Bob McKillop: News

Hi folks!

My debut CD, "Portland Afternoon", has arrived and is ready for release! Please come to my CD release party on Saturday, April 19, at 8:00 PM at The North Star Music Cafe, 225 Congress Street, in Portland!

It looks as though I may be getting a little press, so keep an eye out in the local papers for articles about the new CD!

Hi everyone!

OK, I'm pretty excited - things are moving quickly now!

- I got the CD master from Scott Elson at Acadia recording;
- I got the final artwork from my good friend Klaus Steinort!
- I delivered all that stuff to Dave Phillips at EkoDisk, so he could manufacture my CDs!
- set the tunes up for digital distribution through TuneCore!
- set the CD up for on-line ordering through Nimbit/CDFreedom!
- Registered the tunes with ASCAP!
- Took delivery of some advance promotional CDs from EkoDisk!
- Got some of those promo disks out to local press and radio!
- Got some excellent help from Ceci Gilson at Omnivore Media, who wrote and distributed my press release to press, radio, TV, and magazines!

The shipment of CDs is due in a couple of weeks - I'm ready to roll! All I need is YOU! Please consider coming to my CD release party and purchasing a copy of "Portland Afternoon"!

The party is at:
The North Star Music Cafe
225 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
207*699*2994
www.northstarmusiccafe.com
8:00 to 10:30 PM
Saturday April 19, 2008
THE MUTINEERS will open the show at 8:00!!

Hope to see you there!

Another exciting event!

On the morning of my CD release party (April 19), I will be at the Red Cross Donor Center, playing a few tunes and giving away free copies of "Portalnd Afternoon" to all blood donors!

Giving blood is so important - it's easy and it helps so many people. I just passed a milestone of which I am very proud -I've given 3 gallons of blood since 2001!

Please help the Red Cross by donating a pint! You'll feel great about it, and, you'll get a free copy of my new CD!

The Blood Donor Center is at:
524 Forest Avenue in Portland (207) 775-2367
http://www.newenglandblood.org/maine/portland.htm

See you there!

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie Gaylord, host of WBLM's local music radio show, "Greetings from Area Code 207"!

Charlie recorded an interview segment for the show; we talked about my new venture, MaineFolkMusic.com, about my upcoming CD release, and about the local music scene.

It was a blast! Charlie is a real professional, but laid back and easy to talk to at the same time.

The show will air at 8:00 PM on Wed February 6, and will repeat on Sunday, February 10, at 9:00 AM

Check the calendar page for details!

Today, Vanessa Torres and Heather Caston sang beautifully into the microphones at Acadia Recording Company in Portland; that completed the recording of the tracks for my debut CD, a six-song EP disc called "Portland Afternoon"!

I'll be working hard to complete the rest of the stuff that needs doin' prior to the April 19 CD release party at the North Star Music Cafe!

MaineFolkMusic.com has launched! "Maine's Folk Music Homepage" hit the web today, with news about Maine folk venues; profiles of Steve Forbert, Vance Gilbert, and Peter Mulvey; reviews of CDs by Don Campbell, and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant! The exclusive content page offers stuff you won't find anywhere else: two great new songs by Shanna Underwood, and a video of Peter Mulvey performing his tune "Knuckleball Suite" at the North Star Music Cafe!

Content is updated on the 16th of each month, so check out this month's offerings, and be ready for the new stuff on Feb 16th!

http://www.mainefolkmusic.com/

I am excited to have been selected for a leadership position with two great organizations - the Portland Music Foundation and the Maine Songwriters Association!

I was invited to be on the Board of Trustees with the PMF - it's an advisory board to Board of Directors. I'll be helping out with the newsletter, among other things!

I was elected by the membership of the MSA to a position on the Board of Directors of that organization - my second term on that board (I served a year on the board three years ago!) Taylor Mesple of The Maple Room is the president of the organization, and I am eager to work with him and the other great board members to help the MSA continue to grow and serve the songwriters of Maine.

I feel that I have been the beneficiary of a lot of help from a lot of people in the local music scene, since I moved to Maine. I'm very happy to try and repay that help in a small way by serving on these boards!

I have initiated an ambitious new project - a web site devoted to promoting and supporting folk music in Maine!

MaineFolkMusic.com will launch on January 16, 2008, and will include news stories, reviews, profiles, event listings, and special audio content, all focused on folk musicians, folk venues, and folk music fans!

Finding news and information about the folk music scene in Maine has been a tedious task up until now. Features in daily and weekly newspapers are few and far between. Coverage of folk and acoustic music takes a back seat to rock and pop music in our markets. My new website will attempt to be the answer to this problem!

Take a look at the pre-release webpage when you get a chance!

http://www.mainefolkmusic.com/

There will be some preview content on the site before launch date, so check it out!

I spent two half-days at Acadia Recording Company in the Bayside section of Portland this weekend, recording the lead vocals on my upcoming debut EP.

Marc Bartholomew and Scott Elson continue to amaze me with their technical expertise, their discriminating ear for quality, and their high standards for getting the best out of their clients.

I'm getting more and more excited as this project steadily moves toward completion.

April 19, 2008 - the release party!

I'm very honored and happy to have been asked to join the Board of Trustees of the new Portland Music Foundation!

The Board of Trustees is made up of active members of the music community, and they advise and support the PMF Board of Directors in moving the organization forward.

The Portland Music Foundation was founded by a number of Portland music community veterans and its nine board members include Grammy winner and Gateway Mastering engineer Adam Ayan, WCCY "Spinout" host Mark Curdo, Citadel Radio's Herb Ivy and Wendell Clough, Studio sound engineer Jim Begley, music writer Sam Pfeifle, Live Nation booker and promoter Lauren Wayne, and Skyline Booking's Pat May and Mark Lourie.

