Alec Gross and Leeroy Jenkins

Tom Welsch & Alec Gross

Alec Gross was in the studio this week laying out some new tunes that we'll start recording soon. Tom Welsch, bass, joined in to help out. Tom's just about to hit the road with Scandal. He also plays with Casey Shea, another Major Who favorite. Go to Alec's myspace right now and listen to his "Carvers Spring Massacre". You'll be happy you did.

Alec also turned us onto the whole Leeroy Jenkins phenomenon. More interesting than the original World of Warcraft clip is the incredible mass video response to this clip, turning it into instant folklore. Alec himself has written a very funny and engaging song about Leeroy. This is the internet at its best.

Bingo, That's The Music Business

Bob Lefsetz thinks Starbucks is jumping the shark by instigating a national TV ad campaign. It's a bit 'unstarbucksy' I agree but I think they'll pull through OK.

Lefsetz also provides us with a quote from Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist from Starbucks, in his 1997 book, "Pour Your Heart Out":

"In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign."

"Bingo, that's the music business," says Lefsetz. We agree.

Mastering with Fred Kevorkian at Avatar

Another round of splendid mastering, this time Shayna Zaid and Todd Alsup by the master himself- Fred Kevorkian. Fred is quite simply the best mastering engineer. Period.
Thanks for everything Fred..

James Walsh and Fred Kevorkian

Major What?? Paula Valstein on Q104.3 -Jonathan Clarke's OUT OF THE BOX

Tonight 11.25.07 - Paula Valstein's new single "Bring it On" on Q104.3
Jonathan Clarke's Out Of The Box @ 9pm..

Congratulations Paula!

Paula Valstein writes some incredible songs- and this one was a dream to work out with her in the studio. You ROCK Paula!! We can't wait until next week when we get to tracking again..

Hey- Nothing like a little major radio station nod to keep the indie vibe feelin' good!! Wow- that's the second time this month Jonathan Clarke has shown some love to a MajorWho artist on his show. Last week or two ago it was ATOMICTOM "You Always Get What You Want".
hmmmm- Maybe we're all on to something!!!

Jonathan is a devoted champion of the local unsigned artist- His show is always great. We've been listening to it for years. Check it out at 9pm on Sunday nights on Q104.3 on your FM dial or Q1043.com. Paula is a songwriting goddess... Seems like a great match to me!

Major Who Media is an artist development, management, promotions and publishing company founded by NYC music producers James Walsh and Sheldon Steiger.
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Did winners thank the right people at the AMAs?

Moses Avalon thinks that artists are thanking the wrong people in their acceptance speeches at awards ceremonies. He feels the persons and entities below are the real folks to thank.

“I'd like to thank Steve Jobs and Apple, Verizon, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Bill Gates, Facebook, and Al Gore for inventing the internet. Oh… and the fans.”

I think Moses has a good point.

A fast paced evening with ATOMICTOM, Todd Alsup at the Bitter End, good friends and fresh fish - and the unbelievable Eric Lewis!!

It was an exciting time in NYC last Wednesday night when, after the atomictom show at Arlenes Grocery, everyone ran over and watched Todd Alsup hit the stage at the Bitter End. Todd electrified the crowd with a stripped down acoustic set of new material. There was no shortage of support from the audience including Shayna Zaid and Caitlin Lowery.

Shayna Zaid, James Walsh, Todd Alsup and Caitlin Lowery

Eric Lewis ROCKS!!

....then, after a quick bite at YAMA sushi- which has seen better days:(, we all went around the block to see virtuoso pianist Eric Lewis and his trio amaze the crowds with his own unique brand of Rock and Jazz. Rock on Eric..

Shayna Zaid on the cover of Jelita!

Shayna Zaid makes the cover of Jelita magazine. Good going Shayna!

We're finishing the mixes on four of Shayna's songs this week with Steve Greenwell. Can't wait to play them for the world.

Jonathan Clarke, ATOMICTOM and the whole gang...

At ATOMICTOM's third residency at Arlene's last week we had three Major Who artists standing together. Couldn't resist taking a picture. They're performing their fourth and final residency tonight (14th) at Arlene's so please come on down and show your support. It's a good thing it's the last show for a while because we suspect Luke may be running out of colors for the banner. :) Rumor has it he's going to blow something up for real at the show- so we'll see you there!

