Mr. Frizo
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Mr. Frizo

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""You did a great job and scored WAY WAY above average"."

Recording Quality/Production: 4/ Lead Vocals: 4.5/ Musicianship: 4.5/ Lyric Writing: 5/
Music Composing: 4/ Melodies: 5/ Song Arrangement: 4- Dear Mr. Frizo, Thanks for
submitting the material for the evaluation. I enjoyed listening to the songs. Great lyrics
and you are making Wisconsin proud I'm sure. To give you insight to the scoring
scale above, the majority of artists score in the 2.5 to 3.5 range in the various
categories. Whenever an artist sees a 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 or 3.5 as a score in a certain
category (or categories) it means that's an area I feel they need to improve and
develop. When someone sees 4, 4.5 or 5 as their score in a category, that tells them,
to me, they are in the professional league and have strong potential. It's a validation
from a pro, letting you know you are doing a fine job. Every artist should work hard to
earn 4.5 to 5 in every category. It's a very competitive business and people averaging
in the 3's (or less) will probably not get too far without a great deal of improvement
and development. I don't give out 4's and 5's easily, so any of those you see, you have
earned. Well done! - Eugene Foley - www.foleyentertainment.com


""Sounds Like Nothing I've Heard In A While..""

See this evaluation at

http://www.mrfrizo.com/Reviews.html

(Lyrics & Content)
-Great Punchlines/Catchy Hooks


(Production)
-Great Sounds


(Originality)
-Sounds Like Nothing I've Heard In A While


(Song Selection)
-Excellent Showcase Of Talent


(Marketability)
-Great Artistry
- Anthony Richards, A&R, Jive Records


"Midwest Based Hip Hop Artist Signs To Label"

Marlo Music recently added Wisconsin-based Hip Hop
and Rap recording artist, Jon Friso (Mr. Frizo) to its label. Frizo
has been a popular fixture in the midwest for a couple of years
now and is primed for a national explosion. His music, which
while falling squarely in the rap category is actually much more
layered than that simple descriptor. Fusing together Pop, Rap,
Hip Hop, and a little old school R&B, Frizo’s sound is truly like
no other artist currently on the scene. Marlo Music, which is
headed by music industry veteran Larry Paul Meese, has been
focused on signing talent that are unique and that don’t simply
sound like everybody else out there. Frizo certainly fits that bill.
The Marlo artist will be opening for the Black Eyed Peas in
February as they start their recently announced world tour, so it
won’t take long for Frizo and Marlo Music to hit the limelight.
Frizo’s first album under the Marlo label will be released about
the same time, expecting to drop in mid February and his first
national music videos are to begin airing in late winter/early
spring. Frizo’s new album, entitled “Behind The Music,” will
kick off however with a major album release party to be held in
Los Angeles. - Joy Baker-Marlo Productions


"Music and Celebrity Publicist, Harris Image Management, Prepare Mr. Frizo For National Tour"

Los Angeles music publicity company, Harris Image Management, is laying the ground work for the national debut of recording artist, Mr. Frizo, who is also set to release his first major album in conjunction with the tour.

The Los Angeles music and entertainment publicity and public relations company, Harris Image Management, is soon to announce the kick-off of the nation-wide tour, “They Call Me Mr. Frizo,” which is being launched in conjunction with the release of Mr. Frizo’s self-titled debut album. The tour and album release are expected to debut this spring and stop in cities from Los Angeles to Miami.

Mr. Frizo is a rap artist, though his music is often described as more of an “Urban Pop” sound. He is based out of Wisconsin and has been performing in clubs in the Midwest for a number of years. He was recently signed to the Marlo Music label, a Marlo Entertainment company, and they have since been eagerly preparing to make him known to a much larger audience.

“Based on his unique style and the following he has already been able to build, we are very excited about what music lovers will think of him,” said Larry Paul Meese, President of the label. “Frizo has a style of music that is very much Rap, and yet it is not typical by any means. It is far more musical than you’d expect from Rap, and yet Rappers agree he has the skills to keep up with the best of them. The sound is uniquely Frizo and it is why we think he is a category all his own with that Urban Pop. We think he makes Rap accessible and has found a way to blend Pop and Rap, and real music with the heavy lyrical style of Hip Hop.”

Publicity and image management for the music and the artist have just begun but is expected to begin in earnest when the album, simply titled “Mr. Frizo,” is released this spring. It is obviously an exciting time for the artist, never having worked with a label not his own, or publicists and all the people involved with such a big step. But he says it is something he looks forward to getting used to, so he can focus on what he loves the most, writing lyrics and making good music.
- Earnest Harris


"From A Closet: Andreas Oliver and Jon Friso made a studio in a small space and now they're taking their label eNicaR to new heights"

In the place where Andreas Oliver used to hang his clothes, he and Jon Friso now hang their hats.

Four walls. That's all an artist really needs to start recording. So in 2003 Oliver and Friso soundproofed a closet in the hopes that someday thousands of people would hear the music they were soon to make.

