Musicians Diary

July 2008

BARRY GEORGE TRIAL DELAYED DUE TO ILLNESS

The retrial of Barry George for the murder of Jill Dando has been delayed as a result of flu going around the courtroom.

The prosecution evidence to date is, as was to be expected, not pretty. If Barry George was on trial for behaving oddly, making women feel threatened etc, the prosecution may have had a point. However, this miscarriage of justice involves a charge of murder.

In the last month, the jury has heard testimonies from a number of women who claim they were harassed by George over the years. For example one of George's neighbours, Angela Gordon, alleged that he approached her outside her home and asked to kiss her. Ms Gordon's car was also amongst thousands of other undeveloped pictures it seems.

The bottom line however, is that there is no evidence to suggest that George is capable of murder, particularly in such a professional manner; and additionally, there is no evidence to suggest that he murdered Jill Dando.

George does not, in our opinion, really fit the profile of a dangerous stalker either. The deluge of pictures taken by George were overwhelmingly undeveloped until the police developed them. The women amongst the photo's were random and several, and pictures of women were merely a subset of many other pictures. A serious stalker is much more likely to be obsessed by one particular person we suggest. Indeed, it is likely that they would have their room plastered with prints of that one person and any other material connected with the focus of their obsession; any material of this nature that it was possible to gather. Even then, the majority of serious stalkers do not actually go on to murder the objects of their obsession.

Barry George, does not really fit the profile and it is highly likely that the police drew the same conclusion when they initially dismissed him as a suspect early in the case.

Another key indicator of Barry George's innocence is the support of his family. Family members tend to know each other well and the behaviour of George's family is, in our view, entirely consistent with an un-erring heart-felt belief that Barry did not murder Jill Dando. Real killers generally find it much harder to instill this kind of behaviour in their relatives, no matter how close the ties we think.

Let's hope the justice system gets it right this time!

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June 2008

BARRY GEORGE RE-TRIAL OPENS

Barry George, wrongly convicted of the Jill Dando murder in 2001 goes up for re-trial on 2nd June. There are expected to be a couple of weeks of legal argument before the case gets going properly however.

The re-trial comes as a result of the Court of Appeal quashing the conviction in 2007, after the Criminal Cases Review Commission undermined a fundamental piece of forensic evidence i.e. that a trace of gunshot residue found in the pocket of Mr George's pocket in 1999 was not conclusive evidence that he had shot Jill Dando and could have got there as a result of contamination. In the 2001 trial however, the gunshot residue was described as "compelling evidence of guilt".

RWG looks forward to this mis-carriage of justice being corrected.

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May 2008

NEW VIDEOS FOR THE RWG SITE

Towards the end of the month we will be screening two new videos. First off we have the video of a poem sent in by Sarah Russell and secondly we have 'The Sorcerers' music video of 'Rockin' Baghdad'. Literally speaking - watch out for them!

Also towards the end of the month we will be featuring some articles on the re-trial of Barry George which is due to kick off in the UK on June 2nd. Barry George was wrongly convicted of the murder of Jill Dando in 1998 in our opinion and we have been campaigning for his release for a number of years. Watch the video 'The Real Killers of Jill Dando' on this site, read the material on the White Blog and make up your own mind.

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April 2008

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY RWG

Well here we are at our second birthday - yes - two years of selling music on-line. To celebrate we will be re-releasing Martin Jeremiah's 'Love Peace Justice' album with an additional bonus track and releasing his new album at the end of June - which is nothing other than "a complete surprise". Watch this space for details.

Also, we will be resurrecting the free monthly downloads feature on the RWG site as promised - and adding a new 'Green' related link every week on our new links page. Many of these links are American, so we are looking to UK punters to give us news of any UK equivalents. Use the Link Suggestion facility on the links page.

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday .....

Lasty, don't forget that the complete collection of the Sorcerers' slogs are now available from the Links page.

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March 2008

RWG SECOND BIRTHDAY AND SORCERERS GIG

Whoops - apologies - seems that the daily Gren Blog filled up our share of cyberspace and didn't update properly for nearly a month. Hopefully, normal service is now resumed in time for our second birthday at the end of this month month. Happy birthday for 30th March, RWG.

News is that The Sorcerers' played a stunning gig on 23rd February... the dramatic monologues mixed with the tunes, including several accoustic numbers was a true high...yielding this great feature in the Pasadena Weekly.

Rockin' Baghdad - The Sorcerers vent their political fury at Coffee Gallery Backstage

By Bliss 02/21/2008

The current presidential campaign is easily the most interesting, thought-provoking race in generations. Instead of plastic genuflections to the altar of suburban complacency, we're getting substantive discourse on issues of relevance to folks in the middle and lower tax brackets, chief among them health care, poverty and the war in Iraq. It's exciting.

It's also sometimes amusing. Echoing Reagan's attempted cooption of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," at least two candidates - Mike Huckabee and John McCain - have tried to transform rock classics into rallying cries for the GOP faithful. Unfortunately for their image consultants, they've been very publicly asked to cease and desist by Boston and John Mellencamp, respectively. (They may have done the politicos a favor; did McCain or his handlers actually listen to the lyrics of "Pink Houses"?)

Little new music has emerged to replace old anthems - or so it seems. Satellite and terrestrial radio don't air much political rock or rap, and 4th 25's "Live From Iraq," a hard-hitting 2005 recording of real soldiers rapping out their frustrations, remains an anomaly. But it's worth noting that close to 2,500 songs by artists of varying renown and genre are posted on the website Neil Young created for his angry "Living With War" release: www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongspage.html.

