mikeymo's place

husband, father, pastor, musician, teacher

3/30/09

Album Review - Israel Houghton - The Power of One


His name is Iz.


For a decade, that name has been liked to perhaps the most powerhouse brand in Christian/Gospel music: Israel and New Breed. Two Grammy's, multiple Dove and Stellar awards, multiple Gold albums - there's hardly a church in America, it seems, that some New Breed music has not been played in.


But guess what? Israel is out on his own. The Power of One marks not only his first non-Christmas studio album in seven years, but his first solo record, without the branding of New Breed behind him.


Not to say Iz doesn't have help. Longtime collaborator and music director Aaron Lindsey co-wrote five of the cuts on the record, and performs on it as well. Grammy-winning songwriter Tommy Simms makes some notable appearances, as well as Chevelle Franklyn and Erica and Tina Campbell from Mary, Mary, among others.


One thing that Israel does well - that seems to be a long-lost art - is mastering an album to flow and take the listener on an journey. When I was a kid, you had to listen to the albums of the Seventies as a whole to really understand them. That gave way to the single-happy Eighties, and our current iTunes generation of artists seem to often just slap songs on a record in any old order.


Not Israel. Maybe it's the worship leader in him, but The Power of One takes us on a musical journey, from getting your blood pumping and head bopping, to feeling a real anointing or worship. This is a scripture-heavy album, with many of the lyrics taking inspiration from some well known Psalms and verses.


You won't find many congregation-ready songs on this record. The multiple textures, vocal layers and complex arrangements will not be easily transitioned to the Sunday morning worship stage. I can certainly hear some of these songs as choir pieces, but congregations will have a hard time with the vocal acrobatics. This is a record that is meant to be listened to. Preferably with the top down, windows open, and stereo blasting so everyone can hear it.


My favorite tune on the record remains the early-released single "Just Wanna Say." If this song doesn't win a Grammy, I'll eat my shorts. OK, maybe not, but it should win. If it's possible to wear out an mp3, I think I've done it. But like a great baseball team, the "power" of this record lies in the heart of the lineup - tracks two through five. From the opening chords of "Everywhere That I Go," you know this album is going to be something special. That song transitions perfectly into "Just Wanna Say," which takes your energy level to the next level. But then, just when you think you have it all figured out, Iz slams on the breaks, and takes you into the reggae-flavored "Surely Goodness," which is infectious with its groove and familiar lyrics.


"The Power of One(Change the World)" sets the tone for the entire record by asking a question that at once gets you thinking and brings a little discomfort - "What if it all depended on me to change the world / What if my only responsibility was to change the world ... It all begins with one / The Power of One."


There's something for everyone on this record. You want some traditional Gospel music? Try "Every Prayer" with the aforementioned Mary, Mary. Looking for something a little more rocked out? Jump on "You Found Me" with dcTalk alum TobyMac. You want to know just how good Sir Iz is as a singer? Cue up "Moving Forward."


Prediction: The Power of One is going to be one of "those" albums - like Third Day's Offerings or DC*B's A Collision or newsboys' Adoration - a record that you simply must have. This record might just define contemporary Gospel music for years to come. At the very least, it will define Israel Houghton as one of the premier multi-cultural, multi-genre artists in music today.

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3/29/09

Sunday Setlist - March 29

Another great week of worship and the Word at Gospel Light Community Church!

For the first time in a couple of weeks, we had the entire team together, and I can tell you it makes a difference. There just seems to be an energy and yes, power, to having everyone there and on stage. So on to the setlist!

Opening:

Free For All (Houghton/Townsend)(C)

Main Set:

Trading My Sorrows (Evans)(G)
History Maker (Smith)(Em)
Your Grace is Enough (Maher)(G)
The Stand (Houston)(G)
The Power of Your Love (Bullock)(C)

I don't know why, but I just felt like there was a real power and annointing over these songs today. When we started "Free For All", I tweaked my tone knob down a little, and suddenly found "the tone" - that tone a guitar player longs for. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't, but I had it today. I was going to play acoustic for "Trading My Sorrows," but I had "the tone." So I stayed with electric and we kicked it up a bit. We do the "Yes, Lord" part of that song in three languages - English, Spanish and French Creole - for our multi-cultural congregation.

"Your Grace is Enough" is such a great song. We do it as a fast one, and the congregation really loves it. "The Stand" is another song I just love - strange because I generally play only half of it. But it's probably those dynamics which I love so much.

Thank you Geoff Bullock for "The Power of Your Love." This song really reached out to people today. We couldn't stop singing it. We have one of the girls solo the verses, and everyone sings the chorus. Great song!

Since I was preaching today, I had the unusual (for us ) chance to tie the altar call song into the message. So I asked for "Draw Me Close" by Kellie Carpenter. (A) We're putting this song on our album, and I thought it fit well with the end of the message. The altar call lasted awhile, so they also did "Rescue" by Jared Anderson (D)

Check out what other worship teams did today at Fred McKinnon's blog! 36 weeks and counting!

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3/27/09

From the Studio - Take 8

This was more like it.


It's crunch time, and we know it. In our original plan, last night was supposed to be the final session for music. We were supposed to let the vocalists take over next week. We decided last week to change the schedule, but we really needed a good push to get everything done next week. Even that was looking dicey - but look like we're back on schedule.


We spent last night finishing up a lot of little details. We had several songs partially done, in need of a piece here and a piece there. So the plan was to finish up all the little pieces. Which we largely accomplished.


Our engineer Gabi had to laugh. I've developed a pattern of recording something, thinking it was great, listening to it for a week, and then wanting to completely scrap it by the next session. Last night was no different. I had been listening to our rough mix of "From the Inside Out," and decided that the lead part had to go. There was one missed note, and as I listened I just grew unhappy with the tone. So that was on the list.



First, though, was "One Way." We had tossed the whole thing and re-tracked the drums last week, Gabi had patched together the various takes, so we now had a clean, even drum part to play to. I wasn't really thrilled about my own tone on the first recording, so I played around with my effects chain a bit, and got a little thicker sound then before.


That done, it was onto 'From the Inside Out." The first take had sounded a little wimpy in the breaks before the verses, and there wasn't enough dynamics in the choruses for my taste. So I laid a second lead line, a little fatter with more overdrive and chorus. When we go to mix it, we'll probably both, at least in the choruses. (Did I tell you I love multi-track recording?)

Those two parts were done before Justin arrived, so when he got there it was right into his stuff for "One Way." He played a lot simpler this time, and I think it sounds better. Two takes and out, and he was done there.



Danny came in next. There were a couple of bass parts to catch up on, but he did those pretty quickly. "One Way." Boom, done. "Mighty to Save." Boom, done. (That one came out really good - clearly it will be one of the better songs on the record. ) All we have left on that is to re-track the drums again. Gabi and I quickly went through everything we had. Six songs completely finished, one part left on one song. Three to go.



