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Abby SomeOne’s “Fall Down” Named June “Best Song Of The
Month”
By Dale Kawashima
AbbySomeone, a hard-working, Americana rock band based in
Black Hills, South Dakota, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The
Month” Contest for June, for their song “Fall Down”. This song was written by
the band’s lead singer and writer, Shawn Michael Bitz. “Fall Down” is a key cut
from AbbySomeone’s latest album, Schizosonic, which was released in July
2004.
Shawn Michael Bitz of AbbySomeone.
“Fall Down” is a well crafted, appealing, uptempo cut, which
is fun to listen to. The highlight of the song is its strong chorus, which
features a hooky melody, plus excellent background harmonies. This recording is
crisply produced and mixed by Blake Althen of the Human Factor (a music
production studio in Washington DC), and band tracks were adeptly played by
Abby SomeOne’s Shawn Michael Bitz (acoustic guitar), Chambers Waller (lead
guitar), Gary Rose (bass) and Brad Williamson (drums). In addition, each member
of the band contributed backing vocals.
Group founder Bitz is a veteran performer and writer, who
has been active in the Midwest music scene for two decades. He was born and
raised in the hills of South Dakota, and started playing music at a young age.
Bitz’s father is popular comedian and musician Gary Mule Deer, who has appeared
on many TV shows, including Laugh-In, The Smothers Brothers, The
Tonight Show, and Late Night With David Letterman.
Bitz started to write songs when he was 20, and he sang lead
and wrote songs for several bands, before forming Abby SomeOne in 1998. The
group has since released five albums, all which have sold between 2,000 and
7,000 copies. The band has also been a solid touring act for several years,
headlining gigs and playing many outdoor festivals throughout the Midwest.
AbbySomeone performing live (pictured l-r): Chambers Waller, Shawn Michael Bitz, Gary Rose. (not pictured: drummer Brad Williamson).
“Fall Down” has been a very successful cut for the band,
receiving substantial airplay in 22 states. “’Fall Down’ is a spiritual song,”
explained Bitz. “It’s about the need to surrender to love, and to embrace love,
rather than to cow down to fear.” The key phrase in the song’s chorus is “fall
down in love.”
Currently, Abby SomeOne is touring steadily, and also
looking forward to recording their next album. “Things are going well,” said
Bitz. “We have an excellent, new manager, Mark Weinand. And we’re hoping to
record again with Blake (Althen).”
Abby SomeOne isn’t the trendy, young band that major labels
often look for. But the band has nevertheless built a solid fan base, and
continues to grow in popularity. “We don ‘t fit the mold of the music industry,”
added Bitz. “We’re real guys in a real rock band. We’re proud of who we are,
and how old we are.”
Here are the Top Five Songs which were submitted for this month's contest, with the songwriter credits, plus their e-mail and website links. To hear the songs, please click on "Listen To Song".
"Best Song Of The Month" Winner
"Fall Down". Written by Shawn Michael Bitz of Abby SomeOne, Black Hills, South Dakota. Performed by Abby SomeOne.