Fanatic is a music marketing company established by Josh Bloom in 1997 to build fan-to-fan connections between artists and the media. For 25 years, Fanatic has continued to help launch careers through the strategic advocacy of creative talent.
Primarily recorded in Athens, Georgia in January 2020,
Putnam confesses, “It’s an incredibly depressing project, to mix a live record
during the apocalypse.”
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Jared Putnam of The
March Divide as photographed by Josh Huskin
PLAY, POST
& SHARE
[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/TheMarchDivide-HighAndDry
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LISTEN
HERE!
Check out the premiere of The March Divide’s cover of “High
and Dry” by Radiohead at Americana Highways here
or listen at the link above!
“I don’t do many covers live,” Jared Putnam of The March
Divide says of the Radiohead
cover included on ALIVE!, his first-ever live album, recorded in Athens, Georgia
in January, just before the pandemic forced Putnam to leave the road. “‘High
and Dry’ by Radiohead is one of
the few I do.’ The Bends was a huge influence on my songwriting, so it was an
easy song for me to make my own.”
For a tune that is an indie rock cornerstone, Putnam claims it. With just his
acoustic guitar and harmonica, he hits the high notes with such clarity and
pathos, it’d probably move Thom Yorke
himself. Probably Johnny Greenwood,
too! “Around a year ago, I tried to record it, in the studio, but just didn’t
feel like it came across as well as it did live.”
RSVP HERE!
Jared Putnam of The March
Divide livestreams a set tonight,
Aug. 24th at 830PM EST
/ 730PM CST as part of the Americana Highways “Live From The
Quarantine” series.
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The March Divide
ALIVE!
Aug. 28th, 2020
(Slow
Start Records)
Track
Listing:
01. I Don’t Care (Live/Acoustic)
02. Spinning (Live/Acoustic)
03. You Save Me (Live/Acoustic)
04. Manic Monday (Live/Acoustic)
05. Take Your Chances (Live/Acoustic)
06. I Didn’t Mean It (Live/Acoustic)
07. Get In Line (Live/Acoustic)
08. Stevie Doesn’t Know (Live/Acoustic)
09. High and Dry (Live/Acoustic) (STREAM)
10. I Will Run To You (Live/Acoustic)
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The March
Divide | In The Press
“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter
“Putnam’s
vocals pop.” — PopMatters
“Ingenious.” — Cowboys
& Indians
“Hits the mark again and again.” — The Big Takeover
“The melodies are as catchy as ever.” — Twangville
“Putnam is
skillful.” — Nashville Scene
“A serious set of pipes.” — The Aquarian
“Infectiously poppy.” — Glide Magazine
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The March Divide | About
“There’s no better time than a global pandemic to
start work on whatever you’ve been putting off.”
Jared Putnam of The March
Divide has never been known for putting anything off when it comes to
releasing music. After the release of his most recent full-length Anticipation
Pops two summers ago, Putnam
followed up with five volumes in his “Distractions”
series, which he started “as an outlet to release songs I was working on
between albums,” and later evolved into “more of a personal song writing
challenge.”
The “distractions” became the focus as Putnam began to write, record, and
release new singles every few weeks. All of this work was supplemented by a
busy life on the road, mostly in and surrounding Putnam’s home base of San Antonio (he has since relocated to the
Dallas area.) This is, of course, before the pandemic changed the game. If it
seems like revisiting show recordings and compiling them for a live album
during this time would be a daunting task, Putnam
affirms that it is.
“It’s an incredibly depressing project, to mix a live
record during the apocalypse,” he says. “I’ve worked really hard to get to the
place that I was making a comfortable living from touring, and it literally
vanished overnight.”
Difficult words to hear from any musician, but
especially from one like Putnam
whose work ethic is so strong.
“I started working on the mix right after everything
was shut down, but it got really hard for me to work on, knowing there was no
foreseeable end date to venues being shut down, so no foreseeable start date to
my next tour,” he explains.
As the reality sunk in, Putnam pushed forward, and completed the project. The first live
album by The March Divide,
appropriately titled ALIVE! will be released on August 28th via Slow Start Records.
“The recording is primarily taken from a show I did in
Athens, Georgia in January of 2020 at Vega
Studios and a another show I did in Detroit in April of 2019. It was easy
to pick the songs, because that was pretty much the set I was playing during
all my tours behind my last album.”
Summing up ALIVE!, Putnam says, “I really wanted to release something that felt as
much like an actual show as possible.”
We’re all hoping that The March Divide, and all touring musicians, can get back to
playing actual shows very soon.
Jared Putnam of The March
Divide is available for interviews. Contact Josh
Bloom at Fanatic for
more information.
+++
The March Divide | Links
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP : SLOW START RECORDS
+++
Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact
WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Christopher the Conquered | About
“There is something deeply off about everything that's happening here and I'm 100% sold.” – Brightest Young Things
“You know Garfield, he’s a cartoon cat, you got a telephone in the shape of his body yeah, but you don’t pick it up! Why don’t you pick it up? Pick it up!” – Christopher the Conquered
Thought it was a lyric from the next Justin Timberlake album, huh? Justin Timberlake wishes it was. The casual groove intermingles with a chorus of female background vocalists and a horn section, but it’s the “deeply off” that owns.
