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Steve Palmer Biography:(return to top) A ground-breaking addition to Nashville and east coast rock scenes, SPB carries on the proud tradition of winners like the Montgomery Gentry, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts, and pop artist like Led Zepplin, the Beatles and Chicago. Palmer found life long inspiration from his country heros including Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, John Denver and Dolly Pardon. “I listened to lots of cross over acts, like Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rodgers, Ronnie Milsap, the Gatlin Brothers and even Bob Dylan. All that great music still had the main components of country – beautiful melodies and lyrics about family, country, rolling hillsides and magnolia trees and day to day struggle and strife. I’ve got a song about most of life’s predicaments; being pinned to garbage bin with a bottle of booze in your hand, a kid hunting a wild animal while being pulled away by momma’s cries, marrying a celebrity, or a Dad telling his kids the heat got turned off. That’s why I love country music.” In 2010, the band toured behind Blues Traveler, Sister Hazel, Bob Schneider. With a unique sound, Palmer hopes to “transcend a segregated music industry and still reach Top 40 country charts”.They segregate music into genres for a reason. That way music [and people] can be controlled, minimized, limited, excluded, brainwashed and marginalized, all at the same time. That’s why everything is image oriented – the “industry” can then cut out the really good players because they don’t “have the right look . . . we’re looking for. The single ‘Stuck In A U’Haul’ recounts a true story about how Steve traveled south with family belongings in a U’Haul truck. The minute he arrived in Virginia, he penned the lyrics to the melody he just wrote while listening to Clint Black and Tim McGraw on the single band radio. “The truck only got one station. Luckily it was country. ‘Morning Shift’ is about a waitress who used to bring me split pea soup at a diner in between classes. Even as a student, I always found places to go with real people. That’s probably why I worked at The Deli, The Food Mart, Aligators or the Keg and why I took the morning shift at the deli. It was real.I remember the owner of one restaurant showing up to address ** the crew with jaundice. He was all yellow – at the same time they closed the restaurant because the food was poisoned . Funny stuff.” Palmer gathered the “best players and the best hearts he could find. The band on “Morning Shift” includesBryan Ewald (Musical Director / Lead Guitar), Tony Morra (Drums), Larry Hall (Hammond B-3 Organist/Pianist) and Eric Scott (Bass and background vocals). SPB also has great back up players that extend its musical family including Brian Fullen, Vicki Hampton, Meg Murry, Josh Chapman and Adam Hampton. Recording ‘Morning Shift’ was “a challenge”, recounts Palmer. “Tony Morra recorded drums at Downtown Battery Studios, Bryan and I did guitars at Sterling in Virginia, Larry and David did backgrounds and strings at Wildwood, Meg recorded at Brian’s The Elsewhere Room, Eric cut bass at Acacia in Maryland and Steve sang at Blackbird in Nashville. We were literally all over the place.” Palmer has finally coerced a dynamic, “live” and contemporary sound out of multiple engineers, musicians and studios aided by Luke Rowher’s mix. Steve played guitar and sang nonstop since age 13. He recorded his first songs with first call New York session players in 1980. While in school, Palmer recorded in top studios in Chicago, Indiana, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Philadelphia. “Unfortunately, no one helped – and a lot of people threw mud along the way. But I just kept watching people, writing, playing and recording.” he explains. After re-committing himself full-time to music in 2002 after a 9-5’ish job and raising two girls, Palmer moved to Nashville in 2009 for six months. He has spent every waking hour battling fierce headwinds, writing, recording, developing his band and growing a record company into a production, distribution and marketing label. His debut record was promoted by industry heavyweights but marketing efforts fizzled. Palmer currently resides outside Philadelphia where he grew up, attended Gladwyne Public Elementary School and played soccer, baseball and tennis as a kid. In running Arythmia Records, Palmer mixes in street smarts he learned earning money working in yards, supermarkets and restaurants, founding a student paper in England, bringing student groups together to promote appearances by Dick Gregory, Chick Corea and Gil Scott Heron, working with Alderman Danny Davis on Chicago’s west side and working for the disadvantaged in the Washington area. “I grew up with bands like Steely Dan, The Beatles, Toto, Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton and legends like Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Kansas and Billy Joel. And I learned to write from Joni Mitchell, Dan Fogelberg, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Carly Simon and Cat Stevens. My biggest rhythmic influences were Yes, Stevie Wonder, and Joan Armatrading, and all the great jazz artists like Stanley Turrentine, Joe Sample, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Herb