Under the Radar

Jenny & Tyler - “Little Balloon”

2013-05-20T14:05:37+00:00

When It’s Time (for Music Fans) to Change

2013-05-20T11:30:41+00:00

The UTR Critics Panel is a great cross-section of the music business, and these are some bright minds that think about all aspects of both music and ministry. We have talked to them in the past about the changes they would love to see take place in the CCM Industry. Now, we turn our attention to consumers. Here is the question that we posed to our critics:

What are the changes you would like to see in music fans in the near future?

Jen Rose: In the coming year, my biggest hope is that consumers and fans won’t forget the value of music and will seek out ways to connect with and support the artists they love. Free music services open up more avenues for artist discovery, but it can also be overwhelming and tempt consumers to skip out on actually buying music. While fans should certainly take advantage of these services for new discoveries, it’s still important to seek more direct ways to support the artists, whether through buying their albums, going to concerts, or taking the time to help promote and share great music. The growth of Noisetrade and Kickstarter are encouraging examples of what the music industry can become when technology meets grassroots support, and as the landscape becomes noisier, relationships between artists and fans are more vital than ever before.

John J. Thompson: I’m as excited about Spotify as the next guy, but I hope people don’t completely get over the idea of buying albums that they love. Spotify sounds better than a lot of services, but it’s still nothing like a CD or vinyl. It’d be great if all this “discovery” offered by Spotify turned into increased sales – especially for indie artists.

Russ Breimeier: I would hope that independent coverage might become more focused. In some ways, we as listeners have become more divided because we only know what we discover. Anyone can develop a following on the Internet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean success or widespread recognition. The result has been a lot of artists with modest followings in pockets of the country/world, but no one finding quite enough success to make a broader impact on culture. How cool would it be if Christian music coverage became more diversified and unified? We have the unique opportunity to champion a genre that could potentially include all styles, unified by our faith in Christ. At the same time, we need a filter for all the artists available on the Internet, separating the good from the great for people to discover. Obviously that enters a lot of subjective territory, but I think we need some of that unification to call attention to excellence.

Amber Bolton: The first thing that comes to mind is concert etiquette. A friend and I joke that we’d like to write “A Christian’s Guide to Concert Etiquette.” One of the greatest things you can do as a music fan is to go to a concert. But recently, I’ve been annoyed at fans constantly taking video & pictures and simply critiquing the music, band, equipment. Gone are the days when we could simply listen, sing along, dance, and soak it all in together, with the musicians...not as a show, but as an experience. I’d love for music fans to put away their cameras, forget about learning what kind of guitar the lead is playing, and simply sing at the top of their lungs and experience. Concert etiquette 101: enjoy yourself at the show.

Andrew Greer: I feel music fans and consumers have long demanded for more variety and choice in what they listen to - hence their aversion to radio as it was - and their wishes are being fulfilled via independent artistry's rise thanks to digital media.

Jeremy Gudauskas: The “free culture” movement has shaped our consumer minds and behaviors with an expectation that much of the art we love can be acquired without payment. In previous years, the modes were largely illegal, but today many independent musicians are choosing to give away some or much of their work in order to “get it out there” as a marketing tool, hoping to find those “1000 fans” that can support their career. What I would like to see from music fans/consumers in the near future is what we could call “artist sponsorship.” Just like humanitarian organizations like World Vision and Compassion International help provide basic life necessities for the world’s starving kids through “child sponsorships,” I would like to see us music fans do the same with at least one of our favorite artists. Let’s choose to support the music we love with our money, knowing that for $30 a month we can put food on their table, gas in their tank, and studio time on their schedule. This means, first of all – that we should buy their music – the physical copy. Buy their merch – shirts, posters, stickers, and artsy journals. Pay to see them perform live as often as you can. Be the first to donate to their Kickstarter campaign. Become pen-pals. So this next year, pick an artist you believe in and pony up. You’ll both be glad you did. (Oh, and you should also sponsor a child).

