I feel like there is a lot of Peter Hollens going on in my life right now. That's not a bad thing. Far from it. I have been spending many hours this week listening to his songs. I've been a bit under the weather and his music has helped me find inspiration again. Not only is Peter Hollens a fantastic musician, he also seems to be a very nice and humble guy. And not only that, he actually "told" me that he loved the post I did on Misty Mountains featuring Tim Foust a couple of days ago. I mentioned to him, in a message on Patreon yesterday, that he had liked the tweet with the link to it and he replied back on that message that he loved. In capital letters and several exclamation marks. How cool is that?! Thanks, Peter!
Anyway, I've been thinking about writing about his version of this song because it is one of my favourites, and today he released a new version of it. Great timing there!
Today's video choice is;
I See Fire - Peter Hollens featuring Taylor Davis
(Taylor Davis is an amazing violinist and she's been in a couple of Home Free's songs as well.)
Here's the list;
The arrangement - I love the build up in this song. It goes from soft to energetic to power in an absolutely perfect balance. That's how you do it! Again, Tom Anderson did a great job with it and Peter and Taylor perfects it! The way the violin blends in and at the same time stands out is brilliant. That's not an easy thing to do!
Taylor Davis - I've already mentioned that she is amazing at playing that violin. She's feeling it, she's not just playing it. Violin can be terrible if played without feelings, but I've never heard anything by Taylor Davis that's been without soul. Just click her name above this list and listen to more of her stuff, she loves film and video game scores. Cool stuff!
The scenery - The contrast between the cold, windy and snowy mountain where Peter is and the still and green forest where Taylor is gives the song a feeling of hope. I'm being thrown back and forth between the worst of winters and the best of summers back in Sweden. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. Even this video is the work of the amazing people at FifGen Films. What can I say? Awesome job! Simple, but stunning and effective.
The song - I haven't seen the Hobbit yet. I know - shame on me, but who has the time when there are so many great music videos to watch and re-watch? Anyway, I love this song. It's beautiful and powerful. Not just the arrangement, but the melody and the lyrics too. It's emotional and strong. Ed Sheeran sure wrote an amazing song and you can read the story about it here. It's quite cool.
Peter Hollens- I can't really leave him out, can I? Not that I would want to. Peter has this amazing ability to transform his voice into what seems like almost anything song wise. Soft, emotional, powerful - he does it all. And he does it all in this song. And he can sing, like really good. That's a great thing for a singer, not all of them can. The way he layers the songs with himself and his own voice, but still manages to make it sound like there is a whole bunch of different people, is really cool, and he does it oh so well. Great job, as always, Peter!
Please, when you have listened to the song and watched the video, at least a few times, check the information underneath it and follow the links and hit like, subscribe or whatever is required on all of Peter's and Taylor's different social media pages. And FifGen's too.
As always, please, let me know what you think of this list. Do you agree or do you disagree with anything?
The next video in this series will be the new Home Free video. It hasn't been released to the public yet, but you can expect it within the next couple of days, or you can go sign up on Patreon and watch it right now. This video is so much fun and it is one of my favourite songs they do. Keep an out for it, and for my 5 Reasons to Watch it.
If you want to hear this song with Peter Hollens, but fully a cappella you can find it here. You can find Ed Sheerans original here. As much as I love Ed's version, I must say I prefer both of Peter's versions, but since I love the violin my favourite is this video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and let me know which one is your favourite.
Today's choice of video is one that speaks to the little girl inside of me, as well as to the music lover and the Disney lover that I am. This is a medley of Disney Princess songs. Evynne Hollens, wife of Peter Hollens from the latest post in this series, loves singing and she is very, very good at it, and in this video and song she showcases 14 Disney Princesses from Snow White in 1937 to Elsa and Anna, from Frozen, in 2013.
Here's my list with 5 Reasons to Watch; Evolution of the Disney Princess with Evynne Hollens
The songs - I love Disney songs! The arranger Nathan Alef has chosen the most catching and well-known parts of each song, and it makes this medley even more appealing to me because I don't really know the rest of the lyrics to most of them, but these parts I know so this song is just full of fun!
