In Part 1 of my 2014 Review I basically covered the 1st Quarter of the year, which featured highlights of the DownTown Mystic CD on the charts. Notably, the single Way To Know going to #1 and the album going to #3 on the Roots Music Report Chart. Dani Heyvaert/Rootstime in Belgium wrote a great review of the album and singled out Way To Know, saying “Way To Know…a straightforward rocker in the best Stones tradition…a perfect radio single”.
DownTown Mystic also broke into the Americana Music Association Radio Chart Top 100, rising to #65 after 20 consecutive weeks on the chart. This was only the midway point for the album, which still had another 20 to go before finishing in July after 10 months and 40 straight weeks. This was definitely mind-blowing for me!
Spring ushered in a new discovery for me when I happened upon a new band out of Winnipeg Canada called The Bros. Landreth. They had put out their own cd called Let It Lie, and I was immediately a fan after the 1st listen. Since I was on a roll at Americana Radio with my own record, I reached out to Dave Stratton, the PD of WQBR. Dave was a big supporter of mine and a great music head. So I figured, who better to take Let It Lie to? I sent Dave a link to the track Tappin’ On The Glass and he emailed me back asking where could he get a copy of the cd.
I sent Dave the cd and he said he would play the band. I then got in contact with the band to let them know they had a fan at Americana Radio in the US. I heard back from Dave Landreth, the bass player, who couldn’t thank me enough for what I’d done. This was the start of a friendship. A few months later I sent Dave congratulations when the news broke that The Bros. Landreth had signed a deal with Slate Creek Records after playing a gig in Nashville. In September they played NYC for the 1st time and I was able to finally meet the band! Their new record comes out this month.
Robert and Dave Landreth from The Bros. Landreth
The Bros. Landreth was the 1st new band I had chanced upon since Band of Heathens, and the similarities weren’t lost on me. Both bands had great songs and players. It was very exciting for me to experience that same magical vibe, discovering something new. Then to make personal contact just moves it up a notch! And I was about to have some personal contact, which made the Summer Solstice extra special this year, because Band of Heathens played NYC!
A beautiful night in late June was made even better when I went to see Band of Heathens play a great set at Hill Country Barbecue. It was the 1st time BOH was playing there, and the room was a perfect fit for them. It was also the 1st time that I got to hear my fave Gordy Quist song, Second Line, played live. But the recorded acoustic version was given a rocking electric gospel styled arrangement that blew the doors down!
Robert with Gordy Quist & Ed Jurdi from Band of Heathens
After the show I got a chance to catch up and talk music with my main men, Gordy Quist & Ed Jurdi. They’re such cool talented guys and always a pleasure to speak with. The band is a great group of guys and a really tight musical unit. Band of Heathens would kick into a higher gear by the Fall with the release of the more rock oriented single Carry Your Love and Carry Your Love Tour, as well as backing Kid Rock on his new First Kiss album. How cool is that??
The BOH show was the perfect event to usher in the summer. There was a flurry of DownTown Mystic music featured on a bunch of cool Music Podcasts/Blogs. One of the highlights was having Way To Know getting the spotlight on a segment of Bike TV in Germany. The show features high end racing bicycles being tested and talked about in various videos for bike enthusiasts and Extreme bike riders. Way To Know starts at the 11:18 mark of show #217.
In July the unexpected arrived in the form of a check in the mail from Jingle Punks, the NYC Music Licensing company that places my music on TV. It was for a Dr Pepper ad on the Internet. WTF? Turns out I had 2 DownTown Mystic tracks featured in the ad…how cool! Now all needed was to find it. So I googled Dr Pepper and found the ad under Dr Pepper/1 Fan.
Seems that Dr Pepper was doing a series of these ads and my music was featured on the ad with Mickie James, the 8-time Female Wrestling Champ and Country Singer! Lost & Found and No Exceptions from the DownTown Mystic album get some nice time in this highly professional filmed and edited ad. This was a totally unexpected highlight of the summer!
Check out Dr Pepper/1 Fan: Mickie James Video
Meanwhile, there was a possible deal being shopped for DownTown Mystic in Europe. There appeared to be some interest and we were going back and forth with a couple of labels before a deal finally fell through at the last instant due to a twist of fate. Close but no cigar! Speaking of falling…The Fall rolled around and I was back in the studio spending time recording instrumental pieces I called SoundScapes.
These would coincide with a big announcement by my company Sha-La Music on a Publishing/Licensing Agreement with Music of The Sea and my good bud Eddie Caldwell. We’d been working together on and off since we met in Cannes at Midem 3 years ago. Eddie was responsible for getting my music placed with 1 of LA’s top Music Supervisors, Alexandra Patsavas of Chop Shop Music, who took 3 my songs for The Carrie Diaries on TV. Here’s the Press Release from November.
All in all, 2014 provided a lot of surprises and forward movement for me professionally. As the year came to a close I was already making plans for the next DownTown Mystic release. Keep an eye & ear out for Rock’n’Roll Romantic sometime in 2015. Visit DownTown Mystic on NoiseTrade to sample and download some free music. Thanks to all for your support an let’s keep it rockin’ in 2015!