Category: press releases

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February 2, 2016

KYLE COX SIGNS LABEL/MANAGEMENT DEAL WITH ROCK RIDGE MUSIC

New EP coming early summer 2016

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kyle Cox has signed a label/management deal with Rock Ridge Music.  As part of the deal, Cox will be releasing a new EP in early summer 2016.  Originally from Orlando, FL, Cox has been praised by press, particularly for his 2014 album The Plan, The Mess; Absolute Punk called it “an absolute pleasure… astounding…. Confident, polished and endlessly melodic… an engaging delight.”

Says Cox of the deal: “I’m really excited to start working with Rock Ridge Music. Since our first meeting together, it’s felt really comfortable and seems to be a great fit. They are a small, boutique, hardworking group, which I really appreciate. I’ve always been a scrappy, blue-collar, hardworking sort of artist, and they seem to really not only understand my approach as an artist, but also have experience building the careers of similar working artists.”

Says Rock Ridge Music CEO Tom Derr of the new signing: “As an artist, an entrepreneur and as a person, the connect with Kyle was lightning quick, and moving ahead was never in doubt.”

The forthcoming EP was recorded in East Nashville with producer Mike Marsh (drummer of The Avett Brothers).  It was Cox’s fourth time working with Marsh and his third time as a producer.  “This EP for me has been paying respects to a lot of artists I love who have been way before me; folks like Willie Nelson & John Prine,” says Cox.  “The whole thing is a trio, with drums, bass, acoustic, and lead vocals being tracked live.”  Says Marsh of working with Cox: “I believe Kyle’s words. His message is simple but bold and he has an honesty and texture in his voice that drew me in immediately.”

Cox’s forthcoming EP is his fourth and follows on the heels of his album, The Plan, The Mess, which demonstrated his dedication to the art of songwriting—the song was always the focal point and never buried in the production process.  Cox draws inspiration from peers and legends alike while never letting his unique voice get lost.  Under The Gun Review called the album “a collection of soulful, heartfelt songs,” while Infectious Magazine said it was “entrancing and versatile… a stunning display of artistry.  This album is perfection.” Glide Magazine proclaimed, “he sure can craft a catchy song.”

Having toured extensively, Cox is very familiar with hard work.  Possessing a “put your head down and pound the pavement” mentality, he has done everything from opening up for more established acts (including Matt Hires on four tours) in packed venues to playing for smaller, more intimate living room crowds.  Whatever the size of the venue, Cox has an innate ability to connect with the listener through his songs in a deep and personal level.  He has two upcoming shows confirmed (February 11th at The Basement in Nashville, February 16th at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA).  He also plans to hit the road with labelmate JD Eicher in March; dates will be announced soon.

About Rock Ridge Music:

Rock Ridge Music is an artist management company and independent record label with worldwide distribution through ADA (WMG). Founded in 2004 and with offices in Nashville, TN and Washington Crossing, PA, Rock Ridge Music is focused on artist development at every level. Committed to providing a creative, nurturing environment for artists, RRM works collaboratively to meet an artist’s needs, allow the growth of their art and build long-term, sustainable careers.

www.kylecoxmusic.com

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February 1, 2016

ASHLEY RILEY TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN APRIL

“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.” – Women of Substance Radio

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February 1, 2016

TONY LUCCA SET TO APPEAR ON “SUN STUDIO SESSIONS”

Digital EP to be released of tracks from the session

Tour with David Cook planned in February and March

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is set to appear on the season 7 premiere of “Sun Studio Sessions,” the show that features performances recorded at the legendary studio in Memphis, TN.  Lucca’s episode will begin airing Saturday, February 6, 2016, at 10 p.m. on WKNO (PBS Ch.10) in Memphis, TN.  Fans should check local listings for subsequent airings; “Sun Studio Sessions” appears on PBS stations across the country.  After being on the show’s radar for a while, Lucca shot the six-song solo performance last year (including the songs “Anchored,” “Delilah,” “Old Girl,” “Smoke ’Em,” “Sparrow,” and “Sweat It Out”).  After living in the Music City and honing his songwriting craft, recording, and writing in town for years now, Tony Lucca has the energy and spirit of Nashville coursing through his veins, so the session in Memphis is a perfect fit for him.

As part of a series of upcoming sessions EPs this year, Lucca plans to release a digital EP, Tony Lucca: Sessions. Vol 1: Sun Studios, which will include three songs from the performance (“Delilah,” “Anchored,” and “Smoke ’Em”) on February 26, 2016 via Rock Ridge Music.  Says Lucca of the experience: “Getting a chance to record at Sun Studio is almost like a chance to measure yourself against the bar itself. How does it stand up to some of the most classic, groundbreaking work of all time? No pressure, right?”

