Canadian music sensation Divine Brown is an award winning singer and songwriter.  Signing with Warner Music in 2000 she has continued to record and perform throughout Canada and the U.S. .

Her most recent U.S. performance was at this year’s Long Beach Gay Pride Festival where she entertained an enthusiastic Long Beach crowd with her high energy stage performance and her amazing vocals.  She is a blend of 70’s funk and R and B.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Ms. Brown and ask her a few questions after her main stage performance.

Shout LB:  Is this your first Gay Pride performance?

Divine Brown:  My first here in Long Beach, but my very first Gay Pride performance was last year in Toronto.

Shout LB:   Your music has a seventies sound.

Divine Brown:  Most of the material I performed is off of the album I won a Juno award for and was originally a reflection of that time period, that era the fifties, sixties and seventies.

Shout LB:  For which album did you win the Juno award?

Divine Brown:  The Love Chronicles.

Shout LB: Is that the current album you have out now?

Divine Brown:  Yes, I’m working on a new one but it’s taking me a while because I’m such a versatile artist and I want to reel it in a bit and tailor it to a specific sound but it’s hard for me because I’m so diverse.

Shout LB:   Yes, listening to your music it has many influences and would be hard to pin down and go in one direction.  How would you describe your style?

Divine Brown:  My style is a mixture of different things. That is what makes me unique.  The market place now is geared one way and I don’t believe in that and that’s not me.

Shout LB:  The marketplace does want to put artists in a category, you are either country, hip-hop or pop but if you look at the average person’s iPod it has a variety of artists from Etta James to the back street boys.  No one has just one genre on their iPod.

Divine Brown: Exactly. That’s the interesting factor. What are you really marketing when you look at the market place and who are you marketing to? I guarantee it that people today who go and buy music or down load it does not listen to just one style.   I’m here to cater to people who like a little bit of everything. Gospel to rock, to R and B, to country.

Shout LB:  Have you thought about putting an album out specific to the different genres, country, r and b or rock?

Divine Brown:  My first record was more geared towards an R and B soul pop record which was more acceptable back then.   I would describe it as a retrospective of different time periods.

Shout LB: Who initially pushed you in that musical direction?

Divine Brown:  That was all me.  I wanted to do a soul record because there was something about that sound and at the time is was expected.   I was coming off of the heels of neo-soul  and that sound.   It was early 2000.  That fist record was still unique with elements of funk.  I then evolved into wanting to be more diverse and doing a retrospective of sounds that I grew up listening to that influenced me. Like I said, the range is diverse from Denise Williams to Skeeter Davis.

Shout LB:  Why do you think there is this need to put artists in a box, one category, when everyone listens to a variety of genres?

Divine Brown: Marketing.  It’s what is out there.  People expect that. They don’t expect anything different because that is what they are being fed.

Shout LB:  You are coming from a theater background.  Is that a hard transition?

Divine Brown: No, it absolutely helps me. I can’t just look at one person. It’s about allowing my big energy to get out there.   It allows me to see and speak to everybody.  I enjoy performing. I had an amazing time tonight.

Ms. Brown was whisked away to do a signing and take pictures with her fans.  To find out the latest news on Divine Brown including release dates of upcoming albums and performance dates please check out her Facebook fan page.

After her amazing live performance we were fortunate enough to catch up with Amanda back stage.

Shout LB: “Are the crowds this excited at every concert?

Amanda Perez: “I perform all around the world, Australia, Japan, Singapore.  I have great fans. It’s awesome, God has really blessed me.”

Shout LB: “After sold out concerts and worldwide travel, what’s next?”

Amanda Perez: “I’m going back home for a little while.  Just for a little bit.  I will also be finishing up touches on my new album and it should be coming out in the next couple months.”

Shout LB: “You’ve been in music since you were very young. Have you always known this is what you wanted to do?”

Amanda Perez: “Yes, I use to do intermission for  Sombra Chicana USA, playing the drums and then started the Chicana Chiquitos.  I just wanted to do music.”

Shout LB: “You have had some trouble in the past with drugs but found your way back to your path, back to music.  What advice would you give to kids out there about following their dreams?

