After the song is over, you can compare your score to national scores and even compare to your region. The phone uses your location to compare your score to others around you. I have only done one song and my score is weak compared to the nationals but much higher than the locals. Hmmm…gotta work on that. If you choose a higher level of difficulty little things happen, like Davidʼs voice suddenly disappearing so that you are on your own! Shake your iPhone and snowflakes appear! (In the phone, not outside…haha!)

The best part… the video instruction by Mr. Archuleta himself!! I could watch videos of him instructing on vocal technique for days….!! He gives a brief “how to” for the game and then goes into a few vocal tips. Just that little snippet of him and his technique makes you crave more of him talking about singing! For anyone in to singing, this is a very fun and ingenious concept. I hope he comes out with more versions targeting hisother works… both holiday and non holiday. Now if only David would start doing personal vocal coaching in his spare time… He doesnʼt need to sleep does he??

Go on line and buy the David app! Youʼll love it!

~mikesd

Juan Morales

This is a strange time in the larger world of ArchuLand.  More than one beloved member of the extended fan community has stepped away, and other fans have started new sites. Some people are simply tired and lurk rather than post.  Old alliances have cracked and circles of friends have expanded or shrunk.  For some, it is simply a matter of real life demanding their attention.  Others have gained confidence from months of commenting and simply want to spread their wings and try something on their own.  Everywhere you look, there is change.  So the question remains for me and maybe for others: why are we still here?  Why are we still devoted David fans?

For some of us, this has been a two-year passionate journey. For me, it’s been an intense one and a half years of commenting and writing and blogging.  But for each of us, we had a moment of falling in love – of falling into a place of peace and beauty that washed away (for a moment) the troubles of an imperfect world.  It was the voice and person of David Archuleta that took us to that place, and it is no surprise that we want to visit again and again.  Since we can’t hear David sing for us in person every day, some of us find that we can nurture that feeling of connection by staying in touch with David friends, by writing articles and by commenting on fan blogs.

I have to say that I have a bit of nostalgia for the old days of notingDavid. I would wake up each morning, make my tea and open up Rascal’s blog.  It was my morning “paper” before I headed out to work.  Was there a new article today?  What was Rascal’s take on the world of David?  Was he exploding with pleasure over a new song? Was he analyzing a career move, or swooning over a new photograph?  Would there be a snarky video or a clever photoshopped picture to enjoy? From my point of view as a commenter back then, my main concern was to wonder if someone would actually notice that I had written something – oh joy!  Those were simpler times.

Of course it wasn’t simpler for Rascal. He alone shouldered the burden of writing articles. He was the one who created a community space for all of us, as he waxed eloquent in his critical analysis and fanboy adoration of David.  He had to endure the positive as well as the negative emails and critical comments all on his own.  No matter what you think of his opinions, it was Rascal who created a space where David could be taken seriously as an artist.  It was also Rascal who gave many of us a space to connect and find other like-minded souls.  In retrospect, it was a spectacular feat for Rascal to bring together such a disparate group of fans and to maintain that community for so long.

Rascal and others combined talents and energy to create The David Chronicles last April and several of us have had the opportunity to experience first-hand the ups and downs of running a blog.  It has been largely a joyous journey with the pleasure of learning new things mixed with the love of David and his music.  It’s also been an education to be in a public place where both praise and criticism can be leveled.

And here we are, months and months later.  Why am I still here?  Why are any of us still here?  Whether we participate in this DavidWorld as a lurker, commenter or admin of a blog, whether we are loyal to one blog, or visit several regularly, the question is: what keeps us involved and passionate?  In three weeks I will be attending the Santa Rosa and San Francisco VIPs.  What continues to compel me to buy expensive tickets and take time off work for this young man?

In large part, it is the lovely people that I’ve met along this path – people of intelligence and creativity and gentle tenderness, people who have become friends and creative partners. It is a joy beyond joys to collaborate with Rascal and Marlie and Ronald.  You couldn’t ask for a group of people who are more committed and generous and smart and funny. And in addition, I’ve collected a great bunch of delightful concert buddies and friends who enrich my life with laughter and fun.

Juan Morales

But of course at the heart of it all, is the Voice.  Even if I don’t achieve nirvana on every cut of the new album, there are always moments that take me back to that place when I first fell in love.  I find that watching David sing Contigo or listening to him sing Ave Maria never disappoints, even on multiple listenings.  Every time I hear those songs, he takes me to that place of connection and love.  And of course seeing David live is simply a different experience all together.

So here we are.  Nothing stays the same.  Our relationship to David and to each other constantly shifts and changes.  There is a Buddhist teaching that urges us to refrain from grasping. We are advised to want things, but not to be attached – to allow both pleasure and pain to be experienced, but not to hold on tightly to either.  As the ground shifts slightly in the world of David, I am practicing holding on lightly to the things I enjoy, and allowing the difficulties of change to be experienced, but not to linger.  Alliances and blogs will shift and change, but David will continue to grow and amaze us all.

How would you answer that question: “Why are we still here?  Why are we still fans of David?  Why do we still post and blog?”

~ davidfanLIZ

But recently there has been a phenomenon in the David Archuleta fan community that is frankly quite surprising.  The new album, Christmas From the Heart has received mixed reviews from the entertainment press.  Some of the fans found these bland reviews (few were downright negative) to be disrespectful of David himself, and they responded in a way that was strident and even verbally abusive of the reviewers.

“So what? They deserved it,” some would say.  As a fan community, we are already known as fanatic. (We DID help David win the Most Fanatic Fans on the Teen Choice Awards.) But what, exactly, does someone hope to gain by verbally abusing a writer on an entertainment or college newspaper blog? Sure, it allows the commenter to let off steam, but does it change the mind of the person who wrote the article? I doubt it. In fact, it could instead cement their perspective that this is a group of immature, teenybopper fans that need not be taken seriously.  And that, certainly, is harmful to David.

We fans see David as a serious artist, and we are understandably frustrated that some entertainment writers still see him as that awkward kid on American Idol who licked his lips and couldn’t put two words together. But will commenting “Everybody hates you,” written in capital letters, change their mind?

So what is a fan to do?

It’s very likely that many of the articles are written by people who don’t really follow David except in a very cursory way. They might have seen him a few times on American Idol. Perhaps they’ve heard Crush and it just didn’t get them excited. But they haven’t  really followed his career other than reading other blogs that highlight his fashion sense or show him being interviewed at the Season 8 AI Finale. And they for sure haven’t seen David perform  live.

So perhaps the tactic would be to educate them, rather than berate them. Think about sending an email to a DJ, reporter or blogger with an introductory note and a set of links to some of David’s live performances that show whatever point you are trying to make.

Do they think David is a moppet? Send them the link to Touch My Hand and Waiting for Yesterday, Leicester, UK

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWBZP7V44E

Have they said he lacks depth? Well, how about a link to Contigo en la Distancia?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6FsfvxyyT8

Want to highlight his improvisation skills?  Link them to My Hands from the solo tour, in Salt Lake City

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTPHlG08MZI

If the person is a complete idiot – and we all have read some of those articles – refuse to give them web hits by ignoring the negative and “walking your browser away” from the site.

There is much to learn from David Archuleta, although we are not always able to live up to the standards that he sets. But let’s think about how he might deal with a negative comment, a bland review, or a misinformed reporter.

What are some other ways fans can react to negative criticism of David in a positive way?

~ Marlie

(The couple cherished the opportunity to publicly celebrate their union even as they acknowledged in their wedding vows that this basic human right is not yet available to all.)

We entered the wedding space as disparate elements in the lives of these two people.  We were work friends, aunts and cousins; we were old roommates from college.  As we sat and listened to their vows, there was a palpable whoosh of love that surrounded the couple. If you can be present in the moment, there is something so tender and so vulnerable, so hopelessly, helplessly optimistic about two people joining together, that you can’t help but open up your heart to that love.

The wedding couple was the glowing center of it all, and we, this motley crew, joined together to surround and support them with the beautiful energy of our love.  Each individual expression of love was magnified in community, and it was as though we were spinning circles of love, orbits of kindness, around them as they stood before us.

