"What'd ya get for Christmas?"
That's probably the most asked question on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. When you're put on the spot like that, you can never really remember everything you got. So, don't ask, just read:
Sony Handycam
The Dark Knight DVD
WALL-E DVD
Snakes on a Plane DVD (this was a joke gift because I have a fear of snakes. It was wrapped nicely with fake ribber rattlesnakes that Noah has been happily chewing on)
NHL2K9 for Wii
Guitar Hero: World Tour for Wii
Socks
PJ bottoms
Cash for clothes (I love Dec. 27th @ the mall)
Greco Certificate
Boston Pizza Gift Certificate
Empire Theater passes
Blockbuster gift cards
"Muffler" Scarf
Calgary Flames fleece sweater
candy
Who I am
- JamCam
- Moncton, NB, Canada
- Christ-follower. Husband. Dad. Worship Leader. Pastor. Musician.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A Swift Kick in the Pants...
I had a very interesting weekend.
My friend's Eric and Brad and I were going to Halifax for the weekend to play with singer/song-writer, Matt Brouwer. Matt (an old JSB friend and Truro, NS native) is home for the holidays (by way of Houston, TX) and will be playing some shows in Atlantic Canada during his stay. Brad, Eric, and I were his musicians for the weekend; a 3-service concert-series (Sat. @ 6:30pm, and Sun. @ 9am & 11am) at Stoneridge Community Church in Lower Sackville, NS (whose vibrancy, kindness, and passion deserve a blog of its own). Anywho…
Minutes before the three of us were leaving Moncton for Halifax, I got a frantic call from Matt's manager informing me that Matt was stuck in New Jersey (where he had played the night before) at the airport because all flights were cancelled to the big storm they had. In a last-minute decision, Matt decided to rent a car and drive 15 hours from New Jersey to Halifax to be able to make the 9:00am service. This, of course, meant he would not be able to make Saturday evening's service. Matt's manager asked me if I could put something together to fill Matt's empty slot as the church had no back-up plan for Matt's absence. Matt’s manager seemed no longer frantic, but certainly it passed onto me. So, I threw 10 or so powerpoint slides on a CD, we packed the cars with our gear, and hopped on the road. On the way down, I called our friend Tammy and asked if she was busy that night. Luckily, she was able to help us out and she came and played some acoustic & sang with me.
Although I got us lost in Sackville twice, forgot to bring cash for the Cobequit Toll, and drove in Nova Scotia while talking on my cell phone (which is illegal there) we finally made it to the church about 1.25 hours later than expected. Regardless, Carl & Brad (our sound/PPT techs for the weekend), welcomed us with open arms and made our setup/soundcheck experience very easy and thorough. After choosing a few songs and barely rehearsing them, we met briefly with the leadership staff before the service began and they were very appreciative and encouraging with our “hurried” situation. My nerves began to physically show as I started to worry whether everything would work out. We prayed and went on stage...
When we were introduced as not being Matt Brouwer, you could tell there was a little bit of disappointment in the room. Not because of who we were, but who we were not. Also, I think there were some friends of family of Matt’s in the audience who were hoping to see him. When I got up to the mic, I was sure to try and break the “unfamiliarity barrier” as soon as I could. Luckily, they didn’t hiss or boo.
Without getting into a lot of detail about how the service went, all I can say that God is gracious and compassionate. The congregation accepted us immediately and (without invitation) were standing, clapping, and singing aloud with us. They even clapped after a few songs which is seldom heard during a worship set. Just when I thought my humble offerings of worship would be meaningless and serve only to fill Matt’s absence, God used my/our abilities to lead a group of people into a place of honest worship. Maybe our musicianship & arrangements didn’t blow any minds, but He used our small group of 4 and whole-heartedly lead some people into a holy moment. I can’t thank God enough for teaching me a big lessons here.
Despite my frantic efforts to make something like that work and make it memorable, he made the simplicity and sincerity of it to bless me. While I’m sure he blessed others through it as well, it truly blessed me like I had never been blessed before. It also served as a swift kick in the pants for me to put a bit more trust in him than I did on my drive to Halifax. I took my own abilities for granted and left little room for God to take care of the small stuff. But, when push came to shove, I believe God worked a tough situation into a holy moment for me (& the band).
