#40 March 2008
1
THE WAIFS
“How Many Miles”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Sundirtwater
ON SALE now
LABEL Compass Records
WEB www.thewaifs.com
The Waifs—guitarist/singer/songwriter Josh Cunningham and singing/songwriting sisters Donna Simpson and Vikki Thorn—first got together in 1992 in Western Australia before moving to Melbourne and releasing their self-titled debut album in 1996.
Sundirtwater is The Waifs’ fifth studio offering and their first release since 2005’s live collection, A Brief History. It was recorded in Nashville with longtime Waifs sidemen, bassist Ben Franz and drummer David MacDonald, along with guests like keyboardist Reese Wynans (Double Trouble); steel guitarist Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor) and reed-man Jeff Coffin (Béla Fleck).
After the success of 2003’s Up All Night, which won Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards for Best Independent Album and Best Blues And Roots Release, Simpson and Thorn headed to their adoptive homes in Minnesota and Utah, respectively, and took a break to be moms; Cunningham, meanwhile, took a gig as guitarist for fellow Australian Missy Higgins.
KCUV, WUMB, WMNF, KRSH, KPIG, KUWR, WHRV, KXCI, KCMV, WBJB, KBAC, KTBG, Maine Public Broadcasting, WNCW, WNKU, WYCE, WFHB, DMX Music, Acoustic Café and XM Café are among the many stations leading the way on the new Waifs CD.
The Waifs have tallied over 160,000 spins on www.myspace.com/thewaifs.
CONTACT Sean Coakley (Songlines) 914.241.3669 sean@songlinesmusic.com & Stephanie Fields (Compass) 615.320.7672 stephanie@compassrecords.com
2
STUART DAVIS
“Already Free”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Something Simple
ON SALE now
LABEL Majeski Media
Singer/songwriter/guitarist/Zen practitioner/author/TV show director Stuart Davis was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but he now lives in Boulder.
“Already Free” is featured in the final two and a half minutes of the new Owen Wilson comedy, Drillbit Taylor.
Something Simple, Stuart’s latest album, features guest appearances on guitar by producers John Shanks and Brendan O’Brien, and on backing vocals from Live’s Ed Kowalczyk, who calls Stuart “the greatest lyricist I’ve ever heard.”
Stuart also has his own half-hour rock & roll comedy series, The Stuart Davis Show, which he wrote and directed, beginning to air in April. Each episode features a full-length music video from his new CD, and the executive producer is Steve Brill (Mighty Ducks, Mr. Deeds, Drillbit Taylor).
Davis is a veteran of more than 1,000 shows in the U.S. and Europe.
CONTACT J.B. Brenner (The J.B. Brenner Company) 805.777.7999 jb@jbbrenner.com, Jeff Appleton (Marathon Entertainment) 810.797.2287 jeffappleton@marathonentertainment.biz & M:M Music 323.939.8206
3
MARKUS JAMES
“I Won’t Let It” (Babylon mix)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Snakeskin Violin
ON SALE now
LABEL Firenze Records
Bottleneck slide guitarist Markus James—who counts Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits and Mickey Hart amongst his fans—grew up in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, and he now makes his home in Northern California.
Markus’s earliest musical memory, from when he was 4, is of seeing an old, blind blues singer playing on the sidewalk. This image made a lasting impression on young Markus, and he grew up to become a bluesman himself, releasing his first album in 1989.
In 1994, Markus made his first sojourn to Mali, in West Africa, to hook up with his musical hero, guitarist Ali Farka Touré. He has made numerous trips back to Africa since then, playing and recording with African musicians, combining American blues with the sounds of traditional Malian music to come up with a new hybrid.
Triple A outlets XM Café, WALW, WQNR, KRSH, KTKE, KDNK, KRFC, KVNF, KKCR and WMSV are just some of the stations now playing Snakeskin Violin.
“His songs radiate a dark, nearly forbidding glow, while his sparse, shadowy arrangements cut a groove that draws deeply from the hypnotic vibe of Malian music. ‘All That You Can’t Keep,’ ‘Exile Tracks’ and ‘I Won’t Let It’ are extremely distinctive pieces, driven by a seductive rhythmic circularity that’s a keystone of Malian traditional tunes and Delta blues.” —Billboard
CONTACT Mindy Giles (Firenze) 916.447.6508 mingiles@aol.com & Peter Hay (Twin Vision) 718.369.1370 twinvision@aol.com
4
CARY BROTHERS
“Ride” (Tiesto remix)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Who You Are
ON SALE now
LABEL Bluhammock Music
Who You Are is Cary Brothers’ first full-length CD; he also self-released a pair of EPs, both of which hit #1 the iTunes Folk chart.
