[caedmonscall.net]

Hey folks, Bryan here. How are you? Good? That’s great. Me too. Let’s talk about Grey’s Anatomy, since it airs TONIGHT and I know you have questions.

Question: Why are you making such a big deal about Caedmon’s being on Grey’s?

Answer: Because it’s an Emmy Award winning show that has been ranked in the top 10 in viewers since its inception. And because the Caedmon’s song that will be featured on the show tonight, “10,000 Angels”, will be playing during the last 5 minutes of the show. When was the last time you heard the same song playing on a tv show for that long of a time?

Question: Is Caedmon’s getting such huge national exposure because they are bribing executives at ABC?

Answer: Of course not. And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. Putting together a TV show takes the effort and creative genius of a lot of people. Even if you were an executive producer on the show who happened to be a Caedmon’s Call fan, you couldn’t just stick their music into the show because you liked them. If it wasn’t any good, you’d get laughed right out of the cutting room. (there is an actual cutting room, right?).

The song is a great one, and that’s why it’s being used in such an important moment. Congrats to Derek and Sandra for writing it, and congrats to the whole band for a great performance on it.

Question: Important moment? Really?

Answer: Sure. It’s the season finale. And with the writer’s strike ongoing, who knows when we’ll see new episodes of the show. Heck, right now there’s something on the front page of Yahoo! about the show’s finale tonight. So yeah, it is kindof a big deal.

Question: What do you want me to do about it?

Answer: Well, you can post about it on your blog or your favorite message board, if you like. Let people know that the song was featured, and let them know that they can go here and buy the song if they don’t have one of the limited pre-releases.

Question: Do you have any resources I can use to make my blog post look dope?

Answer: Of course. If you go here, you can get some nice visuals just for the occasion. Like so:

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Question: What time and channel is it on?

Answer: What do i look like, TV Guide? It’s on TONIGHT on ABC at 9pm.

Question: By the way, does Caedmon’s Call have a Facebook?

Answer: They do now.

Question: Are we done here?

Answer: Yup. Enjoy the show!

Just a reminder to everyone: after a couple of slips, “10,000 Angels” will be on Grey’s Anatomy’s season-ending episode this Thursday night, January 10th. Didn’t buy it on iTunes yet? INO Records has an MP3 of “10,000 Angels” that will be available for the next few days.

Update, Thursday: Derek told me last night that it’s at the very end of the show.

Later update: Sandra is giving away her demo MP3. She played it last night, too, and I should have a good recording of it. :)

If you’re like me and are jealous of what Bryan got to do with the liveblog, you’re probably also waiting to see where Caedmon’s Call comes to town on the Overdressed tour. Well, not all the dates are public yet, and to the best of my understanding, they’re still being added. As a result, we’ll update you as we know more.

But here’s what we know:

• 7 Feb in Conway, Arkansas
• 8 Feb in Lincoln, Nebraska
• 9 Feb in Greenwood Village, Colorado
• 23 Feb in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• 29 Feb in Greenville, South Carolina
• 1 Mar in Hickory, North Carolina
• 27 Mar in Dallas, Texas
• 28 Mar in Austin, Texas
• 30 Mar in The Woodlands, Texas
• 4 Apr in Dyersburg, Tennessee
• 17 Apr in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• 18 Apr in Kokomo, Indiana
• 19 Apr in Chicago, Illinois

The 25 Jan show in the Dallas area is a Dalit Freedom Network event and isn’t part of the tour, so I don’t expect Derek to be there. [It's not on his calendar, anyway.] That show got cancelled.

We here at [caedmonscall.net] hope that you have a Happy New Year!

Update, 7 Jan: Date for Lancaster and The Woodlands confirmed and added. Update, 14 Jan: Austin date confirmed and added. Update, 28 Jan: Dallas date confirmed and added.

As you might have seen on [rocksmyfaceoff.info], I screwed up bigtime in moving [caedmonscall.net] today. Everything’s fixed now, though.

I’ll give you your money back for the downtime! ;)

Okay, so we’ve told you about “10,000 Angels” being on Grey’s Anatomy before. It was supposed to be on there last night, and then they slipped it until the new year. It’s moved again.

In the midst of all this re-scheduling and re-re-scheduling, INO got together with the folks at iTunes and got “10,000 Angels”, which appeared only on the pre-order CDs, out on iTunes. You can purchase “10,000 Angels” in the iTunes Store if you’d like, but if you pre-ordered like the good Caedmon’s fan you are, you’re probably checking out of this update. But hey … snap out of it! There’s an opportunity there for you to review the track if you want, and we hope that you’ll take advantage of it. After all … the folks at Grey’s have edited in an extra minute of the show so that the full track can play. [How cool is that? Very, we say.] So this is a golden opportunity for you to tell fans of Grey’s what you think of this track, since, well, you’ve already got it and have probably played it 50 times on your iPod. [It's okay. We won't tell anyone.]

