Atlanta, GA. (Top40 Charts/ Rising
Storm Records) - Rising
Storm Records, the indie label founded by music industry veteran Bill Richardson, that introduced the platinum hit making
Collective Soul (the Atlanta based band was one of the definitive rock bands of the '90s with over 12 million units sold worldwide), is ready to rock and roll all the way to the top once more with the release of their new discovery ABM (Another Big Machine). ABM's freshman project; Volume 1 (Rising
Storm Records/Eyecon/Fontana/Universal) is the album that will set it off when it drops Tuesday, July 17. The first single from this highly anticipated album, the instant classic sing-along Where We Belong, which features the magnificent guitar playing of Matchbox 20's Kyle Cook will be added to radio play-lists nationwide on Monday, May 21st.
"Good music is hard to find. I was semi retired when Jason Hollis brought this band to me and I am still interested in helping to find good music again. It's all about the music, Collective Soul had a fresh approach that changed rock music for 4 or 5 years after their debut and ABM has the potential to be just as successful and influential. Maybe more so," Richardson says.
ABM is a band with an historic appreciation for the music that they play. Their debut album reveals a new sound in rock that was created by taking a giant leap forward with their sound, which was informed by first taking a calculated step back-ward in their musical education through their appreciation for the classic rock of bands like the Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and others - and mixing it with the cutting edge music of more contemporary bands like Coldplay, The Fray, Five For Fighting and Snow Patrol. ABM is comprised of singer Justin McCoy, Dane Carmouche on bass guitar and backing vocals, Dustin "D-White" on lead guitar and drummer Josh Lee. The band is from Gonzales Louisiana: "The Jambalaya Capital of The World," which is about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge.
Prolific producer and songwriter Jason Hollis is the "precocious hustler" and "international trendsetter" who discovered the band. Hollis is a native of Louisiana and a longtime Los Angeles music impressario who had been the manager of the group Pink Spiders. Hollis had brokered their deal with Geffen Records and prior to that he had helped shape then careers of The Fray and Rose Hill Drive. Hollis, who Richardson describes as a man "who just might be who he thinks he is" saw the raw talent that ABM possessed.
"I knew what they could be the first time I heard them, but I needed to reshape their sound by replacing the instruments they were using: so we took a calculated step backwards, in order to move forward. Then we really went in and dissected songs ? the lyrics, trimming a lot of fat. Once I thought they were ready, I took them to Bill and the rest I know, as they say 'will be history'," Hollis says.
