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The Rising - Future Unknown
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Ellis - Tigers Above, Tigers Below
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Amaze Me: Songs in the Key of Peace - Various Artists
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Elam KcKnight - Braid my Hair
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Memphis the Band - Last of the Cadillac Days
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Evolocity - Six song demo
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The Paul Hemmings Trio - In & Out
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Katie Barbato - The Tapestry Room
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Three Degrees of Freedom - Vacilande
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Genie - Wildflowers
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Crossroads: Michael Lee Of The Rising
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Alisa Anderson, Executive Director - Indianapolis Music Conference
by Mark E. Waterbury
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Indie Artist Spotlight: Ellis
by Mark E. Waterbury
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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© October 2003
Industry Profile - Alisa Anderson, Executive Director - Indianapolis Music Conferenceby Mark E. Waterbury
 A number of music industry professionals were musicians themselves who chose the business side because they had a greater aptitude for that than recording and playing their own music. Maryland born and raised Alisa Anderson was one of those lucky ones who started in the industry performing music, and while keeping an extraordinarily busy schedule with her business career endeavors, has now once again found time to explore her own musical creativity. In high school, Alisa performed in musical theater and worked with special vocal groups and choirs as well as writing and performing her own music. Attending the University of Maryland in pursuit of an English major, she discovered avenues to weave her two main passions together. "I love writing. In addition to writing my music, I write fiction, non-fiction and all types of writing," Alisa intones. "I combined that with my love of art and music, and I learned to live and breath music; you have to if you are going to be in the business. It all just snowballed from there." Alisa found that she had a natural affinity for public relations and working with promotion and event planning, even though when she left college she worked in the medical insurance and claims industry for awhile. "It paid the bills, but it was a bit boring," Alisa muses. "Then I fell back into music and public relations from meeting the right people and making the right connections. I really didn't plan on it."
 Alisa started doing promotion mainly for friends that were musicians, and the word began to spread about her. With another friend, she launched a web site called Artistsontherise.com to help secure interviews for newer artists along with news about more established musicians and the music industry in general. "We really focused hard at trying to get newer acts promoted. A lot of people saw what we were trying to do and appreciated it, and I started meeting all kinds of different people. It's hard to explain because I didn't really plan this. I just had the natural knack for it." Alisa relied on her research skills from her days as an English major to peruse the internet, learning about the various ins and outs of the music biz as she started to work with more and more artists in greater capacities. "If you work in this industry, you really have to do your research. You have to become very internet savvy because the internet is rolling along like a juggernaut. There are so many free opportunities to get to learning on the internet. Taking classes and asking questions whenever you can is important, too."
In 2001, Alisa's prowess in promotion brought her to the Dorough Lupus Foundation, where she became the director of media and public relations. Although that may seem like a non-music entity, it gave her valuable experience as she for the first time worked with coordinating concerts as events to help raise funds for the foundation. "I was able to do many different things here, and every year we planned an annual benefit concert. There is so much involved with planning events like this especially with a smaller foundation, and I was warned that it would be a very hands-on job without anyone to really show me the ropes. But they thought I would be a quick study and I had to learn on my own. You have to ask plenty of questions and you can't really make any mistakes."
Working with benefit concerts planted the seed for an idea Alisa had to continue her passion of helping unsigned artists. While she was working on the web site, she had the idea of wanting to do a musicians' showcase to introduce fledgling talent. That seed germinated into the first annual Indianapolis Music Conference. "We originally thought a showcase would work because it had low overhead and we would not have to charge much to recoup funds. It would also be giving back to the people trying to learn about the industry, and I think a lot of people enter this business not knowing what they are doing and they suffer for it. Then I thought instead of making in an artist's showcase, why not make it a full-on conference?" In Spring of 2003, the INMC came to fruition, and started it's search for unsigned musicians as well as panelists and speakers to participate in the conference which will be held in mid-November. VH-1's Save The Music Foundation is involved in the conference, and as usual Alisa used the internet, while also picking the brains of people involved with established conferences such as David Hooper at the Nashville Music Conference to glean ideas to help make INMC successful. "The response so far has been incredible, with so many people volunteering to get involved, basically saying thank you to us for trying to do something. We want to do something positive that people can have a good time at and also educate themselves. I feel that with what we are doing we are giving back and actually making some sort of difference. Even if it is just to thirty bands that show up for it, those thirty bands are going to get themselves a great education."
Along with all the planning involved with the INMC, Alisa is developing a new web site called MusicNoize as a resource for information about the music industry akin to the type of info available at a music conference. She is also putting together a music business resource directory. Amazingly enough with everything she has going, Alisa is releasing a CD of her own music next April. "I let my own music go on the back burner for awhile, and then I really wanted to get back into it. I've now been sitting on it for about a year and a half, and everyone has been coaching me to get it out. There hasn't really been the time but I've promised myself that I'm going to get this out next year. I want to write for other people as well." Even with her doing something that is a bit more for herself with releasing the CD, the passion for helping others over the often rough roads of the music industry is why Alisa is doing what she is doing, keeping her not only focused but happy in her chosen career paths. "I really get off on helping other people realize their potential. I like motivating them and letting them know that this is not an extremely hard puzzle that only a select few can figure out. If I can help people to educate themselves about this business, that is what I like the most."
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Alisa Anderson's advice for musicians: "You need to learn to ask the right questions so you will know what to do and know what not to do. So many musicians are unaware and a lot of people in this industry that are in a position to help don't care because they just want to take their money. Don't assume that someone has your back. You need to walk into it with both eyes wide open. Ask the right questions and don't accept something just because someone tells you it's the bottom line. If you're not satisfied with it, keep asking questions. Do your research and don't sign anything unless you are an attorney or you have one. Understand and educate yourself about this industry or it will chew you up and spit you out."
For more info on the Indianapolis Music Conference, please visit the web site at http://www.imusicconference.com
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