San Diego Reader

Colin Armstrong: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals

Genre: Acoustic, Pop, Rock

Sound description: Melodic acoustic pop of the Beatle-esque variety.

RIYL: Badfinger, Jellyfish, Oasis, World Party, Dream Syndicate, Electric Light Orchestra

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Related Links

• Colin Armstrong website

• MySpace page

Synoposis

Influences: Oasis, the Beatles, Badfinger, Tears for Fears, Klaatu, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, U2

Background:

At the age of 12, Colin Armstrong was already touring with bands, thanks to his prowess on - of all things - the bagpipes. He did this until after turning 15. "As you can imagine though," he says, "it is pretty hard to make a living playing bagpipes. I knew I had to learn to sing and play the guitar." Armstrong's next big break came when he won L.A.'s Be a Star contest on STAR 98.7, which resulted in a demo deal with Hollywood Records.

The native San Diegan's song "Lonely Fall" won Best Male Vocal and Best Song at the San Diego Music Awards, followed by a Best Pop Vocal nomination for his song "Hey Yoko" at the Los Angeles Music Awards. His song "In Your Eyes" was a top ten finalist in the 2007 American Idol songwriter contest.

Early 2008 brought Armstrong a publishing agreement with NorthStar Media, who placed his song "Nothing More to Say" on the Lifetime TV show Army Wives. His debut full length album Lost and Anonymous (Rithmetic Records) was produced and mixed by Mikal Reid (Mick Jagger, Ben Harper, Aerosmith, Wang Chung).

Discography