Chad Overman
San Antonio, Texas, United States | SELF
Music
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Artist Chad Overman Returns with Sophomore Release, Songs for the Searchers
[San Antonio, Texas] Singer/Songwriter Chad Overman makes a dazzling return with Songs for the Searchers, his second studio album, independently released in February, 2011. The versatile collection features 14 original songs that deliver the honest songwriting and beautifully crafted melodies that Overman has quickly become known for and shows why he is one of today’s up and coming Christian pop/rock artists to watch.
Songs for the Searchers is Overman’s follow up to his debut, Sunday Man, released in 2007. His latest effort showcases an artist coming into his prime, displaying a deepened lyrical maturity and musical craftsmanship that puts Overman at the top of his game. The opening track, “If I Go” sets the tone for the record, with a highly addictive melody, juxtaposed against lyrics that paint a picture of a believer searching, doubting, and longing for answers. There’s more of the same in gems like “Think Back,” “Let It In” and the raucous, “Go Far, Go Wide”. Throughout the album Overman’s pop-sensibility shines, as he tackles the topics of depression, addiction, and his own personal journey of faith.
Overman’s gift for storytelling is evident throughout the record, and they story he’s telling is a personal one. He explains, “Songs for the Searchers was written in extreme times of doubt and faith and is a special collection of songs that really ministered to me during emotionally fragile times. It is an incredibly honest reflection of where I’ve turned to in my darkest hours-- which is to Jesus Christ.”
Rounding out the album are standout tracks like “Drop the Reins”, resurrected and reworked from Sunday Man, and “The Solitude”, a song about a scarecrow playing with matches. With a poignant lyric, and haunting music, the song speaks of human fragility. “It’s about how easily one mistake can burst everything into flames”, says Overman. The track was produced by lead singer of Hollywood Records band, ‘Alpha Rev’, Casey McPherson and members of Alpha Rev also play on the track.
The title “Songs for the Searchers” was partly inspired by a line in Dave Matthew’s “The Christmas Song”-- “All soul searchers, like you and me”. Having always connected with the lyric in a very powerful way, Overman wanted fans to similarly listen to this record and think, ‘“I’m a searcher, I’m open minded, these songs are for me’”.
If you ask Overman about the inspiration behind his work he’ll say that it’s all about honest songwriting. “I write songs—some about love as I know it, some about doubt and confusion, and some about faith. Others are searching songs, songs that are somewhere in between. This is a collection of those searching songs.”
Songs for the Searchers is available now for purchase on iTunes and online at www.chadoverman.com.
For more information on Songs for the Searchers and Chad Overman, and to keep informed of upcoming live dates, www.chadoverman.com
Track Listing:
1. If I Go
2. Think Back
3. Go Far, Go Wide
4. America
5. Undone
6. The Solitude
7. Hallelujah
8. Short Lived Loop
9. Drop the Reins
10. Let It In
11. Alone
12. Could This Be Everything?
13. Can You Save Me?
14. Think Back (Reprise)
For more information or publicity concerns contact Veronica Servantez-Bayles, at 512.524.0696 or at veronica@sebaymarketing.com.
- Sebay Marketing & Communications
Kevan Breitinger
"Chad Overman displays the soul of a poet in debut "Sunday Man." A lyrical, honest, and insightful poet, eyes focused on the heavens even as he rocks his portion of earth.
Indie artist Chad Overman released “Sunday Man” on January 29, 2007, twelve tracks of poetic pop sure to soften the hardest heart. Not one measure goes to waste here; his self-penned songs are some of the most accessible I’ve heard recently, bravely exposing his own longings and struggles in this friendly pop. And it’s not easy-listening pop, but textured, thoughtful and diverse, well worth your attention.
Both the intense rhythms and vocals add an urgency to opener “Drop the Reins,” tipping you off immediately to a fresh sound. The bright, breezy “Follow the Sun” changes direction, and the lush strings of encourager “The Journey” is yet another shift, each movement as sound as the other. “Anticipation” moves from its airy opening into a thickly nuanced chorus; pay special attention to the track’s vibrant lyrics. Overman’s writing is a great mix of intelligence and guts, straight up, as evidenced by the rich imagery of standout track, “Winter.”
