After a couple of failed attempts, I was finally able to lay on the mat and give it a try.  For the first 2-3 minutes, I concentrated on staying perfectly still so as to not poke myself with any unneccessary movements.  At the 5 minute mark, though, the sharp spikes gave way to a tingling sensation.  I’m told that that is the blood circulating, leading to the better delivery of nutrients throughout the body and the release of endorphins and oxytocin (also know as “the happiness hormones”).

Now, as I interact with editors and bloggers of all shapes and sizes, I am not surprised to hear about their fear of this spiky concoction.  Time after time, they come back to me and tell me that despite their fears, they are now in LOVE with the effects.  And what’s great, is that the “effects” seem to be different for everyone.  To each their own!

Here are some reviews of the mat:

Glamour Magazine

Vital Juice

Elephant Journal

Real Simple Magazine

LVC Magazine

Gay List Daily

Maxim Magazine

Style Network

Healthy Living Examiner

An instant success, the new album was also just licensed for the upcoming seasons of MTV’s “The Real World” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” on E!.  The EP, which was produced by Dion Roy and Peter Roessler, was mixed by Scott Reibling of Weezer, Cobra Starship and Fallout Boy fame.

In celebration of the release, Dion performed last night to a sold out show at The Living Room in New York’s infamous Lower East Side.  It was a full band performance featuring Peter Roessler (guitar), Ed Marshall (bass), and special guest, Boots Factor, of Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers (drums).

Already an exciting 2010 for Dion, the release of the EP follows his recent appearances on The Howard Stern Show, his SXSW Showcase in Austin, his NYC Harbour Cruise with Ryan Cabrera, and his opening slot with Eve 6 in Flint, Michigan.

Details for a full summer U.S. tour in July and August are expected to be announced any day now.

“The Nearest Light” is available for purchase on iTunes (here) for $3.96.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Lately, they’ve been buzzing in the press including these three must-see TV segments:

NBC – Weekend Today

Thrillist TV

Brooklyn Heights TV

Last night, we celebrated its opening with a media event hosted at the brand new space.  Party-goers were offered an open bar and a sampling of their hottest menu items including hot wings, calamari, mozzarella sticks, burgers and the signature ‘Exchange’ salad.

Usually though, patrons are asked to take a gamble, with prices of food and drink that fluctuate based on demand, on Exchange’s own in-house ‘stock market’.   Prices are broadcast on a giant ticker screen that runs the 35-foot length of the bar, posting which items are running below (-) or above (+) market price.  If everyone is drinking Guinness, the price of Guinness is going to go up—but consequently, all of Guinness’ competitors (like Killian’s) will go down.  The opening bell rings at 8pm after Happy Hour prices come to a close, and if you play your cards right, you may just end up at the bar during an impromptu ‘Market Crash!!!!’—where drinks temporarily drop to $2 for all beers, $3 for all well drinks, and $4 for top shelf, after which point, the market resets itself.  Customers can also have fun by posting personal messages to the ticker screen, like: ‘happy birthday’ or ‘hey you at the end of the bar, can I buy you a drink!?’

The bar’s unique concept is the brainchild of friends and co-owners Damon Bae (a former stock trader turned real estate mogul) and Levent Cakar (an economist with 11 years+ in the restaurant industry).  Of the concept, Cakar says: “When you think about it, it’s a really smart way to run a restaurant.  If an item isn’t selling, it becomes really cheap and then we’re able to move the product.  It also keeps the hot ticket items from selling out and draws attention to cheaper products.  It’s all about supply and demand—and it’s an organic way to manage our inventory.” The lounge-like space features both a bar and full dinner menu, with special lunch & brunch menus expected to be introduced at a later date.

Exchange Bar & Grill is located at 256 Third Avenue between 20^th & 21^st Street (www.exchangebarandgrill.com).

*Exchange Bar & Grill

*Co-Owners Damon Bae & Levent Cakar

*AMp3’s Dan Jones front row center with John, Ron & Lauren

*Private Chef Jess Hulett with Brenda Dargan of Martha Stewart

*TVHost Emily Loftiss

*The super cute Frani Lieberman, Media Post’s Kelly Samardak and Alyssa Galella

*Exchange staffers Lilly, Mike & Katie

*Market Crash!!!!!!

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

When he is not on TV, Derek is also the founder and creator of DerekLovesShopping.com, a lifestyle destination that acts as a guide to “help, teach, inspire, love and have fun” with fashion and beauty. He also owns an apparel and home design collection and regularly teaches workshops at the Bottomless Closet NYC, an organization that helps women who are going back into the work force.

