Title: Tributes pour in for Heavy D

Excerpt: The tributes came in from all quarters of the entertainment industry for Heavy D, who was born Dwight Arrington Myers in Mandeville in 1967. That's fitting as he was not only a rapper, but served as president of Uptown Records and became a more than competent actor, appearing in the Oscar-winning movie, The Cider House Rules and the critically-acclaimed television drama, Boston Legal.

Excerpt: In terms of music, Heavy D never left his roots. He was best known as leader of Heavy D and the Boys, one of the many acts who defined the New Jack Swing era of the early 1990s.

Excerpt: Heavy D grew up in New York City at a time when Jamaican culture was moving out of the underground. Music from 'yard' made it into the tri-state area through distribution stores like Brad's, Moodies and VP Records, the revamped Randys Records.

Excerpt: A member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, he pledged to get reggae the exposure it deserved at the annual Grammy Awards. He even cut a reggae-influenced album, Vibes, which was released in 2008.

Title: Michael Franti Invites 12-Year Old To Open Concert

Excerpt: When Franti arrived, Jade played “Change” for him and he was so affected by the song’s powerful message and her passionate singing voice that he invited her and her family to attend the show as his special guests. Then, just before taking the stage, Franti introduced the young Little Kids Rock student to a packed crowd of over 2,000 as she performed the song for the largest audience she had ever seen.

Excerpt: Though Franti was running late to the soundcheck due to a hospital visit, the students met the band and even got to plug in and play a few songs for them.

Excerpt: Jade’s life has changed from the day she began learning to play guitar to the day she opened for Michael Franti at the Wellmont Theatre. Due to the positive impact that music has had on her life, she is destined for many more wonderful changes.

Title: Ziggy donates used strings for charity

Excerpt: Over 150 artists, including Keith Richards, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, and John Mayer have donated strings for the bracelets, which each come with a certificate of authenticity.

“These are strings that these musicians have used and would normally throw away,” says co-president and designer Hannah Garrison, “It’s great that we can recycle them and also offer people a chance to wear rock n roll on their wrists.”

Excerpt: Want a little rockstar on your wrist? Stop by WearYourMusic.org and get the deets.

Title: Charity Auction for Premium Seats To Kokua Festival!

Excerpt: The Kokua Festival is back in 2010! Hawaii’s own Jack Johnson is proud to host the 6th Kokua Festival Earth Day weekend - Friday, April 23rd and Saturday, April 24th - at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii. All proceeds from the festival go to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Jack and Kim Johnson in 2003 to support environmental education programs in the schools and communities of Hawaii. Joining Jack on stage this year will be Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal & The Hula Blues Band, Jake Shimabukuro, and Anuhea.

Each Kokua Festival Charity Auction package includes:

Two (2) Premium Orchestra Pit Seats within the first 3 rows
One (1) Autographed “Jack Johnson: En Concerte” Delux CD/DVD Pack
One (1) Kokua Festival Poster
One (1) Kokua Festival Water Bottle
One (1) Kokua Festival Towel
One (1) Kokua Festival Tote Bag

Title: Ziggy on Aaron Nigel Smith's new record

Excerpt: Aaron Nigel Smith assembles an all-star team to create this super cool children's CD, “Everyone Loves to Dance,” set to release on January 15, 2010. Parents and kids alike will love these hip original tunes, as well as funky new arrangements of popular classics. Ziggy Marley, Kevin Richardson from Backstreet Boys, DJ DREZ, and local LA artists Rhythm Child rock with Aaron on select songs. Grammy Award-winning mixer Myke Aaron closes out the CD with three pumping dance mixes that will keep the whole family jammin’.

Title: Tuff Gong musicians celebrated

Excerpt: musicians and producers who worked on the albums for Stephen and Ziggy Marley enjoyed the thanksgiving party that was held at Tuff Gong International Limited, Marcus Garvey Drive, on Friday evening.

Excerpt: The party took place in the newly added herbal garden. There, the guests partook in ital dishes, juices and liquor that were available. There were also some older musicians, who sat around a table chatting, smoking and drinking, while telling tales of how they got started in music.

Some of the persons present were Ronai Gordon, Denver Smith, Bongo Herman and Sticky Thompson, who worked on Stephen's Mind Control and Ziggy's Family Time albums.

Title: Wear Your Music makes recycled bracelets that rock

Excerpt: Wear Your Music--a brand that represents the intersection of music, fashion and philanthropy--is offering fans of everyone from Avril Lavigne to Ziggy Marley a chance to own a piece of rock-and-roll history, while supporting charities such as Unicef, Rock the Vote and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Excerpt: The New York-based group creates bangle-style bracelets crafted from used guitar strings that have been donated by more than 150 artists, including such guitar luminaries as Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Pete Townshed, as well as members of The Allman Brothers Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Metallica, My Morning Jacket, Phish, Social Distortion and Widespread Panic.

