red dawn

The World Series Of Music, a national music competition that features literally tens of thousands of new indie artists and bands from around the world was recently held in Nashville, Tennessee. MCA Universal Producer Robert Metzgar was one of several record label executives who served as a finals judge for the event sponsored by Disc Makers and Billboard Magazine. The event legitimately awards $250,000 in cash and prizes to winners in various genres of music. The winner of the Nashville event was Special Ed & Shortbus a bluegrass group from Richmond, Virginia. I will only allow my clients to invest in highly successful labels or publishing companies

Hollywood, CA/Nashville, TN/New York, NY (PRWEB) September 28, 2007 -- Last Thursday, the World Series Of Music was held in Nashville, Tennessee and featured six finalists chosen by Billboard Magazine out of tens of thousands of artist entries. The annual event is sponsored by Disc Makers, the largest producer of independent product in the world. Judging the finals for the event was MCA Universal producer and longtime veteran hit-maker, Robert Metzgar. The six finalists at the event were Rebecca Zapen, The Issues, Special Ed & Shortbus, J Peele, The Zydepunks and WSNB. Winning the World Series Of Music is the most prestigious award an indie band can receive from their peers in the music business. It dwarfs the American Idol competition which is primarily for solo pop music artists.

The sold out event was standing room only. Over 100 companies in the music business participated in paying for the event which featured a delicious chef prepared dinner buffet and open bar at 3rd & Lindsley, located at 818 3rd Avenue South in downtown Nashville. Sponsors of the event were Billboard Magazine, Cakewalk, Dean Markley, Disc Makers, Drum Magazine, Electronic Musician, Ibanez, KRK Systems, Remix Magazine, Remo, Roland, Sabian, Shure Electronics, Sonicbids, Soundlab Studios, Tama, Taxi and Nashville's top 10 indie labels by Billboard ranking. "The top 10 Billboard ranked indie labels that participated were Big Machine Records , BNA Records, Category Five, Platinum Plus Universal, Curb Records, Rounder Records, Koch Nashville, Equity Records, Broken Bow Records and Universal South's Superlatone."

www.platinumplusuniversal.com

"The winner of the event by an extremely close margin was Special Ed & Shortbus, an infectiously hilarious bluegrass group who performed a blistering set of songs and instrumentals" seldom seen in this town of the world's best musicians. It was clear why these six artists made the finals out of thousands who entered. The quality of the finalists musicianship was simply overwhelming. "I saw music excellence personified in these artists," Metzgar told a crew of reporters.

"Just give Rebecca Zapen a violin or Special Ed a banjo and either act could blow away 99.9% of all the artists on American Idol." Metzgar told Entertainment Headline News reporters who attended, "The World Series Of Music has some of the greatest live music I have ever seen performed live on a stage in the city of Nashville." Every one of these artists could have been an American Idol finalist and winner easily. Their musicianship was astounding, even to many of the session players who attended to cheer for their favorite player. "Disc Makers is such a great company. They give all the finalists a check for $1,000.00 just for making the finals." Metzgar's VIP table was like a Who's Who in the music business. www.robertmetzgar.com

Metzgar who serves as the GM for Platinum Plus Universal records in Nashville and is a member of the Legends Hall Of Fame was honored recently by Billboard for a 14 week run with the #1 single in the Billboard Hot 100 Country single sales charts of country music entitled, "Country's What I Choose." (Written by BMI Songwriter Len Snow) The single release on Platinum Plus Universal also climbed to #26 in the pop charts in Billboard magazine. Metzgar recently produced the #1 single release in the International country charts, "Rock In My Cowboy Boots," as well. Asked about the winning band, Metzgar said "Special Ed & Shortbus are the type of great indie act that make big hit records as newly discovered indie artists." Metzgar has been a long time supporter of indie labels like Big Machine and Curb Records. He was quoted in the Wall Street Journal in an interview praising the talents of Scott Borchetta at Big Machine Records.

"Scott Borchetta is the most brilliant record label executive to come along in Nashville's recent history of country music," Metzgar said. He will go down in history with Owen Bradley, Mike Curb, Jimmy Bowen, Irwin Steinberg, Jerry Kennedy and other famous record label executives that have blazed a pathway of success for all of us to follow." Scott Borchetta, who is the CEO of Big Machine Records, recently signed Garth Brooks back into country music, along with his mega successful roster of artists such as Jack Ingram, Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood, Jimmy Wayne, Danielle Peck, Dusty Drake and Sunny Sweeney. "Big Machine is the star label on music row in Music City's future," Metzgar said to reporters.

