Studio Update #9

9:00 p.m. – Clint, Luke, and I head to West Branch to record the United Methodist Church’s grand piano.

9:25 p.m. – We set up four microphones around the piano, pretending like we know what we’re doing. We experiment a little with the placement of the microphones, and get some sounds we’re pretty pleased with.

10:00 p.m. – Luke records “Beautiful One” flawlessly in one take.

10:10 p.m. – I record “Waiting for You” in two takes.

10:30 p.m. – Luke and I piece together ideas for “This Hope,” which we mistakenly assume to be the easiest song on piano. It takes us well over an hour. Clint gets board and goes to find Snicker’s Ice Cream Bars.

2:00 a.m. – We leave West Branch, tired, but successful, having recorded all of the piano parts for the album.

2:30 a.m. – Luke spends the night over at my place.

10:00 a.m. – I wake up, realizing that we’re supposed to be on our way to Des Moines. Luke is still sleeping, so I wake him up.

12:15 p.m. – We arrive at the studio, and we kick off the day recording Bryan’s banjo on “My Heart Yearns” and “This Hope.” I record a simple banjo riff for the intro track.

2:00 p.m. – We decide we want brass on the album, so I write out all the parts for a simple bridge riff. I think about how grateful I am that my mom enrolled me in a jazz theory class back in high school. Clint records trumpet parts for “My Heart Yearns.”

2:20 p.m. – I record trombone parts for “My Heart Yearns.”

2:40 p.m. – Bryan records a tenor sax riff on the intro.

3:00 p.m. – Bryan records a tenor sax solo on “Delivered.” To me, this was the highlight of the day. I think we’ll be one of the first worship bands to release an album with an unambiguous influence by Pink Floyd.

4:00 p.m. – Clint and I record brass parts to “Delivered.” Clint’s lips get tired, but we make him tough it out, saying we’ll let him do the rest of his parts tomorrow.

5:00 p.m. – Clint records some vocal parts. I record some vocal parts. Bri records some vocal parts. Ryan Seiler stops by, gives a vocal part idea, but doesn’t record anything.

7:00 p.m. – Clint records some auxiliary percussion while I edit the piano parts from last night.

8:00 p.m. – The band and Ryan Seiler go to Legends, which is followed by me beating Bryan and Luke in the board game Risk back at my house. Clint goes to bed at 10 like an old man.

Seven Years (part 4)

Even though the message is written as the title of this blog, I sometimes forget and think that ministry depends on me.

In some sense, I do have a responsibility to live out and share the message of the Gospel, living a life “worthy of the calling [I] have received.” For most of my life, I haven’t lived quite up to that calling. Still, even now, I still fall short in many ways, thinking that I don’t have to do anything and God will take care of everything.

There are a lot of guys at the Hope House with this kind of attitude. They believe in God’s salvation, and are quite grateful for it and will be quick to tell you how much they depend on Christ just to get through every day. The depend so much so, in fact, that they feel entitled to skip recovery meetings, show up late to work, maintain poor hygiene, show disrespect to the staff, and neglect their families. Thank goodness for grace, they say!

Lately, however, I’ve been erring on the other extreme. A couple weeks ago I spent literally every hour of the week doing either at work, song-writing, or ministry related tasks. Ok, I took a break to watch Conan with Spaid on Tuesday night, but other than that I was working at something in every spare moment. Like Mark said in his most recent update, “it’s not a sign of weakness to rest.” It’s one of the ten commandments, that only a sense of pride causes us to break.

At the end of that week, I had a small breakdown. I began to raise serious questions of my faith, the ministry of Veritas, my own effectiveness at leadership, and my own ability to persevere through the tasks given me. Lance and Spaid watched me, as I remember watching a close friend a while ago, completely lose part of my sanity. I was doing the dishes at the time (a chore I find somewhat therapeutic and relaxing), and Lance and Spaid just patiently heard me out and whispered back truths into my rage of lies.

The truth is that my faith does not depend on my works, the ministry of Veritas does not depend on me,  my effectiveness as a leader is dependent upon how much I give over to God, and my perseverance is dependent upon me getting some rest once a week.

It’s funny how it can be so much easier to share this truth with someone than to take it for yourself.

So, I took a Saturday to stand completely still. Since I couldn’t pick up a guitar without feeling the stress and pressure to write music, I just slept in, listened to music, watched basketball, and did a puzzle with a friend. That evening, I hung out with friends, listened to the new Radiohead album (which I am somewhat disappointed in), and drank my first ever white russian. It was surprisingly hard to change my mindset and allow myself to enjoy the rest without thinking of all the things I could be doing, but in the end I was so glad I did.

