mikeymo's place

The Joint has released another review, this time of indie worship artists Dirt Poor Robins.  Trust me, this is not your father's worship band.

KLAMPERT: PURE melt your face off rock n roll mixed with broadway mixed with a spooful of brilliance! Rating:

BYRD: Unbelievable beautiful insanity! Music for those bored by radio! A 5 course musical meal that for those with the stomach and appetite will be satisfyingly delicious! Rating:

MAHONEY: Music for those who love a sense of the dramatic.    Rating:

VANCE: One of my favorite albums right now to air guitar to.  Crazy good! Rating:

So, head on over to The Joint and read the entire review.  

Well, it was an interesting day of two churches, and last-minute changes.  All-in-all, it worked, and all-in-all, a great day of worship.

During rehearsal, we found out that our drummer was sick in bed and would not be coming, and there was no time to get a replacement.  So we had to completely redo the set this morning,  as several of the songs we intended to do required a drummer.  So what we wound up with was an acoustic set, which was pretty cool.

It was also the week for our twice-monthly worship leading at Lighthouse Fellowship Church.  We did acoustic only there as well.  We love helping out over there.

Our set at Gospel Light looked like this:

Opening Song:

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

Main Set:

All About You (Houghton)(E)
God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)(G)
History Maker (Smith)(G)
Shout to the Lord (Zschech)(A)

Offering:

You Are Good (Houghton)(E)

The transition from "God of Wonders" into "History Maker" was especially seamless, I thought.  Our arrangement to "God of Wonders" had us ending on "you are holy..." repeating over and over.  I was playing Em to C under that, which of course, lead right into "History Maker."  And of course, somehow "Shout to the Lord" always turns into an anthem, even with one acoustic guitar.

So, how was your Sunday service?  Check out others at The Worship Community.  

It's quite often that a cover of a song becomes more popular than the original artist's version.   This happens quite often in praise, worship and gospel music.  (Think Lincoln Brewster's cover of "Everlasting God" or Third Day's rendition of "God of Wonders."

In 1965, soul, funk and R&B master Curtis Mayfield penned a little gospel ditty called "People Get Ready,"  which was recorded by his group, The Impressions.  The song hit #3 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #14 on the Hot 100.  It was listed as one of the greatest songs of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone, and Mojo.   It's been covered by a bajillion people (including Bob Dylan three times!) and in a variety of styles.   In 1985, the legendary Jeff Beck covered it for his album Flash, with vocals by Rod Stewart. This version again hit the Hot 100, and became the definitive version of the song for a generation.

Move over, Jeff.   Mommasox is in da house!

This, people, is how it's done.  This is how you connect with a song, and make an audience feel it.  This is how you redefine a song.  This is how you bring it to church. Singers, take notes.

A first for The Joint this week;  we're not reviewing an album.  (Although, in a roundabout way we are...)   What we're giving you is a review of the feature-length concert video by the seminal Christian worship band, Delirious?  And not just a concert video; Farewell Show - Live from London documents the band's final concert together, before five thousand dedicated fans at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.

The DVD released in the U.K. and Europe on April 19th, and will release in the U.S. on May 19th, along with a two-disc CD of the concert.  Trust me, go for the DVD.   Or don't just trust me.  Trust The Joint.

KLAMPERT: Footage is sick! and the music is brilliant. What a great concert DVD Rating:

BYRD: Just an unbelievable monument that testifies to how amazing this group of guys (and the women behind them) truly are. Mad sick energy, and raw intimate worship flows seamlessly that doesn’t feel like a DVD but an experience! Rating:

MAHONEY: Seriously, one of the better concert videos I’ve ever watched . Rating:

VANCE: Watching this DVD is reminding me of how great some of their songs actually are! Stellar! Rating:

You're seeing that right.  The Joint gave this DVD a unanimous five star review.   Which means you need to read the review, then get the DVD.   Here's a preview:

Here's this week's setlist from Gospel Light Community Church.

The weekend started with us participating in the official launch of Lighthouse Fellowship Church,  a local church plant that is part of Harvest Fellowship of Churches, and that we have been helping to lead worship at several times a month.  We had a great celebration Saturday afternoon, full of good music, fellowship and food.

Sunday's set looked like this:

Opening:

Tell the World (Houston)(G)

Main Set:

All Because of Jesus (Fee)(C)
Rescue (Anderson)(D)
Once Again (Redman)(A)
Came to My Rescue (Davies/Sampson/Thomas)(C)

Offering:
Great and Mighty is He (Pettygrove)(D)

Today went much more smoothly than last week.  It was a good set, sound was right on the money, and the back end of the set really ministered today.  "Came to My Rescue" is one of those songs - we just keep building it in the bridge until the whole sanctuary is filled with sound and people are literally "falling on (their) knees in worship."

Check out other setlists at The Worship Community.  

Wow...  what a weekend.  Men's Encounter, two churches on Sunday morning, welcome home reception on on Sunday night.  Lot's of stuff going on, so we'll dive right in.

