Album Notes

Recording artist and film actor, Shawn Michael Perry formed the band, ONLY THE BRAVE. Drawing upon his Indigenous background of North and South American Indian, Shawn and ONLY THE BRAVE merge their favorite musical styles and influences, creating a truly dynamic sound and performance experience. Over the years, Shawn and ONLY THE BRAVE have opened for artists such as the JEFF HEALY GROUP, RANDY BACHMAN, (Bachman-Turner Over-Drive) BARE NAKED LADIES and MARY YOUNGBLOOD (2003 Grammy winner), among others.

Shawn is not your average musician. He is a seasoned performer who has made his mark in film, radio, television and stage. His performance experience is vast, ranging from stage work with the LA-based Roby Theater's production of "Ghost Dance" to appearances in feature films such as "The Last of the Mohicans", "My Indian Summer" and television's "Murder She Wrote". Recently, Shawn appeared and consulted for "The Slaughter Rule", an independent feature, filmed in his home state of Montana. This film is quickly gaining acclaim since it premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and is now showing in theaters in the U.S. His latest film appearance is in the Disney feature film "Hidalgo", starring Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings).

In February, 2003 Shawn joined forces with veteran rocker, producer and bassist John Avila to produce his latest CD, Run 2 U. The CD was recorded at Avila's studio, Brando's Paradise in San Gabriel, CA. Avila is internationally known for his eleven year run and groundbreaking work as Oingo Boingo's bassist/producer and for his two-year stint as the house bassist on FOX Network's "Culture Clash" television series.

Run 2 U is an epic journey of songs. It was created with internationally known, seasoned musicians. Bassist Louie Ruiz (of el Chicano), drummer Jerry Angel, (Carol King, Dwight Yokham, and Australia's Divinyls); guitarist Rene Reyes (Act of Faith). Shawn's songwriting and stunning vocal ability defines and redefines the classic rock genre. The title track, Run 2 U and two others from the CD, If I and Freedom have already made their global debut as the featured soundtrack music on Marlboro Classic Clothing's Fall/Winter 2003-04 campaign film. Shawn also appears in the film. Marlboro Classic Clothing is a European based high-end clothing line affiliated with Marzotti International. The CD is also available on line from www.TOWERRECORDS.com. Tracks from RUN 2 U are available for purchase on Itunes.com Canadian label, Turtle Island music released shawns song FREEDOM on there compilation cd HEART OF NATIONS The CD continues to get national airplay on Native-owned and mainstream radio stations including Clear Channel Radio, country and hot ac stations across the globe and Select tracks are featured periodically on the AIROS programs, Voices From the Circle aired from Chicago's WLUW-FM radio and Denver's AlterNative Voices, hosted by Susan Aikman. These programs also stream weekly on the internet (check out www.airos.org for schedules) or nv1.org the song Fight made its tv debut in sept. 2006 on spike televisions documentary about ledgendary tennis pro PONCHO GONZALEZ.............

The songs, Freedom/Libertad were released in response to 9-11 in early 2002 and will be featured on a compilation produced by Saskatoon Canada's record label, Turtle Island Music. The compilation, The Music of Turtle Island, v 2 is due out in 2004. FREEDOM and the Spanish version, LIBERTAD, were nominated in three categories in the 2002 Annual Native American Music Awards. The categories ranged from Songwriter of the Year to Best World Music Recording.