Some very interesting and engaging perspectives. You may even find yourself agreeing with some points and disagreeing with others. It's a good place for a conversation to begin. (a) What points do you have a strong agreement or disagreement with? (b) What are the changes that YOU would like to see in music fans? Share your comments below.

Episode #215 - Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2012

2013-05-17T07:06:14+00:00

We revisit one of our favorite episodes from this last year -- our countdown of the Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2012, as selected by our UTR Critics Panel.

Christa Wells - “Everything Moves But You”

2013-05-10T17:50:15+00:00

Episode #233 - Kelly’s Picks

2013-05-10T08:07:34+00:00

We put today's playlist into the hands of UTR’s program assistant and mother-of-five Kelly Van Engen. Kelly picks some of her faves from our program archives - including tracks by Rend Collective Experiment, Christa Wells, & Ben Shive.

Q&A with JJ Heller

2013-05-06T16:28:49+00:00

Over 4 years ago, when "Under The Radar" was only a few months old, one of our early listeners introduced us to the music of JJ Heller. She was a fairly obscure artist at the time and was about to get her big break that has made her a more recognizable name in the CCM world. However JJ and husband Dave's vision hasn't changed much at all. They are still creating heart-felt songs about real life and in response to a God that keeps teaching new lessons. JJ's latest album Loved (released March 2013) is a gem, marrying the same brand of hope-filled lyrics with a bit of a new sonic landscape. I had a chance to interview her recently, and here's some of our conversation:

DT: What is the overall theme of the new record Loved?
JJ: When my husband Dave and I were writing songs for our previous two albums, When I’m With You and Deeper, our lives were in a different place. We had just had our daughter Lucy, and then two and a half years later we had our daughter Nora. We were just in this time of light-heartedness and celebrating our family and writing love songs. And then, right after that, we just encountered a really heavy season of life and just started learning a lot about hope. One of the first songs that we wrote for Loved is a song called "Redemption," and right after we wrote it we knew that that was going to be a theme for the record - just realizing that hope is a really powerful thing. And so, Loved is full of songs that talk about loss but also talk about hope and what lies ahead and what the Lord has in store for us in the future.

DT: Is there any special meaning behind choosing the name "Loved" for the album?
JJ: What we believe about our future also affects the way we see ourselves. That ties into the album title Loved, just to know that there’s nothing we can do to change the way God feels about us gives us so much freedom and hope in our lives. It helps us look forward to the future and to not be afraid of what’s coming next because ultimately we know that we belong to the Lord and He loves us so much.

DT: I'm sure the production team of Ben Shive and Cason Cooley played a big role in you breaking new ground sonically. Have you worked with them in the past?
JJ: Oh man. Those guys are so amazing! And we were already familiar with Ben Shive because he’s tracked piano and accordion and all sorts of key instruments on our previous records. Every time he would come in to track his parts on those previous albums it was pretty much our favorite day in the studio, because he’s such a genius when it comes to coming up with melodies and hooks in songs. And then Cason, he actually played the piano part on our song “Your Hands,” and he has produced a lot of our favorite albums. So, we were just really excited to put the two of them together and see what they could come up with. It was fun to see the different musicians that they brought in because it was a whole different set than what we had worked with in the past. I feel like it gives the album a really new feel, but in a good way. And even though this record sounds a lot different than our previous releases, I still feel like it maintains the essence of what we’re going for - that’s just really honest and vulnerable songs.

DT: Do you have a song on Loved that stands out as your favorite?
JJ: "Who You Are" is my favorite song on the album because it’s the most personal to me. Over the past few years, Dave & I have just encountered a lot of tragedy in our family and our friends - just a lot of loss. We watched some of our friends go through divorce or lose their homes... to seeing some of our family members pass away. When I encounter loss like that I tend to ask God why He allows things like that to happen. And what I’m learning is that even when I can’t see what God is doing, I can still trust who He is and I can still know that He is good and that He is my rest and He is my peace. I can just fall back into that, just knowing the character of God and that I don’t need to be afraid.