We had a half hour left in the session, so it was time to do more work. Time to start another song. I decided to do "Your Love is Deep." We didn't have a drummer, so Gabi set up a good click track for the song. The song is in 4/4, but it's slow, and has a nice up and down rhythm to it. I kept frustrating myself, because for some reason, whenever I went into a verse, I would play one wrong chord in the middle. I don't know why. I did it twice.


Fortunately, there are a couple of pauses in our arrangement, so I could punch back in there. We did the song basically in three sections. Danny played along with me, and we had it done in about twenty minutes. On playback, it seems - wow. The consensus in the room was that it was perfect the way it sits, and doesn't need any more instrumentation except for maybe some light percussion. I'll have to get everyone's opinion on it, but it seems like just leaving it as an acoustic ballad may be the way to go.




So... next week. Two more ballads, and we're out. I think it should be no problem, really. I hope not, anyway.

Do you use Facebook. Check out the project's page!



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3/25/09

Creativity - What a Rush



We were challeneged over at Our Creative Community yesterday do devote a post to "creativity" this week. I thought this was a great idea, so here goes.

For me, the creative process is probably far less organized then it is for many. I have absolutely no success creating "on demand" as many people do. I know plenty of people who can sit down in front of a computer or a typwriter or with an instrument and say something along the lines of "Prepare to create... create!" and have at it like theyre making an omlette or something.

For me, the muses come at the most inopportune times. Sometimes when I'm driving, or in a meeting or working. The first song I ever wrote, I wrote during a sermon in church. There I was listening when - pow! - the chorus came to me. I started jotting in the margins of the bulletin, and before the sermon was done, the song was complete.


Usually things come in a rush. So I've learned one thing. Let it come. Wherever I am, I need to be ready to be in for the long haul. There are times when I've been up to three in the morning writing a sermon, because the inpiration came at midnight. Once I wrote almost an entire Christmas cantata script in the middle of the night. I wrote a song once during a lunch break at a weekend encounter. It just happens.

Here's my basic process for any kind of creativity: I let the ideas tumble out and write them down. For me, writing them down is key. The order doesn't matter. Then I read it over and over, try to make sense of it. Same goes for music. I'll pick up a guitar or sit at the piano, and keep playing the same passage over and over until it sounds right. For me, I need to get it in my head, it needs to be part of me, if that makes any sense.


Sometimes I'll let it sit for awhile. My first song wasn't really fleshed out and recorded for six months after I wrote the first draft. I've written sermons weeks before giving them. Sometimes coming back to something after a while gives you fresh eyes.


What am I working on now? Let's see... I'm working with my worship team on an album, and I've been doing most of the arranging. I'm finishing up a sermon that I will be giving on Sunday. I just finished redoing the websites for both of our children's ministries, and I am currently redoing the website for our church. I have a couple of songs kicking around, all in addition to the weekly task of writing lessons for two different children's groups.


The hardest part for me is always starting. Just sitting down saying "I need to create now." But once I start - man, what a rush.


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Movie Review - Paul Blart: Mall Cop


Die Hard for families.


That's the basic premise and result of this comedy by actor/writer Kevin James and director Stever Carr. Think John McClain meets Ralph Kramden.


The plot of the movie is fairly straightforward. Paul Blart is a security "officer" at a large New Jersey shopping mall. He takes his job way too seriously. Way too seriously. His dream is to become a New Jersey state trooper, but his hypoglycemia keeps him from completing the obstacle course.


On Black Friday, thugs take over the mall in an attempt to steal all the credit card batch codes from all the stores. Among the hostages taken are Paul's would-be girlfriend and his daughter. Thus, this mall cop is not about to let anyone mess with "his" mall. After all, he is sworn to protect the safety of the shoppers (even if he made the oath up himself).


At the end of a day, this is a story about redemption, persistance and love. Paul's love for his daughter and Amy, the object of his affection, gives him inner strength and determination. Even though he makes a fool out of himself in front of Amy, she sees through all that, though his weight and his quirky personality, and sees through to the real man inside. There's a lesson there for us all.


I have no doubt that this film could be placed as-is on television. It is pretty harmless fare. There is no really bad language, and the "violence" is more of the slapstick variety. The film does a good job satiring many action-movie cliches as well. (My favorite was the Matrix-like fight in a Champs sporting goods store.) The humor, while not exactly highbrow, is still funny. There was actually a "plot twist" (I'm being generous here) that I didn't see coming.


This is a fine film to see with all but the youngest children. I took my twelve-year-old daughter, and didn't have one single moment of discomfort. Plus, it had a bunch of 80's music in the soundtrack. (When was the last time you heard REO Speedwagon in a movie?) A win on two counts.


Don't expect this to be the best movie you see this year. But it will be far from the worst.

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3/22/09

Sunday Setlist - March 22

This is the setlist for Sunday, March 22 from Gospel Light Community Church.





Opening:


Blessed Be Your Name (Redman)(C)



Main Set:


One Way (Houston/Douglass)(B)
Tell the World (Houston/Douglass/Sampson)(G)
Once Again (Redman)(D)
Revelation Song (Riddle)(D)
From the Inside Out (Houston)(C)



Matt Redman and Joel Houston made major contributions to our service this weekend. Thanks guys!



Three of these songs are going to be on our upcoming album, so maybe that's why they were on our minds and hearts. We ran "One Way" right into "Tell the World." It worked really well, even with the key change. The last chord of the song is an E, and I start the guitar intro of "Tell the World on an E, so it really sounded nice.



"Once Again" came out good as well. We started it just acoustic, and then kicked in with the rest of the instruments, kind of a Fusebox version. "Revelation Song" - what a tune. I actually had to turn away from the front, as I started getting choked up at one point, just feeling the power of God pour over the congregation. We usually build it up through the first two verses, then take it down for the third one, then bring it in strong for the third chorus. We lead mainly with the acoustic, with the piano filling some nice melody lines. We did an instrumental break after that song that really kept the worship time going.


Check out the setlists over at Fred McKinnon's blog to see what other churches are doing.

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3/21/09

Kings - A Television Review


It's coming. By the time you read this, it will already have happened.

By the time you read this, my beloved Battlestar Galactica will be a thing of the past. I will have stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to watch the three-hour finale. By the time you read this, I will already know the truth.


But, alas, with BSG gone, I need a new show, a new banner. Not somthing simply for entertainment. For that, I have Law & Order, House and NCIS. No, I need something thought provoking and relevant. Something to make me stare at the calendar week after week and wait for the next episode. Something I can ponder the hidden meanings and plot twists. Is Kings such as show?


