Orchard Appoints Nathan Fong As Chief Financial Officer

The Orchard, a global leader in digital music and entertainment, announced the appointment of Nathan Fong as its Chief Financial Officer. The Orchard also announced the resignation of Cliff Haigler, who has been serving as interim Chief Financial Officer since September, 2007. 
 Most recently, Mr. Fong served as Chief Financial Officer for In-Demand Networks. In the last five years he has served as Divisional Vice President of Finance and Administration for Twentieth Century Fox International, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, for Discovery Communications, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer, Rodale International, Rodale, Inc. Mr. Fong is a Certified Public Accountant. 
 "Nathan has an impressive track record as a media executive and brings a strong technical finance and accounting skill set to our company. We have spent considerable time finding the right person to fill this critical role and are pleased that Nathan has agreed to join us," said Greg Scholl, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Orchard.
 "I am pleased to join The Orchard during this exciting period of its growth, and am enthusiastic about the company's prospects," said Mr. Fong.
 

"A Thousand Miles Of Memories"

D and M Records is proud to announce the release of "A Thousand Miles Of Memories" by Nashville Recording Artist, Austin Riley.
Austin was born in Oklahoma, but is proud to call Nashville his home, where he relocated to pursue his career in music. His love for songwriting introduced him to several Nashville songwriters, and these introductions have resulted the great original music we’re lovin’ in “A Thousand Miles Of Memories Memories" released on the D and M Records Label in 2008.
“Austin Riley is one of those rare gems – and they don’t come along very often. This is some of the best country music we’ve heard in a long time and
Austin Riley knows how to sing country music as it should be sung. His rich vocals, though all his own, are reminiscent of George Strait, and the great instrumentation and Austin’s delivery make every song on Austin’s debut album a stand-alone hit. This is a CD no country music fan should miss.”
Dave Warren, CEO, D and M Records -
There have been some great moments for Austin over the years. He has opened for John Conlee and several other Grand Ole Opry stars. The best way to describe Austin's music is "Country." He loves the traditional style, but also has a flair for the new.
"A Thousand Miles Of Memories" is a hit right out of production. Several cuts from Austin's debut album are getting airplay and charting big all over the world.
Austin will be appearing in a NixaCountry Showcase at The Rhythm Kitchen in Nashville on March 8th and planning several other appearances in and around Nashville in the near future, but this is just the beginning for this rising country star.
Austin's album and fan collection products are available for purchase at the Music/Fan Products Stores at D and M Music at www.stardiskco.com
 

International Hip-Hop Back For A Third Time

Hartford, Connecticut – Hip hop garnered a lion’s share of negative publicity in 2007 – DJ Drama was arrested for selling mixtapes, Don Imus pointed a finger at hip hop’s misogyny and T.I. was arrested on gun charges – spawning a nationwide dialogue over the future of the culture. But one bright spot was the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival, now poised for its third annual event on April 4, 5 and 6, 2008, sponsored and hosted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The Trinity Festival is a coming together of artists, activists, pioneers, filmmakers, DJs, graffiti writers, and fans with one thing in common – to make a difference in the world through hip hop.
The first and largest international hip hop festival in the United States, the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival blends the wisdom of old school pioneers with the passions of hip hop musicians from the far points of the globe.
Co-organizer and Trinity College student Zee Santiago said, “This is the first event of its kind that demonstrates how hip hop has become an international culture as well as an accepted academic area of study.”
In past years, Trinity College has played host to hip hop luminaries such as Fab 5 Freddy, Jeff Chang (author of Can't Stop Won't Stop), Byron Hurt (director of Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes) and Charlie Ahern (director of Wildstyle).
The 2008 festival will kick off Friday afternoon with a hip hop theatre performance led by Baba Israel and opening remarks from Trinity College President James F. Jones, Jr., and Dr. Xiangming Chen, the Dean of the Center for Urban and Global Studies. This will be followed by a keynote address from Bakari Kitwana (author of The Hip Hop Generation and Why White Kids Love Hip Hop) entitled "Can Hip Hop Make the Transition from Cultural Movement to Political Power?"
Artists scheduled to perform Friday night include Baba Israel (Australia/USA), La Bruja (Puerto Rico), Shokanti with Chachi and crew (Cape Verde), Abyssinian Creole (Seattle), Self-Suffice (Hartford), and a Senegalese “Super Crew” featuring several top Senegalese MCs backed by Nomadic Wax’s African Underground live band. The performances will be hosted by Canadian lyricist Eternia and Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana) backed by DJ Boo (of the Juggaknots).
Saturday’s activities will kick off with a panel discussion about the early years of hip hop with old school pioneers Grandmaster Caz and Tony Tone from the Cold Crush Brothers, Grand Wizard Theodore and DJ Disco Wiz. Pop Master Fabel of the legendary Rock Steady Crew will host a 2-on-2 b-boy battle Saturday afternoon with music provided by DJ Disco Wiz and a $500 prize on the line. West coast crew and Trinity-alums Trust Your Struggle will present a Graffiti Workshop and collaborate with other invited artists to create an all new mural in the center of campus. The Beat Making Workshop will give budding producers tips on how to make hip hop beats led by Connecticut production team Kemistree and Zaquan.
Saturday night’s performance schedule includes Zimbabwe Legit (Zimbabwe/USA), The Perceptionists (Mr. Lif & Akrobatik – USA), Sam the Kid (Portugal), Jewish emcee Y-Love (presented by Trinity College’s Hillel House), female super-group Anomolies, spoken word collective iLL-Literacy and Rebel Diaz (Chile/Puerto Rico). Performances will again be hosted by Eternia and Blitz with DJ Boo.
On Sunday, hip-hop educator Melissa Noel Green will present “The Art of Rhyme” Workshop. Global hip hop DJs will spin at the “Chill Out Lounge” during the course of all three days culminating with an open mic session for MCs on Sunday afternoon.
The event has elicited an enormous response and has been called "the best of the wave of springtime hip-hop conferences" by highly esteemed journalist Jeff Chang. Trinity College has been described as "a point of renaissance for Hartford" by the Trinity Tripod and the BBC reported that the students and artists involved "truly believe they can change the world through Hip-Hop." The Trinity Tripod declared it "up to events like the [International Hip-Hop] Festival to pierce through the negative, capitalist-driven image now tagged to the Hip-Hop genre." XXL magazine wrote of "an event that everyone could relate to, regardless of what country they came from or language they spoke."
Festival Sponsors include Trinity College, Nomadic Wax, The Temple of Hip-Hop Kulture and World Hip Hop Market. The festival will be free and open to the public.