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of what many fans and critics concede could be the crown jewel of Lucca’s catalog, the emotive Canyon Songs, a touching 10-track tip of the cap to the legendary Laurel Canyon sound immortalized by master musicians including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.  Says Lucca: “Oddly enough, I’m one of the few artists at my stage of the game who actually owns all of his records; I own the whole catalog,” Lucca says. “Instead of diving back into the next album cycle, I’ve decided to reflect for a minute and promote the larger body of work, to shine more light on Tony Lucca, the songwriter.”

For Lucca, who was raised in a very large musical family in Detroit, a short stint doing the Hollywood shuffle/auditioning actor thing led him to recognize his true passion: music.  A number of albums and EPs followed.  Lucca has made myriad television appearances on popular shows such as Parenthood, The Tonight Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, The All New Mickey Mouse Club, the Aaron Spelling-produced Malibu Shores, as well as small roles in some independent features.  He was also the source of tabloid fodder during his years dating actress Keri Russell, as well as when he was a third place finisher on Season 2 of The Voice (which served as a springboard for a series of additional key career milestones, including the signing of a recording contract with Adam Levine’s 222 Records, as well as high profile stints on tour with the likes of Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Sara Bareilles, among countless others).

Lucca plans a heavy touring schedule in 2016, including a run of dates with David Cook.  Confirmed tour schedule (more dates will be added):

2/6/2016 – New York, NY / Rockwood Music Hall

2/9-2/15 – UK Tour

2/23/2016 – Chattanooga, TN / Revelry Room (w/ David Cook)

2/24/2016 – Atlanta, GA / Terminal West (w/ David Cook)

2/26/2016 – Clearwater, FL / Blast Friday (w/ David Cook)

2/27/2016 – Jacksonville, FL / Mavericks (w/ David Cook)

3/1/2016 – Vienna, VA / Jammin’ Java (w/ David Cook)

3/2/2016 – Philadelphia, PA / Union Transfer (w/ David Cook)

3/4/2016 – Long Island, NY / Boulton Center (w/ David Cook)

3/5/2016 – Pawling, NY / Daryl’s House (w/ David Cook)

3/6/2016 – Fairfield, CT / Fairfield Theatre Company (w/ David Cook)

3/8/2016 – Boston, MA / Brighton Music Hall (w/ David Cook)

3/10/2016 – Toronto, ON / The Horseshoe Tavern (w/ David Cook)

3/11/2016 – Buffalo, NY / Town Ballroom (w/ David Cook)

3/12/2016 – Kent, OH / The Kent Stage (w/ David Cook)

3/13/2016 – Detroit, MI / Magic Bag (w/ David Cook)

3/15/2016 – Milwaukee, WI / Shank Hall (w/ David Cook)

3/16/2016 – Evanston, IL / SPACE (w/ David Cook)

3/18/2016 – Kansas City, MO / Voodoo Lounge (w/ David Cook)

3/19/2016 – Oklahoma City, OK / Wormy Dog Saloon (w/ David Cook)

5/12/2016 – St. George Island, FL / Harry A’s

5/19/2016 – Atlantic City, NJ / Off The Record

6/2/2016 – Devil Hills, NC / Down The Hatch OBX

www.tonylucca.com

www.facebook.com/TonyLucca

@luccadoes

www.instagram.com/Luccadoes

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January 26, 2016

THE MAXIES SIGN TO ROCK RIDGE MUSIC

New album to be released in April

Band currently on tour with labelmates Reel Big Fish

Humorous power pop-punk band The Maxies have signed with Rock Ridge Music and will be releasing their next album via the Nashville-based label.  Says band member Maximum Maxie about their new label:  “We’re very excited to have our new co-conspirators in Rock Ridge Music. We will surely spare them once our evil plans are in place.”

Their second full-length album, Nuuk ’em All, will be unleashed upon the world on April 22, 2016. Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish produced the record with the same team he uses on Reel Big Fish recordings (the infamous Pot o’ Gold Studios in Orange, California), going so far as to lend a hand on guitar and backing vocals.

Always performing in the Greenlandic national flag colors of red and white, The Maxies have toured a number of times with Reel Big Fish and are currently in the midst of a tour with them and Suburban Legends now (see tour schedule below).  Says Maximum Maxie of the tour: “It’s great to take Reel Big Fish and Suburban Legends under our wing and out on the road with us. We’re doing a reverse headline where we save the best for first, and they can play for whoever is left.”

