Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Christian music news: Will Anderson Of Parachute Talks About The Band’s Hot Debut Album, Losing Sleep
Latest christian music:
Since 2004, Parachute has showcased the unique talents of, and symbiotic musical relationship between lead singer/songwriter Will Anderson and his bandmates, drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave, and saxophone/keyboardist Kit French. The Charlottesville, Virginia-based band, which was originally called Sparky’s Flaw, came together as high school classmates. Anderson later met Nate McFarland while attending the University of Virginia - McFarland joined the band in 2007. “I remember seeing them at Starr Hill, which is the big venue in town, and they came on to the ‘Mortal Kombat’ theme,” remembers McFarland. “I never would’ve imagined myself playing with them, let alone becoming a member of the band.”
Five years later, Parachute is not only attracting throngs of fans from Charlottesville, but they have garnered legions of new fans from around the world as a result of the release of their debut album Losing Sleep, for Mercury/Island Def Jam Records. The album mixes rock, blues, melodic pop, and R&B in an appealing menu of songs that Parachute fans are eating up. Will Anderson wrote or co-wrote most of the songs which are truly emotional and take on very personal aspects of his life. His lead vocals have a compelling, urban style that is not only progressive, but commercial.
Losing Sleep spawned the hit single “She Is Love,” which is featured in a national television commercial for Nivea, and whose video is in heavy rotation on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown. ‘“She is Love” is really introspective,” says Anderson. “I wrote that for someone but I won’t say who they are. It was a song that was very personal.”
The album was largely produced by the Grammy-winning producer John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair). When asked how their collaboration came about, Anderson stated, “Shanks approached our label and asked what we were up to, and we were thrilled to work with him when everything worked out.” Shanks and Anderson co-wrote “She,” a song that deals with lost love. Even though a lot of bands write their music while in the studio, Parachute wrote the songs beforehand and brought the songs to the producers where they put their spin on them. “Shanks is an incredible songwriter and his history is amazing. He’s definitely one of the coolest guys we’ve met in the music industry,” adds Anderson.
In addition to lending his considerable talents as the band’s lead singer, Will Anderson also plays guitar and piano on many of the songs. However, he doesn’t have a preference for one instrument during his songwriting process. “I write on both the guitar and piano but I write on whatever I get inspired on. Different instruments often give me a different perspective and allow me to write different ways for different things.” When asked which songwriters had the greatest impact on his current songwriting style, Will admitted that Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder were his top four influences. “I tend to write about things I know, that are happening to me,” says Anderson. “If it’s not really true to us, it doesn’t make sense. We try to make music that people can relate to, that they’re going to want to hear.”
And relate they do. Working out “romantic ideals and the frustration of real life” are certainly conditions most people can relate to. “'The Mess I Made' deals with the regret and looking back on a failed relationship. Its video is currently generating a lot of good heat for the band. “We wanted to make the video but the next single coming up for release is actually ‘Under Control,’ which deals with longing,” says Anderson. “’For Liz (She)’ is all about love lost. When asked whether he thought songwriting is a kind of poetry, Anderson admits, “Yeah, it is. Sometimes my songs are very literal and sometimes they are very straight. Other times they are more poetic. For me it depends on the song and the situation.”
Because new technologies have increased the demand for songs and music cues, Parachute realizes that creating songs are not just for CDs anymore. They are an extension of Parachute’s music library. However, the band is not losing sleep (excuse the pun) over offers to use their songs in games or commercials. Other than trusting their instincts, when considering whether to allow their songs for use in movies, TV, games, Will says, “We have to be really excited about the project and the project must have taste. The Nivea project for ‘She Is Love’ was very tasteful and was something we really enjoyed. We thought it paired the music correctly with the visuals, so we were really excited about that. It’s also great source of income…that’s for sure. As far as games go, “If the Beatles can have a Rock Band video game, then we’re fine. It would be great to have our songs in a video game and it’s something that we all try to stay on top of.”
