Name: Jamez (producer/musician/composer)

City: Venice, California

Website: www.jamez.com

Favorite Music Software: Propellerheads Reason

Namba Gear: Shaka Laptop Messenger

A versatile producer, musician, and prolific composer, Jamez has been primarily sought after for TV, film, and studio work. In addition to writing and recording, he has toured the world with various groups singing and playing bass guitar and keys. 

His music has been used for NBA, MLB, NHL, Fox, FSN, VH1, Speed Channel, TNT, Sunshine Network, NASCAR, ESPN, NCAA, DirectTV, M-Audio’s “Pro Sessions”, Nissan, Nextel, Comcast, TVLand, Nickelodeon, Roland Corporation, 96.9FM, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, ‘DETROIT RED WINGS LIVE’, ‘DETROIT TIGERS LIVE’, ‘Under The Lights’, ‘Wind Tunnel’, ‘Unique Whips’, ‘Destination Wild’, ‘Bad Girls’ , multiple commercial albums and sample libraries. 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT, RECORDING OR PERFORMANCE:

My last performance was at the M-Bar in Hollywood. Had a wonderful show with many talented artists. A great show for the LA Women in Music… and a wonderful buffet.

Recording / producing daily… for dozens of artists as well as myself. I do almost all of the production myself using Garage Band, Reason, Logic, Pro Tools, M-audio gear, Apple computers, Roland gear, Trash, Ozone, T-racks, and Amplitube 2.

My lifelong project has been and will continue to be songwriting and producing… or as some call it “Making Beats”.

I am loving the home studio revolution, the recent advances in computer technology and soft-synths, and the overall mobility that the Namba Gear Shaka + Mac Book combo meal has provided me… along with a USB bus-powered keyboard (thanks M-Audio), I can go around the world and use my laptop for more than just email and internet - I can continue CREATING.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NAMBA GEAR BAG?

The Shaka bag looks cool… single strap bag is nice and stylish. It has lots of little pockets for cables and smaller things (like lyric sheets or USB keys).

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE REMOTE RECORDING LOCATION:

Catch me on the beach. That way I can Jam & Tan.

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(or an Italian View of American Holiday Home Decorating)

Being devoted to exploring the diversity of different cultures, I thought that I would share this little story of cultural differences that caught me by surprise. I was in Chicago, IL several years back and had hooked up with my Italian friend (and fantastic pianist) Enzo Boccerro. It was a about a week before Christmas, so the shops and many of the houses were well decorated for the holiday season.

I met up with Enzo on the last night before he flew back to Italy; we had dinner but before we hit a blues club for some live music, Enzo asked me if I knew where he could get a cheap bag to transport some recent purchases on-board the airplane. Enzo had purchased some music software, some computer memory, and a few other odds & ends and just needed a “one use & OK to toss” sort of bag. So I took him to Walmart for a small cheap nylon duffel bag.

As we walked through Walmart to find the bag dept., we passed an impressive display of the most hideous Christmas decorations I have ever seen. There were strings of LED tracer ropes, 3-foot tall tracer candy canes, strobing wreaths, three sizes of Santa with accompanying elves, reindeer and sleigh. The most awful decorations were the 2-foot tall plastic figurines of the three wise men, assorted animals, Joseph, Mary and of course, baby Jesus in a cradle.

Enzo stopped in dismay. “Wooody,(the extra “o” in my name is the way that Enzo pronounced it) what is this?” I wound up having to explain the concept of the way Americans decorate the exterior of their houses, with lights & signage, and yes even cheap plastic figurines of Baby Jesus.

“Why does Baby Jesus have a hole in his ass?”

