LiveWire Survived Joplin Tornado, Now They're Helping Rebuild

t's been six months since the city of Joplin, Missouri was shattered by a devastating EF-5 tornado. Though rebuilding has begun, there is plenty more that needs to be done. With that in mind, rising country group LiveWire is reaching out to help the effort with the release of "Miracle Of The Human Spirit." According to member Danny Bell, the event is one that affected the members first-hand.


"Several of our band members live in Joplin and it has always been our home base," he tells Billboard.com. "It made me really proud when so many people were coming from all over the country to help our community after the tornado. As a band, we wanted to help our friends there and music is the way that we can do that."

Bell said that he wrote the song in part because of how people pulled together in Joplin during and after the tornado.

"The night that the tornado struck, I was watching the storm coverage on the news while I was talking on the phone with Cory, our fiddle player," he recalls. "He was in his home basement in Joplin and the tornado was over him. He sounded real scared. Then the line just went dead and I thought the worst. Then I got another phone call from someone who told me that our drummer's wife was missing (she had been in a collapsed building near St. John's Hospital). For a split second, I realized that I could lose my best friends and they could lose their families. Thankfully, they both survived the storm, but hundreds of people were not so lucky. It made me realize how precious life is. I wanted to write something to express the feelings that were in my heart, but there were just so many emotions it took me several weeks to get started. It struck me that the human spirit is always going to rise up to help those in need when times are tough. Then the song just flowed out of me."

Adam Hagerman, drummer for LiveWire, also remembers that day. "My wife called me screaming saying that she had been blown out of a building and was buried under debris and didn't know where she was. I ran out the door and went to look for her where she worked near St. John's Hospital in the most-hard hit area of the city. I was driving around in a sheer panic. The wind was blowing like crazy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were people walking around like zombies and dead people in cars. There were power lines down, and gas lines were blowing. There was a truck with dead bodies in the back. It looked like a bomb went off. In the meantime, my wife had dug herself out from where she was and I found her walking down a street. She lost her purse and our car had been destroyed - but she was alive. She is a true survivor. I will never forget that day."

"Miracle Of The Human Spirit" is available on iTunes and other digital retailers. All proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the "Joplin Tornado First Response Fund" c/o Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri www.cfswmo.org (the same charity recently received donations from recording artist Sheryl Crow and actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).

The music video for "Miracle Of The Human Spirit" includes archival film footage shot by FEMA within hours of the tornado, news coverage of the disaster provided by local ABC affiliate KODE-TV 12, and archival photos from several local photographers. Intertwined into this document of the event, members of LiveWire are shown performing the song in the ruins of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Joplin, near St. John's Hospital in one the most-devastated areas of the city. They were joined on vocals by special guests, the College Heights Christian Church choir, under the direction of Lynn Conover. The video closes with a call to action for individuals to donate to help with the city's rebuilding efforts.

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615 Spotlight: Aussie Trio McClymonts Aim for No. 1 in America

It's been a very exciting year for sister trio The McClymonts. Brooke, Samantha, and Mollie have taken great steps to make a larger name for themselves in the United States after enjoying huge success in their native Australia, moving to Music City five months ago. Their single, "Wrapped Up Good," is making an impact at country radio, and they are starting to be recognized with major awards from organizations such as the Country Music Association. Their harmonies are tight, and their songwriting is nothing short of first rate.



For every Keith Urban that has been able to transcend nationalities with their sound in the genre, there are at least two that have not been able to. The McClymonts are making that jump - and making it successfully. When asked about the differences between marketing themselves here as opposed to (way) across the pond, Samantha said "Probably the biggest challenge between Australia and over here is we're part of Universal Music Australia, so there's more of a marketing arm behind us over there, and we've traveled all over there, so we have a fan base. So, when a record is released, they know its coming, and know where they can find it. Where, over here, we're doing it ourselves. So, we do notice a big difference."

She did say that they have been amazed at how much of music marketing here in the United States is viral. "We notice how important social media is, and the importance of marketing yourself wherever you go," she says, adding that they try to stay connected with their growing number of fans constantly. "It's good to keep updating because if we go to a fair or a festival, before they know who you are, they actually do their research. People will come up and say 'I've never heard of you before, but I saw your name on the festival list and thought I would go online and check out your music.' That's very amazing that they are so proactive."
 Sister Mollie adds that there are some other differences as well. "The radio tour really doesn't happen in Australia. It was awesome to see the way it works. You just go out and prove yourself," she said.

The McClymonts radio tour has given them a chance to meet radio programmers from across the nation -- a vital tool for any artist seeking airplay in a very crowded field, she admits.

"You've got to figure out how you stand out and how you break through the crowd, but you're lucky that it's a town of supporting and encouraging people and giving them a chance. That is amazing, when you consider that there are so many up and coming artists."

Brooke feels that performing live is their strong suit -- where they can really sell themselves to new fans. "I think it's awesome for us because we can go out and play live. We are a live band. It's nice to sing live and show them, so hopefully they will play the CD more because they get to know you and your personality."



The trio were recently awarded the 2011 CMA Global Country Artist award. Upon accepting the award for her sisters, Brooke said, "Wow, after five months of living here in Nashville, to have picked up the CMA Global Country Artist Award is an absolute honor."

With a single and album -- both titled "Wrapped Up Good," the future looks bright for this very talented trio. What are their goals for 2012? "We want to be number one, and we're going to stay there for 40 weeks," Brooke exclaims, adding that "We're going to be touring heavily. That's where people can see you, then they call up radio and request your music. We need fans to push our music as much as we can. We're just going to keep trying to create that fan base and growing it. We want to blow them away live. Anyone can do that in the studio, but you really want to do that live!"

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