Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Salt Creek Records) - A former pro baseball player from Torrance, California, Derek Sholl is breaking into the country music big leagues with the October 14 release of his album, HERE. A tribute to everyday men and women, the songs on HERE are relatable with content ranging from break-up accolades to good time anthems, which brings the listener into Sholl's vibrant world.
The album's current single, "(I'll Be) Here," produced by Chris Estes, impacts major reporting country radio stations across the nation beginning today. In Germany this week, the single has reached the No 1 position in the Country Music Airplay Charts. On the heels of making a big impression at radio in secondary U.S. markets and recent print and television media exposure, the talented newcomer has teamed up with Nashville-based promotion and marketing company CO5 Nashville for radio promotion for "(I'll Be) Here" and upcoming releases. Sholl is about to embark on a multi-market radio tour (Las Vegas, San Diego, Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Lancaster and Harrisburg, PA, and Frederick, MD, among others) in support of the single.
With southern California good looks, an athlete's energy, a soul-deep country voice and a no-holds-barred stage show that never fails to stop audiences in their tracks, Sholl is certainly on the fast track to the national stage. Respected music journalist Robert K. Oermann gave his DISCovery Award in Music Row magazine to Sholl for "(I'll Be) Here," an honor given to country music's most noteworthy up-and-coming artists. Sholl was recently featured on CMT Insider and the former model is featured in a style piece in the October 20 issue of Country Weekly magazine. He has an upcoming taping on the syndicated entertainment TV show Extra!, and appearances booked on major network affiliated stations in Nashville, Las Vegas, Tulsa, among other top markets. He also recently taped a fun baseball-inspired segment for GAC's Country Music Across America with host Storme Warren.
Derek Sholl is a true-to-life tale of one big man, two big talents, and countless nights of dues-paying gigs that took the singer/songwriter from local bars in his native southern California to state-of-the-art stages in Vegas, to Nashville's top recording studios.
Sholl recalls, "I first started listening to country music when I got drafted by the Kansas City Royals. I'd come into the clubhouse singing Randy Travis and Alan Jackson in my 'new' country voice and everybody would always say, 'Hey, that's really good.' It didn't take long for me to get hooked on the genre."
After numerous injuries ended Sholl's baseball career, he dusted himself off and started picking guitar and singing requests at a local watering hole, using his regular gigs to hone his God-given country baritone into an instrument that lifts and informs every song he sings. It wasn't long before he was soon packing them into those same local clubs backed by a full band, growing from singer to entertainer.
Word of Sholl's energetic shows eventually made its way down the Vegas Strip to The Mirage, where Jay Leno was searching for the perfect opening act for his regular stand-up appearances. Sholl was soon sharing the stage with the late night TV icon and continued to help entertain his audiences for three years. Now on the road touring in support of his single and visiting radio stations across the country, Sholl continues to win over audiences of all ages.
HERE (Salt Creek Records / CO5 / Spinville) is available at https://www.dereksholl.com, music retail outlets and online digital stores including iTunes and Rhapsody.com. For additional information, please visit https://www.dereksholl.com or https://www.myspace.com/dereksholl.
