STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
Los Angeles area songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gregory Ackerman has announced the upcoming release of his debut album. And Friends, produced by Rilo Kiley bassist, Pierre de Reeder, will arrive on May 25th courtesy of V2/Munich. Ackerman is scheduled to play The Mint in Los Angeles this Fri., Feb. 2nd.
Gini Mascorro at KXT in Dallas gave a "What's New" spin to "Call For Cull" by Margaret Chavez, taken from the debut solo album by Marcus William Striplin of Pleasant Grove, this week. The nationally recognized and influential station also posted the track on its weekly playlist rundown. "A Loupe" is out now on CD/LP/DIGI via Goliad Media Group.
"40 years ago Stephen Doster was the first Austin artist I heard on the local airwaves; 40 years later his album New Black Suit is the one I listened to the most in 2017," says Jody Denberg of nationally renowned public radio station KUTX 98.9 in Austin. Denberg has named the album's single "Shooting For The Stars" as one of his top five tracks of 2017.
"Anyone who came of age in the era of early MTV and the British Invasion’s second wave might just feel a kinship with 'Desertion.'" Gini Mascorro at KXT in Dallas for the public radio premiere of the new single from MOTORCADE! Debut album out on Idol Records Jan. 19th.
Marcus William Striplin of Dallas-based band Pleasant Grove has announced the release of his first solo album. "A Loupe" (Goliad Media, Jan. 19th) arrives under the name Margaret Chavez, a tribute to Striplin's mother, and is a 32-minute, continuous ten-song cycle that highlights the writing and vocals that the Dallas Observer previously described as “songs of broken hearts and broken voices,” and the UK's UNCUT dubbed a “mark of excellence in modern Americana.”
“I wanted The Greatest Fire to be an expression of everything I was capable of, to feature the best songwriting I’ve done to date and to let rock n’ roll shine through the more diverse influences of my previous records,” says Brooklyn-based musician, Jeremy Bass.
Bass has logged countless hours mastering the classical guitar, an instrument that he was originally trained on in Italy and Spain. His ascension as a composer ultimately led to The Secret City, the arts organization for which Bass serves as musical director, receiving an Obie Award – off-Broadway theater’s highest honor.
Bass has also proven himself as a lyricist with award-winning work for the stylistically diverse pair of EPs he released in 2015 that earned him nods from the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and UK Songwriting Contest.
With The Greatest Fire, scheduled for release on Jan. 19th, 2018 via Jungle Strut Music, he has made a masterpiece.
Dallas-based foursome MOTORCADE contains some of the busiest musicians in town, with members that have previously recorded and/or been in touring bands with St. Vincent, The Apples in Stereo, The War on Drugs, Daniel Johnston, and many more. "Recover," the first MOTORCADE single, has landed in rotation on Dallas community radio KXT, where it has held strong for almost a year. MOTORCADE will now follow "Recover" up with a self-titled full-length album, available via Idol Records on Jan. 19th, 2018.
The March Divide made the compilation Five Years of The March Divide: The Singles 2013-2017 available via NoiseTrade earlier this month, and now it's available on all of the usual streaming services, as well. RIYL: The Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses, Pete Yorn.
The Seattle-based foursome Moon Darling will follow-up its 2016 EP "Dreams" with the seven-track collection By The Light of The Moon, arriving January 26th. The release will be preceded by the title track, coming soon. Moon Darling plays Bainbridge Island, WA at Space Craft on Nov. 11th and the Freakout Festival in Seattle, WA at Conor Byrne Pub on Nov. 17th.
Juno™ award-winning Canadian traditional folk group The Fretless will follow up its 2016 "Best Instrumental Album of The Year" with an intimate live album Live From The Artfarm on April 6th.
The band's Trent Freeman chatted with Victoria, British Columbia's Times-Columnist last October about the project.
From the Times-Columnist: The band has already embarked on its next journey: a live album recorded in July before a studio audience in New York state, on a farm near the Berkshire mountain range.
"The recording was made live off the floor, in a barn, with the group sitting under three microphones. The concert was recorded straight to tape, with no overdubs," Freeman said."
Congrats out to Mark Bryan on his Emmy win for "Live at the Charleston Music Hall." Mark's third solo album Songs of the Fortnight arrives on August 11th from Chucktown Music Group.