Are iPhones the Greatest Threat America Faces?
Current mood: scared
Hello friends... As many of you know, I'm a proud owner of one of these wonderful little phones. In fact, always being connected certainly can make life a little easier. However, Stephen Colbert's report now has me questioning the dangerous nature these "innocent" inventions seemingly pose.
Knowledge is power...so watch and learn...
For the record, I still love my iPhone...and if it happens to kill me, at least I'll die happy - HAHA!!! Have a wonderful weekend...talk soon! DK
So the reason I decided to fill my little New Music Tuesday yesterday with new videos was because I really didn't think there was new music to bring your attention to (I typically depend on iTunes)...but wouldn't you know it...I found TWO new things this week I wanted to bring your attention to.
The first is Hillsong's latest LIVE recording called "This Is Our God" (for some reason it's not up on iTunes but swing by your local Lifeway or Christian Bookstore to pick it up). There is a song on there called "Healer" that is absolutely beautiful. There's an amazing story behind this song, and the video below tells that story. I hope you each take some time to watch it.
The second album is a LIVE album as well by one of Hillsong's vocalists. Her name is Brooke Fraser and the album is called "Brooke Fraser: Live At the Aotea, Auckland, New Zealand". I believe that this MAY only be an iTunes exclusive release...but click on over and pick this one up. The first time I heard her music it just really moved me. One song in particular is called "C.S. Lewis Song"...it's the opener for the disc. WHEW - it's wonderful. If you're not familiar with Brooke, she has another album recently released in the states that is just as stellar. It's called Albertine...check it out as well. Here's a live video of Brooke as well...
Alright that's it for today. New Music Tuesday - Oops...I mean WEDNESDAY!!! Blessings, DK
Currently
listening
:
This Is Our God
By
Hillsong
Release date: 2008-08-12
What's up friends... I figured I would do something a little different this week when it comes to New Music Tuesday. I wanted to pick out a few of my favorite new videos and let you guys see those! Wow - you gotta love YouTube!!!
One common theme that runs through all of these videos...is they all appear on my "Running Mix"... Gotta have a good mix to keep things interesting. That said...if you were to make a running mix with 5 of your favorite tunes...what would they be???
Blessings, DK
----------Coldplay - Viva La Vida----------
----------Carrie Underwood - Just A Dream----------
----------Ferras - Hollywood's Not America----------
----------Krystal Meyers - Make Some Noise----------
----------Jon McLaughlin - Beating My Heart----------
What's up my friends, Happy Tuesday morning to you all!!!
It's currently 1:00 am and I'm wide awake. So, I decided to take some time to surf through the new pages of iTunes to see if there was any new music I could write about today. I came across a GREAT new tune that I want to point you guys to.
Enter Bebo Norman & his new single for AC radio...'Britney' Below is an excerpt from Bebo's latest press release regarding this new tune:
"'Britney' is a song about what our culture says and does to young women these days," explains Norman of the August 1st AC single. "It's about the lies we tell them about fame and money and what's beautiful and what will give them life. It's an apology for those lies. But more than that, it's an invitation to the truth about a God who is bigger than the pain this world so often leaves them in."
As many of you will be be able to tell, this song alludes to a certain pop star we all have come to know through the years. Take a listen...it's pretty moving & should make us all think about the message we send to the young women of the world. Sadly, the song isn't posted yet on Bebo's myspace page or official website (www.myspace.com/bebonorman & www.bebonorman.com) but you can find it on itunes (which I just purchased) or you could stream it below thanks to Music Remedy (FYI, when you press play in the window below, another window may open up...but the song WILL start). I would love to hear each of your thoughts on the tune. Enjoy...and HAPPY TUESDAY!!!
