Music
Press
Lloydminster, AB - Aug. 23, 2007
Local musician Joel French will get to play in front of a hometown crowd at Folk Fest.
There will be friends, family members, old acquaintances in the crowd. You'd think he'd be a little nervous maybe?
"Excited," he corrects. "I don't really get nervous on stage. Even my first time on stage back in high school when I started playing in a band. I think as long as I have a guitar in my hand on stage I'm not really nervous at all. I've been doing this for a while."
It's really no surprise. French is just coming off of a country-wide solo tour, so nerves likely aren't going to be a problem. He has been a veteran of the touring scene, playing with a number of full-time bands in Lloydminster, most recently Farsighted.
He's promoting his latest CD, "A Speck of White", which was released in March. The album was produced in Minneapolis, MN, by Brian Johnson, who has worked with artists like Coldplay, Lifehouse, and Elvis Costello.
"I've had a lot of good responses," said French.
His songs tackle issues that people deal with in their day-to-day lives.
"I talk a lot about life issues. I guess about different things that go through people's heads. Some of it's inspirational."
And while his songs don't have any clear agenda, his between-song banter just might. French is an advocate of World Vision and will have information and signup sheets available at his merchandise table. He has also recently been talking to people about the plight of the people in Darfur, who are in the midst of a genocide in their country. He intends to pass out some flyers to educate people on the conflict that is happening in that country.
"I'm letting people know that they have worth and that there is something they can do to change things that are going on in the world that are terrible things."
"With awareness comes action that you can do, like writing letters to our politicians. Our politicians, even though a lot of people think us as Canadians don't have that much of a voice in the world, I think over the years we have built up a voice. Like at the United Nations and internationally, as a peace-keeping country, that we can have a voice and our country can make a difference."
French will be hitting the road again in the fall with a quick tour of Western Canada before returning to the studio during the winter to get to work on a five-song EP. - The Lloydminster Source
Discography
EP "Just Pull Back" - Coming May 2008
LP "A Speck of White" - March 2007
Photos
Bio
Poignancy clenches your emotions when your heart is caressed by the emotive acoustic pop of Dear (Your Name Here). This music paints with all the colors of the human heart’s spectrum, leaving a trail of emotional power that lingers in the air like the perfume of a beautiful women, leaving a tingling sensation inside that hints of bliss.
Emotions
Emotions are what music is all about, says Dear (Your Name Here). The art of writing good music is the art of shaping emotions through art. “Music, for me, can invoke a number of emotions.” Part of the emotional rush of music, according to this artist, is the release of pressure, the breath of catharsis that music brings. This is part of the package that Dear (Your Name Here) brings to its listeners. “Music is most often a release of the pressures of daily life.”
Empowerment
Music is also a form of personal empowerment, according to Dear (Your Name Here). For the artist, it is the strength of holding an audience in your sway, of touching the hearts of others and of finding a pathway for your feelings. “I often feel empowered by music, as I believe it allows me to voice my views and opinions with a shout rather than a whisper.” For the listener it is experiencing emotional intimacy with others through the sublime, mystic and distinct plane of musical energy, connecting with the artist and with fellow fans in a unique way. “Music somehow has a way of communicating things to people that they would not normally understand or even be exposed to. One of the goals of my music is to facilitate this type of communication to expand the intellectual horizons of my listeners.”
The Artist at Work
The summer of ’06 saw Dear (Your Name Here) recording a debut album, “A Speck of White” under the supervision of producer Brian Johnson (Coldplay, John Mayer, Elvis Costello, Lifehouse). The following summer found Dear (Your Name Here) engaged in the artist’s first ever solo acoustic tour, a three-month excursion. Dear (Your Name Here) has evolved to a full touring band with a spring/summer tour on the way. In January 2008, Dear (Your Name Here) headed into the studio with producer Mark Troyer (Kiros, Traced Image). The resulting EP will hit streets in spring ’08. Dear (Your Name Here) is currently working with A&R Select, the leading indie A&R firm in Hollywood, CA.
“Dear (Your Name Here) has mapped the terrain of the human heart with incredible precision for such a relatively young artist.” – A&R Select
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