Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Hi friends,
So first of all, big news…my EP is available TODAY on Itunes!!! And it’s only 5 bucks! It’s got 2 new songs – a remix by Dresden and Johnston and a remix by Bama Boyz. Plus an acoustic version of Big For Me! Be sure to pick it up, rate it and comment on Itunes. Just CLICK THIS LINK.
There are lots of great things coming up, the release of my full length CD “The Introduction” is a little more than a month away! We’re gearing up for the CD release party and I’m so glad to say that I have some details for you! The release party will be at The Oviatt in Downtown Los Angeles August 26th. I’ll being playing that night and we have a few very special guests. If you’re in LA or can get to LA, don’t miss it! My team has put in a lot of hard work to make it an extra special night!
The Christmas CD is coming along well and I’m feeling festive even in this ninety-degree weather. Growing up in Hawaii and spending Christmas on the beach has its advantages. In this case it makes it much easier to get in to the holiday spirit. A warm sunny day? Christmas songs? Perfect.
If you’re around LA, you can check out a preview of the CD Release this Saturday, July 25th. I’ll be at The Oviatt. It’s a cool vibe and the crowd will be dressed up in a 1920’s feel. I’ll be at Harvelles August 6th and then the big night August 26th!! Three shows in LA coming up around the corner!
I can’t end my weekly blog without saying how awesome you all are! You leave me the best messages and comments. I appreciate the love more than you know. You are the best. Be sure to let me know what you think of my new EP! OK, until next week’s friends, have a great one!
Jd
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Hi friends,
The countdown to the CD release is getting closer and I’m so excited for you guys to hear it! There’s also a 5 song EP that will be available very soon with the killer remixes that I’ve been telling you about. As soon as I know when it’s available, you’ll be the first to know.
The last couple of weeks I’ve been working on the Christmas CD! Since my schedule has been so full, we’ve brought on some incredible Producers to help me out! Eric J and Bobby Ozuna have worked with some top names in music. Needless to say, I’m excited to have them working on this project. The Christmas CD will have something for everyone. I have some originals, some classics and some Christmas favorites.
OK, very exciting news, I saw the Big For Me video yesterday! Bambo did an amazing job!! We have just a few edits, so it won’t be long until the video release!
Many of you have asked about my Grandfather. Again, thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. He’s doing much better. He’s been getting out more and seems to be getting stronger everyday!
Keep an eye out in the next few weeks to hear new music and the Big For Me video! Thanks again for all of the love. You make my life richer and I couldn’t do this without you. More next week!
Jd
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
This week’s blog is somewhat different than what those of you who read my blogs regularly are accustomed to. Usually I talk about all the cool things that have been going on musically, the studio, the tour, and video/photo shoots etc. But not so much this week. What some of you may know from my updates, I’ve been in Texas this week at the hospital with my Grandfather.
My mom got a call from her brother at 4 am Hawaii Time saying we needed to get there right away. He said my Grandfather might not make it through the night. So my mom and my sister flew from Hawaii, met me in LA and we flew to Texas. (My dad is in meetings in South Korea and couldn’t get back.)
My week had been all planned out in the studio, but when a call like that comes in, everything changes.
With all of the emotions of this week, I’m feeling very sentimental. My Grandfather has played such a pivotal roll in my life. Growing up, my dad traveled a lot. Don’t get me wrong, my dad taught me many of the core values that I am so grateful for: how to be a leader, a provider, a strong work ethic, etc. But my Grandfather was the male figure who taught me how to love and how to cherish the ones I love. He taught me that there is a beauty in vulnerability. The way he loves my Grandmother is a love like few ever know. He is the epitome of a man. His four kids say he is the ultimate father.
One of my favorite memories with my Grandfather was sitting on a bench at the mall waiting on “the girls.” I asked him, “Da (that’s what I call him) do you ever get tired of waiting on Meme?” He said, “No, cause I know that any minute she’s going to come around the corner, and that’s worth the wait every time.” I could go on and on about him.
We spent the last week basically living at the hospital. My cousins, my sister and I would take turns pulling the overnight shift. No one ever complained. The nurses kept commenting on what an unusually loving family we have and what a special man he must be since no one wanted to leave his side.
