Tuesday, October 30, 2012

It's Starting To Get Real - Ups to my man Jesus


**DISCLAIMER** FOR NON-BELIEVRS: please, if you don't read this blog post just read the last paragraph.

Allow me blow your minds really quick. Nay - allow God to blow your minds through me, really quick.

You guys, I'm a sinner. Let's just put that out there. It isn't a secret. Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I am constantly being reminded of my sinful nature. My constant need to satisfy my selfish desires is being brought to my attention at an alarming rate lately.

So, I am sitting here trying to figure out what to do with myself; how am I going to get through this selfishness; what do I need to work on and how do I accomplish that 'working on'? Before moving on to the next sentence, re-read that first one in this paragraph a couple more times, let it sink in a little bit.... a little more.... great.

What is the theme? - "Me".

I have always been one to push through, to stand strong, to muscle my way through circumstances and move forward, because isn't that what we are taught? - The stronger you are, the better off you will be in times of struggle?

Great, so, I am going to grit my teeth and flex my biceps and punch my way through my sin. But, alas, here I am the very next day in the same position I was a day ago, and a day before that, and still a day before that etc., and change hasn't happened like I thought it would. What gives?

I must stop here real quick and clarify something: I am not saying that we shouldn't strive for change, because we definitely should strive change. I am not saying that working towards perfection is not something we shouldn't do, because we are called to strive for perfection: Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (to unpack this verse, I recommend reading through the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7). The way we go about that striving for change and perfection is where my concern lies. Without giving too much away just yet, this verse in Matthew makes both my point about striving for perfection AND the point of this blog post, so we will figure that out here in a sec.

But, continuing with my dilemma, my grit and grunts aimed at breaking through my sin with force have turned me away like a feather hitting a brick wall. I thought making a check list of what to work on would allow me the 7 (or in my case 120-ish) step process of becoming "the person I want to be in 1-2 short weeks" attainable.

Here is what I have failed, and continually fail to realize: I cannot do anything in my own power to break free from sin apart from the good works of God inside of me. As hard as I try, anything I do without (aside from, alone) relying fully and totally on God and His grace is going to end in failure. Why? Because "perfection", "good"-ness, "sinlessness" only abides in one person, who IS God. And, relying on myself to produce that perfection I strive for is an impossible task because Romans 3:10 says 'None is righteous, no, not one' (talking about people, not God).

So, then, what does all of this mean?

Let me take you to the verse that started my thoughts for this blog post, and try to connect some dots for you: Psalm 27:14 Wait for the lord; be STRONG, and let your heart take COURAGE; wait for the Lord.

I was going about strength all wrong. When I was trying to play Hulk and beat the sin outta me, Jesus was saying something different. He was saying stop what you are doing, wait on ME. Stop trying to figure everything out, and wait on my word, wait on my goodness, wait on my guidance to lead you. You can't do this on your own, you don't know what strength is!

The strongest thing any one person can do, the most courageous thing we can do, is to wait on the Lord.

Woah. Ok, so, what does this mean as far as sin goes? I mean, aren't we supposed to be perfect like our Father in heaven is perfect like you said earlier? Yes. But, how we get there isn't by anything we can do. The whole point to the law (law of Moses - 10 commandments) and the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) (and arguably the whole bible) is to show that we, by ourselves, are incapable of doing anything on our own to become perfect. That leaves us with one thing, waiting on the Lord to create in us a heart aimed at perfection.

The Hebrew definition of the word wait is this: from the New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible - this word stresses the straining of the mind in a certain direction with an expectant attitude....a forward look with assurance.

Instead of straining our mind on ourselves, which doesn't produce assurance that we will come out on the other side better than we are now, we should strain our mind on Him who has the power and desire to produce that change in us, giving us an assurance in Him that the change will be produced. BAM.

Here's the point: when you struggle to produce in yourself the goodness you want to attain, you will fail. You may be able to do some nice things, or have a few minutes of self-motivated rebellion of the thing you don't want to be doing, but, if we are honest with ourselves, that sinful desire comes back so hard and so fast we don't know it hit us until we feel the pangs of despair left in its wake.

