Gerald O'Brien Lands Martina Cut: Big Year Ahead

They say good things come to those who wait.

For ole's Gerald O'Brien, it's been 12 nail -biting months before he discovered his song ~Lies: would be on Martina McBride's new album SHINE, out March 24.

O'Brien says "Lies," co -written by Catt Gravitt and fellow Canadian songwriter Tania Hancheroff, was initially cut some time back by country superstar McBride, who personally proclaimed it 11 favorite.

"She called us up to tell us that she wanted a slight adjustment and mentioned how much she loved the song: recalls O'Brien. "She wanted a few extra lines of lyric added to the second verse to make it longer, which we wrote.

"Then we heard nothing."

O'Brien says he first discovered it was recorded through his network of studio musicians.

Then it was pins-and-needles time. But considering that ~the hold" is a regular function of the Nashville recording scene as numerous stars whittle down their choices on what makes the final cut of their albums, O'Brien is no stranger to the process.

Considering that Gerald O'Brien consistently has a dozen songs on hold by a variety of Nashville country superstars at any given time is a testament to his superb writing skills - as well as the ole Creative Team's aggressive pitching .

And when he breaks through, the song is usually a keeper, as in the case of My Life: a song that was covered both by Ronnie Milsap and 2008 Canadian Country Music Group of the Year Doc Walker - and is now on hold with another major artist.

Besides ~Lies· for Martina McBride, O'Brien has also supplied three songs for two other new releases: the title track for the new Victoria Banks Onramp/EMI album When You Can Fly (co-written by Banks and Tania Hancheroff) and two covers by Canadian country artist Mike Gouchie - "Dust: co-written by ole's Tebey and Catt Grnvitt and an older tune called ~Don't Miss Missing You."

Although the Nashville-based O'Brien has enjoyed considerable country success with such cuts as Trace Adkins' ~High" since he joined ole five years ago, it's not his only genre of expertise.

O'Brien reveals that he's also working on a major pop project involving the Clark Brothers, the Next Great American Band champions who will be releasing their efforts sometime in 2009, thanks to the involvement of his songwriting partner Catt Gravitt.

The three brothers are about to be given a huge push by 19 Management, one of the catalysts behind the American Idol franchise.

O'Brien says two of his ole songs  “Ghost Town" and  ‘John Wayne’ both co-written by Gravitt and Ashley Clark - have been cut in L.A. and that the trio's sound involves "old vintage keyboards like Mellotrons and loops, and fully utilizing the mandolin, Dobra and fiddle, to try and create a new and different sound ."

"It appears to be a big priority for 19 Management: says O'Brien. "I'm feeling really good about it."

O'Brien also reveals that he's resurrecting his atmospheric instrumental duo Exchange with old partner Steve Sexton, and that they're halfway through recording a new album, the songs of which will be ole-published .

"Our music has been used on The Olympics, Wide World Of Sports and the NFL: says O'Brien .

"We still get used on a weekly basis on the PGA Golf Tour - and that's all from the first remrd we did 20 years ago."

And if that isn 't enough to keep him busy, O'Brien still writes weekly instrumental cues for such television shows as Entertainment Tonight, Dr. Phil, The Insider, Rachael Ray, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Doctors.

O'Brien says his relocation from Los Angeles to Nashville in 2000 has allowed him to cultivate great co-writing relationships and improve his versatility as a writer.

"I've gotten into a great creative flow and developed some very good co-writing relationships, particularly with Catt Grnvitt, Pam Rose, Tania Hancheroff and all the ole writers whom I write with on a constant basis," says O'Brien, naming ole/roots three music's Bruce Wallace and Kaci Bolls as his most frequent company collaborators.

"I've been very creatively stimulated, and the songs I write are getting better and better."

O'Brien says his Nashville writing sessions allow him to shift his focus and make him a better writer.

"It's different in some ways," he admits. ~When I'm doing country, there are certain things you have to abide by: the lyrics are paramount and the storyline is very important. It's helped me really hone my craft as a songwriter, in terms of really getting to the heart of what makes a song work.

"That's helped me transfer that kind of knowledge into writing pop songs. But I can open up my brain in pop music - there are no limitations."

And no limits, it seems, to Gernld O'Brien's extraordinary writing talents.

Just call him ole's Mr. Flexible.