Justine Blazer

Apr 22, 2005 - In his keynote address Thursday at the Motor City Music Conference, legendary producer Don Was pledged to use his vast resources to do what he can to help bring the local rock community back to national prominence.

"I want to help make a difference here," Was said in a loose discussion with roughly three dozen audience members at Cobo Center in Detroit.

Was' keynote speech kicked off the first full day of the four-day Detroit music conference, which included a number of panel discussions ranging from "Getting Ink: Publicists and Music Journalists" to "Shady, Not Slim: Inside the Shady Records Empire."

During his speech, Was -- an Oak Park native who co-founded the band Was Not Was and left for Los Angeles in the mid-'80s -- championed Detroit's deep musical heritage, and compared Detroit music to L.A. music by juxtaposing snippets of Marvin Gaye's deeply soulful "What's Going On" with Jessica Simpson's trite cover of "Let It Snow."

"That, in a nutshell, is a demonstration of the difference between Detroit music and Los Angeles music," Was said after playing the two clips.

While no firm plan of action was set into motion, Was wondered aloud about the feasibility of programming a satellite radio station strictly with Detroit artists, or purchasing a local AM station and programming it with local artists to give more exposure to Detroit acts.

He also took suggestions about opening a museum and dedicating it to Detroit's music history and starting a reality TV show about the local scene.

"In a year, watch what we do," Was said, saying "significant steps" will be taken in the next 12 months. He then scooted off to Comerica Park to throw out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game.

Some of the day's better-attended panels included "Swimming with the Sharks, or Why Your Attorney is More Important than Your Groupie" and "So You Want to be a Rock Star: True Stories From the Trenches," which featured folks such as Mitch Ryder and Dennis Thompson of MC5 being asked questions such as, "So, who's drawn blood from a band member?"

Recording artist Justine Blazer of Canton Township found the face time with music industry professionals invaluable.

"I'm just getting out there and networking and learning as much as I can," said Blazer, 21. "You never know where this may lead."

- The Detroit News

February 16, 2005

DETROIT -- Forbes magazine rated the Detroit area near the bottom of its 2004 list of Best Cities for Singles.

That might explain why the Motor City is at the top of another list: most calls to the Rejection Hotline, a free telephone service that allows uninterested objects of affection to blow off come-ons.

It works like this: You're asked for your telephone number by someone in which you have no interest. You might sound receptive by responding, ''248-262-6861.''

They dial that number and this is what they get: ''The person who gave you this number did not want you to have their real number. Maybe the idea of going out with you just seems as appealing as playing leapfrog with unicorns . ... Do your best to forget about the person who gave you this number because, trust us, they've already forgotten about you.''

The voice is that of Jeff Goldblatt, a 27-year-old Emory University student who developed Rejection Hotline in 2001. It now serves 29 cities in the United States.

The Detroit line has logged more than 1.2 million calls since it was launched last year, making it the most dialed of the 29 hotlines, the a Detroit newspaper reported in Tuesday editions. Because of its popularity, a second line using the 313 area code will be activated March 9.

The hotline's satisfied customers include drugstore manager Renee Shoulders, 34, who used it to derail an unwanted advance at an Ann Arbor pizzeria.

''It's a very easy out,'' said Shoulders, who has passed the number along to friends, siblings and her 15-year-old daughter. ''I'm not going to say, 'You're not my type. Go away.'''

To hear singer Justine Blazer describe it, Detroit deserves its place at the top of the Rejection Hotline list.

''People here don't have game,'' the 21-year-old resident of Wayne County's Canton Township said. ''People in New York City, where I used to live, have other ways to handle it. Here, maybe people aren't as smooth. Some guys are really lame.''

Blazer speculated that the men to whom she gave the hotline number were ''probably mad and upset and laughing at the same time'' after calling it.

Cher Wardlow, who was given the number about a year ago, wasn't amused.

''It was mean,'' said the 30-year-old store manager from Ypsilanti. ''I was kind of insulted. I didn't think I was all bad. I thought he had lot of nerve.''