The Maxies’ stage act is a wild theatrical comedy.  Amidst a blizzard of hysterical rage, one will hear offensive jokes and clever puns about seal clubbing, global warming, and touting of their sponsorship by PITA, the bread company (not to be confused with PETA). Traveling with their polar bear buddy Bi-Polar Bear Tom, they continue to club their way into the hearts of fans everywhere. They highlight important social issues through comedic ignorance. Their inflammatory comments have won them many fans who get it, but have led to their banishment from all Disney-owned venues and the city of Tucson, Arizona. Yes, this is actually true. Both the Mouse and the Sheriff of Tucson have politely requested that the band never return.

Since their debut in 2010, The Maxies have secretly expanded their plot for world domination in the name of Greenland. This group of masked super villains have wreaked havoc across the United States and Japan, bringing audiences to their knees with their diabolical mix of power pop and punk music.

In their hometown of Nuuk, Greenland, they became renowned as the best band in the world with their hit EP, Goin’ Clubbin’ (2011), and their first full-length record, Greenland is Melting (2012). As their circle of influence grew, they released split albums with legendary American singer songwriter and seminal power pop artist Paul Collins (The Beat) (2013) and Japanese sensations The Kingons (2014).

Coming soon to a town near you, ringleader and vocalist of the Maxies, Maximum Maxie (under his U.S. Passport name Matt Leonard), will be bringing All the Way Jay (Jason Hatfield), Mad Maxie (David Alarcon), Donny D-Bauchery (Donavan Martin), Chrissy Pissy (Chris Graue), Cli-Maxie (Josh Hatfield), and of course everyone’s favorite mascot, Bi-Polar Bear Tom (no passport). Catch them quick before they’re deported!

THE MAXIES TOUR SCHEDULE

(all dates with Reel Big Fish and Suburban Legends):

1/26/16 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel

1/28/16 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade

1/29/16 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre

1/30/16 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater

1/31/16 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring

2/1/16 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount

2/2/16 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl

2/3/16 – Boston, MA – Royale Boston

2/4/16 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall

2/5/16 – So. Burlington, VT – Higher Ground

2/6/16 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom

2/8/16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar

2/9/16 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues

2/10/16 – Lansing, MI – The Loft

2/11/16 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall

2/12/16 – Palatine, IL – Durty Nellies

2/13/16 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave

2/14/16 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s

2/15/16 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre

2/16/16 – Ft. Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre

2/17/16 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre

2/18/16 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen

2/19/16 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue

2/20/16 – Reno, NV – Cargo

2/22/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore

2/23/16 – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst

http://themaxies.com/

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January 25, 2016

THE RAGBIRDS SIGN TO ROCK RIDGE MUSIC

New album from genre-bending band to be released March 25th

Ann Arbor, MI-based genre-bending band The Ragbirds have signed with Rock Ridge Music and will be releasing their fifth studio album via their new label on March 25, 2016.  Written and recorded in the wake of the birth of co-founders Erin Zindle and Randall Moore’s first child, The Threshold & The Hearth adds another dimension to the band’s catalog.  It’s an album that explores the ways in which love and family relationships can weather the storms of life, year after year.

“I’ve been traveling with bands since I was a teenager,” says Zindle, a multi-instrumentalist who doubles as the band’s chief songwriter and frontwoman. “I’ve written a lot of songs about my experiences on the road. For a while, The Ragbirds played a lot of different styles of world music: Celtic, tango, African numbers, gypsy-sounding pieces… You could pinpoint those songs to a specific region, so the music itself felt like a tour around the world. But we’re coming home with this album. There’s still a worldly feel, but there’s also the sense that The Threshold & The Hearth is the sound we’ve been searching for. I feel like we’re the alchemist who traveled so far, only to discover that what he was seeking was always at home.”

With influences ranging from Paul Simon to Peter Gabriel, the band turned to Grammy-nominated producer Jamie Candiloro for his help on the new album. Candiloro’s influences were similarly wide-ranging, with a resume that included credits on albums by R.E.M., Willie Nelson, the Eagles and Ryan Adams. Together, the group captured the spunk and spirit of a Ragbirds show, with Zindle’s new daughter serving as an inspiration.