“Stephen” is a joyous electric tribute to the martyr who “dropped his soul, trading for his skin,” and “Ashes of Lee” a more personal acoustic nod, this time to sister and brother-in-law on their wedding day. I hear slight shades of Billy Joel in the rolling rock changes of “Runaway Train,” with its sizzling strings, evocative bridge, and again, oh, those effervescent lyrics! One more must-mention is the gutsy “Something,” combining a heavenly melody with earthy lyrics, delivered with power and passion. “Sunday Man” closes quietly with “Heavensent,” an acoustic ode to his guardian angel, to whom he gave a name, a story and a song. See what I mean? The heart of a poet. Visit Chad Overman at his myspace for further information."
http://christianmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/chad_overman_sunday_man
- Suite101
Discography
Sunday Man (2007 Debut Album)
"The Solitude" (2009 Single Release)
"If I Go" (2010 Single Release w/music video)
Songs For The Searchers (2011 Sophomore Album)
Photos
Bio
For singer/songwriter Chad Overman music has always been about honesty and emotional connection, and it’s that honesty and emotion that has resonated with fans, believers and critics since his debut release, Sunday Man in 2007.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Chad began playing and performing in high school. He worked out melodies by ear on his dad’s old guitar, playing an eclectic mix of covers from artists like James Taylor, Third Eye Blind, The Beatles and Elton John. Although his early set-lists were without a doubt diverse, each song shared a feeling of truth and vulnerability that connected with Chad. “More than anything, it’s the honest emotion of a song that pulls me into music,” says Overman. “Sometimes it’s a melody and sometimes it may be the story a song tells or a lyric that resonates with me.”
Yearning to express himself through his own words and music, Chad soon started writing his own songs. Armed with a growing arsenal of original music, Chad started his first band, JONESER in 2002. Although raised as a Christian, Chad struggled with his faith throughout his teen years. On his own path to faith, he continued to write and perform with JONESER. “While many of those early songs didn’t speak directly to my relationship with Jesus Christ, they were always honest in emotion,” he says. “They’re true to the path I was on at that time in my life.”
Chad’s debut album, Sunday Man, was released in February of 2007. The versatile collection of songs, connected deeply with listeners. Praised as “poetic pop”, at once “accessible, textured, thoughtful, and diverse”, Sunday Man is a color-rich palette of Chad’s different musical influences. “It reflects the varying musical styles that I’ve connected to emotionally at different times in my life.”
A progression from early EP releases with JONESER, Sunday Man not only showed Chad’s growth as an artist, but also his growth in faith. With a stronger belief in and relationship with God, his music began to speak more to that relationship. In songs like the soaring opener “Drop the Reins” which Chad often credits as “being the song that started it all”, he speaks of struggle and of search. “When you’re friends go home and you’re on your own, where do you go?” According to Chad, the origin of the song was definitely a divine one, “Sometimes you know when God is speaking because it just flows. You don’t exactly know how it happened, but you don’t second-guess the source.”
While comfortable being described as a Christian artist, Overman prefers to think outside of labels. He explains, “I believe that my music goes beyond labels like ‘Christian’ or ‘secular’. Instead I just think of my music as ‘honest’ songs that capture moments in my life. Those moments may speak to my relationship with God-- they may tell a story of faith and doubt, or they may not.”
His second major studio recording, Songs for the Searchers was released in February, 2011. An uplifting but introspective record, Songs for the Searchers gives listeners a startling honest glimpse into a darker period in Overman’s life. The collection of 14 songs was written during a period of deep depression that began a year after the release of Sunday Man. “I was at a point in my life where I was struggling with depression and addiction-- I had to confront my demons. The only way I knew to do that was to cry out to God and ask him for help. In the process of doing that, many of these songs arrived. They helped me though, and I believe they are a gift.”
Overman admits that Songs for the Searchers is an incredibly personal record, with an opening track that couldn’t get more personal. The song “If I Go” is written from the perspective of a man who has hit rock-bottom, with no where left to go, with lyrics that are an unabashed cry for help “You’ve got to bring me water, bring me water, My well is running dry and I can’t go on.”
Songs like the soulful, acoustic “Can You Save Me?”, first recorded in his JONESER days tell of a struggle with intense emotions and a search for answers that started for Overman as a teen. He continues the story with tracks like the early single “The Solitude”. With a simple yet haunting melody and poignant lyric “Just a man, just a straw filled man, with a match in my straw filled hand” the song has struck an early chord with fans according to Chad. “It’s about a scarecrow that is playing with matches,” he says. “It describes how fragile we all can be, and how easily one mistake can burst everything into flames.”
As Songs for the Searchers begins to find itself in the minds and hearts of fans and new listeners alike, Chad plans to take the record to those he feels the songs were meant to help. “I believe these songs were a gift to help me and to help others suffering with depression and addiction to come out of the darkness and find the light. I’m committed to that ministry.” Overman plans to perform for ministry outreac
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