So. I have a new series on my blog. Click the pic.


Also, my friend Derek Luptak's book is out. You can check it out at his website.

And soon I'll be on the road.
Shows will be updated soon!

So, here is the podcast re: Holy Obsession. I did it in the morning with weak coffee...so my voice has that tired, Jazz radio tone.

Anyway.
Podcast

So, if some of you have been expecting the podcast on prayer...sorry, it had to get delay due to the craziness of life. I will be releasing it (soon I hope) though. If you have no idea what I'm talking about...don't worry about this paragraph.

This interview is something that I did when I was in AZ. Ron Everingham is my dear friend on the Apache Reservation. You can check out Apache Youth Ministries' website at: www.rezdog.org
Podcast

So the new news on what's up is:
- I am now on Red Point Artist Management's Roster.


- I'm doing a concert in CA in a few weeks.
- I'll be putting in a photo gallery soon.
- I'm getting rocked by the book "Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical" by Shane Claiborne
- I've been eating a lot of fruit lately.

Derek Luptak rocks...and so does his soon to be released book of poetry "The 62 Loose Sonnets".


Visit Derek's poetry website: highland grogg

Also, if you're interested in Frederick Buechner (listen to the interview), the book that we talked about is entitled "The Alphabet of Grace"


Podcast

Alright. Happy times. An all new podcast and a trip.

You can subscribe to this podcast at itunes! I know, pretty sweet. Click here to subscribe

Good things are in store.


Podcast

This is the first podcast for "A Prelude to Tomorrow". Enjoy.
Podcast

So the playing gig was a little different than a normal gig. There was some miscommunication amongst leadership, but that's cool...we (Marissa, Gabe and I) got a small set of tunes in. Highlights were:
Marissa and I got to hang out with Gabe.
We met a friend of a friend.
& I met the booking guy for the coffee house, so I may be going back to gig again.

With all this said...Viva la Daily Grind.

So, I led worship for the youth group from Oakwood Forest Christian Church (from Kingsport, TN) the weekend of Feb 23rd. It was a ski retreat, and it was pretty cool. I enjoyed it for many reasons, and here are some of my thoughts on the matter:
1. It's nice to see that there are still stars.
2. The utter pain of waking up after an entire day of falling down (snowboarding) does a remarkable job of reminding you that you are still alive.
3. On some songs airdrums sound better than real drums (video soon to come).
4. The joy of life is the shockingly serendipitous things that happen to us.

Let me elaborate.

So Wolf Laurel is about a 4 hour drive from where I live. My wife and I loaded up my humble Chevy Cavelier with our stuff and headed to the mountains. We drove, and drove...then we got some gas. Then we drove again...and drove some more. Then it got dark, and I remembered that in the mountains dark is much more dark than the city. Looking through the car's nicked windshield, my wife and I saw stars. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but it's a really big deal to me. I'm a mountain boy. When I see stars, I see home.

Then we joined up with the group. I met a few of the teens a few years ago, and they're bigger now. Eric has grown into a young man, Wesley has grown into a young giant, April is getting ready for College and Cameron is fortunately still Cameron. (I wouldn't have it any other way)

On Saturday we went snowboarding. I fell down a lot...and fortunately I didn't take anyone with me. (at least no one that I noticed) Sunday morning I woke up with muscles that I never had before. They were all screaming: "How could you do this to me?"

So, so far this blog is exactly the kind of blog that isn't very interesting to read. It's the classic, I got up, did this, did that, kind of blog. I realize that it's choppy, and kind of dull. BUT THAT'S THE POINT! See, life is full of surprises, sensations, ups and downs...but mostly it's filled with the in-between moments, almost mundane, and sometimes unfortunate. How we live today is the serious chance that we have, to do something extraordinary. I mean, seriously take a second and be completely silent. Right now, just stop, close your eyes, take a breath, let the air fill your lungs, let your chest rise, let it fall, do it again. Here is the verdict:

You are alive.

Here is the big picture:
You have a a chance to live life. The seredipity of this moment is that you have this moment. So your vehicle may break down, it might not be the best day at the slopes, you might have a disagreement with a friend (or a stranger), and maybe things don't go your way. But this world as we know it isn't going to last. Jesus is for-real coming back, live for (and abide in Him) because He's the one sure thing.

Anyway.

Until next time my GYFO friends.

I'm partly not sure if this should go in "Memory Residue" or the "Prelude Notes," but I just wanted to express some things about this project that is going to be available in a few weeks.

The first thing to realize is that my CD's are concept albums. There are "bigger pictures" to the collage of songs that I throw together. For instance, "Depravity, Grace and Reckless Abandon," my last album was a grappling with devotion and abandoning oneself to the martyr's love that is found in Christianity. Likewise, this one carries a theme that is close to my heart.

Did you ever notice that we live in a country that has a reputation for being founded on Christian values, is now a country where those values are their own economy? Radio stations, TV stations, bookstores, clubs, associations and churches of every flavor all stretching to meet the demanding need of a rapidly changing society. Within the Christian (sub)culture of US America, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to just stick my heart raw on a recording and market it.

"A Prelude to Tomorrow" was written primarily at night, when most are asleep. They are prayers offered up in a simple manner. This is my first recording in a while, but it is my first recording having come out of recording school. I wanted to experiment with this project. I could have spent big dollars in trying to compete with a market of common sounding, radio worthy, manufactered sound (with a bank account in the high negatives)...but that's not where my heart is. So for this I took what I had available: two microphones, a guitar, a djimbe (and some percussion items), an acoustic bass, and some vocals and laid them down in a recording. Simply. Organically (no, or extremely little, pickup electronics), with little processing. The theme of the project is simply that I love Jesus Christ. Within a culture of "programs" and "ministry philosophies" I wanted to just declare my love for God in an almost bootleg fashion. This project is about process...not processing. It's about the art: that music and recording is something that I love, and (in my life) God is continually changing me.

The point? Listen. Let's not rush through this moment, let's savor it. Let's get raw. Jesus is coming back. It's not a myth or a fairy tale, He's going to come back and life as we know it is going to be extremely different. I pray for Him to come back, I long to see Him. I'm completely captivated by Him and am amazed that the uncreated God would choose me not only as a friend but adopt me as His child. He continually breaks into the moments that I live in to lavish me with love. He's continually giving me a new heart. He's continually drawing me deeper into the mystery of who He is. He loves me even in my imperfection. He is everything to me, so I long to give Him everything, continually. I can't really say it any other way than in song...thus my new project: "A Prelude to Tomorrow."