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Photo by Deana Petersen
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Photo by Deana Petersen
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Photo by Deana Petersen
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Deana Petersen
After touring the country and releasing four albums with the band JD Eicher & the Goodnights, Eicher broke out on his own. With his 2016 debut solo album, “The Middle Distance,” the singer-songwriter set out to prove himself as an artist. It wasn’t easy — as he was starting a family, he had begun to question his unstable career path. But that same year, he got a pivotal phone call. A label executive played his song for best-selling “Notebook” author Nicholas Sparks, who chose Eicher to create a soundtrack for his novel, “Two by Two.”
“It was a breath of new life, and it gave me more visibility,” says the 38-year-old Canfield native, who now lives in Delaware, Ohio. “It was a moment — you can keep going.”
Performing songs from his “The Two by Two EP” on a national tour with Sparks gave Eicher a second wind. Featured on “Good Morning America,” the popular title track thrust him into the spotlight. His name was on the cover of 800,000 books, and he was written into the novel — performing “Two by Two” on the radio.
While he’s always focused on emotionally charged, open-diary lyrics, Eicher partnered with acclaimed Los Angeles producer Bill Lefler to add pop flair to 2019’s “The Compass EP.” The compilation melds modern synthesizers and program drums with his band, which includes the Goodnights’ Jim Merhaut on bass and Dylan Kollat on drums and percussion. With over 645,000 Spotify streams, the EP’s endearing “Find Me Here” is his most popular song. It was written for his young daughter, with a melody that started as a lullaby: You’re gonna find me here, when your world is shaking, your heart is breaking.
“[It’s] a promise to her that she would always be priority No. 1,” he says.
On 2020’s “Court Street” EP, he returned to his folksy, acoustic roots, recording most of the tracks live. He wrote the stripped-down, sentimental “Evergreen” for his aging parents: All the good you gave here is growing like a weed. You’ll live forever — evergreen.
“The people in our lives — what they do for us is evergreen, continues to make a difference,” he says.
Along with his most recent album, 2022’s “Majesto Sessions,” Eicher wrote “The Lights Along Majesto,” a companion novel about touring musicians. On “Sessions,” he addresses new struggles from the points of view of his characters, a rocker and a folk singer, tailoring songs to match their distinct styles. It includes a murder ballad, “Vacation,” which sets the story’s dark tone. On it, he sings, Annie, give me all the names of your haters.
Leading up to a new project, he’s releasing a song every other month. “Where We’re Going” addresses stubbornly sticking to the past yet having faith in where you’re headed — while the heavier “Wild Heart” looks back at how things change over time. The most recent single, “The Will to Live,” takes a lighter approach to getting out of a relationship.
Eicher now performs about 100 shows a year. Previously, he’s played opening and co-billing slots for Coldplay, Maroon 5, Train and Rod Stewart, as well as a cruise ship music festival with Sister Hazel.
Considering his success, it’s clear sticking with music was meant to be.
“I do feel like this is who I am,” Eicher says. “I feel most at home in the middle of a song.”