The next week was one of the most difficult and challenging of my life. I don’t know if I could have survived without the sabbath rest, but since I had forced myself to take it, God was able to effectively work through me. Sure, I messed up at a few points, but through it I was able to see God’s hand of grace moving in ways that I could never move on my own.

I was encouraged by these two songs:

I’m beginning to see how no matter how much I try, and no matter how much I want things to happen, it’s ultimately God, and God alone, who is going to move the Anthem @ Veritas ministry.

(postnote: I’m trying to listen to as much Christian/Inspirational/Worship music as I can throughout the writing process. If you have some that you would like to share, please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to check it out. Right now, I’m listening to “Singalong” by Phil Wickham, “Beautiful Things” by Gungor, “The Medicine” by John Mark McMillan, “My Worship in Motion” by Daniel Bashta, and “Take the World but Give Me Jesus” by Ascend the Hill.)

Street Corner Symphony

Had the privilege of seeing these guys open for Ben Folds a couple nights ago in Madison.

[sorry Gabe]

I Want None Of This

(title = radiohead song)

This is a picture from Glen Beck’s rally in Washington D.C. yesterday. I consider myself a fully recovered tea-party-aholic. For better comments than I could make, read this:

http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/08/29/god-the-gospel-and-glenn-beck/

“When we truly discover love, capitalism will not be possible and Marxism will not be necessary.”

– Will O’Brien, The Alternative Seminary (found in “Irresistable Revolution” by Shane Clairborne).

Speaking of Thom Yorke-style poetry…

http://jezebel.com/5322768/in-which-we-try-to-guess-what-a-thom-yorke-twilight-tune-might-sound-like

I don’t care if no one else finds this funny; this is my blog, and I can laugh my head off if I want to.

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

On a more serious Radiohead note, be sure to check out this as well:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8184000/8184802.stm

Or don’t… I won’t ever really know for sure.

Reflections of God

April has been very good to me, thus far. 

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice! … Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Phillipians 4:4-8

Update since my last post — I now have a girlfriend, a great job for the summer, an apartment in Ames for three months, a James and James CD release show scheduled (April 25 @ Zeke’s!), a perfect fall semester schedule, a friend converted to the political science major, a nearly-finished gigantic political science project, and even some breathing room for free time. Wow. I know I didn’t deserve any of that. Except maybe the nearly-finished political science project. 

I think I can easily say that I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time. 

I’ve learned something spiritually, though, that I think is worth sharing. Surely, one would expect me at this point of my life to have little difficulty exalting the name of God. Sure, all of my gains might be hard to see as direct gifts from the Father himself, but I’d like to believe that they are. I also see that much of my past experiences were direct gifts from God, even though many of them weren’t nearly as pleasant, and I was less than grateful for them. I’d like to believe that right now, however, I’m doing my part to add to the glory of God.

Which leads me to a question that has puzzled me for quite some time: How can humans, even those who know Christ, bring glory to God? If God is really as powerful as He says he is, than why does he need us? What could we possibly bring to him?

I never was able to completely answer this question before recently. My thinking always floated something along the lines of, “Well, I’m doing all the right things, so I must be bringing glory to God.” I tended to ignore the assumed irrelevance of my actions. 

It’s true, we can’t really add anything to God’s glory. Believing that we can tends to add the unnecessary burden of the works of God onto our backs. Any fruit of our labor comes because we are a part of the vine of Christ, and he remains in us. It is His work, not our own, which is reflected in us, that causes us to do anything in His name — that we might boast in Christ. 

We are reflections — created in the image of God.

The closer we are to God, the closer we are to his glory. It is a perversion of truth to believe the closer we are to God, the closer He is to our glory. 

He has shared his glory with us. He has given us the chance to have our names in the eternal book of life. He has sent the Holy Spirit, part of the very person of God, to be with us in our lives on earth. We are here to be witnesses and reflections of His glory.

It’s a change of perspective. The focus isn’t, “How can I prove myself a godly person?” but rather, “How am I a reflection of God himself?” The focus is inward, knowing the fullness of Christ will allow one to exert outward. 

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” 

This is the verse that I had based my former perspective on. Looking three verses earlier, however, in John 15:5, Jesus makes it clear what he means by bearing fruit. 