Britney im sorry for the lies we told We took you into our arms and then left you cold Britney im sorry for this cruel cruel world We sell the beauty but destroy the girl Britney im sorry for your broken heart We stood aside and watched you fall apart I'm sorry we told you fame would fill you up And money moves the man so drink the cup
I know love goes around the world we know And you never see it coming back You never see it coming back I know love goes around the world we know And you never see it coming back But i can see it coming back for you Yes coming back for you
Britney I'm sorry for the stones we throw we tear you down just so we can watch the show Britney im sorry for the words we say We point the finger as you fall from grace
chorus
Britney I do believe that love has come Here for the broken Here for the ones like us
What’s in a Label?: Centricity Music
Current mood: blessed
Hey guys, So I came across a really cool interview written by Mark Geil for Christianity Today. The subject of this interview is actually about my record label. I have had the chance of working with, in my humble opinion, some of the most talented and dedicated people in the industry. I hope you guys enjoy it!!!
Blessings, DK
____________________________________________
What's in a Label?: Centricity Music Home to some of the Christian music industry's brightest and best, Centricity Music is a small label on the rise thanks to good old-fashioned techniques like artist development and fan interaction.
Imagine you're a fan of a certain band, say, Canadian quartet Downhere, and one day, a guy from the band shows up at your front door, inviting you to listen to an advance copy of their newest CD. He then asks for feedback, ranking your favorite songs from favorite to least. The following month, that label comes back to your house and offers to pay you to develop a music video for the first single. About a year later, they call back and point you to an exclusive digital release of acoustic versions of the songs you enjoyed so much. By this point, you feel pretty close to the company, right?
In the liner notes of their 2006 release Wide-Eyed and Mystified, Downhere described their new record label Centricity Music as "an anomaly" in the music industry for employing grassroots techniques like these. Discussing the label switch in an interview with Christian Music Today, band member Jason Germain explained the difference using colorful imagery, calling the label a "four-foot ninja" in an industry of "Scottish Highlanders wielding two-inch thick swords."
Quick and agile, Centricity is among the younger labels that are rewriting the status quo in Christian music with innovative record deals, marketing, and artist development. Seven hundred fans did listen to and rank the songs for the forthcoming 2008 Downhere release, Ending Is Beginning. Those rankings have indeed altered the track order, as the fan favorite now leads off the CD. A fan-video contest is also planned, as are digital releases targeted directly at the fans.
Centricity began in the first half of this decade at a time when labels shouldn't have been starting up, since so many were going under. The Seattle family that founded the label didn't know the industry was in upheaval, because they had no experience in the music business. They just knew they were blessed by a worship leader at their church named Jaime Jamgochian. Veteran A&R man and producer John Mays was recruited to answer the questions the founding family didn't know to ask, and by 2006 the label consisted of three full time employees and three artists: Jamgochian, Circleslide, and Downhere. Since then, the roster has grown to eight artists, and the staff outnumbers them by only one.
Today, Centricity is an indie label at a time when the line between indie and major is becoming increasingly blurred. "I wouldn't say record labels are dead, but they're definitely on life support," says Steve Ford, Centricity's vice president of marketing. "They've got to figure out a way to survive. We've lost 40% of our CD sales over the last three years. That's huge. There are not a lot of companies that could absorb that kind of loss of revenue and still survive. Imagine the auto industry losing 40% of its sales. There'd be a lot of unemployed people in this world."
A major impact of that fight for survival, according to Ford, is the way artists are treated. "As the industry has declined, you see more and more labels signing lots and lots of artists, basically throwing stuff against the wall to see what works."
The alternative pursued by Centricity is what many thought to be a by-gone concept in today's music industry: artist development. To Ford, that commitment was what pulled him away from a past with major labels. "The reason I came over to Centricity was artist development. It's not the 'pop or drop' mentality. We're in this for the long term. This label has a deep commitment, very ingrained in the DNA, to development: finding the uniqueness of the artists, finding the audience for that uniqueness, and marketing it like crazy."
Downhere can relate to the "pop or drop" mentality. As bassist Glenn Lavender explains, "We were with Word for our first two albums. We won a Dove award and the next month we got dropped."
Appropriately, it was a church small group that led the band to the smaller label. "We spent a year looking around at different label options," says Lavender. John Mays and Steve Ford were in a small group with Jason [Germain]. Within a month or two we had talked to John about Centricity being a possibility. I guess what they had to offer that Word didn't was a smaller staff, which could come across as bad [to some], but I think in today's market a smaller staff works out great for making quicker decisions. You don't have to go through as many people for things to happen, and all these guys are willing to try different things. I think the bigger labels are starting to do these things too, but being a smaller, independent label, they're more willing to take a risk with new ideas. Centricity's philosophy is more about 'building the artist up.' It takes time to develop an artist. That's not usually how things are done [with labels these days], but it makes way more sense."
