Author: skye

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 11, 2014

SINGER-SONGWRITER RILEY ETHERIDGE JR. TEAMS WITH PRODUCER WENDELL TILLEY & GUITARIST SHANE THERIOT (Neville Brothers, Dr. John) ON NEW ALBUM

ANNOUNCES SPRING TOUR SUPPORTING LEON RUSSELL

 

The Straight and Narrow Way – Set For Release on March 18, 2014 via Rock Ridge Music

Respected singer-songwriter Riley Etheridge Jr. has reached many people with his poetic and vulnerable songwriting. His carefully crafted four-album catalog is rife with haunting and healing stories of the human condition, each emotionally resonate and each are thoughtfully placed within well-developed thematic albums.  But after an artistic epiphany, and a spontaneous jolt of creativity, he made the brave decision to break the mold and write the invigorating party record, The Straight and Narrow Way.

“I remember a gig in North Carolina. During the third or fourth song people came down from their seats and danced,” the NYC-based artist recalls. “It just lifted all of us up, it was fun, and I realized a new way I could connect with people.”

The seeds of this album were sown over a weekend of spontaneous creativity with longtime producer Wendell Tilley and guitarist extraordinaire Shane Theriot (Neville Brothers and Dr. John) who has played in Etheridge’s live band but hasn’t factored in the creative orbit of Tilley and Etheridge until now. The trio reimagined the Riley Etheridge Jr. dynamic, suspending preconceptions and creative patterns, to see where writing some guitar-based rock n’ roll could lead. Guest musician, and roots rock icon, drummer Jim Keltner summed up the work perfectly when he described it as sounding like “Steely Dan got lost over a long weekend in New Orleans.”

The Straight And Narrow Way was born from freewheeling recording sessions in Los Angeles, Nashville, and New Orleans. Its loose and vibey feel is a testament to the folks Etheridge had the good taste to invite to the party. The album features Sara Watkins from Nickel Creek, Joe Sample vocalist Erica Falls, former Allman Brother Johnny Neel, Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor), and drummer Keltner  (Traveling Wilburys, Bob Dylan, Elvis, John Lennon).

Riley Etheridge Jr. will be hitting the road this April & May, joining iconic American singer/songwriter Leon Russell.  The shows launch on April 23rd in Ithaca, NY and continue through May 4th in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  Just prior to this tour, Riley and his band will perform two special New York area shows – first at the Rockwood Music Hall with special guest, Erica Falls and next, a cd release party at The Turning Point in Piermont.  See full tour itinerary below.

Riley Etheridge Jr. Band Dates:

Wed/Mar-19      New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall “The Straight and Narrow Way” unplugged (w/special guest Erica Falls)

Sat/Apr-19          Piermont, NY @ The Turning Point (CD Release Party)

Riley Etheridge Jr. On Tour – Supporting Leon Russell: 

Wed/Apr-23       Ithaca, NY @ Hangar Theatre

Thu/Apr-24         Buffalo, NY @ Iron Works

Fri/Apr-25           Rochester, NY @ Armory

Sun/Apr-27         Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom

Mon/Apr-28       Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theatre

Tue/Apr-29         Chicago, IL @ Mayne Stage

Wed/Apr-30       Chicago, IL @ Mayne Stage

Fri/May-02          Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater

Sat/May-03        Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center

Sun/May-04       La Crosse,WI @ The Cavalier Theater

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2014

MAGGIE McCLURE HAS SONG ON “COUGAR TOWN”

New Album To Be Released Next Week

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-pianist Maggie McClure just had one of her songs, “Reset,” featured on the TBS comedy “Cougar Town” during the episode (entitled “Hard On Me”) which aired Tuesday, February 4th. “Reset” is the opening track from McClure’s forthcoming album, Time Moves On, which is set for release on February 11, 2014, on her own label.  A majestic and atmospheric album of her most intimate songwriting, Time Moves On was produced by Justin Glasco (Dan Wilson, Tyler Hilton, Gary Jules, Margaret Cho, Adrianne Gonzalez, Garrison Starr and Cary Brothers).

