The Evening Of Elegance

Yesterday, our church hosted a young adult formal event known as the Evening of Elegance. The theme this year was "The Cat Screamed At Midnight" and the activities of the shindig included solving a bizarre murder mystery and consuming a strange starch heavy menu of lasagna, alfredo pasta, potatoes, chicken, salad, bread, and tiramisu. I went with my girlfriend Crystal and her sister Carrie from Ashland and we all dressed our fanciest.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Cappuccino

So my brother and sister-in-law bought me a cappuccino maker for Christmas and I am way excited. I now can spend $5.00 on a half a pound of expresso which lasts me a week or two compared to spending $5.00 per cup at Starbucks. I can't tell you how responsible I feel for curbing my habit of buying overpriced coffee. This is truly a new era.

Well, it's taken me a couple weeks to really get the hang of steaming and frothing milk, but I think I've got it down pretty good now. Regardless, fixing a cappuccino requires a minor commitment, maybe 10 or 15 minutes with the pre-cleaning and the post-cleaning of the machine. So, this morning, I awoke, as usual, running a little behind. This is especially typical for Mondays, as it is always a challenge to transition back into work at the beginning of the week. Not to mention, I've found myself a little more of a night owl over the last month or so. Of all days, This morning was begging for a healthy dose of caffeine.

After a swift shower, I wandered into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of juice, grabbed a bowl of Cranberry Almond Crunch (which I topped w/ blueberries) and fired up the old trusty cappuccino machine. The smell of the brewing expresso was a breath of fresh semi- consciousness... or something like that. I kept looking at the clock. "Dude," I thought, "I need to get out of here... but I really want a cup of coffee for the road." Finally, the expresso was ready, and after loudly steaming and frothing a small cup of milk, I proceeded to mix the two, add a dash of sugar, and transfer the wonderful concoction into my travel mug. I turned off the machine, grabbed my coat, hat, gloves, book bag, and gym bag and dropped them at the front entrance of my apartment. I then placed my travel mug full of warm caffeine goodness on top of my tv which sat by the door. I put on my shoes. Then, finally, I was ready to go. With my gloves on, I reached for the travel mug sitting on top of the television set. And then it happened. Like a slow motion heart breaker, the lid of my travel mug slipped off as the priceless contents of the nearly overflowing cup of carefully prepared cappuccino splattered down the front of my tv set and across several feet of beige carpet outlining the linoleum square neighboring my apartment front door. I couldn't believe my eyes as my spirit sank like the grounds of poorly filtered coffee spiral to the depths of a cheap styrofoam cup. Wow, what a way to begin a monday. But you know, there's a lot worse things that a cup of spilled cappuccino.

After drenching my carpet with Oxi Clean (it's all I had), I set out to work with the thankful thought that I hadn't alternately sprayed the front seats of my new car with the cappuccino which now soaked my apartment floor. And yeah, I later spent $5.00 at Starbucks. You could call it a rebound relationship.

The Truck Driver Score

Last fall, I completed the music for a short thriller film entitled The Truck Driver, directed by my friend Ben Bays (Room 101 Productions. Copyright 2007). The other day, I edited the 45 minute score down to about 15 minutes, compiling what I think are the best sections. You can take a listen here (just click on "demo"). Just be advised the music gets rather intense, and may not be the best choice for the stereo right before you go to bed.

Keep in mind this is copyrighted material, so please don't use this for your own movie or production. I have posted this with the permission of the director, Ben Bays. Ben is currently editing his next movie, "The Horseman." I've seen still shots from the movie and it looks amazing.

Some Christmas Pictures

When Songs Won’t Fall From The Sky

I’ve forgotten how much work it is to write songs. It’s hard to believe that Backstage Pass arrived off the press a little over three years ago. Much has changed since then. Much. The prospect of composing a new project comes with it much soul searching and forces a lot questions such as “who is your audience?” and “what do you want to write about?” and “what do you have to say that people can connect with?” and “who are your key influences and what direction do you want to explore musically while staying relevant and unique?” Maybe some song writers just sit down and songs magically fall in their lap. For me, song composition is a holistic adventure. It requires deep emotional and spiritual inventory. I want to write music that is honest, yet along with this, I have to have a good handle on what I’m passionate about, and what's killing me inside.

I wouldn’t say writing Backstage Pass was easy. It was actually quite a grueling process. I was stretched to limits in many ways... musically, relationally, and financially. Yet, like the birth of a child, you somehow forget about the pain once you’re holding the new born in your arms. (Certainly, a baby has a little more value than a CD, but you get my point.) I still remember seeing the first UPS box of Backstage Pass CDs in the lobby of the tv station I work at, and I was about as giddy as a four year old anticipating a fire engine on Christmas morning. It’s hard to explain.

In a way, I feel like I’m starting all over. Certainly, I can build on the technical knowledge I acquired through the process of developing Backstage Pass, but musically speaking, creating new lyrics and melodies is like visiting an uncharted country, wonderful yet strangely foreign at the same time. After a year or so of hoping finished songs would fall from the sky, I’ve made a new commitment to spend one night a week in front of a piano, prayerfully jotting down and recording any thought which strikes my creative interest. For the last several weeks, I’ve been setting aside Tuesday evening as “song night.” Sometimes, I write from home, yet usually, I prefer to sit in front of a Yamaha grand piano in the beautiful sanctuary of a local church. For inspiration sakes, I find that it’s good to get away from the electronics and get back to the basics of piano, voice, and melody. I love keyboards and programming, but there are times when cool sounds can be a cover for a mediocre melody, a lazy chord progression, or a half hearted lyric. If the song works with a piano, it will go even further with a rhythm section and a clever string arrangement. Sometimes, I want so badly to pull out the sweet synth patch and build a song from that, but I have to force myself to keep to the basics, at least in the initial composition process.

Well, fortunately, this time around, I don’t have a break up to write about. Three tunes on Backstage Pass were in fact influenced by a relationship which didn’t turn out as expected. These days, I’m trying to broaden my focus past my own let downs, and instead of complaining about my own little world, I want to speak of bigger issues which are affecting people on a larger scale. And no, my next project is not going to be about global warming. I’m dealing with bigger questions involving eternity and why we’re here and who God is and how screwed up our perceptions are. Stuff like that.

I would really appreciate your prayers as I begin this journey. I just want to glorify God in what I create, and want to say what He wants me to say. Pray for me on Tuesday nights if you think about it.

The piano pictured above is the one I often write from.

Day 4 of "To Bavaria and Beyond" is coming soon...

Oh, If The Pilgrims Could See Us Now

Unlike most of the country, my family celebrated Thanksgiving over the weekend. My brother and his family from Indiana arrived Friday evening, and we all enjoyed a turkey and dressing feast at my parent's house on Saturday. Unfortunately, my sister from Germany was unable to make it to the states this year. Joining us was my mom and dad's friend Marta along with her two boys, Sharon and Mike. Other activities of the day included some intense leaf raking, ladder repelling (into a large leaf pile), and bag pulling (we dragged the kids around at high speeds on tearing leaf bags). Saturday evening, my two nieces and my oldest nephew stopped over to my studio and we continued our yearly tradition of composing a strange but powerful song about nothing. This year's song was called "Randy" and told the story of a poor guy who's one dream in life was to buy a financial instructional book from fictional author Dr. Riley. You can listen to our extremely weird song here. We pray that it inspires you to follow your dreams, whatever they may be. You can thank my nephew for most of the lyrics.