The band is a recent subject of risk-taking, having offered its Wide-Eyed and Mystified album as a free earlier in 2008. Lavender recalls, "It was funny watching John Mays through this whole process, because he's been in this industry forever, and I just remember him saying, 'Guys, you've gotta understand, I've spent my whole life trying to figure out how to sell these things, and now you want us as a company to give it away. I know this is probably the right thing to do, but it's going to take me a while!'"
Another digital experiment involves releases-between-releases. Digital-only tracks or EPs are consistently produced for artists between major CD releases, marketed not to radio or retail but directly to fans. "Artists help drive that," says Mays. "We're trying to keep interest alive for artists between releases, even releases that didn't do well. The ability to try to find new ways to connect with the audience is one of the joys of what we get to do."
In the same summer, Jamgochian found herself interacting with two distinct audiences: girls associated with a Brio event, and a middle-aged crowd at a summer camp of sorts. Digital remixes of her songs connected with the younger crowd, while an acoustic set with hymns peppered in served the older crowd.
Barring some dramatic unexpected change, the next Centricity artist will be Andrew Peterson, an acclaimed singer/songwriter who has also been around bigger labels. "The label I was .. was Watershed, which was an imprint of Essential. They were great people, but back when I was on the label they had big bands like Third Day, Caedmon's Call, and Jars of Clay. So I was understandably the very lowest on the totem pole as far as record sales and all that. I was honored to be [with Watershed/Essential], and it was cool that a label like that wanted to have a folky singer-songwriter guy on their roster.
[But as I've been talking to Centricity], man, it has felt good to go into a record label and not feel like the cousin that nobody really wanted to hang out with. I don't mean to sound like the Essential experience was bad, because it wasn't. But to walk in and realize that the folks at Centricity had attended my Christmas concert in Nashville a couple of times, that they were familiar with my independent records released between Essential and now—it's a great feeling to know that the people are on your team because they like your music and want to know how they can help you in your ministry."
Centricity's attention to artist development has even been applied to an established artist like Peterson, who had a new CD ready to release just before his first meeting with the label. "Right before the disc was sent off to press, we had that meeting. Steve Ford said, 'Even if we don't end up working with you on this, if I were you I wouldn't release this in a hurry. This album is too good for that. You should wait and promote it properly and really have your ducks in a row before you set this loose in the world.' It surprised me, and made perfect sense. From that very first meeting, it wasn't just that it felt like a good idea, but it felt like something the Lord had a hand in—that I had this record, and there was this label that knew my music and wanted to help me with it. It felt like the perfect fit."
The artists are unabashed in their praise for a label that seems to genuinely care for them. They tour together, hang out at an annual artist retreat in a little town in Washington, and sometimes record together. New artist Lanae' Hale calls Mays "one of the coolest people I've ever met," and says of Ford, "When I first met them he was a huge advocate. I needed that first push of encouragement."
Centricity's philosophies are perhaps best exemplified in the career of Lanae' Hale, who has had attention from larger labels but ultimately decided to sign with Centricity. "This experience was entirely different," she recalls. "I was invited to their annual indie artist retreat, and then signed a development deal. I just fell in love with Centricity." Ford adds, "When we first started talking to Lanae' she was in such an embryotic stage as an artist. She was an amazing singer who had never been outside her little world in Florida."
How does a label like Centricity, one so committed to artist development, bring along an artist like Hale? In a word, slowly. A six-song EP has been released, with another due fall 2008, which means that her first full-length release might not arrive until 2009 or 2010. Ford explains: "In today's music environment, you have got to have a fan base. So we committed to walking beside her and helping her build her fan base, and build some awareness outside of the world that she had been in. That takes time." Step one was the EP. Step two was the road, touring with labelmates Downhere and Jason Gray, with plans for a tour of colleges later in the year.
