kc turner: Represented Artists

Booking Agent - KC Turner

I help manage and book the following artists:
*Please Scroll down to learn more about these artists.

~Tom Freund
~The Courtney Janes
~The Welcome Matt
~Michael Bloch
~Brad Cunningham
~Megan Slankard

If you are interested in booking any of the above, then please contact KC Turner - kc@kcturnermusic.com

Tom Freund

~Myspace.com/tomfreundmusic

"Pronounced Froy-nd, which means Awesome in Austrian" - Jason Mraz
It’s in the seemingly effortless ease with which he delivers his conversational lyrics and mellifluous melodies, this natural magic that is at the heart of Tom Freund’s music. Though he’s well-schooled and widely-traveled in a variety of genres -- from hearftelt folk to buoyant pop to boho jazz to straightforward rock ’n’ roll, and beyond -- Freund ultimately comes across simply as a singer-songwriter with his own singularly distinctive and engaging voice.

Collapsible Plans, Freund’s fourth full-length album, puts that voice -- in terms of both his artistic identity and his evocative singing -- front-and-center. Produced by his longtime friend Ben Harper, and featuring piano and vocal contributions from Jackson Browne on two tracks, Collapsible Plans is Freund’s most focused and fully realized recording to date, combining top-shelf musicianship with the strongest set of songs Freund has yet gathered on a single disc.

”I wanted to make a record for a long time that really felt like ‘a time and a place,’ the way records used to be made,” Freund says. “My last couple were done in different states and with different folks; this one feels very tangible to me and my life at this time. It was great having Ben in the room with me; I trusted his sensibilities as a fellow songwriter.”

Perhaps the most telling aspect of Freund’s songs is that “I just walk away singing them constantly,” Harper observes. “Tom has written consistently strong songs for as long as I’ve known him.”

They’ve known each other for nearly two decades, and in 1992 recorded the limited-release Ben Harper & Tom Freund LP Pleasure And Pain, which helped to launch Harper’s career. Freund subsequently spent several years playing bass with acclaimed roots-rock band the Silos before striking out on his own with North American Long Weekend, his 1998 solo debut on the Mercury subsidiary Red Ant Records. The record received an avalanche of critical accolades, most notably in The New York Times in which Ann Powers called it an "unexpected gem" and ranked it 3 in her year-end best-of poll.

Since then, Freund has alternated between recording and touring behind his own discs (2001’s Sympatico and 2005’ s Copper Moon, plus a couple of EPs) and playing upright bass, electric bass guitar, and mandolin with the likes of British pub-rock great Graham Parker and rising groove-soul sensation Brett Dennen. (You’ll even find him on a couple of tracks from pop star Mandy Moore’s 2007 disc Wild Hope.) Freund also is a favorite of NPR's Weekend Edition and has been championed by Los Angeles' powerful KCRW-FM, where he performed live on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

A 2006 summer tour with Harper helped rekindle the old friends’ collaborative spirits, which led to Harper getting involved as producer of Collapsible Plans. “I’ve always been a fan of Tom’s work, and I thought that I had something to bring to Tom sonically that was maybe a place he hadn’t stepped into yet,” Harper says.

Two tracks on Collapsible Plans feature the unmistakable piano and vocal contributions of Browne, who Freund had recently met at a show. “Jackson and I were both asked to perform at a benefit in the Hollywood Hills,” Freund recalls. “I got up and started to play ‘Why Wyoming,’ which I had just written, and by the second verse I hear this amazing piano, and then by the second chorus I hear these amazing vocals. I turn around, and there is Jackson, like an old friend, jamming on my little song as if we had done it a thousand times before!”

A sought-out standup bassist, the talented, versatile Freund plays most of the stringed instruments as well as piano on his albums. The songs on Collapsible Plans also benefit greatly from the musicianship of Harper, who played lap steel and sang backup on many tracks as well as adding occasional touches of percussion, vibes, Wurlitzer, mandocello, and harmonium. Others who contributed to the recording include guitarist Michael Ward and keyboardist Jason Yates of Harper’s band the Innocent Criminals, as well as drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Blind Boys Of Alabama) and keyboardist Fil Krohnengold (Gomez).

