Positively Beautiful - Lewis Taylor News Issue Six: Summer Starts Stoned Positively Beautiful, The News Little bit of news from Slow Reality for fans, along with some information connected to the annual fan gathering - which now has a new name, as you'll see - and a review of Stoned that many of you probably haven't seen yet. Our Newsletter's Purpose The Positively Beautiful newsletter brings you real news of Lewis Taylor and what he's up to. For the fans and by the fans, along with - wherever appropriate and possible - official confirmation and/or input from Lewis' camp. One thing's for sure - if you see news here it's real, not rumour! We aim to provide for fans pertinent information, previews and reviews of all things Lewis Taylor, over time. News will always be confirmed before it appears here, or definite possibilities clearly stated if they're unconfirmed. If you have an opinion, however, about a Lewis gig, have an album review, related links, comments, suggestions or questions, send them along! This newsletter is truly for the fans and by the fans - we want to know what you'd like to see here, and we welcome contributions appropriate to the spirit of this newsletter. Something that Positively Beautiful would like to initiate along the way is a Question & Answer section about and/or for Lewis. We offer no guarantees at all in connection with any Q & A - but if you do have questions feel free to send them along. We'll do our best to get you the real answers, with input from Lewis himself if possible. Australia Gets Stoned Too! Many of you will have seen the forum mention about Collision Records in Australia releasing Stoned | Part One (http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/newforum/viewthread.php?tid=843). Here's the official word from Slow Reality on this news: Collision Records Australia will be releasing Stoned | Part One in August. They will be running a retail soul campaign of which Lewis will play a major role. There is no single available as yet, they are just servicing media with a 3-track sampler (Stoned Pts 1 & 2 plus Send Me An Angel). Slow Reality has also said that they will definitely release information to fans when it's ready to be released and that there will be further news coming up; certain details are still being ironed out so they're not quite ready to say anything more just yet. Positively Beautiful will make news available whenever we get official word, in order to be as accurate as possible in the news we dispense. Rest assured Lewis fans - it does seem we will be hearing more relatively soon. 'What's The Word' Still On-Air at LinkFM 'What's The Word', playing Lewis and lots of other great music, can still be heard on Link FM this month - two shows left! Tune in Wednesday, July 23 (8 to 10 pm GMT) and/or Saturday, July 26 (9:30 pm to 12 am, GMT) to catch the show. go to http://www.shoutcast.com/ and search for Link 2 to connect. Editor's Note: Forgive the late release of this reminder - by the time many of you see this letter you might have missed Wednesday's show. There'll still be time to catch Saturday's show, though! Third Annual Lewis Taylor Fan Gathering - Current News Name As mentioned before, it was decided to change the gathering's name from 'convention' to something a bit less 'conventional'. Seems fans have spontaneously taken up Jake's suggestion of Nonchalance, so this year's gathering is officially the Nonchalance III. Volunteers Big thanks go to Roberto for offering to help out-of-town Nonchalance visitors with their plans for accomodation, travel and places to visit while in London! Should you need any assistance in any of these areas, please contact Positively Beautiful at positivelybeautiful@telus.net and we'll put you in touch with Roberto. Nick has kindly volunteered to do telephone duties on the day of the meeting, so you can get in touch with the gang if necessary by calling his mobile at 07789 43 43 66. As always, a huge thank you to Soren for taking on the biggest part of the organizational details for the gathering, and for doing it with class and great humour! Details So far what's been decided is that everyone will meet at the All Bar One, 84 Cambridge Circus, on Saturday, August 2. Meet time is set for 3 pm, and after drinks the group will move on to dinner at some point. A map that shows the meet location can be found here: http://home13.inet.tele.dk/skri/allbaronelarge.jpg. Still looking at gigs to attend in the evening; one possibility being discussed is Nuspirit Helsinki at the Jazz Cafe. More suggestions are certainly encouraged, so if you know of any events around London on August 2, mail to Positively Beautiful at positivelybeautiful@telus.net and we'll pass on your suggestions to soren. Or, go post them at the current forum thread concerning the Nonchalance III, at http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/newforum/viewthread.php?tid=790&page=1. You can see pictures and news online about the first two gatherings at the following links: First Annual (2001): http://fanclub.lewistaylormusic.com/convention.html Second Annual (2002): http://fanclub.lewistaylormusic.com/convention2.html Stoned | Part One Audible Possibilities KB reported on the forum - http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/newforum/viewthread.php?tid=854 - the following: "I would say this is news... I've been listening to Yiannis live on Ramjam. I've been requesting and what not...he plays some good stuff! Anyway, he played a Dwele song and asked any one to write in if they'd heard of him. So, I wrote in and said "yeah, I've heard of Dwele on the Lewis Taylor message boards. By the way, do you have anything by LEWIS? He is an amazing artist!" Well, Yiannis read the email on the air and said he agreed, that Lewis was amazing and that he had the album at home. He then said if I tuned in and listened to the next show he does, he would bring the album and play something from it!!!! I thought it was very exciting and wanted to share it w/ all of you!" Yiannis is live on-air on Ramjam Radio every Tuesday from 8 to 10 pm GMT. Tune in with KB for his next show & request some Lewis to encourage as much air time as possible for Stoned | Part One! http://www.ramjamradio.com/ - click the 'listen now' button at the top of the page. New(ish) Review of Stoned | Part One Thanks to Lewis fan Chris Brickhouse of PAHARDCORE.COM - www.pahardcore.com - for keeping the flame alive with a re-post of his review of Stoned | Part One. The review was lost before it could be shown in Positively Beautiful at original writing, but he's just put it back up so we're happy to include it now. Rating: Number of Views: 593 Lewis Taylor is possibly the biggest talent that MTV has yet to corrupt.... but I think if he broke out on the pop scene... he would be the one doing the corrupting. These kids nowadays would have no idea how to handle quality origional heartbreaking melodies. This is his follow up to 'Lewis II', his highly unnoticed by extremely excellent previous release. My sister in law Kim turned me on to Lewis's sound a few years ago, and I've never appreciated him more than now, with this new release. To describe his style would be running circles around yourself.... he simply plays great R&B, has a beautiful voice, as well as being able to play the guitar as well as any of the metal bands listed on this site. His funk infused soul repertoire is music to my ears, and is a relaxing escape from the usual abrasive ensamble that I bombard my ear drums with on a daily basis. And I've gotten nothing but positive feedback from any of my friends that have heard this. If i was to compare him to anyone in skill (no in style) and in heart and soul, it would be Jeff Buckley (RIP). They both play their own guitar and sing soulful songs regarding lost love, love yet to be found, and love effecting you to the point you burst. So open your minds.... because this is some sincerely great and intelligent music if I've ever heard it... and I pray for the day that he gets noticed by a great label so he can get the recognician he deserves. Cheers! You can find Chris' review at http://www.pahardcore.com/newsreviews/article.cfm?intarticleid=5890. Getting Stoned | Part One in the US Just a reminder for those of you in the States who are looking for a more 'local' place to buy Stoned | Part One, don't forget that it can be found at Dusty Groove in Chicago, IL - www.dustygroove.com/ - in-store or online. Here's a blurb from their website online: "If you're ever in Chicago, be sure to visit our great store! We're located at 1120 N. Ashland Ave (at the corner of Ashland and Haddon, one block south of Division), and we're open 7 days a week from 10am to 8pm. Of course, all the great stuff appears online here first --- but if you shop locally, you'll also get a chance to handle the goods before you buy them!" Here's the original forum thread where Lewis announced this convenience: http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/newforum/viewthread.php?tid=461 . Official Lewis News Availability Don't forget to check the home page of the fansite - http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/ . There's a box on the right side of the page where official current and upcoming news is updated by management when appropriate. Currently still in the Official News is the following: Influential industry tome 'Music Week' joins the long list of critics raving about Lewis's October 2002 release 'STONED - PART ONE' following nothing but excellent press and heavyweight support from, amongst others, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Q, Mojo, Uncut, Radio 1, Kiss FM and Jazz FM radio. No small feat for an independent! All this plus Elton John unexpectedly plugging the album on BBC1 prime time TV. Speaking to camera on Liquid News, Elton suddenly pulled 'Stoned' out of his coat pocket and advised viewers to 'buy this, he is fantastic' before handing a copy to fellow guest Ms Dynamite saying 'I bought this for you'. Following, Lewis's recent Subterania 'comeback' gig -described in Hit Sheet as 'life-changing...' and described by Jazz Fm as the 'gig of the year' - three more consequetive dates at the Jazz Cafe, London have been added for Monday 20th Jan, through to Wednesday 22nd January. The album continues to be available 'as recommended listening' nationally through all HMV stores, a major UK retail outlet who have been remarkably supportive of the project.The album will also now be available from all Fopp Shops throughout the UK with other major outlets to follow. The album can also be ordered on-line, including internationally, from www.hmv.co.uk. Lewis-Lovers' Links http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/ - Fansite with hugely popular forums... this is the place for Lewis fans to hang out online, and Lewis himself contributes from time to time. Lots of information, mp3s and pictures here. There's even a forum specifically for questions to and answers from Lewis, whenever he is able and/or has inclination to answer. http://fanclub.lewistaylormusic.com/ - Lewis Taylor's Fan Collection. a site for and about Lewis fans. Show your love of and support for Lewis' music by going visible online with all the other fans there - or just have some fun checking out who else loves Lewis' sounds. http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/7463/ - The first fansite online; still there, with some recent updating and activity. Lots of great information for Lewis fans to peruse. http://www.soul24-7.com/ - The hugely popular internet radio station with a soul forum to post messages at. Try requesting a Lewis tune by emailing direct to any DJ on-air at studio@soul24-7.com. The more requests received and forum posts made about Lewis, we believe, the more likely the station will get behind The Man and his music! http://www.slowreality.com/ - Lewis' official record company site. The site is currently being built... don't give up checking the link, even if you get a 'holding page' notice; keep checking back because it's still in the plans. http://www.hmv.co.uk/ - The place to purchase Stoned | Part One online! Contact Positively Beautiful: All questions, comments, contributions and suggestions are happily received at positivelybeautiful@telus.net. We thank all fans for their valued and interesting contributions to the newsletter. Until our next issue - take care, keep the Lewis faith, and spread the Lewis word! The Legend is back! Positively Beautiful -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send an email to positivelybeautiful@telus.net with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line of the email, and the email address you wish to unsubscribe in the body of the email. 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