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  Funky Nashville - Hitch A Ride
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In the spring of 2001 three musicians got together in a small cottage in the Danish countryside. The intent was to arrange and polish a number of new tracks for a coming recording. Meanwhile, the combination of spring sunshine, whiskey and an uncontrollable eagerness to play were such an inspiration to the trio that the weekend resulted in an overwhelming jam session.

Late Friday night a funky groove was put into loop on the computer. A �swampy� bass was added, a country riff was reeled off and a clear sounding melody was sung as the superb finishing touch. Like a bolt from the blue a new sound, a completely new musical style hit the trio � the country groove. Instantly the trio re-saddle and changed their musical style and band name the very same night. Funky Nashville was born.

Prior to that memorable weekend Funky Nashville called themselves Weatherbeat. Weatherbeat was formed in 1997 and consisted of five members, the style being melancholy pop/rock. Weatherbeat released three promo CDs and got quite a bit of airplay on Danish national radio; they toured Denmark playing festivals and clubs, however, the desired record deal didn�t happen. Two members left the band in 1999 and the coming year activities were at a minimum. The remaining three members didn�t give up though and they got together again to record a self-financed album in 2001. A lot of songs were recorded (and a lot of money was spent) until the above-mentioned turning point. Weatherbeat ceased to exist, Funky Nashville saw the light of day and all the old song material was discarded.

The search for new songs and a record deal began. Funky Nashville succeeded in obtaining both and the band signed a contract with the indie label, Tractor Music. The release was still paid for by the band themselves, as the label did not have quite the amount of needed means, so the album was recorded and the label took care of the video production for the first single.

In April 2003 Tractor Music and Funky Nashville released the first single Everything We Do, which received good airplay on the Danish national radio. At the same time the band signed a publishing deal with Iceberg Records Publishing/EMI Music Publishing. The album release was just around the corner but the financial means were all spent and Funky Nashville�s cash credit had hit rock bottom. From the side line Iceberg Records entered the scene and offered to release the album. The band accepted and the result was a record deal.

The albums
A Good Day To Drive
The creation of the debut album A Good Day To Drive was a long and complex process. The music was made with the Internet as an indispensable intermediary, as the singer Sverre Stein Nielsen was living in New Zealand when the creative process peaked. Fragments, riffs and entire tracks went forth and back between New Zealand and Denmark and the result is the 12 songs on the album A Good Day To Drive.

The album was well received in Denmark and soon after a record deal in Germany was signed. Along with the release in Germany Funky Nashville had two songs in the German/International motion picture M�nner Wie Wir (Guys & Balls � US DVD-release in 2005). In addition to that they had yet another placement in a movie the Hollywood production The Long Weekend.

Success breeds success and the music video for the song Everything We Do was pre-loaded on the Samsung SGH-D500 cell phone, which has sold the most units worldwide! Being on the Samsung phone has resulted in many positive reactions from people all over the world � many of them asking the band to visit their country and so forth.

Hitch A Ride
The creative process of the second album Hitch a Ride seemed a lot easier as lead singer Sverre Stein Nielsen had returned from New Zealand. The three band members could really focus on composing and the result was 11 new songs of which quite a few had single potential. And thanks to the brilliant work of Danish producer Carsten Heller the music had even more dimensions, though the style was still a complex mixture of groove, road music, rock and Morricone. The first single Hitch a Ride is a fantastic example of how skilfully the Danish trio plays their catchy tunes - wrapped in a cinematic and very characteristic musical universe.
At a music conference in Europe Manfred Z�hringer the President of Iceberg Records met David Chackler president of American record label 215 Music, and this encounter resulted in a new record deal for Funky Nashville in USA and Canada.

The album has received fantastic reviews by the US critics (see Press Quotes and Reviews) and the first single Hitch a Ride has been added on several important US radio stations.

Samsung has chosen another Funky Nashville song (Hitch A Ride) to be pre-loaded on cell phones, too. The phones have so far been available in Europe, Asia and The Middle East.

The music
Funky Nashville is a remarkable mix of country, spaghetti western, blues, groovy bottom and pop tunes, all together giving an original, cinematic and dusty expression, which the band themselves call Highway Groove. Funky Nashville is the sound of the dead-dry silence of the desert mixed with the roar of the sea. It is the whiz from the never ending highway, and it�s the moment between night and day where anything can happen. Funky Nashville captures body and soul through melodious pop songs supported by crisp funky beats, and sprinkled with elements of country, rock�n�roll, soul and blues. One groovy mixture that creates that special Funky Nashville sound.

The future
Currently the guys from Funky Nashville are recording new material and preparing for touring around North America next spring. Record labels in Germany and Japan have shown an interest in the album Hitch a Ride so releases in these countries may be a reality in the near future.