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.
“I was listening to Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and
The Waterboys,” Borden says of “No Other,” taken from just-released “Ana Left
Spain +2” EP. +++
Terry Borden of Blesson Roy as photographed by Ankhurr Chawaak +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE
Blesson Roy | “Ana Left Spain +2” EP
[STREAM]:
https://Fanatic.lnk.to/BlessonRoy-AnaLeftSpainEP +++ Think
Like Spring is the debut solo album from life-long “music lover and
music doer,” Terry Borden, the man
behind Blesson Roy, and follows-up
Borden’s twin 2020 EPs “Time Is A Crime”
and “Time Is A Crime (Almost Acoustic).”
Borden’s long career has seen him traveling the world as bassist with Pete Yorn’s band and as a member of
slowcore pioneers, Idaho, prior to
the beginnings of Blesson Roy. Borden has just released a new three-song Blesson Roy EP “Ana Left Spain +2,” which offers up a 2021 remix / remaster of the
popular Think Like Spring album cut, accompanied by two all-new songs, “Bed of Roses” and “No Other.”Listen here and check
out an interview with Vents Magazine
where Borden discusses “Bed of Roses.” “‘Bed of Roses’
was written in London during a glorious summer spent in and around Ladbroke
Grove. Adventure, mischief, and magic seemed to be all around and above us that
summer. Somehow, through fate or fortune, we continually landed in a bed of
roses rather than the briar patch... well, maybe a few times in the briar
patch,” Borden says. “‘No Other’
was written in Austria near the border with Italy and Slovenia. I was visiting
my wife Julia’s home, before we were married. I was in love with her, and the
beauty of the place where she was born and raised. “We were hiking in the mountains, taking long walks
along pristine rivers surrounded by the Austrian Alps, and I was listening to Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and The
Waterboys during this trip. I felt like their music was a soundtrack to the
beauty of this part of the world. I wrote the chords and melody in a stream of
consciousness, and the words came a bit later when I reflected on the beauty of
nature and new found love.” “Ana Left
Spain +2” is out now via Slow Start Records. +++ Blesson Roy | In The Press “Deliciously catchy hooks.” — American Songwriter “A new sound in a new decade.” — PopMatters “Dreamy and earthy.” — The Big Takeover “Intricately-arranged pop.” — MXDWN “One of the catchiest numbers of the year.” — Stereo Embers “Sunny, Beach Boys-esque.”
— Glide Magazine “Hypnotic.” — Treble +++ Blesson Roy Think
Like Spring Out Now (Slow Start Records) Streaming Link: STREAM FULL LP
Track Listing: 01. Soothe (STREAM) 02. Fingerprints Of Love 03. Undertow (STREAM | VIDEO | VIDEO [SWEETENED]) 04. Should’ve Known Better (VIDEO | LYRIC VIDEO | REMIX) 05. Ana Left Spain 06. Stays With You (STREAM | VIDEO | LYRIC VIDEO) 07. The Loving Sea 08. Waterfall Drops 09. Maria Rain 10. Thousand (STREAM | VIDEO) 11. Near 12. I Can See You 13. Falling 14. The Gaps +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE Blesson Roy | “Should’ve
Known Better”
[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHB3XhFITaI [STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/BlessonRor-ShouldveKnownBetter +++ Hear “Should’ve
Known Better” by Blesson Roy via
American
Songwriter and see the video at Under
The Radar or at the links below. Calling back to the bright tones and sweet melodies of
Britpop. Amidst a jangly guitar-led instrumental and sharp vocal hook, Terry Borden of Blesson Roy takes listeners on another trip back through his record
collection, showing his ability to incorporate and synthesize styles as both a
creator and a fan. “It’s basically the designed cinematic and aural
engaged focus, rhythm, and pacing of a real ‘climactic’ human moment,” says
director Tom Gorai aka Sweeten, the Grammy® and Emmy®-nominated
producer who has also produced videos for Pearl
Jam (“Jeremy”), Nine Inch Nails, and A Tribe Called Quest tells Under
The Radarof his clip for the Blesson
Roy single “Should’ve Known Better,”
which depicts a masked Los Angeles, courtesy of a cyclist who biffs it, and a
liquor store parking lot dancer who clearly does not. The “Should’ve
Known Better,” video captures the “happy-sad emotional connection” that Borden – a veteran of slowcore pioneers
Idaho and world-wide tours as part
of Pete Yorn’s band – recently told American
