Tag: Darren Parry

OUT TODAY: The Grand Cru share single, ’17’

If you were going to ask what songwriting team have individually toured the world  performing, written for The Korgis, Cliff Richard, Slash, Meatloaf, had their songs  played on BBC Radio 2, supported Celine Dion, played Jesus on the West End stage, performed sell out shows in theatres around the UK, have won some of the most prestigious songwriting awards in the world and now are writing a song about feeling 17 again! There would only be one name on that list… THE GRAND CRU!

International songwriting team The Grand Cru (comprising of Welsh and American talent) have a brand new single waiting to be embraced by the listeners entitled ’17’ (featuring The Grand Cru member Darren Parry on lead vocal duties) which comes from their 8 track album… ‘September 11 – Music To Heal Your Soul’.

This catchy, memorable, upbeat, Country/Americana influenced track was co-written between three well known Welsh male singer/songwriters and a sassy, female US (Floridian) songwriter.

The Grand Cru includes ex Jesus Christ Superstar lead, Steve Balsamo (who’s written for Slash, Meatloaf, Cliff Richard) and ex member of  The Story’s and Balsamo/Deighton. Also on ‘The Cru’ is multi-award winning Welsh singer/songwriter Darren Parry, who’s a former UK Songwriting Contest winner, Billboard, Unisong, ISSA and USA Song Of The Year award winner (who has co-written with The Korgis, Dan and Laura Curtis and others). The third Welshman is Rhondda’s multi-talented Lee Gilbert who is an acclaimed singer /actor. His 25 year career has spanned from theatre, radio and TV work which runs alongside his very busy music career.

The fourth member and brainchild of ‘The Cru’ is Florida based Bonnie Skop, whose family has a long history in music; including her Dad managing Ted Nugent and Bob Seger in their early days! The Grand Cru get their name from the French words… meaning “a wine of the most superior grade”. These songwriters are certainly that!

Darren says of the latest offering: “Steve, Lee, Bonnie and I wrote “17” predominantly on Zoom over the last 6 months or so, we wanted it to have an all American kinda feel to it”. Darren continues: ”We wanted to write something that encapsulated the excitement and emotion of falling in love as a teenager, reminiscing about a time gone by when love captured your heart and the emotions of youth”.

’17’ is the second single from their album following on from single, ‘I Was There’, which was shown on the big screen for the National Guard (EANGUS) 9/11 Remembrance  Gala at The One World Trade Centre building in New York on 11th Sept this year  for a star – studded event, hosted by Kelsey Grammer (Frasier).

’17’ is was released today (8th November) on all good music platforms. Have a listen below…

Connect with The Grand Cru via:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/p/the-grand-cru-61565108634490/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/the_grand_cru_songwriters_/

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Song of the Day: I Was There – The Grand Cru

International award-winning songwriting team, THE GRAND CRU (comprising of Welsh and American talent) have shared a brand new album, entitled ‘September 11th – Music To Heal Your Soul’.

The Grand Cru includes ex Jesus Christ Superstar lead, Steve Balsamo (who’s written for Slash, Meatloaf, Cliff Richard) and ex member of The Story’s and Balsamo/Deighton. Also on ‘The Cru’ is multi-award winning Welsh singer/songwriter Darren Parry who’s a former UK Songwriting Contest winner, Billboard, Unisong, ISSA and USA Song Of The Year award winner (who’s co-written with The Korgis, Dan and Laura Curtis and others).

The third Welshman is Rhondda’s multi-talented Lee Gilbert who is an acclaimed singer /actor. His 25 yr career has spanned from Theatre, Radio and TV work which runs alongside his very busy music career. The fourth member and brainchild of ‘The Cru’ is Florida based Bonnie Skop, who’s family has a long history in music; including her Dad managing Ted Nugent and Bob Seger in their early days! The Grand Cru get their name from the French words… meaning “a wine of the most superior grade”. These songwriters are certainly that!

100% of the net proceeds from the sale of the album go to support the Enlisted Association Of The National Guard of The United States (EANGUS). EANGUS is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the status, welfare and professionalism of Enlisted members of the National Guard and has a constituency base of over 450,000 soldiers and airmen, their families, as well as over 350,000
retired members/veterans.

Darren says… “Steve, Lee, Bonnie and I have written the album predominantly on Zoom over the last two years or so having been approached by The National Guard via a contact of Bonnie’s in the US. We have donated six of our songs to the cause but have written bespoke songs including “I Was There””.