Their playing provides an exquisite and fitting frame for Freund’s captivating compositions. “What really brought me to wanting to work with Tom in the studio is his songs,” Harper concludes. “It doesn’t have to even go any further than that. As far as I’m concerned, who wouldn’t wanna work with him in the studio? Because the songs are there.”

(Tom writes all his own material and his songs continue to be featured on such prime time TV shows as "Las Vegas" and "One Tree Hill" as well as such films as "Charlie Bartlett," and "12 Bucks." Steven Spielberg's SHOAH Foundation also used three of Tom's compositions for their Giving Voice video. He also won a Telly Award for the music behind a National Public Service Announcement concerning child abuse. He continues to tour North America, Europe and Australia playing with his band or doing solo shows).


For More Information go to:
WWW.TOMFREUND.COM and
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/TOMFREUNDMUSIC

The Courtney Janes - Dennis Haneda & Ben Hulan

The Courtney Janes are a duo from Marin County that believe music should always be played from the heart. Dennis Haneda has been strumming and singing his songs around the San Francisco Bay Area for all of his life. Ben Hulan describes himself as a "Virginian songwriter in California". Both Ben and Dennis have played and recorded in various different groups over the years, ranging from folk and bluegrass to rock n' roll. Grounded in acoustic folk and colored with the electric guitar and mandolin, The Courtney Janes have an exciting sound of their own.

~TheCourtneyJanes.com

Please Click Cover to Purchase The Courtney Janes' New Album - "Keepin' it Reel"

"Like the Everly Brothers or the BoDeans, Dennis and Ben's songs and voices blend so well, you'd think they grew up playing music together."
-Drew Pearce, Acoustic Guitar Magazine

"They truly are two of the more gifted musicians I have heard in a while and a great pleasure to listen to performing live...Ben's absolute mastery of the mandolin as well as Dennis' ownage on the guitar are brought to the forefront whenever they segue into an instrumental."
-Nusi, Live Music Review

"I just love The Courtney Janes and their 'radio drop' has become legendary!"
-Kellie in the Morning, KVON Radio, Napa

Megan Slankard

~Myspace.com/meganslankard

"Nearly everyone who encounters this attractive and sophisticated singer-songwriter agrees that she has 'star' written all over her," says Acoustic Guitar Magazine about Megan Slankard. "She forges a distinctive sound with her smooth and courageous vocal dynamics, intelligent and diverse song styles, and sheer infectious enthusiasm."

Slankard, who has sold just over 20,000 copies of her three CDs, self-produced her first CD at age eighteen and her third with help from Counting Crow's guitarist Dan Vickrey, and is currently working on a new project. Last year Slankard formed a new alt-rock band, and is already getting industry attention having been selected as a semi-finalist in Discmaker’s 2007 Independent Music World Series and a finalist in the 2008 Musician’s Atlas/Borders Books Independent Music Awards – even before the official release of her new band’s first album, scheduled for mid-2008.

Slankard and her music have appeared on TLC’s “What Not To Wear”, generating purchases by TV viewers after her first appearance that placed her second CD “Freaky Little Story” on the 5 spot on Amazon.com CD sales charts and on the Top-10 Rock Bestseller list on CDBaby.com. Because of the episode’s popularity, the show’s producers featured her in a follow-up episode, bringing her back onto the Top-10 with “Freaky Little Story”. Upon its release months later, “A Little Extra Sun” also reached the Top-10 sales chart. Her songs have also earned over 175,000 plays on MySpace.com, and “Freaky Little Story” remains a Top-20 all time Rock Bestseller on CDBaby.com to this day.

Slankard’s music has also been featured on San Francisco AAA station KFOG's compilation CD and has been spun over 500 times on Modesto, CA. She has been featured in Rockgrl Magazine, Owl Magazine, The Synthesis, and online sources Fresh Tracks and Women In Rock, in addition to Acoustic Guitar magazine, whose editors named “Freaky Little Story” one of their top albums of 2005. She was a final selection artist for RPM Direct Presents: Unsigned Artists Volume 3 compilation CD; an A&R Online featured artist; a Song and Film Spotlight artist; and, an Acoustic Cafe featured artist on the “One to Watch” syndicated radio program (sponsored by the USA Songwriting Competition). Slankard also co-wrote and performed on the title track of Dire Straits founding member David Knopfler's new record, “Ship of Dreams”.

