Hoot!

Okay...you know how it feels when you run out the door to try and catch the bus, only to find it slowly driving away, but the bus driver sees you and stops, and you walk on the bus while everyone stares at you, and you're like, "Man, I really wish I could have gotten on the bus a whole lot sooner."

Well...That's how I feel.

Apparently lots of people are riding the "Owl City" bus, and I'm just getting on. Everywhere I've gone over the last couple of weeks, Target, Internets, etc., "Owl City" has popped up in some form or another. (Note to self: Could just be a really good marketing campaign.)

Anyway...Since I'm just getting on, I thought I'd share with you, just in case you're still running to catch the bus.

Click the image below to check out the music video for "Fireflies", a.k.a. "The Song That I Keep Reading/Hearing about". (YouTube embedding is disabled for this video, sorry.)

Interesting thing I noticed before looking further into "Owl City" is that Adam's vocal sound is very similar to Matt Theisen of "Relient K", who apparently was/is one of Adam's main influences. Cool.

Anyway...Hope you like it! The video is pretty cool too!

~j

themusictest@gmail.com

A David Crowder Thank you!

Ha...So, I received an email from David Crowder* Band's label with a video attachment on Friday. I only had my iPhone with me and for whatever reason I couldn't view it on there, so I had to wait until I returned to work to see the vid.

Well, my first opportunity would have been yesterday, but I was so slammed with work, I never got that far into my email inbox. So...Today was the day. Now...I could sit here and describe the video to you, or...you could just watch it.

Couple of things first. We recently added "How He Loves" to our playlist here at the station, which is rocking the listeners, and is a really good song. Also...Gary is our Music Director...I am the "Assistant to the Music Director". (Office reference). Anyway...Here's the video:

No...Thank you, David...You really made my day!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

FREE Christmas Music!

Okay...So if you stopped by here yesterday you would've read that I planned to give you a FREE song today. Well...today is here, and so is the FREE song!

In the spirit of the Holidays, I have a FREE song download of Downhere's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" from their Christmas Album, "How Many Kings". You should pick up the entire album, but if you need a taste of this "figgy pudding" before going out and picking it up...Here you go!

Click the image below to download "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman"

~j

themusictest@gmail.com

Special Treat Tomorrow!

FYI...tomorrow, Monday, I'll be treating you to a FREE Christmas song download. So check back!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Oh...

Hey, just read on CCMSingles' Twitter feed that you can pick up a Hawk Nelson song for FREE! Which song? "Let's Dance" (Dojo Dominating Remix) By Jason Dunn!

Woot! Click the image below to go score the FREE song!

~j

themusictest@gmail.com

Music Video Wednesday...?

Okay...so Music Video Wednesday, really doesn't exist nor sound catchy. It would if it were Music Video Monday, but that's something I'll have to consider for next week.

At this point, I just wanted to share with you the official Music Video for Mikeschair's latest hit, "Let the Waters Rise". So without more delay...here it is!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Quiet couple-o-days...

Hey there...I'm still here. Sorry about that. No post Friday and no post yesterday. In all honesty, last week was a little crazy busy as I geared up for a Youth Group Retreat for this past weekend, and so then coming off of a crazy weekend, Monday wasn't the nicest.

But here we are...Tuesday. Remember what Tuesdays are for? New music! Here's what hit stores today:

• Casting Crowns - "Until the Whole World Hears"
• Jeremy Camp - "Jeremy Camp LIVE"
• Sara Groves - "Fireflies and Songs"
• Phil Wickham - "Heaven & Earth"
• Delirious? - "History Makers: Greatest Hits"
• tobyMac - "City on Our Knees" (Single)

Whew...Not a bad line up for today! What are you going to get? If none of these tickle your fancy...What are album are you waiting for?

Ever think that artists just sit back and relax as their new album releases? Think again! Here's a pic of Phil Wickham helping to put together some of the thousands of Pre-Sale Packages fans purchased! Nice job Phil...Keep up the good work.

With Christmas coming shortly. What's Thanksgiving anyway right? Well to me, I enjoy Thanksgiving a lot, but since no one else does, I'll follow suit and just skip right to Christmas. Anyway...Here's a short Q&A with Collin Stoddard of 33Miles related to Christmas.
Question: "Tell about that one gift you wanted most badly as a child. Did you ever get it?"

Collin Stoddard: "I wanted my very own personal, constant companion when I was in junior high. So one year I asked for a puppy and my parents gave me one. Even though my family already had a dog, I think I liked the idea of having a perfectly behaved dog that followed me around. Needless to say, my border collie/black lab mix was a crazy as ever and even thought I don't live at home any more, he still keeps my parents company and constantly tantalizes our old and aging family dog."

*Note: 33Miles' new Christmas CD, "Believe" is in stores now.

That's it for today! Hope you have a good one and don't forget...You can always email/twitter/facebook song recommendations. I like it when you do, because I can't be aware of everything as much as I'd like to. So...SHARE!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Special Guests in the HOUSE!

"The Follow You Tour" is making a stop in Zeeland tonight at the Community Reformed Church. It's basically a SOLD OUT concert, which is really awesome! Way to go.

