Billboard Magazine: ‘Roswell’ Soundtrack

I was on my meal break last night at work and was flipping through the current issue of Billboard (well, for the week of February 16 that is) while talking to my co-workers and stumbled upon an article on page 14 of the magazine on the show and on the upcoming soundtrack which is released next week. I apologize for any spelling errors as I’m trying to type this up before heading to work in an hour. Plus, I found out the other day that one of my friends is friends with Sensefield.

SOUND TRACKS
By Carla Hay

‘ROSWELL’ SOUNDTRACK: The sci-fi TV series Roswell has certainly experienced its share of ups and downs.

The pilot episode was originally ordered by the FOX network, but the series ended up on The WB. After two seasons, the WB dropped the series last year. Just when it looked like Roswell would be cancelled for good, the series was picked up by UPN.

Ironically, the Roswell sountrack (due February 26 on Nettwerk America Records) includes artists who’ve had similar rollercoaster rides in their careers. Dido, whose “Here With Me” is the theme song to Roswell, had a debut album that struggled more than a year before it broke through to multi-platinum sales.

Rock band Ivy, which appears on the soundtrack with “Edge of the Ocean” parted ways with two different record labels in a two-year period. The group, which is now signed to Nettwerk, had a cameo appearance on Roswell last year.

And rock group Sense Field, who was signed to Warner Bros. for five years, recorded an album for the label that was shelved for months and ultimately never released. Sense Field is now signed to Nettwerk.

Sense Field’s “Save Yourself” is the first single and video from the Roswell soundtrack. The band will also appear on the program sometime this season.

“I like the show not because of our affiliation to the soundtrack,” Sense Field lead singer Jon Bunch says, “but because it’s better than most of the other shows targeted to the same audience.”

Roswell is named for the city of Roswell, N.M., which has reportedly been a hub of real-life UFO sightings and paranormal activities. The TV series is about three teenage siblings who are secretly aliens with supernatural powers. The show depicts their ongoing struggle to fit in with their human world without revealing their secret.

The video for “Save Yourself” features Roswell star Shiri Appleby, who plays a character who meets a secret admirer at a Sense Field show.

Bunch says of the video: “This was our second real video production, and we always wanted to do something on this level. It just came together so well, and it was a lot of fun to do. It was also nice to have someone affilated with the show be in the video, because it just added to the story.”

The Roswell soundtrack also includes Colplay’s “Brothers and Sisters,” Ash’s “Shining Light,” Zero 7’s “Destiny,” Travis’ “More Than Us,” Sheryl Crow’s “I Shall Believe,” Doves’ “Blackbird,” and Stereophonics’ “Have A Nice Day,” as well as remixes of “Here With Me” and Sarah McLachlan’s “Fear.”

Dido-whose “Here With Me” was the first single from her debut album, No Angel (Arista Records)–credits Roswell with being “the first time a lot of people in America heard my music.” The song is the only one on the soundtrack to have both the album version and a remix.

Nettwerk head of marketing Marie Scheibert says the label will take a two-ponged approach to marketing the Roswell soundtrack. “On the traditional side, we
have the campaign with Sense Field, We’ve serviced the single to adult top 40 and modern rock radio. On the other side of the marketing plan, we’re reaching out to the Roswell fan base. The key to this participation will come through UPN and Fox (whose 20th Television production is behind Roswell).”

Meanwhile, according to Nettwerk, “Save Yourself” has been added to such modern-rock stations at KROQ Los Angeles and WNNX (99X) Atlanta.

Scheibert says, “There are hundreds of fan sites for Roswell and the artists on the soundtrack, and we’ll be reaching out to those sites. There will also be an audio/video player that will have grass-roots distribution to Roswell fan sites. The Sense Field video will be central to the player. The user will also be able to stream clips from other soundtrack songs. The enhanced CD of Roswell has desktop wallpaper, a screen saver, and an exclusive character map. All of this gives added value to the fans.

In addition, on February 26 Roswell cast members and Sense Field will make an appearance at the Virgin Megastore in Los Angeles.

For Sense Field, whose music was featured on Roswell last year, being involved with the show was an offer the band couldn’t refuse. Bunch says, “Every time we turn around, there’s been another opportunity involving Roswell, and we’re grateful for it.”