Latest News - Red Letter Disciple has been hard at work wrapping up the recording of "Messages," their debut album due to be released in June. We will be offering pre-sales on our website very soon, so check back often. In the mean time, we have posted a sample for you to listen to on our music page and to find out where the band is performing please visit www.facebook.com/redletterdisciple

 

 

- Backyard Records VP of Communications Lyn Isbel is resigning her position on the Board of Directors effective this Friday. Lyn has expressed a desire to pursue other interests and we certainly wish her well. We would also like to express our gratitude for her service and leadership on the board the last 4 years. Megan Hollenbeck will be assuming her role of VP of Communications and will also serve on the Board of Directors. Megan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has been active in the Chattanooga area by supporting the Theater of the New South, and co-founding the "Chattanooga Organized For Action" organization. Please help me to welcome Megan to the organization.

- Alicia Smith's latest single "Calling All Angels" is now available for download at apple iTunes, Amazon.com, and CD Baby. Proceeds from the sale of this song will go to help fund the "A Child Is Missing" organization. Feel free to visit our music page were you can listen to a sample. For more information about Alicia visit www.aliciasmithmusic.com

- Christian rock band "Red Letter Disciple" will be returning to Euphony Sound Studio in Dayton TN on March 17th to record three new tracks for their upcoming album. 

Red Letter Disciple vocalist Andrea Sansone

- Backyard Records is proud to announce that we have signed Christian rock band, "Red Letter Disciple," to our roster of artists. "Red Letter Disciple" is comprised of vocalist Andrea Sansone, guitarists Brian Osborne and Mike Gigsby, drummer Brian Scott, and bassist Jerry Morris. The current quintet has been together for about 8 months, however, the band's origin goes back much further and they are all seasoned musicians. They have performed at several musical festivals in the southeast, including the Boomsday event in Knoxville, and are slated to perform at the 2013 Riverbend Music Festival in Chattanooga this coming June. Work has already begun on their debut album and we hope to be able to release it by May 2013.

left to right - bassist Jerry Morris, guitarist Mike Grigsby, Backyard Records CEO Michael Harris, vocalist Andrea Sansone, Backyard Records Vice President Stuart Wooden, drummer Brian Scott, and guitarist Brian Osborne.

- Holly McCormack will be opening for Laura Thurston at the Moccasin Bend Brewery on Saturday January 12th. The show starts at 7:00 pm, so come on out and have a few beers and see these two wonderful folk artists perform.

- CEO and Founder of "A Child is Missing.org" Sherry Friedlander will be appearing on "Journey to Gold" this Friday December 21st at 7:00 pm EST. Sherry will be discussing her organization and the "Calling All Angels" project with host CJ Johnson and will give the public a sneak peak of the song. To tune in to the show, please follow this link www.journeytogold.com

- Backyard Records is proud to announce that we will be returning to the studio on December 7th with new artist Alicia Smith to cut a very special song titled "Calling All Angels" written by Jane Siberry. A portion of the proceeds for this song will go to support the "a child is missing" organization, founded by Sherry Friedlander. For more information about Alicia please visit www.aliciasmithmusic.com and for more information about Sherry's organization visit www.achildismissing.org. 

- Backyard Records artists Holly McCormack and Brian Minshew will be performing at  The Camp House in Chattanooga Tennessee on Saturday December 8th. Doors open at 7:00 pm and tickets are just $5.00 at the door. This marks the first time two of our artists have performed together so we are really excited about the upcoming show and hope to see everyone there.

- Backyard Records is proud to be sponsoring a new show titled "Journey to Gold" on the Voiceamerica Empowerment Channel. The show will feature a new segment titled "Dreamquest" hosted by Josie Passantino and is dedicated to independent artists who share their personal story of following their musical journey. The segment will highlight the artists music and listeners are encouraged to vote for their favorite contestant each week. The show airs each Friday at 4:00 pm Pacific time 7:00 pm Eastern time. For more information visit www.journeytogold.com.   

- Backyard Records has released a new live video of Holly McCormack performing her song "Pressure" at her recent concert at The Camp House. We want to thank Jon Ginese, Megan Hollenbeck, Josh Chuma, and Monte Wilson for all their help putting it together. Please take a few moments and give it a look at this link.

