Salvador Santana will release his new album, Keyboard City in early 2010. In an effort to prep the release of the album, we gave his website a bit of a face lift. The Syndicate’s online creative team built the site, helping put together a site that fell in line with Sal’s vision for Keyboard City.

Check out www.salvadorsantana.com and navigate yourself around the site which was just launched this week.

With Halloween just around the corner and Saw VI out in theaters that day, what better time to throw a metal party? That was the thinking behind the first annual Metal Insider CMJ Listening Party, which took place on Friday, October 23rd at New York’s The Studio at Webster Hall.

With dozens of metal radio DJs and music directors in town for the annual CMJ Music Marathon, the listening party served as an exclusive taste of World Painted Blood, the long-awaited new album from Slayer. In addition, the attendees also got a chance to look at “Playing With Dolls,” a disturbing series of vignettes featuring the music of World Painted Blood that will be featured on the deluxe edition of the album, which will be out on November 3rd. The party also featured a screening of Gallows short film, Grey Britain.

It wasn’t just radio that made it to the party. A number of labels, managers and booking agents made it out, along with bands like Acrassicauda, Anaka, and VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show co-host Don Jamieson. They were able to feast on alcohol courtesy of sponsors Hornitos Tequila and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Each guest was also welcome to have a one-of-a-kind MusicSkins Metal Insider skin for their Blackberry, iPhone or iPod (stay tuned for a chance to win one of your own!).

Some attendees were lucky enough to get a Saw VI shirt courtesy of Lions Gate Films, or books about Anvil and Robert “Freddy Kreuger” Englund courtesy of Simon & Schuster. An even more select group got to win a copy of the first 5 Saw movies. And what better way to celebrate listening to World Painted Blood than with your own tube of Slayer blood. Who’s in for next year?!

PHOTOS: Metal Insider Listening Party

On Thursday, October 22, The Syndicate threw a Comedy Central Records Secret Show at Comix NY along with co-presenters The Laugh Button.com. The hot ticket event packed in over 275 CMJ goers and comedy trendsetters for a ton of super late night laughs from up-and-coming Comedy Central Records comedians.

The line up was as follows:
Host: Shane Mauss
Big Jay Oakerson
MC Mr.Napkins
John Mulaney
Anthony Jeselnik
Joe DeRosa

Fellow comedians Eugene Mirman, Judah Friedlander and Jeffrey Ross were also in house to support this collection of new Comedy Central talent.

Complimentary beverages were sipped care of Hornitos Tequila, Brooklyn Brewery and Sonu Water were served through the night. Everyone in attendance was given a special gift bag filled with Comedy Central goodies and other fine treats. Big thanks to Comedy Central CDs and DVDs, Simon & Schuster, Raw Revolution, Screenlife Games and Layrite Pomade.

PHOTOS: Comedy Central Records Secret Show

Co-presenters, The Laugh Button also have a great write-up of the night along with other photos. Check it out here.

Keeping Metal Radio Relevant In The Digital Age
Venue: NYU, Kimmel Center, 9th Floor, Room 905-907
Address: 60 Washington Square South, New…
Time: 2:00PM to 3:15PM
About: As the digital age leads the forefront for all facets of media, radio is slowly beginning to adapt to its new surroundings and receiving mixed reactions from those who service music to those bringing it to the airwaves. Here we shed light on issues impacting metal radio and what the industry is doing to better serve the needs of both artists and the disc jockey.

Speaker/Artist(s): Moderator: Alisha Turell, Radio Promotions, Director, Online Media, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Jen Graham, Radio/Video Promotions, Metal Blade Records
Jose Mangin, On Air Format Manager, Sirius XM – Liquid Metal
Dan Rodriguez, Hard Rock Radio Manager, The Syndicate
Ken Susi, Guitarist, Unearth; Owner, System Recordings.

The Evolution of Metal
Venue: NYU, Kimmel Center, 9th Floor, Room 905-907
Address: 60 Washington Square South, New…
Time: 3:30PM to 4:45PM
About: A philosophical discussion on the genre. Where it came from, where it’s going, and how it affects business. Diverse label rosters and wide-casting tours now define the genre, so what constitutes metal today?

Speaker/Artist(s): Moderator: Kory Grow, Senior Editor, Revolver Magazine
Natalie Camillo, Senior Publicist, Adrenaline PR
Jackson Hart, Metal Director, KUMD
Anthony Russoniello, Marketing & Promotion, Trustkill Records
Amy Sciarretto, Director of Publicity, Roadrunner Records
Dave Vagasky, Radio & Video Promotions/Artist Management, Heavy Hitter Inc.

Wednesday night Metal Insider presented a listening party for Dethklok’s new album, Dethalbum II, coming out on Williams St.

About 200 fans showed up at Fontana’s Bar to preview the new album from the Metalocalypse band before it goes on sale next week. Fans also soaked in $1 lagers from Brooklyn Brewery while watching episodes of the Metalocalypse series on the large screens in the bar.

