Blood Diamonds

I watched Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio last night and learned a lot about the issue of conflict diamonds and how they are used to fund civil war in Africa.

I want to encourage all of you who are buying diamond rings to ask the people you are buying them from if the diamonds they are selling you are certified "conflict-free." The Kimberly Process was put in place in 2003 and it requires governments to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from blood diamonds. Apparently it is not working totally and diamonds are still being sold that have not been certified.

Here are some more links to get more information: Global Witness, Democracy Now.

DJ-RJ

On The Air

I am doing my first live show tonight on KAZI 88.7 FM from 7-10 PM. The new studio is awesome!

Tune in and enjoy the vibes!

RJ

The O'Neil Brothers

If you need music for your wedding ceremony, then there is a great resource that you should check out. The O'Neill Brothers are from Minnesota, and they have produced a large selection of music that is ideal for Wedding Ceremonies. You can order their CDs online or download the music in DRM-Free MP3 format through their website.

O'Neil Brothers

Updates

I discovered a new artist from Jamaica who is mixing rock with reggae and doing it quite well! So, thought I would post a link so other folks could check her out. Her name is Tessanne Chin and I am amazed at her voice and the production. The whole thing!

Check her on MySpace: TESSANNE

Anne and I have booked another live show for Vida Deluxe on Wednesday, June 27th at Flamingo Cantina. We're also working on another date for Irie Bean the same week (we hope).

Anne and I were vendors at the BiGAustin Idea Day last week aty The Hilton and it was awesome! We provided music for the awards show, which was MCed by Ron Oliveira. Big thanks to DJ Ted who did an excellent job running the tracks. Next week we are doing the Seton Nurses Week show at Doubletree Hotel for about 800 nurses! Should be cool with a fashion show focusing on the history of nurse wear. Anne will have some of her scrubs and t-shirts on sale and Music4Life will be providing sound reinforcement and music for the show.

Renovation continues at the KAZI studios, so no live shows until that is finished. We're doubling our space and it should be a real nice to have more room to work in.

All for now!

DJ-RJ


When you can find joy where there is nothing, you can find joy in anything. Place no conditions on happiness, and it is always yours.

Embrace the uncertainty of the future, for within that uncertainty is limitless, fertile ground for creating beauty, joy and fulfillment. When you no longer need security, you will indeed have it.

Accept that you do not know, and there is no limit to what you can learn. Let go of the need to possess, and there is no end to what you can have.

There is a universe filled with beauty in each tiny grain of sand. There is a lifetime of experience in every small moment of the day.

Be true to your purpose and fulfillment will find you. With what you have to give, you can reach all you could ever imagine to seek.

See the joy where there is nothing, and everywhere else as well. Live the beauty that is now, and truly know the abundant richness that is life.

-- Ralph Marston

Great Food for Your Event

I attended the ISES monthly meeting yesterday at Whole Foods and the food was excellent and fresh! Contact Hannah Moore for more information at 542-2209 on how they can help you with your event.

Austin's Green Wedding Venue

The Barr Mansion is about to be certified as Austin's only green wedding restaurant serving only organic food. I think that is great news for those of you who are looking for higher quality meals at your reception. Check out the article for more info.

DJ-RJ

The Aloha Spirit

Tuned in to Hawai'i 101 tonight while hanging out with my mother and it has been wonderful vibes. Not quite as good as being there, though the spirit is in the music for sure!

Check it out and relax:

Hawai'i 101

DJ-RJ

New Wedding Planner

I received an email from a sweet woman named Marsha Jack today who was very excited about her new business. I gave her a call and we spoke for a few minutes about her new company called A Gay Affair. She is Austin's first wedding planner catering to the GLBT community and I'm sure she would be delighted to help you plan your event.

DJ-RJ

Building The 50-Year Marriage

In these times with so many marriages ending in divorce, it seems like a great idea to make an investment in the relationship you are building so you can go the distance. I met Julie Darby at the Bridal Show last Sunday and she is offering a course on how to build a 50-year marriage on Saturday, April 7th at the Rennaisance Hotel.

Check out her website for more information: Block Out The Noise.

Wishing you the best this weekend!

DJ-RJ

Join Us at BiG Austin Marketplace 2007

Every day more things happen that bring me an immense amount of joy and show me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be in life. I just found out I have been one of the 20 businesses picked to participate in BiGMarketplace 2007 at The Hilton on Friday, April 27th. I am just elated!

Special thanks to Anne for kicking my butt to register. Her unwavering support continues to inspire me every day!