 - Holly McCormack will be performing Saturday August 4th at the Ringgold Farmers Market from 9:30 am to 11:00 am directly in front of the Catoosa County Courthouse. So everyone come on out and pick up some fresh produce and hear some new music from Holly.   

- Congratulations to Holly Mccormack, her song "Guarded"  charted in the top ten on Ourstage for the female singer/songwriter channel for the month of July. Thanks to all the fans who gave the song a vote. 

- Congratulations to Director, Nicholas Sailer, Writer, Tim Reavis and Cinematographer, Josh Bielek for winning the Best Picture and Best Director at the 2012 Campus Moviefest for their short film "The Strong One."  It’s a true accomplishment to communicate such an emotional message in just 4 minutes of film. Please take a few minutes and check it out at this Link. 

- We are very excited to welcome Gary Wooden to our staff. Gary has accepted a new position as Director of Operations and will be assisting us with our live events and will also be responsible for managing and maintaining our stage and sound equipment. 

- Holly McCormack and cellist Hannah Kuhn will be performing at the "Fashion for a Fraction" event on the main stage at Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga TN, on Thursday May 17th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Proceeds will benefit the Salvation Army, so if you are in the area, come on out and maybe find a bargain or two and hear some great music. For more information click on this link.  

- Holly McCormack's debut album "So Far From Reality" is now available for download at Apple iTunes. Just click on this link and you are there. 

- Backyard Records artist Brian Minshew will be appearing on the talk radio show "From Maui With Aloha" on May 4th with host CJ Johnson. They will also be featuring Brian's music all month long so be sure to tune in.  

- We have been hard at work on Holly McCormack's debut album "So Far From Reality." Just to give you a little tease, for the next couple of weeks you can go to our music page and listen to the complete first track titled "That Look."

 

 - Holly will be back in the studio to cut the last track on her debut album "So Far From Reality" on January 21st. Holly has been working with jazz musician and producer Bryan Anderson to finish up the recording. Bryan is from Charlotte, NC and has released several albums of smooth jazz, his latest efforts "Slow Your Roll" and "Beaufort Avenue" have been dubbed acoustical jewels by critics and fans. To check out Bryan's music visit www.bryanandersonmusic.com    

- Holly McCormack was recently in the studio doing some recording with the Christian rock band "Red Letter Disciple." We all had a great rocking time. Thanks guys. 

- Congratulations to Brian Minshew. His video for "Take Me To Heart" charted in the top ten for the month of October for "Ourstage's" Pop video competition. We also want to thank Monte Wilson at Wilson Art Media and Kevin Kruger for thier work putting the video together.

- Welcome to our redesigned website. We have been busy making some upgrades to the site so our visitors will have an easier time accessing our music and videos. The new site also gives us a better platform to display future content to our viewers. So feel free to look around and give us some feedback on any areas we can still improve on. We would love to hear from you. 

- For the next couple of weeks we are giving our listeners a sneak peak of Holly McCormack's new song "That Look." The track will be included on "So Far From Reality" her upcoming album. To check it out go to Holly's reverbnation page.

- Holly McCormack will be performing at the Wine Over Water Festival on Saturday October 1st in Chattanooga TN. For information and showtimes visit www.wineoverwater.org.  

- Congratulations to Michelle Holder. Her video for "Hurtin' and Blue" charted in the top ten for the month of July for "Ourstage's" country video competition. We also want to thank everyone at Dreamwind Studios in Joplin Missouri for thier help putting the video together.  

- Holly McCormack was recently in the studio working on her song "Let Me Breathe" with drummer Danny Lastinger, on loan from the "Doc Holiday Band." Holly hopes to include the track on her as yet untitled album, due out in early 2012. Thanks go out Danny and everyone for their hard work on the track. For up to the minute information please visit Holly's facebook page at Holly's facebook page.

 


 

- Backyard Records is proud to annouce that we have signed Chattanooga native Holly McCormack to our roster of artists. Holly is an up and coming singer/songwriter within the Folk genre and has performed at many of the area's music venues. She features evocative, smoky vocals cut from the same vein as Patti Griffin, with a hint or two of Janis Joplin mixed in for good measure. We plan to begin working on her first fully produced album in June and hope to release it in early 2012. 