Like I said earlier, the doctors didn’t give much hope. They said his heart was only operating at 15%, that his liver was failing and that his blood pressure was dangerously low. But did I mention that Da is a man of faith? Everyday he would make miraculous strides. The doctors kept saying, “We’re not sure how he’s doing this, but he’s doing it.” On Wednesday, they said if he can get his blood pressure up, he could go home on Friday. Shortly thereafter his blood pressure dropped even more and the nurses were concerned that he may have to stay. While he was asleep, my aunt whispered to him “Daddy if you want to go home, you have to get your blood pressure up.” Within seconds we watched it start to climb: 68, 69, 70 until it was up to 90 within a matter of minutes. So Friday they released him!!!
With the good report, my family packed up and headed to the studio so they could sing on my new Christmas song, “Home For The Holidays.” They blew me away! Every time I hear them sing, I’m amazed by their talent. How does everyone in my family sound like a rock star??!!! I can’t wait for you guys to hear the song. (My sister has a little solo…watch out!) It was a great day all around!
I wish I could say that Da was completely out of the woods, but I believe it’s just a matter of time. When something like this happens it truly puts things into perspective and reminds us what really matters. I appreciate all of your prayers more than you can ever know. I showed my family some of your messages and as I, they we’re humbled by your prayers and support. So with Da on the road to recovery, I’m headed back to LA to get back in to the studio. For me it really is Christmas in June!
Monday, June 8th, 2009
Ahh summer how this Hawaii boy loves you! I went to the Hollywood Farmers Market today and I have 4 words: Peaches and Heirloom Tomatoes. It’s days like this that I love LA. It was nice to be back in town this week.
I finished the Big For Me acoustic remix this week and I’m so happy with it. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. It’s on the EP available this weekend and will include the remixes I talked about last week as well as two new songs from “The Introduction”! I know some of you are past ready for your Jd Webb “The Introduction” CD so hopefully this will tide you over until August 25th.
The week has been full with recording the EP and rehearsals gearing up for my tour with Nikka Costa. The tour starts this Thursday! Here are the dates again just in case you missed them:
June 11th in San Francisco at The Independent
June 12th in LA at The Troubadour
June 13th in Hermosa Beach at Saint Rocke
June 14th in San Diego at The Belly Up Tavern
You guys can also check out my acoustic set and interview that I did for lp33.tv
Btw, if you haven’t joined the street team, we’re kicking it in to full gear! You can join by CLICKING HERE. You’ll be the first to get Jd Webb gear, exclusive downloads and the Big For Me Giveaway: A trip for 2 to LA, a VIP concert at my exclusive listening party and a tour of the Days Of Our Lives set (which includes a “Days” gift bag and a meet and greet with some of the shows cast members)! How cool is that?! Now if that doesn’t make you want to join the street team, I don’t know what will!!!
OK friends as usual, it’s way past my bedtime and if I’m going to get any sleep before sunrise, I better close now. I hope to see all my Cali friends at one of the shows this week! I’ll be hanging out after the shows to meet you!
Monday, June 8th, 2009
Hey guys!-
Hope you had a great weekend! I’m gearing up to hit the road with Nikka Costa in a few days (the tour kicks off June 11 in San Francisco!) and I wanted to reach out to you, the fans, to join the JD Webb army and get the word out in the street about me and The Introduction.
What does being the street team entail? Before the show we will provide you with stickers, buttons and other cool JD Webb stuff to pass out to old and new fans as they leave the venue. This way they not only get to go to the concert but they get some free stuff afterward!
If you are going to any of the 4 dates on the Nikka Costa tour and are interested in joining the street team please send an email to jdwebbstreetteam2009@gmail.com and we’ll get you on board! I would love to meet you all along the way and for your efforts you’ll get extra special VIP treatment including the chance to catch me at sound check and a special meet and greet before the show.
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Big For Me Remixes!
Man this week has flown by. I’ve been busy in the studio working on a couple of acoustic remixes. One for Big For Me and one for a song called Sky Is The Limit. I can’t wait for you guys to hear them. Some of you may have heard them on your favorite radio stations. (Thanks for calling and requesting them!) I’m finishing those remixes for the EP and they’ll be available on my tour with Nikka Costa. We’ll also have it available on iTunes very soon!
