Anthony "Moose Harris" Daniels

Indie artists – particularly those from urban genres – are always looking for ways to gain exposure. Don’t ever let anybody tell you it’s easy for them, because it is not. More often than not, venues that provide exposure for indie artists, seem to do what they can to take advantage – but not all of them.

I support artists because I am one. That is my humanitarian effort.

Enter Anthony Daniels a/k/a Moose Harris. This Louisiana native performs just about every task you can imagine when it comes to helping artists, a list that includes himself. He’s an artist, but also so much more, including entrepreneuer, producer, promoter, and radio host.

There just is not much Anthony does not do – and he works hard to help others. That’s the beauty of what he does – you only need to pay a little bit of attention to discover that he is in it to help artists.

Can you imagine if the Occupy Movement was Hip-hop based?

We caught up with this busy young man to see what all he is getting into these days. Let’s just say “busy” does not begin to describe him. He is a jack of all trades when it comes to the entertainment industry. We salute him and his hard work!

Here’s our interview:

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Tell our readers what all you do.

ANTHONY DANIELS: (Laughs) That is a long answer. The short version is the only thing that I don’t do in the music business is DJ on turntables – yet! I am an artist (Singer, MC, 3 Instrument Musician), producer, company owner (Urban Groovz Records & Advanced Associates Solutions), show/event producer (The SIIMPle Circuit & The Track Meet), and radio show producer/host (Urban Flosarus & The Grapevine).

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: You strongly support indie artists & for that, you deserve some applause. What gives you that drive & how did you start out showing support for those artists?

ANTHONY DANIELS: I support artists because I am one. That is my humanitarian effort. About 75-80% of what I do in support is donated time, not on a pay scale – probably more than that. What most artists don’t realize is that there is more than just recording your music. That is the easy part. The work and drive – and I do mean drive, because Louisiana for example, is smaller than most make it. 4 Hours driving should be nothing – it takes that to make a proper name for oneself and to help others; instead of all these individual cliques of companies takes spending & losing money, and making next level sacrifices.


THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Who were your musical influences?

ANTHONY DANIELS: I am a Motown Historian, so that music is first! Second actually would be 80’s New Wave – when MTV and VH1 were actual video channels. But a bunch of music genres and artists – Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic, MJ, Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliot, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, James Brown, and The Roots. Production wise, Holland Dozier Holland & The Corporation (Motown), those that worked with Stax, especially the late 60’s and early 70’s, Quincy Jones, Mannie Fresh, Timbaland, RZA, Rick Rubin, and George Clinton.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: Where do you hope to see hip hop & urban music as a whole, in 5-10 years?

ANTHONY DANIELS: I want to see a bigger blending of music. Hopefully there is more philosophy in the street side of Rap – not talking about what is being done, but why and what can be done. I just want my people regardless of color, to get smarter – to work together. Can you imagine if the Occupy Movement was Hip-hop based?

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: You’ve been doing this for a while – how much do you think social media has impacted how music is distributed?

ANTHONY DANIELS: Social media and the internet has been a gift and a curse. The gift is to not need the suit-and-ties to do like music was in the 40’s and 50’s “Race Records” Era. People can release on their own terms. For the same reasons is the curse – the market is so flooded now because ANYBODY can just about do it. It’s too much DIY.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: If you could have a roundtable discussion with any group of people involved in the entertainment industry, who all would that include & why?

ANTHONY DANIELS: Berry Gordy for the historical influence; representatives from Hollywood to find out why the black people always get killed first, and why aren’t there more majority black casts; representatives from Clear Channel and Cumulus so they release that stranglehold on all these radio stations, Payola (that’s been illegal for the last 60 years) and the MTV and Billboard charts.

THE HEAT MAGAZINE: What’s in store for your company & you in the near future? In the next 2-5 years?

ANTHONY DANIELS: Expansion of the SIIMPle (Support Intelligent Independent Music People) Circuit, syndication for my 2 radio shows, make more music for myself, introduce more artists for their opportunity, and hopefully eventually get some financial benefit. - The Heat Online

CRAWFISH BOIL IN A BAG
Craving boiled crawfish in a hurry? Try Big Mamou's boiled crawfish-flavored Cajun beef jerky. Claiming to "Make Your Taste Buds Dance," this Certified Cajun product is manufactured by Douget's Cajun Products in Mamou ...

