Fanatic is a music marketing company established by Josh Bloom in 1997 to build fan-to-fan connections between artists and the media. For nearly 30 years, Fanatic has continued to help launch careers through the strategic advocacy of creative talent.
Record release show with State Fair Records (Joshua
Ray Walker, Ottoman Turks) label mate, Billy Law announced for Kessler Theater. +++
Chris
J Norwood and Carrie Norwood as photographed by
Alyssa Leigh Cates +++ PLAY, POST & SHARE Chris J Norwood | “I Need You (To Quit Breaking
My Heart)”
[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/ChrisJNorwood-INeedYouToQuitBreakingMyHeart +++ Check out the latest single from I Am Not Cool by Chris J Norwood at
Americana UK or at the link above. “This is a classic Chris and Carrie Norwood
duet,” Chris J Norwoodtells
Americana UK about “I Need You (To Quit Breaking My Heart),”
the latest single from his upcoming second album I Am Not Cool (Aug. 20th, State Fair Records).“It’s definitely a love song, but it’s a
10-year marriage kind of love song. ‘Cause your heart breaks harder over
someone you sleep next to every night. And in the end, you realize ‘I hate it when
we're apart.’” +++ Chris J Norwood I
Am Not Cool Aug. 20th, 2021 (State Fair Records)
Track Listing: 01. I Am Not Cool (Prologue) 02. The Final Girl (VIDEO) 03. Good Guy With A Gun 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) 10. Home Is You And Me 11. Love And Mercy 12. I Wrote You A Song +++ Chris J Norwood | In The Press
“His clear, plain-spoken tone is ideal for this type
of storytelling.” — Dallas Morning News “Norwood
wants you to know the truth.” — The Boot “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… introduces a
compelling new songwriter to the Texas Americana scene.” — 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 (Aug. 20th,
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 | Live
06/24/2021: Dallas, TX @ Adair’s Saloon 06/27/2021: Arlington, TX @ Levitt Pavillion (w/ Texicana) 07/08/2021: Dallas, TX @ All Good Cafe (w/ Carrie Norwood) 07/10/2021: Mansfield, TX @ The Lot (w/ Texicana) 07/23/2021: Dallas, TX @ Skillman Bible Church (Skillman Sessions w/ Carrie Norwood) 08/20/2021: Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater (I Am Not Cool Record Release Show
Presented by State Fair of Texas & State Fair Records, Co-Headline w/ Billy
Law) +++ 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 (Aug. 20th,
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 arrives via State Fair
Records on Aug. 20th,
preceded by the singles “I Am Not Cool”
(May 21st), “I Need You (To
Quit Breaking My Heart)” (June 18th), and “Good Guy With A Gun” (July 23rd). 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
: STATE FAIR RECORDS +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Follow-up to “Stresslove
EP” (V2/Munich Records) is taken from upcoming “Still Waiting Still,” produced
by Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley. +++
Gregory Ackerman as photographed by Nell
T Sherman
+++ PLAY, POST & SHARE Gregory Ackerman | “Full Grown”
[STREAM] | https://Fanatic.lnk.to/GregoryAckerman-FullGrown +++ “Indie folk gem... a phenomenal wave of emotions full
of lush harmonies and poignant lyrics.” Hear“Full Grown” by Gregory Ackermannow
via music discovery website Last Day
Deaf! “I wrote ‘Full
Grown’ when I was twenty-years-old back home on break from college,” says Gregory Ackerman of the first official
single from his upcoming second album Still Waiting Still (Sept. 17th), “But for this
record’s rendition, I had Gabriel
Wheaton update it with a beautiful string arrangement, which brought about
an amazingly thematic rendition of an old classic (to me.) “I was literally feeling, as the lyric goes, ‘lost and
lonely, but all my friends are home,’ feeling as though I was floating and
struggling to find my place in life, yet all my friends were back home from
school and we were all together again. “Together, yet still alone in our own lives, worries,
joys, ups, and downs. This notion seemed to hit especially close to home again
when the pandemic hit – everyone being lost and lonely confined within their
homes.” +++ Gregory
Ackerman | In The Press “Bathed in Californian moonlight.” — PopMatters “Going around my head since I first heard it.” — Folk Radio UK “Giving hope to those who are lovestruck.” — Atwood Magazine “Laid-back vibe of Southern California.” — For Folk’s Sake “Hard to resist.” — Adobe and Teardrops +++ Gregory Ackerman Still
Waiting Still Sept. 17th, 2021 (S/R)
Track Listing: 01. Intro 02. Think Straight (STREAM) 03. Full Grown (STREAM) 04. Peace of Mind 05. Good Song 06. Seasonal Living 07. Happy Phase 08. 2023 09. Mr. Moon 10. For Rob 11. Right Again 12. My Heart Goeth 13. All This Thinking
+++ Gregory Ackerman | About
“I used to feel like I
was the only one that should have a say in my process,” says Los Angeles-based
multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Gregory Ackerman of his music. “I’ve
since discovered that both life and music get better the more people you share
them with.” The latest work that Ackerman
is sharing with the world is Still Waiting Still (out Sept.
