Sir Ari Gold • Pledge His F**Kn Record

Sir Ari Gold is ready to take on his next project, and is asking if you would like to take this journey with him. He has a couple of things in mind, and one of those is a music video for his next single, "Play My F**Kn Record". Of course, Sir Ari is not one to play 'small', so he is looking to make a 3D video! He is also looking to produce a Remix album, with remixes from 'Between the Spirit & the Flesh' as well as some new tracks written by Ari and collaborator Brandon "Apollo" Pope. And that is not all! He is also working on a documentary, looking back on the first decade of his life as a gay superstar, allowing us all to see what went on both in front of and behind to scenes of Sir Ari's wild ride. When I think of Sir Ari's career, I remember the first time I heard/saw him, with the video for "Wave Of You", off his self-titled 2001 debut.

Yes, I saw that video, and have been a loyal fan since. Gold has continued to make music that has maintained my interest, as well as a bit of my lust. He has managed to combine a personal to his music with a raw energy that is so very sexy. That could truly be seen in the latest video, for the song "My Favorite Religion".

You see, those are just two of the many highlights of the last 10 years in the career of Sir Ari Gold, and I bet, like me, you are left wanting more. If that is the case, you can be a part of it all by joining in with his Indie-Go-Go project. Need a little more temptation? Check out the teaser to the project, with Sir Ari baring his all for you.

Candy Apple Blue • Select Game

Candy Apple Blue have released a new video for a brand new song, "Select Game". The ElectroPop sound remains strong for Hoyt Emerick and sibling Carly, who are joined on this outing with a featured performance by Dave Greening. The song, featuring Carly on lead vocals, speaks to new love, when you are still trying to figure out what are the rules to the game. The song was written by Hoyt Emerick, Carly Emerick, and Dave Greening. Enjoy the video for "Select Game".



If you dig that as much as I did, you can get your own free download of the song for the cost of a single Tweet or Facebook Update. Just click here, sign in to Twitter, and you will have a great new song in your collection. To learn more about Hoyt and Carly, visit their official website. You can also 'follow' them on Twitter, or 'like' them on Facebook!

EvOn, The Music Bully • "Blud" Music Video

British rapper and self-proclaimed "Music Bully" has released a new video, the first for a song off her latest collection, BBOi Mixtape 2012. "Blud" is a sexy track, driving drums coupled with an honest communication. The mixtape is a great collection of Hip-Hop music made for and by a member of the LGBT community. The songs and sounds are so fresh, so vital, you really must check it out for yourself. EvOn, an out and proud lesbian, is also a a driving force behind the LGBT UDRGRD, supporting LGBT musicians making music.



You can discover more about the LGBT UDRGRD by visiting the Tumblr feed. You can find all kinds of talented LGBT people making music and sharing it. For more about EvOn, visit her official website. There you can listen to the BBOi Mixtape 2012, and find the link for the free download.

Derek Bishop • Take Him Away Video

Scenes from the video for "Take Him Away," the latest from Derek Bishop.

Singer/songwriter Derek Bishop has released another video from his excellent debut album, Resistance Is Beautiful. "Take Him Away" is the third video off the album, and you can read my review and see the first two videos here. This video, like the first, retains the charm of a 1920s movie, while telling a story of intrigue and just a bit of mayhem. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Derek is a handsome man, but even better, he makes some great music. I also have to add as I was watching the video, I thought I recognized the piano player, but soon as he was seen shirtless, I was sure it was Brett Gleason. I think I should be a bit embarrassed to admit that, yet I am not. Enjoy the video.



OF course, it was Brett who first introduced me to Derek's music, so that is a great big full circle, isn't it? To purchase Resistance Is Beautiful or "Take Him Away," you can find them on iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon. To learn more about Derek Bishop, visit his official website. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Darren Hayes • Stupid Mistake

Darren Hayes might have made a Stupid Mistake, but the only stupid mistake I could think of making is to not buy his latest album, Secret Codes and Battleships. Check out the latest video from Hayes, Stupid Mistake.



You can find Stupid Mistake on Secret Codes And Battleships. It is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon. You can find more about Darren on his official website. And you can see the first videos from the album here and here.

Election 2012 • Matt Zarley • Trust Me

With the 2012 elections in the midst of dogfights between ridiculous candidates eager to serve some, but not all of the people, it is a breath of fresh air to see the candidacy of Matt Zarley, singer and sexy man. He's running on a platform of transparent clothing and protecting love for all who partake, not just the chosen few. And he seems to want to bear witness to equal rights for all! Check this out.



