 of them … not bad for a couple of inexperienced, middle-aged, street teamers."

Terri and Shelly are the greatest!
'Til next time............]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=40 Mon, 4 Aug 2008 23:57:31 -0400 http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=39
Well tomorrow is Paul's last day on the tour and he has a buddy of his who plays guitar for the backup lead singer of Judas Priest as well as the most recent singer for Yngwie Malmsteen coming on the truck. The TLB folks will be on the truck for 2 more shows then I am on my own for the last show. I fly home on the 2nd then fly back out on the 3rd to Utah. I will fly back home on the 7th then be off till August 25th.

Well its late but lobby call is not until 11:00am tomorrow so thank God for that!!!!

Keep Rockin'!!!

-Rikk]]> General http://mauricethefishrecords.com/blog/index.php?itemid=39 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:23:35 -0400