EAT'M showcases new talent

     By Kirk Kern
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      The success of last year's Emerging Artists & Talent in Music conference couldn't be measured in the number of people who bought tickets to see the 173 bands performing at various local venues.
      For Lisa Tenner, founder and executive director of EAT'M, the conference's shining moment came during one of the general sessions during a lecture from Gary Kurfirst, president of Warner Bros., RadioActive Records.
      "One of the people in attendance asked Gary, `I send stuff to (record) labels all the time and never get a response. Do they even look at them,' " Tenner said. "His reply was, `Before this conference, material sent from Las Vegas was never considered seriously. But because of this conference, it'll now be the first thing we listen to."
      Tenner and Sue Shifrin Cassidy, wife of singer David Cassidy, organized last year's conference with plans to make it an annual gathering for the music industry and an opportunity for new and upcoming bands or songwriters to get noticed and sign record deals. Last year, the local band Copperpot got a production deal from the conference. Another band, Mama Zeus, wasn't selected to perform at EAT'M, but did attend the conferences and made enough contacts to get noticed as well.
      "Last year was successful in the fact that a lot of local and national artists found accessibility to representatives," Tenner said. "Nine artists were signed to recording, publishing, production and management contracts."
      This year's conference will lead off with a performance by actor Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar, Tuesday night at Boulder Station. Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, will make a rare appearance as the keynote speaker at the luncheon on May 20. Smokey Robinson has been selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented May 20 at The Mirage.
      The conference runs through May 20, with performances nightly at various locations, including The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Hard Rock Cafe, Desert Inn, The Joint, GameWorks and Tommy Rockers. About 200 bands are scheduled to perform throughout the conference.
      Moderators and panelists will include songwriters Terry Britten ("What's Love Got To Do With It") and Mike Stoller ("Stand By Me"); Pink Floyd's producer Bob Ezrin; Don Biederman of Warner-Chappell; Barbara Cane of BMI; Ron Sobel of ASCAP; prominent entertainment attorneys, including Jay Cooper and John Frankenheimer; CAA's Rob Light and Rod Essig; Immortal Records president Happy Walters; GoodNoise CEO Gene Hoffman; John Meglan of Concerts West; I Am Records president Ross Robinson; and promoter Bill Silva.
      A new aspect of EAT'M is a visit from the John Lennon Songwriting bus. The bus travels around the country and accepts song submissions for its contest with more than $200,000 in prizes. It also has a mobile recording studio for artists to record demo tapes.
      "They found us through word of mouth," Cassidy said. "They called and asked if they could be part of EAT'M and we said `Absolutely. This is wonderful.' "
      Another aspect of the conference is the David Cassidy Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit Special Olympics at the Desert Inn Country Club on May 21. The Cassidys have also written a song entitled "Message to the World," that they have donated to War Child, a philanthropic foundation founded by David Bowie and Brian Eno.
      Cassidy said the John Lennon Songwriting Bus will have people sing verses from the song on its journey from New York City to Las Vegas and once the bus is here, various other artists will contribute as well.
      The song will be made available on the Internet for people to raise money, which will be used to help those under attack in Kosovo.
      "All those people are homeless now, it's horrendous," said Cassidy, who helped raise $2 million in a similar fashion following the Los Angeles riots. "We've got to do something about it. We're calling the fund-raiser EAT'M for EAT'M, the Ethnic Albanian Transitional Movement."
      Last year's event was so well received that EAT'M was honored with the 1998 Tourism Development Award. The award was accepted at the Nevada Governor's Conference by Tenner and Cassidy.
      Advanced registration for the conference is being accepted at a cost of $175 to $285. Wrist bands for entry to all the showcases are on sale to the public for $20. Those interested can call 837-3636 or visit its Web site at www.eat-m.com.