Artists That Begin With P

Gwyneth Paltrow

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:24:00 GMT

Music executives are hot for Gwyneth Paltrow.

Not only does the Oscar winner plays a former country music star trying to revive her career in the upcoming flick Country Strong, she also performs live tonight on the Country Music Awards.

One music executive says it appears her team is putting something into place. "They debuted the [Country Strong] song this summer and have just gone to country radio," the exec said. "This is almost three months prior to the movie coming out and she is performing on the CMAs.

"It is risky to go to country radio that much before the film. If they reject her, then the movie is DOA."

A source close to Gwynnie says, "She would never say never, but it's not something she is yet seriously considering."

Paltrow appears on four songs on the movie's soundtrack, which also features big-time country stars Faith Hill, Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins and Lee Ann Womack, among others. And one of our favorites, Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum is among the songwriters.

"They have surrounded her with beloved country people," the music exec says, "so not only will they accept her, but she can have more of a career in that world."

And then of course, she's married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and she appears—singing and dancing—on next week's episode of Glee. As Jane Lynch recently told us, "She's a quadruple threat. We knew she could act, we knew she was gorgeous, but she sings and dances amazingly well, too!"

Danielle Peck

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:26:00 GMT

There is an undeniable division in Danielle Peck's voice. A bluesy pull, a reluctant smokiness that, when it breaks, yields soaring, ringing, soul-stirring power and clarity. That tantalizing slow-pour tension is a fitting reflection of the artist herself. Is she an exuberant young country singer or an experienced and purposed entertainer? Is she the self-described "plain Jane girl next door" or a statuesque brunette bombshell? Is she a former waitress fighting for her big break or a prolific songwriter who contributed eight of 11 songs to her upcoming album? Danielle Peck is all that and much more.

That self-titled debut release, preceded by the chart-rocketing first single "I Don't," reveals all the complexities associated with being a young woman making her way in a new millennium. As a songwriter, she's grounded enough to write a glowing affirmation like "Isn't That Everything," and honest enough to acknowledge the emotional despair of a breakup in "Fallin' Apart." As a vocalist, she offers shades of her influences, sounding by turns as rooted in country as Reba McEntire or as slyly sexy as Shania Twain and Faith Hill. The sum of those seemingly divergent parts is, ultimately, a message, sound and style unique to Danielle Peck.

Born in Jacksonville, NC, the daughter of a U.S. Marine, Danielle grew up in Coshocton, OH, where the family had strong musical roots. Her mother's side of the family traveled and sang in churches. Her father's parents and grandparents were steeped in country music, playing dances in the area. Danielle could sing before she could talk and by the time she was three she would sit on a counter banging on pots and pans as her extended family played country music. The first song she learned to sing was Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," a song that has been part of her live show to this day.

She wrote her first song before she was 10 and made cassette labels for her imaginary Danielle Peck records, complete with song titles and cover art. She sang in church both as a soloist and in the choir. At age 16, she joined a local band, the Neon Moon Band, and played bars in her native Coshocton, Ohio area.

"I wasn't supposed to be in there (bars) because I was underage," she says, "so I had to dress older, act older, sneak in through the back door, do my show, and then slip out the back again before anyone could figure out I was underage! I never thought twice about it because singing was all I'd ever thought about doing from the time I was a little girl - I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to... and of course my dad was always close by just in case..."

"I was the girl singer," she says. "I would sing Reba and Trisha and a lot of Patsy Cline. We played weekends and hit the local summer fairs. While my friends were into sports - I was consumed with music." At 18, her dad bought her a sound & light system that the family jokingly referred to as her 'college tuition'. When she graduated from high school, she hit the road leading her own band adding regional fairs and festivals to the schedule.

After several years on the bar and festival circuit Danielle made the decision to chase the dream and make the jump to Nashville. She quickly took a Nashville job waiting tables and spent the rest of her time working on her songwriting.

"I'd wake up at 8 in the morning, go and write songs until 2 in the afternoon, change clothes, work the restaurant until 2 or 3 in the morning, get up early the next morning and do it again," she says. "I became a Starbucks addict but I was having the time of my life! I was in Nashville, meeting people, starting to write with some great writers, I was loving every minute of it."

