Harnen said the song was about a girl he was dating at the time. We made a few nips and tucks on the composition, but it essentially was written that quickly.” It just flowed right through me like I was a medium. “I created lyrics and a melody line in about 10 minutes. “We put a boom box on top of his piano, recorded the piano part and I took it home to finish the song,” he said. Harnen said one day he was at Congdon’s house and had the all the music done to what would become “Where Are You Now?” He didn’t have a melody line or lyrics, but the piano track was killer, he said. “We actually snuck into Kingston Indoor Tennis after hours and recorded on the courts because the room had such a big sound,” Harnen said.
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They couldn’t afford a real studio, but Harnen said Congdon was smart and learned how to use cheap gear to making cool-sounding demos. Harnen and Congdon listened to bands like Toto, Chicago, Hall & Oates and “analyzed the daylights” out of the way they made records. He and Rich Congdon co-wrote “Where Are You Now?” and Harnen became fascinated with recording studios and making records. So he immediately changed his approach, switching from doing cover songs to concentrating on original music. Harnen said he knew he just had to do that. He couldn’t believe someone from his hometown area actually got a major record deal and made such an amazing album. Another lesson learned.”ĭuring his freshman year in college, Harnen heard (Northeastern Pennsylvania band) Dakota’s album on Columbia Records. “And, to be honest, drummers got more girls than clarinet players. “I saw Jeff Miller play a black light solo in the stage band and I was hooked,” Harnen said. He tried learning to play guitar, but found that too difficult so he moved to drums when he was 15.
Harnen was always interested in music and played trumpet and clarinet when he was young. He was firm, but very understanding and forgiving. “But it taught me the most valuable lesson of my life - always do the right thing. Paulik.’ That was simply the most difficult thing I had ever done up to that point in my life. Paulik so you can tell him what you did and offer to clean his parking lot or warehouse in an attempt to work off the price of replacing the window.’ She went on to say, ‘And you are going to admit that you broke the window and apologize to Mr. “I ran home, told my mom what happened and she said the following: ‘Jimmy, I am taking you down to meet Mr. “I was so scared that I was going to get in big trouble,” Harnen said. One of Harnen’s throws went a bit errant and broke a window in Paulik’s Furniture Store’s warehouse. Harnen recalled a time when he and his friends (probably around the age of 10 or 11) were throwing rocks in a field by his house in Plymouth. He said the experience, and many others, taught him about respect and to always do the right thing. It was in Plymouth where Harnen said he learned one of life’s great lessons that he carries with him today. I received the education and the upbringing that I could never say thank you enough for.” I was blessed to have had the parents, family and friends that I had. “All of the things I learned growing up have come to serve me well as an executive, as a father, and as a husband. “I share this with you because this is all a product of my upbringing and my hometown roots,” Harnen said. He did this while other label heads stood comfortably under a tent in the back of the venue. Harnen said at a party for Florida Georgia Line, the group’s manager said that one of the reasons they signed with Harnen and Republic Nashville was because at a recent concert Harnen was the only label head who stood in the hot summer sun, baseball hat on backwards, running to get a seat in the front row. “I fought hard to get them to sign with us.” “They technically did not need to sign with anyone,” Harnen said. In fact, he said, the band had a huge hit that was selling before Harnen’s company signed it. Harnen said the group had offers from all over town and could have taken any one they wanted. Harnen, 52, said the artists he has dealt with through the years and now as executive vice president of Big Machine Label Group and president of Republic Nashville, are family and are “equally amazing.” The one signing he is particularly proud of is Florida Georgia Line. NASHVILLE - Jimmy Harnen has risen from a third baseman in the Plymouth Little League, to a music idol in the 80s, to a recording company executive in Nashville.ĭuring a recent interview, Harnen, now 52, talked about those days fielding ground balls, singing “Where Are You Now?” and his career, signing some of the biggest acts in country music.
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