Left to right - VP A&R-Michelle Holder, CEO-Michael Harris, New Artist-Holly McCormack, and VP Information Technology-Stuart Wooden 

- June’s segment of “Live from the Backyard” features our own Brian Minshew. Brian has been a long time regular at the Chattanooga Choo Choo entertainment complex and was voted the best male vocalist in the tri-state area in 2010. Brian sits down with our host Lyn Isbell and talks about the recording of his debut album “Notes on the Human Condition” and also finds time to deliver a live studio version of a new song titled “Tonight.”  To check out the show just click on our music page.

- May's segment of "Live from the Backyard" features southern blues artist Barry Darnell. Barry cut his teeth by playing juke joints and honky tonks all over the southeast, and even sang for spare change on the streets of Underground Atlanta. For his first real studio effort, Barry adopted the moniker of "Mobile Slim" and gathered a group of Macon all-stars to record "The Return of Mobile Slim" his debut album. Barry sits down with our host Lyn Isbell to comment on his musical background and the origin of "Mobile Slim." Along the way he delivers a live studio version of "24 Hours a Day" a song he hopes to include on his next album. To check it out visit our music page.

 - April's segment of "Live from the Backyard" features folk singer Kate Klim. Kate recently won the 2010 Kerrville new folk competition and has been busy recording her second album "Kamikaze Love." She sits down with our host Julie Steele to discuss the inspiration behind her music and also talks about several songs off of "Up and Down and Up Again" her first album. She also performs an excellent acoustic rendition of "Ripple." To check it out just go to our music page.

- We are saddened by the passing of blues legend Eddie Kirkland. Eddie was killed in an automobile accident Sunday morning near Tampa Florida. He was 87 years old and had been performing since the age of twelve. Eddie played with many great musicians during his life including Otis Redding, John Lee Hooker, and most recently the rock group Foghat. Lyn Isbel and I had the rare opportunity to meet Eddie and see him perform with Macon blues man Barry Darnell at the historic Douglass Theatre back in March of 2009. His guitar work was at times breathtaking; the music world will miss him more than we know. For more information please visit www.eddiekirkland.com.  

- March’s segment of “Live from the Backyard” features Canadian singer/songwriter Elaine Ryan. Elaine offers up thoughtful lyrics coupled with soothing organic vocals which are sure to captivate listeners. Elaine sits down with our host Chrisann Parr to discuss some of the inspiration behind “Songs from the River” and also performs a new song “The Secrets of Girls” live in the studio. To check it out just go to our music page and click it. 

 

- Backyard Records will be sponsoring a performance by Canadian Folk singer/songwriter Elaine Ryan at The Sanders Ridge Vineyard in Booneville, North Carolina on Sunday December 5th at 2:00 pm. Elaine will be performing cuts from "Songs from the River" her recently released album. So everyone come on out and have a glass of wine and a good listen.  

- Congratulations to Jeff Leyerle on his recent win for his film "Contactee." Jeff's film won the Best Okie Film at the Southern Winds Film Festival. Jeff was also the cinematographer for the "Take Me To Heart" video. For more information on Jeff and his upcoming projects visit http://jeffleyerle.blogspot.com 

 

- Congratulations to Monte Wilson, Brian Minshew and the cast and crew of the "Take Me To Heart" video for winning the Best Music Video at the Southern Winds Film Festival. We also want to thank Kate Joyce and Dennis Dyer for their help with organizing the pre-screening cast and crew party. It was wonderful to see everyone again.Thanks for coming out and we hope you enjoyed the party.                  

 

 Michael Harris and Pamela Cross at the pre-screening party

- The Southern Winds Film Festival in Oklahoma has selected "Take Me To Heart" to screen during the 2010 festival. The video will be featured on Saturday September 11th at 10:00 pm. Backyard Records and Wilson Art Media will also be sponsoring a pre-screening cast and crew party at the Shawnee Senior Center adjacent to the festival. This is a great opportunity  for anyone in the area to come out and meet many of the artists, actors, and production associates who helped produce the video.   

- Brian Minshew's music video for "Take Me To Heart" has been selected for screening by the AOF Film Festival in Pasadena California. The festival will run from July 23rd to July 30th, 2010. AOF Pasadena is rated as one of the top 25 film festivals in the country by Moviemaker Magazine and enjoys strong support among the film industry. Director Monte Wilson will also be present at the festival, so if your in the Southern California area, this is a great opportunity to come out and meet Monte and view the video.

