PHAT SOUNDS FROM A SLIM PACKAGE:
EMPIRE MUSICWERKS TO RELEASE
FORMER BAD RONALD MEMBER TOOTHPICK'S SOLO DEBUT,
TIME TRAVELIN' COUCH   NOVEMBER 9, 2004
* * *
Enhanced CD features two music videos
“Time Travelin' Couch” and “Super Size Me,” from the documentary of the
same name, for which Toothpick penned the theme song

There's hip hop, rap, pop, and neo folk roots rock.  And there's Toothpick , a singer-songwriter who puts them all together for a very phat sound.  The former Bad Ronald member makes his solo debut when Miami, Florida-based Empire Musicwerks releases Toothpick's Time Travelin' Couch , November 9, 2004 via Universal Distribution.

The enhanced CD features two music videos, “Time Travelin' Couch, ” which is a psychedelic trip with a humorous twist, conceived and directed by Greg Oliver (O.A.R.,Snoop Dogg), and “Super Size Me,” from the controversial 2004 award-winning  documentary written and directed by Morgan Spurlock, for which Toothpick was tapped to write the theme song.

“Morgan came to me and asked me to build a song around the phrase ‘super size me,'” notes Toothpick. “I just focused on taking a satirical look at American culture and our obsession with food and it flowed pretty easily.” Spurlock is so taken with the track that he is petitioning for an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Original Song from a Motion Picture.

And because everyone starts from the same point in the process, he adds, “It's good to be in that place where you'd be qualified.”

The free-spirited, cool New York native recorded the album at Pop Rox Studio, on his home turf of Manhattan with famed Pop Rox production team, Freshmaka and Duke Mushroom (Michael Tolcher, Carole King).

  Toothpick's music incorporates acoustic guitar with live hip hop beats, mellow rhymes and singing vocals. And there's always a touch of humor.

  According to Toothpick, “The title track came to me while I was watching the History Channel and was thinking about all of the adventures I would have if I could travel back in time.” >From viewing his own conception to smoking cigars with Fidel Castro, nothing is off limits on this “Couch.”

  Yet, while all of his songs have a danceable beat and catchy hooks, there is depth to his lyrics when looking beneath the surface. Notes Steve Morse of The Boston Globe, “His songs are bitingly satirical and fueled by a party spirit.”

Empire Musicwerks thinks that this is a formula for success.  Label president and CEO Paul Klein, renowned for his vast music knowledge that spans history and crosses genres, signed Toothpick after the Pop Rox team brought the uniquely perspectived artist to his attention.

“Toothpick is a very unique and talented artist with mass appeal,” says Klein.

And people – all sorts of people – groove on Toothpick's music and identify with his easygoing vibe.  He's opened for a wide spectrum of artists, including O.A.R., Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Ziggy Marley, Gavin DeGraw and Busta Rhymes, which has won for him cross-genre acceptance that speaks to his mass appeal.

His ongoing national concert tour with his band is taking him to clubs and colleges -- winning over fans everywhere he goes --with the hope that he'll land at New York's Jones Beach Amphitheatre, return to Boston's Orpheum Theatre, and eventually take the stage at Madison Square Garden. Toothpick may be a slim package, but the music is, well, super size in its captivation quotient.

“I rap, sing, and tell stories.  I'm on a mission to meet as many people in the next few years as possible and interact with them through music.  These songs are for college kids, high school kids, and anyone else who's in the mood to be in a good mood.”

So take a spin with Toothpick on his Time Travelin' Couch, and go with the flow.