L.A. Spotlight: The Rescues

	Bleu '96
	Kelly Davidson
	Daniel Indart '84
	The Rescues (left to right): Adrianne Gonzalez, Gabriel Mann, Kyler England, and Rob Giles
	L.A. Spotlight: The Rescues The Rescues is a four-member, L.A.-based, indie-pop-rock band with a powerful, harmony-driven sound. The quartet consists of three Berklee alumni: Kyler England '00, Rob Giles '96, and Adrianne Gonzalez '99, plus Gabriel Mann. Each member is both a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, and these musicians came together as a band after meeting on the singer-songwriter circuit in Los Angeles. Their songs have been featured on high-profile TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Private Practice, and Grey's Anatomy. The band is very popular on the indie circuit and its members' careers are interesting examples of the multifaceted approach that has increasingly become the norm among Berklee alumni in Los Angeles. Giles maintains a busy schedule producing indie artists, while England and Gonzalez each write and produce songs for their own projects. Mann is a successful film composer whose current credits include the hit ABC show Modern Family. It's the sum total of the various sensibilities of the band's members that makes the Rescues so appealing. According to England, "We all have solo projects and other musical endeavors in our lives, but there's something really special about the creative outlet that is the Rescues. We're four very different people, and we all bring different skills and aesthetics to the table. But when we come together, an indefinable magic happens." The Rescues' debut CD, Let Loose the Horses, was released by Universal Republic and received rave reviews. For more, visit www.therescues.com(Opens in a new window).

There's no better way to start my first L.A. Newsbriefs column than by spotlighting this year's Emmy nominees.

Alf Clausen '66 was nominated in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Score) category for The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror XXI" episode. Pablo Munguia '97 was nominated in the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety, Music Series, or Special category for his Pro Tools work on The 83rd Annual Academy Awards. And once again, Brian Riordan '95 was nominated for his sound mixing on American Idol.

With his nomination, Clausen became the most-nominated musician in Emmy history, having received a record 30 Emmy nominations! Twenty-three of these nominations are for Simpsons scores or songs; seven are for other TV shows, including Moonlighting and ALF. Clausen was also recently honored at the 26th Annual ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award. This award is presented to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones.

Songwriter, producer, and pop artist Bleu '96 has his first full producer credit with the track "In Real Life" on Demi Lovato's newest Hollywood Records release Unbroken. He is also a cowriter on the song, which he says "magically came together in the span of just a few weeks." Also, his song "Fall from Grace" will appear on Meat Loaf's upcoming Sony Entertainment release Hell in a Handbasket.

Bleu's latest solo CD, Four, was released on his own record label through Redeye Distribution following his successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. In fact, Bleu won the Kickstarter Best Music Project 2010 award. He recently shared his insights at Berklee with the participants of a summer songwriting workshop. For more on Bleu, visit www.bleutopia.com(Opens in a new window).

If you haven't heard of Karmin yet, let me introduce you. Last April the duo of Amy Heidemann '08 and Nick Noonan '08 — who recently relocated to Los Angeles — took the Internet and the music industry by storm after their YouTube cover of the Chris Brown song "Look at Me Now" went viral. Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed with Heidemann's rapping that she invited the duo on her show. An invitation to Ryan Seacrest's radio show followed.

After a major-label bidding war, Karmin decided to sign with L.A. Reid's new Epic Records, as well as Sony/ATV Music Publishing and William Morris Endeavor. In the past four months, they've received more than 120 million hits and are the only new artist to play the iHeart Radio Music Festival. Their collection Karmin Covers V. 1 is available on iTunes and features 27 of their best cover songs.

Nils Gums '06 manages Karmin and is a partner in the Complex Management Group Inc. with Matt Maltese '04, and University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts graduate Eric Zimmerman. Recently, the company added Katy Eggleton '11 to the team. The Complex Management Group's talent roster also includes Jess Delgado '11 and producers Jon Brown '03 of Archwood Music and Devin "DLP" Parker '06. Delgado's debut EP Covered in Dreams was recorded and mixed by Andrew Maltese '08 at Speakeasy Sound recording studios.

Finally, Daniel Indart '84, an award-winning composer, producer, and songwriter who specializes in Latin music, received an honorary doctorate in music arts from Shepherd University in Los Angeles for his professional accomplishments in music for film, television, and advertising. Since joining Shepherd's music faculty in 2010, Indart has developed curricular offerings in music entrepreneurship and music production. As the owner and manager of six music companies, Indart understands that musicians are, first and foremost, entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.indartmusic.com(Opens in a new window).

That's all for now.

-Peter Gordon '78
Director of Berklee Center LA