Anyway...We were treated with some special guests at the studio this morning. More specifically...The artists that are part of "The Follow You Tour"; Brandon Heath, Leeland, and Francesca Battistelli!

Here's a couple of pics I snapped real quick:

(L-R: Mandy, Leeland, Francesca Battistelli, Troy West, and Brandon Heath)

Thanks for stopping by guys...and gal! It was really awesome to have you over in our neck of the woods. Final note...Hope you have a great concert tonight!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Christmas Music Time!

In previous years JQ99 kicks off the Christmas season by integrating Christmas music into our regular playlist starting Thanksgiving weekend. This year, like those before it, most likely won't be different.

That said, there's a LOT of new Christmas music floating around out there, and as part of the team that picks the music here at JQ99, we now have the exciting task of listening through it all and picking some new stuff to add to spice up this year's mix!

Now...That's what today's for. I'll be spending it listening to lots and LOTS of Christmas music. So...if you have a favorite or a suggestion, today would be a good day to recommend it! :) Feel free to shoot me an email with your suggestions!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Congratulations!

Alright...So the Music Test Facebook page picked up a couple of new fans yesterday, and as promise, I'm able to reward (5) of them with a copy of Switchfoot's newest release, "Hello Hurricane"!

Congratulations go out to...

• Kristin Vanderwell
• Kristine Verwoerd
• Chad Smit
• Vicki Burrows
• and Jennifer Gill

Congrats everyone! I'll try to do another giveaway soon!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Happy/Sad Day...

Okay...Today's Tuesday. New album releases are abound. In fact, here's today's list:

• Switchfoot - "Hello Hurricane"
• Flyleaf - "Memento Mori"
• FFH - "Wide Open Spaces"

Not a huge list...But a huge day because I've been waiting for "Hello Hurricane" ever since I heard it was coming out. Oh..and yesterday on JQ we played through the entire album throughout the entire day giving listeners a chance to win a copy of the album before they could buy it.

I even scored and interview with Drew Shirley (guitarist) from Switchfoot and was going to air it on my show and put it up here for y'all to catch, but when I went to export it from our systems, someone had deleted it. Hence the sad part of today. I will let you know that when I asked Drew to suggest one song off the album to me, he highly suggested giving "Sing it Out" a listen.

So anyway I'm sorry, but I won't be able to provide you with that interview, but I will tell you this...Switchfoot put a lot of hard work and effort into this album, and you can totally tell. I think that by Switchfoot having the mentality of, "What are the songs you [we] want to die singing?" really helped them craft a stellar album full of high highs and low lows.

If you asked me my Top 3 songs, it'd go a little like this:

1. Mess of Me
2. Your Love is a Song
3. Always

So there you go.

Oh...Anyone want to WIN a copy of the CD? I have (5) to giveaway! Here's how you can enter to win, become a fan of "The Music Test" TODAY on Facebook. Click the link below:

I'll randomly pull all 5 winner from all the Fans that become fans today, and today only. So hurry!

Good luck!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Name Sanctus Real's Next Album!

Sanctus Real must be having difficulty coming up with the name for the next album, so they're enlisting your help.

From Sanctus Real's Facebook page:

"Anyone have any brilliant ideas as to what we should name our new record? Let us know your thoughts!"

Well...Do you? If so...CLICK HERE and post your suggestion on their Facebook page!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

Headline Makers

Here's what made headlines this week!

American Music Awards

Polls are open until November 11th for the American Music Awards. Nominees in the contemporary inspirational category are Jeremy Camp, Brandon Heath, and Mary Mary, so it's not too late to vote for your favorite! Winners will be announced during the awards show on ABC, Sunday, November 22nd at 8pm.

###

Switchfoot on TV

Switchfoot's new song "The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)", was tapped by Verizon Wireless for this week's national ad campaign for the BlackBerry Storm 2. Clips of the song aired during prime time on all major networks and cable outlets. You can check out the ad online at YouTube.com or http://WereAwakening.blogspot.com

"The Sound" is on Switchfoot's upcoming album, "Hello Hurricane" which releases Tuesday.

Note: Check out yesterday's post about the "Win It Before You Can Buy It" contest coming to JQ99 on Monday, November 9th.

###

Top 5 Selling Albums of the Week!

1. WOW Hits 2010
2. Kutless - "It Is Well"
3. Skillet - "Awake"
4. David Crowder Band - "Church Music"
5. Chris Tomlin - "Glory in the Highest"

###

~j

themusictest@gmail.com

Switchfoot Fun!

Switchfoot is getting ready to release a brand new album on Tuesday entitled, "Hello Hurricane". As you can tell at the top of this page, they are currently previewing the album one song each day up to the release.

Well...As you can see below, I have about 30 copies of the band new album in my hot little hands...or box as the picture depicts.

Anyway...We need to give these CD's away, and here's how we're going to do it. We don't have 12 days to preview the album, since there are 12 songs on it, so we're going to do it all in one day!

