The Swallow At The Hollow

Mark D. Sanders

California native Mark Daniel Sanders was a literature major, basketball player and a surfer who, at age 29, came to Nashville to write songs. After 10 years, his career skyrocketed in the early 1990s, thanks to hits by Diamond Rio (“Mirror, Mirror”), Tracy Lawrence (“Runnin’ Behind”) and John Anderson (“Money in the Bank”), and he’s gone on to rack up 14 #1 singles. Mark has twice been named NSAI Songwriter of the Year (in 1995, with 5 #1 songs that year alone, and in 1996) and has won two of ASCAP’s highest awards: Country Songwriter of the Year (1997) and Country Song of the Year (1996) for writing “No News” (recorded by Lonestar). He’s also collected four CMA Triple Play Awards, given for charting three #1 songs in a 12-month period. His “I Hope You Dance” (recorded by Lee Ann Womack) won a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Country Song, and was declared Song of the Year by virtually every music industry awards organization — NSAI, ASCAP, BMI, the ACM and the CMA. He and co-writer Tia Sillers later authored a book inspired by the song that has sold two million copies. Additionally, Mark’s songs have been hits for artists such as George Strait (“Blue Clear Sky”), Ricochet (“Daddy’s Money”), Faith Hill (“It Matters to Me”) and Jack Ingram (“That’s a Man”).

Sarah Majors

Sarah Majors has been a professional songwriter since 1994. She has enjoyed the success of having songs recorded in country, pop, bluegrass, contemporary folk and gospel genres. Some of the artists that have cut her songs include Trisha Yearwood, Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd, The Kinleys, Rissi Palmer, Michelle Wright, No Secrets, Michael Peterson, Maia Sharp, Matt King, Megan Mullins, Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, just to name a few. Sarah’s songs have also been featured on the hit ABC show, Extreme Makeover, the horror film, “Trailer Park of Terror”, and the cd/documentary project “This Is My America” features two of her tunes.

Megan Mullins

In her relatively short lifetime, Megan Mullins has mastered seven instruments and genres, won numerous musician championships, and worked as a model and actress.
The Indiana native began taking violin lessons at the age of 18 months, and won the Indiana State Fair Showmanship Award at the State Fiddle Championship at age three. Mullins comes from a family of professional musicians who toured the country in a van together playing shows through much of her childhood. She began performing with her brother Marcus, and at age 14, they played the Grand Ole Opry. As if she weren’t busy enough, Mullins began taking dance, gymnastics, theater, and swimming classes. Since graduating high school at the age of 15, Mullins has worked at perfecting her fiddle playing and singing talent, playing numerous gigs throughout the United States and abroad. At the age of 18, she released her first single on Broken Bow Records, called “Ain’t What It Used to Be.” The single was met with immediate and overwhelming public response.

Nashville Songbirds

Imagine hanging out with the girls for a night. That’s what Bridgette Tatum, Kirsti Manna, Lorna Flowers and Julie Forester wanted to do. The Nashville Songbirds came together at a show at Douglas Corner in Nashville in early 2009. By demand The Nashville Songbirds began performing in and around Nashville to sold out audiences. Four diverse, amazing performing songwriters, hit songs and lots of fun.
 

THE NASHVILLE SONGBIRDS ARE:
 

BRIDGETTE TATUM

It’s rhinestone cowgirl glam topped off with a well-worn baseball cap. It’s a sweet South Carolina low country drawl, punctuated with raucous laughter and a few well-placed swears. It’s a tender vulnerability exposed by life’s hard knocks, and the gritty swagger of a survivor. It’s a lot of things, but no words can distill the essence of Bridgette Tatum better than the woman’s own: “Sex, church, and chicken. That’s what it’s all about,” she declares with a matter-of-fact nod that doesn’t quite hide her mischievous grin. Through the encouragement of manager Carolyn Miller, Bridgette collaborated with Danny Myrick, who came to be her future producer, and their partnership proved just as successful in songwriting with “She’s Country,” a two week 1 hit for Jason Aldean, as well as many of the songs on the forthcoming project, including “Hillbilly Rockstar.” “My music is as diverse as I am and I think people relate to that. We all have many sides to us. My roots in gospel shaped everything I’ve done as an artist. I want my music to be that real and to make people really feel it. If I don’t do that, then I’m not doing my job. With unfailing honesty and a penchant for risk-taking, Bridgette Tatum is storming the scene on her own terms and winning fans at every turn. “That’s really what it’s all about.” 
 

