Realwest's Harms Is All Cowgirl, 'after All'

Joni Harms describes her music as traditional country with a Western feel. The release of her new project on RealWest Records, After All, is a follow-up to the well-received and highly acclaimed Cowgirl Dreams. According to Harms, the new CD, due Sept. 4, will follow in the same vein.

"Some of the songs on the new album were ones I didn't get to record for Cowgirl Dreams, and I've written a bunch of new ones since then," Harms says. Among her writing partners were Wood Newton, Hobo Jim, Buck Moore, Barbie Isham, and Bob Morrison.

"Most of them are my standard co-writing buddies," Harms says. "Living in Oregon, I don't go in search of new co-writers. I know these writers, so I will work with the ones I know I can get the job done with. And some of them have come out to the ranch in Oregon to write with me."

Some of the album's 13 tracks are definitely Western, while others are traditional country. Whatever the genre, Harms says most of the songs have positive messages.

"I've gotten to where I'm in that space in my life where I'm realizing that there are some other folks out there who want their children and families to hear songs that are positive," she says.

Harms' label, RealWest, based in Burbank, Calif., is a division of Paris Recordings and is a joint venture with Four Winds Trading Co., based in Boulder, Colo. Jim Snowden, president of Paris Recordings, says Paris took over the label side of the company. Distribution for Harms' CD will be through Ryco Distribution and Four Winds.

"We will handle the promotion, publicity, marketing and sales, and we'll work closely with Four Winds, which has kiosks and listening stations throughout the Southwest," Snowden says. "Our biggest accounts are Barnes & Noble and Borders, who are known to break niche music. Our sales manager has gone out and had meetings with both of them, starting to prime the pump to build up the Western category."

Snowden says the company is also setting up an in-house booking agency, headed by Charlie Parker, who already books RealWest recording artist Brenn Hill.

"We are just looking to enhance what Joni is already doing, support what she is doing, and help her to win more fans," Snowden says. "We also want to take it outside what she is doing and bring more opportunities to her." The plan for more opportunities includes in-stores, which will include both music stores and less traditional venues, such as Western wear shops.

The label hopes radio airplay will come from country and Americana stations, as well as those programming Western music. Snowden says, "We are amassing a list and checking it twice for Western music radio opportunities, from Red Steagall's [syndicated] show to everywhere else."

"I definitely think her fans and the radio industry are ready to hear some new music from her," says Tracy Pitcox, music director at KNEL-FM Brady, Texas. "She is so distinct and different [from] the typical pop/country that is coming out of Nashville right now. She is a unique stylist, which is exactly what we need right now—someone with more of an individual approach to their music."

Tim Cretsinger, owner of Groovacious Record Shop in Cedar City, Utah, moved to Utah from Oregon last October and quickly began introducing people in his new location to Harms.

"Response to Joni has been incredible so far," he says. "Every time I put on one of her CDs, someone will ask me who it is. I've sold a good number of copies of Cowgirl Dreams and some of her kids' album, Are We There Yet. I think when her new record comes out, response will be really good. We're gonna play the hell out of it. People will definitely hear it."

Cretsinger says the reason people like Harms is that she is "pure and down-home—there's nothing pretentious about her music at all . . . And her vocals are so sweet that people can't resist her when they hear her.

"There are people that get airplay and get 'big,' but I don't consider them artists," Cretsinger continues. "I consider Joni a real artist. There's not a lot of people I say that about. I just hope people warm up to her and accept what she does."

Charlotte Bell owns Graham Bell Gallery in Tubac, Ariz., a shop that sells an eclectic assortment of collectibles and also has a music section. Bell says Harms is one of her favorite recording artists.

"We play both Are We There Yet and Cowgirl Dreams in our gallery, and when we want to draw a crowd into the shop, we pipe the music outside. People always come in and ask who she is, especially when we play the children's album," Bell says. "We have sold quite a few of her albums since we started stocking them. People really like her. Her music is very refreshing.

"The gallery has a mixture of collectibles, and I travel all over the world to gather cowboy things from other countries," Bell adds. "We sell one-of-a-kind items, and Joni is definitely one of a kind."