Featured Artist: James Willetts, Musician, Engineer, Animal Lover and more!

Date: Wed, 2 May 2012
Featured Artist: James Willetts, Musician, Engineer, Animal Lover and so much more!
Artist Page: http://www.sonicbids.com/

Born and raised in South Carolina, James has almost seven years on staff as recording engineer, mixer, Foley/ADR Recordist and mixer at the prestigious Fantasy Studios, under the ownership of Fantasy Inc. (Stax, Original Jazz Classics, Original Blues Classics, Volt, Prestige, Riverside, Pablo, & Fantasy Records, as well as the Saul Zaentz Film Center & Tolkien Enterprises), the Concord Music Group, and Wareham Development.  Moving on to be a freelance engineer / producer / musician here in Boston.  He's toured professionally across 45 states and 9 countries in such acts as thenewstrange, The LustKillers, Aloud, and Silent Century.

James is fresh off of tour with The LustKillers, who will shortly be releasing a second full-length record, That Which Does Not Kill Us…, and his Boston project, Silent Century, has just released the debut album Aloha, now available for purchase or listening on CDBaby, iTunes, Spotify, & Pandora, as well as the band's website, SilentCentury.com. Look for their Boston show at PA's Lounge in Somerville on May 11th.

Following that release show, he will be throwing a birthday party in the form of a show on June 20th to benefit IMOM, an organization for financial aid to help animals receive funding for life-threatening emergencies, and Spike's Fund, an organization designed to provide funding for the medical care of homeless and shelter animals.

Official Hink Questionnaire

If you could go anywhere, where would you like to travel?

If I could go anywhere, I'd go to Egypt.  The history and architecture there would just be amazing to see in person.

Who is your biggest artistic inspiration?

Probably at this point, Thom Yorke.  That fucker had a killer band in the 90's that grew even beyond the expectations well into the 21st century, he fostered his own solo record, pushed forward several up-and-coming acts that he simply enjoyed, and has collaborated with more artists and cutting-edge dj's even into mid-life, still pushing the envelope & making killer records & remixes.

What artistic tool could you not live without?

It's a tie between my M-Audio Microtrack and a keyboard…. Keyboard is too general, in that I could live on just my Rhodes or simply a USB keyboard.  However, my portable recorder is great for tracking rehearsals and shows for notes or input for the band, as well as walking around collecting samples, sounds, or just inspiration.  It's also nice to give a little something back to the opening band.

What was your favorite school lunch?

My favorite school lunch was probably when they had that weird, square pizza with tater tots and corn.  Strange, huh?  I don't eat meat anymore, but there was something great about the ham & cheese my mom would pack for me:  Sitting in my locker all day made the cheese melt just a little bit and glue the sandwich together to make it extra tasty.  Little Debbie Devil Squares for dessert!

How do you want to be remembered?

I would most like to be remembered for my kindness.

Find him here:

http://www.jameswilletts.com/Home.html/

https://twitter.com/#!/jameswilletts/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1219713/

Thanks James!

Featured Entrepreneur: Panos Panay, Sonicbids CEP!

Date: Wed, 3 Aug2011
Featured Entrepreneur Panos Panay, Sonicbids CEP
Artist Page: http://www.sonicbids.com/

This week, we are delighted to feature Panos Panay, the founder and CEO of Sonicbids!

Panos came to America in 1991 from the country of Cyprus to attend Berklee College of Music. The idea for Sonicbids came to him while reading the book Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy by Stan Davis and he decided to go for it in September of 2000. Read more about how Sonicbids came to be Sonicbids | Our Story at http://about.sonicbids.com/about-sonicbids/our-story.

"I didn't think I could cut it as a guitarist so I ended up studying Music Business, which led to an internship at a Boston talent agency. Within a year or so, in 1995, I found myself booking all the European tours for some of my idols, people like Pat Metheny and Chick Corea and Sonny Rollins – a jazzhead's dream."

Panos has been featured in countless articles and magazines including an entire Chapter in Jim Champy's Outsmart!. In 2005 Panos was named one of Fast Company Magazine's "Fast 50" entrepreneurs and he is currently serving on a number of non-profit boards including Boston Young Entrepreneurs (which he co-founded); Berklee College of Music's Presidential Advisory Council; and BostonWorldPartnerships, chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

Be sure to check out his blog "Panos' Brew" http://panosbrew.sonicbids.com/ and his answers to our:

Official Hink Questionnaire

What is your favorite place to travel?