- Backyard Records has recently released a promotional video for artist Brian Minshew. The video contains live footage from Brian's concert at the Roland Hayes Concert Hall and is narrated by our good friend Lyn Isbel. To see the video, just click this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5IlMIGec24.  We also want to thank Michael Clark from Clark Video Productions, Jelani from Quantum Beats, and Tom Rowan from the Sound Lab in Greensboro for all their help putting it together.  

- Several key folks from Backyard Records were able to accompany Brian Minshew and Monte Wilson to the Tupelo Film Festival for the Mississippi premier of Brian's video "Take Me To Heart."  We want to thank festival organizer Pat Rasberry and all the great folks in Tupelo for extending such warm hospitality to us all and for putting on a wonderful event. We had a great time and really enjoyed the festival.  

From Left to Right Brian Minshew, Director Monte Wilson, Video Producer Kevin Kruger, Executive Producer Michael Harris, and Associate Producer Michelle Holder

 From left to right - Artist Brian Minshew, Director Monte Wilson, Video Producer Kevin Kruger, Executive Producer Michael Harris, and Associate Producer Michelle Holder  

- Brian Minshew's video for the song "Take Me To Heart" has been selected for the Tupelo Film Festival in Tupelo Mississippi. The video will be screened  on Friday May 14th at 10:00 pm at the Main Street Bar & Grill. Backyard Records artist Brian Minshew will be attending the festival. This is a another great opportunity for everyone in the region to come out and meet Brian and view the video.  

 

- Backyard Records artist Michelle Holder will be performing at City Cafe Lounge at 901 Carter Street in Chattanooga on Monday May 10th. Show starts at 8:00 pm, so come on out and be one of the first to hear her new single "Blue Sky Love."  

- Brian Minshew's video for the song "Take Me To Heart" has been selected for the On Location: Memphis International Film Festival in Memphis Tennesee. The video will be screened on Saturday April 24th at 3:00 pm at the Malco Ridgeway Theatre. Backyard Records artist Brian Minshew, film director Monte Wilson, and some of the Producers and Actors involved in making the video will be attending the festival. This is a great opportunity for anyone in the region to meet the people involved with the production and of course, to view the video.      

- Michelle Holder has just recently finished recording her new single "Blue Sky Love" with violinist Ueli Schweizer. A big thanks goes out to Goose and the rest of the session players for all the help putting the track together.   

  

- Michelle Holder will be heading back into the studio on February 21st, to record a new single written by emerging Folk artist Kate Klim titled "Blue Sky Love."  Michelle hopes to add her characteristic country feel and stylistic vocals to the arrangement.  

- The video for “Take Me To Heart” has been awarded the Royal Reel Award by the Canada International Film Festival, which is set to take place in Vancouver Canada from March 19th through March 21st, 2010. Congratulations to Director Monte Wilson, Brian Minshew, and everyone involved in this project. If you are in the Vancouver area, make sure to check out the video and the festival.

- Backyard Records has released a new Barry Darnell video of Barry's song "Too Big For My Britches."  The video was captured live at Barry's recent performance in Chattanooga.  Click here http://www.clarkvideoproductions.com/darnell.html to view the video. 

- Congratulations to Brian Minshew. His song "Take Me to Heart" charted in the top 20 for October's soft rock channel on www.ourstage.com.  

- Michelle Holder and Brian Minshew of Backyard Records presented Connie Patterson a check to benefit the local "Santa for all Seasons" charity in Chattanooga. The proceeds came from Brian's recent benefit concert at the UTC-Roland Hayes Concert Hall. 

 

 - Brian Minshew will be appearing on the radio show "Around and About" which will be broadcast on WUTC 88.1 FM radio July 22nd at 10:00AM and 2:00PM. The show is hosted by Julie Steele and highlights news and happenings in the Chattanooga area. 

- Brian Minshew will be on location in Oklahoma City shooting scenes for his up coming video for the song "Take Me To Heart." The video will be filmed on July 10th, 11th and 12th and is being directed by Monte Wilson. For more information about Monte please visit www.wilsonartmedia.com.   

- Brian Minshew's debut album "Notes on the Human Condition" is now available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com/cd/brianminshew2