The New Year...

Momma and Ames Emmanuel
New Years kissin'. 

I'm pretty sure everyone needs some party music for tonight, right? Well, here you go. The King of Pop always brings the jams. My earliest memories of music involve me, at five years of age, standing on a pool table, singing Michael Jackson songs for my brother and his dates. He paid me in assorted candies and fruits. He denies this ever happened, but it it did.

My wife and I entered our wedding reception with MJ's "Rock With You" blasting through the speakers! My pal, Kevin McClain and I were going to record a cover of it for the reception, but during the run up to the wedding things were too hectic to get it done. Well, we finally did it, four years later. I enlisted a couple of other amazing musicians to play with us on it.

I hope you enjoy and happy new year!

Christopher

     Recorded November 29 and December 6-11, 2012. Kevin McClain played drums. Rudy Landa played guitar. Brett Banks played bass. These dudes are good. Thanks, brothers!

     "Rock With You" written by Rod Temperton. Originally performed by Michael Jackson. From the album Off the Wall

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 41...

So, when I married Rachael, it was actually my second time around the block. My oldest boys are from my first marriage. My relationship with their mother was never easy. I didn't understand that at the time because it was all I had ever known. I don't think this is the place for sharing all of the gory details of how my first marriage fell apart. Just know that it exploded and shattered my entire world into thousands of tiny pieces. Some of it I glued and duct taped back together. Some parts had to be completely replaced. Some parts I never regained, and in most of those cases, it was a good thing. I hit the bottom and found out exactly what I was made of. I had never been so afraid to look at myself in the mirror. I had never been so afraid, period. 

I do know that I would not be the man, husband, father, leader or friend I am today, had I not gone through that pain. "Parable of the Broken Man" was written deep within the belly of my trials. You can hear that in the lyrics. Rachael doesn't like this song. She doesn't like remembering or thinking about things that scarred my heart.

I don't hold any grudges. It all worked out exactly how it was supposed to. I am thankful for it.

Today, my ex and I have a pretty great relationship with each other. My wife and my ex-wife have an even better relationship with each other. Crazy... I know. It has been a true blessing for everyone involved. We are all on the same team when it comes to the big boys. Every time my ex comes over, she loves on the three little ones as if she is family. 

If you had asked me twelve years ago how I thought my story would play out, I wouldn't have even come close to scripting this. I'm glad I'm not the one who is doing the writing. 

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Daniel Owen played bass guitar. Kevin McClain and I tracked drums for a rerecording this song in 2009. It sat on a hard-drive, that I thought was dead, for a few years. A buddy of mine recently showed me how to retrieve all of my lost data! There was some good stuff on that joker. 

     "Parable of the Broken Man" will be a decade old in December, 2012. Wow. The original demo version had a super dancy outro part, complete with some sweet electronic drums. Due to the subject matter of the song, that part didn't make the cut for future versions performed by One Amazin' Kid. 

Lyrics

I'm waiting on the phone call
That says you're coming home 
With willing hands 
And a heart that won't give up on this again

So many things we've held precious
Were left here beside this open door
Now who is to own them
Without us, what can there be?

I'm waiting on the light
That once filled your eyes and heart with hope
But every time I reach
I am crushed beneath the weight of your words


So many things we've held precious
Were left here beside this open door
Now who is to own them
Without us, what can there be?

I know now what Hell is
I've felt it's touch
I've seen it devour the one I love
I've run into the fire
And come out empty handed
My heart is broken

Tonight, I will wait for you for the last time
Don't give up, don't let me down

Week 23...

This week, I thought I'd revisit a song from my old band, One Amazin' Kid. At the end of our time together, we had a bunch of songs that we were playing live, but hadn't recorded past the demo phase. This was one such song. 

I wrote it after having a conversation with an old friend. Our paths had separated along the way. We reminisced on old times and talked about our lives apart. We both had our share of struggles to deal with. I was dealing with the aftermath of my divorce and was trying to figure out how to start over. He was dealing with drug abuse and depression. He talked of feeling completely alone and turning to drugs and alcohol to fill the void. The conversation left me mourning for him. I walked away from the talk with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Even with all I was going through, I felt the complete opposite. My void was filled. I kept saying to myself, "the past is in past. Grace covers all. Life has worth. Why doesn't he see it?" I could never seem to find the right way to say these things to him, so I put it into a song. 

"Rest For the Weary" is one of my favorite songs I've ever written. The lyrics mean so much to me. I hope you find something in them for yourself. Tell your friends about it. It would mean the world.

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded June 1-4, 2012. My old drummer Kevin McClain and I started tracking this in October, 2009, but never finished it. Those drum tracks had been sitting on a defective hard drive for a few years until my amazing neighbor kindly showed me how to retrieve the files! Kevin has recently been touring Europe with his new band, American Aquarium. Check them out if you get a chance.

Lyrics

Morning breaks, sweetly

Lift your face to the glory of the skies

It burns away the faults of yesterday

Open up, Blessed

Your heart aches and your soul was left to die

But don't believe you've been forsaken

We can be golden

We can feel innocence again

On this search for every reason

To give this life one more chance

We can be golden

We can forgive ourselves our past

Broken still

I feel it coming 'round

A mourning song begins

Strengthening before the shadows even fall

And it's become the thorn in your side

Open up, blessed

Joy awaits where hope is found

And the lights there are blinding

We can be golden

We can feel innocence again

On this search for every reason

To give this life one more chance

We can be golden

We can forgive ourselves our past

Broken still

I feel you coming around

Your burdens are fatal to hold alone

So you can rest them all on my shoulders

For tonight, lay it on me

For tonight, bury it in me

The winds blow colder with every step you take

But you, my friend, will never be alone again

For tonight

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.