JD Eicher
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JD Eicher (born July 27, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and novelist from the
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
area. Both billed as JD Eicher & the Goodnights and independently as JD Eicher, Eicher has released nine albums—one of which also featured a Deluxe Edition—as well as a live EP and vinyl collection of his most popular songs. Eicher also created an EP of his music to accompany the release of
Nicholas Sparks Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all ''New York Times'' bestsellers, and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold ...
' 20th novel called ''Two by Two''. The musician and the author toured the country to promote this project. Touring mostly in the United States, Eicher has a strong following in many regions of the nation. Eicher also occasionally tours in Europe and has fans in many cities abroad. Additionally, a number of Eicher's songs receive radio airplay and have been used in businesses, television ad campaigns, and television shows.


Early life

Eicher has always been interested in music and began playing guitar at age 12. Eicher experimented with different guitar and vocal accompaniment styles, and eventually wrote and debuted his first song while attending Canfield High School. After graduating from Canfield High School, he majored in music and business, earning a Bachelor of Science degree at
Westminster College (Pennsylvania) Westminster College is a Private school, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The student p ...
in
New Wilmington, Pennsylvania New Wilmington is a borough in northern Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, first platted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1863. The population was 2,097 at the 2020 census. It is home to Westminster College and serves ...
. Eicher cites as influences bands known for their lyrics ranging from
Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
and
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
to
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...
.


Career

While at Westminster College, Eicher formed JD Eicher & the Goodnights, and the band underwent several line-up changes over the next few years. Since 2013, Eicher has maintained a consistent rhythm section of Jim Merhaut on bass and Dylan Kollat on drums/percussion. At college and after, the group performed at venues and festivals across the United States. Eicher, along with his group, recorded and released a trilogy of albums: ''The Shape of Things'' (2009), ''Shifting'' (2011), and ''Into Place'' (2013). The titles when combined read "The Shape of Things Shifting Into Place," and the themes tie into each other. Explains Eicher: "Each installment has its own theme that ties into an overarching concept. ''The'' ''Shape of Things theme was life’s cyclicality; ''Shifting'' was a tumultuous, introspective journey through change, represented by the album’s shifting genres, musical motifs, and lyrical themes; and ''Into Place''’s poise represents a coming of age, comfort in who you are." JD Eicher & the Goodnights were selected as one of the top 10 unsigned bands of 2011 by ''Alternative Addiction'' magazine. The following year, Eicher signed to
Rock Ridge Music Rock Ridge Music is an independent record label and artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, it has signed, managed, and/or promoted artists including Reel Big Fish, Sister Hazel, Rachel Platten, Matthew Perryma ...
, home to
Steve Forbert Samuel Stephen Forbert (born December 13, 1954) is an American pop/folk singer-songwriter. His 1979 song "Romeo's Tune" reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary (chart ...
,
Sister Hazel Sister Hazel is an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida, whose style blends elements of jangle pop, folk rock, classic rock, and Southern rock. They are best known for their 1997 single " All for You." History Sister Hazel formed in G ...
,
Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...
, among others, for a record and management deal. For his 2016 album release, ''The Middle Distance'', Eicher maintained the same musical personnel, however he dropped "the Goodnights" from the name of the band. Although ''Shifting'' was recorded in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...
, and ''Into Place'' was recorded in
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, he opted to record ''The Middle Distance'' in the basement of his home in Ohio. "...pretty and poppy and flowing, the songs are best enjoyed by people who like carefully drawn lyrics," said the ''
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.'' In 2016, Eicher provided an EP soundtrack to Nicholas Sparks' 20th novel called ''Two by Two.'' The EP features the original song, "Two by Two," as well as "Not Afraid" (alternate version, original from ''The Middle Distance''), "Love Is Gonna Find You" (remastered from ''Shifting''), and "The Last Love Song" (remastered from ''Into Place''). The "Two by Two" song was featured on news shows such as
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as well as in national ad campaign in support of the novel's release. Sparks and Eicher completed a series of United States bookstore appearances, the former signing the ''Two By Two'' book, the latter performing songs from the EP. In 2019, Eicher released his second album under the “JD Eicher” branding, ''The Compass EP''. “JD’s lyrics, vocals, and perfectly matched instrumentals beautifully execute the delivery of his message to his following. JD’s songs are deep, powerful, and resonate,” said ''F28 Music Media Live''. Eicher's 2020 album, ''Court Street'', was released during quarantine due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. States Eicher, “This project is a lot of things, but for me it’ll go down in the books as a celebration of friendship and collaboration.” During this same time period, Eicher started a
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campaign and in late 2021 released an album called ''The Patreon Tapes''. While the full album is only available to patrons, various songs from this album are available on streaming platforms and for purchase on various websites. Also in 2021, Eicher signed a new recording deal with
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
-based AntiFragile Music and in early 2022 released his first album under this record label, ''Majesto Sessions''. This album was released in accompaniment to Eicher's first novel, titled ''The Lights Along Majesto'', which was inspired by touring with Nicholas Sparks six years prior. In addition to his albums, Eicher is a regular performer at a number of events, and has created his own annual event called ''JD's Summer Songfest''. This event, which was created in 2015 and has been held in Eicher's hometown area of Youngstown, Ohio since 2017, features regional and national performers and benefits local charities. Eicher is also a regular performer on a music cruise on the Norwegian Pearl ship called ''The'' '' Rock Boat''. In addition, Eicher is a long-time supporter of ''Rock by the Sea'' and its charities. Many of Eicher's songs have been used for various purposes. In addition to the aforementioned Sparks partnership, Eicher's song "Level Out" was used as promotion for
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Airlines.
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used his song "Aaron" for a national ad campaign, and
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
aired the song "This is My World" featuring Eicher during their "Are You the One?" TV series. Also, a variety of alternative radio stations in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and beyond have regularly aired a variety of Eicher's songs, hosted numerous interviews, and assisted in promoting various events. As a solo artist and with the Goodnights, Eicher has opened for or shared billing with
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,
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,
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, and Matt White, and others.


Discography

* 2009 ''The Shape of Things'' * 2011 ''Shifting'' * 2012 ''Shifting-Deluxe Edition'' * 2013 ''Into Place'' * 2015 ''Live EP'' * 2016 ''The Middle Distance'' *2017 ''The Two by Two Collection'' *2018 ''A Collection'' (vinyl) * 2019 ''The Compass EP'' *2020 ''Court Street'' *2021 ''The Patreon Tapes'' *2022 ''Majesto Sessions''


References


External links


Official Website

Spotify

Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eicher, JD 1986 births Living people Musicians from Youngstown, Ohio Singer-songwriters from Ohio American male singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers