Bridges Out Of Eden

Bridges Out Of Eden Release Powerful Debut CD
By Ernie Smothers
smothers@mckenziebanner.com
(CD cover photo and additional article information courtesy Chris Fox)
Photo-Bridges Out Of Eden CD cover.

PARIS (April 22) During a telephone interview with The McKenzie Banner, Bridges Out Of Eden bassist and group concert promoter Chris Fox said, "I am proud to announce that our band has released its first CD entitled, "Break Me Down."

Regarding production of the CD, Fox said, "The recording sessions were produced by Michael Paragone at Nashville's legendary "House of Blues Studios". I was impressed with his willingness to suggest changes and involve himself creatively in the arranging and recording process. The mixing of the tracks and subsequent mastering of this CD is absolutely top-notch."

He continued, "I have been in a lot of bands and played on a lot of recording sessions during my musical career, but this was my first experience on a professional level. It was an amazing and eye-opening process. I learned that creating great musical tracks require a lot of time. Michael and the guys at "House of Blues" put a lot of painstaking effort into listening, tracking and mixing each song. Their vast recording skills and technological knowledge proved crucial in our successfully delivering a consistently-professional and complete body of work from intro notes to final fade."

Regarding group songwriters Brandon Melton of Camden and Jeremy Thompson of Paris, Fox said, "Brandon and Jeremy collaborated to write ten songs that appear on "Break Me Down". Although just released on April 15, the CD is already garnering attention from the local public and Nashville music industry professionals."

He continued, "Brandon (Melton) began to play guitar at age 14 and by age 16 was an accomplished singer, songwriter and guitar player. At age 18, his burgeoning talent landed him in the top 50 in a field of over 3,000 contestants in 2006's Nashville Star competition." He added, "Playing guitar since age 12, Jeremy (Thompson) realized early on that his love for music was all-encompassing. Jeremy cites southern rock and blues artists Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey as early musical influences."

During a prior interview, Melton said, "I knew that all of the circumstances surrounding my life and the way I met Jeremy and how we crossed paths later was not coincidental. One night I'm on his doorstep as a stranger at midnight performing music for him and his family and the rest, as they say, is history." He said, "You couldn't make that kind of thing up if you tried. It was awesome how this came to be."

Thompson added, "You sometimes don't know why things have to be so hard or why you always seem to make the wrong decisions or mess up the best things in your life, but later in life you wake up and realize that you go through these things to shape you into being able to share your experiences with others. Experiences shape you."

Other musicians who played on the CD include Chris Fox of Bruceton and Erik Dunn and Rob Mead of Paris.

Bridges Out of Eden's musical sound draws comparisons to current premier bands such as Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and Alice In Chains. Lyrically, the CDs inspired and heartfelt songwriting is reflective of Bob Seger and Ronnie Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd).

Upon listening to "Break Me Down" in its entirety, David Preston of BMI / Nashville said. "If those songs aren't radio-friendly, then I don't know what is!"

Regarding the magnificent artwork gracing the bands' CD cover, Fox said, "Well that leads to an interesting story... I was hiking in East Tennessee one weekend and introduced myself during the hike to this guy named Mike Shannon. As we walked along, I asked Mike what he did for a living. He said he was a computer graphic designer and artist. He told me that he had designed artwork for some major national companies like OfficeMax, Coca-Cola, Haggar Clothing Company, BellSouth, and Kodak."

He added, "I started telling him about the band and he became interested in us. A little later into the hike, I asked him if he might be interested in designing the cover art for our Bridges Out Of Eden CD. Thinking about what I had just asked and the potential cost that might be incurred, I asked Mike how much it would cost us to have him do the cover art. He told me he would do the artwork and would think about what to charge us later on."

He said, "To date, I haven't received a bill from Mike for the CD cover art. His beautiful artistic contribution may end up being a "labor of love". It is truly inspired work."

Bridges Out of Eden's stellar CD was released by Blur Records and is available for purchase on cdbaby.com (http://cdbaby.com/cd/bridgesoutofeden ) and will soon be available on iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon.

Band link: http://bridgesoutofeden.com, and http://myspace.com/bridgesoutofeden

The CD is also available for purchase from band members at the reduced cost of $10.98.
- McKenzie Banner

At 25, Chris Fox shattered part of his hand in a company softball game. So he sold his bass guitar and his equipment.

"I thought, I'm going to sell everything I got because I'll never be able to play like I used to," Fox said, looking back.

But years later his son became a musician, turning to Fox when his band needed a bass player. After five years playing together, his son moved to Atlanta, leaving Fox again without a musical outlet.

Fox began playing in churches around West Tennessee to fill the void, and it was at a church in Paris where Fox met guitar player Jeremy Thompson. Soon after, with the addition of lead singer Brandon Melton, and alternating drummers Rob Mead and Erik Dunn, Bridges Out of Eden was formed.

The band is now promoting its debut CD "Break Me Down," recorded at Nashville's House of Blues Studios. Although the band has heard fans compare them to bands such as Nickelback and 3 Doors Down, Fox said their goal is to create unique music.

"Most people just say, to be perfectly honest with you, you guys don't sound like anybody," Fox said. "You kind of have your own unique sound that's a blend of different bands, and to a certain degree, different genres. And I think that's why people have kind of latched on to us. Because we're not the same cookie cutter sound like every other band out there."

House of Blues Studios Manager Mike Paragone — and recording engineer on the band's album — said it was interesting to see the band, which came to him with no professional studio recording experience, evolve as musicians.

"They wanted to get it right," Paragone said. "It was, 'Let's not just make a record for the sake of making a record. Let's make a record that really shows our stuff, and really captures what we are, and who we are and what these songs mean to us.'"

"I do know the music we created, and the CD that was created, really shows off their talent, and really shows off their spirit and really shows off the desire they have," he said.

Fox said the band " chose to create a commercially viable CD that sounds just a good, and is just as loud and looks just as good on the cover as anything you'd buy in Wal-Mart, Best Buy or anything," Fox said.

So far the band has sold about 400 copies. Fox said in addition to working on landing airtime at various radio stations, the group is preparing for a possible tour later this summer and is heading to a Florida studio to begin recording their second album.

Copies of "Break Me Down" can be purchased at cdbaby.com, amazon.com or by calling 415-7315.

Bridges Out of Eden is playing a free show at the Main Street Youth Center, 513 S. 4th St., in Murray, Ky., on May 29. The event is free and open to the public. - The Jackson Sun

Hi Chris. Appreciate you giving me a copy of your CD to review.

Awesome sound, and yet it sounds very produceable. Love the song selection. You have accomplished the goal of retaining that sweet alternative rock sound without sounding "formulated" at all. Most modern rock artists have been told what to play, but your band's sound is not the same cookie cutter approach. About the time that I "know what you sound like", the next song goes off in a totally different direction. Don't ever let a record label steal that from you or talk the band into "trying to sound like everyone else." As you move forward into your next CD, be careful not to get stuck playing too many similar songs. You have to definitely throw a monkey wrench in there as a wild card track. Brandon hits those high notes like a champ. You're right -- he's a knockout and destined for greatness. By the way, track seven's going to hit the radio soon enough!

Love the engineer's mix and the sound of the drummer's high-hats and cymbals are pure sex. Michael Paragone is obviously a God, because his talent really shines on the CD. - Zach Brown, Music Critic (New Orleans)