Brad Colerick

Brad Colerick first entered the world in Valentine, Nebraska, where he spent his initial five years before his family relocated to Lincoln. Although music played only a minor role in his household, one grandfather passed along a violin that Colerick later refurbished, even as the guitar captured his stronger interest. Deeply shaped by James Taylor, he began performing in clubs across Lincoln and Omaha during his enrollment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the early 1980s. After completing his studies, he sustained those appearances both alone and in tandem with Gene Klosner, yielding a joint duo recording. His 1986 relocation to Los Angeles occurred shortly before the arrival of his first solo album, Token Dreams. To sustain himself financially, he took a position at a firm that produced music for commercials, a role that brought him into contact with Amy Grant, Livingston Taylor, Johnny Cash, Shawn Colvin, B.B. King, and Veruca Salt. He established Back 9 Records in 1990. In 2002 he and associate Dave Curtin launched their own commercial-music operation, DeepMix, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. That same year he received a London International Advertising Award for a song he wrote and recorded with Buddy Guy. A wish to concentrate once more on his own non-advertising artistry remained, yet nearly two decades passed before he could pursue it. Live performances resumed, often staged in Nebraska. Back 9 issued his second solo album, Cottonwood, on February 28, 2006. Lines in the Dirt appeared on July 10, 2007, followed by the fourth album, When I'm Gone, on September 15, 2009.