Laila Ali - From Ring to Dance Floor

Laila Ali's inspiring career as a boxer, following in her famous father's footsteps, has only been enhanced by her life and accomplishments outside of the ring.

Laila Ali was born December 30, 1977 to former Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammed Ali and his third wife, Veronica Porsche Anderson. She is currently the women's boxing Triple Crown Super Middleweight Champion as well as a contestant on ABC's popular Dancing with the Stars.

Ali earned a degree in Business Management at Santa Monica College and then went on to own and operate a successful nail salon in California. She had planned to attend the University of Southern California Business School, but after watching women's boxing on television for the first time, she decided to become a boxer. Approximately a year later, Ali sold her business and started training to become a professional fighter.

Ali made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999, at the age of 21. She insisted that the press not record videos of this fight. Her opponent, April Fowler, was a 0-1 fighter who worked as a waitress. 31 seconds into the 1st round, she knocked out her opponent, April Fowler. After Ali's pro debut, she told reporters that she had made her father proud, and that she would knock out every one of her opponents and that it was a promise.

Born: December 30, 1977
Died: --
Famous For: Undefeated World Boxing Champion; Daughter of former Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammed Ali; named one of People Magazine's Most 100 Beautiful People of 2007.
Key Accomplishments: Earned a degree in Business Management from Santa Monica College; Undefeated World Boxing Champion, Author; Model.
Significant Quote: "There's so many other things that I'm talented at, so many things that I could be doing, that I wouldn't be boxing if it wasn't what I loved to do."
Fun Quote: "I didn't even know that women boxed. And then when I saw it for the first time I wanted to do it."

Ali went on to win her next 8 fights by knockout, and in October of 2000, she beat the then-reigning champion Kendra Lendhart. She won 3 more belts in 2002. On August 17, 2002, she became the new IBA super middleweight champion after defeating Suzy Taylor in the second round. Then, on November 8, 2002, she won the WIBA and the IWBF supper middleweight titles after her opponent, Valerie Mahfood, forced the referee to stop the action at 1:14 of round eight. Next, she had to beat Christy Martin, who was considered the best female fighter in the sport. On August 23rd, 2003, Ali knocked Martin down for the first time in 50 professional bouts, and stopped her in the fourth round.

In her last fight, on February 3rd, 2006, Ali knocked out her opponent, Gwendolyn O'Neal, in just 56 seconds. The bout, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, was attended by Nelson Mandela. Ali had the opportunity to meet him prior to the fight.

On February 20, 2007, ABC announced that Ali would participate in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner is Maksim Chmerkivskiy, and together they received the first 10 from judge Len Goodman for their rumba.

Ali also wrote a motivational book, which is called Reach!. She wrote the book to help inspire other young women. In it, she uses her own experiences and challenges as examples for her readers. She also loves to cook, enjoys Pilates, and has done some modeling, including appearances in Sports Illustrated, People, Ebony, Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Essence, ESPN the Magazine, and Time. Ali is currently engaged to former pro football player Curtis Conway. They plan to wed in July, 2007.

Mitch Mueller writes on a variety of web topics, always trying to make it easy for folks to use the web to better their lives.

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Is Your Band Ready for CD Duplication or CD Replication?

Its a typical situation. Youve been putting a lot of energy in your craft and people are starting to talk about your band. Youve played a few shows and everyone is asking for a CD. I used to think that in order to release your own CD you would go out and play a bunch of shows and then someone would come out and sign you. Theyd take care of everything. Theyd set up the recording studio, organize the artwork, and pay for it to get manufactured. Thats not the case these days.

At present, technology is readily available for any budding musician to record, create, and duplicate CDs. CD duplication involves CD-R media. CD-R prices have dropped dramatically since the first CD Recorders were available on the consumer market. This makes it an affordable option for anyone who wants to copy their own CDs and pass them on to friends, family, or fans. This is a great option for the young band that is still getting their feet wet in the music industry. Duplicating a limited amount of CDs can keep a limited budget in place.

If your band is at the point were your ready to start selling your CD your best option is to make a retail-ready CD and having it replicated. What is a retail ready CD? These are the same CDs you find in the music stores by the major label artists. They have great artwork printed on CD inserts, a nice tray card insert, silk screened art on the CD, and they are shrink-wrapped.

The retail-ready CDs are not duplicated, but Replicated. This means that an exact replica of your CD master has been stamped out on all of the CDs. CD Replication is the way to go if you are serious about selling your music for profit. In fact most music stores will not sell duplicated CDs. Think about it this way. It is illegal to sell or profit from duplicating copy written material. If you tried to sell CDs that have been duplicated to a retail store youll more than likely get turned down. How are they to know that it is really your band? One of the best anti-piracy practices that CD manufacturing plants have instituted is the verification of copyright and ownership through a International Property Rights Form. Filling out an I.P.R. form ensures the CD Replication plant that they are not infringing on anyones copyright.