Soon after her Nashville arrival she met publisher Clay Myers who recognized her talent and helped secure a songwriting deal with Barbara Orbison's Still Working Music. She soon began writing with staff writers Clay Mills and Tommy Lee James, as well as other established hit writers like Blair Daly and Taylor Rhodes. Those writing sessions would ultimately form the basis for her debut album.

That release had to wait, however. Signed to a recording contract with DreamWorks Records by executive Scott Borchetta, Danielle's album was a casualty of that company's merger with Universal. Borchetta, however, wouldn't let his belief in her music die and when he later left Universal to form his own Big Machine Records, Danielle was one of his first signings.

The single release "I Don't" finally introduced country audiences to Danielle, and the response has already been overwhelming. Already a hit and still climbing, the song also draws huge response at her live shows opening for, among others, Toby Keith. Fans are drawn to the emotional honesty of an artist who so readily reveals all facets of her personality.

Beyond the single, Danielle explores the difficulties of love on "Fallin' Apart," "Sucks To Be You" and "Only The Lonely Talkin'." She smolders with slow burn passion on "Kiss You On The Mouth" and "Thirsty Again." And the fun side peaks through on "Findin' A Good Man" and "Honky-Tonk Time." In every case, the emotions ring true.

"Everything comes down to being real," she says. "Every song I do reflects something I've been through or something I've felt. My songs are my journals. Whatever I feel at the moment, whatever emotion I'm going through, is what I write about. When it's time to sing those song, whether it's on stage or in the studio, those feelings are right there."

And so the many facets of Danielle Peck -- a modern country girl, vulnerable and confident -- shine through in a way that's already capturing the ears and hearts of country fans nationwide.

Find Danielle on the web:

The Band Perry

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:48:00 GMT

"Daddy rocked us to sleep with the Rolling Stones; Mama woke us up with Loretta Lynn. So we get it honest."

- Kimberly Perry

Inheriting a cross-pollinated love of country and rock & roll from their parents, The Band Perry - siblings Kimberly, Reid, and Neil Perry - say that they bleed the bright red blood of American music.

The three have always felt the drive to perform and create music, sweating out the summers in Mobile, Alabama playing in any dusty roadhouse or church that would have them. Kimberly strapped on her first Gibson - and fronted her first high school
band - at age 15, employing Reid, then 10, and Neil, only 8, as her roadies. Changing guitar strings and polishing cymbals for their big sister lost its charm after awhile, so the brothers formed their own band, opening for Kimberly's band.

"My bass and I've been attached at the hip since I was 10 years old," says Reid. "While most of my friends were playing little league, I was sitting in my room learning Rolling Stones' and Beatles' bass lines. It's really all I've ever known."

Even as the three worked in different bands, the siblings would spend nights at home playing together: "I remember sitting out on our front porch singing old Hank Williams and Bobbie Gentry songs in three-part harmony, hoping to channel the spirits
of old country through musical séance while fighting off the southern Alabama mosquitoes," says Kimberly. "We always knew we'd take the stage together - all we were waiting on was the right moment." That moment came in July of 2005, when - after years of writing together - the siblings decided to join forces as one band. The Band Perry was then invited by the Coca- Cola Bottling Company to open all of the dates on their "New Faces Of Country" Tour that year.

In the summer of 2008, after spending a few years on the road honing their sound, TBP met longtime Garth Brooks manager Bob Doyle. Partnering with Bob and Josh Pegram, The Band Perry spent the fall and winter of 2008 writing in Nashville and collecting
songs for their first country recording session.

"The three of us bring different strengths into the writing room," Neil points out. "Kimberly carries in a bag of melodies and lyrics, Reid always has some really great musical ideas in his back pocket, and I bring in a sense of humor and some thread
that ties it all together."

The new recordings caught the ears of Scott Borchetta and Jimmy Harnen, the CEO and President of Republic Nashville, signing to the new label in the summer of 2009.

