Friday, March 31, 2006

Surprise

Favorite new lyric from the album. From the one we mixed today:

we are so beautiful when we sleep
hearts of gold
and eyes so
deep deep deep
but love won't cure the chaos
hope won't hide the loss
peace is not the heroine that shouts above the cause
love is wild for reasons
hope though short in sight
might be the only thing that wakes you by surprise
surprise

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Mixed in a big bucket with a stick.

One of my favorite albums, has that written in the liner notes. That's where we are today. Mixing. My family is out of town, so it's just Peanut and I. We have a very tenuous relationship. Well, we're getting to know each other.
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I'm taking her to work. Here she is, picking a warm spot underneath some Massenburg Equalizers. She's adapting well. My adaption work is this: I'm coming to terms with the end of our recording contract. There's a lot in our story, good and bad, wrapped up in that world.

Vance Powell, good friend and front of house mixer for 4 years, joins us again. He's making sense of all of our tracks. It's been the best it's ever been, partly because of the material, and also because we've been surrounded by friends. Happy!

Monday, March 27, 2006

Shame on you.

Big news in blogworld. There's a new link on my site. This blog is, as it states at the top of the page, "a celebration of the cyclical nature of self-pity, entitlement, and self-loathing." I believe there's a lot of good humor to be found in these places. So, enjoy the guilt and shame with us.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

My morning glory...

I've been recovering some headspace in a wonderful way. Impossible to sustain, however. $7 breakfast out quickly becomes a $35 week. This labor of love takes place at the Frothy Monkey, on 12th Ave. Here's what it looks like:
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Granola, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas. The best cup of coffee in Nashville. My morning pages, and a Richard Rohr book. The morning pages are a most significant part of my story these days. It clears the slate creatively, and a month into it, I've finally gone back and read some of what I've written. I'm actually getting some insight. Some dots are connecting.

Stream of consciousness writing for a bit, eat the cereal, read, underline things, and sip coffee. What a life.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Finishing Touches

We're into the last days of recording. It's been a process full of creativity, relationship, and honesty. A beautiful palette from which to make music. There really is a sense of freedom here. It's drawn me in a great compassion for young musicians. When identity as an artist and ability to execute are in play, there's a lot of fear. That makes it difficult to be creative.
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Thankfully, we've enjoyed 13 years of processing those ideas, and developing the freedom we now know. Those chips aren't on the table. We're human. We're creative. We're for each other - creative advocates. And it feels like we're all for the music reaching a great end. Pictured is Kim Fleming, who sang with us on a few songs. This has been a sweet season.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

This day is for you...

There are few moments in someone's life like their wedding day. Some people are tentative and careful (ask me about mine), trying to acknowledge the weight of such implications on their lives.

Others shriek with joy and find exaltation in the moment. Being at Bryan and Melissa's wedding this weekend was a combination of all things. Leaning in to the moment with childlike wonder, and a feeling that life is gloriously forever changed.

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They both were beautiful. Alive and glowing. It was a sweet time with lots of friends and family.

So, in honor of Bryan and his lovely new wife Melissa, I say congratulations. I pray you have the freedom that comes from knowing how well loved you are, and how then you are freed up and provoked to love well and trust.