CD Replication not only shows that you value your art enough to have it made retail-ready, but also cost effective. Ill break it down in general.

DIY CD Duplication

1 Computer with CD Recorder

100 Memorex CD-R

CD Jewel Cases

Printer Ink

Man Hours

Total $1495.00Typical CD Replication Package

CD Replication for 1000 CDs

1-3 color on-disc silk-screen imprint

CD Jewel box, assembly, professional quality film-wrap

2 Panel Insert and Tray card

Bar Code

Total $1000.00

These prices are very approximate and are only used for the purpose of estimating the difference between CD Duplication and CD Replication. Lets dig in a little bit. Ive already illustrated some of the benefits of CD Duplication and the benefits of CD Replication. You can see above that you are spending approximately $500 more taking on the CD duplication responsibilities yourself and only getting 100 CDs!! Having your CDs Replicated costs less and someone else is doing the work. You can spend the time youd spend on CD duplication and practice your chops or promote your upcoming CD release party, saving yourself $500 that you can use for items like merchandising, t-shirts, stickers, and posters.

Whether you choose CD Replication or CD Duplication, youll need to do some research. There are plenty of resources available for CD Duplication and you probably own everything you need. It is up to you and your band to decide which option is better depending on what level you see your band on. Are you a band that plays parties or small clubs, or is your band seasoned and touring? There are benefits to both. Find a local CD manufacturer in your area and ask for their recommendation. Most CD manufacturers also offer quick turn high quality CD Duplication with printing on the CDs. Keep rockin!

Blake Stoffregen writes for many websites including Crystal Clear Sound CD & DVD Replication. Crystal Clear Sound provides cd, cdr and dvd duplication and replication services and offers packages from disc only to retail ready.

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Guitar: Learn Guitar By Not Playing Guitar

I suppose you think that you learn guitar by playing guitar. Well, do you learn to say the right things by talking all the time? Let's take a look at the art of not playing guitar...

How can you learn to play guitar by not playing? Is it really possible to develop as a guitarist without touching the instrument?

In weight training it is an established fact that muscle growth takes place during rest, for example when you sleep. It doesnt mean that you will become a famous muscle builder by sleeping. Sleeping is just a part of the overall picture called muscle growth.

Dont ever think that you will become a good guitarist by not playing guitar at all!

But I define a good guitarist as a good musician. A good musician can convey his musical emotions to somebody else and this ability takes more than just practicing moving the fingers among all those guitar strings.

What can you do to become a better guitarist and a musician when you don't play? Let me give you a few suggestions:

1. If you play classical guitar, get into the habit of often reading guitar sheet music without your guitar. This practice gives you training in the art of hearing the sheet music in your head and also gives you a better chance to really learn notational symbols in the music and rhythmic subtleties.

2. Take a week off from your guitar playing every now and then and use all your musical energy listening to good music or just being a good citizen. Learn to spot musical and artistic heights in the music. Listen to all types of instrumentalists. With concentration. My best listening position is laying flat on my bed with headphones on forgetting the rest of the world. Maybe you have another approach.

If you feel and enjoy musical and artistic expressions in the music these will probably be implemented in your own guitar playing sooner or later.

3. Be a good musical friend by helping somebody else to play. It will help you become more unselfish and like people more. Well, maybe you already like people sufficiently but to learn to like people is part of our development as musicians as we are supposed to give of ourselves to others when we play.

4. Prepare your body and mind for playing guitar by learning the art of relaxation and stretching your muscles. You can of course find articles on these subjects on the net. Performing in a relaxed manner will help you enjoy your own music more and will help your public to relax and enjoy your music too.

5. Take time to sit down, or stand up if you like, and ponder about what guitar playing means to you. Is there something that you would like to develop in your guitar playing that will give you more joy and happiness. Set a realistic goal and write down what you can do every week to accomplish that goal.

I believe in practicing on my guitar of course but I hope that these pieces of advice concerning not playing guitar will increase your love for your guitar and the art of playing and giving musical joy to others!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

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Are You In The Mood To Dance?

Recently, from an opportunity in the Daily Mail I was fortunate enough to have an exclusive dancing session with none other than the very talented celebrity dancer Vincent Simone. He was simply one of the best teacher's one could hope to meet to learn the intricate steps involved in dancing. Vincent Simone is a World class Latin American dancer and I am a mere novice.

In this chaotic and fast paced lifestyle that we all seem to live isn't it about time that we create a space for ourselves to give more 'me time' and have more fun. What better way than learning to dance by exercising the body and calming our thoughts or more importantly to release the frantic ever active mind into the ever beating heart.