Shayna Zaid, Paula Valstein, Luke White @ Arlenes Grocery

Jonathan Clarke's Q104.3 Out of The Box shows some love to ATOMICTOM on Sunday night!! Jonathan's been inadvertently championing many of our artists over the years and for that we thank him. Great show Jonathan! He loves supporting local artists..

CJ Vinson- dude!!

This guy. I don't know how he does it. There's something about him. Anyway, go to his myspace and check out the song 'Yours'. We produced it at Major Who not too long ago and it's a good one. Let us know if you like it.

girl, CJ, girl, girl

ATOMICTOM @ NYC Songwriters Circle & Arlenes Residency 3.0

Hello Major Who friends and ATOMICTOM lovers!

An exciting week in store for the boys in Atomictom culminating with two very special shows in one night.

Wed Nov 7th: - New York Songwriter showcase at the Bitter End at 8pm SHARP!!
The band is a finalist in the songwriters showcase competition and will be hitting the stage to perform 'You Always Get What You Want' for a panel of judges looking for the grand prize!!

Then, immediately following the showcase we will all be hopping down to ARLENES GROCERY for the third night of their residency. Same night- same band- new songs and good times..

Also, we encourage you to sign up for our Major Who newsletter so we can spam.. er.. send you updates...

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Kathleen Supove at The Flea Theater

Major Who is thrilled to be mixing the sound for this show. Please check it out if you can...

Buy your tickets TODAY for this adventurous new concert!
4 Performances Only!
$15 Tickets! The Flea Theater presents
The Exploding Piano's Production of
A I R R I G H T S World premiere compositions for the piano by
Michael Gatonska, Phil Kline, Miya Masaoka, Missy Mazzoli
With a special piece by Alvin Curran
Performed by Kathleen Supové
Directed by Valeria Vasilevski

Sunday & Monday, November 4, 5, 11, & 12.
All performances at 7 p.m.

Tickets $15. November 5 Benefit: $50.
To purchase, call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.theflea.org
Tickets are also available at the Box Office, 41 White Street, one hour prior to performance time.
The dynamic avant-garde pianist premieres four new works investigating the piano’s “air rights”;
Supové explores “the three-dimensional envelope” of the instrument using electronics,
vocal rants, video, and even ping-pong balls. The Flea Theater, 41 White Street, Tribeca. In-kind support provided by Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (www.yamaha.com/yasi).

Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy Birthday Dr. Greenwell. Thanks for the amazing mixes!

Road Recovery,The Fenwicks, Groove Collective, Jeff Buckley, and MajorWho

Busy Week!!!!

Monday night MajorWho hosted its 5th Road Recovery master class in the studio's live room:

Groove Collective members and Road Recovery mentors Jay Rodriguez and Chris TheBerge were on hand to assist the Crazy James Band in coming up with some new material. Some good times for a good cause, namely our own sanity! Once again, MW producer Jeremy Sklarsky kept us on course and in stitches while we multi-tasked through the event.

Road Recovery founders Jack Bookbinder and Gene Bowen are close friends of Majorwho's James Walsh for many years -dating back to the time when they managed and road managed Jeff Buckley, who incidently, used to have his rehearsal room where our studios main control room now exists.

Here's something we found written on the wall of Jeff Buckley's rehearsal room before we built out the control room, just after Jeff passed..

MUSIC AIN'T NO PRODUCT

Speaking of Buckley, The Fenwicks were at MajorWho over the weekend to lay down some new tracks for a debt relief (get details from jack) program. According to Jack Bookbinder, The Fenwicks were one of Jeff's favorite bands. Check em out- great guys and musicians...


Ahh yes, Old Springs Pike. We had the privilege of going to the show at Joe's Pub with Caitlin Lowery and Heather Holley.
It was AMAZING! We hope to see more of them soon.

Old Springs Pike

ATOMICTOM on HALLOWEEN!!! ~Arlenes Grocery 8pm

Please join us for an evening of goulish adventure with ATOMICTOM on the 2nd night of their ARLENES GROCERY residency.
It's sure to be a devilish time........

boo!!