“… If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

What gain is there to being a good person without knowing Christ, if all are condemned and God isn’t watching? 

And what loss is it to live your life for love, kindness, and mercy, thinking they will bring you any closer to God!

The fruit of my faith is not the good things that have happened to me recently; the fruit is that I have the PEACE OF GOD within me. I have accepted Christ’s gift that I might “have life, and have it to the fullest.” With my future secure, there is nothing to be afraid of, and nothing to worry about.

Or, as Thom Yorke wrote, “There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt.”

Elements of Radiohead: Truth

Elements of Gay-Marriage Proponents: Truth

Elements of teaching in Church: Truth

But it is the PEACE OF GOD which transcends all understanding, and will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Best Concerts ’08

If this blog has any sort of tradition, it’s that I have to do some sort of end of the year special. While in the past, I’ve done movies and cd releases, I can’t say that I’ve experienced 2008′s popular culture output to its fullest. I liked four movies well enough this year (Tropic Thunder, Burn After Reading, The Dark Knight, and W.), but there’s a lot out that I didn’t get to see. As far as cd’s, this was the year that I discovered The Album Leaf, Andrew Bird, Sleeping at Last, Imogen Heap, and Anathallo, but none of them had new releases this year. I was mildly let down by the release of the new Aqualung and Keane albums, indifferent to the new Ben Folds and Death Cab for Cutie albums, and blown away by the new Underoath, Coldplay, and Sigur Ros albums. Coldplay’s album definitely deserves its Grammy nomination, and I would completely understand if the Academy preferred them over my personal favorite, In Rainbows. Not that I would vote for them, of course.

Anyway, this year I went to a lot of concerts. A little over a year ago I posted a “Must-See-Concert List”, and this last year I saw 4/10 bands on that list. Pretty good year, I would say. Anyway, here’s a little memoir of the good times. Ranked in order of amazingness.

1. Sigur Ros – Uptown Theater (Kansas City) – June 12

This is the concert I went to all by my self. All the way to Kansas City in a rainstorm both ways. I prepared myself for the band by driving the whole 3 hours in complete silence; no radio or cd whatsoever. And it was totally worth it. They four-piece played with a five-member brass section and four-piece string section. No sampling used whatsoever. They didn’t have a light show, and they didn’t even need it. I sat up in the second row of the balcony, and I could see and hear everything perfectly. I overheard someone from the audience exclaiming while walking out, “there were so many times, when it was so good, I just wanted to cry!” I wholeheartedly agreed.

2. Lollapalooza – Grant Park Chicago – Aug. 1-3.

This is where I saw Radiohead. And Bloc Party. And Kanye West. And Rage Against the Machine. And The John Butler Trio. And Wilco. And Explosions in the Sky. And The Black Keys. And Broken Social Scene. Gnarls Barkley (he covered Radiohead’s Reckoner). And Steel Train. It was almost too much to really appreciate it all, yet it was still an experience of a lifetime. Looking back on it, though, and I have to put it in the number 2 spot on this list, simply because something about fighting the crowds in the summer heat for 10 hours a day felt more like work than enjoying a concert. I’m glad I went, but I don’t think I’ll go back again (unless Radiohead returns . 

3. Cantuse (with the ISU Statesmen Choir) – ISU Music Hall – September 24

Cantuse is a ten-man vocal group, that we got a chance to sing with last semester. It was truly an amazing performance by the group, and it opened my eyes to the beauty of classical vocal music

4. The Envy Corps – Iowa State Fair – August 11

I’ve seen these guys quite a few times (3 times in 2008), and this was the best show I’ve ever seen from them. Supposedly they had equipment malfunction the night before, so they were going to make it up to everybody the night that I saw them by playing basically every song they knew. Even Bittersweet Symphony from the Verve. I really hope these guys can make it.

5. Sleeping at Last – Vaudeville Mews – October 15

This was a show that Jade Lea got a chance to open for. Unfortunately, it was a week night, and there was a pretty small crowd there (but Travis was there!), but that meant I got to meet these guys and watch them from right next to the stage. They were absolutely flawless, and perfectly sampled in what seemed like an entire orchestral score. Also, they were the nicest professional musicians that I think are in existence, and they showed me all of their equipment and set-up after the show, as well as engaging in conversation about music and God. 

6. 80-35 (Mini Rankings) – Downtown Des Moines – July 4-5

Hooray Des Moines! You did it! Against all odds, you actually successfully hosted a mini-music-festival! And it’s coming back next year!

