The victor will share the spotlight with bands like Sister Hazel, Better Than Ezra and Collective Soul. The competition, powered by sonicbids.com, offers one lucky winner round-trip airfare to Ft. Lauderdale, one night hotel, and a cabin aboard the Rock Boat with all meals included. The Rock Boat is already a sold-out event with over 2,000 fans attending.

"It is important for the up-and-coming BMI singer/songwriter to catch this opportunity because they'll be playing for a captive audience that usually translates to loyal fans for years to come," says BMI's Lynn Oliver, Associate Director of Writer/Publisher Relations in Atlanta.

Click here for details on how to enter.

For those with rock star dreams, "The Star In You: Seven Keys to Creating a Star Mindset, Building a Star Image and Living a Star's Life" will present concepts that every songwriter and artist must know in order to make their strongest impression and increase their chances for success. Topics to be discussed include:

*How to build up your natural star qualities
*How to have rock star motivation every day
*How to make your strongest impression
*How to create your own unique style
*How to have your live performance blow people away
*How to attract the right team around you
*How to form a game plan to make your dreams a reality
*The three biggest mistakes that most emerging artists make

Instructor John Battaglia is Founder and President of Rockstar Image, an image-building and personal coaching firm for artists. His client list includes such talent as Usher, Beyoncé, Collective Soul, Jessica Simpson, Brandy, Eve and others.

Special guest Matt Hoffer spent his college years at the University of Illinois playing ice hockey, gigging around town in bands, and finally graduating with a degree in finance. After years of post-collegiate work as a real estate broker, Matt decided to make the jump from white-collar corporate guy to indie-rock musician. Playing with such noted musicians as Nir Z (session drummer for John Mayer, Genesis, Jason Mraz) elevated his songs to a new level and drew the attention of CBS execs, who cast him on Rock Star: Supernova. Although he didn't make the show's final rounds, Matt is back and ready to bring his own music to America.

At the conclusion of the seminar, Hoffer will perform a short musical set.]]> 2006-08-08T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/234354 Artists, Collective Soul, Gabriel, Peter, Holmes Brothers, The, Hooker, John Lee, King, B.B., Morrison, Van, Nelson, Willie, Williams, Hank, Musical Styles, Blues, Gospel, R&B, Musicworld, Feature There are few better testaments to the value of faith, perseverance and sticking to your musical guns than The Holmes Brothers, whose rhythm & blues music reminds contemporary listeners of the universality and musical breadth of the venerable style. The core members of the group - brothers Wendell (guitar and vocals) and Sherman Holmes (bass and vocals), and Poppy Dixon (drums and vocals) - have been a musical unit since 1968. And their experience stretches back even further to Wendell and Sherman's youth in Christchurch, Virginia in the 1940s and '50s, teething on the gospel music they sang and played in church as well as the blues of Jimmy Reed, Junior Parker and B.B. King.

Just a listen to The Holmes Brothers' latest release on Alligator Records, the aptly title Simple Truths , attests to their command of r and the vision that has made them soul music heroes on the current scene. In addition to the classic strains of their original songwriting, the Brothers bring their own spirit to material by such esteemed songwriters old and new as Townes Van Zandt, Bob Marley, Gillian Welch, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Collective Soul and Bruce Channel. With their heavenly harmonies, down in the groove rhythms and Wendell's sharp and smart guitar work, it's no wonder that The Chicago Tribune hails them as "the undisputed masters of blues-based American roots music."

It's that mastery that has led the band to record with Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, The Jungle Brothers and Joan Osborne (who produced their previous album, Speaking In Tongues ) and even perform for President Clinton. To wit, they also garnered six W.C. Handy Award nominations this year for Simple Truths.

It's all sweet rewards for a professional journey that began in 1959 when Wendell Holmes left Virginia for New York City, where The Holmes Brothers continue to be based, to work with singer Jimmy James after studying composition and music theory at Virginia State University. Brother Sherman followed soon after, and the two backed such names as The Impressions, John Lee Hooker and Jerry Butler before joining forces with fellow Virginian Dixon, and after more work with a variety of bands and artists, finally struck out on their own as The Holmes Brothers in 1979.

The act began winning fans in small downtown Manhattan clubs (where they befriended fellow rising artist Osborne) in the 1980s before cutting their first album for Rounder in 1989. In '92, they released Jublilation on Gabriel's Real World label, and amidst their busy performing schedule throughout the decade, found time to appear in and record music for the independent film "Lotto Land" and back Osborne on a tour opening for Bob Dylan.

