Frequency Podcast

Howdy, folks. We have a little surprise for you this episode (#14). Earlier this week, our guest’s first full length album, As Sure as the Sun, was released and quickly scaled the iTunes charts – ultimately reaching #1 on Christian & Gospel charts and #8 on the overall albums charts. To reach that level as a Christian artist is remarkable, but to do so as an independent artist for one’s first major release is unheard of. So Tuesday afternoon, the very generous Ellie Holcomb took time out of release day craziness to talk to Joe…ellie_hi_fiveEllie demonstrates her humor, humility, and vulnerability in this candid conversation. Of course they talk about the record-setting Kickstarter campaign and the unexpected success of the album, but Ellie also shares her experience as a 8th-grade English teacher, her passion for sharing Christ with youth, how life’s valleys influence her songwriting, and (gasp!) the possibility of a sophomore album. We’re confident you’ll enjoy the interview, so get to it…Other NotesAs of this morning (Friday), Ellie’s album is still in the top ten of iTune’s overall album chart.Many thanks to Ellie’s manager, Sam Higinbotham, who coordinated the interview. Joe was apparently unable to pronounce her name when the episode was recorded. Sad…Ellie’s dad is legendary producer and songwriter, Brown Bannister. In a multi-decade career, Brown has one 25 Dove awards, 14 Grammy awards, and produced or engineered songs for just about every major Christian artist in CCM over the past 30 years.Ellie names some of the artists that are currently inspiring her. Be sure to check them out: All Sons and Daughters, Christa Wells (what!?), Sara Groves, Emily Freeman’s Grace for the Good Girl, and Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand GiftsCatch up on our latest reviews: Glory by Kutless, City Harbor’s self-title debut, and As Sure As the Sun by this episode’s guest!More interviews, articles and reviews of recent music releases and books, can be found on our site, Frequency.fm.If you like the show, we’d love you to leave us a review on iTunes. To make it easy for you, we’ve provided this handy link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/frequency.fm/id599474294

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We’ve been pretty excited about the release of Ellie Holcomb’s debut LP, As Sure as the Sun, from the moment we learned of it last fall. Ellie first came to our attention when Episode 12 guest Emily Freeman named Ellie’s EP With You Now as one of her favorite releases of 2013. Relenting to her husband Drew’s (of Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors) constant encouragement to record her own music, Ellie initiated what would become a record-setting Kickstarter campaign in mid-November. In just three days, the $40,000 goal was met. It then went on to earn over $100,000 in pledges in just a few weeks time.So, with all of the expectations and enthusiasm, does As Sure As the Sun hit the mark? Or will we be let down? To be honest, we like Ellie too much to be objective on this one, so we pulled together reviews from across the Net. The consensus: From all reports, Holcomb has knocked it out of the park with her debut. Straightforward lyrically, scripturally founded, and with her distinctively sincere and vulnerable vocal delivery, As Sure As the Sun sets the bar pretty high for new releases in 2014. Unless you’re put off by Holcomb’s brand of folk-pop, this is an album that should be added to your collection.Christian Music ReviewReview Link: http://christianmusicreview.org/ellie-holcomb-as-sure-as-the-sun/Key quote:As Sure As the Sun dawns on the musical horizon with soul-warming themes of God’s immense grace, love, and power to bind up the broken.Worship LeaderReview Link: http://worshipleader.com/sure-as-the-sun/Key quote:Her musical experience and expertise, combined with the timeless truth of God’s Word, have created a beautiful, stirring debut.New Release TuesdayReview Link: http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/userprofile_reviewssinglepost.php?review_id=22130&user_id=140Key quote:Ellie brings sincerity and relatable themes that get deeper with each listen. As Sure As the Sun is one of the top albums of the year. This is truly a great album and a moving and prayerful worship experience.Jesus Freak HideoutReview Link: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/AsSureAsTheSun.aspKey quotes:There is a sense of harmonic completeness that keeps the project afloat from beginning to end; it’s rootsy and home-grown, but it’s polished, attractive, and above all, worshipful.There’s a lot to love about her unapologetically faith-filled and charmingly quirky folk-pop sound. Her debut, As Sure as the Sun, blends the best of the indie songwriter style with timeless truth that doesn’t come off trite or forced.HallelsReview Link: http://www.hallels.com/articles/1015/20140212/ellie-holcomb-as-sure-as-the-sun-album-review.htm Key quote:In stark contrast to many popular preachers and singers who rely more on pop psychology for inspiration but will ultimately be rendered ineffective, “As Sure As the Sun” is anchored on God’s word.Indie VisionReview Link: http://www.indievisionmusic.com/2014/02/14/ellie-holcomb-as-sure-as-the-sun/ Key quote:An album full of lyrical gems and moments of realisation, contemplation and praise, this is a great start to Ellie’s introduction to full-length albums, and to hopefully more listeners intrigued about her music.Jesus WiredReview Link: http://www.jesuswired.com/ellie-holcomb-surpasses-expectations-debut-lp-sure-sun/ Key quote:The stunning vocal control and truthful lyrics found on As Sure As The Sun firmly establish Ellie Holcomb as a force within the Christian music industry.

