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PRESS RELEASE: The Katalyst Band's Extraordinary 2009

The Katalyst Band's Extraordinary 2009


Nashville, TN - December 30, 2009 - The guys of The Katalyst Band have had an extraordinary 2009. The band released their first single, "Searching," performed on the ICM Awards, and have worked closely with live music producer, Tom Jackson. They ended the year with a showcase on December 3rd, which took place at Wildhorse Saloon, downtown Nashville. Several music industry professionals came out to hear the band play and left very impressed with what they heard.

The next single by The Katalyst Band, "Woah Oh," penned by lead singer Jordan Wood, will be released in early January. The guys felt that this song embodies what Katalyst stands for. They always seek to focus their intentions on bringing glory and praise to our Heavenly Father. It speaks of their walk and how others may view Christians from time to time, but their purpose and goal is to encourage others to find joy in their worship.

Meanwhile, "Searching" has been chosen to be included on a compilation disc distributed by Texas Tech to each incoming freshman for 2010. There are 4-5 thousand freshmen each year at Texas Tech. The song was chosen out of several hundred other entrants for this slot.

For more info on The Katalyst Band, check out www.myspace.com/thekatalystband.


Check out some pictures from the showcase at Wildhorse saloon:

Photo Credits: Bev Moser
L-R Kenny Rodgers (Word Records), Will Boreing, Ryan Garza, Seth Ramirez, Steven Shedd, Jordan Wood, and John Ozier (Curb Records)

The Katalyst Band with Celeste Winstead (Slanted Records), Norman Holland (Daywind Records), and Gene Higgins (President/Founder, HMG Nashville/Power Source)
The Katalyst Band with Gene Higgins (President/Founder, HMG Nashville/Power Source) and Ken Harding (President of New Haven Records)
The Katalyst Band with Michael Turner (Daywind Records) and Brian Smith (Turning Point Media Relations)



ADAM FISHER INTERVIEW


I recently met a young man who like so many in Nashville aspires to be a big country music star; but this young man stands apart from the others. Adam Fisher the day we sat down to chat, was dressed in all black; unique leather jacket and had a look all his own with very blue eyes and coal black hair. We visited about how he got started in is musical career and we talked about his dreams of making it big.

It is no secret that Elvis Presley played a big part in making Adam who he is today. As a young child he often would dress and act as Elvis, complete with the hip-shaking moves and smooth style of “The King”. When Adam was thirteen, a music teacher asked him to entertain at local church function where he sang “That’s Alright Momma” and the dream took hold; from that point on he entertained for many other events and entered countless contests honing his skills as an Elvis Impersonator and forming the roots to pursue music as a career. Stella Parton was on hand at a performance in Memphis, and since has been working with him to further his dreams and hone his skills as an artist.

“Cotton Town” is hitting the radio airwaves and been received well by the industry and fans as it pulls on the emotional heartstrings of growing up in a small farming town and taking trips down memory lane. Currently in the process of writing and recording the songs for his upcoming CD, Adam is excited to get on tour and perform, that is where is passion lives. His voice combines the deep baritone vocals with smooth and easy lyrics; which alone sets him apart from many other artists, but add the flavor and resonance of the influential tunes of Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Dave Matthews, The Black Crowes and Shooter Jennings intertwined with Adam’s style and you have something fresh, new, exciting and different on today’s country music scene.

When asked which stage in Music City he was most excited about performing on, he did not hesitate to answer, “The Ryman”. Adam choose to follow his heart to Nashville and never finished college, so he made a promise to his dad, that his performance on the Ryman stage would replace the degree had he completed his formal education.

Currently signed with Lofton Creek Records, Adam is busy networking in Music City and getting his name out there. He recently participated in the “Christmas for Kids Bus Tour & Charity Fundraiser” where he signed autographs and met with new fans for over three hours as they toured the “STARS” tour busses at a Wal-Mart in Hendersonville, TN.

Keep your ears open and be on the look out for this up and coming new star. I think 2010 will have a whole new feel in country music once his project is complete and Adam hits the scene full force.

