Well, I’ve really been slacking in the old blog department. I must say, in my defense that I have been extremely busy with the Drew & Willy D Acoustic Rock & Soul Duo shows and promotions. We just shot footage for our promotional video and are excited to finally booking in the great state of Ohio…

Northern Kentucky has been great to us thus far and we will continue to play throughout the ENTIRE tri-state area when it can be worked into our schedules.

We were blessed with the opportunity to perform on a HOT new variety show that airs Sunday nights at 11:30pm on FOX19. The program features local interest stories and local and national entertainment. My good friend Tony Clark, a 16 year original member of the multi-platinum award winning pop/rock band Blessid Union of Souls is the music director and contributor in many other areas of production for the show. It was awesome to catch up with you Tony! 

Willy D and Friends recently performed at the benefit for legendary guitarist Larry Goshorn (Pure Prairie League) and there was a fantastic crowd at the show in Mt. Lookout at the Redmoor. Thanks for asking me to join you guys on the stage for a number! What an honor! Thank you Willy D!

Having been a member of I LIKE IT for over 6 months now, (I LIKE IT is a Facebook group of music lovers and musicians alike) I have made friends all over the world. I have been performing a song written and performed by my good friend Aaron Burton from Australia and he recorded one of mine on a video and posted it on YouTube. What an honor! Anyway, a few of these friends are pretty creative people and have put together radio broadcasts for hard working musicians like myself who would most likely otherwise NOT get played on a station in a Metropolitan area. Because of this, I have been able to reach NEW fans in Australia, the UK, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Spain and New Zealand! It’s amazing what the internet can be used for in a positive way… To date I’ve been featured a dozen times in as many countries… What an honor…

Looking forward I am counting on more shows with Willy D at better venues than we could EVER imagine playing at…

… oh yeah, hopefully they pay well too…

Drew

Hello again friends! I am excited to tell you all about the ViSalus – Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge! I started my 90 day challenge 3 weeks ago today and I have not only increased my energy level considerably, but I have lost 12 pounds! The challenge is a meal replacement system that tastes awesome and it’s REAL FOOD! That’s right people, the vitamins and minerals you aren’t getting even with a healthy diet! I PERSONALLY challenge all of you to see for yourself! Either attend one of my challenge parties at my house or do like I did… take a leap of faith and change the way you look and feel! Click on the link provided at the side panel of your screen or click this link…

http://drewlanius.myvi.net/challenge

Wouldn’t it be nice if that was true? I recently joined a facebook group that I will NOT name, but the idea behind the group is for musicians, singer/songwriters to have their work critiqued by other artists. There is a growing number of people in the group that are becoming frustrated with the fact that some of the “Artists” are singing (Sometimes quite nicely) to a “KARAOKE” track. While this may seem trivial at first consider this. Most recording artists will spend between 8-10 weeks tweaking each song to perfection. This is if they aren’t recording everything in a professional studio with full band in tow… The lucky ones will perform songs that were written by pro songwriters, recorded by studio musicians and then the singer just comes in and “karaokes” to the song… Herein lies the trouble… There is a weekly competition that the artists can participate in and vote for other artists. Some group members do not contribute and therefore only vote. If an artist invites even 4 or 5 people to join the group and those people do not listen to other artists and vote only for the artist that invited them to the group that gives an unfair advantage. Now there is no rule against this, but the idea of the group is that artists would be critiqued by other artists. Personally, some musicans find it hard to be judged on their production abilities by someone who stacks the deck in their favor and do not even write their own songs or at the very least play the music themselves… I decided to post this as my blog this week because I know that there are people who might see this and understand. We put a lot of work into our music and if it is going to be judged… Let it be judged fairly.

Hey everyone! I have been having some reservations about the approach we were taking with the music player here on drewlaniusmusic.com and hopefully this NEW player will be more navigable and easier to use. I also apologize to all of my listeners on mobile devices!!! I promise that I am working on a solution for mobile devices that is both cost effective and flexible where different devices are concerned. The current charge for a full blown iPhone App that also works on the Android platform is around $300 bucks a year and so it may be a while for that, but I am working on a fix for this very real issue… Now onto the music player…. Here it is below!

I am happy to announce that my very first CD, “of the past and foreground” is now available! You can purchase either the physical CD or opt for the handy digital download. I am looking forward to playing LIVE tomorrow night at my 40th birthday party and I can’t wait to see who shows up! I’ll post pictures and video as soon as I can gather everyone’s cameras!

Drew

2012 is here and immediately I am feeling good vibes all around! The CD will be out at the end of the month and the following day I will celebrate my 40th birthday!
I’m very excited about getting back into the groove of things with my music.
Once the CD is out, there will be a few months of rehearsals and then I’ll pop out there somewhere for some live gigs.
The last live performance for me was in March of 2009 so this will be the first in 3 years.
I am going to attempt to put together a great show for everyone and we’d be grateful for your participation.
“of the past and foreground”, my debut CD, is just some of the musical offerings that I have to dish out. I’ve been sitting on lots of stuff for years, but what I really want to do is collaborate with more musicians on new material and new live projects. That’s my goal and mission for 2012…

Web design is clearly NOT my forte’, but luckily my friend Andrew Kenton has been down this rabbit hole a few times already and was able to show me a few things. I would not have been able to do as much as I have with my site design if it was not for the help of Craig Wilson and his 24/7 GEEK support. Thanks Craig… for the 1,000,000th time! Drewlaniusmusic.com is hopefully going to be a great starting point for music lovers of all kinds to come and connect with Drew Lanius as well as other Cincinnati Area musicians and performing artists. The idea was never lost on me to share the space with the endless sea of talent that our community has to offer. Recent events have forced me to take a good look at what contributions that I have made to the musical community and how I might contribute further and get more involved. Hopefully, drewlaniusmusic.com will be an effective vehicle for that journey.

Best wishes to you all…

Drew