even when my heart is...blogging.: 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...