When we put our motives and strength into waiting on God's direction and reacting to His conviction, we look forward to a change that will be produced in us as long as we stay obedient to his call. When we wait on the Lord, we find ourselves so satisfied in His strength that we have no need to be strong for ourselves. Think about it this way: if we are the ant, and the shoe is our sin, Jesus (God) is the solid rock in-between us that creates the gap of space for us to fit where the sole never comes close to squishing us. (This is not to say that we will never sin, because we can't do that, but it does mean that Jesus is there to bat for us. He is there to redeem us in sin and protect us from being ruled by sin - Romans 6:4 ...we too might walk in newness of life (that we shall not serve sin, or sin shall not have dominion over us))

I encourage you to spend some time reading through Psalm 27. My good friend Joel, who you may know makes phat beats for the one and only Tyler Ward (ahem* plays drums for Tyler) gave me this verse/chapter in my time of need, and I am paying it forward to whoever reads this and is in between a shoe and a hard place (probably concrete, if you're trying to stay true to the ant shoe picture). I also encourage you to be strong and wait on the Lord. It isn't easy. My goodness, it isn't easy. But, God will produce.

And let me say this, if you don't believe in God, and Jesus to you isn't real, I encourage you to prove it. I don't say this as a 3rd grader says on the playground at recess after an infamous "I can do this better than you" battle, I say it as a friend who wants you to make sure that what you believe is 100% true. I was in your shoes all throughout my life until sophomore year of college, a mere 4-ish years ago, but the second I sought the answer to the question of why God isn't 'for me' like cilantro isn't for me, I was caught unknowingly in a whirlwind of exceptionally swaying evidence as to why Jesus does exist, and is who he says he is. If you would like a resource (I'd say it is pretty unbiased in its attempt to relay evidence for His existence) please take the time to read The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel. If you don't have access to this book, send me a message at seanwaldronmusic@gmail.com and I will get you one.

As always, thanks for enduring my long-windedness.
God bless, friends.
Sean

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Do dreams really come true? Heavenfest experience 2012

This weekend, Saturday July 28th, I did something I honestly had never even thought I would be doing.

A couple months ago, I jumped on the Heavenfest website to see the process for applying to play a stage. I found what I was looking for, put in my request, and happened upon a submission form to volunteer as a media team member. I thought it would be a blast, but I didn't have a lot of experience and didn't think I'd have a shot. I applied anyway.

A month and a half later, I got an email inviting me to become that media team member.

I was completely blown away. Here is the thing, I just started filming basically. I haven't even had a year of experience under my belt. But somehow, I have been afforded the ability to film some stuff people in the industry for 10 years haven't been able to film. And now, to add to that, I have a full 12 hr day of experience filming major bands on some of the biggest stages out there.

All I can say is that God has graced me so much.

Here is a quick summary of what happened on Saturday -

Woke up at 4:45 am, drove the 2 hours to Loveland, Colorado, checked in at 8 am, got our assignment (which was roam free and shoot everything) at 8:30, packed up the equipment and headed out to the 7 different stages at 9, shot for 12 hrs straight (with an hr and a half-ish combined total time of sitting and resting), checked out at 9 pm, and drove home after a late dinner at PF Changs (holler!) to arrive in my bed at 1:30 am.

If I tried to write out everything that I saw and had the chance to experience yesterday, we would be here all week. This is what I can tell you, I had an All Access Pass to anywhere on the festival grounds.  I mean AN Y WHERE. Try to wrap your mind around that one.

I'll tell you some of my highlights.

I was on the main stage shooting 7th Day Slumber and wanted to switch to the other side of the stage to hit some angles I hadn't gotten yet, so I walked through the back drape to make my way across the stage. Standing 6 feet away from me was Brian Head Welch. Formerly of KORN. If you don't know who KORN is, they were a HUGE rock band a few years ago. Really weird looking rockers, scary sound, but incredibly famous. I grew up listening to their untouchables cd. So I pulled out the camera and shot him walking by me. I don't know if he minded, but, it was insane. If you read this Brian, sorry if this made you mad! HA!



A little while ago, he gave his life to Christ and became a Christian. You can see his video here:


The next encounter really made the weekend for me. My first major show ever, besides the local shows watching my friends play, was a band called Thousand Foot Krutch my senior year of high school. I kid you not, at least once a day, for my first 2 years of high school, I listened to Rawkfist off of their Phenomenon cd. That was my anthem. I used it to pump up for hockey games, get over girlfriends, and do anything else to I could use headphones with. Yesterday, I filmed it live.

