Both the dates this week are Derek’s:

• DW in South Barrington, IL on 7 Dec. That’s Chicagoland.
• DW in Jamestown, NC on 7 Feb.

Soul Audio has an extensive interview with EP about the next record, including name-checking me and Ronzilla for pushing him to embrace the concept.

But I think the fun stuff is in EP explaining what he is writing about:

Eric: There’s the story of a dear friend who, over the course of the past year, lost his business, his home and nearly everything else when his business went under. He battled angrily with God throughout the ordeal, was changed, and was born a new man; I love this honest-to-life, mercy-filled story. I’m telling the story of an abandoned bicycle I saw in Washington DC. There’s my attempt to relate my life to that of an onion (courtesy of a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye). I’m telling the story of fearful, weary rabbits in the song “Run Down” (based on the Richard Adams novel, Watership Down). There’s the story of some friends of ours who went through a divorce.

See, unlike a lot of “Christian” music, EP doesn’t want to write radio friendly, feel-good songs about Jesus. Do you want to hear, even through the veil of the four-minute song, about someone else’s divorce? I don’t—but if EP is going to write about it, he will be working to glean a truth for us, a thought, something that we can carry with us. Give me that over “I Can Only Imagine” any day.

Randall Goodgame

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

My photos from Sunday night’s release show for Bluebird are now up on Flickr.

Congrats to Ben Shive, whose release from earlier this year – “The Ill-Tempered Klavier” – was listed by Christianity Today in their “Best of 2008″ reviews.

I’ll agree with CT on this one. Ben’s CD is one of the most lyrically and sonically brilliant works of art I’ve heard in a long time.

Track listing:

1. A Name A Name A Name
2. Out of Tune
3. Rise Up
4. Do You Remember
5. She is the Rising Sun
6. 4th of July
7. ’97
8. New Year
9. The Old Man
10. Nothing for the Ache
11. Binary Star
12. Wear Your Wedding Dress

You can get yours at The Rabbit Room store. You’ll love it.

As you saw earlier today, you can pick up a NoiseTrade exclusive sampler of Jill’s soon-to-be-released CD “The Good Things” and get a taste of the great new music coming December 2.

You should also go check out Jill’s site, which is updated with

• new tour dates (BTLOG & others)
• a blog where you can keep up with Jill more easily
• a video featuring musical mastermind (and amazingly talented actor) Cason Cooley
• a “The Good Things” pre-order special

Go get in on the pre-ordering fun while you can.

Those of you in the Nashville area (or near an airport) – come out to 12th and Porter on Sunday to see Jill perform along with Andrew Peterson, Andy Osenga, Eric Peters, and Randall Goodgame.

Hey, new dates this week!

• EP in Hudsonville, MI on 9 Nov.
• EP in Bettendorf, IA on 10 Nov.
• AO and RG in Nashville on 13 Nov.
• EP in Pinson, AL on 15 Nov.

Go grab it from iTunes or from RG’s own site