Metzgar not only produces hit records, he serves as a consultant for large music acquisitions, and encourages investors in country music to carefully select Entertainment legal counsel before investing a penny. Hire great law firms to help you invest like Jeffrey Jacobson, Esq. (New York), Colin Brown, Esq. (Nashville) or Phil Elbert, Esq. (Nashville) at Neal & Harwell. "I will only allow my clients to invest in highly successful labels or publishing companies," Metzgar said. Look at Big Machine, Mike Curb, Clive Calder's Jive Records and others like them. Follow their path of music success. You can't help but be a huge winner in the music investment and publishing business. Publishing is the State of Tennessee's second largest dollar maker.

"Over a trillion dollars in investments have taken place in the entertainment industry in recent years" with major commercial banks taking large positions in various indie labels just in the past few years. "Nashville is where billionaires come to make their second billion," Metzgar told the Wall Street Journal & Chase Banking officials. "Invest in Nashville. This is the city where your dreams come true!" We have two of America's great political leaders in Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen and our new Mayor Karl Dean. Many investors hope to follow South African entrepreneur Clive Calder's successful pattern of investment in Nashville. Calder invested $125 million dollars and purchased almost every Contemporary Christian property in Nashville and then sold them for a multiple of 12 times his original investment making $800 million dollars on one sale of music assets. Calder who owned Jive Records and Zomba Music Publishing was one of the first smart money investors from New York to invest in Nashville. He turned a short term investment into almost a billion dollars in 5 years. See www.musicbrokerhouse.com

Tim Blixseth is another billionaire that has invested heavily in the Nashville music scene. Blixseth praised Charles E. Fach, Jr. for directing him to Nashville on CNN's Larry King "Live" recently. King devoted the entire hour to the success of investing in your dreams. Blixseth, Calder, and Mutt Lange have all posted their music investment schedule in their television biographies on A & E Television network. The three music billionaires praise Nashville's music business as one of the most solid financial investments in history. Billionaire Mutt Lange married his Nashville investment and made Shania Twain a household word all over the world, after meeting her at the CMA Music Festival during Fan Fair.

Metzgar consults on such purchases, selling his own Aim High Music (ASCAP) to Calder at Zomba/BMG Publishing. He directs his clients to the appropriate Entertainment law firm to help with the closings. "You want your artists and clients to be successful and make money in the sale of their music product." That only happens when you hire someone who can direct you and give you good advice. "Our management firm is one of those firms While in drug court, Dawn Nicole Smith says, she used her state Medicaid card to pay for painkillers. So, essentially, taxpayers were paying for her treatment for addiction and for her drugs.

Common sense might dictate that there should be a way to prohibit that, especially with KASPER, Kentucky's often-praised electronic system for tracking prescription narcotics.

But when dealing with multiple agencies, various computer systems and basic human nature, it's not so simple.

Kentucky's 9-year-old system is considered one of the best in the country, said Doug Robinson, executive director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. But, he said, getting computer systems to work together is extremely complicated. It's not so much a technology problem, he said, as making sure all involved agencies use the same terminology. And there are often regulatory and jurisdictional conflicts to sort through.

In Dawn's case, she says she found a doctor known for a free hand at writing prescriptions to obtain the drug Ultram and, sometimes, the painkiller Lortab using her Medicaid card. She had a serious hip injury as a child and sometimes used that to help obtain drugs.

Because she was passing her drug tests, Dawn's caseworkers and judges didn't run a KASPER report. There didn't appear to be a need to.

But many judges, drug court workers, and probation and parole officers are not aware that they can easily obtain a KASPER report online, said Zach Ramsey, director of the Division of Fraud, Waste and Abuse/Identification and Prevention in the Office of the Inspector General at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

During the past year, Ramsey's office has concentrated on getting the word out that they have a right to access the system if they suspect someone under their watch is abusing prescription drugs.

KASPER is also testing a new way to review Medicaid prescriptions. Until recently, Medicaid claims were not routinely reviewed as a batch in KASPER. But now KASPER will produce a regular report on Medicaid clients who appear to be overusing their prescription-drug benefit for narcotics. Historically, he said, Medicaid is not widely used to obtain drugs for abuse.

Technically, he said, a KASPER program could be created that would raise a flag when a prescription for a scheduled drug such as Lortab or Xanax is given to a person who is under court order not to use drugs.

But Ramsey said that creating such a system would depend on the political will to further expand KASPER's uses, and that is iffy, especially considering the highly personal nature of medical information.

BOSTON -- The parallels are piling up in the American League Championship Series in a way that ought to frighten the Cleveland Indians, a little too much déjà vu all over again for their liking.

There was Josh Beckett scoring a Game 5 victory to prevent elimination for the Red Sox, just as he had done four years earlier for the Marlins, when he kept them afloat in the NLCS with a win-or-go home performance against the Chicago Cubs.