DT: When you are on the road touring, what are the little things that can just make your day?
JJ: When I’m out on the road… actually, before our last run on our tour bus, a friend of mine gave me some tulips to put on the bus. That was really cool because it just gets stale in there, it’s just this closed small compartment with lots of people, and the flowers really brought a lot of life. And I love it when we go to a venue and they give a little gift basket of things for the girls to play with - that is really fun. And it’s really helpful to me because it keeps them occupied for a while, which is priceless. And just hearing people’s stories of how God’s used our music to touch their lives just always gives me what I need to keep going. Whenever I’m feeling discouraged, the Lord always brings somebody to share their story and remind me of why we’re traveling all over the country with two small children. It just, it helps me to keep going and to keep the right perspective. Dave also loves it when the venues provide “Naked Juice”. They’re like these fruit smoothies that have vegetables in them too. He doesn’t really like eating fruits and vegetables. So he thinks that he’s being healthy when he drinks this special juice, so that makes him happy.

Don't miss UTR Episode #232 with JJ Heller as our special guest all hour.

Episode #232 - Special Guest JJ Heller

2013-05-03T07:12:36+00:00

We sit down with JJ Heller to talk about her new album "Loved." Hear new tracks from her plus music from Jon Troast, Sufjan Stevens, Breanna Paletta and more.

Guest Concert Review: John Mark McMillan in D.C.

2013-05-01T19:42:04+00:00

We are thrilled that UTR Listener Joel Mendez offered to be our guest correspondent and file this concert review of John Mark McMillan at the Miracle Theatre in Washington D.C. this last Sunday night.

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It was an acoustic jam session in an old movie theatre with a North Carolina singer, his band, and a couple of hundred of his fans that sang mostly in melody with him. I had missed John Mark McMillan last summer during his last trip to the area at the Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia, 6 miles from Washington D.C.

Although the Jammin Java and the Miracle Theatre are close in proximity, they couldn’t be farther apart in the environment and space. The Miracle Theatre is a small renovated old century movie and vaudeville theatre now owned by a local church in the busy nightlife of southeast DC, not far from the U.S. Capitol. Jammin Java is a coffee house nestled in the suburbs, with a reputation for hosting up and coming indie acts.

John Mark McMillan’s show in DC was a departure from the one in Vienna. This was a strong acoustic show with the infusion of a banjo, a cello and guitars. I wanted the rock show in Vienna but got a welcomed surprise of a very intimate show of a heavy set from McMillan’s last album Economy and a preview of new music. It was thrilling to hear the hard riff songs of Daylight and Economy in an up-tempo melodic jam. The show began with a clap pounding song of “Seen A Darkness.”

John Mark McMillan would ad lib from a song and add beautiful lyrics to a song, making the song new again. He talked about the meaning of song "Economy," on how all things would eventually disappear except those things that remain, those things that were eternal. McMillan connected with his audience being part comedian at times, part theologian (although adding a disclaimer in asking those to verify with their Bible) and throughout the night being truly relaxed and at ease doing this acoustic set.

The song set list was as follows:

Seen A Darkness
Daylight
Economy
Death in His Grave
Skeleton Bones
Murdered Son
Ten Thousand
Love you Swore
Medicine
*New Song unreleased
How He Loves
*New Song unreleased

This was one of my favorite shows in the last year. This was my first John Mark McMillan show and the acoustic experience enhanced my appreciation for his songwriting and music.

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Great job, Joel! An excellent recounting of what sounds like an amazing evening of gourmet music. Thanks for sharing these photos as well!

If you have a gourmet artist coming to your neck of the woods, email me if you are interested in writing a concert review for UTR.

Episode #231 - Listener Suggested UTR Debuts

2013-04-30T06:21:35+00:00

All 11 artists on this bonus podcast were recommendations from you our listeners - plus all are making their debut appearance on UTR!

Eric Peters - “The Ending”

2013-04-26T15:15:06+00:00