When talking about The Band Perry, each member of the trio stresses how much family figures into the mix: "Reid, Neil and I share genes and a musical pedigree," Kimberly explains. "We read the same classics and cook from the same recipes. With all of
our likenesses though, I believe it's our distinctions that stir up the magic when we create. When the three of us sit down to write songs together, we pull from all of our individual perspectives and happenstances to create the most interesting song concoctions."

"There's a tightness between the three of us that goes way beyond even best friends," Neil adds. "Family vocal harmonies can't be fabricated. And, besides - the three of us know that through the thick and thin of life and the music business, we're watching after each other."

"Blood runs thick. The music business can be hard, but the three of us are committed not only to our lives in music, but to living them together," Reid says. "I think the security of knowing that about each other allows us to be uninhibited when we create. It's a democracy. It's a safe haven."

"We've walked a long way to find your ears," Kimberly Perry finishes with a grin. "So play us long and play us loud. The Band Perry is here, and we just have so darnmuch to say."

Find The Band Perry on the web:

Kellie Pickler

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:09:00 GMT

Kellie Pickler is everything that's right about that uniquely modern place where reality and celebrity come together. She is first and foremost a force of nature, a young woman who followed a restless small-town dream to the upper reaches of the music world. She came armed with real talent, for she is a singer who has learned well from idols like Tammy, Patsy, Loretta and Dolly. Still, it takes much more to enter the cultural consciousness as firmly and unmistakably as she has, and Kellie brings more in spades.

It starts with star quality, that undefinable but clearly identifiable trait she possesses in abundance. She combines beauty, wit, humor and guilelessness in a way that has attracted fans from her first days in the national spotlight, and she has proven over and over that there is a great deal of substance under the blond-haired, light-hearted exterior.

Kellie established herself quickly as both a singer and a songwriter to be reckoned with, co-writing her first hit, "Red High Heels," her first gold single. Her debut album, Small Town Girl, produced two follow-up hits--the poignant "I Wonder," which she also co-wrote, and the light-hearted "Things That Never Cross A Man's Mind." Together, they propelled the release to near-platinum status.

Her second album, Kellie Pickler, for which she co-wrote half the songs, spawned the uplifting "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" and "Best Days of Your Life." The latter, co-written by Kellie with Taylor Swift, quickly became the biggest hit of her career, rising to the Top Ten and earning gold in digital sales. In fact, the song speaks volumes about Kellie's life in that her close friendship with Swift, like her friendship with another co-writer, Aimee Mayo, has helped her with the process of seamlessly turning the ups and downs of her life into compelling art.

Just how far those hits and that 24-carat personality have carried her can be seen in even a short list of her achievements. She won three 2008 CMT Music Awards--Breakthrough Video, Tearjerker Video and Performance of the Year--all for "I Wonder," and has earned many other award nominations. She has received two ASCAP awards citing "Red High Heels" and "I Wonder" as among the most performed country songs of the year. Both her albums debuted #1 country and Top Ten overall in Billboard, a feat equaled by only six other females in country music . She has hosted The View, graced the cover of USA Weekend, and served as correspondent in Times Square for "Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve" with Ryan Seacrest to usher in 2009.

A straight shooter with an infectious zest for life, Kellie has learned to balance her "leap now, look later" disposition and her need to oversee her life and career as she lives out her lifelong desire to control her own destiny. In fact, lest anyone be tempted to underestimate her, it's worth remembering that in a brief time, Kellie went from a 19-year-old with a troubled home life to a young woman running a multi-million-dollar business--"the Kellie Pickler Company," as she calls it--handling all the challenges and responsibilities of fame in a fast-paced world.

Kellie's dream took root in Albemarle, North Carolina, where determination and optimism were her answers to an often tough and uncertain childhood. Raised by her grandparents, she developed the spirit of an inveterate dreamer. With her uncanny ability to temper tough realities with humor, she says, referring to her tour bus, "As a child I thought, 'I'm going to be a big country star and get out of this damn trailer.' Then I go and get one. I mean, it's a million-dollar trailer, but it's still a trailer!"

The first song she learned to sing was Hank Sr.’s “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It,” and the first music she owned was a George Strait tape. A telling moment came when, just before her eighth birthday, she went with her grandparents to visit her father.

