songwriter | Music Junkie Press

James Otto is our Bottle Rock Napa 2014 Featured Artist of the Day

April 16, 2014

Today our Bottle Rock Napa Featured Artist is James Otto. Today I wanted to feature country artist, James Otto. I love James’ vocals. As many of you know I don’t listen to country that often. I guess it can best be explained by the following meme: James has such an amazing voice, he can take you from flirty, seductive, spiritual, comforting, and fun just by the range of his tones. He currently has his third album out, Shake What God Gave Ya and it is a collection of songs that highlight his powerful vocals and brings to the forefront, his heart of soul. The album is a journey of exploration of country-soul and one of my favorites on it is Soldiers & Jesus. The emotionally stirring lyrics are captivating and will feed your soul. In regards to his latest album James explains, “As much as there’s all these different fractures of country music these days—you have pop country, rock country, traditional country, alt-country, and all these things in between—I don’t know why country-soul couldn’t exist [Read More]

Tyson Leslie receives Lifetime Achievement Award at the Midwest Music Awards

April 14, 2014

Congratulations are in order for the amazingly talented Tyson Leslie. Last month we brought you our review of his first solo album, Train Wrecks, Havoc and Heartbreak. You can read more about that here. Well this past Friday, Tyson was bestowed with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Project Backstage as part of the 4th annual Midwest Music Awards ceremony. “What an absolute honor and evening of surreality!” exclaimed Leslie. “It’s been one incredible weekend being among so many outstanding musical peers all in one place. The awards show was unlike anything I’d ever performed, and I was proud, but greatly humbled as well to be a part of something so extraordinary!” Tyson started making a name for himself in the Midwest when he was just a teenager. He began playing guitar in local metal bands, then playing keyboard for another act and moved on to various other instruments. The multi-talented Tyson soon became the go to musician in the Midwest. “Music is pretty well all I’ve known and all I’ve done with the majority of my life, relates [Read More]

Howie Day is our Bottle Rock Napa 2014 Featured Artist of the Day

April 14, 2014

Today our Bottle Rock Napa Featured Artist is Howie Day. Howie has one of the most phenomenal voices that truly speaks to you, whether he is there to cheer you up, inspire you, remind you of a special memory, or comfort you through hard times. There is something magical about his songs, they seem to be the perfect fit to whatever mood I am in. This morning I was rushing around dealing with several challenges and I was running around and I knew I needed to just take a bit of time to quiet down and slow down to reflect. Then, on the radio, came Howie Day’s Collide. First I was greeted with memories of a very special time when I first hear that song years ago. Then I realized the song gave me the perfect time to slow down and reflect and realize that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Then of course, I had to hear more from Howie. One of the next songs I listened to [Read More]

Check out BRITROYAL for some emotionally driven songs to feed your soul and bandage your heart

April 13, 2014

Whether you are mending a broken heart, remembering that forgotten love or thinking about the one that makes your heart just dance with beats, BRITROYAL has the perfect music for your every mood. BRITROYAL is the work of twin singer/songwriters Kais and Mazin Oliver from London. BRITROYAL were discovered by American Music Executive, Mark Mazzetti. Mazzetti, a former VP of A&R at A&M Records has been responsible for guiding the music and careers of some of the world’s greatest artists including, STING, JANET JACKSON, BRYAN ADAMS and JOHN MAYER They have spectacular songwriting skills and emotionally driven lyrics wrapped in passionate vocals and sweet melodies. BRITROYAL currently have their debut EP Unfinished out and it is quite a listen. It starts right off with what I think might be my favorite song, Wasted I Love You which has such a catchy melody and lyrics that are raw and emotional. Check out the song here in their video: Ordinary has a captivating intro and is a beautiful song with such touching uplifting lyrics. The perfect song to [Read More]

Matt Hires new EP Heartache Machine is climbing the charts!

April 10, 2014

Matt Hires released a new EP earlier this week, “Heartache Machine” and it features four new songs and follows up to last year’s “THIS WORLD WON’T LAST FOREVER, BUT TONIGHT WE CAN PRETEND.” What is very exciting about this new EP is that Matt has returned to independent level after spending 6 years with Atlantic Records. Regarding the recent change, Hires said, “Making the leap to independence has been really freeing and invigorating for me as an artist. I love that I’m able to get songs from the studio and into people’s ears in just a little over two months. It’s definitely a little scary, but I think it’s going to be really good for me and good for my fans. With ‘Heartache Machine,’ I feel like I was able to break into a totally new level of honesty in my songwriting and I think it comes through in the recordings.” His return to the independent level reminds me of my favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead, go [Read More]

Sonia Jeron new EP “You As The One” is a beautiful musical treasure

April 7, 2014

Sonia Jeron is originally from Lisbon, Portugal but spends most of her time in London, UK. Sonia recently released her three song EP You As The One and is absolutely beautiful! She is not only young and beautiful but also Sonia‘s voice is truly captivating and is passionate yet angelic. Her first single, You as The One is a song with heartfelt vocals, pop melody with a catchy chorus. It is quite infectious and I will definitely have it on replay for a while! Sonia‘s voice is so expressive through her songs, she brings the music to life and reminds me of two of my all time favorite vocalists, Sarah Mclachlan and Natalie Merchant. One thing they both possessed which Sonia does as well, is the perfect way of telling the story through her vocals, with her range of tones and depths and Not Again highlights this great art. No One Can Deny also displays her spectacular vocals and brings to life the intensity of the lyrics. Her new EP is available on Itunes here and is [Read More]

An Interview with Michael Addison: luminous lyrics and a smoother side in the new album.

April 5, 2014

An Interview with Michael Addison: luminous lyrics and a smoother side in the new album. By Patrick O’Heffernan Actor, singer, songwriter Michael Addison will release a new album, Resisting Fate, April 15 and a new single, “We’ll Be Coming Home”, April 8 as part of a major shift to music. Music FridayLive! host Patrick O’Heffernan interviewed him on air April 4, 2014. Listening to Michael Addison’s soon to be released album, Resisting Fate, is like laying in the grass on a summer day and watching the clouds slide by while you think of childhood and ice cream and former lovers. And then, there is lightening. The guitar wails, the tempo accelerates and you are hooked. Alt rocker Addison shows us a deep, melodious side that merges euphoria, melancholy and electricity in a harmonious stream that sometimes floats you gently and sometimes carries you over emotional rapids. But in the end, when the music fades and leaves on the shore of your consciousness, your first inclination is to get back in the boat, hit replay on [Read More]