The Place For Emerging Women In Music
One of Music Connection's Best Websites of 2002!

  Words from the Editor’s Desk

   5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!! 2002 is here, and with it the hope for a better, stronger year. I made no predictions or resolutions as the clock advanced but with 2002 we're cleaning out the closets at FEMMUSIC.
 It's our 3rd Year and we want to be better than ever. In order to do so we have to eliminate what isn't working? Beginning this month we've eliminated another section. That section is Where Will You Be? WWYB was created with the intention of previewing shows months in advance. Sadly planning that far and keeping up with it became too large a chore. We're still keeping Shows of the Week, and it is my intention to have that reflect shows one to two weeks in advance worldwide.
   Now the good news. FEMMUSIC in 2002 is better than ever. This month we're introducing two new sections. One is a City Spotlight with a focus on 1 artist, 1 venue & 1 event. I'm originally from the East Coast but have lived in Denver for nearly 20 years. Speaking with artists locally I've been asked repeatedly, "When are you going to do a Denver issue?" Although I've tried to help local bands with listings in Artist & Demo of the Month, there is so much more that can be said. For this reason, City Spotlight was born.
    City Spotlight is a chance to describe the cross-section of the local music scene anywhere. It will be a chance to talk about the clubs that everyone knows from CBGB's to The Key Club, and to talk about the clubs no one knows about like The Lion's Lair and Penny Lane. It will also be a chance to expand upon festival/conference of the month by talking about the events that make up a particular city. These include The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Seattle's Bumbershoot. Finally, City Spotlight will be the chance to talk about more artists. There are some artists FEMMUSIC naturally associates with a particular city, as do the locals. When we speak of Edie Carey or Anne Heaton, New York City is their natural environment. The same can be said of Powder, Breech, and Bubble in Los Angeles. FEMMUSIC also looks forward to finding out about new cities. If you have suggestions, please e-mail us.
   In addition to City Spotlight, FEMMUSIC is adding a new section in January 2002. It's Song of the Month. Why? FEMMUSIC hears so many artists material regularly that we wanted a chance to talk about even more people. In addition, as we heard so often at AAA Gavin, a good song can do so much. This new area will include all the pertinent information about the song, and when possible, the lyrics. We hope that this will help artists in publishing and further promoting their work. A last caveat, beginning this year FEMMUSIC will now be accepting DVD's.
   Now, if I haven't spoken enough, let me talk about the 3rd Annual Jazz Issue. FEMMUSIC is about music of all genres. When we began my own knowledge of the art of Jazz was limited. Doing this issue every year has taught me so much, and I continue to learn. Jazz is interpretation, improv, and discipline by some of the most talented artists around. Jazz is a music that speaks in a whisper that stays for generations afterwards.
   This year FEMMUSIC was extremely privileged to speak with some of the biggest names in Jazz today. Diane Reeves is a Grammy Winning Jazz Vocalist. Flora Purim is a Grammy nominated artist whose style of jazz is unique. We also spoke with artists we wanted to talk to before. Both Rita di Ghent & Ondine Darcyl are artists we wished to profile last year, but our deadline passed too fast. In addition, Jeannette Lambert's JazzGrrls.com has been invaluable to us from day one. Instead of having her site be listed again as Website of the Month we decided to talk to the artist herself.
   Before we end we have to say farewell to Bianca Butthole of Betty Blowtorch who died in a car accident, and to The Women Musicians' Alliance/WMA that is ending after five years of amazing work in Florida and nationwide.
   Okay, I think I've spoken too much. Now let's hear the artists.

Sincerely,  
Alex Teitz  
Editor-In-Chief
FEMMUSIC
alex@femmusic.com