Yes, it’s actually Christopher the Conquered who is bringing sexy back on his latest album I Am Christopher (Grand Phony, Sept. 25th), opening with this cut and heading right into the album’s first single “Put It On Your Credit Card,” which is what Christopher (actual last name Ford) says you should do “when life gets hard” because “those motherfuckers got enough money anyway.”
Coming up in L.A.’s punk scene, guitar hangs with Radiohead, 250 dates a year in both Idaho, Pete Yorn’s band, now Terry Borden has found his sound.
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Terry Borden of Blesson Roy
as photographed by Ankhurr Chawaak
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& SHARE
“Soothe” is
taken from the upcoming Blesson Roy debut album Think Like Spring, the solo project of Terry Borden, coming Nov. 27th,
2020 on Slow Start Records.
Borden says, “‘Think like spring’ is a suggestion for a
train of thought that is focused on positivity and renewal. This is most
certainly an especially important time, for all of us to embrace the new
paradigm shifts – positive and negative – with a sense of creativity and
invention.”
[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/blesson-roy-soothe
Blesson Roy | In The Press
“Will expand your mind.” — BTRtoday
“AM pop radio has served him well.” — PopMatters
“Dreamy and earthy.” — The Big Takeover
“Beach Boys-esque
poppy vocals.” — Glide Magazine
“Beautifully realized.” — Beats Per Minute
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As he
continues to prepare his debut album Think
Like Spring for a fall release, Terry Borden of Blesson Roy has released
what he calls an “Almost Acoustic” version of his debut “Time Is A Crime” EP.
Borden explains, “The songs on the EP were all written on
acoustic guitar and/or electric guitar unplugged. I am recording everything
myself with no band, so I work out the songs on acoustic before I ever create
drum parts or anything else to sonic layer cake. As such, they have an acoustic
soul. It seemed a good idea to do these acoustic versions, with minimal sonic
flourishes that come in as an ‘almost acoustic’ nod to the analog synth chakra
that is also a pillar of the Blesson Roy
sound. Now, listening to the finished ‘Almost Acoustic’ versions of the five
songs on the ‘Time Is A Crime’ EP,
they have taken on a new character, that lets their acoustic core have its time
in the sun and the moon. I love tambourine immensely, so that is in there too!”
+++
Blesson Roy
“Time Is A Crime” EP (Almost Acoustic)
Out Now
(Slow Start Records)
Streaming Link:
Track Listing:
01. In Tune With The Moon (Almost Acoustic)
02. Let It Go
(Almost Acoustic)
03. Lost & Found (Almost Acoustic)
04. Inside (Almost Acoustic)
05. Walk This Mile (Almost Acoustic)
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& SHARE
“This combination of visuals and audio will expand
your mind to a level of self-comfort that’s hard to obtain alone,” says BTRtoday about visual artist Tom Gorai’s music video for “Let It Go” by Blesson Roy. See the video at
BTRtoday here or at the link
below.
“Gorai has
been nominated for both an EMMY® and GRAMMY®, and he
won MTV’s Video of The Year award for his production of Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy.”
He’s also known for his music video production with artists like Nine Inch Nails and A Tribe Called Quest. So when Gorai first became isolated during the
COVID-19 lockdown, he knew he had to use his talent for visual art to
contribute to the song that expanded his mind so much during that time.”
Gorai explains, “When I first heard Blesson Roy’s ‘Let It Go,’
it screamed at me loudly and I was deeply affected,” he says in an artist’s
statement. “The next thing I knew is that, in this weird state of nothingness
and stasis, I thought I could hear the song more clearly than ever before, so I
took a deep breath and just focused on listening to the music. I put it on
repeat and just listened over and over as I let whatever influences I was
feeling direct me to put together light and color and patterns.”
The song itself is also very personal to Blesson Roy’s Terry Borden. He explains that the tune, “started with a hypnotic
guitar line that triggered a meditation. The creative process and sound
conjured up painful memories and its simplicity allowed for a layered catharsis
which worked these toxic feelings to the surface and out of the subconscious,
in a sweeping and graceful gesture, culminating in the survival action of
letting go of stored traumas. It is a step in that direction, small or more
depending on how the frequencies shimmer in your lake.”
+++
Blesson Roy
“Time Is A Crime” EP
Out Now
(Slow Start Records)
Streaming Link:
Track Listing:
01. In Tune With The Moon (LYRIC VIDEO)
02. Let It Go (LYRIC VIDEO | MUSIC VIDEO)
03. Lost & Found (LYRIC VIDEO)
04. Inside
05. Walk This Mile
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Blesson Roy | About
Life-long “music lover and music doer,” Terry Borden is a child of 1970’s
California whose early love of AM radio and his brother’s record collection has
led him to numerous career highlights that are still accumulating.
These include: Kind words from Lou Reed, two appearances on David
Letterman, guitar hangs with Radiohead,
and 250-plus tour dates a year throughout early 2000s as a member of slowcore
pioneers Idaho and singer-songwriter
Pete Yorn’s backing band Dirty Bird.