My home country of Cyprus. I love the beach that I practically grew up on, Protaras.

Who is your biggest artistic inspiration?

Reading and walking through museums or ancient ruins.

What artistic tool could you not live without?

My imagination

What was your favorite school lunch?

My dad’s halloumi (Cypriot cheese), tomato, cucumber and lounza (Greek cured meat) sandwich

How do you want to be remembered?</strong>

When I was a kid I used to lie awake obsessing about how I could live a life that would make me remembered 1,000 years after I die. Lofty goal, eh?

Besides running a company that helps artists of all shapes and sizes get gigs, Panos is a great guy, a generous source of business knowledge and from what I hear, a descent soccer... I mean.. football player!

Thanks Panos!!!

Featured Artist: The Furies!

Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011
Artist: The Furies
Artist Page: http://thefuriesrock.com/

"Afraid you will lose, save your excuse. I will hunt you, if I have to"

-croons lead singer Lee Moretti of The Furies

Described as "fever-femme" and "pop/rock with an edge," these ladies mix classic punk energy with blues and folk, creating a unique sound with as much intimacy as there is boldness. Equipped with gritty hooks and sweet harmonies, founding members Lee Moretti, Sonya Rae Perricone, and Nicole Marcus are carving out a name all their own and much like their namesake, they mean business.

Their debut single, a remix of their song Keep Away was arranged, recorded and produced by Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins, and features Third Eye Blind band members Brad Hargreaves and Abe Millet on drums and bass respectively.

The Plug:

Look for these ladies tearing up stages in a club near you. Next shows: Goodbye Blue Monday in NYC on August 14, shows in Providence and Boston as well.

http://thefuriesrock.com/

http://thefuriesrock.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thefuriesmusic/

http://www.twitter.com/furiesrock/

Official Hink Questionnaire

If you could go anywhere, where would you like to travel?

Into the future!

Who is your biggest artistic inspiration?

Jeff Buckley, Patti Smith, E.E. Cummings, Paul Auster, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Charles Bukowski.

What artistic tool could you not live without?

GEEETARS

What was your favorite school lunch?

Pizza Bagels. Yup.

How do you want to be remembered?

As leaving the mark we were intended to.

Featured Artist: Renel Vital as Mr. Dax!

This spring, Renel Vital finished his album I'm Mr. Dax; an entertaining and educational children's album with rapping, singing and spoken word poetry. Renel's company, Inner Globe Entertainment, was founded on December 7, 2010; however, he has been creating the wonderful world of Mr. Dax for much longer. Using Renel's vision, lyrics and initial direction, Ryan collaborated with him on a weekly basis to bring the album from concept to completion. Set to release this fall, the album also features female vocalist Rachel Borovik as the voice of Lingua.

This project goes beyond an album as Renel has enlisted several local artists to help him bring his characters to life. Illustrator Ali 'Jersy' Nebel created the posters you see above and he is currently collaborating with 3D artist Andrew Williamson to give each character and their wonderful world Kuru, exciting depth and detail. We are also working on his website which will allow children to send their favorite character messages, listen to the full I'm Mr. Dax album and keep up with what's going on in the land of Kuru.

There are so many possibilities for this incredible project and we at Hink Creations are honored to be a part of it. Stay tuned for release dates and information on how you too can get involved.

Official Hink Questionnaire

If you could go anywhere, where would you like to travel?

If I could go anywhere, I would like to visit Paris and eat classic "French Toast" with two eggs scrambled on the side to start the morning (Yummy). Then tour!

Who is your biggest artistic inspiration?

Growing up, one of my biggest artistic inspiration was KRS ONE. I remember being at St. Mary's Park in Cambridge in the late 1980's and someone was blasting one of his songs. It was so cool. People running ball, others chilling and enjoying the scene hearing a cool beat with KRS rapping.

What artistic tool could you not live without?

Music is the tool I need. It grabbed my attention in my junior year in college when I took a creative writing class.

What was your favorite school lunch?

My favorite school lunch was Sloppy Joe with rice on the side.  I'm getting hungry again. Simply delicious!

How do you want to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as someone who shared love and joy through music.

Thanks Renel!