You can get the full rundown on the event over at MetalInsider.net.

Site takeovers on Metal Insider are currently available and affordable. Contact sales [at] metalinsider [dot] net for more information on opportunities like this as well as advertising on the Blast Beat Network.

The Syndicate is proud to announce the launch of its newsest website, www.MetalInsider.net. Metal Insider is where you will get all the news fit to print about the hard rock community. But it’s not just news and press releases.

Metal Insider goes beyond to give you an inside look into the business of metal, interviewing the movers, shakers, musicians, and flag wavers for the genre. The site also offers an informative (sometimes critical) behind-the-scenes look at the community.

Tell your friends about the site and visit it often. www.metalinsider.net

Oh and if you need any more DCFC updates, you can check out the band’s performance of the song “No Sunlight” on the Black Cab Sessions.

Go get Adobe Flash Player!
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie :: “I Wanna Be Adored” live at Coachella via Speed Of Dark

Daytrotter has worked itself into being a required stop for bands to get into their studios and record live music sessions. Artists ranging from Death Cab For Cutie to Vampire Weekend have all stopped by the site’s studios and recorded tracks for the site to give out to its wide audience.

Like Daytrotter, XPN has built up a solid reputation as one of the best AAA-formated radio stations in the country. The Philly-based station is known for taking risks (see their merger with y-rock a few years back) and “Daytrotter Radio” will probably be no different.

“Daytrotter Radio” will debut on Wednesday, May 7th at 10:30pm on WXPN. The half-hour show will be hosted by the ‘Trotter’s founder Sean Moeller. The show will feature music from the website’s vast recording sessions and be transmitted on XPN’s terrestrial airwaves as well as their three websites – www.xpn.org, www.yrockonxpn.org, and www.xponentialmusic.org. The show will also be available for download at www.daytrotter.com.

You can read the official press release after the jump.

PHILADELPHIA Pa., May 6, 2008- WXPN (http://www.xpn.org), the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A (Album Adult Alternative) music and a noncommercial radio service of the University of Pennsylvania today announced a partnership to create a weekly radio show with Daytrotter, a critically acclaimed art and music website based in Rock Island, Illinois. The new show, “Daytrotter Radio,” will premier May 7th at 10:30pm on WXPN and will be hosted by Daytrotter founder Sean Moeller.

“Daytrotter Radio” is a weekly 30 minute program featuring the unique recording sessions that have made Daytrotter.com one of the most popular online music destinations. In addition to broadcasting on WXPN throughout the Delaware Valley and Central PA, the radio show will be available via online streaming at the station’s three websites (XPN.org, YRockOnXPN.org, and XPoNentialMusic.org) and will also be available for download at Daytrotter.com.

“Daytrotter has an excellent reputation for providing music fans with these very cool and unique performances by some of the best well-known and up and coming indie bands,” stated Bruce Warren, WXPN Assistant GM for Programming. “We’re excited to be able to make these Daytrotter sessions easily accessible to the XPN and Y-Rock On XPN listeners on some new media platforms.”

“All of us — that’s read as all four of us — here at Daytrotter headquarters spend considerable time listening to David Dye’s World Cafe program, remarking on how our adopted friends in White Rabbits or Langhorne Slim sound as they’re getting interviewed by the man,” said Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter. “We’ve got tremendous respect for what WXPN does for musicians and we’re thrilled to be able to share some of their air, bringing our unique analog recordings to a bigger audience.”

ABOUT Daytrotter
Daytrotter was launched in 2006 by music critic Sean Moeller as a music website based in Rock Island, Illinois. Moeller’s idea was simple and unique in that he planned to post “Daytrotter Sessions,” which are bands coming into the studio, recording original songs and then posting them on the website for free. Moeller shared this idea with music engineer Patrick Stolley, web developer Mark Hurty, and a few of his favorite illustrators. On March 23, 2006, Moeller posted the first Daytrotter Session with the indie band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Today, the Daytrotter Sessions have become a venerable part of the independent music scene. At Futureappletree Studios, home of the Daytrotter Sessions, the musicians record four exclusive songs on quarter inch tape. Moeller posts the songs twice a week on www.daytrotter.com. The music is complemented with original artwork, interviews, and features with musicians on the vanguard of the music scene.

ABOUT WXPN
WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe®, public radio’s most popular program of popular music hosted by David Dye and syndicated by NPR, and the Peabody Award winning Kids Corner hosted by Kathy O’Connell. WXPN also produces the alternative rock service, Y-Rock On XPN (yrockonxpn.org) as its secondary radio channel in HD. WXPN serves the greater Philadelphia area at 88.5 FM, the Lehigh Valley at 104.9, Worton/Baltimore at 90.5 FM, Lancaster/York at 88.7 FM, Harrisburg at 99.7 FM, and the world via online streaming at XPN.org and XPoNentialMusic.org.