Coming up on Monday, November 9th...Tune in to JQ99 beginning at 6am. We'll play one song from the album each hour, as soon as you hear it, call in and be one of the first two callers and you will instantly win a copy "Hello Hurricane"! (Oh...that number to call by the way: 616.931.9936 or 866.931.9936)

So let's recap...Monday, November 9th...Starting at 6am listen for a new Switchfoot song each hour...hear the song...call in and win. Actually it's more like, call in and win it before you can buy it! How awesome huh?! We'll get through the entire album through the day, so that means 12 chances for you to win! Good luck!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

NeedtoBreathe Concert Review!

Okay...I'm not really sure where to start this. How about I start with this: I witnessed the single best concert of my life last night. No joke. Here's how it went down.

My friend and I are huge NeedtoBreathe fans, but sadly, working for a radio station, we've run into other obligation when they've come to town, and have never seen them live in concert. So when the opportunity came up that they were back in the Grand Rapids area, and we were available, we had to go, and go we did.

We showed up just in time to catch the end of the opener Andrew Ripp. From what we caught...He sounded good, and we apologize for not catching more of him, we were running a little late.

The next band to take the stage though...Blew our minds. However, we weren't really sure what to expect, but The Alternate Routes, were REALLY good. Great flavor of music, and it was fun to watch their band grow a member at a time during their time on stage.

For their last song, NeedtoBreathe's Joe Stillwell (drummer) played along with them. This is a favorite of mine. I love it when touring bands mix-n-match with each other, and play on each other's songs...it's just really cool, and something you can't get on the album.

Anyway...One thing I'm still trying to figure out is...During The Alternate Routes' performance, I quick ran back to the car, and I'm like 85-90% sure that on the way back to the car, I walked right past Bear, Bo, and Seth. Only thing...It didn't register quick enough and I didn't have the guts to turn back and say, "Hey!". Oh well...Maybe next time.

Finally we come to NeedtoBreathe on stage. Of course, since the tour was highlighting their most recent album, "The Outsiders" they kicked the concert off hard with the title track. After that, for me, it was a mix of familiar tunes from "The Heat" and "The Outsiders", with a couple of tunes I wasn't familiar with, which was very nice.

"The Outsiders" Live

Much like Joe Stillwell (drummer) went and played with The Alternate Routes during their set, The Alternate Routes lead singer Tim Warren came out and shared the mic with Bear at one point during NeedtoBreathe's set, which sounded amazing. Great job guys.

Now...This was the last concert of the tour, at least according to the tour t-shirt, and you know what...You could kind of tell that they really let it out. They finished their set and eventually came back out for an encore and played 3 more songs. One lead by Bo this time, which was a nice opportunity to hear his voice on a song you normally don't, but it was the final song that wrapped this concert experience up in shiny wrapping paper with the most perfectly styled bow.

In the intro for the last song, Bear announced that they'd be turning everything off and play their final song completely acoustic. That meant for us, that everyone needed to squeeze together and gather up front in order to hear, how fun. The song by the way, "Something Beautiful" off of their latest album and it sounded AMAZING!

"Something Beautiful" acoustic

NeedtoBreathe is really good at what they do. Music. Performing. (Especially Bo. Dude...You're awesome on stage, keep it up.) Oh...and sounding good...wait..no..GREAT...live. Not many bands can claim that, so don't take that for granted.

As I close on this concert review, I'll say this. I wish that more people payed attention to NeedtoBreathe, and appreciated them more, however...the selfish side of me says, "I hope they don't", that way I can still pay $12 to see this amazing group in concert.

Oh...and since this amazing event was at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, I could actually see the band. What a difference being 20 feet away, rather than a mile away at the back of a stadium. THAT'S the way to see this band...well...ANY band...small intimate venue with real fans.

Like I said, "I witnessed the single best concert of my life last night.", and I did. Sure...being a fan helped, but I can be pretty objective, but here's the thing...I've never left a concert as excited, in awe, and on fire, as I did with this one. Keep up the good work guys, you've got something special!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

New on JQ

Here's what's "New on JQ" this week!

• David Crowder* Band - "How He Loves" (You'll find this all throughout the day on JQ99)
• Seabird - "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" (You'll find this one gracing evenings on JQ during Total Axxess. Think of it as Johnny Diaz's - "More Beautiful You" with an upbeat feel.)
• Kutless - "What Faith Can Do" (Again...Only gracing evenings on JQ during Total Axxess.)
  

There you go...Hope you enjoy the new music!

~j
themusictest@gmail.com

'09 American Music Awards

I was checking my Twitter account this morning and a 'tweet' from Brandon Heath caught my eye. Here's what it said:

"brandonheath VOTE NOW! Brandon's up for an American Music Award and needs your vote ASAP. Only 10 days to go before polls close."

Now...When I clicked through to go to voting site, I noticed that not only is Brandon up for "Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist", but so is Jeremy Camp and Mary Mary.

So...As much as I love Brandon Heath, and I have to be fair and say, cast YOUR vote. Cast it for whomever YOU feel is YOUR "Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist". I've cast my vote, cast yours now by clicking the image below!

~j

themusictest@gmail.com