KIRSTI MANNA

Kirsti Manna’s 6 week Billboard 1 smash hit, “Austin” introduced Blake Shelton to country radio. She is Nashville-based songwriter/publisher/producer as well as an actress with numerous credits that include creating and starring in her own national children’s TV show, “Kirsti’s Manor” viewed by 34 million homes. She’s also the co-writer/co-publisher for Big & Rich’s rockin’ hit, “Loud” (WB/Nashville). Artists such as Gretchen Wilson (Sony/Nashville), Colt Prather (Sony/Nashville), Cowboy Crush (Curb/Nashville) and Kirsti’s songs have been heard around the world in such places as CMT, ESPN, “The Tonight Show”, “The David Letterman Show”, “Friday Night Lights”, and “Dance Wars”. Her latest venture, “Songwriter Girl” is an online newsletter, video blog, Blog Talk Radio show and consulting service. In 2008 she launched “Songwriter Girl Camp”, bringing together girls of all ages to be inspired and focus on learning more about writing better songs, gaining confidence as writers and performers and arming the attendees with the tools needed to work in the music industry. She wrote for and produced “SOPO”, the debut album for the girl-group iCande. She is currently writing for and producing their second album. She is also writing with and producing a new upcoming pop artist, Jaz. 
 

LORNA FLOWERS

Lorna moved from the UK to Nashville in July 2004 and shortly after, signed a staff writing deal with Yellow Jersey Music in July 2005 which ended when the company closed due to the illness of the owner. Lorna has written with a number of top name Grammy Award winners and other 1 and hit writers and has had over 50 independent cuts worldwide, including 4 songs reaching 1 on various country music charts in the UK, Europe and Australia, as well as having 8 other chart entries with various artists. Lorna also had 5 nominations in the UK Country Radio Awards for “Best Song”, since 1998. In 2005 John McCane won the UK Country Radio Awards “Listener’s Choice” with Lorna’s song “Who’s Gonna Hold Me” and the pair won the Best Song award in the same organization’s 2007 awards for “Touch Me With Your Tenderness” which was also recorded by John McCane. 
 

JULIE FORESTER

Julie Forester’s journey began in Houston, Texas, and at five years old, her mom was amazed at how well Julie could sing and stay in tune after performing on stage at a vacation Bible school in San Antonio, and encouraged her (along with her brother and sister) to learn musical instruments. From that point on, Julie performed everywhere she could. Her vocal talent earned her admission into one of the top colleges in the nation, where the professors at the conservatory there decided that her love for country and musical theatre did not quite fit in with the classical training they were providing. So, she instead finished her B.A. in Communications. After attending college in New York, Julie had the opportunity to perform in Ragtime, a West End (Broadway) show in London, England. During a UK/European tour, when she starred as Eva Cassidy in a story about her life, Over the Rainbow, Julie fell in love with being out on the road and performing. With faith and extraordinary talent on her side, and a creative passion to achieve more leading the way, this is only a step on the journey to major success for Julie, who has recently signed a publishing deal with a major company.

The small ski town of Telluride, Colorado represents hard work, excitement, and passion, just as Nashville, Tennessee represents a breeding ground of determined, talented musicians of all genres. A new group from Nashville, TelluRide, is taking all of those ingredients to create a new brand of country music, rooted in harmonies, musicianship, and high-energy stage shows. The four young men who make up the band accomplished more before their Four Square Miles debut album release than most groups on their second or third album.
Four Square Miles is currently available from online retailers as a digital download. Rex Schnelle, who produced 11 of the 12 songs on the album, aptlyrecreated the energy from TelluRide’s live shows and infused that energy into the project. The album not only showcases the band’s vocal harmonies,but also the skilled musicianship of each member. The members of TelluRide are formally trained musicians and each plays on the entire album.
The band’s debut single, “Pencil Marks,” has been listed as one of Play MPE’s Top 5 downloads.