For more information on Adam Fisher visit http://www.adamfisherlive.com/

Charlie Daniels Q & A "Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas"

Charlie Daniels recently welcomed music industry executives and media outlet representatives who were invited to a private reception at BMI to preview the legendary musician’s latest project, Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas

Prior to the DVD viewing party, media was given an opportunity to ask questions of Charlie and interact with his management team in regards to the project and Charlie Daniels music career.

Introduction by David Corlew President/Co owner at Blue Hat Records/Corlew Music Group: I have worked for Charlie for 38 years. We need to thank BMI for allowing us to have this space and thanks to Koch Records. Chuck Rhodes has compiled a series of three records called Christmas Grass. With the fourth one, Chuck wanted to step it up a level and have a center point in the project. Charlie Daniels is the center point. On this special project a lot of other artists that joined us and it is different in the fact that we let the artists do whole songs rather than being a duets record. It was fun doing the CD and then we offered them the opportunity to shoot it for the DVD which compliments the CD. Without further ado, I would like to introduce my boss, Charlie Daniels.

CD: This project was presented to me as “do you want to do a Bluegrass Christmas album”. I cut my teeth on Bluegrass music. The first band I ever played in was Bluegrass; I have always loved Bluegrass music and wanted to do this project. One of my goals was to do songs that were not normally thought of as Bluegrass songs. For instance “The Christmas Song” that Dan Tyminski did such an incredible job of singing on. If you hear Nat King Cole or Mel Torme singing it, you wouldn’t think of it as Bluegrass. We did “Joy to the World” and “Come All Ye Faithful”. I just picked the songs at random, some were my favorites and others just felt like they fit. I want to say that personally for myself, it was a joyous project and I got to work with a bunch of great folks. I appreciate each of you who accepted my invitation to join us today and welcome you to ask me questions.


Q: With the growing popularity of Bluegrass music, do you think this album will have an international appeal?

CD: I certainly hope so, I don’t really know. I am not really that familiar with the Bluegrass position in the international market but we certainly hope so. It is going to have a chance to.

Q: In shooting the DVD in the summer time, how did you get in the mood?

CD: In the music business, you have to adapt to situations like that, pretend it was Christmas time. We had a big long stage that we set everyone up on. We put Christmas trees and decorations on it. When you walked in, you walked into a Christmas scene that put you into the Christmas frame of mind. The music, when you get into playing it, you get lost in it. I am a big fan of the people that worked on this project. Just standing there listening to Kathy Mattea sing or the Grascals was great.

Q: How did you decide who you wanted on the album?

CD: We sent out invitations. One thing that comes into play with a project like this is schedules. During the high touring time of the year, you have to work out the schedules, work out the song, then work out the key and then lay out the project. Basically, I picked the songs out. The philosophy was that if no one wanted to do these songs, I would sing them myself. We did a lot of the tracks and someone would pick that song. There was no rhyme or reason for any of the songs, they were not Bluegrass songs but could be done as Bluegrass songs.

Q: Was there anyone on this album that you worked with for the first time?

CD: Dan Tyminski. There is a little story that goes with that. I am a big Mac Wiseman fan. I had a vision of Mac Wiseman singing “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”. I asked him if he knew the song and would he be willing to do it. I asked him what key he wanted us to do the track in since Mac’s voice is very high. He sings way above anyone else. In between the time we got the track done and time for him to do the vocal on it, he had a terrible accident. He was almost bedridden and was not able to do the vocal on it. I had this beautiful track with twin fiddles, it was one of my dreams, and I was stuck with it. People told me to do it as an instrumental but I couldn’t see it that way. I couldn’t sing it; it was too high for me. Then Angela in the office said to get Dan Tyminski. I thought “Yeah, that makes sense”. So they got in touch with him and he said yes. He did it and just killed it. He made no big deal out of it and it is a hard song to sing. I do it in my show every year in a different key but he just killed it. He did a great job on it. I met him and made an new friend. He is a tremendously talented guy. I am really happy and proud to have him on it.