David is the glowing life force of goodness at the center of our little universe here. Each of us came here as a disparate element, but the combined energy of our passion can support and magnify our experience.  It’s as though we are the orbiting planets around our sun.  Sometimes the planets spin out of harmony and clash and collide. Feelings of being slighted or not being understood can cause a wobble in our orbits and debris flies off in different directions. Planets have even been known to directly collide, with unfortunate destructive results. But the sun at the center of this system simply continues to glow with passion, to sparkle with humor and perhaps would even be amused at the flailing of the circling spheres.

Maybe it’s useful to remember that we are but small planets that orbit this miracle of nature.  We are indeed the fortunate ones in that we can feel the warmth.  The passion and dedication that we feel is a beautiful thing.  We all come from different places but we’re all pulled in by the same force.  There is much more that unites us in our love than divides us.

Perhaps it’s also useful simply to remember what it was that first connected us with David.  Each of us has a story, a moment when something changed and we were pulled into this gravitational pull. What was your moment? What is your story?

All you need is love, love…. Love is all you need.

~ davidfanLIZ

and

The question in the TDC classroom today is – why?  What is it about these two songs and these two performances that caused such stunning reactions?  What do the performances have in common?  How do they differ?  What about the songs themselves?  Are they powerful in ways that are similar?  What important differences divide the songs?

What is it about these two songs and performances that draws us in, burns the experience into our memories, and keeps us talking and analyzing and clicking the repeat button?

Discuss.

~ davidfanLIZ

Arch Angels are notorious for using hyperbole whenever we’re enraptured by David’s Voice.  There’s even a running joke – “David is the second coming of Jesus.”

Child, please.  Let me dial it up a notch:  With David on Planet Earth, who needs the second coming of Jesus?

That’s right, I said it (church-going rebel that I am).  And no, David “chrianyday” sweetie, don’t take it personally.  Keep staying grounded as you read Job 38 (“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations … while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”).  See, David is here representing, and in his Voice I hear those morning stars and angels rejoicing at the earth’s foundations.

“The kingdom of heaven is inside you and all around you” (The Gospel According to Thomas).

See, I could forget how toxic and near-the-brink-of-destruction our world is when David sings.  When David sings, I could forget the circling of the wagon that descended on Washington on September 12.  When David sings, I cannot hear the hate-filled messages seeping through the cracks of our information overload society, nor the corporate-controlled noise pollution passing itself off as current pop music.  Amidst the din of this social and cultural breakdown is the Voice crying out in that distant wilderness:

Cuando no estas junto a mi -iii-iiii.

And there in that extended note, my heart melts, and my soul opens.  It’s those little “Soul David” licks that spice up a song.  A Latina in the fanbase helps a sistah out with the translation: “When you’re not by my side [the world seems different].”  And when David is not by our sides, the world is different.  It’s just noise that our tone-deaf ears have become accustomed to with our corporate-sponsored hearing aids.  But one graceful note, one seductive vocal run, takes us back to the origin of music – the invocation of spirit, the deep-down rumbling where body meets soul in ecstasy, the transcendence from our material world onto another plane.  Amazing grace, how sweet the sound… We were once deaf, but now we hear it loud and clear.

Es que te has convertido / En parte de mi alma (You have become part of my heart)

The first whoop and holler rises up from the Spanish-speaking audience, as my hand raises to testify to its meaning before I understood the words.  Sing it, David!

And not once, not twice, but three separate times, the audience erupts into spontaneous applause before he even finishes the song.  In a week filled with political and musical controversy, hate, rudeness, and disrespect – a week that was designed to celebrate the best in music – David reminded us what music does best.  It closes the distance, it fills us up with exultation and longing.  It reverberates in its acoustic rendering of love, peace, and soul. A voice in the musical wilderness providing the balm to the heart and a prophecy for all our lost souls.

But the words of the prophets are not written on subway walls.  As novelist Toni Morrison once wrote, “In the beginning, there were no words.  There was only sound.”  And David sounds the trumpet:

Amada mia estoy, oh / Contigo

No translation needed.

- Hello Gorgeous

Special thanks to Juan M. for the use of his artwork!

Grand Rapids

I drove to Grand Rapids alone. Blast the one-way streets in that city!