Scheduled for release three years after 2013’s We Belong to the Love (a live album that shone a light on the band’s punchy, positive-minded stage show), The Threshold & The Hearth is louder and livelier than anything they’ve done before. The guitar solos, played by Erin’s brother T.J. Zindle, point to a longtime appreciation for rock and roll. The deep-seated grooves, performed by the three-piece rhythm section of drummer Jon Brown, percussionist Moore and bassist Dan Jones, mix punch with precision. And Zindle’s conceptual storyline for the album — a make-believe tale of two lovers who meet, fall in love and spend the next 20 years dealing with the joys and struggles that come with any long-term relationship — turns The Threshold & The Hearth into a universal album that appeals to anyone looking to forge a home out of the chaos of everyday life.

The band’s music — a hybrid of indie-pop melodies, global rhythms and songwriting styles influenced from all over the world — is as broad as their audience, which stretches from the group’s hometown in Michigan to the shores of Osaka, Japan (where they scored a number one pop hit with the song “Book of Matches”). Show by show, in venues ranging from rock clubs and performing arts centers to festivals encompassing everything from bluegrass to electronica, The Ragbirds have developed a well-deserved reputation as one of the most dynamic, high-spirited live bands in roots music.  Looking Closer called them “eclectic, restlessly creative, poetic,” while AllMusic.com dubbed The Ragbirds “the very best of what independent music has to offer.”  USA Today declared their music “highly impressive,” while the Ann Arbor Observer applauded their sound, calling it “a well-worn suitcase covered with travel stickers of world-music styles.”  Revealarts trumpeted: “I feel like I’ve stumbled across a band that’s destined to achieve the same level of cult-greatness as The Innocence Mission, Bruce Cockburn, Ron Sexsmith, Sufjan Stevens, and yes, even Over the Rhine… astounding international eclecticism, mixing everything from reggae to Celtic to blues music along with plenty of world music into a unified, enchanting whole.”

In celebration of the new album, The Ragbirds are planning a hometown-area album release show at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, MI on March 25th.  Additionally, the band plans to tour in support of the album (see tour dates below).

THE RAGBIRDS TOUR SCHEDULE:

2/6/2016 – Bellaire, MI / Short’s Brewing Company

2/20/2016 – Cadillac, MI / Cadillac Elks Lodge

2/26/2016 – Terre Haute, IN / The Verve

3/12/2016 – Grand Rapids, MI / Chili Blues Festival

3/24/2016 – Columbus, OH / Woodlands Tavern

3/25/2016 – Detroit (Ferndale), MI / The Magic Bag (official The Threshold & The Hearth album release show)

4/2/2016 – Lansing, MI / The Loft

4/6/2016 – Nashville, TN / 12th & Porter

4/8/2016 – Knoxville, TN / Rhythm N’ Blooms Festival

4/9/2016 – Brooksville, FL / Stringbreak Music Fest

4/10/2016 – Brooksville, FL / Stringbreak Music Fest

4/15/2016 – Grand Haven, MI / Tri Cities Museum

4/16/2016 – Traverse City, MI / Sweet Earth Festival

4/29/2016 – Indianapolis, IN / Mousetrap Bar & Grill

4/30/2016 – Goshen, IN / Ignition Music Garage

5/20/2016 – Berea, KY / The Moonshiner’s Ball

5/21/2016 – Yellow Springs, OH / Peach’s Bar & Grill

6/25/2016 – Alden, MI / Grass River Annual Benefit Concert

8/16/2016 – Rockford, IL / Tuesday Evening in the Gardens

…more dates to be announced soon.

www.theragbirds.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 15, 2016

Alex Dezen (of The Damnwells) to host 8- to 9-hour livestream event on February 11, 2016

Dezen to perform his entire catalog over the course of one day from a series of Nashville locations

Alex Dezen (founder, frontman and main songwriter for the Brooklyn-bred four-piece The Damnwells) is planning a special livestream event to take place on YouTube on February 11th to celebrate the release of his debut, self-titled solo album on February 12th.  The event has been dubbed “Live from Nashville: The Alex Dezen Solo Album Release Extravaganza! Tune in as Alex Performs His Entire Catalog in the 8- (or Possibly 9) Hour Internet Concert Spectacular!”  Over the course of the day-long event, scheduled to take place in Nashville at multiple venues, Dezen plans to perform his entire catalog (all released solo and Damnwells material encompassing his 15-year career), culminating in the performance of his new album in its entirety at the final venue of the day.

“It made sense to me on the eve of the release of my first solo record to do this,” says Dezen.  “It’s a sort of ‘last romp in the sack’ with my old self. Everything I’ve written has led to this moment, to the release of this solo record. It seemed right to put it all in perspective. Of course there’s the can-I-actually-pull-it-off appeal. It’s a massive challenge.”

