NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Tim Brantley Official Website) - 'His Songs Sound Like New Classics'
A 'Fantastic Debut' � It 'Plays Like a Great Lost Album from 1975'
'I Can Even Go as Far as Comparing Him to 70's Legends Like Elton John and Billy Joel'
PERFORMING SONGWRITER: 'His Powerful Voice Had the Crowd Silent and at Full Attention'
NBC-TV, CBS-TV & FOX-TV All Feature Brantley Performances, as Tour Continues
Southern rocker Tim Brantley has earned rave coverage in advance of the April 21st release of his debut CD 'Goldtop Heights'. With a remarkably powerful voice, and a songwriting style that evokes rock/pop radio hits of years past, Brantley has got critics buzzing for his 'Fantastic' new album. Early reviews have put Brantley in the company of early Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Hall and Oates, and other iconic artists�'I Can Even Go as Far as Comparing Him to 70's Legends Like Elton John and Billy Joel.'
PERFORMING SONGWRITER
Awesome Shows I've Seen Lately
4/17/09, Blog Column by Assoc Music Editor Beth Walker
'Spring is always full of life - musically and otherwise - here in Nashville, and I've been out and about trying to catch as much live music as I possibly can. So without further ado, here are some of the latest shows that have truly blown me away�Soulful pop rocker Tim Brantley opened with a thirty minute set, and his powerful voice had the crowd silent and at full attention within moments. He played tunes from his upcoming debut CD Goldtop Heights - set to be released on April 21 - and I encourage everyone to grab a copy. Brantley will be gracing Nashville again on April 27 at the Exit/In for those who can make it.' (excerpted)
Brantley is a throwback to an era when musicians used distinct images and dynamic production to tell cinematic stories. His music takes listeners on a rock journey that evokes radio hits of the 1970s, when Todd Rundgren, Billy Joel, Journey and Fleetwood Mac were topping the charts with larger-than-life songs that told surprisingly compelling personal narratives.
Local TV has featured Tim in multiple cities, as he's toured relentlessly in the lead-up to his CD release. Recent appearances include New York's NBC-TV WEEKEND TODAY SHOW, CBS-TV News in Chattanooga & Charlotte, FOX-TV's GOOD DAY ATLANTA, Birmingham's FOX6 News at Noon and more�
Click here to see a sampling of Tim's recent television interviews and performances: https://www.blackledgemusic.com/sampler/timbrantley/
MELODIC.NET
4/09, By Kaj Roth https://www.melodic.net/reviewsOne.asp?revnr=7588
FOUR STAR CD Review: Some artists just got it, they don't have to practice as much as other artists and they don't have to work that hard to create magic music. Tim Brantley is such an artist, he has a golden voice and his songs sound like new classics - I can even go as far as comparing him to 70's legends like Elton John and Billy Joel. Sure he's heavily influenced by Elton John and Hall & Oates to name two of the long list but Brantley also sound like himself, his piano driven pop also bring thoughts to modern bands The Last Goodnight, Melee and Jack McManus. "Goldtop Heights" will be released on April 21 and all I can say is that everyone should have a copy, I will quote a classic ABBA song "Thank you for the music" Tim!
GLIDE MAGAZINE
3/09, by Scott Bernstein � 'Hidden Track' Interview Feature
https://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/interview-tim-brantley-scales-new-he ights/
Interview: Tim Brantley Scales New Heights
You may not have heard of Tim as of yet, but after this southern singer/songwriter releases his fantastic debut album, Goldtop Heights on April 21 you'll wonder where he's been hiding all these years. Goldtop Heights, contains a collection of hook-heavy rock songs with a dash of pop.
The album's first single, Damage, has already caught on at a number of radio stations throughout the country thanks to Brantley's strong vocals and well-crafted lyrics. Tim will perform a number of songs from Goldtop Heights at Joe's Pub in New York City on March 13 and 14.
We caught up with this Artist To Watch a few weeks ago to talk about the process of creating and self-producing Goldtop Heights�
Scott Bernstein: I've really enjoyed the new disc and I've found new little nuances each time through.
Tim Brantley: We try to put a little candy for the kids in there.
SB: Can you take us through the timeline of creating Goldtop Heights?
TB: It took a year. It was more of a matter of circumstance than anything. When I started I didn't have a deal and I sort of was trying to do it on my own. I did three or four of the songs on the record on my own and then I got a little funding behind it and things started moving along faster. The bulk of it was recorded in a six month period.
SB: What was the first part of the process?
TB: The songs - for the most part - had been written in the time leading up to recording them. I spent way too much time working on these songs. I'm not one of these guys who can go into the studio for a weekend and bang out an album like Ryan Adams. I'm very deliberate and do a lot of second guessing myself. That's one of the reason I produced it myself, because I knew I couldn't really monopolize a producer's time the way I wanted to. I don't think I could've found anyone willing to work on this for a year with me. I never really had any deadlines.
SB: Did you know going into this project that you wanted to self-produce the album?