Maybe.


Kings takes place in the fictional Kingdom of Gilboa. After a long "War of Unification," a king has arisen. His name is Silas, and he has founded Gilboah and it's capital, Shiloh, based on a vision he received (he believes) from God. Thus begins this modern telling of the story of David. Silias, you see, is a modern-day Saul, and Gilboah is a modern-day kingdom of the Israelites.


We also meet young David Shepherd. (the analogies here are pretty blatant.) David is a mechanic from a small family in a rural town. (I don't know exactly where Gilboa is, but there's a lot of caucasians there.) David lives with his mother, who's name is - wait for it - Jesse. David soon joins the army, and fights in the war against Gath. (The biblical Gilboa Valley was the site of the war between the Israelites and the Philistines.) When a group of soldiers are taken hostage, David sheds his battle armor (which doesn't fit very well) and takes on the "Goliath" tanks with one small hand grenade (and I assume five smooth stones).

David is a hero, because he rescued Silas' son Jack. He is taken to Shiloh, and meets Silas' daughter Michelle. Silas is power-hungry, and adulterer, and possibly out of his mind. Thus begins the intrigue.

There are plenty of biblical allusions. Besides Silas's two kids, Jack and Michelle (Jonathan and Michal) the royal family's name is Benjamin. The king's religious advisor is Reverend Samuels (Samuel), who "annoints" David when he is still a youth. Of course, our David gets annointed with a gold Rolex, but let's not pick nits. Silas' military advisor is General Abner (Abner). There is his wife, Queen Rose (Ahinoam) and his mistress Helen (Rizpah).

By the end of the pilot, Silas sees David as a political threat. In fact, the same vision of butterflies forming a crown about Silas that launched the kingdom happens to David at the end.

Despite the rather obvious biblical allusions, the show was well written, brilliantly acted and stunningly photographed. Personally, I would like the biblical references a little less obvious. I'd like to ask myself questions like "Is the reverend supposed to be Samuel?" "Was his touching David's head an annointing?" Of course, being a pastor, I have a leg up on Scripture stuff; perhaps for some, the show will lead them into the Bible to seek answers. One can only hope.


I don't think that (at this point) Kings will fascinate me like BSG has done for five years. But, it certainly has potential. I'd like to see young David on the run from Silas, using his wits to seek God's plan for him, and see Silas' hubris get the best of him. But, unlike BSG, I know how this story ends.


Kings is on Sunday nights on NBC.

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3/20/09

From the Studio - Take 7

We're getting there. I can feel it.

We had another good night last night, recording our worship CD Prepare. It's really a shame we only have one day a week to work on it. It's really starting to come along, but the starts and stops can get frustrating.


Wer had decided that we really needed to scrap the entire recording of "One Way." Why? Well, after listening to some of our later songs, we realized we could do much better with this one. The original recording had some timing issues, and to be honest, I wasn't completely happy with my tone in it. So out it went.



Elyano came in and put down a new drum track to it. While it seems fairly straightforward, playing drums without anyone else playing is a strange experience. Plusk, that song has several transitions, so it really becomes a challenge to keep everything perfectly on time. His last take was pretty much perfect, though, except for one small section. Gabi is going to quantatize the track during the week, so that next week we can simply come in and put the rest of the parts down.


Moving on, we had to work on "Mighty to Save." We had a good rhythm track, but that was about it. I had planned to throw the acoustic track I had originally done out anyway - it was just a guide for Aquim. What I wanted to do was to record the acoustic track with a higher voicing than the electric track. For you musicians out there, that means playing it in G with a capo, and playing the electric part in A open.




Justin was also laying the piano track. We spent some time finding just the right sound patch for the keyboard, with the right voicing and such. Originally we started to play together, but wound up throwing each other off. Plus, the song ran way long. Time to rework the arrangement a bit. That done, I put the acoustic track down solo (one take, baby!) and then Justin did the piano thing.




For electric, I had two patches ready in the Digitech. One was a echoey, chorused thing with a lot of wah in it, the other was more overdriven, no delay. I also used a little tape delay on the EchoPark. It sounds (I must say) pretty amazing in the verses. There's a couple of places where the song just drops to the acoustic, so the dynamics work well. I had done a short instrumental before the bridge, but it didn't really sound that great. We pulled that, and it sounds better without it.


Listening to it on the way in this morning, I realized it's still a little thin, though. I think I need to add another electric track, a little heavier from the second chorus on. And I need to rework where the solo went - something has to go there. But... I have a rough mix of it, and my Ardour workstation at home, so I have plenty of time to practice.

The plan was to finish the music next week and have the singers in come April, but we might have to push that back. The other thought is to take a break from the music and let the singers get some work done anyway, and come back in a couple of weeks and do the rest. After next week, we should have seven songs completely done, maybe eight. I'll let you know what we decide.
I'm really getting excited about this. I listen to the vocalists rehearsing with the rough mixes, and I get goosebumps. I can't wait to start hearing some totally completed songs.


We have a Facebook page set up for the project. Why not check it out, and become a fan? You can get updates as the project gets further along, and maybe we'll do something nice for those who sign up.

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3/19/09

Loopy

I went a little loopy last night.


As I've been writing regarding our recording project, when you are recording music in a studio environment, every little problem shows up. I also got a couple ideas last Thursday for some new music. So, I wanted to see how hard it would be to create a good drum loop for a song.


Instead of starting with a new composition from scratch, I decided to try and replicate a song that I knew well - in this case, Joel Houston's "One Way," as performed by Hillsong United. The song has a couple of different beats, and some cool dynamics.

So, I fired up Ubuntu Studio on my laptop. First thing I did was to launch Ardour, a digital workstation similar to ProTools. I did this first mainly because Ardour launches Jack. Jack is a low-latency sound server, that can be used to connect any "jackified" audio programs in Linux. Basically, Jack acts like a virtual patchbay, treating each piece of software like it was hardware.





Once Jack was running, I launched Hydrogen, a virtual drum machine. The first step was to create the patterns that would make up the various parts of the song. To do this, you first dial in the tempo of the song. (This becomes very important later.) Then you go to the pattern editor. You set the PE for how long you want your pattern (in this case, four beats - one measure) and how many divisions you want in the pattern (I like 32. You can set up to 1/64 notes) and the time signature. (4/4 of course! This is the default) (This picture is a tom roll used in the chorus. Click to biggify)


Once it's set, you start making your patterns. The process is straightforward: there are instruments up the left side. You simply select which instrument at which point in the pattern and click. Hitting the "Play" button will loop the pattern, and you can make changes while it loops. There are sliders on the bottom where you can adjust the velocity of each "hit" to your liking.


I made eleven different patterns for this song: two for the verses, two for the chorus, two for the bridge, and various transition patterns and rolls.




