I made the mistake the other day of telling Jimmy and Blake that I actually wanted a Zune. They laughed at me. Hard.

I actually like Microsoft, but I had to laugh at this:

Hooked On The Vine...Again!

I've been listening to a lot of Vineyard worship lately. I've always liked Vineyard's stuff, but haven't really spent much time with it over last year or so.

A few weeks ago, I happened onto a Vineyard record in my iPod and was reminded of why I love the worship of the Vineyard church:

1. Independence
For me, the joy of listening to Vineyard stuff is the true independent feel of the stuff they're producing. Because the music is "from the church, for the church," each record is usually a unique creation of powerful worship that is indigenous to a particular church. The thing you'll find is that it never seems as if Vineyard is attempting to emulate what other worship acts are doing. (Which we are bound to hear with more "mainstream" companies like sixsteps or Integrity.) I might get a record from Canada that sounds like a collection of alt-country tunes from south Georgia or hear songs from a Vineyard church in New Jersey that sounds like a cross between U2 and Tears for Fears. While that much variety always allows for the possibility of music I'm not gonna' enjoy, I think the folks at Vineyard Music have to be commended to staying focused on the goal of sharing these songs born out of the local church.

2. Core Ideas
Vineyard Music and Vineyard Church are two different entities. Kinda'. If you ever spend any time investigating the Vineyard movement, you'll find that they do a great job of keeping their values at the forefront of the groups collective, worldwide, consciousness. Ideas like "Right Now and Not Yet" and "Everybody Gets To Play" are immediately recognized regardless of whatever church you're in. As a worship leader, I love this. I love that so many of Vineyard songs, while different, still are created from a similiar mindset. That's not to say that the songs aren't varied in thematic approach, but as one who truly appreciates many of the tenets of the Vineyard Church, I admire the job they've done in making sure that the music truly does support the work of the church.

3. Fresh
I also love Vineyard music because its so rare to hear in non-Vineyard churches. (With the exception of a few tunes, that is.) I'll be honest - I'd much rather find some really creative Vineyard song written on the theme of repentance than just plug in some Integrity tune off the charts. (And I'm even an Integrity fan!) Vineyard churches just have an approach to worship that we don't hear very often and I love seeing how they approach their songs.
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So, worship leaders...if you're able, try to get some Vineyard music. It's a bit risky, but you might just find something that will bless your socks off!

Mark O reviews Crowder's Remedy. (Kinda.)

Where Is Todd Tonight?

11:31pm - Editing video of church service that's due at the TV station tomorrow morning. I'm too old for this stuff.

12:24am - Video is exporting now. I'm in office, burning CDs for next Sunday's set.

1:20am - Burning DVD of the service. Almost done!

TAVIN

Todd Lives...

Hey, gang...

First of all, thanks to all of you've who have emailed me or called me or in some way communicated your sincere dismay at my blogging absence. I've always thought I was an profoundly influential and world-changing blogger. Now I know it, thanks to you all.

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Things at the Wright House are good. Things got a bit crazy for us over the weekend. Our church scheduled 2 meetings with a consultant on Friday and Saturday, which, as you can imagine, wasn't the most fun way to spend a weekend.

In addition to that, my cousin Tracy lost her husband. Danny was in his late-30s and died Friday night of a heart attack. Death always hits hard, but this experience has left us all a bit shaken.

Sunday night was a bit of an emotional roller coaster as we prepared for Jonah's first day of Kindergarten. Monday morning, he was ready to go and I swear he even looked older!

So far, the week's been pretty hard on Krist and me. We simply hand't prepared ourselves for how little we'd actually be seeing Jonah each day. Example: previously, I'd stay at home until 9 or so, helping out with breakfast and getting ready. I'd work for two or three hourse, then come home and see Jonah during my whole lunch break. I'd be home about 5, which usually gave three hours or so to see him. Now, we drop him off at 8 and I head to work. I come home for lunch (still forgetting that he won't be there.) So far, I've gone with Kristen to pick him up at 3, but then I'm back to work until 5. He's so exhausted that he's asleep by 7:15.

On a more enjoyable note, I had a mondo-practice Monday night for gig on September 18th. Many of you who've played with me before know that I'm not a big fan of the long-practice. If we can't get it in 2 or 3 passes, we move on, right?

So on this Monday night practice, me and the gang (Romack on drums, Brad A. on bass, David McElveen on keys and Ryan Finnerud on electric guitar) worked 3 songs for two hours. Yeah... at the end of practice, I played them my new song, "Waiting for Me." I was already liking the song, but after hearing it with a band, I'm loving it. Very different sort of song for me...like a weird mix of Americana and AC Piano Pop.

Thanks for stopping by the blog, and all jokes aside (as in the first paragraph,) thanks for checking up on me.

Well, it's official.
I'm a fan, now.

Went to Jonah's school Thursday afternoon for "Meet the Teacher!" We found his room, dropped off his school supplies and introduced ourselves to his teacher, Mrs. Mann.

He was really excited on the way to the school, but once we pulled in, he yelled out...

"My heart is pounding!"

Monday is gonna' be such a weird day! Krist and I saw a sign at the school for the Boo-Hoo Breakfast, which is for all the Kindergarten parents after drop-off on Monday morning.

We saw the cafeteria, met one of the P.E. coaches and Jonah saw a butterfly, which always a big deal at our house. He really, really excited.

Now, if only Mom and Dad can keep it together!

Not only is Fernando Ortega a GREAT songwriter, nobody does hymns with more passion and beauty. He's awesome. If you haven't heard him, please do!

Communal Box Exchange

CHRIS TOMLIN ARM WRESTLES CHARLIE HALL...

For Bluebirds Only...

