MP3 Common Dialogue - FOLK: Fingerstyle

Simple folk songs that speak of truth, life, and love.

6 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Fingerstyle, FOLK: Urban Folk

Details:
âWhen I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.â
(I Corinthians 13:11-13, NIV)

When the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian church in the first century, he was trying to encourage the members of the church to seek the most important experiences of life, and to mature in their faith. Although these words were written almost two thousand years ago, the sentiment they express is clearly demonstrated in the work of emerging folk artist Zachary Lucky, whose new EP âCommon Dialogueâ continues to communicate these eternal truths of faith, hope, and love to a new audience in a fresh and meaningful way.
Luckyâs songs are deeply introspective and heartfelt, and invite the listener into âconversationâ with the narrator. He is a storyteller whose primary message is of hope and life, communicating the truth that this life is not an easy road for anyone to walk, but that itâs much easier to walk it together. In his song âWaking Upâ, Lucky states that, âYou are older than you knowâ â an axiom that could just as easily be applied to him as to the intended audience of the song. The EP continually revisits themes of hope, faith, love, maturity, and the struggle to communicate these truths and live them out in a manner reminiscent of a much more seasoned songwriter.
But Lucky did not always have the musical maturity his songwriting now displays. The 19-year-old Saskatchewan-raised singer-songwriter began his musical career in earnest early in his teen years. He had limited regional success with a post-hardcore group called Autumn Tides, but really began to find his voice as a songwriter and performer with an experimental pop-rock band called Tuxedo Mask (yes, after the villain from Sailor Moon). As he progressed from style to style, he found himself increasingly able to express deeper emotions and more meaningful dialogue by stripping away all musical artifice and writing songs that directly expressed his hopes and fears without anything extraneous impeding his message. Luckyâs development into a folk artist was made complete soon after the demise of Tuxedo Mask, when Lucky self-released his first EP, Songs That Read Like A Letter, as a free download in mid-2007.
Now Lucky sings with the sensitive fragility of artists like Cat Power, Sufjan Stevens, and Denison Witmer, and the lyrical maturity he displays far outweighs his years. He cites artists such as Nick Drake, Jeff Tweedy, and Rocky Votolato as his musical inspirations, and he toured with fellow Saskatchewan pop-folk artist Andy Shauf in fall 2007. It was on that tour that he really came to realize how much he loved sharing a message of hope with people he did not know, and that he has a passion for sharing art with new people, and which helped lead him to releasing this new EP.
Lucky credits the people around him as having a profound impact on his life. âMy parents have really allowed me to become who I am supposed to be, personally, spiritually â as an individual and adult. My parents gave me the freedom to grow up and gave me the space to do that.â He also acknowledges the influence of musicians who have inspired him to combine his love for music with his heart for his fellow humans.
âI have been inspired by so many great musicians who, behind it all, are just great people. Bands like Means, mewithoutyou, and August Burns Red have music that is much different than mine, but itâs the spirit that they carry. They are just good guys who are not stuck up, who realize that itâs a blessing that God is using them to do what theyâre doing; they sort of just come down to your level and meet you where you're at.â
Though Lucky credits the people around him, he is careful to ensure that his listeners know the true source of his inspiration: his faith in Jesus Christ. This faith is present throughout his music, whether it is shown in a plea to his listeners (âPlease donât lose faithâ in âPhone Callsâ), or the direct incorporation of Holy Scripture into his work (âLean not on your own understandingâ in âWaking Upâ). Luckyâs songs demonstrate a vital and active faith that permeates everything he does â especially his art, as he explains:
âGod has given me hope for a life that is real, that is passionate, a life that is always striving and is not content with the mediocrity of being at a stand still. When it comes to speaking out, to standing up for truth â music is my voice. Many people have been given the ability to write, to speak, to preach, and even to go to other nations and impact them, but I believe God that has given me the ability to play.â
Zach Lucky is an artist who is pushing himself to discovering new depths in his character and in his musical ability, leaving the listener with an honest and open conduit into this young manâs tender heart. He is constantly growing, changing, loving, hoping, and inspiring, as his own words demonstrate:
âI am thankful that God has given me this outlet â itâs really where I feel most comfortable, and itâs truly what I feel I am supposed to be doing. I am just hoping to give some people hope. I think that God puts me in situations for a reason, and in situations to which other people can relate â reaching them where they are in their walk of life.â

Zachary Luckyâs Common Dialogue EP is available now on iTunes.

- Derek Turner (http://derekbturner.blogspot.com)

People who are interested in Nick Drake Rocky Votolato Denison Witmer should consider this download.