The outfits - Seriously, if you are going to do a video where you sing 14 different Disney Princess songs you NEED 14 different Princess costumes. These were made especially for Evynne and you can find the link for the company that made them in the video information. All the costume are simply cool and fun! More fun!
The make-up - I love the make-up in this video. It really enhances Evynne's beauty in so many different ways and I can without using my imagination see the Princess she is for every song. Whoever did it did a fantastic job!
The edit - I think this edit is brilliant. All the Princesses are completely separate from each other in those squares, but at the same time they are all together when they all look at the one singing. I don't know how they did it but FifGen Films are masters as we already know, but without great filming by Merlin Showalter the brilliant editing couldn't have been this perfect.
Evynne Hollens - is certainly not the least on this list. There are so many things to say about her. First of all her voice; it is pure and clean and yet so full of emotions that I can hear the Princesses singing. Her eyes are just amazing and mesmerizing. She goes so much into character in each of the Princesses that I believe she is her, it shows in her eyes, on her face and in her whole body language. Ant then there's the joy - the joy is so contagious and I can see that she really loves doing this and it makes me happy.
There we have it. I love this video and medley and I will watch it over and over again for a long time to come.It makes me happy. Evynne also released a video of the full version of one of songs today, you can check t out here, but first go have a look at this video, and share it. Always share the videos and my posts. Help spread the music to the world. I believe it makes the world a better and happier place!
Also, you should totally head over to Evynne's YouTube channel! She has lots and lots of fun stuff there! Maybe you want to learn how to belt like a Disney Princess? Well, Evynne can teach you how to do it!
That's it from me for today. Let me know what you think of my list!
Welcome to my first ever 5 Reasons to Watch Series!
In this series I will simply state 5 Reasons To Watch a certain music video of my choice. The reasons will of course very much be from my personal point of view and taste. The songs, artists and videos can be just about anything, but there will of course be a focus on Home Free's videos, as well as Chris Rupp's videos, but not only.
My choice for the first video and song is one I haven't been able to stop watching and listening to since it's release almost 2 weeks ago. I actually wake up with this song in my head even if I haven't listened to it the evening before;
Misty Mountain with Peter Hollens featuring Tim Foust
Here are my 5 Reasons to Watch it;
Peter Hollens - is an amazing artist with a spectacular voice and he is considered something of a YouTube phenomenon with his more than 1,3 Million subscribers. He collaborates with a lot of different, mostly independent and YouTube based, artists using his fandom and popularity to spread the music outside of the big labels. Most of the songs he releases are completely a cappella and except for the guest/featuring artist all sounds are made by Peter himself. Everything you hear in this video, except for Tim Foust, is Peter. That's just - wow!
Tim Foust - the voice. That deep, full bass takes me to places I've never been before and it makes me want to go there over and over again. Having heard that voice live, having felt the rumbling all around and inside my body in real life makes me want to sit close by when he sings this. Holy Bass!! I want more of it!
Tim Foust - the eyes. It's like he looks straight into the deepest corner of my soul and funnily enough brings light into it. They grab me, and keep me hooked all way through, and when he's not in picture I miss them. Sorry Peter, but Tim wins this one. I want more of them!
The arrangement - by Tom Anderson - I've heard a few arrangements of this song and this is one of my favourites. It feels full and it satisfies me. It doesn't distract from the song, but enhances it. And even though I want more of that bass I also love Peter's voice and I think the two complements the other very well.
The video - by FifGen Films - no surprise there really, everything they do turns out great and original. What they did with Tim for this video was amazing, they were able to bring out the darkness in him. Fun fact is that Peter's and Tim's parts were filmed thousands of miles apart at different times, in different countries. I wonder if they brought his clothes with them to location?
Obviously, you need to check out the video for yourself to be able to agree or disagree with my reasons. Do you have any more reasons that I haven't listed? (I have limited myself to 5, of course) Do you not agree with any of my reasons? Let me know in the comments below.