Once the patterns are done, move to the song editor. This is simply a grid with the various patterns on the Y axis and the individual measures on the X axis. It's a simple matter of clicking on a pattern in a particular measure. So you might do seven measures of Pattern 1, one measure of Pattern 2, back to Pattern 1, etc... This sounds complicated, but it is very simple and intutive. Total time to create the patterns and edit the song: about 40 minutes. (This picture is the completed song.)


Once the song is done in Hydrogen, it's time to record it as audio. Ardour and Jack make this easy. Add an audio track in Ardour (Audio 1). Set the tempo of that track to match the tempo of the drum sequence. (This is very important!) In Jack, simply connect Hyrogen's output to the audio track input. Since this was quick and dirty, I made Audio 1 stereo, and hooked up Hydrogen's L/R to Audio 1 inputs 1+2. (If this were going to be a final song, I would have made two audio tracks and split the L/R outputs.) I also dragged a connection from the Hydrogen left out to the soundcard left playback so I could listen in.





From there, toggle the Jack Transport button in Hydrogen. This locks Hydrogen to Ardour's time signal. (Remember the tempo thing?) Now the Ardour transport controls will start and stop Hydrogen. Select record, set your levels and hit play. Hydrogen starts, and records the sequenced song as an audio track, all matched and synced. Total time: about ten minutes. (This picture is playing back the track in Ardour. Note the Record buttons are off. Notice also the audio is perfectly quantatized to the grid - that tempo thing again)



Now from this point, you're working in Ardour. You can add any plugins, effects, whatever. I didn't at this point - this is just a scratch track. What I did do was export it as an audio file. Select Export=> Export as .wav file. One important note: Ardour's default is 48khz recording. You have to be sure to change the setting to 44.1khz or many computers won't play it. Also, be sure to select Master 1 and Master 2 out, left and right respectively. (Yes, I've recorded ten minutes of silence before.)



So in about an hour, I sequenced and recorded an entire song with 11 different drum patterns. And every single piece of this software is open-source, meaning you don't have to pay anything for it. All three of the programs were designed to run on Linux. There are versions of all three for OSX as well. There is a beta of Hydrogen for Windows, and an version of Jack that supposedly works on Windows. Ardour will not run on Windows, no way, no how. You can do much of the same work with Audacity or Wavosaur.

The sound file below contains clips of the various sections - the intro, chorus, chorus into the bridge, then a little bit of some dynamic "smashing o' the kit." Let me know what you think. (the player can be a little dicey - you can download the small file here.)




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3/18/09

A New Look

If you are reading this, you are no doubt "oooh"-ing and "aah"-ing over the new look for Mikeymo's place. Truth is, I got so very bored with the standard Blogger theme, that I knew I had to do something.

I've recently updated the templates from the other two blogs I run, KidzPort and GLCCKidz. The KidzPort blog is a Wordpress installation, so there were a myriad of themes to be found. The GLCCKidz and this blog are both hosted at Blogger, which (I thought) severely limited my options.

Then I found a bunch of websites that have great Wordpress themes ported over to blogger templates. So big thanks to Bloggertricks.com for posting this theme. (Plus, I got to learn some CSS doing the customization.)

I'm still having issues with the comments section. They work, but but they are not displaying. Kind of defeats the purpose... I'm still playing with that.

But comment anyway, and let me know what you think of the new theme.

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3/17/09

Conference Summary - Iron Sharpens Iron


I had the pleasure of attending the Iron Sharpens Iron National Mens Conference this past Saturday. The venue was the First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Iron Sharpens Iron began in 2001 as Vision New England, a regional ministry designed to equip New England churches to minister to men. Their third conference was themed "Iron Sharpens Iron," and that has become the permenent name for the ministry. This year there will be over 30 ISI conferences taking place across the country. ISI does not run all of those conference, rather, they train and equip local and regional networks to do them.
The Hartford area is actually the home to ISI, and so the conference I attended was actually their "home" conference, hosted by ISI president Brian Doyle. First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Connecticut is an amazing facility, with a beautiful sanctuary that seats around three thousand. This conference was sold out fairly early on, so every seat was taken. The conference also used the space of two churches across the street from the cathedral for breakout sessions.


The morning opened with a time of worship. The guest worship leader was Anthony Evans Jr, a well-known gospel artist who toured with Kirk Franklin early in his career. (More on Anthony later.)





The morning keynote speaker was Dr. Tony Evans. Besides being Anthoy's father, Dr. Evans is a internationally known speaker and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. His remarks were thoughtful and inspiring. A great way to start the day off.

There were varous breakout sessions during the morning. Each participant had the opportunity to chose one morning session. This was a difficult process, as there were at least three that I wanted to go to. In the end, I chose one called Managing Money in Turbulent Times, which was presented by Dave Scobey of Crown Ministries. There were some seminars designed for specific groups - one for pastors; one for youth (Emerging Men) called The Patriot Way, given by New England Patriots chaplain Don Davis; several by Focus on the Family and several by various vendors present at the conference.

After a lunch break, there was another round of seminars. Again you could pick one, and this time the choice was harder. There were two that I really wanted to go to. The one I chose was called Living a Lifestyle of Authentic Worship, given by Anthony Evans. it turned out to be a very real and intimate chat session about life, worship and music. After a short time of testamony, Anthony basically opened the session up for conversation, answering questions with an incredible amount of candor and, well, authenticity. The conversation drifted around worship, the music industry, his horses, an old girlfriend, a mirror in his house, his father, personal worship, college, and his friend Jeremy Camp. Nothing was off the table. One thing he said that stood out: Someone asked him what he thought worship meant. He though for a moment, and then drew a big circle with his arm. "Worship," he said "is everything in your life pointing back to God." I'm glad I picked that session.

There were again, session forcused for different groups. The one for youth was called Get in the Game, given by Washington Redskins running back Jonathan Evans. (What is it about those Evans boys?)



The afternoon session again started with worship. Anthony led again with some local musicians. But then, he did one more song. The musicians left the stage, and he came out front and started singing an a capella rendition of "It is Well With My Soul." Three thousand-plus men singing this old hymn - it was amazing. (The guys sitting next to me must've been in a choir - they were singing the echoes in perfect four-part harmony.)




The afternoon speaker was retired Army lieutenant general Jerry Boykin. General Boykin was a founding member of Delta Force, and a lifelong Christian. He wove an amazing testimony from his home in North Carolina, through Egypt, Iran, Grenada, Panama, Columbia and Washington D.C.; about times of soaring hope and a real crisis of faith. I plan on getting his book, Never Surrender.

All in all, it was a great day, and a great time of fellowship with twelve other men from Gospel Light. I would recommend to any men who live near one of the many conference venues to give this one a look and attend.

