Music

Industry

Tentmaker Music

From the fall of 2000 through the spring of 2003 I had the chance to work for Tentmaker Music in Lubbock, TX. During that time, we operated primarily as a two-man show, so my boss and I wore many hats. From the time that I joined the company until the summer of 2002, the main service that we provided was concert promotion throughout the state of Texas. For those who are unfamiliar with the role of the concert promoter, I say "we make sure that all the band and their people have to do is show up, plug in, and play." During this time we promoted a variety of major tours for well-known artists including:

Derek Webb
Caedmon's Call
Matt Wertz
Dave Barnes
Bebo Norman
David Crowder Band

During the summer of 2002 we began managing independent artists and after the fall of that year we abandoned concert promotion altogether to focus on management. This included booking studios for recording, booking single shows and complete tours, assisting in contract negotiations, etc. The following is a brief snapshot of our clients.

Jacob's Well - Seattle, WA

My boss new this band from his time living in Seattle. They had just released their debut album, Be Still (produced by fellow recording artists Shane Barnard and Shane Everett). We assisted them during their fall 2002 tour opening for Shane and Shane.

Trent Monk - Amarillo, TX

My boss and I met Trent (before any of us began working together) during a gig at a local coffee shop. Several years later we began working with him, assisting with the production of his sophomore album, Stars Would Fall. I, for one, had an amazing time being in the studio and watching the process come together from demos to final, mastered product.

Trent would go on to sign a major-label record contract and form the duo Monk & Neagle with his friend and collaborator, Michael Neagle. They released two albums and had chart success in the Contemporary Christian market with their songs, "Dancing with the Angels", "Twenty-First Time", and "What Soldiers Do".

Addison Road - Dallas, TX

I stumbled upon the Jenny Chisolm Band one night sitting in my apartment on an independent music distribution website. I could hear a lot of potential if they could just make the right connections. Fast-forward six or so years and Addison Road nominated for the New Artist of the Year Dove Award.

We helped these wonderful guys (and girl) to negotiate a name change at a very crucial moment in their career. At the time, 3 members were working full time and 2 were in their last semester of college. We also worked through band membership contracts. I would like to think, though, that our biggest contribution to them was encouraging them that they could have a career in music.

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Artist

My life has always been filled with music. From sitting down at a piano at the age of 4 to picking up a guitar at 15, I've never known life without music. Over the course of my life I've performed in a number of different settings from churches to coffee shops to clubs. I have taken to the stage as a solo artist and as a band member. I have lead from the ground up and I have also been happy to sit back, relax and simply play my instrument. I've had the opportunity to play and collaborate with a number of great musicians and songwriters that I have also been able to call "friends."

I began writing music 12 years ago and have gone through extremely prolific years as well as years of drought. I don't know quite how to describe my own music - I was once told, "Nickel Creek meets Nirvana." I've been influenced by nearly every artist I've ever heard, but among the most influential I would name: Derek Webb, Dashboard Confessional, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, and Damien Rice.

In 2010, as a favor to a friend and in hopes of winning a contest, I wrote and recorded the song Caroline under the band name 5 Miles Inland. Producer/Friend extraordinaire, Wes Ashworth, did an amazing job of putting the project together and encouraging me. In short, we went from no clue to mastered track in about 3 weeks - with me out of town for one of those weeks. We entered it into the contest and finished 27 out of 140. Not bad for a non-existent band going up against known regional talent with an active fan base. You can read the full story here.

In light of this success, we have gone back into the studio to record the songs that will become The Caroline EP. I'm hoping to release it by the end of November. It will contain 6 original songs written between 2005 and 2010, including the title track.