“He was incarcerated,” she says, “but he had been talking to my grandparents about helping get me a birthday present. He asked whether I wanted a little TV for my bedroom or a little stereo. I said I wanted a radio so I could listen to the country radio station. I always wanted to be part of country music. I used to think the coolest thing in the world would be to turn on the radio and hear, “Coming up, the new record from Kellie Pickler.’”

She took part in a handful of talent contests, worked as a Sonic waitress and studied to become a paralegal. Then, in the fall of 2005, she auditioned in Greensboro, North Carolina, for American Idol. Her raw talent and her attractive and unfiltered personality won her a legion of fans, among them the sometimes jaundiced Simon Cowell.

She reached the show's Final 6, signed with BNA Records and recorded her first album in whirlwind sessions sandwiched between dates on the Idol tour. Its release established her firmly in the country marketplace, and her breath-of-fresh-air personality did the rest.

A lifelong student of country music, she is a fan of legends including Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard as well as modern-day talents like Jamey Johnson and Lee Ann Womack. The lessons she draws from them have become part of her artistic make-up.

“I write what my soul tells me to write,” she says. “I realized the key to writing is just being true and writing what is real. It’s why country music has such an impact. It’s music people relate to because it’s about telling true stories.” She treats her singing the same way.

“I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t like to sing. It’s a way of expressing who I am, and it’s therapeutic for me. It’s how I express what I’m going through. People release their emotions, their happiness or sadness, in different ways—dancing, painting, running. Mine is singing. That and writing are healing for me.”

Kellie’s insulated upbringing left her with a thirst for travel, adventure and self-development. An avid reader--she can often be found in her state room on her bus, curled up with a book or her Kindle II--she is a walking advertisement for personal fulfillment. That has led her to explore the world both out of curiosity and out of a desire to take her talents where they can be of use to others.

“The USO tours I’ve been part of have definitely been the highlight of my career and my life,” she says. “It has been the most impactful, life-changing thing I’ve been able to do.”

Her first tour, to Iraq, became a moving GAC special, “My USO Diary,” and she followed that with a trip to Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and England. “The greatest way to learn is to travel,” she says. “There are so many amazing people I’ve met that have changed my life for the better. It’s something that can help us not be so judgmental and close-minded.” She is above all a woman whose music, like her life, is a gift to those around her.

“If I’ve learned anything,” she says, “it’s that we take so many things for granted. I love it when something I read or someone I meet makes me think, ‘You’ve got it made, girl.’ I don’t want to dwell on what I don’t have. I want to appreciate life and the good things and people I’m surrounded by. I know that’s good for the soul.”

Find Kellie on the web:

Brad Paisley

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:01:00 GMT

This Is Country Music

If ever an artist has earned the right to title an album This Is Country Music, it’s Brad Paisley. It’s not because he’s the Country Music Association’s reigning Entertainer of the Year or because his H2O Tour was 2010’s top country trek in attendance or because he’s sold more than 12 million albums and scored 18 #1 hits at country radio.

It’s not because he’s been performing professionally since he was 13 as a regular on Wheeling, West Virginia’s famed Jamboree USA, becoming the youngest person ever inducted into the Jamboree Hall of Fame. It’s not because he’s won 14 CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year three times or because of the record-setting five consecutive Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist honors that count among his 14 ACM wins.

Paisley’s ninth studio album is titled This Is Country Music because this is the singer/songwriter/guitar virtuoso’s heartfelt homage to the music he’s loved since childhood. It’s a multi-faceted tribute to all the elements that embody country music from the young artist who single-handedly made Grand Ole Opry legend Little Jimmy Dickens cool to a new generation of country fans and who collaborated with the late Buck Owens, providing him with his only CMA Award win. Paisley’s well-documented march toward stardom has been an inclusive journey that has taken many of his heroes with him along the way.

He continues to do that on This Is Country Music. The title track and lead single name checks some of the format’s legendary hits such as George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.” “The first song written for this album was ‘This Is Country Music,’” he says. “If you are going to call an album ‘This Is Country Music,’ the last thing I want to do is have somebody listen to it and have them say to themselves, ‘No, it’s not.’ So in many ways, this is the ‘countriest’ album I’ve done. The heart of it is totally country. I even threw a song out on this project that I loved, that could land on a future project, because it didn’t say ‘this is country music’ to me.

