Josh Queen and Dave Wright are The Jealous Kind and they're making a new EP! YAHOO!

My friends, The Jealous Kind, a band very close to my heart, are making a new EP.  And they need your help.  But first, let me give you some backstory.

Before you start reading, go right now over to NoiseTrade and pick up their debut EP for free.  Put it on your iPod while you read.  Settle into “Come Down” and “Imitation Honesty.”

A long time ago … seriously, close to 10 years ago … I went to a Carbon Leaf show here in Charlotte and this crazy-talented fiery red headed kid and his band opened the show.  I know I say I love music all the time, but I say this with all the conviction in my heart: that night, I fell deeply in love with Josh Queen’s music.  So much so that I accosted his manager and asked what I could do to help.  For the next several years, Josh Queen was the center of my musical universe, and became one of my closest friends in the process.  I would have followed – and still would! – that kid off the edges of the earth to listen to him sing. I believe in Josh, I believe in his music, and I love the kid like a brother.  He is truly one of the best “discoveries” of my life.

A couple of years ago, Josh moved to Denver.  He and his buddy, Dave Wright, who lived in Nashville, started writing songs and sharing them back and forth over the computer – a la The Postal Service, but via e-mail.  They’d record audio and video snippets and e-mail them cross country.  That’s how The Jealous Kind was born.  A musical collaboration between two friends, true music lovers, paying homage to the bands that they love.  Bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket and Counting Crows, Better Than Ezra and the like.   They put out their debut EP together.  Two songs that melted my heart and my ears.

My friendship with Josh, and because of him my friendship with Dave, is one truly rooted in music.  They’re not just musicians – they are music fans that love music.  I often get texts from Josh out of the blue that have quoted song lyrics – his way of telling me he loves a song or thinks a line is particularly awesome.  They don’t care about being famous or writing “indie” music that the hipsters will love.  They just write the music that they want to listen to. These are two guys that have full-time jobs and families, and yet they still make time for making music.  And I think that’s awesome.

Now click off on that iPod of yours.  Because I’m about to beg.

My personal plea to all of you:  please help these boys make a new record.  They never ask for anything from anyone and their music DESERVES to be heard.

I was the first one on board today when they announced their Kickstarter campaign to help raise $2000 to record the new EP.  Yeah, I know that us music fans have been bombarded with requests to help out on records, and I’ve personally contributed a number of projects already this year.  But like I said…I believe in Josh, and any music he makes is worth a million 24k bars of gold in my mind.

This holiday season, if music is the love of your life, if you’re a music fan who wants to support a good cause, if you’ve got a couple of extra bucks to spare, or if you want to give me a huge Christmas present, please drop a few bucks into The Jealous Kind’s Kickstarter campaign.  It will be money well spent.  I promise.