Remember how we would all hang out for hours, guys? I remember so many nights, standing up and saying,
"We gotta' go home. It's late,"
then sitting back down for another 2 hours.

I remember all of us having those conversations with our spouses:
"Okay, okay. We're leaving in twenty minutes. We've got to get up early in the morning."
1:00am and we're still there, laughing and drinking Dr. Pepper (all of us,) unbelieving that we've found friends this amazing.

Do we all still drink Dr. Pepper?

Why It's Different...

I've mentioned before that one of the things that I find most startling about today's culture is the disappearance (or depreciation, at least) of boundaries. I think you can see this in almost every aspect of society, and lately, I've noticed that this lack of "lines" is the culprit behind some of the more passionate worship discussions I've had of late.

Years ago (let's say 10-15 years,) there were two types of Christian music. The first type of Christian music was that which was being played on Christian radio, performed at concerts and recorded on an abundance of CDs. The second type of Christian music was that which was being sung congregationally in churches. Regarldess of your personal taste in "Christian" music, I think you'll agree that it used to fall into one of these categories.

Then, slowly, "worship" started making its way onto more CDs, and naturally, onto radio. Personally, I like this, because, for me - I just don't enjoy story songs all that much. I'm not saying they're not good, I'm just saying that, for me, I'd rather sing along with songs to God than songs about life. (Just me, okay? My personal preference, alright? Please, don't be jerks about it, okay, guys?)

Even though the two "types" were now beginning to coexist in relative equality, they were pretty different. For instance, typically the performance type, the story-song/produced tracks were of a higher quality (though not as high as pop music, yet!) The worship side was still pretty lo-fi. (Think early Vineyard records. If you never heard any early Vineyard records, you probably should. They're simultaneously weird and great.)

As the quality level increased, worship music began holding its own in Christian radio, and therefore, in the Christian sub-culture, as well. But there were still differences. Worship music was still pretty easy to define - the songs were simpler, easy to sing and easy to understand whereas peformance music was growing more creative, with lyrics that were harder to understand and imagery that, in an effort to be more imaginative, was becoming quite varied. Suddenly, the "introspective" artist concept emerged in Christian music. Suddenly, our magazines were doing interviews with the somber, squinting Christian musicians as they labored to explain what their songs were about.

Once we reached a sort of open community with regard to Christian music songwriting, more and more artists/writers were feeling free to write what was in them - to be as creative as they wanted to be. This growing appreciation for artistry was a good thing for artists, and soon, those that had primarily been "performance" artists began to entertain the idea of adding some "worship" to their "performance" work.

There was definite good in this, as so many of this very creative individuals took the concept of worship-singing to new heights. But it wasn't all good, and what emerged was this idea of the "worship-artist," the guy or girl writing songs of praise, but still operating in the mode of the introspective writer/singer. And here's what happened - suddenly, we had people writing worship songs the way they write other songs, where creativity and novelty and newness was valued and needed. While it made for cool music, it's my belief that it hurt the role of worship music.

Then, we needed to have these artists help us to understand the worship songs. That's not always a bad thing, because we need to be taught things, but for me personally, the accessibility of these new, awesome worship songs wasn't that great. I couldn't use that Delirious song because, as cool as it was, I didn't have time to regurgitate Martin Smith's four-minute introduction while leading worship for the high school youth group.

I think we've got to get some boundaries back. I think we've got to honest and fair and be unafraid to label music. I think we need to kill that thing is us that tells us it's not cool or fair or open-minded to call a style of music what it really is. I think we've got to use our heads and our Bibles to discern what is best and most right for our musical need.

I'm not saying either musical form is bad - they're both awesome testaments to our Creator and His power to move His people to write beautiful things! But I am saying that we have to think about what we're listening to and to always be aware of the historical background, current day application and future ramifications of any thing we're listening to or playing.

Is anybody else having trouble using the "back" feature after visiting Shelly's blog? At first, I thought it was my specific link, because once I check out Things About Life, I can never go back to the previous site. Then I noticed Rob's link does the same thing.

What are you trying to pull, Conns?

8/26 Announcements

Announcement video for this Sunday. Little long, but I think we managed to do a better job of making sure the funny stuff didn't distract from the actual announcements.

Review

Paul Baloche - Our God Saves
Integrity's Hosanna! Music, releases September 18

Integrity Music's poster-boy Paul Baloche is back with a brand new album of 13 worship tunes. "Our God Saves" comes in relative proximity to Baloche's "A Greater Song." Historically, Paul's releases have been pretty spaced out, but not this year. "Our God Saves" is an amazing collection of songs that, while staying true to what makes Baloche's tunes so powerful, ventures into new territory with regard to melody and song structure.

It sounds as if Integrity allowed Baloche to take a similiar approach to this record as with "Greater Song" - the record sounds like a mix of studio tracking with live sessions. The new record is excellent and reclaims some of Baloche's previously renowned ability for hooky, immediately listenable tunes. "Greater Song" was an excellent record, but personally, those songs took awhile to connect. I ended up loving that record, but it didn't grab me right at first. "Our God Saves" will grab you, slap you a few times, sit you in a chair and fill the room with pure joy and adoration.

1. Our God Saves
This Brenton Brown/Baloche opener kicks off with an engaging drop-D electric guitar with a slight touch of delay along with a kick-drum pounding out "4 on the floor." Who doesn't like dropped D, right? The opening track is a slow-burn, building to a bigness but exploring a more straight ahead, jangly style of playing that's seems new for Baloche. Lyrically, the song goes a couple of different directions, which I wasn't crazy about. Perhaps its "opening" nature will allow it to work without being hurt by it's rather random lyrical approach. Where the song struggles with linearity, it sails with melody. Paul and Brenton have managed to take a song built with pretty much the same 4 chords and still make it interesting. I think a lot of churches will gravitate to this tune, although I think it's odd Americana-meets-U2 flavor might present problems for groups who are used to songs that rock easily. This one doesn't, but it's still a strong piece.

