I’ve struggled with giving myself a title as long as I’ve been in the music business. I even made business cards once, but I put only my name. No title. Yes, I write songs, but I struggle believing I’m a songwriter. Especially after writing with guys like Josh Wilson, Mitch Dane and Jeff Pardo. I perform on a stage for a living, but am I an entertainer? I’m no Dave Barnes, Michael Buble or Oprah.
I want to be somebody. Every artist desires to distinguish themselves from the masses. Sometimes, I feel like Antonio Salieri in Amadeus when he feels cursed to know music well enough to know that he’s not as good as Mozart. I like to think that I handle it differently that Salieri. I have no plans to kill anyone. But I’m certainly guilty of comparing myself to the point of stealing my own joy and devaluing the gifts I’ve been given. I have searched for my identity by measuring myself against others. All guilty of this have lived in Salieri-like, self-pitying moments of failing to meet irrational self-imposed standards.
But isn’t that the plague and blessing of every artist? We all want to be the better than Mozart. It is a plague in that we never rest fully because we can’t stop dreaming, yet a blessing because we believe our life and message matter enough to display for all to see (and hopefully purchase). We all want to reach Malcolm Gladwell’s tipping point or assemble Seth Godin’s tribe. And should we believe in the strength of our message in the hands of the masses, we are challenged to create more and better.
Every artist has a message, even if it is unspoken. I believe my message warrants representation in various medium. That’s why I’m writing a book now. I recently released four albums in four months– the Villages Suite. Each album explored, in various ways, our innate need for real, meaningful relationships. God did not create us to be alone, but in America we love the myth of the cowboy. He rides into the sunset alone and we idolize his disappearing silhouette wishing we were as strong and noble. But we don’t see that he goes to sleep alone at night and eventually dies alone. The images we envy are not conducive to a happy, sustainable life when played out in reality.
Through therapy and other cathartic means, I’ve searched for who I am. God willing, I have many years left in me; thousands of songs to write; a dozen more books; thousands of more people to influence positively. My business cards might forever be without a title, but I know my role as a creative-type: to affect positive change for God’s kingdom with the gifts God gave me until I stop breathing.
I’ve alluded to writing a book a few times on Facebook and Twitter. Enough of you have kindly responded wandering what it’s about to warrant a summary.
I struggled through writing the music for the Villages Suite – Overture, Even the Strongest Hero, Alone Together, For a Day. I had so much to say that would be lost should I try to express it through music alone. Perhaps that need is driven out of my deficiency as a song writer or, maybe (hopefully), it comes from a song’s deficiency to fully communicate a large concept. When writing a song, you have to force (ideally) profound/(sometimes) book-worthy ideas into a four minute song. So I agonized about how to take my message further.
To me, one of the most powerful albums in my lifetime, though I was young upon its release, is Graceland by Paul Simon. Graceland was about far more than just music. It was about introducing the United States to South African music using South African music styles and Ladysmith Black Mombaza and protesting the Apartheid. Sadly we might have never known what Graceland offered to us if not for the media coverage. Alone, it was good music and lyrics, but combine that with its message only found outside the music and you have something powerful. At the request of Nelson Mandela and thanks to Graceland, Paul Simon became the first American to play in post-Apartheid South Africa. If Graceland doesn’t stand alone as a movement-inducing album, then I don’t feel so bad. Graceland was the means, not the end. I view the Villages Suite the same way.
This book I’m writing unpacks the message of the four-album Villages Suite. The Villages Suite addressed our culture’s infatuation with the cowboy myth. We idolized the man who does everything alone. He’s better, stronger, more attractive and nobler than those who need help from outsiders. Our strong push for individuality is ultimately unsustainable. The cowboy who rides into the sunset alone falls asleep alone and eventually dies alone.
The chapters of this book tell stories of the songs in the Villages Suite as they apply to the cowboy myth. If I had to offer up a thesis of this book right now, it’d be a line from the chorus of Alone (Even the Strongest Hero).
Even the strongest hero can’t deny what everybody knows
Hope Glenn has the type of voice most only dream of having. It’s beautiful but not over done. It’s just right. Especially on the song we did together – The Christmas Song. Honestly, I feel like my voice taints her performance. I debated for days whether or not to put my voice on it. In the end, I felt that I had to in order to put on a CD with my name on the cover. You can purchase the songs on iTunes.