So please go and review it if you like it. [Or hey, if you don't, that's cool; it's your opinion.] And if you didn’t pre-order … well, now you can get a copy of the track.

Dude, you’re gettin’ old! ;)

Keep poundin’ the skins.

We’re excited to report that Caedmon’s Call’s song “10,000 Angels” will be heard on the December 20th episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The song, which was a bonus track on the pre-ordered versions of Overdressed, was written by Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb.

Just in case you’re in a fog thinking that December 20th is still a ways away, let me remind you that it’s next week. Which also means that Christmas is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Which is ridiculous because i haven’t bought one present yet. Yikes.

But back to Grey’s…with the writer’s strike looking like it might last longer than most of our New Year’s resolutions, this very well could be the Season Finale of Grey’s, so all the more reason to tune in.

You can learn more about the song here.

You can check out Caedmon’s performing the song at their August 2007 Overdressed Release Show here.

You can check out the excitement on Derek’s tour when his song Name was on Grey’s last month here.

Update, 19 Dec: Rather than appearing tomorrow night, it’ll happen on January 3rd, with a re-air the next night.

Update, 21 Dec: This thing slips more than a Space Shuttle launch! It’ll now happen on the 10th. More to follow.

It might be a little disappointing that Christianity Today only had Overdressed second on their list of the best albums of 2007, but they have nice things to say about it:

It was to the point where some people were murmuring that the best days of Caedmon’s Call were behind them. It seems a change of record label was just what this band needed to set them back on track. Overdressed reminds us why we fell in love with this band in the first place. And no, it’s not the return of Derek Webb to the fold—though it’s interesting that he’s found a way to make it on our list twice in one year, he’s not the only reason this album recaptures the glory days of Caedmon’s Call. With four lead vocalists now, not to mention a revolving door of contributing songwriters inside and outside the group, it only further drives home the point that this isn’t as much a set-in-stone band as it is a fluid acoustic pop collective. The album itself strikes the perfect blend of the band’s high points—melodic hooks (40 Acres), eclecticism (Long Line of Leavers), and social consciousness (Share the Well)—without repeating them. Familiar as it all may seem, few Christian bands are this consistently engaging in song topics and sound. They seem only stronger now that they’ve regained their artistic focus. Hey, Caedmon’s Call, we didn’t know you left, but welcome back all the same.

Has anyone here heard their #1? I demand a recount. ;)

Kirby Trapolino—yeah, that Kirby—has a crazy amount of CC memorabilia up together in one lot on eBay:

EXTREMELY RARE CAEDMON’S CALL MEMORABILIA LOT

Hello, my name is Kirby Trapolino. I’m the original manager of Caedmon’s Call, and creator of their fan club, (”The Guild”). I ran across a few old boxes of my early Caedmon’s Call memorabilia and figured I’d make them available here for collectors more avid than myself. Many of the promo items you see in this auction I drafted and laid out myself, like the early Guild pieces you’ll see. If you’d like, I can sign certain pieces at your request if you feel it would lend to authenticity.

What you’re bidding on…

Early Guild Rarities:
1) Original copy of Issue One of Thirsty Plants, Winter 1997
2) Original copy of Issue Two of Thirsty Plants, Spring 1998
3) Original copy of Issue Three of Thirsty Plants, Winter 1998
Thirsty Plants was the original Guild Fan Club Publication with several essays, journal entries, photography and artwork from the band members, along with contributions from Guild Members themselves. I was the editor. All 3 of these will show some signs of wear and tear, fading, coffee stains, etc. as they are 9 to 10 years old.
4) Original copy of a blank Guild Membership ID card from the 1st year it was created, expiration date marked as “8/31/98.”
5) Original copy of “Welcome to the Guild” intro pack overview insert.
6) “Join Today” insert with overview of Guild membership benefits, in promotion of The 1998-1999 Guild Year Membership, otherwise known as Guild Vol. 2.
7) Original Guild Vol. 2 Backstage Pass, marked with expiration date “Dec. 31, 1999.”
8) Guild Vol. 3 CD, Released in 2000. Contains 22 Demos, Soundchecks and Rarities.

