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Sojourn Community Church

Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

Indie worship.

Indie worship?
It almost sounds laughable. But there are churches out there making beautiful worship music on their own. And last time I checked, without a label or some sort of major mainstream presence, that qualifies them to be highlighted in The Independent Life.

The music of Sojourn Community in Louisville is absolutely stunning – far beyond the normal church music you and I sing each Sunday. Their latest recording, Before The Throne, has received numerous accolades from various media outlets, including a rare five-star review in Christianity Today.

On their website, you can check out a few clips and chord charts for various songs. I am personally a big fan of “We Are Listening,” so that’s where I recommend starting. You can check them all out here:

http://www.sojournmusic.com/2007/08/06/before-the-throne/#more-34

Also impressive is their Christmas music collection (which I realize isn’t the time or season for). We’d be remiss to not cover that, however, since their discs are so poetic, original and beautiful. New Advent-focused discs came out in 2003 and 2007, so there’s plenty to take in here (and spend your money on). I prefer the 2003 disc, even if only for the stunning “Glory Be.”

And don’t look now but you can download the 2003 Songs for the Advent for free at their Last.fm page:

http://www.last.fm/music/Sojourn+Music/Songs+for+the+Advent

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Sleeping At Last

Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

When it comes to The Independent Life, we definitely want to pay the most attention to the fringes, highlighting those artists and bands, acts and events that fall outside of your mainstream attention. And while the proper definition of independent usually implies that, we realize that it also technically means ‘without a label.’

Thus sometimes we will highlight independent acts that are quite notable already and some with which you are already familiar. Sleeping At Last is one of those acts.

Why cover such a high profile band? Because I’m sure someone out there doesn’t know about this Wheaton, Illinois trio and, if not, then an independent blog needs to go no further.

Sleeping At Last features the brothers O’Neal, Ryan and Chad, along with cousin Dan Perdue. Their music reaches both intimate and epic and Chad’s tenor is one of the most distinctive, beautiful voices in popular music. Founded by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, the trio enjoyed a time on Interscope Records before going their own way on their most recent effort, Keep No Score.

Still that didn’t keep them from enjoying airplay on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy or enjoying tour dates with Yellowcard and Switchfoot. In other words, label or not, here they come.

Here’s a performance of “Needle and Thread” from Keep No Score.

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Green Jade

Sunday, June 1st, 2008 at 1:16 pm

For a completely different flavor here at The Independent Life, we’re going to take a short trip across the pond. Coming out of London, if you look hard enough, you’ll come across a talented hip-hop collective: Green Jade. The quintet is made up of Judah, Wizdom, Wei, 3rd Son & DJ Secret Weapon who bring their individual talents to bear onto their new indie release, Life As We Know It.

You can check out their website for a few free listens and downloads, including the Jurassic 5 echoes of “Diversity.” Check it out here:

http://www.greenjade.co.uk/

Also, check out the band’s YouTube Channel here.

It’s a difficult genre to navigate and find quality music, so give Christian hip-hop a proper shout-out and listen to Green Jade.

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All The Day Holiday

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

The Ohio Valley produces some of music’s most beautifully unheralded creatures (hello, Over the Rhine anyone?) and All The Day Holiday certainly fits that bills. Their ambient, post-rock styling is perfect for Daniel Simmons’ tenor vocal.

You can usually catch them playing around the Midwest and specifically their hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Although it might be hard now because they are busy recording their next effort. If anything, make a mental note or bookmark that this is one band to watch out for.

To help your media efforts, we’ve collected all you need here, as normal.

Check out the band’s tour diary/blog here:
http://www.xanga.com/AlltheDayHolidayEdiary

Check out their MySpace here:
http://www.myspace.com/allthedayholiday

And finally check out some of their songs on YouTube. My recommendations:

“Atmosphere”

“Untitled (Michigan)“

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Meet Pivitplex

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 7:37 pm

For our first proper venture into rock music territory, we come across a familiar band to some of you (I’m sure) with Pivitplex. Montana isn’t exactly known as prime breeding ground for rock music, but Pivitplex does their best to make their mark heavy and dark (remember the SAT test instructions?) with their catchy alternative rock.

The band most recently enjoyed moderate radio success with their song “Hope Killed The Shadows” based upon author T.L. Hines’ thriller The Dead Whisper On. They were also finalists for CCM Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Independent Band.