You can find Trust Me on Matt Zarley's latest album, Change Begins With Me. You can purchase it from iTunes and Amazon. For more about Matt, visit his official website.

Madonna • Girls Gone Wild & Others

Since Madonna is releasing a new video for her latest song, Girls Gone Wild, I thought is was a good time to not only view the new one, but also take a look at a few of her earlier videos, all of which had their fair share of people taking notice, for one reason or another. But first, let's take a look at the video for the song Girls Gone Wild, off the album MDNA, to be released Monday, March 26th.



Of course, as soon as previews of the video were seen, the comparisons started, with diehard fans of other artists suggesting it was derivative of either Beyoncé or Lady GaGa, yet I am old enough to remember when Madonna was practically the only game in town, making music and videos that were getting noticed across the globe. Take, for instance, a look at 1984 and a little video she did for the song Like A Virgin. It took almost no time for the Catholic Church and some very uptight parents to create quite the outcry, not enjoying the young woman writhing around the gondola in the canals of Venice, adorned in crucifixes.



Just two years later, it would be hard to imagine the controversy created when Madonna released a new video, the second single off the True Blue album. The year was 1986, and the song was Papa Don't Preach. It was fascinating to me, those same church folk were astounded there could be a song and video that would bring up the topic of teen pregnancy, and a young girl exercising her right to make a choice, and to keep the baby.



As I said, I could never understand why the Pro-life community would be so offended a young girl would choose to have her baby. I suspect they actually were bothered the discussion was happening at all, and that children might ask a question about the "dirty deed." However, that was once again nothing compared to the firestorm created in 1990, when she released a greatest hits record, the aptly named The Immaculate Collection. The album included a brand new song, written for Madonna by Lenny Kravitz, based on a poem by Ingrid Chavez. The sultry Justify My Love was a sprawling and sexy song, and the video took it up a notch. This is the video that was banned by MTV.



The video also featured Madonna's then-boyfriend, the stunning Tony Ward. Stylistically, the video was a grainy homage to European art house films, and to the great French actress Jeanne Moreau. The media storm following the MTV banning, the video was released and quickly became the biggest selling video single.

For me, since Madonna has been making great music and amazing music videos for so long, I am not gonna listen to the drivel spewed by people, and instead just be happy I've had Madonna's music to enjoy for the last 29 years. To learn more about Madonna, check out her official website here. MDNA will be available wherever music is sold Monday, March 26rd.

Christopher Dallman • Toxic!

Clockwise: Brittney Spears, Christopher Dallman, Sean Akers and Christie Strong.

Singer/Songwriter Christopher Dallman, working with director Christie Strong and designer Sean Akers to create a scintillating new project just waiting for you to join. Christopher just shoat a new video with Christie for Toxic, the song Britney Spears considers the favorite of her catalog of epic Pop hits. Check out Christopher singing the song.



So part of the new video will be an interactive experience, allowing you to release whatever is Toxic in your life now, simply by submitting a video clip, picture, drawing, or whatever that captures what is Toxic in your life for the project. For a better explanation, check out this video.



So check out This Is Toxic website, admit what is Toxic in your life, and figure out how to submit it for the project, and let go of the toxins in your life. Find a picture, take a photograph, shoot a video, or do whatever you can to set that Toxin free.



Support Christopher, Christie and Sean, and free yourself from something that is Toxic, setting it free to the ether. You have until next Tuesday, February 21st, at noon PT, to join those who will be exposing what is Toxic to make community art that will free you from the burden of carrying it any longer.

Garrin Benfield • Standing On The Moon

Check out the latest video form Singer/songwriter Garrin Benfield, as he covers Standing On The Moon by the Grateful Dead. Garrin is responding to a call from the Dead, well, I'll let Garrin Explain it. "The Grateful Dead are asking people to submit a video of them covering a Dead tune," explained Benfield. "If selected, the video will be first played on dead.net, and then hopefully progress to a final round when it will be posted on all their online sites and featured in the Dead Almanac."



I think Garrin does a great job with his cover. There is a hypnotic nature to it, almost languid. And there is something about seeing the creative expression of an artist, of a musician, that just takes my breathe away.



So go to YouTube here, and hit the "LIKE" button. You can find out more about Garrin Benfield when you visit his official website here. And you can find his latest album, The Wave Organ Song, on iTunes and Amazon.