Songwriter he was working towards when writing the song. “I like the
energy, the guitars, and the contrasting bittersweet light and dark tones of
the words and music. The chord progression was persistently coming out when I
picked up the guitar over a long period of time. It required a permanent home!” Influenced by The
Smiths, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, David Bowie, New Order, Lou Reed, Punk and Post-Punk from the
80s and 90s, as well as the roots of those movements from the 60s and 70s, Borden brings these and more to his
debut album, Think Like Spring, out now via Slow Start Records. +++
Blesson Roy | About Think Like Spring is the debut album from life-long “music lover and
music doer,” Terry Borden, the man
behind Blesson Roy, and follows-up Borden’s twin 2020 EPs “Time Is A Crime” and “Time Is A Crime (Almost Acoustic)”. On Sept. 24th,
2021, Borden will release a new
three-song Blesson Roy EP “Ana Left
Spain +2,” which offers up a 2021 remix/remaster of the popular Think
Like Spring album cut, accompanied by two all-new songs, “Bed of Roses” and “No Other”. Think Like Spring is the 14-song dreamy pop reflection
of a child of 1970’s California whose early love of AM radio and his brother’s
record collection led to membership in slowcore pioneers Idaho and Pete Yorn’s
band Dirty Bird. Living in the UK
during the explosion of subculture labels 4AD,
Creation, Factory, and Rough Trade
has also heavily influenced the Blesson
Roy sound. Think Like Spring was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown. “I was alone in the studio adjacent to my home and had
no distractions other than the feeling of being truly alone in the recording
space, for days and weeks on end,” Borden
explains. “The positive effect of the pandemic isolation in the studio was the
time and ability to focus on the musical details in the songs, and extend the
searches for the right chemical reactions that manifested in each track.” “Think Like Spring is a suggestion for a train of thought, which is
focused on positivity and renewal,” Borden
continues, discussing the album’s overall concept. “This is an especially
important time for all of us to embrace the new positive and negative paradigm
shifts with a sense of creativity and invention.” About the album’s upcoming singles, Borden says, “‘Undertow’ took on a darker and lusher soundscape than I had
originally imagined, having written that one as a Leonard Cohen or Nick Drake-influenced
acoustic guitar song. As the recording unfolded, however, I realized that ‘Undertow’ needed a dark ambient
soundscape rather than a stripped-down acoustic production.” Borden explains that “Stays
With You” was “a journey into dynamics with the chorus exploding out of the
verses. It was a lot of fun and very satisfying to create the verse and chorus
as almost two different bits of music that tied together emotionally but
remained separate dynamically.” “I ventured into some new areas musically,” he says of
‘Thousand,’ which “became more of an
emotional, anthemic recording; a bit of a departure. It was thrilling to
construct ‘Thousand’ and draw on
unbridled emotion for that one.” “I am pleased that a song with the characteristics of ‘Undertow’ sits next to an indie rocker
like ‘Should’ve Known Better,’Borden says of the album’s final
planned single. “I have always loved records that have different types of songs
with a fearless approach to production that serves the song not the style of
music. The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ is the pinnacle of this
type of approach.” Ultimately, Borden
says that he tried to give each song a separate identity with a unique
personality. “I can’t say if I succeeded in this, but it was the
way I recorded and structured the sound of each track. Writing and recording Think
Like Spring was pure joy with patches of frustration that happen in any
creative process. The songs and the creation of the recordings felt like a warm
place in a cold and dangerous world.” Think Like Spring by Blesson Roy
is out now via Slow Start Records. The
“Ana Left Spain +2” EP is also out
now. Terry Borden is available for
interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information. +++ Blesson Roy | Links ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Displaying vocal prowess, country influences, Draper’s
“Patience and Lipstick” (Jan. 21st) was produced by Jeff Eyrich
