Updates!

So it is about 99.9% sure that my next label home will be a major label.   Not just any major label...one in particular, but until the deal is finalized I'd feel more comfortable waiting to tell you guys specifics.  However, I want to let you guys know what's going on...

The morning that I was granted my wish to be released from my deal with Brash, about 10 minutes after the release phone call, I was on the phone with the President of a major label talking about signing there.  The next morning we (Mitch & I) had a meeting with him, the VP of A&R and the VP of Marketing and we just talked about the direction of the record and we gave them the songs.

That was Friday a week ago.  This last week, everyone had time to live with the music and I got to talk with the President of the company on Friday afternoon this week and all cylinders are firing on getting this deal up and running and having new music recorded and into your hands as fast as possible.

Obviously, deals are negotiations and negotiations can go wrong from time to time, but I am pretty sure that everyone involved (I know it's the case on my end of things) really wants this to work out and work out quickly!  We're really hoping to have a single out by the time the Back To School Tour II happens.

Speaking of...

Back to School is going out August 27 to November 1 with Aaron Shust and I co-headlining and Rough Draft and a soon-to-be-announced guest opening.  It's only May and we already have close to 30 shows on the books for the tour!!!  We are working to have over 40 and as many as 60!  I'm so pumped about this tour it's not even funny!  

So anyway...all is good on Sligh front!  Just wanna make sure you guys are updated through the highs and lows!

If you missed it...

If you missed my twitter stream last night...here it is along with what I was talking about...

Show start

All right Slighterers, let's rock!

Show open with all the top 13 in white, singing "So What"  

Yay! Let's wear white, sing a song about divorce a make it as dumb as possible with really bad dance moves!!!

As Ryan announced the awards section

Yay! Really long really stupid awards section!!!

After Nick/Norman won the award for best male...

Norman!!!!!!!!

As Norman sang his song AGAIN....LOL

Oh my gosh ...he is so freaking genius!!!!!!!

That guy needs to be making movies yesterday....

As Queen Latifah takes the stage with Lil Round in a form-fitting body suit

Um...what is Queen wearing? Note2self..just b/c it's a slimming black Chris Sligh should never wear a form-fitting body suit. Even w/ spanxx

Don't get me wrong Queen Latifah is a true multi platform artist...but man what not to wear! For the bigger boned of us out there a warning!

As Jason Mraz takes the stage with the top 13

Jason Mraz is literally 1 of the best singers I've ever been around..we wrote out at Hanson's ranch last yr & he srsly put on a clinic

As Black Eyed Peas performed their new single "Boom Boom Pow"

What a strange performance. That is it. Some things were meant to only be on record..this might be 1 of them. Still processing.

As Ryan asked Bikini girl what was new, when all of us could clearly see what was new...

Ty Ryan for saying what we're all thinking!

Kara comes out behind Bikini girl and Bikini girl has no freaking clue what's going on...

Thiis might be the best finale evah!!!!

My initial joy over Kara's performance turns to possible horror when she strips off her dress to reveal a bikini...wow...

I'm not sure if I find Kara's performance/stripping entertaining or pathetic. Still processing. Brain might explode!

During Allison's performance with Cyndi Lauper...

Allison sounds great as always...Time hasn't been too kind to Cyndi's voice..after time

As Danny Gokey takes the stage, eventually with Lionel Ritchie...

Hello Gokey!

As always Danny rocked it

As Adam takes the stage wearing domed shoulders, eventually with KISS....

Dude is freaking rock star...I wish I had the guts to wear that outfit...domed shoulders & all

As KISS came down from the ceiling and rocked....

This just makes me want a diet dr pepper

As Carlos Santana rocked with the Cowbell on "Black Magic Woman" intro....

I need more cowbell! MORE freaking cowbell! Noooooooowwwwwwww!!!!!

As the top 13 joins Carlos on stage all wearing matching outfits...

I'm glad everyone is wearing clothes to match Carlos's guitar

I wouldn't have been able to process the performance otherwise.

As Steve Martin takes the stage with Michael and Caw-Caw Girl (LOL Meagan)....