Not only did I film one of my favorite songs of all time live, I got to meet the frontman of the group Trevor. Before the show was starting, I looked back stage to my left and there he was, in all of his Krutch-ness. I made my way down the stairs, had it planned out, "Hi, my name is Sean, my first show ever was you guys in Colorado Springs at a club called the Black sheep." Then we would be friends, forever.

This is how it came out, "Hi, your first show... I played... me... er, it was my show."

I'm an idiot.

I don't get starstruck really, but this time was completely different for some reason. It ended up alright though. I started over, and got the words out, and shook his hand. He is one of the most down to earth musicians I have ever met in my life. He took time out to just talk to me just before going on stage. That shows how much character he has, and the whole band has for that reason. Who knew, 6 years ago after grabbing his hand as he leaned over the crowd at the Black Sheep, I would be shaking it backstage at a major festival, and filming what was the anthem to my youthful days. Thanks, so much, Trevor.


And, for the final encounter, the final shot of the day, and probably the most stunning shot of the whole day was a tiny, little known band named Switchfoot.

Ok, they're huge.

I also grew up listening to these dudes. It was Yellowcard and Switchfoot. In my skateboarding days, I lived off of them. Switchfoot also got me ready for hockey games. I couldn't go a week without my rock bands, and these guys were at the top of the list.

They were the headliners at Heavenfest this year, and let me tell you, they didn't disappoint! They blew the place up with incredible light shows, hard rockin, and Jon Foreman even made his way through the crowd of  40,000 people singing his hit songs. Just incredible. I was right in front of the stage, the final song of their set, literally up against the bass boxes for the stage. My insides were thumping along with the bass, and 3 feet above my head was the floor of the stage, and about 2 feet in front of me on that stage was the guitarist Drew Shirley. I lifted up my hands, held the camera as still as I could, focused in on him, and tried to get something that looked good on camera. I would say it was a success. Just wait til you see the footage...



Going though the footage today, it hit me hard: I was actually there filming my heroes of old, walking around with a camera I am only just starting to be completely familiar with, and getting access to literally anywhere I wanted to go. 


Now, I did not grow up a Christian. I thought that God was cool to think about, maybe it was fun for people to believe in so they could feel better about life. It wasn't for me. Or so I thought. 


After starting a life living for Jesus, I have had so much opportunity that Im completely in awe of what has happened thus far, and what will happen in the future. I'm not saying that God is a genie, and the minute you say yes he will give you the desires of your heart and your dreams of being famous (he may give you those things, but not because He is there to grant all of your wishes), but what I am saying is that if you truly and honestly accept him into your heart and follow his cues, he will take you to places beyond your dreams, beyond your desires. He will challenge you to walk in a faith that requires a grind like you've never experienced before, but through it He will bless you in ways you couldn't possibly have ever imagined. 


This is insane, and I have no idea what is happening next, but if I continue walking in this faith, I can promise you that it will be just as insane if not more...


Dreams do come true, even dreams you didn't even know you had.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Riley


You guys may have seen the picture on my page... now it is time to tell the story.

This night basically affirmed why I do music, but more than that, it painted a picture of pure, unhindered LOVE that only God could produce at a given moment like this one.

This is how it went:

It was a regular show at Jives Coffee Lounge in Old Colorado City. Quiet, but enough noise to let you know there was summer in the breezes coming in through the double glass doors at the front of the shop. I was on the stage, sitting on a stool plucking away to the few friends and later-night coffee goers seated at the tables that filled the space between me and the counter. It was faint at first, but grew louder. Some rumbling noise that sounded like someone dragging a plastic bin across concrete. I opened my eyes to see a mini jeep driven by a mini diva.

You could tell she was the main attraction on Colbrunn Ct that evening. She parked the powerwheel directly in the middle of the sidewalk like she was waiting for a valet, hopped out, and strolled through the open doors like she owned everything and everyone inside. In her summer dress, sunglasses at night, and a white scarf tied fashionably around her neck like a boa at a gala, ms. Blonde Bombshell claimed her spot right next to the stage, followed by her daddy who sat next to her at the table.