With a look of disbelief, Enzo picked up one of the plastic Wise Men, looked at it and put it down. Then he picked up the figurine of Mary, looked at it and put it down. Finally he looked at Plastic Baby Jesus and said, “Wooody, why does Baby Jesus have a hole in his ass? In fact, Mary and the Wise Men also have a hole in their ass? …what is this?” So now we have another explanation about putting small lights inside the figures so that they light up at night. Enzo looked at me like I was telling him the biggest lie of the century and having a big joke at his expense. When I assured him that I was telling the truth, and asked about Italian customs, he told me that of course Italians decorate the shops with lights, but homes are decorated more discretely with wreaths that do not strobe and red ribbons and candles.

“Stop the car, I just saw Plastic Baby Jesus IN ACTION!!”

Enzo purchased his bag and we took off, with me driving the car. We were on one of those major streets that only has occasional stoplights at other major streets,  with suburbs on each side of us. Enzo was staring out the window, really noticing the house decorations for the first time. All of a sudden Enzo shouts, “Wooody, stop the car, I just saw Plastic Baby Jesus IN ACTION!!!” At Enzo’s insistence, I had to go about 1/2 mile and turn into the housing subdivision to look for Enzo’s Plastic Baby Jesus. We found it.

It appeared that the owner’s of this modest little home had spent the family fortune at Walmart and purchased every awful, distasteful, hideous exterior Christmas decoration that Walmart offers. The tracer-light candy canes were lined up so tightly on either side of the short driveway that it looked like an airport runway. The complete Santa scene was perched at an alarming angle on the roof. A complete mishmash of competing flashing lights and tracer strings encircled the house. The wreath on the door strobed, and best of all… There was the biblical manger scene beneath a Live Oak tree… complete with Plastic Baby Jesus. The look on Enzo’s face was priceless, as he now knew exactly how Americans decorate their homes for Christmas.

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One of the things that I always notice as I view our Namba Gear friends on MySpace is the “tag line” beside the musician’s or band’s name. Some of you guys use it to promote a new song or new CD release, some use it to confirm an artist’s official MS site, while other just ignore it completely. But the coolest thing is when the tag is used to extend an emotion onto the page. Namba Gear now unveils the five categories of MySpace tag lines, with some great examples for useage. We have provided links to all of the artist’s myspace pages so that you can check them out. Our comments are in italics at the end of each category.

The Love Sluts

• Simply being loved. BT
• Love, and do what you will. Brett Tuggle
• Power to the Peaceful. Vivek Maddala
• The present is a gift. Adam Absinthe (actor, musician, make up artist, model, writer, illustrator, and more…)
• Life is priceless. Ali Ghanavi

To BT, Tug & Vivek I love you and there is no disrespect intended, please embrace the term “love slut”. To Adam, who doesn’t seem to know what he is or what he is doing on any day of the week, and Ali thanks for your sincerity.

Motivation Haitian

• Only those who risk going far, know how far 2 go! Junior Sanchez
• Dream a dream and make it happen! Annalee
• Dream big, Live large, or Die average Troy Castellano
• Music begins where the power of words ends. Lilie Parm

I think that it is very cool that we try to encourage one another, especially to the extent of exposing our personal affirmations to the world. Of course as artists we should be used to exposing ourselves. (Stop it. Be nice.)

Was that a joke?

• ‘cuz reading the manual SUCKS! HowAudio.com
• Life is like a beanstalk. Isn’t it? Alvah
• How much for the Ukulele? Adam Levy
• We will rock your city for free golf… View From Everest
• Jazz-rock saves the Universe!!! Adam Holzman & Brave New World
• My neighbor’s dog’s girlfriend loves my songs. Elle

This has got to be my favorite category of tag lines, but sometimes they leave you wondering. I believe that I am pretty enlightened, and then my old friend Alvah Rob comes up with something like this. I had never considered life being like a beanstalk and yet there is an assumption that I should have not only considered, but digested this thought… and agree with it!. Another old friend, Adam probably didn’t intend his comment to come under the joke category, but in my humble opinion, this is where his tag seemed to fit.