The album’s second hit single, “Old Alabama,” finds Paisley not only sampling Alabama’s classic hit “Mountain Music,” but reuniting Randy Owen, Jeff Cook and Teddy Gentry to perform on the track. “It’s really a combination of what they do and what I do, which is not hard because I’ve ripped them off so many times over the years,” Paisley says with a smile. “They’ve been a major inspiration to me. I saw them play live many, many times. I remember going to the Civic Arena in Wheeling when they played and their opening acts were Clint Black and Lorrie Morgan. They were one of the first arena acts in country music. They were the first to really bring semi-tractor trailers down the road and have a big production.”

Alabama is an obvious influence for a country musician who came of age in the ‘80s, but on This Is Country Music, the three-time GRAMMY® winner paints a more expansive, textured portrait of the genre he loves. “I’m trying to do something brand new utilizing the influences that made me who I am,” Paisley says. “Some of them are not necessarily right within country music, but they are more important to modern country than you might think. There are influences that come into play like Eric Clapton. When I try to play or harness anything that has some soul to it, I’m usually channeling him . . . Don Henley and the stuff that The Eagles did in the ‘70s, they are responsible for what you hear on country radio now.”

Paisley wrote or co-wrote 12 of the album’s 15 tracks, recruiting an eclectic cadre of special guests, including Henley, Clint Eastwood, Sheryl Crow, Marty Stuart, Carl Jackson, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton. Henley lends his distinctive vocals to “Love Her Like She’s Leavin’.” “It’s a real romantic song, and it feels like something that either he would have written or his band, The Eagles, would have done,” says Paisley. “So I thought he would be the perfect voice on the song.”

Paisley first met Eastwood at the White House during a Kennedy Center Honors reception. The legendary actor and his wife, Dina, then enlisted Brad to perform for one of their charity events in California. “When I was working on this record, and we wrote this instrumental, I had Eastwood in mind,” Paisley says of the tune he co-wrote with Robert Arthur and Kendal Marcy. “We started writing what felt like a western, and I thought we could call this ‘Eastwood.’”

In addition to always including an instrumental on every album, Paisley is also known for recording a gospel song on every album since his 1999 Arista Nashville debut, Who Needs Pictures. This time around he revives the classic “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” the first song he ever sang in church when he was nine years old. “I had Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow and Carl Jackson all singing harmonies on that,” says Paisley, for whom 2011 marked his 10th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. “It turned out great. Wait until you hear their harmonies.”

On This Is Country Music, Paisley once again works with longtime producer Frank Rogers and co-writes with such frequent collaborators as Lee Thomas Miller, Ashley Gorley, Tim Owens, Kelley Lovelace and Chris DuBois. He and DuBois wrote the title track and penned more verses than would fit into a radio single, so Paisley opted to use some of the extra verses as intros for other songs throughout the record. The result is a wonderful narrative thread that gives the album an even more cohesive feel, like a great movie reeling with a vibrant cast of characters such as the girl who is “Working on a Tan,” an energetic ode to summer that finds Paisley channeling surf guitar legend Dick Dale.

“A Man Don’t Have to Die” is a sobering tale that many people will find easily relatable about living in difficult times. “One of Those Lives” is a poignant song about a childhood cancer. “New Favorite Memory” is a sexy number about falling in love with someone all over again during an unexpected moment.

This Is Country Music also includes duets with two of Paisley’s fellow country hitmakers, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton. “It’s a fun song about getting somebody off your mind,” Paisley says of “Don’t Drink the Water,” a duet with Shelton, who will be joining him this summer on his H2O II: Wetter & Wilder World Tour. He and Underwood join forces on the incredible ballad “Remind Me,” about a couple looking to rekindle the spark in a relationship. “It’s a song about the conversation a couple would have. It could be seven months into the relationship or it could be seven years, but everybody’s been there,” Paisley says. “I love the honesty about that song.”

