Extra, Extra, read all about it. Get off your chairs and shout it out a bit. Lanky Stan has opened his doors and he is inviting all you independent artists out there to join him in his free promotions.

Stan is sometimes known as TiGG and if any of you have been around mp3.com for the past little while, you know all about his other free promotion made strictly for those on mp3.com. What? You haven't heard about that yet? Well, you're loosing out. It's called TiGG's UnderGround and it's 4 steps of fantastic free promotion. Take a ride.

But now there's something new in the works. It's Stan's specially branded promotion, free to all independent artists of any genre.

The plans for this website came about shortly after Mp3.com started making there incredibly disruptive changes late January. Because of the 3 song limit enforced there now, TiGG (Stan's alter ego) was forced to discontinue his UnderGround promotion so that it could be reworked.

Being confined to mp3.com TiGG's Promotion didn't really have a chance to grow to the potential that Stan wanted. The problem is, there are no other free sites out there that let you create and manage stations using fellow independent artists (oh, and as a side note, if you know of any sites that DO indeed do this, please let Stan know). Thus, the search began. A search to find another way to promote indie artists beyond mp3.com. The result being the creation of Lanky Stan's Free Promotion to coincide with TiGG's UnderGround

Although not as large of a promotion as TiGG's UnderGround is, Stan's Promo has it's merits. It features a ranking system where the artists get to display a banner and a blurb to all the visitors. They get ranked on the number of hits they receive. In the next step of the promotion, the top 5 ranked artists will move to a voting poll. After a week of polling, the most voted artist wins Stan's Promotion. Simple as that.

If you're wondering what the winners get, just visit Lanky Stan's Free Promotion. It has all the info there waiting for you.

Well, he's just some guy. Let's move on...

Just kidding. Mike is TiGG's UnderGround official reviewer. After an extensive search to find the perfect person for the job, Mike turns up on my doorstep. Well, not really my doorstep, buy my inbox. Same thing. Anyway, he sent me a review of the first GroundHog (as I asked everyone who responded to my ad requesting a reviewer to do) and wowie, what a review. You'll see it if you click the GroundHog Reviews article.. Wait. Are you even still reading this...

Boo!

Ah, there you are. Remember that guy I was just talking about?... No?... Mike, you know, the new reviewer. Well, he tells me that he's a singer songwriter from Midlands UK who writes mainly rock, emo and pop from a guitar base. He's quite driven to write lyrics that have "real emotion meaning and content" and not with just one emotion ("anger"); all of them. He has a small project studio - the results of which can be heard at http://www.mp3.com/pyramid

You can find out more about Bob... wait, I mean Mike by checking out his profile on TiGG's GroundHogs (mp3.com station).

His reviews will eternally be etched on the web at the Official GroundHog website.

Or you can visit his homepage. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mike.d.smith

Or you can talk to you him yourself: [email protected]

Or you can just return here next month to read more fabulous reviews by this very talented man. Stay tuned. And don't forget to read this months additions.

The GroundHogs are just a name I picked to call the TiGG's UnderGround winners. Following is a list of the first 3 winners. There are currently a total of 10, which gets a +1 every Monday. More reviews (by Mike Smith) will be added to the Tavern next month.

Visit http://www.mp3.com/stations/tiggfaves to have a listen to the artists music.

OR visit the Official GroundHog page for all your Hoggin needs.

I hope you enjoy the reviews.

REVIEW by Mike Smith.
This is an unusual track for good reasons. It's perhaps the heaviest emo/attitude track I have heard in the Modern Christian Rock genre. A sound mix of Nickelback post Nirvana sounds entwine with the raw power of heartfelt lyrics derived from strong faith. Something in the sound of the mix also gives me an 80's Van Halen feel (I actually liked that!) This track delivers a powerful punch in a 'sushi' -raw way although I have some constructive comment -as ever: The start was excellent - sit up and listen! - just the ticket- Verse vocals are well delivered although not at all stylized (this is not good or bad). I did feel that the verse lyric melody repeats a little too much. - try some 3rds and 5ths or another vox harmony.
The dynamics from the quiet passages to the loud ones are well constructed and I felt the song maintained its emotional content and message well until it's rather unfortunate messy ending (shame).
In short - a well delivered, powerful 'live feeling' track that strongly conveys the intended message and has a vibrance of fresh new belief, although some areas need a little more musical imagination to make this a really great track. Well done guys/girl. I never knew this type of music could be so engaging. - oh -and sort the end out, will ya!
M

REVIEW by Mike Smith.
I played this one all the way through twice - not a bad sign eh? The sound reminds me of a somewhat strange mixture of styles. First impressions were - oddly- there is early Gary Glitter (I remember him from early childhood before you say HOW OLD) , Lennon and 80's electronica in here - New Order?. Strangely, none of this is bad but quite the contrary. The sound is powerful, majestic and dense, almost dark. Vocals were acceptable if not ground breaking although I do feel that effects are for accenting SOME things. Here the whole mix is awash with heavy hall reverb - a great effect, but in moderation
please- not on the whole mix. Some of the guitar riffs are a little done before, but hey, what isn't these days? The lyrics are positive and although I described the music as quite dark and gothic the melody actually carries them well and a positive message finds its way through, quite easily. I think this writer has talent and a level of vision in his music, but don't dive for the usual production mistakes of hiding slightly imperfect vocals by drenching them in reverb - this just makes the sound more distant and harder for the listener to connect with the true meaning.
M

GroundHog #3. (Week of Dec 16th- Dec 23rd)
"Rise to Fame"
by MC EPITOME
GENRE: Hip Hop
URL: http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/2855/2855470.html

REVIEW by Mike Smith.
I'm so glad you sound English - but I'm not biased. A solid track with the usual ebullient hip hop 'don't mess cus I'm the best' message - but there's more here. I read the lyrics on the second listen and there's quite a bit of clever humour and attitude here. The track isn't as irritatingly in your face as some hip hop and gently washes your brain in a mesmerizing way, and I like this aspect.
The mix and loop structure is quite simple and may have benefited from some other sound samples or an interlude / mid8 in the middle of the track - something to shake it up a bit. Sound balance and production are good. The Eminem and 2Pac influences come out clearest but I don't feel any of this track is copyist. We all draw on influences from somewhere. This artist has made a great effort for first recordings. He now needs to keep recording with different artists and to learn more about the recording process. The music so far shows a high level of maturity whilst still retaining that ever important attitude - without which - it just ain't hip hop.
M

Two hobbits walk into a bar where one of them picks up a barfly. They taker her to The local motel; the first hobbit goes into the motel room while the other waits outside. Once the door closes, the hobbit on the outside hears strange noises through the door, "I can't do it, I can't do it, I CAN'T DO IT!"
In the morning, the second hobbit asks the first, "How did it go?" The first one answers. "It was embarrassing. I simply couldn't do it."

The second hobbit shook his head. "Manhood problems, eh?"

"No. I couldn't get on the bed!"