My Roots Grow Deeper is a full and textured record, thoroughly modern yet absent of any cliché studio trickery or gimmicky hybrids. Led by Radford’s clear-as-a-bell vocals, and complemented by Johnson’s smoky harmonies, the song cycle delivers an emotional and atmospheric ride as dynamic as the mountain view they glimpse from their East Tennessee cabin.

That spirit allows Alathea to connect to anyone, anywhere, simply by being invitational in the way they approach their craft and their lives. And while their lyrics display a sharp intellect and grounding in the work of influential artists, it is the unresolved honesty of how the songs are conveyed that marks Alathea’s work.

Brittany Reilly was born on May 22nd, 1984 & raised in a small town outside of Cleveland, OH called Bay Village. Her first music performance was with her husband Brent Hopper in Sept. 2005. Since then, she has played more than 200 shows nationwide with several line-ups. Brittany & Brent toured as a duo primarily from 2005-2007 supporting their 2006 CD release “Back to My Roots” as well as a couple of tours with the full band. In her evolved project with Brent Hopper (Guitar, Vocals), Billy Gilmore (Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Dobro, Lap-Steel, Dobro), Steve Belcher (Bass), Sue Cunningham (Fiddle, Vocals), & Erick Ireland (Drums), she recorded her debut solo CD “Good Old Country Sound” released March 1st, 2008.

Brittany will be doing close to 150 shows nationally throughout 2008 supporting the new CD release, mostly with the Almost Acoustic Band. More Updates coming soon, keep checking back for details & more info….

The dissolution of Teleskope in 2005 left Horn wondering if it were possible for her to front a band, rather than just support one. It didn’t hurt that her life, at the time of the Teleskope’s parting, was whirling in the heartache and despair of the increasingly common quarter life crisis: the kind of tragedies of which beautiful music is so often made. She wrote what she knew and brought it where she could, usually to the once smoky bars in downtown Knoxville, or any other corner where she could fit her keyboard. It was during this time that she ran into old friend Laura Bost in a dark garage at a party; the two had become acquainted years earlier, in music school, while both were learning to perfect and perform the classical music they were, years later, eagerly leaving behind. Unlike Horn, Bost was a vocalist by training, and was working as a sound engineer. Like Horn, Bost was feeling the compulsion to write and sing something different than what her classical training as a vocalist had been.

It was a surprisingly easy yet unlikely pairing, with Bost’s endearingly sweet southern pitch offsetting Horn’s airy and often haunting growls. Mutual friend Nate (Barrett), already a well-established local musician with regular spots with Artvandalay, Sarah Schwabe and her Yankee Jazz Band, and other Knoxville regulars, soon added percussion, and, during very special occasions, beautiful harmonies to the act. Their first album, Safety Line, was independently released in July 2007, launching a series of performances over the following summer in Knoxville and surrounding southern cities that couldn’t quite be called a tour.

The first live and print reviews were kind to the group’s first effort. But by the fall of 2007, the band had evolved into something distinctly more professional than the talented but naïve trio who had recorded that first album. Horn, Bost, and Barrett were all developing individually, but they were doing so in a way that only brought the band to a smarter and more expressive cohesion. If their sounds of late on the local scene are any indication of what’s to come, Knoxville had better stay tuned: Hudson K may just be pioneering of the emergence of a sound and a scene that this southern city will soon be proud to claim as it’s own original creation.

Our congratulations to Anna Scott (chef/owner of Mia Cucina) for her winning of the 2008 FiveStar Food Fight at the Chattanooga Market on Sunday.  This year’s trophy was crafted by Charles McFarland, a long-time metal artist at the market.

The competition was terrific this year, and featured fresh-produce and spices available at the Chattanooga Market.  All of the competitors used FiveStar Professional Ranges, the finest stoves in the world made here in the Chattanooga metro area.  Our thanks go out to all of the celebrity chefs and their Chattanooga restaurants - local is better!