(Tanya Tucker, Tim Buckley, John Cale.) +++
Linda
Draper as photographed by
Jeff Um +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE Linda Draper | “Detroit or Buffalo” (Barbara
Keith Cover)
[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdiIYkiiFzQ [SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/linda-draper-detroit-or-buffalo +++ Linda Draper’s cover of the 1972 classic
“Detroit or Buffalo” by Barbara Keith appears on Draper’s upcoming new album Patience and Lipstick, scheduled for
release on Jan. 21st, 2022. Songwriter Barbara
Keith’s 1972 song “Detroit or
Buffalo” was mostly overlooked when it was released as part of Keith’s second solo album, issued by Reprise Records that year. Since then, the
tune has gone on to develop the recognition it deserves as a folk classic. “As soon as JeffEyrich (Draper’s Producer) shared this song with me, I instantly knew I
wanted to cover it,” Draper
remembers. “Barbara’s voice, and the
message in her lyrics, are timeless, raw, and fearlessly vulnerable.” Draper does the tune its deserved justice, showcasing her
own striking vocal performance, while also conveying the nuance and beauty of Keith’s. +++ Linda Draper | In The Press
“Draper’s
illuminating sound provides a radiant glow.” — No Depression “Captivating magic.” — All Music Guide “Not unlike folk mama Joan Baez.” — Time Out New
York “Channeling the finger-plucked folk music of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, she sings like a siren.” — American Songwriter “Full of atmosphere with elegant,
every-note-in-the-right-place instrumentation.” — Popmatters +++ Linda Draper | Live
11/06/2021: Brooklyn, NY @ Pete’s Candy
Store (709 Lorimer St., w/ Atoosa Grey) +++ Linda Draper | About
“I asked them what the secret to a long and happy
marriage was,” Linda Draper says,
recalling a post-gig conversation with a pair of married fans. “Jack is very patient,” Ivana, a flight attendant who
works long hours, explained. “And Linda,” she continued, “I always carry a tube
of lipstick in my purse. No matter how late it is, as soon as I turn the corner
towards home, I reapply!” Patience and Lipstick (Jan. 21st,
2022, South Forty Records) is
now the fortuitous title of Draper’s
upcoming new album, and the tunes on the currently Brooklyn, soon to be North
Carolina-based artist’s latest feel like they came about just as naturally. “So the secret to a long and happy marriage is
patience and lipstick?!,” Draper
thought. “You know, I think there’s a song in there somewhere.” Patience and lipstick. The phrase also encompasses another idea: Of being
willing to wait for things to get better and being ready to shine when they do.
For Draper, the road to this record
has been long, and not just because she has paid so many dues on the NYC
songwriter scene, starting with her debut album Ricochet twenty years
ago. While Patience and Lipstick leans more country
than any previous Draper album,
anyone who may try to push her into the gentile, soon-to-be-North Carolinian
corner, needs to know that the vulnerability in Draper’s songs is matched with the strength and attitude of a New
Yorker. Draper faced down and blew away many an audience at the
Lower East Side’s songwriter testing ground Sidewalk Cafe (RIP) in the early years, and her first four albums
were produced by noted iconoclast, Kramer
(currently seeing his own resurgence with the re-boot of his groundbreaking
record label Shimmy Disc.) Talk is cheap still they keep speaking in their
crooked tongues Trying to sell me the idea we’re all in this together I beg to differ... I beg to differ We were never all in this together There is no tether nor was there ever The lyrics are from “Tether,” the first single from Patience and Lipstick, a
perfect example of Draper’s special
way of twisting a dark tune, tinged with the appropriate cynicism, into a
sing-along. Draper wrote the song just as the pandemic was shutting down
the city. “I was amazed and disgusted with how, literally
overnight, every TV commercial, news outlet, and talk show was suddenly
barraging us with these insincere and overly sentimental messages about how we
are all in this together,” she says. “If there is anything that maybe everyone
can all agree on these days, it is that we are not all in this
together.” It is a message of passion, blunt truth, and Draper’s personal reality, and it calls
