BONNIE WHITMORE

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      THERE I GO AGAIN
      June 11, 2013
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    Bonnie Whitmore‘s last album had a body count and a title, Embers to Ashes, that implied a fiery finality. There are broken bones and hard lessons learned on Whitmore’s new album, but its title – There I Go Again – suggests less ominous themes.

    “I feel like I’ve grown up a lot,” she says. “I turned 30 this year, and I’ve been in the business 15 of those years. Songwriting as a profession is a humbling career choice. To write songs that are accessible and relatable as possible required a level of maturity and focus that I have strived to attain on this record. It’s a less self-indulgent record then Embers. Embers To Ashes was what I needed to get through that period of my life. There I Go Again is a celebration of success and failure. Plus, nobody wants to hear two breakup albums in a row.”

    Fittingly, the music also reflects a radiant change of direction. The rootsiness of Embers isn’t absent, but the songs on There I Go Again are decidedly less country sounding. Keyboards are played up in places a steel guitar might have inhabited, the drums are more prominent, and Whitmore lets her big voice run through some big, inviting choruses.

    “We knew what we had in these songs,” says Whitmore. “It’s not the same Americana sound that we had with Embers. This one is a lot more put together, and I think it comes across as more polished. It’s definitely a pop record, and everyone loves a good pop record.”

    She cites Tom Petty’s ability to balance the earthiness of roots music with hooky pop parts as the model she aspired to on the album. “He makes these amazingly awesome pop songs, but is also able to keep them within the lines. You could hear how beautiful the melodies are beyond the grit of rock and roll,” she says. “I struggle with the question – ‘who inspired you?’ – but Petty’s music has, and always will inspire me.”

    Whitmore also credits her parents, both the music they chose to play at home in Denton and on the radio, and also her father’s band, which featured Whitmore starting at age 8, as well as her sister Eleanor.

    By 15, Whitmore was playing professional gigs outside the family band. She played and sang in Hayes Carll’s band for a while, and recently she spent quite a bit of time touring and recording with the Mastersons, the husband/wife band featuring sister Eleanor and Houston native and guitarist Chris Masterson.

    They’re good family to have: Both of them play on Whitmore’s albums, which Masterson produced.

    There have been tough gigs for Whitmore along the way. She went to Kickstarter to finance the new record. There she included a video with some footage from a particularly undesirable gig performing in a sports bar beneath the glow of a giant flat-screen TV.

    “Those gigs can be hard to take,” she says. “You’re playing three hours to a group of people that do not seem to realize you’re there. It can be a humbling, disheartening experience.”

    But her album title speaks to a commitment to her music. “It seemed like a pretty good title for a second album,” she says. “It provides a sense of diving into the deep and seeing if it floats. That’s what an artist has to do when releasing music now. Nobody is really doing it for the money, we’re doing this because we love it, and that’s the only reason to do it at all. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. Sometimes you have three people come out to a show sometimes you have 300. To me it’s simple. I play music because it’s what I do. Those who want to hear it are what makes it worth it.” – andrew dansby

    Bonnie Whitmore’s There I Go Again is out now (June 11th) on CD and digital formats through This Is American Music.

    BonnieWhitmoreArt442

    There I Go Again Tracklisting:
    1. There I Go Again
    2. Heartbreaker
    3. Reckless and Young
    4. Colored Kisses
    5. Too Much Too Soon
    6. Cryin’ Out For Me
    7. You’re Going To Love Me
    8. The Gavel
    9. Borderline
    10. Be The Death Of Me

    FOR MORE INFO ON BONNIE WHITMORE:
    http://www.bonniewhitmore.com

    FOR MORE INFO ON THIS IS AMERICAN MUSIC:
    http://thisisamericanmusic.com

    FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    p: 262.903.7775
    e: tony@pavementpr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

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  • BONNIE WHITMORE “THERE I GO AGAIN” REVIEWS

    • “Bonnie Whitmore’s new album There I Go Again is a heady mix of modern Country and Mountain Music that so many singers coming out of Music Row have failed to achieve in the last 10 years. Americana right through to the core… Ms. Whitmore can be assured that she won’t be Americana’s Best Kept Secret for much longer.” - NO DEPRESSION
    • “Bonnie Whitmore’s new There I Go Again follows 2011’s Embers to Ashes with superb results.” - CMT EDGE
    • “A remarkably consistent batch of tough but tuneful songs. Please add Bonnie Whitmore from Denton, TX to your list of Excellent Country Women.” – ROUTES & BRANCHES: KRFC RADIO
    • “Her voice effortlessly moves from sweet southern to smoldering and sultry as she belts out songs dealing with life, love and regrets.” – ATLANTA EXAMINER
    • “With There I Go Again, Austin’s Bonnie Whitmore continues to provide greater proof of the promise she’s been showing on the Texas music scene for years. While she’s spent much of her career to date playing as a side person for others (most notably Hayes Carll), Whitmore is very much her own artist at this juncture. If 2011’s stunning Embers to Ashes was Whitmore stretching her solo-legs, her new album is a triumphant sprint. Her voice is bolder now, and through tracks such as the smoky, country noir “Crying for Me,” she displays a great deal of authentic gumption instead of mere pistol-packed posturing.” – LONE STAR MUSIC MAGAZINE
    • “… a beguiling presence, fine songs and emotive voice.” - THE READER
    • “On Whitmore’s song ‘Reckless and Young’ she could have wrapped it, put a bow on top and offered it to Tom Petty for his treatment of the laidback, devil-may-care song.” - DENTON RECORD CHRONICLE
    • "A wonderfully personal album that kicks off with a riff that sounds like she reassembled Bob Dylan's first electric band. Loaded with songs that Stevie Nicks could have stolen and released as her next album, Whitmore is an original that understands the dictates of the commercial world serving up a nice pairing of both. Quite a smashing set." - MIDWEST RECORD
    • "I have two words for you this week: Bonnie Whitmore. Her new album There I Go Again has me hook, line, and sinker." - AUSTIN CHRONICLE
    • “Bonnie doesn’t feel the need to declare herself a rebel. She just is one, and she writes damn fine songs as well.” – SOUTH SOUNDS REVIEW
    • “There I Go Again is a huge step forward for Whitmore and her team. Flawless production aside, the strength of There I Go Again rests in Whitmore’s songwriting. It takes only one listen to create an ad hoc list of artists to cover each song with great success. If Embers to Ashes represented Whitmore’s tough-as-nails persona, There I Go Again showcases her artistic, soulful side. This is a definitely a statement album. She has made her album, her way. And this is why we love her and There I Go Again.” – BUCKET FULL OF NAILS
    • "Bonnie Whitmore‘s second disc is crammed full of soulful, insistent Americana, with sharp-edged songs sometimes reminiscent of Tom Petty, delivered in a sure voice that’s both powerful and plaintive and throws in a touch of twang just when it feels most called for." - BLOG CRITICS
    • “Bonnie Whitmore is a purveyor of fine, fine Indie/Rock/Americana and she will blow your mind.” - BEARLY RAMBLING
    • “On Bonnie Whitmore’s new album There I Go Again she sings, "Borderline, Borderline, everything's fine 'til it's not." The borderline she walks, with a tread a good deal more surefooted than most sophomore-album artists can manage, is the one between familiarity and originality, planting solid footsteps on both sides.” - SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
    • “The music and lyrics of There I Go Again are completely original but Whitmore's voice has overtones of Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks and even Lucinda Williams at times.” – NO DEPRESSION
    • “Bonnie Whitmore’s There I Go Again is highly recommended if you enjoy the music of singers like Neko Case, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt.” - WHEN YOU MOTOR AWAY