LYRA MAG.

Bali-is a magical island -inspiring tourists for fly and flop beaches, Aussie partyers,  peace seeking yoga devotees, and spa haven mavens..to name just a few... who can travel many hours to get to this tropical paradise. A half a planet away... ( sigh, yes )-but Bali can still be experienced aural-visual wise- anywhere-via its music gamelan,,,and a cool film doc (Bali Beats of Paradise)- by native  Livi Zheng on the island's music+dance -recounting the winning funk mash-up with singer-songerwriter-producer-musician-Grammy Award winner -Judith Glory Hill. These ladies gave a live demo of Bali's traditional dance moves At AMC 25 theaters/Times Sq-an appreciative crowd gets in the selfies with Judith Hill Bali Beats of Paradise spotlights Bali-Indonesian gamelan composer Nyoman Wenten and Grammy Award winner-Judith Hill-creative collar-and quest for one million hits... Bali beauty- experience a bit of it-via aromatic  JUARA skincare 's collection of ...

Beats By Dr. Dre World Cup song gets the "Jay-Z Special Treatment" After Dr. Dre's cryptic Tweet  Jay-Z at the weekend, was wild speculation of what this might mean well. Then Roc Nation actually confirmed that the two probably biggest rap stars are planning anything. Yesterday, Jay-Z released his remix of Beats by Dr. Dre  World Cup spot  . theme song "Jungle"  Jay Z's label posted  : IM JUST WARMING UP # IamGodzillaofthesefavelas @ drdre The remix of "Jungle" by The X Ambassadors and Jamie N Commons celebrated its premiere during the NBA Finals. In our inbox … OLÉ, OLÉ, OLÉ, OLÉ…OLÉ…OLÉ

In Our Inbox....  We Are Family Foundation ® honors Sting & Trudie Styler with humanitarian award Concert Featuring Sting, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Sam Moore and Russell Peters The  We Are Family Foundation ®  (WAFF) , a not-for-profit organization founded by legendary songwriter and producer,  Nile Rodgers , honored  Sting  and  Trudie Styler   with the Humanitarian Award at its inaugural  We Are Family HONORS  event on  Thursday, April 11, 2013 , at Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom in New York City. The evening included a concert featuring performances by  Sting ,  Nile Rodgers & CHIC ,  Sam Moore  and  Russell Peters , as well as remarks by We Are Family Foundation Founder & Chairman  Nile Rodgers , We Are Family Foundation President  Nancy Hunt , Africa Rising Foundation Co-Founder & Co-Chairman  Ndaba Mandela , filmmaker Slater Jewell-Kemke...

In Our Inbox... When one of our  relatives-celebrated his 31st B-day wearing out his brand new, box set of Beatles tunes-in all its vinyl record glory---on his new/old recharged stereo turntable/speakers/receiver- that probably belonged to someone's grandfather at one point...  ----it didn't surprise us when we got the 411 on an (a)- actually  Record Store Day that "...celebrates the culture of the independent record stores..." and (b)- that the desire for authentic-ism ---by consuming consumers-has led to the sale of 1.7 million pairs of Clarks Originals Desert Boot-in the past five years alone . And why not? A bunch of limited edition kicks (in fun shiny hot pink, electric blue and black, matte black and an all-over record pattern),  and a sponsored live stream concert by Best Coast---to celebrate the vinyl record of this surf-rock California duo...gets going on THE DAY- April 20th.  DESERT BOOT ...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly All images, Vivian G. Kelly with the exception of Image of Sting, from www.manhattan.smugmug.com, image of Sting & the Police from www.thedailymail.co.uk Time/Place: in line and inside the Bruno Jamais Supper Club, East 81st Street, Manhattan 6:30 – 8:15pm WHAT: The launch party for IVY CEILING, an album released by LOKAH. Lokah is the collective creation of two artists-- Sri Michael and Uma Nanda Saraswati. This debut release merges the ancient Indian art of Kirtan with modern musical styles of the 21st century.. The album fuses traditional Indian kirtan with modern pop music. Sacred Sanskrit mantras are combined with electronic and acoustic instrumentation. Rap mogel, RUSSELL SIMMONS, does the spoken word introduction, on the first track. STING does the vocals for MA DURGA, the 3rd track. THE EVENT We went, primarily, because we’ve been huge STING fans since 1983, when Sting played Cameron Stadium at Duke University and we heard the whole concert from our s...

WORDS- J.ECOCHARD IMAGES FROM JESSIE BAYLIN'S WEBSITE New Jersey born, LA livin' and now Nashville based-singer/songwriter Jesse Baylin belts out tunes with a big heart and a raw feel that sounds as if she's spent loads of time in a bar...somewhat like pop-rock star Sheryl Crow. Baylin's voice is more refined than Crow's IMHO. With a bit of western swing, quick sips of sensuously jazzy swagger- and a hefty dose of the bluesy rocker edge...this gal's voice and vocal range could probably have her belting out some standards as easy as any rock and roll staples. We first caught Jessie Baylin and her kicker band at the industry heavy Tribeca Fim Festival’s/ASCAP Lounge (April 2008) –packing them in at the hip Cutting Room on West Broadway. Since she flew in and out for the 30 minute gig, Baylin’s been putting the final polishing touches on a new cd (her second)- Firesight -now available for purchase courtesy of record label Verve Forecast . We love it. We cli...

ECOLOGY FRIENDLY - AND OUT OF THE WOODS! Text, Runway Images by J. Ecochard Fall/Winter 2008 Collections Park Avenue, New York February 7th, 2008 Our brows arch into a pointed John Belushi “ Animal House ” pose when we read published chronicles about celebulites-and their “eco” lifestyle-with images featuring them outfitted in clothes requiring toxic chemicals and pesticides to manufacture . The tedious crunchy claim of boring “eco” fashion hasn’t been relevant for years-check out the fierce Linda Loudermilk's or vegan Stella McCartney collections for proof. From the soup (basic materials) to the nuts (runways shows in ecologically designed event spaces made from “clean” recycled materials) - the fashion industry is making inroads… So we were surprised by the small initial press turn out at the LEEDS certified Haworth space for the House of Organic ’s first three runways shows. The editors missed out on some of the more graceful collections presented all week. TEXTILES & F...