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: years ago, I used to play frequently at the Daily Grind coffee shop in Lower Burrell, and Leslie was one of a group of high school students who came out to hear me regularly. I hadn’t played “Someone to Be Lonely With” for a couple years, but Leslie found the lyrics on my website, and basically said, “Hey, why don’t you play that song any more? I really like the words—I read them on your website. You should play it!” So, I relearned the song (making a couple lyrical and musical tweaks in the process), and now it’s on my newest CD. Usually, if a song falls out of circulation, it’s a sign it’s not so great, but in this case, Leslie salvaged a keeper. Thanks, Leslie!
One funny observation—Leslie and my father both use the same blogspot background image. Coincidence? :]
News
Happy New Year (bandcamp.com)
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.
Excellent Press for “Excellent Trouble”…
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.”
CD Release Party — Sat., Nov. 20
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.
The New CD is Here!..
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).
The Next CD: Done With Mastering, Now the Art…
This next CD has been mixed, by Lurch, and has now been mastered by Toronto’s Fedge (Jeff Elliott). After 3 rounds of minor tweaks and changes, a final version of the music should be done shortly.
Here are the songs featured, in the order they’ll appear:
1. Again, 2. How it Ends, 3. Some Strange Algorithm, 4. Keep it to Yourself, 5. Someone to be Lonely With, 6. I Will Only Let You Down, 7. Lovely Trap, 8. I’m So Glad You’re Over Me, 9. Horses, 10. Leave Like This, 11. Love is All I Have For You, 12. Excellent Trouble, 13. Card Tricks, and 14. At the Table. Four songs, Again, How it Ends, Keep it to Yourself andHorses even have strings, thanks to Roy Sonne and the Fauré String Trio (arrangements by Chris Massa).
On the art front, Seth Clark will be working to complete the design work in the first half of June. The design will resemble a sketch book, and will feature a 24-page glued-in booklet. Check out his website, in particular his sketchbooks, to get a sense of his work. You can also see my round draft of the credits’ page, which I think will be fun:
So, the good news is that I should finally have “new product” here, maybe by July sometime. Meanwhile, you can still pre-order Excellent Trouble, and help me cover the costs of mastering/duplication.