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Last fall, City Harbor dropped their first single, an über-catchy inspirational pop number called “Come However You Are” from the EP of the same name. It didn’t take long for mainstream Christian radio to take notice and start asking for more. The Nashville duo responded on February 4th with their self-titled debut, City Harbor. If you’re on the fence about springing for the album, let us help you: we read every review we could find and have shared those that provide a good perspective. City-Harbor The consensus: This is – by all accounts – good work from City Harbor. The album is well-produced and a pleasant listen. It’s hard to fault the positive message and solid vocals from Molly Reed and Robby Earle. At the same time, they don’t explore any new territory and tend to stick to the well-worn thematic and sonic Christian radio standards For quality, comfortable CCM fare, City Harbor is safe bet. Just don’t expect any surprises.Worship LeaderReview Link: http://worshipleader.com/city-harbor/ Key quote:The production quality is superior, the harmonies are ever so tight, very singable melodies, lyrics that draw you into worship, and an all around exceptional debut album.Jesus Freak HideoutReview Link: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/CityHarbor.asp Key quote:City Harbor does a pleasant blend of indie and alternative with worship and commercial pop, which gives them a unique presence while staying well within the means of the radio-friendly sound.CMA AddictReview Link: http://www.cmaddict.com/reviews_page.php?review_id=115 Key quote: The lyrics are simple, but impacting. The album is consistent lyrically and musically. It’s uplifting message after uplifting message, and that’s what makes this album.Christian Music Review BlogReview Link: http://www.thechristianmusicreviewblog.com/2014/02/city-harbor-city-harbor.html Key quote:For the majority of radio listeners out there, this album will mix in well with everything else that is being played. But therein lies the problem with me. It doesn’t really stand out.

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It’s time for Episode 13, our first of 2014. As I’m sure you also experienced, the holidays kept us hopping, and we’re just now coming out from under the weight of it all. We’re excited to share an engaging conversation with worship leader and Essential Worship artist, Tim Timmons. Tim’s passion, unique style, and energy made his 2013 release Cast My Cares one of the most compelling worship releases of the year.Joe caught up with him at home during a rare break from his touring schedule. Tim, who refers to himself as a “varsity American Christian”, discusses the effort required to support the album while raising a young family, the fine balance between self-promotion and pursuing the mission of his ministry, and how living with cancer influences his art and engagement with people.

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Hattie Kauffman spent years in the public eye. As an Emmy Award winning journalist and newscaster, she was invited into our living room on a regular basis. To many, she is best known as the first Native American to file a news report on a national evening broadcast. But all of that is incidental to Kauffman’s book, Falling into Place: A Memoir of Overcoming, which above all things, tells a familiar but exceptional story of prevailing over circumstance.

