Brazilian Paulo Lara Wins Earth Day Network Music Contest
WASHINGTON, DC, June 20, 2011 (ENS) – Brazilian singer-songwriter Paulo Lara has been awarded first place in the 2011 Music for the Earth talent competition held by Earth Day Network and Sonicbids. Lara won for his song “Better World.”
His prize is a Gibson Jackson Browne Model 1 acoustic guitar crafted from renewable English walnut and red spruce woods. Valued at nearly six thousand dollars, the guitar was donated by Gibson Guitars and Musician’s Friend.
Hundreds of artists entered for a chance to inspire millions of listeners worldwide.
Second place went to Connecticut-based Steve Elci and Friends for their song “Earth Day.” Catchy hooks and soaring vocals mark Elci’s music played with an audience of children in mind in a style he calls “edutainment” or “learning through music.”
Third place was awarded to the Houston, Texas band The Wheel Workers for their song, “Chemicals.” Fronted by Steven Higginbotham, violins, keyboards, trumpets, clarinet, theremin and banjo expand their guitar-based indie-folk sound.
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Paulo Lara (Photo courtesy Reverbnation) |
“Music has the power to educate and change society for the better,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network. “‘We’re delighted so many talented songwriters are inspired by Earth Day and we hope their music will help us address the urgent environmental challenges our planet faces today.”
Earth Day Network partnered with Sonicbids, the matchmaking site for emerging bands and music promoters, to produce the Music for the Earth contest.
Bands submitted their songs using the Sonicbids platform and were included in the “Earth Day: Music for the Earth” microsite, which featured downloads from the artists who participated.
Artists were judged by the number of fan downloads and the top 20 most downloaded artists were then reviewed by a panel of judges to determine the winner.
Links to all three winning songs can be found at: http://www.earthday.org/blog/billion-acts-green/2011/03/23/music-earth or http://earthday.sonicbids.com.
Lara started by playing in rock bands in 1992 and developed as an interpreter and solo singer. He went to college at the Universidade Livre de Musica – Centro Tom Jobim to study vocal theory and singing.
In 2002 he took part of the Brazilian TV music show FAMA, on Globo TV channel – a show similar in format to American Idol. For Christmas that year, he recorded a Christmas Concert for Rede Vida TV Channel that was shown across South America.
In 2005 he was nominated for the 8th Brazilian Music Visa Awards, singing edition, considered to be one of the most important music prizes in Brazil. His work began receiving media attention in newspapers and on radio stations.
In 2007, Lara recorded lead and backing vocals for the Brazilian version of the animated Disney film “Meet the Robinsons.” In the following year he recorded a song for an episode of the cartoon Phineas & Ferb for the Disney Channel in Brazil.
From August 2009 to August 2010 the singer produced and recorded his first solo album called “Estrela de Mil Pontas” or “Star of a Thousand Points,” on the themes of spirituality and life, blending influences from pop music to progressive rock and world music.
Earth Day Network‘s mission is to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement, driving action year-round through advocacy, education, public policy, and consumer campaigns.
Music for the Earth is part of Earth Day Network’s Arts for the Earth program, an education program to teach sustainability and environmental education through museum and arts community networks and to feature artists who have incorporated environmental themes into their works.
Sonicbids matches emerging bands and music promoters online. Since its launch in 2001, Sonicbids has become the standard for submitting music to events and opportunities around the globe, counting as partners thousands of events and festivals in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Today, the company has a registered membership base of 300,000 bands from over 100 countries, who use the site daily to connect with 25,000 music promoters – ranging from some of the world’s largest music festivals and music conferences, to clubs, coffee houses, cruise ships, colleges, advertising agencies, brand managers, podcasters, music supervisors and other people looking to book, license or broadcast music.
Copyright Environment News Service,ENS, 2011. All rights reserved.