I just got back from a fantastic show down the street from my pad at a dive bar called Skinny's in NoHo. The band I went to see is called Diana Gone Wrong & Diana, the lead singer of the band, is my singing client, songwriting partner and the dearest of friends. Diana has a rich, powerful voice which far exceeds the needs of her band, a loud & energetic punk-pop tour de force. In fact, her voice can barely be heard over the raucous band which, as her singing teacher, always makes me a little angry. I get this aching urge to push the sound guy off his haughty perch to pull the band volume down and feature Diana's fantastic vocals and insightful lyrics! -But honestly, no one else really seems to care if the sound is shitty or the lyrics don't come through. -Because what DOES come through with an effortless vengeance is Diana's brilliant songwriting & a stage presence that an entertainment lawyer who was scouting the band tonight aptly referred to as "star power".

She speaks to heart of her generation like nobody else in pop music at present. Her song "In The Life of Me" is an anthem to every young girl who feels different, out of place, unloved & undervalued. A song that I helped Diana write premiered tonight called "I'm Not Moving" & it has become my new favorite. Of course, I'm totally biased! Her bass player and drummer are super talented & uber bad ass, but the new addition of a second guitarist tonight gave the group more body and presence. You SHOULD check out her music on ITUNES and/or her MYSPACE PAGE for a more personal look at DGW! I will keep you posted with info on future shows.

Tomorrow night I'm going to a reading of a play written and directed by my friend Clif Morts at the NoHo Arts Center called "From The East to The West". It plays Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday nights this week. Clif is a brilliant actor and playwright & The NoHo Arts Center has a reliable, high standard of quality. Thus, I'm sure it is well worth seeing.

Lastly, I'll mention two recorded works. First I'll quickly say that Massive Attack's new album, Heligoland is pretty awesome. It's dark, sad & sparcely opulent...a great album to listen to when you're in a mood, which I, myself, have been this week. ;) Lastly, I've noticed more than a few Facebook updates & tweets trashing "We Are The World 25". Personally, I enjoyed the outrageous variety of artists, from P!NK to Streisand, L'il Wayne to Mary J. Blige, Miley Cyrus to Justin Bieber...but I love ALL music styles, even bad ones! Notably, what most impresses me about this project is that it was ACCOMPLISHED! All those artists gathered in one place, at one time to donate their time and talent to HAITI relief. And that's all I have to say about THAT! :P

Oh wait, one more thing. My client and friend Carmen Perez's dance single was #1 in New Jersey this week. Any city that spawns Bon Jovi is OK by me! Check out the single, "Overload", and more of Carmen's music HERE! I co-wrote "Overload" with her & producer Ellis Miah and I coached her vocals. Have a beautiful week.