STONE TABLE RECORDS
Public Relations
PO Box 31295 • Phoenix, AZ 85046 Phone: 602-980-1593 email@jjheller.com
For Immediate Release: October 19, 2009
Houston, TX – Houston’s 89.3 FM KSBJ has added Nashville-based independent singer/songwriter JJ Heller’s song, Your Hands, to their regular rotation as of Monday, October 19. KSBJ rarely adds songs from independent artists, the last time being over four years ago according to the station’s music director, Jim Beeler.
Your Hands isn’t the typical radio single, and the way it reached KSBJ’s airwaves isn’t typical either. The song was originally co-written by JJ, her husband, Dave, and fellow independent artist, Katie Herzig, in Heller’s livingroom during the summer of 2008. In crafting the opening words, the artists strove to convey how God often doesn’t answer our requests the way we ask him to.
JJ, suffering from panic attacks at the time, explained her struggle with fear and anxiety to Katie and Dave. Inspired by these thoughts, they began writing the opening lines of the song:
I have unanswered prayers I have trouble I wish wasn’ t there I have asked a thousand ways That you would take my pain away
And the chorus:
When my world is shaking Heaven stands When my heart is breaking I never leave Your hands
Little did the three songwriters know that in little more than a year’s time, nearly seven million viewers would hear those words as Dianna Drexler, a contestant on Fox’s TV show So You Think You Can Dance? auditioned for a chance to become “America’s favorite dancer.” The segment appeared at the end of the nationally aired program on September 30, 2009. One day later, Your Hands ranked #1 in the Singer/Songwriter genre on the iTunes Music Store, and remained in that position for the next several days.
A few days later, KSBJ’s senior director of programming, Jon Hull, watched a recording of the show and was deeply moved by Heller’s song. Hull later decided to play Your Hands on the air for the KSBJ audience as a one-time ministry piece. After the song rang out over the airwaves, the station was inundated with phone calls and e-mails from listeners describing how meaningful the song was to them.
Just two days after Your Hands was played on the air, the KSBJ staff decided to add it to their regular rotation. “I’m thrilled to know that my song is touching the hearts of so many people,” said Heller, “and I’m incredibly grateful to KSBJ for doing something so out of the ordinary. It feels more like something I’d see in the movies rather than my real life.”
Every day more radio stations across the country are adding Your Hands to their rotation. The song can be found on Heller’s 2008 release, Painted Red.
To schedule an interview or for further information, contact:
STONE TABLE RECORDS – Public Relations
Dave Heller PH: 602-980-1593
E-mail: email@jjheller.com
