FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, New York
July 13, 2009
KeyMedia Public Relations
212-243-4893
info@keymediapublicrelations.com
Radio Promotion
Jeff Appleton: 810-797-2287
NEWCOMER RACHEL MILLMAN TO RELEASE HER DEBUT SINGLE
THROWIN ROCKS AT THE MOON FROM HER FIRST BODY OF WORK… IF I BELIEVE
“Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon” is a beautiful song performed by the talented rising vocalist Rachel Millman. The song is about having something special in your life and then letting it go, thinking you know what is best for you…and then realizing once it is gone, you really want it. The parallels to the song and Rachel’s career are uncanny. Rachel Millman has been singing pretty much since she was born twenty three years ago in Springfield, New Jersey. From the chorus as a freshman in high school to the lead by the time she was a senior, performing in musicals was the backdrop for Rachel’s passion to sing. Now, with a college degree in communications under her belt from Penn State, an eye opening audition for American Idol and her song “Waiting for Someday” being featured in the up and coming feature film “Secret at Arrow Lake,” Rachel Millman is taking matters into her own hands. Her company, Gila Enterprises, is releasing her five-song EP entitled If I Believe on August 3, and that’s a big step for Rachel considering she almost gave up her dreams of having a professional singing career. Becoming a professional singer in today’s pop market can be very challenging as new talent must rely on their own resources to get noticed by the music industry. Long gone are the days when labels were willing to invest the time and money needed to nurture a budding artist’s career. But Rachel is counting on her distinct and beautiful voice, a powerful and captivating song and the collaboration of talent from an impressive list of music industry veterans to help lead the way.
A classic melodic pop/rock song with intensely romantic and poetic lyrics, “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon” highlights Rachel’s crisp three octave range. Her enchanting vocals, along with the song’s arrangement and production, are cinematic in scope while keeping the power-pop sound connected with Top 40 radio. The sexy and smoky back-up vocals from Sal Nastasi, whose band Ready In 10 is featured on the record, create a playful and sensual twist on the girl leaves boy story. She is the one who walked away from the relationship and is now lamenting over her decision after he willingly and naively showed her his version of life through “rose colored glasses.” When their voices are featured on the final chorus with minimal instrumentation, the essence of the recording reaches an impact that defines the record’s intimacy. The song was written by the same writing team that wrote last year’s debut single “Say It Again” from Hollywood Records’ Marie Digby: Jim Dyke, Marc Nelkin and Eric Sanicola. Featured on the recording along with Ready in 10 is Juno Award winning jazz pianist D.D. Jackson. Jackson plays both piano and Hammond organ on the record. The Section Quartet provided the string arrangement and performances, and are best known for their album Strung Out on OK Computer: A Tribute to Radiohead, “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera and “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt. Singer/songwriter Denise Marsa produced the single.
Along with the full band mix and an acoustic mix of “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon,” If I Believe also features three songs produced by Brian Reeves from California’s Jungle Room Studios, who recently worked on tracks from the Jonas Brothers’ Music From the 3D Concert Experience. “If I Believe,” “Hold On To Me” and “Waiting for Someday” were co-written by Reeves, Michelle Mangione and Joy Bonner.
With an all star cast, a song destined to be a classic and a voice that touches a nerve of hope and resilience, Rachel Millman is carving out her place in pop music with her debut release, If I Believe. Visit Rachel at www.rachelmillman.com and www.myspace.com/rachelmillman
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About Rachel Millman
On Friday night, February 6th 2009, at Arlene’s Grocery on the lower east side of NYC, where all the hip alt rock and folk bands from all over the country stand up and share their music every hour on the hour until almost dawn, Rachel Millman stood up to a packed room in the middle of a Ready in 10 set and sang her first single, “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon,” live for the first time with the band since they had recorded the song. The crowd (fans of Ready in 10 and Rachel Millman) went crazy. Cameras and cell phones were above heads and flashing and everyone wanted to know where and when they could download the tune. Rachel was in fact…over the moon, as it had been over five years since she had performed live with a band.
Rachel Millman was born and raised in Springfield, New Jersey and singing has always been a part of her life. She started participating in school choirs and learned to read music while performing in musicals throughout grade school. At age 14 Rachel landed her first starring role as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was an indelible experience that was to alter her life. Having the responsibility of carrying a show as a lead proved a great fit. It was during this time she began her professional voice training. With an impressive three octave range, and the determination to “work” that voice, Rachel began to study with vocal coach Jennifer Little, who urged her to take her gift seriously. With a few special singing engagements at family and friends’ events under her belt, she embarked on learning more about becoming a professional singer and working on building her voice and her repertoire.
