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“Hoot-N-Holler”

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Nashville, TN – Toolpusher recording artist Jason Sturgeon will launch his brand new music video “Rollin’ On’” when it premieres exclusively on the CMT Insider app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The video will be available on the app on Friday November 5th.

Following the app launch, CMT will premiere “Rollin’ On’’ online at CMT.com on Monday, November 8th, then via television on CMT Pure on Tuesday November 9th. (Check local listings for TV Broadcast.)

The song, which was co-written and co-produced by Sturgeon and Dane Clark (John Mellencamp), tells the story of life on the road and the longing for a lost love. The video takes us with Jason as he packs for the road, travels to his next show destination on his tour bus and performs on stage, all while missing that special someone. His dog “Max,” who stars in the clip with Sturgeon, even steals the limelight away from the country new comer a time or two.

Award-winning filmmaker and director, Flick Wiltshire, whose credits include entertainment clients as well as film projects and corporate clients, directed the video.
The list of artists Wiltshire has worked with ranges from Metallica to George Jones and from Diana Krall to Montgomery Gentry as well as Tracy Lawrence, for which his work received numerous nominations and accolades. Some of Wiltshire’s corporate clients include, the Tennessee Lottery, St. Thomas Physician Services, and Hunt Bros. Pizza.

Carl Black Chevrolet of Nashville, TN provided two new Chevy’s for the shoot, a Silverado truck and a new Traverse. Jason, a long-time Chevy fan, was very appreciative.

To download the CMT INSIDER app, visit www.cmt.com/app.

Check out Jason Sturgeon on http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/jason_sturgeon/artist.jhtml and for more information on Jason Sturgeon please visit www.jasonsturgeonmusic.com

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“House Rules”

From the opening roar of Jelly Roll’s harmonica, Christian Kane’s new single “The House Rules” is a freight train coming – one you better get on board. Written by Christian and Nashville veteran Blair Daly, “The House Rules” let’s you know right away that this country boy can rock the house. Christian’s debut CD explodes with energy, but that Oklahoma drawl and phrasing tell you this is country music first and foremost. Produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin and Jimmie Lee Sloas, the album, also titled “The House Rules,” drops this fall on the Outlaw Saints label, a partnership with Bigger Picture Group. Not just a singer, but also an EMI songwriter with a cut on the latest Trace Adkins CD, Christian writes much of his own material or collaborates with his friends Blair Daly, Brett James, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, Jerrod Niemann and others.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Christian’s family moved often, as those in the oil business often do, before settling in the small town of Norman, Oklahoma. Always into films and music, in college the dream and lure of a career in the entertainment business grew too strong. Christian set off for Los Angeles. In California, Christian landed a job as an assistant at an entertainment company by telling them he would deliver scripts if they would just submit him for projects too. He quickly went from employee to client when he landed his first big job acting and singing as the lead in MGM’s television series “FAME L.A.”. The show, based on the hit movie and television series, originally cast Christian as a comedian. After hearing Christian sing, they rewrote the role for him to be a singer.

Around that time, Christian met songwriting partner, Steve Carlson. Together they founded a band they called KANE. Packing such hot spots as The Viper Room and The Mint, Christian and Steve became well known in the L.A. community for their strong original songwriting and awesome high-energy performances. KANE was soon receiving airplay from L.A. country radio, being voted the winner of the Country Thunder Young Guns Contest, and playing numerous sold out shows. Not content to stay an L.A. phenomenon, the two began taking regular trips to Nashville to polish their writing chops.

Nashville exposed Christian to the thrill of collaborating with some of the best songwriters in the world. Longtime friend and Bigger Picture partner Michael Powers introduced him to Bob Ezrin, who immediately recognized Kane’s potential. Christian rounded up one of his favorite creative partners in Jimmie Lee Sloas and soon found a new home recording in partnership with Bigger Picture. With Bigger Picture Group, Christian has found a team and musical family where he can truly thrive.