Megan has performed in over 200 cities in five different countries, including at showcases in Boston (NEMO) and Toronto (NXNE), on three tours as support for David Knopfler (Germany and England), and at the international festival InGuitar in Zurich (Switzerland). She will resume touring after the completion of the new CD.


CLICK TO PURCHASE FROM CDBABY.COM
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/theMeganSlankardband

The Welcome Matt - Matt Langlois

Matt Langlois, a New England native, took flight to California soon after graduating from high school in Manchester, Vermont. After dabbling in various music projects in the San Francisco underground music scene, Matt found himself following his then German girlfriend to Hamburg. Soon the successful Betterment Letters were formed with a curious bunch of Hamburg musicians and drinking buddies.

Odd jobs, Hamburg gigs and crazy adventures commenced. A career high point included working at the infamous Markthalle Concert Hall collecting ticket stubs and keeping stage divers in line by wrangling them single file to cut down on the inevitable and numerous injuries.

Once back in San Francisco, Matt helped formed the successful Buddhakowski, a paean to both the enlightened deity and inebriated scribe. Buddhakowski released a CD, amassed the obligatory following, and performed at all the über cool venues. With his songwriting and front man skills refined, he struck out on his own, to favorable early returns.

Though Matt loves to record the stage is his preferred habitat. With a subtly arched eyebrow, thrusted hip, and sideways cock of the head, his persona echoes the greats of yore – Townsend, Davies. A natural storyteller, his phrasing punctuates each lyric, drawing in the eager listener to find out what happens next.

Matt Langlois’s songs have been aired on major networks, Fox and NBC. “In San Francisco,” a track from his second solo record, “Empire Days,” was picked up by Triple AAA mega station KFOG and featured on KFOG’s 2004 Summer Sampler, which also included Michael Franti of Spearhead and Matt Nathanson. “In San Francisco” can also be heard during Giants baseball games in AT&T Park and was also heard nation wide on network TV during the 2007 MLB’s All-Star game.

~WelcomeMattSF.com

Click to Purchase The Welcome Matt EP "Ends and Odds"

"The precision in which The Welcome Matt presents both melody and sentiment is a rare find indeed, and this new release is more assuredly one to look into. " - Garbrielle Goodbar - Theowlmag.com

"Let's face it. There are hundreds of talented rock musicians on the scene today that crank the gain, and overwhelm us with their chops. What sets The Welcome Matt above all those other bands is the ability to write a good song." - Chad Dukes - indiemusicstop.com

"The Welcome Matt doesn't shy away from catchy hooks either; his "In San Francisco" sounds like a male Sheryl Crow. Whether poppy or pensive, it's evident Langlois is cheeky enough to match excellent lyrics with equally excellent instrumental composition." - Genevieve Will - Indie-music.com

Michael Bloch

Michael Bloch has been playing and singing professionally for the past…… too many to admit to…. years. After playing in LA in rock, funk, and country bands (as well as playing in the Fraternity of Man (Don’t Bogart that Joint, My Friend) and opening for Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin), and working as a solo artist, he moved up to the beautiful north in 1993, to be a professor of neuropsychology at the University of San Francisco (go figure).

His original songs draw from the work of the classic singer/songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s (e.g., Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Mickey Newbury, Guy Clark, Jesse Winchester, Townes van Zandt, Rodney Crowell) and the finger-picking styles of John Renbourn, Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Doc Watson…. His warm, easy, joking style on stage continues to make him a popular entertainer on the local folk scene. He also plays bass in the 60’s cover band Void Where Prohibited (how come this guy tries to cover so many bases? Problems with focusing? Hm……..). Enjoy

Brad Cunningham

Brad Cunningham is a 25 year old singer songwriter born and raised in Central Missouri. He began playing guitar just before enrolling in college and found that music served as a creative outlet and a way to escape a troubled past.

After graduating from Baylor University In Waco, Texas, he returned to Missouri and began writing and recording. While his sound is still evolving daily, he is currently exploring a wide variety of world music including Latin, Reggae, & African styles while keeping an acoustic folk center.

~Myspace.com/bradcunninghammusic