Wardlow and the offender eventually had a couple of phone conversations. He explained that the hotline referral was a joke, but Wardlow decided she wasn't interested in him anyway.
- The Associated Press

Pop rock recording artist and songwriter Justine Blazer always planned to be in the spotlight.

Blazer already sang at professional baseball, football and basketball games, at the National Hod Rodders Association events, Madison Square Garden, Detroit Music Hall, The Mitch Albom Show and major television stations. More than anything, the sultry blonde with her strong voice, self-confidence plus street and business smarts loves the stage.

She sings every Friday at the Bullfrog in Redford. On Saturday, Jan. 14, Blazer will headline the Michigan Music Marathon at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit.

"Headlining at St. Andrew's is a huge honor," Blazer said. "It's a legendary place."

The Michigan Music Marathon is an all-day music event showcasing local bands and beginning at 3 p.m.

Late last year Blazer released her debut album Passion in Me that features her own catchy pop songs and a danceable version of Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are Made for Walking.

Blazer isn't a passenger on her road to fame. She has full control of her career and doesn't leave anything to fate or other business people. She's a member of BMI, the Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the owner of her own company La Blaze Entertainment.

Blazer also formed her record label La Blaze Records and publishing company. Her music is on regular rotation on DMX Satellite Radio and Sirius Radio.

Blazer recently starred in a Jimmy Kimmel Live! commercial filmed in Hollywood and then sang at Madison Square Garden for the New York Film and Music Festival.

She describes her sound as rock/pop mixed in with soul.

"I'd like to describe my music as it has an eclectic sound to it. It's not quite straight up rock or straight up pop but it's somewhere in between fused in with a nostalgic sound of the '80s making it very fresh and unique," she said. "Every song on my album has a little bit of a different feel to it but overall it is the true expression of who I am as an artist."

Her aspirations are high and she speaks of "mega-stardom" not as something that could happen, but something that will occur. Still, in the meantime, she's singing at smaller locations and loving life.

"I just live one day at a time, do what my heart tells me. Music is my passion and all I can be is me."

Her music is available online on sites such as www.cdbaby.com.


Originally published January 12, 2006

- BY LANA MINI

The members: Justine Blazer, a vocalist and songwriter from Canton, is joined on stage by guitarist/vocalist Mike Stefanka, bassist/vocalist Dale Ratliff, keyboardist AJ Moreno and Doug Bylo on drums and vocals.

The history: Blazer has been a solo artist since starting her career in 2001, and since has worked with artists in New York City and in the Detroit area. She formed her current line-up, which actually is her original band, about a year and a half ago, and the outfit has since played on the Mitch Album Show and at Fifth Avenue in Detroit for a record release party last July. The group is currently playing almost every weekend, and Blazer has continued performing solo at events like the Songwriters Hall of Fame showcase in New York and singing the national anthem at a recent Buffalo Bills game.

What's up with the name: Blazers album title Passion in Me represents the reason she creates her art.

“Music is my passion,” she said. “I wanted to give the entire album a theme that passion is my music and that is the Passion in Me.”

The style: “I am really into that mainstream rock/pop, 80s music feel right now,” said Blazer, adding that influences include Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Anastasia and Prince. “I feel that classifies my sound of my music … a rock/pop sound (with) an 80s influence behind it.

“I don’t wish I sounded like anyone, I am happy with the sound I have; I feel I have a unique sound.”

Got anything recorded? Passion in Me, Blazer’s solo debut, is available now at www.towerrecords.com, www.cdbaby.com and I-Tunes, as well as through www.justineblazer.com, her official Web site.

“I plan to release a single within a year, and another album within a year and a half to two yeas,” Blazer said.

Tell us your future? “The future for me will just keep doing what I’m doing,” said Blazer. “Keep trying to make great music, keep learning new instruments (and) stay open minded.”

Justine added that she will continue to shop her record to major labels.

Website: www.justineblazer.com

- By Nick Brandon