for patience. And it’s the album’s follow-up single “‘81 Camaro” that has gotta be the lipstick. “My dream is for the folks at Cowboys (described
online as “Orlando’s Best Country Nightclub”) to make up a country line dance
for this song that I can actually learn how to dance to with them,” Draper exclaims. The tune truly has the potential to become a standard
in that way, which makes Draper’s
other dream of having Lucinda Williams
cover it, seem plausible. Patience and lipstick. Draper also identified with this in her decision to cover
the 1972 Barbara Keith song “Detroit or Buffalo,” another of the
album’s many highlights. “As soon as JeffEyrich (Draper’s current producer, and himself a country music authority, having
toured as bassist with all-time great, Tanya
Tucker) shared this song with me, I instantly knew I wanted to cover it,” Draper remembers. “Barbara’s voice, and the message in her lyrics, are timeless, raw,
and fearlessly vulnerable.” On the fearless tip, Draper is also embarking on another new journey (a metaphorical
one, not her upcoming relocation.) “The name is inspired by the area in Montana next to
where my mother’s side of the family has had their ranch since the 1930s,” she
explains of South Forty Records, her
newly formed label. “With the label, I’ve decided to provide a musical
homestead, by honoring the music for the generations that came before and
preserving it for the generations that will follow.” It’s an endeavor inspired by her family’s near-century
long relationship to the land, delivered with an acknowledgement that the
effort may only bear its greatest fruit in the distant future. However, when it
does, there is little doubt that Draper’s
talents will impress. Patience and lipstick. Patience and Lipstick, the latest album by Linda Draper, is scheduled for release on Jan. 21st, 2022 preceded by the singles “Tether” (Oct. 8th), “‘81
Camaro” (Nov. 5th),
and “All In Due Time” (Jan. 7th). +++ More about
Linda Draper: Linda Draper grew up in a musical home as the daughter of a
classical guitar virtuoso who studied with Andres
Segovia. She began playing guitar and writing songs as a child and eventually
became a fixture in the downtown New York City's Antifolk music scene on the
Lower East Side. Since 2001, Draper
has released numerous albums, toured the US and UK, and opened for acclaimed
musicians such as Teddy Thompson, Melissa Ferrick, Luka Bloom, and Eilen Jewell.
Draper has also seen her songs licensed
for commercials and television. She is now embarking on her biggest challenge to date
with the formation of her own label, South
Forty Records. Patience and Lipstick,” Draper’s
upcoming new album, was produced by Jeff
Eyrich, mixed by Grammy®-award winning engineer, Dae Bennett, and features performers David Mansfield (Strings), Jeff Eyrich (Bass), and Doug Yowell (Drums and Percussion). It
is the inaugural release on the artist’s own label South Forty Records. Linda Draper is
available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom
at Fanatic for more information. +++ Linda
Draper | Links ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SPOTIFY : APPLE
: SOUTH FORTY RECORDS +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Upcoming all-new album is second full-length in just
over a year from The High Water Marks, following-up a 13-year absence from scene that Sidney helped create. +++
The High Water Marks (L-R): Logan
Miller, Hilarie Sidney, Per Ole Bratset, Øystein Megård. Photo credit: Self-Portraits, Illustration by Per
Ole Bratset. +++ The High Water Marks | “Jenny”
[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/TheHighWaterMarks-Jenny +++ “Infectious hooks, crashing drums and
guitars, and delicious harmonies... Punk energy... Music that is made for
jumping around to.” — Glide Magazine Based in her adopted home town of Grøa, Norway, Hilarie Sidney and her band The High Water Marks are prepping to
release a new single “Jenny” on Sept. 24th, the band’s first
new music since the 2020 release of Ecstasy Rhymes, its first album in
13 years. Hear“Jenny” now via Glide
Magazine or the links above. “Jenny”
kicks off a series of singles that will culminate in another all-new album Proclaimer
of Things on Feb. 4th,
2022. “That’s a song that came out super fast,” Sidney says. “I sat on the couch
playing the chord progression and immediately singing, ‘Jenny’s got herself a
friend and she wants to stay out late.’ Per
Ole (Hilarie’s husband and band mate)
