August 24, 2010

The Philadelphia Weekly’s music issue hit the streets earlier this month and we weren’t surprised to read several stories on MAD Dragon recordings artists.  It’s been a busy summer for the Music Industry Program (MIP) and its business entities with a slew of new artist signings and a reorganized management lineup.  The cornerstone of the Music Industry program is  a series of businesses that offer students the chance to learn the business by working in enterprises operated by the program - our record label MAD Dragon Records, MAD Dragon Publishing, MADKO concert promotions, DRAKO booking agency, and the artist services entity Bantic.

 Assistant professor Terry Tompkins is now Managing Director of all MAD Dragon enterprises which we’ve renamed Music Industry Program Entities or MIP(e).   MAD Dragon Records (MDR) will now be run by music industry veteran Andy Hurwitz, who founded Ropeadope records. Under Andy’s leadership, the label continues to expand its diverse roster with the fall release of hip-hop MC Kuf Knotz. Kuf has been performing in Philly with acts like The Burndown All-Stars and The Hustle and his soon to be released new album, Boombox Logic, harkens back to hip-hops’ golden era.   This past spring, MDR released Toy Soldier’s debut record Whisper Down the Lane and the band has been on the road to support it.  They’re just back from their summer tour which stopped at Nashville, Asheville and New Orleans as well as WXPN’s XPoNential Music Fest. To see what Toy Soldiers has been up to, take a look at their new video clips here or check them out at their upcoming gigs at Johnny Brenda’s and World Café Live.

Andy, Terry and the Music Industry students have focused MAD Dragon’s upcoming release schedule on Philadelphia’s vibrant music scene.  New to MAD Dragon are two mainstay Philly acts, Hezekiah Jones and Spinning Leaves who will collaborate on a release featuring a blend of neo-folk psychedelia.  Hezekiah Jones and Spinning Leaves are currently recording at MAD Dragon Studios with studio manager and producer Ryan Schwab and their debut release on MAD Dragon Records is due out in winter 2011. We’ll have a mix tape/compilation CD of all of our Philly artists out this fall that will feature MAD Dragon alumni The Swimmers, Andrew Lipke, Hoots & Hellmouth and Matt Duke as well as tracks from Kuf Knotz, Spinning Leaves and Hezekiah Jones. To keep Music Industry students up to speed on what’s going on at MIP and MIP(e), a Town Hall-style meeting is planned for this October.  You can always get the latest info by following MAD Dragon Records on our Twitter feed twitter@maddragonmusic.