Week 33 (kinda...)

I know I'm behind. I have been busy lately. In between the kids and church, my wife and I have been working hard to procure a little piece of heaven on earth. We've fallen in love with an old farmhouse not far from where we now live. By old, I mean it was built in 1890. It's slightly bigger than our current home and sits on a little bit of land, which we need for all of these kids. We put in an offer and it was accepted. We've been weaving through mounds of mortgage loan papers, inspection results, lease agreements for our current house, insurance options, and what to do with this or that. It has been a sweet, sweet whirlwind of a time. If everything goes smoothly, we will be closing on the house in mid October. God has been so good to us.  

So, here is something for week 33. At Ridge Church, we are opening this Sunday's services with "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. I thought I'd give you a scaled down glimpse of it. This is just three guitars in a room with a couple of mics. Sunday's version will have a full band and extra vocalists. If you like this, come out on Sunday for the real deal. We'll make it a fun morning. 

Enjoy, 

Christopher

     Recorded live, August 28, 2012. I asked a couple of whippersnappers to help me out on this one. My brother-in-law, Tyler Brown is on guitar and BGVs. My buddy Christian Spence was slicing up the lead electric stuff. These guys are young and green! When I was their age, I would have been lucky to have half the talent they already possess. I ain't jealous, though. Ain't nothin' but love over here. 

     "Eleanor Rigby" was written by the Beatles. From the album Revolver.

***ADDENDUM***

September 7, 2012

Last Sunday, we did open the services with "Eleanor Rigby." We had obviously demoed the song, as you heard above. When I sent it to the rest of the band, I did not give any direction on how the rhythm section should sound. I just let them have at it. I walked into rehearsal at 7:30, having never heard or even talked about their ideas for the song. We started playing it, and bam, the song came to life. I definitely had not heard it this way. In fact, I'm glad I kept my mouth shut. I love the feel of the song. It is way more solid and edgy. Enjoy!

     Recorded at 9:33 am on September 2, 2012, at Ridge Church in Matthews, NC. Patrick Moore - Audio Engineer, Brett Banks - Bass, Nichole Broome - Backing Vocals, Tyler Brown - Acoustic Guitar and Backing Vocals, Skyler McNabb - Drums, Christian Spence - Lead Electric Guitar.

credits

Week 13...

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet. This has been a busy week, so I thought I would scale down this song and just record it live. Well, live, all except for the whistles at the end. I'm not so good at whistling. I mic'd the guitar amp and my voice and pressed record. It ain't the prettiest thing you've ever heard, but it'll do.

Charleston circa 2005

My desire to do this Otis Redding song sprang from some serious spring fever. With that comes the gravitational pull of my soul towards the ocean. I love standing on the shoreline with the waves lapping at my feet. I look out into all of that green-blue water and realize how incredibly small I am. And at that point, everything is just right.

It was beautiful today. My wife and I worked outside in our garden. We ate lunch at our picnic table. We talked and laughed. It was great, but personally, I would have rather been sitting on the dock of the bay wastin' time, (with her by my side, of course.)

Enjoy, 

Christopher

P.S. Please don't make fun of my whistling.

P.S.2.0 The reason this week is so busy is that I am playing at Charlotte One on Tuesday night and Ridge Church this Sunday morning.  You should come hang out with me, if you'd like.

     Recorded March 26, 2012. My two year old, Ames Emmanuel was eating lunch while I set up for this recording. The first couple of takes, he was awfully loud. He would bang his water bottle on the table or sing or say that he had to potty. Needless to say, after lunch, he went off to enjoy nap time. 

     "Dock of the Bay" written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.

Week 1

This is my first recording for "52." I chose Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain," well... because my sweetheart demanded it. This was the first song that really spoke to me off of her "21" album. I loved the mood. I loved the melody. I obviously loved the strength in her voice. I also enjoy the fact that she writes or collaborates with other writers on her music. That is impressive and hard to find nowadays.

Enjoy,


Christopher

Recorded live, late in the evening on January 3, 2012.
"Set Fire to the Rain," written by Adele Adkins and Fraser T. Smith.