We encourage you to check in with our blog and keep up to date with all that is going on in our artist community. Please feel free to send us updates on projects you are working on so we can include them in our calendar.

MajorWho is an artist development, production, management and promotions company founded by NYC music producers Sheldon Steiger and James Walsh.

Is This The Best That You've Got?!

We love Billy Harvey. He first came to our attention from a close friend, Barry Bergman. Barry called me up one day and told me I had to check this guy out. When Barry recommends someone, it's always worth a look. Billy is funny, charming and an amazing songwriter. He produces a lot of different artists as well. We caught Billy's show at CMJ last week where I took this picture. Billy makes a nice living as an independent artist. We appreciate that more than we can express. It's what it's all about. Check out Billy's website (it's possibly the best website ever).

Atomictom tomorrow night!

Please come check out Atomictom tomorrow night at Alene's as they start their month-long residency! Good Times.

Eric Lewis

We've finally started doing some work with Eric Lewis. We've been eagerly awaiting the moment to get into the studio with him and get creative. Eric has this idea to take some popular songs from bands like Coldplay and The Killers, and create his own fully arranged interpretations that are faithful to the spirit of the originals but infuse Eric's own genius style. We'll have some stuff for you to listen to soon.

If you haven't seen Eric perform live yet, you should. It's worth it. If only for the great facial expressions he pulls while he plays.

Eric Lewis live at The Zinc Bar, Oct 23 & 24, 9:30PM.

American Composers Orchestra

Susie Ibarra's "Pintado's Dream"

"Told in two musical movements accentuated by the sublime visual imagery of Makoto Fujimura's projections, Pintados Dream emerges from Ibarra's ongoing documentary fieldwork with the indigenous people of Japan and the Philippine Islands -- "warriors, spiritualists, humanists and artists [who] continue to live as some of the oldest residents on this earth." As the instruments of the orchestra channel these indigenous voices, Fujimura's projections interact with the performance, sometimes directly, sometimes obliquely, but always in gestures that speak ancient languages in modern tongues."

Major Who is spinning from the ACO concert at Zankel Hall last night. With pieces by Susie Ibarra, Scott Johnson, Ken Thomson, Steve Coleman and Anna Clyne, the sold out performance was nothing short of spectacular. We've been fortunate enough to mix sound and provide technical assistance for the ACO for the better part of a decade. In the above video clip, conductor Steven Sloane rehearses the orchestra for Susie Ibarra's piece, Pintado's Dream.

And speaking of Susie, she will be coming into Major Who's studio in a few weeks to record a piece she's written for Jennifer Choi. Jennifer has been working with us on her new CD which should be out sometime this winter. Along with Susie's piece, the CD features music by some other great contemporary composers such as Randy Woolf, Annie Gosfield, and Raz Mesinai.

Todd Alsup's got some amazing new songs!

We just finished mixing Todd's song "Status Quo" with Steve Greenwell and it POPS! Steve's Myspace profile says he's 98 years old by the way. I have to say he's well preserved if that's true.

Paula Live!!

Hello Friends,

Please come out and see Paula Valstein tonight at the Rockwood Music Hall at 11 PM.








Also, don't miss ATOMICTOM at 11PM on Saturday at Rockwood. They'll be starting their weekly residency at Arlenes and will play every Wednesday at 8PM starting on October 24th as well. Cheers!!

Shayna and Nicole

We set Shayna up with our friend Nicole to take some pictures. They came up with some beautiful ones.

Nicole is out of her mind. Everyone knows it, especially Nicole. It's part of her charm. She's an AMAZING photographer and a great artist. We love you Nicole. :)

Alec Gross laying it out at the coffee house. Chris Marolf on bass and harmonies..

We headed down to Gizzi's on W. 8th St. last night to check out Alec Gross' show. Alec has a real flare for country and folk rock with shimmering high vocals and a very genuine presence on stage. Gizzi's is a coffee shop that presents live music every Wednesday and Saturday nights. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of this as time goes on. Live music in alternative settings. Very refreshing. It started with the Barnes & Noble and Borders craze and now we're seeing it everywhere. I'm surprised Starbucks hasn't done this (or have they?), what with their own 'Hear Music' label and all. Many people want to hear live music but don't like the scene in the traditional venues. Part of the reason we like Rockwood so much is because it's a different atmosphere. More intimate. More friendly. Great for this kind of music.