There was Beckett talking afterward Thursday about possibly making himself available for relief duty in Game 7 on Sunday if the series makes it that far, the memory still fresh of him emerging from the bullpen to throw four critical innings for the Marlins in Game 7 of the '03 NLCS.

There was even Tim Wakefield pitching for the Red Sox on Tuesday, exactly four years to the day he gave up Aaron Boone's extra-inning home run in the '03 ALCS that sent the Red Sox home for the winter and the New York Yankees on to the World Series.

Wakefield didn't lose in such dramatic fashion this time. But he still lost.

Now comes Game 6 on Saturday and yet another past-meets-future backdrop.

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is scheduled to take the mound Saturday night against the Indians, who hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Check the sock on his right foot. If it is stained with blood, call Rod Serling.

BLOODY PAST

It was Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS that Schilling, his sock smeared in blood from a sutured wound, delivered a victory for Boston over the Yankees. The sock now rests in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

''One of the things I was thinking about this morning was people, a lot of people, were going to try to draw parallels to the things that happened in 2004,'' Schilling said on Friday. ``And, to some degree, maybe you can.''

There is one major difference, however. Schilling is not the same pitcher now as he was then. He is 40, coming off a season in which he managed only nine victories and spent time on the disabled list because of a bad shoulder, and could be taking the mound for the last time in his major-league career.

The thought crossed Schilling's mind Thursday when, watching Game 5 unfold on television from his own home, realized that if Boston didn't win, he might never toe the rubber again, at least for Boston.

''Last night, it did dawn on me, and I'd hate to think I've made my last start as a Boston Red Sox,'' he said. ``I want to be here.

``I hope they want me here. If not, I could be making one of my last two starts of my career here.''

That's assuming the best-case scenario: that the Red Sox recover, rally to knock out the Indians, and advance to the World Series to face Colorado.

But the fact is, the Red Sox have yet to win in this series when Beckett hasn't started for them. Wakefield lost. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is scheduled to be the Game 7 starter if the Red Sox win Saturday, lost. Schilling failed to protect a lead in Game 2, which Boston ended up losing.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Schilling hasn't ducked from his responsibility.

''It's very simple now,'' he said. ``I go out and do my job [Saturday] and we win. Or I don't and we lose. I don't think that's too much pressure, or too little. It's just reality.''

Schilling will again face Fausto Carmona, a young right-hander and 19-game winner for the Indians.

The patient Red Sox hitters forced Carmona deep into counts and forced his exit in the fifth, after Carmona had already thrown 100 pitches.

Schilling said he doesn't see Carmona laboring again.

''We've got a guy going against us tomorrow [Saturday] who I don't envision will back up that last start with another bad one, so it's all about me being able to answer the bell and us being able to manufacture some runs against one of the best pitchers in the game,'' Schilling said.

SIMILAR SITUATION

But if Schilling wins, with or without the bloody sock, it will serve as one more reminder of 2004.

''I was basically pitching on a broken foot with a lot less stuff than I have now, and I gave up one run over seven innings,'' Schilling said.

``I can pitch as good, if not better. It really made it very clear. I've done a lot better in a lot worse circumstances with a lot worse stuff. It's really one of the first times I think I've been able to draw on past experiences like that in a real positive way.''

Thursday's Game 5 screaming match between Beckett and the Indians' Kenny Lofton dates to May 24, 2005, at Dolphin Stadium.

Beckett, then with the Marlins, took exception with Lofton (who was playing for the Philadelphia Phillies) when he flipped his bat after walking. It was a similar situation that ignited Thursday's spat.

Lofton dropped his bat on a 3-0 pitch from Beckett that he felt was ball four.

When Lofton flied to left on the next pitch, the yelling started. MGM has unveiled complete specs (and a new release date) for 'Red Dawn,' but in news that's sure to disappoint fans, the title won't include a single extra.

As we first reported last month, the 'Red Dawn' Blu-ray was originally expected to street on November 6. Although no specs were available at the time, it was widely speculated that the release would include at least some of of the supplementary materials from the flick's 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD (which was released this past July).

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Alas, we've just received the specs for 'Red Dawn,' and not only has the title been bumped two weeks to November 20th, but in keeping with MGM's recent practice of releasing bare bones-only Blu-ray versions its top catalog titles (see our just-posted Blu-ray review of 'RoboCop'), there will be no extras included on the release.

On the bright side, tech specs include 1080p video and a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track.

MGM has set an MSRP of $39.99.

As always, you'll find disc details for 'Red Dawn' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under its new date of November 20.

We've also set up a dedicated thread for MGM's latest in our Forums area -- click the following link to discuss the 'Red Dawn' Blu-ray release.