It was awesome. And, I was a little jealous because of some early childhood drama of not having a powerwheel of my own, but I quickly got over it.

I started my next song and was just through the last chorus when I heard "give it to him". I opened my eyes to see two blue, glossy eyes staring up at me and an outreached hand attached to a dollar bill. My heart jumped, how amazing is this. First of all, I think it was the first tip ever given to me at a show, and second I had the most gorgeous girl giving it to me. WIN/WIN. I said thank ya miss, tipped my hat, and put the dollar bill in my front shirt pocket, er, I mean said thank you and put the dollar in my pocket.

I continued on with the set, and finished about three songs later, invited anyone up to buy one of my CDs and/or T-Shirts, and hung around the merch table. The crowd of people cleared, rather quickly actually since I think 2 people came up, and I was just packing up when I heard her soft footsteps walking up behind me. I turned to see Riley with a $5 bill clutched in her right hand, and a quiver on her lip. Either I was unfathomably good at music, or she was 5 years old and shy. I'll take both.

"Hi!" I said. She remained quiet. "Would you like to get a CD?" I asked. She nodded, as only a child could do, and you know exactly what I am talking about. There is something about children that makes the world stop in its tracks when you are talking to them. They don't quite know how to respond to conversation, so you supplement your speech with a soft tone and a smile to let them know you are not a scary person, and their honesty in their emotions melts you with every second. I turned, grabbed a CD, and turned back to give it to her. She warmed up a little bit. I couldn't resist, so I said "would you like a shirt too?"

Her eyes lit up a little bit, and I got another nod. "What color would you like?" I asked. "Green." I turned to grab it, and from out of nowhere, "And," (she said very quickly) "can I have one for my brother too?"

This is the point when I felt my heart skip a beat.

I don't think, up to this point in life, I have seen God's love portrayed so tangibly to me.

Matthew 19:13 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Let me explain. To you and to me, a shirt that is sold at a show costs money. It is also something that, usually, you would buy for yourself or maybe a girlfriend/spouse whatever or as a present for a birthday maybe. It is a shirt, something you throw in the droor, wear every laundry day, and don't think more than twice about it.

But to Riley, there was no concept of money, there was no concept of laundry day, I don't even think there was a concept of the shirt (as in when will she wear it or what will she do with it). To riley, none of this mattered, except one thing, sharing LOVE with her brother. Without hesitation, not even a second to think about herself and if she would get anything in return, she asked if she could have a second shirt to give to her brother. I have never seen a love so honest in my life.

Now, I know the response to this might be, "She's 5. That is what 5 year olds do." We're older. We HAVE a concept of money. We HAVE times to give gifts like Christmas and Birthdays. Yes, this is all true, but let me ask you this, what is the deeper motive here? Is it the t-shirt, is it the single act of giving a gift? Or could it be the fact that she was thinking about someone other than herself FIRST, and proceeded to share a deeper love with her brother to see a smile hit his face, and to invite him into the joy she experienced.

I know she is 5, I know she was just being the sweetheart that she is, but I also know that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to her. What can I learn from this? Everything. The most important command in the bible is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor (brother, sister, girlfriend, boyfriend, people closest to you) as you love yourself. She did just that.

I'll be the first to tell you that I am incredibly selfish, in more than one area. This single act of a little girl getting a dinky t-shirt for her brother, broke my heart into a million tiny grateful pieces. I don't think I am overly dramatic, or exaggerating this in any way, I believe that God used her in my life to show me what the condition of my heart really is, and to give me an example of what His looks like and what I should be striving for. Matthew 18:3 says "Then he said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.'" Unless I recognize my selfishness, and turn away and become like Riley, thinking of others first, I will have no idea what Christ is like.

SO, I said no because I have to pay for pei-wei and coldstone ice cream at dinner tonight.

Just kidding.

Of course I said yes. "What color do you think he would like?" I asked. "Blue!". So,  I swung a blue shirt into her arms. She was so excited, it was awesome. We unrolled her green one, took a picture of her and I, and I left that night with the biggest grin on my face. This tiny woman made off with 2 t-shirts (both colors, and I think one of the last smalls I had in blue) and a CD, a bill of 25 bucks, for $5.  What can I say, I guess I have a thing for blondes. She is going to do well in life.

