After an extensive performance background in the Chicago area, Rob Nicholas and A Moment's Notice released their first recording, under the AEMMP Records label.  The band - most of whom are performance majors at Columbia - is composed of Rob Nicholas on acoustic guitar and vocals, Nick Hill on bass, Robbie Tucker on drums and percussion, Aaron Koppel on lead guitar, and Eric Woody on back-up vocals and piano. Finding it hard to categorize their musical style Nicholas states, “I think we have a recipe all our own. We are driven by rock, jazz, and pop. You don't see jazz thrown in there with those other two genres very often.” With their infectious sound, raw energy, and

     Rob’s rich melodic voice, Rob Nicholas and A Moment’s Notice have set the Chicago music scene ablaze since their first show together. Rob Nicholas and a Moment’s Notice was chosen from over forty musical acts who submitted work to AEMMP Records. The experience has been invaluable to the band. “Independent bands usually have to do everything themselves,” explains Nicholas. “Working with AEMMP has taken the stress off of us. We have been given the opportunity to grow as musicians. We’re more serious than we ever were - more focused. In addition, the experience has helped us learn how to work with the machine of a label.”

      The release was the project of the undergraduate AEMMP Records team. AEMMP Records is a nonprofit record label run by music business students in Columbia College’s AEMM Department, under the guidance of faculty member Kevin Erickson. Each year, the students collectively choose a band that they wish to market. Students work with the band over fall, spring, and summer semesters, and coordinate all aspects of the release, from selecting talent, to promotion. The cd, which was released this spring is available on the group's site at <www.rnicholas.com>, at iTunes, and on similar sites.

AEMMP Records Releases H20’s Essential
     AEMMP Records announces the release of Essential, H20's latest cd, produced under the guidance of the graduate-level AEMMP Records class. Four hip hop artists from the Southside of Chicago - Clever, Intellect, MPLI, and SunChild - join forces to preserve and promote the positive aspects of hip hop culture essential to its survival.

     H20 was created at Northern Illinois University, in the fall of 2003, as a response to a growing lack of direction in the hip hop community.  Their music bridges the gap between generations; their live performances are held in high esteem by both youth and older crowds. Featuring fifteen tracks intertwining music and spoken word, Essential is filled with content pertinent to the times as well as easy going tunes

AEMMP Records
     AEMMP Records, Columbia College Chicago's not-for-profit independent record label, is the oldest student run record label in the country. For twenty-four years, the students of AEMMP Records have successfully manufactured, distributed, and marketed the releases of independent artists and bands, managing the projects from album conception to release, to tour support.

     Started in 1982 by industry veterans Irwin Steinburg and Chuck Suber, the label (and concurrent two-semester class) was designed to help students learn the ways of the music industry through hands on, real world experience. Each year, independently functioning departments are established and an executive staff is appointed, closely mirroring the structure of the business world that the students hope to enter upon graduation.

     Over the label's twenty-three year life, AEMMP has successfully released over twenty albums. Due to the hard work and efforts of the label's student workers, two groups, the pop/rock band The Bad Examples and the dance band A.T.M., have been signed to larger, more widely distributed labels. AEMMP has also used album releases and concerts to raise funds for good causes, the Warchild and VH1's Save the Music charities. Through AEMMP Records, the power of a few dedicated students have been proven year after year.

      “AEMMP is the best experience in business communication and teamwork,” says Nikita Jackson, AEMMP Record’s undergraduate Marketing Director. “You're in the driver's seat and it’s on you; if you don’t do your work, it affects your artists.” Rebecca Farber, AEMMP undergraduate Vice President and Chief Financial Office, agrees, stating “ You deal with all the frustrations of running a label. It’s a baptism by fire.”