.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Listen: Judd & Maggie - "Perfectly"

"We both know you're the only one who can make me rest perfectly."

Download (free)
Buy
On tour now with Derek Webb through April 9th.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

March tour pics

A couple of shots from our concert in Cincinnati last week:


Setlist from the last two runs:

Come Ye Sinners
And Can It Be
O Come And Mourn
His Love Can Never Fail
Approach My Soul
Thou Lovely Source Of True Delight
All I Owe
Jesus I Come
I Asked The Lord
Free Grace
Arise My Soul Arise
On Jordan's Stormy Banks
Nothing But The Blood

I had so much fun on both of these runs. I'm pretty bummed that I didn't book any more band concerts for the next few months; while I enjoy playing solo, the van is always filled with laughter, music, and discussion, and I count my time with these guys as some of the best moments of my life.

Indelible Grace founder Kevin Twit joined us at the Southern Seminary concert, sitting in on guitar on His Love Can Never Fail, Approach, Arise, On Jordan's, and Nothing But The Blood. He was at the seminary to give lectures on hymns for some of Chip Stam's classes. I love watching him in his element, whether with music or speaking. He gets so much joy out of using his gifts. You can hear for yourself using these links:

Exploring the 'Why' behind the Modern Hymn Movement Part 1 (MP3) -- Lecture Notes (pdf)
Exploring the 'Why' behind the Modern Hymn Movement Part 2 (MP3)
Engaging the Emerging Church with Hymns (MP3) -- Lecture Notes (pdf)

For more lectures, visit Southern's Institute Of Christian Worship lecture page.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Listen: Don Miller on the RELEVANT Podcast

I recently listened to Don Miller's interview on the RELEVANT podcast and it gave me a lot to think about. I don't agree with everything he has to say, and that is one of the great things about him. He isn't afraid to speak his convictions, and he doesn't shave off the edges in order to appeal to everyone. Pay close attention to the constant nervous laughter by the interviewers.

Part 1 begins a the 10:57 mark.
Part 2 begins at the 32:22 mark.

My favorite quotable moment from the interview:

"Jesus comes down, he draws a circle around himself, and says 'Everybody outside this circle is broken, it's obvious-- look at all of you, you're equal, you're one hundred percent equal. Your only hope is to marry me-- and if you marry me, you'll have my righteousness.'"

Download here (free, iTunes link

Monday, March 06, 2006

February tour pics

Here are some pictures from the last run. If you live in Kentucky or Cincinnati, come out and see us this week.

In Avon, OH

Tripp and Clint with a Detroit Rock City attitude

Irwin as Jerry Lee Lewis

In Southfield, MI

Friday, March 03, 2006

Square Peg Alliance concert

Several of my friends formed a sort of singer/songwriter collective called the Square Peg Alliance, and they had their first event this past Wednesday, a release concert for Eric Peters' new CD. Each Square Pegger (?) played one song, and Eric played a bunch.

I took pictures of everyone, and set up a nifty Flickr account to show them, but was thwarted by an unuseful iPhoto plugin that caused me to accidentally max out my uploads for the month. Sigh. Here are three pics:

Matthew Perryman Jones

Sandra McCracken
(who looks like she's playing a rock song, but is actually playing "Springtime Indiana")

Jeremy Casella

Andrew Osenga played a new song, "House of Mirrors," which mentions me by name. That is awesome.

Here's a list of Square Peg Alliance members. Do yourself a favor and check out some music from some very talented folks:
Katy Bowser
Jeremy Casella
Billy Cerveny
Randall Goodgame
Andy Gullahorn
Matthew Perryman Jones
Chris Mason
Sandra McCracken
Andrew Osenga
Eric Peters
Andrew Peterson
Jill Phillips
Derek Webb

(In case you were wondering, I am not a part of the SPA. Though I consider myself a singer/songwriter, I believe that the Peggers were creeped out by my insistence on constantly collaborating with dead people. Understandable.)

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Even When My Heart Is Blogging.

Yes, that was what I originally wanted to call my blog. (It's a pun-- the name of my EP is Even When My Heart Is Breaking.) I thought it was hilarious (like many a fool before me, I am often enamored with my own jokes), but worried that people might take it seriously, thus thinking I take myself too seriously. Which I do.

So I settled on "Matthew's Blog," a hideously boring name. It says a lot about how insecure I am when I choose something boring over something where I could potentially be embarrassed/misunderstood.

Any suggestions on what I could change it to?