Photo (left-to-right): Wolfgang Poe, Red Rock Grill, Wes Orr, 212 Market, Anna Scott, Mia Cucina, Brandon White, Back Inn Cafe/Bluff View District, and Bill Heckler, Gordon Biersch

More photos from this weekend are available on our Google Photos site (click on the sidebar on the right)

Wes Orr, 212 Market
Bill Heckler, Gordon Biersch
Anna Scott, Mia Cucina
Wolfgang Poe, Red Rock Grille
Brandon White, Back Inn Cafe’

Contestants will be displaying their professional and creative expertise by preparing dishes using fresh produce, spices, herbs and other goods available fresh and direct from farmers at the Chattanooga Market. The chefs will be using the finest professional ranges in the world, thanks to Five Star Professional Ranges, which are also available for home use.

Five Star is yet another best-of-class manufacturer here in the Chattanooga metro, and a long-term supporter of the Chattanooga Market. Please support our local farmers, manufacturers, craftsmen and organizations - Local is Better!

Jans, who is originally from Iowa but now calls Nashville home, has garnered attention not only for her unique voice but also her vocal range. While studying opera as a mezzo-soprano, she sang twice at Carnegie Hall, but it’s Wendy’s smooth and intimately soulful alto voice that prevails in the music of “Today.” On “Invincible”, her low voice is an unexpected juxtaposition from her petite frame. Disarmingly versatile, she exudes emotion while embracing the stylistic diversity of each song on the album.

Wendy Jans is respected for her songwriting abilities and collaboration as a co-writer. She came to Nashville to entrench herself into the songwriting community and quickly garnered a publishing deal with a Music Row publisher. A finalist in the International Song Search with honorable mentions in the Billboard World Song Contest and Nashville Song Search, Wendy was named winner of the River Bluff Performing Songwriting Competition and the Nashville Trowbridge Symposium. Eleven of the twelve tracks on Today were written or co-written by Wendy, with the only exception being an innovative interpretation on Lionel’s Richie’s classic “Hello”.

She has played in clubs, street festivals, and music conferences throughout the Midwest and South, including the prestigious Bluebird Café and Nashville Public Radio’s Songwriter Sessions. Wendy is touring to promote the new album.

Today also marks the debut of Wendy Jans as producer. She co-produced the album with programmer Jason Garner, recording tracks in several Nashville studios. “I was able to write and produce the songs exactly as I heard them in my head, without anyone telling me what they wanted or expected”, she says. The project is a well-executed vision that leaves a lasting, tangible impact on the listener just like Wendy sings on “Outside the Lines” - “I’ll leave an endless echo of a song so I’ll be around even when I’m gone”.

Kate Klim

With roots in Palatine, Illinois and Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Kate was raised on a steady diet of Carole King , Paul Simon, Billy Joel and John Lennon. Later on, her influences grew to include Patty Griffin, Jonatha Brooke, Chris Trapper and Garrison Starr.

Kate’s musical success in her hometown led her to Berklee College of Music in Boston. It was here that Kate worked on her skills as a writer and performer, and became involved with the music community that had produced icons like Bob Dylan years before, and Tracy Chapman and Patty Griffin in the recent past. Soon enough her song “Heaven Help Me” led off the 2003 “Best of Boston” singer-songwriter compilation CD, and her audience began to grow. Within a few years of her debut as a singer/songwriter, she was opening for artists like Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell and Ollabelle.

In addition, Kate has been recognized by some of the country’s premier songwriting contests. She was a finalist in the 2005 and 2006 Mountain Stage Newsong Contests, 2006 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, 2007 Kerrville Newfolk Competition, and 2007 Solarfest Competition.

Many of the songs that received recognition ended up comprising her most recent release, and first fully-produced venture, “Up and Down and Up Again.” The project was created with the help of reknowned producer Crit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Susan Werner, Lori McKenna), and features some of the country’s most talented musicians. Collectively, they’ve worked with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jonatha Brooke, Suzanne Vega, Paula Cole and the Boston Symphony. The album was dubbed a “gem” by Performing Songwriter Magazine, and its release prompted Kate to assume the role of full-time musician, returning to the Philadelphia area to do so with the support of friends and family.

Keith Moody’s guitar is essentially a part of him, an extra appendage, if you will. He and his Paul Reed Smith McCarty have been through some hard times, and some good times. Keith is proud of every knick and scrape his axe has taken up ‘til now.

    “I have a real relationship with that guitar,” explains Keith. “Most PRS’ you see are very nice, and kept pristine in cases, and mine has been played in about every dive bar across the Southeast…it smells, and it has pieces rubbed off of it and knicks out of it. Give me about 20 more years, and hopefully it will be beaten like Willie’s. That thing is like a part of me.”

