I just had dinner with a hot blonde 23-year-old and hot brunette 21-year-old. Okay, so it was technically a business dinner, but I was on my game tonight!
In my role as a radio program director, I’m fortunate enough to meet and hang out with big time rock stars. I’m also sometimes coerced to spend painfully long periods of time with unknown artists you may never hear about. Even though I just got home from 10 days of vacation and knew I would be tired catching up at work, I let my old friend Brian Rhodes talk me into having dinner with a new artist he is promoting called Karmina. Yeah, they were the hot chicks.
I said I let Brian “talk me into” dinner tonight because, three weeks ago, I knew I would not be in the mood for it tonight. These “promo tours” are never comfortable for the radio guy or the artist — you’ve never met, you may not know their music, you may have nothing to say to each other, and the music is sometimes just horrible. Yet, you’re forced to sit there and listen to them sing or listen to their CD … and then you have to say what you think about their music TO THEIR FACE. Why does anybody think it’s a good idea to do this dog and pony show?
However, if Kelly & Kamille happen to have read this far, let me say that I’m actually really glad that I trusted Brian to come out and meet these ladies. I think we had a great time over dinner at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. They’re a lot of fun and dinner was not a stale a business affair. We discussed their background, their new CD, their marketing plan, and the usual stuff. But, along the way, I think we both realized that we’d have more fun talking about sex. Don’t worry girls, I’m not going to embarrass you. I’ll just say I feel like I’ve known them for two years and not two hours. I probably know more than suits at CBS Records, or their mom, would like me to know! 
Trust me, this is a good thing for a new unknown artist. There are many more artists who should never be allowed to interact with the publc. They’re rude, arrogant, or just plain boring. But, there’s a special breed of artist who instinctively become their own best ambassador to win over radio people better than any record promotion guy — Edwin McCain, Blessid Union, Ingram Hill, Pat McGee, Sister Hazel, Josh Kelley, Marc Broussard, Low Millions, Matt Nathanson, Emerson Hart, Gavin DeGraw, Michael Tolcher, Daughtry, The Last Goodnight, … and, I could go on. But, I can now add Karmina to that list.
Honestly, I don’t know if they’ll ever have a “hit” record. Hell, I’m not sure I’ll ever play one of their songs on Z99.5 (sorry girls, I don’t know yet). Actually, I have not even listened to their CD and have only heard part of a few songs from their MySpace page. But, I do know this … I will actually listen to their entire CD, a consideration I simply don’t have time for everybody. However, because their personalities made dinner so fun, and because they seem to have a passion and purpose for their career, I respect them enough to make time for listening with an open mind.
And, you should listen too! Their first single will be “The Kiss,” which can be found on the Karmina MySpace page. Don’t be surprised when you hear their music on CSI, NCIS, or other Viacom television programs in coming weeks.
Karmina consists of two sisters from Hawaii who studied music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Thornton School of Music at USC, and taught music at Santa Monica College. Kamille is the hot brunette who turns 22 on Valentine’s Day and didn’t want to eat too much because she wants to look good in lingerie for her boyfriend. Kelly is the hot blonde who had more fun in college than her sister and her boyfriend is probably a very lucky guy too. They both like dating older guys; but, have boyfriends and “older guys” did not mean short chubby Italian radio programmers — despite my best efforts to convince them otherwise. Whoops, I guess I just said more than any publicist would like me to reveal.
Good luck, Kelly & Kamille. I wish the best for you both as Karmina.
Filed under: Music | Tagged: CBS Records, CSI, Karmina, Music, NCIS, Radio, record promotion