Take 4 parts of legendary, old school country singers with sweet harmonies, add their greatest hit song and 5 parts of (will-be legendary) new school a cappella country singers with (at least) equally sweet harmonies, a killer arrangement and then mix it all together. Add to the quotation that one of those nine people is one of the best vocal percussionists/beat boxers the world have ever heard, 2 of them are among the worlds best bass singers and they can hit low notes as easy as I breath; and then sit back and wait to see what happens. Would you care to take a guess? I know that even if you do you wouldn't come anywhere near the truth of what happens. But don't sweat it! Have no fear! The truth is now out! The answer is here!
It all started months ago when Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys saw Home Free on a TV show and was blown away. He reached out and the ball started rolling. Home Fries all over the world started speculating, hoping and dreaming for a collaboration between the two groups. We begged and pleaded for them to work together on ORB's hit song Elvira from 1981. In the beginning of the summer the ORB tweeted that they were about to enter the studio together to do exactly what we wanted.
That's when the real speculating started. We knew it would be nothing short of amazing. How could it not be? What we didn't know was HOW amazing it could, and would, be. We had no idea this result was even a possibility. We had no idea of the heights it would take us to. Even in our wildest imaginations and dreams, we had no clue what so ever.
And then there was a video shoot. Home Free loves keeping their fans up to date on what they do, and we love that they do, and they also love teasing us with snippets of what is to come, and we love it when they do. So we knew they were shooting the video, and we were told the song was awesome, but nothing, absolutely nothing, was told on when this, what must be pure awesomeness, was going to be revealed to us. We just had to wait and see. So we did. Patiently. Ok, I lie, very impatiently. We waited.
And after all this hoping, dreaming, speculating, teasing and waiting the day finally arrived. FINALLY!! It is here!
For the Home Free Patrons it arrived on Thursday, and boy oh boy do I love being a Patron (You can become one here) ! I am so proud to be a part of all this. It is so satisfying to know that I helped (as Austin might say). The rest of the world was first introduced to this epicness (I'm so making that a word) by Huffington Post. YES, a huge release in Home Free's career was shown to the world by a huge player on the online news market. Epic! Huge! And so right! Didn't I tell you a few weeks back that Home Free is having an epic summer?
So, what about the song and the singing and all that stuff? Well, it's ok.
Naaaaaaah, just kidding!
It is absolutely freggin' mind blowingly fantastic! It is putting my heart on fire! It is pure joy and love! It is far beyond my wildest dreams of what could be done with this song that I already loved. It is sweet, it is power! It is taking me to higher grounds, it is flying me to the moon, and it is one of the best things I have ever, ever, heard, ever. It makes me smile, laugh and dance. It makes put my hands to the sky in victory! I was sitting at my desk at work yesterday, listening to Home Free while doing some work, and I could see that my colleague next to me was looking at me with a big smile. Apparently I was dancing in my chair. I had already told her about the song so she just looked at me and asked if that was the song. Yes, yes it was. And so the day went on. Every time Elvira came on I noticed her watching me through the corner of my eye. Well, could for me for making her smile. Oh, did I tell you I was wearing ear buds so she couldn't hear what song was actually on.
We knew it was going to be epic, but this, this is so much more than just being epic.
The sweet, sweet harmonies are perfectly blended; the basses are, well, low and perfect together;, and the beat boxing is rocking everybody's world, knocking us kind out of our chairs and on to the dance floor. Seriously, Adam, how is it even possible to do what you do?
The fantastic arrangement is made by Tim Foust by him tweaking an arrangement made by Geoff Castellucci and VoicePlay (another brilliant a cappella group), and it let's the personalities of the two groups shine through. Not just the groups, the different personalities of all the members of the two groups. WoW! This is such a perfect arrangement! It shows a completely new, young and fresh take on this classic song without taking away from the original greatness of it. This is truly the perfect mix of old school and new school.
