#43 June 2008
1
NOUSH SKAUGEN
“Adeline” (radio edit)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Lost And Found
ON SALE now
LABEL Storytown Entertainment Ltd.
The British-raised Noush Skaugen was born in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and a Persian father; classically trained on flute and saxophone, she taught herself piano and guitar. Noush has played in jazz, wind, rock and funk bands, and she chose a life of music while sitting in a café in Bali, Indonesia. “I remember hearing a Tracy Chapman song come on the radio and right there it became clear to me that I wanted to reach people with my music.”
Noush moved from London to New York armed with nothing more than a suitcase, a guitar and a Law degree from England’s University of Warwick.
Now based in Los Angeles, Skaugen’s 2007 debut EP, Palomino, was named National Rock EP Of The Year by the L.A. Music Awards, which also recognized her with nominations for Best Alternative Song, Best Female Singer/Songwriter and Best Live Performance.
Skaugen’s debut full-length album, Lost And Found, was tracked between two studios in Nashville, one of which was once owned by Al Capone and used as a halfway house for his men.
“Adeline” was written at a time when Noush was feeling lost and heart-broken. “You know the feeling when you are so lonely you would go stand in the line for the movies just so you could be around people? It wasn’t like I was writing a song, it was more like I needed to express what was going on inside my heart and my head, and there it fell onto the paper.”
CONTACT Liz Cousins (Notorious Promotion & Marketing) 718.545.9816 notorious@notoriousradio.com & Eugene Foley (Foley Entertainment) 908.684.9400 EugeneFoleyMusic@aol.com
2
STACY KRAY
“Someday”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD My Last Eye
ON SALE now
LABEL Independent
San Francisco-based Stacy Kray’s “Someday” was chosen for KFOG’s 2007 Local Scene 4 CD and, as part of the station’s Local Scene month, she performed live on the KFOG Morning Show.
My Last Eye, Kray’s second album, features Stacy on vocals and guitars on her original songs, with backing from bassist Jon Evans (Tori Amos), ex-Cake drummer Todd Roper (Chuck Prophet), guitarist/cellist Yair Evnine and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Bonnie Hayes on keys.
Kray produced My Last Eye, which was recorded and engineered by Mikael Johnston (Smash Mouth, Jane’s Addiction), and mastered by Emily Lazar and Sarah Register (David Bowie, Garbage, Natalie Merchant).
Stacy organized and produced The Canvas Remembers September 11, a benefit concert and CD that includes 14 songs from Bay Area and L.A. songwriters inspired by the events of September 11. All proceeds go to two charities bringing music therapy and education to children in New York City.
“Think Dar Williams without the folk, Ani DiFranco without the anger, or Tori Amos only less elfin creature from another planet.” —Performer magazine
CONTACT J.B. Brenner (The J.B. Brenner Company) 805.777.7999 jb@jbbrenner.com
3
JIM BOGGIA
“On Your Birthday”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Misadventures In Stereo
ON SALE 8/5
LABEL Bluhammock Music
Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jim Boggia was born and raised in rural Michigan; he moved to Philadelphia in the 1990s and has adopted the City of Brotherly Love as his hometown.
Born legally blind in his left eye and with limited vision in his right eye, Jim was drawn to music from a very early age: “I’ve been told that I was singing melodies before I started speaking words, and I started playing the guitar when I was five,” says Boggia. “I have no conception of a life before music.”
Even as he honed his craft in the studio and as a tunesmith writing jingles and songs for other artists, Jim’s talent as a musician led him to road and/or studio gigs with a number of acts, including Juliana Hatfield, Jill Sobule and Bernadette Peters.
Jim is a charter member of Philadelphia supergroup 4 Way Street, which features Ben Arnold, Scott Bricklin and Joseph Parsons; they released the critically acclaimed Pretzel Park in 2003.
