#30BandsIn30Days One Republic

Quick Facts:  Formed in 2002, the band originally came onto the scene when they garnered a huge following on Myspace.

Hometown:  Colorado Springs, Colorado

Members and Instruments: Present members include co-founders Ryan Tedder  (vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, percussion, clarinet, tambourine,synthesizer, piano, cello, trumpet) and Zach Filkins (guitar, viola, glockenspiel, vocals, bass, synthesizer, drums), Drew Brown (guitar), Eddie Fisher (drums, percussion, guitar), and Brent Kutzle (bass guitar, cello, acoustic guitar, keyboard, piano, tambourine, and backing vocals).  Past members are Jerrod Bettis and Tim Myers.

Best Song In Our Opinion:  Something I Need

Connection to The Script:  The Script co-headlined One Republic’s US Native Tour in the summer of 2014.  In addition, Ryan Tedder also worked on the song, Flares, from The Script album, No Sound Without Silence.

Gig Review

Music is a powerful force.  It provides comfort when we are sad,  commemorates joyous occasions from our lives, and inspires us to accomplish the unimaginable.  The most gifted of musicians are able to take a very personal experience from their lives, tell a profoundly personal story set to music, and transform that personal experience into universal understanding that touches the souls of millions.  For me, no one band accomplishes this feat quite as well as One Republic.

Check upcoming tours. Buy tickets.  Book hotels. Schedule flights. Pack bags.

That has been my set routine for the months leading up to summer for more years than I can remember or care to admit to.  For me, there is something so profound about hearing a song that has some special meaning to me, performed live by the artist who created it, while being surrounded by thousands of fans who feel the same.

As the opening strains of the song begin to play, I am instantly transported to a moment in time…a special memory…a flood of emotion…so real and vivid that all of those singular seconds, ephemeral and once forgotten, coalesce and I am solidly THERE living them, again.

The Summer of 2014 was the summer dedicated to the Native Tour.  Charlotte, Tampa, Orlando, Virginia Beach, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Phoenix.  Each city, each set list, made me realize the degree to which music really is the soundtrack to our lives.  How a song shared, among friends or among strangers, can evoke similar stories that strike a common chord and form a cohesive bond.

This isn’t your typical gig review.  For, these are their songs, but these are my stories.

Good Life

Someone once told me that the friendships you form in college will be the friendships that you carry with you for the rest of your life.  I’m so glad this turned out to be true.

For me, there were five of us who met as girls and parted as women, who made vows to always keep in touch no matter the time or distance that keeps us apart. And, it is a promise we have kept.  Each year we gather together and this song is the soundtrack for those soirees.

Giggles, tears, heartbreak, laughter, hangovers, hugs.  Worries shared, secrets told, burdens lifted.

Each time I hear this song I feel the four of them with me, beside me, sustaining me; for the friendships among women are so very important.

Feel Again

I once loved a boy without reason and beyond question.  The kind of crazy dizzy love that makes you spin in circles and fills you with sheer delight.

And then, suddenly, he was gone.

97 days from his diagnosis until his death.  2, 328 hours. Hours spent hoping.  Hours spent praying.  Hours spent railing at the unfairness of it all. Sometimes I think there is nothing quite so painful to the soul … or brutal to the heart… as watching someone you love die.

I never thought I could ever be whole again.  But the heart is stronger than we know and has a mind of it’s own.

This song reconnects me with that journey from desolation to reconstruction.  It reminds me that in our darkest moments, there is hope.  And, after hope, there can be joy.

I Lived

If I were a train, I think I would be perpetually parked in Procrastination Station.  I never accomplish something in this moment that can be put off to the next.

That all changed suddenly in the Spring of 2015 when an adverse medical diagnosis made me realize, “Wow, I really might NOT live forever.”

Grand Adventures were planned.  Bucket lists were made.  Friends were reconnected with.

Each time I hear this song the memories that have been made since that spring scroll through my head like my own real-life-hey-it’s-me-who-did-this music video.  (Bloopers and outtakes are included).

The Universe.  It may not always give you what you want, but it will always give you what you need, exactly when you need it.

Counting Stars

If ever there is a BIG decision to be made, I’ll make the wrong one.  Always.  100 %.

I always go right when I should turn left.  If everyone is headed down, I’m going up.  It’s always a “no” when I should have said, “yes.” Or vice versa. Or none of the above.  Or all of the above.

So, it’s no wonder that, given my consistent but less than stellar track record, whenever I am at life’s crossroads, I am… invariably… paralyzed with indecision.

I look at a problem forwards. Then backwards. I look at it upside down and then right-side up. I take it apart, put it back together gain, and then reconfigure and reconstruct it repetitively to the point of exhaustion.

During one of these episodes, while driving with my best friend, Counting Stars came on the radio. She turned to me and uttered the wisest words she has ever spoken  (at least after, “Call 911. Your house is on fire.”):

Stop trying to figure it all out, and do what makes you happy.

Such a simple solution to all of life’s conundrums.  And such a beautiful song to epitomize it.

These are my stories.  As I stood in those venues, packed with thousands of strangers, I stared at their faces and wondered what they were thinking.  Which great joys or hidden sorrows were they reliving? Which moments were so precious that they were forever captured and tied to a song? Were they very alike or very different from my own?  I felt a profound connection with them…these strangers…and a sense of gratitude for the artists who make moments like this possible.

Music.  It unites.

Here is the full set list.  If there is a song that touched your life, or holds special meaning to you, I’d love to hear about it.

1. “Don’t Look Down”
2. “Light It Up”
3. “Secrets”
4. “All the Right Moves”
5. “What You Wanted”
6. “Stop and Stare”
7. “Something I Need”
8. “Apologize”
9. “Preacher”
10. “Come Home”
11. “Counting Stars”
12. “Can’t Stop”
13. “Au Revoir”
14. “Feel Again”
15. “Good Life”
16. “I Lived”

What’s Coming Next:  

One Republic is currently in the studio working on their fourth album.

Find More of One Republic’s Music:

Website  Instagram  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  iTunes  Spotify  Pandora

Special Note: There is no official video for The Script, Flares.  The video included was produced by Hanna Devonne, twitter @ImWithThe Script.

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In April we’re featuring 30 bands in 30 days as part of the A to Z blogging challenge. We’ve selected the bands from the artists that worked or toured with The Script before – simply because they have good taste in choosing bands to work with! The posts are written by regular contributors, some special friends as guest bloggers and Andrea. Sign up if you’d like to keep in touch via email.

Today’s post was written by our own, Heather.  You can follow her here:

Twitter:  @heather_paige    Instagram: heather_paige_86

And make sure to follow us on twitter @MusicWordsBlog for Heather’s #HumpdayHappyHour on Wednesday where we share our Top 10 favorite YouTube video’s of the week from some of our favorite bands.

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As always, if you enjoyed the post, have a similar experience, or want to share some tunes with us, we’d love to hear from you.  Just comment below.