Steve says…‘I Was There’ is a very emotional song about the morning of 9/11 in New York. The song focuses on three different characters… one female character is going to work in New York that morning, another character is a guy taking a flight from New Jersey to San Francisco”. Lee continues… “the third character is a child who fortunately sleeps late so he’s not on time for school. You’ve gotta listen to it, it’s a real emotional rollercoaster of a song”!

‘I Was There’ was performed by The Cru for the EANGUS 9/11 Remembrance Gala at The One World Trade Centre building in New York on 11th September this year for a star-studded event, hosted by Kelsey Grammer (of hit show Frasier).

‘I Was There’ and ‘September 11th – Music To Heal Your Soul’ album are out now. Why not watch the video for the emotive single, featuring the three Welsh talent.

Connect with The Grand Gru:
http://www.darrenparry.com
http://www.stevebalsamomusic.com
http://www.leegilbertmusic.co.uk

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Steve Balsamo shares stunning Christmas ballad, ‘Snow Angels’.

STEVE BALSAMO needs no introduction to those who love great voices in the music world! Steve has toured the world, performed with and written for household names and was initially known for his superb rendition of Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.

His new single, ‘Snow Angels’ is a lush, heartfelt Christmas Pop ballad, co-written with fellow Welshman, multi-award winning singer/songwriter Darren Parry and the young, English talent of singer/songwriter Josh Gleaves.

Steve says of his latest ballad, “Darren, Josh and I actually wrote the song on Zoom about 2 yrs ago, during the lockdown periods. I initially had the song title and a bit of a melody and we worked on the song over about 2 or 3 sessions online. The song was written pretty quick”. Steve adds… “Darren and I did a rough guitar version recorded into our phones at first, before Josh did an acoustic version in the studio in London a little while later.”

Steve continues… “It was only very recently that we had the very talented Andrew Griffiths (AGM Productions) produce this new studio version with a gorgeous, lush, orchestral type arrangement. I put down the lead vocal at Andrew’s studio (in the Swansea Valley) and Darren, Andrew and I did all the backing vocals/harmonies you hear, including the ‘choir’!”.

The title takes the imagery of ‘snow angels’ (the shape that people can make in the snow when they lie down) and uses it as a metaphor to tell the story of a relationship between two people at Christmas time.

Steve has written past songs for Slash, Meatloaf, Cliff Richard, toured with Jon Lord (of Deep Purple fame), formed the band The Story’s (who toured with Celine Dion and Elton John), was part of Balsamo/Deighton (an Americana duo with Rosalie Deighton) and more recently part of Balsamo/Collins/Riley with Andy Collins and Pete Riley.

Darren’s achievements include… 2004 UK Songwriting Champion (beating 6000 entries from around the globe), 2014/2016 USA Song Of The Year contest runner up (judges included Gwen Stefani, Don Henley and Phil Collins), 2019 ISSA Awards International Male Vocalist Of The Year, 2021 ISSA Awards International Male Songwriter Of The Year Silver Crystal Award winner and multiple other awards from Billboard and Unisong, to name but a few! Darren has co-written songs with hit songwriters like James Warren (The Korgis, “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”), Dazzle Music (Charlotte Church) and many others.

Young Josh is a 21 yr old award winning singer/songwriter from London, nicknamed ‘The Heartbreak Kid’! He lives and breathes his passion for music and started writing and performing from just 10 years old. Despite still only being 21, the sound of his guitar alongside his raw and ethereal vocals have filled venues all over the U.K. for over 8 years. During that time, Josh has established his own unique Country/Americana style and sound, guaranteed to draw a crowd wherever he plays!

This collaboration between three great singer/songwriters and the production talents of Andrew Griffiths has them manifest an earworm, contemporary, Christmas Pop ballad that also manages to hark back/take inspiration from the classic Christmas songs of old, such as ‘A Winter’s Tale’ by David Essex. The song beautifully shows off the softer side of Steve’s world class, 4 octave vocal range and deserves to become a new Christmas classic for our modern times!

‘Snow Angels’ was released on last Tuesday, 28th November…why not get into the festive spirit and have a listen below…

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Interview with Darren Parry

Award-winning adult contemporary singer/songwriter DARREN PARRY takes his turn in the NLM interview seat as his single, ‘Feels Like The World’s Stopped Turning’, scooped the Song of the Month Title back in April. So find out what he been up to and his plans for the year. Let me tell you, he’s been really utilising his time during lockdown – so upcomers, you might learn a thing or two on how to make a name for yourself during these trying times!