Albert, Chuck Mangione, Joe Sample and Weather Report.” “The first few songs I performed were ‘If I Were A Carpenter’, ‘Sunny’, ‘I Saw The Light’, “Peace Train” and ‘Cat’s In The Cradle,’ which got me writing stories in the different genres.” That’s what I think the music of the 1970s is all about; light, love and peace and real life. Right now I know exactly what’s going on the industry and its not about those things.” In 2004 Palmer began recording again and ended up in Nashville where co-producer David Huff introduced him to some of SPB’s dynamic players. In 2007, he moved from the “Open-Mic” circuit to playing fifty gigs in the Washington-metro bar scene with his band. Palmer then joined up with a second group of live players. The final touches for “Morning Shift” came from Eric Scott, a well-known Maryland songwriter and performer. Steve Palmer Band members boast blue-ribbon live and recording experience with rockers like Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), Pat DiNizio (Smithereens), Warren Zanes (Del Fuegos), Joe Grushecky (Iron City Houserockers), The Pierces and Niles Rodgers as well as such country staples Randy Travis, Little Big Town, Restless Heart, SheDaisy, Ronnie Milsap, Lari White and Ray Price. The group has over twenty professionally produced videos to its credit and recently filmed three concerts in Nashville at Mercy Lounge, Sound Check and 3rd aVenue South. Clearly in it for the long haul, Arythmia Records and its promo team will manufacture, promote and distribute “Morning Shift” . “I didn’t want to do it this way but I had to. No one would help . . . even if they were paid,” explains Steve. “Getting a CD actually to the public is my lifelong passion and mission,” he says. “I am very happy with it and thrilled to try to get our sound out there.” (return to top) (return to top)
STEVE PALMER BAND – A 2010 HOLLYWOOD Steve Palmer, lead singer, songwriter and creative force behind the East Coast based Steve Palmer Band, describes the title track off his debut CD “Apparition”, as “an edgy song rock about a woman who is beckoned to break away from a dark force that wants to control and destroy her.” The band is set to release their 13-track debut “Apparition” March 1, 2011 on Arythmia Records. This storyline applies to the multiple obstacles Palmer has confronted as an artist who has struggled to take his songs public - songs that are “timeless and transcend genre” (Celebrity Café, 2010). Putting a modern spin on classic rock and soul, Palmer and his band recently celebrated their first Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) nomination (for Best AC/AAA Song) for “Apparition”. They performed the title track at the red carpet gala November 18, 2010 in Hollywood. Steve Palmer Band (SPB) and Arythmia Records also offer fans a unique way to help two great children’s charities by giving away free downloads of “In Love”, the feel good single off Apparition. To raise money for Save The Children and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Arythmia Records will raise and donate five cents for each of the first 200,000 fans who download the song. The promotion can be accessed by clicking “ShareThis” at www.stevepalmerband.com and runs through January 31. As SPB gears up to hit the road again in 2011, Palmer has given interviews to In The Now Magazine, the popular online music source Maximum Ink, plus a live interview and performance for New Jersey’s Power Play and a radio interview on KJAG-FM in Salina, Kansas. In 2010, the band filmed three concerts in Nashville at Mercy Lounge, Sound Check and 3rd Avenue South, as well as producing a live music video for the single “Apparition” that appears on websites - the same recording appears on the CD. Palmer’s 2010 slate included opening for Blues Traveler, Sister Hazel and Bob Schneider while touring from Massachusetts to Georgia and west to Arkansas. In 2009, SPB filmed and produced ten music videos and recorded two records in Nashville . . . one two times and the other three times. “Well by our fifth or sixth effort, I think we got the thing tamper proof so we’re making strides on quality control. After a lot of mumbo jumbo in studios throughout my career, we ended up at a basement studio called Downtown Battery Studios, which is the best room I’ve ever recorded in.” Joining Palmer (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) for the Blackbird and Downtown Battery Studio sessions were Bryan Ewald (MD and lead guitar); Anthony Setola (bass) now replaced by Josh Chapmen; Tony Morra (drums); Larry Hall (keyboards and Hammond B3 organ); and Vicki Hampton (background vocals). Its members are all veteran players with a collective century of studio and concert experience that have joined together with Palmer into a genuine and committed band. On the road, Steve often adds Brian Fullen, Brandon Bartlett and others from Nashville and Maryland. “I was recording great music before I met my current band,” says Palmer. ”But I really respect these guys as human beings. And they’ve become a important part of Apparition and also the live sound. I rely on their natural instincts and musicality to bring something different to the music.” Palmer draws inspiration from a wide range of rock and pop from the ‘60s and ‘70s. “Yes, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Beatles