2. Kingdom of God
This minor-chord rocker is outstanding. Come on, it's a worship song that cries that God is "training these hands for war / showing me how to fight" set against a musical backdrop that sounds like a musical bed for a final climatic fight-seen in a movie. (As a matter of fact, when I brought the CD home and popped into the CD player, my daughter and I danced around the room as my son immediately staged some sort of imaginary fight in the living room.) It's an epic tune, complete with a large "Hey!" and some great guitar voicings. Here we get some melody variation that is a complete surprise but perfectly designed for this aggressive tune. The open hi-hat/wah solo section is pretty tasty, too. Churches with skilled electric players are gonna' dig this song. Come on, give that shredder a little of the spotlight, worship leaders!

3. Rock of Ages Will Stand
Mandolin, acoustic guitar and a nice comping bass line accompany this modern take on "Rock of Ages." Essentially, Paul takes the lyrics of the old hymn and sings them with a new, but simple melody. The chorus section is nice, not too wordy...it might sound a bit too sparse for my taste, but I would imagine that it's awesome with a congregation singing along. Thematically, the song is perfect. Baloche sticks with his original idea and each line supports it.

4. Beyond Us (Only True God)
Nice augmented acoustic chords and big drums make this anthemic 6/8 tune the new hymn for 2008. Led by female vocal, the tune is awesome. The melody is tricky in the verses; it can be done, but worship leaders should be prepared for this one to take awhile to catch on congregationally. Another thing working for this tune is the fact that it's a worship song about the Trinity. There aren't a lot of those around, and this one would be perfect for any service focusing on themes of God's nature and identity.

5. Prayer
This isn't a song, but rather a passionate prayer from what sounds like a Sunday morning service at Paul's church. Paul's band builds perfectly, using synth and electric swells to transition from this corporate cry into the standout track on the record, "Hallelujah To My King."

6. Hallelujah To My King
A Brown/Baloche collaboration that could (and should) replace "Open the Eyes of My Heart" as The Baloche Song Every Church Knows. I'm not kidding here - Baloche and Brown have outdone themselves. Great hook in the introduction, fantastic melody and a chorus that must be shouted. If anointing can truly be captured on a CD, this is where it happens. The lyrics on this one are pretty broad, but I don't care. It's an awesome song.

7. I Cling To The Cross
Matt Redman and Paul teamed up to write this one and sing it together. Here we see a new approach to song form. It's essentially a one-chorus song with a "bridge" section performed just once. The extended spontaneous singing toward the end of the track is well done, not overplayed, but honest. Personally, I love the idea of songs about the cross. I think it's something we've lost as hymns have slowly disappeared from our catalogs. Lyrics are perfect here - simple and centered on Christ's sacrifice as our only hope of redemption.

8. You Gave Your Life Away
Led by electric guitar (w/ quite a recognizable tone: think Snow Patrol) and Rhodes, the song is a simple tune with a nice repeating "You gave, You gave Your life away." I like that the tune never gets "big." Electric guitar, Rhodes, Hammond along with a little crowd mic and the song is a nice break in the overall production value on the record. My only problem is that the tune comes after we've heard quite a few songs saying the same things. It's a great song, maybe not the most original idea. I'm not considering this as necessarily a bad thing, as a given church may find this tune so much more applicable than other tunes.

9. Praise
I find it funny that Baloche, a dude from the East Coast, ended up in East Texas and digs country music. On "Praise," he finally nails it. I think he captures just enough country-shuffle to fit his style to make this song work. I can see congregations where I live getting all up in this song. I'm not nuts about the creation-theme as the song starts. The 2nd verse is way better, but when all is said and done, folks are going to remember the sliding melody of the chorus, the nice Nashville guitar and the large "WE WILL WAIT ON YOU!"

10. The Way
"The Way" was one of the most creative songs on Paul's "God of Wonders" live record, but never really got the justice it deserves. It gets a makeover on the record and is aided by the wailing vocals on Mr. Lincoln Brewster and his smoldering lead-work. I think this tune is one of the most original takes on the concept of seeing God in our everyday lives.

11. God Most High
Co-writer Glen Packiam takes a verse on the tune, and while Packiam's voice lacks a little of Paul's luster, the tune is a nice, orchestral pop worship tune. The tune sounds really "modern," the overall minor-begun chorus and the drum and orchestra work. Not sure how this one will play in the local church; might be too big for most of us. But it's fun to listen to!

12. How Great Thou Art
I can't help think that this must have started out as a jam. I love the song's Keith Urban-feel and was most impressed with where Paul and the band place their energy. Rather than exploding on the chorus, the song remains nice and consistent until the end of every chorus where it takes off with a nice two-chord change. (Also a very "country" move, now that I think of it.) Yes, there's plenty of Edge-like electric work. Sorry, I'm a sucker for the U2 stuff, guys. I know, I know - it's old hat. My blog, my review! Delay is awesome!

13. Great Redeemer
This piano ballad might just be too complex for congregational use. I like the Beatles influence. (Is that a Rickenbacker I hear?) This is probably my least favorite on the record, but for what its worth, it sounds totally at home in a culture that's embracing piano-pop again.

14. Your Love Come Down
I don't know if Paul Baloche is trying to become a CCM pop star with this tune, but it might happen regardless. This bluesy, loop-filled rocker is a completley produced "studio" work. It's a blast to listen to, although I'm not sure it would work in a church. (Not my church, at least!)