As for the video; it's just 9 guys sitting around, having fun singing this fantastic song. Nothing special one would think, but I love it, and you can tell by watching the video that all the boys love it. Both generations. It shows in their faces and their body languages. They are amazed by each other; Home Free probably by the honour of getting to do this at all, and ORB by the amazing talents of HF. The joy, the fun, the mutual respect. It is all showing in this great video put together by FifGen Films. Great job, as always, by them! My favourite part is when ORB is signing Austin's ORB t-shirt and Austin is looking like he just can't believe this is happening. Isn't that kind of what we are all feeling right about now? And here's more;
According to Duane Allen the ball is still rolling behind the scene's to get the 2 groups together for some TV and other fun stuff, but they are all very busy until after Christmas so we'll just have to wait and see. I have a feeling that from now on Home Free will be experiencing an avalanche of great things leading to even greater things. Mr Allen even mentioned the possibility of them all going on a WORLD TOUR - TOGETHER! Where can I get the tickets for that?
Can it get any better than this? Well, guess what, it can!!
After you watched this joyful and epic video (a hundred times or so) head over to Home Free's store and pre-order the Deluxe version of their new album Country Evolution (to be released on September 18) and you will get an autographed copy. You can also head over to iTunes to put the pre-order in for the digital Deluxe album which will allow you to download 3 tracks immediately, including Elvira. How amazing is that!! Third option is to pre-order it from Amazon, just click the link on the top right of this page, this will give the "original" version of the album with 11 songs, the Deluxe version has 14 (the additional 3 tracks are not the same 3 you get when you buy the digital version on iTunes). This album is going to be epic. This album is going to change the way the world looks at a cappella and country music. But that deserves a separate post.
And do me and the guys a favour will ya'; share this post, share every article you see, share the video; on Facebook and on Twitter, on whatever social media you are on; with people you know and people you don't know. And if you share it on Twitter please use #HFORB and #ELVIRA as we want to get it trending. If you want to share it on Facebook, please use the Facebook video found on Home Free's page. It's all for viral reasons. Let's get Elvira
The other day I promised you an update on what's going on the Home Free world, so here it is.
First of all they have finished recording their upcoming album, which we still don't know the name for. They've said it will be released sometime in the fall, maybe September, maybe October. Around half of the songs on the album will be new, original songs and half will be covers. Among the originals we know there will be at least 2 Tim Foust originals and the first Austin Brown original. I CAN NOT WAIT!! They've also said we will see kind of a different side of them. I am very eager to find out all about it!
They also recorded the classic song Elvira together with the famous Oak Ridge Boys, which ORB say is amazing. The video is already shot. We don't know if this song will be on the album or if it's one of their videos outside of the albums. Either way, I am sure it will be absolutely epic! How can it not be?!
Speaking of epic, Home Free is currently filming a video for a Christmas song collaboration. And let me tell you, not just any collaboration. This song is part of no other than the legendary Kenny Rogers' upcoming Christmas Album, and of course I am sure it will be out of this world. I mean; it's Kenny Rogers, and Home Free, and a Christmas song. Can it get more epic than that? For real, doe!
Well, maybe it can; on the 17th of July Home Free had what was, according to Austin, a top 3 moment in their musical career. They had their debut at the Grand Ole Opry. And it was totally epic! From the moment they walked out on stage with the audience cheering wildly, to the low notes, the high notes, the beatboxing, and the sweet, sweet harmonies, Home Free rocked the socks off of everybody at the Opry. They got standing O's and I am sure they lifted the roof off the building! They were immediately invited back, on their debut night, which from what I understand is not all that common. It is said that the Opry tour guide was way in the back of the building and he was wondering what the Heck happened when he felt Tim's low notes. How cool is that!! Epic as can be for sure! I was listening to it live, of course, even though it was 3,30 am here. Fries all over the world, no matter what time it was, were listening with huge smiles on their faces and tears of pride and joy. I am extremely happy I got to be a small part of this moment that for sure is already historic in the history of the Grand Ole Opry. Epic history!