One of the tracks on The Introduction and also on the EP is a new song called Better Man. There will be a couple of sick remixes for that song as well. There’s the Better Man dance remix by Dresden & Johnston. Their mixes always hit the top of the dance charts. You may have heard the #1 remix that they did for Lily Allen. If you haven’t heard of Dresden & Johnston, check the out. They are ridiculous! And they killed on the Better Man remix! You can become friends with them (and hear the Better Man remix!) HERE
The Bama Boyz did the Better Man hip hop remix and its awesome as well! They’ve done a bunch of remixes for Beyonce and well, Google them, they’re everywhere!
So this week has been studio, studio and more studio. Which I love! Trust me today I thought I was ready for a little break. This afternoon my Dad called, his flight got rerouted to LA so I got to spend the afternoon with him. Always cool to see my Pops!
Btw, if you guys are haven’t joined the street team, which you can click HERE to become a member. There you can be one of the first to pick up my latest merch and there’s a bunch of free stuff for you there too!
A bunch of you have been asking about the Big For Me video. I’ll have my latest video blog up soon with some behind the scenes footage! For those of you who sent messages saying you can’t wait to see it, me too!!
Ok friends, it’s now after 2:30 AM and way time for this insomniac to try and get some sleep. I hoping for 5 hours, but whatever. I’ll sleep when I’m dead!
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Hi friends,
I feel like I start out every blog with “this has been an amazing week”, but this week has been exceptional. I’m on a plane leaving Mexico City headed back to LA. This week in Mexico City has been a time I will never forget. We shot the video for my single “Big For Me” and I am so excited about it. The director Bambo Velasco is so creative and artistic. He thinks outside the box and is all about pushing the envelope. We both wanted to do things that no one has done before. From what we shot I feel like we achieved that goal.
The video should be finished in a couple of weeks and we got some great behind the scenes footage. So those of you that aren’t so patient (like me) can get a little sample.
Day 1:
From the start the video team made me feel so comfortable. Even though some of them spoke little English (and my Spanish is slim at best), they instantly made me feel like family. We shot so many different scenes. Way too many to even explain. You’ll get some of the scoop from the behind the scenes footage in my video blog. I’ll try to have that up in a few days. We shot from morning till night and I thought I would be tired, but I was like “adrenaline Jd”. I was totally wired after the shoot, so we went to a club that had a great live band. They asked me to sit in. I sang Superstition and I Wish. It was so much fun and the locals know how to have a great time! As much as I wanted to hang out all night, I knew that I had an early call time and I wasn’t trying to look like “raccoon Jd”. 
So we headed back to the hotel (which was doh ope!)
Day 2:
The director said that we got way more accomplished than he expected the day before so we may just have a half-day. Some of the scenes were challenging because the whole video was shot on green screen. It took a lot of imagination. But I’m always up for a challenge! The video team was professional, chill and hilarious. The perfect combination! We wrapped around 5:30 and I have to say I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I felt like in just a couple of days, I had made friends for life. (Very rare on a video shoot)
I went back to the hotel and took a serious power nap and then headed out for my last night in Mexico City. We headed to Centro De Coyoacan. They had these great local artist shops. I got to pick up a few cool souvenirs. Then we headed to this authentic Mexican restaurant. I was feeling like part of the culture so I asked what their specialties were. They said that they were especially known for their Ant, Larvae and Maggot dishes! Oh sweet Jesus, I’m brave, but not that kind of brave! So my adventurous self ordered a Mexican Pizza. (So much for adventure)
After dinner we took a late night tour of some of Mexico City’s landmarks. Some of the architecture was gorgeous. It was cool to see the city that late on a Sunday night. The streets were practically empty (maybe it was the swine flu scare), but it felt like we had the city all to ourselves.
The only way I can describe this trip is magical. It’s rare when everything goes so smoothly and just falls in to place. Sometimes I just have to close my eyes and say “thank you God for such indescribable blessings” I feel like I’m in a constant state of awe. The road hasn’t been easy, but the journey has been dream-like at times. This week was one of those times.
