Espresso Yourself coming up!

So it has been way too long since Tim Farrel and I jammed and the time is here! We got together about two weeks ago and I have to say that it was kind of amazing that we picked up where we left off...the old songs came pouring out and we quickly realized that we needed to gig. You see we never practiced...I mean never...gigging was our practice. If we were going to learn a new song, one of us would learn it and the other would add their part. So now we have three gigs in three weeks. First, the coolest realtor in the country, Hugh Price, invited us to come out and jam at a fall festival in Granville, Ohio, and for a good cause. So we can't say no to that and we are going to collaborate on a song or two. Then Espresso Yourself in Powell, Ohio, on October 9 and then a Tappas bar in Powell, Ohio, on October 16. Fun cubed. Hope to see of you there.

Count down is on for the 16th...

I just dropped off my workhorse Taylor at J. Thomas Davis Guitars in Columbus.  Great shop.  Having a bone saddle put on her, slight neck adjustment, new strings...should be tip top for the May 16th show.  I really love this guitar and it deserved a little love!  We have the set pretty much put together as well and the band is sounding great - hope to see you there!

Concert!

I hope to see you guys out for our May 16th concert at Linworth Baptist Church.  It's a free show, and I've got some of my band put together for it - Brandon Montgomery on lead guitar, Jonathan Prenosil on bass, me doing my thing.  That night I am going to share some new music that I have written in the last few months and play most of the material from the "Faith, Family and Friends" CD as well.

Speaking of CD's, they are all going to $5.  I figure if Subway can do it, then so can I!

Now this is fun - Tim Farrel is going to join me for a few tunes!  We have not played together and in a long time and not sure how long it will be to the next time either.  But we are going to have some of our Farrer & Stevenson CD's there as well, again for $5, and there is a deal: two for $10!

So if you need directions, visit: www.linworthbaptist.org.

Show times will be either 7 or 7:30 that evening.  Hope to see you there!

New Music

So where does it come from? New ideas and new music...they are such gold to me and yet it seems that I do everything I can to prevent them from coming. I got the privilege of debuting a new song this Sunday and it went well. Musically it was new for me and Brandon and Keil did a nice job dressing it up for me. What an honor. But it is interesting that so many of my activities distract me from that still small voice that tells me what to do, where to go and what to say. Perhaps that is why busy is spelled the way it is...burdened under satan's yolk. The Holy Spirit wants to help us communicate and commune with God, but we drown him out with the noise of this life. Well, here is to caring, writing, dreaming, loving more and actually doing less.

My bluegrass roots are showing...

I had a blast playing in church Sunday. I dusted off an old hymn called "Brethren We Have Met to Worship" and did a little acoustic thing with it. I heard a killer arrangement to this song from Bard Millard's "Hymned Again" collection and couldn't resist taking a crack at. So I drug my band's guitartist, Brandon Montgomery in on it to do some rythymn work and we also recruited his wife, Libby for that classic alto harmony that makes bluegrass ring. Well, thank the Lord, we pulled it off and it was a real blessing to us. I grew up on Appalachian music so this stuff kind of falls out of me naturally, but I peppered in "I'll Fly Away" and an original arrangement of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Sweet By and By, and Old Rugged Cross" and it was a nice little set for our worship time at Linworth. I think we made some friends with the senior folks in our church who get a little tired of the contemporary stuff, and it was an honor to get to do it!

Mercy Me and Bebo Norman were fantastic!

So, one of my good friends, Coldwell Banker West Shell Realor Greg Tassone, hands me these tickets a few weeks ago. He says, "Jim, I don't know if you know these guys, but they are coming the Underground Zone for a private concert." I about fell over when I saw that it was Mercy Me with Bebo Norman opening!

Fast forward to not knowing if we could even get a baby sitter, and then navigating around the OSU vs Michigan traffic (Go Bucks!), we walked in, and straight to the table to meet the band. What a great bunch of guys. They signed CD's, hung out, left with a copy of "Faith, Family and Friends" and then proceeded to deliver some incredible music.

I could have stood to hear a lot more of Bebo Norman, whose new CD is really, really good. His guitarist was solid and multi-talented, playing acoustic guitar, hammer dulcimer and keyboards. But "Pull Me Out" and his song about empathy for Britney Spears during her meltdown were really stand outs.

And despite having to do some starting and stopping for a presentation by the host ministry, Mercy Me delivered a really full set. Their opener, "Time" from their latest project was just amazing, especially in such a small venue. It was a wall of sound 100 miles thick, that had Tears for Fears, U2 and more all put in a high speed mixer and 10,000 watts!

Bart's voice was absolutely crystal clear and despite the small, reserved corporate crowd, he delivered energy and his passion for worship. Kim and I listened to the CD (autographed of course) all the back. Man, what a great night...makes me want to get out and play...wait a minute...I am playing with First Sunday in the morning and we are doing Mercy Me's "God with Us"!

Watch out for that kickball!

So this was a first for me...Worthington Christian Schools had a meet the teacher night at their Westview campus and the principal Jim Parrish asked me to do some praise and worship music. That was really cool...actually it was bloody hot out on the tarmac, but it is the first time that I have ever had to worry about my gear being hit by a kickball...did Come, Now is the Time to Worship, Open the Eyes of My Heart, Amazing Love and ended with traditional hymn Praise to the Almighty...revised for a solo guitar and singer...great night of meeting other parents, praying for our kids and teachers and music. Life is good.