“My songs are basically excerpts from my journal edited to fit the music,” Maggie says. “I write songs straight from my soul.”  The stately “Reset” patiently unfolds with subtle power; mixing sweetly mournful textures with sublime hooks. Its feel is melancholy but tenderly hopeful—it’s a song about new beginnings. Here Maggie sings: There’s so much on my mind, I’m just tryin to get it right/Lost in all this information, the answers are so hard to find/We’ve made mistakes before, by closing open doors/Can we just start over, Is it too late to start over?

Time Moves On is ethereal and expansive, with achingly gorgeous vocals, moody guitars, and playfully quirky keyboard touches.  The album chronicles her move from Norman, Oklahoma to Los Angeles to further pursue her music career, and a new and empowered outlook on life based on being brave enough to seek out and embrace a centered existence.  Time Moves On follows a self-titled album, two EPs, and a handful of singles.

McClure plans to tour in support of Time Moves On, with an album release show set in Oklahoma City at the Will Rogers Theatre on February 21st, another album release show in her newly-adopted hometown of Los Angeles at Hotel Café on March 15th, and shows in San Diego (LeStat’s on February 28th) and San Francisco (Hotel Utah on March 9th).

Early praise for Time Moves On from the press:

–         “Intensely personal, ‘Time Moves On’ draws us in with a sound so pure and flawless, it is difficult to believe that the words could carry anything other than dreams of success, but the pain is undeniably there; it is a beautiful dichotomy.” – Innocent Words

–         “…solid hooks, pure vocals, and sweet lyrics that teeter on the edge of pop while holding tight to alternative compositions…” – The Music Rag

McClure’s gift for confessional songwriting that’s broad appealing has enabled her music to garner plum synch placements. Her songs have appeared in the film Cowgirls N’ Angels, and in such television shows as Dr. Phil, The Real World, Worst Prom Ever, The Hills, The City, The Vineyard, and The Young And The Restless. As a performer, she’s done a staggering 750+ shows across the United States—on separate occasions opening for Sara Bareilles and Tony Lucca.  She sang the National Anthem at the first NBA playoff game in Oklahoma history with more than 18,000 people in attendance.

Additionally, McClure has been knocking on different doors of the entertainment business to further her music career.  She was a featured background extra on Matthew Morrison’s (Mr. Schu in Glee) music video for “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” and she is currently singing the role of Violetta on the English version of Disney Channel Latin America’s Violetta that is airing in the UK and across the globe.

A major factor of McClure’s success has been her hardworking nature. She is completely independent, and assumes the roles of label, booking agent, and manager. “I’m a true believer that if you want something to happen, you have to make it happen.”

www.maggiemcclure.com

www.facebook.com/maggiemccluremusic

www.twitter.com/maggiemcclure

For Immediate Release

January 15, 2014

 

RELEASES NEW SINGLE “LOOKATCHU”

“I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Rock Ridge Music.  From the minute I met the staff, they made me feel like part of the family and they truly believe in my music and my passion,” shares Bachman. He added, “I’m so excited to launch our radio tour across the country and get to play music for our amazing fans! It’s gonna be an amazing 2014!”

President of Rock Ridge Music, Cynthia Cochrane, said, “The first time I saw Joe & the band live, I was blown away by their level of energy and the overwhelming crowd response. On top of being a huge talent, he’s as real and genuine as they come. We are all thrilled to be part of the next steps in Joe’s career.”

Bachman’s dynamic live shows have landed him sought after opening slots for the likes of Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser, David Nail and Chris Young. The singer has made a name for himself with the release of his rocking party anthems, such as Joe’s debut single “Small Town Rock Stars”, as well as “That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy” and “I Sell Em Out Of Beer.” He is known for being a road warrior, after playing over 200 shows last year, and now Bachman is gearing up to head back out and promote his new single, “Lookatchu.”