Christian has had success not only with his music, but with numerous film and television roles as well. He currently stars in the hit TNT series LEVERAGE. An incredible success, LEVERAGE was recently picked up for its 4th season. Christian’s television roles have included the Jerry Bruckheimer produced series CLOSE TO HOME on CBS, the Stephen Spielberg/TNT miniseries INTO THE WEST, and a major recurring role in Joss Whedon’s ANGEL. Kane’s most recent appearances on the big screen are in Fox’s film TAXI opposite Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon and the Peter Berg directed FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. He was also seen in Fox’s JUST MARRIED and LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT, SECONDHAND LIONS where he played a young Robert Duvall, and the Warner Bros. baseball film SUMMER CATCH.

“I’m from Oklahoma. Country music has always been first and foremost in my heart so I am truly fortunate to be able to do something that I love (make music) and to have fans that are so supportive,” said Christian. “It’s really all of them that made this release possible and I’m really looking forward to giving them more of my music later this year.” Even while pursuing his acting career, Christian never stopped making music, writing and performing shows…and never will.

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“Stuck Like Glue”

To hear Jennifer Nettles tell it, it’s a brand new day in Sugarland. Despite winning multiple Grammy, CMA and ACM awards—and selling more than 8 million records—the country-music duo of Nettles and Kristian Bush is embracing a creative rebirth, a musical awakening that permeates their adventurous fourth album, The Incredible Machine.

“We are in a place of discovery,” Jennifer says. “It is the essence of who we are as people in this band. There is never a moment where we think, ‘This is good enough.’ There’s always a place for growth.”

A growth that Kristian says has been encouraged by their fans, their record label, and, most importantly, by the genre-bending, all-are-welcome country-music industry. “It’s as if the industry and the culture have singled out the biggest risks we’ve taken on a record, a song like ‘Stay’ for example, and celebrated those,” he says gratefully. “They’ve embraced us at those times. We’ve tried to learn from that and this is what we’ve made.”

And what they’ve created is a dynamic masterwork. Co-written and co-produced in full by Jennifer and Kristian, The Incredible Machine is a soaring album elevated by sky-high choruses, ringing guitars, and pulsing drums that recall the beating of the album’s titular engine, the human heart.

Kristian describes it as a collection of anthems—and there may be no greater understatement. If the duo was searching for the grander side of country on their last record, the double platinum Love on the Inside, they’ve obviously found it on The Incredible Machine. From the fanfare of the album’s opener “All We Are” to Jennifer’s sublime piano-ballad closer “Shine the Light,” this is an album built for stadiums.

“This record is designed to play in very large places and to communicate with a large group of people,” Kristian confirms. “When you have an instrument as powerful and as graceful as Jennifer’s voice, you don’t want to tip-toe in. You really go for it! And those types of songs are often where Jennifer and I intersect musically.”

In fact, the pair found shared inspiration in the iconic music and films of the 1980s, their growing-up years. “We allowed ourselves to play with our influences,” Jennifer admits. As such, the coming-of-age movies by director John Hughes and songs by Blondie, Peter Gabriel, The Pretenders and even The Clash all helped fire up the Machine. “When we were writing, we asked what if John Hughes were making movies now…. Who would be on the soundtrack?” Kristian says, going on to connect the dots between rebellious country and rebellious rock. “If you dig far enough you’re going to see that The Clash and Johnny Cash had a lot in common. I like to live right where those guys meet.”

In a song like the joyous “Find the Beat Again,” for instance, Jennifer reminds the heavy-hearted among us that nothing lasts forever, while Kristian’s siren-like guitar sound—a technique he adapted from The Clash, he says—pushes the song toward its climax.

Or the call-to-arms “Stand Up,” in which the band exhorts listeners to “use your voice.” A tale of personal empowerment, the track is almost heroic in its message. It’s also one of two songs on the album to showcase Kristian’s voice. “I don’t know how many people have really ever heard me sing before,” he says of his lead verse. “For fans of the band, it’s like a whole new layer is peeled back.”

