Mayer & Goal-la

these're are my two funny videos of the week:

1) the first is a Sesame Street clip with a guest appearance from my favorite blues crooner:



2) the second is a clip of a song written by a Calgary Flames fan after the Oilers got TROUNCED by the Buffalo Sabres 10-2 this past week. On a side note, Flames beat the Sabres the next day 5-2 with a hat-trick by Mike Cammalleri.

Everything is bigger in Texas... especially the hearts.

Just got back from Texas. What a blast. Putting it into perspective, there's no better feeling then travelling with friends and playing music. Well, ok maybe it sits third to seeing your child for the first time and sex. Yeah, I said sex, and if you're married you know it's true. We had a fantastic time in Houston/The Woodlands with plenty of fun, jokes, old/new friends, great food, and music. We were, however, short one man when J (our rhythm/keys player) realized the night before that his passport expired a week ago. Ironically, J is probably being the most responsible and well-travelled person in the band which made this mishap even more startling and dissapointing (especially for him). We recovered, however, by re-arranging some songs: Jeff played more electric, I played less lead, and Jill sang backup. Musically, it took teh students some time to get used to us, but late in the sets they seemed to have "got it" and there was a great worshipful atmosphere.

When we weren't taking extremly long detours to get to our destination, we were making fun of Tim's ugly/beautiful beard, complaining about the temperature of our family-van, and being totally blessed by our friends at Woodsedge Community Church. One of the coolest things about our weekend was the staff/leaders of Woodsedge and there willingness to be as helpful and encouraging as possible. Two things we heard all weekend was "How can I serve you?" and "How can I pray for you?". The student leadership staff and volunteers were rediculously kind to us and were always wanting to serve us in any way they could. We were so blessed and it made us feel like we were home. I (we) give so much thanks to Jason, Rocky, Tara, Greg, Todd, and all the other folks that were so willing to just plain ol' love us. It made our stay so welcoming.

I honestly believe that if all of our churches were filled with people like those above, our world would be is good hands. If the church was occupied with people who were so adamant to love/serve others we'd be in good hands. Not only that, but they are a church that prays for other churches in its community and they (as a congregation of about 6000) memorize scripture on a weekly basis. That's cool. God is blessing their church and for good reason.

Though I did miss Catherine and Noah very much, the experience was great and I'd love to go back; anytime, anywhere. Here're a few pics from our trip:
The best trunk-packer in the business; seriously.
Rehearsing in the Student Ministries Building (great venue)
Our tri-annual visit our favorite pawn shop: Guitars, Guns, & Gold
The band (minus J)under the lights.
We are that fast (somebody messing with shutter-speed)
Going to The Cheesecake Factory; some of the best food we've ever had. We realy missed J, but he may have been replaced by our amazing waiter named Gene. Gene wore white pants and had a lasting impression on Jillian.
Sunny A/B'd his signal (clean/dirty) between an AC30 Head and Bad Cat Cub IIr (lucky!)

this was my rig for the weekend: Fractal Audio AxeFX with Ground Control Pro (w/ tap tempo and 2 Ernie Ball expression pedals). Tim used an SWR Workingman Head with Aguilar 210 cab. Nice.
This is the view from the stage of our Sunday morning crowd.

Blame it on Texas.

Wow, I've been a terrible blogger as of late. Although I'm still working on a blog to give my review on Fractal Audio's AxeFX, but I figure I better give ya'll a little something before I leave the country for a few days.

Really, not too much to talk about. But, I will blame my lack of blogging on Texas. It's big and can handle it. I'm leaving for Houston, TX tomorrow morning and am really excited (not for 6:06am flight, though). The band seems well rehearsed (hence no time to blog) and we've got a great list of songs to bring to Texas with us. We're playing at a youth conference called Freedom Weekend at Woodsedge Community Church. We were lucky enough to provide the worship at the same event 3 years ago and we had a blast. From what I can remember, the students were really into and we had a great time of worship, shopping, and riding segues. And, hey, to get out of chilly Moncton for a few days is a bonus. Just so you know, it'll be 22º on Thursday and 23º on Friday. Unfortunately, only 15º on Saturday and 14º on Sunday compared to Moncton's -16º and -22º. Bah!