The Nashville native/LA resident gained a great deal of notoriety in 2004 when his song “Blue Eyes” was featured in his Northwestern University buddy Zach Braff’s (Scrubs, The Last Kiss) film Garden State, as well as on the film’s Grammy-winning Platinum soundtrack. “Blue Eyes” ultimately earned more than 50,000 downloads on iTunes.
Despite his English degree from Northwestern, Brothers was drawn to film and moved to LA where he wrote songs at night and set up a production company that made the award-winning indie films Sparkler and Dill Scallion, the latter of which has been described as the Spinal Tap of country music.
“Ride” is getting heard on www.myspace.com/carybrothers (well over 5.2 million plays as of this writing, with 270,000 of them for his new single).
Brothers is no stranger to the road, where he has previously opened for The Fray, KT Tunstall, Aqualung and Liz Phair.
CONTACT Drew Murray 212.239.3440 drew@bluhammock.com
5
THE WAYBACKS
“Nice To Be Alone”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Loaded
ON SALE now
LABEL Compass Records
WEB www.waybacks.com
Singer/songwriter/guitarist James Nash grew up in Nashville and moved to the San Francisco area to attend Stanford University. Nash was playing electric guitar for alt-rockers Occam’s Razor when he and The Waybacks started out in 1999 as an acoustic side project; they have since evolved into Nash’s main gig.
On the fourth Waybacks album, Loaded, Nash is again joined by Chuck Hamilton (drums) and Joe Kyle Jr. (bass), along with newest member Warren Hood (violin, mandolin). It is their first album to feature only original songs.
The Waybacks have developed a close relationship with former Grateful Dead member Bob Weir, backing him up on several occasions; together they’ve given the “newgrass” treatment to Dead classics, along with songs by Johnny Cash and Led Zeppelin.
“These guys can play like bandits.” —Billboard
CONTACT Stephanie Fields 615.320.7672 stephanie@compassrecords.com
6
BoDEANS
“Everyday”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Still
ON SALE now
LABEL He & He Records
WEB www.bodeans.com
BoDeans formed in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, in the early ’80s, led by the singing and songwriting duo of high school friends Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas.
Still, the BoDeans’ eighth studio album, finds the band once again working with producer T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Elvis Costello, The Wallflowers); Burnett also helmed their 1986 debut and 1993’s Go Slow Down.
In 1996, the three-year-old song “Closer To Free” became their biggest hit thanks to being the theme song to the TV series Party Of Five.
“Everyday” is already off to a fine start at Triple A radio with airplay on WXRT, KBCO, KTCZ, KGSR, KPTL, WCLZ, WMMM, KBAC, XM Loft, XM Café and Sirius Satellite Radio, among others.
CONTACT Sean Coakley (Songlines) 914.241.3669 sean@songlinesmusic.com & Miki Mulvehill van Tyn (Under The Radar) 651.755.7944 mvt@oarfindistribution.com
7
DUFFY
“Mercy”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Rockferry
ON SALE now
LABEL Mercury/Island Records
WEB www.iamduffy.com
Amy Duffy was born in the town of Nefyn on the northern coast of Wales in 1984 (fun fact: Amy and her sister were the first set of twins born in the little town in almost 100 years).
In 2004, Duffy’s demos were heard by legendary British indie label Rough Trade’s Jeanette Lee, who recognized the young singer’s raw talent and became her mentor and manager.
Lee brought Duffy to London and introduced her to Bernard Butler, Jimmy Hogarth and Steve Booker, the three producer/collaborators who helped her make her debut, Rockferry.
Duffy is already blowing up in the UK, where “Mercy” debuted at #1 in mid-February.
Her spin totals at www.myspace.com/duffymyspace were climbing rapidly at press time, with 706,000 overall—and nearly 300,000 of those for “Mercy”).
CONTACT Trina Tombrink 917.853.2802 ttombrink@optonline.net & Mark Fischer (Island) 212.603.7904 mark.fischer@umusic.com
8
PADDY CASEY
“Fear”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Addicted To Company Pt. 1
ON SALE now
LABEL Victor/RED
Although he’s only beginning to make a name for himself here in the US, singer/songwriter Paddy (born Patrick) Casey is well known in his native Ireland, where he grew up one of 10 children in the small town of Crumlin.
Paddy, who is managed by U2’s management team, released his first album, Amen (So Be It) in 1999, and it debuted in the Top 20 in Ireland, where it eventually went Triple Platinum; his second album, 2003’s Living, was even more successful on the Emerald Isle, going 11 times Platinum.
For his third album, Addicted To Company Pt. 1, Paddy recorded some tracks in Dublin with his longtime producer, Pat Donne, but he also worked with producer George Drakoulias (The Black Crowes, Tom Petty, Tift Merritt) in Los Angeles. “In my first conversation [with Paddy],” says Drakoulias, “I said, ‘If you just want to stand in a room all day for eight hours and sing to me I’ll be happy’—just to hear that tone and that beautiful voice. Paddy’s music is honest.”
“Fear” accounts for more than half of the 114,000 spins Casey has accumulated at www.myspace.com/thepaddyspacey.
Paddy will be on the Late Show With David Letterman on April 3.
CONTACT Trina Tombrink 917.853.2802 ttombrink@optonline.net & Crissy Zagami (RED) 212.404.0677 christine_zagami@redmusic.com
9
COURTNEY FAIRCHILD
“Moonshine”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Quit
ON SALE now
LABEL Stanley Recordings LLC
Philadelphia’s Courtney Fairchild was born and raised in Dallas, where she was singing by the age of 3 and playing guitar at 15.
Quit, Fairchild’s third full-length CD, is her second studio collaboration with producer John Would, a longtime member of Warren Zevon’s band. Would played guitar, keys, bass, mandolin, banjo and percussion on the CD, and he’s also the guitarist in Fairchild’s band, The Stone Hand Tortillas.
“Moonshine” is the latest of Courtney’s songs to appear on A Taste Of Triple A, and this month radio received the full Quit CD with the sampler.
Courtney contributed a version of Pink Floyd’s “Nobody Home” to Stanley Recordings’ 2003 Pink Floyd tribute album A Fair Forgery Of Pink Floyd, and her songs were heard on the WB’s High School Reunion and MTV’s Road Rules X-Treme).
CONTACT Jeff Silberman (Stanley Recordings LLC) 215.465.6732 jeff1@stanleyrecordings.com & J.B. Brenner (The J.B. Brenner Company) 805.777.7999 jb@jbbrenner.com
10
HONEYHONEY
“Little Toy Gun”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Loose Boots EP
ON SALE now
LABEL Ironworks Music
WEB www.myspace.com/honeyhoneyband
Honeyhoney is the band name for the singing/songwriting team of Suzanne Santo (who grew up in Strongsville, Ohio) and Ben Jaffe (who grew up in New York and Massachusetts).
Both members of honeyhoney are multi-instrumentalists: Ben is primarily a guitarist, but can also play keyboards and percussion. Suzanne is proficient on violin and banjo.
Honeyhoney’s first release, the Loose Boots EP, was recorded live in the studio with a backup band, and though it’s just been released they already have 31,000 spins at www.myspace.com/honeyhoneyband.
Suzanne learned singing from musical theater, and by, as she puts it, “obsessing over Mariah Carey and Disney cartoon movie soundtracks that came out when I was a kid.” She also does some acting on the side, while Ben moonlights writing for TV shows and other artists.
Honeyhoney is opened for Lifehouse and Matt Nathanson earlier this spring.
CONTACT Jenn Littleton 323.913.1594 jenn.littleton@ironworksmusic.com
11 MARKUS JAMES
“So Much Soul”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Snakeskin Violin
ON SALE now
LABEL Firenze Records
The House of Blues Radio Hour featured five of James’ songs and a live performance the weekend of March 1 and 2.
For more information about Markus James, please scroll up to track 3.
CONTACT Mindy Giles (Firenze) 916.447.6508 mingiles@aol.com & Peter Hay (Twin Vision) 718.369.1370 twinvision@aol.com
12
JAMES McMURTRY
“Cheney’s Toy”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Just Us Kids
ON SALE now
LABEL Lightning Rod Records
Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1962, but raised primarily in Leesburg, Virginia, singer/songwriter James McMurtry (son of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Larry McMurtry) now makes his home Austin.
McMurtry, hailed as “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” by Stephen King, released his debut album, Too Long In The Wasteland, in 1989; his newest release, the self-produced Just Us Kids, is his ninth full-length.
McMurtry’s last album, 2005’s Childish Things, was #1 on R&R’s Americana Music Radio Chart for six weeks and was presented with both the Best Song and Best Album prizes at the Fifth Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards.
Free downloads of “Cheney’s Toy” have been made available over the Internet for a “make your own video” contest. More details are at www.myspace.com/jamesmcmurtry, where McMurtry had logged 254,000+ spins at last count.