    Just how close Moody is with his instrument is revealed immediately the minute he launches into one of his soul-searing solos. The two become one as the 27-year-old morphs easily as he plays among the strings: one minute he’s channeling the heart of a 60-year-old black man in a blues number that will melt the house and your heart, the next he’s calling up ghosts of Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn in a full-tilt, scorching rocker. Oh, he also knows his way around a Texas-tinged tear-jerker, too, in case those weren’t enough to pique your interest and get your toes tapping. Moody possesses a maturity and depth that belies his young age, and that depth no doubt seeps into every note of his music. A triple threat, he not only can sing and tear it up on the guitar, he also writes on a level far above most of his pop peers. His new album is evidence of just how far the singer/songwriter has come in such a short time, and of the places he will go if talent has anything to do with it.

    Born in Opelika, AL and raised in Valley, AL, Keith grew up in a two-parent working family. As a result Keith stayed with his grandparents while his parents worked, exposing him early on to his granddad’s rich record collection. “He had a huge collection,” recalls Keith, “and just a ton of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams records. I remember when I was old enough to start playing them I got in trouble because I scratched one of the Johnny Cash records. My granddad went to Walmart and bought me a plastic guitar when I was about five and then gave my first real guitar for Christmas when I was 17. I also remember him listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Friday and Saturday nights and he loved to go to local gospel and country performances. My grandmamma sang in her church choir while her sister played the piano in gospel groups. My Dad has told me many times about The Whites eating dinner at his house when they came through town; it was a big event for the family. My Dad has pictures of himself with Roy Acuff and loved Marty Robbins. He is a huge country music fan.

          Keith moved to Montgomery with his parents when he was six.  At the age of 17, Keith decided to form a band with a buddy from high school, and they played in youth group shows and church shows. Several of their songs even received some local airplay. He continued to hone his musical chops throughout college by observing other artist as he worked in a local music store and played in local venues with his band. By 21, word of his talent was already spreading, and he was receiving write-ups in local papers wherever he and his band would play. Keith gained a significant reputation among local musicians for his guitar skills and performing antics. He supported local artists by holding his own showcase for local talent.  As a result he will always have an appreciation for his friends and supporters in the Montgomery and surrounding area.

With some good advice from a local musician, Keith was able to foster his abilities even further with pursuit of writing and performing his original music instead of focusing his efforts on cover music.

      “Basically I had gotten a job at a guitar store in Montgomery and met a guy named Roland “Lucky” Jackson, said Keith. “He was an old school funk, jazz, and blues player and also a songwriter and arranger himself. I learned a lot about music from him as far as theory and how things are put together as well as the business side of it. The big temptation in Montgomery is to play covers because of the money, and he recognized something in me early on as I was trying to get another band together. He told me I was a natural songwriter, and that I didn’t need to give up on the original thing. And magically one day, these two younger kids came into the store, and we ended up forming a new band and calling ourselves The TaxiCab Armada.”

    Hailing from the same Chattahoochee River Valley as John Mayer and Alan Jackson, Keith admits there must be something in the water around his childhood home. “Still to this day I’m very into that sort of glassy, essentially quintessential Southern sound. John Mayer is from Phenix City/ Columbus area, which is 30 miles south, right on the Chattahoochee River, and Alan Jackson and the Black Crowes are from 60 miles northeast on the same river, so there must be something in the water. I’ve always thought that was kind of interesting.”

    In 2005, the Armada had just finished playing Jubilee and had a couple more shows on the books, and Keith was graduating and contemplating the future. Desperately in love and planning on getting married, he had taken a sales job in the cell phone industry, and was envisioning a re-entry into normal life and pushing music to the side, when the bottom fell out. His girl decided she was in love with someone else, and his boss went bankrupt, hard on the heart, for sure, but definitely fuel for some great tunes.

    I thought I was going to give up music, but her leaving, coupled with my paychecks bouncing, changed my plans quite a bit. And my mom had gotten a job in Nashville and was living in a hotel while my dad was still in Montgomery waiting for the house to sell. And she said why don’t you come up here and give it a try.