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3/16/09

Book Review - Energizing Children’s Ministry in the Smaller Church


A couple of months ago, I was asked by Fred over at The Worship Community if I would contribute a review for a book I had read. I had received Energizing Children’s Ministry in the Smaller Church by Rick Chromey for Christmas from a member of our congregation. I tore into it eagerly, as I was looking for any help I could get in growing Gospel Light's children's ministry.


If you're involved in children's ministry, or have children who participate in children's ministry in a small to average-sized church, this is a book you should be reading.


You can read the review at The Worship Community.


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3/15/09

Sunday Setlist - March 15

Sunday setlist from Gospel Light Community Church in Bridgeport, Ct.


Opening:

Open the Eyes of My Heart (Baloche)(E)


Main Set:

Friend of God (Houghton/Gungor) (E)
Say So (Houghton/Gungor)(E)
Holy is the Lord (Tomlin) (G)
Agnes Dei (Smith)(G)
God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)(G)
Create in Me a Clean Heart (Bannister)(C)


Good service today. We had a baby dedication, as well as a special song by Cecelia Cruz, singing "You'll Never Thirst" by Annointed.

Danny is away on a mission trip with his college ministry, so Elyano played bass and Aquim handled the drumming. Also, Josh was asked to preach at a church in the Bronx today, so Justin handled lead vocals as well as piano. It's such a blessing to have a versatile team, where people can step into multiple roles.

The worship time really started to flow during "Holy is the Lord" When we got to the bridge, we dropped every thing but just tapping on the hi-hats. With each repitition, we added another instrument - first acoustic, then bass, then piano, then full-on drums. By the time we got to the fifth repitition, it was an all out anthem. We kept repeating the tag for a while as well.

I popped a G string (no, the one on the guitar) during "God of Wonders" in the second verse, so I had to do a quick switch back to the electric, with an acoustic patch on the Digitech. Sounded OK, but I prefer an acoustic for that song if there's only one guitar. "Create in Me a Clean Heart" was a mid-service addition, as we just didn't want to stop worshipping.

See what other churches did this week at Fred McKinnon's blog.

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3/14/09

Saturday Silliness - Madness!

I'll be at Iron Sharpens Iron all day. So I leave you this little blast from the past. It's all Klampert's

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3/13/09

From the Studio - Take 6

After last week's definite lack of productivity, I knew we'd have to kick it this week. So we did. Sorta.



This week was scheduled to just be melody instruments. We had four guitar tracks and two piano tracks we had to get done. I'd been working myself all week on the guitar parts for "From the Inside Out," so I knew I was ready to roll with that. We also had to get "Mighty to Save" done as well.



I got to studio right a couple of minutes early, and we jumped right into it. Gabi queued up "From the Inside Out" and off we went. I got the acoustic part done in one take. We played it back... nice! On the money, no questions asked. We were on a roll!



Justin arrived just as I was setting up the electric rig and tuning the Dean. I had made a new patch for the Digitech to do this song - some chorus and a nice, fat Marshall amp model, with no delay. I was using the EchoPark to handle the delay chores. It's got a much better decay, and I can tap the repeat time to match the tempo of the song, which is just what I had done. I set it for analog tape delay, so that was a nice sound combined with the patch in the modeler.



We let roll with that setup and got recording. I wasn't completely happy with my first take, so we recorded two. The second one was right where I wanted it. Except for one stupid note I heard on a later playback. (Curse you, D note! How could you go flat on me? I thought we were bros!) I'll have to go back and redo that passage, but it's short and isolated - just the intro.






Two down, and it was time for Justin to do his thang. We used an M-Audio Axiom 61 midi controller with a good piano sequencer to record his parts. Justin played through once, and then it was time to "roll tape." (I know, there's no tape, but "spin disc" sounds whack.) Justin was on and nailed it down fast. As we listened to the playback, it sounded great, but a little busy. So we dropped the piano out of the intro, the bridge and the first chorus. Now the dynamics are just perfect. We also worked a nice little fade on the end. Viola! Another one in the can!





That done, it was time to move onto "Mighty to Save." We had laid drums, bass and a scratch acoustic track last week. We wanted to do a good acoustic, piano and electric. We tried to just do the new acoustic over the drums, but there are several places in the arrangement where the drums drop out, and it was hard to get the timing right to come back in perfectly. The solution was to actually play over the first acoustic track. We did a couple of takes of that, as well as a piano track. It actually sounded nice with both acoustic tracks on it. (The first was played in A with open chords, and the second in G with a capo)







Here was the problem. We played it back together and the timing was way off in a lot of places. Since we had neither of out drummers in, we tried recording just the acoustic/piano tracks new. I played the basic rhythm on the drums for few bars, and we replicated it, but there are so many dynamics in the song, that really didn't work. We tried the same thing making a rhythm track with the Timbaland worskstation, but cutting it into a consistant beat would take longer than we had. We're going to need to do it again, unfortunatly. Same thing with "One Way." For some reason, a good, consistant rhythm track is eluding us. It's frustrating, but I'm still pretty happy with what we got done.




I've set up a Facebook page for the project, that has some clips on it. Why not head over, become a fan, and check it out!

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3/12/09

Song of the Week - Whenever God Shines His Light - Van Morrison


Mike, did you say "Van Morrison?" Isn't he the "Moondance" guy?


Yes he is. He is also one of the pioneers of the spiritually-inspired and Celtic influenced musical genre known as Celtic Soul. He also wrote one of the greatest worship songs of all time - "Have I Told You Lately..."


Wait a minute! That's a Rod Stewart song!


Yes, dear old Rod covered that song, perhaps definitively, in 1993 on Unplugged... and Seated. But Van originally recorded it - as a prayer to God - on 1989's Avalon Sunset.


Avalon Sunset spawned another great praise song. "Whenever God Shines His Light" was the first single on a record that contains "Have I Told You Lately" and "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God." All from the "Moondance" guy, Van the Man.


"Whenever God Shines His Light" is a great, snappy little ditty, a duet by Morrison and British superstar Cliff Richard. Morrison's scratchy, jazzy growl is great counterpoint to Sir Cliff's sweet tenor voice as the two trade off lyrics:


"Whenever God shines His light on me, opens up my eyes

so I can see."


"When I get lonley, as I can be, I know that God shines

His light on me"


They also sing in harmony during other parts of the song, parts that include lyrics like:


"Heals the sick, and He heals the lame! Says you can do it too! In Jesus' Name."


Yes, this is the "Moondance" guy.


The music is a simple little progression. G - C - D - G. Wash, rinse repeat.


Never judge a book by it's cover, I guess. Or cover tunes.
I don't know what these pictures are all about, but the song's right:




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3/11/09

Is the Evangelical Movement in Decline?