17th, 2021), the follow-up to 2019’s “Stresslove EP”
(V2/Munich Records), and Ackerman’s first full-length since his
debut album And Friends in 2018. Still Waiting
Still was produced by Pierre
de Reeder of Rilo Kiley who adds touches of hypnotic mysticism on
top of the California summer sunset melodies, which beautifully combine with Ackerman’s
plainspoken philosophical lyrics and twisty, dexterous guitar to create what is
now Ackerman’s signature sound. The title of Still
Waiting Still’s first single seems to reference the evolution in Ackerman’s
thinking. “Full Grown,” originally a spare song written when he was only
20-years-old (Ackerman is
now 28), is given a full production makeover for inclusion on Still
Waiting Still. “For the rendition of ‘Full
Grown’ on Still Waiting Still, I had violinist Gabriel
Wheaton update it with a beautiful string arrangement. His contribution
resulted in an amazingly thematicversion of what I now consider to be
an ‘old classic’ from my catalog.” In addition to Wheaton,
new friends that Ackerman has invited to participate in creating Still
Waiting Still include other Los Angeles-area talents such as Grant
Milliken, Eva B. Ross,Shelby Gogreve, and Theo and
Mark Federonic. “These are all great
musicians that I met playing shows in Los Angeles,” Ackerman says. “This
new personnel, combined with my trusty foundation (Ackerman’s brother Eric,
close friend Keenan McDaniel, and friend and producer, de Reeder), helped Still
Waiting Still become a lively collection of brand-new material mixed
with songs that I’d written years ago.” Ackerman guesses that half of Still Waiting Still’s
13 songs were written while he was in college, shortly after he had begun to
write and record in earnest. His posts of the results on Soundcloud revealed
that listeners liked what they heard, and Ackerman was later signed on
an unsolicited demo to V2 –affiliated singer-songwriter offshoot, Munich
Records. “For this album I
wanted my past self and current self to align again as one fluid artist. All of
the songs on Still Waiting Still have an inherent grit or humor
to them, and were written with a youthful ironic moodiness which I relate to
once again as a 28-year-old.” “I wanted to bring
back the states of mind that I used to feel,” Ackerman continues, going
on to reference the album’s second upcoming single, the aptly titled, “Good
Song,” in which he sings about “dredging up feelings from the past,” while
trying to write a song about writing songs. “‘Good Song’ came
out of my frustration in feeling the pressure to make ‘likeable’ music,” Ackerman
confesses. “I was constantly feeling mostly self- imposed pressure to write
a ‘hit song,’ and I remember being able to finally take a step back from that
mindset and look at it humorously. Why not write a song about trying to write a
good song?” Still Waiting
Still contains 13 of ‘em
actually, and Ackerman is proud. “It’s not perfect,
just as nothing with a heartbeat ever is, but I hope that it represents some
part of me that perhaps I could not express any other way.” Still Waiting
Still, the second album by Gregory
Ackerman, arrives on Sept. 17th, 2021 preceded by the singles “Full
Grown” (out now), “Good
Song” (July 23rd), and “Mr.