Misadventures In Stereo, Boggia’s third album, was recorded “old school” style, with his band playing live in the studio and captured mostly on analog tape. “I went for the qualities that I loved about my favorite ’60s and ’70s records,” Boggia says. “They weren’t perfect, but they were all about the feel of the performances. Whether it moved you was much more important than if that note was a tiny bit flat or that snare hit didn’t line up exactly on the beat.” The album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.
CONTACT Drew Murray 212.239.3440 drew@bluhammock.com
4
KAISERCARTEL
“Season Song”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD March Forth
ON SALE now
LABEL Bluhammock Music
KaiserCartel is the Brooklyn-based singing and songwriting duo of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel.
The pair, each of whom is a talented solo artist in their own right, first got together for a summer tour of the US in 2004, and they’ve been playing, recording and touring together ever since.
Kaiser has studied opera, Indian classical music and the folk music of South Africa, and she has performed and/or recorded with The Wallflowers, John Mellencamp and Sean Lennon, among others. Cartel began his musical career transcribing Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” for saxophone in the sixth grade (he later switched to drums as well), and he’s played with The Heartdrops and Zombie Squad.
March Forth, is KaiserCartel’s debut full-length CD, though they did release an EP called Double Standard in 2005 and another EP of theirs, Okay (And Other Things We Feel), is available on iTunes.
KaiserCartel is on the road all summer, with dates scheduled in Santa Monica, California (8/2); San Diego, California (8/3); Los Angeles (8/4); Colorado Springs (8/14); and Denver (9/13).
CONTACT Drew Murray 212.239.3440 drew@bluhammock.com
5
AMY MacDONALD
“Mr Rock & Roll”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD This Is The Life
ON SALE 8/19
LABEL Decca/Mercury Records
Twenty-year-old singer/songwriter Amy MacDonald was born and raised in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire (near Glasgow), Scotland.
When she was 12, Amy bought her first album—The Man Who by Travis—and soon after began teaching herself how to play one of her father’s guitars.
At the age of 15, Amy started performing live around Scotland, and before long she was sending out demos of her original compositions, quickly scoring both a publishing and a recording contract.
MacDonald’s debut CD, This Is The Life, was recorded with the help of her manager/producer, Pete Wilkinson, and mixed by the legendary Bob Clearmountain; it has already sold over 1 million copies around the world.
Amy, who will be performing at several festivals in Europe this summer, already has more than 1.1 million spins on www.myspace.com/amymacdonald.
CONTACT Louise Coogan 212.333.8204 louise.coogan@umusic.com
6
THE 88
“Coming Home”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Not Only...But Also
ON SALE 8/26
LABEL Island Records
WEB www.the88.net
The 88 is a Los Angeles-based band whose current lineup features Keith Slettedahl (vocals, guitar), Adam Merrin (keys) and Anthony Zimmitti (drums). Merrin and Slettedahl met in high school in Calabasas, California (near Malibu), and they started recording songs together during their senior year.
They released two indie albums in the mid-’00s, and for their forthcoming third CD, Not Only...But Also, The 88 utilized the talents of two top producers: Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Train, The Replacements) and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds (Eric Clapton, Fall Out Boy, Madonna).
You may have already heard “Coming Home” in national TV advertising campaigns for both Sears and Target. An early version of the new single was included on their 2005 CD, Over And Over.
Not Only...But Also may be The 88’s first major-label release, but they are already well-known from their indie releases, thanks in part to Nic Harcourt’s overwhelming support on KCRW. To wit, a key plot line for an episode of How I Met Your Mother involved characters from the show hiring The 88 to play a wedding. They’ve also been featured on Extra and performed on Jimmy Kimmel’s, Carson Daly’s and Craig Ferguson’s chat shows; they’ve had their songs featured in Failure To Launch, You, Me And Dupree and Surviving Christmas, and on TV in Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and The O.C. (one of their songs was also included on the CD Music From The O.C.: Mix 1).
