TSMSS - A Wonderful New Artist and A Giveaway!

UPDATE Saturday 10/27 8:30 PM WINNER

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
1
Timestamp: 2012-10-28 01:30:40 UTC
Congrats to skoots1mom! Email me your address and I'll mail the CD to you!

* * * * *I am so excited to introduce a relatively new musician to you today! If you attended any of the summer music festivals around the country, you may have seen her. Julie Elias has recently released her CD A Wild Rose.

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with Julie in July at ICRS in Orlando. Since I am not a TV watcher, I was not familiar with her from Grey's Anatomy or some of the other shows she has appeared on. But I had listened to the CD her publicist had sent and immediately knew I wanted to meet her. She is a lovely long lady with a heart to match her beautiful voice.

I loved listening to your CD! I had it on in the car and my daughter said, "She's good!" I liked all the songs, but especially loved "I'm Yours" and "Peace I Leave With You." Tell me about your CD. Is it being released everywhere? Will I hear it on K-LOVE?

Hopefully! Ideally. There's a lot that goes into it. It's not like you just mail your CD to a bunch of radio stations like I thought it was when I was a little girl. I have had some radio interviews and I've had some amazing opportunities to tour with some festivals this summer. Even though the CD wasn't done yet, I had to take [those opportunities]. But for going in raw without a lot of backing, it's been really amazing.

Do you have some individual tours too?

I'm working on that. Actually, last fall I did a worship conference and I just sang one song but I had a special that people at that conference could book me for Christmas music at their churches. I ended up getting a ten-date Christmas tour from that. It was small but it was amazing because it was my first time going out as a solo artist. I loved it.

[Note: View her current tour schedule here. She'll be in several states over the next four months!]

Where are you from? Are you in Nashville?

I'm from Tennessee but I actually live in the Dallas area.

Oh, you're a Texas girl now! Well, Austin is the Live Music Capital, so we'll have to get you down there! Tell me a little bit about your journey. Has this been something you've always wanted to do?

Actually, it's not. I've always had music in my life. I took piano lessons for about six years and I sang on the church worship team and in the little musicals and that sort of thing. But for me, it was always just fun. But I always had a lot of stuff that I liked to do and one thing didn't jump out as something I wanted to do with my whole life. But through some trial and error, and just growing up and exposing myself to different things, I found myself studying musical theater. I really loved telling stories through songs, and I found myself as an audience member being so impacted with the combination of the message and the music. I had actually decided pretty late that I would change my degree to music theater. I felt like I wanted to follow the acting route. So I moved to Hollywood and put myself in the throes of everything. I had some really great experiences. I worked as an extra on a couple of TV shows. Grey's Anatomy was one that I worked on about a year and a half. That was cool because I got my fake scrubs and I really learned a lot about a set and how many people it takes--just to do a shot of a face, there's fifty people making it happen, whether it's make-up, lighting, sound, etc. It was just so cool to see that. I felt like it was another education in a way!

But at the end of the day, I was having some fun times but I didn't really see that as being what defined me. I just felt like something was missing with what I really wanted to do with my life. I went through a time of being frustrated but just praying, "What should I do?" Right around that same time, I had a couple of opportunities to do music at a more professional level than I'd done before. Like I said, I'd always liked music and singing, but it was a hobby. When these opportunities came to take it to the next level, I realized it was something I had enjoyed my whole life and that if there was an opportunity to do it as my life--and then to do the Christian music aspect where you can really have an impact on people, share what God is doing in your life, and try to encourage them and motivate them to get through these hard times that everyone has to go through-- that would be pretty cool! I spent a couple of months praying about it and talking with some trusted family and friends, people who had known me a long time. Throughout that whole time, God just kept pushing me toward it over and over, and I decided I needed to do it.

Thank you so much, Julie! I loved meeting and chatting with you!

You can learn more about Julie Elias at her website. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.


Here is Julie singing Here I Am at Night of Joy at Walt Disney World last month.



And this is one of my favorites from her album. Such a tender reminder of God's presence and peace in the midst of sorrow!




I love this CD. It is an eclectic blend of several musical styles, with some songs having a classic rock feel and others being quieter and more reflective. As suits each song, the instrumentation ranges from guitars and drums to strings to simple piano. The result is a delight! I look forward to hearing more from Julie in the days and years to come.


GIVEAWAY!

I have an extra copy of this CD for one of you! Just leave a comment on this post by 8:00 pm CDT next Saturday, 10/27/12, and I will draw a winner. US residents only, please. You must leave an email address if you don't have a blog. Winner will have 48 hours after notification of win to claim CD by emailing me his/her address or another winner will be chosen.


Join me over at Amy's for more songs for your weekend!