StreetcredMusic, New York City, Angels in the City. Thursday.

My time in NYC, this time....Wednesday night I left open for some old friends, I usually do that on one night of my stays in New York City. Good way to fall into the flow of the food and entertainment the city offers.(drinking)

...Thursday was a full day. As always some great conversation, we shot a couple of videos, had some laughs, some Russian Tea...Russian Tea? (that's tea made by a Russian) a vegan dinner, with Tessa Lena.

#Rated 1 Experimental Artist in NYC ReverbNation

The two videos? One of Tessa speaking on the coming IPO of Spotify, is being edited..
...have it for you soon!!

While we are waiting for that video, Tessa has a new page for us to enjoy it's called..'Tessa Fights Robots'  Check it out.

The time just flies when you are with her, she is so informed on all issues, charming and has a wonderful sense of humor, that matches her talent and intellect. Delightful woman.

Tessa Lena of 'Tessa Makes Love'

>Thing that makes her so likable to me..she has been 'around the block' as we use to say back in the day. Meaning? basically she has experienced life, starting as a kid in the Soviet Union, learned from it and really knows how messed up society is now and wants to make change for the better. xo

After dinner we took in 'Seasonal Beast' gig featuring Yula Beeri.
Nice Thursday.


follow me: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic, From Los Angeles, Gina Carey

I would like all my New York City songstresses to take a 'slide step' to your right. I want to bring in a soul sister from LA.
Gina Carey has a great new CD coming in three weeks, release date is set for February 10th, 2015.

 ...have a look at the single 'Dance' from The Soul Singer

                          Enjoy the video:: 'Dance' HERE:

Born in Chicago and raised in Los Angles, Gina Carey, is a woman of many talents. Her soulful and yet angelic tone is unique, and can be easily identified in all of her recordings. Gina's soulful delivery, takes listeners back to the era where R&B and Soul music dominated.

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Take it from me, born and raised on R&B, Gina is the real deal, I can't wait to hear the entire CD!

Follow Gina on facebook:: HERE

Follow me: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic: Tessa Lena, 'Virus Of Fear'

My friend, Tessa Lena is a musician living in New York. Her professional background is in classical piano, ethnomusicology, linguistics, and computers. She fronts the band Tessa Makes Love. 
........Robots are on her $hit list.

She captured me in our very first meeting with her charm, intellect, and her outspokenness.
....her opinions and her music are a 'step out' of what musicians usually have to say.
...She really wants to inflect information on her followers, not the bullshit we are all being force fed.
...for me being a relative newcomer to music and its 'conveyor belt' mentality,
     ...she has shined a light   into the dark corners of the music $$biz!

Here is her take on some recent events:
Tessa:: "I think a lot about people, I observe, I feel, I try to understand their inside before I listen to their ideas. It is so, so obvious that we all differ by individual qualities (and how we choose to deal with our highs and lows) a lot more than by our self-identifying religion, race or political ideology. People who choose good, figure out a humane version of their ideology. When they see another person, they see a human who, just like them, bleeds red. People who are broken on the inside, are attracted to ignorance and a hard punch, because identity is electricity. It drives and supports.

The Band 'Tessa Makes Love'

If one’s cultural self-image leads to aggression or discrimination against others, it’s a sure sign that the person got a virus of fear, no matter what the ideology is. A Muslim supremacist and a Jewish supremacist might hate each other but they are, essentially, one person. They carry and feed the same virus. The person who feels that he is more special because he is white, and the person who feels that he is more special because his black, are the same person. And yes, they might treat you better or worse depending on whether you are “one of their own”, but something on the inside is so poisonous about it. There is a sea of a difference between the camaraderie we all feel towards compatriots (especially when abroad) and acting as if “our kind” is actually closer to God."
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I have stolen (with her permission) several other articles from Tessa, type 'Tessa Lena' in the search box to see them....

follow Tessa:: HERE             On Twitter:: @TessaMakesLove

follow me:: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic 'Artists in New York' Part XVI, Kate Szekely

In November when I visited The HiveNYC to see a production of Ibsen's 'Peer Gynt' directed by Oded Beeri, I was introduced to some of New York City's best young performers.