In line for the VIP, I met Starrynites, Gemzone, Joner, Freo, and a woman named Terry who only lurks on all the sites (she flew in from Florida for both Michigan shows!) and we all went in together.  As is so many times the case, by the time we were ushered into the venue, we were already fast friends. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m glad for it. I walked into the darkened bar and had a bite to eat (hot dogs!) then they moved us into the arena for the VIP. I looked up and there he was. David. Like a regular person. Except not. He was beautiful. He was very chatty. His voice had come back in full that day and he was beaming from it. Incandescent.

We were asked what we wanted to hear him sing and several suggestions were made – David decided on Heaven and A Thousand Miles. He called Kendra out to play the keyboard for him in a lower key. Better for his voice. Said she’d never done it all the way through but she was a good sport and would do it. Then, David just opened his mouth and…Heaven. Really. I was in the front row and felt it all through me. I relive that moment daily. Next was A Thousand Miles. It was beautiful and perfect, but I was still struggling to keep the tears at bay from previously mentioned Heaven. He seemed more comfortable with the keyboards than I’d ever seen. Of course I’d never seen it live before. He smiled alot when he sang this.

ArchuRandomness

Then David rambled on about what he did a few days prior when he was bored. He said “Actually I wasn’t bored, I was avoiding doing something I didn’t feel like doing. So I separated my M&M’s by color. Then I counted up my plays by artist on my computer. Top plays by artist and then by song.”  Can’t you just picture that – all the M&M’s sorted into their color groups?

The Show

We took our seats. Second row, center stage. There were a couple of small children in front of me. They remained seated for a good portion of the concert.   When David came onstage, he was transformed. Or I was. Dark grey t-shirt and black jeans. He hit the stage and never stopped performing. The sweat was flying everywhere. We loved it! What wasn’t apparent in the videos is the tiny area on stage left (our right). He moved between the keyboards with three inches of stage, never slowing down. But he was surefooted and played to the entire audience. Flirty and happy. Somebody Out There is my new favorite song. I don’t know how I survived all the eye contact. I’m not sure I have. He is surely not afraid of it. The archugaze has stayed with me. (You try standing directly in front of him when he locks onto your eyes and sings that. He won’t let you look away. It’s almost painful. In a good way.) He is aware of it. That’s his thing. I believed every word of that song.

Angels was the encore.  I’ll steal a line from Bliss: “Unbearably beautiful.” I was in tears. And they’ve been creeping up on me several times a day since.

Clarkston VIP

There were about 50 people there. I spent some time talking with Kristen, who is not new at this. She actually learned the  business while doing some work with the Rolling Stones. She has worked with many people. She said no one does as much as David does. Kids seated on the ground in front, adults in the two rows of chairs. The three of us were too wound up to sit – Kristen said it would be fine if we stood. We stood behind the chairs, in front of David. About 12 feet away.

More ArchuRandomness – how can you not love this guy?

Suddenly David walked in with Ashlee and Ray. He breezed by the food, stopped and grabbed a slice of watermelon. Sat down at his keyboard and enjoyed it right down to the rind. He said he was hungry – that he had only eaten a salad. I loved all the noises. Mmmmmmmmmm was quite prevalent. And “I love watermelon!”

He sang Crazy and it was utterly beautiful. He played the keyboards and rambled after that about different songs with the title Yesterday. Then he started singing the Beatles Yesterday. I died a little. The place was silent. Just the first line, but what a first line.

Time to sing I’ll Be. He wondered aloud if he should stand or sit. I said – “Do whatever you want.” He started to sing “Doooo whatever you want” I loved it.  Then he grabbed the mic, threw back his head and sang so unearthly beautifully that I am sure the angels heard. The breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, and his voice carried over the treetops. What a moment. I will never forget it. Neither will the people standing outside. I heard a few screams. They couldn’t see him. But they could hear him.

We did dorky peace signs for the photo op which I loved. I’ll end this with a line from one of my favorite movies: “When the Gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.” I miss David. Very much.

~betsy

Julie and Julia

Julie is a young woman who is stuck in a dead-end career.  She has this crazy idea to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year’s time.  365 days and 524 recipes.  On the face of it, it is insane, but she sticks with it through the challenges, meltdowns, and strained marital relations.  She writes a blog about it and gathers a whole community of devoted fans.

