We are proud to welcome the newest member of the NOVA-K team, Dale Echnoz. Dale studied music composition at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and CU Boulder. He eventually made his way to Los Angeles and worked at several major studios including The Record Plant and Motown Records’ HitsvilleStudios. After a hiatus from music, Dale returned to Colorado and the music spark was reignited. His contributions to this project have also inspired the rest of us to reach higher.

Chuck Webster has been a lyrical partner for a number of years. His deep seated interest in the human condition as well as being a member of Mensa International, brings an in-depth view of the world. From man’s ancient beginning to the future possibilities of mankind, Chuck helps NOVA-K to explore these many facets of being human.

Mike Sass is another lyrical partner that has contributed to NOVA-K over the years. Mike brings the knowledge and passion of someone who has experienced the ups and downs of life. His CU education and unique perspective brings real life exploration of the art of songwriting.

 

Our new album has just been released to the online stores. It is entitled “gods of dreams”. Dreams are a great topic, there are no boundaries. I want to thank the great folks that have contributed to this effort. Kevin Johnson’s multi instrumental skills are at the heart of this endeavor. I am always amazed at his talent. Joe Bear did great guitar work, as usual, on “Whose Voice Do You Follow”. A special thanks to my lyric writing partners Mike Sass and Chuck Webster whose input and perspective improved these songs immensely.

It has been a long time coming but NOVA-K is releasing a new album called: “Take a Step Back”. We are pleased to announce a new member of our collaborative team – Mr. Kevin Johnson.

Kevin plays many instruments and has also contributed music to this latest effort. You can hear him on guitar, bass, keyboards, saxophone and yes, even accordion. He studied music and production in college and it shows.

The studio has gotten some major upgrades as well. New mixing board, new compressor, new computer, new microphone and preamp as well as a new library of sounds which has added a more robust sound to this latest album.

Joe and Mark are still adding their unique style and sound to NOVA-K. The overall feel to the album is a bit different than the previous endeavors, but  we hope you enjoy this one as well.

So Take a Step Back and Take a Listen.

Well, 2012 draws to a close. We made it through the Mayan calendar apocalypse.

In this end of year retrospective, perhaps we should all dig a little deeper, and try to find some little way we can contribute to a better shared existence.

In this spirit of hope, we give you a new video for our new song: How Would You Change The World.

Howdy, Music-Lovin’ Neighbor –

Well, 2011 was quite the ride. I want to wish you the warmest of wishes this holiday season. I hope the end of the year finds you and your’n well, warm, hale and hearty.

So let’s see… a lot of obligations impinged on music-making this year, but there were still a number of stellar milestones hit. Let’s see if we can recap the year. I’ll attempt to do it chronologically.

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Nova-K

original rock with a social conscience

Lot of stuff on the Nova-K front. Did you know we have multiple albums available on iTunes, Amazon, and the like? Looking back from the end of the year, it’s surprising we could have accomplished as much as we did. But things are flowin’.

As 2010 drew to a close, Nova-K was preparing for the Midem conference in France. We were represented there by Jan Cooper of Pump Records. Jan had found us through the magic of the internet, seemingly sent as an angel from on high. Midem may very well be the largest annual conference on the planet for connecting music makers with music distributors with music publishers with music licensors with…

At any rate, Jan traveled to Midem, with test-pressing copies of Nova-K’s first CD ‘Take the Risk’ under his arm, representing us and a couple other acts. Jan presented us to a number of movers and shakers within the international music industry. For several weeks, we followed up on the introductions Jan secured for Nova-K.

Coincident with the Midem conference, or perhaps prompted by it, Nova-K entered into a publishing agreement with Nome Zone records. This brought representation with the performance rights organization BMI. BMI (along with similar PROs such as ASCAP and SESAC) are responsible for collecting funds for public performance of songs (on radio, in clubs, shopping malls, etc), and distributing them to the artists in proportion to number of public performances.

February had us busy with several projects – another redesign of the website ( http://nova-k.net ), writing and recording for the followup CD, and following up with contacts from the Midem effort. On this latter point, we were happy to be talking with companies with significant international reach — such as Bellaphon, Strengholt, and All Around Music.

In March, we released the 2nd album ‘Shout’. Again, available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and all the other usual digital distributors. Amazon has actual CDs. Coincident with this was the release of our first video — Coma Vision. It’s up on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hnH8dc09Tc .

In April, our work through Midem really began to pay off, as we started negotiating with Mark S Berry of Attack Media Group and Deevel about representing our material for licensing in the TV and movie sync, and videogame markets. Mark has some 36 gold records, and has worked with acts such as Yes, David Bowie, Joan Jett, and Paul McCartney.

