Brave New World

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Weapons of Mass Destruction	3:00	Play
2		Hero	3:51	Play
3		I Spy	3:33	Play
4		Come to B.	4:38	Play
5		Who'z Worried?	4:10	Play
6		Brave New World	4:06	Play
7		Lusitania	5:21	Play
8		Along for the Ride	5:39	Play
9		So Far, So Near	3:36	Play
10		.com of Age	5:47	Play

Items may be purchased individually.

Contributors

Details

Royalties

See the payment distribution when this media is bought.

Description	Amount
Bitmunk Marketplace Service	USD $0.98
CD Baby Artist Royalty	USD $5.97
CD Baby 9% Digital Distribution Cost	USD $0.54
Bitmunk Download Service	USD $0.60
Bitmunk MicroPayment Service	USD $0.01
Total	USD $8.08

Bitmunk uses a micropayment system that is accurate to 7 monetary digits.
Mouse over an individual amount to see its exact value.

Description

Album Vitals:
"Hero" won the Electronica Grand Prize in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Competition (http://www.jlsc.com/winner2004.html)
"Hero" won First Place in the Dance/Electronica category of the 2003 International Songwriting Competition
(http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.htm)
"Hero" is also a Finalist in the Dance/Electronica category of the 2005 Indepdendent Music Awards (http://www.musiciansatlas.com/program.asp)
Produced, Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Mike MacFarland.

Apollo 13 Bio:
"We are venting something out into space." - Apollo 13 Commander James A. Lovell, Jr.

Our story starts in the musical oasis of the Great Plains known as Lawrence, Kansas...

In the year 2001, The Band That Saved The World (TBTSTW), a Lawrence, KS funk group, decided they didn't want to pay the exorbitant fees of the local recording studios, so they built their own. Mike MacFarland, who played keyboard and rhythm guitar for TBTSTW, was elected the primary engineer on the project. He named the studio Apollo 13 because it had a tendency to exhibit the same mechanical failures as the similarly named star-crossed NASA mission. Much like NASA had to do, he patched the studio together with whatever components he could find. During the times when it was actually in working order, he managed to record the TBTSTW album. The entire process taught him a tremendous amount about recording in general. Armed with this knowledge he redesigned the studio into a more dependable and user-friendly facility, and began to record by himself at night. Exploring the realms of Electronica and movie themes, he tracked whatever writing was taking place, regardless of its genre.

Shannon Savoie (lead vocalist/ frontman for TBTSTW) had been a songwriter his whole life, but had always kept his originals a secret. The studio privacy and open environment allowed him the freedom to share these songs without judgment, and soon he was experimenting and collaborating with Mike on a wide range of material. While TBTSTW was wowing funk/soul/r&b fans on the road, their dynamic frontman and rhythm guitarist were secretly recording music that was completely different and new. The music that began to come from those midnight sessions had a more contemporary style and pop flavor than the funk of TBTSTW, and it would become the founding voice of the group Apollo 13.

Some of the secret recordings had found their way into the hands of friends and family. As time went on, word of these songs spread to more and more ears, and requests for copies became commonplace. This response eventually found its way to Mike and Shannon, and they quickly saw that this new material was communicating to a larger audience than just the two of them. They wasted no time in setting out to produce the new sound. It was only fitting to name it "Apollo 13."

To complete the package, they courted the rhythm section of bassist Will Dinkel (TBTSTW) and drummer Danny Rojas (The Yards), who had performed together on professional jazz dates for years, and had heard several of the Apollo 13 recordings. The timing was perfect, as both were finishing up projects and on the lookout for the next big thing. Realizing the potential of Savoie and MacFarland's music, they readily accepted the offer.

What resulted from the new group's recording sessions was a return to their musical upbringings with a touch of modern edginess. Each of the members had been raised on rock-and-roll traditions, so it was only fitting to go back to where they had learned their craft. Drawing from longtime influences such as The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles, as well as early acoustic recordings of Paul Simon, a solid foundation of material was laid out. This was topped with an attention to current and future tastes by adding sounds and stylistic elements reminiscent of Jack Johnson, the Shins, the Starlight Mints, Coldplay, and Radiohead, as well as the electronica stylings of the Propellerheads and The Chemical Brothers. The final mix of rock, pop, and electronic material was a unique take on the direction of mainstream music. Matched with Savoie's melodic, poignant lyricism, the coffers were filling with a wide range of good material. Now it was time to, as Apollo 13 Commander Lovell said, "vent it out into space".

The first reward came in early 2004, when it was announced that the song, "Hero", a James-bond-style electronic foray, had won first place in the Dance/Electronica category of the 2003 International Songwriting Competition. With over 11,000 submissions worldwide, this honor bolstered the group's confidence. They immediately began compiling the first CD and planning the accompanying local support tour.

Apollo 13's first release, "Brave New World", the first of three albums dedicated to the documentation of the band's original forays, debuted in September of 2004 and features some of the originals first recorded by the group. Considered an "introductory" album, it features a variety of styles, including electronic, rock, reggae, and even latin. Initial response to the disc is positive, yet some reviews have commented on the lack of a clear vision. According to Savoie, that is because the album carries with it a "very personal goodbye" to the members of TBTSTW.

Taking criticism in stride, the band is not disappointed. To quote Dinkel, "We were prepared for that, because we had so much material to choose from. We'll just bring the audience along for the ride as we figure out where we're going." He made sure to finish with, "Just wait 'til you hear what's coming."

Make sure to grab a seat before they liftoff.

Apollo 13 Members:
Will Dinkel - bass, backing vocals
Mike MacFarland - lead guitar, keyboards, samples, backing vocals
Danny Rojas - drums
Shannon Savoie - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
http://cdbaby.com/cd/apollo13