INDEPENDENT
ARTIST ERNIE HALTER HITS #22 on ITUNES
ROCK CHART FIRST WEEK OUT
California-based singer-songwriter Ernie
Halter hit number hit #22 on the iTunes
Rock Album charts and #98 on the iTunes
Overall Album charts during the week of
release with his new album, “Starting
Over.” The record was released digitally
on July 15th (with the brick
and mortar release set to hit shelves on
August 5th) via Rock Ridge
Music. Says Halter:
“This type of
momentum is very validating and
encouraging to me as an independent
artist. It’s awesome that the support
of my fans alone can propel me to this
level without widespread radio airplay
and major label involvement. Breaking
through the iTunes Top 100 Album Chart
in the first week is proof that paying
attention to your fans pays off.
They’re amazing. I make the music for
them.”
Online promotion prior to release
included a feature on MSN’s Windows
Media Guide and a Stickam live
performance. Halter plans to continue
touring leading up to the August release
date and after, well into the fall (see
tour dates below). More dates are being
added and will be announced soon. Tour
mates for the upcoming dates include
Josh Hoge, Big Head Todd & The Monsters,
Keaton Simons, Brendan James, and
others.
“Starting Over” was recorded in
early 2008 in New York City and is the
follow-up to 2007’s “Congress Hotel.” On
the eleven-track new album, Ernie mixes
blue-eyed soul, pop, and rock in a style
that is both familiar, unique and always
inimitably Halter. His vocal delivery is
percussive and smooth, raw and real, his
phrasing often an instrument itself.
Stylistically, Halter endeavored to
make “Starting Over” sound more organic
and a little less polished than previous
recordings. The entire recording
process, for perhaps the first time
ever, was broadcast over the internet
from their New York City studio. Says
Halter: “To my knowledge, nobody has
ever done that.” Jason Spiewak (Five.Bolt.Main,
Chris Volz) sat in the production seat.
Halter has been
called a pioneer by many including EQ
Magazine and text broadcasting
company Mozes (Halter was one of its
first artists) for his
technologically-oriented approach to
connecting with fans. Halter elaborates:
“I am making this record for me and
them, and I wanted them to see their
record being made.” It was actually
Halter’s tech-savvy approach to
promoting and marketing his music that
garnered the attention of his management
and label, Rock Ridge Music, in the
first place: Halter was one of the
first artists to really take advantage
of MySpace as a promotional tool.
Utilizing his tech know-how and his
extraordinarily focused work ethic,
Halter has incorporated such unique
features on the page as a live “tour van
cam” and nightly webcasts of his
concerts across the United States.
Halter also has an ongoing cover video
series on YouTube.com (http://www.youtube.com/erniehalter),
popular with his fans who submit
requests on an ongoing basis.