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NEW RELEASES
MIKE ZITO
"TODAY"
Retail: $17.99 New Discounted Price: $12.99
Together with producers David Z and Tony Braunagel, Mike Zito potential is fully realized and complimented by an assemblage of world class musicians that can best be described as “The Dream Team.” Joining Zito on “Today” are bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker), keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash), drummer Tony Braunagel (Eric Burdon, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal) and Michito Sanchez (Joe Walsh, Elton John, Crosby, Stills & Nash) on percussion.
“Zito’s voice is smooth and sexy, and yet his razor-sharp guitar licks are totally badass. He’s like a ninja assassin dressed up like Fred Astaire!” -- Michael Molenda, Editor in Chief, GUITAR PLAYER
"Mike’s soul shines brightly through his sweet bluesy guitar tone, rich vocals, and well crafted songs."- Aaron Lee (“Stone Blue” on XM’s Bluesville)
"Mike Zito is one of the best singer/songwriter/guitarists I have ever heard." - Walter Trout
Produced by Grammy Award winning producer John Porter, “Still Making History” spotlights Ana’s growth and maturity as an artist, emphasizing her songwriting skills alongside her sensual vocals and masterful guitar. The end result is a deeply personal and inspirational work by a courageous artist, possessed with both a passion and a vision to share music that’s “Still Making History.”
“…proof that the incarnation of Jimi Hendrix is a woman.” – Jazz News
“... Clearly Ana Popovic is someone to keep an eye on in the coming years. Besides her extraordinary talent both as a singer/songwriter and lead guitarist, she is also young, beautiful, energetic, and charismatic.” – Sound Waves Magazine
"Yugoslavian-born Ana Popovic is not only a superb singer and songwriter, but also a very capable guitarist who can flatpick fluid jazz lines, craft deep-pocket slide grooves, and bend strings with SRV-style emotion.” - Guitar Player
Jason Ricci is that rare individual that only comes along once in a generation -an artist with the unique ability to help shape and redefine the sound of his chosen instrument and forever change the course of music history. His style is varied and his influences are far reaching, spanning through countless musical genres including blues, jazz, funk, rock, punk and even drawing inspiration from the current crop of jam bands, all while still retaining the stamp of his own inimitable style. Jason has over 10 years experience living life out on the road, and performs over 300 dates a year. Through hard work and dedication he has built a solid fan base from the ground up, and is forever pushing forward in relentless pursuit of attaining the ultimate in tone and style. Together with guitarist Shawn Starsky, who brings with him an arsenal of creative talent and fresh ideas, Jason Ricci & New Blood have created a visionary and sonically explosive masterpiece that is sure to shake your foundations.
“As a lover of live music, a JRNB show is absolutely exhilarating. Imagine the best virtuoso-filled "jam band" you've ever seen (think early '90's Phish, old Fleck tones, Allmans, Robert Randolph, Derek Trucks, etc.) and then double the energy and stage presence.” - Blake Taylor (Writer for Cincinnati City Beat)
"Ricci links the jazz mastery of Howard Levy, with the blues precision of Jerry Portnoy and hits speeds that make John Popper look like he's standing still." - Brad Kava (Mercury News)
Jason Ricci & New Blood are always pushing the limits and breaking musical boundaries. Take a glimpse into a Jason Ricci & New Blood live show and see for yourself what all the buzz is about.
NEW SINGLE GOING FOR ADDS!
MIKE ZITO "LITTLE RED CORVETTE"
Eclecto Groove Records has selected “Little Red Corvette” as the second single to release to radio. Taken from Zito’s album “Today,” the song offers a fresh take on the classic hit originally penned by mega-superstar Prince. “Little Red Corvette” is one of Prince’s most well-known songs and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles back in 1983. Ironically, Zito’s album was also produced by acclaimed producer and engineer David Z, whose input, recording techniques and production were an integral part on many of Prince’s early recordings including the Grammy winning smash album “Purple Rain.” Eclecto Groove Records will also be launching an ad campaign to coincide with the release of the single that will include full page ads in Radio & Records along with email/print ads during the Radio & Records National Convention which takes place September 17-19th in Austin, TX. “Little Red Corvette” will be going for adds on Triple A, NPR, Satellite, College and Americana radio this Fall!
MIKE ZITO PERFORMS AT R&R
TRIPLE A RADIO SUMMIT
Mike Zito played an acoustic showcase at the Radio & Records annual Triple A Radio Summit in Boulder, Colorado on August 6th. His performance kicked off the weekend’s events just after CBS Radio President, Dan Mason spoke in regards to the expansion of Triple A radio formats into larger markets. The audience was made up solely of Triple A radio program and music directors from all over the country and Zito treated them to a sneak peak live performance of his upcoming single “Little Red Corvette.” John Schoenberger, Radio & Records Triple A editor and event producer, offered a personal introduction of Zito to the crowd because he was at Zito’s CD release party in Los Angeles in May. After the performance, there was a meet and greet opportunity for Zito and Eclecto Groove staff to discuss the upcoming single with program and music programmers individually. Overall, the event was a success with great responses and anticipation for the second single to release.
Last February Jason Ricci contributed his monumental talents on harmonica to the brand new Walter Trout release “The Outsider” available on Ruf Records. Now European fans will be treated to a few select performances featuring this grand union in November, as Jason joins Walter as his special guest for four shows in the Netherlands.
THE SOUL OF JOHN BLACK
With all the excitement building around “Black John,” we here at Eclecto Groove have been forced to step back and reevaluate the situation. After hearing the final product, mixed, mastered and sequenced, we’ve come to realize that the result is so far beyond anything that we ever could have expected or hoped for. Originally slated for an October release, we’ve come to the conclusion that a release of this magnitude deserves so much more than that! Not only is the fourth quarter a less than prime time to release an album, but with an album of this caliber, we felt we ought to give it the most time possible to polish and perfect the marketing strategy behind it. We’ve pushed the album to a tentative release date in February. And we assure you, it will be well worth the wait! Stay tuned for more information regarding the release of The Soul of John Black, “Black John.”
As Ana winds down the final leg of her tour here in the U.S., her album “Still Making History” continues to burn up the charts! In the upcoming September 9th issue of Billboard Magazine, “Still Making History” re-enters the blues charts at #10 bringing the total number of weeks on the chart up to 19. Congratulations Ana!!!
JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD
ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS!
Jason Ricci & New Blood re-enter the Billboard chart at #9 with their Eclecto Groove Records debut “Rocket Number 9.” This marks the band’s 5th entry on the Billboard blues chart and also their peak position! The band has maintained an extremely active touring schedule throughout the summer winning over new fans at every turn. The latest chart information will be published in the August 8th issue of Billboard Magazine.
MIKE ZITO HITS THE CHARTS!
Eclecto Groove Records just learned that Mike Zito’s album “Today” will debut at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart ( 08/30/08).This is great news as the label is currently gearing up to release the second single “Little Red Corvette” to radio this Fall. The latest chart information will be published in the August 30th issue of Billboard Magazine.
JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD
ON THE COVER OF VVIBE
Jason Ricci & New Blood are featured on the cover of this month’s issue of The Vvibe. The Washington based magazine is Bellingham/Skagit Valley’s source for entertainment news and events. Check out their webpage with photos from Jason’s recent appearance at the Downtown Alley Concert in Bellingham on Wednesday, July 30th.