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Here's my theory: long-time Baloche fans are going to listen to the record and think, "Holy cow, this guy actually keeps getting better!" New listeners are going to find interesting songs that appeal to a number of musical preferences without sounding trite.

And churches are going to be blessed by these tunes.

You need this record.

I have this old pair of shoes that I got a couple of years ago from Target. I still wear them a bit, but as they grow older, they change. For example, they are becoming frayed up near the toe, a few places along the sides are tearing and they, well...

They're starting to smell.

It's not all the time, and it usually only occurs when they get wet, but every once in a while I'll get a whiff of them and think, "Time to retire these dudes."

The other day, Krist and the kids picked me up from work. Some of you know that my wife has one of the most sensitive and powerful senses of smell in the known universe. (Seriously, she could be a member of the X-Men. "Smello", perhaps?)
So naturally, as I climb into the car, I'm nervous that she'll smell my shoes and, of course, get loud about it.

Sure enough, I smell the shoes and try to head her off at the pass.

"Sorry, I think my shoes smell bad, babe."

But then, as I'm speaking, the odor becomes different. I look at Kristen and say:

"It's almost 'chocolate-y.'"

She grins, sniffs and says, "Yeah. Your shoes do smell chocolate-y."

We're looking down at my feet, struggling to figure out why my kicks smell like Kit-Kats, when we hear something in the back seat.

We turn to see Jonah, who's discovered a chocolate lollipop somewhere in the backseat, unwrapped it and now is devouring it.

Shoes smell, but not like chocolate. Case closed.

Tuesday Tavin

"Our God Saves" Releases September 18th

How you know I'm a real Baloche fan:
I'm actually gonna' buy this record.

(Now that I've bought it, my friend David Runnels tells me that he bought a pre-release copy. Since I've already bought one, it's cool if David hooks me up right?)

Funny What We Remember...

This is Phil Madeira. In my opinion, he is the quintessential "sideman" in popular music. Chances are if you've listened to country, pop or Christian music in the last ten years, you've heard Phil. If you listen to more folk-country/alt-country music (which you should,) you've heard even more than the rest of us.

I thought of Phil Madeira on Monday afternoon. Here's how the memory goes.

It's the summer before my senior year of high school and Rich Mullins is coming in concert. Naturally, I am pumped, because Rich Mullins was a dude worth seeing - sort of like seeing everything that's right about Christianity and wrong about human reality all rolled into one. This was a big deal because Rich was touring with the Ragamuffins. Rick Elias, Jimmy Abegg, Mark Robertson and Aaron Smith! I realize that these names mean nothing to other people - just go with me, okay? I was excited.

I, of course, knew that Phil Madeira had played on the "Liturgy, Legacy" record, but I wasn't expecting him to be there. He was. He was awesome, playing guitar, Hammond, steel and other assorted folk instruments that make me smile.

As Rich is taking a break to introduce the band, he introduces Phil, gives a little bio of Madiera's career and then something like this:

"A while back, I said some things about Phil that weren't really very nice and I regret it. And he's here tonight because he's a man who's shown grace to me and loved me in spite of what I've said."
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I don't have a clue what the backstory was at the time, but I remembered it this week and it made me pray for grace. It me made me hope that in the times when I'm wrong, I can be bold enough to say it in front of anybody. It made me hope that in the times when I've been wronged, I can still stand next to my attacker and support what he or she is doing.

On Jackson Pollock and Songwriting

If you're a creative person and you've been creating for any length of time, you've learned some things. You've probably (hopefully) learned places, times, motivations, catalysts that inspire you to new and more creative expressions. Maybe you graphic artists work best late at night listening to smooth jazz; maybe you youth pastors think most creatively early in the morning walking around the neighborhood or pounding out a few miles on the treadmill. My point is this - each of us find systems that help think in a non-systematic way. We find a "box" that helps to think "outside" of it.

That's not to say that inspiration is the only thing an artist needs. I can get just as inspired as Jackson Pollock. I could get Pollock's same supplies, same music, same location and splatter paint with a similiar intensity, but it wouldn't match up. Because I don't have Pollock's skill. (Regardless of your thoughts on Pollock, I think we can all agree that our "splatters" and his "splatter" are vastly different in artistic appeal, yes?) While I believe that art is about surprise, I also think that any creative form has to be a balance between inspiration and craft. It's not enough to get inspired on the way to the studio, fire up the computer, record my song and start selling it that afternoon. I have to apply the skills and experience I have to my art to make sure that its truly the best art I can make for a given theme/idea.

Why tell you this? Because I am discovering something that has consistently fired both my inspiration and skill with excitement and originality over the years. I don't know why I didn't notice it before.

I love writing songs for special occasions - retreats, camps, weddings, thematic services, communion, baptism, etc. Here's why I dig writing in these situations:

1. Surrendering the Song
Writing for events allows me to get away from the enormous pressure that rides on songwriters. While I do believe that its the job of songwriters (worship writers especially) to create songs that are fresh and that say things in unique ways, it can be hard to start a song with this idea in your head that you have to create something that is mind-blowingly original.

Writing for events kills that. Since I'm writing a song as a companion to a theme, the entire emotional/spiritual/philosophical push isn't on me alone. Especially with worship songs, I can write something very simple that, when in connection with a prayer or sermon or special liturgy, can actually be quite powerful.

2. Pressure
I think songwriters thrive under pressure. (Most do, anyway.) Writing for a special event is really the best kind of pressure, because it causes you to work with the idea that you want the event to be as powerful and as well done as possible. There's pressure, no doubt, but it's almost a self-imposed expectation - you want you to do your absolute best.

Artists (and songwriters especially,) I encourage you to find an event or theme coming up that you'd like to co-create with. Investigate options at your church, with your friends or even community theater to see if you might be able to surrender your "song" to something bigger (and hopefully better) than you. I don't know if you'll succeed...but you'll be a better artist because of it.

