post-recording

everything went well.

it's on digital form.

the producer is happy with it.

now narrowing 7 tracks down to 4 - 5.

in-studio mixing and overdubs to come.

expect video blogs at a future date on the soon to be re-launched element3.org

thanks everyone for your text messages this weekend. all 4 of them meant a lot.

setlist:
marvelous light (the trace version with a different tag and sound)
forever
you are god
sweetly broken
house of the holy one
center
blessed assurance

oh yeah.....thank you Lord for the opportunity!!!!!

tonight....

i am a few short hours away from my second recording as a musician where my name is carrying the event. the first time i was in a studio with a good friend of mine. that day was awesome but back then i knew so little about being a musician. fast forward four years and i am 100 times better than i was then. this time i have a full band. this time its live.

Lord, thank you....thank you....thank you...thank you....

what makes a good song....

what makes a good song?

different strokes for different fo'kes.

look at some of the best selling and most played songs of all time....

"smells like teen spirit" by nirvana
"enter sandman" by metallica
"hey jude" by the beatles
"ring of fire" by johnny cash
"proud mary" by ccr

what do they all have in common....

they make you want to sing-a-long or in the case of nirvana, mumble along.

my favorite songs fall in this vein as well.....

"remedy" by david crowder*band
"overkill" by colin hay
"tiny dancer" by elton john
"flood" by jars of clay
"blinded" by third eye blind
"afternoons and coffeespoons" by the crash test dummies
"sorry wrong trajectory" by flickerstick

what makes a great song for you?
what are your favorite songs?

so....i've been listening to a wide variety of music lately. soft stuff, hard stuff, folky stuff, metal stuff; you get the idea. my next few posts will be some youtube videos of bands i've gotten into. first....the metal post

Michael Angelo Batio with the sickest guitar solo ever



Between the Buried and Me "Selkies: Endless Obcession"



Dream Theater "Honor Thy Father"



Metallica "St. Anger"

partial song......

so i've been working on this song and i think the chorus is good times. the verses not happening...
so here's the chorus...someone inspire me...please....

i want to shout it out loud
from the top of my lungs
my hearts in my throat
and i've swallowed my tongue
confess all my fears
as i choke through the tears
and i need you to see
that without you
i'm incomplete


so there's the chorus.....and yes, it's probably what you think it's about

waking up...

i hate to wake up in the morning. not so much because i don't want to face the day but more so because i hate not sleeping.

now that i have you riveted i'll ramble some....

life throws curveballs a lot. sometimes you get little curveballs, other times you get really big ones. right now i'm in the midst of waiting for the pitch.

today i put in an application to work at a retail establishment and felt so defeated afterwards. having to choke on your pride and get a job that won't pay well despite having a college education is tough to handle. i'm willing to do it though and i'll tell you why.

i don't want to leave tallahasee yet. the time isn't right.

i also have no other place to go other than washington dc. i really don't want to do that either. to do so would be a giant step backwards in my development.

God has been showing and teaching me so many things lately paramount of which is being humble. humbleness is not easy for me. i like getting pats on the back and doing high profile things that will get noticed. lately i've learned to just shrink my pride and do jobs high profile or not simply because they need to get done. i've had to stretch and learn to be a team player in different ways and its been a tough journey.

i say that to say this: God is calling me to work in churches from now until i die. right now i'm volunteering at a church and doing a variety of things, all of which i love very much most of the time. i see this time as a preparation for where God is going to point me next and to leave it now would set me back months or even years.

i'll be part of a church staff sooner or later and i'm comfortable with it being later but in order to get there i need to be seasoned in other areas. if i leave tallahassee now and go back to dc, i'll be working at an office, living at home until i find a place, and dead miserable. i hated living in dc because i had no friends and nothing to do with my life but work. i want to get married, have kids, and do what God wants me to do for Him. if i went to dc i'd become one miserable sob and regret every day for the rest of my life.

strength is rising as i wait on the Lord. He knows what he's doing and i need to shut up and listen to know what's next.