Wikipedia:WikiProject Guitarists/Buckethead task force/Ramy Antoun

Ramy Antoun
Ramy Antoun
	File:Ramy-antoun1.jpg
Background information
Origin	Egypt
Genres	Experimental rock
Instrument	Drums
Years active	19?? - present

Ramy Antoun is an American drummer of Egyptian descent.^[1] He is best known for his work with Seal, Buckethead and the Black Eyed Peas, as well as being a member of bands Thanatopsis and Goldspot.

Biography

Hailing from Egypt, Creative Arts Group (CAG) Founder and President Ramy Antoun was born into music—literally. The son of a producer and pianist, Antoun was given a snare drum at the age of three. By the time he was seven years old, he was playing in his father's band.

Having never taken a drum lesson in his life, 1980s and '90s' pop music was Antoun's primary teacher. From an early age and all through his teens, Antoun sat behind his kit for an hour a day and turned up the volume on the radio, becoming the drummer to every song.

His self-taught approach paid off, as Antoun soon found himself one of the most in-demand drummers in music. Before long his roster of credits included names like the Black Eyed Peas, Pat Benatar, Paul Oakenfold, and Seal. Not merely content to work as a session drummer, Antoun pursued entrepreneurial opportunities in the music business. In 1994 he founded Namaste Entertainment, a corporate talent-buying agency that quickly gained the trust of client like the Jimmy Stewart Foundation, The NFL, and Disney. Two years later, Ramy sold his shares to his partner, and in Dec of 1996, went on to established PoFolk Records. After another successful 2 year run, in 1998, Ramy and his partner sold Po Folk to Reset Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers.

Antoun also added production and songwriting to his resume, with tracks on hit television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The OC, How I Met Your Mother, and movies such as Run Fat Boy Run, Matchstick Men and Crazy Beautiful. Goldspot, one of Antoun's most recent musical endeavors, was recently nominated for best artist in the 2008 VH-1 International Awards for its latest record, Tally of the Yes Men.

As Antoun continued working in the often-arbitrary record industry, he quickly discovered a missing social awareness for artists and fans. Unlike major labels, which unnecessarily throw away millions of dollars a year in the name of profit sharing, Antoun believed artists would benefit by reinvesting profits…similar to how a co-op works. Thus was born CAG.

"Less than two percent of artists make six figure salaries and about 10% just get by making a living with their craft. That leaves about 88% of artists, who never see a career in their field of expertise," Antoun says…. It's ridiculous! That's where CAG comes in. We have developed a business model that, we believe will enable artists to actually make a living at what they do."

Antoun put his music industry knowledge and business acumen to work, devising an organization that would run like a non-profit, treat its artists like a co-op, and allow their fans to be subscribers. "CAG reinvests earnings into its artists' royalty pot," Antoun says, "fans will pay a nominal subscription fee that is almost 40 percent lower than the digital industry average."

"The fans have download access to basically all of our artists, and our employees' salaries are capped at a lower level than the industry average to allow those profits to go right back into the artists' pockets and keep subscriptions low for fans," adds Antoun.

Recently, Antoun was sought out by Brewster McCracken (Mayor Pro Tem of Austin), after he heard of Antoun's monthly event, Link-Austin, where entrepreneur, businessmen, and art lovers are invited to a networking event. One artist in each category of Film, Music and Visual Arts, display their talent, in and effort to gain an investor. If a partnership is developed, Antoun helps create career plan for the artists using the resources provided by the investor. McCracken asked Antoun to help with city initiatives to aid in building careers for local Austin Artists. On April 1, 2009, Antoun joined McCracken along with other Austin Art advocates, at a Press conference to discuss the issue. "Austin has a tremendous resource of artists, who in the past have gone to Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York, to pursue careers in the Entertainment industry. We can change that by building Entertainment opportunities here." Antoun stated referring to his company's efforts with the Mayor Pro Tem.

While building up CAG, Antoun has continued to grow and launch careers for local artists.  In January of 2009, he shot a pilot for a Music TV show called "The Living Room Live," he is working with Gateway Church to further develop the use of Creative Arts in ministries, and has assembled 12 writers for a T.V series called Long Term Relationship (LTR).

With a projected official release in spring of 2010, Antoun Says, "CAG will be a global extension, of what I am currently doing for artist's careers in Austin."

"For me, it's a great blessing to be able to not only continue creating, but also help other artists achieve their career and life goals" Antoun says. "It's a win win situation!"

Quotes from recent Clients:

"Ramy is an intensely talented individual and totally blew my mind today. We cut 7 drum tracks in oh, say roughly, 6 hours! Amazing at every level." Ed K. (Singer and front man for the band "LIVE")

"Ramy is bilingual in a way I have never experienced in another coach. He speaks the language of corporate America – return on investment, rights management, and market segments. And he speaks the language of the artist – discovering a voice, finding an audience, and pursuing the dream. He has the ability to help someone with untapped potential to be the Next Big Thing. And he also has the power to draw out the buried creativity in anyone." Ted Beasley President, Young Gun Execs

"It was wonderful to work with Ramy on the Race to BE.  By volunteering his time he was able to share his wealth of entrepreneurial knowledge and firsthand experiences from working in the entertainment industry.  In doing so he helped to shape the careers of several future industry leaders."

Susan D. Hesse Senior Program Consultant Kauffman Foundation

"I worked with Ramy Antoun on several music projects and his music business knowledge, experience and skill as both a musician and producer are a combination of qualities that make him unique in the music and film industry. He is certainly making a difference with his motivation and strategic focus to help other artist reach their potential." Josh Lopez Koch Records Recording Artist and Advocate for Food for the hungry

"Ramy has a very intuitive approach to every project we collaborate on. His goal isn't simply to get an artist's vision realized, but to challenge the artist (and himself!) to elevate each and every project from merely good to great." Lee Simmons Austin Singer/Songwriter

"While working with Ramy Antoun on a book project, Theophany, I noticed his genius in maintaining an effective creative process that kept his productions high quality and cutting edge. I would recommend any aspiring creative producer, inventor, researcher, and/or performer to seek Ramy's Coaching in their areas of creative endeavor." Dr. Suzanne C. Carroll Ph.D. in Intelligence, Creativity, & Giftedness

"Accomplished is the individual who can understands, promotes, and most importantly, lives the essence of Christian stewardship. Unique is one who does so with love and generosity for all. Rare is the man who does this while transcending the secular and spiritual worlds. My friend Ramy Antoun is accomplished, unique, and rare." Kyle Bunting Principle of Kyle Bunting Inc