Anybody read this? I just finished it, and can't decide if I liked it or not. (I'm odd that way.)

If you read it, here's my question - was it helpful? Did this book make your life, theology, friendships, etc. better or more "holistic" (as the book likes to say)?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Special thanks to Jimmy for spreading the word about this free resource. I've been using it a bit - it's good and probably will only get better!




...

Disappearing...kinda'

On Sunday, the 26th, I am being demoted.

Well, actually, I'm demoting myself. For a long time, I've been looking for some folks who I might give a little "worship-control." There are a few reasons for this:


1. My gigs are picking up. Nothing major, but the problem with being a gigging worship leader is that folks typically want you to stay and sing on Sundays! Previously, I used to drive all night if I had to just to make it back to church on Sunday morning. But, as God is blessing the travel ministry, I'm going to start taking some Sundays to serve in that, too.

2. To quote Los, I need to always work at putting myself out of a job. For a long time, I've wanted to start training up some folks to particpate in the job of worship leading - not just "singing lead," but actually investing time to pray, think and work at crafting an experience of worship.

So, on August 26th, my keyboard player and background vocalist, David, will be leading the worship. I'll be in the background playing guitar and doing my best not to be a control-freak and take over in the middle of rehearsal! Pray for me!

Doug Wilson mentioned this blog a few days ago and I LOVE it!

All Of A Sudden, I Want One Of These

Summer '08

Heath Ledger, as the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie.

I actually heard Paula White say this earlier today:

"God wants you to be a millionaire."

Do these people have any idea how ridiculous they sound?
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Also, this picture bothers me a good bit. Any theories?

Spent Thursday morning finishing up some yardwork and almost listened to To The Roof Of The Sky all the way through.

Might be the best alt-country record ever made, in my opinion.

The College Thing

If you're a young adult (18-35) in East Texas, check this out:

8/19 Announcements

I love making announcement videos. Probably one of the most fun things at my job. Here's what's going down on Sunday morning: we'll run it first thing (that's why there's such a long music bed to start - so people will start coming in!)

COME GET YOU SOME...

Tuesday Tavin

September 18th, 2007
Tuesday, 8pm
Worship Center @ Lufkin's First United Methodist Church

Me and my friends try to be rock stars for Jesus.

I've really been enjoying these guys... Is something wrong with me?

I'm thinking of pitching an idea to all the major record labels: It's called 'LEAD WORSHIPPER,' and it will be an online reality show where a panel of judges and voters will pick America's best worship leader.

Who should be my judges? I need three judges who are can help us decide what America's top music minister should look and sound like.

Michael Neale - No Greater Audience
Integrity's Hosanna! Music

Everybody I know has already heard me talking non-stop about this record, but since worshipnotes is on its last leg (it's okay, I've made my peace with that,) I figured I'd post my personal review right here on my site.

First things first, I think anybody interested in buying this record needs to know what they're getting. I have found Neale's stuff to be very, very good, but a bit hard to "get" at first listen. The best sort of comparison I can come up with is that this record lands somewhere in between Paul Baloche and Don Moen. The Don Moen-factor is due to the presence of a large choir backing up these songs. I also think Neale's melodies lean toward Moen's simple style. Neale's got lots of vocal skill - and shows it - but the melodies themselves are nice and clean. However, Neale retains some Baloche qualities in that his songs are noticeably groovy. Just as Baloche's tunes are rarely ever "fast," they always have a great rhythm. Neale's stuff is no different. An early review of this record said that the presence of a choir didn't make these songs exclusive for non-choir worship teams, and I'd have to agree. While the choir is nice, these songs could definitely survive with an able 5-piece (acoustic, electric, bass, drums, keys.) I figured I'd review the record track-by-track, then give you my overall rating of the record.

Track 1 - "Intro"
A brief, acapella line by the choir that simple sings "Hallelujah, Jesus! Hallejuah!" In actuality, we will hear this section later because it's the bridge section to the record's title track.

Track 2 - "You Amaze Me"
This tune has so much working for it, but falls a little flat. The song opens with some sparse electric guitar lines and some really nice acoustic guitar voicings. The song also features a pretty unique drum part that adds a ton of energy without ever actually playing "straight." The Coldplay comparison comes to mind, but that's not really the best way to say it. It's a cool song, but thematically, I didn't dig it. I'm just way way tired of songs about "creation." It seems like we've been inundated with songs built around the idea that creation speaks the glory of God. I agree with this, I just think that worship songwriters should be striving to say things that are fresh and original instead of re-hashing old ideas that still personally give them goosebumps.

Track 3 - "As For Me"
"As For Me" opens with the chorus section and has a nice consistent bass part that builds into a rocking declaration of dependence on God. Where track 2 failed in originality, track 3 excels. In my experience, I haven't heard a lot of songs based on the scripture, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The chorus is immediately singable, and the verses can be picked up relatively quickly. The downside to this tune is that by starting with 2 choruses back to back, the song ends up feeling too long. But by moving some sections around, your team could find this song a nice addition to your catalog.

Track 4 - "From The Rooftops"
I can' figure out what I love most about this song. Maybe its the nice percussion intro or the jazzy acoustic octave thing in the intro. Maybe it's the fact that the chorus is just long enough or the fantastic bridge where the choir builds almost to a shout with "sing about Jesus!" This is also the first example of Neale's new approach to musical bridges...the music under the choir's vocal vamp is a creative build wherein the chords sound more like something from the Beatles than a standard two chord bridge. (Neale will incorporate this sort of feel in many of these songs.)