Q: Do you think you will be adding a Bluegrass element to your traditional Christmas show?

CD: Not particularly. We do Christmas music every year, we have shows that are billed as Christmas shows starting around the first of December but if we did all Christmas music and didn’t do “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” and didn’t do “Long Haired Country Boy” and we didn’t do “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” and we didn’t do other songs that people are familiar with, people would be very disappointed with us. What we do is intermingle Christmas with our regular show.

Q: What age group do you see in your autograph lines?

CD: Come and see! We would love to have you there. We have people of all ages, little kids, a few teenagers and older people and older than that people. We are in our third generation of fans. We have been blessed enough that the little guys like, like “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” and “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” that they get indoctrinated with. I have a special section in my fan club called the “Century Club”. It is when you have attended 100 shows, think about that, when you have attended 10 shows a year for 10 years, or 5 shows for 20 years, I give you a belt buckle and a certificate. I don’t have a count on now many of those things we have given out, but it is quite a few. People have come to see us since we have been in existence, nearly 40 years.

Q: You mentioned there were several songs that were not particularly Bluegrass. Was there one that was more challenging than others?

CD: “The Christmas Song”. There are a lot of chords in that song and it is not something you would think about being played on Bluegrass instruments. I wanted to do twin fiddles on it, which we did but I didn’t play on it. That was one of my challenges. I was thinking about Mac doing and it would work. I said “we can make this work” and I took a fiddle and goofed around with it to get an idea which way to go with it. We went in and cut it, Dan came in and sang it and did a tremendous job.

Q: Another unusual one in here, “Carolina Christmas Carol”, how did that come to be?

CD: “Carolina Christmas Carol”. I wrote a book of short stories years back and that happened to be one of them. My son asked me years ago, “why don’t you read that on Christmas eve night when we get together with family and friends”? I thought that was a good idea. I always do the St. Luke’s version of the Christmas story, the classic King James version that Luke wrote. That is part of our tradition on Christmas eve. I had recorded these things for some reason, I don’t remember why but we had them. It was David that said put them on the album. We put a little guitar behind it and put it on the album. The story is totally fictitious of course but it is a little bit semi-autobiographical with some of the memories I had of Christmas from back when I believed in Santa Claus, and I still do by the way. St. Luke’s Christmas story is what it is all about, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. That is what Christmas is all about.

Q: Congratulations for “Christmas for Kids” selling out.

CD: I know that all of you know the story behind this. It was started by the drivers of the artist buses and the Nashville music community has taken this to heart. So many of them show up every year, Phil Vassar, Chris Young, Gretchen Wilson and Brad Arnold will be coming to put on a show with us. It is a show with a heart and we are very proud of it and will continue to do it as long as we can.

Q: What is up next after the Christmas project?

CD: I have decided to just take my time and record stuff when it seems like the right thing to do. I have done three tracks so far, I may do one track the next time, I may do two tracks, until we get whatever we need to release a CD or download or however. I am just going to record and pile stuff up and see where it goes. I probably will do some songs I didn’t write, probably more songs I didn’t write on this project than any other project I have done except for some classics like the hymn album I did.

Q: You have had such an affect on people for so long and the effects are now showing up on things like the CMA award show. Any comments on the Zac Brown band?

CD: I think it is wonderful that he did that. I was flying to Seattle Washington and was in the air and missed it. It has been sent to me on YouTube. I had heard his version before and I knew he was going to do it on the show that night but I didn’t see it live. I feel wonderful about it. I got an award from BMI that this song has played on the air 4 million times.

Thank you very much ladies and gentleman, I truly appreciate all you do and have done for me over the years. With that said, I would like to welcome each of your to join us for some refreshments and move into the theatre to view the DVD of “A Bluegrass Christmas” and see for yourself what all of the excitement is about.