More locally, a quartet of artists and engineers from various corners of the music industry - Michael Knight, Chris Navarro, Seung Park and Ricky 2Shooz - have joined forces as the Sorcerers to fire a musical salvo at the political "Dunderheads" responsible for plunging the nation into war and mounting debt. Their new CD, "AMP (American Musical Portraits)," is an unapologetic indictment of the current administration and the nation's troubled state of affairs.

Their witty online "slogs" skewer the "Dunderheads Military Excursion" (aka the Iraq War), Ann Coulter and network TV "news." Their songs, mostly constructed in classic rock fashion around sturdy hooks with guitar-bass-drum instrumentation, are similarly caustic. "The Beautiful People of International Love" is a catchy, upbeat ode to peace, harmony and interracial love, but "Doctor and Lord" lampoons the stem-cell research controversy, "T.C.A.W." mock-celebrates "tax cuts and a war" ("What more can we ask for?") and "I Love You Fellow Citizens," dedicated to Damon Runyon and H.L. Mencken, keeps its tongue firmly in cheek while pounding out a faux salute to American self-absorption: "There's nothing on our minds/ Just on our behinds/ We're gaudy and we're showy and we're cheap/ But our motives are the best."

Not all of their songs are as musically engaging as the pseudo-peppy "Rockin' Baghdad," but the fact that the Sorcerers make their points with acidic humor and solid musicianship is all to the good.

The Sorcerers give their first performance of 2008 at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena; www.the-sorcerers.com, www.myspace.com/thesorcerers.

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February 2008

SORCERERS COME OUT TO PLAY

The good news is breaking that the Sorcerers are coming out of the lab to play on the 23rd February. We will be hoping to get some live footage of the gig to put out on the site in the next couple of months.

The guys will be playing a selection of songs from "American Musical Portraits". Here are a few press snippets from the build up to the gig....

“The songs played from their debut 'American Musical Portraits' hold a mirror up to today's America, and they don't see anything pretty. The songs themselves literally act as portraits of regular, hard working people who suffer in the midst of an unjust war that has sapped funding that could have gone towards better health care, better education, better jobs, and a better country. The words sometimes read like news leads in the local newspaper, while the music either emulates the Byrds' chiming guitars or a strange mix of boogie and punk.” ~ San Fernando Valley Sun

The songs from their new CD “American Musical Portraits” are well crafted for a nation of reluctant fellow citizens looking for solutions in a tough international environment. The CD is available online www.the-sorcerers.com and available in the UK at www.rwgrecords.co.uk

The band are:
Michael Knight on bass, vocals; Rickey 2Shooz on guitars, bass and vocals ; Chris Navarro on guitars, vocals and Seung Park on drums, vocals and percussion.

Protest music was a thing of the past. Not anymore! THE SORCERERS' music is not about your war, it is about your disconnected American life. Listen to THE SORCERERS and become an inspired citizen of the 21st century.

For more information please contact:
Gaynell Rogers at gaynell@pressandrelease.biz - 415.298.1114
Katrina Markarian at Katrina@pressandrelease.com - 707.578.6728

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January 2008

Happy New Year

Considering the state of the World in recent years, at least lets hope so ....

This March will see the second anniversary of RWG Records selling music with a message on-line, so thanks to all our customers and supporters who have kept us afloat. It's not easy to keep up with the big boys, with their vast retail distribution networks and increasing control of music sold on-line, but we are pleased to be still alive and kicking. To celebrate we will be re-instating the free monthly downloads from March onwards so keep logging on for some great, free tracks we have lined up.

At the start of this year we have been fortunate to get permission from the Workman Publishing Company in America to feature their content, daily on the Green Blog. Check out their diary "Living Green - 365 ways to make a difference" at www.pageaday.com.

The start of 2008 has also seen the launch of 'The Sorcerers' individual web site. Check it out at www.the-sorcerers.com

Lastly, we've introduced a new feature on the site called 'Unsigned band of the month'. If you have "Music With A Message" (including solo performers)and want to be featured, then please get in touch.

Let's now have a round up of last year...

We finally had success with the campaign to regognise the contribution of First World War soldiers who were shot as deserters. I was pleased to donate my song 'Blindfold & Alone' to the cause. It is great to see more and more late soldiers like Pte. Harry Farr added to the memorials.

On the musical side, America's Official Secret - 'The Sorcerers' spent the summer re-mixing "American Musical Portraits" on new technology across the pond. The effects were stunning and we expect them to rise to some dizzy heights of international influence as the American presidential elections get fully underway. Just the right time for a few summer dates in the UK. Watch the events page for details.

Also, don't forget to e-mail off for your free copy of "I Fight Every Day" - the CD containing both versions (fast and slow) of this sadly topical song. The unfortunate American soldiers are still dying in Iraq after the UK withdrawal (details on the White Blog).

October 2007 saw a re-emergence of tragic headlines surrounding Burma. I have donated the song 'Set Them Free' to this cause also. Please do not forget about this tragic country like the UN and the world governments have again seem to have done.

Finally, November 2007 saw the winning of a re-trial for Barry George, wrongly convicted of the Jill Dando murder. The re-trial date is set for June 2nd 2008. I wrote the song "The Dragon Slew George" (also featured on the documentary DVD "The Real Killers of Jill Dando")just after the conviction in 2001, and recorded it first in 2002. Fingers crossed that there is a just result. Barry George certainly has his problems, with personality disorders etc. - but wrongful, expedient convictions makes us all that much more vulnerable as a society.

Here's to a prosperous 2008.

Cheers,
Martin.

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