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