A few days before Christmas an old friend of mine emailed me to say that God had put on his heart to send me one of those visa pre-paid credit cards.  He asked me to spend it on things related to making better music….actually he said music, I just added better.  Anyways, it was so kind and thoughtful, so I thought I might show you what I bought with it.  

*One note about these Books and CD’s.  While I do think that we can grow from books and CD’s that might have points of view that I disagree with, I always want to be careful to filter it through the lens of Scripture.  So a word of caution… I think that some of these have conclusions that might be dangerous to our hearts and minds if wisdom is not taken….)

1. Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns – I’ve only listened to it 4 or 5 times, but I can already tell this is going to be one of my all time favorite albums.

2. Greg Laswell – I don’t know much about this guy, but the album came highly recommended…and he seems to have a real knack for pop melodies.

3. Bruce Ware – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – I’ve been really convicted lately about how little I consider the doctrine of the Trinity in planning musical worship.  I’ve heard this is the best book around on the subject.  I hope it brings more conviction and change in me.

4. Joshua Radin – This guy is really dylanesq.  Not in a bad way.  But it’s all over his music.  He too has a some great melodies.  

So there it is…how I spent my songwriting money.  I know I have a ton to learn from these singers/writers.  Hopefully some ideas for some good tunes will come out of these resources.  

Thanks for reading.

My grandparents, Papa and Mama Ward, went to the University of Alabama, so I grew up a huge BAMA fan.  Papa and Mama Ward get tickets for all the football games, and I try to get down to Tuscaloosa for a game every year.  Tomorrow they are playing Clemson in Altanta, so my brother and I are meeting two of my cousins there for the game.  ESPN College Game day is there, so look for us on TV…we’ll be the four guys with crimson red shirts on trying to get on camera.

Any food suggestions?  I know the Varsity is supposed to be pretty good.

So I’ve put together some video clips from the making of Adore and Tremble. Its funny that most of the video clips that I took from that week are only about 30-or-so seconds long. I’m not sure why I took such short clips…..I guess I was pretty intimidated by all the great musicians. I think I was a bit more excited about documenting the moment than they were…..I was trying not to act like a seventh grader in the locker room with the varsity basketball team.

But it’s for your good now…..eh?

The first half of the video was taken in Paul Moak’s Studio, where we recorded drums, bass, electric, and keys. Other than Nathan, Paul was the one guy I was most familiar with before we recorded. He has played on so many great records…..and does this viby/delay-ie kind of sound so well. Ken Lewis, who is another guy who has played on tons of stuff played drums, and percussion. And Chris Donohue, who has also recorded on an amazing amount of projects, played bass. Everyone of the guys was so nice….it was a huge honor to have them play on these songs.

The last few shots on the video are from Nathan’s studio, where we tracked acoustic guitars, vocals, and B3, and did all the programming work. I plan on posting some more pictures from Nathan’s studio in Adore and Tremble post #3, which my creative media and editing teams (me) are currently working on.

From left to right, Nathan Nockels, Ken Lewis, Me, Chris Donohue and Paul Moak.