Downtown Publishing

After only a mere four weeks, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg) is #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart becoming the fastest rising single for Capitol Records in 40 years!

“California Gurls” is the first single from Perry’s forthcoming album, Teenage Dream, out August 24. The song was written by DMP’s own Bonnie McKee, along with Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco.

The music video for “California Gurls” was directed by Matthew Cullen, who creates a candy wonderland setting (aptly titled “Candyfornia”) for Perry’s No. 1 hit, and true to form, there’s a dash of naughtiness mixed in with all the sweetness. Gummi Bears flip the bird, and candy canes morph into snakes. Also, Snoop Dogg wears a cupcake-patterned three piece suit.

Watch the Music Video for California Gurls

Fresh from the recent release of new album Fire Away, esteemed LA band Ozomatli will continue their ongoing mission to spread cultural diversity and progression by traveling to Mongolia and China as part of a state department trip, representing the US as cultural ambassadors. The ethnically and culturally diverse group will be spreading their love and knowledge of music and bringing their inimitable fusion of Latin, hip hop and rock to the crowds.

Extending from 2009’s state visit to Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand, their current trip – which runs from 21st May until 4th June – will see them playing free concerts, leading music workshops and performing community outreach throughout East Asia. The band, famed for their multi-faceted mélange of cultural influences, will be visiting a number of different areas across the countries in the hope of propagating their message.

They will be visiting the recovering area of in Dujiangyan, China which was devastated by an earthquake in 2008, where they will be extended musical education to the disabled and disadvantaged in the area.

They will also be playing a series of concerts including a landmark free gig in Sukhbaatar Square in Mongolia which will be the first concert of its kind allowed by a Western band, with over 10, 000 people expected to be in attendance. Other performances will include the USA Pavillion in Shanghai as part of the Shanghai World Expo, as well as a number of other special concerts across Wuhan, Chengdu, Xindu, and Beijing.

Watch a video of their Beijing Performance:

Congratulations to DMP songwriter/producer Trevor Horn on receiving the 2010 Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. The Ivor Novello awards are considered one of the most prestigious in the music industry, with the 55th ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London yesterday.

The creative collaboration and friendship between Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars has fueled Mötley Crüe’s nearly 30-year rock ‘n’ roll reign.

Almost 30 years after forming in Los Angeles and 20 years after releasing their classic hard rock album, Dr. Feelgood, Mötley Crüe is still inciting millions around the world to pump their fists to such songs as “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “Looks that Kill,” “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” and many others. Last year, the band headlined Crue Fest 2 and, in celebration of the anniversary of Dr. Feelgood, played that entire album on each night of their tour. Long recognized as the pioneers of hair metal,who rose to fame on Sunset Stripmixing equal parts glam rock, blues and pop with wild nights, drug addictions and near-death experiences, Crüe has stood the test of time. But if you strip away all the excess that has defined their career, you find a solid foundation upon which all great music thrives: friendship, passion and collaboration. Mötley Crüe’s founder and bassist Nikki Sixx and lead guitarist Mick Mars have penned the lion’s share of Crüe’s work over the years and are in love with the art of writing a great song. Sixx has even written with and for many other artists over the years who have sought his Mötley mojo, including Alice Cooper, Meat Loaf, Big & Rich, Drowning Pool, Saliva and others. On a much-needed respite from touring, Sixx and Mars talked to Playback about the craft in Crüe.

What music were you inspired by when you formed Mötley Crüe and what kind of music did you want to make?
Nikki Sixx: When you’re the most unpopular kid at the party, you don’t really give a #$%& what you wear. Well, for Mötley Crüe, nobody wanted to be associated with us at first, so we just did what we wanted. We liked AC/DC. We liked the New York Dolls. We liked the Sex Pistols.

Mick Mars would talk about Paul Butterfield and I would just scratch my head and go “huh?” And I would talk about Johnny Thunders andMick would scratch his head and go “huh?” We educated each other because of our passions. Vince loved Robin Zander and David Lee Roth. Tommy Lee loved the drummer Tommy Aldridge.

So, you have a drummer with massive amounts of rhythm, a singer with a really unique voice that loves melody, you have a songwriter who loves pop and punk music at the same time, a guitar player in love with the blues, and we all had a passion for extreme hard rock and heavy metal. It was the weirdest combination of human beings and musical influences. I’ve heard people try to reproduce it, but I don’t think it’s possible.

