Wednesday, July 30, 2008

An Alog Heart

A fan gave me David Cook's album Analog Heart from 2006 a while back.  It got tossed into a bin after a show and I didn't find it until today as I was unpacking stuff to repack for the tour dates upcoming.  Anyway, I finally got to listen to it.

I was David Cook fan while he was on the show.  This album, if I weren't a fan wouldn't do anything for me to become a fan, if I'm being honest.  The albums sounds great, but I wish they had spent more time on the vocals...David Cook proved this year he's a fantastic vocalist, and unfortunately, there are many times on here that isn't shown.

However, with that said, this album actually makes me even more excited about his upcoming album.  Why?  Didn't I just say Analog Heart wasn't incredible?  Yes...but overall you can hear his ear for a great song (though the songs weren't all that great here, they were awful close), great arrangements and good production.  The thing about indie albums is that it's tough to find an indie that puts everything together right...on this one, David put together a great album with good songs, and really good production (for the style of music he was going for).  I'm not sure who produced the album or who played on it, but everything sounds really, really good.

So, for those who haven't heard it: you're not missing a lot - in fact, I think that, for once, 19 entertainment got it right, in forcing people to wait for the "real thing".  But trust me (and tons of others who have heard it) in saying that David Cook is a star and he shows great promise of it on this album.

I hear he's working with Rob Cavallo...that's freaking awesome!  Rob produced the Green Day records, the Black Parade album for My Chemical Romance and, most importantly to me: Goo.  Rob produced the greatest Goo Goo Dolls albums...if he can pull the same vocal performances from David that he's pulled from tons of other singers, then this album is going to be a winner.

I've learned my lessons on predicting how many albums someone might sell...so I'll save it.  But I will say this: I think David Cook has every tool he needs to be a best-selling artist.  Doesn't mean he'll be it, but he has the tools, and that's a start!  Now, let's hope his label continues to pour money into radio promotions!

ETA: So we're clear: I am a David Cook fan.  I like his music and this his songwriting shows incredible promise here.  I think that this album is in the 95th percentile for local indie artists I've ever heard (and I've heard a lot).  So, please don't read into this as me trying to bash David Cook or that I'm jealous...I am doing neither!  Thanks for checking out the blog.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Up another...

Empty Me moves up to #8 this week!  

Just be warned though that it may not go much higher...the stations who added 6 months ago when the single first came out are slowly coming off of it, so we'll be losing plays steadily until we drop out of the top 15.  So...we had a great run and we got in a top 10 single!

Just confirming for you...just looked at the R&R Charts and I'm #8 on the main Christian AC chart, and #9 on the Indicator chart, which is the secondary chart!  

Just some little stats: of the 82 stations that are counted, I'm only on 55 of them...yet, I still am in the top 10.  Apparently, the stations that are playing the song are playing it like crazy!  Thank goodness!

Just a note, though.  On the main AC chart, it's my first week without a bullet.  In other words, even though I moved up on the chart, I actually lost plays compared to last week.  Don't get me wrong: I'm hoping it continues to move up the chart, but chances are we've had our run!  And it's been a good one!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Finally...

I've got a new song up on myspace.com/chrisslighproductions.

Just a rough demo. The song is the first one on there...called "Finally...." It's the first song I've ever written with my good friend Don Chapman. We cowrote most of the music then I wrote the words.

I'm pretty positive this will be on the next album.

Finally…
Words by Chris Sligh

Music by Chris Sligh & Don Chapman


I am just light cast on a curtain

Traveling light, still heavy of hurting

A speck of a second of day

A soap bubble floating away
I’m just a guest, passing through slowly
I’ll never find rest, there’s no one that knows me
I’m just a thought, passing on

A steam burst that’s here and then gone 



Felt the sun rising
Just on the horizon

And with it the graceful skies came dancing over me

Favorite childhood games

Memories feel the same
Life in a flash flies by with light that sets me free
I am not of this world

Ooh….
I am not of this world - I can’t see

Follow the light, like pouring rain
It washes over me the same
Wiping every stain

Running down streets, echoed light
Pouring down, chase away the night 

And suddenly it’s right

I’m home; I’m home

Finally home - home

I’m home; I’m home

Finally home - home




Instrumental

I’m home; 
I’m home

I am just light cast on a curtain

Traveling light, still heavy of hurting

A speck of a second of day

A soap bubble floating away





Oh, by the way, it's 7 and a half minutes long.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Top 10

"Empty Me" is the #5 most increased played song of the week, jumping up to #9!