Dezen plans to perform at multiple locations in Nashville throughout the day, ending the event with a livestream show that evening at the High Watt (tickets for the High Watt show go on sale to the public on January 18th).  Made in Network will be the production company, providing the livestream expertise for the day’s events, and Villain Place will be offering audio and production assistance and manpower.

“I think it’s going to be joyous and hard,” offers Dezen.  “I think there will be fatigue and frustration, but also celebration and excitement. By the end of that day I will have performed 112 original songs. Not many people can say they’ve done that. And it was a hard f*cking 15 years of writing songs and making records and touring, opening for anyone and playing for no one. There were fights and barf and tears and hugs and all kinds of sh*t. But there were also sold out shows and great friendships and tremendous amounts of love. So I’m gonna play all these songs and see what kind of stuff it conjures up in me and you and all else.”

The genesis of the idea came to Dezen after he read about a 12-hour-long concert Bob Schneider did several year ago.  Over the course of the concert, Schneider didn’t repeat any song.  Says Dezen of Schneider’s undertaking:  “It was just one person’s body of work, performed for a live audience. There was something kind of dangerous about that to me, both emotionally and physically, and I instantly loved the idea.”  Dezen tried to think of different ways to spin the experience, both for himself and for longtime fans, to make it fun and interesting while potentially engaging people around the globe, and a livestream from multiple locations in one city fit the bill.

“Of course I don’t have quite the body of work that Schneider has—in fact I have a little more than half that body of work—but I liked the idea of having to revisit and relearn and regurgitate the last 15 years of my original material and put it on display, a kind of patricide scenario, where I could perhaps be killed by my own creation. Then there’s the nostalgia aspect, which I’m completely addicted to. Going back through these songs has brought me back to places I haven’t been in years. Ironically, there’s a real abandonment of ego in the performance of one’s entire catalog in one sitting. My voice will get tired. I will forget some chords and lyrics. I will inevitably fall prey to my own creation, and that excites me more than anything. I have no f*cking idea what’s going to happen, and that’s rad.”

The livestream event may be nothing short of insanity, but Dezen could think of no better way to celebrate his debut solo full-length—an endeavor with which he embarks on his next musical phase and an appropriately eponymous, deeply personal, 10-track self-portrait of a man now ready to lay the foundation for his own identity as a solo artist.  “When words alone are not enough, you need to say it in a song,” says Dezen.  A creative burst during a stint in Ohio over New Year’s 2015 sowed the seeds for tracks that would be recorded in Los Angeles during January and February. “I didn’t write like 30 songs and just kind of pick the 10 best. These are 10 songs that I had to write.” The bulk of the sonic slices on the album are served up straight from past personal, and often painful, experiences.

Dezen’s prowess for writing celebrated songs of every ilk is undeniable. In 2010, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Iowa after completing two years at the institution’s Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In 2014, Dezen released a series of four solo EPs. In March 2015, following a seven-year split, the original Damnwells lineup reunited and released their fifth studio album, a self-titled collection featuring 11 tracks. In addition to his contribution to The Damnwells’ vast canon of songs over the 15 years the band has been recording, Dezen has written for others and worked with a variety of superstars, including Dave Grohl, The Dixie Chicks, Justin Bieber and Kelly Clarkson, among many others. In 2015, he collaborated with the American dance company Pilobolus Dance Theater, composing the music for the dance piece “Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (2015),” which was performed at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Alex Dezen catalog song list:

The Park Slope EP (2000)

1. So You Say Someday

2. Tell Me Something

3. The District Doctor

4. Stars Won’t Do

5. I’ve Got Visions

The Damnwells EP (2001)

6. Fourth Avenue

7. New Look Now

8. Three Day Old Lover (Red Version)

9. Not Me Instead

10. Wake Up, Get Out

11. Three Day Old Lover (Blue Version)

PMR +1 (2002)

12. H.C.E.

13. While You Can

14. Have to Ask

15. Sleepsinging

16. The Trade

17. Goodnight Tonight

18. Everybody Knows

Bastards of the Beat (2003)

19. Assholes

20. What You Get

21. Kiss Catastrophe

22. I’ll Be Around

23. Newborn History

24. I Will Keep the Bad Things from You

[Sleepsinging]

25. The Sound

26. The Lost Complaint

27. Electric Harmony

28. New Delhi

29. Star / Fool

30. Texas

There’s No One Left in Brooklyn But You (2005)

[Assholes]

Death After Life

[I Will Keep the Bad Things from You]

[New Delhi]