So, what else is going on? Oh, the Guys have joined Periscope (a live streaming app) and every once in a while they will appear live on there, sharing their daily lives with us Fries. Yesterday we got to hang with them twice, first before their rehearsal for the new tour, and then in the evening when they were sitting around a ring of fire (yes, literally) at their music retreat location. It is really cool to see the more relaxed sides of them, hear them joke and goof around and get a glimpse of their more personal sides.
I mentioned the new tour already, I believe it will kick off in September sometime. In the States of course. We still don't know anything about their European visit that is said to be worked on for next year. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will all fall into place for them, and us European Fries!
The Guys are also busy filming more videos, most of them (maybe all of them) with the music video making geniuses that is FifGen Films, and attending fairs and doing other shows up until the time of the new tour starting. I am excited to see what they will come up with this time around. I am proud to be a Patron to help pay for the videos that is spreading the word about them around the world.
Wow, I get tired just writing about all they have been doing in just the last two months. They sure keep busy, and we as fans absolutely love it.
Ok, I think that is it, except for their latest video. This video is epic too. It's a medley/mash-up of 16 (although they have named only 15 there is actually 16 songs) of the past few years most popular pop songs. The arrangement is made by Austin and he has been working on for a couple of years, putting together a list of around 100 songs before he narrowed it down and put it all together. And let me tell you; it is sweet! And the video, it is hilarious! There are no words to properly describe it, but one of my favourite things about it is that it shows off the Guys different personalities.
If you are interested in listening to/watching the original songs in this mash-up you can head over to my friend Rachel Cheng's Buzzfeed Blog where she has them all listed.
But first, have a listen and a look at Home Free's video. And let me know if you can find the Stealth Chicken (I will tell you the history of it in an upcoming post).
Here's COUNTRY FRIED POP MEDLEY! (Don't forget to listen with headphones with a good bass, it will make all the difference in the world when listening to Home Free).
I was going to wait a few days with this post, but I am just so excited about this new video and cover mash up that I had to write it now. And when I have written something, I need to share. Why wait?
I first got access to this awesomeness on Friday when it was released to us Patrons, and I fell. Hard. To me, this is perfection! I have not stopped listening to it and watching it except for sleep and work. I have been waiting for days now for it to get released to the public, and finally; here it is!!
I absolutely love this! I just.... love it!! Love, love, love it! Did you get that I love it?
So, what exactly is it that I love about this mash up? Except that it is Home Free.
I broke it down in parts to help you see better;
1. The main song used is one of my favourites at the moment, the sweet, loving tune by Ed Sheeran; "Thinking Out Loud" (I shared another mash up where that song is used in this post here), and Marvin Gaye's sexier and rawer "Let's Get It On". I shouldn't have to say more than that to make you want to hear it. For real!
2. This song is just under 5 minutes long and the video is shot in one take. I think it's very cleverly done with a good mix of letting us see the Guys of Home Free as well as a story of a couple's first date. It's cool!
3. Bass singer Tim Foust is known for his crazy 5 octave range, and he uses it all in this song. Seriously, you need to have good bass in your speakers or headphones to get how low he can go. In this song he will impress not only with his low notes, but also with his high notes. Unreal!!
4. Austin Brown, the lead high tenor, is killing this. It's amazing, it's soul full, it's soft. It feels real. And he's wearing a jacket that only he can pull off, because that's who he is. Unique!
5. The couple in the video is adorable. They are played by husband and wife, Reilly and McKenzie Zamber of The Hound + The Fox that I shared in my latest Music Sunday post. Check them out! It's cuteness overload!
6. FifGen Films, is the production company that pulled off doing this one take video. Reilly and McKenzie are not only acting in this video, and have their own musical career, they are also a part of this team that has shot most of Home Free's videos since last summer. This video is one of the eight Home Free videos they shot in eight days in February. Crazy!
7. The Guys. Well, there's not really much else to say than HOT! I'm sure every girl can find a favourite among the 5 of them. Take your pick!
8. The musical arrangement. It is brilliant. It is sweet. It is hot. It is amazing. It is by Tim Foust. Foustastic!
There you have it! I'm sure I will find more things to say about it as time goes by. But this will do for now. What do you think? Are you ready to watch it yet?