Taking his style expertise to the next level, Derek is now making himself exclusively available to his fans and followers via Blazetrak.com—a service that allows the general public to get directly in touch with celebrity professionals in exchange for guaranteed video feedback.  On Blazetrak, Derek will be responding to questions on personal style, getting started as a stylist, and dishing up advice on self-promotion and mastering the art of creating a strong personal brand.  The types of talent he is recruiting will grow and change over time, with plans to hire interns, editorial contributors and Fashion Week Correspondents through the platform, among other tangible opportunities within the fashion arena.  To get in touch with Derek via Blazetrak, visit his profile at: www.Blazetrak.com/DerekFabulous.

Sponsored by BBM Group, Midi Mafia will be conducting their Blazetrak reviews live on their new weekly web series, entitled “Casa Mafia,” which will be streamed on both Ustream (www.Ustream.tv/midimafia) and their official website: themidimafia.com.

Over the course of 3 webisodes, 15 aspiring artists will be given the amazing opportunity to be reviewed and showcased on the most active live-streaming website on the internet.  Submissions will be accepted via Blazetrak.com all month long (deadline: February 28^th), and 15 of these submissions will be chosen for the live events, with five artists being reviewed per webisode.

The webisodes will air every Tuesday in March starting on March 2^nd [4pm - 6pm PST / 7pm – 9pm EST].  Throughout the month of March, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites via polling on themidimafia.com.  During the fourth episode of the month, airing Tuesday, March 23^rd, Midi Mafia will be interacting with fans and reviewing the poll results in order to choose a winner from the 15 Blazetrak reviews.

Ultimately, Midi Mafia will select who they deem the most talented as the official winner of the series.  The winner will receive the experience of a lifetime, including a first class flight to LA to spend the weekend with Midi Mafia working together in their studio to record and polish one track that will later be showcased on both Blazetrak.com and themidimafia.com.

For this talent search specifically, Midi Mafia will be looking for artists (all ages) that can sing and/or play instruments.  They will be seeking out a fresh sound that will be highly marketable for radio and live performances.  Users are invited to submit one original audio track that best represents his or her talent via Blazetrak, for a fee of $100 per submission.  All submissions will be graded on a scale of 1 – 5 based on the following criteria: marketability, voice/instrumental quality, and originality.

Throughout the web series, users can expect unpredictable visitors to be popping in and out of the Midi Mafia house, including some of the top names in entertainment.

All submissions will receive a guaranteed video response directly from Midi Mafia, even if not chosen for the live event.

Midi Mafia, consists of co-producers Dirty Swift and Bruce Waynne, who are known for creating some of the biggest hits on the charts today.  Their clients include: 50 Cent, Jennifer Lopez,  John Legend, Brandy, David Archuleta, Justin Beiber and Nelly, just to name a few.

For more information on Blazetrak and this special Casa Mafia talent search, please visit: www.Blazetrak.com/midimafia.

*The Midi Mafia

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

The event was fittingly held in the old Tower Records space on 4th & Bway, which felt so desolate and sad, after being stripped of its musical inventory.  Brightening things up though, was a non-profit organization entitled “No Longer Empty” which brings temporary cultural exhibits to unused real estate throughout the city.  As such, the walls displayed a slew of musical tributes, ranging from a flock of birds made out of old vinyl records to a wall plastered with all of the magazine covers that famed wanna-be rapper, Vanilla Ice, graced back in the early 90s.

Before the panel got started, SoundCTRL announced a new contest called FlashFWD.  Here, they are looking for the top music startups that are reshaping the current music biz model as we know it.  (Be a doll, and nominate my client BLAZETRAK for this honor here).  Winner gets to attend the infamous SXSW conference, the largest music & tech conference of the year.

The panel incuded:
James Andrews – Moderator (@keyinfluencer)
Marisa Bangash – Uncensored Interview (@mbangash)
Andrew Katz – Pepsi – Music Marketing Division (@phillykatz)
?uestLove – Drummer for The Roots / current drummer on The Jimmy Fallon Show (@QuestLove)

The debate explored the not-necessarily-foreseeable new model that the music industry is going to need to adopt, as music sales continue to decline, and the consumer continues to have innovative ways to access music online for free.  For the most part, the panel agreed that the question comes down to the financier.  Who is going to finance the artist development, the studio time, the production, and ultimately, the publicity of the musical acts?  How are we going to have superstars like Michael Jackson and Beyonce without sales and thus funding?