TelluRide formed in 2006 when Washington state-natives Adam Craig, who also plays lead and rhythm guitar, his cousin/keyboard player Ryan Jones and drummer Brian Smith hooked up in Nashville with South Carolina-native, bassist Jimi Hendrix (his real name.) The band’s name came not from the picturesque Colorado ski town, but from a Tim McGraw song of the same name.
“The song ‘Telluride’ is about a poor kid moving up to the mountains and working ski lodges,” said Craig. “We really identified with the song growing upin the mountains in Washington.”
Their strong work ethic, tight harmonies and stellar musicianship lead to opening gigs with the likes of LeAnn Rimes, Billy Ray Cyrus, Little Big Town, Lonestar, and others. The band has even opened for such legendary rock groups as Foreigner and REO Speedwagon. The band has developed a largeand loyal following through constant touring and an active internet presence.
The group’s infectious sound also caught the attention of thousands of fans, which helped launch the popularity of the band’s “Phone Song.” The video was accepted into the CMT.com Music City Madness 2 competition in the fall of 2007 and was voted into the top 8 out of 64 video’s by the band’sactive and rapidly growing fan base.
In 2008 the Country Music Association listed them as “the group to watch.”

James House

Co-Writer of Grammy and CMA Nominated Songs of the year “A Broken Wing” Martina McBride and “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” Dwight Yoakam. Along with Diamond Rio’s number one smash “In A Week or Two”. James House songs have been recorded by Rod Stewart, Sara Evans, Kylie Minogue, Steve Holy, The Mavericks, Craig Morgan, The Warren Brothers, Tina Turner and Steve Azar to name a few. His CD “Days Gone By” on Epic records established him as an artist and produced his own Billboard Top 5 single “This Is Me Missing You” As a recording artist James has toured and performed with: The Beach Boys, Neil Young, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis and many others, and has appeared on The David Letterman Show, The Grand Ol’ Opry and toured throughout the US and Europe. His voice and songs can also be heard on several successful TV and movie soundtracks.

Danny Flowers

 
Danny Flowers may be best known for having penned the classic, “Tulsa Time” (Don Williams, Eric Clapton), or as author of such soulful cuts as, “Before Believing” (title cut for Emmylou Harris’s Pieces Of The Sky) and “Gulf Coast Highway” (Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, Evangeline), among others, but as a solo artist, his bluesy blend of raw emotion combined with a heartfelt yearning will speak to your very soul.
Danny’s instrumentality has also earned him a high level of notoriety in the industry. Having paid his dues on the road with artists such as Don Williams, Nanci Griffith, Vince Gill, Marshall Chapman, Dobie Gray and Russell Smith, his debut release: MCA Records’ The Scratch Band Featuring Danny Flowers, earned him a Country Music Awards (CMA) nomination. Danny is currently touring in support of his latest release, Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables. Flowers’ writing credits span several genres and his flexibility as a guitarist and wordsmith is well-known. He penned “Tulsa Time” for Eric Clapton, which Don Williams also cut. Williams then had hits with “Back In My Younger Days,” “Senorita,” and “To Be Your Man.” Emmylou Harris recorded “Before Believing” as the title cut for her Pieces Of The Sky album. “Gulf Coast Highway” was recorded by Emmylou and Willie Nelson as well as by Nanci Griffith and Evangeline. With all this under his belt, Flowers still manages to maintain the poise and humility of a Zen master while tossing off riffs with incredible taste and feeling. His current band, Danny Flowers and the Arrangements, is a tightly-knit rock outfit that is reminiscent of Ry Cooder’s gospel-like grooves with the slide guitar virtuosity and delicate upper-register vocal vibratos of David Lindley. His live performances are throw-down rock n’ roll parties that shouldn’t be missed. With a comfortable command of his band’s dynamics, he can whip the music into a frenzy with a searing slide solo only to slam it down into a hushed R&B shuffle. 