Christian Music News Source
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Christian music news: Sky high: Parachute’s debut soars in first week
Latest christian music: After nearly a year of anticipation, the numbers are finally in, and a Charlottesville-based band’s debut album is officially a hit. Members of Parachute learned Thursday, May 21 that Losing Sleep entered at #40 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.
“It’s way better than we had expected,” says frontman Will Anderson. “We had a day off, so we were all in different places when we found out, and we were texting each other like crazy.”
The news comes a week after the album got an early release on the iTunes Music Store, and quickly shot to #1 on the digital vendor’s charts. This was due in part to the strength of the band’s second single “Under Control,” which iTunes offered as a free download for the week.
According to Anderson, seeing his band’s name atop of the iTunes chart was a stunning moment.
“When we went #1 on iTunes,” says Anderson, “that was a definite wake-up call about what an incredible opportunity this is. That’s when we knew this was the real deal.”
It also helped that Parachute’s songs already had a familiar ring to them by the time their disc had reached record stores. Beginning in January, skin care company Nivea began using the band’s song “She Is Love,” in one of their commercials. Anderson says that while it was never the band’s plan to set their music to images of creamy lotions, he’s happy to have his music heard anywhere.
“Their head of marketing came to us after having heard the song on a new music sampler he’d stumbled onto randomly,” says Anderson. “We didn’t know what to expect, but they came to us with the commercial already made, and we decided to go for it.”
That led to Nivea grabbing a second song, “Under Control,” and that’s a song the band has been performing since the days when they were called Sparky’s Flaw (and gracing the cover of the Hook’s inaugural “Under the Radar and Dreaming” issue in 2007).
The Nivea deal also earned the Charlottesville-based rockers a prime spot in Times Square on New Year’s Eve along with the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift, where Anderson says the band got an early showbiz lesson.
“It was really cold, and we were worried about how it would go,” says Anderson. “But then we see Taylor Swift get up there in a dress and think, ‘Okay, it’s not that bad. We can do this.’”
For Anderson, the most unexpected aspect of the Nivea campaign has been the slew of cover versions of Parachute songs that fans have posted of themselves performing on YouTube.
“I saw a couple of them,” says Anderson, “and at first my thought was, ‘Why on earth would anyone want to cover this?’ But it’s very flattering, to be sure, and it’s been fun to see people try to take our song and make it their own.”
Though he does have one quibble.
“It’s funny to see how different people play the guitar part,” says Anderson. “It’s very simple, but a lot of people don’t pick it up.”
Ultimately, though, Anderson says the band’s success is equal parts cutting-edge marketing and good ol’ fashioned touring.
“We have had a great marketing campaign,” says Anderson, “but we’ve also had time to build our fan base playing all of those shows. That allowed us to take our time to get the album just right, and when it was, we had an audience.”
Still, Anderson says he’s careful not to let the recent attention go to his head.
“We played the South by Southwest festival in Austin not too far back,” says Anderson, “and we were on the same bill as [English songwriter and five-time Grammy nominee] P.J. Harvey. We got a chance to meet her, and she was definitely very nice, but we stuck out like a sore thumb playing next to her. We’ve still got a long way to go to get to her level.”
Source
“It’s way better than we had expected,” says frontman Will Anderson. “We had a day off, so we were all in different places when we found out, and we were texting each other like crazy.”
The news comes a week after the album got an early release on the iTunes Music Store, and quickly shot to #1 on the digital vendor’s charts. This was due in part to the strength of the band’s second single “Under Control,” which iTunes offered as a free download for the week.
According to Anderson, seeing his band’s name atop of the iTunes chart was a stunning moment.
“When we went #1 on iTunes,” says Anderson, “that was a definite wake-up call about what an incredible opportunity this is. That’s when we knew this was the real deal.”
It also helped that Parachute’s songs already had a familiar ring to them by the time their disc had reached record stores. Beginning in January, skin care company Nivea began using the band’s song “She Is Love,” in one of their commercials. Anderson says that while it was never the band’s plan to set their music to images of creamy lotions, he’s happy to have his music heard anywhere.