About Rock Ridge Music

Rock Ridge Music, with offices in Newark, NJ and Nashville, TN, was founded in 2004 as a US record label only, and has since expanded their business to offer artists a record label with national/international distribution through ADA (WMG), artist management, special events, and a wide range of consulting services.  Rock Ridge Music attracts artists looking to develop within the growing independent music sector.  Label roster artists include acts such as Grace & Tony, Aaron & The Spell, Runaway Dorothy, JD Eicher & The Goodnights, Ike Reilly, Riley Etheridge Jr., and others.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 15, 2014

CHARLIE OXFORD TO RELEASE HIS SELF-TITLED ALBUM ON MARCH 11th

 

It’s not often in post-millennium times that an 11-year-old guitar player has his life changed through hearing an iconic 1960s soul song. Charlie Oxford was woodshedding on Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan CDs when he first heard Sam Cooke’s “That’s Where It’s At.” And that 1960s buttery soulfulness has become a main ingredient in Oxford’s home-cooked, modern soul-pop. His self-titled debut is sweet and simmering. It’s comfort food for the modern listener, tracing a line from Sam Cooke to pop contemporaries like James Morrison and John Mayer.

In the fall of 2011, Oxford completed a Kickstarter campaign and raised an impressive $10,000 to fund his debut. The Nashville-based artist has grown his fan base organically through live performances and word-of-mouth exposure. A highlight for him was performing on the BMI Songwriter Stage at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, as well as performing twice at the annual BMI Key West Songwriters Festival. Oxford’s album was produced by Adam Smith (Jason Reeves, Jordin Sparks, Kara DioGuardi, Danny Gokey, L.E.D., Krystal Meyers, The Veronicas, Lovedrug, Megan & Liz, and Britt Nicole) and recorded at Welcome to 1979 Studios and the Evil 8-bit Robot Factory in Nashville. The album features a stunning array of Nashville’s finest musicians playing with sympathetic grace, imbuing each song with just the right dash of musical vitality.

Charlie Oxford is an album of love and self-discovery. “I write love songs and songs about finding yourself and getting up and doing something with your life,” Oxford explains. Though he showed promise early on as a gifted guitarist, it would be years before his creativity blossomed into singing and songwriting. “I remember being in Nashville thinking ‘Charlie what the hell are you doing with your life?!” he says with both earnestness and laughter. In a fevered burst of creativity, he penned 50 songs, many through collaborating with his ace producer Adam Smith. Oxford and Smith handpicked 10 of the finest tracks to comprise Charlie Oxford.

The album’s opener, “Waiting For,” cooks with poignancy and purposefulness. Oxford sings with honeyed urgency and plays searing blues guitar with authenticity and authority. The track grooves with pent-up but polished musicality, punctuated by a taut horn section and positively redemptive Hammond B3 organ playing. “This is song about seeking out what’s holding you back—be it a day job you hate or your lack of confidence—and freeing yourself to pursue your dreams,” Oxford says.

The goose-bump-inducing “Letting Go” begins with moony atmospherics and then swoops up to liberated love transcendence with a soaring chorus. “That’s about being humble and fighting selfishness to embrace love,” Oxford says. The quaint folk of “You & I” is about the flood of light that streams in when you knock down the walls obscuring true love. “It’s a letter about how afraid I am to lose love,” Oxford confides.

If Oxford’s writing is confessional, it’s because he discovered his singing and songwriting while in college when he was coming of age. “It was so therapeutic expressing myself in song, it was like conversations with my soul. That period helped define who I am,” he says. Charlie Oxford grew up in Dallas listening to the local oldies station with his dad. As a searching artist, Oxford explored classic 1960s soul and blues rock, the elastic pop-funk of Prince, and the refined modern sensibilities of aforementioned singer-songwriters James Morrison and John Mayer. From age 12, he began his journey, making aesthetic connections to tie these diverse but refreshingly complimentary influences into the distinct sound he’s developed on Charlie Oxford. His time spent in college in New Orleans—he was there when Katrina hit—was extremely influential on his musical self; both the city and the musicians there helped to shape Oxford.

“It wasn’t until college when I said, ‘Okay I can do this’ that music really become a calling,’” Oxford says thoughtfully. “To hold the CD in my hands justifies the process of growth. It feels so good to have done this record. I’m so proud of it, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone and show my gratitude for their support.”

