Open for Business

One of the most important components for my studio finally arrived last week. Gabby was almost excited as I was and graciously "helped" me by standing on the box marked "fragile". Good thing she only weighs 26 lbs.





She was a huge help with my least favorite part: picking up all of the little peanuts. Why do they even make those? Answer: to entertain my two year-old. This killed a good thirty minutes of our morning while Mom and Palmer slept.



I don't think I'm alone in my need for an inspiring space to create. That becomes a challenge when an increase in kids creates a decrease in space in a rental home. Nevertheless I sunk my teeth into one of our spare rooms. Come on, I'll give you a tour.



This makeover cost me $15. This was leftover paint from work that was the wrong tint anyway, so I saved it from the trash. My boss roasts coffee and last time we went to the green coffee place I rummaged through the coffee sacks and picked out the ones with the prettiest pictures to create these isolation panels. I upholstered them to some 1/4" plywood over leftover batting that I found laying around. The curtains were on sale at Target which was the only real expense. Take that HGTV.





Also I can take a nap when I get tired from writing songs and stuff.

Some of my gear:

15" MacBook Pro, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB ram
Presonus Firestudio 10x10 Firewire PreAmp and Audio interface
Logic Pro
Mackie HR824 Monitors
Yamaha S90ES Keyboard
Yamaha MX100B Acoustic Piano (Predecessor to the U1 with a Disklavier module)
Blue Spark Cardioid Condensor Mic with the Blue Pop (I still need its' pair for stero recording)
Larrivee OM3 acoustic

I'm working on some fun projects which I'll be sharing with you soon!

Palmer Charles

I am a blessed man. As my family grows, I see more and more how graciously God navigates and guides us through seasons. Through each transition I am more overwhelmed and thankful for His generosity to me. First, God entrusted me with the most beautiful woman and Godly wife that I could ever hope to be partnered with. Then, two years later our lives were rocked with the addition of little Gabriella. As we prepared to ease ourselves into the terrible two's our lives were rocked yet again with the anticipation of another little one! Just when we thought we were gaining some traction and perceived "control" over our lives, God gently reminded us again that He is in control and has incredible things in mind.

Palmer Charles was born a week before his due date early on a Saturday morning on March 31. What an indescribable experience to go through with my Jenna. After nine months of restless sleep and lots of back-rubs the day came when we miraculously witnessed the split second moment of a person joining us in the world. It truly is indescribable, the formation of a beating heart inside the womb, then the few flutters of movement which gradually turn into visible kicks: undeniable evidence of life that only our Creator can give.

God wasn't lying when he said there would be pain in childbirth. I praise God numerous times everyday that I am not a woman and childbirth is a perfect example of this! It's so humbling watching Jenna willingly experience the pain of childbirth for the health and good of our baby. Jenna sweetly says that there is now way she could go through childbirth without me, but really all I do time contractions, hold her, breathe with her and whisper encouragement into her ear. Inside I'm gritting my teeth and wondering how much more of this I can handle before I yell, "Give my son the juice!"

The most humbling moment came after Jenna had been in intense active labor for several hours and had transitioned into the large jetted tub at the birthing center. The warm water worked like magic and allowed her a few seconds of relief between contractions. I knelt by her side holding a wet cloth on her head and letting her squeeze my hand. I timed contractions and constantly told her how proud of her I felt. As the contractions came on so quickly it was easy for both of us to feel out of control which is the toughest part of natural childbirth: purposefully losing control and letting the mother's body do what it was created to do!

As the contractions came on strongly and quickly Jenna felt overcome by them and even our Lamaze breathing began to lose it's effectiveness. In Jenna's worst moment of feeling completely out of control she simply cried out in prayer, "Lord help me, I can't do this on my own!"

Do you know how badly I want to be the one who cares for my wife and assures her that no matter what she can rely on me and I can carry her burdens? I wish I could describe how humbling it was to watch my wife intentionally experience pain and as it became harder than she could take her true colors showed and she went to her Rock. I hope that in my worst moment that I would turn to my Creator. Jenna taught me an invaluable lesson in this moment: in our hardest trials, cry out the Lord. Our suffering may not even be for our benefit (although in God's sovereignty we know that all things are). He might be doing a work in us for everyone else to witness. We don't know if our midwives were believers but they stood back and watched us labor together, and saw Jenna turn unashamedly turn to her God. I know they saw something different in my wife.

Although those intense minutes seemed like hours they ended just like that. Jenna told the midwife she felt like she needed to push and in a few short minutes we heard a baby cry and Palmer was placed on Jenna's chest. We both cried.