Thank you Riley, if you ever read this, you are one heckuva girl.




I'll leave you this time with a song from NEEDTOBREATHE called Let Us Love. It sums this one up pretty well I think.



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Alright

I haven't posted anything in a hot minute. Sorry about that.


I just graduated college. The last 4 (ahem. 5) years of my life were spent daydreaming about music, in class. If I am completely honest with you, most of the school hours were spent in my fantasy world opening for the likes of Matt Wertz, Dave Barnes, Steve Moakler, Andrew Ripp, Ben Rector, Nathan Angelo, upon MANY others. I remember this magnet (see above picture) from about 2 years ago. A good friend of mine gave it to me, I came home, slapped it on the fridge, looked at my dad and said, "YOU REMEMBER THIS FOREVER!" Then kicked a door down and shredded a fat solo whilst standing over a floor fan.

Well, that's how I remember it anyways.

College, to me, was much more of a life experience than a study experience. I learned the most important things I will have ever learned during my 4 (ahem, 5. crap.) years at UCCS. The first and foremost important thing I learned was Jesus Christ as my savior. This has changed my life, for the rest of my life. I became a believer in my freshman/sophomore year at school, and I am so grateful for this. The second thing I learned was love. Yes, love. And, the last thing I learned, and it took a little bit, in fact not until I was able to say "I'm Done" did it finally sink in, I am a musician.

There is something about college, and I'm sure those of us who have been there, or are there, might agree upon: it is a safe place to not make a decision. What I mean by this is that while in college, you can still play the "I don't know, I'm still in college card." ie: what are you going to do for the next 5 years of your life? (present card) any plans for work after you get out of school? (present card) would you like to go to lunch this week? (present card)... because im poor. Get it? Sweet.

Anyways, I had the opportunity to pull that card anytime somebody asked me what I was going to do after I was out of school. In my heart, my answer was play as much music and meet as many people as I can with my bedroom tunes (songs written in my bedroom. thought I should clarify). But, I never really had the faith to say that, so I presented what I thought was a sufficient answer.

"I don't really know, I'm still in college."

Behold, graduation, a degree in my hands (in like 6 weeks when they mail it to me), and being asked that question. "What are you going to do now?"

I majored in Sports Management, and it was really cool given the fact that we had connections out the butt with the Olympics, USA Hockey, Manchester United, etc. but I really found myself cringing at the thought of a 9-5. I can't do that. I can't be at a place doing the same thing over and over, no real interaction, nothing. Just go, come home.

I prayed, and prayed hard about what was next. Luckily, I have a band of dudes who are completely solid (it helps they're all insane at their instruments) at music, and at life, that I got to watch and observe.  I prayed, what I really want to do is music. It was a crossroads really. Do I decide that I will take a safe route, go for a job at the Olympic Training Center or something, try to use my degree, or do I take a leap of faith and answer that question with anticipation of the answer: "Oh. That's cool. Don't you think you should get a real job though, on the side? Do music when you have free time?"

As a believer, I am not called to "make my own decisions." I am called to present my requests in prayer, and let boss man guide me in my actions. So, with that said, I went for the musician route.

 It, so far, has been a roller coaster. The music world is a crazy beast. I've heard it plenty of times, have tough skin. You don't really understand until you're there, in it, going for the gold. I put myself out there constantly, and constantly find closed doors, dead ends, and another check on the to do list that wasn't ta-done. I have been on my knees constantly, presenting my requests, and waiting for the leading hand to show me the direction, show me an open door to step through.

Just recently, there have been 2 doors opened that blow a 9-5 out of the water. Well, emotionally anyways, I am not getting paid kind of. HA! Sob... I digress.

First, there is a band named Churchill out of Denver. They just opened for THE FRAY, yep, THE FRAY at RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER. Thee Red Rocks Amphitheater. Insane. My ultimate goal is to have a show at this venue, so it is kind of a big deal to me. Anyways, they just so happened to have a date in the Springs at a local venue called The Black Sheep on June 29th. Great, I want this show so stinking bad. I emailed probably 3 people, got a friend to email some people he knew, and emailed the manager of this band. Nothing. Not a thing for 3 weeks. Lots of prayer time devoted to asking for an opportunity to play this show...

