ONUTSS Interview by Tom Paul
ONUTSS http://www.soultracks.com/soul_communicator-ONUTSS which stands for One Nation Under The Soul Shack was created by Pamela Nichols and Detrel Howell in 2006 as a way of getting the word out about Independent Soul/World Music Artists and providing those artists with the opportunity to meet and greet the public and have their music exposed with greater visibility.
ONUTSS works as a way to promote artists who have released their CDs and provides a Network of artists, music business mentors and fans to show up at their monthly events in the NYC and Connecticut areas. The venues vary from time to time, but their events are hosted in a very cozy and relaxed. The artists have the potential to make money from selling their music.
ONUTSS has proven to be a huge help to the Independent Soul Community. Please go to their website or myspace page to sign up for their mailing list of events. These events are a great way to meet up with a lot of helpful music industry mentors, artists and new fans. I, myself have met so many great people through these events.
ONUTSS will be having a very special year end Christmas show at the Shrine in Harlem with 5 artists who are all finishing up their new CD's for 2009.
View the eflyer at the bottom of the interview for more details.
Robin Small http://www.myspace.com/robinannette
Abby Dobson http://www.myspace.com/abbydobsonmusic
Serina G http://www.myspace.com/pinkdiamondg
Keith Fluitt http://www.myspace.com/mrkeithanthonyfluitt
Tom Paul http://www.myspace.com/tompaul6band
This is a great event to meet other artists, managers, record labels, DJ's who have online radio programs, marketing and PR people. I can't tell you how many great people I've met through these ONUTSS events In the past.
TP: How did the ONUTSS idea come to fruition? How long did it take to get this concept rolling?
ONUTSS: ONUTSS was born out of frustration-we had grown tired of discovering so many talented artists on myspace and typically knowing about others just from being part of the independent soul/world music movement, and the masses not knowing about them. We thought it was an injustice to the music community to have no knowledge of these artists. Early in 2006 Pam followed Detrel over to myspace and by June of the same year, we'd tossed the idea around of trying to bring the movers and shakers in the NY indie scene together for a meet and greet. That led to our launch in August 2006 with our first event, a meet and greet.
TP: Did you realize that these events would help link so many people in so many ways?
ONUTSS: One of our goals when we created ONUTSS was to bring people of like minds together, hence One Nation.
TP: Is your myspace link your only visibility on the Web? Or do you have an ONUTSS website?
ONUTSS: We have a website http://www.onutss.com/ that was developed and active for quite some time, however we have not officially launched it-we are working towards this endeavor.
TP: Did you find many artists that have appeared in your showcases from Myspace?
ONUTSS: Yes we did find a bulk of our artists via Myspace.
TP: You've recently branched out to events in Connecticut, what venue hosted and how was the turnout?
ONUTSS: We have hosted a few events in Connecticut at two venues, Café Nine (New Haven) and Two Boots (Bridgeport). The Connecticut connection was facilitated through a relationship between ONUTSS and two young ladies via http://www.meetup.com/ They had heard about ONUTSS and were interested in having us bring the party to Connecticut. The response was fantastic and like music lovers around the globe, they were hungry for good talent too.
TP: What type of people do you want to meet to keep this event growing?
ONUTSS: We want to meet serious music lovers who don't mind taking a chance on an artist they were previously not familiar with. It is important to us that people support the artist and venue since we typically do not impose a cover charge. Industry individuals are welcomed and encouraged to attend our events-the artists need all the exposure they can get, which is what we strive for when presenting them to new audiences.
TP: Are the styles of music kept to just Indie Soul? Or other styles of music?
ONUTSS: The primary style of music is indie soul; however we are open to other styles such as Jazz, World, Gospel, and House music.
TP: Okay, what is in this for the ladies of ONUTSS to keep putting these shows on? Do you make a percentage of the CD sales? Do you take a fee for setting up the event?
ONUTSS: Initially, we hosted the events at no cost to the artists. However, we quickly discovered how much of our personal time and money was spent to promote the events. We eventually instituted a small fee and percentage of the cd sales to offset the expenses.
TP: Name some artists that have caught your attention in performances at your events?
ONUTSS: Every artist we have presented caught our attention prior to performing on our stage.
TP: When is the next ONUTSS event and who is on the bill?
ONUTSS: On Monday, December 15th we are hosting our holiday celebration and year-end finale with some of our special friends who have a marvelous array of talent. This event will take place at Shrine World Music Venue in Harlem and we will be joined by Tom Paul, Serina G, Robin Small, Keith Fluitt and Abby Dobson.
TP: There must be dates where one particular venue cannot accommodate your events, how does that effect your decisions on where the event will be held?
ONUTSS: Fortunately for ONUTSS all of the dates we have asked for have been accommodated. We do like to move around as well. There are so many quaint and cozy venues in which to host our events around New York City. This is another way to shine light on venues that may not be well known to the masses. Therefore, just like the music, venues need exposure as well.
TP: How do new artists get in contact with the ladies of ONUTSS to be part of one of these fine events?
ONUTSS: We welcome any musician interested in learning more about being part of an ONUTSS event to contact us via email (onutss@msn.com), Myspace (www.myspace.com/onutss) or through our website (http://www.onutss.com/)
TP: Name some of the artists that you've downloaded or purchased their CDs recently?
ONUTSS: Pam: Wayna, Keni Myles and Algebra
Detrel: Wayna, Keni Myles and E. Bland
Please come out to The Shrine located at 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd(7th ave) between 133rd and 134th streets. Take the 3 Train to 135th street stop and Lenox Ave, walk 1 block West to Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, take a Right and walk down a block and half to the venue. Check out the eflyer below. Hope to see you there.
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