RadioAirplay.com received over 1000 song submissions Friday through Sunday. Our friend's at the Independent Music Awards have helped us narrow it down to a Top 10 and only ONE will be chosen by Thursday Jan 31st for a Free Entry into the 17th annual IMA's!
Submitted your song but not an IMA Top 10? Not to worry! Your Radio Airplay Song Contest submission is still in consideration for Relix and Unsigned Only prize packages. Stay tuned this week for IMA's free entry winner!
Haven't entered the The Radio Airplay Free Song Contest yet? Go to your artist dashboard, click Special Offer and Submit Your Song Today!
Meet Brandon Reisdorf, ISC Finalist! ISC entries are now closed but you can enter your songs and be a finalist like Brandon for Unsigned Only right from your RadioAirplay.com Dashboard! I'm a singer-songwriter and fiddle player from the Chicago area. I've been playing music since I started on the violin as a kid. A few years later, I picked up the guitar and started singing. I studied Music Theory & Composition in college, with a second major in Philosophy. Looking back, I couldn't have picked a better pairing - especially as they relate to songwriting. Both areas are such a big part of my daily life, although the combination does tend to raise some eyebrows on a resume. During school I also actively studied the violin and classical voice. After graduating, I found myself more attracted to acoustic folk music and bluegrass. I started playing country music because that is where the fiddle gigs were, but I eventually fell in love with the world of songwriting. Nowadays, I keep up with music in all kinds of genres, and I draw inspiration from anywhere that I can find it.
Can you describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence?
I write songs that bridge several genres, because I don't think a specific sound or style is as important as plain old good songwriting and I guess if it has to be a ramble-on sentence I would say that I also play the violin (or fiddle) and sometimes write funny political songs too.
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
I remember watching a classmate play the violin in a "show-and-tell" in early elementary school and being totally amazed. In hindsight, I think he may have been playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", but at the time it totally blew my mind. I picked up the violin a few years later and didn't make the connection until I was much older.
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
This is a tough one, especially in the age of Spotify playlists. I think I'd probably go with the Blaze Foley album "Sittin' by the Road". I think this album is basically perfect from a songwriting standpoint, and Blaze Foley is incredible and underappreciated as one of the best American songwriters of all time. Plus, I think I'd o
nly have to learn like 2 new songs.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
I'm a very systematic writer. I am constantly collecting lyric snippets, song ideas & concepts, melodies, and chord progressions, and I obsessively archive them on Google Drive. I have at least 100 pages of
unused lyrics, and hours of unused audio material. I periodically review this archive and see if anything jumps out to inspire me, at which point the song seems to just fall out. I also love to co-write with other writers. I'm fascinated by the collaborative process, and how it leads to a finished song that could never have been written by any of the writers alone.
Does anything in particular inspire you to write? What get's your creative juices flowing?
Nature, psychology, philosophy, current events, consciousness. And airplanes... something about being in a tube in the sky seems to be very helpful for my songwriting.
What has been a highlight for you in the past year? (Either personally or for your music career.)
I think the highlights of the past year have been building a new collaborative relationship with a longtime friend and winding up with several songs that we are both really proud of.
What 's next? Can you give us a hint for whats to come remainder of 2018 into 2019?
I'm planning to really hit the pavement in the next year and get more of my music properly recorded. Ultimately I'd love to work more closely with artists that are looking for great songs for their own releases.
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
They are both so different and indispensable. I love the thrill of the moment performing live: improvisation, playing off the energy of the crowd, etc. But the studio gives you a chance to get it exactly right, and the standards of perfection are so much higher. I suppose if I had to pick one to do for the rest of my life it would be the studio, just because you can keep revisiting the great musical moments anytime you want. Plus, I've been practicing my ProTools shortcuts, and it feels pretty cool to navigate around a session without a mouse 😉
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
Lately I have been listening to "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby a lot. I think it is a great song because it has a very specific (and unfortunately timeless) political message, but it's delivered in a way that makes it accessible to a huge group of people. Even people who may disagree with the politics will find themselves singing along. That's how you change the world, if you ask me.
Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
During the last couple years, I have written several political satire songs. I've played them live a bunch, and they usually go over well, but on one occasion I definitely misread the room and the audience was not too happy with the message of the song (which one individual made very clear to me after the set). Unfortunately for him, I was the one with the microphone.
What's one thing people should know about you?
I think a lot of people who come to different shows that I play don't realize that I actively perform in a bunch of styles, on a bunch of instruments. I play fiddle, guitar, and banjo, I sing, and I write songs. I play anything from fiddling in a rock band to singing John Prine songs in the corner of a bar to playing in an orchestra in Chicago.
I like how each type of gig exercises different parts of my brain, and I'd have a hard time picking any one of them over the others.
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
I love to travel, especially outside of the country. The changes of culture and scenery are a huge inspiration to me. I also find myself pretty engaged in politics, which tends to inform some of my songwriting.
If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?
Go out there and support good music! We create the marketplace by what we decide to listen to and buy tickets for! There is a lot of good music out there, but it is not always easy to find.
What do you like the most about the Radio Airplay service?
I like that you seem to give a platform to lesser known artists. I'm a firm believer that some of the best stuff out there is never going to be mainstream. This gives people a chance to find hidden music that they might love.
Russ Parrish is an award winning singer/songwriter Nashville native who moved to Minnesota in 2016.
Influenced by artists and bands like Switchfoot, NEEDTOBREATHE, and Phil Wickham, his desire is to write and play songs of hope that everyone can sing.
Russ has won several awards including grand prize in the 2018 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the gospel category, grand prize in the 2017 Minnesota Sate Fair Amateur Talent Contest, and honorable Mention in American Songwriter Magazine.
His music focuses on the journey between faith and doubt, seeking the light of hope wherever darkness is found. Hear the journey in his songs.
Can you describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence?
Honestly, I just take whatever I’m feeling at the time and make some music with whatever lyrics are going on in my head… it’s kind of a mess of pop/rock/folk/singer-songwriter…yeah….I’m confused too…
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
When I was like a year old I helped move my parents piano in the house as you can see here…
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
Definitely The Beatles album “Please Please Me”. I play “I Saw Her Standing There” at every gig. And I mean…come on… it’s The Beatles.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
Yeah, every song is a little different in the way I approach them, but the one thing they all have in common is…coffee. Every great song starts with a cup of coffee. Once I’ve got the juices flowing, I usually create a demo using Ableton as my DAW, then just start chipping away at the parts I don’t like until the muses are content.
Does anything in particular inspire you to write? What get's your creative juices flowing?
One of my greatest desires is to see everyone singing along. My inspiration comes from people. Their stories, their lives, their hopes and dreams. I want to write with encouragement and passion where everyone feels a part of something bigger than themselves.
What has been a highlight for you in the past year? (Either personally or for your music career.)
Oh man. Probably winning the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Gospel category with my song “I Am Yours”. Either that or playing at NAMM this week! Cant wait!
What 's next? Can you give us a hint for whats to come remainder of 2018 into 2019?
Playing at NAMM, and currently working on a full-length album. Going in a new direction than I had expected when I started writing 2 years ago. Looks like I’m heading towards CCM and Praise & Worship music. Stay tuned, should be some big stuff happening this summer…
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
Hands down performing live! I enjoy my time in the studio, but I get lonely doing a lot of the work by myself. I love people, and there’s nothing better than getting to play and sing my songs with complete strangers. You never know what could happen… I’ve stood on a table or 2 to play my song “Washed By the Water” to end my show. People seem to like that?
What are some artists/bands that you're into at the moment? Or any particular song you find yourself listening to over and over?
The 3 artists I’ve been listening to lately are Phil Wickham, David Leonard, and Switchfoot. I cant seem to get “Till I Found You” by Phil Wickham out of my head…
Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
There’s kind of a running joke that I always forget the words to one of the songs I wrote for my wife called “Evelyn”. At this point I just make up new lyrics each time I play it…
What's one thing people should know about you?
I can juggle
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
I’m actually an avid rock climber… or at least used to be… I used to climb outside or in the gym about 4-5 times a week. Over the last year it’s been tough balancing climbing and writing, but I’m getting back into it. And yes, the more I climb, the clearer my mind gets which helps my writing.
If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?
If you can’t find a light, be the light, and shine that light bright.