Benefit Blog

[please read this tongue in cheek]

In the same spirit as Live Aid, Farm Aid, and other benefit concerts, this blog is to benefit a worthy cause.

Here is my plea. In the course of my existence as a musician and a IT professional, I have developed nerve problems with my right arm, which now prohibit me from playing acoustic guitar. In order to promote healing in my arm, I am seeking to purchase a customer guitar by Tom Anderson called a Crowdster. This is an instrument that is specially designed to produce authentic acoustic tones and yet only have the body size of an electric guitar.

Such a custom instrument is not cheap, so I am seeking your support and donations. This guitar will allow me to continue serving as an acoustic guitarist at church and minimize further damage to my arm, in the hopes of promoting healing.

Here is a link to the Tom Anderson Crowdster.

Thank you for supporting a good cause.

KEV

PS – My situation is for real, and I will need to quit playing for awhile, or at least limit my playing to electric only and not often. I covet your prayers for my healing more than your money. Thanks.

An Oxymoron

Linked off the CCLI website is a service called SongTouch. It's tagline is "Christian Music and Entertainment".  I know the readers here have beat the "Christian Music" moniker to death, but lets argue and have a little fun with "Christian Entertainment".

To me, it's an oxymoron (perhaps a misnomer) for at least two reasons.  One, it infers that entertainment by way of content embodies the notion of being a little Christ. Only people can be called Christian.  Second, and by far a bigger issue, it puts forth this conclusion counter to the Gospel: there is a need for Christians to be entertained.  I mean, really?  Here are some ludicrous statements to emphasize my point:

"He bids me come and be entertained." 

"Seek first entertainment, and the rest shall be added unto you."

"To live is entertainment, to die gain."

"Safe for the whole family" TM

"Take up your cross and follow entertainment"

"Live your best life now"

"Gospel Tonight"

"I have come to bring entertainment on the earth and how I wish it were already turned on."

Hopefully it is obvious I am implicated in my own statements as I too often choose to pick up the remote instead of a book, just because I am lazy.  I did buy some books today, so that is a step in the right direction.

Any other witty quotes out there?

iPod discoveries – All Together Separate

I added some more CDs to my iTunes library this weekend.  One of them is called All Together Separate-self titled.  I hadn't listened to it in a long time.  Talk about the cure for the common CCM drivel.  These guys play jazz and blues influenced pop-rock.  Can you believe each song has a unique chord progression?  The lyrics may be too artful for some, but to have something groovy to listen to while working (or writing this blog), it's good stuff.

The standout for me is "Paradigm".  It is a great example of how dynamics can take a 4 minute song with three chords through several different movements.  Plus the vocals cook. I mean it.  Bonus - the guitar feeds back before even playing when he rolls up the volume coming out of a vocal only break because the amp is screaming loud.  Ahh, what's lost for the sake of accessibility.

I think I put this CD away for two reasons.  One, I played it far too much and needed space.  Second, it's so original, it's doesn't fit in the world of CCWM*.  Given that I listen to a lot of CCWM for church planning, the tunes didn't serve me.  With that said, I need to be more intentional about putting diverse stuff back into my musical diet, not just stuff people can sing along the first time they here it (not there is anything wrong with that).  

*Contempory Christian Worship Music

Change of Theme

Friends -

I changed my theme again, this time in an effort to make the comments easier to read.  I must admit I liked the theme's name "Contempt" as well.  I believe this is my fourth theme since I started, I apologize for changing the furniture around so much.

Explaining divorce to small children

When a couple in your sphere of relationships files for divorce, it presents a new host of questions.  One I have been thinking through is this:  How do I explain divorce to my 5 and 6 year old?

So far the best I can come up with is “We are all sinners.  God says so.  Person A and Person B made a promise to God and each other to stay together until one of them dies.  That’s marriage.  They have decided to sin and break that promise.  They will not stay together. That is divorce.” 

Any help out there?

High Tenor Friday Distraction

I really like listening to high tenors sing.  There's a ready made passion in the voice of a man screaming. 

So here's a list of some of my favorites in order according to the top of their ranges.  Any others out there I missed that you like?

• Derek Webb
• Joel Hanson
• Vince Gill
• Steve Perry
• John Elefante
• Brad Delp
• Geoff Tate

I have recordings of Brad Delp and Geoff Tate (More Than a Feeling and Queen of the Reich respectively) both hitting E above high C.  In the Hertz world, that is 660Hz.  Concert A is 440Hz and middle C on the piano is 262Hz.

In layman's terms, the high E is crazy high.  A recent blog of mine described me hitting high C and nearly shooting gray matter from my ears.    I don't think I will shoot for 660Hz any time soon.