[Electric Harmony]

31. For My Own Good

Air Stereo (2006)

32. I’ve Got You

33. Accidental Man

34. You Don’t Have to Like to Love Me (Tonight)

35. Golden Days

36. Louisville

37. Sell the Lie

38. Shiny Bruise

39. Heartbreaklist

40. Kung Fu Grip Kiss

41. I Am a Leaver

42. Graceless

43. Keep a Little Organ

44. God Bless America

Golden Days EP (UK) (2006)

[Golden Days]

45. She’s the NYC Skyline

[Sell the Lie]

46. You’re gonna Love Me

One Last Century (2009)

47. Soundtrack

48. Bastard of Midnight

49. Dandelion

50. Like It Is

51. 55 Pictures

52. Come to Me

53. Everything

54. Closer Than We Are

55. Jesus Could Be Right

56. Say

57. Down With the Ship

58. WWXII

No One Listens to the Band Anymore (2011)

59. No One Listens to the Band Anymore

60. Feast of Hearts

61. She Goes Around

62. Werewolves

63. The Great Unknown

64. Let’s Be Civilized

65. Death Defier

66. Last Day of the New Age

67. The Monster

68. The Experts

69. Sophia

70. The Same Way

Sweet Water Child: Lullabies for Getty (2011)

71. Baby Baby

72. Sweet Water Child

73. Star Parade

74. Little Angel

75. Heart of Trust

76. Sleepright Dreamkeep

77. My Sweet Baby

78. Oh, Peace

79. My Light

80. Coming Home Tonight

81. All of Your Fright

The Bedhead EPs (2014)

82. Death Metal and Disco

83. None of These Things

84. HELLp

85. Other People’s Drugs

86. Not So Bad

87. The Ballad of Eve and Randy Quaid

88. Crying Our Hearts Out

89. She Goes Down

90. Promise # 324,567

91. Honestly

92. Along the Way

93. Money and Shiny Things (And Drugs)

The Damnwells (2015)

94. Money and Shiny Things

95. Kentexas

96. The Girl That’s Not in Love with You

97. Lost

98. Wreck You

[She Goes Down]

99. Heavy Heart

100. Kill Me

101. This Ship of Ours

102. Too Old to Die Young

[None of These Things]

Alex Dezen (2016)

103. Ode to Ex-GirlFriends

104. A Little Less like Hell

105. If You Can Say ‘I Love You’ on a Greeting Card, How Can It Be True?

106. Leonardo

107. This Is the Last Song (I’ll Ever Write on This Guitar)

108. I Don’t Want to Be Alone When I Die

109. Elephant

110. I Have

111. Into the Hands of Hazelden

112. Reluctant Love Song

www.alexdezen.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 6, 2016

The Haymarket Squares to release Light It Up on February 26, 2016

Blending acoustic instruments, fast tempos, rich harmonies

and rabble-rousing lyrics, The Haymarket Squares are

“smart,” “funny,” and “they’re raging against the machine

in four-part harmony.” – Arizona Republic

The Haymarket Squares’ new album, Light It Up, due for release on February 26, 2016, is a 12-song summation of the band’s musical influences and lyrical concerns, with tasty dollops of polka, gospel and Latin percussion mixed into the group’s signature punkgrass sound. Light It Up was recorded and produced (on largely analog gear) by Bob Hoag (Dear and the Headlights, Gin Blossoms, The Ataris) at Flying Blanket Recording in Mesa, AZ, and mastered by Jason Livermore (Alkaline Trio, Propagandhi, Drag The River) at Blasting Room Studios in Fort Collins, CO.

Some of the songs on the album have been part of the band’s live show for years, while others are recent arrivals. But they all share the same genesis: “We’ll hear or read something on the news that pisses us off, and a few days/weeks/months later, a new song arrives,” laughs Mark Sunman, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who wrote several tracks on Light It Up. “For better or worse, there’s no shortage of inspiration out there,” adds Marc Oxborrow, who sings, plays bass, and wrote a number of songs on the album.

Known for their incisive lyrics and boundless live energy, the band stocked the album with plenty of witty wordplay and pointed commentary, touching on everything from surveillance (“No Such Agency”) to liberal guilt (“Part of the Problem”) to the end of the world (“Goodbye”). Acoustic guitarist John Luther Norris somehow manages to mention Zapatistas, Japanese vending machines and elephants in his Latin-infused “Jump the Border.” And no Haymarket Squares release would be complete without a love/hate ditty about their hometown of Phoenix, where there are “a million little places with local bands and beer, to have a drink and wonder what the hell you’re doing here.” With an accordion providing a melancholy backdrop, Light It Up’s first single, “Let’s Start A Riot,” perfectly captures the “crushing weight of boredom and responsibility” of adult life, while the urgent “Horrible Inventions” (driven by a blistering solo from slide guitarist Mark Allred) takes on the dirty business of unjust border policies.