There's been a lot of buzz lately around a couple of reports that came out in the past few days. One, by Trinity College in Hartford, says that more Americans are saying they have "no religion" than did in 1990.

The other buzz is coming from an article in The Christian Science Monitor, propaganda rag of the Church of Christ, Scientist. The article made some pretty bold statements.



"Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants."



Wow. And:



"There are three kinds of evangelical churches today: consumer-driven megachurches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile. "


Oofa.

Turns out that the article isn't exactly as written. The article was co-opted as an editorial piece from a larger, three part blog post written by Baptist minister Michael Spencer. In fact, Spencer put a little disclaimer on his own website about the CSM article, which was picked up by a lot of national media, including the Drudge Report. I suggest you read the original. Many of the quotes in the CSM article have been outright re-written. In fact, the last quote above was actually:

"Evangelical churches have now passed into a three part chapter: 1) mega-churches that are consumer driven, 2) churches that are dying and 3) new churches that whose future is dependent on a large number of factors."

Not quite the same thing. Spencer's article is well-written and thought out, and asks many important questions. And the big question is: what is the future of the evangelical church in America?

Spencer indicates that we do not teach enough orthodox doctrine to our youth and children. I would largely agree. In this day and age of seeker-friendly, multi-campused megachurches spouting the prosperity Gospel, it is hard to instill good theology. Can't bring people to the Cross if you never mention the Cross, can you?

Modern Christian music is no help, either, with it's catchy hooks and devoid-of-doctrine lyrics. Without a good, sound theological foundation, the music becomes the de facto theological base. Many of these are great songs that inspire worship, but they should not be the foundation of a doctrine. For that, I have a Good Book I can recommend.

I do not agree, however, with Spencer in that the future of the evangelical church lies with the absorption of evangelicals into mainline churches, especially Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions. There's just too much of a divide there. Once you've been baptized in the Holy Spirit, you never go back, so to speak. Now, while there are, for example, Charismatic Catholic churches, I do not see this trend expanding. (Though it's not a bad idea. I'll write about why not in a future post.) What I do see is a leaner evangelical church, thinner, more back to basics. Think Quakers with the internet. I see a youth movement toward traditional values driving a revival in the church.

But - if we do not get alongside our youth and kids, and provide them with a sound theology and solid discipleship, the church will be built on quicksand.

What's your opinion?


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3/10/09

Say it ain't so... Pete



After more than two decades, longtime Newsboys frontman Peter Furler is hanging up his road shoes.

We should have seen it coming.

Christianity Today did an interview with Peter in February, mainly about the band's new Reach ministry. In that interview he said:

"...I feel like as a songwriter there's a little bit of the traveling salesman in me where I go out and sing my songs to people. But as a Christian, I feel like there needs to be a moment there where I stop, pause and share briefly what Christ has done for me."

When asked if the band has lost it's "fun side," he replied:

"Sometimes. You're probably right. Looking back, seeing the things we did, it's like looking at old high school photos!"

According to the Newsboys website, Peter is not leaving the band completely. He's just not going to tour with them. If I'm reading things right, that means that he will be still writing for the band, still in the studio with them, just not out on the road, being the "traveling salesman." That job will be going to former dcTalk singer Michael Tait.


"Peter will continue with the band and his trademark songwriting and production will remain as he focuses his professional career toward future newsboys recordings."

The band recently completed a new studio album, called In the Hands of God. The album will street on May 5th. Furler sang on lead vocalist on the entire album. However, Tait has already started fronting Newsboys shows.




While I understand the pressures that 22 years on the road can have on a man's life, I am personally disappointed at this move. I've seen the Newsboys several times, and of course, own several of their records. Peter has his own brand of energy and personality that will be sorely missed from the live shows. He has a charisma and flair that I think will be hard to replace. We often kid our lead singer at worship rehearsal that he needs to sound more like Peter when he sings. (Blaesed be you noyme!)

Not only that, but to hear one singer on the records and see another live will be a strange experience. While live versions of songs are generally very different than studio cuts, to have a different lead singer will be a change that I wonder if many fans will accept.


I'll let you know. I'll be seeing the 'boys at the upcoming Rock the Sound event in New York City in July/August. Until then, I'll just have to buy the record.




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3/8/09

Sunday Setlist - March 8

This week's Sunday Setlist from Gospel Light Community Church, Bridgeport, Ct.

Opening:

O Praise Him (All this for a King) (Crowder) (Bb)


Main Set:

You Are Good/Again I Say Rejoice (Houghton)(E)
O Praise Him (All this for a King) (Crowder) (Bb)
Give Thanks (Smith) (G)
Rescue (Anderson) (G)

We did "You Are Good" and "Again I Say Rejoice" as a medley, kind of like they were done on the Alive in South Africa record. These songs have long been favorites of the congregation, and they never get old. We hit the change between the two songs perfectly, which was great, because it really kept the energy going. We actually did the entire song of "You are Good," then repeated the bridge, and cut into the bridge of "Again..."

I love doing "O Praise Him." (OK, I love doing any Crowder tunes.) It's, I think, one of the best real worship songs around, even with the "la, la's" I just personally feel it easy to let go during that song. Plus, it's the one song I always hear people singing to themselves later in the day.

"Rescue" is a great song to close out a worship service. The way we do it, we have each of the singers do the verse in turn, then everyone sings the chorus. So we do verse, verse, verse, chorus. Each time a different singer in the verse. The song really seemed to be speaking to some people today.

We have youth service tonight. I'll be playing with the choir.

What did you do today? Check out other worship leaders over at Fred McKinnon's blog.

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3/7/09

Saturday Silliness - Mikeymo, the Cars

Someone asked me recently how many cars I've owned. Way too many, it turns out. Since I lack little else to write at this very moment, I shall endeavor to recollect...






  1. '81 Toytota Celica GT. Tan. I loved this thing. (OK, my father actually, technically owned it, but let us not dabble over trivial details, shall we? I took my senior photo in high school with this car. It was mine!


  2. '77 Opel by Buick S/C . Silver/Black Truth be told, this was an Izuzu I-mark with a fancy paint job. I don't want to know what kind of corporate inbreeding produced this car. I rewired this junkbox so many times I should have patented it.


  3. '84 Mercury Lynx. Brown. An Escort in a cat's clothing. It was totalled twice - neither my fault. Only car I ever turned a profit on.



  4. '77 Triumph Spitfire 1500. British Racing Green. Need I say more?




  5. '78 Dodge Aspen. Blue. Slant-Six baby! Indestructable! Ice chips flew out of the A/C vents! Never should have sold it.

  6. '84 Plymouth Reliant. *Hangs head in shame.*


  7. '84 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Calais. Blue. This one actually was my father's Oldsmobile. And it had velour seats! Woot!