TB: I didn't know if I'd be able to talk anybody into letting me produce the album as a new artist. I also didn't want somebody breathing down my neck every day saying 'send me the latest,' and I got that from Blackledge. They trusted me. They gave me creative control which not a lot of artists truly have. They went out on a limb and that in turn made my relationship with them more personal. When somebody says 'hey, I trust you. Do you want you need to do.'
SB: You want to do right by them�
TB: Exactly. I told them this is an important record for me and I needed to do it the way I needed to do it. I'm very demanding as an artist and I didn't want to put that on anybody. Not right now.
SB: Are you going on the road with a full band or by yourself?
TB: I'm going out by myself. It's more of an intimate show. We are going to play some band dates sprinkled throughout the year. I really think my solo set acts as a good introduction. It's a little more personal, just them and I. Hopefully after people have time to digest the album and get to know the songs I'll bring out the band for a tour.
SB: Do you play covers?
TB: Sometimes we do. Personally, I don't love when people play covers. If I'm going to go out and play seven songs a night I'd rather play my stuff than anybody else's.
SB: A radio station in Birmingham, Live 100.5, seemed to pick up on the single immediately. How do you get your foot in the door at that station and others?
TB: Dave Rossi who works at a number of stations in the southeast has a good relationship with some of the people at my label. They gave Dave my music and he loved it.
SB: We've gotten to their point where the business side of things seeps more and more into your job as a musician. Are you finding it increasingly difficult to deal with that side of it as we get closer to the release date?
TB: I find it distracting, very distracting honestly. You definitely can get caught up in it. All of the sudden there's all of this business you tend to every day when I used to spend my time writing music, rehearsing and recording. You get to a point where it's a lot to handle. I think there will come a time that I'll be able to push all of it to the side and get back to exactly what it is I want to be doing. I did a lot of writing and recorded a record and now I'm touring and really focused on that right now. When it's time to go back into my writing mode, I'll do it and I'll turn my phone off.
SB: Has music always been a part of your life?
TB: When I was a child, maybe 4-6 years old, records were a big part of my life. I was into artists such as Huey Lewis, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Dolly Parton and growing up in Georgia - Ronnie Milsap. When I got a little older, music wasn't as important to me. I listened to lots of different types of music in high school and had a wide taste in music, but I was more into playing baseball than music. When I got to the middle of college I came back around. I had learned how to play the piano as a child and put it away for 10-12 years and picked it up again. I don't know what sparked it. Maybe watching a David Gray video and thinking 'wow, I'd love to do that.'
It all happened really fast for me. Within a year I taught myself guitar from scratch and learned to play piano again. It's been so natural for me. I have to work at it, but I know what I want to do with my life, it feels right.
Thanks to Tim for taking the time to talk to us about his throwback of an album that sounds straight out of the mid '70s.
Birmingham Weekly
4/16/09 By Brent Thompson
Brantley's sound is reminiscent of early Bruce Springsteen and Warren Zevon. Brantley's latest release, Goldtop Heights, plays like a great lost album from 1975.
'I spent a lot of time on it and I tried to capture a sound,' Brantley says of the album. 'I feel like I got pretty close. One of the major influences in making it was early-'70s rock. On a lot of the songs � and this is how my process usually works � I'll come up with an idea and it will go in a safe place and I'll revisit it when I'm ready to sit down and do something. That way, instead of writing a song and getting sick of it by tinkering with it, I'll put it away and pick it back up. It makes it really stressful because you leave yourself a lot of work to do while you're recording, but you feel like you're doing something in the present rather than just capturing something you wrote in the past.'
Brantley is also old-school when it comes to his approach as a listener and fan. 'Personally, if I'm a big fan of an artist, I try to delve as little as possible into what they're doing. For a lot of people that love an artist, it becomes an obsession and they want to see everything and hear everything. Me, I'll listen to a record and I'll skip the concert DVDs and Youtube videos. I want to maintain that mystery � I don't want to hear about their political views or their opinions in the media because I'm not able to enjoy the music as much,' he says.
While Brantley opts to perform straightforward versions of his songs in the live setting, Kelley is prone to alter the arrangements of his songs. However, both artists acknowledge the importance of touring in today's competitive musical climate. 'You can't make money now unless you have a live show, which is good because it weeds out all of the fakers. The fakers can't survive in the business, which is great. It's about the people and how they react. We do it a little different every night because we don't play to a template - we play to have fun. This business is crazy but there's a lot of money to be made. I hate to keep bringing up money, but you have to eat,' Kelley says.
'These days, everybody's touring so you have to set yourself apart,' Brantley says. 'One thing I'm really conscious of is to not bastardize a song just for my own pleasure. I try to represent the song I'm singing and I don't want to change melodies when people are singing along. You have to do something that nobody else is doing - you have to be at your very best all the time. There's so much competition out there and you better be good when you step on stage.'
https://www.bhamweekly.com/2009/04/16/josh-kelley-tim-brantley-go-independent/
CHARLESTON CITY PAPER
4/09 By T. Ballard Lesemann
Critic's Pick: Presented by local rock station the Bridge at 105.5, Atlanta-based songwriter and rocker Tim Brantley headlines two shows this week in support of a new album titled Goldtop Heights. The rich-voiced performer gained notoriety in the Atlanta scene after entering a citywide battle of the bands (he and his band won). Brantley worked with producer Russ T. Cobb and at Butch Walker's studio in Atlanta, and eventually signed with independent Blackledge Records label.