Track 5 - "I Am Yours"
Michael Neale earned serious worship leader cred with his last record (Made Me Glad) by showcasing his talent for hymn remakes. I love hymns, and I love the fact that they still are a part of congregational music. While they may not be as prominent on worship records as they should be, I think Neale is one of the best at making these old songs fresh without distorting them. Typically, I don't like it when artists/writers add sections to a hymn (Writing a NEW part to "Amazing Grace?" Are you crazy?) However, if you need a hymn with a new chorus, Michael Neale is your man. In fact, "I Am Yours" is actually "Take My Life and Let It Be," led beautifully by piano and arranged very nicely. The nice thing about this tune is the "I am Yours"-chorus, which is big enough to survive on its own, apart from the hymn. In my church, I plan on teaching that particular chorus over a few Sundays...maybe as a tag to another song in the same key, maybe during a prayer or commitment time. Teaching this as a separate musical selection will give you great flexibility as a worship team (new material!) In addition, when you add the chorus to "Take My Life," you seem like the master worship leader who's a genius at combining themed material. Michael Neale makes you look good!

Track 6 - "More and More"
I noticed the other day that Integrity had a feature article about this tune. It's okay, I guess, but didn't really do it for me. I tend to have problems with songs that say "I want to love You/know You/see You more." I don't know why. I don't have any sort of theological issue with songs like this...I just tend to dislike them.

Track 7 - "No Greater Audience"
Yes, yes, yes. I'll be honest, I don't necessarily dig the verses - they're okay, just not amazing. But the chorus and bridge are outstanding! This song demands a very talented pianist/keyboard player to manage the unique minor and altered chords. I also like that the chorus is a bit tricky - it doesn't sound like your standard worship chorus...it's mellow and slow-burning, but so good. By the time we hit the bridge of "Hallelujah, Jesus! Hallelujah!" (see notes on Track 1,) I'm usually singing at the top of my lungs, often with hands raised or playing air-drums.

Track 8 - "I Will Dwell"
Simple song with some ideas we've probably heard and sung before. Not the worst song on the record, but not really a standout either.

Track 9 - "Redeeming Love"
Other than the fact that electric part on this record sound EXACTLY the intro of a Caedmon's Call song, "Redeeming Love" is really good. Again, Neale experiments with a song form that's less "drive" and more "build." Worship services that prefer more straight-ahead rocking might be quick to overlook this track because of it's subtle nature, but that would be a mistake. Lyrically, it's one of the strongest songs on the record, and it has a great, original melody.

Track 10 - "Beautiful King"
This song would be great if it wasn't named "Beautiful King." It's a great song. It's just not about God's beauty or His Kingdom. In my case, that's where they lose me. It's a shame, because it's a nice song. Worship leaders who might be a little more relaxed about linearity (man, I hope that's a word,) will probably find this tune very accessible, but I'm jut not digging it.

Track 11 - "Hallelujah To The King"
Nice little verse-chorus back-and-forth song. I like the shorter time on this song, as it prevents it from becoming boring. Take away the current-day production value, and you have something very reminiscent of early Integrity or Vineyard "choruses."

Track 12 - "On Mountains High"
This is the type of song we need in the church today. It's not necessarily amazing writing - I'll praise You on mountains high, valleys low, etc. - but it's done so well. The melody and phrasing are really nice. The only downside for me personally was the inclusion of a "river/ocean" metaphor that didn't really line up with the rest of the tune. Other that, it's the type of song we should be singing more of!

Track 13 - "The Rock"
Groove, groove, groove...again with the subtle jam! Here again, acoustic voicings are nice - droning high note couple w/ a low electric chord suspension make for a nice texture. This song will NOT work in the real world without a smart, skilled drummer to find a way to bring the power without overshadowing the great melody and lyrics. The last track is probably the most accessible tune with regard to lyrics and melody.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While there are certainly things about this record I don't like, I do think it's one of the best worship resources that Integrity's put out. As a worship leader, I have certain things I'm looking for in songs for my church. As a leader, you may have a completely different set of "issues" you're dealing with in song selection. Regardless of your overall worship approach, I think No Greater Audience will provide at least 3-4 songs for almost any congregation. (Except for you high-church crowd...but hey, you've got your own jams...) If you can pick up this record, invest a little time in it. I think you'll be glad you did.

Who I Added

The following folks have been added (or returned) to the link list:

Lance Burch
My Mom
Jonathan Martin

I'm not sure if you care about this or not, but I've been meaning to add these folks for awhile, and now, I've done it!

REPRESENT.

Preliminary Art

Here's the early artwork for the deal I'm playing on September 18th. And, yes, it's called "The College Thing." I'm excited about this gig and the band I'm putting together for it. I hoping that we have a large community draw. Initially, it was intended as a worship and fellowship event for the college ministry at our own church, but, in all honesty, almost every church in Lufkin is struggling with getting college kids plugged in.

By making this event open to all, we're hoping to bless these other churches by allowing them the use of our worship space and the benefit of each other's company!

I had no idea CCM magazine was still around. It's weird, because as a kid, I read every issue I could get my hands on. The website is a bit hard on the eyes.

It's The Simple Things

One of the fun things about having a son is seeing what sort of toys/games/hobbies interest him. Naturally, a son is going to be interested in the things his father is (or was) into.

Jonah has had a mild interest in G.I. Joe's for awhile now. Actually, they are now called G.I. Joe, Sigma Six, and they are bigger, better and way cooler. So whenever we go to the store and look at the toy section, I always check out the G.I. Joe stuff. 'Cause it's cool.

Well, imagine my surprise today when I discovered the 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe set. For all you Joe-fans out there, these are really sweet remakes of the old school, smaller, action figures. Sure, there's more detail and they're way more flexible, but it's definitely a throwback for thirty-year old dudes like me.