Having played more than 500 shows in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, the 5-piece band will support their new album with a busy touring schedule, highlighted by a main stage performance at Arizona’s largest music gathering, the McDowell Mountain Music Festival (headlined by Beck and the Avett Brothers). And as winners of the 2015 Pickin’ in the Pines band competition, The Haymarket Squares will play that festival’s main stage in the fall of 2016.

In 2015, The Haymarket Squares were nominated as Best Local Band by the Phoenix New Times, who called them “Phoenix’s original protest band” and “one of the most distinctly talented groups in town.” And in 2010, less than two years after their humble Craigslist beginnings (a rare case where online matchmaking actually worked), The Haymarket Squares won the Train Tracks band competition in Phoenix, beating out 50 other local acts in a year-long battle of acoustic performances on the city’s light rail system. “We’ve always been able to hold our own in that kind of setting,” says fiddle player Jayson James. “In fact, we end most shows by wading out into the crowd to play a few acoustic numbers.”

The Haymarket Squares have provided direct support for such national acts as The Meat Puppets, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Greensky Bluegrass, MarchFourth!, Young Dubliners, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Old Man Markley, The Brothers Comatose and others. The band has headlined the most prestigious mid-size venues in Arizona: Crescent Ballroom (Phoenix), Rialto Theatre (Tucson), and the Orpheum Theater (Flagstaff) and has played in markets around the world.

www.haymarketsquares.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 5, 2016

Alex Dezen (of The Damnwells) to release solo album on February 12th

On February 12, 2016, Alex Dezen (founder, frontman and main songwriter for the Brooklyn-bred four-piece The Damnwells) will embark on his next musical phase by issuing his first full-length solo set, an appropriately eponymous, deeply personal, 10-track self-portrait of a man now ready to lay the foundation for his own identity as a solo artist.

“When words alone are not enough, you need to say it in a song,” says Dezen, when asked why he felt now was the right time to write and record his inaugural full-fledged solo album. As Dezen describes, a creative burst during a stint in Ohio over New Year’s 2015 sowed the seeds for tracks that would be recorded in Los Angeles during January and February. “I didn’t write like 30 songs and just kind of pick the 10 best. These are 10 songs that I had to write.” The bulk of the sonic slices on the album are served up straight from past personal, and often painful, experiences. “The good thing about writing these songs is that when I have to talk about them I can just say, literally, all you have to do is read the lyrics. Because it’s not like its coached in some kind of flowery metaphor.”

The lyrical focus on family and friends, politics and pop culture portrayed in songs such as “Ode To Ex-Girlfriends” (a tender tribute to a series of exes and their moms), “If You Can Say I Love You On A Greeting Card How Can It Be True” (a tale of domestic drama), “Into the Hands of Hazelton” (a sonic equivalent of a buddy road picture), “Leonardo” (a tip of the cap to his girlfriend’s fantasy celebrity freebie, Leonardo DiCaprio) and the intensely personal “I Don’t Want To Be Alone When I Die,” led to Dezen’s decision not to collaborate with other writers on any of the songs on the record. “These are all me,” he says.

On his stellar solo set, Dezen does look back on his life, perhaps as far back as age 12 when he purchased his first guitar, a knockoff Stratocaster. But without question, he continues to move forward in his never-ending pursuit of professional perfection of crafting quality songs, while continuing to search for the seemingly equally unobtainable goal of personal bliss few of us will ever obtain. Dezen’s songs simply mirror the lives of so many of us who understand that the most personal songs are actually the most universal as well.

Dezen’s prowess for writing celebrated songs of every ilk is undeniable. In 2010, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Iowa after completing two years at the institution’s Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In 2014, Dezen released a series of four solo EPs. In March 2015, following a seven-year split, the original Damnwells lineup reunited and released their fifth studio album, a self-titled collection featuring 11 tracks. In addition to his contribution to The Damnwells’ vast canon of songs over the 15 years the band has been recording, Dezen has written for others and worked with a variety of superstars, including Dave Grohl, The Dixie Chicks, Justin Bieber and Kelly Clarkson, among many others. In 2015, he collaborated with the American dance company Pilobolus Dance Theater, composing the music for the dance piece “Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (2015),” which was performed at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

www.alexdezen.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 3, 2015

Johnny Boyd’s Someday Dreams of You scheduled for release on February 12, 2016

No one exemplifies modern-day crooning better than Johnny Boyd: smooth, romantic vocals; matinee idol charisma; classic gentleman’s style; and dynamic, irreverent performances. But it’s his fresh, emotive, all-original contributions to the Great American Songbook that will be his legacy.