1. The Flaming Lips (“a cosmic cuddle”… another concert I had the privilege of enjoying with Travis…with confetti, balloons, fans dressed up as unicorns, telletubbies onstage, and random videos of asian children battling robots and reptiles)
2. The Roots (most talented assembly of jamming musicians all on one stage…and QuestLove)
3. Andrew Bird (I rarely say this, but when a live performance supersedes the recordings by so much, it is worth taking note…can’t wait to see him again in February.)
4. The Envy Corps (Got to see Brandon Darner smash a guitar onstage after covering a Wilco song, and an amazing impromtu encore performance of New Order’s “Age of Consent”)
5. Headlights (never heard of ‘em before…blew me away, unfortunately, their recordings don’t)

7. The Freeman Concert – Forker Parking Lot – Poison Control Center (acoustic), Radio Moscow, Dropping Daylight – April 19

Better than VEISHEA’s snowfest by far. While I don’t care for Poison Control Center’s full band set-up, the front-man’s acoustic set wasn’t really music. And I was fine with that, because it was hilarious, and probably the finest work of showmanship I’ve ever seen live. He won over everyone (but Calvary) in the crowd, as he started playing to an apathetic college crowd, and ended up in the middle of that same crowd (offstage with no mic) having everyone singing about how love is the answer (until you get cancer). 

8. Andy Zipf – Blinks – January 25

This guy is just a solid songwriter/guitarist. I wish I could have seen him play at the Mars a couple of months ago with Christopher the Conquered. 
9. Damon Dotson and SNAFU – M-shop – February 9

I’m getting a little far down the list, but these are probably the two most talented local bands in the area (except of course for Calvary and The Envy Corps). 

10. James & James – Cafe Diem – December 6

Yes, I put myself on this list. But only because it was the first performance I’ve had in a long time that I felt genuinely confident and proud of. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, and I can name quite a few major mistakes off the top of my head, and it was probably too long, but I think we got the point across, and people seemed to actually have fun…and because of Calvary’s acoustic set).

WORST: Anavox – Jan. 26

Sterling example of how not to be a Christian band.

Think about the good times and never look back

(conversation overheard in crowd before radiohead, 30 yards from the stage)

dude #1: “wave your hands! i can’t see you!”

dude #2: (waving hands madly and yelling) “i can see you! you’re so close! i’m like 25 feet to your left!”

dude #1: “are you insane?!? that’s like an epic journey from here!”

The above picture doesn’t even come close to capturing the magnitude of Lollapalooza 2008. Obviously, there is no way to know how many people were actually within viewing distance at any of the headlining bands, but tickets sold out all three days, meaning 225,000 people got in over the weekend. Estimates of 100,000 people were at the headlining concerts each night for Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, and Kanye West. 

Tim and I began working on our Radiohead spot 2.5 hours before they took the stage. I would say we got within the top 5% of all viewing area. Well, well, worth it.

There’s nothing like seeing your favorite band live. Absolutely nothing. Nothing like anticipating every song on the setlist, and then hearing nearly everything you wanted to hear. Nothing like knowing the words to every single song, and even some songs that weren’t played. Nothing like being able to really feel the words. Knowing that this music has been with you, helping through the tough times, as well as being there to help you appreciate the good times. 

That’s what it was really about. Sure, they played flawlessly. Sure, they easily put on the best light show I’ve ever seen. Sure, Thom Yorke can dance as well as James Brown, and even let out a hilarious mockery of a “f#*$ yeah!” between songs, but, at the end of the day, that was just the icing for the cake.

And what a cake it was. 

But I realized something while watching them, and again while watching Wilco, Rage Against the Machine, and Kanye West the following days. This wasn’t a cake for everyone. 

As much as I wish I could just drag my all friends, family, and acquaintances to a Radiohead concert, and scream in their ears during Idioteque, “CAN’T YOU SEE NOW?!?! ISN’T THIS AWESOME!!! THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!!!”

I can’t.

I heard the same people who saw Radiohead the night before raving about how Rage was easily the best concert they’d ever seen. Or people who were in the thick of the 100,000 person moshpit of Rage telling their friends about they’d never seen anything as “hip” as Kanye West. 

