Bishop Wayne hails from St. Croix, in the beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands. At the age of 9, he moved with his father to St. Petersburg, Florida and made the short trek to sister city, Tampa where he now resides. He grew up listening to the varied sounds of Bob Marley, Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks, Mary J. Blige and New Edition. These influences pushed him to create his own brand of alternative R&B. He defines his music as having “no limits or boundaries”. Writing about intimate affairs such as relationships, his music evokes a common spirit for his listeners to overcome their own personal issues. His love for music was sparked when he began performing backup vocals for his father’s band, an experience that led to writing and performing “Dance Hall” music. Writing and performing for several local acts in St. Croix was just the beginning of his musical accomplishments. To date, his musical distinctions include live radio interviews, fundraiser concerts, television shows and being selected to write and perform a jingle for the world renowned Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball team. A local Virgin Islands tragedy prompted him to write a song about “stopping the violence” and further endeavors have led Bishop to use his music to assist with such humanitarian efforts as hurricane relief and an anti-drug campaign. Bishop was once signed with Darkside Productions, owned by Keith Howard, a sister company of Arista and BMG Records, Inc. Two of Bishop’s songs made #1 on “The Top 40” list on New Artist Radio (NAR), an internet radio station, based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, while simultaneously being played throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia. As a result of his songs’ #1 status, Bishop was invited by NAR to perform live at their annual awards show, where he walked away with the “New Artist R&B Artist of the Year” award. In mid 2005, Bishop entered a contest with the Recording Academy, Florida Chapter and was named a semi-finalist in the Florida GRAMMY Showcase. He placed in the top 35 of more than 230 entrants. Currently, he performs live regularly at local venues in Tampa and has made special appearances on The Papa Sean Show, at the Zephyrhills Live concert and as an opening act for Ryan Shaw at The Orpheum, Ybor City. Bishop has just released his first, full-length album entitled “I’m Just Me”. The album’s singles are receiving airtime on local stations WMNF 88.5 and WZPH 96.7, WSLR 96.5 Sarasota as well as the internet stations, On The Horizon and The Colorado Wave. For more information about Bishop Wayne, visit www.bishopw.net. Fun Facts About Bishop W 1. When Bishop was about 20 years old, he charmed his way on to the phone line of Stacy Greenberg of Virgin Records. The resulting conversation caught her interest in him as an artist and led to Greenberg’s mentorship of his career. 2. Bishop has two brothers and one sister and has family ties on his father’s side in the music industry. Back in the Islands, his uncle, “The Mighty” Pat, is well-known for his calypso. In Tampa, another uncle, Eustice, is part of the locally successful band, More Than Conquerors. 3. Bishop’s highest desire in music would be to pack out a stadium audience at a concert “like Paul Simon”, or to go anywhere in the world and learn that someone there has heard one of his songs. 4. One thing Bishop wishes for is that someone had been there for him like he is now for others, by mentoring and sharing their knowledge. 5. If Bishop could offer one piece of advice to people as an artist, he’d tell them to stay true to themselves and true to what they do. This is why he writes the phrase “True, true” into his songs. 6. Once Bishop had a UPS delivery from a musician’s promotional website and his two rottweillers tore up the package until only 1 out of the fi ve CDs was left. He looks at this as divine providence for stopping him from wasting more money. 7. A turning point in Bishop’s music career came when he started being honest with himself regarding his music. He had previously been told not to sing about love and happiness, being assured that it isn’t “marketable” in his type of music. Now, he enjoys a strong group of loyal fans who support him and his happy love songs. 8. Bishop is a huge fan of Shabba Ranks. He has seen several concerts and takes the artist’s advice seriously. 9. Some jobs that Bishop has held include pizza maker at Pizza Hut, FedEx package handler (a job he hated passionately), criminal background checker, actor and nurse. 10. Bishop loves grilled foods like chicken and fi sh, is a big fan of veggies and stays clear of dairy, pork and beef. 11. Bishop yearns to visit Japan, England, Australia and Thailand among other places, and would love to have a home in Hawaii.