N E W S   A R C H I V E

SPRING 2001

Performed lead role in "JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECNICOLOR DREAMCOAT" at PSC in Keyser,WV

SPRING 2002

Performed lead role in "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR" at PSC in Keyser,WV

AUGUST 2002

"Jon Fritz/solo" album is reviewed favorably at SMOTHER.NET; enters COLGATE COUNTRY SHOWDOWN contest....JON is one of 12 West Virginia finalists; having won 2 local competitions in Fairmont, JON finishes 4th overall in the state competition and falls 2 rounds short of the Nashville Finals

DECEMBER 2002

 FAVORABLE REVIEW IN DENMARK E-ZINE compares JON'S music to Bob Dylan(?).......sorry, the link to the review is unavailable- besides, it's in Danish! the review was of a 6-song EP containing 3 songs each from "Are You In?" and "Jon Fritz/solo"

MAY 2003

FOREVER IN MY HEART, the CD single, is released on 5 radio stations in West Virginia & Virginia

JUNE 2003

JON APPEARS on Winchester,VA cable TV; LIVE on-air radio interview on WAGE 1200am/Loudon County,VA

JULY 2003

MORGANTOWN, a song from the "Jon Fritz/solo" CD is added to the playlist at WWVU- 92fm(West Virginia University's radio station)

AUGUST 2003

ARTICLE IN OBSERVER NEWS, a Reston,VA newspaper, applauds Jon's solo work; JON OPENS for "The Bellamy Brothers" at Town & Country Days, New Martinsville,WV

SEPTEMBER 2003

MORGANTOWN, the 4th JON FRITZ album, is released; MORGANTOWN is reviewed with high praise at SMOTHER.NET

JANUARY 2004

JON opens for JEFFREY GAINES at the nationally recognized "Jammin' Java"; The song, "DOWN AT JULIO'S" appears on the compilation CD, "SMOTHERED: VOL. II: THE VERY BEST OF THE UNDERGROUND"

MARCH 2004

JON & fellow Manassas,VA musician WAYNE MITZEN form new company called JonWayneProductions; first work is a jingle written for NATALIE TENNANT's campaign for West Virginia's Secretary of State; commercials air April 1st,2004

SUMMER 2004

RECORDING begins for a new CD of Jon's material; originally entitled "Sweetness" and containing only 4 tunes, the album grows to 13 songs; drummer MARC STAUFFER appears on all tracks

FALL 2004

JON FRITZ POWER TRIP forms out of the recording sessions with WAYNE & MARC; band plays first gig at Virginia Tech and starts CD promotion

WINTER 2004

"WHEN IT'S OVER..." is released on CDBABY.COM; CLEAR CHANNEL RADIO SPOTS run in Washington,DC market promoting album; band voted "Best Unsigned & Indie" by FALLEN ANGEL RADIO; regular rotation on internet radio heavy MANSION ON THE HILL; jon is interviewed and plays tunes from CD "live" on internet radio station KSEX in Burbank,CA

FEBRUARY 2005

JONWAYNE PRODUCTIONS hires JEROME PROMOTIONS & TINDERBOX MUSIC to handle radio promotion for the new CD; RAINMAKER PUBLICITY starts major PR campaign; several internet radio stations play cuts from "WHEN IT'S OVER..."; indie artist radio.com's "INDIE LIMELIGHT" program airs syndicated interview worldwide to 1.3 million listeners.  Article in GAINESVILLE TIMES; First BAD and GOOD review

SPRING/SUMMER 2005

65 commercial radio stations across the USA pick up and spin "SURRENDER" from the CD; dozens of college radio stations as well; album is reviewed by over 20 magazines & webzines with only 3 negative reviews; "SURRENDER" does well on "NEW MUSIC WEEKLY" charts; several on-air and print interviews with JON appear across the airwaves & internet; "SUMMER IN THE CITY", a single released under the band pseudonym "HASH BROWN & THE CITY BOYS" is released to radio with little fanfare

FALL 2005

"SOMEWHERE IN HER EYES" is the second single released from "WHEN IT'S OVER..." and peaks at #5 on the NEW MUSIC WEEKLY pop charts; the song also peaks at #121 on FMQB's Adult Contemporary chart; JON is nominated for "Best New AC/HOT AC" artist of the year by NEW MUSIC WEEKLY & attends awards ceremony in West Hollywood, but loses to the the artist SHANI

SPRING 2006

"SEE THRU ME" peaks at #4 on NEW MUSIC WEEKLY charts with over 20,000 spins at radio across the country and #56 at FMQB's Adult Contemporary chart

SEPTEMBER 2006

JON writes the score for budding director COBY TOLAND's short film, "BULLDOG", which is entered into the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL; JON also writes the movie's theme song, "HOME"; music is recorded at JONWAYNE PRODUCTIONS with WAYNE MITZEN

OCTOBER 2006

JON is nominated "AC Male Artist of the Year" by NEW MUSIC WEEKLY; on October 17, the tune "MAY BE" from "WHEN IT'S OVER..." reaches #1 on ARTISTLAUNCH.COM's Folk chart after nearly 2 years of internet radio play

JANUARY 2007

Jon begins exclusive booking relationship with JAMES TURNER PRODUCTIONS

MAY 2008

NATALIE TENNANT wins West Virginia primary for Secretary of State with the help of Jon's jingle (in September, she wins the general election and became the Secretary of State for West Virginia)

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