We have a top 10 single, ya'll!!!!

I told you to wait and see.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Dark Knight

This is not a movie for small children. I'm not even sure kids younger than 15 would be able to understand and process this movie. It is dark. It is violent, though not gory. It is emotional and sometimes hard to watch. It also happens to be one of the best films I have ever seen.

I don't like the "Superhero" genre. Men in tights, wearing underwear on the outside, doing outlandish, unhumanly things aren't really my favorite things to watch. I like reality. I like things to seem real life. Super hero movies never seem to be rooted in reality.

Then "Batman Begins" showed you could make a movie about a normal guy who becomes a vigilante with outlandish toys, yes...but still rooted in dark reality. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale made what seemed like an odd combination to make a Batman movie, but when it came out, I was blown away. I have said for 3 years that movie was the best superhero movie I have ever seen.

Until now.

But "The Dark Knight" is more than that even. It's one of the finest films ever made, in my opinion. It has everything: drama, action, emotion, humor, and that slight bit of zaniness needed to root a superhero movie with super men and super villians in crazy reality.

Christian Bale gives a multi-faceted performance that is one of his best performances (coming from a HUGE Bale fan - I've seen nearly every one of his movies). Aaron Eckhart gives a remarkably strong performance as Gotham's White Knight Harvey Dent. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine give inspired supporting performances. Gary Oldman is at his best.

But we land on Heath Ledger.

If Ledger hadn't died in February, I believe his performance in this film would have still put him in the running for an Oscar. He is that good. One of the creepiest, scariest, zany, chaos-inspiring performances ever on film. I think that other superhero franchises should simply shut down, because there will never be a villain that rivals what Heath Ledger did in becoming the Joker. His death, however, should seal a posthumous Oscar.

This movie will break all kinds of records. And, for once, the movie making records actually deserves it.

Well, done Mr. Nolan...I've been a fan since Memento. You have made the greatest superhero movie ever. Thank you.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Another New Song...

...is up on myspace.com/chrisslighproductions.

I really like this one...we have a big artist interested in doing it...I kind of hope he/she doesn't because I really want this song on my record...but, then again, money is good.

The song is called "When Did You Go?"

ETA: Lyrics

When Did You Go
Words and music by Chris Sligh & Jeff Spence


Oh, I hate it here without you

I guess I made it all about you

London’s cold and dark ‘cause you’re not here
It wasn’t long ago, I held you
Right here in this room, I felt you

Slip away, without a single step you disappeared



When did you go, when did you go…

When did you go, when did you go…

When did you go, when did you go away?



Was I careless, did I break it?
I always thought that we could make it

Was there something that I should have done?
If I could start from the beginning
Just rewind and know the ending

Would I see you leaving long before you were gone



Chorus x2


Whoa, I won’t come down until I find you

Whoa, are you looking for me, too?
Are you looking for me, too?
But if we’re really through,
Please tell me….


Chorus

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

New Song

I just put up a song I wrote with Jason Walker on myspace.com/chrisslighproductions.

It's not what you're expecting, I promise. That's all I'll say.

But...I think it may be on my next album, strangely enough.

Song is called "Hands Up"

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The weirdness of radio

Well, I'm tired. Really. Really. Tired. I don't really know why...maybe just the last 6 months of work finally catching up to me. Maybe the fact that even when I'm home, I'm working too hard on demos and new songs and cowriting. I keep telling myself that I have to strike while the iron is hot. I need to work my tail off while I'm at home. Then I realize that I'm slowly burning myself out with 11 hour drives to Traverse City, MI and a week later getting in the car and driving 10 hours back up to Lifest in Wisconsin. Those trips in a packed SUV with 4 men is fun...but tiring.

