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Date Signed: February 2014<br />
Label: Sony Music<br />
Type of Music: Metal/Alternative Rock<br />
Band Members: Malcolm Brickhouse, guitar, vocals; Jarad Dawkins,<br />
drums, vocals; Alec Atkins, bass, vocals.<br />
Management: Alan Sacks & Kevin Jonas<br />
Booking: Agency Group<br />
Legal: Gary Adelman<br />
Publicity: Amy Sciarretto/ Atom Splitter PR<br />
Web: http://unlockingthetruthband.com<br />
A&R: Debby Dill; Jolene Cherry/The Cherry Party<br />
B<br />
UNLOCKING<br />
THE TRUTH<br />
arely teenagers, the band Unlocking the Truth have already played<br />
the main stage at Coachella, performed at the AFROPUNK festival,<br />
played dates with Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age and Guns N’<br />
Roses and performed on the Vans Warped Tour 2014. Guitarist Malcolm<br />
Brickhouse (13), drummer Jarad Dawkins (12) and bassist Alec Atkins<br />
(13) are a metal trio from Brooklyn, NY that has been steadily building a<br />
brand since 2007.<br />
Brickhouse and Dawkins kicked up their public persona a notch<br />
in March 2012 when they were finalists in an amateur talent show at<br />
Harlem’s Apollo Theater. From there they partnered with friend Alec<br />
“We’re gonna play metal<br />
because we like it!”<br />
Atkins and gained exposure when a video of the boys busking in Times<br />
Square got over a million hits on Youtube. Their career got in gear when<br />
manager Alan Sacks came aboard. Sacks’ resume includes co-creating<br />
‘70s sitcom Welcome Back Kotter and producing films and television<br />
for Disney and the Jonas Brothers. Sacks saw a piece online about<br />
three African American kids playing heavy metal music and immediately<br />
thought it would make a great television series. He contacted Malcolm’s<br />
parents and flew to New York for a meeting with the band.<br />
“About two months into my relationship with the boys we got another<br />
email to our website from Debby Dill who wanted to set up a showcase,”<br />
says Sacks. “When I saw she was working with Jolene Cherry—who<br />
just set up a label at Sony—I got actively involved in pushing this.” In<br />
short order the band was whisked off to Los Angeles for a showcase at<br />
the club Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Cherry was enamored with the band<br />
and offered them a multi-album deal that afternoon. What has followed<br />
includes production of a documentary on the group as well as a book<br />
deal with Penguin Books. Their debut album will be helmed by Grammywinning<br />
producer Johnny K (Sevendust, Disturbed, Megadeth).<br />
“I think the press really took to these kids because of their message,”<br />
says Sacks. “And their message is ‘we’re gonna do what we wanna do.<br />
If you want us to play hip-hop, we’re not gonna play hip-hop. We’ve been<br />
listening to metal in wrestling matches and Japanese anime since we<br />
were three years old. We’re gonna play metal because we like it!’”<br />
– Eric A. Harabadian<br />
FRANCESCO YATES<br />
Date Signed: March 5, 2012<br />
Label: Atlantic Records/21ENT<br />
Type of Music: Pop/Soul/R&B<br />
Management: Chris Smith Management<br />
Booking: Jeff Frasco - CAA<br />
Legal: Seth Lichtenstein - Hertz Lichtenstein & Young LLP<br />
Publicity: Sheila.Richman@atlanticrecords.com<br />
Web: http://francescoyates.com<br />
A&R: Aaron Bay/Schuck<br />
P<br />
harrell Williams and Timbaland agree that Francesco Yates is a<br />
“huge pop star” ready to “shock the world.” Not too bad for a guy<br />
who signed with a manager at 14 and inked a deal with Atlantic<br />
Records just two years later.<br />
Now, 18-year-old Yates hopes to soak-up every bit of “insider” wisdom<br />
the industry can afford—while still maintaining his unique artistic integrity.<br />
“There’s a certain amount of studio etiquette that is needed,” Yates<br />
explains. “You learn to work with writers and different people, and you do<br />
that through the experience they give you. To have these people around<br />
who let me work in the highest place that I can creatively, it’s great.”<br />
Yates’ fresh, youthful vibe allows his sound to grow in a very natural,<br />
go-with-the-flow fashion. Thankfully, Atlantic has strongly encouraged<br />
such creative freedom, since Yates proved himself a strong and<br />
“If you come in with a<br />
strong sense of identity, people<br />
will support you.”<br />
dedicated musician from the get-go. “It’s about identity,” he says. “If you<br />
come in with a strong sense of identity, people will support you with it.<br />
Atlantic helped build [my name] organically, from the ground up.”<br />
The Toronto native finds this artist development process most<br />
rewarding, especially since it is an authentic, never-ending practice.<br />
Yates explains, “I was fortunate enough that they were supportive of<br />
the direction I chose, given the many directions I tackled.” He says there’s<br />
now ample space to pursue the music he’s always wanted to create, in a<br />
team environment that supports and eventually enhances individuality.<br />
“In most cases,” says Yates, “the label expects you to be ready<br />
with your sound once they sign you. [Atlantic] takes the time, and I<br />
appreciated that during development.”<br />
So it took a few years, but after some intense self-discovery and<br />
harmonic enlightenment, the young music-maker is finally prepared to<br />
release his debut album, which includes the soul-infused single, “Call.”<br />
Yates, who played guitar on Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Gust of Wind”<br />
featuring Daft Punk, quotes his musical mentor as saying, “‘The world<br />
wants to feel good again.’<br />
“And I want to help with that,” Yates enthuses. “There’s a movement<br />
going on, and I want to be a part of it.” – Danica Bellini<br />
October 2014<br />
musicconnection.com<br />
27
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