For more information on Charlie Daniels visit www.charliedaniels.com

Compassion International Awareness Concert

On Wednesday, December 2 several of Nashville’s country and pop artists performed for a standing room only crowd at Music City’s Mercy Lounge, with the goal of raising funds and awareness for the Global Food Crisis Fund, an initiative of Compassion International, a leading Christian child advocacy ministry. All proceeds from the benefit went towards assisting children and families affected by the global crisis, specifically in the most needed areas of the world where Compassion serves.

Artists supporting the cause and giving unselfishly of their time and talent included Tammy Cochran, Sixpence None The Richer’s Leigh Nash, Carter’s Chord, Julie Roberts, Bryan White, Blaine Larsen, Rob Blackledge, Mica Roberts, Trailer Choir, Canaan Smith, Charmaine, Natalie Hemby, Alathea and other special guests. Radio veterans Tony Randall and Kris Rochester from the new national syndicated morning show “Tony and Kris in the Morning” hosted the heart touching event.

Mike Severson organized the event and also serves as Artist and Radio Relations for Compassion International. “We have taken several of these artists on Compassion trips to see the work being done to rescue children from poverty and give them hope,” said Severson. “Every artist upon return wanted to do something relevant to make a direct impact on the lives of the world’s most vulnerable. As we began to talk about long term strategies, there was an overwhelming consensus to put their passion and talent to immediate use in a way that will not only help those in critical need, but also raise awareness of that need. That’s what this show is all about.”

“Compassion has been involved within the music industry for over 30 years and now is forming partnerships within the country and pop formats,” Severson continued. “Artists have such a powerful voice and Compassion provides a platform where they can truly make a life changing impact whether it is through our holistic Child Development Program or one of our intervention programs such as the Global Food Crisis Fund.”

Bryan White has recently released a podcast (http://www.givmusic.com/2009/11/bryan-white-givmusic-podcast/ ) about his involvement with Compassion and says "We have constant defining moments throughout our life where we can either walk away or respond. For me, one of the defining moments, as far as figuring out what I really wanted to do in life, was make an impact apart from the nation I lived in," White explains. "I had always dreamed of looking beyond here as well and I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Ecuador a couple of years ago with Spence, my friend, with Compassion. That is really what changed my life and made me 100% get involved with Compassion."

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from economic, social, spiritual, and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled adults. Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care. Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 26 countries.


Go to www.compassion.com for more information.

Additional photos of the event can be seen on Digital Rodeo at http://www.digitalrodeo.com/DRPhotos/photos/album/CompassionInternational
or on http://www.flickr.com/photos/momentsbymoser/sets/72157622944598074

CERRITO "All I Want For Christmas Is Beer"



Music Industry executives, artists and friends gathered at Cummins Station on Thursday December 3rd to kick off the holidays in good spirit with CERRITO bringing the “Beer”. PLA Media and Blanchard Management Group (BMG) hosted the intimate gathering to celebrate the release of the fun new tune just in time for the Holiday Season.

Entertainment was provided by CERRITO, who mingled throughout the crowd while he sang encouraging guests to sing along with him and also bringing several to the “stage” to dance as CERRITO put forth a flamboyant display of dance moves.

Internationally renowned singer/songwriter CERRITO is now drawing an interest among American audiences with this whimsical and comical song, "All I Want For Christmas Is BEER!" The song was written by John Mathis, Jr. (the son of "Country" Johnny Mathis who wrote hits for Johnny Paycheck, Ray Price, George Jones and others).

CERRITO is also working on the first country bilingual collaboration project, “CERRITO y Las Chicas de Country (CERRITO and the Girls of Country)” with country songbirds Lynn Anderson, Lane Brody, Jett Williams (daughter of country music icon Hank Williams), Janie Fricke, Elizabeth Cook and more. Watch for this project to be released in 2010.

Additional photos of the event can be viewed at Digital Rodeo photos at http://www.digitalrodeo.com/DRPhotos/photos/album/CerritoAllIWantForChristmasIsBeerReleaseParty

Listen for this holiday hit on your local station this season or download it at iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody or Napster.

For more information on CERRITO, visit www.CERRITOmusic.com