Charlie Oxford’s Charlie Oxford is being released March 11, 2014.

www.charlieoxford.com

www.facebook.com/charlieoxfordmusic

www.twitter.com/charlieoxford

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 14, 2014

RUNAWAY DOROTHY TO RELEASE THE WAIT ON FEBRUARY 25th

Americana quartet Runaway Dorothy counts Roseanne Cash, Adam Duritz, Rob Thomas, and Ryan Adams as fans. The band has also been fortunate to have an engaged fan base to support its latest album, The Wait. Runaway Dorothy’s sensibility is both rustic and refined, mining folk, country, and alt-country with a songs-first restraint as to leave ample space for the group’s captivating storyteller lyrics, mesmerizingly melancholy vocals, and achingly beautiful harmonies. The band has performed at SXSW (Runaway Dorothy played 11 shows in the 5 days they were in Austin), The Outlaw Roadshow during the CMJ music festival, and headlined the Red Room in Boston. They’ve been featured on Fox News, the popular video blog The Rock Office, and garnered accolades from PGH Music Mag.

The Brooklyn-based four-piece’s origins date back to when band founder Dave Parnell was plucked from singer-songwriter obscurity to be the guitarist of a promising rock band playing big shows and showcasing for major labels. “I was hesitant at first, I wanted to do my own music, but this opportunity allowed me to just focus on being a musician,” he explains. As industry pressures sapped the South Carolina band’s morale, Dave kept on writing for himself. However, when the band was summoned to New York City for label a showcase, Dave had a career-shifting moment.

“I ran into Ryan Adams randomly on the street,” Dave recalls. “We hung out all day, and I got the chance to play him some tunes. I played him the band’s music and my own solo stuff. When he heard my tunes, he said: ‘This is the stuff you should be pursuing.’” And when the band finally splintered, that’s exactly what he did: Dave moved to Brooklyn with a handful of songs; recorded the Runaway Dorothy debut, The Arc, in Springfield, Missouri; and then assembled a band.

The Wait marks the debut of the firm lineup of Dave Parnell (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Dave’s younger brother Brett “Bert” Parnell (electric guitar), Sam “The Reverend” Gallo (bass), and Evan Mitchell (drums). The band plays with dynamic sensitivity: the players patiently let each song’s meticulous arrangement unfold in the center spotlight, and then contribute motifs to enhance the mood. The band developed its sympathetic chemistry through grinding it out playing live on NYC subway platforms. “It was like boot camp for becoming a cohesive group,” Dave explains. “Can we sound good as a unit when it’s so loud down there?”

The new album is a staggering achievement for Runaway Dorothy, and particularly Dave as a masterful songwriter. Lyrically, The Wait is both personal and mythical. “Half the album is a story I made up, the other half is about a relationship that just wasn’t going to work,” Dave confides. Hauntingly gorgeous tracks like “Ballad Of A Dead Man” and “Blue Kentucky Rain” are snapshots of gritty Americana, both weaving together a narrative of a man driven to murder to provide for his family.

The gracefully sparse track “Hurry” is a standout relationship song with curious origins. “The song began as a Japanese bubblegum pop song,” Dave says laughing. “I sent it to my brother and said ‘Do whatever you want with it.’” Brett “Bert” Parnell picked up the banjo and re-imagined the track. It’s a collaboration that speaks to the mutual respect and deep creative connections the brothers share.

Runaway Dorothy self-produced The Wait and recorded it at Threshing Floor Studios in North Carolina. The band went for a lean approach with the production treatment, delicately adding only essential flourishes. “The songs have to stand on their own with just voice and guitar,” Dave says of his production philosophy.

Currently, the band is further exploring its creative synchronicity by sharing in songwriting for Runaway Dorothy. Dave is eager to record the third album with this expanded pool of songwriting talent. Reminiscing back on the time leading up to The Wait he says: “You know, I started off singing Counting Crows cover songs at open mic nights. It was so special when Adam Duritz mentioned our band in an interview. It’s just amazing to me all of this that has happened.”

