Sure the tickets only cost me $5 a piece and the concert is here on campus, so you wouldn't think this was anyone special. And to most of you, it's not. But to me, he frickin' AWESOME!
His name is Derek Webb, and he's pretty much my favorite songwriter of all time.
My introduction to this man's work began while I was a senior in high school. Chris had ventured away from our little hometown and started his college years in Rome. One weekend while visiting, he introduced me to some music that his roommate, Chris Mason, had put under his nose for listening pleasure. The band was Caedmon's Call, and the music was out of this world!
Now Caedmon's Call is actually a Christian band. (Some of you, please refrain from the temptation to stop reading this post at this point. It gets better.) Their songs, though Christian, focused more on the struggles of everyday life, of being young and wanting to serve, and best of all, of having the ability to look at something for what it really is. Their style is considered folk rock. They use so many different instruments, which is something I really respect in a band. The guitar sound is acoustic, but they use instruments such as a tack piano (sounds like an old saloon piano), bongos, trash cans, a bass, trumpets, etc. in many of their songs.
At the forefront of this group was Derek Webb. His voice is pretty unique, but if I had to compare it to someone, it might be Michael Stipe from REM. On the first sort-of main stream album the group put out and the first I owned, Webb wrote seven of the 12 songs. I was enamored with all of them (except one about going to a funeral of a friend's sister who had killed herself - a little too down for me). My favorite on this album is "I Just Don't Want Coffee" (I love coffee; that's not really what the song is about). Here are a few of the lyrics:
Though I am small I've seen things far beyond these city walls
The land is flat and it rolls for miles
I don't know much I know I've many places yet to see
I know I've been here for a while
Wouldn't you know just when I thought I had this figured out
I'm back at my first day at school
Trying not to think too loud I raise my hand to scratch my head
I've no ideas of what to do
'Cause something's changed today
And what it is I just can't say
And if I don't seem okay, well I'm okay
(Chorus)
So sue me, sue me, if I just don't want coffee tonight
Also on this album is a very unusual tune that Chris loves called "Bus Driver." Webb penned this tune, revealing the importance of each individual in this world, even if they seem insignificant. He ends it with the line "We're all just bus drivers." Caedmon's Call's pianist really showcases his talent in this tune by using the tack piano I mentioned. Here are a few lyrics to this one:
Well, I'm always there by five fifteen
and lately I've been early
'cause Judith likes to be in early to the bank.
And she gives me conversation and a token good for riding.
And she's happy all alone
And then there's Charles in retail sales;
and I hope they pay him well
for the work that young man does
Cause I've never seen the inside
of a custom refrigerator
but I know he's the first and last one there
(chorus)
What would you say if I told you that I won't be by today?
Would you say that I'm just a bus driver
and what do I know,
just a bus driver
and what do I know,
just a bus driver
and what do I know?
I wonder what they do all day,
and their respective works.
Suppose they give money and take money away.
Still, I'm just orbiting this town
with the post office my sun.
And I'm circling again.
And I wonder how this world would be
if I was never here to drive this bus around from Ashbury to Main.
Suppose this town would be the same
but with one bus' less exhaust.
But that bank and retail stores,
they just wouldn't be the same.
I mean, it's poetry really!
Their next album, called Forty Acres, also had some great tunes, but not as many written by Webb. The second track on the album, called "Thankful" uses the trash cans as percussion and reveals Webb's Calvinistic views on Christianity. My favorite tune on this album was actually recorded by Shawn Colvin and John Loventhal and was previously recorded by Colvin. Caedmon's grabbed the song, called "Climb On," and let their only female band member, Danielle Young, perform it.
Back on to Webb... another song on this album, called "Table for Two," is great for anyone who has felt like everyone else has somebody and they don't. Here are some lyrics:
Danny and I spent another late night over pancakes,
Talkin' 'bout soccer
And how every man's just the same
We made speculation
On the who's and the when's of our futures
And how everyone's lonely
But still we just couldn't complain
And how we just hate being alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I'm just wasting my time
By looking around
Are you getting the idea of how normal yet creative his work is?
On the third album, called Long Line of Leavers, Webb wrote seven of the 13 songs, one of which is one of my favorite tunes of all time: "Love is Different." Lyrics below:
Well, it looks like five thousand miles broke the camel's back
But it's not as though i had a plan to win you back
Because i don't know what i want
But at least i know that much
Now I'm afraid love came right up
And it slapped me in the face, but i did not know
'Cause love is different than you'd think
It's never in a song or on a TV screen
And love is harder than a word
Said at the right time and everything's alright
Love is different than you think
The next couple of albums by the group were a little more praise and worshipy, which is cool if you like that music. But I can only take so much (that sounds really bad, but I just like stuff that's real). And those albums also did not have many, if any, songs by Webb. At this point, he had begun his solo album.
Now, he went from having a record label to being an independent artist, so I didn't hear anything about him for years. But now, he has really started showing up again. He wrote a few songs for Caedmon's new album, Overdressed (the best song on the album is the title track and is *surprise, surprise* written by Webb), and he has his own album with a song that was recently featured on "Grey's Anatomy." The song is called "Name," and you can hear it here.
There are some other songs on there you all may like.
So, Derek Webb is coming to little Rome, Georgia, on Friday. He's going to host a question and answer period earlier that day, and I may go. But what do I say? "I'm your biggest fan!" Yeah, I'm going to say the most cliche, stupid thing to someone who puts poetry to music. I may just go and keep my mouth shut...
Oh, and one more thing about Derek... he looks like Jacob and Kim's little Evan (maybe it's the bald head):
So there's a possibility that Kim knows ALL about DW!
3 comments:
Awesome. I hope you enjoy the show.
Bacon Soup should take care of it from here.
Are you calling my wife a whore?
The resemblance is uncanny, although I'm not sure either of them would appreciate the comparison.
I'm really looking forward to the show, too, although I doubt whether we'll hear many of the songs you've mentioned. He'll probably be playing his own, newer stuff, mostly.
Hope there's a good turnout and not just a bunch of college girls giggling and whispering through the whole show. Dear Lord, I hope it isn't a "cultural events credit" for them. That would really bring out the obnoxious crowd.
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