Kate Szekely, is one of them. I asked Kate to introduce herself to you as part of my 'Artists in New York' series.

Kate Szekely

'Artists in New York'

Kate:  Pete, thank you, again, for giving me the space to share this!!
 "I moved to New York a little over six years ago to attend school. I couldn't believe that I had gotten into New York University, let alone for acting at the prestigious Stella Adler School of Acting! It was all kind of a whirl wind. 

When I got here, I thought I was the coolest thing. I made a point to get lost every day to learn my surroundings to the point that I could sound like a "real" New Yorker. 

Needless to say, school, student loans, rent, five different part time jobs--you know, LIFE-- took the cockiness right out of me. After a few years, New York actually challenged me artistically. I think everyone has a little dark part of themselves that comes to New York for the game and glory it could offer, to 'make it.' But if you stay here long enough, the energy of the city starts to change you.

It's one of those places where you can be in the middle of Times Square with a million people but feel totally alone. That's draining on a person. I don't think I was ever close to quitting, but I did consider maybe trying another place to live. Something that would be a little more forgiving.

However, New York is a place, once you shed enough blood, sweat and tears, that will give you so much once it's broken you down. In the last two years, I've met the love of my life, which ultimately refocused my artistic life. Instead of doing everything possible to make my craft complex and sexy and groundbreaking, I try to begin simply. Find the love and heart in the role; listen; collaborate.

 Then, I met Yula Beeri and my new family at The Hive, who gave me the confidence and freedom and love that I'd read about artists in New York, but which I'd never seen.

Kate, with a young Peer Gynt.

By building this community of people I love, New York opened up it's creative potential. I find that that my work is now not something I show, but rather something I do; it flows. New York, I think, allowed me to grow up. It nurtured me, punished me, challenged me, tempted me and, ultimately, let me discover the endless possibilities of me. And it is this limitless sense of possibility I try to bring into every moment of my work."

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 Kate is originally from Michigan...

'Peer Gynt' will have two more performances, January 29th & 30th, at The HiveNYC.
...it is a wonderful intimate venue, get  TICKETS HERE!

Kate will be directing 'The Tempest' this summer at The HiveNYC.
I'll be on top of that for you guys, as always, for the great performances at The Hive!
 
Follow Kate:: HERE         

Follow me:: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic: Rita Castor, The Music 'Business'.

First off thanks to my friend, Pete Carma, for again opening up his blog to let us speak out, when, and take it from me...nobody else will.

Pete likes to be brief and to the point on this blog, so here it is.

 My name is Rita Castor, no wait that's a lie. I work for a music corporation. So for me to be on social media as my 'real life' self, would lead to gosh knows what.
I have been selling, promoting, producing and working hand in hand with musicians, singers, songwriters, and wannabe's for 11 years...under the corporate structure.

Me, 1982

I call it the music 'business' because if you think you are an artist, especially if you are indie, think again. It is a business like all others, I like to think of it as selling shampoo, you may have great hair, but who will see it, who will by your shampoo?

My goal here is to follow Pete's idea when he created this blog, and always be positive.
But as he and I talk all the time, I see so many young people aspiring to get ahead by, if you excuse the Wharton, spending more than they earn. This is a no win situation in so many ways.

Here are a few: and keep in mind, if you have a day gig and make a great salary, and music is a hobby or a pastime...stop reading here.

If not, think about this...if your expenses are too high, like paying a manager, a publicist, producers, mixers, and the return on all that is less then the cost, you are operating at a loss ( business sense) not only in money...
you are probably living in a place not suitable, not being able to play the non paying gigs, because you have to pay your band, so getting 'out there' is a problem...your creativity suffers when you have to take work that takes you from what you love...to PAY OTHERS!