    Keith began writing furiously, and attending various lectures and performances given by Nashville heavy hitters like songwriters: Hank Cochran, Matraca Berg, and Tony Arata. Once his catalogue was rounded out, Keith was ready to enter the studio and lay some of the tracks down, he decided to swing for the bleachers when soliciting a co-producer to help nail the exact sound he was going for. “In high school I was a big Collective Soul fan, and one of my friends made this record with producer Jason Elgin in Birmingham and I found out he had engineered the Dosage album, which I thought was Collective Soul’s best album. So I decided now was the time to do it, and I booked the studio seven months out. Jason assembled a great band to back me up and bring my ideas to fruition. We hit it off professionally and just really clicked. Jason did a great job of conveying the emotion and giving me some ideas I hadn’t thought of to bring it all together and sort of be the concrete between the bricks, and I think it came out great.”

    Keith’s myriad of influences are evident in the material on his first solo CD, from the straight-up soul of Ray Charles, to the bluesy grooves of John Mayer and the quirky, clever lyrics of Texas treasure Lyle Lovett, it’s all in there, as the Prego commercial likes to tout. He not only creates a song’s lyrics, but also arranges it completely in his head as well before he ever sets foot into a studio.

    “Like my song ‘Press Gas and Go’ for instance,” Keith explains. “From the minute it was done, I knew exactly what it would sound like. To the point where even if I’m not going to play on it, I know exactly what I want the studio guys to play. Sometimes I go too far with it but I’m big into the arrangement and I think I have a knack for it. I would be totally open to producing other acts in the future. To me you have to set the mood with a song…every horror movie has its background sounds, and it’s the same kind of thing in songs, with what you bring in and how you produce it sets the mood.”

    From tunes like the happy “Think,” that starts off rolling like a Texas highway and feels a touch nostalgic and retro, to the haunting, familiar ache of the beautifully wistful “Trail Of Tears,” and the reaffirming optimism and faith of the clever “Coins,” (which was inspired by his friends struggles with drug addiction and depression) Moody takes the listener on a compelling audio ride, full of ups and downs and smiles and tears, much like life itself. On the raucous “Some Things Get Better With Age,” he screams his way through a barn-burner of a sexual awakening, then turns around and comforts and soothes on the catchy “Angels,” reminding that God always offers relief in one way or another if we just hang on and keep our eyes open. Many of the songs on the album, while not always overtly religious, convey Keith’s strong faith in God, which is something that is very important to him. He even adds a political note among the collection with “Only God Knows,” a tune he penned about the current conflict from the point of view of the soldier and the family he leaves behind in such turbulent times.

    Only 27 years old, Keith has come a long way musically in a short time…and proves he has picked up plenty from the miles he has traveled so far. The wisdom and maturity of his debut project should separate him from the pack and with writing chops and musicianship like his, there’s no doubt he’ll one day be propelled into a stratosphere with stars much like the ones he idolized growing up…and will soon become one of them himself. Just don’t try to separate him from that McCarty.

Raised in Chi-town and born into a musical family, singer/songwriter Holly Long needled her parents into piano lessons on her Great-Grandmother’s upright Hamilton at age 7. As a young child she was exposed to the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John, Beethoven and the Beatles, sprinkled with daily doses of Free To Be You and Me via her Dad’s HiFi stereo headphones. Diversely influenced, spent her youth and early adult years performing in various musicals, piano recitals and plays.

After high school, Holly moved to California to attend UCLA as a Theater Major. She suddenly found herself scribbling lyrics on bar napkins and call-sheets for various acting gigs in an attempt to bring voice to what Hollywood wasn’t really supporting her growing creative force. Three demo recordings at Randy Alpert’s SCREAM Studios, one indie record deal gone bust and countless local gigs later, Holly seemed to be just about ready to call herself a songwriter.

In late 1996, she was unexpectedly rushed to the hospital with what appeared to be an intense case of the Flu, but turned out to be the beginning of a two-year, life-changing odyssey. She fell into a coma and was diagnosed with Endocarditis, a severe heart infection that threw her body into massive trauma. After a week of unconsciousness, she was lucky enough to awake and begin a slow process of recovery. She lost her hair, lost function of all her muscles and had to learn to walk all over again. A humbling experience, to say the least.