DJ-RJ

Bridal Show

Special thanks to all of the couples who came by our booth today at The Convention Center and spoke with us about the reception. Ted, Lori and I had a great time and we look forward to making some more new friends to celebrate with. Special thanks also to Dan at PrintGlobe for the awesome banner and next day delivery too.

RJ

New Venue in Dripping Springs

A client turned me on to an awesome new wedding venue today in Dripping Springs called Vista West Ranch. The venue is owned and operated by Cindy Pearson and her husband and has a capacity of 350. They are booking now and in the final stages of construction. They open at the end of May and they are currently running special pricing at $2,000. That's a great deal if you are looking for a nice place away from Austin.

They also have a floral business called Petal Pushers.

DJ-RJ

Bridal Show - This Sunday

Hope to see you this Sunday at The Austin Convention Center from 12:30-5pm. The whole team will be there to answer any questions you may have about the services we provide for weddings. We are in booth #606. More info and tickets are available online.

Recent Photos

Here is one from the Vida Deluxe gig on Sunday at Flamingo Cantina:



Congratulations to Jeff & Nikki! From Saturday night out at Creekside Pavillion:






And last weekend at Trevor & Victoria's birthday party:



Having fun!!!

Tomorrow and Wednesday I will be recording the kids for UIL competition during the day.

DJ-RJ

Pflugerville Flag Article

Very happy to have this come out in the Pflugerville Flag last week!

Beats for Pizza

I booked a wedding tonight with Naddy & Tanner that I am very excited about. Naddy is from Trinidad and we will be playing lots of soca and calypso music along with American music at Plantation House in Pflugerville. This one is going to be hot!

Just finished working with Mark Brown on a demo for a commercial for Mangia Pizza. We came up with a cool beat and laid the vocals in about an hour.

Just got an MP3 on email from Nick and a new mix of the DnB track we are working on and it is coming along quite nicely. We set the lifeline to have it finished on April 1st and then we will release it digitally to iTunes and probably also Beatport and see what happens.

RJ

Creating Music

I did my first session with Booof 7 tonight and we have some great vibes coming together with a funk tune we are working on together. I'm very excited about it. You can hear an early demo of it on MySpace. Looking forward to getting it out into the world and seeing what happens with it.

I sent an MP3 of the Workie Workie riddim to General Levy (at his request). He is a ragga MC from London and he wants to voice a song on it. Next I will see about licensing the rights to the riddim track from Steely & Clevie.

Work continues on a drum-n-bass track that I have been working on with Nick Little. I think we're calling the project 10 Cents Mofo, which is what it costs Nick every time I send him a text message. LOL!

My sweetie and I are putting together a new band project called Vida Deluxe for a benefit for my friend Yellow at Flamingo Cantina on Sunday March 4th. Yellow is in the hospital and needs a heart transplant. The lineup is going to be great with Grimy Styles and Mau Mau Chaplains and more. Also, just found out Mad Professor will be in town Saturday night at Flamingo with his Dub You Crazy show. Should be cool.

Sent my application to ASCAP last night to start publishing the songs I have been writing under the name Music4Life.

Have been booking lots of shows with the DJ business too, so life is great!

Let me know if I can help you in any way and don't give up on your dreams.

DJ-RJ

Podcast Launched

Woohoo! I have posted the first episode of the Music4Life podcast today:

Music4Life

You can leave comments and feedback there.

DJ-RJ

Great Vibes Today

Dad and I got out in the ice today and did 2 hours of great 50s R&B (see playlist in the comments). Got lots of calls from folks who were digging it.

Had 2 awesome weddings this weekend also.

Life is great!

DJ-RJ

New Music Moving Me!

A couple CDs I am excited about today.

James Hunter's album, People Gonna Talk is like taking a journey back to the 50s when RnB was quite different from how it is today. All live instrumentation and crisp recording. James is an English soul singer and I can't wait to turn my father on to it. Very nice!

Another new thing a friend turned me on to is a French artist named Jehro (pronounced ZHE-ro). His self-titled album is really a breath of fresh air for me. He is a Frenchman who moved to London and soaked up the sounds of reggae and soul around him and his created his own sound from those influences. I hear Bob Marley influences, with sweet vocals, some in Spanish too. Acoustic soul vibes!

One of my MySpace friends posted some new songs to iTunes today and I quite like them as well. The group name is Ror-Shak from Brooklyn and their sound is smooth pop and electronic with Julee Cruise on vocals. Similar sound to Zero 7.

Check them out and enjoy some fresh new sounds!

DJ-RJ