I'll be writing again here on Streetcred....but let me leave you with this thought, cause I have to be brief... Pete Carma had his butt sitting down with three CEO's of record factories, two years ago, and he never wrote a song, or performed anywhere, what he did was believe in the women he was trying to help break out...so I guess he believes in some of you more that you believe in yourselves????
No?
...then stop paying people who say they can help, for a part of the income you don't have to spare...get a subway pass and knock on some doors. Send emails, but get in the face of some people who can help. Jump over the PR expense, I know! I do this for a living, and if someone contacts me directly, I will give them a shot, I will listen to them.

Grow a pair, for every gig, make phone calls, send emails, NOT FORMAL PRESS RELEASES, personally plead you case to get the people you want to see you to your show!!

Not a bad idea to greet people on their way in and out, instead of hangin with your friends who got in free and will never buy your shit!!

Bye.

The Missing Links Part II. Cezara Lucia Vladescu, Jade Simmons

She calls herself the missing link between classic and jazz. and "The face of the new era"
I agree.  Cezara Lucia Vladescu
She is a breath of fresh air in music, outspoken, creative and beautiful.

"They were coming towards me. Looking worried. I didn't understand "why". Obviously they all knew the answer. So why worry when you know. My worriedness suddenly became pleasant. I guess one can always fight the unpleasant by having bigger worries.
Bigger worries became the key to all my problems.
Thank God I have a lot of those. "

 Cezara Lucia Vladescu

 GR8 video, Enjoy this wonderful musician:: 'It Looks Like Rain'

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Jade Simmons  Entrepreneur, teacher, writer, motivator, mom, amazing pianist. Her latest project in music is 'Rachmaninoff to Rap'.

"We're only human. We have a ton of excuses. Just do your best to constantly misplace them so that you can never find them when you're most desperately looking for one"

'Superwoman' Jade Simmons

        GR8 video, Enjoy::'Boss's Nova'


          Check out......  Missing Links Pt 1

Follow, Cezara Lucia Vladescu:: HERE           Follow, Jade Simmons:: HERE


follow me:: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic: Photo of the Year 2014

This is it, my choice for best photo of 2014.

>My photo of the year?? Every year it's the photo with the most meaning, time and place, people involved and the significance it had on the blog...Emotion is most important, the quality of the photo is secondary.

............AND the winner is:

Me and Greta Panettieri, Rockwood Music Hall, Nov 2014

 This to me is who we are. Eye to eye, shoulder to shoulder. For five years we have worked together, and been friends. We have had things fall apart, plans that we made, but we always made them turn out better in the long run.

Whether her messages started out 'bad news' or 'top secret', we were always on the same page.
She's one of those people who 'get' life. She inspired me to do this blog and as a result I have helped two hundred or so artists. We have always supported each other.....and most of all this blog never would have gotten off the ground without her contributions.
         That's just a few of the many reasons this is my
                  ............ 'Photo of the Year' 2014.
                                            Grazie di tutto, mia stupenda amica
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Here's her: FB page  give her a 'like' and tell her I sent you!

Photo by: Sam Teichman

follow me:: Pete Carma

StreetcredMusic: Three Final Pics, for Photo of the Year 2014

Got it down to 3......... the three photos in the running for StreetcredMusic's Photo of 2014.
Chosen by me. I'll choose the winner in a day or two.

 >My photo of the year?? Every year it's the photo with the most meaning, time and place, people involved and the significance it had on the blog...Emotion is most important, the quality of the photo is secondary. The three remaining are:

Yula Beeri at the CD release extravaganza, for Kiss Slash Crooked Smile's 'Ethereal Dance'

               

Photo by Erin Pellnat

Me and Greta Panettieri, when she returned to New York City, 5 years after we first met.
     ...At the place we met Rockwood Music Hall. November 2014.

Photo by Sam Teichman

....and last but not least, a selfie, no story here, just friends.
                       ...me and Yuli Beeri

Photo by Yuli

follow me:: Pete Carma