The 1.8 million spins at www.myspace.com/the88 are another example of their well-established popularity.
CONTACT Mark Fischer (Island) 212.603.7904 mark.fischer@umusic.com
7
FIVE A.M.
“Be Still”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Raise The Sun
ON SALE now
LABEL Big Blue Bus Music
WEB www.fiveam.com
Santa Rosa, California-based Five A.M. features singer/guitarist Trent Yaconelli, guitarist Zach Hammer, bassist Jason McGrath, drummer Jed Friesen and percussionist/keyboardist Benjie Kushins.
Recorded in both Vancouver and San Francisco, Five A.M.’s third CD, Raise The Sun, was made with Grammy-nominated producer Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter) and Grammy-winning mixer Mike Fraser (Aerosmith, AC/DC, Rush, Metallica).
KINK Portland, Oregon, is adding “Be Still” to its New Music Monday category.
Five A.M. has played with Train, Dishwalla, Cracker, Guster, Bob Schneider, The Gin Blossoms and Michael McDonald.
“By virtue of a highly polished radio-ready album, Five A.M. are poised, now more than ever, to break into a larger market. Full of solid hooks and thoughtful lyrics, there’s no logical reason why Raise The Sun shouldn’t splash onto radio playlists in the Bay Area and across the country.” —The Bohemian
CONTACT Kevin Sutter (Tazmoe Music) 425.889.2822 tazmoe_music@earthlink.net & Jeff Appleton (Marathon Entertainment) 810.797.2287 jeffappleton@marathonentertainment.biz
8
SCRAPOMATIC
“I Want The Truth”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Sidewalk Caesars
ON SALE now
LABEL Landslide Records
photo by Caleb Chancey
Trained individually in jazz, roots and blues music, singer Mike Mattison and guitarist Paul Olsen, the core of Scrapomatic, began playing together in Minneapolis in the mid-’90s. They relocated to Brooklyn in 1997, soon after being nominated for Minnesota Music Awards for Best R&B Group and Best Male Vocalist.
Both Mattison and Olsen keep busy outside of Scrapomatic: Mattison has also been the lead singer for The Derek Trucks Band since 2002, with which he performs about 125 dates a year, while Olsen is an ASCAP Award-winning songwriter and bandleader in New York City.
That’s Derek Trucks on slide guitar on “I Want The Truth.”
On Scrapomatic’s third release, Sidewalk Caesars, Mattison and Olsen are backed by their touring band: bassist Ted Pecchio and drummer Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell (both veterans of Susan Tedeschi’s and Col. Bruce Hampton’s groups), and guitarist Dave Yoke. Percussionist Count M’Butu also guests on Sidewalk Caesars.
Scrapomatic is the opener this summer for The Derek Trucks Band’s and Susan Tedeschi’s ongoing Soul Stew Revival, with shows in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (8/1); Hyannis, Massachusetts (8/2); and Bridgeport, Connecticut (8/3).
CONTACT Betsie Brown (Blind Raccoon) 901.278.6850 betsie@blindraccoon.com & Michael Rothschild (Landslide) 404.931.9049 mrland@mindspring.com
9
COURTNEY JONES
“Awake & Dreaming”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Awake & Dreaming
ON SALE now
LABEL CourtneyJonesMusic
WEB www.courtneyjonesmusic.com
Courtney Jones has yet to release her debut album, but hometown station KINK in Portland, Oregon, already has plans to feature “Awake & Dreaming” on their first-ever local artist CD. Courtney also performed live in-studio at KINK in April, and she’ll play three other KINK-sponsored events this summer (including her CD release show July 25).
Awake & Dreaming includes appearances from bassists Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne) and John Ossman (Paula Cole), along with Lucinda Williams’ touring rhythm section of Butch Norton and Dave Sutton. Stevie Blacke (Colbie Caillat, Anna Nalick, Timbaland, Jennifer Hudson) provided the string arrangements. This is producer Peter Malick’s second time around with a girl called Jones. In 2000, he worked with a young piano player named Norah right before she took off.