Amanda Perez: “It was one of those things, it’s around (drugs), it’s everywhere and it’s so easy and I just wanted to take the easy route out.  Honest to God, I knew it wasn’t for me but I was doing what I had to do to survive. One night I prayed to god and I told him, ‘God you have given me something, you have given me a talent, please just let me be free and let me do this’.  Two weeks later I got signed.”

Amanda Perez: “If you believe in God than you have to stay in school. A lot of kids tend to see what‘s going on in the streets or see other people with the flashy clothes on.  You can get it the right way and I have shown that.  God gave me a gift.”

After our interview, Perez was escorted to her fans who were eagerly awaiting autographs and pictures at her fan booth.  In a testament to how dedicated Amanda is to her fans, she stayed and signed for every one of her fans (there were hundreds!) who waited hours in line for her.    She is an amazing performer and an inspiration to those who dare to follow their dreams.  Look for her new album, “Love don’t make Sense” set to be released in a couple months.

Photos and video below:

Saturday, May 15th

3:15pm- SGI-USA Myo On Taiko
3:55pm- San Diego Kings Club
4:40pm- Century Blue Project
5:25pm- Niko Jaquez
6:05pm- When in Rome
6:50pm- Dreamgirls Revue
7:25pm- Amanda Perez
8:10pm- Divine Brown
9:00pm- A Flock of Seagulls

Saturday, May 16th

3pm-Cheer LA
3:35pm- Thrill the World Dance Group
4:10pm- Daryl Walter
4:45pm- Gabe Lopez
5:10pm- Donovan Marcelle
5:45pm- Billy Dortch
6:15pm- Dreamgirls Revue
6:55pm- The Ones
7:30pm- Board Intros
7:50pm-(”Diva Dynasty” Martha Wash,Crystal Waters, Linda Clifford)
8:55pm- Allison Iraheta

For more information on the Long Beach Pride Entertainment including line up for other stages including Trans Awareness, Country, Feista Caliente, Spotlight, Urban and more visit the Long Beach Pride website.

Martin, 38, told his fans his decision to divulge his sexual orientation marked ”an amazing turning point in my life” and began a few months ago when he began writing his memoirs.   ”From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time.”     Over time, he said, the secret had become ”too heavy for me to keep inside” and he joyfully embraced his gay identity as ‘’something worth celebrating”.

He said he did not come out earlier because people  had warned he might ruin his career were he to reveal he was gay. He was also worried about the impact on his twin sons, who were conceived with the help of a surrogate mother.  ”Many people told me … ‘All the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse’,” he wrote. ”Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage.”

”Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.”  Fans on his website were mostly supportive with comments praising him for his decision.    But as is to be expected there were many  negative comments as well, such as the one from ‘’sorry for you”, who said: ”Your soul will burn in hell!”

What will Martin’s (who has been recording primarily in Spanish in recent years) revelation mean for his career?  Only time will tell in the meantime let’s hope he can keep Livin’ La Vida Loca…..

Much like the original Lilith Fair, there will be 11 artists on each date, with only two consistencies per show: the Lilith Local Talent Search Ourstage.com winner who starts the day and headliner Sarah McLachlan. The remaining acts on the line-up are constantly rotating from among more than 80 acts.

The following is the list of dates that go on-sale on Saturday, March 27. For the list of artists playing each city, please click HERE.

  Date              City                  Venue
  —-              —-                  —–
  Fri, Jul 2        Portland, OR          The Amphitheatre at Clark County
  Sat, Jul 3        Seattle, WA           The Gorge Amphitheatre
  Sat, Jul 17       Chicago, IL           First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
  Tues, July 20     Indianapolis, IN      Verizon Wireless Music Center
  Sat, Jul 24       Toronto, ON           Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
  **Tues, July 27   Cleveland, OH         Blossom Music Center
  Sun, Aug 8        Atlanta, GA           Aaron’s Amphitheatre
  Tues, Aug 10      W. Palm Beach, FL     Cruzan Amphitheatre
  (**Tickets go on-sale April 3)

 Nearly 11 years since the last Lilith tour, the excitement surrounding the festival’s return grows daily. Here’s some initial media response to this year’s tour:

“Is this shaping up to be the best tour of the summer?” – Entertainment Weekly

“Well, the rumors were right on, and not only is Lilith Fair coming back, it’s coming back in a huge way, blending all musical styles.” – Rolling Stone

“Lilith Fair: Seriously, you might wanna go to this…”- USA Today “Pop Candy”