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Hi friends,
I’m leaving Chicago. Man I love that city! The architecture, the history, the food, well pretty much all of it (except for the winters). I love it! We played at WLIT and the performance area there is called the Coca Cola Lounge. It’s so Pimp! I’ll attach a pic so you can see what I mean. It was a great time and everybody at the station was awesome. Next time I play there they said they’d bring some fans in too! So all my Chi town peeps, I’ll let you know when we’re they’re again.
We were in Albuquerque the day before that. Just spelling that city is tough. The night before the show we went to an Amazing New Mexican food restaurant and chowed! Green Chilles what what! The radio show was really cool there too. Really chill and laid back which is always nice.
Now it’s back to LA for a few days to record some acoustic mixes for Big For Me and Sky Is The Limit. They’ll be on the upcoming EP available the beginning of June! If you’re coming out to the any of the shows with me and Nikka Costa, you can get the EP there as well and some sick new shirts too!
After that I’m off to Mexico City to shoot the music video for Big For Me (no Swine Flu!!!!!) So it’s another full week ahead and it don’t stop! Thanks again for all the comments on myspace and facebook. And a special thanks to everyone who picked up the Big For Me single on Itunes! Much love to you guys. More next week!
Jd
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Hey friends,
Like last week, I’m writing this blog from the air. It was so nice to be home in Hawaii for the last few days. It’s always good to be home and I totally surprised my mom for her birthday and Mother’s Day! I hope all of you had a great Mother’s Day! Now it’s time to kick back into full gear.
Tomorrow morning I head to Albuquerque, then Chicago then Dallas. A city a day! I hope all of you have been calling your local radio stations to request Big For Me. For those of you that have, thank you so much! It’s working one radio station at a time!
So last week I announced the Official release date of my CD The Introduction, August 25th! This week I have another big announcement. I’ll be heading out on tour with an amazing artist, Nikka Costa! If you haven’t heard of her, you have to check her out. She’s amazing! So I have a few west coast dates for you:
June 11th in San Francisco at The Independent
June 12th in LA at The Troubadour
June 13th in Hermosa Beach at Saint Rocke
June 14th in San Diego at The Belly Up Tavern
A few dates for now with more to come soon! So many cool things coming up, I hope to see all of you West Coasters in June! Also, if you haven’t picked up my single Big For Me, it’s on Itunes. Be sure to leave a comment there too!
More news next week!
Jd
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Hey friends,
Well it’s been another awesome week in the Jd Webb camp! Before it gets too crazy I’m going to get some much needed R&R, so I’m headed home to Hawaii for a few days. I’m on the plane as we speak! We’ve been going ninety to nothing so it’s gonna be great to get a little reprieve.
We finally have a release date…ready? Ok here goes…it’s August 25th! Woohoo! What a release date? Are you kidding? Nope I’m totally serious. Now I know what some of you are thinking…what happened to a summer release? Well come with me for a minute into this crazy world of music won’t you? Basically from the time that the CD is ready, the label, publicity and all the other awesome peeps need 90 days to promotion, print, radio contests and all the other stuff it takes to make it a success. So I know it’s later than expected, but I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
I’m so proud of the CD, It’s called The Introduction and it’s been such a labor of love. I can’t wait to share it with you! The good news is that even though it’s a bit later than expected, there are 17 songs on the CD (plus an extra surprise)! I know that things are hard for a lot of people and money is tight so I want you guys to really get your moneys worth and then some! Instead of giving you guys 10 or 12 tracks for I wanted to send the love back and give you almost double!
While we’re on the subject of good news, you won’t have to wait until August to get a taste of The Introduction, I’ll have an EP available next month with some sick remixes. Bama Boys (Beyonce, Destiny’s Child) and Dresden& Johnston (Lily Allen, BT) did some ridiculous remixes. I can’t wait for you to hear them.
So I’ve got a few days at home for my mom’s Bday and Mothers Day (not to mention a little surfing!) and then it’s back on the road for Radio Tour part 2! I’ll be in Dallas, Albuquerque and Chicago. Hope to see you in your city real soon!