Kim McLean

Kim is a career songwriter with songs recorded by Tim McGraw “All We Ever Find”, Trisha Yearwood “Harmless Heart”, Lee Ann Womack “Forever Every Day”, Billy Gilman “Elisabeth”, Jennifer Hanson “Beautiful Goodbye”, and more.  She won Gospel Song of the Year at the Dove Awards for “Count Your Blessing” recorded by the Martins.
With over 200 of her songs recorded by other artists and heard on TV shows like West Wing, JAG, and Hope & Faith, Kim steps into the artist spotlight with her own music for a groove-rock-country sound that is uniquely her.  Kim says it’s a Folkahoma-Appalachi-Groove Train kind of experience”.
She’s a North Carolina Irish-Cherokee chick who currently lives outside Nashville and tours extensively.  Her current single, “All About Us” was co-written with Canadian song-maven and Swallow favorite, Lisa Brokop.

Mark Elliott

Mark has had staff writing positions with major publishing companies including, Bluewater Music Group, Maypop Music Group (owned by the super-group Alabama) as well as Sony Music Publishing. Mark’s songs have been recorded by independent and major artists, receiving airplay on radio and TV in the United States and abroad. His songs have hit the Billboard Top Forty charts, highlighted by the hit single by Neal McCoy, “Every Man for Himself.” Billboard Magazine called it “a song with rare lyrical and musical edge and the best cut on the album”.
Buoyed by wins in singer-songwriter contests at major festivals across the country Mark began to build a reputation for standout live performances.
Mark released his seventh CD “A Good Life” and has cuts by the late great Chris LeDoux and even a song on the Sunset Beach TV show. Mark is destined to be a Swallow favorite.

J. Fred Knobloch

While working for such R&B notables as Dorothy Moore, Eddie Floyd and Anita Ward, Fred met drummer James Stroud and pianist Carson Whitsett; it was Whitsett who encouraged his writing and performing and in 1980 it all paid off with “Why Not Me.” Co-written with Whitsett and produced by James Stroud, Knobloch reached #1 on the Billboard AC chart and # 18 on the HOT 100. On the heels of that success, Fred moved to Los Angeles and over the next two years had two Top Ten country singles with “Killin’ Time,” a duet with Susan Anton, and a re-make of the Chuck Berry classic, “Memphis.” But it wasn’t long before the South started calling him home and he relocated to Nashville in January of 1983. Since moving to Nashville, Music Row has allowed him to make lots of “noise with the boys” as an artist, session musician and songwriter. With his good friends Thom Schuyler and Craig Bickhardt, who formed the group SKB, he recorded two albums for MTM including the hits “No Easy Horses” and yet another #1 country record with “Baby’s Got A New Baby,” co-written by J. Fred with fellow Mississippian Dan Tyler. His list of cuts include artists such as Faith Hill, George Strait, Delbert McClinton, Etta James, Ray Charles, The Wilkinsons, Lorrie Morgan, John Anderson, Trisha Yearwood, Larry Stewart, Neal McCoy, Confederate Railroad, Sawyer Brown, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Kenny Rogers. Knobloch has also composed for TV and movies with songs appearing on Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210, as well as the feature films “Next of Kin” and “In Country.”

Jan Spillane

Jan Spillane is a true southern troubadour from Savannah, GA with a fresh home grown sound.  Playing piano and guitar, she is noted for what others would say as being in the “Key of Jan”. 
“She’s considered one of Savannah’s premier singer/songwriters and has the soul of a hopeless romantic, the voice of a smoky jazz chanteuse and literally sounds like no one else.”  She has released four impressive albums with high hopes that her 5th album, “Blue Canvas” be released before 2011.  She is an active member of ASCAP, AMA, NSAI, & NARAS and recently had one of her songs “If looks could Kill” licensed by Showtime Cable Networks popular TV Series “The L Word” which gained her national and international attention.  She co-writes with some of Nashville’s finest songwriters, in and out of the country as well as some great writers back in her hometown.
Jan and her husband along with their dog,
 live in a charming little fishing village located in Savannah, Ga.  Currently, she performs as a solo artist or with her band “Jan Spillane and The Wayfinders”.  She travels to Nashville frequently and performs wherever her music takes her.  “Along with her passion for music is her versatility and desire to bend and warp established genres that makes her a wonderful singer/songwriter.”

