BUENA PARK, CA (November 12, 2004) — Yamaha Corporation of America's Artist Relations Division announced today the signing of endorsement deals with several artists.
Robert Randolph, a gifted steel guitar player, joined band mate Jason Crosby as a member of the Yamaha family. Randolph's talents are highly in demand as a guest artist with several musical acts; he will be appearing on forthcoming records from North Mississippi Allstars, Ozzy Osbourne, Ringo Starr, Soulive and Sawyer Brown. Randolph signed with Yamaha and will be using a
Motif ES8 in the studio to produce his upcoming album.
While Celine Dion's latest hit "A New Day Has Come" scored her a hit, it also cemented
Stephan Moccio's reputation as a gifted songwriter. Moccio recently joined the Yamaha family, citing the
DC7A Pro as his instrument of choice. Moccio is a young, classically-trained musician based in Toronto, who has written and produced several Canadian hits, and is now venturing into America. The list of artists he has worked with include Sarah Brightman, Sawyer Brown, Marc Jordan and *NSYNC's J.C. Chasez.
Popular pianist
Lorie Line, a Reno, Nev., native and Minneapolis resident, has released more than 20 CDs, selling over 5 million copies of her own written and/or arranged material. The pianist first started arranging music using a Yamaha
Clavinova to produce the sounds she was aiming for with instruments other than the piano. Line now plays her signature brand of elaborate arrangements with the help of her Pop Chamber Orchestra in extravagant shows across the country. Her 2004 Holiday Extravaganza, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, will play more than 40 shows across 20 cities featuring traditional classic Christmas standards. She will be using Yamaha
C6 and
C7's.
Aaron Parks is catching the kind of buzz that any young musician would dream of. A 20-year-old jazz pianist, Parks has been compared to a young Stevie Wonder in terms of musical genius. With four CDs to his credit, this Cole Porter Fellow was named the top young (18-30 year olds) jazz pianist in the U.S. in 2001. Upon signing with Yamaha, Parks will rely on
Yamaha pianos for all his shows and recordings.
Cowboy Crush, an all-girl country band, features keyboardist
Becky Priest, a gifted player whose list of acts she's played with reads as a who's-who of country music. From Trisha Yearwood to Patty Loveless, Priest has more than 20 years of playing experience before joining her current, promising band. Cowboy Crush has just signed with Asylum/Curb records, and Priest will be using the Yamaha Motif series during their recording sessions and on tour.
Late in September, Yamaha added
Pete Mosely to their list of artists. Mosely, the bass player for the punk band Yellowcard, will be using Yamaha pianos in his songwriting process.
Yamaha
Guitars has signed
Paul Trinidad and
Mick Shivers both of Love .45. Trinidad will be playing Yamaha's
AES920 and the
APX9C, while Shivers will use the
AES620 and the LJX6. El Pus'
Anthony Durham signed on to play a
TRB1005.
Marvin McQuitty also will be playing the TRB1005. Producer
Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver and Staind) will be using Yamaha's
SA2200.
Yamaha Drums inked
Bogie Bowles in October. Now touring as Kenny Wayne Shepherd's drummer, Bowles (originally from southeast North Carolina) studied at the LA Music Academy and played in a band called "My Precious Days". After meeting Shepherd two years ago, Bowles got his shot, and is now on tour with the band.
Yamaha's Band and Orchestral division signed two percussionists this month.
Norm Freeman of Goleta, Calif., is a timpanist with the New York Pops, while
Chip Ross of Rochester, N.Y., is also a timpanist, playing with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Yamaha Artist family encompasses more than 3,500 artists, including Grammy®, Oscar® and Tony® winners, members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame®, current superstars and upcoming acts.
For more information on Yamaha Corporation of America's Artist Affairs division, please contact Tiffany Napper at
tnapper@yamaha.com. Yamaha's ever-growing list of artists can be viewed by going to
www.yamahaartists.com.