"It's sorta winning fans one by one," says Ford. "John is working [with Lanae'] on another EP that will hopefully have something radio-ready soon, because it's time. We're at a time where she's performed in front of a lot of people. You see her sing live, and it's awe-inspiring. I've seen her do 'Quiet Place' live so many times, and every time, it gives me goosebumps. So we've had her play in front of major decision makers, in front of a lot of radio people, retail people. There's an awareness and buzz out there. The next layer on top of that will be to produce a radio single."
That awareness got a major boost in January 2008 when the people at iTunes chose one of Hale's songs as the free download of the week, putting her music in the ears of 100,000 people. Part of a master-plan by Centricity? Not really, recalls Ford. "I'd love to take credit for it, but I'll just say it's a God thing, because they got a copy of the record, and flipped over it, and we got a call from them."
For her part, Hale approves of the slow rollout. "I like the idea. People are wanting more, so it's been fun to build up to it. I've felt confined before, but [Centricity] encourages the opposite. It's a complete blessing."
To Ford, Hale is an artist for whom a major label might not be appropriate. "At a major label, it's a machine, and the question is whether or not the artist fits into that machine. They do their thing and they do it really, really well. There are some artists who need to be in that machine, who fit the pattern. But if you're outside of that conveyor belt, they don't know what to do with you. You can think of multiple artists that have struggled on major labels because of that. As an independent label, instead of fitting the artist to the machine, we try to fit the machine around the artist. Let's lock arms, and help you do what you do better."
The illustration aptly describes Centricity's roster: a collection of artists who don't necessarily fit the traditional mold, connected with a label that didn't even know the rules when it started and now often breaks them. Fan interaction, dedicated artist development—with today's confused music industry, these modern philosophies, borrowed from an era long passed, are creating a promising future.
What's up my friends? Hope you're all having a wonderful Friday. So as you all know, I love pointing out new music that I think is pretty amazing. Well, I came across a few new things this week. This is the first one though. So without any further explanation, let me introduce you to St. Lola In the Field.
The band is made up of two members; Jeremy Bose & Cindy Morgan In their latest post on their myspace page, Jeremy writes:
I just thought I'd fill you in on what we're up to lately. Cindy and I are in sort of a long-distance songwriting relationship right now because she lives up in Canada for the summer. So, we've been slowly writing some new songs through email and over the telephone. It's not the most efficient way to do things, but it works. She's coming down to Nashville in a couple weeks, though for a week of St. Lola writing! Very excited!
Our EP should be up on iTunes and all those other music sites soon! When, exactly? Not sure. But we'll alert you when it happens. Please don't lose sleep over it.
Peace from Jeremy for St. Lola
That's all I'm going to give you on this one. Just head on over to their myspace and hear 3 tunes off their upcoming EP (I think my current favorite is "Sunny"). I have their site posted as my 1 friend...so it should be pretty easy to find. Or, you could just go to:
http://www.myspace.com/stlolainthefields
Talk with you all soon! God Bless, Daniel
(Oh...expect a couple more posts today... I've gotta play a bit of catch up - haha)
LIVE MUSIC TUESDAY: 07/08/08
Current mood: excited
So yes...this isn't NEW music Tuesday... It's LIVE music Tuesday :)
Let me explain, I'm sure some of you remember a while back that I gave a little shout out to my friend Francesca B. when her Sneak Peak EP hit iTunes. WELL, she just did a live performance a show called LIVE@FYI. She absolutely KILLED it!!!
So, head on over to her newly launched website:
www.francescamusic.com
...and watch the video they have posted up. The performance is on a loop...and she sounds A-MAZING :)
(plus...Matt Stanfield is playing piano for her...and he actually produced the Radio Version of Sacred Moment I have posted up in the player)...
Hope you all have a wonderful afternoon! Blessings, DK
...Oh...and I will be giving my "new" music suggestion soon. Maybe even today (WOW, two posts in one day. I must have WAY to much time on my hands - HAHA)
Currently
listening
:
My Paper Heart
By
Francesca Battistelli
Release date: 2008-07-22
New Music Tuesday: 07/01/08
Current mood: cooky/wacky
WOOHOO - it's time for a little TLC my friends... To clarify, I do not mean the "No Scrubs" trio that raced up the charts with HIT after radio "ear-candy" HIT; nor do I mean a little "tender loving care"...that's nice too!
