My father (72-year-old Mennonite counselor/pastor) has an online blog, which he is rightly proud of (in a very humble Mennonite sort of way!) He's a good writer--I was always grateful of that as a kid, because I listened to hundreds of his (thoughtful, well-written) sermons growing up.
Dad has mentioned my songs in several blog entries, including: Went Away Sad, WWJD?, Love is All I Have For You, Somewhere in the Constellation, and "the French one", J’ai vidé mon cœur. I'm honored that he includes my words among his thoughts & reflections. Thanks, Dad!
Another song of mine, Someone to Be Lonely With, is featured in a blog entry by Leslie Reagan (Plaia). There's a reason for that...
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I hope you had a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/etc., and may your New Year bring much loveliness! The ever-terrific Mike Budai was kind enough to create this Epiphany card image for me.
In other news, check out my new CD on BandCamp.com! It’s easy to stream, and you can also share tracks from any of my last 3 CDs, on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the CD release on Sat., 11/20—it was a great night, with tasty food/drink (Commonplace coffee, East End root beer, Franktuary food…), and even tastier music (from Pearl & the Beard, Judith Avers, and my fine band.)
Here’s some press “Excellent Trouble” has gotten so far:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — “..an album filled with beautifully recorded acoustic-based songs, united by (Yoder’s) honesty and vivid way with words.” (Scott Mervis)
Pitt News — “Pittsburgh native Brad Yoder is a songwriting virtuoso.” (Larissa Gula)
AcousticLive! in NYC — “This is a heavyweight album from a major talent.” (Richard Cuccaro)
Big Mama’s Blog—CD review interview — “..lyrics convey emotions in a really powerful manner.”
Pgh Tribune-Review — “Excellent Trouble.. exhibits a childlike zest for narrative and storytelling.” (Rege Behe)
And a quote, from Grammy-winning country icon Kathy Mattea:
“Brad Yoder is my favorite new ‘discovery’ of the year. His CD stopped me in my tracks, especially the song Leave Like This—I was weeping sweet tears by the end of it.”
Richard Cuccaro was kind enough to do a review of "Excellent Trouble" in the Dec. (2010) issue of Acoustic Live!. That issue will eventually be posted online as a PDF; here's the text of the review in the meantime:
Brad Yoder - Excellent Trouble
Multi-instrumentalist Brad Yoder might have produced the album that puts him on a plateau with some of the heavier hitters in the singer-songwriter arena...
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The official CD release event for Excellent Trouble will be Sat., Nov. 20, 7:30pm, at the Church of the Redeemer in Squirrel Hill (5700 Forbes Ave.) This is the same church where we recorded strings for Again, How it Ends, Keep it to Yourself, & Horses.
The event will be all-ages, with complementary food & beverages. Tickets at the door are $15 for adults and $10 for students; children 12 & under are free (though no child care will be provided). As of right now, I’m opting to not do advance ticket sales. 
I’ll be playing with a full band, of course, plus lots of special guests. Opening will be recent Pittsburgh transplant Judith Avers, and fun Brooklyn folk-popsters Pearl and the Beard. ——>
You can read the very first review ever of “Excellent Trouble,” along with a nifty interview, done by Alise of Big Mama’s Blog.
After 3.5+ years of work, Excellent Trouble is finally out, and I couldn’t be more excited about how it sounds, and looks. (check out Seth Clark’s terrific original art here.)
The packaging features a 6-panel (3 “squares”) matte digipak, with a 24-page booklet glued into it.
There is also be a 6-panel lyric booklet, in the same pouch as the CD. The music, engineered, mixed, and co-produced by LURCH (Canadian ex-pat Chris Rudyk), is dark, layered, lush, and, according to Vivian my “best work yet.” (thanks, Vivian!)
You can order this disc from this website, of course. (I’ve sold 55+ at this point).