Stan Webb

Stan Webb was born in Murfreesboro, TN., and raised in Nashville TN.  He started writing songs at age 14, influenced by artists like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Don Williams, Tom T. Hall and many others.  He worked hard at his craft for years and got his first cut in 1984, by George Jones, a song titled, “One Of These Days But Not Tonight”, which landed him the award for SESAC’s most promising country writer.  It also pushed him closer to the mainstream of country music in Nashville.  He continued to get cuts by artists like Marie Osmond, T.G. Shepard, Terri Gibbs, The Forrester Sisters, The Osmond Brothers, Silvia, Michael Johnson, Pam Tillis, Kippi Brannon, and many others.  Stan also had a cut in the movie “Thelma and Louise”, that he wrote with Pam Tillis called “Drawn To The Fire”.
His most successful song to date is “I’m From The Country” by Tracy Byrd, which earned him the 1998 SESAC Country Song Of the Year Award, and helped him get another song recorded by Tracy called “Summertime Fever” which can be found on the album “Ten Rounds”.  Stan not only works with other successful writers and artists, he also enjoys writing with new young writers and artists just getting started.  He loves their enthusiasm and drive,
Stan was also blessed with SESAC’s “Legacy” award in 2003, only the third writer to receive it in 75 years.  Stan Webb has his own style of writing that he hopes and prays somewhere down the road, two writers will enter a room on music row, and one will say, “Let’s write a song like a Stan Webb song.”  Stan says, “Now that’s what success is to me.”

Diana Kelly

Originally from northwest Indiana, Diana spent several years playing in the theatres in Branson before relocating to Nashville where she could focus on songwriting on a full-time basis.
In the past five years, Diana has been awarded many awards and accolades, from being chosen to attend Skip Ewing’s Horse and Writer Invitational on a full scholarship, to being awarded the Grand Prize in the NSAI / CMT Song Contest in 2008.
This year Diana has had 5 songs recorded on independant projects by artists from Savannah GA to Los Angeles CA, and is in the process of pursuing an Americana artist deal with fellow friend / cowriter Stan Webb.

Marty Brown

Though he’s never had a substantial hit, Marty Brown won a devoted following among hardcore country fans thanks to his twangy, classic-style honky tonk and a nasal delivery straight from the hills of Kentucky. Specifically, Brown was raised in the small tobacco-farming town of Maceo, and started playing the local honky tonks at age 14. He later recorded a demo tape and hitchhiked to Nashville, where he was profiled on the news magazine 48 Hours and secured a contract with MCA. His debut album, High and Dry, was released in 1991 and won fierce praise for its raw energy, wide musical range, and unrepentant hillbilly attitude. Afraid of being pigeonholed because of the latter, Brown moved into a more commercial sound for the 1993 follow-up, Wild Kentucky Skies; though it wasn’t a hit, it helped continue to build Brown’s fan base, as did his tour with Jimmie Dale Gilmore. 1994’s Cryin’, Lovin’, Leavin’ also failed to bring Brown to a wider audience, despite continued acclaim, and MCA parted ways with him afterwards. Brown signed with the independent label Hightone and debuted for them in 1996 with Here’s to the Honky Tonks, which again was released to favorable reviews.