I'm talking about my good friend and singer/songwriter/author extraordinaire Tara Leigh Cobble (get it...TLC for short - haha). She recently released a new EP through iTunes called "Playing Favorites" (you can get the entire thing for ONLY $6.93) on which she covers some amazing tunes.
The songs include:
- Rain - Please Forgive Me - Walking on Sunshine - Holding out for a Hero - Everlasting Love - I Wonder - Hallelujah / Thy Word
I know I seem to say this everytime I write a "New Music Tuesday" suggestion...but you will not be disappointed here my friends! Be sure to check out her other albums as well...he songwriting is beautiful and honest! Also, she has a pretty stellar blog.
You can find it here:
http://www.taraleighcobble.blogspot.com
...and if you're still having trouble finding her many sites...she's been added to my top friends list. All the info is on her myspace page - can't get much easier than that :)
You all have a wonderful Tuesday night...talk soon! DK
Currently
listening
:
Here's To Hindsight
By
Tara Leigh Cobble
Release date: 2006-10-31
New Music Tuesday: 07/01/08
Current mood: cooky/wacky
WOOHOO - it's time for a little TLC my friends... To clarify, I do not mean the "No Scrubs" trio that raced up the charts with HIT after radio "ear-candy" HIT; nor do I mean a little "tender loving care"...that's nice too!
I'm talking about my good friend and singer/songwriter/author extraordinaire Tara Leigh Cobble (get it...TLC for short - haha). She recently released a new EP through iTunes called "Playing Favorites" (you can get the entire thing for ONLY $6.93) on which she covers some amazing tunes.
The songs include:
- Rain - Please Forgive Me - Walking on Sunshine - Holding out for a Hero - Everlasting Love - I Wonder - Hallelujah / Thy Word
I know I seem to say this everytime I write a "New Music Tuesday" suggestion...but you will not be disappointed here my friends! Be sure to check out her other albums as well...he songwriting is beautiful and honest! Also, she has a pretty stellar blog.
You can find it here:
http://www.taraleighcobble.blogspot.com
...and if you're still having trouble finding her many sites...she's been added to my top friends list. All the info is on her myspace page - can't get much easier than that :)
You all have a wonderful Tuesday night...talk soon! DK
Currently
listening
:
Here's To Hindsight
By
Tara Leigh Cobble
Release date: 2006-10-31
The LIVE Recordings from Norway...and another BIG announcement!!!
Current mood: productive
Hey guys... Hope this Monday is finding you ALL doing very well. Everything is going great on my end. Had a wonderful morning (got a little work done...so I feel productive)...and just now got in from a 5 mile run (still trying to run off all that bread we consumed over in Norway - HAHA)...
Speaking of Norway, one of our road managers (Kjell - pronounced shell) taped a few things with my little digital camera while we were in Stravanger. These are actually two new tunes that I've just recently started playing live...so, I wanted to share them with you all as well! Please forgive the quality (they were, after all, recorded on a camera that fits in the palm of my hand - haha)...
The first one is entitled "Safe & Sound". I co-wrote with song Cindy Morgan (GMA's 2008 Songwriter of the Year) and Guy Zabka. The second song is called "All Is Well"; which I co-wrote with Tony Wood. Hope you guys enjoy them. If you do like tunes and you begin asking yourself... "Gosh, when is DK gonna release some new music"...NEVER FEAR; new music is on it's way!
I'm currently working on an acoustic EP project that will hopefully be completed within the month. I'll be sure to fill you in more as we near completion. In the meantime, to stay up to date with all the latest news on this project (and all future albums and tours), be sure to sign up for my mailing list through my website:
www.danielkirkley.com
Or, for all you facebook users...you can "become a fan" (that sounds so weird - haha) on my new artist page:
Thanks guys...have an amazingly blessed afternoon! DK
Oh yeah...one more thing!!! There will be one more MOW Tourisode from Norway. It's gonna be just a few little behind the scenes clips... it's just taking me FOREVER to edit it all together... but it's coming... PROMISE :)
scared
thoughtful
blessed
excited
cooky/wacky
productive