  8. '85 Dodge Charger Shelby. Black/Silver. My favorite of the bunch. T-boned a Camaro with it. Killed 'em both. I cried for my Shelby. My poor Shelby.





  9. '90 Eagle Premier ES. Blue. Brilliant in design. Severely flawed in execution. The motor was French, the transmission was German, the body was Italian, the electronics Japanese and British. Assembled in Canada. Does anyone see a problem here?


  10. '85 Saab 900s. Brown. The motor was backwards. Hey, it's a Saab.


  11. '86 Ford Escort. Wife-mobile.


  12. '87 Ford Thunderbird. Brown. I was cruisin' in style. Gave it to my son. Somehow it caught on fire. Nice.


  13. '92 Ford Taurus GL wagon. Silver. Only car I've ever bought new. Wife-mobile. Far and away the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. Went all up and down the east coast many times. Incredible car. Took ten years to kill it. We tried.


  14. '84 Dodge Caravan. Blue. Interum wife-mobile.



  15. '84 Audi 4000. Silver. Possibly my second-favorite on the list in terms of drivability. Great car, even at 150k miles.



  16. '87 GMC K2500. Blue. 6.2 diesel. Saved it from the junkyard. Drove it, plowed with it, hauled with it. Sold it for a hundred bucks when it stopped running. Big mistake.



  17. '95 Ford Windstar. Brown. Wife-mobile. Junk.



  18. '03 Ford Windstar GLX. White. Drove this beast all over the place. Florida. Vermont. Pennsylvania. Hilton Head. Amazingly comfortable and well running. Never had a major problem in 116k miles.



  19. '87 Ford Escort. Silver. As plain-jane as they came. AM/FM, no a/c. Crank windows. Station car from my train-commuting days.


  20. '94 Nissan Quest. Filled a need. That's all I'm saying.



  21. '99 Volkswagen Passat GL wagon. Silver. 158k and runs like new. Don't need a van anymore, so this is now the current wife-mobile. I'd rather drive this car than a new domestic anything.




  22. '96 Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon. Gray. Less than a thousand were ever built. It may not be sexy, but it gets almost fifty miles to the gallon. Come to think of it, that's pretty sexy these days.

So, can anyone top this list?

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3/6/09

From the Studio - Take 5

Ok, so last week was very productive. This week, not so much.

As I wrote last, we had rough-mixed three songs so that we could give them to the vocalists, so they could begin rehearsing. As we listened to the songs, we decided that "One Way" would have to be redone from scratch? Why? It was the second song we did, some of the timing is off, and we recorded it all together, instead of the way we've been doing things lately. The drums/bass combo has been working well.

So, our first goal was to re-record that song. But, somehow, we just couldn't find the groove for it. After a couple of takes, frustrations were mounting, so we decided to walk away from it, and try it later. Sometimes there's no point in beating your head against the wall.



Good news is, we were finally able to get Aquim into the studio. He is going to be playing drums on three tracks, and he definitely has a different style than Elyano. So it was cool to get a little different flavor into the mix.




Aquim's first assignment was "Mighty to Save." Now, there are a lot of different versions of this song. The arrangement we are using is kind of a cross between the versions on Mighty to Save and The I Heart Revolution. We're starting with drums and guitar, and not using that triad at the beginning. (the A-B-C# deal.) But we're going to do the bridge with a lot of dynamics. We're bringing the tempo down a little to make it more worshipful. That's the plan, anyway.

Aquim did a great job, and we got through the song in basically one take. So drums and bass is done on that one. I also tracked acoustic, but I'm going to redo it. I was playing with open chords, but I want to capo up to make the acoustic sound higher. I'm going to be playing rhythm electric open, and I want to have some different voiceings to play with. We may leave the lower acoustic track as well - we'll see how they sound together.

We bounced the drum/bass tracks for "From the Inside Out" so that I can practice that this week. I'll probably import it into Ardour and work on different voicings. Next week's plan is to redo "One Way" and track drums/bass for the rest of Aquim's songs. Then the following week will just be piano/guitar for the songs we have done.

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3/5/09

The Recession Affects Everyone

This is a recent news story from here in Connecticut. My comments below:

1/18/09
Hearst Connecticut Newspapers

Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate, Connecticut Post (Bridgeport)
Danbury News-Times

By Peter HealyStaff Writer

Michael Molgano, a Stamford man paralyzed in a 1975 diving accident, had
done the same work as his able-bodied co-workers at Danbury-based Praxair Inc.
and its predecessor company since 1982.

He said Praxair, an industrial gases company, had given him no preferential
treatment other than equipment and other adjustments that enabled him to do his
information technology job from a battery-powered wheelchair. Molgano, 49, had
worked mainly from home during the past several years.Praxair treated Molgano
the same as it did the other 1,600 people it laid off late last year.

But it still hurt.

Molgano said an incoming call from his supervisor on Nov. 11 cut short a
phone conversation he was having with a Praxair client in Chicago."

She said, 'I have really bad news. You're gone. Today is your last day, and
your (computer) access will be removed,' " Molgano recalled."

I hung up the phone and just sat there, thinking about what happened," said
Molgano, who represents Stamford's 15th District on the Board of
Representatives. "I was just devastated for that day. I had been doing this same
thing for 26 years, and they just pulled the plug -- like that."

Molgano's severance pay from Praxair ends May 31. He said he also is
receiving unemployment and medical benefits while looking for a new job. His
last position at the publicly traded Praxair was as a Lotus Notes
coordinator.

Though he realizes Praxair faces pressure tocontrol costs and please
stockholders, Molgano said the company could have kept him to justify the money
it invested over the years to accommodate him. In addition, his paralysis from a
neck injury makes it harder to compete with the hordes of job seekers out there,
he said.

"I never wanted pity and never will," Molgano said. "But it's possible I'm
going to become a tax recipient rather than a taxpayer."

Molgano said his savings are too small to live on, and he is eligible to
collect a partial pension,His parents' resources are limited, too. Last summer,
their diner, Lou's Kitchen, closed after 38 years on Forest Street in downtown
New Canaan. They could not find a buyer after a new landlord doubled their
rent.

Asked about Molgano, Praxair spokesman Nigel Muir said, the company "can't
comment on individual people laid off." He said the 1,600 people were cut
throughout Praxair's global operations but would not say how many people it
fired at the Danbury headquarters.

Last month, Praxair said in a statement that "substantial slowdown in
demand in the fourth quarter" prompted it to close plants and underperforming
and noncore product lines and businesses. Praxair had sales of $9.4 billion in
2007.

The former chemical giant Union Carbide, Molgano's original employer, spun
off Praxair as a separate company in 1992.Praxair is paying for job placement
seminars that Molgano is attending.He said he has posted a resume on monster.com
and has contacted various recruiters.