Paisley and Underwood had previously teamed on “Oh Love,” a track from his 2007 album, 5th Gear, and the two friends have hosted the last three CMA Awards telecasts. “There is no limit to how high she can sing. She’s amazing,” Paisley says. “I asked, ‘Is there any note you can’t hit?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know,’ and I was playing it for her, and I said, ‘How about high G,’ and she went, ‘Yeah, I can hit that.’ There’s honestly nobody better, and her instincts were perfect, too. When she came in to sing, every take was perfect. She 100% nailed it every time.”

In recording This Is Country Music, Paisley’s goal was not only to sonically capture the varied tones and textures of country music, but to lyrically reflect the lives of the people who love it. “There are stories and observations in songs like ‘A Man Don’t Have to Die.’ I didn’t write that song, but I heard it and instantly said, ‘This is exactly where I want to go with this album,’ because it is absolute reality for some people,” he notes. “In the title track, when I sing ‘This is real. This is your life in a song,’ not every one of these songs will be you at this moment, but several, I guarantee, will be. If they aren’t right now, a lot of them have the potential to be a story that applies to your life. That’s our job in country music.”

Find Brad on the web:

Parmalee

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:37:00 GMT

Matt and Scott Thomas grew up near Greenville, NC watching their father Jerry front a popular local southern rock blues band. The boys watched and learned, picking up their own instruments and jamming along with their dad's band. From this they learned how to integrate their own style into the songs they were playing. Barry Knox, who played drums for the church choir, loved what his cousins were doing and soon joined them. All that practice paid off one night when Matt and Scott, then teenagers, snuck into a club to watch their father perform. "The guitar player got too drunk before the gig and didn't show," Matt explains. "I knew all the songs so my dad called me on stage. I was in the band from that point on." Scott replaced the drummer, and Barry learned bass in order to secure his spot in the band. The line-up became the newly minted The Thomas Brothers Band. The Thomas Brothers Band cut their teeth on the local club circuit and would often share the same marquee with a cover band that starred their friend Josh McSwain on guitar and keys. Josh’s upbringing paralleled Matt, Scott and Barry’s. Josh also traveled and played with his father who was in a bluegrass band called “Get Honked.” A fan of Josh’s musical prowess, Matt invited Josh to play with Barry, Scott and himself. The foursome clicked immediately on stage. Their first gig was held at local watering hole, Corrigans, near East Carolina University where the guys went to school. From this moment in 2001 Parmalee was born. The band set up camp every Tuesday and Thursday evening in the Parmele, NC barn they named Studio B after its original builder Mark Bryant. They added an extra “e” to the band's name to make it easier for those outside the area to pronounce it. “Tuesdays and Thursdays were the only nights we could all get together and rehearse – the rest of the time we were each out working in order to fund Parmalee,” Matt says. “Every person in town could hear us practice in the barn, so we also had to stop at 11 p.m. to be considerate of the neighborhood." The residents of Parmele weren't the only ones within earshot. The band developed a devout regional following based on the intensity of their live shows. But, the guys knew to turn their dreams into reality they would have to leave North Carolina. Their journey took them all over the country including New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta as they tried to find their musical direction. All of the producers, managers, and label representatives said the same thing: "you guys need to be in Nashville." Matt, Barry and Josh parked their RV, which doubled as their studio, in the Comfort Inn parking lot on Nashville’s famed Demonbreun Street near Music Row. For the next month the parking lot was home and office. They began writing new material and networking. Their new connections led to a co-writing session with David Fanning, who is part of the celebrated production team New Voice with Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and Rich Redmond. "Going into these appointments, you never know who you're going to meet or how it's going to go," Matt explains. "But when I wrote with David, we hit it off."

