Christmastime Is Here...

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It is magical. I love seeing my kid's faces light up over the decorations. I love settling down with my sweetheart, after all the hustle and bustle, late on Christmas Eve. And who doesn't love the music?

If you didn't already know, I have a Christmas record for your listening enjoyment over at CKandWinter.com. That was a fun project to put together. Lord knows, I couldn't stop there. I've recorded a few songs for a little 52 Christmas present! Download them all for free and tell your friends and loved ones about it. Let me know what you think. Thanks for listening.

Merry Christmas,

Christopher

     Recorded November 11-13, 2012. My good friend Rudy Landa played banjo on this. Man, I love that guy. I know my sons, Lucas Grey and Christopher Avery, and I already recorded "Jingle Bells" for And Winter, but... I was recently contacted about doing a version of "Jingle Bells" for a company's Christmas video. The videographer said, "we love your version of the song, but the kids will not work for what we are doing. The video is for Bushmills Irish Whiskey." Understandably so. I went straight to my office and started working on about seven different variations. They liked this one the best. You can check out their Christmas video over here. Thanks, Bushmills! 

     Recorded December 6-8, 2012. It felt incredibly weird to sing the words "ding dong, ding dong" in three part harmony. I'm just saying. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" written by Edward Pola and George Wyle. Nice work, gents.

     Recorded November 29 and December 11-12,  2012. "Angels We Have Heard on High" written a long time ago by an unknown French person. The tune was written by Edward Shippen Barnes. Thank you, Ed and aforementioned anonymous French person! I love this song. Nichole Broome sang all of the super high parts. You can hear more from her over at NicholeBroome.com. Kevin McClain played drums. You can hear more from him and his bandmates over at AmericanAquarium.net. When Kev wasn't recording, he was letting my son, Ames Emmanuel bang a bit. Here's the proof!

     Recorded December 20-21, 2012. We had some more Dropbox action on this one. Anderson Hall recorded the drums at his place, then sent them over to me. He has done some great work on his contributions to 52! Thanks, Anderson. I wish I had more to offer you. You deserve it. 

     Recorded November 29 and December 18-21, 2012. Kevin McClain recorded drums on this one, too. His tracks were hastily recorded at the end of our time together. He said, "you want to hear the ideas I've been messing around with for "Light Into the World?" I said yes, but secretly pushed record. He unknowingly took one take. I asked him, "could you do that one more time, so I can record the "ideas?" He agreed. The final recording is from his second take. At the end, I had to fade the last cymbal crash quite quickly because Kevin, knowing me, said, "DO NOT... USE THIS!" Hah. Well, Kev... I did. Sorry, but your trash tracks are my treasure tracks. You are gifted, brother.

Week 40...

This is another Ridge Church opener! We used "The Waiting" to crank up our latest series called "The Waiting Room." I changed the feel of the song a bit. It definitely drives a little more than the original Tom Petty version. My partner in crime, Adam Locklear did an amazing job singing the song last Sunday. Anderson Hall played the drums that morning. Anderson, or as I sometimes call him, Arsenio and I sparked up a conversation about possibly recording it for 52. He said he just recently acquired some recording equipment and that he'd love to try to track it at his place. I said, "that sounds great!" All the while I was thinking about how much of a nightmare it would be to try to make this newbie's drum tracks sound decent. To my surprise, he killed it. I was so impressed. 

In other news, this song reminds me quite a bit of my relationship with my wife. "The waiting is the hardest part." Waiting and patience have been an ongoing theme in my life and in our relationship. We've had some hard rows to hoe, but we've always focused on the important things. We set our goals high and kept working toward them, even through trials and stresses. We are just now beginning to see and experience the fruits of our cooperative labor. I am so proud of this woman. She's a fighter and a go-getter! Sometimes, I can't believe she picked me to go with her on this crazy journey called life. She saw something in me that I couldn't even see myself. Slowly, but surely that man is coming out from within. Talk about patience?! She's got it. Sorry... I'll stop rambling.

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded October 16-20, 2012. Anderson Hall played the drums. While I was recording guitars for this, my almost three year old, Ames Emmanuel opened my office door and said "please turn that down, Daddy." It was absolutely priceless and had to stay on the recording. Listen for him at the end of the song. Oh, I immediately followed his request by saying, "EXCUSE ME? This is my house, young man..." Then, I went off into a long Bill Cosby inspired mumbling session. 

     "The Waiting" written by Tom Petty. From the album Hard Promises.