In the meantime, through word of mouth, Brian Reeves, a successful producer with the Jungle Room Studios in Glendale, California had heard about Rachel’s incredible voice and took an interest in her career. He invited her out to his studio for an initial meeting to help her learn more about recording and the studio. After the trial trip out to LA, Rachel was hooked. She fell in love with being in the studio, and plans were made for her to go back to LA to record three songs that Brian and a collaborator were going to write specifically for Rachel. Once the songs were completed and after Rachel graduated from high school, she would be back in LA.
Senior year of high school was still ahead for Rachel, with two pivotal moments that would alter how she was going to handle her singing career. She was given the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Somerset Patriots Minor League baseball game in front of hundreds of people in an arena setting. She had always sung the anthem at high school basketball and hockey games, but never for a crowd this large, and a crowd that did not know her personally. The crowd went wild after she gave them her rendition, and with heartfelt praise being thrown at her, Rachel truly began to believe in her destiny as a successful singer. Around the same time, she decided to audition for American Idol after being egged on by every single person in her cell phone contact list. In August she waited on line outside the Jacob Javits Center in New York City for over twenty hours for a chance to be the next Kelly Clarkson. She auditioned in front of three producers, with three other girls standing next to her, and when she began to sing, she realized the producers were busy doing other things. They were not even listening. American Idol soon became a reality check for Rachel. Was this the only way to become a successful singer, and if not, how was she going to get noticed? Rachel was still a senior in high school and it seemed obtaining her dreams might be harder than she ever anticipated.
With the lead role of Emma Carew in her high school’s production of Jekyll and Hyde to follow up the disappointment of the American Idol audition, Rachel realized the incredible ride she was in store for if she were to become a professional singer. The ups and downs of a professional life as a musician were going to be very challenging and as she took her final bows on stage in her last high school production, she remembers thinking, “Will I ever be on stage again?” Soon more questioning began. ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ was circling around her head on a daily basis. Many a teenager’s dilemma, this was new feeling for Rachel, as she always believed she was born to sing. She was slated to hop on a plane in a few days to sing on the demos Brian had been working on for months. Was she ready to embark on an amazing opportunity to record the 3-song demo with an extremely experienced producer in Los Angeles? She took the leap of faith. But during the entire plane ride out to LA, the doubt, the turmoil, the question persisted. Did she still want to be a professional singer? Thinking it may be her only chance to ever be in a recording studio, she gave it her all and the demos came out great.
During this time, Rachel was also applying to colleges and wondering what her focus was going to be. She knew she could not give up the opportunity to get a college education, and so she embarked on four years at Penn State and received her BA degree in Telecommunications. She put her dreams aside and stopped singing while in college to pursue her academic life - a decision she is happy she made. Her dreams of being a pop star had diminished, and though she continued to study voice in college, she did not step on stage even once while at Penn State. After college ended, Rachel realized how much she missed singing, and it was becoming clearer that singing was really her true life’s purpose. Fortunate to have the full support of her parents and with a few jobs as a hired vocalist under her belt singing commercial jingles in a local studio, she knew it was time to seek professional advice. Having met music industry veteran Denise Marsa’s father at a family party, and after sharing her stories with him, he suggested Rachel contact Denise to see if she could help. Several e-mails, phone calls and meetings later, it was decided they would work together. Denise was going to help launch Rachel Millman’s career.
First up, Rachel was going to record “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon” which was written by the same team that wrote last summer’s debut single from Marie Digby, “Say It Again,” on Hollywood Records. Rachel loved the song from the second she heard it and plans were made to bring in an all star cast of players to make the record happen.
Featuring Long Island’s Ready In 10, Juno Award Winner pianist extraordinaire D.D. Jackson, and the famed Los Angeles The Section Quartet (Christina Aguilera, James Blunt) pre-production began at the end of 2008 and the recording took place in both New York City at Dubway Studios and in Los Angeles.
“Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon” is a beautiful song about having something or someone special in your life and then letting it go, thinking you know what is best for you…and then realizing once it is gone, that you truly want it after all. The parallels to the song and Rachel’s career are uncanny. With a voice people describe as beautiful, expressive, hopeful and truly magical, Rachel Millman is a young lady who just loves to sing. She loves interpreting great songs. It’s not about being a star, or about how trendy she can or can’t be. It’s all about how lucky she feels when she gets the chance to sing. It’s also about being in the studio, watching, learning, texting her friends to share her excitement while one of her newest favorite singers, lead singer Sal Nastasi from Ready In 10, was laying down his background vocals on “Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon.”
For more information about Rachel Millman please contact, KeyMedia Public Relations
(212) 243-4893 or e-mail us at info@keymediapublicrelations.com
Please visit www.rachelmillman.com www.myspace.com/rachelmillman
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