said, ‘Hey, I have a chorus that suits that.’ Five minutes later, we’re playing
the entire song, with almost all the lyrics.” And who is Jenny? “Jenny isn’t a real person,” Sidney explains. “I had heard of Jenny, but I never met her. She
was known as somewhat of a legend around these parts. Everyone talks about what
she did and acts as if they know her. The truth is, it’s hard to know Jenny,
but I’d like to.” +++ The High Water Marks | In The Press
“An earworm melody.” — Brooklyn Vegan “Clock-stopping, pulse-raising mega-pop.” — UNCUT “Complex and considered arrangements... Sugar-coated
melodies to spare.” — Pitchfork “Beautifully warm, catchy, high-energy... garage pop
for the masses.” — PASTE +++ The High
Water Marks | About
“I am so lucky to have been a musician throughout my
life,” says Hilarie Sidney,
currently fronting The High Water Marks,
and best known as co-founder of the revered musical collective Elephant Six, and one of its three core
bands The Apples In Stereo. Based in her adopted home town of Grøa, Norway, Sidney and The High Water Marks are prepping to release Proclaimer of Things, the
band’s second album in just over a year, following-up the 2020 album Ecstasy
Rhymes, its first album in 13 years. Coming back after such a long stretch of being off the
scene with a critically and commercially welcomed new album, and then quickly
coming in hot with another batch of 13 songs, isn’t an accident. In this case,
it’s a coping mechanism. With the United States reaching a milestone of 1 in
500 people having succumbed to COVID-19, it’s tragic news that this statistic
hits home for Sidney. Her mother,
half a world away, passed from the virus earlier this year. “Not being able to see her and knowing that she was
alone, dying in a nursing home, still haunts me daily,” Sidney courageously reveals. Sidney knew that when she began to build a life in Norway
with her band mate and husband Per Ole
Bratset and their son, that she would be just a 12-hour flight from the
rest of her family, but that 12 hours became something completely different
under lockdown. “I never factored in a pandemic,” she says. “At least
my mom got to hear our record before she passed away. That means a lot to me
because she was always really supportive of my music.” The thirteen songs that comprise Proclaimer of Things are
just a drop in the bucket, considering how much Sidney has leaned on songwriting to take her mind off things. “I feel like I can’t pick up the guitar without
writing a little melody. As therapy, we decided to keep recording. We dove into
the project to keep us sane, focused, and from going down the rabbit hole of
depression and self-pity.” Through it all, The
High Water Marks made an album that is positive, light, happy, and
meaningful. “I think my mom would approve of my method of dealing
with the grief of losing her.” Sidney
says with trademark optimism. Proclaimer of Things, the latest album by The High Water Marks, is scheduled for release on Feb. 4th, 2022 on Minty Fresh. +++ Also available
now by The High Water Marks
The High Water Marks | “Annual
Rings”
The music video for “Annual Rings” by The High
Water Marks was co-created by University of Kentucky students, Wils Quinn and Nicholas Volosky, and produced at the school’s media space The Media Depot. “We were sitting next to the radio on a spring evening
in our small town,” Quinn remembers.
“The next thing we heard was ‘Annual
Rings’ by The High Water Marks
blasting into the quiet Kentucky night. We knew right then and there that we
had to become involved. You could consider it a calling or a spiritual
awakening.”
+++ The High Water Marks Ecstasy
Rhymes Out Now (Minty Fresh) Streaming Link: STREAM FULL LP
Track Listing: 01. Ode To Lieutenant Glahn 02. Annual Rings (VIDEO) 03. Can You (STREAM | VIDEO) 04. Ecstasy Rhymes 05. Award Show (STREAM) 06. Some Like It Lukewarm 07. The Trouble With Friends (STREAM
| VIDEO) 08. I’ll Be Formal (With You Because of It) 09. Pepin le Bref 10. Accidentally On Purpose 11. Satellite 12. Pretending To Be Loud +++ More about
The High Water Marks With The High
Water Marks making many waves with new music these days, it’s worth taking
a moment to remember how we probably know Sidney
best. During her pre-Norway years living in Denver,
Colorado, Sidney became the
co-founder of one of the most influential musical collectives of the past 25
years. The Elephant 6 Recording Co.