Courtney’s song “Long Way Down” is featured (alongside tunes by Elton John, Peter Gabriel and Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas) in Cosmic Radio, a film starring Michael Madsen that premiered in January at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Meanwhile, she received Honorable Mentions in the West Coast Songwriter’s Association 2008 International Songwriting Competition in the Pop and Singer/Songwriter categories, respectively.
Among her shows throughout the Pacific Northwest this summer was a July 6 opening gig for Kenny Loggins in Eugene, Oregon.
“Given her authoritative delivery, it’s hard to believe that Awake & Dreaming marks Courtney Jones’ debut. Never mind the assists from session pros such as producer Peter Malick (Norah Jones), bassist Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks) and drummer Butch Norton (Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman); Jones’ vibrant vocals and infectious songs make her sound more like a seasoned veteran than a newcomer.” —Performing Songwriter
CONTACT M:M Music 323.939.8206 & CourtneyJonesMusic Management 503.930.8990 courtneyjonesmusic@comcast.net
10
FIVE A.M.
“Be Still” (acoustic version)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Raise The Sun
ON SALE now
LABEL Big Blue Bus Music
WEB www.fiveam.com
“Raise The Sun is an album of love, hope, and reaching for something bigger than oneself,” says Five A.M. lead singer and songwriter Trent Yaconelli. “I grew up believing the best kind of music was more than something to dance to. It was something that could change someone’s perspective, change someone’s life, bring people together or change the world. That’s what this collection of songs is about, and that’s what this band is about.”
Raise The Sun is Five A.M.’s third album, and all three have, in one way or another, been funded or shepherded by their fans.
For more info on Five A.M., please scroll up to track 7.
CONTACT Kevin Sutter (Tazmoe Music) 425.889.2822 tazmoe_music@earthlink.net & Jeff Appleton (Marathon Entertainment) 810.797.2287 jeffappleton@marathonentertainment.biz
11
MATT SHWACHMAN
“Rise Above”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Uncharted Territory
ON SALE now
LABEL Independent
Boston-based singer/songwriter Matt Shwachman’s lifelong love of music began when he was five and his mother bought him a copy of the Beastie Boys’ License To Ill cassette.
At the age of 17, a school project showed Matt that he could pursue a career in music, so he picked up the guitar and started writing songs in earnest. Oddly enough, the very first song he ever completed, “Side Of The Road,” was featured years later on the TV series One Tree Hill.
While traveling in Australia years ago, Shwachman injured his neck and back, and an exhaustive search for pain relief led to a spiritual awakening. That opened the floodgates and out came the songs for his second CD, Uncharted Territory.
He cites Bob Marley as his main influence.
“Matt Shwachman’s website says to think of his music as ‘Dave Matthews meets Bob Marley,’ but he sounds a bit more like Train and Five For Fighting meeting, while waving across the street to Jason Mraz.” —PerformerMag.com
CONTACT Eugene Foley (Foley Entertainment) 908.684.9400 EugeneFoleyMusic@aol.com & Matt Shwachman matt@mattshwachman.com
12
KATE SCHROCK
“Why”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Invocation
ON SALE now
LABEL Kakelane Music
Kate Schrock was born and raised on the coast of Maine, but she left home at 16 to finish high school in Vermont before heading first to New York City and then to Paris, where she spent nearly two years working as a fashion model.
While living in the City of Lights, Kate began writing songs and poetry, sneaking surreptitiously into music stores to practice piano. She moved back to the US and studied art and philosophy at the University of Chicago, and then headed to Bennington College in Vermont, completing her college career studying performance while honing her skills as a songwriter and musician.
She moved back to New York City to begin her professional music career, but after returning to her home state of Maine she discovered a thriving indie music scene in Portland, where she recorded and released her first album in 1994.
In the self-penned liner notes for Invocation, Kate’s sixth CD, she writes: “In Lexington, Kentucky, a Jamaican horn player showed up in the front row at my concert. After the show he told me that we were going to be best friends”; he turned out to be none other than Glen DaCosta from Bob Marley & The Wailers. DaCosta invited Schrock to Jamaica to add vocals to an album he was working on, and over the next few years, Schrock kept returning to Jamaica to record tracks for Invocation, adding finishing touches in Portland with Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Steve Drown.
Maine Public Broadcasting, WMWV, WCLZ and WERU (where Kate was recently the Featured Artist of the Week) are already on “Why.”
CONTACT Jeff Appleton (Marathon Entertainment) 810.797.2287 jeffappleton@marathonentertainment.biz & Paul W Brown (Red Hat 22) 212.987.7477 redhat22@aol.com
13
R.L. BURNSIDE
“Gambler’s Blues”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Acoustic Stories
ON SALE now
LABEL M.C. Records
A farmer and fisherman for most of his life, the late, great blues guitarist R.L. Burnside was born in 1926 in Oxford, Mississippi; he lived most of his life in the Mississippi hill country.
Burnside learned his music from his neighbor, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and toiled away in virtual obscurity until the 1990s, when he released several albums, including the well-received A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey with contemporary blues craftsman Jon Spencer (Blues Explosion) in 1996.
Most of Burnside’s ’90s recordings featured his blistering electric guitar playing, but Acoustic Stories, recorded in 1988 and originally released in 1997, featured the Mississippi legend alone on his acoustic guitar with harp player John Neremberg. Now, Acoustic Stories is being re-issued on 180 Gram Vinyl; the new vinyl version features the never-before-released track “Gambler’s Blues,” which was also recorded in 1988.
In 1992, R.L. was featured alongside his friend Junior Kimbrough (whose Holly Springs, Mississippi, juke joint Burnside lived next to), in a documentary film called Deep Blues.
Following a heart attack in 2001, R.L.’s doctor advised him to quit drinking. According to Burnside, his resulting abstinence caused him to lose the ability to play guitar. His final studio recording, A Bothered Mind, was released in 2004, the same year Burnside suffered another heart attack and underwent bypass surgery. He never fully recovered, passing away in September of 2005 at the age of 79.
CONTACT Mark Carpentieri 631.754.8725 mc@mc-records.com & Catherine Mannarino 631.754.8725 catherine@mc-records.com
14
KATHY WATSON
“You Let Me In”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Come To Me
ON SALE now
LABEL New Pants Publishing
WEB www.myspace.com/kathy4music
Colorado native and current Baltimore resident Kathy Watson has sung pop, classical, musical theatre, gospel and jazz all her life, and she writes songs in a wide range of genres.
A student of music, Kathy holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in operatic performance.
She has performed as a soloist at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and her music has been heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network in Europe.
Her self-titled debut CD came out in 1999, followed by her second album, Romancin’ The Blues, in 2001. Come To Me is Kathy’s third album
“You Let Me In” is one of five tunes on Come To Me that she co-wrote with jazz pianist Joel Holmes; the CD also includes eight covers from the Great American Songbook.
CONTACT Rob Case 719.632.0227 rob@crlr.net
15
GRUPO FANTASMA featuring MACEO PARKER
“Gimme Some”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Sonidos Gold
ON SALE now
LABEL Aire Sol Records/High Wire Music
Grupo Fantasma is an Austin-based Latin orchestra that combines various styles in their sound, including funk, mambo, merengue and cumbia. They formed in 2000 and put out their first album in 2002; Sonidos Gold is their fourth release overall.
“Gimme Some” beefs up the band’s three-piece horn section with a guest appearance by saxophonist Maceo Parker, who is perhaps best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s. The song was added before the box at KGSR, KUT, KEXP, WFPK, KBAC, WNCW, KKCR and WSYC.
