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The Greenville
News - Greenville, South Carolina
August 23
|
August 23
|
The Greenville News - Greenville, South Carolina
August 23
by Donna Isbell Walker
Entertainment Writer
The
Greenville News - Aug. 23
Every band wants its
music exposed to potential fans, of course. The more far-flung,
the better. But for Greenville blues-rock trio Paradise Blue,
those fans are flung a little farther than you might expect.
Thanks to the magic of the Internet, radio listeners in Germany,
Croatia and Denmark are grooving to tunes recorded in the Upstate.
It all began when Paradise Blue's manager
Randy Sellet hooked up with a national music promoter, who listed
the band on several music Web sites. After checking out the band
online, a disc jockey from Vinkovci, Croatia, e-mailed Sellet
to ask for a couple of CDs.
Sellet sent him, via old-fangled snail
mail, three of the band's four CDs, including the latest, "Relentless,"
recorded at Crystal Rain Studios in Travelers Rest and released
in April.
"He immediately played them on his
very next show, he worked them right in, played four songs in
a row," Sellet said.
The Croatian DJ passed along the band's
information to radio friends in Germany and Denmark, who also
requested Paradise Blue CDs to play on their shows.
Paradise Blue also is featured on a blues
disc jockey group on Yahoo!, and through that, their manager
hopes to spark an interest in the band at even more radio stations,
including a number of them in Australia. If international listeners
become Paradise Blue fans, they don't have to beg their local
record store to order copies of "Relentless." It's
available online.
Not bad for a band that usually finds
its audiences in the bars and clubs around Greenville and Myrtle
Beach. Although Paradise Blue has hit the stage at Freedom Weekend
Aloft and RiverPlace Festival, and is set to perform at Fall
for Greenville, the three members are still waiting for that
big break.
cont'd
The performers are no strangers to the
local music scene. Lead singer Doug Mullinax, who produces many
local bands, played with the band Vision, which opened for 38
Special and Joan Jett. Charles Moses, the bass player, is a veteran
of Upstate bands such as the Power Tools and Sky Dancer. He also
played in Aaron Tippin's band for a time. Drummer Russ Lofland,
is a Louisiana native who earned his chops playing in bands around
Shreveport. Although band members still have their day jobs,
they would happily shift gears if the right opportunity came
along for Paradise Blue, Sellet said.
They're understandably excited about
this international exposure, Moses said.
In many cases, he said, it can be easier
for a band to break through on European radio stations, which
have less firmly defined playlists than American stations, many
of which are owned by media conglomerates.
"Europe's not quite as rigid about
things like that; they're more likely to play original music
by bands that are not necessarily well-known," Moses said.
Closer to home, Paradise Blue has enjoyed
airplay on radio stations in Greenville and Columbia. Still,
the band hasn't created a stir on the national scene. But then,
that's the case with many bands. Groups such as Monster Magnet,
Cheap Trick, and Blondie, built followings in Europe, Japan,
and Australia, respectively, before moving on to conquer America.
Already, the Internet exposure has given
Paradise Blue a glimpse of new horizons; the trio is looking
into an offer for an overseas tour, Moses said.
The international airplay is "really
nice; hopefully, it's going to lead to some other things,"
Moses said. "You never know how far something's going to
go."
|
by Donna Isbell Walker Every band wants its
music exposed to potential fans, of course. The more far-flung,
the better. But for Greenville blues-rock trio Paradise Blue,
those fans are flung a little farther than you might expect.
Thanks to the magic of the Internet, radio listeners in Germany,
Croatia and Denmark are grooving to tunes recorded in the Upstate. |
cont'd The performers are no strangers to the local music scene. Lead singer Doug Mullinax, who produces many local bands, played with the band Vision, which opened for 38 Special and Joan Jett. Charles Moses, the bass player, is a veteran of Upstate bands such as the Power Tools and Sky Dancer. He also played in Aaron Tippin's band for a time. Drummer Russ Lofland, is a Louisiana native who earned his chops playing in bands around Shreveport. Although band members still have their day jobs, they would happily shift gears if the right opportunity came along for Paradise Blue, Sellet said. They're understandably excited about this international exposure, Moses said. In many cases, he said, it can be easier for a band to break through on European radio stations, which have less firmly defined playlists than American stations, many of which are owned by media conglomerates. "Europe's not quite as rigid about things like that; they're more likely to play original music by bands that are not necessarily well-known," Moses said. Closer to home, Paradise Blue has enjoyed airplay on radio stations in Greenville and Columbia. Still, the band hasn't created a stir on the national scene. But then, that's the case with many bands. Groups such as Monster Magnet, Cheap Trick, and Blondie, built followings in Europe, Japan, and Australia, respectively, before moving on to conquer America. Already, the Internet exposure has given Paradise Blue a glimpse of new horizons; the trio is looking into an offer for an overseas tour, Moses said. The international airplay is "really nice; hopefully, it's going to lead to some other things," Moses said. "You never know how far something's going to go." |
more raw live and
a little bit more rocking than actually comes across on
CD for some