When we are healthy and radiating positive energy we literally attract a feeling of well-being and like a magnet draw pleasurable experiences into our lives. Conversely, if we are tired, stressed or feeling low in energy we may need to learn how to convert the negative energy into a blissful state and dance could be one of the ways to achieve this.

When you are dancing to enhance your mood it may help to visualise the seven colours of the chakras.

RED Passion

Visualise the colour red when dancing the Argentina Tango can help you to access the passion to give more energy and liveliness to this dance. When learning the technique coupled with the accentuated movements and maintaining the powerful posture. Tango is the uniquely intoxicating 'forbidden dance', a story of two people connecting passion and romance.

ORANGE Sensuality

Visualise the colour Orange when performing the Rumba can help with this slow, sensuous dance that has an almost teasing and rejecting quality between the two people involved. It has a rhythmical slow Latin beat with gyrating hip actions and dance expression that is more moody and has a serious quality.

YELLOW Confidence

Visualise the colour Yellow when dancing the Cha-Cha which is a happy, carefree dance expressing dynamic confidence and empowering everyone as they dance these steps. With the Cha-Cha's forward and back movements depicting the essence of give and take between the couple.

GREEN Compassion

Visualise the colour Green when performing the Swing as it is a lively, energetic tempo with accentuated movements of the hips and thighs. Imagine the rhythm of the Swing keeping in unison with the deep resonating beat of your heart.

BLUE Communicative

Visualise the colour Blue when dancing the Foxtrot similar to the blue sky or blue water that ripples downstream and flows with the music. The seductive slow tempo encourages the releasing of control and the willingness to surrender and communicate your deepest emotions.

INDIGO Imagination

Visualise the colour Indigo when dancing the Samba as it is a lively rhythmical dance that requires light-footed, circular movements of the hips and shoulders as you match and mirror your partner. The vivacious pulsating beat of the Samba creates seductive and animated movements that almost appear animal like.

WHITE Elegance

Visualise the colour White when dancing the Waltz with extreme charm, poise and elegance as you imagine Swans floating across the water gracefully creating breathtaking spectacle majestically gliding across the dance floor with ease.

The Art of learning to dance is a step-by-step process of leader and follower that requires trust, respect and timing creating a musical symphony that expresses the spirit of the dance between two people as they move as one.

The freedom that the dance gives releases the body, mind and soul that captivates the imagination of the audience and I am truly hooked on learning to dance.

Susie Newman, author of Simple Guide to the Chakras at http://stores.lulu.com/simpleguidetothechakras designed to show you how to heal and balance the seven chakras coupled with powerful meditations. She is currently working on other projects helping to integrate tools and techniques to encourage awareness and enhance day-to-day living.

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Musical Feuds

There are many famous instances of immortal musicians being insulted by other famous musicians.

Johann Sebastian Bach, like most musicians of the day, worked as a church musician. He was anything but docile, and was known to rankle easily.

He was once reproved for playing "strange harmonies" during a church service. Bach's answer was to play even stranger harmonies the next Sunday, and this from the greatest composer of religious music the world has ever seen, the composer of the St. Matthew Passion.

Still steaming, the elders complained again to Bach and added the insult that the music was at some points "too long."

The next Sunday, of course, the music was much too short.

Beethoven also had his feuds, especially in the early years when he was establishing himself as a great pianist.

A worthless popinjay named Steibelt had made it known that he thought Beethoven a terrible pianist, and in essence challenged Beethoven to a musical duel, a common occurrence in those days. Beethoven despised Steibelt, for he was in truth a talentless oaf that foolishly dared to challenge a great master.

At a party the next week, Beethoven heard Steibelt playing one of his own compositions, an insipid Trio for piano, violin and cello. It was the type of horrid, elaborately ornamented fluff that Beethoven reviled, but he watched calmly as Steibelt finished the piece and took his bows.

A hush fell over the crowd as Beethoven appeared out of the shadows and walked toward the piano. Everyone was aware of the grudge between Steibelt and Beethoven and the air was thick with apprehension.

Steibelt, startled by the angry look on the master's face, stepped away from the piano.

As Beethoven walked past the cello's music stand, he snidely grabbed the cello's sheet music.

Carefully showing the astounded crowd the page of sheet music, Beethoven sat at the piano and then put the music, upside down, onto the piano music stand.

As Steibelt and the hushed crowd watched, Beethoven plunked out the notes of the upside down cello part, forcefully jabbing with his pointed and angry index finger, not taking his eyes off Steibelt.

Then Ludwig began to improvise like a madman on Steibelt's upside down cello part theme. The crowd was carried away with Beethoven's angered showmanship.

And it was magnificent, one of those legendary Beethoven improvisations that have gone down in history, a passionate outpouring of ideas and bravura, until at last the piece was over with a furious ending and crash.