I had a great iChat (Macpower unite!) with my friend, Tim, yesterday and we had a great talk about the state of the church, worship, and art. As faithful followers of each others' blogs, Tim had some great insight on my art vs. ministry debate and had some encouraging words as well. I just finished Reading Rob Bell's "Velvet Elvis" and some of his points really struck a chord with me. Although Bell's insight can be a bit ambitious, he's very passionate about the state of the church and all of Christendom. The book had some basis on Tim and I's conversation regarding missions (not introducing or bringing Christ to them, rather showing them that he's already amongst them and displaying the evidence that they simply cannot see yet) and the church (being relevant isn't necessarily what we need to do as a church; rather, we need to follow Christ's command of loving and serving our communities rather than trying to be or look like this or that). I've also started to read Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" which is supposed to be ground-breaking as far as realizing and exploring God's love for us. I'm sure I'll get a bit of reading done on the plane which is great.

I'm really gonna miss Catherine and Noah ove rthe next few days. Noah is at the stage where he's learning thigns everyday and is just beginning to take his first few steps (his balance isn't there yet) so I'd be bummed if I missed his first few attempts at walking. Also, Cat isn't a fan of being alone but I've made sure Morris (our boxer) is extra attentative to strangers and folks at the door. I've filed his teeth down to a desired sharpness to bite when told. Ok, he woudln't hurt a fly, but he looks and sounds mean.

I'll try to give an update and drop some pics over the weekend if I get the chance. Keep me and the band in your prayers; people in Texas are allowed to carry guns.

A quick-hit...

The flu has been ravaging the land these days and it finally caught up to me and the family. Both my wife and I have had the flu in the last week, and both of us (including Noah) have also had colds. We’ve basically been breeding germs like a Greenhouse. Morris, however, seems to have been inoculated by all of them. Luckily dog.
I had to confine myself to a bed for many days and drink lots of orange juice. It was nice, in some respect, because I felt like I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep. Noah’s sleeping habits seem to be getting worse as he consistently gets up at 10pm and somewhere between 3am and 6 am each morning. It’s been especially hard on Catherine who has the duty of getting him to sleep the only way we know how; nursing. This poses another problem since she’s begun the weaning process of breast milk. So, with sleepless nights and days of recovery, thing are slowly getting back into the swing of things. Say tuned for a review on Fractal Audio's AxeFX preamp/processor...

Guitar Solo of the Week: "Dreams" by Derek Trucks

This clip is taken from "The Allman Brothers Band: Live at the Beacon Theater".
Derek Trucks is by far one of my favorite guitar players. I had the chance to see him back in September but for whatever couldn't make it down to Fredericton to see him. I was disappointed to say the least. But, he is by far one of the best and most creative slide guitar players I've ever heard. Not only that, but he's got fantastic chops beyond the slide. This solo has a little bit of both.
I think you even get a hint of "the brown note" at around 2:58 of the clip. (If you don't know what the "brown note" is, check this clip out of an interview with John Mayer, Derek Trucks, and John Frusciante). This solo rocks; so does the DVD. Enjoy.

Resolutions or Revelations?

It's been a week or so since I've last blogged, and my last blog was a poor excuse of a blog. So, I just wanted to comment on "New Years Resolutions".

I don't really have any. I can't say I've ever really had any New Years resolutions before. At least not any that worked out well. But, being someone who is conscious of his own inner and outer being (both physically and spiritually), I realize that there are things that I do need to change or improve on. I'm not sure that they're considered resolutions or not because I don't believe most issues can be "resolved" in a year. Rather, I believe I can "reveal" in my own soul that need improvemnt, changing, and beginnings. So, this year I'm replacing resolution with revelation; I choose to improve myself by not changing who I am. Rather, change who I am by the improvements I make. When we look at our own lives, the things we need to resolve are revealed to us over the course of our journey. So, here're the things that've been revealed to me that I want to accomplish:

Eating:
It's only been the last few years that I've started to notice the spare tire starting to form around my gut. It's more of the bicycle tire at this point, but who's to say it won't move to a motorized vehicle tire at some point soon? So, if anything, I'm probably going to watch how much late-night snacks and in-between-meals munchies I'm consuming. I've always had great metabolism, but since I got married (and probably become less active the past few years), I find my sugary desires catch up to me and show a bit more. I am in no way saying I'm fat or need a diet, but I can certainly become more aware and disciplined in my eating habits. My wife is always serving me great (and healthier) foods so I certainly can't blame her. It's my own cupboard-scouring habits that get me into trouble.

