2008 South by Southwest Music Festival

1/28/2008

Lommen Abdo client Johnny Rivers is being recognized with a special interview at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival this March in Austin, Texas.  Other confirmed featured speakers include keynote speaker Lou Reed, Daryl Hall, Thurston Moore and Seymour Stein.

Summarized by Dan Epstein in the liner notes to the recently released anthology "Secret Agent Man - The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology" on Shout! Factory records, "He's sold more than 30 million records in the course of a career that's spanned five decades. Along the way Johnny Rivers had time to jam with Elvis, party with Keith Moon, ride motorcycles with Steve McQueen, and perform for U.S. troops in Vietnam. He was one of the founders and initial financiers of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where he also performed. 

    

Of course, there's far more to the Johnny Rivers story. Years before it was fashionable for artists to do so, Johnny started his own record label, Soul City. The label's early roster included soul singer Al Wilson and soul-pop group The Fifth Dimension. Rivers produced the latter's debut album, Up, Up and Away, which took home Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year. Up, Up and Away's title track was penned by Jimmy Webb, another Rivers discovery, who was one of the first songwriters signed to Rivers Music Publishing.

Johnny's drive, persistence and business savvy have all contributed to his success, but ultimately it came down to his music. Like no other artist before or since, Johnny Rivers cherry-picked the tastier elements of Brill Building pop, Delta blues, Crescent City R&B and Nashville twang and fused them together with a touch of Hollywood sunshine. In the process he created a soulful sound unique to its original era and one that still resonates deeply today."

Johnny is busy recording his upcoming album, which will be released later this year.

Lommen Abdo will once again sponsor and assist in the programming of eight continuing legal education panels at which 20 lawyers will make presentations on hot entertainment topics. Lommen Abdo music presenters include Ken Abdo, Paul Bezilla and Bob Donnelley. Dan Satorius will speak at the SXSW film panels. More than 8,000 registrants attend SXSW, where over 800 music acts perform during the four day conference.

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