Out of the blue I happened to hear the 'Seven Cigarettes' cd and immediately thought it was the best I'd heard in a number of years. A big statement, particularly for a virtual unknown like James, but a collection of strong tracks like Seven Cigarettes, All Your Shit, Radio, Jump, and Where Did You Go make it so. This album highlights all that's good with today's music and all that's bad with today's radio playlists.
This article appeared in the Sunday, June 3rd edition of the largest newspaper in Australia, the Herald Sun.
Cometti's footy ode
Rosanne Michie
June 03, 2007 12:00am
DENNIS Cometti has co-written a song he hopes will be sung at the AFL Grand Final.
The AFL commentator, who was once a disc jockey and has a passion for music, has paid for the song to be recorded by little-known American artist James McKenna.
Channel 7 has agreed to use the song in its football coverage.
Cometti has met executives at Sony BMG in a bid to secure a recording contract for McKenna.
He hopes to bring the young singer/songwriter to Australia to promote the song.
The unlikely scenario began when Cometti, who surfs the internet extensively looking to buy undiscovered material from around the world, stumbled across McKenna's Seven Cigarettes album.
He said at least four songs on the album should be hit records.
"We have become quite matey," Cometti said of the relationship that has developed through emails and phone conversations.
Cometti did not initially mention his celebrity status. But he eventually told McKenna that his radio and TV experience might help the singer.
McKenna searched the internet for information about Cometti and was surprised he was very well-known and well-liked in Australia.
"I found his article on Wikipedia and I have been learning all about his Cometti-isms ever since," McKenna said.
"I would really like to meet him just to shake his hand. It's just nice to know that someone on the other side of the world appreciates what you do."
Cometti rewrote the lyrics of one of the album's songs, Jump, to suit AFL. The pair also collaborated on a funkier version that has captured the eyes of Seven producers.
Seven is the network that hosts AFL. Dennis is the featured commentator and also a former coach and player. For you NFL fans, he’s the Aussie John Madden.
McKenna makes the kind of pop that thrives in the mainstream college radio community... ...the songs are capable of producing moments of pure pop magic that make one smile with satisfaction