Excerpt: "These are strings that these musicians have used and would normally throw away," Wear Your Music co-president and designer Hannah Garrison said in a media release. "It's great that we can recycle them and also offer people a chance to wear rock and roll on their wrists."

Title: Marley's mentor gets music honour

Excerpt: Island Records founder Chris Blackwell received a special honour at the Music Week magazine awards in London.
He was picked from a shortlist of 20 leading UK-based executives.

Excerpt: The label signed pioneering artists like Jimmy Cliff, Traffic, Nick Drake and Roxy Music in the 1960s and '70s, and Mr Blackwell discovered future reggae legend Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1972.

Excerpt: Mr Blackwell was not at the ceremony, but described the honour as "unbelievable" in a video message.

Title: Lorna Wainwright - Girl next door now studio manager

Excerpt: Lorna Wainwright has been playing an important role in the reggae music industry for many years, but most of her work has been behind the scenes. She's now the manager of the Tuff Gong recording studio on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, but it took several years of hard work to get there.

Excerpt: Wainwright has been a staple in the Tuff Gong family. She had been Rita Marley's secretary and road manager, as well as road manager for the I-Threes.

In 1992, she took on the post of studio manager at Tuff Gong and has been there ever since. She is also project manager for some of the Marley family charities and is a consultant for the Bob Marley Trust.

Excerpt: She now dedicates much of her time to working with pregnant teenagers through the Rita Marley Foundation. Many of these teenagers are victims of incest and rape. She has three children and two grandchildren.

Title: Michael Franti - Power To The Peaceful

Excerpt: Franti has been ignored by mainstream radio to some degree, but his music, in true “lamp on a bushel basket” style flows torrentially through the spirit brand music scene. Franti’s message of peace, justice and truth telling has struck a chord. Franti has walked barefoot for years to highlight the inequity between first and third world countries, and puts on free concerts to support his activism.

Excerpt: MF: I believe that it takes more than governance to solve the problems of the world. It takes people in the private sector, it takes people in the non-profit world. It takes action, you know? My music is (meant) to inspire consciousness that can turn into action. We support a number of non-profit groups. Everything from prisons, prison awareness, prison activism, to environmental groups, like Rock the Earth, and to our own private peaceful organization, which is non-profit, that works in the US and other countries, helping to bring music, art, and culture to people rather than violence and gangs. I feel right now is the time, especially in this country, when we’ve been through a very dark period. In order for us to move beyond that, it’s going to take the action of individuals and people coming together to form organizations and so on. I think efforts like yours and creating databases, and creating ways for people to link up with one another is really important.

Title: TuneCore: 34 Songs Free

Excerpt: Tunecore offers a sampler music album on iTunes. Download 34 songs free!

Title: Michael Franti Likes the Tough Crowds

Excerpt: An audio discussion with Michael on NPR

Excerpt: Michael Franti Likes the Tough Crowds - Over the last several years, singer/songwriter Michael Franti has performed in Gaza and Baghdad, and this weekend he will be playing a set at California's notorious San Quentin State Prison. Franti joins Farai Chideya to explain the satisfactions and difficulties of playing music against the backdrop of war and prison walls.

Title: Franti, Raising The Alarm

Excerpt: "I'm the underground Rupert Murdoch!" Franti says with a hearty laugh from his San Francisco studio, where he's preparing his next album and the launch of a Spearhead tour that lands at the 9:30 club Friday night.

Excerpt: After watching coverage of the current war in Iraq on television -- Franti is a critic of the medium, not a Luddite -- the musician did what few other critics have: He grabbed his acoustic guitar and, with a ragtag crew of eight and three digital video cameras, headed to Baghdad for a firsthand look at the human cost of war. He also made a side trip to Israel, visiting the West Bank and Gaza Strip to examine the long-term costs of war and occupation.

Excerpt: "It was really a catharsis for me," he admits, "because when I came back, I was so filled with deep, deep sadness and intense anger and rage, and I was trying to find a way to communicate that to other people without them turning their heads away. As I watched all the footage, it became a way for me to purge all that and put it into my songs."

Title: Michael Franti Lyrics used in Scholarship Essay Contest

Excerpt: Contestants may enter the 2007 PSR/Sacramento Scholarship Essay Contest by submitting an original essay of 500 words or less describing their thoughts on the following lyrics by recording artist Michael Franti: "We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can/'t bomb it into peace."