A Five Dollar And Ninety Four Cent Project
Did you save your pennies? You need five hundred and ninety four of them for today.
A few weeks ago I got an email coming from the contact page of this blog. It was asking a few marketing questions and some internet(y) questions and introducing me to a new artist. I’d never heard of Daniel before, but answered the questions the best I could, with my opinions on blogging and marketing and all that. After three or four more emails Daniel sent me a copy of his EP to check out. It took me a day or two to get to it, but when I had time to sit and listen to it, I loved it.
Now, I’m no professional music critic by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like I know when I hear something that has the potential to go somewhere, and this, in my opinion is it. Daniel’s got a clean acoustic sound, with vocals that remind me of early Derek Webb, you know, before he was mad at stuff.
Daniel and I emailed back and forth and after I listened to his album a few times, I knew that I wanted to do what I could to help out with his online presence. I read a bit about him and through talking to him, I found out that he is a worship leader from North Carolina, and isn’t able to travel as much as other artists. I am by no means some online guru guy, but I love the idea of great artists succeeding and using every means possible to do that. We are currently in the process of setting Daniel up a blog, and have been talking about some other ideas aside from traveling a ton.
So here’s the project. Take the five dollars and ninety four cents that you saved this week, and buy Daniel’s record on iTunes. Listen to it, then come back here and let’s talk about it. Think of the comments section as a place to review the record. I know there are plenty of “music folks” reading this blog, (Seth, Euphrony, Kat, Mark, Randy, Carlos, Jeremy, Michael, Chad, Spence and the list goes on) and I want to get this record to as many people as possible this weekend. Daniel’s music is going somewhere, and we can be a part of getting it there.
So that’s the project. It’s pretty easy. Spend five dollars and ninety four cents, listen to some good music, then come here and review it.
Ready? Go.
Awesome EP. This guy’s got melodies oozing out of his ears – and into everyone else’s who listens.
If he doesn’t have you singing along by the second listen through the album, then email me and I’ll personally refund you your pennies.
Fans of Coldplay, Death Cab, Robbie Seay, & Mat Kearney will find Daniel a welcome addition to their collection…
I’ll definitely check this out when I get home on itunes. Great idea and thanks for sharing.
I’m not a big acoustic guy, but I like good music.
I fully agree with James (above). Especially the “oozing” part.
It is refreshing to find Christian artists with rich, biblical content. Take a few minutes and read through the lyrics.
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…” – Daniel has helped his listeners do this well.
I’ll check it out when I get home. Thanks for the recommendation and James thanks for the comparisons…those pretty much sold me.
Amy, that’s good to hear..
And portorikan, don’t shy away because of the “acoustic” description. It sounds like the songs were written on acoustic, but the production has really got more of an indie-rock sound. If you’re a guitar player, it’s a great jangly-AC30-with-U2-delay type sound. If you’re keen on the Nashville music scene, Paul Moak, a great session player, played most of the electric stuff. A few of the songs also have a ethereal, ambient soundscape thing goin on.. in the vein of MuteMath, which I see you’re a fan of on your blog..
The Derek Webb comparison still holds true, but think I See Things Upside Down, not She Must and Shall Go Free or Mockingbird.
I just got this record from a reference from Tim Challies’ blog. I love it. Great music. The first song is the best. Very powerful.
Hey Mr. Harper. A worthy post, and something i will check out. Just wanted to drop a line back. I see you’ve found i re-upped my blog. WE NEED TO GET TOGETHER. Miss you, dude.
Done. It’s hard to listen to write now with four girls (my two plus two friends) running around my house re-enacting swan lake.
I’ll listen to it, though, as soon as I have a quiet moment.
Thanks for the recommendation, Brody. I love what you’re doing for artists…
Hey Brody! It’s awesome to see Daniel getting some recognition… my wife and I attended the church he’s currently at and wondered why in the world he wasn’t signed to a label. Anyway, yea, he’s got skilz and it’s awesome to see him get noticed.
Oh, and if you liked Daniel’s stuff, you might want to check out Shelly Moore Band as well… they all lead worship from time to time together at our church. Good stuff.
Thanks James. I’ll definitely give it a listen.
I liked what I heard. I bought it.
I went to school w/ Daniel and can say that along w/ his stellar music skills, he has a gigantic heart for following Christ. The lyrics of his songs flow from that passion. It makes a difference to hear authentic worship that is tailored through a life dedicated to knowing Christ better and walking tightly w/ Him.
You made a good decision backing this guy. Kudos upon kudos.
Brody – I read this post on Good Friday and bought the EP off itunes that day. Once again, excellent recommendation. Not just because of the sound (which is great), but also the lyrical content. It was perfect “Easter” music to share and I was greatly blessed. I, too felt Daniel’s heart beating after Christ. So richly based in scripture, it drew me to My Father’s feet. Please be sure to do an update post for us all when the blog you’re doing for him is up and running. I look forward to checking it out. Until then, let him know he, his family, and his ministry are in our prayers. God bless.
Melody
[...] Daniel Renstrom Blogging, Music Category Is Already Taken | RSS Remember last week when we saved our pennies? How many of you got it? What did you [...]
I would just like to point out that I suggested this a couple of days ago:
http://skorinc.us/brodyharper.com/2008/03/19/music-youve-never-heard/