Moon” (Aug 20th).Gregory
Ackerman is available for interviews. Contact Josh
Bloom at Fanatic for
more information. +++ Gregory Ackerman | Links ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SPOTIFY
: APPLE : BANDCAMP +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
Stuart Sikes (The White
Stripes, Modest Mouse, Phosphorescent)-produced cut merges “psychedelia, dream
pop, haunting melodies, rich spaced-out guitar tones.” +++
Abbreviations (L-R): Chad Walls,
Ashley Leer, Tony Wann, Matt Leer. Photo Credit: Leyton Cheek.
+++
PLAY, POST & SHARE Abbreviations | “Turn On You”
“Haunting melodies, rich spaced-out guitar tones and
somber lyrical themes...,” says MXDWN,
describing Abbreviations in its
premiere coverage of the band’s debut single “Turn On You,” out now. “Merges psychedelia and dream pop into
their sound, pulling from each member’s rich history in the local music scene.” Dallas-based music discovery website Central Track interviewed the band on
the day of the release of “Turn On You,”
and concludes that Abbreviations
“isn't taking any shortcuts.” Read
the story here. [STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/Abbreviations-TurnOnYou +++ Abbreviations | Live
07/30/2021: Dallas, TX @ Double Wide
(Red Zeppelin Records Night w/ God of Love, Bayleigh Cheek) +++ Abbreviations | About
Abbreviations is a rock band from Dallas. Also a pop band, an alternative band, and a supergroup
(of sorts) i.e. members Ashley Leer
(Guitar / Vox), Matt Leer (Guitar), Chad Walls (Bass), and Tony Wann (Drums) have played in many
of the city’s most active bands over the years. Staying active makes you strong, makes you super. “Turn On You,” the upcoming debut
single from Abbreviations (Red Zeppelin, June 18th)
radiates understated power. No wonder that producer Stuart Sikes (himself a Grammy®-winning superpower for his
work on Loretta Lynn’s Van
Lear Rose, in addition to his credits with The White Stripes, Modest
Mouse, Phosphorescent, Cat Power, and many more) signed on to
helm “Turn On You.” The oomph of Walls’
concise bass playing, the interplay of the Leer’s
melancholy guitar lines, the subtle crack of Wann’s snare, and Ashley’s
hypnotic vocals all come together to leave you wanting more and wondering when. “It’s about that moment where you realize you have
feelings for someone other than the one you’re with,” Ashley says of the tune. “Are these feelings real? ‘Turn On You’ feels like a love song,
and it is, but it’s also about the guilt for having those feelings.” The song is deeper than most dream pop songs will go,
typically awash in too much dream to be this lucid. Ashley naturally comes from a place of authenticity when it comes
to lyricism, but it was not always that way. “I had previously only written lyrics when I was
forced to do so, usually the day before we recorded,” she explains. However, in 2016, when she found out that her father
(a professional bassist who taught her the guitar) only had a year to live,
writing became the way to cope. “I needed to write songs about all these thoughts
exploding in my head. I had never really thought about death, and it made me
take a step back and reflect on my life, the people I hurt, and the people I
loved. Suddenly, I had plenty to write about.” With lyrics no longer forced, Ashley’s candor in her writing and performance makes the first
effort by this supergenre supergroup (stated influences range from The Jesus Lizard to Drake, Fugazi to Joni Mitchell,
Sonic Youth to Broadcast, The Police to
The Beatles) more memorable. Abbreviations is clearly more than just a rock band from Dallas. “Turn On
You,” the first single by Abbreviations, is out now via the female-owned and operated
McKinney, Texas-based label Red Zeppelin,
a recent outgrowth of the beloved local record store. Members of Abbreviations are available for interviews. Contact Josh
Bloom at Fanatic for
more information. +++ Abbreviations | Links FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : SPOTIFY : APPLE
: RED ZEPPELIN RECORDS +++ Josh Bloom at Fanatic
Promotion | Contact WEBSITE
: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL
