
Singer,
Songwriter Donovan Lyman & Blue Meridian Official Biography
Music has always played a
tremendous role in my life. There were no musicians in my family,
but there was a great deal of music in my house while growing up. I was
influenced by what my
parents were listening to, the local college radio station, Casey Kasem, and of
course, MTV.
By fourteen, I existed on a tasty diet of song- writers that included Lennon &
McCartney, John &
Taupin, Bacharach & David, Dozier & Holland, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Joe
Jackson, Neil
Diamond, Partridge & Moulding, Paul Simon, |Strummer & Jones and Sting. I
started playing
the piano when I was ten and soon after, picked up the guitar. As soon as I
learned to play my
first three chords, I was compelled to write music. My first mission was
to write a complete
song. Since then, my goal has evolved into writing the perfect song. To date,
I've written more
than five or six hundred and seen nearly a third of them performed in front of
receptive audiences.
A few years back, in Orlando, Florida, I co-founded my band “Blue Meridian” with
drummer and artist,
Kevin Kirkwood. The group and I proceeded to accomplish a great deal. In the
past several years
I've performed my songs on hundreds of live stages from Florida to California,
from the Virgin Islands
to Scotland. I've been honored with as many as six people's choice awards in
four years from a city that
takes credit for spawning the likes of Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul, Creed,
The Backstreet Boys,
NSYNC & Britney Spears. More than seventy of my compositions have been
professionally recorded
over five independently released albums; "Blue Meridian", "Brave
Angel", "Bleeding On the Guardrail",
"Minerva" & "Avalon and Babylon and Me". Blue Meridian has sold nearly 10,000
albums, surprisingly
without the aid of outside
management, promoters or labels. I have co-produced two, produced three,
and have been asked to sit behind the console for other artists as well. I've
also appeared in a number
of national publications from
Electronic Musician, Album Network to Spin. The world famous Hard Rock
Cafe purchased one of my Telecasters in 2000 and alongside my photo and name
plaque, it remains
on display in the worlds largest Hard Rock in Orlando, FL. It is the only
displayed memorabilia by an
"unsigned" act in a cafe containing thousands of impressive pieces. In 2001,
Blue Meridian memorabilia
was displayed in the Orange County Historical Museum for a three month "Rock n
Roll" exhibit that featured
the likes of The Doors, Ray Charles, Tom Petty, Elvis Presley & Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I've been fortunate enough to be recognized and applauded by an industry that
has seen fit to play my music at
FM radio on more than 2,000 occasions. I've also been asked to share the stage
with a multitude of internationally
respected artists ranging from The Wallflowers, The Fixx, Tonic, The Cult, Stone
Temple Pilots, The Smithereens,
Robert Plant, Nuno Bettencourt, Drivin n Cryin, Edwin McCain, The English Beat,
Veruca Salt, Van Dyke Parks,
Missing Persons, The Lovin' Spoonful & more. Myself and Blue Meridian have
toured enough to get road worn. In
the summer of 2005 and the Spring and Fall of 2006, we toured the United
Kingdom. To date, we have performed
over 50 shows in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In total the band has
performed nearly 600 times. In 2004, I
relocated to Los Angeles, California Where after a year of gigging,
signed a Publishing Deal with Universal Music's
Production Library. At the time of the signing, I had more than 15 compositions
in the library. More than any other
composer and artist. Both Fender and Matchless Amplification have added me to
their impressive list of endorsees.
I'm currently in search of the next challenge and opportunity to take my song
craft and performance to and
even larger audience. I plan to do all that I can to broaden the fan base and
increase awareness of what I've
dedicated my life to: writing the perfect song.
Thanks for your interest and support, Donovan Lyman
More on
the Project: Blue Meridian
Blue Meridian was formed in early August 1994 in Downtown Orlando, Florida.
Their original sound has an undeniable pop sensibility,
a radio worthiness and a world readiness. Their impressive catalog of originals
all possess that unique Blue Meridian formula. Their songs:
over 100 exciting originals all have that "hooky",
unforgettable quality, but often show diversity and profound experimentalism.
They have sold over 8,000 compact discs locally
in Orlando and Los Angeles, have been nominated for several independent
music awards,
won best rock band in Orlando 4 times from 1999-2002. They also took honors for
"Album of the Year" for Brave Angel in 2000 and in
2001 they took "Best Live" act honors. They have
received and unprecedented amount of regular
rotation airplay where they topped the charts
for more than 7 weeks. In early 2004, Singer Donovan
relocated to Los Angeles, CA to be closer to the action and to date has been the
largest drawing
act on some impressive bills at rooms like The Viper Room, The Roxy, The House
of Blues, Hotel Cafe, Key Club and more. The 6th album is nearly completed
and ride has only just started.
Contact
Raggedstar@aol.com