Eclecto Groove Records teamed up with Delta Groove Music to astonish music lovers in Wheeling, WV this past weekend! On Saturday, August 9th, Ana Popovic, The Soul of John Black and the Mannish Boys all took turns tearing up the stage at West Virginia’s Heritage Blues Music Fest. The Groove’s invasion began early afternoon with a solo set by the highly commended The Soul of John Black. After leaving audiences amazed, the crowd had time to sit back and relax, enjoying the music of the many other acts on the lineup before Ana Popovic took the stage for her smoldering set! It still remains a mystery how a woman can look so unbelievably incredible just four months after giving birth… Looking better than ever, Ana put on another one of her unforgettable performances that leaves audiences talking for months! Forget about her beauty, the key elements to her magic are her blistering guitar skills and alluring stage presence. Immediately after Ana’s set, The Mannish Boys took the stage as the festival’s Saturday night headliners. With the caliber of blues music veterans in The Mannish Boy’s lineup, they immediately blew the audiences away with their set. The crowd went into a frenzy, with people throwing money onto the stage and Bobby Jones even being hit with a bra flung from one of the many fanatical women in the front row. The atmosphere could have been mistaken for a major rock show. But the shows put on by The Soul of John Black, Ana Popovic, The Mannish Boys and the many other acts on the lineup could never have prepared the crowd for what they were about to witness as the festival finale! On the encore song of The Mannish Boys’ set, label chief, Randy Chortkoff, decided to make it a family affair and bring up both The Soul of John Black and Ana Popovic to sit in with The Mannish Boys. The result was one of the most impressive guitar show downs ever to hit the stage! With each vocalist, Bobby Jones, Finis Tasby, Ana Popovic and The Soul of John Black taking a turn for a verse at the microphone, the guitar solos filled in the gaps beautifully. They took it back to the roots of blues music with a call and response type guitar battle. It started with a riff played by Kid Ramos, only to be bowled over up by an innovative riff by The Soul of John Black, who was then topped by funky lowdown Chicago riff by the great Kirk “Eli” Fletcher, with them all stunned by the awe-inspiring tempting riff of the beautiful and talented Ana Popovic. This continued for a good twenty minutes with each guitarist taking it to the next level. When the final lick was played, the crowd continued to vibrate from the effect these four phenomenal guitarists and the rest of the world renowned band, The Mannish Boys had on them! Not soon will anyone in the crowd have an experience like that again. The crowd lined up for hours trying to obtain autographs, pictures and to buy CDs which almost immediately sold out! That finale is just a taste of what the musicians of Delta and Eclecto Groove are capable of, especially when teamed up on stage and ready to play! If you get a chance to see any one of their future live performances, I would relish the opportunity! CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS!
SPRING BREAK '83 UPDATE
As Mars Callahan and his creative force behind Spring Break ‘83 continue to edit and trudge forth with the post-production aspects of the film, we’ve noticed that the movie seems to be taking on a life of it’s own! As more and more people view footage of the film the general feedback is that it seems like a 100 million dollar movie. In reality, the film is being made for a fraction of that cost. Between the aerial shots, water stunts and sinking of an entire set, it could be easily alluded that the movie was made by a major film production company for a major motion film budget. As we continue to edit the film, we’re getting a clear picture of which shots remain to be picked up. As soon as we are confident that we’ve got all shots covered, we’ll jump back into production of the film, shooting the remaining portions in Los Angeles. In the meantime, Randy Chortkoff has been busy in the post-production room with writer, co-director, producer and actor, Mars Callahan, editing and getting a concise idea of where we will utilize the music of Ana Popovic and Mike Zito, in addition to their role as the house band in the film. Stay tuned for updates as you definitely don’t want to miss this coming of age spoof comedy complete with the artists and music of Eclecto Groove Records.
Big Sky Motion Pictures is keeping up with a break-neck schedule while moving heaven and earth to see that both current projects become a huge success. With Sony Pictures handling the distribution of the “What Love Is” DVD, we’ve seen it do extremely well. All across America, it’s been a hard to get item in the new release sections of local Blockbusters, with multiple copies being rented out! According to videobusiness.com, the film reached number 6 on the independent film charts within the first week of release. It looks like the film is well on it’s way to being a cult classic, with lines being quoted at not only the water-coolers but even the hair salons by men and women alike!
Due to the buzz that has been created with the newfound success from DVD rentals, Big Sky Motion Pictures has attracted the attention of several major television networks who have expressed a fervent interest in developing “What Love Is” into a major television series. The concept would be somewhat of a male version of “Sex in the City” meets “Entourage” with the city of Los Angeles being a major focus of the plot which would follow our five main characters throughout the colorful and fast paced culture as they seek to find love, whatever that may mean to them.
Big Sky Motion Pictures is keeping up with a break-neck schedule while moving heaven and earth to see that both current projects become a huge success. With Sony Pictures handling the distribution of the “What Love Is” DVD, we’ve seen it do extremely well. All across America, it’s been a hard to get item in the new release sections of local Blockbusters, with multiple copies being rented out! According to videobusiness.com, the film reached number 6 on the independent film charts within the first week of release. It looks like the film is well on it’s way to being a cult classic, with lines being quoted at not only the water-coolers but even the hair salons by men and women alike! 
