NASHVILLE, TN. (www.sawyerbrown.com) - When
Sawyer Brown decided to gear up and get creative after a three year break from the grind of making records on a set-schedule, jumping jack frontman Mark Miller found himself so inspired, he started looking around for all kinds of new ground to explore. And in his quest for new, breakthrough, breakout realities, the singer/songwriter/showman/producer set his sites on the
Internet - a place where the active fans had seemed to congregate long before the man who's written "Some Girls Do," "The Dirt Road," "Step that Step," "Hard To Say" and "The Walk" realized how fast that world moved.
"It took a lot to get me to get e-mail," laughs the ever-young Miller. "But it's one of those things that once you start to understand what the possibilities are, you wanna explore everything. I don't wanna say I had no idea, but I had NO idea... and it's such a great way to be able to plug the fans in instantly, and also for them to be able to interact with us some."
And so as the new year dawns, Sawyerbrown.com takes on a whole new level of excitement. With a tiered-level of participation, fans can participate and interact as much as they'd like -- and given the highly social structure of Sawyer shows as a base, there'll be the opportunity for communities to pop up within the community that is Sawyer Brown Online.
"You realize that over the years, a lot of friendships, a few romances and a bunch of second generation fans have grown out of people coming to our shows, meeting at Fan Fair, our fan club events" says Miller, with the eye of a practiced sociologist, "and I'd like to think it's 'cause we have the best fans in the world! You know, you meet people you have something in common with - and you can't help but realize how many other things you're also interested in in common.
"If we give people a good time onstage or their radio - which has always been our idea - that's awesome. If we can help bring people together, broaden their circle of friends, create a sense of community, well, that's humbling - especially since we do it with something that's so much fun us to begin with. Getting to go blow it up with people is reward enough; this is icing on the cake."
SawyerBrown.com will offer exclusive contests, video and interactive features with the band - not to mention chat boards, moderated chats, exclusive merchandise - and up-to-the-moment updates on the hardest working band in country music.
With the band's "Tonight Show" debut - with sacred steel sensation Robert Randolph - this Thursday, Dec 16, "Mission Temple Fireworks Stand" is fixing to blow up in the biggest way! Not only is Jay Leno bringing in a 20-piece choir for the exhortational chorus, but the single has already leaked out onto the airwaves, debuting at No 55 on Billboard nearly 8 weeks before the official add date - and their high voltage Grand Ole Opry appearance Dec 4th has already netted the CMA and ACM Award winners an invitation to come on back.
"The internet, man," jokes Miller. "I don't know how I kept up before it!"