Boyd, a prolific songwriter, is renowned for his unique ability to seamlessly blend jazz, swing, pop, country, gospel and rock, bringing back the nostalgic charisma of a bygone era. His repertoire features original and favored songs in the classic Great American Songbook style, ranging from torch-filled ballads to raucous rock ’n’ roll.

NPR aptly stated, “If Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash had a love child, it would be Johnny Boyd.” The Washington Post heralded Boyd as “romantic,” The New York Daily News touted him as “smooth,” and the San Francisco Bay Guardian lauded him “sophisticated and fun.” Indeed, Johnny Boyd is all of this and more.

Boyd’s musical training started in the Phoenix Boys Choir, and his passion for music and the arts deepened as a thespian in high school. In 1998, after performing tirelessly for five years in San Francisco Bay Area nightclubs and dance halls, Boyd was signed to a major-label recording contract with Time Bomb Recordings/BMG. Today, with hundreds of thousands of records sold and more than 2,000 live performances to his credit – including engagements with celebrated artists Rosemary Clooney, Lionel Hampton, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra – Boyd is preparing to depart for the next leg of his creative journey.

With his highly anticipated upcoming release, Someday Dreams of You, Boyd introduces a whole new generation of listeners to the Great American Songbook and his classic crooning style. The eleven-song release is Boyd’s seventh studio album and his first solo album in over three years. The album was co-produced by Boyd and acclaimed industry veteran Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus), and unlike other Great American Songbook collections, Boyd’s new album has a twist.

“I wanted to create an updated Great American Songbook album,” Boyd explains. “The wonderful thing about GAS compositions is their timelessness – they are rich with real human feelings such as love, loss, joy, hope, reflection, etc. These things don’t change over time. People still experience them today. Why not write brand new songs in the classic Great American Songbook style that express these timeless emotions?

“For me, it’s important to create music that successfully blends the old with the new. I’m not interested in providing a history lesson or recreating something that has been done really well in the past. I live in the world today. The challenge for this new album was to take the timeless styles and sounds from classic mid-century recordings I adore and fold them into the way we live today – to create new songs and update old favorites that complement each other in a fresh way. I think we accomplished this.”

In addition to the new release, Boyd is busy touring the United States promoting “Cocktails with the Crooners,” a live music production currently being developed into a streaming webisode series. Each webisode will capture Boyd and other modern-day troubadours singing and swinging in an intimate living-room party setting – untreated, un-manipulated and very “in the moment.” Viewers will be introduced firsthand to classic new music, creative cocktails, and vintage fashion in a way that reveals more about this iconic lifestyle. It’s a fun, but sophisticated, cocktail party that every grown-up would love to attend.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, Boyd is also curating an exhibit and a book of photographs entitled BellyWarmers (expected for release in 2016) that will feature his incredible vintage 1940s necktie collection (8,000+ pieces and counting). “Vintage neckties are wearable art,” Boyd explains. “The ties are very wide. It’s like wearing a little painting on my chest every time I put one on. The beautiful colors and bold designs make me feel timeless, which is also what I try to do with my music.”

RELEASE INFORMATION:

ALBUM NAME: Someday Dreams of You

LABEL: Cliffdive Records

STREET DATE: February 12, 2016

TRACKS (* denotes new composition):

1.  You Found A Way (To Rescue Me)* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao

2.  Please Make That Happen For Me* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao

3.  My Foolish Heart – Victor Young/Ned Washington

4.  Prisoner Of Love – Russ Columbo/Clarence Gaskill/Leo Robin

5.  Someday Dreams Of You* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao

6.  Can’t Fight This Feeling – Kevin Cronin

7.  Moment* – Johnny Boyd/Chris Corrao

8.  This Heart Of Mine – Harry Warren/Arthur Freed

9.  Where The Real Love Grows* – Johnny Boyd/Eric Shifrin

10.  There But For You Go I – Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Lowe

11.  My Shining Hour – Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer

ADDITIONAL PRESS INFORMATION / EPK / LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO:

http://www.johnnyboyd.com/press

http://www.facebook.com/JohnnyBoyd

https://www.youtube.com/user/johnnyboydtv