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King's influence on a performer's career
The relationship recently allowed Compadre to take advantage of a lucky sales break afforded by the horror writer Stephen King. When SoundScan figures showed that its new James McMurtry album was selling well in Maine — a state the artist has never toured — Compadre wanted to know why.
Turns out that King, who lives in Bangor, Maine, had heard a McMurtry song, become a fan, and played the album on a 50,000-watt classic rock station he owns that reaches Central and Eastern Maine.
Only a few CDs had been shipped to stores in Maine, but Emergent rushed to send more to independent retailers and stores like Best Buy once it learned of the promotion by King. McMurtry, whose fan base is typically in the West, now plans to play a date there.
''We wouldn't have been able to do that if we didn't have someone like Emergent to get in touch with the accounts,'' Rogers said.
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Austin, Texas (PRWEB) July 13, 2005 -- In 2003 (“aught three”), James McMurtry joined forces with Houston’s Compadre Records and released the universally praised Live in Aught-Three. This summer finds McMurtry back with his first studio album in more three years, Childish Things, due out September 6 on Compadre Records.
The new album features ten new McMurtry-penned tunes as well as covers of Peter Case’s “The Old Part of Town” and the country standard “Ole Slew Foot.”
While Childish Things isn’t an overtly political record, the centerpiece has to be “We Can’t Make It Here,” McMurtry’s commentary on the current state of the union. “I've always been a little put off by activists. So you know it's a dire situation when I have to become one myself,” he explains. McMurtry made the song available as a free download on his website during the 2004 election. The response to the track was immediate and overwhelming and the song continues to be one of the most requested on stations across the country. Stephen King described the song as “stark and wrenchingly direct, this may be the best American protest song since (Bob Dylan’s) ‘Masters of War.’” Childish Things marks the first time the track will be available on disc without FCC-sensitive words censored.
Author Stephen King describes Ft. Worth native McMurtry as “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.” The son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment), James grew up on a steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. His first album, released in 1989, was produced by John Mellencamp and marked the beginning of a series of critically acclaimed projects for Columbia and Sugar Hill.
In 2003, McMurtry released Live in Aught-Three, which became one of the most acclaimed live rock albums in decades. Entertainment Weekly noted, “His erudite guitar work fills out the melody, and there's plenty of excitement in his densely withering portraits and wry asides” while the hometown Austin Chronicle raved, “Like McMurtry's lyrics, this is no-frills, freak-flag rock. Turn it up.”
McMurtry will tour the U.S. for the remainder of 2005 and into next year in support of the album. He will appear at the nationally-televised Farm Aid concert in September.
What people are saying about James McMurtry:
“The truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation…”
-- Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly
“This guy can tell a story and boy you really feel like you've been there the entire time.” – Matthew McConaughey
“James McMurtry can compel you to boogie while you consider the plight of his characters.” – Rolling Stone
“Brings a literate edge to roots sounds.” – Time Out New York
“’We Can’t Make It Here’ is a seven-minute state-of-the-union mantra that looks at the Bush claims of economic recovery and finds nothing but smoke and mirrors.” – Texas Monthly
“While the voice of McMurtry may not be the envy of the pop world (think Lou Reed with a nasal twang), it's just right for his short-story songs. It's filled with portent and warning, like the sound of a high howling wind sweeping menacingly across the prairie. It's a voice you notice, a voice you can't ignore.” – Chicago Sun-Times