My friend's Eric and Brad and I were going to Halifax for the weekend to play with singer/song-writer, Matt Brouwer. Matt (an old JSB friend and Truro, NS native) is home for the holidays (by way of Houston, TX) and will be playing some shows in Atlantic Canada during his stay. Brad, Eric, and I were his musicians for the weekend; a 3-service concert-series (Sat. @ 6:30pm, and Sun. @ 9am & 11am) at Stoneridge Community Church in Lower Sackville, NS (whose vibrancy, kindness, and passion deserve a blog of its own). Anywho…
Minutes before the three of us were leaving Moncton for Halifax, I got a frantic call from Matt's manager informing me that Matt was stuck in New Jersey (where he had played the night before) at the airport because all flights were cancelled to the big storm they had. In a last-minute decision, Matt decided to rent a car and drive 15 hours from New Jersey to Halifax to be able to make the 9:00am service. This, of course, meant he would not be able to make Saturday evening's service. Matt's manager asked me if I could put something together to fill Matt's empty slot as the church had no back-up plan for Matt's absence. Matt’s manager seemed no longer frantic, but certainly it passed onto me. So, I threw 10 or so powerpoint slides on a CD, we packed the cars with our gear, and hopped on the road. On the way down, I called our friend Tammy and asked if she was busy that night. Luckily, she was able to help us out and she came and played some acoustic & sang with me.
Although I got us lost in Sackville twice, forgot to bring cash for the Cobequit Toll, and drove in Nova Scotia while talking on my cell phone (which is illegal there) we finally made it to the church about 1.25 hours later than expected. Regardless, Carl & Brad (our sound/PPT techs for the weekend), welcomed us with open arms and made our setup/soundcheck experience very easy and thorough. After choosing a few songs and barely rehearsing them, we met briefly with the leadership staff before the service began and they were very appreciative and encouraging with our “hurried” situation. My nerves began to physically show as I started to worry whether everything would work out. We prayed and went on stage...
When we were introduced as not being Matt Brouwer, you could tell there was a little bit of disappointment in the room. Not because of who we were, but who we were not. Also, I think there were some friends of family of Matt’s in the audience who were hoping to see him. When I got up to the mic, I was sure to try and break the “unfamiliarity barrier” as soon as I could. Luckily, they didn’t hiss or boo.
Without getting into a lot of detail about how the service went, all I can say that God is gracious and compassionate. The congregation accepted us immediately and (without invitation) were standing, clapping, and singing aloud with us. They even clapped after a few songs which is seldom heard during a worship set. Just when I thought my humble offerings of worship would be meaningless and serve only to fill Matt’s absence, God used my/our abilities to lead a group of people into a place of honest worship. Maybe our musicianship & arrangements didn’t blow any minds, but He used our small group of 4 and whole-heartedly lead some people into a holy moment. I can’t thank God enough for teaching me a big lessons here.
Despite my frantic efforts to make something like that work and make it memorable, he made the simplicity and sincerity of it to bless me. While I’m sure he blessed others through it as well, it truly blessed me like I had never been blessed before. It also served as a swift kick in the pants for me to put a bit more trust in him than I did on my drive to Halifax. I took my own abilities for granted and left little room for God to take care of the small stuff. But, when push came to shove, I believe God worked a tough situation into a holy moment for me (& the band).
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Top 5's of 2008
New Year has never been anything particularly special to me in the past, but the one thing I consistently love each year is watching "Top-10" or "Best Of..." lists. Whether it's the best in the years' sports clip, plays, music, movies, or car accidents, I love to see how certain things are categorized. It's probably because I've got a knack for things that're organized and listed. So, as I do every year, here is my Top 5 albums, movies, and websites of the year. Enjoy.
“With Arrows, With Poise” by The Myriad – about half the songs from this album are on my iPod’s “Most Played” playlist. I saw them open for David Crowder in New York and they blew me away and stole the show (imo). Fantastic sound and some great grooves & textures.
“The Alchemy Index: Vol. I-IV (Fire, Water, Air, Earth)” by Thrice – this 4-volume manifesto explores music that reflects the four elements; fire, water, air, and earth. Each elements uniquely defines and shapes teh music. In Volume I (Fire), Thrice burn it up and show where they’ve come from with some heavy/loud/fiery songs while Volume II (Water) shows Thrice’s penchant for the digital & organic side of music. (“Digital Sea” may be one of my favorite songs in a long time). Vol. III (Air) takes you on a musical flight and takes your breath away with textured sound-scapes while Earth sees the band get down-to-earth with an acoustic and scaled-down audiophoria.
