Artist Information
Biography
Practical Info:
-Willing to re-record songs to achieve desired quality
-Will consider altering lyrics for specific projects or films
THANKS!
About the Music:
Dear Daystar is the music of local singer/songwriter Jen Dearwood. Hailing from Rockville, Maryland, Jen focuses primarily on piano-based folk/pop/rock, which has led to comparisons to the likes of piano legends Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. But as a 24 year old who loves to throw in new sounds for the fun of it and write about everything from Greek mythology and medieval epics to architecture and medicine, to the daily exchange of hearts, Jen is quick to list a wider range of her musical influences, including soundtrack composers Hans Zimmer and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the Mediaeval Baebes, Natalie Merchant, Michelle Branch, George Harrison, Arcade Fire, Dido, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, Coldplay, Enya, and British rockers Muse. The music of Dear Daystar pulls contemporary issues and classical themes into a new blend of music and serves it up as an intriguing soundtrack of the driftwood lovers in us all, reminding us to live and breathe with history at heart and the future in mind. So jump ship or join the voyage, because the anchor's up, the sails are catching wind, and the uncharted and open horizon lies ahead.
About Jen Dearwood:
Despite performing for large (900+) audiences throughout elementary and high school in various roles and soloist parts, composing music for an award-winning student film, and being in a pop band during high school, it wasn’t until Jen Dearwood was in her senior year of college that she began to earnestly work on music as an independent artist. A heavy deciding factor was the amount of positive reviews and requests to hear more received by total strangers, including a few student music critics notorious for harsh reviews- something totally unexpected. The name Dear Daystar originates from a short story Jen began in high school, and it’s under this name that she still makes music. Other current music projects include The Escaton’s Heel, a collaboration of musicians in the US and the UK, and Conversation Piece Records, her own label under which she continues to compose music for student films. Dear Daystar recently won the Director's Choice Award in the 2010 U.S. Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and was featured in the short film 'Fire Song', which was voted Favourite Film of the Night when it premiered at the 2010 Film Festival de Cannes.
Instrumentation
Jen- vox, piano, guitar, tambourine, synth.
Mag- vox, tamb, guitar
Joyce- vox, guitar, synth
Discography
EPs:
Oh the Wood's Parting Ways (an epilogue) (2009)
Boy with a Glass Shadow (Tirra Lirra) (2009)
My Heart|Your Shield (2008)
Catching Icarus- 2007 Sessions (2008)
Singles:
Ode to an Inkwell (2010)
East Coast Autumn (Miss You Instead) (2010)
Stop Sparkling (Or Take My Life) (2008)
Video
Press
Setlist
A Typical Dear Daystar Set List
1. Edmund's Constellation
2. Sohma
3. Choose Your Dancing Shoes (Discover Me) (piano)
4. Still in Seoul (piano)
5. Three O'clock Chicago (piano)
6. Headlights, Stars, and Satellites (Why Most Romantic Films Only Last Two Hours) (piano)
7. Parasol (piano)
8. Letters to a Girl (piano)
9. Stop Sparkling (or Take My Life) (acoustic guitar)
10. Catching Icarus (acoustic guitar)