Runaway Dorothy’s The Wait will be released February 25, 2014.

www.runawaydorothy.com

www.facebook.com/runawaydorothy

www.twitter.com/runawaydorothy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 20, 2013

Anne Heaton to release collaborative album, Dora, with poet Claire Clube

Heaton Hopes Clube’s Memory Will Carry On Through Album

Album To Be Released February 14, 2014

The boldly vulnerable collaborative album Dora from acclaimed singer-songwriter Anne Heaton and lyric poet Claire Clube is a project born of both heartbreak and an enduring love of life.  The album, with its dark beauty, delivers healing.  Heaton and Clube are both mothers who braved divorce to reclaim the life and sense of self they gave up in their unfulfilling marriages.

With this creative union, Heaton and Clube have crafted a work of hope and empowerment.  Dora’s songs are close snapshots of relationships with people and the natural world. I will always be looking into the sea/ I stand chest deep in water/ Level with the gulls, from the song “Selkie,” shows the intimate vantage point of the album.

“I broke free for a more authentic life,” Clube said. “There is nothing glamorous here—it’s the gritty nuts and bolts of being a creative woman, raising a family, and then going through a harsh divorce. Now I’m reorganizing my life. I’m starting over.”

Tragically, Clube was killed in a plane crash in Africa in July 2013, while she and Heaton were in the midst of planning the details surrounding the release of Dora.  “So shocking was this news to me,” said Heaton, “that it took me some time to even believe it.  The fact that this extremely full-of-life, joyful person could leave was more than surprising.” Heaton hopes that the memory of the wonderful person she knew Clube to be will carry on and be appreciated through this album.

Clube was the author of a book of poems entitled Dora.  Heaton has built a career writing songs that comfort and confront with big truths sweetly packed in piano-based folk-pop. The Washington Post has called Heaton’s songs “tender, barbed, and spiritual,” The Boston Globe has described the Chicago-based artist’s music as “lush, introspective, and elegant” and Paste Magazine has called her work “stunning.” Heaton has toured nationally, played the Sundance Film Festival, Lilith Fair, and has been a featured artist on the New York Times Music Podcast. Heaton has also played numerous times on NPR and has had her songs featured on Starbucks in-store playlists around the world. With Dora, Heaton makes her debut as a producer.

“In my heart of hearts, I’m a collaborator,” Heaton said.  “Sometimes I feel really connected to a particular audience, but, since I mostly write alone, it was amazing to experience that sense of connection in the creative process itself.”

The seeds of this collaboration began when Clube attended an Anne Heaton show at Club Passim in Boston. It was a time of confusion and pain for Clube, and Club Passim was a place of refuge where she could escape her troubles and discover new music. During this complex time, Clube struggled with the demise of her 25-year marriage, nurtured the poet inside her soul, and grappled with the emotional confusion of finding real love outside of her committed relationship. As the tides shifted in Clube’s life, she and Heaton struck up a friendship. From the warmth and ease of their interactions, Clube and Heaton agreed to collaborate on an album.

Dora features Clube’s visceral and heartfelt poetry, set to a blend of singer-songwriter pop, classical, and jazz/blues music. One song, “Blue Milk,” expresses the primal and unconditional bond between a mother and her child. The music has a smoky sophistication while Heaton sings with poise and poignancy Clube’s intensely emotional words: My waters break/I howl/You cry/How strange/The placenta plump like a bagpipe/My breasts fill with hot milk/With blue milk they fill. Heaton also sings the stinging chorus with stunning grace: You anoint me/You anoint me/My love is savage.

The title track, “Dora,” based on Clube’s poem of the same name, was loosely inspired by “Dora Markus,” a Eugenio Montale poem from the 1900s. In Clube’s poem, the character Dora embodies a complex but empowering metaphor. She is soft but seductively powerful. Her sense of self is unselfconscious, observed by a woman and desired by a man. With delicate power Heaton sings lines like: Dora do you know how he watches you/As you lie in the grass touching your breasts/Your hand inching beneath your skirt/Your eyes aligned with stars/He loves you ’cause you penetrate his loneliness.

