Did Phil get inspiration for the idea from Derek?

We can’t say for sure. But a look at 1 of the 399 faces on the cover of Phil’s album might be a clue.

Check the bottom row, tenth face from the right.

Had I known Joe Bassett was going to open, I might have actually made the trek over to see the show. (Actually, it was a family picnic that prevented my attendance).

It’s pretty early on and, as usual, I’ve got pages and pages of ideas. It’s hard to say exactly where it’s going. I have a couple strong ideas, but I’m almost afraid to say because you never know once you get in and start. I thought Mockingbird was going to be full of different stuff. I intended that to be a record about art and politics and the combination of the two and it ended up just being about politics. [Laughs] There’s only one song about art on that record and it’s totally out of place.

Right now, if I had to give it broad strokes, I would say it’s going to be a record about race and sexuality – those are the big issues right now, but that’s what has been squarely in my line of sight for the last couple of years.

You can read the whole interview here.

Eliot Van Buskirk’s Listening Post (on Wired.com) ran a nice feature on Derek and NoiseTrade. Similarly, Daniel Radosh gave props to DW on his blog.

When NoiseTrade gets a mention at Deadspin or Engadget, then I’ll really be impressed.

Here’s the Info:

April 12th, 2008 – 8:00pm

Cordova, TN – Hope Presbyterian Church

Tickets are $20 and $25 at the door and group tickets are available at $17 for 15 more.

Tickets are available for sale at Family Christian Stores and Lifeway Stores and online through www.thinkhope.org

They are looking for local churches and groups to help promote the event and get word out there. They have 11×17 posters and 5.5” cards that are available to hand out. Any help in plugging this event it would be greatly appreciated. They can deliver the posters and post cards to you to hand out, if you are interested.

They are also on FACEBOOK…so you can invite all our Memphis area Friends via the Facebook event page

For more info on Habitat for Hope, the cause that this event is supporting, click here.

charles thomas rhodes webb born july 4th (calling him rhodes)

wanted to pass along the great news…

bryan

According to Brannon at Portland Studios, things are still in development mode. We’ll be tracking the developments as we get more info…

The first, actually, is currently only available in print form. The June 07 issue of PASTE Magazine, which is in stores now, features a whole lot of Mr. Webb. His name is on the front cover (tucked perfectly under “Wilco” and beside “Nine Inch Nails”), a full-page picture adorns the table of contents on page 4, and their review of The Ringing Bell can be found on page 69.

The review itself is a glowing one, calling The Ringing Bell a “pop masterpiece” and saying that it is “easily one of the year’s best records”. The album is rated 5-stars (out of 5-stars we’re guessing), and “I Want to Marry You All Over Again” is the second song on the Paste Sampler CD that comes with the issue. You can pick up your copy at any good bookstore for $6.

Over at Infuzemag.com, they’ve got an interview with Derek up as their cover story right now. A few notable quotes from Derek in the interview:

“I just want to sing and write. I just want to make good art. I just wanna be able to get to sleep at night. For me, it’s blue collar work. So that’s it. I wanna make excellent art. I want to do the best that I can. I wanna follow my instincts.”

“I also feel that as I get more liberal with sharing my music and giving away my music for free, which the freederekwebb.com campaign gave away 80,000 copies, I also wanna try to take the burden on to make the physical artifact more compelling. If people want to take the music for free, that’s totally fine. Take it. I’m the copyright owner and the artist, so take it. Do what you want with it. Share it. The FBI is taken out of that equation and the relationship is just the artist and fan. There is an important component to the retail side and getting people to engage with the physical side. But it’s not the fan’s fault. It’s the artists’ fault for not making compelling artifacts. If all we have to offer people is round pieces of plastic, it’s no wonder that people are going online to get it. That’s not compelling.”

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!

• 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.