Johnny Napp

By Dustin Dopirak
Thursday, June 9, 2005

He's not fat. He's not ugly. And he doesn't have unsightly pimples. That - combined with a sweet voice - has turned James Madison basketball player John Naparlo into a budding country music singer.

Naparlo, whose stage name is Johnny Napp, will open for Big Al Downing at the 3,500-capacity Norva in Norfolk on July 1, the same day his debut album, "Cowboy Up and Party Down," is expected to hit stores.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," Naparlo said this week from his home in Williamsburg. "It hasn't really hit me, but it's getting closer and closer."

That show will only be a warm-up for bigger things, however. On Aug. 27, Naparlo is scheduled to open for renowned country music "outlaw" David Allan Coe, again at the Norva.

The 37-year country music veteran Cow, whose best-known song is "Take This Job and Shove It," isn't exactly the sort of family entertainment that makes image-conscious college athletic officials beam, but there's no doubt that performing with him is a huge step for a no-name singer like Naparlo.

It's awesome in the early stages that we are trying to do some stuff like this," Naparlo said. "It's going to be awesome to be able to put that on the resume, and that David Allan Coe is willing to put me on there."
A Ricky Nelson Voice?

But according to Doc Holiday, Naparlo's producer, the 21-year-old has talent, and Holiday's word apparently carries clout in the country music business. Albums he has produced have earned 17 first-round Grammy nominations. He is especially well-known in the Tidewater area, home of his Power Plant Studio in Hampton."His voice is great," Holiday said of Naparlo. "He sounds a lot like Tim McGraw, but it's got a little softer edge to it that kind of reminds you of Ricky Nelson…. Plus, he's a great-looking kid, and it's a cosmetic business whether you like it or not. Fat and ugly guys with pimples are not going to get it done. Holiday didn't have to discover Naparlo. The 6-foot-3, 180 pound shooting guard's father, Joseph, took him to Holiday's doorstep.

"His father's a character," Holiday said. "He came right in the door at our studio in Hampton a couple of years ago and said, 'I'm Joe Naparlo, this is what I want to do.' I said, 'Well we don't really do that; we only work with major artists.' He said, 'Well, my kid's going to be one of them.'" Holiday eventually came to agree and pulled as many strings as he could to help Naparlo put together an album when Naparlo decided to begin work on the project at the end of last summer. The CD was recorded over a six-month period - between Naparlo's classes and game - at the Quad Studios in Nashville, Tenn., considered one of the best in a city that defines country music.

Holiday recruited what he called "13 of the top songwriters in Nashville" to write Naparlo's songs and several accomplished musicians to accompany Naparlo on the album. Included were keyboardist Mark Jordan, who served as Wynonna Judd's conductor, David Roe, who played bass for Johnny Cash the last 14 years of the Man in Black's life, and drummer Craig Krampf, who has played on tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. The album was engineered by Bobby Bradley, who has worked with Alan Jackson and George Jones.

"I can't say enough about how much Doc hooked it up on the album," Naparlo said. "We had some prime time players on the instrumental."

The Coe Factor: The musicians will continue to play with Naparlo at the Norva. They'll be with him for the opening shows with Big Al Downing, who turned down a basketball at Kansas State to become a country singer, as well as the show with Coe in front of what will probably be a rowdy audience. "We had a talk about it," Holiday said. "I told him, 'You got to come out smoking. This guy's a maniac and he brings a biker crowd. They're going to want you to kick [butt]. He knows what he's gotta do."

For a white guy playing college basketball, opening with Coe also raises another question. Though Coe has been arguing for years that he is not racist, a series of albums released in the 1970s have earned him a reputation as such that sticks with him to this day.
Naparlo expects his teammates, most of whom are black, to understand that he is simply trying to get his name and his music in front of the public. "All of those guys know who I am and where I am trying to get," Naparlo said. "They respect me and I respect them. They know that I don't have the same beliefs as him just because I'm opening for him. I don't think it's going to be a problem at all." Said JMU coach Dean Keener: "I'm unaware of David Allan Coe's background, so I wouldn't be able to make a comment."

It should be noted that Downing, the first artist Naparlo will open for, is black. While most of the Dukes listen to hip-hop, at least one of Naparlo's teammates has been impressed by the album, which can be heard on his website, www.johnnynapp.com.
"I'm telling you, it's a great album," senior forward David Cooper said. "If you heard it, you wouldn't even believe it was him. I thought it was a celeb." Cooper said he's going to Naparlo's first show and is trying to bring as many teammates as possible.

"Quote me on this," Cooper said, "everybody that's anybody should be there."

Meanwhile, as Naparlo prepares for his debut, the accounting major also is working for his father's food company, N&R Dining, which runs several Burger King restaurants in the Tidewater area.

As for hoops, Naparlo is working out and looking for pickup games in preparation for his senior basketball season. He'll be trying to erase the memories of the slump that plagued him in his junior year, when he averaged just 1.8 points in 13.7 minutes per game, shooting under 26 percent from the field.

"Basketball and academics are still my primary focus," Naparlo said. "I doubt I'll do anything in basketball after this, but I still want to go out on a good note."
And start his music career on a good one as well.


- Daily News Record [Harrisonburg, VA]

Monday October 10, 2005
By Lola Sizemore

Johnny Napp is becoming one of the fastest popularity-growing singers at JMU, but come Monday morning, he is your average student and answers to the name John Naparlo during attendance.
Oh, and by the way, he also plays on the basketball team for JMU. And you thought your life was a little hectic.

One of the newest country singers on the scene is a senior marketing major at JMU and somehow is able to manage a huge plate of activities effortlessly. But I know some of you are wondering how this basketball player, who averages 15 points a game, is now getting ready to release a CD, Cowboy Up and Party Down, and work with people like Pamela Lewis, who has managed a few names in the business, like Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
"When I told people in Nashville I was working with [Lewis], they all were like, 'Wow,'" Napp said. He also opened for David Allen Coe in August at the Norva in Norfolk and is heading back there Oct. 13 with Jason Aldean. As for here in the 'Burg, Napp's music has just been starting to play on local radio stations like WXJM and his fan club has reached more than 300 members.

Napp has been taking guitar lessons for years, but it wasn't until at a recording session with Doc Holiday that he asked if this was something he could really pursue. "He said I had a chance and that's what pushed me into this," he said. His music has influences from all different genres, and his audience is composed of not just die-hard country fans. As for the idea of becoming a cross-over sensation, Napp has an appreciation for a mix of genres, such as the Nelly and Tim McGraw hit, "Over and Over," last year and likes the idea of a diverse audience.

Napp's family also has been playing a huge supportive role in his music career. His father worked out an arrangement to get advertising through JMaddy.com while his mother and two older sisters have been helping with hanging fliers and other ways of promotion. His sisters can also can be credited by influencing him at a young age by playing everything from country to rap and hip-hop.

Napp's promotional manager here at JMU, senior Nick Dulo, has been dedicated to promoting Johnny's talent with his business partner, Chad Franklin of The R Productions.
"Regardless of working for Johnny, I'd still be supporting him and wearing his T-shirt," said Dulo.

His influences - including Garth Brooks - shine through his music, as the style is upbeat and great for getting the party started. Like most musicians, Napp of course gets nervous before performances, but loves the feeling he gets while being on stage where his audience also provides encouragement. "I love looking out and feeding off of the audience," he said. "By the end of the song, they are singing along." While managing a 3.1 GPA, Napp also manages a busy schedule with shows, thankfully with the help and support of his teammates and friends.

"During the season, basketball comes first. Coach has always been so supportive and has let me explore my opportunities." He will be performing this Wednesday, Oct. 12 at the Pub for an 18+ show with songs from his CD, Cowboy Up and Party Down. Tickets can be purchased for $7 at the door and the CD can be purchased online at a later date.
- The Breeze [James Madison University]

By George Peden
February 2006

Determined, Johnny Napp is aiming high. Firmly fixed, his eye is keenly on the target. However, for this 22-year-old from Williamsburg, Virginia, we’re talking country music high, not the hoops he chases as a basketballer while studying accounting at James Madison University. Napp has just released his debut. Cowboy Up And Party Down, produced by Doc Holiday, is out on Mega International Records. Stoked with 16 tracks, for the singer who stands 6foot 3inches and strummed his first guitar at 10, the album is a childhood ambition delivered.

The album is out on the shelves, thanks to the keen ear and eye of his producer. With 17 Grammy nominations to his musical history, Holiday liked what he saw and heard after a chance meeting with the singer at a recording studio. Impressed enough to pull the strings of studio time in Nashville, Holiday also recruited some bankable songwriters, and, finally, some noted session players to smooth out the six-month schedule. The rest of the story plays out in the varied tracks.

“His voice is great,” Holiday recently has said. “He sounds a lot like Tim McGraw. But it’s a little softer edge to it that reminds you of Ricky Nelson. Plus, he’s a great -looking kid, and it’s a cosmetic business whether you like it or not.”

So, he’s good-looking. And the claim is he sings like McGraw, time to check out the album. Pleasing news: Beyond the rush of needed hype and Holiday’s approval, Johnny Napp delivers with a trail of hooky rockers, cryin’ towel weepers, and some smooth ballads, all carried with individual style and purpose. Running at just a tad under an hour, the album is value for money. Often, independent artists will mask their flaws by overcompensating with fillers, padded tracks and long indulgent guitar solos; thankfully, Napp doesn’t need to stuff those into the mix. If there is a failing, it’s there’s no lyric liner or details of songwriters.

Back to the music: The title track kicks. Made for disturbing the neighbours, the pounded piece rocks and vibrates with joyous fiddles, a drummer on a mission, and a host of back-up harmony lovelies. It’s out of the chute with a radio-friendly and show-stopping pull, and it could be the needed primer to make listeners into fans.

“How Hot Was It” is a sultry shuffle, while the politically sensitive, “Fight Like A Girl,” might claim some awkward looks, the reworked baby boomer memory and Tom Jones classic, “She’s A Lady”, is a breezy, softly stroked nightclub tune. It is a curious choice and out of place, considering it’s more cabaret than country in the version here; but as a showcase for versatility, it works. Just. The rest of the album swings between the accepted album fare of restraint and rock. “How Cool Is That” is an interesting closer, exploring the truth of what you chase, sometimes you don’t get. Thankfully.

Forgot the McGraw and Nelson claims. Johnny Napp is in the early days of his career. He is aiming high, sure, and he is on target. But for now, that’s enough. The rest should follow for the singer who avoids the debut hype by simply saying the album is “worth a listen”. We agree.
- Take Country Back Magazine

By Dustin Dopirak
Thursday, January 19, 2006

John Naparlo is dropping out of school to go on the road again.

Naparlo, whose stage name is Johnny Napp, left the James Madison basketball team before the season to pursue his country music career and is now leaving school to do the same. He is working with a producer named Eric Paul, who has also worked with Willie Nelson and Billy Joel, according to Naparlo.

"Right now was when the opportunity presented itself," he said.

Naparlo, whose grade-point average was consistently over a 3.0 at JMU, said he will return to school later to finish his degree. He said he is two semesters away from his diploma.

He continues to play shows, and is opening up for yet another national act tonight at the Norva in Norfolk. Billy Currington, whose song "Must Be Doin' Something Right" was No. 1 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart last week, will headline the show.

- Daily News Record [Harrisonburg, VA]

By Jason McIntyre
Dec. 28, 2005
http://www.sportsline.com/spin/story/9120413

What are the chances that the NCAA gets a round of applause, Eva Longoria gets booed and Brady Quinn's family cheers when a certain Ohio State player sacks the Notre Dame quarterback, all in the same month?

Three stories. All utterly impossibly to believe, but all, in fact, true.

The NCAA, quite possibly the most loathed institution in all of sports, actually did something nice over the holidays: They're letting a college basketball player pursue his country music career and compete in hoops, if he so desires.

James Madison basketball player John Naparlo was giving it the old country shot when the NCAA stopped the show and offered an ultimatum: Ball or guitar. Johnny Napp -- real country-sounding, huh? -- was suspended and his senior season was held hostage by the clowns at the NCAA. After much hemming and hawing (we leave no cheesy pun unturned), the NCAA told Napp he could pursue both. Of course, those two months off gave him lots of time to hone his sound, and now it appears he may not return.

Just when we began to label Eva Longoria and Tony Parker as boring, the pair go and mouth off to cops with the sultry actress allegedly shouting the always-classy line, "He's just a Mexican bike cop. He only wants your autograph." [Longoria denies saying any racial slurs toward the police officer]
Sweet. Any non-celebrity utters that line and it's a night in the holding tank; a celebrity utters it, and they get 5,000 more hits on their Web site and an increased Q-rating.

Perhaps that run-in with the law is the real reason she was booed in Detroit on Christmas Day. Why the Jumbotron didn't flash this picture is beyond us. It would have made those unruly animals in Detroit happy. Remember, Detroit is the same city of louts that started the Ron Artest brouhaha. We can't wait for the Super Bowl.

And then there's the harrowing tale of family, love and football. As Brady Quinn quarterbacks Notre Dame into the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State, he has to deal with the fact that his sister, Cal State-Los Angeles senior Laura Quinn, is dating rugged Buckeyes linebacker A.J. Hawk.
The first time any Buckeyes defender-not-named Hawk makes contact with Quinn, you can expect the "your sister" trash-talking to begin. The sad thing for Ohio State is, we think it'll only drive Quinn to perform better.

What's that? You think the Lombardi Award winner looks like a lumberjack? You're not alone. (Partially true story: Last year, while traveling the country playing ping-pong, an opponent tried to get under our skin with a meek "your mom" comment. We proceeded to dominate).
Buckeyes defense: Tread with caution. Our pick: Notre Dame 30, Ohio State 24.
Some month, huh?

- Special to CBS SportsLine.com

By Dustin Dopirak
Saturday December 10, 2005

Tom Yeager got the OK for Johnny Napp to return to the court, but he wants to make sure James Madison's students stay off it.

Yeager, the Colonial Athletic Association commissioner, said Friday that NCAA President Myles Brand has agreed to let JMU's John Naparlo play basketball while also pursuing his country music career - although it appears unlikely now that the senior guard will opt to rejoin the team.

"He's just to far down the path," Dukes coach Keener said. "Not only with his career, but we're two months into practice and conditioning and the system and all."

Yeager also said Friday that the Colonial has made it clear to JMU and Keener that a repeat of "Student Body Left," will not be tolerated if students continue to run on the court. "We're just going to make sure that it's not going to happen again," Yeager said Friday by phone. "Obviously, everyone recognizes that. Everyone at JMU recognizes that. It can't happen again."

With time running out in the Dukes' game at the Convocation Center against Northeaster on Dec. 3rd, Keener took a timeout and urged fans in the student section to run from the bleachers underneath the basket where JMU was shooting to the opposite side to distract Northeastern's free-throw shooters. When JMU fouled Northeastern with 11 seconds to go, about 150 students spilled out onto the edge of the court and ran to the other bleachers, where they waved their arms and yelled at Huskies' foul shooters. Keener dubbed it "student body left."

Yeager said he didn't have a problem with Keener's ploy - just with the students stepping onto the court. "It just caught everybody by surprise," Yeager said Friday. "I don't think Dean thought they were going to take off over the court. I think everyone recognizes you can't be running on the court. …It was something that surprised everbody. I'm sure it surprised the ushers. We just can't have it happen again."

Keener said he received a call Monday from Ron Bertovich, the CAA's deputy commissioner for basketball.

"He just wanted to know exactly what had happened," said Keener, who said he was not given any type of reprimand or even told not to do it again. "I think he had called other people, Northeastern's coach and the officials. I think he was just on a fact-finding mission at that point. I told him we were trying to create some kind of environment knowing we would have to foul." JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne said Friday he has had no contact with with CAA over the incident.

Keener said he does not plan to run "student body left" again, partially because he doesn't want students on the court, but also because he hopes the bleachers under the west basket, where visiting teams shoot in the second half, will be filled by half-time from now on.

"At this point, you'd think our loyal students, knowing that they need to try to distract the other team, would fill up the stands on that side of the court," Keener said.

Keener said he contacted Northeastern coach Ron Everhart, who said he felt his team was unsafe during the incident, to explain himself.

"He called me back [Friday] and we chatted about it," Keener said. "We've been friends for 20 years. I called and left a voice-mail and said, 'Ron, the only reason was to try and create some kind of environment. If you need me for any reason, call, but I hope there's no hard feelings.' He called me back and said, 'You didn't have to call. The only reason I'm calling back is to say, 'Thanks, that's appreciated.' But I never thought anything about it.'" On the other matter, the NCAA in September told Naparlo, whose stage name as a country music singer is Johnny Napp, that he had to remove his image from his album cover, his Web site and other promotional material and cease his recording and concerts during the season in order to maintain his amateurism and eligibility. He declined to do so and was declared ineligible.

Yeager, a former NCAA employee and still a member of its infractions committee, heard about Naparlo's situation and decided for fight for him, speaking to Brand and other NCAA officials. "We looked at the situation again, we determined that there were overly restrictive conditions that would not apply," Yeager said.

Yeager said he found out around Thanksgiving that Naparlo was eligible again, and Keener said he learned about the decision in an e-mail by the NCAA forwarded to him from Bourne late last week.
It wasn't a 100% victory for Naparlo, however. He still needed to meet some stipulations. Among them: not to perform any concerts during the season and to modify his Web site. He did not have to stop selling his CD's or remove his face from the album cover, however.

"Both [Naparlo] and I and others were just very appreciative that Tom Yeager would stick up for a student-athlete in the CAA," Keener said. "I found that very nice on his part. That was not something anybody here asked him to do. It was totally unsolicited."
But with the Dukes having gone through all of the preseason and now five games without him, Naparlo decided against coming back, Keener said.

"There was some disappointment that this ruling didn't come earlier," Keener said. "The sense I got is that he's very comfortable with where he's at and what he's doing. …Basically, he was saying 'Coach, so much time has passed.'" Neither Naparlo nor NCAA officials could be reached for comment Friday.
- Daily News Record [Harrisonburg, VA]

By Chris Simmons
Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Old men in suits do some things very well. They make great doctors. They're wonderful hosts at fancy restaurants. And where would we be without pinstriped lawyers?
One thing they don't do very well is handle young athletes.

They frown when shirts wiggle out of college basketball players' shorts. They see red when NFL players attach a No. 40 Pat Tillman sticker to their helmets, or god forbid, wear mismatched socks. They go ballistic when Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks like country kids talk.

"Old," by the way is a very relative term. In this context, it's anyone who's never worn jeans so loose they border on NC-17, who's never worn a baseball hat sideways, who's never worn a XXXL jersey, who's never worn a bulky silver chain around his neck. It's people who wouldn't know "American Idiot" from "American Idol," people who think "Reasonable Doubt" is a legal tome.

Pass one of those tests and you can probably halfway relate to kids, whether you're 30 or 90.
I first started scratching my head about all of this when some brainiac at the NCAA decided college basketball players weren't presentable enough. So, in an attempt to make its work force more corporate, the NCAA outlawed untucked jerseys several years ago. Ditto football jerseys.

A minor thing? Yes, but to me, it made the game look too robotic, too sanitized, too - well - uniform.
Last month, the NBA instituted a dress code clearly aimed at the hip-hop culture that's transformed the league from Armani to Nike in a decade.

But this isn't just about keeping up appearances physically. It's also a matter of keeping up appearances of propriety - which brings us to John Naparlo.

Naparlo is the James Madison basketball player who was ordered by the NCAA either to put his budding country music career on hiatus or turn in his uniform. Not a likely starter for the Dukes, Naparlo made the smart choice: he chose his potential future over a college diversion.

Still he wasn't happy. "It's irritating," he said Monday. Fortunately, if all goes well, help is on the way.

Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager is asking the NCAA - an institution he admires - to let common sense trump a strict interpretation of the rules in this case. The rules say an athlete cannot financially benefit from his association with an NCAA tam, in Naparlo's case by using his image to promote his CD, "Cowboy Up And Party Down." Common sense says a reserve guard on an obscure basketball team isn't exactly a hot commodity.
"In John's case, it's really kind of the opposite," Yeager said via telephone from his Richmond office. "He has a music career that's arguably of greater visibility that his playing [career] at this point. …

"This isn't some guy using his athletic ability to garner additional money." Yeager got involved in the case by happenstance. Two weeks ago, he was attending the James Madison-William & Mary football game in Williamsburg, and Naparlo was sitting in the row behind him. Not that Yeager knew Naparlo, but a companion pointed him out and told the commissioner about Johnny Napp's eligibility problems.

Yeager turned around, talked to Naparlo and later decided on his own to ask the NCAA to change its mind. After playing phone tag, Yeager finally began pitching his case to collegiate sports' governing body on Monday. At this point, Naparlo doesn't know whether he would come back - he's not sure it would be fair to the team, he's not sure it would be fair to his increasingly busy music career.

"If they told me I could come back, I would have to sit down and reevaluate [it] all over again," Naparlo said. Make no mistake, though; the 6-foot-3 senior would love, somehow, to play. He intends to be in the stands tonight when the Dukes face Bridgewater College in an exhibition game at the Convocation Center. Yeager's argument is that the Naparlo affair is an "unintended consequence" of a good rule, a rule meant to prevent crass commercialism and preserve amateurism in college sports. It's likely NCAA officials will listen carefully. Not only did Yeager once work for the organization, he is still a member of its infractions committee - in other words, he's a respected voice in the athletics committee.