For Heaton, writing music to someone else’s life story was liberating. “For singer-songwriters, our work is often perceived to be solely autobiographical when oftentimes, it is not,” she said. “It was refreshing to create something that would not be assumed to literally represent my own story. At the same time, it gave me more leeway to explore and break rules. I was able to let the music stretch out, not fit into a particular musical box, and include a wider range of styles. I allowed the sensuality of Claire’s words to come through. I felt like a messenger or translator. I think we’ve created something unusual with Dora.”

“It’s been a giant catharsis to wipe the slate clean,” Clube said reflecting on the journey that led to the Dora album. “I’ve experienced major shifts in my life in the last few years and come out the other side.  I feel like I can do anything with my life now.”

“Some of my favorite albums, like Peter Gabriel’s US, were, in part, born of marital heartbreak,” said Heaton. “I never wanted to talk about my own divorce because it felt so personal. It was definitely the hardest thing I ever had to do, but my life finally started to move after I let my marriage go. In the community I grew up in, a marriage ending was considered incredibly taboo. I remember as a kid hearing about women who got divorced who then got very sick or were poor or who never got up off the couch for the next 10 years. I didn’t want to be this person, and I was terrified that being a divorced woman could cause this even though rationally I knew it didn’t have to. Then I met Claire, this powerful and joyful person without a trace of bitterness or regret, a fearless woman who had taken a scary step.  I said to myself: ‘Here’s someone I want to live like.’ So I took a great interest in her words. I loved the colorful way she interacted with and wrote about people and the natural world. So I had a ball turning these poems into songs.”

www.anneheaton.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 18, 2013

ASHLEY RILEY TO RELEASE ALL THE PRETTY THINGS IN FEBRUARY

With a voice that soars strong and full and hushes soft and sweet, Ashley Riley pulls you into her songs of life’s hardships and hopes.  Often compared to Stevie Nicks or Jewel, her sound is something you won’t soon forget:  roots-pop infused with finger-style guitar, and a subtle, dreamy hint of Mazzy Star.

Ashley first took the stage as solo performer in her hometown of Decatur, IL.  Playing anywhere and everywhere as often as possible, she quickly found her place in Decatur’s music scene.  Becoming the host of one of the local open mics, Ashley helped revitalize and nurture the underground singer-songwriter scene in Decatur.

In the summer of 2008, Ashley released her solo debut, Last One Standing.  Since then her songs have been featured on “The Midnight Special” radio show with Rich Warren, “Night Sounds with Dave Leonatti,” and Live 365’s Women of Substance Radio.  Women of Substance Radio notes:  “Ashley’s songs have an ethereal and delicate quality…  Her reverence for Americana artists like Neil Young and Patty Griffin is unmistakable.  She pens lyrics that are unsettling and sometimes even disturbing, as all good lyrics should be.”  Illinois Entertainer puts it bluntly, “Make no mistake, Ashley Riley has an utterly gorgeous voice and a sound all her own.”

Content as an acoustic based songwriter, Ashley was somewhat surprised that her new songs seemed as if they were begging for a band.  Teaming up with friends and fellow musicians Matt Comerford and Randall Grimes, Ashley was inspired to head back into the studio and release her second full-length, Most Likely To… in the summer of 2010, with a release party at her hometown’s famed Lincoln Theatre and drawing 300 people to the show.

Many shows, songs, and miles later, Ashley is ready once again with a new band and a new album titled All The Pretty Things, a sophisticated collection of nine original songs that simply demand your attention.  Returning to Pogo Studio in Champaign, IL, for the third time, Ashley felt comfortable and confident with the process, which encouraged more layers of sound and sparkling arrangements to showcase some of her most clever lyrics.  The album is set for release on February 18, 2014.

Five years and three albums later, Ashley is making her voice heard.

www.ashleyriley.com

www.facebook.com/ashleyrileymusic

www.twitter.com/ashley_riley

http://www.twitter.com/psychostick

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 28, 2013

MAGGIE McCLURE TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN FEBRUARY

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-pianist Maggie McClure is set to release her new album, Time Moves On, on February 11, 2014, on her own label.  A majestic and atmospheric album of her most intimate songwriting, Time Moves On was produced by Justin Glasco (Dan Wilson, Tyler Hilton, Gary Jules, Margaret Cho, Adrianne Gonzalez, Garrison Starr and Cary Brothers).

