Immediate Music, Hollywood’s preeminent supplier of original music for high profile, major studio feature film trailers and television projects, has launched a new division. Entitled “IM Bands,” the division will license music from hot, contemporary bands, as well as from previously notable ones, for film, TV, videogame and TV commercial projects. Immediate Music co- founders/composers/producers Yoav Goren and Jeffrey Fayman made the announcement.
Spearheaded by Immediate Music’s Director of Operations Emily Weber, the new IM Bands Division has initially signed the bands Early States, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, The Underwater, Cheater, and Globus.
Said Weber, “Immediate Music is renowned for having the best trailer music in the industry. Since we like to think that we have the ‘best ears’ in the business, we have decided that now would be a good time to add some talented bands to our roster. The initial bands we have signed are all exciting, popular and rockin’, and we will be making their songs available for licensing to our film, TV, videogame and advertising clients. We are also planning to sign a number of additional bands to our new division within the coming weeks and months.”
ABOUT EARLY STATES:
Early States, fronted by 18-year old Zack Gray, is a Roseville, CA based band currently being featured on MTV.com. Pulling from influences as diverse as U2, Augustana, Radiohead and Copeland, Early States delivers a powerful, emotional seven-song EP called “Powerlines.” With singles such as “An Answer” and “Smoke in My Eyes,” the band taps into rock fans love for great guitar riffs and choruses; and with anthem “Back to the Start,” the band truly hits another level and showcases their song-writing abilities.
Filling out the band is Shaun O’Brien (piano, guitar), and Brandon Lee (drums), Tom Hatch (Bass) and Nick Silva (Guitar). Formed in December of 2007 by Zack and Shaun, the band began to pick up momentum after taking first place at a battle of the bands competition in San Francisco, and being invited to play the Maloof Money Cup in Orange County, CA, widely known as the biggest skateboard competition ever hosted.
ABOUT DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS:
Raised in Memphis and based in Nashville, folk rock singer-guitarist Drew Holcomb is, on one level, the sum of those musically iconic cities. In the past four years, he has logged in more than 500 concert dates across the country from solo coffeehouse gigs to clubs, festivals, and colleges with his band, the Neighbors. He has also opened for Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, and a number of other well known acts.
That Holcomb has sold almost 10,000 CDs in the process is equally impressive, given he has done it all without any major label or music industry support. Not bad for someone who laughingly calls himself a “recovering singer-songwriter.” Holcomb, 26, began playing the guitar and writing songs while a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His first two records were 2004’s “Lost & Found,” and the acclaimed follow-up, “Washed in Blue” (its track, “Long Gone Away,” was featured on the Lifetime TV series “Army Wives.”) A concert album, “Live in Memphis,” came next, marking the end of his musical tenure in the Bluff City.
Holcomb’s backing band, the Neighbors, is comprised of guitarist Nathan Dugger, bassist Rich Brinsfield, and drummer Jon Radford, all of whom live in the same East Nashville area as Holcomb, hence the group’s name. The band’s most recent studio album, “Passenger Seat,” is a record of big songs, big gestures, and big heart.
ABOUT THE UNDERWATER:
Hailing from York, Pennsylvania, the Underwater have been on a steady rise since their inception in late 2001. After a successful tour in 2002 with hardcore legends Zao, Unearth, Underoath and Dead Poetic, the band entered the studio to record their debut album entitled “Bleed Me Blue” (EP.) The album was released nationally on Tribunal Records in early 2003, and then was later released in Europe on Lifeforce/Impression Music in the late summer of 2003. In less than a year’s time, the release had sold in excess of 6,000 copies, giving the Underwater the opportunity to land supporting gigs with Nickelback, Supergrass, Seether, and The Fire Theft, to name a few.
The band completed several European headlining tours, during which they received massive support from fans as well as the media. The single “To Find You” received heavy rotation on many European radio stations, and even charted top 25 on stations in Switzerland and Austria. In 2004 the band had a chance to work with famed producer David Bendeth (Hawthorne Heights, Imarobot, Breaking Benjamin.) During that session, they finished the tracks “Fallen One” and “Everyone.”
In 2005, the Underwater released their second EP in 2 years entitled “Lungs,” which became the 1 seller at FYE / Coconuts.com in the localeyez section which led to retail distribution through FYE and Coconuts in PA, NJ, DE & WV, in addition to the pre-xisting distribution through all Record and Tape Traders in MD. In April 2006, the Underwater was named XM Radio artist of the week, adding to their radio success. From 2006-2007, the band played numerous shows including shows with Live, Shinedown, Fuel, Trapt, Saliva, Quiet Drive, Dropping Daylight, Halestorm, City Sleeps and Lennon, among others. The LP “Forces,” recorded with David Bendeth, Warren Riker and Marshall Deasy and mastered by Ted Jensen, was released in May 2008.
