My second time going out and blogging about an artist was one I really anticipated; after all, this musician was someone I had known since moving to Nashville almost 5 years ago. The name? Simply Eowyn.
Eowyn, pronounced A-O-WIN, is a beautiful young woman who very honestly has her heart in all the right places; she very simply loves God and wants everyone to have that same experience as she has. Her name, as different as it is, comes from her father's love of the Lord of the Rings books (way before big-screen recognition). One of the main character's daughter's name was Eowyn. I love it, because it is so original it's perfect as is, sort of like a Cher thing.
I met Eowyn and her husband Russell at a church we started attending after moving to TN. She sat right in front of me one Sunday and was called up at the end of the service. She announced to the congregation one of her bandmembers had been in a plane crash and died; she requested prayer for his family. Something about that moment reached out and grabbed my heart and tugged at it hard. I really think it was her very obvious concern and sadness that touched me. Everything I learned about Eowyn from that day forward not only confirmed how I read her, but has shown me her heart and her real mission are much more passionate than many in her same profession. Obviously, this will be a one-sided, biased review, so if you want to hear any negativity this time - sorry......no can do!
This is definitely Christian music with hard-rock vibe. I think the best way to describe Eowyn's music is that she is a Christian version of Evanescence. Her mission is very cut and dry: she's reaching to the teenager who's wandering down a sad road - depressed, cutting for release, broken home, experimenting with drugs, etc. She styles herself for the look of many teens today who you'd find walking into Hot Topic, complete with unique hair shades and lots of eyeliner. She pulls the whole look off in every way - from mood attire to stage presence to great songwriting.
The event for this posting was a recent CD Release Party for her latest album, Beautiful Ashes. Co-writer on most of her music is Rob Tate. Producer and Mixer is Travis Wyrick, who has worked consistently with her on a majority of her albums. She started off the show with a wake-up, head-banging song which guaranteed attention to the stage. The band's presence, by the way, is highly professional for an independent music band. The keyboardist, Russell, actually constructed a Tranformers-style base for his keyboard, which allowed the keys to bounce, twist and turn with him as he played and performed.......never seen that one before, and loved it! One thing about Eowyn --- if she can add drama to bring you to the stage - she'll do it, and it works every time I've seen her.
She mixed old favorites and new songs from the CD. My personal favorite, from her last CD, is titled Crashing, and I was on my feet at the stage. Her message resonates through all of her music - old and new, slow and fast......she wants today's young adults who are troubled to feel there's hope and then to show them how to experience what she feels with hope. Example: lyrics from Beautiful Ashes are very typical for her message....... "You're beautiful, though your ashes you won't waste away; So beautiful, let your eyes see life with scars and decay; Fire rages, faith is crumbled tragically, yet love remains. Restoration, built on ruins, hope still lingers in this place.............When the darkness overwhelms you and you feel like no one cares. Do not fear, there's a God that loves you and he is taking your hand." Very powerful, very dark, but very hopeful - that IS the Eowyn message: HOPE.
A definite fan favorite, Cliche, is very driven and just what a rocker wants to hear. The Music Box, is very poignant and sweet, complete with recognized music box sounds. Another favorite of mine: Alive. Again, her lyrics have such a positive message, i.e, suicide thoughts... "Anguish may linger but I'm here to tell you, be expecting breakthrough. Tonight I wanted to eject, but so alive, don't count me out just yet. I'm so alive, truly so alive, just prove me. Goodbye to buried sin......"
This woman's mission has become stronger and more powerful with each album she creates - and the message that resonates throughout each and every song provides many different ways to turn for help to God. In concert she speaks between every other song and really reaches out to everyone with her sincere care. If I had met her the other night first time I would've felt I could take all my troubles to her and feel like someone truly cared. That alone helps her stand out in a very saturated market here in Nashville.
More info on Eowyn - please check out her website: www.eowynmusic.com. Above picture taken by Karen Kozy of Eowyn @ 12th &Porter several years ago.
So, we FINALLY got out for our first blog-expedition......the weather actua
lly threatened to ruin our plans again, but we lucked out and all tornadoes/floods moved on.
Since our first outing was cancelled with a supposed up-and-coming hard rock band we decided to set up our new first time very low-key......with some nice unknown acoustic music in a simple venue. That place turned out to be the Bluebird Cafe, located in the older, established Green Hills area of Nashville. My fellow co-writer had warned me repeatedly that the Bluebird was small......very small. When I reserved a table for us I picked one up front which - according to the drawing - seemed to be close but not too close to the stage.
Well, I am no longer a Bluebird virgin.....ha ha there. I couldn't believe how small and tight the place was. From our seats I could reach out and touch the musicians and strum their guitars if I had wanted to!
This was a typical songwriters' night with four singers perched on four stools onstage each with their instruments on hand. The order of sitting was: David Seger, JP Williams, Jeremy Bussey and Belinda Smith. The 3 guys all had guitars, Belinda was seated in front of an electronic keyboard. Originally when I picked this show out a fifth name was on the schedule, Abigail Rose, who was the one I really wanted to see. 'Don't know what happened to her, my cohort told me that's pretty common for these types of shows.
Each one took their turn singing their cutesy, funny, poignant songs. They got along quite well, and definitely got along in their performance altogether. Belinda (Smith) has a church-going background, actually has won some Dove Awards, her grandfather was a preacher. She wrote about that in one cute song, "Looking for Jesus Under My Bed." Her humor surpassed her singing ability, but she still provided good entertainment. Her look could have been more artistic, hair thrown on top of her head was not appealing as the others seemed very groomed, but, again, she had humor both in her comments and her lyrics.
Blind JP (Williams) seemed to have the best vocal ability, as he tried to hold back his obvious ability to belt out a tune due to the confined size of the venue. One of his songs, "Light, When are You Going to Turn Green?" was funny and interesting to follow. One of his tunes, "Because of You I'll Never Walk Alone," was announced as #1 currently on the southern gospel music genre. Again, however, his singing ability outdid his music; this fellow would make a great backup for a touring band.
David (Seger) seemed to hold the lead role, but didn't impress me much. His music was forgettable, his voice carried no real style. However, when he invited fellow songwriter Keith Dozier up to sing a tune I found myself wishing David was singing instead. Seger has a lush, vocal style which needs further developing.
Finally, Jeremy (Bussey) gave us very thoughtful, sweet lyrics and music which were also unfortunately forgettable. He made many references to his wife (which all of the men are married), apologized to her for some of his words, but it just added to his overall charm as a performer. He is from a part of AL recently hit by tornadoes, and his tune "Our Little Town" was given a dedication to that sad situation.
The Bluebird was packed......pews were full, seats squeezed in tight. The service was adequate and the food was delicious. There were guests from as far away as Alberta, BC; England and even Korea.
Overall, we had an awesome time, felt good when we left, and I look forward to my next visit to the Bluebird soon in the future!