ALAS! One morning at the gym, after doing 1,000 bench press rows extensions chest-ceps (your basic Avengers workout), I get an email that says, "Hey, if you still want this show, we can put you on." It was from Mike, who works at the Sheep. I jumped out of my skin, my very very ripped skin... ok. Sorry, truth Is I look like Captain America.... before the bod-pod. I digress again. I said HO YEAH! And we were on the bill, but not only that, WE ARE MAIN OPENER. Out of nowhere. Here we are, main opener, to an up and coming band out of Denver. Made.
(show is happening June 29th, Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, Tix are 8 buckaroos)

The second door, is one that has been in the works for a while, and has finally come to forwishen, or fruition. Something like that. Coledge wurked for meh.

I am recording an EP.



Came across these pictures today, they are from recording Searchlights. 3 years ago I recorded my first disk. It was a cool experience, but it didn't really do much. It was fun, but I was still too scared to say that I was a musician. The kid in these pictures has no idea. He just knows he wrote 5 songs and wants so badly to say he is a musician!

Tomorrow morning, 9 am, we hit the studio. Full band. We start tracking for "Alright EP". This EP is the culmination of hours upon hours of dreaming out loud, and it is finally manifesting into a CD that I can present and say "here, this is me."I don't want to give away too much, but, it is going to be epic. You will recognize maybe a couple of the tracks, but you have never heard them like this, and the others are completely new material! SO AWESOME TO SAY THIS.

This is the beginning folks. If I could put a point to this blog, it would be that. THE BEGINNING. It is weird to say that.

So, here is to not knowing what the next few months hold. I have my hopes and prayers, but right now, all I know is that God is good, and I'm like a little school girl giggling because all of this is just too cool.

One more thing actually...
Thank you ALL so much for taking me serious. Music is what beats inside of me, runs through my veins, and out my finger tips to the guitar. There is something inside of me that wants out, and wants you guys to hear it, and so far, you are responding. That, to a musician, is one of the best feelings in the world. I will speak on behalf of all musicians when I say that everything we put out comes from the heart. It is flesh and blood with chords and words attached, so you guys responding and digging what I am doing basically refines the word inside of me, that I am where I am for a reason, and this isn't just some happenstance. I pray this can continue for a long time, and it can continue to grow into something that is so much bigger than me I can't even fathom. It is a process, and I am staying faithful (as best I can) to that, and am saying thank you and come along. Here we go.

What is this dog doing here with a bud lig... oh. dangit.
(some may get this, others, please just pretend the blog ended at along.)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Paradise

Sometimes a song just needs to get out:
PARADISE

I'm a wayfaring soul
Just searching for a love
That I can call my home


You're an open sea
I drift on every wind that comes 
From every word you speak


I can feel the waves rush in
I can feel the flood begin


I found paradise in your eyes,
paradise
Paradise in your eyes, 
paradise


You're the storm I need
To wash away the heart
That used to beat in me


I'll take you by the hand
We'll dive right under
A chance to breathe again



I can feel the waves rush in
I can feel the flood begin

I found paradise in your eyes,
paradise
Paradise in your eyes, 
paradise

Sometimes it rains in paradise



Monday, March 5, 2012

Nashy

Let's talk about dreams for a minute.

If you hang out with me, you will soon come to find I have a small man-crush on Nashville. And I mean that in the most heterosexual way possible.

There is a group of musicians down there I have become incredibly awed with. They completely encapsulate the "musician" image I hold in my head perfec, to the "C". I have had the pleasure of seeing 3 out of the 5 in concert, and have been blessed enough to shake their hands and fan-boy out for a couple hours.

Following them on youtube, facebook, and the sort has allowed me to process this dream I have of being a musician in a way that pulls me in tighter. Besides being amazing at their crafts (songwriting, instruments, performance, etc), they have life measured out to balance their talents with relationship.

They are all best friends, always playing shows and writing together, doing bible studies, and just living in community with each other. A few are married, some are out touring while the others keep Nashville warm, but you can tell that the music isn't the most important thing to them.

Dreams are important and good to have, but you should never lose sight of what is most important.

Enjoy Andrew Ripp's "Dresden Wine", and try not to get addicted. It's almost impossible.


