Writers Showcase Lineup

Brian White is a staff writer for BMG / Brentwood Benson. He has 10 number one songs to his credit in the Christian Market and is a 2 time Dove Award winner. Currently has songs in the country market on albums by Trace Adkins "Rough and Ready" , Neal McCoy "Tailgate" and Blackhawk "Brighter". A frequent singer and speaker at conferences across the U.S. Has had over 300 cuts in his writing career.

Rob Blackledge: When it comes down to it, Rob Blackledge lives for one thing...Polo Rosa Marie. That's right. Italian food. Not to mention his love for motorcylces and kites, Rob is one of the most well rounded and talented musicians to hit Nashville since...welll, the last guy.

Tres Crow hails from Michigan but recently has made Nashville his home. He has been writing songs for ten years and counts The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Broken Social Scene three of his most influential bands. He is new to town and is looking to form a band so if you play guitar, bass, drums, or keyboards then contact him at trescrow@yahoo.com.

Shelley Raymond's free and fearless vocals range from a cooing whisper to a soulful, plaintiff howl. Her lyrics tear you apart line by line, only to build you back again with verse after verse of surgically precise digs and strokes. Raymond casually combines elements of soul and folk into something she playfully refers to as "soulk music" (which, afterall, sounds better than "foul music"). Whatever she calls it, it's not your average girl-with-a-guitar fare and deserves your undivided ear.

Gentry Morris: Ok so here is my bio...I am a pretty ordinary guy by most accounts. I grew up in Georgia listening to my dads old Creedance Clearwater Revival and James Taylor records and until I was about 13 I had absolutely no idea that there was any other music besides this...yes...I was sheltered. When I started playing guitar it was because I was a skinny little white kid and the girls didn't like me...football was out...so i figured...maybe if I played guitar. Yeah...no artsy, I wanna change the way things work reasons...it was all for the chicks. Really that's what it comes down to for most musicians whether they want to admit it or not. Well the girls still didn't like me...sad day...so I started writing songs about it and then it began...no...no...no...not the girls liking me...the songwriting thing. So here I am today living in Nashville Tennessee trying to convince people to listen to my music and give me money for CD's. My music is a "montage" (my word of the day) of those old classics my dad had, mixed with some more recent influences. People say I sound like John Mayer and Jason Mraz alot...I dont really see it that much but its cool if they do. Another one of my friends said I sound like and American version of Travis...which is really cool cause those guys rock! Anyway...I like my music...its not meant to be artsy or techincally difficult with secret meanings and all that jazz. It is meant to be simple... catchy...songs that will get stuck in your head...songs for first dates or last dates...songs for sunny days lying on your back in a park or rainy days driving in your car...they are singing in the shower songs...thats what I do...I make the songs you sing in the shower.

Mayflye are an acoustic rock quartet based in Murfreesboro, TN. Comprised of four regular guys with day jobs and cell-phone bills, Mayflye spend their free time writing melodic rock songs with a verve that is often unseen in the contemporary acoustic genre today. Initially founded by fellow MTSU alumni, Gregory Castillo, Matt Frasher, and John Sorrels began writing songs together on the bottom floor of a poorly ventilated Murfreesboro apartment complex in early 2004. Later that spring and in need of a bassist, they joined forces with perhaps the most unlikely of characters, David Castro, a Columbian refugee with little to no experience as a bass player. In a brilliant display of confidence, David picked up the bass and earned his way into the band, dazzling its members with his obvious knack for melody and rhythmic poise. Since then, Mayflye have been determined to further their abilities and broaden their musical tact by flirting with a variety of new styles and even new instruments. So, is it possible that you will see a Mayflye post-hardcore polka-funk album in the near future? You never know. You just might.