Magic Johnson's Instrument of Choice? Bass.

When you hear the name Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr., the first thing that comes to mind is basketball. Yes Johnson is a former point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers with five NBA championships, three MVP awards, and an Olympic gold medal. But the basketball hall of famer is also a philanthropist and savvy businessman.

Thanks to Inc. Magazine and the amazing power of Twitter, we were able to ask Magic a question. We found out that he is passionate about 'good music' and if he could, bass would be his instrument of choice.  Here is our part of the interview:

@MusickEd asked from Twitter if you ever played an instrument or if you could play an instrument what would it be?

No, I haven't played an instrument. And I think it would be the bass because that's how you dance, to the bass. I'm the biggest music lover in the world. I mean I have seen everybody. I went on tour with Michael Jackson and the Jacksons four or five times. You name them, I've seen them and probably a hundred times too. So when you think about Magic Johnson and the thing that relaxes me or gets me going or gets me on that dance floor, it is just some good music. I still love to dance even though I can't do it as long as I used too. But that's one thing I'm really passionate about, good music.

Well Magic, today is your lucky day! Visit Discover, Learn, and Play and start learning - it's never too late! PS - We think you're OK even though we grew up as Celtic fans. All the best - MusickEd

Read the entire Inc. Magazine interview here.

A Few Words with Becca Roberts Finley

Becca Roberts Finley is a past resident of Dallas and an old friend of DSM. She currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina where he is a production coordinator at Go To Team. But it's her passion for music (especially new music) that has her heading up a new e-zine called Music Initiative. We caught up with her by phone last week and got the chance to ask her a few questions:


Congratulations on the first issue. Is there a mission statement for Music Initiative? 

We have one somewhere... but I'm not sure it's just right yet!  So let's just say we want MI to be  a cottage industry magazine.  I want it to feel like your best friend, the one you trust the most, who loves music and tells you who it is to listen to. There is so much great music being created and I think we need a place to learn about it without visiting a ton of different websites or thumbing through a bunch of ads. Simply, 'here are all the things you might want to know about musicians and festivals and the music we discover and love...all in one place.' 

The first issue is packed with info, what can we expect in future issues? 

We called the first issue our 'green issue' but that has two meanings.  First of course, it's published online so there is no printing or printing and we love the conservation angle. But it's also green because we featured John Gray who's from Jacksonville, Florida and his genre is sometimes called 'swamp' music. 

In the next issue we visit 'mountain' regions of the country and feature bands that are actually drawing inspiration from the music of folks like the Carter family. There is a real revival going on in that genre - like Mumford and Sons for example. 

For future issues we've targeted 16 markets that have great but little known bands that we'd like to share with the world. Our goal is to add depth and a new level of understanding of their music.

How did you assemble your team of contributors? 

Most of the columnists in our first issue were folks we knew and their content is all original, written just for us. Some writers will remain the same from issue to issue but other people can contribute columns as well.  We're always open to new material if it fits with the sections that we currently have. Our current sections will remain the same though featured cities and regions will change each month.

What are the goals for MI this year, in the future? 

We'd like to keep the e-zine at the same content level for the next 12 months and really home in on our target cities. I am also coordinating a 'bonfire' series of concerts with people passing through our area. We will have them video taped and up on our companion youtube channel. I have no life right now  - but I love what I do and I get to hear great new music all the time!

If you're a fan of cool new music then we highly recommend you check out the Music Initiative e-zone and be sure to like them on FB!