So of course, check out the band’s MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/pivitplex

And then venture forth to grab their most recent offering, The King in a Rookery. Specifically check out the piano-driven “Gravity” which only lacks exposure from becoming a huge radio hit.

Finally if you just want a good laugh and have some free time, the band’s YouTube series on The Reality of a Band is worth watching, especially their battle with Jonah33.

http://youtube.com/user/pivitplexband

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Josh Garrels

Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 9:44 am

Part of my job here at The Independent Life is to be able to describe an artist’s sound. After all, it’s hard to discuss a band or musician without saying, “they remind me of this” or “they sound a bit like that.” And normally this isn’t an issue—that is until you get to a guy like Josh Garrels.

For the uninitiated, allow me to attempt this anyway. Garrels is a Hoosier-born (that means Indiana) solo artist who melds everything from Caribbean-laced folk songs to freestyle rhymes and rhythms. Some songs feature a full-on rock band while others flow on acoustic finger picking akin to a gentle stream. In short, a Josh Garrels album moves with chaotic tenderness from one end of the musical spectrum to the other.

Case in point, the two videos below are both absolutely golden.

First, check out Josh’s absolutely killer rendition of “Killing Me Softly”:

http://www.youtube.com/v/9xs0Q6MMiJg&hl=en

Then once you think you have his style pegged, check out the brilliantly moving “Yahweh.” Just don’t say you weren’t warned:

http://www.youtube.com/v/oaL6eK3G6FQ&hl=en”></param><param

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J.J. Heller

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

For our first artist spotlight here on the old independent blog, we don’t even have to venture outside of Music City, U.S.A. In fact, we could probably stay here for a long time (although we’ll leave soon enough).

But if we left too soon, we’d miss out on the lovely J.J. Heller. Originally from Arizona, the singer/songwriter headed east with her husband, Dave, to make it big in the music world. Her latest effort, The Pretty and the Plain, is an acoustic pop gem. At times, the sweet vibrato takes over on songs like opener “Grow.” Other times, the songs are just pure poetry, like on the stunning “Small.” Check out these lyrics:

Broken moldings all around
Broken people hit the ground
When they discover that you’re not here for our benefit
You love in spite of us
You use the least of us to prove the strong aren’t really strong at all

I don’t want to make you small
I don’t want to fit you in my pocket
A cross around my throat
You are brighter than the sun
You’re closer than the tiny thoughts I have of you
But I could never fathom you at all

Heller’s music is attractive for its cuteness—not some glamorous singer/songwriter effort, but instead invites you in to her cozy little corner with all her idiosyncrasies and quirks. Need your own evidence? Check the vids below.

Here’s possibly her most popular song, “Love Me,” from The Logan Show;

http://www.youtube.com/v/qUF4Cf2JVsg&hl=en

Here’s another favorite, “Only Love Remains”:http://www.youtube.com/v/w5Hd211fJOw&hl=en

–Matt Conner

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The Independent Life, Entry 1

Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am

Indie. Just the word implies a certain level of “cool” or “hip”—some mixture of DIY culture mixed with honesty and grit. Indie rock. Indie rap. Indie folk. Those sorts of terms describe some of the greatest musical artists out there—those that embody the air, the aura described above.

But those artists and bands that come to mind are usually in the mainstream—that is to say that you usually don’t think of Christians in the musical arts as indie artists. But they are out there. And it’s here we want to recognize them.

That’s because indie is really short for independent. And there are a lot of meaningful artists making music outside of Nashville and the world of record labels, sponsored tours and proper TV gigs. They’re slugging it out every night on their own gas money, touring through churches, bars and even homes to sell CDs one at a time. They do it for the love of music and the calling they feel inside versus the paycheck and notoriety that comes with some of the corporate love.

Our goal, then, with this particular blog is to shed some of the spotlight on these very artists. And if you normally don’t think of Christian music or Christian musicians when the word “indie” is mentioned, I hope that will change as we move forward together.

If you know of a great independent band or artist that deserves a mention, please feel free to let me know through comments here.

Until next time,
Matt Conner

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Archive for the 'The Independent Life' Category

Sojourn Community Church

Sleeping At Last

Green Jade

All The Day Holiday

Meet Pivitplex

Josh Garrels

J.J. Heller

The Independent Life, Entry 1

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