In 2007 Grupo Fantasma were seen on PBS’s Austin City Limits and their horn section performed at clubs and festivals with Spoon. This year, GF added the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Bonnaroo and Montreal Jazz Fest to their list of notable performances.
Grupo Fantasma has worked as a house band at Prince’s Las Vegas nightclub and joined him onstage on numerous occasions, including the 2007 CBS Super Bowl Bash (where they were his backup band). “Prince’s seal of approval sends a message that the band’s music and performances are of the highest quality,” says timbales player and GF’s main songwriter, José Galeaño. “Even if the masses don’t know it yet, he believes that we kick some serious ass!”
“The only other band I’ve seen get that kind of audience reaction was The Ramones…the band successfully obliterates the clichés that often plague the current music market, all the while keeping their feet firmly planted in the traditions that they love and deeply respect.” —Jim Caliguiri, Austin Chronicle and Village Voice
CONTACT Jennifer Daunt (Dauntless Promotion) 503.841.5070 dauntless2@earthlink.net, Marc Ratner (Aire Sol Records/High Wire Music) 207.236.4833 marcrescue@aol.com & Management: David Lobel (Diaspora Music Group) 512.628.0171 dslobel@diasporamusicgroup.com
16
O.A.R.
“Shattered (Turn The Car Around)” (radio edit)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD All Sides
ON SALE now
LABEL Atlantic Records
O.A.R.—Of A Revolution—traces its roots to early-’90s Rockville, Maryland, where three of the members had their first band together in 8th grade.
Original O.A.R. members Marc Roberge (vocals, guitar), Chris Culos (drums), Richard On (guitar, vocals) and Benj Gershman (bass) released their first album in 1997 while still in high school in Rockville. The quartet then went off to college together at Ohio State, where they met and officially added Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar, vocals) to the lineup in 2000.
For their sixth studio album, All Sides, O.A.R. worked in Los Angeles with producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Train, The Replacements). “This album is all about recording a variety of experiences with a variety of sounds,” says Roberge. “Essentially, all sides of O.A.R.”
O.A.R. has more than 7.1 million spins at www.myspace.com/ofarevolution.
Upcoming tour dates include Holmdel, New Jersey (8/1); Wantagh, New York (8/2); Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (8/5); Mansfield, Massachusetts (8/8); East Hartford (8/9); Saratoga Springs, New York (8/10); Cincinnati (8/12); Columbus, Ohio (8/14); Indianapolis (8/15); Cleveland (8/16) and Rochester, New York (8/17).
CONTACT Brian Corona 818.238.6838 brian.corona@atlantic-recording.com l
17
SISTER HAZEL
“Your Winter”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Before The Amplifiers—Live Acoustic
ON SALE now
LABEL Rock Ridge Music
Sister Hazel is a five-piece group which hails from Gainesville, Florida. They named themselves after Sister Hazel Williams, who ran Sister Hazel’s Rescue Mission in Gainesville in the 1970s and ’80s.
They self-released their eponymous debut in 1994, and have released five more studio albums since. The band recorded their new album, Before The Amplifiers—Live Acoustic, this past January at Atlanta’s Nickel and Dime Studios in front of 100 lucky fans who were chosen at random from over 5,000 entries. “The fans have been asking us to do an acoustic record for as long as we’ve been a band,” says singer Ken Block. “We felt like we were in the perfect space to capture an acoustic evening and it turned out great.”
Sister Hazel has sold over 2 million records in their career, they’ve had a #1 Billboard single (“All For You”) and they’ve collected nearly 500,000 radio spins to go with their more than 3.7 million spins at www.myspace.com/sisterhazel.
“Hazel Nuts,” as their fans are affectionately known, will be seeing Sister Hazel on the road this summer in Indianapolis (8/2); Elgin, Illinois (8/3); Atlanta (8/23); Seattle (9/9); Portland, Oregon (9/10); San Francisco (9/11); Las Vegas (9/12); Los Angeles (9/13); Alpine, California (9/14).