"We started off with a couple of small pieces of equipment and a cheap microphone . It wasn't good at the time, but hey it was music," Friso said of those early recordings. "We really didn't even have a record label name. We just were the place that people wanted to record."

Amidst the bad equipment, the long hours it took to produce just one song and Oliver's mom coming upstairs to yell at them, eNicaR Records was born.

As a couple of near-20-year-olds, Friso (who records under the name Mr. Frizo) and Oliver (A.O.) formed identities in the hip-hop world as co-CEOs of eNicaR (Racine spelled backwards, pronounced with a long e).

The duo thought the label's debut album, "i Rep Vol. 1.," was ready to hit stores Dec. 31, 2004. As it turns out, the CD was ready to hit the streets.

"Initially when the thousand albums got here, we didn't know what to do with them ... I think maybe we sold two copies out of a store," Friso said. "Every single copy that we sold we were either standing in a parking lot selling them or we were outside of the mall selling them or we were in the cold selling them.

But with the sales came a few things, a little respect being just one. The duo was able to afford a new studio setup inside their shared apartment at 1202 Grove Ave., they were able to start work on another album, and they were on their way to being established within Wisconsin's hip-hop community.

"That's the backbone of the label right there, that's the structure of everything," Friso said of the first album. "With the money we made off of that we were able to do bigger and better things."

The label grows

The eNicaR Records label has three solo rappers and a vocalist.

Friso, 22, is a co-CEO, producor and engineer, as well as being one of the label's solo rappers. Oliver, 24, is co-CEO and promotion coordinator, and artist.

David Fathery (who goes by the name D.C), 23, is the label's other rapper, and 18-year-old Jessica Liederbach (Jessica Ryan, Lady E) is the vocalist.

"We're like an alternative hip-hip type of group" Friso said. "We're not from the 'hood. We're not out here selling drugs or shooting guns or anything like that. We're trying to make money in a positive way. And trying to make things happen in a positive way."

A household name

There are no apologies for most of what eNicaR has done as a label. They don't apologize for their backgrounds - they both failed to graduate from Park High School (both got their GED at Gateway). They don't apologize for telling up-and-coming rappers that they won't produce their music and they don't apologize for the ubiquitous black-and-white eNicaR stickers that popped up all over town.

When the Racine Police Department paid a visit to the studio they did, however, decide to focus on distributing CDs instead of stickers.

"We're going to push this like the McDonald arches," Oliver said of the label's promotion tactics. "That's what we both feel that we need to do with it. We need to push it and make it a household name."

In 2006, eNicaR was ready to release "Property Of," an album from Mr. Frizo.

The three rappers hit the streets of Racine again, this time to a bit of a warmer reception.

"It's started to get recognized, it's starting to get a little bit of respect," Oliver said. "We did maybe four shows last year. I believe we've done more than four shows (this year already) things are really moving this year."

Joining the team

But just being a great artist isn't enough to be a part of the eNicaR label.

"Sometimes it's kind of like Willy Wonka opened the chocolate factory, like in the movie," Oliver said. "There are a lot of artists that want to get with eNicaR Records, but it's like 'You've got to show me something. Push a disc.' Anybody can rap, they can be an artist. But that's the thing, we don't need artists, we need team players."

The concept of a team is one that has been with the CEOs of eNicaR since before they even had a label name to go by, let alone had it tattooed on their bodies.

"Since we've started this thing we've basically been in each other's lives everyday," Friso said. "We've got a very sturdy relationship. If I'm mad about something, I'll tell him, if he's mad about something, he'll tell me."

An evolving label, with two full-length CDs and two full-fledged CEOs, eNicaR announced itself as a player in the local music scene with a January show at Optyx, 6501 Washington Ave., where they pushed the 'Property Of' CD.

"We didn't really get much respect from the hip-hop community until the 'Property Of' CD came out," Friso said. "We started letting them know we're putting our feet down. 'Hey we're here and we're not going anywhere. We're hot, we make good music and that's that.' "

He said that in the last half year, he has received four or five contract offers for himself and the label. After the show at Optyx, the label also started receiving more calls from artists wanting to record.

It was a self-described "huge show" for Friso, who said he hopes they changed some opinions with that show.

And with one huge show behind them, another looms ahead.

On March 18, the label will be an opening act at the Rave, 2401 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, for one of hip-hop's legendary groups, "The Roots."

"That's definitely going to be the biggest show we've done yet," Friso said. "This is the biggest official thing that we're doing."

From a closet in Racine, to one of Milwaukee's most popular venues, eNicaR Records has grown alongside two CEOs who have learned to sell music and not just produce it.

"Nowadays, with the new album, we get calls everyday. People that want a CD, they want it delivered to them, or they want to by it off the 'Net or something like that," Friso said. "That never would have happened in 2004."

And the avenues of promotion are continuing to expand. It's not just two guys selling CDs on a corner, it's a company pushing themselves on the Internet and developing a stage presence as well.