In June we finally finished our negotiations, and signed a promotion and marketing deal with Deevel. Woohoo! Deevel announced our new relationship thusly: bit.ly/qiCGAF .

In July, Deevel secured us a sync licensing deal with MTV networks. On another front, we placed our music with MusicDealers, which is another sync licensing house.

Also in July, we got picked up in the Spotify catalog. Interestingly, the regular performance rights, as administered by BMI, are inapplicable to internet streaming. Congress has seen fit to create an entirely separate infrastructure for artists getting paid for this new media. Accordingly, we signed with SoundExchange, which performs a function similar to BMI and the other PROs for streaming plays.

August found us condensing our catalog into a ‘best of’ CD, in preparation for Mark Berry of Deevel traveling to Berlin to represent us at PopKomm. PopKomm is another large international music marketing conference. Deevel also secured us a licensing deal with Wind Mobile for use in their wireless networks. We expanded our MTV deal to the rest of the Viacom family.

September was the actual PopKomm conference. Upon return, Deevel informed us that they had secured us a digital distribution deal with Interscope Records. Needless to say, we were quite pleased to be on the Interscope/Universal label. They are now distributing our ‘best of’ CD, as alluded to above, entitled simply ‘Nova-K’ — available on iTunes, eMusic, Napster, and all the other usual outlets.

October found us turning our attention to new material. Writing and recording…. We also released a video for ‘I’m an American’ – which seemed to resonate with people interested in the ‘Occupy *’ movement. It is sort of a character sketch of the worst of ‘the 1%’. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ8-qSx4bgU .

In December, we were featured on United We Stand radio — an internationally-networked radio show focused upon activist musicians. Also, Deevel brought us a deal with Eos music, to provide music for use by businesses, who rely on such to provide a suitable atmosphere for their clientele.

Our continued success is predicated on what you think of our efforts. Please feel free to stream us, download us, friend us, fan us, watch us, or what have you. The more activity we get, the more enthused we become to write and record new material.

site:
http://nova-k.net

socmed:
http://www.reverbnation.com/mnovak
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nova-K/177639165619273
http://www.myspace.com/novadashk

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ8-qSx4bgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hnH8dc09Tc

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nova-k/id466459946
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/shout/id423577857
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/take-the-risk/id371236753

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Whew! Looking back on the year from this vantage point, it appears pretty daunting. But it was a good ride the entire way through. I hope to push even harder on things this coming year. And I hope to bring you along for the ride as well! Whether you are familiar with one or more of my projects, I hope you’ll look into one or two more. Those that are onboard for all, I especially want to thank. You all are the reason I do what I do. Have a happy and prosperous 2012!

One last thought with which to leave you: Jingle Bombs by Achmed the Dead Terrorist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 19, 2011 —
Attack Media Group is pleased to announce their involvement with Colorado rock duo NOVA-K. With a licensing deal with MTV in the works, and a new album being re-vamped and re-mixed, NOVA-K has shown that they’re a force to be reckoned with. 
“It’s been fantastic working with NOVA-K so far,” says Mark Berry, CEO of Attack Media Group, “I’m looking forward to seeing them get the recognition they deserve.”

NOVA-K members Mark Novak and Joe Bear have been collaborating for years now on original music. And now, thanks to the internet, as well as other technological advances, they felt that now was the right time for them to get their music heard.
As taken from their official website, http://nova-k.net/blog/, NOVA-K covers a lot of territory regarding the human condition. It is not just simple musings of love having gone good or bad, their music also explores other traits such as politics, addiction, loss of family and self.

It has been said that NOVA-K is a mixture of David Bowie, The Cars, Vertical Horizon with a bit of Rob Thomas thrown in. Bottom line is that NOVA-K is just good rock and roll with engaging lyrics and music that will have your foot tapping and your mind traveling.

“This is only the beginning,” says Mark. “I’m confident people will be hearing more of Nova-K very soon.”

Attack Media Group.
Mark Berry
416.340.9111 ext. 221
mark@attackmediagroup.com
www.markberry.com

To all earth inhabitants who have landed on this blog – WELCOME TO NOVA-K.

Mark Novak and Joe Bear – pseudonyms because their NOVA-K names are not pronounceable –  invite you to look around and highly encourage you to purchase their album “Take the Risk” and a stylish T-shirt or hat from the store.

The goal is to have all earthlings enchanted by the sounds from NOVA-K resulting in a better planet for all inhabitants. So browse the various pages and join the NOVA-K Revolution!