Price Drop for CDs and downloads

I’ve reduced the prices of CDs and downloads at my webstore, added lyrics for all the tunes on Guardian Grace and set up a free download for anyone who signs up on the fan list.  Feel free to listen to full track streaming as well. My music is available on several online distributors, but my webstore is the only place where you can receive these reduced prices.

BTW – It’s great to be able to hear so much music online for free, but please support artists that you enjoy by purchasing their music and attending their shows. Don’t just “like” an artist; become a sponsor/patron if you want to hear more from them – especially independent artists.

 

“A Living Sacrifice” performed by Redeemer Church PCA in Jackson MS

We sang “A Living Sacrifice” on Sunday and everybody in the band was talking about how they saw this video of Redeemer Church doing the song on youtube. This song had meant a lot to me this year especially as my family and I have been through a very stressful trial as we pursued a calling from the Lord that brought us into a lot of mess. The Lord has never promised us an easy life. In fact, we have a more certain promise that we will experience trials in order to have the power of Christ revealed in us and that trials work to purify our hearts. The cry “make me holy” is not disconnected from the offering of our lives as a sacrifice. I know that my friends at Redeemer are embracing this call in their community, and it makes me so glad to see them worshiping with my song.

By the way, please pray that the Lord would provide the means for me to make another recording. We have made a lot of financial sacrifices in order to be faithful to God’s calling for us as a family. I can’t wait to be able to record this tune which was written shortly after Guardian Grace was completed.

2011 NCF Music Conference in St Louis

Registration is now open for the 2011 NCF Music Conference in St Louis August 9-11.

Early Registration is $60 for individuals, $45 for groups of 4 or more, and $25 for students. Go to https://newcity.smartevents.com/ for more information.

Want a reason to come? Here’s what the 2010 conference was like.

Photos from the Black History Celebration

We had a wonderful time of worship last weekend at the Black History Celebration. Here’s some photos that the ever present camera of Neil Das captured. You can find all the photos that Neil took here.

Last day to get your free download

Happy New Year! It’s almost 2011 and it’s also almost the end of the free mp3 download offer from my online store. So, get your free download today! Here’s a link.

Here’s an unrelated pic that is totally awesome! This guy was perched in our backyard a few weeks ago.

Apparanetly, it's a Kestrel

Listen to this: “O Come O Come Emmanuel” demo for this Sunday.

I didn’t mess too much with the song. I just put it into a 6/8 feel to help it feel less like a funeral march. I recorded this using Audacity and a Logitech webcam mic (and a slightly out of tune guitar.) Special guest: Seiko the metronome.

Merry Christmas, help yourself to a FREE DOWNLOAD!

Check out my CD Freedom website for a free download of “Glory Glory” from my first CD, “Only One”. The mp3 will be free for the entire month of December, so make sure to share the link with any friends or family who have not yet heard my music.

Currently, “Guardian Grace” is out of stock on the website, but I just shipped a bunch to restock last week, so check back in a few days. If you live in St Louis or Chattanooga, there are plenty available for Christmas shopping from me directly or from my family in Tennessee. If you are desperate for a CD to ship asap, just send me an email, and I will get one in the mail.

Added Nov 30 3:09pm – Guardian Grace is back in stock on the CD Freedom site!

Why is October going to be “the jam”?

I’m swamped with extra work these days which is why my blog is being neglected. Here’s some of the stuff that’s going to rock about October (dare I say it – “ROCK-tober”):

October 3 – The Congolese Sunday

We’re going to stack the deck in favor of Congolese music and musicians. We’re even going to have the French house church basically function as the vocal team. It’s an experiment in reconciliation. We’ll be singing in French, Lingala and Swahili. If you’ve been to our church, you know that we usually sing one or two songs from African origins every Sunday. This Sunday will be a big shock for some. Here’s a taste:

October 8-10 – NCF Church Retreat

Our annual church retreat is a great time to relax, meet people, and jam for Jesus in the back woods. We usually have an opportunity to worship in a more informal and extended context at some point in the weekend. I look forward to that time to pull out all the songs that people love to sing with gusto. Let’s not forget the S’mores, too.

