Highlight Reel
Live Performance
nominee of the la music awards
PAGE INFO
Release Date
April 2015
Genre
Country
Hometown
San Francisco
Record Label
Shatz Music Group, LLC
Short Description
Carmel Helene is a country singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA. Her debut single dropped on April 21st on iTunes.
Bio
Carmel Helene grew up differently than most kids. Born in San Francisco, her father was a black conga player for jazz great Cal Tjader and her mother was a white hippie who hung out at Haight and Ashbury. As a result, Carmel’s musical influences ranged from Whitney Houston to Dolly Parton, and from Willie Nelson to Pantera. She began her professional music career performing with hard rock, top 40 and jazz bands. Yet she always had a love of country. “Country is in my soul”, said Carmel. “As a matter of fact, going back quite a ways, my great-great-grand parents traveled through the Wild West across the plains in a covered wagon. My great-great-grandfather led his 20-mule team and worked the land. I come from a long line of hard-working, pioneer women. Growing up I would listen to my mom play banjo and we’d sing along to Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. They remain two of my favorite singers and songwriters to this day.”
Broadening her repertoire, Carmel started doing session work for national commercials and television, including McDonald’s, C.S.I., Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC Super Bowl, BET Jazz, Perrier and others. She has also contributed to a number of film recordings including “National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers”, as well as co-writing and performing two songs in the TV movie “Christmas at Water’s Edge”. That led her to write, record and produce her 2010 self- titled debut EP, “Carmel Helene”. But it was rock, not country and not what Carmel ultimately wanted.
Carmel continued to develop into an extraordinary and talented performer, which led to a few detours along the way to her solo country career. She toured extensively with Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as Michael Bolton, Luis Miguel and Johnny Hallyday. She has appeared as a backing vocalist on shows such as American Idol, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, The Tonight Show, American Music Awards, American Academy of Country Music Awards and Good Morning America.
In 2013, during a performance in Nashville, Eliot Shatzman, founder of independent record label Shatz Music Group, took notice of Carmel’s powerful voice. Her guitar driven, high-energy country style, along with her exotic looks and rapport with the audience separated her from the crowd. Shatzman signed her immediately.
Carmel Helene’s first single “One Foot Out The Door”, produced by Jim Kimball (Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks,) will be available April 21st. The music video is in production.
“Sharing my love of music with the world is my goal”, says Carmel. “I like to combine my love of rock and country music to create a bit of an edge. I love writing stories and I want my songs to tell them. And believe me, I have lots of stories to tell.”
Gender
Female
Current Location
Los Angeles
General Manager
www.shatzmusicgroup.com
email: info@shatzmusicgroup.com
Influences
Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Rascal Flatts, Justin Moore, Lee Brice, Reba McEntire, Beth Hart, Trisha Yearwood, Alanis Morissette, Ani Defranco, KT Tunstall, James Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Prince, Michael Jackson, Saliva, Pantera, Whitney Houston, Paramore, Pat Benatar, Shakira…could go on forever…
Other Accounts
@carmelhelene(Twitter)
carmelhelene(Instagram)
Website
http://www.carmelhelene.com/, www.shatzmusicgroup.com
Press Contact
info@shatzmusicgroup.com