"If you shout at people with the blow horn, you get people's attention. That's basically what it breaks down to," Oliver said.

Working a full-time job at Burlington Graphics, Oliver still manages to work with the label six days a week. For Friso, the label is a full-time job, but he also works some shifts at IHOP.

The label is able to thrive on a few very simple premises.

Every dollar made from the company goes back into the company and every person is a possible sale.

"It's numbers. Nos rack up. If we sold to half of the nos I wouldn't be in Racine, Wisconsin, right now," Oliver said. "That's how many people we've asked. Friso and myself; it's pretty much sun-up to sundown.

"We're two people that basically pushed ourselves broke to make this happen."

On the Net

http://www.youtube.com/mrfrizo1

http://www.myspace.com/mrfrizo

WHAT:

Mr. Frizo is one of the opening acts for legendary hip-hop group The Roots.

WHEN:

6 p.m. March 18

WHERE:

The Rave, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee

TICKETS:

$27.50 to $32

Mr. Frizo is one of 20 finalists in 103.7 Kiss FM's Kiss Superstar competition, which pits two artists against each other. The songs are played during the Kiss Kombat show at 9 p.m. "Heavy" by Mr. Frizo will compete tonight.

- The Racine Journal Times


""Pitbull has Company""

By Paddy Fineran

Some weeks here, there are surprises. I don’t mean the surprise of not receiving any correspondence from a single artist as to what they’re up to and could I please give them some free pub? No, that’s sadly become nearly commonplace. The surprise I’m talking about is when you hear from someone out of the blue who is looking to make a name for himself in a genre I rarely write about. The surprise this week is hip-hop / urban pop artist Mr. Frizo.
Now admittedly I’m not the biggest expert on hip-hop. On the other hand I have a pretty good ear and also played a few cuts off of the Racine MC’s new CD “Behind The Music” for friends and it’s come up winners. I’m guessing budget kept the majority of the beats and hooks keyboard based and they got a little repetitive for me. Then again, most people don’t listen to a 17-track disc start to finish anymore so it’s not a big problem. And you know what else? That hasn’t kept the CD out of my car stereo and the mp3s have been on repeat on my iPod Touch for my nightly walks.
The upside is that Mr. Frizo is ready to take his place on whatever stage you want. His flow is top-notch and the writing – while hitting most of the customary themes – is good enough to deliver a few singles that I could imagine hearing in the clubs. “Like Oh”, “Turn Me Up’ and “My Music” in particular caught my ear rather strongly with “Like Oh” a possible contender for 2010 summer party anthem. I’d like to hear some real trumpet lines in the song rather than the keys simulating that but again, not a big deal. Pitbull has got some company. Also in the song sent to radio - “Inspiration” - an acoustic cello line would sound great rather than the keys at about the one-minute mark.
Ah, but the rub is how does it all sound live? Hip-Hop shows are notorious for not always scaling the production levels of the CD at a live show so I asked Mr. Frizo how his live show works. “Our shows are as live as they can get without an actual band playing instruments,” Frizo said. “My main DJ is DJ Sham. He's been spinning, scratching and cutting records for over twenty years and is amazing at it. He has all my instrumental tracks (without vocals) and he just spins and cuts them while I perform. I do a couple acappella too because I like people to really hear my words on some songs.” My guess is that if you already like hip-hop you’ll really enjoy the live show and the CD. If you’re one of those people who say, “I like all music except country and hip-hop,” get over it. I believe you’ll become a fan of Mr. Frizo. Mr. Frizo and DJ Sham perform every Friday at Bobby Rockets, 6921 Hospital Rd in Lyons.


- Kenosha News


Discography

I Rep Vol. 1
Property Of
King Of The Track
Behind The Music

Photos

Bio

25 year old, Jon Friso, aka “Mr. Frizo” to Hip Hop music fans, is one of those rare recording artists whose musical style can truly be described as unique. While the Racine, Wisconsin artist creates music that is clearly a form of Hip Hop and Rap, it has also been described as Urban Pop and Suburban Hip Hop at the same time. The reason for the wide variance in labels is that Frizo is able to blend so many styles into his music. What sets him apart is that he is a strong lyricist who knows music and music history, and that he brings more instrumentation to his rap than most even think about.


Add to that, Frizo’s roots in a place off the typical beaten path for Hip Hop and Rap, the East and West Coasts, and you begin to understand why people who hear him find his music so fresh and appealing. Frizo is also smart enough to know that he can’t pretend to be some urban rap wanna-be. He is who he is and by recognizing that, he has carved out his own place in the game. And in the process he has also made Hip Hop more accessible to people who might otherwise feel it is not something they could relate to.

**Frizo has plenty real life experience in the midwest music scene. He's opened shows for The Roots and Nas. He also set up and runs the ever popular, "Behind The Music Tour" which is one of the most active, live music series in the midwest region. He has performed at many popular venues and has created tremendous buzz throughout the area independently.