“Their head of marketing came to us after having heard the song on a new music sampler he’d stumbled onto randomly,” says Anderson. “We didn’t know what to expect, but they came to us with the commercial already made, and we decided to go for it.”
That led to Nivea grabbing a second song, “Under Control,” and that’s a song the band has been performing since the days when they were called Sparky’s Flaw (and gracing the cover of the Hook’s inaugural “Under the Radar and Dreaming” issue in 2007).
The Nivea deal also earned the Charlottesville-based rockers a prime spot in Times Square on New Year’s Eve along with the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift, where Anderson says the band got an early showbiz lesson.
“It was really cold, and we were worried about how it would go,” says Anderson. “But then we see Taylor Swift get up there in a dress and think, ‘Okay, it’s not that bad. We can do this.’”
For Anderson, the most unexpected aspect of the Nivea campaign has been the slew of cover versions of Parachute songs that fans have posted of themselves performing on YouTube.
“I saw a couple of them,” says Anderson, “and at first my thought was, ‘Why on earth would anyone want to cover this?’ But it’s very flattering, to be sure, and it’s been fun to see people try to take our song and make it their own.”
Though he does have one quibble.
“It’s funny to see how different people play the guitar part,” says Anderson. “It’s very simple, but a lot of people don’t pick it up.”
Ultimately, though, Anderson says the band’s success is equal parts cutting-edge marketing and good ol’ fashioned touring.
“We have had a great marketing campaign,” says Anderson, “but we’ve also had time to build our fan base playing all of those shows. That allowed us to take our time to get the album just right, and when it was, we had an audience.”
Still, Anderson says he’s careful not to let the recent attention go to his head.
“We played the South by Southwest festival in Austin not too far back,” says Anderson, “and we were on the same bill as [English songwriter and five-time Grammy nominee] P.J. Harvey. We got a chance to meet her, and she was definitely very nice, but we stuck out like a sore thumb playing next to her. We’ve still got a long way to go to get to her level.”
Source
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Christian music news: Parachute Band - Live in Manila
Latest christian music: Parachute Band is a Christian group from New Zealand, consisting of five young musicians who replaced the original Parachute band in 2006. They came to Manila on November 23, 2007 to perform and I was fortunate enough to be one of the photographers covering the event.
Opening performance by local Christian performer, Acel Van Omen
Another opening number by their fellow Kiwi, Rapture Ruckus
Monday, June 8, 2009
Christian music news: Parachute Band
Latest christian music: Parachute Band’s latest release, TECHNICOLOR, sees a second-generation band that has found its voice. With eleven tracks of sonically colourful worship songs, this album is based around the concept that God’s living water equals life in all its colour… full blazing colour.
Winning the band the 2008 People’s Choice Award at the mainstream New Zealand Music Awards, this album is not to be missed. Its opener Come to the River sets an infectious scene, showcasing a new found synergy within the band, and plays on the Message Bible’s version of Psalm 51, “Soak me in your laundry…I’ll come out clean...bring me from grey exile, put fresh wind in my sails.”
From the impassioned electro-rock of No Eye Has Seen to the stirring Shout it Out, it’s clear that TECHNICOLOR’S songs deliver salvation with punch and sincerity. The soulful intimacy in tracks like Grace and In Liberty then present a band who aren’t afraid to wear their devotion on their sleeves.
Source
Winning the band the 2008 People’s Choice Award at the mainstream New Zealand Music Awards, this album is not to be missed. Its opener Come to the River sets an infectious scene, showcasing a new found synergy within the band, and plays on the Message Bible’s version of Psalm 51, “Soak me in your laundry…I’ll come out clean...bring me from grey exile, put fresh wind in my sails.”
From the impassioned electro-rock of No Eye Has Seen to the stirring Shout it Out, it’s clear that TECHNICOLOR’S songs deliver salvation with punch and sincerity. The soulful intimacy in tracks like Grace and In Liberty then present a band who aren’t afraid to wear their devotion on their sleeves.
Source
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