A Musical Reference for the IN Group

• Grooves, melodies and vibes of the world united. Global Noize
• I want to play how I feel in every moment. Mike Garson
• “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” Miles Davis Daren Burns
• “There is no such thing as a limited instrument, only limited musicians.” Howard Johnson” Pete Levin
• Putting an octave in your life would make a difference, a BIG difference. Nikos Piperis

This is another fun category. If you are a musician you understand these comments on a deeper level than the plebian citizen. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy the occasional brief moments of superiority. I really don’t know what Pete is doing quoting the HJ motel / diner king. (or is there another Howard Johnson?)J

The Other Brother

• Dreadful but quiet war of organic beings. Andy West
• Analogue girl in a digital world… invasion. Erykah Badu
• This is what it sounds like when computers cry. James Bernard
• Winter Anon

These are the tag lines that stand alone. They are few and far between and make you think. The minimalism of Anon’s single word is chilling. My buddy Andy, of Dixie Dregs fame, will always get the brain juices going. Erykah and P-head James explain their music with a single phrase that makes you want to take action and hear what they have to say.

Have you got a good MySpace tag line to share? Send it our way.

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NAME: Troy Castellano (singer, songwriter & producer) 

CITY: Harris MN

WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/troycastellano

Namba Gear: Kava Laptop Studio Bag

Hailing from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, the state of ever changing seasons, Troy Castellano is a rock-pop singer and songwriter who’s music has been described as Bon Jovi met the Goo Dolls, got on Daughtry’s tour bus and jammed! Writing and performing music has always been one of the biggest passions in his life. It’s those burning affections that continue to drive his lust for creating memorable music.

Troy’s passion for music started one fateful X-mas when his parents bought him his first electric guitar. Coupled with another gift of music, Deep Purple’s Machine Head album, Troy’s musical fire was ignited with sparks from the soul. That fire has been a non-extinguishable flame that burns strong and bright today. Since those first sparks, Troy has felt that music is the most influential force in the world. As he says, “Music can be the healer, the peacemaker, the influencer, the agitator, and the fire starter. You name it, music has been there in all forms and emotion throughout the history of the world.

Throughout his music career Troy wrote, produced and recorded a full length CD with his regionally popular band the Troy Castellano Group (self titled 1999). The release received airplay on 5 Minnesota radio stations. In 2006 Troy engineered, produced and recorded a 6 song EP/CD called Reliability Test Lab with his current cover/original band, To The Core. A few tracks of Reliability Test Lab received airplay on local stations as well. The band also garnered the cover of the music magazine Stone Roller (March 2005 & March 2006).

In 2008 after a long break from writing Troy was booked at and played the famous BB Kings in Hollywood, CA. Troy’s show was well received and the fire for creating was once again lit. Since then Troy has started to let a few of his recent demos slip out into public. One of those demos is a song named All Torn Up. The song won Broadjam.com’s July 2008 song of the month for which he won some great music gear (including the awesome Namba Gear Kava Studio Bag!) and was featured on Indies Top 10 a monthly radio show and podcast.

At this point in time, after gaining some recent admiration and attention for his newest tracks, Troy is making changes in his life to allow more time to write and perform his music.

Troy’s Recent Projects:
Troy is currently writing and demoing songs for an upcoming solo album. The album is scheduled to be release spring 2009 and undoubtedbly will contain some of Troy’s best work to date. Also, another new direction that Troy will be pursuing in the coming months is writing tracks for TV, advertisements, and film.

What I like best about my Namba Gear Kava Studio Bag:
First off, I really love the durability of this bag! It’s been used regularly since I received it. I’m talking load-in after load-out! If you are a gigging musician you know how fast cases can get destroyed, (especially by the hands of others). I mainly use it to carry my laptop, mics, cords, iPod and accessories. We use a LCD projector at some shows and I carry everything needed in this handy bag (except for the projector & screen). Other great features: very comfortable to carry when full and many storage pockets for keeping things separate, especially those cords that tend to “mate” while in transit!

Favorite Remote Recording Location: Live gigs baby!

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