Little known truth: Steve Martin is a world-renowned banjo player

Another little-known truth: Michael Sarver is a world-renowned scrabble player

As Rod Stewart starts "Maggie May"...

Maggie May!!!! Yes!!! One of the best mandolin based songs ever right behind "These 8 Strings Make My Fingers Bleed"

As Tatiana wins and they show a video of her telling off all the "record execs" who told her she had to sleep with them to get her album made...

Um...every guy who said I have to sleep with them?!!! What?!!! What the crap is happening right now?!!!

As Tatiana tries to rush the stage with security chasing her...

My brain just exploded! TY Tatiana!!!

As Queen takes the stage behind Kris and Adam's "Champions"...

It's freaking Queen yo! I'm freaking out right now!!! Queen!!!!

After Kris's win leaves him speechless....

I don't think there's ever been an idol more surprised at winning...wow...congrats to him!

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the recap...

Twitter, etc.

It's interesting how twitter has changed things...I feel like it's so much easier to keep people up to date with twitter than doing a blog post here...it's silly, but how I feel...

So I'll try to keep up here, but you probably at least want to get a twitter account to keep up with day-in, day-out stuff.

I'm excited about the future and what's coming up...label I'm meeting with loves the new music, so that's a good sign...hopefully will have a deal on the table ASAP.  We'll see!

I can't wait to unleash this album on everyone!

To the Future

So, if you've kept up with my twitter (@ ChrisSligh) you know that I am no longer with Brash Music.  I wanted to take a little time to quickly bring everyone up to date with what is going on.

Officially, Brash decided not to exercise the option to make my 2nd and final album on my deal.   This was a decision that ultimately was a mutual decision, though Brash had the final decision.  You see a lot of people who come out of record deals and claim it was mutual...I'm pretty sure they're not always mutual...in fact I have a couple of friends who were dropped that said at the time it was mutual, but if you asked them now, they'd admit that - though they weren't exactly surprised or necessarily upset with the new - they were dropped.  In this case, I assure you, that though Brash had the ultimate decision, it had come to the place that both of us were ready for a decision.

Now, some may ask me how it could come to this, when they read my glowing words about Brash in the recent Christianity Today article.   Everything I said about Brash in that article was remarkably true.  The guys at Brash are incredible men who have integrity and are genuinely trying to make the record business better.  My opinion of them has not changed through any of this.  

Ultimately, what it came down to was that we disagreed on a very basic level on how this 2nd record should be treated.  From what I can understand they liked the songs, so it wasn't that.  It was how I wanted to treat the record and how I wanted to the record the record as well as the campaign I wanted to use in promoting the record.  Also we disagreed on the co-production of the record and how much a co-producer should be used.  

It's strange that something that seems so small on paper was so large in real life.  But both of us were at a place where we weren't willing to budge on certain points - unfortunately the points we wouldn't budge on happened to be the exact same ones.  

So...the next label will soon be announced.  And the album will be recorded very soon.  Hopefully we'll have a single out by the fall tour.  

So, there are mixed emotions involved...ultimately parting ways was the best thing to happen.   But it also stinks because I'm parting ways with great guys.  But I look to the future with hope and excitement...

More to come...

Jaded? Not I...

Some people have wondered why I have struggled with Jade...no worries...it's all good.  No Jaded-ness here.  I can't go into details, nor do I want to, but I have a clear vision for the next album.  A clear artistic vision and some people involved with the process have, over the last couple of weeks, decided to peek their head into the process and start to confuse the vision.  That leads to frustration, which leads to anger which leads to being jaded...it's the story of the music business.  I tried to put myself into a situation with all the people around me from management to band to label that would shelter me from the jade, but it still has crept in.  Thankfully, I'm at a place of peace.  More later...

However, I am in the midst of putting up some new demos!  So you guys can start to digest some of the new music!  Head over to myspace.com/chrisslighproductions and check it out!  Do remember that these are ROUGH demos...they will sound better and different in the final version (this is more for the people who weren't around for the first time we did this...)