Curiously, Steibelt was never heard from again.

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2000 Walden Pond Press. Visit http://www.pianoiseasy.com to see the fun PIANO BY NUMBER method for kids.

John Aschenbrenner is a leading children's music educator and book publisher, and the author of numerous fun piano method books in the series PIANO BY NUMBER for kids. You can see the PIANO BY NUMBER series of books at http://www.pianoiseasy.com

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Dave Matthews Band Listener Supported Rock Music CD Review

Listener Supported is the latest release from Dave Matthews Band, and I can only think of one word to describe it AWESOME!

It's a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I'm more than happy to announce thats exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

Dave Matthews Band is one of those groups that have the ability to just bowl you over with their collective talent. The kind of musicians its really a treat to be able to listen to.

Overall Listener Supported is excellent from beginning to end. One of those CDs that after a few listens the songs are just etched into your memory. A must have for the Rock fan. Really spectacular from beginning to end.

While this entire album is really very good the truly standout tunes are Disc 1 - Track 2 - Pantala Naga Pampa, Disc 1 - Track 7 - Crash Into Me, and Disc 2 - Track 10 - All Along The Watchtower.

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is Disc 2 - Track 7 - Long Black Veil. This is a great track!

Listener Supported Release Notes:

Dave Matthews Band originally released Listener Supported on November 23, 1999 on the RCA Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

DISC 1:

1. Intro

2. Pantala Naga Pampa

3. Rapunzel

4. Rhyme & Reason

5. Stone, The

6. #41

7. Crash Into Me

8. Jimi Thing

9. #36

10. Warehouse

DISC 2:

1. Too Much

2. True Reflections

3. Two Step

4. Granny

5. Stay (Wasting Time)

6. #40

7. Long Black Veil
8. Don't Drink The Water
9. Intro To...

10. All Along The Watchtower

Dave Matthews Band: Dave Matthews, Boyd Tinsley, Stefan Lessard, Leroi Moore, Carter Beauford. Additional personnel: Butch Taylor (keyboards); Tawatha Agee, Chinah Bess, Brenda White-King (background vocals). Recorded at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 11, 1999.

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Produce Your Music At Home - 4 Tips for Producing Your Music at Home

Thanks to some great advances in technology, it's now possible for any musician to capture their creativity into a recorded song. The best news is you can record and produce your music from the comfort of your home. This is not as difficult as you may think, and nowadays you can produce some music that sounds quite professional, without being an expert sound engineer. Learn 4 Tips for Producing Your Music at Home.

1) Get Your Sound Right Before Recording.

Try to perfect your overall sound before you record your songs. This minimizes the need for post-recording editing. You also want to make sure you use a good pair of headphones and listen carefully to the input stream coming from the microphones you use. You may need to use a mixer to adjust the frequencies. Also, you will want to be careful not to use too much reverb, because you don't want your input to sound muffled.

2) Learn the Capabilities of Your Recoding Equipment and Software One At a Time, and Try Reading Your Manual.

This will help you avoid getting overwhelmed by all of the technical terms you may not bee too familiar with. You will also get a better understanding of how to use your recording equipment and software, so you can get the most out of your recording experienceand produce better recordings. Also, don't forget to read your manual. Although you may tend to toss your manual aside, you'll be surprised with what you can learn with your manual. Reading a manual can really speed up your learning curve, so you can begin producing your own music in no time!

3) Finish Your Songs!

If you are like many musicians, you'll find that you have your hard drive full of "beginnings", "openings" and first-halves of songs that you have never finished. You may work on it for a while, then you run out of ideas, or you get bored with it and start working on a new song instead. This is very common, but it is not a great thing to do.

Be disciplined and finish your songs, even if you seem to have lost interest in them. You should hold off on working on a new song until you completely finish your song. Worse case scenario, if you have a great idea for another song, jot down some notes or do a brief sound recording, then come back to it AFTER you finish the song you've been working on. If you don't do this, you are setting yourself up to have several unfinished songs...therefore making it extraordinarily difficult if not impossible for you to reach your creative potential.

4) ALWAYS Create a Backup Copy of Your Music!

The last thing you want to do is create a masterpiece, then lose it all because your system crashes. ALWAYS create a backup copy of your music recordings. Things happen like power outages, hard drive crashes etc. Don't let these misfortunes rob the world of your unique music creativity. ALWAYS backup your music!

To learn more tips about producing your music at home, visit this URL: http://www.indie-musicnetwork.com/recordmusic.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Traci Crowley provides resources that help you Create, Produce, and Sell your music from home. Visit her website at: http://www.indie-musicnetwork.com and subscribe to her free newsletter for instant tips and tricks for Creating, Producing, and Selling Your Music from home.

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