Artist advisory board

ARTIST ADVISORY BOARD

ListenSmart.com has identified its core constituency as the independent artists. We feel as though having such an artist as the company leader offers a huge advantage in gaining perspective. However, to further enhance the company's perspective, we have assembled an "Artist Advisory Board." This group was selected from the most popular ranks of MP3.com and other independent music sites and from four distinct genre & geographical categories. Below is a brief description of the members.

Pete Marinovich Primary Genre: Jazz Home State: Maryland Description: Originally from the New Orleans area, Pete began playing guitar at the age of seven after hearing his aunt play flamenco. He later began emulating his childhood rock heroes, joining his first rock group, Headwind, in 1976. After performing with various rock and blues bands throughout south Louisiana, he moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1987. There, he fell in love with an archtop and began working as a "hired gun" for local jazz groups.

Tom Aragon Primary Genre: New Age Home State: California Description: Tom is one of the true MP3 veterans as well as one of the most respected artists in the independent music community. His compositions/collaborations number well over eighty! Considered by many to be one of the most gifted artists on mp3.com, Tom Aragon creates a seemingly endless variety of electronic music. From film music to Goth, New Age to Techno, Instrumental Rock to pure noise, this talented musician never ceases reaching one step further in his exploration of sound. Similar artists might be an amalgam of Vangelis, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, Eno, Mike Oldfield, and Kitaro.

Loek van Kooten ( of Galbatron ) Primary Genre: Symphonic Electronica Home Country: The Netherlands Description: Loek (1/2 of Galbatron) started composing game music in 1993, but then became more interested in symphonic & progressive synthesizer music. Galbatron now boasts over 70,000 listeners worldwide, and their fan base continues to grow at a staggering pace.

Mark Munsell ( of MadelynIris ) Primary Genre: Alternative Rock/Christian Rock Home State: Illinois Description: Mark is ½ of the super-popular husband and wife team known as MadelynIris. Mark's wife Carrie - the lead singer - is a classically trained vocalist and pianist, with a degree in music - very professional, quality voice. Mark is trained in the school of modern rock, with influences drawn from Celtic and some new-age, which create ambient, sometimes dark musical tapestries filled with melodic guitar and meaningful lyrical composition. Once married, you get children of course, then this sort of Sarah McLachlanish, fronting U2 - (taking some liberties). Their music has been compare to the Cranberries, Sinead O'Connor, Loreena McKennit. What makes this that more interesting is the fact that they've been placing samples of their first demo CD on the internet as they record in MP3 format. Layered harmonies and meaningful lyrics make MadelynIris stand out among all the other artists on the web.

Congratulations to Bobby Blues on winning the $100 Amazon.com Gift Certificate last month. **Click here to visit Bobby's member page.

For the current account of the company, see History and Team & Board.