BigDawg Spotlight On: Blues/Rock/R&B Artist Brian Futch

I first “met” Brian Futch online last November when he joined our site after learning about us from our Twitter account (gotta love new media) and immediately fell in love with his music. I was so impressed that I invited him to be one of our featured artists at BigDawg Music Mafia’s Liberty Fest at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past Feb. Before reading Brian’s bio, I knew there was something special about him as soon as I heard one of the first songs he shared at our site, When A Hero Dies — this one got me seriously choked up as it is about our our fallen brothers and sisters who have paid the ultimate price for freedom, and their loved ones who mourn their loss. I love the line: “Even Jesus cries…when a hero dies…” Tissue alert on this one…

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His fabulous rock anthem, Don’t Forget Me, a moving tribute to our troops, is another one of my favorites and was recently aired on The Alana Burke Show. His latest political tune, a wonderful bluesy rock number, Something For Nothing, laments about those who would take from those who work and give to those who do not.

There isn’t a song I’ve heard from Brian that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed listening to. It was no surprise when I learned more about this husband of 25 years, father of six, and former U.S. Army officer (HOOAH!) who has a very impressive resume of musical accomplishments including garnering the coveted title of “Memphis Songwriter of the Year” two years in a row, having swept the categories of Pop/Rock, Country and Western, and R&B. He also served as Vice President of the Memphis Songwriter Association, and was recruited to become a full-time songwriter in Nashville for Split Publishing, where Brian wrote alongside Earl Bud Lee (Friends in Low Place s), Marty Haggard and Jeff Pearson, and performed acoustic shows at the Bluebird Café and B.B. King’s.

His much anticipated debut CD And Then There Were Songs was released at Sweetwater Live in Duluth, GA. in February of this year, where Brian opened for Southern Ground Recording artist Levi Lowrey (Zac Brown Band) to a standing room only crowd. The record features 10 tracks of Brian’s original works, and features drumming legend Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Animotion) and bassist Jeff Leonard (Diana Ross, Tom Grant), with Brian performing his amazing lead vocals and harmonies along with tasty lead and rhythm guitar work. The album was recorded over the past year (2010) in Portland, OR and was produced by Cass Anawaty. The album and singles are available at CD Baby, Itunes, and Amazon.

Brian’s recent schedule includes performing at Liberty Fest at CPAC in Washington, DC., Songwriter Showcases in Memphis, TN and the Greater Atlanta area. He is the headlining musical guest at the upcoming Oregon Tea Party Tax Day event at Pioneer Courthouse Square on April 15th. Brian also tours the South with his Rock and R&B project “Red Velvet Mojo” and is half-owner of “Strong Mojo Productions”, which specializes in audio production. His latest single, I Am America, is due to be released Memorial Day weekend.

I had the great privilege of meeting Brian for the first time in person at CPAC and sharing the stage with him at our Liberty Fest. He and I were supposed to be performing at the National TEA Party Convention in Memphis this past weekend (along with several other great conservative artists you will be hearing about in the coming weeks), but it was postponed until the Fall. Since he had already lined up a couple additional gigs in Memphis to maximize his trip, he still made the trek to his old stomping grounds. I have no doubt that his audiences were thoroughly captivated by his soulful bluesy style.

Fans of John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughn will undoubtedly love Brian’s music. I hope you’ll drop by Brian’s page to check out some of his other great songs and show him some love by picking up his new CD, And Then There Were Songs. I know he’d love to have your support!

(Note from the author: This is the first in a new weekly series we will be doing on the great artists at BigDawg Music Mafia who are using their gifts to spread the message of freedom and to support our men and women in our Armed Forces. BigDawg and I thank BigHollywood for believing in what we are doing and giving us this opportunity to introduce you to these fabulous grassroots, conservative artists. We hope you will enjoy getting to know more about them and will show them some love!)