When Julie is cooking, she feels like Julia is there with her, guiding her, mentoring her.  She adores Julia, is obsessed with all things Julia, and gathers minutiae about her life.  She even dresses up like Julia when she hosts a dinner party that features recipes from Julia’s book.

Julie is truly obsessed. Her obsession takes over to a point where her job and marriage are at risk.  But this particular obsession has a time limit of one year.  It also has an impossibly happy ending with a New York Times article, as well as book and movie contracts.

Julie says in the movie that Julia “saved her.” Her husband says that she saved herself.  Both, of course, are true.  Julia saved her, transformed her, and lifted her to a new way of being in the world.  But perhaps more accurately, Julie’s obsession was the agent of change, that creative surge of energy that pushed Julie out of her self-limiting box into something bigger and more beautiful, more fully herself.

It’s a stunning example of the transformative power of obsession.

There are many of us who have been transformed by our obsession with David.  We often wonder why this obsession took hold in us. Why us? Why now? There are those of us who have allowed David and his music to enter our hearts and to push us out of a limited sense of self.

The passionate love that we feel for David can be a powerful force for change in our lives. It’s a burst of energy that can wash away the old and open us up to transformative change.  Can change happen without this obsessive energy?  Are these obsessions always a power for good in our lives?  Can they get out of control?  Everyone has his or her own experience, but at its best, the David obsession can be a blast of love that can energize and empower.

Food, music, love, obsession, transformation.

~davidfanLIZ

If there’s anything I’m most impressed with about the Arch Angels, it’s the way we  support David Archuleta.  Our track record speaks for itself.

Want to see him honored as a teen star at the Teen Choice Awards? No problem.  Just organize until the producers not only invite him as a presenter but actually invent a completely new category just for his fans.  The result?  David wins the first ever award for “Most Fanatic Fans.”

Want to contribute the most money in David’s name for Stand Up 2 Cancer? Done!

Want to support David’s first single “Crush” on the Hot 100?  Done!

Want to push David’s first video for “Crush” to No. 1 on the VH1 Countdown? Done!

Want to mobilize David to be Mr. Twitter Universe?  Done!

Want to help David win 3 Awards at TCA?  Done!

So, now that we’ve proven that we’ll promote David Archuleta and support him every step of the way, how about we, as a fan community, think bigger and better?  I’m raising this question because I’ve been a bit concerned with some “defeatist” discussions on my Soul David blog and here when it comes to David’s career and the path that his management has taken.  We’ve proven ourselves already.  If some persuasion is necessary, why not see how far we can mobilize our fan power?

Over the years, I’ve been in awe at what the Internet can do when it comes to mobilizing fans.  Back when Brokeback Mountain lost the Oscar in 2006, so many lovers of that movie, who had gathered at a fan forum, mobilized their outrage and raised the required $25,000 to pay for a full-page Ad in Variety Magazine to express their discontent.  It was so successful, they had debates about how best to use the “surplus” money.  In the realm of music, hip-hop artists like Missy Elliot have staged online contests to get her fans to name her next CD.  And, as was mentioned in previous discussions, singer Jill Sobule turned to her fans to finance her album.  She has described the experience as “liberating,” as I’m sure it was for all involved.

David may not need to rely on his fans to finance an album at this point since he’s already signed to a major label, but I wonder if the Archies would be willing to mobilize for his promotion in big ways.  I’m not talking You Tube vids or Twitter news and spams.  What if we raised the necessary moolah that his label or management doesn’t spend to really get his name out there?  What if we too invested in a full page ad or a well-placed commercial or billboard?  Instead of having individuals making their own home-made placards and promo fliers, what if we collectively got together to invest in something huge or even something as simple as paying for a top-notch web designer to get his official site looking professional?

We’d have to be careful of course, for the same Brokeback Mountain forum that mobilized for a movie ad and various charities for rural gays (in honor of the movie) had a scandal when one of the forum members absconded with the money during other fundraising projects (we’ve already had a brush with this early on in the Archie community).  Perhaps his official site should include a special donations section for such fundraising projects.

