Album Capsules
by Mark E. Waterbury
T.M. Stevens - Shocka Zooloo
Click here for the review
Webslinger - self titled
Click here for the review
Glenn Erickson - Mick Barton sings Glenn Erickson's songs - Still Making Love to your Memory
Click here for the review
The Moon Gypsies - Slip
Click here for the review
Poets Of Another Breed - Hip Replacement
Click here for the review
Slitheryn - 4 song EP
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Toe Head - New Disaster
Click here for the review
Memphis Radio Kings - No Band in the Happy Place
Click here for the review
Kevin Lee - Loaded
Click here for the review
Brian Gladstone - Psychedelic Pholk Psongs
Click here for the review
Crossroads: Bassist T.M. Stevens
by Mark E. Waterbury
Click here
Industry Profile - Hard Rock Cafe Sales Manager Susan Cobb
by Mark E. Waterbury
Click here
Unsigned Spotlight - Toni Hendrix
by Mark E. Waterbury
Click here
Scott Turner's Song Publisher's Perspective
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Music Biz Opportunities
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Music Industry Marketing Showcase
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Scott Turner Tapes
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Copyright 2004 by Music Morsels, a Serge Entertainment Publication.
Editor: Sandy Serge
Contributing Columnists/Writers:
Mark E. Waterbury, Scott Turner
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 TM© February 2003
Unsigned Spotlight - Toni HendrixBy Mark E. Waterbury
Unsigned Artist Name: Toni Hendrix - Keyboardist/Vocalist For Webslinger
Musical Genre: Alt Rock With Punk Influences
Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY
Current Residence: New York City
Years In Music Biz: 8
Web Site: www.thewebslingerband.net, www.sergeentertainmentgroup.com/webslinger
 MM: What have you done musically before forming Webslinger?
TH: I dabbled in several things that were part of the whole path of me trying to find myself musically. I was always in the forefront and trying to get things going, and I had a lot of great ideas. The people around me usually had talent, but didn't really know how to get going. I put some bands together; I had a jazz band and I had a house music band and also did some management for a gangsta rapper, which I will never do again. When I was in Orlando, I lived with Doug Brown, who was the VP of management for Wright Entertainment Group. They managed some of the biggest acts around, such as Back Street Boys, N'Sync and Britney Spears. Just hanging around with them and watching how they did the operation and worked in the studio, I got a real good idea developed for how I was going to do my own thing. So I started to focus on working on my talents. I've been in and out of a lot of groups over the years, but I've been a loner, and my best friend is music. It's my friend, my lover, my provider and my partner. It always makes me feel OK.
MM: How did Webslinger actually form?
TH: I was working on trying to get my performance skills together when I ran into a guitarist named Geno (pronounced "gain-oh"). He was at the Roxy Studios and he was incredible - he blew my mind. He had the same style as guitarists that I liked; he had a bit of Led Zeppelin, a little Hendrix, a little Stevie Ray Vaughan, and we just clicked. We started playing together and started looking for other people who were on the same minded path - spiritually-minded people and people who would gel and have a chemistry with us. Then one day we were rehearsing at Funkadelic Studios, and Geno heard about this girl who just came off tour with Pink and was in a band called Candy Ass. He wanted to try her out. We were working on a cover version of "Outside," and she plugged up and just started playing, and the energy took me to a whole different realm with my performance. That was it, we had the Black Widow. We're still looking for a permanent drummer that melds with us as well.
MM: When things started clicking between you, Geno and the Black Widow, did you feel that was the start of the band that's really going to be "The One"?
TH: Well, let me tell you something. I was married to my first wife and she died. I didn't really know how to play piano or anything, and then one night, I awoke from a dream with a song in my mind, and I went to the piano and played it. That's when I knew that music was my life. I was like an addict for music. The first time I got into rock music was when I heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And that's when I knew I wanted to do rock; I could run and scream and kick mic stands down. With the anger inside of me, this is the expression avenue for me. Then I put the Christian slant on the lyrics, with a purpose more to reach out to lost souls, not saved souls. It's angry music but still has a message in it where you can find inner peace. Then when I met Geno, it was as if I found my niche.
MM: What was your initial plan to get Webslinger's music out to the masses?
TH: I learned a lot of things about how trends come and go. I also learned that image is important along with talent and songwriting. When we got together, I convinced Amen-Ra, an indie label to put some money into us. Then we put our heads together to come up with different ideas and concepts - who am I, what am I about, what do I like the most, how can I exploit that? And I've always been a big Spiderman fan, and this was long before the movie came out. So we came up with this image relating to that, and that's how we came up with Webslinger. I felt like I was fighting for people's souls anyway. So we did a lot of play with the Spiderman image and found our direction. With the first album, we were kind of feeling ourselves out, but now we have more of a direction that sounds like us. And we are always making sure that the band is working on its tightness. Our first CD tried to hit a few markets to see what was out there, and most of that CD was done entirely by me except for a few of the songs when Geno came in near the end. We don't really want that CD to represent our sound.
MM: So you are recording a new CD with only a couple of songs from the first one?
TH: Yeah. One of the songs we took is "Venom," which is more indicative of our direction, and we're remixing it next month. The guitars are heavy but we want to bring the drums and the bass up heavier to give more of a signature sound to our direction.
MM: What are your marketing plans once that CD is ready to go?
TH: We are looking for a booking agency that can get us in front of the labels with showcases as well as other gigs. And we are already doing radio promotion trying to break the single "Venom" and are pushing to get major distribution and then touring. We're doing a few shows in the area right now, and we are pushing aggressively to get a showcase so we can get a label behind us to jump on any type of tour in the late spring and the summer time. With our image the way it is, we have people who who are trying to get a few songs into the next Spiderman movie. Radio promo, live shows, touring, web sites, college radio...trying anything to break the name out there.
MM: What is you personal definition of success for Webslinger, and do you feel that you can reach that level?
TH: Success comes on many different levels. As far as what we want to do, if we join our masculinity with our feminine sides, strike kind of a balance, and out of that union, pull off what some of the great geniuses have pulled off, that would be a success. If people can hear our music and really feel good and it touches people, it will be a success. To me success is longevity, and being in a position where by walking in a room, your mere presence creates energy. Of course, everyone wants financial success, and that's just a byproduct of when you do everything else right. Nailing it at your rehearsals as well as nailing it at your concerts. Success is really looking at yourself and putting one hundred percent into what you do and doing it for a long time.
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