“With entries spanning genres from dance-pop to hot country, the festival promises to sound a lot different than your Women in Song Vol. 2 collection.” – Dose.ca

“The female-charged fiesta is better than ever.” – Consequence of Sound

Full list of artists announced so far (visit lilithfair.com to view artist pages):

A Fine Frenzy, Anjulie, Ann Atomic, Anya Marina, Ash Koley, The Bangles, Beth Orton, Brandi Carlile, Butterfly Boucher, Cat Power, Ceci Bastida, Chairlift, Chantal Kreviazuk, Colbie Caillat, Corinne Bailey Rae, Court Yard Hounds, Donna Delory, Elizaveta, Emmylou Harris, Erin McCarley, Erykah Badu, Frazey Ford, The Go-Go’s, Gossip, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Heart, Ima, Indigo Girls, Ingrid Michaelson, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Knapp, Jesca Hoop, Jill Hennessy, Jill Scott, Julia Othmer, Kate Miller-Heidke, Kate Nash Katzenjammer, Kelly Clarkson, Ke$ha, La Roux, Lights, Lissie, Loretta Lynn, Lucy Schwartz, Marina & The Diamonds, Martina McBride, Mary J. Blige, Meaghan Smith, Melissa McClelland, Metric, Miranda Lambert, Miranda Lee Richards, Missy Higgins, Nikki Jean, Nneka, Norah Jones, Priscilla Renea, The Rescues, Rosie Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Serena Ryder, Sheryl Crow, Sia, Sugarland, Susan Justice, Suzanne Vega, Tara MacLean, Tegan and Sara, Toby Lightman, Vedera, Vita Chambers, The Submarines, The Weepies, Ximena Sarinana, Zee Avi

Full list of cities revealed so far:

Atlanta, Austin*, Birmingham, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City*, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis*, Montreal, Nashville*, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, DC and West Palm Beach

  * Non-Live Nation produced cities

To stay up to date on future ticket on sale dates and added performers visit:

www.lilithfair.com
www.facebook.com/lilithfairtour
www.myspace.com/lilithfairtour
http://twitter.com/lilithfair

CPRR is a night of music, art, DIY crafts, fashion and all around fun in Long Beach put on by LGBT artists, queer musicians and gay friendly business in the area for the queer community of the greater Los Angeles area.

On Friday Feb 5, 2010 the 2nd Annual Cut&Paste Rock&Roll will feature queer bands Ask Alice, He’s Not Gay and more along with local vendors from the Long Beach Craft Mafia, Queer Trash (zine/fashion) and other artists performing live body art and crafts for everyone to make and more.

Each attendee will receive the “Queer Survival Kit” which will include free CD’s from gay musicians, coupons to LGBT friendly business in the area, safe sex information, AIDS prevention information, a homemade CPRR coloring book and lots more.

Official line up TBA
Check the CPRR webpage here: www.myspace.com/cutandpasterockandroll

This event is ALL AGES
$10 at the door
$5 with ID 21+

“We’re shocked that Buju Banton, a singer with a long record of performing a song that glorifies the murder of gay people, would be honored with a Grammy nomination, regardless of the artistic merit of any of his work.

Throughout his career, Banton has performed music that promotes a culture of violence against lesbian and gay people; he sings in “Boom, Bye Bye” that “faggots get up and run” when he comes, that “they have to die,” and that he will shoot them in the head or “burn them up bad.” He is completely unrepentant, refuses to stop performing the song, and recently said, “There is no end to the war between me and faggots.”

Banton’s music has helped foster such an anti-gay culture in his home country of Jamaica — where several prominent gay activists and many other LGBT people have been murdered — that Time magazine recently asked, ‘Is Jamaica the most homophobic place on Earth?’ Banton himself was charged with a violent anti-gay hate crime.

It’s an affront to LGBT people, and to all fair-minded people around the world, that Buju Banton was even nominated. We certainly hope the members of the Recording Academy will not bestow the prestigious honor of a Grammy on someone whose music promotes murder.”

If you caught the American Music Awards last night on ABC, you know the night was full of big performances.   Janet Jackson opened the show with an 8 minute performance which included many of her number one hits through the years.   Rhianna wowed and J Lo tumbled.  Whitney Houston brought the house to it’s feet with her passionate (yet sometime hoarse) performance of her new hit, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”.    The three hour broadcast was filled with what seemed like more performances than most award shows (which was actually a nice change from the usual award show format….more awards, less music).    