What I’m really suggesting is: rather than go around in circles arguing about how David is “managed” – with various fans telling other fans that we have no “business” doing so – I say, let’s really step up and mobilize in the ways that count.  Why concede certain decisions when we’ve all shown that we are invested in David’s success in one way or another?

If anyone can mobilize in a big way, the Arch Angels sure can!

~ Hello Gorgeous ]]> http://www.thedavidchronicles.com/2009/08/macro-managing-david/feed/ 289 http://www.thedavidchronicles.com/2009/07/la-vip/ http://www.thedavidchronicles.com/2009/07/la-vip/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:32:43 +0000 davidfanLIZ http://www.thedavidchronicles.com/?p=8526

FROM mikesd: I’ve never had an out of body experience but I came pretty close last night. Meeting David again was amazing but the acoustic portion… Nearly took me to another plane. It was as if David said, “Come on into the studio with me while I lay down these two songs for my CD.” No other sounds but his voice and piano. Sitting just a few feet away gave me an ability to observe his facial nuances as he masterfully wrang every note dry. (I get a chill just thinking about it again.) While we all know and see his power on stage, this experience was on a different level. For me time literally stood still and it was the wild applause that brought me back. “Gifted” doesn’t even come close to what I saw and heard last night. “The Voice?” No, THE Voice. Period. There is no disputing this.

FROM davidfanLIZ:  The VIP experience.  Wow.   If you have the chance to do this, don’t pass it up.  It is worth every penny.  The overwhelming experience is the voice.  In an acoustic VIP session, the voice is so powerful.  No drums, no guitars, no screaming Demi fans. Just the voice with a bit of piano accompaniment.  This is a voice that literally realigns the cellular structure of your body.  The voice somehow saturates your soul and takes you to a different place.  I had the feeling that all I wanted in life was to be lost inside that voice, to lose myself completely in that sound.  Pure heaven.

And then David is so damn sweet.  The banter was lovely.  Three lucky people at the VIP were chosen by lottery to ask questions. The first asked if David would ever record songs in Spanish or Portuguese. David answered that he was very interested in this idea, and it simply depended  on management decisions.  He then offered that there would be a traditional Spanish song on the Xmas album. The second question was where in the world he would travel if he could go anywhere.  Japan was his answer.  He said that he is very interested in anime and that his sister Amber sends him all kinds of anime trivia.   It turned out that the two girls asking the question were Japanese-American.  They too wanted to visit Japan. “We’ll have to go there together,” he said.  The two girls practically melted on the spot.

The third question was a song request.  Great use of a question in my opinion.   All I really wanted was for him to sing another song.  The request was for “I’ll be.”  David sang a bit of it, and it was lovely, lovely, lovely.   David also offered that he was trying to not talk too much, to save his voice, because it was LA.  When asked if he was nervous to perform on the Nokia stage, the same stage as the finale AI show, he said that he was not nervous, but was excited.  He also shared that Brooke White, Jason Castro, Benton Paul and family members were coming to the show, which made it special for him.

There were about 100 of us at the VIP, but Mike (who wore plaid for the occasion) and I were only a few feet away from David as he sat at the piano.  Seeing him so close and so relaxed was a pleasure.  David is gorgeous, there is no getting around that, and he is also gracious and kind.  Watching him interact and stand patiently for photos with 100 people was a joy to watch.  He paid close attention to every person, and listened patiently.  He was respectful to each, and honored each of his – let’s face it – somewhat crazy fans.  When it was my turn for a photo, I held his hand and told him that I loved what he was doing in the world, and that his music gives me so much joy.  We posed for the picture, and as I left he said, “It’s good to see you again.”  I decided to accept that he really meant that, and that he really remembered me.  It may or may not be true, but I am enjoying the feeling.

Concert highlights:  “Works for Me” was off-the-charts fabulous, strong and sassy.   “Don’t Let Go” did not disappoint for depth of passion, plus he sang the phrase “We know how to save a life.”  “Apologize” was agonizing and poignant.  And “Zero Gravity” rocked the house.  Good times!

My overriding thought:  David is completely comfortable in his skin.  He was gracious and patient at the VIP.  He was passionate and powerful on stage.  David is at the top of his game.