This lead into a discussion over the notion of partnering Brands with Bands, and if the advertising companies, or the huge corporate sponsors (Hi there, Pepsi!), would be the new creatives in the business.  Brands as curators?  And whether or not marketing will impede upon the musical integrity of an act.   Andrew Katz, representative of Pepsi, quickly chimed in that this is something that Brands will have to earn.  It’s a process of building up that kind of credibility and respect, something he says Pepsi is already in the process of doing.

Other suggestions for new revenue models ranged from music superstars being paid to tweet, having digital music listening charge like a utility bill would, and even one mention that Blazetrak is solving the problem!

My favorite moment of the night was when Questlove was talking about hip-hop not having any credible acts with major $$$ budgets backing them before 1992.  At which point his eye conveniently caught the Vanilla Ice exhibit, and he cracked up, thinking about how it was manufactured rap acts just like this, who helped to bring hip-hop into the mainstream.   Questlove’s insight, passion, and humor added a thoroughly enjoyable touch to the evening’s discussion (read: huge crush).

What do you think is the next sustainable model for the music business?

**All photos courtesy of Random Night Out’s Nick McGlynn

*The Panel (from left to right): James Andrews, Marisa, Andrew Katz, Questlove

*The audience, during Q&A (I was sitting directly in front of the guy asking the question, how am I not visible?)

*Nate Casey, co-founder of Blazetrak.com, chatting with Questlove

*The lovely Emily Gannett with Social Diva, Peg Samuel.

*The SoundCTRL board members w/ the Panelists

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Kicking off 2010 right, four NY tech start-ups were invited to live demo their websites in 1-minute or less [PressLift, NYC Way, Taxi Hack, Yogoer] and four more start-ups were invited to live demo their websites in 5-minutes or less (SpeakerText, Artlog, UDorse, and Blazetrak included).

Pulling one over on their trusty publicist (AKA me), Blazetrak created a sample user for demonstration purposes who turned out to be Nate Westheimer himself, under his supposed rapper pseudonym “Westeezy”.  In the demo, we were able to see Westeezy go through the motions of finding a Blazetrak Professional to submit to (the CEO of Dirty South Records), submitting his demo rap track “You Suck” to that Professional for review, and then we saw the actual guaranteed video response from the Dirty South CEO to Westeezy.

[Nate "Westeezy" Westheimer]

To see their 5-minute live demo, followed by the Question & Answer period with the audience, check out the videos below:

P.S.  The meetup also introduced us to the non-profit, NYClothingDrive.org, a door-to-door pick up charity clothing drive for New Yorkers in need taking place on February 6, 2010.  We all have stuff in our closets that doesn’t get used and sometimes making the trek to Salvation Army with heavy bags gets pushed to the back-burner, so I am loving this on-site pick-up service and will defintely be taking part!  Make sure you check out www.NYClothingDrive.org.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

In addition to the panel discussion and question & answer period, guests were treated to complimentary makeovers courtesy of Laura Mercier, wine and passed hors d’oeuvres, one-on-one consultations with the experts, New Beauty Magazine and an exclusive VIP shopping discount for Saks Fifth Avenue.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

The mixed-media pieces of work ranged in sizes and price, all very brightly lit in shades of pinks and blues, featuring hearts, flowers, rainbows, ice cream cones, and even Amanda’s beloved French Bulldog, “Pearl.”  The exhibit also introduced Amanda’s first foray into sculpture work: a mannequin up-ended and covered in mixed-media, being used as what Amanda has dubbed a “post-modern flower pot.”   Perfectly matching her works of art, Amanda was clad in Betsey Johnson from head to toe, including a vintage Betsey dress, black Betsey leggings with bright pink roses, and leopard print Betsey stilettos.

Guests included: Tia Walker (Celebrity Lifestyle Blogger of The Quest for “it’), Gordon Ho (Photographer for Scallywag & Vagabond), John Simon (of JohnSimonDaily.com), Kim Weling (of New York Cool and Fashionably Petite), Martha ‘Lela’ Alburquerque (Editor-in-Chief of LelaLuxe.com), Tinka Milinovic (European Pop Star), several staffers from Betsey Johnson downtown & uptown, and Amanda’s rocker boyfriend, Jon Weber (of Rock of Ages and The Orion Experience).

Guests sipped on red and white wine and indulged in her multi-colored sugary display including mini-cupcakes, customized M&M’s and hard candy known as “bling, bling rings.”

With about half of “Precious Things” selling out on opening night, the remainder of the pieces will remain on display through October 31^st, 2009.   For more information on Amanda Dolan and her private commission portrait services, check out www.AmandaDolan.com.

*All photos courtesy of Belkis Carrasco, and available here.

(this photo is courtesy of JohnSimonDaily.com)

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]