Tuesday, April 12, 2011

TWITTER AND TWANG: PRODUCER CHARLIE PEACOCK USES TWITTER TO SIGN NEW COUNTRY BAND ATTWATER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nashville, Tenn (Tuesday, April 12, 2011) – Grammy Award-winning producer Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars,Switchfoot), Sr. VP of A&R for Twenty Ten Music, proudly announced today the signing of new country band Attwater to an exclusive production and music publishing deal.

Erika Attwater and Jonathan Richards, the songwriting team and principal members behind Attwater, began following Peacock on Twitter after seeing his producer credit on the hit folk/country act, The Civil Wars. Attwater had recorded a live album for free download, were faithfully playing gigs and doing what 21st century artists do – making the most of the social networks.

Jonathan Richards and Erika Attwater
of the band Attwater.
Photo Credit: Allister Ann

“I noticed Sacramento, California was the city on their Twitter follow,” says Peacock. “I got my start there and love the people of Nor Cal. The least I could do was check Attwater out, maybe send them a note of encouragement. Then I heard Erika’s amazing voice singing these great songs, and I thought: I’m the luckiest man in the world – I just found a diamond in my old backyard! I’m a big fan of Twitter right about now.”

In early January 2011, Peacock and Attwater began work on the band’s debut project tentatively titled, Still Me Still You. The recording is a unique combination of modern country, classic rock ala Fleetwood Mac and Heart, and bluegrass flavors.

Jonathan Richards and Erika Attwater
of the band Attwater.
Photo Credit: Allister Ann

The songwriting team of Erika Attwater and Jonathan Richards ably carry the record, with co-writing help from Nashville tunesmiths Luke Laird (Carrie Underwood), Sam Ashworth (Sixpence None The Richer), Ross Copperman(Thompson Square), Trent Dabbs, Matthew Perryman Jones and producer Peacock. Still Me Still You features the fiddle and mandolin of Andy Leftwich (Ricky Skaggs), guitarist Jerry McPherson (Faith Hill), bassist Mark Hill (Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler), drummer Steve Brewster (Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich), and the pedal steel work of Bruce Bouton (Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum). Justin Niebank (Taylor Swift, Keith Urban) and Richie Biggs (George Strait, The Civil Wars) are slated to mix.

With label and release date pending, Attwater’s Still Me Still You is very much in tune with the emerging Record Business 2.0. Peacock explains, “This is such a great time in the music business. With the crazy money off the table it’s all about the music again. The label and release options are many and varied – even exciting. I can tell you it was a thrill to see the indie release of The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” sitting at number one on iTunes and #12 on Billboard, knowing that the fans and just a handful of smart, committed people on laptops made it happen. But that’s Nashville. It’s a city of great music and some very enterprising people. We’ll see where we end up with Attwater – whatever’s best for the music is what we’ll do.”

According to Attwater, what's best for the music is authenticity and putting the music first: "Country music is in our blood. I think we spent a few years a little unsure if it was the direction we would go, but there came a point where nothing else made sense and we knew we were home again. Now we have this opportunity to maybe contribute something to the story of country music and that's a real honor. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose, right? We're definitely in it to win it!"

About Charlie Peacock
Charlie Peacock co-founded the independent music company Twenty Ten Music with friend and entrepreneur David Kiersznowski in January 2010. Peacock serves as producer and Sr. VP of A&R. Peacock began his artist, songwriting and production career in the early eighties with recordings for A&M, Island, and the Sparrow Label Group. Peacock has played a lead role in creating major hits in three separate decades—most notably Amy Grant's "Every Heartbeat" (1991), Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" (2002) and The Civil Wars' breakout debut album Barton Hollow (2011). Charlie is the founder of the label re:think/EMI and former Sr. A&R consultant to Sony/ATV and EMI CMG. Named by Billboard's Encyclopedia of Record Producers as one of the 500 most important record producers in music history, the Grammy Award-winning producer has over 20 Million sales to his credit with a diverse roster of artists ranging from Al Green to Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Switchfoot. Peacock’s director/producer credits include Any Day Now, Ten Out Of Tenn’s award-winning performance documentary feature and The Legend Hank Cochran, a documentary tribute in collaboration with BMI and Sony/ATV featuring legendary songwriter Hank Cochran (Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley) and his famous friends: Merle Haggard, Jamey Johnson, Lee Ann Womack, Elvis Costello, Cowboy Jack Clement and others.

About Twenty Ten Music
Twenty Ten Music is a multi-genre artist development, music publishing, and film/TV music placement company. In its first year, Twenty Ten Music produced The Civil Wars Barton Hollow and produced the Brooke Waggoner DVD, And The World Opened Up; developed the country/gospel act Daves Highway; created micro-publishing projects with The Daylights, k.s. Rhodes, De Novo Dahl, and Ruby Amanfu; scored original music for the upcoming film Searching For Sonny starring Minka Kelly and the documentary Wrestling for Jesus; and contributed music to Nicole Kidman’s Rabbit Hole, Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and the NBC Family Movie Night telefilm franchise soundtracks for The Jensen Project, A Walk In My Shoes, and Change of Plans in association with producer Randy Jackson.