Many viewers tuned in specifically to see Adam Lambert take to the stage in a much hyped performance to debut his new song, “For Your Entertainment”, from his album which hits stores tomorrow.  Those who waited until the very end of the broadcast were reminded why Adam is often referred to as “Glambert” and that he is one man who is not afraid to push the envelope .   Today as critics weigh in it is possible that Lambert may have over delivered on his promise of a “sexy” performance as he closed the live show with simulated oral sex from a male backup dancer, a brief make-out session with his male keyboardist and a giant mirrored prop so the audience could see the looks on their own shocked faces.

The blogs are a buzz today with either love it or hate it reactions.   Headlines from various posts around the net include:

“Adam Lambert Shocks American Music Awards with Racy ‘For Your Entertainment’” -- Rolling Stone

“Adam Lambert’s AMA Performance Divides Critics: From ‘Ultra-Lewd’ To ‘A Delight’ -- ‘American Idol’ star’s slink through ‘For Your Entertainment’ was clearly not for everyone.” -- MTV

“To the extreme: Adam Lambert’s AMA performance shocks.” -- Washington Post

Too racy?  Pushing the envelope?  Double Standard?  To some maybe so, however I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the album sales speak for themselves.   Lamberts new album debuts tomorrow.   To read more including see Adam’s comments as he defends himself against his critics, read the interview at KTLA.  To read the article click here.

User engagement with the Logo Constellation soared in 2009, as the average monthly time spent per unique visitor reached a staggering 46 minutes. On average, LOGOonline users consumed nearly 4 video streams per visit (Omniture). Additionally, year-to-date, average monthly unique visitors and average monthly video streams to the Logo constellation are up 11% and 97%, respectively above the same time period in 2008 (Omniture). The 2009 “Year in Review” hub, which launches Friday, November 20, houses several playlists that highlight the best music, movies, pop culture and Logo programming of the year.

  Select “Year in Review” playlists include:

  –  “NewNowNext Music: The Best of 2009″
  –  Top 5 Most Outrageous RuPaul Moments” from Logo’s breakout series
      “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
  –  “Top 5 Short Films of 2009,” all focusing on LGBT themes
  –  “Top 5 Travel Destinations” that appeal to lesbian and gay travelers

  –  “The Click List: 2009 Top 10 Videos”

“Logo has quickly become a leader in the LGBT digital space by offering fans a tremendous amount of online video, editorial commentary and pop culture moments that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Logo. “From the high-energy fun and drama on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ to the first-hand reporting at the Prop 8 hearings, LOGOonline has continued to deliver compelling, informative and entertaining content to online users. We look forward to continued growth and success as we plan for the biggest stories, events and entertainment of 2010 that will appeal to our gay and lesbian audience and their family and friends.”

Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT will be available worldwide for a limited two-week engagement beginning, Wednesday October 28. Tickets for all shows, including the Tuesday night special advance screenings, are available for purchase beginning this coming Sunday, September 27. Moviegoers can purchase tickets by visiting all major motion picture ticketing websites as well as www.thisisit-movie.com.

“Michael Jackson has an army of fans everywhere around the world. By rolling out this film with simultaneous premieres and special advance screenings on October 27th, we are giving audiences an incredible opportunity to join together in celebration of Michael Jackson’s incredible career,” said Jeff Blake, chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures.

The film’s world gala will be in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on Tuesday, October 27. That event, which begins at 6pm PDT, kicks off a series of more than 25 premieres around the globe. More than 15 cities, including New York, Rio De Janeiro, London, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Seoul will host events simultaneously, with red carpet arrivals and activities from the Los Angeles gala broadcast by satellite to those cities. Other cities, including Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, and many others will host their own, non-simultaneous premiere activities.

Three hours after the worldwide celebration of the motion picture, the first public screenings of the film will begin. For example, the first audiences in Los Angeles will see the film at 9pm; in New York, audiences will have the opportunity to see the film at midnight; and in London, the advance screenings will be at 4am UK time.

Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from March through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson’s creative partner and the director of the stage show, is also directing the film, which is being produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain. The film will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing. For more information about the film please visit www.thisisit-movie.com.