NLM: Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. What have you been up to?

DP: Hi Tracey/New Lease Music, thanks so much for having me. I’ve been up to about 5 foot 8 recently! Ha ha, sorry, couldn’t resist!

I’ve been keeping busy, before and during the lockdown. I’ve been co-writing some songs over the last few months. I wrote a lovely song called “Broken” (as yet unreleased) with the great James Warren (of The Korgis). James wrote the massive worldwide hit “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” (covered by Beck, Erasure, Yazz, Queen and Baby D etc.) and had a ballad hit with The Korgis called “If I Had You”. We wrote the song together (“Broken”) and James sang it… we’re looking for Publishing or maybe a Nashville sort of artist to cover it as it has a ballad/country vibe. I’m pitching it at the moment.

I’ve also started a new podcast the last few months called ‘Music Matters’ where I interview singers, songwriters, producers, actors, comedians, presenters etc. about what music means to them and how music has affected their lives (www.anchor.fm/darren-parry). So far I’ve interviewed… Steve Balsamo (Jesus Christ Superstar), Juan Lozano (singer/songwriter) and Lee Gilbert (great vocalist/performer). It’s on hold at the moment as we need to be in the same room really to get good audio quality. Lots more people lined up though after lockdown!

I’ve released the new single as you know “Feels Like The World’s Stopped Turning” and I wrote a song for Lee Gilbert called “Take Me As I Am” (released soon). I’ve been co-writing via Zoom during the lockdown. I’ve written a song with Steve Balsamo that I’m very eager to record. We’ve written it with a certain artist in mind, can’t say yet as that artist doesn’t even know we’re gonna pitch it to them! Ha ha. Working via Zoom is new for me (Steve was my first Zoom co-write) but Steve is fantastic; he’s written for Cliff Richard, Meatloaf and Slash, a great talent. I also wrote another song with a friend called Gareth Lewis (singer/songwriter) who was doing a ’26 songs in 26 days’ challenge… to write 26 original, new songs for ‘Mind’ (suicide awareness charity). We wrote a cool song and posted it on social media (like he has for all the other songs he’s done) and so far he’s raised 177% of his justgiving.com target for the charity, which is fantastic.

NLM: You released your single ‘Feels Like The World’s Stopped Turning’ featuring Sian Elson back in March (named Song of the Month by the blog in April). Have you received other accolades on the single?

DP: Thank you so much for the mention of the single and for making it ‘Song Of The Month’, your support is always greatly appreciated. The song was very well received, with having been put onto 45 or so playlists on Spotify, play on BBC Radio Wales (and other radio stations around the world) and mentions in… Entertainment South Wales, VIRI AOR, Fresh Out Of The Booth, MuzicNotez, Music Trails, MTV Rock and Stereo Stickman blog. Of course… my favourite mention was in New Lease Music :)

NLM: The single features singer Sian Elson. How did you guys meet and who sparked the collaboration for ‘Feels Like The World’s Stopped Turning’?

DP: The song was a funny one for me as I was working on it off and on for about 2 yrs. I recorded the basic track but then would leave it for a bit, come back to it, do a bit more, leave it and so on. The reason why I had gaps with the song was because it was a very personal song for me with a lot of meaning and to be honest… I wasn’t sure if I wanted to record and release it at all! After some thought though… I decided… I have to get this out there! Sian is a female singer in a band/another project I am part of, we do corporate events and big parties, big weddings etc. I’ve been in the band with Sian for about 8 yrs now and she has an amazing voice, a real Soul/Rock/Pop sorta Pat Benatar edge to her voice which was perfect for this song… I think she did a great job.

NLM: For anyone who is unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your sound and what inspire you to produce your songs?

DP: I suppose my stuff is mainly Rock/Pop but with maybe a twist of Country at times. I’ve written all types of songs, from R&B to Rock, Soul, Pop, Country, Christmas songs and even EDM but mainly adult contemporary sorta stuff, some might say AOR (Adult Orientated Rock). If you like Richard Marx, Michael Bolton, Michael McDonald, Paul Carrack, Don Henley and Stereophonics… you may like my songs :)

NLM: Has the current climate (CoVid19 pandemic) and lockdown affected you as an artist?