After watching the end of the Wilco set, I can understand why so many people (Travis) see them as the greatest band on earth. After watching Explosions in the Sky, I understand why they have such a devoted fanbase. After being enlightened by a surprisingly wonderful performance by the John Butler Trio, I understand why so many people showed up early on the third day of the festival just to watch another guy with a guitar take the stage. 

Everyone got what they came for. Everyone got their own slice of the cake, made just they way they wanted it. And, after seeing just about everything I’ve been told is worth seeing, I know that I wouldn’t trade my cake for anything.

Just in case you haven’t found yours yet… (note on video: we had to have been pretty close to whoever filmed this)

And yes, the title lyrics are from Radiohead (“I might be wrong”).

I think too much

The wise Brandon Barker once said something along the lines of, “Everyone is a nerd. Some people are video game nerds, some are car nerds, some are music nerds.”

I am a Radiohead nerd.

This Friday, I will see them in living color at Lollapalooza. 

So, to prove my nerdiness, I am going to post a dream setlist I would have for them. Fans have been posting their setlists from previous shows at ateaseweb.com. Every set this summer they have played every song from “In Rainbows”, and 15 other songs, over the course of two encores. 

Here are the 15 other songs I would most like to see live, and the reasons why. (In rank of importance)

1. Idioteque – Quite possibly my favorite Radiohead song not on the newest cd. And a fan-favorite live.

2. Paranoid Android – Another song fans have raved about seeing live. I’ve only recently come to appreciate this song fully, with all of its seemingly random tempo and style changes. 

3. Down is the New Up – The best of the “In Rainbows” b-sides. Absolutely brilliantly written, and their live videos of it are an entirely different sound.

4. Climbing up the Walls – I really, really want to hear Thom scream. 

If they play all four of these songs, they can do whatever they want from then on, and I’ll still have the perfect night. But here’s the rest of the list, anyway. I had to narrow this down quite a bit, and there are at least 10-15 other songs I had to leave off. 

5. Pyramid Song

6. Airbag

7. Where I End and You Begin

8. Like Spinning Plates

9. Everything in its Right Place

10. A Wolf at the Door

11. How to Disappear Completely

12. You and Whose Army?

13. 2 + 2 = 5

14. The National Anthem

15. There There

“This one’s optimistic” (UPDATE)

-lyrics from “Optimistic” by Radiohead

Lyrical title idea copyright: Samantha Carlson, 2008. samansa.wordpress.com. 

Summer, in the eyes of James.

It should be a good one. I got a full-time politically oriented job as a canvassing mercenary today. I will be knocking on peoples doors all summer long trying to raise awareness (aka money) for “Environment Iowa”, among other groups. 

In other words, I’m coming home from my first year of college as a liberal activist. Awesome. (They’re really not that liberal, it’s mostly pretty boring stuff about cleaning up hog-farms and dirty rivers; but I won’t be offended if you affectionately refer to me as “the tree-hugging hippy” during the summer months)

The hours mean I won’t be able to make any Immersion nights, although it’s probably for the best. 

Also, I hope to be coming home with good grades, although a lot can happen in the last 10 days. 

Lastly, I’m pretty excited for The Freedom Project Reunion Tour, Lollapalooza, and 80/35 (if you haven’t heard, go to 80-35.com). 

I know I’ll miss college, but that will probably be the best part of it all. 

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Death Cab for Cutie, Coldplay, and Sigur Ros are all releasing new albums this summer. If you haven’t heard the new Death Cab single, “I will possess your heart”, youtube (i like how its a verb now) it. And you can skip over the first 4 minutes, because the song is over 8 minutes long. I just listened to the new Coldplay single, “Violet Hill”, and though I’m not entirely impressed, one of the working album titles is “Death and All His Friends”, which is probably the coolest album title I’ve ever heard. And the artwork is sweet. (sidenote: although “In Rainbows” is brilliant as far as subliminal title meanings go, on the surface, it’s probably one of the lamest titles ever allowed to be released)

As for The Freedom Project Summer Reunion Tour, our first show will be June 17 at Vaudeville Mews with The Estate, Jade Lea, and probably one more band. I’ve contacted the 80/35 fest to see if we can get on, and if we do, that would absolutely make my entire summer. Stephen Engels is the little drummer boy in training. I think Pete, Nick, and Caleb are excited about it, but to be honest, I never have any clue what those kids are thinking. And they probably think the same for me. 

(note to reader…I’m going to start ending my posts with super random ambiguous statements that probably don’t have any real meanings…just for fun)

And that’s what makes The Freedom Project’s music work so well among the children.