"I'm trying everything to get my name out there and hopefully find
something," Molgano said. "It's going to be tough right now because a lot of
people with the same IT positions I had are looking for work. The market is
flooded."

With Praxair and Union Carbide, Molgano had been a programmer, senior
programmer analyst and senior applications developer, among several other job
titles. He had commuted as far as Danbury and Tarrytown, N.Y., in an adapted van
with hand controls.


I've known Michael for thirty years, since about four years after his accident. He has a deep and abiding faith in God, and has been an active member, a leader, in the same Catholic parish for all that time. He has been a member of the city government, and has been a great, amazing role model for generations of youth. Recently, his parents sold their home, and he has had to move. His parents are two of the kindest, most heartfelt people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

In these dark times, I pray that we keep in mind those whose challenges may be greater than ours. God places different challenges to different people. How we rise up to those challenges is what sets us apart. As Christians, it is my hope that our lives will be a light to others in spite of whatever the world dumps on us, as Michael's has been and will continue to be. The things that we face can only keep us down if we let them.

Keep in prayer. Remember your blessings. And remember what the Word of God tells us in Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

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3/4/09

The Music Licensing Quagmire Part 3 - Responses.


Previously on Mikeymo's Place:


We talked about the basics of music licensing.

Also about different resources that are available.

So now, I want to comment on the different ways different music publishers handle music licensing, by saying one thing:

Get your act together, guys!

It's amazing the depth and breath of the different ways music publishers handle this topic. In my last post on the subject, I explained the process for applying for mechanical licenses for the songs we will be doing on our Prepare album. We are dealing with four different publishers: Integrity, EMI, Vineyard and Fire Rain Music. They all handle things very differently.

Vineyard and EMI

I'll group these two together, because I applied for the licenses together. Both publishers use Music Services to administer their compulsory licenses. Music Services has an easy-to-navigate website, and I could submit the entire project together. Once I filled out the form, I got an email back right away indicating the receipt of the application.

Six days after I applied for the licenses, they arrived via email. Music Services requires that we take a minimum of 200 licenses for each song. We have to pay for the licenses before we press any CDs. Once we send payment, Music Services then emails signed copies of the licences, and we are official.

Integrity Music

Let me start by saying the people at Integrity are great. Their website leaves a little to be desired. The site is a bloated, flash-laden hot mess. The music licensing request form is buried deep in the site, under some tabs and flash dropdowns.

Once you get to it, it's a pretty straightforward process. Fill out the form. You have to fill out a separate form for each song you wish to license. Contrary to the site's recommendations, clicking the "Back" button does not repopulate the form.


It took 29 days to hear back from Integrity. There was no confirmation that they had gotten the request, which would have been nice. They did send all the licenses in one email, which was cool. Integrity's process is a little different from Music Services. We are supposed to press the CD, and send them a copy of it along with the payment for however many CDs we pressed. (I can only hope that someone down in Mobile will actually listen to it.) They also - and this was cool - did include a prayer for the project in the letter. Very nice - it is ministry after all.


Fire Rain Music

As I said, I made the mistake of first writing to Fire Rain during the holidays. I think Rick Pino was also on the road at that point, so likely no one was in the office. An email in January was returned the same day by a real-live person! They mailed me (Remember that? The thing with the stamp?) a signed license to fax back to them. (Both parties have to sign all the licenses.) We just have to make quarterly royalty payments to them. Easy, peasy, nice and easy.

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3/3/09

Album Review - Kari Jobe - A TWC ReVue


A few months ago I was asked to take part in an innovative approach to reviewing CCM/worship music. It's called ReVue, and it happens at The Worship Community - one of the best resources for information about worship music. Why is TWC so good? Because it is written by worship leaders for worship leaders.


The way ReVue works is simple. Several different worship leaders from different backgrounds and traditions listen to the same record, and then write their review of it. Those reviews are combined into a single article. What's great about that approach is that you get not just one person's point-of-view, but four. You don't have to go clicking from website to website finding reviews - you get several all in one shot.


For my own two cents, I really like this record. I don't listen to a lot of female singers, and my general modus operandi for new music is to put a whole CD on my mp3 player, then after a couple of weeks remove all but the songs I really like. So far, I haven't taken any of these songs off. Kari has given us a sweet, tender and intimate look into her worship place, and she's invited you to come and worship with her. I strongly suggest you take the invitation.


So click on over to TWC, and read the ReVue of this record.


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3/1/09

Sunday Setlist - March 1 #sundaysetlist

What an amazing service we had at Gospel Light this morning! I'm still reeling from it a bit. But in retrospect, it's pretty understandable.



First, this whole weekend has been a youth revival at our daughter church, and a lot of our youth have been up there. Then yesterday, we held our KidzTrek children's encounter. So today had no choice but to be completely Spirit-filled.



Here's the setlist:



Opening:

Come, Now is the Time to Worship (Doerksen)(D)



Main Set:

All About You (Houghton/Cruse-Ratcliff) (E)
Turn it Around (Houghton/Lindsey)(D)
One Way (Houston/Douglass) (B)
Came to My Rescue (Davies/Thomas/Sampson)(C)
The Stand (Houston) (G)
Healer (Guglielmucci)(B)



By the time we got to "Turn it Around" we knew that today was going to be something special. There was just an air of power and joy that's hard to describe, but it was clearly there. People had literally started dancing for joy in the aisles, and even some new visitors I saw were singing and praising. We had a long interlude after "One Way." I eventually started just playing the chords to "Came to My Rescue." It was amazing hearing the way the melody just kind of drifted out of the noise. Then the drums came in, and everyone started lifting hands.



"The Stand" came out really good today, I thought. I was making full use of my Echo Park delay. I love being able to tap in the tempo and then match the delay to the song. There were a lot of dynamics in the song the way we played it, but it was Joel Houston's lyrics that were really ministering today. We kept singing that chorus over and over. When we finally finished, our associate pastor came up and shared a word of encouragement, then had everyone sing the chorus again - just voices. It was incredible, the altars were full, people were weeping openly.



When we finished that there were still people at the altars. I started just playing the opening chords to "Mighty to Save" on the acoustic. Just that, over and over again. D-A-F#m E. Elyano and Danny were playing along, and we just kept repeating those four chords, and people just kept worshipping.



After that, our senior pastor came up and gave a prophetic word of healing. There were still people at the altar, so I called out for "Healer." By the time we got done with everything and sat down, we'd been worshipping for well over an hour straight. And no one seemed to mind.



This was also a Communion weekend, so the blessings continued. We had a cell group share, and everything else continued to flow. I'm exhaused after this weeked, but elated at the same time.



Catch what other churches did at Fred McKinnon's blog.

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