DownTown Mystic

The sound of DownTown Mystic is vintage yet modern. An industry trade publication put it this way: "DownTown Mystic’s music is inspired by ‘60s pop icons, ‘70s rockers, yet it’s planted firmly in the here and now".

DownTown Mystic started as the alter ego of Sha-La Music President, Robert Allen and morphed into a group project with Bruce Engler, an artist that Robert had once managed. Their 1st effort would be the "Rock'n'Roll 4 The Soul" cd, which caught lightning in a bottle when a track they co-wrote, "One More Chance" was heard by WBCG PD, G. Michael Keating, who immediately added it to his playlist...quite rare by today's standards! This led to radio airplay at commercial & non commercial AAA, as well as at College & Internet Radio.

The "Rock'n'Roll 4 The Soul" cd brought together a host of many talented musicians, including one of the great rhythm sections in the history of American Rock'n'Roll--Garry Tallent & Max Weinberg of the E Street Band.

Having had success with their 1st CD, Robert & Bruce decided to head back into the studio to record a follow-up. The result would be "Read The Signs", with Robert & Bruce being ably aided and abetted by Steve Holley (Paul McCartney/Wings/Ian Hunter) on Drums and Paul Page (Dion/Ian Hunter/Smithereens) on Bass, with a bit of extra help again from Garry & Max.

The genesis of DownTown Mystic had its beginnings as an experiment when Robert was working in the studio with one of his artists, The Discontent. Robert became intrigued with the idea of playing his more classic rock sounding songs with modern rock musicians. So he recorded some tracks with the band and liked the results from the sessions. He would continue to work on the tracks in his spare time, and included some of his other artists.

Robert thought some of the tracks came out so good that he decided to test out a song to see what the reaction, if any, would be. He found out in a rather dramatic way when he got a call with the news that veteran tastemaker Jed The Fish played the track "Lost & Found" off of an Industry compilation cd as his "Catch of The Day" on "World Famous" KROQ in LA, one of the most influential modern rock stations. This would lead to some national airplay.

When the "Mayor of The Sunset Strip", legendary KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, played another track, "Brian Jones", to honor the anniversary of the fallen Stone, Robert knew it was time to go back into the studio and finish recording enough tracks for a full-length album.

It was at this point that Robert would hook up again with Bruce. They had a karmic connection and they also had very similar tastes & styles. The timing seemed right to try something together and they felt like they had nothing to lose. It was in that spirit that they released "Rock'n'Roll 4 The Soul" and the results took them totally by surprise...and more than a few other people. Now having recorded their next cd, "Read The Signs", DownTown Mystic has come full circle...from an experiment evolving into a fully realized group project.

DownTown Mystic has been featured on Music Industry compilation cds for Alternative Rock Radio & with such artists as: Matchbox 20, The Wallflowers, Santana, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Everclear, Vertical Horizon, Beck, David Gray, Pete Yorn, System Of A Down, Korn, A Perfect Circle, Lifehouse, Patti Smith, Dandy Warhols, Blur, Travis, Fiona Apple, Eels, Supergrass, to name a few.

“Although clearly a modern rock band, D.M.’s record is several singles deep and worthy of hitting multiple formats”…

DownTown Mystic has also been featured on Industry compilation cds for Triple A Radio with Grammy winners Steely Dan...also...Bare Naked Ladies, John Mellencamp, Ryan Adams, Five For Fighting, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne, Bjork, Jonatha Brooke, Cowboy Junkies, The Max Weinberg 7, Keb' Mo', Steve Forbert, The String Cheese Incident, among others...

“With harmonies reminiscent of Poco and early Eagles, it’s hard not to sing along with DownTown Mystic”…

Artist Representation: Management 22

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