After the cord stopped pulsing giving little Palmer the last of his needed blood supply from Jenna, I told the midwife that I'm not the guy who needed to cut the cord, there are medical professionals for that. She laughed and generously stood in the gap for me.

The next few hours were perfect, we held our baby (Jenna) and slept (me), and our midwife bustled around our room cleaning up, taking temperatures and vitals from both mom and baby and let us rest. Within a few hours Jenna's strength had returned and after a quick picture with our midwife were on our way home.

Before:



After:









Although Pro-Life isn't an intentional theme of this blog, it's the most obvious message that Palmer's beating little heart shouts more loudly than I can. Palmer was a person from the moment he was conceived. God saw his unformed body. (Psalm 139). He will be inconvenient, expensive, and cause all kinds of trouble but He is made in the image of God and it's my privilege and honor to be called his dad and introduce him to his Heavenly Father. It's not our decision to avoid the 9 month pregnancy that his little life required, or to decide whether or not that little fertilized egg should have a chance, or a matter of women's rights. It's about a little person that God chose to breathe life into. It is worth it, all of it. I'm so glad my parents thought the same way about me.

Thank you God for Palmer Charles.

Welcome to my studio, Mackie!

In all sense of the word I've been a "professional" musician since I was fourteen years old and I remember my first paid gig well. Some friends who were a little older than me played in a classical music trio for weddings and special events and had a gig come up that they couldn't take and called me to fill in. It was a wedding reception at a classy bed and breakfast in Manitou, CO called the Cliff House. I thoroughly enjoyed myself for the two hours that I was supposed to play and enjoyed it even more when the event planner handed me a check for $250. That led to numerous weddings and receptions and then to a steady gig at the Gaylord five-star resort and hotel, The Broadmoor.

Even after years studying music in college and then having my albums available at any large music retailer I have always struggled with financially investing in my trade as a musician. Tools are necessary for our jobs as any skilled tradesman accepts. Even as a starving musician in Nashville I started a business with the cheapest start-up cost possible as a window washer. I went to Home Depot and spent $49 on two buckets, a squeegee and a pole and the cashier had to pry the cash out of my hand.

I'm slowly accepting the reality of adding to my musical tool belt and I bought this Mackie HR824 pair a few days ago and added them to my work station. These guys are amazing!

A Day in the Life...

When worship pastors are comparing notes one question topic that often surfaces is the logistics of our jobs which we all strive to systemize to make our lives easier. Worship and creative arts positions in average sized churches typically require an individual who is creative, organized with administrative ability. In my experience it's tough to find one person who exemplifies all of these qualities (I know which ones are my strengths and weaknesses!) which is why programs like Planning Center were developed and created.



There is a reason that Planning Center is the number one service planning program available today. It's (to put it simply), amazing. Short of actually being my brain, Planning Center is the virtual house that the logistics and administration of my worship ministry lives in. From all of my devices I can plan and manage services, schedule people, download and administer mp3's and charts for services, see which musicians have actually viewed them, track how long the service is actually taking, and so much more. Additionally, with Planning Center's accessory program Music Stand I can click a button and view my service plan, charts and mp3's on my iPad at my keyboard on Sunday morning.



Since our church can't afford iPads for all of our band, they are left in the dark ages with actual paper which isn't actually a negative, as I can't find a great iPad reader that works perfectly with my chart system.



I've been extremely proud of my musicians who have made the jump from traditional, completely useless music charts to the Nashville number system. With a small amount of music theory knowledge, any musician can pick up this system which all churches ought to be using. I will write another blog on the Nashville Number system with more insight, but there is a reason why this system is used and embraced by all music professionals in Nashville.

The only negative is that it requires me to print off two sets of charts, one for my band and the other for my vocalist. Those who are playing and singing look at two charts which takes practice, but easily mastered.



The vocalists lyric sheet is really only necessary for practice so they can take notes and learn their lyrics, but they are encouraged to use the stage display for any lyric reminders during the service so it doesn't look like they're reading.

Without going into a lot of detail the band number chart lists a place to write in the key and beats per minute for the click (these are the only things that can potentially change depending on set list), and then the actual chart. Each bar that will be played in the song is represented on the chart which leaves no room for excuses in the band members for not knowing the order of the song. Applying numbers to a scale in a key allows for players to transpose in their head and play the chart in any key necessary. More normal chord charts write in a chord letter ambiguously above a word on the chart which really doesn't communicate any information to the player. Number charts can be written as specifically as possible to notate grove, irregular chord changes and keep everyone on the same page. This is especially helpful for playing a brand new tune such as an original tune without a recording.

Your band might balk slightly at having to use a different system, but once they know and understand it, you won't want to use anything else. Ask any member of my band!