Exclusives from L.A. Law, Matthew Fowler, Lili Haydn & One Billion Rising, Will Kimbrough, The Mushroom Group/Purifier and Max Raabe & Palast Orchester

L.A. LAW'S SEASON ONE IS BACK IN SESSION


Courtesy Shout! Factory

Marking 28 years after its initial premiere on network television, Shout! Factory will release L.A. Law: Season One on February 25, 2014. Season One of the series is available for the first time ever in this 6-DVD set containing all 22 acclaimed episodes, new interviews with series creator Steven Bochco and the cast.

Here is the exclusive sneak preview of some of the bonus features where actor Alan Rachin discusses his character Douglas Brackman, Jr. as a guy who is very tightly wound...



Actor Harry Hamlin discusses doing something a little off-kilter and quirky with the sandwiches in the conference room scene for his character Michael Kuzak from L.A. Law...




"BEGINNERS" AND MATTHEW FOWLER


photo by Kyle Miller

Matthew's peeps say...

"Matthew Fowler, a 19 year-old singer-songwriter from Orlando, Florida, will release his debut album Beginning on March 25th. It contains songs he began writing at age 14 and features the single 'Beginners' which he wrote at 17. This is difficult to reconcile with the delicate restraint of the song's arrangement and with Fowler's voice, which seems to possess the weary, hard-won earnestness of someone much, much older. At the same time, the aptly titled 'Beginners,' which tells a story of a young love reaching its inevitable and heartbreaking conclusion, could only be told by someone in the midst of reaching this universally-human milestone. Fowler explains,'"Beginners"' was, for me, the culmination of infatuation and heartbreak in my life at that point; something I couldn't help but write about because it was everything that I was going through. My mother used to sing 'La Vie en Rose' in french to me when I was growing up, and I thought it fitting to include that ode at the end as a reminder of my own beginnings and the music I grew up listening to.'"



For more information: http://www.matthewfowlermusic.com or http://www.facebook.com/matthewfowlermusic


HERE'S ONE FROM THE ONE BILLION RISING MOVEMENT


photo courtesy of Sneak Attack Media

"Every aspect of our culture feels like it's getting more intense," says Lili Haydn. "Economic disparity and injustice...climate change, and when one out of three women on the planet is raped or abused, the time comes when you can no longer turn away, and you have to rise to the occasion of your conscience. Here is the rose...Eve Ensler's movement has fearlessly empowered so many women and girls around the world to embrace their femininity and know their true worth, I feel honored to be participating in this creative and inspiring movement!"




"LET THE BIG WORLD SPIN" WITH WILL KIMBROUGH


photo credit: Brydget Carrillo/BC Photographics

From the Kimbrough crowd...

"Think of Will Kimbrough as the Sherlock Holmes of songwriting -- a sharp-eyed observer of humanity who notes every detail and spares nothing in his analysis. His new case study is Sideshow Love (due February 18), a dozen songs that play out like a collection of smartly crafted short stories, laden with generous melodies and arrangements that balance virtuoso playing with just the right amount of space to let each of the characters within them breathe.

"The theme is a familiar one: love. But what's novel is the telling. Kimbrough's perspective shifts effortlessly between sharp- and misty-eyed, from laughter to tears, as he weaves an arc through the stages of a romance over his eighth solo release's course.

"'A good album really should be like a volume of short stories,' Kimbrough affirms. 'It should have a beginning and an end, and what happens in between is up for grabs, as long as it fits the theme. The idea of this album is that everybody wants somebody to love and somebody to love them, and what you get when you find that is a lot of responsibility. If it's going to succeed, you've got to work it out over the long haul.'"

For more info: http://www.willkimbrough.com




MUSHROOM GROUP'S MATT GUDINSKI AND THE PURIFIER APP


photo by Kane Hibbard

"The inspiration for Purifier came years ago," explains Matt Guninski about the new app, "when it became apparent the average human could not possibly keep up with the amount of new online music content that they'd potentially be interested in. I've worked in the music industry for years and even people that spend most of their working day trawling the internet for music content could barely stay in the loop. With each passing year, the online music space becomes more fractured - so the obvious solution was to create one location which brings in all of this existing content. Of course, that was easier said than done but we're confident that we've finally nailed it. Rather than providing another new music platform, Purifier is closer to the opposite - bringing all of this amazing, varied content into one space, customised specifically for each user's taste.

"Purifier pulls in content from pretty much any relevant online music platform, including Pitchfork, The Fader, Spotify, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Soundcloud to note just a tiny portion. If it exists in the online music space, it's in there. New content from any favourited artist or media will directly feed into the 'wall' for Purifier users. It's extremely simple to sign-up and easy to use. Simplicity and intuition are the keys to Purifier. Our growing userbase is testament to the fact that there is demand in the market for Purifier. Let's hope that the word continues to spread."



For more info: http://www.purifier.com


GET YOUR FREE RAABE DOWNLOADS!


photo by Gregor Hohenberg

On "Singing In The Rain"...

"When we first rehearsed this song we all had the original version in our minds from the film with Gene Kelly. It was surprising to hear the original arrangement from 1929 that we had obtained! It was not as wild, really 20s-style, more cleared up, and the rhythm was sweater, like the pitter patter of rain. Knowing however that the audience was familiar with the film version we were a little anxious at how they would react when we performed it for the first time. They loved it and meanwhile it has become one of our standards."

On "Dream A Little Dream"...
"This song is best known in the interpretation by the Mamas And The Papas from 1968. We however play it in a version that is based on the first recording by Ozzie Nelson in 1931. I love placing 'Dream A Little Dream' at the very end of a concert. The arrangement is as dreamy as the title suggests and after the last note and dimming of the lights one can sense a big sigh going through the audience."

And here is the link to the downloads: http://umg.fm/1jiXX5H

Max Raabe & Palast Orchestra kick off their U.S. tour celebrating their new CD GOLDEN AGE, March 2 in Fairfax, Virginia, then on to Carnegie Hall March 3 and other U.S. Dates. Check them out at http://www.palast-orchester.de/en/