Mick Mars: I came up listening to a lot of those British blues guys: LeslieWest, Ten Years After, Eric Clapton – they all really got me into playing the guitar. They were my influences. So, I brought the blues and R&B. Nikki was influenced by Aerosmith and Kiss and bands like that, and Tommy, of course, was just a fullon rock drummer. Then Vince came in and sang like nobody else. He put the exclamation point at the end of Mötley Crüe!

How does the songwriting process work for you two?
Nikki Sixx: The songwriting process doesn’t work for me on the road. Being off the road is much more important. To be in your own consistent environment and to have people come over to your house to hang out is most productive. When I’m hanging out with Mick Mars, it’s the jokes and the laughs and all the stuff in between when you are relaxed – that is where the magical riffs comes from.

Mick Mars: The key word in our relationship is “friction.” We always say that “nothing is written in stone.” Nikki will throw an idea out at me, and I’ll go “oh, man, what am I going to do with that?” And I’ll throw out an idea, and he’ll do the same with me. And back and forth it goes, but then something will come out like “Dr. Feelgood” or “Girls” or “Home Sweet Home.” Sometimes we bang heads, but we’re not closed-minded and say “no, this is how it is supposed to be.”

Where do your songs originate?
Nikki Sixx: It’s all about ideas. A stupid idea equals a stupid song. It’s about living a life that’s honest. If I’m hanging out in strip clubs and I look up at a sign that says “Girls, Girls, Girls,” that idea was spurred out of a lifestyle that catapults itself forward not only through the songwriting and the recording process but through the name of the record and the imaging of the record, the tour and the band. That’s why people connected with us and said, “Wow, these guys are about Jack Daniels, strip clubs and Harley-Davidsons.” That stuff wasall honest and real. It wasn’t fabricated.

Can you imagine what your life would have been like if you hadn’t discovered music?
Nikki Sixx: When I went through what I did as a kid and a young adult, music was always my friend, and it allowed me to meet other friends, people like Mick Mars and Vince Neil and Tommy Lee and James Michael. I&3039;m able to do 6AM (Nikki’s side project] because of my passion for music as a kid. I’m able to do Mötley Crüe and write songs for other people. I’m actually on my way over to Mick Mars’s house this afternoon to write a bunch of new music. Maybe something will come out of it that we’ll be talking about ten years from now. And maybe that song will do for someone else what listening to ‘Chatterbox’ by the Dolls or “Custard Pie” by Zeppelin or AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” did for me.

—Erik Philbrook (ASCAP, Playback)

The highly anticipated and critically acclaimed debut from Nick Jonas & The Administration debuts today at # 3 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling over 80,000 units.

Downtown Music Publishing songwriter PJ Bianco has songwriting credits on tracks “In The End,” “Last Time Around,” and “Vesper’s Goodbye” from debut album Who I Am.

Nick Jonas & The Administration sprang to life last spring when Nick Jonas went to Nashville’s Blackbird Studios to record songs that were in his heart and that he knew would be stylistically different than music he has written in the past. With help from producer John Fields, Nick assembled a top notch band of musicians and recorded Who I Am in two weeks time. The CD features Michael Bland on drums, David Ryan Harris on guitar, Tommy Barbarella on keys, and John Fields on bass. For the tour, Sonny Thompson came to the plate on guitar.

Nominations for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced last night by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest over the past year in music, as determined by the voting members of The Academy.

We’re excited to announce that Downtown Music Publishing’s own Mos Def, Femi Kuti, and Seal all received nominations!

Mos Def was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance (“Casa Bey”) and Best Rap Album (The Ecstatic); Femi Kuti was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album (Day By Day), and Seal was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance!! Click HERE to see the complete list of 52nd GRAMMY Awards nominees.

The folks at Amoeba Music in LA put together a short video following Amanda Blank’s recent in-store performance. Watch clips from her performance and hear what Amanda Blank and Naeem Juwan of Spank Rock have to say about what favorite records are always “in their bag.”

Catch Amanda Blank on tour w/ Peaches!!

11/13 Philadelphia, TLA
11/14 NYC, Terminal 5
11/16 Boston, Paradise
11/17 Montreal, Metropolis
11/18 Toronto, Phoenix Theatre
11/20 Chicago, Metro
11/21 Milwaukee, Turner Hall Ballroom
11/24 Seattle, Showbox Sodo
11/25 Vancouver, Commodore Ball
11/26 Portland, Wonder Ballroom
11/27 San Fran, Grand Ballroom
11/28 LA, Wiltern