If the response to his recent tour is any indication, Brantley's poised to cement his position as an 'Artist to Watch' in 2009. His CD release has been included in NO DEPRESSION and DIRTY LINEN Magazines; The Atlanta Journal Constitution praised the 'hook-heavy pop-rock' on his 'beautifully crafted debut CD'; Atlanta's Metromix, in a four-star CD review, noted: 'You know, for example, how Elton John's piano defined his songs and the way Hall and Oates stuck to a rigid, yet pleasing melody structure. Well, so does Brantley,' and added: 'Remember hearing Springsteen's "Born to Run" the first time? -- Tim Brantley's got a bit of that...a commanding sound that sticks regardless of preferences.' In Atlanta's The Sunday Paper, Tim is described as 'a somber rocker with a heart of gold,' who delivers 'room-filling vocals and epic storytelling sagas...' You 'wonder why more musicians don't have the balls to make good old-fashioned rock albums like this anymore...,' Links to the full reviews follow below.
CBS-TV Producer Tobias Parrish describes Tim's single 'Damage' as 'A Hauntingly Catchy Song' and adds 'Check It Out, and See if You're Not Singing it a While After.' Here's a link to Tim's CBS-TV performance and interview from SCENIC CITY SCENES in Chattanooga:
https://wdef.com/video/get_a_sneak_peak_at_tim_brantley_before_his_rhythm_and_ brews_performance/03/2009
https://wdef.com/news/tim_brantley_tickles_the_ivories_at_rhythm_and_brews_mar ch_25th/03/2009
Tim Brantley Tickles the Ivories at Rhythm and Brews March 25th
This week the scene brings you the piano driven rock of Tim Brantley. Born and raised just east of Atlanta, Tim is a soulful singer, songwriter that was in no rush to burst into the music scene...rather Tim approaches his music as a craft, and like any artistry it took some time to feel ready to share his gift with the world. "It was a slow burn for me at first you know. It wasn't like I played a couple of shows and then just go on tour. You Know it was like play some shows....figure out how to write better songs. Record those songs...play some more shows, figure out how to put a band together. It was like an evolution that probably took a lot longer than it does for most people for me." It was worth the wait. Tim's record " Goldtop Heights" is set to propel him to the forefront of the music world. This album has great feeling, great writing, and Tim has surrounded himself with some amazing musicians to help convey his message. "When I went to make this record "gold Top Heights" I wanted to put together the best band that I could to record this record in hopes that those guys would be able to come on tour. I've been really blessed to talk these guys into coming on tour with me" However, this tour is a bit of a departure for Tim and he has some special plans for his engagement here in the scenic city. "The tour that I'm on is through the southeast and it's just kind of a solo acoustic tour. It's sort of an introduction. Some of these cities we've never played in before. I want to just basically shake everybody's hand and say hello."-Tim Brantley You can say hello to Tim when he hits the stage at rhythm and brews Wednesday march 25th with Ari hest. "It's a beautiful thing to be able to play your songs for people after you've recorded a record and then strip them back down an d say this is the song and to be able to connect with people that way there's nothing like it"
For WDEF news 12's scenic city scene I'm Tobias Parrish.
Tim is on tour now, opening for JOSH KELLEY/RYAN CABRERA. More dates will be announced soon:
April 21 � Bourbon St Bar Auburn Alabama
April 22 � Smiths Olde Bar Atlanta
April 24, 2009 The Norva Norvolk, VA
April 25, 2009 The Square Room Knoxville, TN
April 26, Visulite Theatre Charlotte, NC
April 27, 2009 Exit/In Nashville, TN
Recent television appearances include Good Day Atlanta https://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/entertainment/good_day/Local_Tim_Brantley_Release s_Debut_Album_020609, as well as FOX6 News at Noon https://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=8296198&version=1&l ocale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.7.1.
Tim's in-store appearance in Birmingham drew over 250 fans, and led to coverage in Birmingham Magazine, https://bhammag1.tumblr.com/post/71568073/tim-brantley-builds-a-fan-base-in-birmin gham and in Birmingham News, https://blog.al.com/nightlife/2009/01/tim_brantley_performance_video.html
Read Tim's first-person essay from the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION's 'On The Road' column, here: Tim Brantley - From The Road https://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/MusicScene/ entries/2009/02/06/tim_brantley_from_the_road.html
Check out a five-song sampler here: https://www.blackledgemusic.com/sampler/timbrantley/
Read more recent CD reviews here:https://atlanta.metromix.com/music/cd_review/cd-review-atlantas-tim/934902/co ntent
https://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/art icleId/3622/Tim-Brantley.aspx
Visit https://www.myspace.com/timbrantley
