So we have it on good authority that Derek will be hanging out at the Borders in Nashville this saturday (June 2) at around 2:00pm. If you are in the area, perhaps you could stop by and harass him while he’s trying to drink his venti white-chocolate mocha while reading the latest issue of Dog Fancy. All the guy wanted to do was to drink his coffee in peace, and yet here you come with your sharpie and your Mockingbird CD, and you want him to sign his name on it. Who do you think he is, Pete Rose? Once you start hounding him, other patrons will pick up on the fact that there’s a quasi-celebrity in the joint and then all double-hockeysticks will break loose. Way to go, buddy!

UPDATE: Derek actually wants people to come and say Hi to him on Saturday at Borders. Apparently this is an in-store appearance for which he will be signing autographs, posing for pictures, and arm-wrestling anyone who wants to come and say hi. OH AND HE’LL BE PERFORMING A FEW SONGS AS WELL. You really don’t want to miss out on this one. here’s the details:

Derek at Nashville Borders
Saturday, June 2
2:00pm
Nashville – West End
2501 Westend
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615.327.9656

Derek’s hoping that you come on out…the more the merrier!

Yes, folks, our favorite wee bald man celebrates another trip around the sun today. We hope that his 34th year of life will treat him even better than the first 33 have.

Here’s a few early reviews of The Ringing Bell:

• Russ Breimeier of ChristianityToday.com gives tRB 4.5 out of 5 stars. Regarding Webb he says, “Too openly Christian for the masses, too provocative for Christian music, and let’s face it, too brainy and introspective for general listeners. But it’s precisely why fans of intelligent songcraft love him.” Bingo.
• Kevan Breitinger from CMCentral.com grades tRB as 93% out of 100% (i’ve always found their rating system to be somewhat foreign…93%??…what is this a test?). Speaking to the poignancy and brevity of the album, Kevan says, “There’s not a wasted measure in the whole of these ten songs…”
• Josh Taylor from jesusfreakhideout.com gives the album 4 out of 5 stars. Somewhat contradicting himself, Josh says that the Ringing Bell is “…a stellar record…”, but also adds that, “…some of the lyrical content just doesn’t seem to mesh with the musical arrangement…”
• R.J. Carter heaps praise on the Ringing Bell over at the-trades.com. He calls Derek, “…the Second Coming of John Lennon…”, noting that he “…even sounds like a young John Lennon as he smoothly transitions from crooning to shouting, from protest to pop.”
• Amy Sondova at the Youth Ministry Exchange says “…absolutely riveting from start to finish, Webb once again provides his listeners with a quality collection of sounds that inspire, contemplate, and call Christians to action.”
• Over at Radiant Magazine, Constance McIntosh finds tRB “…a little confusing, as it switches genres and subjects so frequently that it is often difficult to find any connection between them.” In the end though, she feels that “This is Derek Webb at his humblest and most personal to date.”
• Did someone order too may copies of the Ringing Bell? I only ask because you can buy the disk at Overstock.com for $12.74.
• Over at his blog, Brad Andrews writes about the Ringing Bell, “Ding dong, the truth isn’t dead.” (random trivial note: Musician Shaun Groves makes a cameo in the comment to Brad’s post)
• At Suite101, Shane Werlinger states that “To say Webb spoke his mind would be an understatement” in regards to tRB. His full review is here.
• Finally, over at Infuzemag.com Andrew Greenhalgh believes that “…while this album might be fairly simplistic in it’s musical delivery, the message alone is worth the price of admission.”

Got a review of tRB worth reading? add a link in the comments.