The others:
Ben Rector
Matt Wertz
Dave Barnes
Steve Moakler

Saturday, March 3, 2012

When I grow up and have enough money to buy a house, I want to build my own and tell the contractors to throw in like 10 secret rooms and trap doors for me to discover throughout my life.


#ihaveadream

Sing For The Summer

I thought today would be an appropriate day to post such title.

Finally, after 4 long weeks, Drew Hartley and I have finished post production on the new Raw Potatoes. There have been quite a few (positive) hic-ups along the way, but nothing that didn't add to our character and understanding of this musical journey, and life as it were. Small aside *small aside aside - I took that phrase from a Dave Barnes post, credits where they should be*, I have never heard of positive hic-ups but I am pleased to announce they do indeed exist.

We shot the video outside. Sounds awesome, and 'twas, but it was also 43 degrees (not to be confused with the popular 90s boy band 98 degrees, which would have been fantastic in more than one way).

An hour and a half of bone chilling breezes will give you an appreciation for the heat accompanied with summer afternoons like nothing else.

We survived.




All of that to say, I'm so incredibly blessed to be able to do music, and I will do videos in 43 degree weather no problem if that means I can someday make a living from this. I have been mentioning coffee shops, songwriting, and this EP we are chasing that will be released early summer, and I don't think I have been this excited since I got my first Easton Synergy hockey stick when they first came out all those years ago.

I am excited because I finally have something to play for. I have something to put my full heart and motivation into, and I get to do it with 3 friends that you couldn't buy. So, the songs that come out of us, I know will be real. Nothing less.

I thought I would share some lyrics that I've been scratching out. I hope this allows you guys to come along with me, and us on this adventure. God bless.

From Drew Hartley's Amazing Grace video
www.youtube.com/DrewHartleyMusic




SING FOR THE SUMMER 


This California sunrise
Looks beautiful today
We could make our way there
It's not too late

This California dayside
Could color my blood
This watercolor heart inside
Sings all night

Sing for the summer
For the lover I found in you

This California moon won't shine
Without a song
We could howl to the morning light
All night

Sing for the summer
For the lover I found in you
Sing for this moment
For the romance I found in you



Thursday, March 1, 2012

Songwriting

I learn a lot about myself when songwriting. Mostly, I learn my insecurity. Will they understand it, will they get it, will they like it, is it fast enough, does it drag on, it isn't good enough, it isn't good, etc. I think songwriting is supposed to feel like this though. If it is easy, if each song comes without any pain or work, then you aren't really discovering yourself, thus no one will discover themselves through your music.

There has been a strange feeling for the last few days, weeks, that I'm deciding to take a route for music. It is weird deciding something. Obviously, none of this would be possible first without God's infinite grace, and second fans pushing you along. But nonetheless there is a decision to take a leap, to dive head first into the clouds, and hope you catch a breeze that will carry you through to somewhere, wherever that somewhere may be.

I have also noticed the mystery of songwriting. When you don't have that first sparkle that catches your eye and leads you to a hit, when you don't have that sudden burst of "I have to write this," there is a lot of time taken up by wondering what will catch you. And, there is a reaction that comes from this wondering; you open up a net. You open up a net waiting to catch that idea floating somewhere inside, but ironically you have a guard that says "nope, not good enough, let's wait for the next one." If you let yourself wait, if you let yourself try to catch the one that will thrust you into songwriter heaven, you miss out on a lot of songs you didn't know existed. At least that is what I've discovered.

I've spent the last couple days in Starbucks (not my coffee of choice mind you, but good enough to lose yourself in a coffee shop daze for a few hours) soaking. Youtube, blogs, interviews, live videos, iTunes have all kept me company while I try and let inspiration flow freely into my net. I've had a great time enjoying a process (one thing I have a terribly hard time with). I have beef with processes. I'm very used to the right nows, but a lot of the last year has been real and ripe with "process." I'm in the process of learning to love the process. But, also hating processed foods, for what it's worth.

I know there is a shine that will capture me, but it is the in-between that we mostly wade through. For me right now, I'm in the thick of it.

I am in kahoots with some pretty awesome players, and we plan on releasing an EP early this summer. There is time, but is the time on my side is where my thoughts seem to land today. God willing, time won't be a factor. This just might be the beginning.