“New Surrender” by Anberlin – although Anberlin has become less hard-rock, lyrically and musically they’ve become much more defined and exploratory while keeping a lot of their post-punk/post-hardcore beginnings. This is a great follow-up to their previous album, “Cities”.
“Where the Light Is: Live in L.A.” by John Mayer – I’ve never been shy to promote my love for John’s music. Although I think he’s a bit full of himself in reality, this live show gives him a million reasons to be. He does 3 different sets in this concert (acoustic, blues trio, and full-band) and there’re gems in each one. John’s virtuoso tag takes off with plenty of solos & band jams, as well as some great renditions of his Grammy-award winning songs like Daughters (which, sounds fantastic with Robbie McIntosh’s slide/resonator guitar playing).
“Hello Love” by Chris Tomlin – there weren’t many fantastic worship albums that came out this year, but Tomlin’s Hello Love topped them all on my list. Yes, most songs are carbon copies of Tomlin’s previous church anthems, but there are a few songs on this album that really have hymn-like and traditional vibes to them. I feel Tomlin turned it up a bit on this album and it pays off.
On the bubble:
“The Bright Sadness” by Charlie Hall – not worshippy, but great writing, arranging, and producing
“Play: The Guitar Album” by Brad Paisley – I don’t like country enough to fully enjoy this album, but some of the best guitar work I’ve seen ina long time.
“Viva La Vida (Death and All His Friends)” by Coldplay – this might have made my Top 5 list if Coldplay hadn’t ripped off Joe Satriani’s song “If I could Fly” for their hit-single “Vida la Vida”. Satriani is now suing Coldplay for their stealing his art & creativity. Click here to read more about the lawsuit. Also, click here to hear the difference/similarities in the two songs.
Disappointed:
“Kingdom of Comfort” by Delirious – not their worst effort, but what’s most disappointing about this album was that it was their last record before officially disbanding.
“Death Magnetic” by Metallica – yes, it was an improvement from “t Anger”, but it’s obvious that ‘tallica tried far too hard to go back to their metal roots.
“Drastic Fantastic” by KT Tunstall – there’re some great songs on the album, but aren’t as strong as the songs from her folk-rock gem “Eye to the Telescope”
The Dark Knight – everybody and their dog loved this movie. Heath Ledger’s posthumous role aside, the directing, cinematography, and writing are all fantastic. It was a non-stop roller-coaster ride leaving you wanting more. The only down-side of this movie is Christian Bale’s “voice” as Batman; he sounds like he has throat cancer.
Iron Man – even as comic-geek when I was growing up, I’m surprised my top 2 movies of the year are both super-hero movies. Iron Man far exceeded my expectations and I liked this movie a lot. Lots of action, great story (with enough background and pre-text to dismiss any terrible prequels), and great casting.
Wall-E – when I went to the theater to see The Dark Knight for the third time, the only seats that were left were front row. I can’t watch a movie from the front-row, I don’t care how good it is. So, when we decided to go see something else, the Pixar-animated “Wall-E” was the only thing yet to play. Surprisingly, I absolutely loved it and thought Pixar’s take on global warming & materialism in a child’s animated feature was outstanding. This is a buyer for me and will go beside “The Incredibles” on my DVD shelf.
Cloverfield – I may get some flack from some, but since I was a faithful follower of all the Internet hoopla & build-up for this movie, so it made it all the more special for me. I loved Monster movies growing up, and this is a well-crafted take on a Godzilla movie taking place in NYC. The constantly-moving camera took some getting used to, but the large movie screen helped. I loved this movie and bought it the day it came out on DVD. Sure, the acting wasn’t fantastic, but the story and efx were great and it’s really entertaining.
Street Kings – ok, so this is a Keanu Reeves movie, but although it wasn’t a block-buster in the theaters, it made for a great rental and kept me really entertained. It wasn’t the caliber of Scorsese’s “The Departed”, but it was a great dirty-cop/internal affairs movie that kept you guessing.
On the Bubble:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – I haven’t seen this yet, but I imagine it’ll be great and garner some Oscar nods.
