NEON BLUE
NEON BLUE is a five-piece indie country rock band from Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. The band is fronted by singer/songwriter/bassist Mark Doney and drummer/harmony singer Sean Doney. Together the brothers independently funded the debut NEON BLUE self-titled cd and released it to the European radio market in 2005. The brothers continue to make changes to their act, adding new musician/ performers to the band as well as new original songs to their already extensive catalogue. The Doney's remain as the vocal core of the band in 2010.
Country Music News (a monthly publication considered the voice of Country Music in Canada) describes their debut, self-titled album as "having a rootsy, down home feel, that ranges from early country/rock sounds of The Eagles to the more traditional laid back feel of The Good Brothers."
Their first single "Thank God for the Simple Man", off their debut album was released to Europe, Japan and Australia in early September 2005. Since its release the song, an ode to Mark Doney's father Murray Doney, has appeared on country music charts throughout the world.
"One Lonely Night" was their second single released to radio on January 3, 2006. In late March it hit 28th place on the European Country Music Association Country Music Radio Top 100. One Lonely Night remained on the E.C.M.A. charts for most of the summer of 2006. It reached No. 2 on the United Kingdom National Country Music Chart and No. 5 on the Ireland National Country Music Chart.
In late February 2006, "Thank God for the Simple Man" was re-released to 2,200 Gospel and Christian radio stations in the United States, Canada and worldwide by Glory Train Records.
"On My Own" was released to the European radio market in the spring of 2006. Paul Davis of NCM Radio Worldwide Syndication commented "On My Own has intriguing vocals with great potential!"
On July 28, 29th and 30th 2006, NEON BLUE performed on the same bill with other Canadian country music artists: George Fox, Lace, Diane Chase, Brad Johner and Carolyn Dawn Johnson at Palmer Rapids Twin Music Festivals (voted by the Canadian Country Music Association as one of the top 10 Country Events in Canada: 1999, 2000 and 2003). The event had a record crowd of 7,500 people.
On July 6, 2007, NEON BLUE was informed that their country/rock anthem "Katie" had been selected to appear on the MOOSE Trax 4 compilation CD which features the best of unsigned musical talent from Central and Northern Ontario. By being selected, "Katie" will be added to the playlist of all the 18 Moose FM radio stations. Some of these stations are found in Bracebridge, Parry Sound, Timmins, Elliot Lake, Kapuskasing, Hearst, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Haliburton, North Bay and the band's hometown, Bancroft. Katie appeared on MOOSE stations on a regular rotation at the end of January 2008 and will be played throughout 2008.
On September 11, 2008 NEON BLUE performed for 2,500 Country Music fans at the Marmora Country Jamboree. Headlining this event was Grand Ole Opry favorite - Whispering [[Bill Anderson.
NEON BLUE remains an Indie, self-produced act as of January 2010. Although the dedut cd stacked up very well against much higher budget major label recordings coming out of Nashville, the band continues to work towards the production and funding of the much anticipated second album.
Discography
- Album NEON BLUE (2005)
- Album MOOSE Trax 4 (featuring the single "Katie") (2007)
Singles
- Thank God For The Simple Man
- One Lonely Night
- On My Own
- Katie (first Canadian release)
External links
- NEON BLUE's Official Website http://www.neonblue.zoomshare.com]]
- NEON BLUE on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7oq2NB49F0
- NEON BLUE's Review in Country Music News http://www.countrymusicnews.ca/news.ihtml?step=2&article_id=945news
- E.C.M.A. Review of NEON BLUE'S CD http://www.europeancma.com/new_releases.htm
- Town of Bancroft Website http://www.town.bancroft.on.ca
- MOOSE FM Website http://www.moosefm.com/
- NEON BLUE MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/neonbluecountry
- NEON BLUE at Jango Radio http://www.jango.com/music/Neon+Blue?l=0
- NEON BLUE at CBC Radio 3 http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/artists/Neon-Blue
- NEON BLUE at Band For The Day http://www.bandfortheday.com/bands/Neon+Blue
- NEON BLUE at Whotune http://www.whotune.com/Neon_Blue#page=profile&profileId=Neon%2520Blue