Brandon Anderson • Wake Up

Just last month, singer/songwriter Brandon Anderson released a new album, Guitars & Grievances. With the new album came a new music video for the first single, Wake Up! The song is a strong one, with a driving tribal beat giving root to the strident message of some of the issues plaguing the society all Americans inhabit. The video supports the message with stark shots of Anderson performing, as well as other imagery taken from American Pop Culture of the last 50 years. Check out Wake Up!



Guitars & Grievances is a 10-song collection with a wonderful balance of classic Folk traditions and the voice and message permeating the world today. The songs were written while Anderson was on the road performing, and inspired by that journey. It captures the people he came across, their lives, and the life being lived by the singer/songwriter tuning in to the world around him that at times seems to not return the favor, and to tune into him. from the desperate reach of Sinking Slowly to the tender touch of So Much For Love, the album is constantly touching your heart, just in different ways, with both a soft stroke and a firm clench. Brandon is certainly connected to the material, and communicates is so well.



I have to say, this was an unexpected journey, but one I can say I thoroughly loved. You can purchase Wake Up and Guitars & Grievances on Bandcamp here. You can also find it on iTunes and on Amazon. You can also learn more about Brandon Anderson on his official website here.

Chad Cavanaugh • Lost In Each Other & Others

After giving it some thought, I figured there might not be a better way to kick of the month of February than with new videos made by singer/songwriter Chad Cavanaugh. I am more than willing to admit I have been somewhat addicted to the music of the San Diego resident. I think I will start off with a recent favorite of mine, Lost In Each Other. I am willing to bet after you watch it, it will be a favorite of yours, too!



Chad is finishing up work on a new album, which is very exciting news. I knew from the first listen of The Coffeehouse Rebellion that I was a goner. To make matters worse, I purchased We Got Love, and I loved it even more. So I have no reason to believe I will think any less of his latest effort. I am not sure if Just You and Me is part of the new record, but am enjoying it nonetheless.



Chad has a nice way of combining classic folk storytelling with a rock sensibility and a very personal outlook. Indeed, it feels like you are reading his personal journal, invited in to the lives of Cavanaugh and his wife and children. Or at least his thoughts on it all. Or at least in to a special spot in his mind, where he holds his thoughts on everything. Give a listen to Drivin', and let yourself get lost in it.



Hope you enjoyed a taste of Chad's work. If you'd like to hear some more, visit his official Facebook page here. You can also find The Coffeehouse Rebellion on iTunes and Amazon. You can download We Got Love on iTunes and Amazon as well. Give them a try - you won't be disappointed.

TimPermanent • Busy Video

I can't help it, I am such a big fan of Singer/songwriter TimPermanent and his delightful music. Tim has released a new video for the song Busy off the Resident album. As I said in a previous post here, I love Resident, and am excited we are starting to see the videos.



The new video was produced and edited by TJ Daly, and features images of Tim shot by photographer David B. Arenas. It has the charming feel of a stop-action video, almost a clay-mation. Photographer Arenas captured the spirit and joy of the man and the song. I am crazy about this video!



For more about TimPermanent, you can find him on the official website here. You can find TimPermanent on iTunes and Amazon, where you can purchase he single Busy or the Resident album. I hear that Tim is already working on a video for Dance Floor Lost, one of my favorites off the album! Can't wait!

Casey James • Let's Don't Call It A Night

As the eleventh season of American Idol is starting off, I thought it might be nice to visit some of the former contestants. Not sure why, but I am starting with one of my favorite contestants from Season 9, Casey James. I will readily admit that the 2010 season was a tough one, with only two or three contestants I really liked, and only two I wold be interested in hearing the post-Idol music. I thought Crystal Bowersox was a talented musician, and I never got the interest in winner Lee DeWyze, but he certainly wasn't the first winner to confound me. He might not be one of the few gay performers on the show, but I loved Casey's Southern Rock sound, that bluesy feeling he added to his rocky Nashville sound. It was like he was the lost Allman brother, found playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan.



Once the season was over, I kept hoping we'd hear some music from him. After 2010 passed, and there was music from the others, I didn't know what to think. By the middle of 2011, I just figured this was another one of those contestants that would be lost somewhere, and maybe he would be putting out his own stuff soon. Turns out he was signed by Sony/Nashville, and released his first single in August. I missed it completely. But I have it now, and really like it. Let's Don't Call It A Night has a nice sound. While I wasn't looking, the song made it into the Country Top 40, landing at #32. Check out Let's Don't Call It A Night.



You can purchase Let's Don't Call It A Night on iTunes and Amazon. While doing some detective work, it appears he will have an album coming out this Spring, possibly March. I am looking forward to it. You can find more about Casey James and his post-Idol life on his official website here. You can find him on Twitter here.