Derek Walsh Webb (born May 27, 1974 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American singer-songwriter who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of the Houston, Texas-based Caedmon’s Call, Webb has seen career sales approaching 1 million records, along with 10 GMA Dove Award nominations and three Dove Award wins and six #1 Christian radio hits.
In 2003, Webb left Caedmon's Call to pursue a solo career. Since his departure, he has released seven studio albums (including one instrumental), a live album, two compilation albums, two covers projects, two DVDs, and two EPs (with his wife, Sandra McCracken). While these have been less commercially successful than his work with Caedmon's Call, Webb has had more of a free hand to shape his work to his vision.
Webb lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, fellow singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken.
His latest album, I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry & I Love You, was released on September 3, 2013.
Webb's mother, a gifted classically-trained pianist, encouraged his musical interests at a very young age. Music came naturally to him, and he began to play the guitar at six years old. Concerning his musical training, Webb explains that he got his ear for music from his mother, but not the ability to read music, and that he "took one [guitar] lesson and then just taught myself out of the book." While in high school, he became known for his skill on the guitar. He toured with a band, though it broke up in his junior year following a serious car accident returning from playing a show at Baylor University. Webb graduated from Klein High School in Klein, Texas in 1992. Before joining Caedmon's Call, he went to community college in Houston for half a semester, and shared an apartment with his older brother who was attending medical school.
His first solo album, She Must and Shall Go Free (2003) is notable for causing controversy in Contemporary Christian Music circles; some Christian retailers refused to stock the album for its use of "strong" language.
One of the songs that was the basis for controversy was Wedding Dress where Webb compares Christians who seek fulfillment in things outside of Christ to a person committing adultery.An introspective tune, Webb writes that "I am a whore I do confess / I put you on just like a wedding dress".
Another song that generated controversy was Saint and Sinner where Webb wrote "I used to be a damned mess but now I look just fine, 'Cause you dressed me up and we drank the finest wine". The word 'damned' was removed from the final version of the album, at the request of two major Christian retailers.
Following the release of She Must and Shall Go Free, Webb embarked on a national tour in which he played his concerts in the living rooms of fans. This provided the opportunity to have greater interaction with his listeners. He went on to release a live album from his "House Tour", entitled The House Show (2004).
His second solo studio record, I See Things Upside Down (2004), generated mixed reviews. All marketing to the typical Christian music stations used by his first solo album and his albums with Caedmon's Call was stopped, though the album still has explicitly Christian lyrics. In comparison to Webb's previous work, this album has what's been referred to as an "experimental" style to it, and has been compared to the music of Wilco in that respect. Webb has stated that the album "was doing away with people's expectations in order to free me up to do what I wanted." Following the release of I See Things Upside Down, Webb released a live concert DVD, How to Kill and Be Killed (2005).
While on tour supporting Mockingbird, Webb noticed that attendance at his shows had increased dramatically after he had made Mockingbird available for free online. He explains that for a niche artist, the value of word-of-mouth recommendations greatly exceeds that of the money earned from online music sales, even noting that he sold more albums after it had been made available for free. Therefore, in May 2007, in response to the success of the free distribution of Mockingbird, Webb teamed up with music industry veterans Mark Nicholas, David McCollum, and Brannon McAllister to form NoiseTrade. The site allows users to download music for free from independent artists who use the service.
The site provides a market for an ostensibly mutually agreeable "trade": the consumer will get music for free, in exchange for making "noise" about the artist by sending emails to friends to let them know about the music. (Alternatively, the consumer may pay the price s/he deems fair.) The consumers may also use the site to find new and different kinds of music at no cost, utilizing user recommendations and forums to learn of new artists. The artists are also able to use the ZIP code information collected to help book shows in areas with larger numbers of fans and potential fans.
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