JOHN LENNON "IMAGINE" for CHARITY with DAVE DAYS, AJ RAFAEL, TIFFANY ALVORD, JESS DELGADO, KARMIN, SID SRIRAM, DOM LIBERATI, BC TAYLOR, TONY SOLIS

Hey everyone! We've been out of the country for a bit but we're back now and have some VERY exciting news to share. We've been hard at work these past couple weeks wrapping up our BIGGEST production yet! In honor of John Lennon's 70th Birthday, which just passed this October 9th, we’re happy to release our cover of John Lennon’s Imagine with YouTube musicians DAVE DAYS, AJ RAFAEL, TIFFANY ALVORD, JESS DELGADO, AMY HEIDEMANN (from KARMIN), and SID SRIRAM -- backed by the talented Dom Liberati (Bass), BC Taylor (Drums), and Tony Solis (Guitar). We recorded the video this October at Kingsize Soundlabs' studio in L.A. 

In honoring John Lennon and in an attempt to continue his dream in our own way, we’ve also decided that ALL proceeds from downloads go towards charity! The song can be downloaded on iTunes here.   -- A portion of proceeds are going to the John Lennon Tour Bus in John's Memory and (this is where we need your help) we are asking YOU for your input on who to donate the remaining proceeds to. 

Please tweet @RAWsession w/ hashtag #Imagine4Charity and let us know what charity you want us to donate proceeds to by December 31st, 2010. We will be picking the top suggested charities.

Thanks to all the YouTubers and musicians who made this video possible! We could not have done this without them and their amazingly positive attitudes and crafted musicianship. The day was a complete blast, filled with so much energy and synergy that we can’t help but imagine John Lennon would’ve loved the experience himself.  We think the video turned out a complete success and we’ll be blogging more about it and posting cool pictures and videos from the session over the coming days. We hope you all enjoy the video! Please share it with your friends, buy the song, donate money to charity, and remember to be active in your community!

Ashley Rodriguez performs V.V. Brown's "Shark In The Water" @RAWsession

I first met Ashley Rodriguez back in Boston during my last 2 semesters at Berklee College of Music in Boston. We had mutual friends and saw each other around campus, but of course, I knew her better through musician gossip than through her personality.  It wasn't until Ashley moved out to LA in 2009 that I really got a glimpse of her person and her talent.

Ashley came to Los Angeles and had begun working towards a career as a singer. During her first months in Los Angeles building up her client base, developing her music and perfecting her sound, she became a member of the (in case you didn’t know) tight-knit, RAWsession family.

Her love of the craft aligned with ours and she began passionately helping us find and help develop dope, unrealized talent. It wasn’t until she revealed to me that she made it on American Idol that I realized how talented she was. I remember, the first thing I said was congratulations (I have a German accent and I’m pretty sure I mispronounced that word) and then I said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were still singing?” She said something about ‘not wanting any help etc...’ I was frustrated but proud and happy for her at the same time. I said, ‘When are we going to do a RAWsession?” She replied, “as soon as you’re ready.”

Eric - But really, we had to wait for American Idol to finish because those guys bake time into their contract.

Matt - Yeah, but it wasn’t that long a wait...and, I think it was worth it, she’s gotten to the next level now.

Nils - Chill out guys. And YES, it was more than we could’ve wished for. All I’m saying, and let me finish, is that it makes me happy that she was part of the team before doing a session with us. So anyway, finally, this summer, we brought her and Britten Newbill (on guitar) into King Size Labs near Silverlake, CA to record a session with her. All I can say is how impressed and excited I am by her performance.

Ashley chose to cover V.V. Brown's "Shark In The Water" as well as perform one of her original songs written by Britten Newbill called "Hanging By A Thread" coming soon. Look out for it on VEVO.

So, you saw it here first! Introducing Ashley Rodriguez, performing V.V. Brown's, "Shark In The Water."

Jess Delgado RAWsession - Behind The Scenes Pics

Back in May we had the privilege to work with the very talented YouTube artist, Jess Delgado.  She recorded a cover of John Mayer's "Why Georgia" for us as well as 2 originals which will be released in September.

Check out behind the scenes shots from the session back in May.

And while you're at it, watch Miss Delgado's recent cover of Regina Spector's "Us" below.