Someone Who Inspires Me

The other day I was looking around my FaceBook profile and noticed I had not mentioned anyone who inspired me.  It made me stop and think about that question.

Who really inspires me in my life?

I can think of several people right off the bat, but today I would like to take a moment and talk about just one of those amazing people.

This man is an incredible musician and has been nominated for 6 Grammys and 1 Golden Globe and has even won 5 BMI pop awards and 1 BMI country award.  On top of all that, he has had "at least one album in the Billboard 200 for the last 8 consecutive years, and has written on albums that have sold over 50 million copies worldwide." [Source]

Yes, this is the amazing and talented David Hodges.

Not to be confused with the OTHER David Hodges...

David started his musical journey with two friends in a town known as Little Rock, Arkansas.  They were three teens who enjoyed music and magically clicked when they were together.  The three of them wrote songs and later were signed on for a record deal.  That record sold over 16+ million copies worldwide and the band went on to become one of the biggest alternative rock albums.  The band was known as Evanescence.  David, Ben, and Amy formed the band in 1997 and then David left in December 2002, shortly after the release of Fallen.  He decided to leave the band because the direction Ben and Amy wanted to go with the music was a direction David did not want to take.  Their views were different.  So he left.

In this video, David talks a little about why Evanescence had so much success:

In his personal blog, he stated that within a month of being home (after leaving Evanescence), he started working on some new songs.  One of those songs was entitled "Shattered" which really reflects the struggle and pain he must have experienced at leaving a band right before the height of its sucess.  However, it finishes on a crescendo of hope.

Shortly thereafter, he formed the band called Trading Yesterday with some buddies of his (Mark Colbert & Steven McMorran).  David had this to say about the name of the band:

"The name of the band came from the idea that I would not rest of the achievements of [Evanescence] or be paralyzed by the scars of the past; that I may be fully alive, fully present to what this moment has for me. Especially in light of seeing a piece of art that I made become so successful but also to not fully share in the praise & accolades that naturally came to my old bandmates from it, this new language was a constant reminder to not become lazy or jealous as I began to chase this new muse." [Source]

How incredible is that?  I can't imagine what I would have felt if I had been in his shoes; watching an album and band you helped create take off and suddenly become a musical sensation, leaving you behind in the dust.  But his perspective of "trading yesterday" is incredibly inspiring to me.  He was looking for something more...

His journey with Trading Yesterday was quite a ride.  They had a signed record deal for their album "The Beauty and the Tragedy" but it fell through in 2005.  Trading Yesterday disbanded shortly thereafter.  However, David continued to fight to make the album a reality.  After 6 years of struggle, the album was finally produced.  That album was entitled "More Than This" and it is simply incredible.  It is one of the most cherished CDs in my entire collection.

Since TY broke-up in 2007, David started writing new songs.  Will "Science" Hunt and Josh Dunahoo joined David and Steven, while Mark left.  They decided to name this new band The Age of Information.  However, they have only released a handful of songs (one album entitled "Everything Is Broken") and I haven't heard if they plan to release any more under AoI's name.

Over the years since, David has been in many different projects and created music under different band names.  One of those include AVOX (movie soundtrack-like in sound, created with John Campbell).  The album "The Fragile World" is a beautiful masterpiece full of instrumental tracks that paint imaginary pictures in the listener's head.  I can easily find myself lost in another world when I hear the beautiful music.

David has also created an amazing album with Steve Miller.  "Kings & Thieves" was released under the band name Arrows to Athens.  This album shows more of David's "rock" side and has a nice sound to it.  Again, taking David's amazing talent with melody and song-writing to a whole new level.  This is another album that is top of the list for me.

Of course, bands aren't the only thing David has done with his career...

David is an AMAZING songwriter with other artists.  He has written songs for the following:

[Please visit David's Official Website for a full list of artists and individual songs]

• Train
• Jason Mraz
• Elliot Yamin
• Christina Perri
• Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
• David Cook
• Carrie Underwood
• Big Time Rush (Nickelodeon)
• David Archuleta
• Westlife
• Mayday Parade
• Jessie James
• Daughtry
• Celine Dion
• Backstreet Boys
• Kelly Clarkson

Speaking of Kelly Clarkson... Did you know that David actually dated her for a while?