Jonah really wanted one today, but didn't have any money for toys. Later tonight, my Mom was watching the kids while I was hanging out with Kristen, and when I went to pick the kids up from dinner...Jonah had this:

That's right - Snake Eyes. The coolest dude to ever strap on a katana and battle the evil forces of COBRA. Right now, he's on his collectible stand, but plans have already been made for a large-scale COBRA/JOE battle tomorrow.

I hope Jonah let's me be Snake Eyes.

For you parents out there - are some of your favorite toys still on the market? Are you more willing to buy those than other, more new-fangled items?

A Message From Your Friendly Blog Police

As of Friday afternoon, these are three of my links who've gone the longest since posting:

Romack - July 17th
Forrest - July 20th
Jonah - July 28th

I completely understand that these three individuals have some extenuating circumstances. Romack just got married, which is always a busy time, though I'm not sure it's quite as busy for a groom as Justin would have us all believe.

Forrest is on the road this summer, playing worship and concert gigs with his buds The Sidewalk Prophets. His breaks are few and brief, so he's not able to post as conveniently as the rest of us.

Jonah is five, can't type all that well, and usually isn't allowed on the computer without Mom or Dad. Add in the fact that he's in constant physical motion every single day and blogging becomes a bit of an afterthought.

No, I am not deleting their links, but rather offering this polite reminder that we all love these three young men and enjoy reading their blogs.

The Great Thing About Your Wife Being Sick: Plenty of Bloging Material!

Kristen's back from the doctor's office. This gets weird, gang, so hang on.

The ultrasound from yesterday revealed a buildup of what the doctor professionally labeled "sludge." The ultrasound tech called it a "sludgeball." (This is probably the first time I've used the word "sludgeball" on the blog. Let's hope its the last.)

As best we understand, there's a build up of cholesterol and other "debris" in Kristen's gallbladder. (We think the debris is some leftover stuff from our garage sale a few weeks ago.) This, in itself, wouldn't bother Kristen that much. However, she also has a severe bladder infection and that is aggravating the object currently living in her gallbladder, giving her symptoms very similiar to gallstones. She's on antibiotics for the bladder infection, which is the true source of all the throwing up, weakness, and overall negative disposition. (Just kidding, honey!)

Right now, the biggest problem is the nausea, which is definitely severe right now. She's has an appointment with another doctor next week to talk about the best way to fix the, uh, "sludgeball" problem.

If you're praying for us, pray that Krist will get some relief from her symptoms. Pray that our kids will behave themselves and that at some point, Todd will get a nap.

Who says medical story blogs are boring? TW makes them come alive!

By the way, I think you all should start posting a score for my posts (w/ your comment or even a score by itself.) This will be your way of letting me know how a particular post stacks up against some of my greatest material (which we ALL know there's lots of.) A score of 1 means "I just wasted some of my life" and a 10 score means "Stuff like this is so great it makes me want to shut down my blog and become Todd's personal assistant simply for the ability to learn from his amazing genius with regard to all things weblog."

Kristen To The Doctor...

Krist heads to the doctor today at 11. She'll find out what's up.

She slept through the night and didn't have any pain or nausea, which is good.

Stay tuned to this fantastic blog for more health updates!

Update on Kristen

Kristen got really sick Tueday night. I came home early to find her sick. Like, sick. I put the kiddos in bed, found her some medicine and she crashed at about 8:30pm.

The next morning, she woke up feeling better, so I got ready for work. Thirty minutes later she told me she wasn't feeling good and then she fell asleep. (She's really sensitive to medicine, so I let her sleep.) By yesterday evening, she was a little better. I called Dr. Saldana from church because Kristen mentioned that it might be her gallbladder. After talking to Mark, he said it sounded like gallstones to him. He suggested she call her doctor.

This morning (Thursday,) I arranged for my mother-in-law to watch Finley for a couple of hours while I took Jonah to work with me. Krist slept a little and generally took it easy. Around lunchtime, Jonah and I came home. Krist had called her doctor, but he was out of town for the week. Her mom picked her up and took her to our local urgent care clinic while I stayed home.

She called about twenty minutes later and told me the urgent care clinic was gross and that she was headed to Dr. Saldana's. Then she calls ten minutes later and says that her aunt made an appointment with a Dr. Ha in town. She cancelled the Saldana appointment (twenty minute drive) an opted for Dr. Ha (four minutes away.)

Dr. Ha sends her to get an ultrasound, but when they arrive, no one is working at the ultrasound office. Odd. Finally, they find someone to do the ultrasound, then talk to the doctor again.

As it stands, tomorrow Kristen will find out the status of her gallbladder. If her gallbladder is infected, she'll stay overnight at a hospital so she can be on an IV for the removal. If not infected, they'll do an outpatient procedure.

She's home now, not in as much pain, but still pretty sick. I'll try to let everybody know what's up tomorrow.

Lessons I'm Learning

Blake and Jimmy yell at each other a lot.

Oh, yet, don't ever ever loan a CD to Adam Fischer.






...

Breakfast With A Worship Celebrity

Jonah and I went to Chick-Fil-A this morning to eat breakfast with Clay. (Clay and I try to meet once a week and talk about how awesome I am.) Kristen is still sick, so Jonah got to come along.

Everything was cool, we're gnawin' on chicken biscuits, when suddenly, I see John Sherrill walk in.

I look over at Clay and say, "Hey, I think John Sherrill just walked in."

Clay says, "What?"

John comes around the corner and Clay (of course) yells out "John Sherrill!"

So John and his band park it and we talked for about ten or fifteen minutes. Somehow the conversation went from being pretty normal (John headed to a gig) to talking about Clay's vasectomy. That was weird.

Best host in late-night?