“All We Are” is equally triumphant. A rallying cry of sorts, it culminates in a mass of melodies folding upon one another. The result is breathtaking, a musical equation so intricate that it solidifies the duo’s ability to write complex fare as well as breezy, winking tunes like first single “Stuck like Glue.”

“We write songs for different reasons. There are some songs that we want to change your life and there are some that we just want to change your day. That’s what ‘Stuck like Glue’ is,” Jennifer laughs. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and that’s what fans love.”

They also flock to Jennifer’s knack for finding the voice of everywoman—or even everyman. One of Sugarland’s many gifts is their ability to write lyrics that transcend gender, like in their 2004 breakout hit “Baby Girl.” On The Incredible Machine, the proof is in the acoustic “Little Miss,” a profile of a woman who tries to handle everything, all by herself. “I saw my mom as that person. I see pieces of it in my own daughter. Jennifer is certainly one of those women,” Kristian says.

Aside from the powerhouse rocker “Wide Open,” written specifically for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, “Little Miss” is one of the record’s earliest penned tracks. “We were at a festival over a year ago and I was on the bus doing my makeup while Kristian was warming up,” recalls Jennifer. “I was wearing a checkered dress and he started playing this lick and singing, ‘Little Miss checkered dress.’ I popped my head out and sang, ‘Little Miss one big mess!’ The way that song was discovered was fun and really beautiful.”

And the band is confident that fans, old and new alike, will have a similar experience as they discover the gears and cogs of The Incredible Machine—a country record, a pop record, an anthem record, a ballad record, but above all, an authentic record.

“It’s just the two of us,” says Kristian. “In the story of who we are, this album is more us than we’ve ever been.”

Jennifer agrees and says the band’s rebirth is best summed up in the gentle, searching words of the album’s title track: Feels like I’m flying, wings made of light/brand new and shinin’, like a shot rung out through the night.

“That’s a wonderful metaphor and image for this newly emerging creature that Sugarland is right now, with these vulnerable but beautiful wings. The Incredible Machine is definitely us, but at the same time, there is something very precious and new,” she says. “And we want to show it to the world!”

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“Georgia Clay”

After spending the majority of the past decade as a successful pop and adult contemporary artist, Josh Kelley returns to the Southern sound he’s loved since childhood with his upcoming MCA Nashville country release. While it may be his official debut into the country genre, Josh’s previous hits, have always contained discernible country flair.

“This record is a time capsule. It’s by far the best thing I’ve written and I’ve never been more proud,” revealed Josh, who wrote or co-wrote each of the album’s eleven songs.

“I’m finally in a genre where I can write lyrics, tell stories and be a man.”

It’s evident that this latest project is very much autobiographical, having gotten married, moved and adopted a baby girl all in the past two years. These events created the album and the stories he tells in it.

“My life has completely changed. My wife is a very strong independent woman, she allows me my own independence and from the first time my baby girl brushed her hand against my face, my life was changed. This album reflects those changes.”

Josh’s MCA Nashville project not only showcases his talents as a singer and songwriter, but reveals him to be the latest definition of a true renaissance man; a man who’s confident enough within his own skin to reveal a new take on sentimental themes by employing thoughtful lyrics.

“Georgia Clay”, the project’s lead single, recalls the carefree summers of Josh’s youth, when he and his brothers would hitch up jet skis to their Dad’s ‘77 Chevy Silverado and head down to the lake. The memories made those summers are engrained their lives, as well as the tires of that old truck.

“The whole idea behind “Georgia Clay” is that we could go back to the garage and look at that truck, which hadn’t been driven in years, and still find layers of mud stuck to the tires. That is the mud from our childhood, those memories are still there.”

With a modern country feel Josh recalls his life experiences with songs like “Great Idea”, “Ain’t Letting Go”, “Two Cups of Coffee” and “Gone Like That”. Each of these songs embrace the familiarity of times gone by, not by idealizing the past, but by presenting unique lessons learned from it.

“Gone Like That” isn’t the typical she’s gone and I don’t care take on a one night stand, it explores an unapologetically sensitive man who keeps running into what could be the woman of his dreams.