Coming of age in Los Angeles during the early 1990’s
rise of punk and new wave, Borden’s
long and varied career as a studio and touring musician will culminate with the
release of his own dreamy pop project in 2020. Blesson Roy’s five-song “Time
Is A Crime” EP is out now.
Owing to Borden’s
stint living and working in the UK where he was influenced by the burgeoning
sounds of sub-cultural labels such as 4AD,
Creation, Factory and Rough Trade,
the music of Blesson Roy will
undoubtedly please fans of all these sounds.
Borden brings real roots song craft to his work, as well,
showing that his recent years away from the music industry, but not away from
songwriting, have only served to develop his abilities and technique, as Borden masterfully performs all of the
instruments on the new tracks himself.
After Borden’s
run with Idaho came to an end, he
signed with Dave Allen of Gang of Four’s World Domination label as Flotilla,
releasing one critically praised album, and while the label eventually folded,
the record found some important ears, including those of Yorn.
When Yorn
was looking for a touring guitarist, Borden
got the gig, eventually switched to his beloved bass and spent another four
years out on the road. Then, during a break in touring, Borden decided to make the down time indefinite.
“After a decade-long ride, I took a long time off and
away from music and the music business,” he says. “I needed to take a hard look
at my life, to clean up some existential messes, and change some unhealthy
habits.” Now, revitalized and energized, Borden
is continuing to create, write and record music for himself again.
Blesson Roy’s five-song “Time
Is A Crime” EP is out now via Slow Start
Records. Terry Borden is
available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
+++
Blesson Roy | Links
ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP
+++
Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact
WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Think Bob Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” if Jerry Garcia had dropped by. Hear “End of The Day” now via Americana Highways.
+++
Reforester (L-R): Steve
Hefter, Chris Laun, Austin Stahl. Courtesy of Reforester.
+++
Listen
to “End of The Day” by Reforester at Americana Highways or the links above or
below.
“With exquisite harmonies blending with the guitar
strings, Reforester wriggles right
into your mind. The passage of time is all too real and this is a reminder,”
says Americana Highways in its
premiere coverage of “End of The Day”
by Reforester. Read
more about it here.
The band’s Chris
Laun explains, “I wanted to write something happy because I don’t usually
and I thought it’d be a good challenge and ended up failing miserably. What I
had envisioned as a song about the day to day joys of being a Dad and raising a
family turned into a song about not being able to avoid my own mortality and
the march of time. Having kids is a wonderful experience but one downside is
you have a constant visual reminder that our time is finite.”
[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_286OsPwoI
[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/reforester-end-of-the-day
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Reforester
“Perpetuity” EP
Out Now
(S/R)
Streaming Link:
Track
Listing:
01. Deaf Stethoscope
02. Drive by Feel (STREAM
| LYRIC VIDEO)
03. Flying South
04. Break with the Day
05. End of the Day
06. No Mouth
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About | Reforester
Steven
Hefter’s 2011 album, released under
the clever moniker of St. Even, was
called a masterpiece twice, once by the Baltimore
City Paper (“a masterpiece of dark pop songwriting”) and again by Portland,
Oregon’s Willamette Week (“Spirit
Animal is a masterpiece.”)
So, that’s it. That’s the bio. You should listen to Hefter’s latest songs with his latest
band Reforester because he’s that
good.
Need more convincing? Okay, let’s get into that.
Hefter left Portland in 2017 and returned to Baltimore and
his good friend and collaborator, Austin
Stahl, who he has previously played with as the rhythm section of
long-running Baltimore-based band Small
Sur – a band that has released three albums to date and shared stages with Angel Olsen, Damien Jurado, Vetiver, Strand of Oaks, Phosphorescent, and others.
With Reforester,
Hefter and Stahl (who is also the recipient of some not-faint praise, being
named “Baltimore’s Best Singer-Songwriter” by the Baltimore City Paper) have rounded out the trio with Hefter’s former Challenge Club bandmate Chris
Laun, who may have been mistakenly overlooked by the local press, but did
have his tribute song to the Baltimore
Orioles played at Camden Yards
on opening day, which frankly, may be the win out of these three.
In summation, Reforester
is a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts scenario, because masterful songwriters
flock together.
Three writers, three singers, three-part harmonies.
That’s what you’ll hear on “Perpetuity,”
the debut EP from Reforester, out now.
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[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/Reforester-DriveByFeel
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Hear “Drive
By Feel,” the debut single from Reforester at For
Folk’s Sake or at the links above or below.
“Steven Hefter,
Austin Stahl, and Chris Laun are Reforester. The latest brainchild of three artists who share their
fair share of accolades apart from their newest band, Reforester features three singer-songwriters and three-part
harmonies. It’s subtle indie rock with folk influences that run into
unsuspecting moments of sweeping layers of musicality, making for listens that
are as accessible and lovely as they are impressively composed.” – For Folk’s Sake
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[LYRIC VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSqbSXd5A1s
+++
Reforester | Links
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : BANDCAMP
+++
Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact
WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
