Jill Phillips wrote this on her website journal earlier this month:

So my daughter and I are officially outnumbered…. it looks like I am going to be having another son this summer. It will be 3 boys to 2 girls in our house which makes Andy really really happy. I am very excited myself and wanted to tell you all once we had the ultrasound. This pregnancy has really flown which I guess is a function of already having two kids that keep you crazy busy. This will also serve as a heads up to those people coming to the shows in March, otherwise the belly might be a shock!

We are really looking forward to the Texas run of shows and getting back to my hometown in Virginia next month. It is not often that we make it to both of our stomping grounds, so Andy and I hope to see you there.

This month has been great and we have really enjoyed the shows as well as the few weekends off. I have been trying to continue writing for the new CD hoping to have all the songs we need before the baby is born. I am guessing recording will probably happen after that, when I am sleeping again and feeling like a somewhat normal human being.

Congratulations, Jill and Andy!

Before shuttering their doors—and as they were monetary sponsors of [caedmonscall.net] for a time, we’ll miss them—Eb+Flo had worked with Eric to do a long interview with him. Eric kept the work, though, and has been publishing it. I especially enjoyed his writing on how he approaches songwriting, as well as the community of writers around him:

I’m a melody guy, so I spend a fair amount of time hammering those out, trying to keep them somewhat original (as much as is possible) and working to avoid the dreaded monotony of a similar sounding catalog. Hooks are an important component. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a good old-fashioned pop hook, even if they emanate from the likes of various boy bands. After the melody my focus is the lyric. I don’t fancy myself a master wordsmith, but I simply cannot stand to be in the presence of throwaway lyrics. I have a really low tolerance for cheesy or trite content whether it’s an obviously overdone rhyme (love / above) or a writer who allows me no room to think and breathe inside their song. I value a good story. I don’t appreciate being told what to think, how to feel or how to act. I’m a fan of writers who use words to paint graceful pictures. There’s much more authenticity and vulnerability in hearing a well-told story than in receiving a command. God knows we all need stories to remind us of the truth.

The whole thing is worth checking out, and we also are owed another piece in the series.

There is a great discussion going on right now over at Andrew Osenga’s blog about Christians and music, and more specifically, “Christian Music”. Andy recently did an interview with an atheist music critic who admits that she wouldn’t have interviewed him if he’d been identified as a “Christian” artist. She jumps in on the conversation, too. I’d just botch it up if I tried to summarize any further, so just head over and visit these two posts and their many comments:

No Man’s Land

No Man’s Land, Part 2

Jeremy writes about destroying his vocabulary:

As a songwriter who is a believer in The Gospel, it is easy to fall into a certain language when speaking lyrically that really only exists in evangelical circles. Even more, the language or “code” spoken does not edify or express the reality of the Gospel as it relates to total reality. After reading Schaeffer, Guiness and Pearcy — I realized that in order for me to truly communicate like a believer that I need not use the “code” language of evangelicalism any longer. So I sought to destroy my vocabulary and rebuilt it like a human being instead of a sub-cultural robot.

I know that this is one thing that Jeremy said that he really stressed in writing for the new record. As good as his stuff was before, I think that we can all agree that this should make his work even more accessible.

Can’t wait for May 1st? Well, neither can we. [Even if Bryan and I now have the final mixes. ;)]

Well, not only did we get a good interview out of Derek on the 25th, but we also got recordings of two of the tracks from the new album. These are the only ones you’ll hear him play before The Ringing Bell comes out; everything else really takes hearing the full band treatment.

In case you’ve not navigated through to get the full show from the 25th, we’ll be cool and give you some MP3s:

“This Too Shall Be Made Right”:

“I Don’t Wanna Fight”:

Don’t say we never gave ya nothin’. [And don't ask for the mixes. Derek knows where we live, and he's got attack ninjas on the payroll.]

Jeremy has driven a stake in his new album, and it will come out on May 8, 2007. It doesn’t have a name yet; he’s still working on it:

The album has 12 songs, a string section, woodwinds, brass and orchestral percussion. What started off last August as a fairly mid-tempo to slower collection of songs has morphed into a full-fledged folk-classical-electronica/experimental album with songs that move as fast as 145 beats per minute. (that’s very fast for an acoustic folkie like me.)

Folk music you can dance to. Or if you don’t dance…you can groove to it. Either way, there is energy on this project unlike any of my previous albums. I’m VERY EXCITED with what we’ve got and CAN’T WAIT for you to have it.

Bryan and I heard some in-process stuff back in October, and … well, I was excited by what I heard. Not only is Jeremy branching out musically, but he’s working on breaking new ground lyrically. I dunno about y’all, but … I’m excited.

And yes, if you’re counting, that means that you’ll get a new record from Derek and from Jeremy just a week apart.

Well, we all know that Jeremy has been working on a new album. If you’ve been following him lately, you know that he and his wife, Kierstin, have also been working on an addition to their family. He’s now here:

And then there were three….we’ve multiplied and are now one step closer to world domination.

:chuckle: Our best to the Casellas on this parenthood project.