DEAN BACKHOLM

• Dean Backholm was literally born into the music industry.  His parents actually met in his uncle’s band where his father played trumpet and his mother was the lead singer.  Today, he’s written over 100 original songs, each complete with music and lyrics

• He and his brother Doug shared a bedroom when they were kids.  Every night mom would call up the stairs around 8 p.m. and say ‘hey boys it’s time to stop singing and go to sleep.’ 

• The two brothers were a bit like the Baker Boys, performing in local bars in Pullman, Washington while both attending Washington State University.  The duo was called “Back to Back.”   Later in Seattle, he formed a popular duo, BACKHOLM/HALL, with Patti Hall, 2007 New Music Awards “Breakthrough Country Artist of the Year.” 

• Currently he expresses his creativity in his professional career as an award-winning landscape designer.   He designs and builds beautiful gardens, water features and outdoor recreational spaces for private home owners throughout the Puget Sound area.  

• In 2007, Music and Media International (MMI) of Los Angeles signed a national publishing contract picking up all 11 tracks from his first CD “A Question for You.”    

• In 2008, “Mother and Child” was selected by the National March of Dimes  for a debut fundraiser compilation CD called “Stork Tunes.”  Artists on the project include Billy Joel, Wynona, Norah Jones, Sinead O’Connor and others. Proceeds from the sale of the new CD will fund the nonprofit’s efforts to give every baby a healthy start in life.  

• In 2008, “Turn Off the Moon,” a co-write with Cheryl Ashton, Cathy Serum and Richard Davis of Nashville, was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, one of the largest contests in the industry. 

• He’s currently collaborating on a new project with other songwriters in Nashville as well as writing more songs for his sophomore CD.