With a gift for turning even the most secular venues into sacred places with their soul-stirring music, The Holmes Brothers are now being blessed with success and acclaim for their music. "The Bible says the word must go even into the dens of iniquity," says Wendell. "We play blues, gospel, country - a mix of a lot of different things. We don't have a problem with that, and we don't believe Jesus does. We never forget that Jesus turned water into wine, not the other way round!"]]> 2005-03-03T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234122 Artists, Collective Soul, Corrs, The, Full Force, Kelly, R., Kid Rock, Melua, Katie, Neptunes, The, Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Williams, Pharrell, Winans, Bebe, Musicworld, Feature Exclusive Webcast on Songwriter101.com to Feature Atlantic CEO Jason Flom and EMI EVP Evan Lamberg

BMI will present the first in a series of educational seminars on Wednesday, July 28 from Guitar Center's Manhattan store (25 W. 14th St.). This unique event entitled "Career Connection," starts at 7:00pm and is free and open to the public. Speakers include two of the music industry's most successful executives, Atlantic Records Chairman/CEO Jason Flom and EMI Music Publishing Executive Vice President Evan Lamberg, who will discuss the new realities for artists and songwriters in the digital music age. BMI's Charlie Feldman, Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations in New York, will moderate.

The seminar will be webcast live exclusively on Songwriter101.com, a new website that focuses on the business side of songwriting. Topics include getting the attention of a "major" in an era of smaller artist rosters; artist development in the digital age and the new dynamic of radio, TV and the web; and the re-emergence of the songwriter/artist career path. Future BMI/Guitar Center seminars will feature top artists, managers, agents, producers and executives from around the industry.

Jason Flom is Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records Group. He served as President of Lava Records, the label he founded within Atlantic Records, from 1995 to 2004. He has worked with and signed such multimillion-selling artists as Tori Amos, Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker, matchbox twenty, Sugar Ray, The Corrs, Stone Temple Pilots, Collective Soul, Twisted Sister, Skid Row and White Lion.

Evan Lamberg has held various creative manager positions at Jobete Music, MCA Music Publishing, and EMI Music Publishing, where he now serves as Executive Vice President. He works with and has signed such artists and songwriters as Rob Thomas (matchbox twenty), Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers), Hootie & the Blowfish, Pharrell Williams (The Neptunes), Jessica Simpson, Kelis, BeBe Winans, Ludacris, Pink, Paula Abdul, Jewel and John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls).

Charlie Feldman is Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations at BMI, where he directs all writer/publisher relations and administrative activities for the company's New York office. A board member of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Feldman has worked closely with songwriter/artists such as R. Kelly, Carole King, the Neville Brothers, Full Force, Tony Joe White and emerging star Katie Melua.

The assemblage of Atlanta club-scene veterans - which also includes guitarists Dean Roland (Ed's brother) and Ross Childress, bassist Will Turpin and drummer Shane Evans - first caught the public's attention with its double platinum 1994 debut album, Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, which spawned the ubiquitous hit "Shine." The triple platinum follow-up, Collective Soul, spawned such popular numbers as "Gel," "December," "Where the River Flows" and "The World I Know." 1997's Disciplined Breakdown featured the successful tracks "Listen" and "Precious Declaration," while 1998's Dosage yielded one of the band's biggest radio hits ever with "Heavy," underlining Collective Soul's impressive staying power.

"We were supposed to be the one-hit wonder of '94, and then the two-hit wonder of '95, but we never paid any attention to that stuff," Ed Roland says. "We always knew that we could do it as a band."

True to its title, Blender - whose first single, "Why Pt. 2," debuted as the most-added track on rock and alternative radio stations - finds Collective Soul expanding its sound via some adventurous rhythms and exotic sonic textures. But despite the album's introduction of new sonic frills, Roland insists, "We're a guitar band. That'll always be the cornerstone of what Collective Soul does. And you can expand from that."

Indeed, the recording sessions that spawned Blender were deliberately designed to take place in a laid-back, organic manner, with most of the material written and recorded during loose, laid-back jam sessions at the band's rehearsal space.

"We had an absolute blast making this one," says Roland. "It was the most enjoyable one to make, mostly because everyone was in a good mindspace; there was no real drama going on in anyone's life. Where we were recording was just a big room, so it kind of had an open vibe. We set up couches, people would come in and watch us... It was a real loose vibe, which was good, because with the last record, we spent a lot of time in the studio making sure everything was performed perfectly and arranged perfectly. This time we wanted to have a little more fun. We wanted to enjoy the process."

The sessions' loose, informal atmosphere resulted in some prominent local musical figures dropping by to lend their talents, including Atlanta resident and longtime band admirer Elton John, who contributes duet vocals and piano on "Perfect Day," singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins, and Marvelous 3 members Jayce Fincher and Bruce Walker. In keeping with the communal vibe, Blender was chosen as the album's title as the result of a local radio-station contest, which attracted over 12,000 entries.

While the less regimented birth cycle resulted in a looser, performance-oriented vibe, the 11-song Blender maintains the band's original appeal, with songs like "10 Years Later" and "Skin" offering the fivesome's trademark combo of hard-edged guitar riffs and supremely catchy melodies, while "After All" and "Turn Around" embrace an introspective bittersweetness. "Over Tokyo" takes a stab at synth-pop, and a cover of Morphine's "You Speak My Language" showcases a more playfully eclectic side.

As Roland recently commented to Billboard, "I think it shows maturity, and I think it's a little bit more of a fun record for it, maybe 'cause that was the attitude we had making it."