I'm trying to find a balance. Every person that I'm working with right now says I'm the hardest working artist they've worked with. Ever. I can't figure out if that's sad or awesome. I don't feel like I work that hard. I feel like I do what I need to do to make a living and to try and build something that on the other end of this career will be worthwhile. But literally every time we get together my team breathlessly talks about how hard I work. Artists must be pretty freaking lazy, I guess.

By the way, Lifest and the Cherry Festival were GREAT shows. The band is starting to gel. Well, we still haven't settled on a full-time bass player. Walt, our main guy, is playing with Jeremy Camp right now. Jeremy is big right now...it's a big gig. I'd love for Walt to play with us, but from a financial standpoint, it makes more sense for him to play with Jeremy right now. Down the road, Walt will be my guy again. But we've had a revolving door of bass players. You guys met Tommy. Besides the two of them, we also played a few shows with a guy named Scott...an amazing bass player out of Dallas who played with Jon for Nichole Nordeman. It looks like we've settled on Tommy, though for the Back to School Tour, which is in August and September.

You need to find a way to come to a Back to School date. The show is going to be incindiery. Your face will melt off and your heart will be melted. We've got some big plans

By the way, I put up a bunch of dates for the Back to School tour on myspace. I'll announce the opening act very soon!

Anyway, back to the weirdness of radio.

So, we released "Empty Me" back in February. February 11, actually. We went for adds and have something like 40 stations in the first 3 weeks add the song to their rotation. Then we slowly worked our way among the Third Day's, MercyMe's, and Casting Crowns' releasing big ballad singles. Then in April, the adds just stopped coming. We knew we were connecting in a big way in the markets that were playing the song, but KLove hadn't added and we could not get stations to add the song. It was amazing.

Suddenly the song that we all thought was a top 5 was stuck at number 18 for 8 straight weeks. On top of that, we went 7 of those 8 weeks without receiving a new add from a station. Then, the kicker. In major markets, we were kicking butt in testing, but 1-2 stations nationally had mediocre testing. We only had 70 or so stations spinning the song, so mediocre numbers from a couple were schewing the national testing number down. We were in the top 20-25 in testing, but in order for a lot of radio stations to take a chance on a new artist over an established artist, they have to see at least top 10 testing and usually top 5 or top 3. So, while I was out at the finale for Idol in May, my radio guy and I had a sad conversation talking about giving up on "Empty Me".

I was pretty sad. When we released that single, a lot of people thought it was a top 5. Maybe a number 1. Hearing all these long-time pros get so excited about a song got my hopes up...only to be dashed. I was sad. Not because I want a top 5 or a number 1...but because of what those numbers mean...when you have a top 5, 3 times as many people are hearing your song than where I was at number 18. I just wanted the song to have a chance to connect. I was getting testimonies almost daily on myspace and elsewhere from radio station guys and from listeners whose lives were being touched by the song.

But slowly over a couple of weeks, I gave it up. Without sounding cheesy, I simply gave it over to God and realized that the places where the song was playing, it was connecting. We were selling extremely consistently when other new artists weren't. We were selling tons of downloads of the single. We were connecting. And that was all that mattered.

Then...the weirdness of radio happened.

Klove finally added. And when they added, their however many stations started testing. And started testing very very well. And suddenly, the numbers were schewed their way. 3 weeks ago, national testing came out and I was #2 behind Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" for women 35-54 and women 35-44. And BOOM!! Six months late, the song has new energy. I don't think we'll have a top 5 (because stations that added 6 months ago are coming off of heavy rotation to what they call recurrent - that means we lose 5-15 plays per station that does that), but stations that have not added the song for 6 months are suddenly jumping on the band wagon and being excited about the song!

It is looking like "Empty Me" may be one of the most played songs of the year, whether or not it ever reaches higher on the chart. However, it looks like we'll debut in the top 10 this week, though. It really is amazing. I finally give up and let go of "Empty Me", we decide on a release date for "Arise" and all the plans are moving forward and boom! everything changes.