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

CRAWFISH BOIL IN A BAG
Craving boiled crawfish in a hurry? Try Big Mamou's boiled crawfish-flavored Cajun beef jerky. Claiming to "Make Your Taste Buds Dance," this Certified Cajun product is manufactured by Douget's Cajun Products in Mamou, the Evangeline Parish town that bills itself the Cajun Music Capital of the World. And, at 90 calories per serving, it's a great, mess-free snack on the go. Big Mamou's beef jerky also comes in original, garlic and teriyaki flavors to spice up your day. Available at Crawfish Town USA in Breaux Bridge, 337-667-6148, or www.dougetscajunproducts.com. - Lisa Hanchey

CLAP YOUR HANDS IF YOU KNOW IT'S REAL
Former Lafayette resident Anthony Daniels (a.k.a. M. Harris) joins Jason Washington and Kerman Cummings for a journey into The Atlanta Chronicles, a hip-hop compilation that emerged amid the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - and brought together three aspiring artists who found each other in Atlanta after the storm ravaged their homes and recording studios in New Orleans. The album brings a mixture of danceable beats and sagacious rhymes, all part of the trio's mission to spread a message of "balance." The quick wit and fast rap will keep listeners on their toes and out of their seats while exploring the 15 tracks that make up Daniels' second album. "Like Shakespeare and Langston Hughes, I paid my dues." Available for $9.99 online at http://moooseandspy.bandcamp.com/album/the-atlanta-chronicles - The Independent

BY HEATHER MILLER
THE DAILY IBERIAN Nov 13, 2010 Comments

Anthony Daniels has gained invaluable life experience through every corner of Louisiana, from the northernmost tip in Shreveport to the Crescent City near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Yet the New Iberia native and lifelong musician’s upcoming album, The Atlanta Chronicles, is named for a city in which he never lived.

Why?

Because five years ago, Atlanta unknowingly became the escape from post-Hurricane Katrina life that brought three musicians — and boundless creativity — together to create a compilation of sounds and lyrics that “balance the physical with the mental.”

Daniels, 30, was born and raised in New Iberia and first picked up a saxophone in the sixth grade. He continued to play the instrument until he started high school at New Iberia Senior High, where he chose athletics over the school band because at the time doing both was not an option, he said.

When Daniels left New Iberia in 1998 to attend the University of New Orleans, he immediately returned to his musical roots as a jazz vocalist, a classical saxophonist and a drummer for the school’s pep band.

While attending school, Daniels began experimenting with hip-hop and rap production on his computer and working with a few friends from outside of school. A few years later, he produced his first album under the studio name Urban Groovez Entertainment, with performers on the album consisting mostly of people from New Iberia who were living in New Orleans.

Daniels continued his freelance production work and other music projects, all of which were wildly interrupted when Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005. He moved home to New Iberia, then to Lafayette several months later.

“After Katrina things actually took a better turn for me,” Daniels said. “With the existing Indie scene in Lafayette, and hanging out with many musicians doing the Indie scene, it was easier to start networking and linking with people doing shows.”

One of Daniels’ musical acquaintances, Jason Washington, had a studio in New Orleans when Katrina hit, but the fellow musician relocated with his family to Atlanta after the storm.

Daniels was invited to visit Washington in Atlanta for the first time in December 2005, a trip that led to several more visits to Georgia and eventually The Atlanta Chronicles, set for release Nov. 23.

“The journey toward this album — that’s where it all started,” Daniels said.

The album, which includes Daniels, Washington and Kerman Cummings, is described by its makers as “an exploration into three adults and the message learned, received and not being taught to the world — the life of balance.”

“We realized there is a deeper level of life we needed to show,” Daniels said about the content of The Atlanta Chronicles.

“There is a problem with giving people what they want. With the saturation of political correctness, taboos, mainstream media, the average listener doesn’t know what they want anymore. Combine that with those not really knowing the scope of music beyond what they think they know. We decided we would give the people what they need. They may not know it now, but patience and effort creates insight.”

The 15 tracks on the album are centered around “being able to dance to it” and “being able to learn something from it.” Daniels, known on the album as Moose Harris, interjects the beats with words like, “Have you noticed all the Kool-Aid ’round you they drinking? Eat, drink, be merry is what they thinking. And you know? I totally understand that situation, but you never at your best without moderation.”

“It’s about going right at what is wrong,” Washington said. “People think they are grinding, but they really are settling. There’s hardly anyone out there going beyond talking about what’s going on, but also doing something about it. That’s what we want to do. Making change is a journey, and the album is the record of that journey.”

Daniels, who also has a solo album under his belt, has been living in Shreveport for the past year-and-a-half. For now, Daniels said he continues to focus on his future with music and the Nov. 23 release of The Atlanta Chronicles.

“There’s been a lot of inward changes that have happened,” Daniels said. “Being in North Louisiana for a year-and-a-half has opened me up to a lot of personal and musical variety. Whatever I might have been trying to figure out while in Lafayette, I think I’ve got a better hold of it here. It also might have to do with turning 30, but there’s definitely more understanding on the outside.” - The Daily Iberian