We had a Men's Encounter weekend this weekend. Josh and I were scheduled to lead worship; unfortunately, Josh's grandfather passed away Thursday, so he had to leave Saturday morning.  That left me leading solo for three sets on Saturday.  Not exactly my strong suit, but I made the best of it.

Since we had guys from three different churches, and only some of them were familiar with our usual songs, I decided to take the opportunity to teach them a couple of new songs.  Two of the sets included Happy Day (Hughes)(C), a song I had learned playing at the Lifepath retreat.  Following a teaching on the passion and crucifixion, and given the overall theme of "brokenness" for the weekend, I had a last minute thought to add Remedy (Crowder)(G) to the list.  I had no printer or internet connection, so I had to scrambleout  a quick cheat sheet.




I had to return for Sunday morning ahead of the rest of the group.  Laura and I led at Lighthouse Fellowship Church, a three song set.  During the final song, "History Maker," Pastor Hector took an opportunity to use the lyrics to the song to bring a word of exhortation and encouragement to his small congregation.  It was really quite amazing, actually.





After that it was onto Gospel Light for our service:

Opening:

Blessed Be Your Name (Redman)(C)

Main Set:

History Maker (Smith)(G)
For Who You Are (Sampson)(B)
Higher (Fieldes)(C)
The Stand (Houston)(G)

Offering:

Ancient of Days (Harvill/Sadler)

(I just realized the tail end of the set looks like a Hillsong United show.)  So it was just me playing, and Laura and Emmanuella singing today.  Encounter weekends are awesome, because we get to strip everything down and just get right to the core of things.  I played acoustic for the first two songs, and keys for the three Hillsong tunes.  Piano is not my main gig by any stretch, but it was easier for the girls to follow and sing with.  I struggled a little bit with "For Who You Are," but the other two sounded really nice, and no one seemed to notice.

So...  how was your Sunday?   Check out others at The Worship Community.

Just wanted to throw out an update for those who have been so patient and supporting during the production of Prepare. 


Budgetary matters are all set, and we have the money in hand for mastering and duplication.  That is a huge load off!

We knew that there were some areas that needed tightening up.  We've been listening to the record on and off for a couple of months, and have identified some very minor tweaks to make, plus the record needs what's called "sweetening."  This is basically taking the whole track and listening to it as complete song (not pieces) and then seeing what needs to be done as far as the fitting the pieces into the whole - level adjustments, EQ of individual tracks, etc...

It's good to have a new set of ears do this.  I've interviewed a couple of audio engineers, and last night Josh and I sat with a great guy named Tyler at Number 7 Records.   We were both impressed, and we're going to go into the Number 7 studio next week to record one guitar track and work on the mix.

We are very hopeful at this point that we will be shipping the record off to mastering before the end of the month.  From there, it's about three weeks to shipping.  Yes, I'm talking about shipping!   Wow!

The final artwork is also done, so there's really nothing holding us back at this point.   Stay tuned!!  

I'm not much for audiobooks, but I found this to be intriguing.  My time is filled up more and more with family, ministry, work, travel, rehersals, etc...  The idea of being able to listen to the Word while in the car was something I could use.

And what an experience!   This is not some hacked-together budget production.  Word of Promise used an amazing collection of well-know actors to bring out the richness of the scriptures.  Utilizing the New King James version, this audio bible brings the scriptures alive with well acted voices, a beautiful score, and great sound effects.

It all comes packaged in a twenty-disc set, bound in a durable, zippered case.  It also includes a DVD explaining how this production came to life.   The only (minor) gripe I have is that some of the books end in the middle of a CD, so one disc may be the second half of one book, and the first half of another.  None of this is an issue if the chapters are ripped to an mp3 player, though.  All in all, an excellent offering from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I recieved a copy of this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in hopes I would mention it on my blog.  Nevertheless, the opinons stated are my own.  I was not required to write a positive review. (16CFR Part 225)

Seems like everybody and their brother is reviewing Vicky Beeching's full-length album, Eternity Invades, which drops today in the U.S. and U.K.   And well they should - the album is a masterpiece.  But only ONE site can offer the collective wisdom of four worship leaders from different styles and traditions - The Joint Review.   Check it out...

KLAMPERT: The bottom line is you need this CD. I didn’t say you might want it. I said you need it. This is a veteran worship artist who does not use cliche lyrics and has a heart for the church and broken people. It comes out in every track and most of these songs can be used in your church.

BYRD: Well produced songs for church that can be listened to for “entertainment” as well and great vocals and musicality! Have I not talked about the lyrics yet? Oh yeah they’re great. (I still love what she did with Salvation Day!) This CD is just hitting on all cylinders for me!

MAHONEY: The EP was like taking the whipped cream off an ice-cream sundae.  Eternity Invades makes you want to dig your spoon down in there to get the last bit of fudge.  A great record from a wonderful artist.

VANCE: A great worship album – if you enjoyed the EP you’ll love it!

So check out the entire review at The Joint Review