“I feel extremely connected to this album,” McClure says.  “It’s very personal, and I did a lot experimenting.  I didn’t want to play it safe.  It’s about embarking on new and unpredictable journeys and making improvements to create your future.”

Time Moves On is ethereal and expansive, with achingly gorgeous vocals, moody guitars, and playfully quirky keyboard touches.  The album chronicles her move from Norman, Oklahoma to Los Angeles to further pursue her music career, and a new and empowered outlook on life based on being brave enough to seek out and embrace a centered existence.  Time Moves On follows a self-titled album, two EPs, a handful of singles, an impressive synch licensing resume, and nearly a thousand shows.

McClure’s gift for confessional songwriting that’s broad appealing has enabled her music to garner plum synch placements. Her songs have appeared in the film Cowgirls N’ Angels, and in such television shows as Dr. Phil, The Real World, Worst Prom Ever, The Hills, The City, The Vineyard, and The Young And The Restless. As a performer, she’s done a staggering 750+ shows across the United States—on separate occasions opening for Sara Bareilles and Tony Lucca.  She sang the National Anthem at the first NBA playoff game in Oklahoma history with more than 18,000 people in attendance.

Additionally, McClure has been knocking on different doors of the entertainment business to further her music career.  She was a featured background extra on Matthew Morrison’s (Mr. Schu in Glee) music video for “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” and she is currently singing the role of Violetta on the English version of Disney Channel Latin America’s Violetta that is airing in the UK and across the globe.

A major factor of McClure’s success has been her hardworking nature. She is completely independent, and assumes the roles of label, booking agent, and manager. “I’m a true believer that if you want something to happen, you have to make it happen.”

www.maggiemcclure.com

www.facebook.com/maggiemccluremusic

www.twitter.com/maggiemcclure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 8, 2013

STRANGE DAZE TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN NOVEMBER

Minneapolis, MN’s modern rock band Strange Daze is set to release its third album, Shine Through, on November 11, 2013, via Rock Ridge Music.  Shine Through is an anthemic collection of modern rock forged in fiery emotional urgency.

The band’s fateful career moment came when engineer/producer Brian Johnson—who helmed the sessions for the band’s first two albums—passed along a CD to 38 Special keyboardist Bobby Capps.  Impressed, Capps shared it with 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson, his partner in Nashville, TN-based Rivergate Studios. Capps immediately signed on to produce Strange Daze with Henderson’s and Johnson’s help.

Says Henderson of Strange Daze:  “They’re a refreshing band! Love the vibe and the songwriting. Scott’s vocals are very powerful.”  Capps concurs, adding, “Strange Daze was a pleasant surprise in the studio! It’s been a while since I’ve come across a band that has such a tight grip on straightforward rock music. Lyrically and musically, they do not try to overcomplicate the listener. They are a truly talented band and prove it live every time they hit the stage.”

The album has a crisp and punchy production aesthetic, highlighting the group’s expansive dynamic range. “The biggest thing I loved about the producers is that they gave their opinion, but they never forced their hand on who we are. They just made our music come alive,” Strange Daze guitarist/vocalist Eric Moudry says. Kirk Kelsey, best known for co-producing/engineering landmark albums for Creed and 3 Doors Down, stokes the album’s burning potency with his richly dimensional mix engineering.

Strange Daze has gigged extensively throughout Minnesota and the Midwest, averaging 100-plus shows a year and selling out of its first two CDs, exceeding 10,000 in sales with no label involvement or formal distribution outlet.  The quartet reached #9 on CMJ‘s Top 200, beating out superstar artists like No Doubt and OutKast. Additionally, Strange Daze has charted on 30-plus stations. The band has been played on more than 250 stations in nationwide.

In addition to Moudry, who also serves as the band’s primary songwriter, the Strange Daze includes Scott Knudson (vocals/co-lyricist), Chad Armstrong (bass/vocals), and Mike Berg (drums).

www.strangedaze.com