I love how David is all like "YEAH!!" and Kelly is "AAHHHH!!!!"

They later broke-up and David went on to marry the love of his life, Kate.  It is rumored that David cheated on Kelly (with Kate) and that is the reason for the break-up.  It is also rumored that her song "Never Again" was aimed at David (ironically enough, the song fits perfectly and in the music video, the guy does look a lot like David...).  Lines like "I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green" (David marrying Kate) and because David is rather religious, the verse "You wrote me in a letter / You couldn't say it right to my face / Give me that Sunday school answer / Repent yourself away" fits perfectly as well.  Hmmm... a coincidence?  They were dating while writing Kelly's "Breakaway" album and "Never Again" premiered on her next album entitled "My December."

It's also been rumored that David's song "Just A Little Girl" has been his retort in response to "Never Again," with the same amount of pent-up anger.  Lines like "'Cause all of this is all that I can take / And you could never understand the demons that I faced / So go ahead and bat your eyes and lie right to the world / For what everything you are / You're just a little girl" and "The Decembers were never meant to be our graves" (Kelly's album being entitled "My December")

This was in Entertainment Weekly shortly after "My December" was released.  Check out the snippet on the right lower-side of the page which talks about David.

However, despite whether the rumors are true or not, I feel David's song "Tell Her Something" is more accurate.  Listen to what David says about the song in his own words on The December Sessions, Vol. 1 album art: "Tell Her Something was written years ago as a band was falling apart & a relationship was unresolved..."  (The "band falling apart" was most likely Trading Yesterday and the "relationship was unresolved" is most likely referring to Kelly.)  "Tell Her Something" is beautifully written, and a perfect "break-up" song... with no anger.  Lines like "Please tell her not to cry / I never meant for love to leave her cold tonight / Please tell her that I tried / To spare her all my lies / Tell her something" and "Tell her love is such a mystery / Tell her tunnels end in light / Tell her love will come around someday"

"Tell her she is all that's beautiful
Tell her everything's my fault"

So after all this background, why does David Hodges inspire me so much?

When I first heard "Shattered" on the More Than This album, I fell in love.  Not with David (he's married with kids, after all) but with the style of music and the beautiful messages he shares.  David's music is truly uplifting and I think a part of his own inspiration has to do with the fact that he's Christian and rather religious at that, which of course weaves itself into his music.

My CD order that arrived on June 8th, 2012

David's music changed the way I view music as a whole.  His songs always feel fresh, always feel new to me.  I have yet to get weary of hearing his songs over and over again.  I don't know how many times I have listened to his songs/albums, but I absolutely love them.  The way in which he weaves the melody with perfectly timed lyrics makes me feel refreshed.  The songs motivate me to become someone better, do something more:

"I'm not going to turn, run away / 'Cause I did that yesterday / 'Cause today could change my life / Maybe right now could be the time / I'm reaching out to grab the stars and make them mine / Today could be the first day of my life"

[The Beauty and the Tragedy - "First Day of My Life"]

Being inspired, I created a new motto some time ago based on what David said regarding the title of Trading Yesterday:

Trading Yesterday for a Better Tomorrow

Sometimes we must sacrifice yesterday's memories and pains for a better tomorrow and a brighter future.

Through his music, David has helped me see the world a different way.  He has helped me realize there is a bigger, brighter world out there.  So many of his lyrics speak of hope and in a world full of darkness, sadness, and war, the light of hope shines ever bright.  I have latched on to David's music because of that hope he provides me; the hope that something better is just around the corner, so just hold on.  Keep holding on through the storm, for a rainbow is just in sight.

I hope to meet this man someday.  If not in this life, definitely the next.  He has helped change my life in so many ways that I don't have words to describe it.  I truly am grateful to him for sharing his gift of music with me.  I will be forever grateful.

In the words of David himself...

"I was made for more than this."

You can purchase all available music by David Hodges on his official website.  You can either get physical CDs of some albums, or you can purchase all albums via iTunes (links included).  I recommend going through this site for those links, as opposed to simply searching for "David Hodges" in iTunes (you will also see results from the other David Hodges listed under one artist, despite being two completely different individuals).  I have definitely received my money's worth out of these amazing albums and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for some great music!  Enjoy!