Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, October 2007: JOHN SCHLITT

PETRA FRONTMAN JOHN SCHLITT TO RELEASE THIRD SOLO ALBUM IN JANUARY

NEWS SOURCE: Nashville Publicity; Jesusfreakhideout.com*
October 23, 2007

(NASHVILLE, TENN.) -- John Schlitt, multiple Grammy Award-winning recording artist, announces his signing with the Franklin, Tennessee based Fused Management. Schlitt will release his third solo album, The Grafting, in January through TAG Artist Group - his first solo effort in more than ten years.

Best known as the voice behind the four time Grammy Award and ten time Dove Award-winning group PETRA, Schlitt continues with a solo career following the band’s retirement in 2005. In his role as PETRA’s lead singer, Schlitt wrote the #1 hit “Just Reach Out” and earned RIAA-certified GOLD status for the albums Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out and Beyond Belief. Schlitt also earned a third Gold album (Flat as a Pancake) as the front man for the ‘70s classic rock band Head East. With PETRA, Schlitt has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and was the first Christian group to be celebrated by Hard Rock Café.

During his tenure with PETRA, Schlitt released his first solo album, Shake, in 1995 that included the radio hits “Show Me the Way,” “Inside of You,” and a second album in 1996, Unfit for Swine, which featured “Can’t Get Away.”*

Ricky B. Rogers, vice-president and co-founder of Fused Management, is looking forward to working with Schlitt on this new chapter in his career. “I am excited and thrilled to have John on board with Fused. I see a new energy being breathed into John’s career with our partnership, because we’re in this as a team. Our goal as a company is to help create new careers, infusing life and energy into an artist who has been there and back. John is one of those artists. His track record and longevity in the Christian music scene is something you just can not ignore.”

“I believe in talent - and John is loaded with it," adds Rogers. "He is a man with many amazing gifts – and he has an incredible record that’s just waiting to be heard. It’s very different from what he has done in the past, which just goes to show John’s versatility. Great music rises above genre and John is one those who can prove it."

“I’m very excited to be working with Fused Management,” says Schlitt. “My career is going in a whole new direction with new management and a new album. The music itself is going down a whole new path; the fact that my interests have changed as I have grown older is reflected in The Grafting.”

“The subject matter on this project is just as important as the music,” explains Schlitt. “The songs cover a variety of adult-themed topics including adoption, divorce, taking care of third world children, among other issues of importance in today’s world.”

The Grafting has a unique family connection which contributed to the creative and emotional evolution of the project.

“My son-in-law, Dan Needham, produced the album,” adds Schlitt. “So, ultimately I felt a lot more comfortable going places subject-wise that were really personal to me. There were actually some moments during the process of recording when we all got choked up and had to stop. That was a new experience for me.”

For more information and a preview of The Grafting, complete with commentary by Schlitt, visit the official website at www.JohnWSchlitt.com.

Fused Management was created in 2003 by Jim Detwiler and Ricky B. Rogers, and is a sister organization to Ray Ware Management. Fused Management’s roster includes Bloodgood, Heather Powers, Darrell Mansfield and Michael Sweet and the Sweet Family.

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