Posters, Stickers & Rare Concert Ticket:
8) An unused copy of the 1st sticker ever released by Caedmon’s Call, in conjunction with the 3rd version of My Calm//Your Storm CD in 1996.
9) House of Blues, Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, April 23, 1998 Concert Poster. Bebo Norman and Andrew Peterson were the two opening acts as noted on the poster. Poster does show some signs of wear and tear, and has been stored in a rolled up position for several years.
10) House of Blues, Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, April 23, 1998 UNREDEEMED Concert Ticket. Faded due to its age.
11) In the Company of Angels promo sticker, Summer 2001.
12) 10-Year Anniversary Poster: “Celebrating 10 Years” with various photos and album covers from their archives. Note this is a folded poster.

Rare Compilation CDs on which Caedmon’s Call appears:
13) CCM Magazine Insert, from the February 1997 Issue which featured Caedmon’s Call on the cover. The CD includes the song “Hope to Carry On” and 9 other songs from artists popular at the time such as All Star United, Plumb and Smalltown Poets.
14) Propska One, a compilation with 17 tracks from artists either on the Essential Records label or somehow associated with Essential.

Crazy Rare Bonus Items:
Yes, I’m crazy, or I’m just getting in the Christmas mood… I’m throwing in these 9 items from my personal collection as a free gift for the winner…
1) Super-rare cover artwork, booklet and jewel case from the 2nd version of My Calm//Your Storm, released in 1995 with only 5000 copies printed. Unfortunately, the CD itself is missing. But if you’re bidding on this, you probably already own it.
2) Very rare 40 Acres promo cassette. Random 40 Acres trivia… I selected the photo you see on the 40 Acres album cover. It was about the closest thing I could find to what I thought might actually be 40 acres of land.
3) Coming Home Radio Single CD. From the 1997 Self-Titled Album. Only 200 of these were pressed- they were mailed to top radio stations. This single became a #1 Christian AC radio hit. Jewel case is cracked but the CD and actual artwork is fine.
4) “Back Home” promotional pre-release CD in special packaging, 1999.
5) “Austin Sessions” CD featuring 3 bonus songs from their 40 Acres recording sessions at Willie Nelson’s “Pedernales” studio in Austin, Texas.
6) Caedmon’s Call & Jars of Clay promotional music sampler, with 3 songs from Caedmon’s Call and 3 from Jars of Clay. This was bundled on a limited basis with Back Home, early 2003. Still sealed.
7) Three bootleg CD recordings of concerts from the 1997 - 1998 time period. Locations: Kanakuk, Houston and College Station. Sorry I cannot provide any further details on these.
8) 40 Acres Press Kit containing several copies of articles, various press photos and official notes on the lyrics from songwriters, etc. This would have been circa early 1999.
9) Promotional pre-release CD of Derek Webb’s She Must and Shall Go Free. Special packaging, circa early 2003.

I will ship this via trackable delivery insured.

Thanks for your interest. If you’re an experienced collector and wish to inquire of other rare items I still have in my possession, please contact me through eBay email and based on the interest, I might list other auctions.

If you’re looking for photos of the whole lot, Kirby’s posted a gallery on his .Mac account.

Better than someone auctioning off Derek’s high school yearbook so you could see a photo of him with a mullet any day…

Well, if you’ve visited the .net today, you’ve seen that we have Google ads up now. Why? Well, this site [and the others on this server] is expensive to operate.

I lease this server on behalf of its community of users. As time has gone by, what that costs me has gone up. In 2004, when we first started this, the server cost $225/mo., which was largely paid for by the fact that I had roommates living with me that offset the cost. Sure, I winced when I saw that go out every month—it was my largest bill after I paid the rent—but I could handle it.

Today, the serve lease runs $324/mo., and domain registration, license fees, and other expenses run that to about $4200 a year. Part of that is because the traffic to the forum has increased; part of that is because we’ve got a lot more on the server today; part of it is because we’re more popular on the Internet. And also, part of it is because the number of spammers on the Internet has increased significantly—email spam, comment spam, attempts to forum spam, server exploits, etc. Most of the cost growth, I would argue, comes in trying to handle the increased traffic across the board.

But no matter that, the cost is a lot higher. As you can see from the second link, what we take in from user fees on The Rumor Forum—the main reason we’re on a dedicated server in the first place, admittedly—and from hosting a smattering of sites on the server accounts for about $2700 a year. That still leaves me $1500 short, and unlike 2004, I have neither roommates nor a paid-for truck. So … it’s a little painful.

So I’m being up-front and honest: providing all what we provide you costs money. Please consider donating to the cause if you have not already done so; if you have, I thank you.