An open letter to everyone…by John M. Ellison IV

On August 3, 2011 I found out that my album “Treacherous Cretins” is available on iTunes. To say that I’m elated would be an understatement. It’s weird, a few years ago I shared my music with a few friends of mine and they liked what they heard. Well, after that I mentioned to some more people that I did an album and they wanted to hear it too. So, I put up some of my songs on Soundclick.com. Then after that I thought that I might as well make a Myspace page for my music. The response was modest but positive. Anyway, due to certain events, I got discouraged and slowed down on creating music and I started to doubt myself and considered quitting music all together. That’s when I started Ghettopunkrocker.com to share other people’s music and my writings until I got my spark back musically. To help get me out of my rut, the missus suggested that I make some adjustments to my Reverbnation page. In fact, she encouraged me to get involved with the “Digital Distribution” program that got the album on iTunes and Spotify.com.

While working on the adjustments to the page…I thought that I might as well release the album in its entirety because it was nagging at me. Well, I decided that I might as well put it on there. After a week, it started to get a little buzz. Now, the response for “Treacherous Cretins” has been overwhelming. I really didn’t know this many people were going to like it. I know this might be kind of cliché but I just want to thank everyone who’s ever said a kind word to me when I was down, I want to thank every artist that I’ve corresponded with and gave me advice. Your words made a huge difference in one fan boy’s life.

Musicians Who Can Rock a Poker Table by Julia Maxwell

Music and poker might not seem very similar on the surface but like a lot of pursuits, it takes a lot of practice and dedication to be skilled at music as well as poker. It’s easy to be a casual player and learn a few riffs or enjoy a poker cash game or tournament occasionally at an “internet casino” but you’ll have to put in plenty of work if you want to get better, whether it’s at the poker tables or rocking out with friends.

The good news is that there are plenty of great examples to emulate, as far as musicians of all types that have had plenty of success at the poker tables. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is the biggest and most popular poker tournament each year, drawing thousands of poker players each and every year. Among them are plenty of celebrities and musicians, many of whom are there to not only get a little bit of free publicity but to hopefully show that they’re not just one-trick ponies and that they know a thing or two about poker.

Coolio, Nelly, and Ja Rule have all taken a shot at the WSOP, although none have broken through with a big cash yet. Aside from the hip/hop and rap stars, other musicians such as Sully Erna of Godsmack have fared much better, with Erna cashing in consecutive years in the Main Event as well as notching a 2nd place finish in a Bellagio Cup event that was worth a very nice payday of $307,325. French singer Patrick Bruel, though, is the king of musicians that play poker, with more than $1 million in lifetime cashes which included winning a WSOP bracelet in 1998 – in addition to $224,000 in cash for that win.

Scott Ian of Anthrax may not have any big results to his name but he’s one of the more visible poker fans, doing several different interviews for Casino Reviews sites about his love for the game. He claims that he’s had to rearrange Anthrax’s summer touring schedule several times so that he could play in the Main Event, and is an avid online player as well when he’s on the road. He’s also the envy of poker players everywhere, as his regular metal home game includes Jerry Cantrell, Kirk Hammett, and Slash — not a bad lineup at all.

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Sleigh Bells Sampled Funkadelic Are You Listening by John M. Ellison IV

Did anybody notice Sleigh Bells sampled a Funkadelic song?

On July 31st, 2011 at 1:00 am ET/10 pm PT, the classic MTV show 120 Minutes returned with Matt Pinfield returning as host. The show wasn’t bad; it featured a video from “Jeff the Brotherhood” and other indie rock fare. Then the video for Sleigh Bell’s “Rill Rill” came on. I didn’t pay attention to it but then after it droning on in the background the song sounded familiar…no pun intended. At first I thought “Lola” by the Kinks? No, it wasn’t the Kinks. Then I realized that it was Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That?” off of the “Maggot Brain” album from 1971. Since this was a sample, I was curious and went to see if the Sleigh Bells gave George Clinton and Ernie Harris got a writer’s credit for their song “Rill Rill.” Well, sort of…the band Sleigh Bells did give Ernie Harris and George Clinton a songwriter’s credit. Trouble is that they have given the wrong “George Clinton” a writer’s credit. In this case, they credited film composer “George S. Clinton” with the sample. They should’ve credited the song to “George Clinton Jr.” if they were trying to compensate George Clinton. To be fair, I can understand the mistake but bottom line I really feel they should’ve done their research.
Check it out for yourself.

Sleigh Bells-Rill Rill

Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill from momandpopmusic on Vimeo.

Funkadelic-Can You Get to That