From the Eighth & Rail website about this weekend. It’s Tim Brantley on Friday and Mike Dunn and the Kings of New England. About Tim:
Many artists struggle to establish their musical identity, laboriously trying on different musical styles like a piece of clothing, looking to find what fits. But there are others that emerge fully formed, in full command of their craft, their identity and their music. Tim Brantley fits firmly in the latter category. His new album, Goldtop Heights, is a captivating and moving debut that heralds the arrival of a gifted and significant new talent, one whose music feels familiar in the best possible way, while striking out on his own territory.
A Georgia boy who grew up in Loganville, near Decatur, Brantley played piano as a child, but didn’t take music seriously until he was in his early 20’s. He explains, “I started writing songs in my head, and it took my interest in music to another level. I had to pick the piano back up so I could cut music to the ideas I heard in my head. Then I started playing guitar to broaden my horizons even more.” Almost immediately, he formed a three-piece band and began playing local coffee shops and bars, going through what he calls, “the typical post-high school lifestyle.” “I wasn’t interested in anything I was doing other than music, and I loved the wide-openness of my life.”
And Mike Dunn and the Kings of New England: In the year 2006, Mike Dunn recorded some songs. He self-released those 6 songs under the band name “Mike Dunn and The Kings of New England” The songs on the EP, titled “The Edge of America”, is a testimony of growing up listening and playing along to his favorite records. Records like “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty, “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, “14 songs” by Paul Westerberg and you know the rest…..
In the year 2008, Mike Dunn and the Kings of New England signed a record deal with P is for Panda, an imprint of Hopeless Records. Look for their debut full-length album “Sundowner” to come out in the fall of 09.
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on December 8, 2009. View the original page.