I asked her a few questions hoping you could get to know her better.
Hope Glenn
You’re another Utahn by way of Texas. What do you love about Utah?
I love that there are mountains everywhere I look. I love that SLC has so much more diversity than the rest of the country gives it credit for. – I feel like I get to share in some sort of grand secret. – And I love the Blue Plate Diner.
You have a beautiful voice. Why don’t you have any albums out?
That voice was given to an incredibly shy girl. I haven’t sung much publicly, except at church and at a tiny little diner in Levelland, Texas. My incredibly outgoing husband, however, has a mind to change that. (That sounded far more southern than intended.)
What are you most passionate about?
Family, Friends and Food – best when combined.
Give me five reasons why Texas Tech is better than the University of Texas.
Do you really want me to shame you on your own website, Josh? Who’s asking the questions here?
What do you want everyone to know about you?
I believe that one day, for just a few hours, Jesus will make me Whitney Houston. He loves me that much.
I want you all to know that I went to bat for you. I’m not an aggressive person, but in the case I needed to be because you all were so aggressive on my behalf.
I just got off the phone with someone on the marketing team at Letters to God. The conversation was heated because we both felt the need to protect something valuable to us.
In the end, twitter search engines didn’t count all of your votes. They didn’t all register unfortunately. We had a great final effort by doing our own recount and offering proof of over 18,000 votes, but since only a fraction registered in Twitter’s search engines, they were uncounted.
The representative from Letters to God apologized for such a cool idea turning into a fiasco at the hands of Twitter. I forgave her and told her I would go to bat for her and the film. There’s nothing we can do at this point regarding Letters to God. So I’m moving on. Come with me.
Get ready for the spring, lots of shows coming up. Exciting though this may have been, far better things await us.
They finally released the vote count after our loss yesterday for the Letters to God movie soundtrack.
I don’t believe there count is correct. I’m gathering objective evidence to peacefully submit. If you voted for me please email me how many times you voted and the name of the account.
Send this information to JoshRosenthalMusic@gmail.com
I would hate to waste any of your efforts, so let’s just see what we can do here.
Well, we worked hard, missed sleep and in the end we didn’t make into the movie.
It’s hard to find the words. I’m blown away by your loyalty. I know individuals who voted more than 2000 each. Wow. A simple “thank you” feels insufficient. Pretend I’m standing next to you saying it a million times.
I’ve learned two things from this process. (1) I have a strong support base that truly believes in me and loves me, and (2) this song is valuable. If anything, I’m more motivated than ever to keep writing songs.
If there were stronger words of gratitude, I’d use them. Please know that every fake new account you made to vote, every moment you chose to vote instead of study, every broken promise of never joining Twitter is not lost. I will leverage this at every possible moment.
Last night my wife prayed that the song that most fit the message of the movie would win. Though I haven’t seen the movie, I choose to believe the right song won. I wish success the Letters to God.
If you don’t already own the song Renaissance, you can buy it on iTunes.
Seafinch, or Asher Seevinck, is one of my biggest influences. I first met him in Feb 2003, not long after I moved to Salt Lake City. It was a pleasure to write and record “Every Christmas Morning” on my new Christmas album For a Day. You can purchase other Seafinch album on iTunes or listen to them on his myspace.
Seafinch
You used to go by Asher Seevinck on you releases. Why do your go by Seafinch now?
My first couple releases were essentially worship albums, I wrote them primarily for use in churches. The newer songs I’ve been writing, although still very spiritual, are very different, so I figured a name change was in order. Seafinch is the english translation of my last name, Seevinck. Simple as pie.
You chose the topic for our song together. Why did you want to write about that?
I had been writing this song when you asked me to contribute to the winter album. At the time I wasn’t sure where it was going till we had a conversation about telling a story that is a bit atypical for a Christmas album. A song that relates to the some of the brokenness and loneliness people face during the Holidays. Lately I’ve been trying to write songs that get people out of themselves and into someone else’s shoes, I think this song stays true to that.
Where do you see your music career headed?
Broadway. I want to write songs for Cats 2. or I’m not sure. Right now I’m working on promoting my newest ep and seeing where that takes me. Right now I’m in patience mode. I feel pretty confident that people are going to like what they hear so I’m going to give it a little time to see what kinds of opportunities arise.
Dying words?
I’m not positive but I think my last words will be something like, “You wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses on, would you?”
