Ali Handal: News

Ali has been selected for an honorable mention in the 2007 DIY Music Festival.

The DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books teaches filmmakers, musicians, authors and entrepreneurs how to create, promote, protect and distribute independent film, music and books.

The 2007 DIY Convention was sponsored by ASCAP, JakPrints, Indie Bible, Discmakers, Bug Music, Indie 9-1-1, Final Draft Screenplay Software, The Hollywood Creative Directory, The Creative Handbook, SESAC, CD Baby, Nat'l Assn. of Record Industry Professionals, American Federation of Musicians, Music Connection, IndieGate.com, Film Baby, Shopper Shuttle and Westside Websites

We're pleased to announce that Ali's song “Distance” has advanced to the next round of judging in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition. Over 14,000 songs were entered into this competition from around the world. We'll keep you posted on any further developments.

Wes Wehmiller was Ali's friend and bass player who passed away a year and a half ago. His incredible talent was featured on Ali's CD "Breathing Underwater" (Wes not only played bass, but also took all of the cover photography).

The Wes Wehmiller Memorial Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music was established by Wes's parents and friends to honor the memory of Wes and to encourage the artistic development of young musicians.

We had a fantastic turnout in Los Angeles for the first annual WesFest, and the event was a great success, raising over $12,000. But not everyone was able to attend, and many asked to be kept informed of ongoing events, and how to continue to support the scholarship. In that spirit, we are proud to present the Official WesFest DVD!

WesFest: A Concert to Benefit the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music, is a full length (about 90 minutes) DVD, and serves as the official document of the first annual WesFest. It contains live performances from all eight WesFest performers: The Mike Keneally Band, Dan Rockett, Ali Handal, SMUG, Kira Small, Touched, Bryan Beller, and I, Claudius.

It also includes heartfelt speeches from Peter Gordon (Director of the Berklee Center in Los Angeles), Roger Brown (President, Berklee College Of Music), and Wes’ parents, John and Paula Wehmiller.

The WesFest DVD can be purchased for $25, which includes all shipping and handling charges. All net proceeds from the WesFest DVD will go to benefit the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music. We're inviting you to continue to support the scholarship fund through the purchase of this DVD.

Complete ordering instructions can be found here:
www.weswehmiller.net/wesfest.html At this page you'll see a box in the right hand corner. Click "add to cart" for credit card/PayPal purchases, or click "check/money order" for a mailing address.

We're pleased to announce that Ali's song "I Miss You" has been nominated for a songwriting award from Just Plain Folks, a worldwide songwriting organization that does wonderful work: www.jpfolks.com.

"I Miss You" was chosen out of over 300,000 total entries as one of the top 20 in the Female Singer/Songwriter category, alongside songs by award-winning songwriters Rachael Sage and Janis Ian. Each song was blind-screened through six judging rounds before being nominated. The sole nomination criterion for this contest is: "Does the song move you?"

Ali is so honored that this particular recording of the song, featuring percussionist David Leach and late bassist Wes Wehmiller, has moved so many people.

Ali's featured in the July 2006 issue of "Diablo Magazine" -- a Bay Area glossy -- as one of the "Best of the East Bay." It's a gorgeous full-page spread of Ali (the photo from the Epiphone Guitars 2005 calendar), and news on her upcoming SF show.

Though Ali currently resides in Los Angeles, she went to junior high & high school in the East Bay, and still has family in the area.

Here's Ali's Personal Account of the Neil Young Recording Session, taken from her April 14, 2006 email newsletter:

"What a wild experience I had last week -- at 9:30pm last Wednesday night, I got a call to be a part of a vocal session for Neil Young's new album & DVD! Myself, along with 99 other singers (including the top session singers in Los Angeles), showed up at the Capitol Records recording studios on Thursday morning for a 12-hour session of backing Neil up on ten songs...it was really fun, and some of the work was challenging (try to get 100 singers to exactly match Neil Young's timing, pitch, & inflection on every line in a song!).

The album is a VERY political, anti-war CD, and at one point, when the whole lot of us were repeatedly belting out "don't need" at the tops of our lungs, I felt like I was in a session for Pink Floyd's "The Wall" ("we don't need no thought control...") -- it was very cool!!

It was exciting to be working on such a high-profile session with so many of my friends, and having the opportunity to meet and hang out with icons of the session-singing world (we're talking about people who have sung on albums with Stevie Wonder and sung in Disney films!). Not to mention working with Neil Young himself -- he was there the whole time, supervising and occasionally helping us fine tune our vocal parts.

And, yes, I did meet Mr. Young -- in fact, I've posted a photo of us taken after the session on the Photos page of my website. He was a very nice guy, and very gracious after a long day of recording."

Ali's "On the Rise," according to the December 2005 issue of "Guitar World Acoustic" magazine. The article, complete with photo and Ali's gear info, describes Ali's CD "Breathing Underwater" as "drenched with [Ali's] lush acoustic guitar work and hushed vocals."