This severe shock to the system galvanized Holly’s musical focus. Her heart-felt honesty, feelings of longing and inspiration, and the drive to understand herself were the result of a literal broken heart, and ultimately became the seeds for her debut album, City Girl in 2000. Met with critical acclaim, Holly’s debut CD was created alongside Clio-award-winning producer and arranger Chris Horvath.

In 2001, Holly again partnered with Horvath and released an EP entitled Six Sided Woman. This new recording along with City Girl garnered her 3rd place in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest of 2000 and an Honorable Mention in the 2001 USA Songwriting Contest.

Additionally, Holly’s songs have received numerous feature film and TV placements including NBC’s Passions, the soundtracks for Warner Bros.’ films Winning London and Our Lips are Sealed, and multiple CD compilations including Live On: Songs of Love, Hope and Inspiration (A benefit CD to aid the American Red Cross Relief efforts helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita) and Girls Night Out: Life & Love, that have graced the shelves of TARGET and other major retail outlets.

Since then, Holly has given birth to her two children, a beautiful girl named Josephine and sweet baby boy, Truman. Fittingly, Jo provided much of the inspiration for Holly’s third project and well-received second CD Every Little Seam released in 2004. Truman has also since been instrumental in molding Holly’s ever-changing creative and musical voice.

Continuing the journey of being a mom and an artist brought Holly to write and record her third full length album, Leaving Kansas, under the careful musical direction of her Manager, Producer and dear friend, Anthony J.W. Benson. For this project Benson enlisted an experienced production team to help capture the organic feel, emotion and intimacy that would best highlight Holly’s beautiful voice and skillful songwriting. With the new team in place, including renowned recording engineer Ian Terry (David Bowie, Diana Krall, Leonard Cohen) and mastering wiz Dominick Maita (Fall Out Boy, Jewel, Curtis Stigers), the results, arguably, reflect the best of Holly Long as a performer and songwriter to date.

Holly happily resides in Venice, CA with her husband and children and continues to wrangle the butterfly muse. Through therapy, yoga, and a little help from her friends, Holly performs with love and gratefulness.

Peace. Love. Music.

Dallas Wayne considers himself lucky to be able to make a living doing something he loves. Some people might say it has more to do with talent than luck. But throughout a career that has taken Dallas around the world as a songwriter, singer, actor and radio deejay, he claims he’s never had a real job.

A native of Springfield, Missouri, Dallas began performing professionally in 1975, and by the age of 18 he had toured throughout the entire U.S. and Canada. After moving to Nashville, he further developed his vocal style singing demos for many of the top publishing houses in the music industry.

While touring Europe in 1991, Dallas forged a deal with Texicalli Records in Finland and was signed to record an album. One album soon became six, and Dallas decided to move to Scandinavia in 1996, where he was contracted as a staff writer for Warner/Chappell Music.

After four years living and touring in Europe, Dallas returned to the U.S. and settled in northern California. Within one month of his return, he signed a record deal with HighTone Records. In addition to recording two albums of his own on the HighTone label, Dallas was a part of the honky-tonk supergroup, the TwangBangers.

Dallas moved to Austin, Texas in early 2003 where he has enjoyed a vibrant country music scene. In 2005 Dallas released the CD I’m Your Biggest Fan, marking his debut on the Koch Records Nashville label.

Dallas embarked on a new facet of his career in mid-2005 when he joined the family of on-air personalities in Outlaw Country, channel 63 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. And in Spring of 2006 he added a second radio show to his already busy schedule when he signed on as DJ and program/ music director at KHYI 95.3 FM in Dallas, Texas. In recognition of Dallas’ work at KHYI, the Academy of Western Artists presented him with a Will Rogers Award for Classic Country Major Market DJ of the Year for 2006.

Early in 2007, Dallas expanded his time on the air at SIRIUS Satellite Radio, adding a weekly “Deep in the Heart of Texas” Saturday night program in Outlaw Country, SIRIUS channel 63, as well as working weekends on The Roadhouse, SIRIUS channel 62. By mid-2007, Dallas regrettably gave up his work as DJ and program/ music director at KHYI to focus on his music career and SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

In addition to his radio career, songwriting and performing around Austin, Dallas continues to tour the U.S. and Europe.

As of January 2008, Dallas has been writing and recording a new album for release later this year