The Choir is set to play the final day of the Cornerstone Festival on July 7, 2012 at Bushnell Campground outside of Chicago, Illinois. The Cornerstone Festival began in 1984, and The Choir had the honor to play at that very first festival to a crowd of 5,000.
“Cornerstone Festival is honored to be sharing our final event with a wonderful band like The Choir,” shares Cornerstone Festival Director, Scott Stahnke. “From our first event in 1984 to our last event in 2012, it has been a joy to have them bring their remarkable music to the Cornerstone stage year after year.”
Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, Dan Michaels and Tim Chandler, otherwise known as The Choir, look back over their three decades together as a band and remember how much the Cornerstone Festival has impacted them. Michaels says, “The Choir was the first band to play on the first day of the very first Cornerstone. It is so meaningful to us that we were invited to play the last one.”
The Cornerstone Festival was established by Jesus People USA’s Cornerstone magazine and Resurrection Band to provide aid to one of Chicago’s largest homeless shelters. Although The Choir is sad to see the end of such a fun and inspiring festival, they look forward to giving the fans a great show to remember. For more information about the festival, please visit CornerstoneFestival.com.
In addition to the Cornerstone date in July, The Choir is celebrating their new album, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, and the 25th anniversary of their project Chase the Kangaroo with a performance June 14th at The Basement in Nashville. The band will perform the entire album of Chase the Kangaroo as well as new songs. For further information on Nashville’s The Basement show, visit www.thebasementnashville.com.
The Choir will also be taking their show to 20 cities around the U.S. this fall, hitting Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. Stay tuned on the band’s website to see when they are coming to a city near you, TheChoir.net.
After three decades together, iconic alternative rock band The Choir is set to release their 14th studio album. The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, will release May 15th, 2012 on their own Galaxy21 label.
As one of the few bands left standing from the 1980’s SoCal music movement wave that swept nationwide more than 30 years ago, The Choir continues to make their renowned atmospheric music married to lyrics stirred by life’s inspirational lessons in the context of real relationships - love, despair, light, dark, hope, and recovery. Comprised of original members Derri Daugherty (lead vocal/guitar), Steve Hindalong (drums), Dan Michaels (saxophone/lyricon), and Tim Chandler (bass), The Choir thrived in the creation of The Loudest Sound Ever Heard.
With their past releases described as, according to the Los Angeles Times, “magical songs that combine strains of murky psychedelia with pure pop,” and Billboard touting The Choir for their “dark poetic leanings, effects-laden guitars and strong melodic hooks,” this newest album certainly remains true to The Choir's core classic sound. Yet in the creation of The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, the song crafting and production is enhanced more than ever through their years of experience and collaboration.
Says Daugherty, “At this point in our life as a band, we know each other really well and sincerely appreciate what we each bring to the creative process. So every time we get an itch to make another record it's fun and new. It's like we've got the excitement we had when we were younger, wanting to make great music, as well as the confidence that comes with experience.”
The project’s title of The Loudest Sound Ever Heard is taken from the infamous volcanic explosion on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in the late 19th century. "A quick Wikipedia search revealed that to this day the event is considered to be "the loudest sound ever heard," Drummer/lyricist Hindalong explains. “I referred to that tragic occurrence in the first verse of the song ‘I'm Learning to Fly,’ which is thematically central to the album. It’s about living each day like it truly matters. ‘Living to love in a dying world.’ Such catastrophic events remind us of our vulnerability, and how we ought to celebrate every breath."
Hindalong continues, "There is also a figurative reference to the title – ‘A true friend's heart is the loudest sound ever heard' - in the song ‘Melodious,’ which is a tribute to our long time friend and bandmate, Tim Chandler. Incidentally, Tim introduced Derri and I back in 1979 and we’ve been making music together ever since!”
The final song on the album, ‘After All,’ features a stunning duet with Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer. “We’ve known Leigh since way back,” says Daugherty, “She’s a friend and one of my favorite singers ever. We’re thrilled that she was able to sing on this project. Matt Slocum [Sixpence guitarist] also played cello on a couple of songs. Those guys are great.”
The Choir recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release date of their groundbreaking and critically acclaimed album, Chase the Kangaroo (1988) by performing the record in its entirety on their spring tour. Following this special set the band featured one of their new songs, ‘Cross that River,’ from The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, as well as several fan favorites from their past catalog. Cities included Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Washington DC, and St. Louis among others.
The band will also host their second VIP get-together this summer at Nashville's Dark Horse Studios. Fans that have opted in to this event will get a chance to experience a special in-studio recording session by the band, as well as a private concert and cook out with the band and their families. For further details, please click here.
“I’m so glad we get to keep doing records like this,” shares Michaels. "Here we are standing together 30 years down the line and we still love and respect each other. It’s amazing, really.”
Daugherty adds, “We are fortunate to have such devoted listeners after all these years. That’s what keeps us motivated to continue making music. In that way we are lucky and blessed, and I’m thankful.”
“We don’t pretend to have the answers,” concludes Hindalong, “We are still struggling, still wandering and seeking; but if our music inspires listeners to consider important things with open hearts, well, that’s a good thing. Hopefully, the spirit of love will stir within and the truth will resonate.”
The Loudest Sound Ever Heard Track Listing:
1. Strange Girl
2. I’m Learning to Fly
3. Cross that River
4. Laughter of Heaven
5. O How
6. The Forest
7. Takin’ the Universe In
8. Melodious
9. A World Away
10. After All
Making it an even dozen, iconic indie rock act The Choir announces the release of their 12th studio disc, Burning Like the Midnight Sun. Produced by band members Steve Hindalong and Derri Daughtery, the album was recorded and mixed at Daugherty’s Sled Dog Studio in Franklin, TN, and will be released on the band’s own Galaxy21 Music label.
Boasting a history that spans nearly three decades, The Choir features founders Hindalong and Daugherty along with long time members Dan Michaels and Tim Chandler, and once again Marc Byrd (Hammock) who produced the band’s ‘05 release O How the Mighty Have Fallen. This critically-acclaimed lineup continues to garner praise and accolades – including a Grammy nod -- long after most other bands have burned out or faded away.
“Perhaps more than any other album by The Choir, Burning Like the Midnight Sun integrates the musical personalities of all five individuals,” Hindalong says. “The recording process was smooth and satisfying. We’re thrilled to offer it to our listening friends.”
In recent months, the band has given fans a peek inside the recording process by releasing a series of “in the studio” videos online. The finished product, Burning Like the Midnight Sun, will be available physically online through www.thechoir.net and sold at live shows. It will also be available in select independent retail outlets for download & streaming on iTunes, Rhapsody, Spotify, Napster and other digital service providers.
Always the innovators, the band continues to find new ways to get their music to the masses. Their die-hard fan base has already responded enthusiastically to pre-order packages that include a "director's cut" audio interview CD, mix stems so fans can create their own productions of the songs that the band will post and share online, as well as a VIP gathering at Michaels’ Nashville home featuring an acoustic concert, swim party and barbecue.
Complementing this beautiful new music is a cover image by New Orleans-based visual artist R.R. Lyon, known for using salvaged or reclaimed pieces of his own art that he re-contextualizes to give new purpose. Later this fall, the band will be traveling to The Big Easy, as the artist is creating a painting to go along with each of the songs on Burning Like the Midnight Sun.
www.thechoir.net