CD Update

1. Got back some early preview shots from yesterday's photo shoot. Let me just say this - I've always known I'm a hot, wise, introspective musical genius, but now I've got the pictures to prove it. I'll be picking up the entire catalog of the pictures later today and start deciding which ones I'd like to send to the design folks.

2. After looking through the pictures, I'm start to lean back toward the title of "Songs For Singing." I'm not sure why. This will make some of you angry, as "All The Freed" really does seem to be the crowd favorite.

3. I feel good about the duplication place we've found - it's affordable, it's quality and it's run by nice folks. (Still haven't begun the search for a mastering house.)

4. Once the record is out, we're planning on doing a big online push. We'll sell the CDs over at independentbands.com. When the CD releases, I'm asking everybody to make an effort to buy the record from that site rather than from me specifically. Here's why - places like independentbands are awesome: they give little singer/songwriters like me the chance to have our music previewed and suggested alongside some truly amazing artists; they give songs like mine the chance to be heard all over the world; they have tons of credibility for their committment to fairness and promotion with regard to independent artists. Buying from them is great for them because it makes them money. Buying from them is great for me because I might just end up on that front page and sell 200,000 copies before December.

5. Blake Stewart (and his staff) are hard at work on the Todd Wright site. So far, we've decided what sort of site sections we want (bio, schedule, et .) and I'll be forwarding pictures his way soon.

6. I've decided my "thank-you" section of the CD liner notes will take up more room than the actual lyrics. Guess it's a good thing I don't believe in 2nd verses, huh?

7. I'm leading worship at a big city-wide worship deal in September called "The College Thing." This isn't necessarily CD-related, but it is finally a real gig and I'm flippin' excited. (I may also have a camp lined up for Summer '08.)

Thanks for stopping by the blog - I have a feeling my life is about to get even more adventurous!

20/20 Hindsight

I did a photo shoot this morning with a photographer named Sean from our church. It went well - apparently, I squint a little too much and I have a tendency to scowl in pictures. (I had no idea of either, but both will definitely aid me in my journey to winning a Dove Award.)

At the first location, we were shooting this shot where I was on a stool in the middle of this downtown street. There wasn't much traffic, but we were trying to be cautious since it was technically illegal for me to be standing in the middle of the street.

Just before we got ready to setup the shot, I notice a sleek, grey Corvette pulled up behind me. I turn and look at the guy and hear him mumble something about "shot." I assume that he's asking if he's in the shot and needs to move. I wave him off and say "it's cool," but he just stays there.

The photographer steps up to the window to find what the dude wants and he says...

"You guys want my 'Vette in the picture? You want the car?"

We look at each other and then back to the overweight man with a mullet, shades and a "popped collar." The photographer politley declines, but the man is insistent.

"You sure? It's the newest model out...you're not gonna' find a car like this anywhere in town."

Uh, no. No. No no no no no.

He shrugs and speeds away. I look at my photographer. We laugh. Then I said, "I hate that guy."

It wasn't until much later that Sean and I decided that we probably should have taken the picture of the car and a picture of the dude so I could feature it on the blog. Dang it...

Straight from the Sears Portrait Studio

So addicted to Planet Hiltron!

Tuesday Tavin

Oh, man! Hilarious! Nobody tell my wife, but I think I have a crush on Cricket.

Breath issues aside, which chip packs more flavorful enjoyment?

More Wedding Pics of Jonah

Despite the success of actor Daniel Craig in the most recent 007 film, Casino Royale, sources at MGM have just revealed that a new Bond has been chosen for the famed movie series. Texan Jonah Wright will take the highly sought Bond spot starting in 2027.

Mr. Wright could not be reached for comment.

My Movie Hook-Up

This is weird, but later today, I may have an "inside" scoop on the next 007 movie. I can't say much yet, but through a strange set of circumstances, I actually have some pretty cool insider info about the movie.



Don't have time right now, but I'll try to post something tonight when I get some time. Check back soon!

Please, please, please go read the latest post over at Third Chair Trombone (If I Ever Start A Rock Band.) It's genius...I'm especially thinking Lance, David Runnels and Clay will enjoy its dry comedic perfection.

A Tribute (On A Blog?)

I'll be singing this weekend at Justin and Angela's wedding. I couldn't be more excited for these two folks and I can't wait to see what God has in store for them.

I have two very distinct memories of these two kids and I thought I'd share them as a way of honoring and commemorating the amazing experience of seeing them commit their lives to the Father and each other.

My first real memory is of Justin boldly and pathetically talking at length about Angela. He liked her; he thought he loved her. And she...didn't. More than drums or music or even Christianity, I remember Justin believing that Angela was supposed to be his (long before anybody else did.) Little did I know that I would eventually discover that to be Justin's true gift - hope. He's a guy who believes in something, even when everybody around him tells him it can't be done. He believed that he was meant to be Angela's best friend, and now, he is.

My first real memory of Angela is watching her perform sign language to Lincoln Brewster's version of Shout to the Lord at a youth camp almost five years ago. I remember being transfixed by Angela's ministry. And it was - an absolute offering of worship that caused me to stop thinking about myself and recognize the Father for all His beauty and creativity.

I've got lots of other memories of these two people - some of them make me laugh and some make me somber as I realize what good friends and God-followers they are. But for me, I'll always see these two people as the perfect combination of gifts that this world needs: Hope and Worship.

I am grateful to call Justin and Angela my friends, but more grateful that I had the opportunity to watch God take two people from completely different worlds and make something beautiful and sacred out of their life together.

This is Ed Young. (The real one.) I like hearing this guy on the radio, but whenever I hear him, I can't help thinking that he sounds like a drunk man.

Take a listen.

Worship leaders...don't let the choir scare you; this CD is amazing and you won't be disappointed!