were some of my favorites,” he says. “But some of my biggest influences are five great singer/songwriters: CSNY, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Joan Armatrading. I also liked Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Hendrix and Joplin, Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Palmer explains, “All those players taught me about being true to the music. For example ‘No Words To Say’ is a ballad, pure and simple. ‘Her Own Place’ is a long story accented by the big stomping rhythmic beats. ‘Apparition’, on the other hand, has an edgy minor strained sound, more like Nirvana or Dave Matthews Band. And, hopefully, you just want to dance to ‘Livin A Lie’.” Since 2002, Palmer has spent every waking hour writing, recording, developing his band, growing a record company alongside “developing a virtual major label” comprised of top independent music industry professionals and putting together a promotion, marketing and distribution team. In running Arythmia Records, Palmer mixes in the business sense he learned from earning money as a kid since age 10 working in yards, restaurants and supermarkets, starting a student paper in England, founding a fraternity based on diversity, bringing black and white student groups together to put on appearances by Dick Gregory, Chick Corea and Gil Scott Heron, interning with an Alderman Danny Davis on the West Side of Chicago, and working as a professional in New York, Philly and Washington D.C. Palmer adds. “I will not be satisfied until my music gets out to the people and all the road blocks for me and other artists are torn down. People need great music to feel good and be inspired to hope and dream. And that’s one thing I think I can give to everyone." # # # Contact: Steve Levesque, Tasya Swisko
STEVE PALMER BAND OFFERS A FREE The Emerging East Coast Rockers Debut Their
Running November 30 through January 31, Arythmia Records will raise and donate $.05 cents for each of the first 200,000 fans who download the feel-good track. Visit stevepalmerband.com and click ‘ShareThis.’ "There are a lot of significant things that Christians, Jews and Muslims have in common, and that's what this song is all about. I mean all three worship one God. That's a pretty big similarity that we sometimes lose sight of." says frontman Steve Palmer. To coincide with the holiday treat, the emerging East Coast rockers are slated to premier the music video for the anticipated holiday tune “In Love” December 14 on SPB’s YouTube Channel. SPB recently celebrated their first Hollywood Music In Media Award (HMMA) nomination with a stellar performance of their lead-off track “Apparition” at the red carpet gala on November 18 in Hollywood, Calif. With roots in Nashville and Maryland, SPB enjoyed a successful stint this year with acclaimed acts including Blues Traveler, Sister Hazel and Bob Schneider performing in cities along the East Coast including Hartford, Conn., and Charlotte, N.C. For the latest updates and to download the music, visit www.stevepalmerband.com. # # # Contact: Steve Levesque, Chrissy Sutphin
STEVE PALMER BAND ROCKED In its third year, the HMMAs were held November 18 at The Highlands and presented honors to mainstream and independent artists and music in various forms of media including film, television, video games, commercial ads, and movie trailers. The next day, Bolger and Ewald of the band had a lesson with renowned guitarist Carol Kaye and Steve visited Warner Bros. studios in Burbank. “I was excited to see the set of Ellen Degeneres. One of my dreams is to do something for TV or film,” exclaimed frontman Steve Palmer. In other news, SPB recently released their original holiday tune “In Love” to Top 40 radio from their upcoming Apparition debut. Also frontman Steve Palmer recently stopped by the Interlochen Public Radio studios in Interlochen, Mich. for a solo acoustic performance. Visit www.stevepalmerband.com to view the videos. With roots in Nashville and Maryland, SPB has made strides on the road, recently touring with acclaimed band Blues Traveler in cities along the East Coast, including Hartford, Conn., and Charlotte, N.C., in support of Apparition, slated for release in March 2011. Apparition was recorded live at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and Third Story Recording in Philadelphia, Penn., was mixed by Drop Trou Productions in Van Nuys, Calif., with Howard Rosen Productions and was mastered by Steve Quick of Traverse City, Mich. For the latest on SPB, including music samples and tour dates, log on to stevepalmerband.com # # # Contact: Steve Levesque, Chrissy Sutphin