Step Brothers – because of it’s crass & tasteless jokes, constant innuendo, and dirty language, I couldn’t put myself up to putting this on my Top 5 list. But, it was freakin’ hilarious. Funnier than most recent Farrell movies, but the story was kinda weak. But funny.
Disappointed:
007: Quantum of Solace – this wasn’t a bad movie at all, but it was a bit disappointing since it didn’t live up to Casino Royale’s hype. It was a bit confusing, especially if you don’t recap Casino Royale before-hand. Less gadgets, less girls, and less cars makes James a dull boy.
www.stuffchristianslike.net - Jon is a fantastic wirter and blogger. He's got something interesting, funny, and spirtually fulfilling everyday.
www.hockeybuzz.com - the internet's best place for hockey rumors and stories
www.facebook.com - Facebook overpowers MySpace now. Although, I'm sure, Facebook will fizzle out in 2009, I will create the next best networking site: FaceSpace.
www.blogger.com - I raelly got into blogging this past year. Ienjoy reading them as much as I do writing them.
www.tsn.ca/nhl - I've become particularly enthralled with hockey these past two years. This is where I go for all my scores, news, and highlights.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Video of the Week: "Digital Sea" by Thrice
So, I skipped the "guitar solo of the week" and I'm exchanging it for the "music video of the week".
I like the song more-so than I do this particular video, but the concept is really cool and the song is, well.. fan-friggin'-tastic. Notice how some of the beats/instruments/programing correspond to items on the shelves like meters on a sound-board; teh lights react as well. Cool. The groove is fantastic and the "1's and 0's" ending is pretty rad. I saw a video of them doing it live and, even though they're considered a "post-hardcore" band that is usually pretty loud/heavy, this song (from the Volume ii: Water part of the THE ALCHEMY INDEX) was done with a Rhodes, a Nord Electro, and a harmonica mic running through some kind of small vocoder/keyboard (the the live drummer playing drums and controlling the drum triggers).
Thrice are one of my favorite bands and their last studio effort, "The Alchemy Index: Volumes i, ii, iii, & iv" is absolutely amazing.
I like the song more-so than I do this particular video, but the concept is really cool and the song is, well.. fan-friggin'-tastic. Notice how some of the beats/instruments/programing correspond to items on the shelves like meters on a sound-board; teh lights react as well. Cool. The groove is fantastic and the "1's and 0's" ending is pretty rad. I saw a video of them doing it live and, even though they're considered a "post-hardcore" band that is usually pretty loud/heavy, this song (from the Volume ii: Water part of the THE ALCHEMY INDEX) was done with a Rhodes, a Nord Electro, and a harmonica mic running through some kind of small vocoder/keyboard (the the live drummer playing drums and controlling the drum triggers).
Thrice are one of my favorite bands and their last studio effort, "The Alchemy Index: Volumes i, ii, iii, & iv" is absolutely amazing.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Trading comfort for human life; that's not just murder, it's suicide.
I called this blog "an inward audio" because I believe in this innate sound that we all have inside of us. I'm not necessarily talking about our "conscience" (although, I believe that's probably a part of it) but there's a sound that is found in us that only we can hear. It's universal to us yet sounds differently to each of us. Consequently, this inward audio has the same denouement for everyone; the same ending and means to an end. What makes it different to each of us is how often we listen to it, what it says/sings to us, and how much white noise masks the correct sound. I long to hear an inward audio that speaks/sings louder than all the other noise in my heart, soul, or whatever else is contained in your upper thorax.
There's a fella named Derek Webb who, for lack of better definition, is one of the most controversial Christian artists/writers ever. I also believe that alone propels him to the upper-echelon of Christian artists. You may know him as part of the folk-rock band Caedmon’s Call, but his solo work is what really defines him as being an exceptional writer. I believe Derek Webb has a unique sense of listening to that inward audio I speak of. While I'm sure, like many of us, he has to discern between the inward audio and the noise that surrounds it, but I believe Webb is one of the most disgustingly honest and potent writers out there. That's a good thing. In fact, that's a great thing.
He writes songs of all kinds, from comedic to truth that makes you cringe, but I find he particularly excels in writing songs of social commentary and social justice. On one hand, he pens great phrases like the ones seen here in the song “I Wanna Marry You All Over Again” which recounts the story of meeting and falling in love with his wife:
I wanna marry you all over again/I’ll meet your parents at the airport bar/I’ll take you out in my rental car/I wanna court you on the record label’s dime
I wanna buy you an old upright/I wanna accidentally stay all night/I wanna read the Bible and I wanna make out.
Then, just as quickly, he can move into something much more serious and thought-provoking like the disparaging (but poignant) remarks made in “Rich Young Ruler”:
Poverty/ is so hard to see/ when it’s only on your TV/ or 20 miles across town/Where we’re all living so good since we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood/ where He’s hungry and not feeling so good from going through our trash
He says “More than just your cash and coin/I want your time, I want your voice/I want the things you just can’t give me”
So come on and follow me/Sell your house, sell your SUV/Sell your stocks, sell your security/ and give it to the poor
I was listening to Webb’s latest release called “The Ringing Bell” at work this morning. I honestly can’t say I’ve consciously made it through the whole album (that is, really pay attention to the lyrics), but there's a song called “This Too Shall Be Made Right” which talks a bit about the way we treat each other, ourselves, and the earth. I believe it also speaks a bit to the exclusion of things like oppression and poverty in Heaven. It’s a short song, but is totally worth a read (let alone a great, simple melody). Check it out here.
I really encourage you to take a listen to Derek Webb’s stuff. In fact you can download “The Ringing Bell” FREE @ noisetrade.com. It’s a site that Derek highly supports which distributes free digital downloads of music from independent artists. It’s an important site as it doesn’t necessarily promote the “anti-download” side of the spectrum, but encourages a way for seldom-heard artists to get their great music and important messages out to listeners... for free.
All this to say… Sometimes our inward audio isn’t always rainbows & butterflies. Our inward audio wants to direct us on a path that is righteous and holy… and brutally honest. Webb’s inward audio informs us that we, as Christians, aren’t doing a good enough job exemplifying the life of Christ in our actions. I know I’m not. Not just socially, but personally. There’re always changes that need to be made. Thus, there will always be “that sound” inside of us and listening is really just the beginning. What’s it saying to you?
There's a fella named Derek Webb who, for lack of better definition, is one of the most controversial Christian artists/writers ever. I also believe that alone propels him to the upper-echelon of Christian artists. You may know him as part of the folk-rock band Caedmon’s Call, but his solo work is what really defines him as being an exceptional writer. I believe Derek Webb has a unique sense of listening to that inward audio I speak of. While I'm sure, like many of us, he has to discern between the inward audio and the noise that surrounds it, but I believe Webb is one of the most disgustingly honest and potent writers out there. That's a good thing. In fact, that's a great thing.
He writes songs of all kinds, from comedic to truth that makes you cringe, but I find he particularly excels in writing songs of social commentary and social justice. On one hand, he pens great phrases like the ones seen here in the song “I Wanna Marry You All Over Again” which recounts the story of meeting and falling in love with his wife:
Then, just as quickly, he can move into something much more serious and thought-provoking like the disparaging (but poignant) remarks made in “Rich Young Ruler”:
I was listening to Webb’s latest release called “The Ringing Bell” at work this morning. I honestly can’t say I’ve consciously made it through the whole album (that is, really pay attention to the lyrics), but there's a song called “This Too Shall Be Made Right” which talks a bit about the way we treat each other, ourselves, and the earth. I believe it also speaks a bit to the exclusion of things like oppression and poverty in Heaven. It’s a short song, but is totally worth a read (let alone a great, simple melody). Check it out here.
I really encourage you to take a listen to Derek Webb’s stuff. In fact you can download “The Ringing Bell” FREE @ noisetrade.com. It’s a site that Derek highly supports which distributes free digital downloads of music from independent artists. It’s an important site as it doesn’t necessarily promote the “anti-download” side of the spectrum, but encourages a way for seldom-heard artists to get their great music and important messages out to listeners... for free.
All this to say… Sometimes our inward audio isn’t always rainbows & butterflies. Our inward audio wants to direct us on a path that is righteous and holy… and brutally honest. Webb’s inward audio informs us that we, as Christians, aren’t doing a good enough job exemplifying the life of Christ in our actions. I know I’m not. Not just socially, but personally. There’re always changes that need to be made. Thus, there will always be “that sound” inside of us and listening is really just the beginning. What’s it saying to you?
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