CONTACT Logan Rogers (Lightning Rod) 615.423.2038 logan@lightningrodrecords.com & Jenni Finlay (Jenni Finlay Promotions) 512.787.8968 jenni@jennifinlay.com
13
LOUIS XIV
“Air Traffic Control”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Slick Dogs And Ponies
ON SALE now
LABEL Pineapple/Atlantic Records
WEB www.louisxiv.net
San Diego-based quartet Louis XIV consists of Jason Hill (vocals, guitar, keys); Brian Karscig (guitar, vocals, keys); Mark Maigaard (drums); and James Armbrust (bass). Childhood chums Hill, Karscig and Maigaard had all been members of the alt-rock combo known as Convoy, which released one album in 2001, but after a two-week trip to Paris the trio formed Louis XIV in 2003 and self-released a CD that year.
Louis XIV released their major label debut, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, in 2005 and they soon found themselves sharing the stages with The Pixies, The White Stripes, The Killers and David Bowie, and appearing at festivals like Lollapalooza, Japan’s SuperSonic and Scotland’s T In The Park. They’ve also appeared on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Last Call With Carson Daly and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“Air Traffic Control” has more than 64,000 of the 1.6 million spins that Louis XIV has racked up at www.myspacemusic.com/louisxiv.
“Slick Dogs And Ponies expands mightily upon most of the hints dropped on [The Best Little] Secrets [Are Kept] and its two subsequent EPs. This is sonically and spiritually superior stuff, vitriol streaming out of its pores....” —Paste
CONTACT Brian Corona 818.238.6838 brian.corona@atlantic-recording.com
14
SMASH PALACE
“She”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Everybody Comes And Goes
ON SALE now
LABEL Zip Records
Smash Palace is the Merchantville, New Jersey-based brainchild of singing/songwriting siblings Stephen and Brian Butler, who grew up in the Philadelphia area.
The Butler brothers started their musical career in a band called Quincy, and recorded an LP for Columbia Records before a cease & desist from Quincy Jones—for stealing his name—effectively put an end to that band.
Stephen and Brian formed Smash Palace and released a self-titled debut in 1985, then let 14 years slip by before Stephen Butler put Smash Palace back together for a second album in 1999. They recorded three more albums before 2007’s Everybody Comes And Goes.
Stephen Butler’s résumé includes being discovered by the guy who owned CBGB’s; Paul Atkinson of The Zombies signed him to his first record deal; he was a staff writer for BMG Publishing; he’s played the infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool, England; and he was an integral part of Mary Lee’s Corvette’s latest, playing a number of instruments and co-producing the CD.
At Triple A radio, KAXE, KCMV, KXCI, WHRV, WRRW, WERU, KDNK, KKCR, KPCW, KRVM, KSRQ, KTKE, KVNF, KZMU, KZRC, WALW, WBJB, WGCS, WJHS, WMKY, WMSV and WNTI are just some of the stations playing the new Smash Palace CD.
CONTACT Ray Paul (Permanent Press Radio Promotion) 585.764.0150 raypaul@permanentpress.net & Art Herman (Zip Records) 415.348.8426
15
MATTHEW RYAN
“Jane, I Still Feel The Same”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State
ON SALE now
LABEL 00:02:59
WEB www.myspace.com/matthewryan
Matthew Ryan Vs The Silver State (MRVSS) was recorded live with few embellishments and even fewer edits, with a group that has worked together for 10 years: Brian Bequette (guitar, bass, piano), Steve Latanation (drums, vocals) and producer/engineer Doug Lancio (guitar, bass, piano). Eoman McLouglin of The Greencards played the viola and Molly Thomas added the violin on “Jane, I Still Feel The Same.”
Matthew’s got more than 273,000 spins at www.myspace.com/matthewryan.
Born Ryan Webb into a 1971 working-class neighborhood in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania, he changed his name to Matthew Ryan to honor his now-imprisoned older brother.
At age 15, his family moved to Newark, Delaware. It was in Delaware that Ryan joined his first band. Eventually he would know a certain degree of success with both The Caustics and The Fisher Kings before signing with A&M on his own. He lives in Nashville these days.
“Jane, I Still Feel The Same” was featured on One Tree Hill March 18, right after Matthew played SXSW in Austin.
CONTACT Jeff Appleton (Marathon Entertainment) 810.797.2287 jeffappleton@marathonentertainment.biz & Chuck Bliziotis 212.277.7170 chuck@metrohybrid.com