STEVE PALMER BAND SET TO PERFORM *** With Roots in Maryland and Nashville, SPB *** SPB Names Bryan Ewald As New Musical Director Celebrating their first Hollywood Music In Media Award (HMMA) nomination for Best Adult Contemporary/AAA Song “Apparition,” the Steve Palmer Band (SPB) has been added to the bill for a coveted performance spot at the awards show on Thursday, November 18. SPB will perform the title track to their upcoming rock, pop and soul-blended debut album, Apparition. Held at The Highlands at the world-famous Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, Calif., the HMMAsrecognize and honor the music of visual mediums, the talented individuals responsible for it, and the music of both mainstream and independent artists from around the world. SPB’s lead guitarist Bryan Ewald is stepping up as the band’s new Musical Director. As the guitarist and singer for the acclaimed Mid-Atlantic based indie band Starbelly, Ewald has also done stints with other acts including Jarflys, Non-Fiction, Judd and Maggie, and Meg & Bryan. He’s also graced the work of notable talents like Pat DiNizio (Smithereens) and Warren Zanes (Del Fuegos) with his fluid, extemporaneous and versatile playing. Ewald has also held title as Music Director for Baltimore’s Paul Green School of Rock. With roots in Nashville and Maryland, SPB is enjoying their ongoing successful fall run with acclaimed group Blues Traveler, performing in cities along the East Coast including Hartford, Conn., and Charlotte, N.C. The band recently toured in support of Apparition, which is slated for release on Palmer’s own label Arythmia Records in March 2011. Drawing heavily from rock, soul and pop, Apparition is produced in a contemporary context and played with fiery soul-dipped passion. It’s a crafted work of songs such as “Living on the Streets” and “Livin’ a Lie,” along with hooky melodies atop dynamic rhythmic shifts and finessed with full harmonies. Recorded live at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and Third Story Recording, Philadelphia, Penn., Apparition was mixed by Drop Trou Productions in Van Nuys, Calif., with Howard Rosen Productions and mastered by Steve Quick of Traverse City, Mich. For the latest news and to hear the music, visit www.stevepalmerband.com. # # # Contact: Steve Levesque, Chrissy Sutphin
STEVE PALMER BAND *** The Tennessee-based Rockers Steve Palmer Band is celebrating their first Hollywood Music In Media Award (HMMA) nomination for Best Adult Contemporary/AAA Song for the title track to their upcoming rock, pop and soul-blended debut album, Apparition. Set for November 18, 2010 at the world-famous Hollywood & Highland Kodak Theatre complex in Hollywood, Calif., the HMMAsrecognize and honor the music of visual mediums, the talented individuals responsible for it, and the music of both mainstream and independent artists from around the world. The Nashville-based rockers will continue their successful fall run with acclaimed group Blues Traveler, performing a free show on October 21 at Pavilion at EpiCentre in Charlotte, N.C. The band is currently touring in support of Apparition, which is slated for release on Palmer’s own label Arythmia Records on March 1, 2011. Drawing heavily from rock, soul and pop, Apparition is produced in a contemporary context and played with fiery soul-dipped passion. It’s a crafted work of songs such as “Living on the Streets” and “Livin’ a Lie,” along with hooky melodies atop dynamic rhythmic shifts and finessed with full harmonies. Recorded live at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and Sound Shop, Apparitionis currently being mixed by Drop Trou Productions in Van Nuys, Calif., with Howard Rosen Productions. EVENT RECAP October 21, 2010 # # # Contact: Steve Levesque, Chrissy Sutphin
STEVE PALMER BAND ROCKS Led by multi-talented singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Palmer, the band’s debut album Apparition draws heavily from rock, soul and pop and produced in a contemporary context and played with fiery soul-dipped passion. It’s a crafted work of songs such as “Living on the Streets” and “Livin’ a Lie,” along with hooky melodies atop dynamic rhythmic shifts and finessed with full harmonies. Recorded live at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and Sound Shop Studios, Apparition will be released in January 2011 on Palmer’s own label Arythmia Records. Apparition was remixed by Drop Trou Productions in Van Nuys, Calif. with Howard Rosen Productions. The powerful title track “Apparition” is Steve Palmer Band’s first single, reaching #37 on the R&R Indicator AC Charts. The ballad “No Words To Say” is currently #12 on the FMQB AC Charts. TheMuse’s Muse touts Palmer as a “modern-day Roy Orbison,” while Real Rock News called the CD “contemporary classic rock.” Muzik Reviews said, “On Apparition, you'll think you're listening to all the classics – Skynyrd, Springsteen, Dylan, and Tom Petty will all come to mind, if not more.” Joining Palmer on the project are Bryan Ewald (lead guitar); Mario Sangermano (bass); Tony Morra (drums); Larry Hall (keyboards and Hammond B3 organ); and Vicki Hampton (background vocals). The band tours with notable acts such as Blues Traveler and has opened for Sister Hazel and Bob Schneider. Palmer also performs solo and unplugged acoustic gigs. Palmer’s re-generated music career culminates a journey that began at age 13, when he first played a friend’s guitar and took a few lessons. After recording for years and then working 9-5, Palmer continued writing music. In 2000 he decided to refocus exclusively on music while running the label and promoting the band. Some of Palmer’s biggest influences are four great songwriters: Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Joan Armatrading. He also listens to more modern artists like Tegan and Sara, John Legend, Magnetic Zeros, Death Cab For Cutie, Fastball, Nicole Atkins and Alicia Keys. Contact: Chrissy Sutphin, LUCK Media & Marketing, Inc. (818) 760-8077 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||