During the same weekend as the infamous Nashville flood, Parmalee and Fanning wrote “Musta Had a Good Time” - even recording the demo in the RV’s recording “studio” - oblivious to the devastation that was happening to the city around them. After the “Flood Sessions,” Parmalee went into the studio with New Voice to record some sides, including “Carolina,” and “Musta Had a Good Time.” NV played the songs for BBR Music Group President/CEO Benny Brown who was impressed and asked to see a showcase as soon as the band returned to Nashville. Parmalee put together a short tour in North Carolina to fund the trip back to Music City. But after the first show, plans changed. After their September 21, 2010 show, Josh and Barry were packing gear in the venue while Matt and Scott were outside loading their RV when two armed men knocked on the door. The men put a gun to Matt’s head and demanded money. Shots were fired. Scott, who possessed a concealed weapons license, fired back. One of the gunmen died and Scott was shot three times. One bullet hit Scott's femoral artery causing him to nearly bleed to death. "He bled out on the air flight to Charlotte, and his heart stopped twice," Matt recalls. "When we got to the hospital, the doctor gave him a five percent chance to live." Scott was hospitalized in Charlotte, NC for 35 days - 10 of which he spent in a coma. News of the shooting spread like wildfire and the local news stations carried weekly reports on Scott's progress. Parmalee's fans turned out in droves to show their support. Through Facebook campaigns and benefits they raised enough money to help cover Scott's medical bills. The Nashville community also rallied behind Parmalee donating autographed items and VIP packages to help cover Scott’s medical expenses. "We knew we had a lot of friends and fans," Josh says. "But we found out exactly how many we had.” By February 2011, Scott was well enough to get behind a drum kit for the first time and the band finally performed their promised label showcase. "We wouldn't tell everybody how bad off I was because there was no way I wasn't going to play that show," Scott says. "I was in a leg brace, but I only had to get through six songs. Parmalee had fought for so much for so long that we decided we hadn’t come this far to stop now." Through sheer willpower, the band nailed the set and landed a deal with Stoney Creek Records, home to ACM Vocal Duo of the Year Thompson Square and chart-topper Randy Houser. Looking back on their experiences, the members of Parmalee have no regrets about the path they chose. “All the obstacles and craziness we’ve been through allowed us to help find our home in Nashville,” Matt says. "It took us going through all that to mold us," Barry continues. "In Hollywood and New York we were always pushed in opposite directions. But Nashville helped us capture our sound – a sound that’s authentic to who we are as both artists and as people." “Artists like Jason Aldean and Eric Church helped pave the way for our country rock sound. If you think of Jason Aldean as the rockin’ side of country then think of Parmalee as the country side of rock,” Matt explains. All of Parmalee’s hard work, dedication and perseverance is paying off in a big way. Country fans recently voted the band’s debut single, “Musta Had A Good Time,” #1 for 4 consecutive weeks on SiriusXM’s “The Highway,” and the song is a Top 40 hit on mainstream country radio. The fun-loving party anthem has been featured in national sporting event broadcasts from the PGA to MLB. Parmalee has been highlighted in USA Today, AOL’s The Boot, Country Aircheck, Country Weekly and been named a “Bubbling Under Artist” by Billboard magazine. The signs are clear that after a long, tumultuous journey to Nashville, Parmalee is home at last.

Find Parmalee on the web:

Jon Pardi

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:56:00 GMT

Jon Pardi

Capitol Records Nashville artist Jon Pardi may be new to the country music scene, but his strikingly original songs and relaxed confidence would suggest otherwise. His sound is undeniably country — paying homage to some of his musical heroes such as Dwight Yoakam, George Strait and Buck Owens —with his lived-in voice and authentic delivery. But it’s his carefree musical style combined with his high-energy live show which give this singer-songwriter his own niche in a diverse country landscape.

Hailing from a small town in Northern California, Pardi’s first taste of country music stardom started in his Grandmother’s house at the tender age of 3. The singer-songwriter spent his youth perfecting his craft – by 8 years old, he was playing the guitar and at 12, he was writing his own songs. Pardi had his first band at age 14, performing a mixture of classic rock and country, all the while polishing his live performance skills. Determined to make his dream of country music fame a reality, Pardi moved to Nashville at 22 years old, where his unique musical style gained the attention of Song Factory which led to a publishing contract, and later a record deal.

Earlier this year, Pardi signed with Capitol Records Nashville. He was the only country artist out of Nashville to perform at this year’s Austin City Limits festival, and has shared the stage with Eric Church, Zac Brown Band, Dierks Bentley, Pat Green, Gary Allan and Luke Bryan. Pardi is currently working on songs for his debut album.

Find Jon on the web: