NEW MUSIC MONDAY | RON IRIZARRY | ACOUSTIC SESSIONS | 10.19.09

Here's a song from a little ways back. It was written in 2000 w/ my good friend Michael Tait of the Grammy winning group dcTalk and current lead singer of The Newsboys. We wrote it in the Fall/Winter of 2000, when he came down for a visit. The content is obvious, a run of the mill break-up song. Who doesn't go through breakups, right? It's about the lessons learned from them and how you can apply them to your life in a positive way that counts. We had a good time writing then demo-ing the tune. When I was touring the college circuit heavily I released a limited CD to the college market called "TWEAK" which included this song. It's currently out of print, but I may release it digitally in the future.

Here's the link for the studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jFVh5dUoJM Listen for Michael Tait's background vocals. What a voice that guy has. I was blessed to have worked w/ him on this tune.

My good friend Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC shopped me to every major label back then, and we had a meeting w/ Arista Records and LA Reid. We played this tune in the meeting and the A&R guy really dug the tune and said, "this could be your first singe!" Although the deal never solidified w/ Arista, it was a great validation that they dug the tune. I remember them telling me that they had to focus on a few new artists that they had just signed, then they would get to me. One of those newly signed artist's was Avril Lavigne.

Enjoy the tune...

Playlist Pick: Too Late - Ron Irizarry
Thankful For: God's Love, I know his love is real & is always with me...

NEW MUSIC MONDAY | RON IRIZARRY | ACOUSTIC SESSIONS | 9.21.09

I was out in LA last Summer at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. I was winding down from a long day of travel, and rehearsal at Sound Stage with the band for my appearance on The Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson the next day. I was so exhausted from the day's events, and I was about to turn in when I turned on the TV to VH1, and there was this new artist playing. The song was really really good, as well as the video, so I waited till the end to see who it was. It was Matt Nathanson, and I've been a fan of this song ever since. A few months later a friend of mine had the CD on his kitchen table. I opened it up and read the linear notes and credits, as I enjoy reading and knowing that information. The record was actually recorded and produced by a gentleman named Marshall Altman. Marshall Altman was the Director of A&R at Hollywood Records, and actually took an interest in my music when Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC was shopping me and making rounds at all the Major labels. I think Hollywood eventually passed on me, but Marshall was a very kind guy as my memory serves me. I guess he's shifted into music production which is great, because he's got some really great projects that he has worked on. Check him out here: http://www.marshallaltman.com/
Thanks for reading & please enjoy my humble interpretation of Matt Nathanson's Come On Get Higher...

Playlist Pick: Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson
Thankful For: The changing of the seasons...