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Tori Sparks

Tori Sparks calls Nashville home, but spends most of her time on the road in the U.S. and Europe. Called "a knockout" by the Village Voice, her dynamic live show is equal parts soulful singing and zany stand-up-style humor. Tori's latest album Under This Yellow Sun was produced by indie rock veteran David Henry (R.E.M., Ben Folds, Josh Rouse, Cowboy Junkies), and features players such as Steve Bowman (Counting Crows), Aaron Sands (Jars of Clay), and John Deaderick (Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams).

Tori recorded her debut album Rivers + Roads under the auspices of an independent label based in Nashville. When the label went under due to financial trouble, the fearless chanteuse took matters into her own hands, and dove into eight solid months of touring, radio, and video promotion. Stations in the U.S., Belgium, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, France, and England were supportive of Rivers + Roads, which lead to tours in Ireland, England, France, and the U.S. One of the aforementioned eight months was devoted to The Feed Your Soul Guitar Project, a tour and folk art auction benefiting Oxfam America. The music video Rivers + Roads was selected Best Pop Video by the 2006 Indie Gathering. Sparks was a Unisong International Songwriting Contest Finalist in 2005 and again in 2007.

In 2007, Tori formed her own record label (Glass Mountain Records) and publishing company (Hand Over Foot Publishing) in order to release the next album on her own. She hired independent promoters on a shoestring budget, and continued her relentless touring and grassroots promotion. The DIY business model paid off in a big way. Tori's single "Cold War" was picked up by Universal Music France and included on their compilation Country Vol. 2, which has sold 30,000 copies. "Cold War" was also included on the Paste Magazine New Music Sampler (Issue # 43), and was named one of the Top 12 DIY Downloads by Performing Songwriter magazine. The album Under This Yellow Sun was licensed to MTV, Lifetime, and Oxygen Networks following a feature on XM Radio.

In 2008 alone, Tori has showcased at Folk Alliance, Bele Chere, American MusicFest, many other conferences and festivals, radio and television shows. Tori has given guest lectures at universities and music conferences on the subject of indie promotion and the DIY business model. Her next album is due out in June 2009.

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Random Music Group, Inc.
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