Less TV/More Reading:
I love TV. And I especially like watching movies/DVDs. There're only a few shows on TV that I deliberately watch: House, Heroes, & 24 on Monday with Survivor and The Office on Thursdays. There're also a few shows that I like to catch now and then like American Idol (usually only the audition episodes), 30 Rock, and Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares. And, of course, I'll watch every Calgary Flames game I can when they happen to be on TV (if not, I'll try and catch a live stream on the net). So, that only takes up a few of my TV-watching hours in the course of a week.
I hate reading. However, I love knowledge, spirituality, philosophy, and debate. I've got a stack of about 4 or 5 books that I deeply want to read. Moreover, I don't just want to read them, I want to enjoy them. With the TV being on almost all the time, with being a father, and with the the weekly routine filling in the rest of the blanks, I find I don't really have time for reading as much as I would like. Catherine and I have mentioned canceling our TV service on several occasions, but we've never followed through. I imagine that is only because we really don't want to miss the shows we faithfully love to follow (see above). While I'm sure I could download those episodes, we then wouldn't have the time to catch up on them. And with the digital-cable era taking over, there will soon be no such thing as "basic" cable or the 3 fuzzy channels that any TV might receive. A conundrum, for sure.
So, this year, I hope to watch less TV and read more books.

Bible/T.A.W.G.:
As a Christian, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what God's Word has for me. Then again, I doubt anyone really has, but even just the simple stuff is waiting there for me to retain. My Bible (wherever it lies in my house) has virtually been unopened this past year, so I intend to start to wear the binding a bit more. Along with this, my Time Alone With God has also suffered. Although I have taken some steps over the past few months to change that, improvement is still needed. Even if it takes getting up a 1/2 hour earlier (thx, Tim) then I should do so if it is going to refresh my soul. I'm sure the payoff is killer (figuratively speaking).

Patience:
I think I've actually become a more patient person since getting married. My wife brings out the best in me, I believe. Probably because I'm more patient than her and it makes me feel better about my own... heh. But, no, she does bring the best in me and I love her for it. Even when my son is crying in my ear, or being stubborn as a mule, I need to learn patience and not get frustrated so easily. Babies are learning too. Also, cooped up dogs need something to keep them entertained. So when Morris has been alone for a few hours and feels the urge to chew my Dion Phaneuf statuette or eat the whole bag of caramels my mom bought for me, I need to be more patient with him. I also need to have patience in finding God's will for my life. God is enver late, God is never early, God is always on time. That needs to be instilled in my life. Then again, I can only discover that through reading His Word more and said T.A.W.G.

Play More Guitar:
I'm serious. If there's one thing I could do more of in my spare time, it'd be playing guitar. If it's something I want to do as a living, I better get better at it. My practice time is next-to-none these days. When I get home, I veg for a few minutes, eat supper, and help my wife exhaust the baby and put him to bed. Once that's done, I can't turn my guitar amp on in fear that it'll keep/wake the baby up. I had the chance to play a few gigs with Matt Brouwer over the holidays and while they all seemed to go very well, I realized how important it was that I stay sharp on all my chops. On our drive home from Saint John on New Years Eve, Matt had some very encourageing words for me on my playing. While I strive to accept both criticism and compliments equally, I couldn't help but feel my playing was inadequate as he talked about some players and artists he's shared the stage with. I also think of what opportunities could be held for me if I was to be better at my craft.
On the flip side of this, I do believe that I'm learning more about music in general. Theory, different styles, music technology, and playing different kinds of instruments are all aspects of playing music I've been able to embrace. I certainly can't claim any deep comprehension any of those aspects, but I do believe they've made me grow as a musician in small ways.

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Anywho... those're my 2009 "goals". I believe I have a great support system in friends and family that will keep my accountable on those things. So, feel free to be one of those people and send me a msg now and then to see how I'm doing on those accounts.

So, from myself, Catherine, Noah, and Morris, the Cambers family wish you a very (belated) Merry Christmas and Blessed 2009!