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The holidays are in full swing, and we’re excited about the season. We’re also pretty stoked about Episode 12. Our guest is author Emily P.Freeman, author of Grace for the Good Girl and the recently published A Million Little Ways, a book that – if you’ve read our review – you know we’re quite fond of… Emily FreemanEmily’s heart for artists is apparent during her conversation with Joe. She shares her own journey as an artist as she moved from music to sign language and finally to writing. They discuss how important it is as an artist to show up (and a couple of ways that prevent us from doing just that), why it’s OK to copy, and how honouring God’s calling for us will occasionally require restraint.

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In 2006, Hillsong United released United We Stand – a game-changing worship album that established Hillsong as a force unafraid to diversify, experiment, and otherwise challenge our expectations. 2013 seems to be the year they reinforce that image. Earlier this year, Hillsong United shook things up with the progressive and innovative arrangements of Zion.Now Hillsong Young & Free step into the action with their debut, We Are Young & Free (Live). The latest musical iteration from Hillsong Church have produced one of the more distinct sounds to come out of this local church in recent years. We Are Young & Free could be a game changer.We Are Young & Free is most definitely an anthem album. Party songs like “Alive” “Wake” and “In Sync” perfectly capture the current pop culture scene and offer a God glorifying alternative that this current youth generation has been waiting for.Musically this album is a bullseye: well-produced, thoughtful musicianship, and tasteful additions of EDM (electronic dance music) elements. Worship bands like the David Crowder Band and more recently, the Worship Central movement, have done a great job at incorporating electronic sounds and elements into their music, but never really knocking it out of the park and appealing more to a young adult demographic than to teenagers.Lyrically, all the basics of Christian theology are there; however, true to the Hillsong brand, an emphasis on God’s love and His grace is laced on every track of this album. It would be great if they departed more from the out-of-the-box worship lexicon, but the target audience isn’t likely to complain. And honestly, there could be worse things than giving your youth group something fresh, energetic, relevant.All in all, this is a stand-out disc that nails it for their target youth audience. We Are Young & Free will be a welcome addition to any iPod, pre-youth group music rotation or workout mix.

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Just in time for you to enjoy over the long Thanksgiving weekend (for our listeners in the States), we present to you Episode 11 featuring GMA award-winning songwriter Don Poythress. Don is one of the most talented and prolific writers working country and Christian music today. Ask anyone with whom he’s worked, and they’ll also tell you he is one of the most genuine and generous folks around.Don and Joe share a few laughs as they discuss the occasional awkwardness associated with co-writing, what keeps him writing each day – even when he doesn’t feel like it, and why he doesn’t mind critiquing songs by other writers (at conference settings only please…). Don also addresses the very real divide between country and Christian music and why he’s glad it’s begun to come down.

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Welcome to our (somewhat delayed) 10th episode of the Frequency podcast. Our guest, Ross King, is a veteran of the Christian music scene. His songs have been recorded by over 100 different artists, and he himself has been making records since 1995. His latest project, This Hope Will Guide Me, is one of our favorite worship releases of the year.

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Our guest from Episode 5, Travis Thrasher, has had a busy year. At the time we spoke to him this past spring, he was promoting the release of his novelization of Home Run – just a few months after publishing the fourth and final book in the Solitary Tales series, Hurt: A Novel. This summer, he published two more books, both collaborations: Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not? with country artists Thompson Square, and the self-published Never Let Go with Mac & Mary Owen. Finally, in October, he releases his fifth book of 2013, Time For Me to Come Home, another collaboration, this time with Dorothy Shackleford. Dorothy is perhaps best known as the mother of 2013 CMA Entertainer of the Year, Blake Shelton.Time For Me To Come Home Now, Travis is one of our favorite folks, but even we didn’t feel like we could keep up with everything he has been up to. Joe caught up with him earlier this month and brings us all up to speed. Also, Travis has generously offered to answer your questions about the publishing industry and life as a writer. Submit questions to info[at]frequency.fm, and we’ll share Travis’ responses in a future episode.

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