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	BENJAMIN WAGNER
	BOB HILLMAN
	THE HEROES
	DICK PRALL
	JASON LEVASSEUR
	JERRY CHAPMAN
	JON PETER LEWIS
	JOSH DAVIS BAND
	THE NADAS
	SHARON DOCHERTY
	TOWNCRIER
	TYLER THOMPSON BAND


	VARIOUS ARTISTS BROWSE STORE

Authentic Records
121 12th St.
Des Moines, Ia
(515) 243-1485
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Based in Chicago and born in Iowa, singer/songwriter Dick Prall comes to his easygoing ñ and sometimes goofy ñ manner quite naturally. In person, heís charming, often peppering his conversations with clever asides wherever possible. Though he readily admits to enjoying the embrace of company, it was Prallís exploration of what he calls ìautonomyî that brought a whole new spin to his latest work, released on Authentic Records.
Though always quick to praise the musicians who help fuel his sharp, observational songwriting, Prall found himself turning away from the madness of crowds as he began work on his fourth album. No longer surrounded by the familiar, one might have expected Prall to write songs that explore all his inner demons. Instead, he found comfort in being alone, and sought to preserve that intimacy. The product of that exploration is Weightless.

There's a restless energy coursing throughout the album, in part because of an immediacy of sound attributable to a change in Prall's usual recording style. "Rather than tracking all the instruments and then me coming in and laying my vocals down in sort of a 'studio karaoke' kind of way," he says, "I recorded my guitar and vocal parts first and then we built the song around those." This method allowed him to work at a feverish pace, writing half the album's songs after the band began tracking it, "which is unheard of for me." "Some of the songs ñ 'I Took A Life,' 'B&W,' 'Devils' ñ are about some less-than-attractive characters who don't necessarily feel held down by any guilt or real regret for their actions," Prall says.

All this again hints at dark places and angst, but clever turns of phrase keep the whole production from drifting into an exercise in navel-gazing. A song about a dissolving relationship is titled "The Cornflake Song," evoking just a hint of a smirk. Sidewalks are told to behave, and on the muscle-bound "Side By Side," a lover is accused of "talking out your eyes," though the way Prall sneers the last word leaves it sounding more like the part of your body that's used for sitting, not seeing.
Prall has said that he relishes the very act of singing, and as he tours behind Weightless, one expects him to find a renewed sense of enthusiasm for crowds, finding that same old energy again. In the past, his albums have taken years to come into being. But now that he's found the same fire in an empty room, perhaps one can hope not just for his usual quality, but an increase in quantity as well.

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New Benjamin Wagner Christmas CD "A Family Holiday" benefits 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students. Check it out here.

2007 Downloads

Dick Prall's Weightless now available.

The Nadas Planetarium will be releasing on Oct 17, 2007 in both DVD and iPod versions. There will be a release party at the Science Center in Des Moines, IA.

New Josh Davis Band record, BLUEBIRD, is now available for download here.

New Tyler Thompson Band Album, Cold Cuts, now available
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The Josh Davis Band: Bluebird NEW	The Nadas: Goodnight Girl iPod Download NEW	Towncrier: The End & Everything After	Dick Prall Weightless NEW	The Nadas: Planetarium Video DVD and iPod versions	Tyler Thompson Band: Cold Cuts NEW	Jerry Chapman: Put Me Together	Jon Peter Lewis: Stories From Hollywood NEW	The Nadas: Transceiver "Walk Away" from PINKS