He sings. He writes songs. He plays guitar. And 2010 has seen two new recordings — four- and five-song EPs of cool, crisp country tunes, just like him, released in April and September — that are the foundation of a full-length album he plans to release next year.
The Austin-born Texas artist has been writing since the release of his last album, his second, the irreverent and powerful ANYWHERE IN TEXAS, which featured a dozen songs written and co-written by Park, including “Cold in Colorado,” with its killer chorus hook; “Don’t Look,” which climbed The Texas Music Chart; a co-write with Wade Bowen, “A Woman Like You”; the hard-driving “First Day of Summer”; and the sentimental final cut, “These Days.
”The new FALL EP features five tunes in the same vein, universally melodic with bold yet personal lyrics, story-songs that come from the heart, sung in a pure, pitch-perfect yet understated voice that perfectly suits the songs and is easily identifiable on country radio.
The first single to radio, “All Night,” details how long it might take to heal a broken heart, with or without a new love. Branded by acoustic and steel guitars, the tune lays down a lively beat with a lyric that everyone who’s ever been hurt or sought relief from the pain can get behind.
With Park in the studio were Karl Schwoch (electric guitar), Will Armstrong (drums, percussion) and Eric Lenington (bass), and joining in were half a dozen other players, including Tommy Detamore on steel; John Michael Whitby, one of the record’s assistant producers, on piano and B3; Glenn Fukanaga on bass; and Wes Hightower with harmony vocals — basically the same crew that helped Park make SPRING EP.
The Park-Schwoch-Armstrong-Lenington quartet started to come together after December 2006 and a gig at Austin’s Broken Spoke opening for Asleep at the Wheel. Since then, they’ve also performed with or opened for Clint Black, Tracy Lawrence, Mark Chestnutt, Gary Allan, Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Randy Rogers Band and Eli Young Band, around 175 shows a year.
Among their many radio singles, including “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” “Baby I’m Gone,” “Big Time” and “Half Empty Shotgun,” Park’s “Somebody’s Trying to Steal My Heart” climbed to #16 on The Texas Music Chart.
Park and his touring band crossed Texas and the Midwest in spring and early summer for SPRING EP. They'll continue touring, with CD Release Shows behind FALL EP.Park believes today’s music scene and the whole business is changing, that consistent touring deserves consistent recording, and that giving fans new music quickly is the main objective.
As for the coming months and the promise of regular releases, the idea is also to let fans in on the making of the next album; Park wants to know what they think of the songs in the release packages via the Web and which they want to hear over and over.