Guitar World Acoustic is published by Future Network USA and distributed worldwide.

Isn't it time to add some new naughty undies into your life?

Click below to order your very own pair of "You're my dirty little secret" red thong undies -- for you or a friend!
If you'd like to see a mock-up of what they look like, just go to the Photos page and take a peek.

This underwear is top quality American Apparel -- an environmentally & socially responsible company. All of their products are made in the USA (downtown LA, actually), and 100% sweatshop FREE!

Each pair is $15 (includes shipping & packaging). If you'd like to order over 4 pairs, email info@alihandal.com and you'll receive a volume discount.

Size

SMLXL

Click Here to Order

Ali can be seen slinging her Taylor 710-CE in a brand new Levy's guitar strap ad in the November 2005 issue of GuitarOne Magazine.

Ali is pictured with an army-style strap, next to bassist Warren McRae and guitarist Andy Childs.

For more information on Levy's Leathers -- makers of the best guitar straps and gig bags around -- please visit: www.levysleathers.com

In response to the fans who've requested a copy of Ali's "The La La Song (Molly)", Ali has made a special new CD available.

Ali's "Molly & More" CD features 6 uplifting acoustic songs: The La La Song (Molly), Visualize It, Free, Really Really Really, Distance & Breathing Underwater.

FREE BONUS: Everyone who orders the "Molly & More" CD will also receive a FREE "Friends of Ali" compilation CD, containing 18 songs by Ali's favorite independent artists. Artists featured include Fatih Rivera, aeon spoke (who had a song in "What the Bleep Do We Know?"), Austin Willacy, Cindy Alexander, Jamie Green & many more!
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Both CDs together cost $10, plus $3 for shipping & packaging.

Please click here to securely order via CREDIT CARD from PayPal. ************************************
OR, PAY BY CHECK: You may order via snail mail by sending a CHECK for $13.00 payable to: Dessert First Records, 8721 Santa Monica Blvd. #112, Los Angeles, CA 90069. Please allow 3-4 days for your request to be processed.
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PLEASE NOTE: Ali is donating 10% of the proceeds from the sale of her "Molly & More" CDs to the HSUS (Humane Society US) Disaster Relief fund. The Humane Society has been working around the clock in New Orleans and Mississippi to rescue trapped animals, as well as reuniting worried, displaced pet owners with their beloved companions. Thousands of pets have been rescued so far, but there are many more animals stranded and starving who need our help. To learn more, please visit: www.hsus.org

Click on the "Music" page to check out lyrics from Ali's new, uplifting songs. Ali has been road-testing these tunes for the past year, and will be releasing a full-length, positive music CD in 2006.

Ali & her good buddy Cindy Alexander are featured in the 2005 print ad campaign for Levy's Leathers Guitar Straps. Ads will be running internationally in Guitar Player, GuitarOne, and Guitar World magazines. Visit the Photos page of this website to get a sneak peek at the ad.

Ali is proud to be included on a roster of incredible artists -- all referred by other artists -- on the new music discovery website Indieclectic.com

Founding artists include Alanis Morissette, Danny Peck, & Jonatha Brooke. Ali was referred to the site by the incredibly talented Dave Stringer, who Ali occasionally accompanies on vocals & guitar.

Check out indieclectic.com to discover fantastic new artists. Find Ali's page, and see who she recommends you hear!

Check out Ali's solo acoustic performance of "I Miss You," taped live at The Living Room in NYC. You can click here to see the video

GuitarOne's June 2005 issue features Ali's solo acoustic performance of her previously-unrecorded drinking song "Pour Me." Ali is thrilled to be in the issue of this internationally-sold magazine that contains an article "How to Play Like Jimmy Page!"

Ali's video ad for Levy's Leathers is also featured on Guitar One Magazine's June 2005 DVD.

Pick up the May 2005 issue of GuitarOne Magazine, and see Ali's video ad for Taylor Guitars on the included DVD!

Check out Ali's full-color photo (from her Japanese tour) in the A&R section of the current issue of Music Connection Magazine: www.musicconnection.com

Ali's February NYC shows were awesome! To see video footage from the gig at The Living Room, visit www.bumpskey.com

Ali brought down the house at the Epiphone Guitars party on Saturday night at NAMM, the music industry's biggest trade show. The audience demanded an encore, and after her solo acoustic performance, Ali signed copies of the "Women of Epiphone" 2005 calendar in which she appears.

Ali taught a guitar & songwriting workshop sponsored by Epiphone Guitars at the Toho Music School in Tokyo, and she also performed at the Pink Cow. Five Japanese guitar magazines covered the workshop, and you can read Epiphone's press release by pasting this link into your browser: http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=195

Ali's newest CD "Breathing Underwater" has been added to the KCRW Music Library!

Listen to KCRW from your computer: www.kcrw.com