We are Siamese.

Last night, Alice and I went to the Exit/In and saw John Davis (formerly of Superdrag). I was too tired to fully enjoy the show, but it was still good. He became a Christian fairly recently, so it's interesting to hear lyrics penned by a seasoned songwriter who has had a radical life-change. Lyrical comparisons to Slow Train Coming-era Dylan are apt. If he comes to your town this fall (opening for Ginny Owens), be sure to go see the show.

Alice made us some fresh banana bread this morning to get us started out right. We began anew on "All I Owe" and it's turning out well. "Be Thou My Vision" was the afternoon's work, and it is everything I hoped it would be-- slow, atmospheric, restful. Andrew's cousin Dean stopped by for a few hours and hung out. He looks eerily similar to Todd Bragg.

Andrew left around 4:30, so Cason and I began the (often dreaded) task of recording vocals on "Be Thou My Vision." My breathing was better than it has been all week (my allergies are unpredictable), so I sang five passes before we sat down to comp it. Everything went smoothly and I am so thankful.

We're taking a break for several days while Cason's out of town, and resuming work on Wednesday. Please keep us in your prayers.

Oh, and by the way, we are siamese.

Rock and/or roll

Day 3 has gone very well; we were able to work much more quickly than we expected. "'Tis So Sweet," "Jesus, What A Friend For Sinners," and "Come Ye Sinners" (video) are almost done, and a failed attempt began on the only new song (i.e. never been recorded before, not traditional melody) on the EP, "All I Owe." I say "failed," but it gave us direction on where to go with it tomorrow morning.


Andrew plays telekinetically-- betcha didn't know that.

Alice made poppyseed chicken for lunch, which was delicious. She got up early this morning while I was still sleeping and prepared it. She is such a gift. Before we got back to work, we watched portions of the Wisdom Teeth episode of Dr. Katz (also known in some circles as the "jetpack" episode). Sides were split, and a good time was had by all.



We will probably start recording vocals tomorrow-- eek! Well, it had to happen sometime. I'm sure that Cason and Andrew will help coach me towards something decent. They are a joy to work with and their musical gifts seem effortless. I told them today that their time with Malcolm Burn (who produced their final two records when they were in The Normals) was more of an education than any of my friends got in college. Though they haven't studied music formally, they study music every day in ways that can't be taught at school.


Cooley drinks tea and ponders how awesome he is.

Steel.

Steve Mason on the lap steel 

Today we got a late start because of some technical issues with yesterday's audio files, but finally got things up and running at The Velvet Eagle. Steve Mason from Jars of Clay came over and played pedal steel and lap steel on "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus." It sounds beautiful. Here's a video.


Andrew adds some BGVs 

I've been interested in both instruments ever since I got into Daniel Lanois. As you may know, Lanois (pronounced LAN-WAH) produced some of Peter Gabriel's big records (including the one with "In Your Eyes," for you Say Anything fans), U2's classics (The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and more), and a few of Dylan's best. My friend Jeremy Casella turned me on to Lanois' solo records a few years back. Lanois's latest is Shine, a quiet but intense record that has some of the most important questions of life rumbling beneath its surface. While not a believer, it's apparent that he's done a lot of thinking about spirituality in general, and perhaps his friendship with Bono has had some influence on the roads he's travelled. It's my pick for best album of 2003, hands down. Most songs have lyrics, but his pedal steel instrumentals alone are worth the price of admission. Here's a pic and link:



While we were waiting for the technical snafus to be fixed, Steve and I had a good conversation about politics, and the assumption by many church leaders (Jerry Fallwell was the example) that if you are a Christian, you should-- nay, must, vote for Bush in this upcoming election. The underlying question we had was, are we examining our political leaders and their actions based on the truth of Scripture, or accepting what they say because they are somehow on "our team"? Are we trusting in government, or trusting in Jesus? This is in no way a partisan issue, but an issue of Christian worldview. How is this relevant to my EP? Remember the name of the song we were working on...


Cason Cooley, producer extraordinaire. 

As Steve left, he presented the studio with a special gift: his platinum plaque for WOW Worship (Yellow). Funny guy, that Steve.


The plaque. 

First day of recording

Hi everyone, I’ve decided to start this blog to have an easy way to update people on what’s going on with my music. You can click on "comment" to add your own thoughts and questions.
This morning we began work on my new 5-song EP, tracking bass and drums at The Park Studio. Donnie Boutwell, owner of The Park, has been engineering. Garrett Buell (of Caedmon’s Call) and Chris Weigel played drums and bass, respectively, and Cason Cooley is producing. We began with "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus," with Andrew Osenga stepping in on acoustic guitar for the final take. I’m thrilled at the shape things are taking.

My wonderful wife Alice made a delicious tortilla soup that we ate for lunch, and banana pudding for dessert. She has been so supportive as I have hesitantly inched towards recording a project of my own.

"Jesus, What A Friend For Sinners" and "Come Ye Sinners" took the rest of the afternoon, into the early evening. Tomorrow we leave The Park and head over to The Velvet Eagle (Andrew’s studio) to start overdubs.

One interesting highlight from the afternoon: I was standing by the studio’s back door when I saw a man enter into the back yard. He stepped into Donnie’s gazebo, reaching up to the light that was hanging there. I went back into the control room to tell Donnie about it; he quickly ran to the back door to see if it was someone he knew. Before I knew it, Donnie was running across his yard with a 9mm pistol in his hand, chasing the apparently uninvited guest. It turns out that the guy was stealing Donnie’s light and extension cord! No shots were fired, and the items were safely returned to the house. Mmmm…second amendment. Funnily enough, I just watched Bowling For Columbine again last night. Here’s the lingering question, though: is there a black market out there for outdoor lights and extension cords?

I’ll keep updating this blog as recording progresses; below are the first pictures of our work. Thanks for reading!


Here I am, recording scratch vocals in a tiny, very hot booth. 


Garett, blowing our minds with rhythm


Listening back