So..."Arise" is going to CHR (more rock oriented) radio August 1. We're looking at August 29 or September 5 for AC...but if "Empty Me" continues to explode, it may be later than that. It is possible (and this sounds so freaking crazy) that it could be after Christmas before we go for adds on "Arise" at AC.

Ah...radio is so weird.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Twitter

So, I've been dragged into this thing called "twitter".

Basically, it's blogging, but I can do it from my phone and you can receive a text message from me whenever I blog. Twitter's cool...you'll only get twitters from the people who you sign up to receive them from...no giving away info...very private. So, make blogging even more fun!

Go to twitter.com and sign up.

It's gonna be fun.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Fro Patro'

Well, this weekend was awesome!

Friday, Sarah and I got to hang out with DJ, Risa, Carmen and Cathy at breakfast (at IHOP). That was a treat. Everyone chattered away until I had to run to sound check for the show that night. Then, probably 50 for Fro Patro-ers joined 2000 or so others at the show in Mt. Juliet. That show was fun...I thought it was one of our better shows thus far.

The picnic was humbling, moving and fun all in one. Amanda's family decided to make the trip up to hang out with the Fro Patro', so that was incredible. The picnic raised $1225 for St. Jude's the hospital where Amanda was treated up until she went home to Jesus. And, though Amanda was definitely a huge part of the Richness and the E-train, I realized this weekend how large a part of the Fro Patro' she was! Rosalee and the blogger girls put together a little tribute to Amanda that included some quips she had left on the blog...it was so cool to read what Amanda had written along the way. I sat with Amanda family, reading these incredibly kind things Amanda had written about me, choking up that a girl so strong in her faith and so at peace with whatever God had for her could ever possibly look to me as a hero...I am still blown away.

It was great to finally put faces with names, and I think everyone there enjoyed finally meeting the people they've been cyber-talking to for so long. Over a year now! Wow.

I had a vision pretty early on for what I wanted this place to be. I wanted it to be a place where Chris Sligh fans could congregate and hang out online. It would be couched with news from my life and what was going on with me, obviously, but with every new blog, it gave another place for my fans to simply hang out, get to know each other online and form a "core group" (LOL) that would be the foundation for making new fans.

Boy, did my plan come to fruition and some! I think my fans are closer than any fans I've heard of. Gosh, we had people from San Diego (pronounced San Di-Ah-Go, of course), Kansas City, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Phoenix, Birmingham, New Jersey and more! Not counting the people who came from Tennessee and surrounding states! Seriously, 10 states were represented!

And the show last night...wow! I think the band was in top form, my voice was in tune all night long and Jason Walker kicked some major bootie! By the way, (for those at the concert last night) did you guys enjoy Jason as much as I hoped you did? I love his voice. I love his songwriting. You don't have to like him as much as me, of course, but I just wondered what you thought.

So, to those that weren't there...plan on coming next year! This is going to become a yearly deal...every year, we're hoping it grows. And since we have the best party planning team in the world, I know it'll go off without a hitch!

So, thanks to all who came! Thanks for making the weekend great!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Idol Fav

When You Come Home Again

When You Come Home Again
words and music by Chris Sligh

I’m here, you’re there

Is it hot outside tonight?

‘Cause Nashville’s cold and the streets are turning white

I’m here, you’re there

But I know what’s on your mind:

Christmas memories from a different time

I’ll be wishing you were here

I’m sure you’re wishing you weren’t there



Peace on earth, may God be near

Another Christmas and we’re praying 

That you’ll be home with us next year

It’s the holidays: good will to men

Just be safe; just know we’re here

And Christmas will be waiting…

When you come home again.


I’m here, you’re there

Are you dreaming like I do?

‘Cause Christmas doesn’t feel right without you

We’re covered up with snow

I’m sure you’re covered up with sand



chorus




Hoping all our love gets through

In boxes wrapped with “I love you’s”;

“We miss you here’s”; “Just come back safe’s”;
And all the “thank you’s” we could ever make

I’m shivering in my coat

I’m sure you’re sweating in fatigues



chorus