Free Show This Friday - Beta hi-fi

The Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Music Festival is all week this week, and features an awesome lineup Friday with Revolution, I Love You (www.revolutioniloveyou.com), New Sweden (www.newswedenmusic.blogspot.com), Killer Whale (www.soundcloud.com/KillerWhale-1), Satellite Hearts (www.facebook.com/satelliteheartsmusic), and Can You Canoe (www.canyoucanoeband.com). The Festival is taking place at World Cafe Live (upstairs) 3025 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 TEL 215-222-1400. For more information visit WCL BETA HI-FI. The shows are free and the music is stellar so don't be a couch potato.

Carol H. Axelrod Memorial Blood Drive

A few weeks back I went to Radnor Elementary School to see my guys Diverse Pop Group perform for an event the school was having. For those that haven't heard of Diverse, they consist of two young men who dance and sing, and basically get down with their bad selves. Things are still in progress, but we may be working with them over at Black Ink Management and Music Group (www.blackinkmmg.com). Check Diverse out here Video.

While I was there watching the performance, I stopped by a booth that was giving away free ice cream. The ice cream was awesome, but that is not why I'm writing this post. I'm writing this post, because of the wonderful lady that I met that was running the booth, and the story that she told me about her mother. Michelle Scolnick runs an annual blood drive in memory of her mother, Carol H. Axelrod, who received numerous blood transfusions as part of her treatment for cancer. Michelle had a booth set up at the Radnor event promoting the upcoming drives. This year, they will hold their fourth blood drive. The drive will take place on Wednesday, October 5, and Thursday, October 6, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days, at Lankenau Medical Center (where her mother received her transfusions) in Wynnewood, PA.

Because of the Red Cross, and the blood transfusions that her mother was able to receive, Michelle was able to spend extra time with her mother. She stated, "The extra time we shared with her truly was a gift that blood donors gave our family. When my mother passed away in July 2008, we wanted to give something back to the Red Cross, so we decided to start a blood drive in her memory."


Everyone who comes to donate will receive a gift bag, free parking, special post-donation snacks, automatic entry into a drawing for prizes that have been donated by area businesses, and a free meal, snack, or beverage in the cafeteria. Plus, because each unit of donated blood can help save up to three lives, everyone will leave with the knowledge that they may be helping three families spend more time with their loved ones!

For more information on this blood drive and/or to sign up please visit http://www.membersforlife.org/pennj/schedule/login.php?sponsorcode=1556

Click HERE to download the PDF for the full story on Michelle's family.

8 Dead in Copley Shooting

Tragedy hit way to close to home today as a mad man killed seven people (two Copley High School students and an 11 year old) before being killed by the police. This all happened in my hometown of Copley, OH, literally not even a half a mile away from the house I grew up in. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.


Copley police confirm that eight people, including a gunman, are dead after a shooting rampage Sunday morning. Two other people were wounded, one critically.

Chief Michael Mier says a gunman opened fire around 11 a.m. after an argument in a home on Goodenough Avenue. Five people were killed at that location. The gunman then took two more lives on nearby Schocalog Road. One of the victims was an 11-year-old child. -Lindsay Buckingham Fox8

"Somebody knocked on my door, and a woman was on my porch -- hiding on my porch. I went out the door, she ran in the house and told me that somebody had shot her husband point blank in the head," McCrady said. "[The woman] said 'there's a lot of people shot,' and she started screaming 'my son, my son, my 11-year-old son.' [The woman's son] went the opposite direction she went, and she was looking for, wanting her son, but she said 'oh, my God, I'm a widow,' " McCrady said. -I went to Copley High School with Ms. McCrady's daughter. This is too scary.

Like I stated before, way too close to home, and from what I've been told, the 11 year old was chased down. This angers me beyond belief.

A candlelight vigil was held Sunday evening at Copley Community Park to remember the victims.


Something has to be seriously wrong with you to chase down and kill an 11 year old kid. My nephew is 11, and I could only imagine the horror. Police are still actively investigating the shooting and plan to release more information at a noon press conference on Monday.

More Shocking News Via Ellen Miller, newsnet5.com Link

Police have identified the gunman in a shooting spree that claimed seven lives in Copley as Michael Hance, 51.

NewsChannel5’s Dan Haggerty talked with a woman named Monique, whose sister lives at 1219 Schocalog Avenue. Her sister, Melody, saw 11-year-old Scott Dieter running through the neighborhood and called him into her home to hide from Hance.

The child ran to the basement to hide with Melody’s 9-year old son. They turned out the lights.

The family locked the doors, but that apparently did not stop the gunman. He shot holes in the locks and broke the glass to get inside.