In 2001, Sister Hazel co-founded the Rock Boat, billed as the world’s largest floating music festival, with Sixthman and they continue to host it annually. They also established Lyrics For Life, a charity that benefits children with cancer.
CONTACT Eric Cole 917.373.7985 eric@rockridgemusic.com
18
WIDESPREAD PANIC
“Angels On High” (radio edit)
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Free Somehow
ON SALE now
LABEL Widespread Records
Athens, Georgia’s Widespread Panic got together at the University of Georgia in 1986 with guitarist Michael Houser, vocalist/guitarist John Bell, bassist Dave Schools and drummer Todd Nance; percussionist Domingo Ortiz and keyboardist John Hermann joined later.
“Part of being in Widespread Panic has always meant trying to break preconceived models of how bands are supposed to work and how they’re presented to the world at large,” explains Schools. This idea is the foundation for everything they do, including crediting all songs to the entire band. In fact, their business model has been documented in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Variety, CNN, Billboard, CNBC and Fortune magazine.
Their 10th studio offering among their 17 releases, Free Somehow was produced and mastered by Terry Manning (Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz, ZZ Top, Al Green). It’s the first release with new lead guitarist Jimmy Herring (The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, Phil Lesh & Friends), who began playing live with Panic in 2006. Herring officially replaces founding member Michael Houser who passed away from cancer in 2002.
At www.myspace.com/widespreadpanic they have more than 1.8 million spins, and “Angels On High” is already getting spins at WBJB, WOCM, WVOD, WFIV, KROK, KTAO, KBAC, KMTN, KFMU, KPND, KYSL, KPIG, KRSH, Music Choice and more.
Widespread Panic typically plays over 200 shows every year (they’ve never repeated a set list), helping them land on Pollstar’s annual Top 50 Tours list for more than a decade. On June 15, Panic played their seventh headlining slot at Bonnaroo.
CONTACT Jordan Zucker (Infirst Promotion) 678.475.0627 infirst@aol.com & Ellie MacKnight (Widespread Records) ellie@widespreadpanic.com
19
KATIE HERZIG
“Hologram”
AVAILABLE FOR AIRPLAY now
CD Apple Tree
ON SALE now
LABEL Marion-Lorraine Records
photo by Caleb Chancey
In 2004, Katie Herzig released her first solo disc as a side project from her gig as the lead singer for the Boulder-based band known as Newcomers Home. When Newcomers Home dissolved in 2006, Katie moved to Nashville and single-handedly recorded Weightless, whose songs have been featured on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, and TV shows E.R., Smallville and Grey’s Anatomy.
The Duhks picked up a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Country Performance for their reading of “Heaven’s My Home,” which Herzig co-wrote.
On “Hologram,” Katie partnered up with two members of The Fray team (producer Aaron Johnson and guitarist David Welsh), while she wrote two songs on Apple Tree with Kim Richey and recorded five tunes with Nashville multi-instrumentalist and producer Cason Cooley (The Normals, Derek Webb).
With over 407,000 spins at www.myspace.com/katieherzig and airplay at XM The Loft, KCUV, WMWV, WEHM, WTMD and KOHO already, Katie is taking her show on the road (along with many of her Tennessee brethren) with the Ten Out Of Tenn Tour with dates in Chicago (7/31); Indianapolis (8/1); Louisville (8/2); Newport, Kentucky (8/3); Knoxville (8/4); Atlanta (8/5); and Birmingham (8/6).
“Katie Herzig possesses gravity-defying powers on her latest release, balancing heavy and mournful lyrics with light pop melodies that bounce and float into the stratosphere.” —Performing Songwriter
CONTACT Paul W Brown (Red Hat 22) 212.987.7477 redhat22@aol.com