“This was the song that actually started my journey into country music. I had written and presented it to my music publisher to pitch to other artists, but they liked my demo so much they encouraged me to cut it. It was the first song I wrote that gave me the confidence to pursue a career as a country singer.”

The sentimental and emotionally charged “Naleigh Moon”, a song written for and about his beloved baby girl, dives deep into the intense connection between a father and his daughter.

“We’d only had Naleigh for a couple of weeks when I wrote this and I think it’s the best song I’ve ever written. The way the chords and the melody intertwine, it really tugs on your heartstrings. When I sang that song in the studio, I really meant it.”

Not leaving the drinkin’ & carousin’ songs entirely to his contemporaries, Josh offers up “Raining Whiskey”, a get the party started tune that’s destine to be added to every jukebox and honky tonk across the country. Referencing the song’s lyrics, It’s hard staying dry when it’s raining whiskey, Josh laughed, “That’s my favorite forecast.”

As a kid growing up in Augusta, Georgia, Josh experienced both city life and country living; thanks to his family owning a bit of farmland near their home.

“We grew up half our lives on a farm up in the North Georgia Mountains,” said Josh. “Summers were spent bush hoggin’ acres of land and life in Augusta was all about golf and music. We had the best of both worlds. There was the fun of city life, plus we got to experience the beauty of the country,” Josh continued.

The first record Josh remembers buying was U2’s Joshua Tree, but early on he was exposed to a wide range of musical styles.

“It depended on whose car I was in,” said Josh. “If it was my Mom’s car, it was Doobie Brothers, Luther Vandross, Michael McDonald. If I was with my older brother John, it was Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Supertramp. With Dad it was all country all the time.”

During his early teens Josh and younger brother Charles (of Lady Antebellum fame) decided to form the band Inside Blue, with Charles on drums and lead vocals and Josh on electric guitar.

Inside Blue released a maxi cd with five tracks which were played on local radio and eventually caught the attention of The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, and his manager, who wanted to sign them.

“He loved our songs, but they wanted to change everything, so my Dad and brother said ‘no deal’. I’m glad they did that because it afforded both me and Charles the opportunity to grow up and see the world and really have things to write about.”

Never fully putting his love of music on the back burner, Josh left Georgia to attend the University of Mississippi under a golf scholarship where he studied graphic design. During his junior year, after boosting buzz for himself by way of a self-promoting internet scheme, he eventually landed his first major label deal with Hollywood Records.

2003 saw the release of For The Ride Home and the success of its Top 5 hit single, “Amazing” and in 2005, Josh released his second major label effort Almost Honest and its lead single, “Only You”.

Not long after that, Josh opted out of his Hollywood Records deal and started his own record label, DNK Records.

With his career firmly in his own hands, Josh released four independent albums between 2006 and 2008.

“I wanted the sound to be more rootsy and more organic,” he said. “That’s what I had the power to do releasing my music on my own label.”

Since then he has remained in the public eye thanks to numerous television performances, including: Ellen, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Regis & Kelly, Last Call with Carson Daly and E!.

In addition to television support, People Magazine, Us Weekly, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Radar and Paste Magazine are among the popular music and entertainment publications that have spotlighted Josh and his music.

Josh’s music has also been incorporated into episodes of several popular TV shows, among them: The CW’s Smallville, NBC’s Scrubs, ABC’s Brothers and Sisters, What About Brian and MTV’s The Hills.

After a successful career in pop music and as an indie artist, Josh is back, this time with a country album steeped in tradition and heartfelt truths.

From the memories of “Georgia Clay”, the raw emotion of “Naleigh Moon”, the humor of “Raining Whiskey” or the lyrical seduction of “Learning You”, and every song in between, Josh Kelley simultaneously renews cherished country music traditions while bringing a refreshing energy to his latest release. He is, where he feels he’s always belonged, right here in Music City.

“It’s funny how if you keep working hard and keep trying, an opportunity comes around, and thank God it did. We’re gonna get to move back here to Nashville and this is where I’ll be the rest of my life.”

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