ABOUT CHEATER:
During 1980, Cheater’s market grew steadily throughout all of Western New York State, and Cheater soon became a top drawing band in the North Eastern U.S., setting attendance records everywhere they went. Their combination of original music and their great, original rock songs made them an irresistible draw. The band’s “Ten Cent Love Affair” album in 1980 sold over 10,000 copies, having only been released in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 2005, the band released its 1983 recordings entitled “Cheater-1983” on CD for the first time. Internet sales of that CD made Cheater a well known band all over Europe, Australia, Japan, and Italy, as well as the rest of the U.S. No longer an actively performing band, Cheater was comprised of Jeff Cosco, vocals, Don Mancuso, guitar, Chris Mawdesley, guitar, Kevin McKee, bass, Blayne Pierce, keyboards, and Ron Rocco, drums (Black Sheep) started it all. The 1983 shows and recordings introduced Jimmy Fox, drums. In the early 1990’s, Mike Gladstone, guitar, was brought aboard for Cheater reunion shows.
ABOUT GLOBUS:
Globus’ recent CD, “Epicon,” is powerful Epic Rock, and features rock, pop, classical and world music songs—originally showcased on movie screens worldwide, but now with added lyrics– fused with orchestra and choir. During its limited test launch, which took place only in the UK, “Epicon” sold over 10,000 CD units. Globus’ filmed live concert, held at the Wembley Center in London, has been seen across UK television, and the band’s three MTV-style music videos have enjoyed widespread UK TV popularity. (Note: Immediate Music co-founder Yoav Goren is a member of Globus.)
Regarding “Epicon,” UK-based music critic Jim Bloomington, said, “The ‘Epicon’ album is very well done. Clearly alot of work went into filling out these tracks into music that stands on its own, and it shows. I can’t stress this point enough–this album must have been a labor of love. The approach the producers took allowed them to market their music to a broader audience than just hard core movie trailer fanatics. Some of the tracks, like ‘Preliator’ (a track derived from the “Spider-Man 2″ movie trailer,) are truly enhanced by the added content — I could simply listen to it over and over until the CD wears out. These tracks are so good that Globus will surely develop a core of fanatics who are eagerly awaiting their next project.”
ABOUT IMMEDIATE MUSIC:
Co-founded in 1993 by composers/producers Yoav Goren and Jeffrey Fayman, and currently celebrating its 15th anniversary year, Immediate Music is widely acknowledged as Hollywood’s preeminent supplier of original music for high profile, major studio motion picture trailers. In the competitive market of
motion picture advertising, the quality of Immediate Music’s compositions, as well as its high production levels, have consistently measured up against the finest motion picture scores in the entertainment industry.
In addition to the critical acclaim they regularly receive from the motion picture industry, Goren and Fayman have also had success in the world of television. The composers are the winners of a 2007 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Music Composition in a Sports Program,” for their work on "The XX Olympic Winter Games: The Stories of Torino.” This Emmy was bestowed by the National Television Academy of Arts & Sciences during the 28th Annual Emmy Awards for Sports held in NYC in 2007. Yoav Goren is also the winner of a 2008 “BMI Award” for his work on The Olympics telecast cited above.
Some of Immediate Music’s most recent campaigns include the creation of original music for trailers promoting “Hancock,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Pirates of the Caribbean 3,” “Horton Hears a Who,” “Hellboy 2,” “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” and the custom score for “Dragonball,” as well as the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.” Historically, the company has also provided music to the trailers behind such other renowned movies as “X-Men 1-3,” “Spiderman 2 & 3,” “Harry Potter 1-5,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Pirates: Dean Man’s Chest,” “Superman Returns,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Gladiator” and “American Beauty,” among them.
Immediate Music has also provided music for the promotional campaigns behind such TV programs as “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Six Feet nder,” “Weeds,” “Prison Break,” “24,” The Closer,” “Saving Grace,” HBO’s “John Adams,” The Olympics, NFL Super Bowl telecasts, NHL playoffs and more. Immediate Music recently produced the theme music provided the custom in-show score for NBC’s hit TV series “American Gladiators.” Ad campaigns to which the company has provided music include those promoting Toyota, Ford, DirecTV, Amstel, Hitachi and Blu-Ray.
Immediate Music’s prestigious clients include such major entertainment and advertising companies as Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Universal Pictures, The Weinstein Company, Lions Gate, CBS, NBC, ABC, HBO, FOX, FOX Sports, Turner Network Television, IMAX and Saatchi & Saatchi to name some.
Immediate Music’s new headquarters is located in Santa Monica, CA. The phone is 310/260-4989 and the website is www.immediatemusic.com.