Presumably, he'll be a tad more tactful than I would be. The NCAA might have had a point if they were flagging Naparlo for the album's cheesy title, but to suggest that a role player on one of the worst teams in the CAA will benefit from the sale of his CD is indeed silly. As Naparlo himself pointed out, he's not Peyton Manning at the University of Tennessee.

I mean, true, a few folks probably will buy the album simply because Naparlo is a basketball player (or they want to hear a country cover of Tom Jones' sultry "She's A Lady"). But explain to me how the NCAA can sanctimoniously tell a kid to zip his vocal cords when you look at the stinking mess that college sports has created with $2 million coaches, sick sky-boxes at stadiums, mid-week night games in football (that's really great for "student-athletes" isn't it?), the ACC's greedy raid on the Big East, and programs where the Michael Vicks and Carmelo Anthonys are essentially hired guns to produce championships.

Anyone who thinks the Hokies or Cavaliers aren't businesses still thinks Knute Rockne is leading Notre Dame's resurgence this year.
Again, Yeager's arguments to the NCAA will be more nuanced. For one thing, he agrees with the intent of the rule.

"It runs basically to the idea of amateur athletes," Yeager said, "and basically should every recognizable football player, basketball player, Olympic skier - whatever - have the ability to go out and do advertisements for Harrisonburg Auto Mall or Chevrolet or whatever."
But he said the NCAA also needs to use common sense in interpreting its rules, especially when it preaches about the need for athletes to be well-rounded students.
In other words, let the kid play - and play. Assuming he wants to.
- Daily News Record [Harrisonburg, VA]

By Joe T. O'Connor
November 10-16, 2005

John Naparlo is silent now, drowned out by the country tunes of Johnny Napp. Naparlo loves basketball and Napp, music. It's too bad Naparlo and Napp are one in the same. Which is the reason why last Tuesday, the JMU senior had to announce his decision: pursuing a music career over basketball. Napp, which is his stage name, won out over Naparlo, but not completely by choice."I wanted to do both," says Naparlo, 22.

But the NCAA ruled in September that Naparlo was violating league policy, according to JMU basketball head coach Dean Keener."It was a matter of what's called amateurism," Keener said. "You can't use a likeness of yourself, as a player to promote anything."
And Naparlo has likenesses all over. From the cover of his debut album entitled, "Cowboy Up and Party Down," released in September, to his Web site, johnnynapp.com, his mug seems to be everywhere. But the Williamsburg native doesn't see a problem with that.
"It's irritating," Naparlo says. "My parents and I talked with [the NCAA] about TV commercials out now that show students as professionals. It's like telling me I can't go to school and have a job," he adds. But it wasn't the school's fault.

"This isn't an issue with JMU," Naparlo said. "It's the NCAA."

Tough Spot
It wasn't easy for Napp to overcome Naparlo."The decision was real tough," he said. "It took two and half to three weeks to make up my mind. I mean, I've been playing basketball since I was 3," he said.
Naparlo said he and his family talked b-ball with the NCAA and Keener between trips down to Nashville to talk music. Once Napp decided to oust Naparlo, he announced it to the team, but there was no bad blood."He left the team on good terms about a week or so ago," said Gary Michael, director of sports media relations for basketball."I have no regrets [about this decision]," he says. "I will miss basketball, though."

Pushing the Image
Napp is taking his future and running with it. On Oct. 12, he took the stage at The Pub in Harrisonburg in front of a crowd of 350 people. Then, the next night, Napp opened for Jason Aldean at the NorVa in Norfolk. That was a big show, but nothing compared to the night of Aug. 27, when he opened for country music legend David Allen Coe."It was awesome," Napp said. "There were about 800 people there. I was a little nervous… but the crowd was real responsive." Napp's next step will take him back down to Nashville to meet with Pam Lewis, founder of P.L.A. Media, a public relations/marketing firm whose first client was an unknown country musician named Garth Brooks. While the whirlwind of attention is surrounding the young musician, Napp's happy to focus on just one talent. And he's taking it all in stride.

"As long as everybody's having fun, I'm having fun," he said. - Rocktown Weekly [Williamsburg, VA]