Week 14 (Better Late Than Never...)

So last week was adventuresome, I'd say. When you work in music ministry, there are two enormous dates looming on your calendar every year; Easter and Christmas. I had prepared for Easter long ago. I felt confident about the music I had selected. The band members were all top notch. We had four extra vocalists learning harmony parts and warming up their vocal chords. The components for some awesome Easter services were all ready to go. There was just one little detail that I wasn't expecting. The Sunday before Easter... I completely lost my voice.

"Are you kidding me, God? This is like, the biggest single Sunday of the year! Didn't you get the memo about our song list? It was going to be incredible! I was going to nail these songs. Wait, that sounded kinda prideful, sorry. But, you know my heart in this; All I want is Your beauty and excellence and perfection to shine through... Honest."

Then came a humbling response. "This isn't about you." I replied with a very quick, "Yessir, got it."

I emailed everyone involved in reference to the situation. I gave each of the other vocalists their new lead parts. At first it was a "just in case I can't sing" kinda thing. Then I heard His voice again, "this isn't about you." I was reminded about a verse in the Bible from Proverbs. It says, "humility comes before honor." I know my place. I know how I've been gifted. I know from whom those gifts are given. But, every now and again, my mind wanders off on what I think I can do better, because I know how I want it to sound, so I'll just handle it all myself. Yeah, 'cause that always turns out perfectly, huh? (That last line was well seasoned with a heavy slab of sarcasm.) I don't always know better. I don't always have the answers; But my Heavenly Father does. Sometimes I just need to humble myself and get out of the way.

That is precisely what happened on Easter Sunday. I painfully and excitedly stepped out of the way. My voice had returned on Saturday, but the plans did not change. Some of my talented friends were allowed to take the reins and run with them! It was beautiful, excellent and perfect. The leads were solid. The harmonies were strong. I couldn't have planned it any better, myself. Oh yeah, I didn't plan it at all.

This week's song is one we performed on Sunday; "In Christ Alone." Some of the team took time out of their busy schedules to record it with me. Adam Locklear and Shelly Moore (ShellyEveBlog.com) sang along. The one and only Rudy Landa played the penny whistle and taunted Shelly while she tracked. I think it's lovely.

Enjoy,

Christopher

     Recorded April 1, 9 & 10, 2012. Rudy wanted everyone to know that just because he plays the penny whistle, doesn't mean he's not a real man. The verdict is still out on that... Comment away!

     "In Christ Alone" written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. 

Africa...

A long while back, Rachael and I were hanging out with a large group of friends. We decided to play Musical Catchphrase. Basically, you try to get your team to guess the title of a song with hints or humming. This can be ridiculously funny.

We went around the room until it came to our friend Nicole. She was on my team. She looked at her answer and started humming. We started to zero in on the song. It sounded pretty familiar. When we guessed "The Land Down Under" by Men at Work, she said no. The timer was running out and she hummed louder and faster. When the buzzer went off, she was so disappointed in our inability to score the point. We all asked what was the answer?! She said, "Africa" by Toto. We then had to inform her that she had mixed up the two songs. Lots of laughter ensued. It was priceless. She has never lived it down!

Just to further the joke a bit more, some friends of mine and I recorded our own version of "Africa." Let me know what you think about it.

Enjoy,

Christopher

Recorded August, 2010. Kevin McClain played drums. He tours the country with a band named American Aquarium. Ethan Ricks played bass. He tours the country with a band named Crowfield. They are both ridiculously talented and stellar dudes. Both of have given so much of their gifts and free time to my music. I am thankful for both of them. Don't tell them I said that, though. 

Written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro.

Week 12...

So, I fell in love with this girl, right? She is funny and smart. She is beautiful and kind. She has her stuff together. Honestly, she is very much out of my league. She went to private school, you know. The world was her oyster but she decided she wanted this clam of a man. Namely, me. I don't deserve her, I'll admit it. Did I mention that she has a father? Oh, man.

Three months after Rachael and I started dating, she went on a mission trip with YWAM. She was gone for five months. I was miserable. But through that time apart, I realized how much she meant to me. I knew if we could date for three months then be apart for five and still be into it... It must be something special. We sent letters and emails. We would talk on the phone when we could. And guess who payed her phone bill. Have I mentioned her father yet?

Mr. Brown and Rachael circa 1986

Needless to say, Mr. Brown was not so enthused at the idea of his little princess falling for a man who had been married and divorced. A man with two kids and a decade more of life experience. The situation was definitely not the norm. But there was something about this girl that I couldn't get over. 

He called me one afternoon, (surely after receiving his phone bill.) He wanted to meet me for a chat. We arranged a time and place. I had a feeling that we might hit it off. Rachael had mentioned that he was a musician. I went into it like a job interview. A job that I wanted - no, needed, very badly. I made sure I had good posture and dressed well. We sat down at a table in the food court at Southpark Mall. He sat back in his chair, crossed his legs with his hands on his knees and listened to my story. Every now and then, he would come back to the table to write a note on his legal pad. I thought, "oh, he's just taking notes so he can remember things." I felt like it was going pretty well. Nearing the end of the conversation, he dropped the bomb on me. He told me that he no longer wanted me to see his daughter. It took the wind right out of my sails. I remember feeling embarrassed. I could feel the blood run to my cheeks.