DP: Yes, live gigs have been cancelled sadly and I can’t go to the studio and record but I’ve been busy online via Zoom as I said writing some new stuff. I’ve also been using Zoom with another project I’m part of called ‘Black Mountain’ (male vocal harmony group). There’s 10 male singers and we sing contemporary songs these days… we’ve been rehearsing in sections (i.e. bass, baritone etc.). As people may know… it’s almost impossible for a few people to keep in time singing to music via Zoom (due to internet connections/latency/time delay) but it’s been quite therapeutic and we do what we can… at least we’re getting together and trying to make the best of a bad situation!

I’ve been putting out some live songs of mine and some covers (online from my living room) too on my Facebook, Insta etc. So far, covers wise… I’ve done a bit of Whitesnake, Ben E. King, Richard Marx, Jackson Browne, Bill Withers and others. Any requests, people can get in touch! I’ve also been giving away some FREE downloads on my website to stimulate people’s interest and give something back to people who like my music and support me.

NLM:  What advice would you give to new artists who are trying to get noticed in these challenging times?

DP: I think artists should just do what they love and follow their heart; just try to produce/write the best songs they can… in whatever genre they’re in. You have to have a passion for it, there’s no point in trying to get thousands of Instragram likes or re-tweets, or Facebook likes or whatever if there isn’t genuinely good music/passion behind the hype/illusion of popularity.

It’s easier than ever to get music out there these days, with many people self-releasing (with no need for record companies as such), but because of this,  there is a LOT of noise out there and it’s hard to break through it. However, believe in yourself and your music and anything is possible, it’s about positive mental attitude. Many times what you think… will be, what you think will manifest itself as reality! If you believe it will happen then hopefully you can magnetically attract the Universe to you and what you need.

It’s easy to get sidetracked and down about the music industry sometimes but if you want it… just keep going, don’t give up if it’s really what you want to do. Get your music out there on as many platforms as possible, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, ReverbNation, MusicLinkUp (new and could be good for making connections). Do some covers of songs you love and get em up on Youtube, TikTok, whatever… to gain some traction and then introduce people to your own music is one way of doing it. Very important… get yourself a website (doesn’t have to be fancy) and a mailing list to connect with your fans :)

NLM: If there was ONE mainstream artist you would like to spend time with during the lockdown period, who would it be and why?

DP: Michael McDonald is a big hero of mine. Maybe the best ever live show I’ve seen was Michael at The Royal Albert Hall, circa 2003. I’d love to sit down and just pick his brain on songwriting and chord construction etc… he’s a legend and very humble it seems! Still sounding kick-ass too!

NLM: So what are your plans for the rest of the year?

DP: Plans are to continue to write songs, on my own and via Zoom of course (not much choice, ha ha). I’m also pitching songs to Nashville a lot and for media/TV/Film opportunities which keeps my days busy. Hopefully we can get back to performing live towards the Autumn, that would be good, there’s nothing quite like being in front of an audience for a performer. Be fantastic to see theatres, clubs, pubs etc. getting back on their feet by Christmas. Hopefully I can get back to my podcast by the end of the Summer as I have Chris Needs MBE (BBC Radio Wales) and Boyd Clack (comedy actor/writer BBC Satellite City, BBC High Hopes) lined up to record an interview with me. Lots of others too I’m working on! I’m definitely missing human interaction… it’s not quite the same via the net/phone is it!

NLM: How can potential fans contact you?

DP:I’m on: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darrenparrymusic
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/darrenparry
Insta: http://www.instagram.com/darrenparryphotos
Website: http://www.darrenparry.com

NLM:  Finally, if music did not exist, what profession would you do?

DP: When I was a kid and teenager I was obsessed by golf. I got to a pretty good level and wanted to turn pro eventually. I’d love to be a professional golfer if music wasn’t around. Nick Faldo was my hero and talking of attracting the Universe to you with positive mental attitude… I actually met him and spoke to him briefly which was a thrill. I’m just a frustrated golfer now who doesn’t play that much, but still love it… I never throw my clubs these days though! :) The venue coulda been better though, I spoke to Nick in a toilet in the woods of Wentworth Golf Club! Now I think of it, I’ve spoken to many people in toilets… Faldo, Ant & Dec, Trevor Sorbie! Stories for another time maybe! Ha ha.

Thanks for having me. Stay safe and well Tracey and the same to all your readers.

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Christmas Song: Don’t Need Nothing Else This Christmas – Darren Parry

DARREN PARRY delivers the first Xmas song on NEW LEASE MUSIC titled ‘Don’t Need Nothing Else This Christmas’. The soft rock/pop number is now available on all download/streaming sites – so grab yourself a copy for the festive season!

For now, watch the chirpy video for the single below:

 

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