is a storied group of artists and Sidney
was as at its nucleus as a founding member. It was a “boys club,” she confesses. Indeed, Sidney
was the only woman among her band The
Apples In Stereo and the other two acts – Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia
Tremor Control – that were the most visible members of Elephant 6. “Having been in the Apples and on the road since 1993, I started to have many more
songs than could ever be released on an Apples
record, and being surrounded by a group of men for so many years, one can lose
oneself,” she confides. Sidney eventually found a new musical partnership when she
formed The High Water Marks,
releasing a debut album (Songs About The Ocean) in 2003. The
record was written and demoed through the mail with her now-husband and band
mate, Per Ole Bratset, whom she
initially met at an Apples gig in
Norway in 2002. A follow-up album (Polar) arrived in 2007. Life as a mom led Sidney
to officially leave the Apples in
2006 and to put the music business on the back burner soon after. She continued
writing songs, however, and headed in a new direction by beginning to finish up
a Bachelor’s degree, which led to her being awarded a prestigious study abroad
scholarship at the University of Oslo. “Moving to Norway was everything I had hoped it would
be,” she explains. Now, thirteen years after releasing her last album as The High Water Marks, the band is back
with new music that reflects the maturity, perseverance, songwriting, and
performing talent that made Sidney’s
contributions to Elephant 6 and The Apples so integral. If she was marginalized in the early days, those
notions are blown out by the wealth of perfect power pop that The High Water Marks has released
since, one song after another that will take any fan of the songs that Sidney contributed to Apples recordings – her voice is
instantly recognizable – right back to the most potent days of that band’s
career. Ecstasy Rhymes” the first album by The High
Water Marks in 13 years, is out now. See below to see “Annual Rings,” the latest video from Ecstasy Rhymes, and for
listening links and more info about the album. +++ The High Water Marks | Links ASSETS : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : SPOTIFY : APPLE : MINTY FRESH +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
“Losing a
parent at a young age is always going to be a part of me,” he says, hoping song
draws attention to Suicide Prevention Month. +++
Chris
J Norwood as photographed
by Alyssa Leigh Cates +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE Chris J Norwood | “Good Guy With A Gun”
[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX_Eq7XZq5Y [STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/ChrisJNorwood-GoodGuyWithAGun +++ Check out “Good Guy With A Gun” from I Am Not Cool by Chris J Norwood at The
Bluegrass Stuation and/or watch the video at the link above. Norwooddiscusses
the song with Dallas Observerhere. “I struggled with whether or not to include this song
on the album,” Chris J Norwood says
of his latest single “Good Guy With A
Gun,” from his new album I Am Not Cool (Out Now, State Fair Records), but I realized that losing a parent
at a young age is always going to be a part of me, it’s part of my story, and
it’s good for me to keep singing about it.” Of the video, Norwood
confides, “This was really emotionally difficult for me to film.And I knew it would be, so I knew that I
would have to get it done in one take.” “As a country, we need to talk more openly about
suicide,” he continues. “Especially as it relates to the gun debate and gun
culture. I feel like suicide is often overlooked in the debate about guns here
in America. We’ve been given fruitless answers about how to stop a bad guy with
a gun, but little in the way of how to stop a good guy with a gun. “I don't have any solutions to offer,” he concludes, “but
my hope is to encourage dialogue, and my hope is also that anyone who needs
help will feel the courage to seek it out.” If you are in need of help, please call the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 and/or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org +++ Chris J Norwood | Live
*=w/ Brandon Callies Band, Brandon Padier 09/23/2021 Nashville, TN @ Cabana Taps (12PM, Americanafest) 10/01/2021 Fort Worth, TX @ Main At South Side* 10/02/2021 Denton, TX @ Andy's Bar & Grill* 10/03/2021 Dallas, TX @ Three Links Deep Ellum* 10/06/2021 Dallas, TX @ State Fair Of Texas 2021 (2PM) +++ Chris J Norwood I
Am Not Cool Out Now (State Fair Records) Streaming Link: STREAM FULL LP
Track Listing: 01. I Am Not Cool (Prologue) 02. The Final Girl (VIDEO) 03. Good Guy With A Gun (STREAM
| VIDEO) 04. Creature of Bad Habits 05. Leaving Louisiana Behind 06. I Am Not Cool (STREAM
| VIDEO | LYRIC VIDEO) 07. 85 Feet 08. Grandpa Was A Farmer 09. I Need You (To Quit Breaking My Heart) (STREAM
| VIDEO | LYRIC VIDEO) 10. Home Is You And Me 11. Love And Mercy 12. I Wrote You A Song +++
Chris J Norwood | In The Press
“Norwood wants you to know the truth.” — The
Boot
“His clear, plain-spoken tone is ideal for this type
of storytelling.” — Dallas Morning News
“A tale about the uncertainties of life and the
adventures it may bring.” — Central Track
“Unpretentious and genuine.” — Americana Highways
“Great lyrical hooks.” — Americana UK
“Talk about making a statement.” — Twangville
+++
PLAY, POST & SHARE Chris J Norwood | “I Am Not Cool”
[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VpibyXuq-s [STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/ChrisJNorwood-IAmNotCool-Single +++ Check out the video for the title track
from I Am Not Cool by Chris J Norwood
at The Boot
or listen at Americana
Highways or at the links above. “This
video was so much fun to make,” says Chris
J Norwood of the clip for “I Am Not
Cool,” the title track from his new album (Out Now, State Fair Records).
