THE MELTING POT NYC

This September 19, 2004 The Melting Pot and King Street Sounds present "HOUSE THEVOTE: Keep Hope Alive", in association with LIFEbeat (The Music industry Fights AIDS) and Music for America (Music and Other Social Causes). The Melting Pot NYC presents a voter registration drive and outdoor benefit concert at the Battery Park big lawn. Hosted by Caridad de La Luz aka La Bruja (HBO Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam artist/actress from the Sundance Award-winning independent feature Down to the Bone). Also, mark this down as the unofficial official kick-off to the Billboard Dance Music Summit (beginning 9/20) and pre-release party for the upcoming King Street full-length LIFEbeat benefit album Blaze presents Underground Dance Artists United for Life: "Keep Hope Alive". There will be live performances by several featured artists album such as Kenny Bobien and Joi Cardwell. Also there will be a special performance by Vega Records recording artist Anane' singing her hits "Nos Vida" and "Ma Mi Mama". Special guest Louie Vega (MAW & Vega Records), Kevin Hedge (Blaze/West End Records), Aaron Ross (BBC 1Xtra, UK), and Melting Pot resident Kervyn Mark finally round out this momentous event with definitive live DJ sets.

WHO IS MUSIC FOR AMERICA?

Music for America is a peer-to-peer, decentralized, youth mobilization effort that is working through the music community and online communities to get young people engaged in the political process.

Music for America was started by a group of young, disenfranchised voters who became active in politics through the Dean Meetup phenomenon. After the 2000 election and the Bush Administration's marginalization of the millions who protested the Iraq war, this group of twenty-something’s collectively decided that more than protest must take place to effect change; youth needs a true voice in the political process.

MfA organizes primarily through music and web communities. Since October 2003, the Music for America website has had 5 million hits. Additionally, MfA has put on and participated in over 250 shows and events nationwide in the past 3 months, including the group’s nationwide “Party and Politics: Not Your Average Party Politics” concert series, which included 65 shows in the week leading up to Super Tuesday. Over 21,000 people attending the “Party and Politics” concert series, where MfA signed up more than 2,900 individuals for their email and information list. Voter multiplication kits (kits containing 10 voter registration forms, which allows one voter to multiply their vote 10-fold) were given to 3,915 people.

More information on Music for America can be found at www.musicforamerica.org.

Who is KING STREET SOUNDS?

It all started with the famous Paradise Garage nightclub, home of the late great legend Larry Levan. Dance music luminaries such as Francois Kevorkian and Junior Vasquez credit the Paradise Garage as a major influence in their styles and even in their decisions to become DJs. Born of this musical phenomenon in 1993, was BPM King Street Sounds. Hisa Ishioka founded the label to continue the eleven-year tradition of creating soulful-spiritual house music that the club helped to push and lend an ear to in the '80's. A musical harvest that has yielded some of the sweetest dance records ever, King Street has established itself as one of the finest and most respected labels releasing dance music today. The catalogue of releases reads like a "who's who" in contemporary dance music: Masters At Work, Roger S., David Morales, Tony Humphries, DJ Pierre, Kerri Chandler, 95 North, Mood II Swing, Satoshi Tomiie, Lil' Louis, Urban Soul, Phillip Damien aka Michael Moog, Danny Tenaglia, Peter Rauhoffer aka Club 69, Frankie Feliciano, Cevin Fisher, Ralphie Rosario, Joe Claussell, Mateo & Matos, Ron Trent, Harry "Choo - Choo" Romero, Johnny Dangerous, Maurice Joshua, Mike Dunn, Christian Scott and Jask, Junior Vasquez, Lenny Fontana, Matthias Heilbronn, and Jesse Saunders adding their names to the roster. As the UK magazine The Face put it: "Its repertoire of house producers says it all: the King Street label is the darling of the nu-soul set and proof that the US still does it best."

For more info on King Street Sounds go to: www.kingstreetsounds.com

Who is LIFEbeat?

LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reaching America's youth with the message of HIV/AIDS prevention. LIFEbeat mobilizes the talents and resources of the music industry to raise awareness and to provide support to the AIDS community. In 1992, the music industry had not yet addressed the AIDS crisis with a unified voice, although many of its members had succumbed to the disease. Bob Caviano, a respected music manager, wrote an editorial in Billboard disclosing his illness and challenged the industry to take action. A number of high-level executives heeded his call and formed LIFEbeat. Over the years, LIFEbeat has emerged as a leading advocate for prevention efforts directed at youth. Recognizing that music has always played a significant role in the lives of young people, LIFEbeat has carved out a unique niche by effectively using the power of music to reach this population. LIFEbeat strives to cultivate a strong sense of self-worth and self- respect in youth to help them resist negative influences that may lead to engagement in risky behaviors.