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Katie Herzig
Nashville based singer-songwriter Katie Herzig is set for the physical CD release of Apple Tree - her most adventurous and satisfying album yet - on April 21st, 2009 (Marion-Lorraine Records).
PASTE Magazine recently included Katie Herzig in their "Best of What's Next - 25 Artists to Ignore at Your Own Peril" roundup, and said that Apple Tree, "pushes her now-signature style - brightly textured acoustic pop that's clever yet sincere, sunny but grounded - to exquisite new heights. It's Herzig's most accomplished work to date." Performing Songwriter magazine adds, "Katie Herzig is quickly becoming a treasured female artist. This album boasts beautifully and thoughtfully crafted songs and, most strikingly, Herzig's endearing vocals."
While Apple Tree is every bit as melodic and emotionally incisive as Herzig's previous discs, it is nonetheless a bold and assertive step forward. While previously working as her own producer, Herzig teamed up with Nashville producer and multi-instrumentalist Cason Cooley for five of Apple Tree's tracks, as well as two members of The Fray team, guitarist David Welsh and their producer, Aaron Johnson, on the track "Hologram." Says Herzig, "The song 'Hologram' was written after a conversation I'd had with Aaron, who said he missed how I used to belt when I sang with Newcomers Home. So it felt appropriate to record that song with him."
Though Herzig is the sole author of most of Apple Tree, two of the songs, "I Will Follow" and "I Want To Belong To You", were co-written with well-known songwriter Kim Richey. Her co-producers also helped to weave several local Nashville musicians into the project, including recording artists Sandra McCracken and Ruby Amanfu, both of whom lent their voices to a few of Apple Tree's songs.
As on her previous release, Weightless, Herzig worked side-by-side with Grammy winner Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, John Prine), who not only mixed the album, but helped massage two years' worth of songs and the work of three different producers into a cohesive artistic statement. According to Herzig, "My last record, Weightless was very much a do-it-yourself, homemade project, but Apple Tree became very collaborative and pushed me to places that I could not have gone on my own."
In addition to her time in the studio recording Apple Tree, Katie has toured as part of Nashville's acclaimed Ten Out of Tenn tour as well as The Hotel Café Tour, and as a solo artist supporting Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin and The Fray.
In 2006, after fronting the critically acclaimed Colorado-based band, Newcomers Home, and releasing her first solo record, Watch Them Fall, as a side project, Herzig retreated to her bedroom studio to focus on her music. There, she single-handedly recorded and produced Weightless, a tour-de-force of innovative sonics and songwriting whose tracks have been prominently featured on NPR, KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, and two episodes of NBC-TV's Grey's Anatomy.
Following the release of Weightless, Herzig left Colorado for Nashville and immediately started to catch the attention of other artists. Her song "Heaven's My Home" received a 2007 Grammy nomination for best country performance by The Duhks. Herzig's had several songs from Apple Tree featured in past months on One Tree Hill, Lipstick Jungle, and Ghost Whisperer. "Look at You Now" was featured on the Sex and the City the Movie Soundtrack, and "I Hurt Too" will appear in the Lionsgate film, My Sister's Keeper in 2009. Her new single, "Wish You Well" hits AAA radio this winter.
