Must.Write.Now. It’s a bit obvious when the songwriter in this house has stayed away too long from writing, because she starts getting just a LITTLE bit grumpy. A TINY bit irritable. Easily IRKED. Not by political leaders or financial crises or even by semi-big deals like being behind (again) on emails or (chronically) filing paperwork. [...]
If you want to make a musician really happy, give us a chance to play side by side with some of our favorite fellow artists. It’s just…well…it’s just special. Like a kid in a candy shop. And it doesn’t hurt that some of the pressure of carrying a whole concert by yourself is relieved. I [...]
In Nashville this week, I had the rare opportunity to go out with Mom and hear some live music last night. Listened to several accomplished songwriters at Cindy Morgan‘s benefit for the Leukemia Society sing in the round, telling stories – some lighthearted, some serious – about the music they have made, and perform them [...]
Santa Semana–Holy Week–is a week to weigh costs. Fuel is nearly $3/gallon, unemployment at 9%…the $3 coffee that seemed nothing a year ago we now hesitate or pass on. We feel the emptying of the bank account as we pay utility bills, mortgage, car… But this is a week to consider the price tag on [...]
I made myself wait these past several months, and now we’re ready to share the music we made last summer/fall before heading out to Costa Rica. And now…I’m both eager and a little shy about actually shipping. :) How Emptiness Sings is a 7-track EP, all new originals, recorded & produced by Zodlounge (Nashville, TN), [...]
(Photographs in this post were a gift from my young reader/listener/writer friend Abby Ang. Enjoy Abby’s words here.) *Adding here to my original post, based on an interaction with a lovely young lady I hope to one day meet. She wrote: At each stage of this journey, it seems the more productive I am…the more [...]
A minute or two of some car convo on the songwriting process, followed by some in-the-studio eavesdropping. The two songs you’ll hear portions of on this clip are: The Best Thing (inspired by this post) and Kingdom Coming (on our response as Christ-followers to physical & spiritual poverty around us…I’ll be writing more about that [...]
As you may remember, I was in Nashville again a couple of weeks ago, this time to lay down the vocal tracks for the 7-song EP I’ve been working on. These months have been so full, I actually didn’t even have all the music together when I arrived, nor did I feel super solid about [...]
I want to tell you about Masterpiece Project 2010. Our theme this year was “Frame the Clouds,” and you’ll just have to believe me when I say I did not have anything to do with that. But I was humbled, so grateful that the concept resonates with others. The staff at Masterpiece are not all [...]
It’s obvious she has the bug. She is 6 and can’t keep from it. Small brown fingers push the sound from the ivory and I watch her do what I do. Play. Evaluate. Try a new way. Repeat. Build a pattern, wonder where it must go next. She is emotive. Sometimes loud. Often tragic (her [...]