Monique said Hance held a gun to Melody’s head, demanding to know where the boy was. When she would not tell him, he searched the house and went down to the dark basement with a gun in one hand and a penlight in the other.

The gunman found the boys and killed Scott Dieter without saying a word, then left.

Hance was killed outside the home when he exchanged gunfire with police.

Wonka Mix - The Theme Right Now

I seriously can't get away from this quote. It's the theme of my life right now. "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it." - Willy Wonka.

I'm so busy I can't even get out what I want to say. It's all worthy however. New web launch on its way from Black Ink Management and Music Group. New album on its way from that awesome band Revolution, I Love You. New music from Philly's best Indie band The Quelle Source. A boat load of shows scheduled here... www.WeAreMonsterEnt.com. And, best of all... a super, kick ass Halloween show locked for this October at the Legendary Dobbs on South Street!

Here's the lineup:

Conversations with Enemies
R,ILY
City Rain
Mike McCarry
Parachuting Apostles
Case Closed
The Pleasure

Mark Rogers of WSTW will be emceeing the event!

I'm so excited. The only problem is, I don't have time to be excited. Must, Keep, Working...

For now, I leave you all with this short blog post, and this video. Enjoy

Full Sail University

For those of you who may not know, I’m currently attending Full Sail University’s online program in hopes of one day becoming completely broke. No, seriously… by two thousand, and I believe fifteen, I hope to have earned my Music Business, Bachelor of Science degree, and an Entertainment Business, Master of Science degree. So far, I’m on my eighth class, and I can honestly say that I’m really enjoying it, and I hope to one day visit.

This post is a very special post, because it’s for my marketing class. With that being said, I would like to welcome my fellow classmates to Indie-Monster.com. Hopefully, you like the way I’ve decorated the place.

I started this blog back in May of 2007 as an integral part of my master plan to take over the world with music. So far, things are going well. The main goal was to showcase bands/acts that I strongly believe in, and that I felt deserved more recognition. As I’m sure you all may be able to tell by now, I’m a huge advocate for independent music. I’m actually a huge advocate for music in general, but I guess you could say that I have a thing for the unsigned, unheard of stuff. In addition to the music, this has also been a place for me to release. Blogging is therapeutic to say the least, and I can definitely say that so far this has been very rewarding in that sense.

What do I expect?

I’ve always been known for venturing into ideas and adventures, and sketching my path out as things progress. This was kind of that thing in a sense. However, as time went on, it became clearer and clearer that I really did want to take over the world with music. Music truly is a universal language. It has healing powers. It carries memories as well as inspiration. I’m absolutely convinced that the world would be a horrible place without it. I also strongly believe that the world could be so much better through it. I hope to help continue the movement that music has begun, whether through this blog, Monster Entertainment or any other venture. I hope you all come along for the ride.

I-M

RAW was RAW

July 2011's edition of RAW took place last Thursday and it absolutely lived up to its hype! There were artists galore, each portraying their latest works and networking with their peers. I'm not sure what the final head count was, but it was definitely a packed G Lounge.

Fred and crew did it again... another well organized edition of RAW Philly in the books, and another win for local artists. Here's some amateur pictures of Case Closed performing live at the event taken by me...





To visit Case Closed's profile on RAW click HERE.

RAW:natural born artists is an independent arts organization, for artists, by artists. You can visit them online at www.rawartists.org.

I-M

The New Connection @ North Star This Friday

If you haven't gotten out to see these guys yet, you are seriously not into music. Pack up everything that you own that relates to music, and donate it to someone worthy immediately, OR buy a ticket to this Friday's show and save your soul.

The New Connection will be playing the North Star Bar this Friday, July 8th, with The Spring Standards! Visit North Star Bar for more details.

The band just released their self-titled second album to a sold out Johnny Brenda’s crowd on May 27th, now it’s time to hit the road. The self-titled record shows growth and musical maturity from their first album, Mentally/Physically, while remaining true to the eclectic roots which have planted them in the hearts of Philly music lovers. This new album showcases the individual talents of each member and their broad range of influences; “tracks range from sexy dance grooves to sublime, cosmic vocal journeys to chakkra-tingling riffs that will keep your feet tapping while your soul swirls in indie rock bliss.”

“The New Connection has the pop smarts of The New Pornogrpahers, but filters their songs through various lens, including the prog-pop of Yes, the piano swells of Ben Folds, the irresistible bop of your favorite punky reggae party and the lush harmonies of Philly psych stalwarts, Dr. Dog. All these elements mesh effortlessly on their brand new self titled record” - Trip McClatchy | Teenage Kicks

The New Connection

Happy 4th of July!