Just at this moment, over Mr. Brown's left shoulder, I saw a familiar face. My bassist, Jason, from One Amazin' Kid was standing there, making a ridiculous face. He thought I was in a business meeting and was trying to mess with me. Jason is one of the most hilarious people I know, but I didn't seem to have any problem keeping a straight face and focusing on the situation at a hand. He then realized, by the look on my face, that he shouldn't be messing around. The atmosphere was heavy. It was funny to talk about later, but not in the moment. 

I surprisingly mustered up enough courage to rebut his statement. See, I knew something that he didn't. I knew that Rachael was in love with me. I knew the chemistry and connection that bound us together, even before we started dating. I knew that this woman would change my life; and I, hers. I knew. So, I said, "I mean you no disrespect at all, but that is a decision that Rachael will have to make."  

An engagement, a wedding, a boy, a house, twin girls and seven years have passed since then. I have learned and grown quite a bit. A good chunk of that is because of my father-in-law, Gary Brown. He is a great and generous man. He is a wonderful teacher. He recently sent me a text message in which he called me, "son." I don't know if he knows how much that meant to me. If he reads this, he will. Oh, the old days aren't completely forgotten. The family still likes to joke about Scary Gary and the alleged "bullet with my name on it." I wonder whatever happened to it?

I've been talking to my brother-in-law, Tyler, (singer/songwriter in his own right,) about doing a piece for 52. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to surprise Mr. Brown with a song. We decided to do something from the Beatles, since they are one of Mr. Brown's favorite bands. Everything came together nicely. But we realized it needed a bassline. Even though we wanted to surprise Mr. Brown with the song, we thought it would be even better if he played on it. He came the next day, ready to record. It was perfect. I even managed to get his little princess to record some background vocals. So, here it is...

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded, March 15-19, 2012. Lead guitar, claps and background vocals by Tyler Brown. Background vocals by Rachael Brown Kincaid. Bass guitar by Gary Brown. I played guitar, claps, tambourine and those sweet Hammond licks. I had a blast doing this one. Thank you guys for giving your time and talents. I hope the hot tea and spaghetti was payment enough. 
     Update - At this time, I have yet to hear anything from Sir Paul McCartney. If you talk to him any time soon, let me know what he thinks about the song. 

     "I'm Looking Through You" written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Week 11...

This post is a little bit of a carry over from last week. In the mid-nineties, I was introduced to a couple of bands and a sound that would spark my love for the guitar and songwriting. I have never been about who could be the most technical with their skill. For me, it was more about that wall of sound coming out of the speakers. My two biggest influences were the Smashing Pumpkins and Hum.

Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut

I would love to know how many hours I spent listening to and memorizing their records. How many gallons of gasoline I used while carting my friends around, just so we could listen to music. Seriously, we would spend entire evenings driving around in my '93 Ford Escort, (aka the Freshcort,) with the stereo at full volume. I was one of the older guys in my group of friends, so of course I had to pick on the younger ones. I can remember driving in the dead of winter, with the windows rolled down, as to freeze the younger lads in the back seats. All the while, I had the heat blazing on my feet and hands. They never seemed to mind... Because the music was on.

If we weren't driving around, we hung out in our church parking lot, or the CPL for short. We would talk, throw football or frisbee, do really stupid stuff like set off fireworks or explode two liter bottles of soda. There was always someone on our hit list. To pull off our pranks, we would regularly use things like eggs, water balloons, a three man sling shot, a life-size dummy or a full case of dish soap. These were weapons in our arsenal of mayhem. But, we were good kids. We were getting into that kind of trouble so that we wouldn't get into the wrong kind of trouble. That was the deal, every weekend night, for hours on end. We were forging the bonds of friendship. Figuring out who we could trust in this lonely world. And all of it was done... With the music on. It is a time, encapsulated; beautiful in my youth; vibrant in my memory.

This week's song is "I Hate It Too," from Hum's 1995 release, You'd Prefer an Astronaut. It has always been one of my favorites from that record. I love diverse dynamics within a song, if you couldn't tell from my own music. "I Hate It Too," is a perfect example of that. This is the first time I've had the privilege and opportunity to collaborate with other people on 52. My old pal, Adam Morgan took a day out of his busy schedule to lay down the drum tracks. Together, Adam and I started One Amazin' Kid and Hopesfall. We had a lot to catch up on. My dear friend, Daniel Owen played the bass. He was my band mate in Laurelei and during the middle stages of One Amazin' Kid. I've been honored and blessed to have these guys in my life. They is good people. 

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded March 11-13, 2012. Drums tracked February 27. Drums by Adam Morgan. Bass guitar by Daniel Owen. After Adam and I finished recording the drums, we went to eat the lunch special at Carmella's. That is always worth mentioning. 

     "I Hate It Too," written by Matt Talbott, Tim Lash, Brian St Pere and Jeff Dimpsey.