I'm looking forward to helping the PMF help local musicians in achieving their goals!

Thanks to Mary "Uke Lady" Hargreaves for asking me to appear on her TV show, "Mainely Musicians", on Great Falls Community Access TV!

Mary spends some time interviewing me, both before and after I play a set of six of my songs. The show came out great, and I'd love you to take a look at it if you get the chance.

The show will air on Saturdays in November, at 8:00 PM, on Channel 2 (or, Channels 1,2, or 3 if you have Oxford Networks cable), in Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon, Lisbon Falls,Sabattus, and Mechanics Falls, ME.

It can also be viewed on the producer's webpage (thanks, Brian Soucy!) at the website below -

www.banddmusicservice.com

Let me know what you think!

I am very excited about my upcoming trip to Monticello, NY, for the annual North East Regional Folk Alliance conference, November 9 - 11!

I am travelling to NY and collaborating with four other Maine songwriters and artists, staging three "guerilla showcases" in our hotel room, where the five of us and thirteen other folk artists from around the country will perform.

My four NERFA buddies, all local Maine artists, are: Emilia Dahlin, Vanessa Torres, Phil Daligan, and Adam Frederick.

I am also looking forward to taking in the conference workshops, networking with other music business professionals, and generally getting my feet wet in the regional folk music community!

I have written a review of the new, debut CD for the local acoustic band "Truth About Daisies", and it is posted out on MaineToday.com on the Events page! Go check it out at:

http://entertainment.mainetoday.com/

I highly recommend that you go to the CD release party for this disc, at One Longfellow Square (181 State Street) in Portland, on November 10, at 8:00 PM - the $8.00 ticket price will be money well-spent! And buy the CD!

I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to post an occasional music review on MaineToday.com - it's a lot of fun, and I apprceciate Shannon Bryan's willingness to post my work. I also appreciate the artists' support for my reviews!

I am pleased to report that my CD project is moving along nicely!

I spent two days in the studio, at Acadia Recording Company in Portland's Bayside neighborhood, in mid-October. Working with Marc Bartholemew and Scott Elson is a real pleasure!

I am lucky to have some very talented local musicians helping me out on this project. My musical partner Alan Dickson put down some great bass tracks, as well as his signature mandolin parts. Jeff Trippe of The Mutineers is helping me with some wonderful fiddle music. Jason Ingalls kept us all in line on drums!

I've heard some rough mixes, and I'm very happy with how the songs are developing. We are still on track for an April release of this six-song EP - stay tuned!

I am getting such a kick out of my continuing job as once-a-month host for the Maine Songwriters Association Showcase and Open Mic! This event takes place every Thursday evening, beginning at 7:00 PM, at the North Star Music Cafe in Portland. I host the show every second Thursday of the month, and it's a blast. Each week, there are four great MSA songwriters who take the stage for 35 minutes sets, and then a well-attended open mic begins at 9:30 PM.

I'd love to see you there when I host, but come on any Thursday night - it's a great night of music and fun!

You can get more info on the MSA showcase at the Maine Songwriters Association webpage at www.mesongwriters.com; More info about the North Star Music Cafe at http://www.northstarmusiccafe.com/

Anyone who loves music and who supports local community based radio is a big fan of WMPG radio, FM 90.9 and 104.1 in greater Portland (streamed live on the web at WMPG.org.)

Please consider making a pledge to WMPG during this season's "Beg-a-thon"; you can call WMPG at (207) 780-4943 or pledge online at their website, http://www.wmpg.org/.

If you'd like to make your pledge count as support from the Maine Songwriters Association and it's fans, mention the MSA showcase on the Friday evening show, "Local Motives" as your motivation for calling. It would be great if you could call in during the show, this Friday, October 5th, between 7:30 and 9:00 PM.

Five Maine Songwriters Association members will be participating in the Local Motives segment of the "Beg-a-thon", including me and Alan Dickson, plus, Phil Daligan, Vanessa Torres, and Jon Call!

We'll be playing tunes, backing each other up, and talking to hosts Jan Wilkinson and Mindy Cairn about how important WMPG is to our musical lives.

Hope you can join us and listen in!

Hey everyone!

This past week, I completed my three-course on-line program with Berklee School of Musicl! I now have a certificate as a "Specialist in the Music Business"!

I took a course on record label management, one on music publishing, and the third course was "The Future of Music and the Music Business".

I got all the book-learnin', now I just need a little real world experience!

I'm hoping to focus all of the various music business activities that I've been initiating lately into an artist management and/or publishing venture over the next year or so.. I know that this education will help me succeed with that.

I would recommend the Berklee on-line school to anyone interested in learning to play an instrument, produce recordings, write songs, launch a music business, or any of the many types of programs that Berklee offers. I am definitely a satisfied customer!

Hey, folks, remember that CD that was supposed to be released by now? Well, I'm gonna try it again!

I'm working with Scott Elson and Marc Bartholomew at Acadia Recording, in the Bayside section of Portland. There will be several great loca musicians backing me up, and I'm hoping to finish recording, mixing, and mastering by the end of the year. I'm planning an April release - so stay tuned; I really think it's gonna happen this time!

McKillop and Dickson had a great time and a great set at the Yarmouth Clam Festival, on July 21 and 22nd, at the Memorial Green stage - we entertained more than a hundred people while they chowed down on seafood and enjoyed the great summer weather! 2007 was our second year at the Clam Festival, and we enjoyed it so much - we're hoping we can make this an annual tradition!

Joe Farren released his new CD this month, and I got another opportunity to review a great piece of work by a local singer/songwriter!

You can read my review on MaineToday.com at the link below:
http://entertainment.mainetoday.com/

or, on Joe's webpage, below:
http://www.joefarren.com/

Let me know what you think!