October 16 – NCF Choir rehearsals begin!

I am especially looking forward to this year’s choir season because for the first time, we’ll have a part-time choir director! Odetta Fields has accepted the position and I am confident that she will do an excellent job. We’ve already got the tunes for fall picked out and we’re totally pumped about what’s in store. I am hoping that being free of the leadership of the choir, I’ll be able to sustain more focus on the general aspects of worship and music shepherding. Here’s a taste of one of the choir tunes we’ll be singing. Notice the tasteful use of stage ferns in the clip:

October 20 – Jammin’ for Justice 2

I’ll be playing a short set of solo jazz guitar at this event for my friends, Joshua and Taylor Saleem. Hudson and the Hoodoo Cats are the headliners. Here’s some info from facebook:

MCU (Metropolitan Congregations United) for St. Louis presents a night of live music, food and fun to highlight our recent victories and to thank business and civic partners for their continued support for justice in our City. Featuring music from Hudson and the Hoodoo Cats, and food and beverages from Schlafly Tap Room. Fabulous silent auction and raffle along with great door prizes. Tickets are $30 each or $50/pair. Contact Kim Smith for tickets (314) 322-2389.

October 23 – Restore St Louis Benefit Dinner

The NCF choir will be singing a few tunes for the RSL crowd. I’m glad that we can be part of supporting this event. I’m working on a choral arrangement of the Compassion Art Project’s, “You Have Shown Us”.

October 31 – PCA Reformation Service at Chesterfield Presbyterian.

Despite the fact that Mike Honeycutt will be preaching, Chesterfield is hosting, and the choir anthem is my dad’s tune, “Who Can Separate Us?” I will not be in attendance. (It’s Halloween night, people! Is it wrong to skip the celebration of the Reformation by participating in a enculturated, glutonous, semi-Catholic holiday whose origins stem back to pagan rituals?) Here’s a taste of what I’ll be doing:

New Song: a new vibe for Wesley’s The Year of Jubilee

When inspiration comes, you got to strike while the iron is hot. Here’s a new version of Charles Wesley’s “Blow Ye The Trumpet Blow”. I was thinking Dap Kings at first which this could still work with that kind of groove, but it ended up being more like a weird Jack White vibe.

The Year of Jubilee

1.Blow you, the trumpet, Blow!
The gladly solemn sound
Let all the nations know,
To earth’s remotest bound:
Jesus, our great High Priest,
Has full atonement made;
You weary spirits, rest;
You mournful souls, be glad:

Chorus
Freedom! The year of jubilee is come;
Freedom! The year of jubilee is come;
Freedom! The year of jubilee is come;
Freedom! The year of jubilee is come;
You ransomed sinners return, return home.

2. Extol the Lamb of God;
The sacrificial Lamb;
Redemption through his blood
Throughout the world proclaim:
You slaves of sin and hell,
Your liberty receive;
And safe in Jesus dwell,
And blessed in Jesus live:

3. You who have sold for naught
Your heritage above,
Receive it back unbought,
The gift of Jesus’ love:
The gospel trumpet hear,
The news of heavenly grace;
And, saved from earth, appear
Before your Savior’s face:

I know what you’re thinking. You think that I hate the tune LENOX which was also a tune for Isaac Watt’s  “Jesus My Great High Priest” before I ruined it with my tinkering. Can I help it if  I like the 66.66.888 meter? Hey, for fun try singing “Blow Ye…” to the tune of “JMGHP”! Not fun? I guess it’s just a church-music-nerd  kind of thing.

Photos of the 2010 NCF Music Con

I forgot to bring my camera to the conference, so I had to steal other people’s pics off of facebook.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.