Alec Gross, Chris Marolf

Shayna Zaid....

Shayna's songs are almost done! Here she is with bass player Lee Nadel and drummer Rodney Howard after laying down some awesome tracks. Rodney is in Moscow with Avril Lavigne at the moment. Rock on...

lee nadel, shayna zaid, rodney howard

Paula Valstein ROCKS!

A few Pics of Paula Valstein and her band in the studio laying down some tracks for her upcoming single, "Bring it On." Come out to Paula's CMJ show at The Cutting Room on October 17th at 10PM.

Emek, Paula, Greg, Crash

Sheldon Steiger, Paula Valstein, Steve Greenwell

Hello Major Who fans, it's been a while. Some CRAZY stuff going on lately. First off, we're proud to announce that we'll be managing Shayna Zaid. HOOORAY! We're super excited about the opportunities that are unfolding for Shayna as we work to develop her songs and her presence here and in Asia. Thanks Jay Deasel for your undying and dedicated support to the project. And speaking of Shayna, last week she was in the studio finishing up some vocals when she got a call from her friend Daniel Bedingfield. He was in the neighborhood and wondered whether he could stop in on the session. Um, Sure! Along comes Daniel and while he's here he lays down some most delicious backgrounds on Shayna's song 'It's You'. Wow, thank you Daniel. Truly awesome.

Another one of our artists, Paula Valstein, played a show recently with Dr. John in Philly. Dr. John took a fancy to Paula (hmm, what a surprise :). So he invites her to accompany him to a celebration concert of Charlie Parker's music with a staggering A-List lineup last night. She got to hang with Dr. John, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall and Al Schmitt after the concert. Ridiculous. She came to the studio afterwards all aglow. Nice going Paula. Listen for Paula Valstein's new single 'Bring It On', out soon on Major Who - just in time for her CMJ shows. It sounds amazing and we're not even finished with it yet. Paula will be playing an official CMJ show at The Cutting Room on October 17th at 10PM.

And how about that Atomictom?! Featured on the front page of Amie Street last week, Luke and the gang are gearing up for a CMJ showcase at Rockwood on October 20th at 11PM and a weekly residency at Arlene's Grocery starting October 24th. Please come out and check out the shows.

Wes Hutchinson and Casey Shea just returned from London with Sundown. They'll be playing a show at The Canal Room this Wednesday, Oct. 3rd, at 9PM.

Stay tuned for more Major Who news soon. BOO ya.

Hot Crazy August

Wow! What a month it's been. Who says everything shuts down in August!?

Firstly, there has been tremendous buzz and excitement generated from the Atomictom track on AMC. Thousands have checked in to hear the music and join the fanclub. Thanks to everyone who came out to the show at Arlene's on July 25th it was a great event. We managed to fill the place on a Wednesday in mid July. Great work!! Atomictom will release a new single soon, so look out.

Last week we were in the studio with Marcelo Zarvos and Lawrence Manchester recording music for a new Barry Levinson film starring Robert De Niro. It looks like a really cool film.

Yesterday we played host to the Blue Room again - this time with Antigone Rising. "M" once again graced us with his presence, this time to record and interview the girls from Antigone Rising as they were in town in the midst of a heavy touring schedule. And by the way, we now know that M did NOT take our gaffers tape. Nor would he ever have done so. We recorded four totally awesome songs. The session was a total blast, so thanks girls! Look for it at on the AT&T Blue Room site.

Shayna Zaid has four new songs close to completion and we can't wait for you to hear them. Her return from Malaysia has seen us in the studio recording new vocals on tracks which will blow you away.

Randy Woolf has a new film score project that Major Who is producing. It's a documentary about Tibet directed by Mary Harron and John Walsh. John and Mary went to Tibet to capture live video and sound which is now being woven into the score. It's an incredible piece!

Major Who is an artist development and music production company owned and operated by New York City Music Producers Sheldon Steiger and James Walsh.

If you want to connect directly to James or Sheldon, please email at James@majorwho.com (or) Sheldon@majorwho.com.