“Getting to wear fancy clothes, getting to pretend I have fans, and win awards.
It’s a pretty perfect picture of my life and pretty perfectly captures the
sentiment of the lyrics.” Norwood’s wife and bandmate Carrie Norwood agrees, “Preparing for this video wasn’t too
different from performing with the band. I lined up a babysitter, put on the
only make up and dress I’ve worn all week, had a great time singing with Chris, and came back home to kids who
will be waking up early needing breakfast.” +++ Chris J Norwood | About
Chris
Norwood isn’t cool. Or Chris J
Norwood, as the Dallas-based singer-songwriter bills himself, is not cool. So “not cool” that when searching for a synonym for “uncool”
that starts with “J” in order to complete a lame joke, this writer could not
find one. Pretty damn uncool. Norwoodis honest,
however, and in a world that becomes more cynical by the moment, the kind of
honesty that he conjures and delivers so eloquently and elegantly on his new,
very uncool, album I Am Not Cool (Out Now,
State Fair Records), well, that kind of uncool is... cool? The album is the follow-up to Norwood’s much-praised 2017 debut record Longshot. In addition to Norwood’s
genial ability to say things you may not want to hear and leave you
appreciating the experience, he is also masterful at a kind of tongue-in-cheek
levity that is sorely missing from this genre. There’s only two kinds of music / What’s true and what
ain’t / It only takes three chords to set the record straight Norwood sings these lyrics on the “I Am Not Cool” title cut, a perfect example of how his economy of
words is quizzical, meta, and puts a smile on your face all at the same time. But, wait, there’s more. Norwood really gets going on the album’s second single “I Need You (To Quit Breaking My Heart),”
which is such a plainly evocative song title that other songwriters should be
shaking a fist in Norwood’s general
direction for thinking of it first. A universal sentiment succinctly stated. “It’s a 10-year marriage kind of love song,” he says
of the tune, and as if to hammer that description home, Norwood’s wife Carrie
joins him on vocals, which adds a whole new level of “what is going on here?!”
to the proceedings. Further on, “Good
Guy With A Gun” will remind listeners of the political rhetoric it
references, but is more tragically tied to the songs from Norwood’s debut album, which dove head-first into his very personal
story of growing up as a child of a father who died by his own hand. “This song is about that,” he explains, “But more than
that it’s about the ridiculous theory that the NRA likes to tout. The only way
to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? My dad was a good guy
with a gun, so how were we supposed to stop him from killing himself?” Once again, it is astounding how Norwood is able to take such personal matters, write about them
with conviction and clarity, make it catchy and memorable, and make you feel
like you challenged yourself and had a chuckle all at once. Uncool? Hmm. Frankly, Norwood
says that claiming himself “uncool” may be an awful career move. “I’ll either
make it or break it as uncool Chris J
Norwood,” he opines on the topic. But, the thing is, Norwood’s work is righteous no matter how it is perceived by anyone
who makes judgments about “career moves.” This brand of vulnerable, self-effacing
songwriting, salted with a bit of required brainpower... it’s unique. And it’s
here to stay. Maybe the J stands for “justified?” I Am Not Cool, the second album by Chris J
Norwood is out now via State Fair
Records. Chris J Norwood is available for interviews.
Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information. +++ Chris J
Norwood | Links ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE
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