Mark Narmore

Mark’s had over seventy cuts over the past twenty-two years, quite a few singles that you never heard, but thankfully a few you may have, like “Moon Over Georgia”, “Like There Ain’t No Yesterday” and “That’s What I Love About Sunday”. Also “Crank My Tractor” was a big hit in Canada for Michelle Wright.
“Thanks For The G Chord” was recorded by John Michael Montgomery. “She’ll Go On You” appears on Josh Turner’s Long Black Train project.
Some of his most recent cuts are “Gravity” that he co-wrote with Josh Turner, “Travelin’ Soul” was recorded by Terri Clark, and “Free Bird In A Firebird” on Heartland. Also, look for Josh Turner’s Live From The Ryman CD at all Cracker Barrell stores. Included in the package is “Gravity” and “She’ll Go On You”. “The Way He Was Raised” co-written with Josh Turner and Bobby Tomberlin appears on Josh’s “Everything Is Fine” project.
And that’s just a few! Come out and hear what else Mark has up his sleeve.

Tonja Rose

If you ask Tonja to recall her earliest vocal performance she would take you back to a little blonde haired, blue eyed girl singing “Jesus on the Mainline.” From the first time that three year old little girl stepped on stage to sing with her Daddy and his gospel quartet anyone who knew Tonja would tell you that music WAS her destiny.
It was her love of performing and a hope of pursuing a career in music that gave Tonja the courage to move to Nashville and chase her dreams. Fueled by the love and support of her family she packed up and began the journey. Tonja quickly realized the ups and downs that go along with trying to break into the music business. No stranger to hard work she concentrated on developing her skill as a vocalist and though she fought it at first, fell in love with the art of songwriting.
For Tonja writing is not just about the next big hit, it is much more personal than that. “I want my words to touch people’s hearts,” Tonja says, “I want my songs to have a positive effect on people and give them exactly what they need when they need it. It’s that kind of emotional connection with my audience that keeps me loving what I do!”

Baillie And The Boys

“Whether you are a performing artist or a housewife, the more you do what you do, that”s how you become who you are. Believe in what you do, or you won’t ever “become”.
The group “Baillie And The Boys” recorded and released their first single entitled “Oh Heart” which became the group’s first top ten hit and their trademark song. They followed with five more albums to score a total of 10 BillBoard Top 10 country hits-many of which were co-written by Kathie Baillie and were recognized with awards and nominations from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and the TNN/Music City News Awards. In 1991, Kathie co-hosted the nationally televised Music City News Awards Show with legendary Nashville performers Ray Stevens and Jimmy Dean. She was also a co-host and a regular performer on The Nashville Network’s Yesteryear show for two consecutive seasons.
She continues to peform with her husband Michael Bonagura and is a Swallow At The Hollow favorite. Come hear great harmonies, road stories and meet some of the nicest people Nashville has to offer.

 Corinne Chapman

 She opened for legendary Don Williams and plays often around town (Nashville, that is). She has played on nationally syndicated radio shows such as “Billy Block’s Western Beat” and successful internet X Radio. She was picked as the local artist spotlight in November of 2005 on KFRG and has played in Chicago, Chattanooga, Nashville, LA, Santa Ynez, San Francisco, among many other cities across the nation.

 “I was feeling a little down and missing home and the beach the day I sat down with Brian Maher and Ford Turrell.  We all wanted to write something that felt free and light to get us out of our funk.  Someone made a comment about how wonderful it would be to walk down a sandy beach and that ended up being our first line. “Walking down a white sandy beach…” and it just fell out.  Ford was about to get married too- so it turned into a love song.”

Having co-witten with the amazing songwriter Paul Overstreet  collaborations with producer Russ Zavitson, her very own album is a reflection of her exposure to these great men.
And she is warm, gracious and beautiful to boot!!!

Stacy Donahue 

A multi-dimensional artist, her passion for singing may only be matched by her enthusiasm for songwriting. It was with a song she wrote herself that she was selected as a finalist from the Chicago area to compete and perform in the Colgate Country Showdown at Country Thunder 2004 in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Stacy outperformed all other individual performers, taking third place behind two band acts. Nashville was waiting.

She spent two years playing gigs down on Broadway before deciding to truly take control of her career. While many singers in Nashville are content to make due with the talent they have, Stacy has chosen to take time off from the stage to hone her skills. I recently read a quote that said “the only way to predict the future is to create it, Stacy says. “And that’s exactly what I’m doing every single day.