"3" NEWS (7/22/06)

Yikes!! Has it really been more than three years since I found or made the time to add to this newsletter? A lot of what's been happening, you may already know about, but here's a recap:
In early 2004, Planet Noise Records and the guys in 3 put together their own recording studio in Woodstock, New York, at which the master recordings for "Wake Pig" were done. The album was released in the fall of 2004 on PNR, just as 3 headed out on the road for a six-week tour of the US with Coheed & Cambria and underOATH.

In 2005, a copy of "Wake Pig" found its way into the hands of Brian Slegel, the founder and owner of Metal Blade Records. Shortly thereafter, 3 landed a record deal with Metal Blade and "Wake Pig" was re-released on MB with some additional tracks and major media promotion.

In 2006, 3 was picked as one of the "Top 100 Bands to Watch" in Alternative Press and pieces on the band have appeared in AP, Revolver, CMJ and Guitar World, to mention but a few. 3 has been touring relentlessly since then and recently entered into a management deal with Larry Mazur, who also handles Lamb of God, As I Lay dying and Atreyu, among many other great bands. (Larry was the original manager of rock legends, KISS).

Plans for international touring are in the works for 3 in the remainder of '06 and plenty of exciting stuff is bound to follow, all of which I hereby promise to be much more diligent about reporting.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting 3 and other PNR artists through the years. Loyalty and perseverence really count and pay off in the long run!! Best to all!

"3" NEWS (5/1/03)

And there’s lots of it … where to begin?
First, the band’s amazing, second full-length studio album, recorded last year at New Jersey’s prestigious I.I.W.I.I. Studios, is slated for release in September, 2003 on Planet Noise Records. And, the album (not the record label) will be the sole sponsor of the Opening Night Film for the 2003

Woodstock Film Festival: this is the fastest-growing, independent film-fest in the world. Check it out from our Links page!!
The "3" phenomenon continues to grow: the band recently added percussionist extraordinaire, Joe Stote (that’s 3 Joes in the band if you’re counting), and will be touring and gigging this spring and summer with new songs, a new sound and, well, a new vision for the future of "3."

Meanwhile, front-man, Joey Eppard, is keeping up his manic pace with side-projects galore: he is the featured vocalist (and co-writer) on four tracks from the recent CD release, "Clean" (on the Labels imprint of Virgin Records) by European house music genius, Cosmo Vitelli. In February, Joey flew to Paris to tape the French TV show, Traffic Musique, in support of "Robot Soul," the single release from "Clean."

Following up his European jaunt, Joey teamed up with another of his side-projects, nu-funk group, Drugs, to open a string of shows for George Clinton and P-Funk on their 2003 Winter tour.

As if that weren’t enough, the indefatigable Mr. Eppard has been working on his next solo collection in the studio with famed drummer, Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney) and acoustic legend, Rex Fowler (Aztec Two-Step).

"3" and Joey are proving that perseverence and hard work (along with loads of talent) are the only true recipe for success in the music business.

By the way, good things have been happening for Joey’s brother, Josh, and his band, Coheed & Cambria on EqualVision Records. Don’t neglect to check them out, too!!

And keep following these pages for more developments.

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Planet Noise at the Movies:

Planet Noise Records takes pleasure in announcing that the music of two of its recording artists has been picked up for use in new motion picture projects. The song "Heart Attack" by "3" is featured in the short film "Temporary Glitch" by director, Patrizia Bonetti. Four (4) songs by The Migrants, "Employee X," "Hologram," "She Cries" and "Revolution Song" are included in the soundtrack of "Black-Eyed Susan," a feature-length film by noted director Jim Riffel. The premiere of "Black-Eyed Susan" was planned for early fall at Tribeca in New York City, but is being rescheduled in the wake of the Trade Tower disasters. All of the music mentioned above and featured in these original films is available on CDs from Planet Noise Records.

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* BRAVE NEW WORLD FOR RECORD LABELS: DIGITAL PATRONAGE DISTRIBUTION

"DOWNLOAD MUSIC FOR FREE!!"

Those four words strike fear into the hearts of record labels and commercially viable artists alike. After all, both are seeking to sell music, not give it away. And both spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours trying to build enough audience interest to make a passable living at it. (That's right, not all labels are SONY and not all artists are the Backstreet Boys.) On the other hand, in this post-Napster era, with hundreds of internet-based "music-sharing" sites, ubiquitous CD burning and MP3 pocket units, it is unrealistic to imagine that traditional modes of music distribution and sale can be sustained. Not surprisingly, most of the "free music" proponents do not think of themselves as thieves. Almost all say that they would happily pay something for at least some of the music they have taken, since they obviously placed enough value on it to copy it and listen to it. But they want to have some sense that the money they pay is what they consider reasonable for what they receive and they also hope that an appropriate amount ends up with the artists who create the music. Whatever else may be said about the music industry, it has not done a good job of fulfilling either of those two eminently fair consumer expectations. Patronage support of artists in exchange for free digital music distribution through internet sites such as "fairtunes.com" offers the promise of addressing these consumer desires in a way that will adequately support the artists and producers of recorded music. Most record labels will not like the idea (at least not at first) because it will require them to deal more directly and in most cases more generously with the artists than has previously been done. In the long run, though, I believe record labels, especially the smaller ones, will love it, because it cuts out the many hands presently outstretched along the money-chain of in-store, retail music distribution. Let's put the artists in charge and let the record labels demonstrate their value to the artists by providing them with the things labels do best at a fair price. Most artists know they could do a lot of "business" things themselves, but let's face it: they really don't want to. That's why they became artists in the first place. The best thing about this new approach is that it will allow the public to choose which artists to hear and support, rather than the big corporations which currently market, and thus limit, choice. I think the end result will be more and better music for everyone with greater support for artists. As for the record labels, like little ol' me here at Planet Noise Records, it's time for us to demonstrate the sincerity of our purpose (we do love music, right?) and embrace the exciting technologies that are ushering in a new age of music enjoyment. Thanks for listening. Support the music by checking out "www.fairtunes.com."

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You need no welcome to Planet Noise; you already live there. If your ears are open to sounds in rhythm, you hear music everywhere and every minute.

Planet Noise Records was created to promote music following a single principle:

* Great music transcends genre *

It is our belief that Mozart would have loved Jimi Hendrix and Charlie Parker, that a collaboration among Trent Reznor, Hank Williams and Gustav Mahler would rock and that Miles Davis, Keith Richards and spring peepers all sing the music of the spheres.

Our label will not follow any trend; maybe we'll be lucky enough to start one. In any event, we hope you will join us in our journey to discover new and exciting music in a boundless variety of styles.

We welcome your comments and reviews of our releases. If you would like us to consider publishing your thoughts on this web-site, give us your permission when you write.

The joy of music is hearing it and talking about it... let's have fun.

End-Note:

For those of you who have purchased any of our records, thanks!! Please don't feel shy about sending us your comments or suggestions.

Thanks for visiting, come again and keep on enjoying music on this wonderful, noisy planet we are all blessed to occupy!!!

Tom Benton