Video Wednesday
Hope to be posting some of my new video work soon, but for now, you'll have to be satisfied with a classic. It never gets old, really. "Where'd Daddy go?"
Monday Morning List
Friday
- My day with Lincoln - he took a 4 hour nap... so did dad.
- Shopping at Target. I bought him a baseball and bat. He's a natural.
- Went to a birthday party for a neighbor down the block.
Saturday
- We all went around to garage sales. Katie found him a farm with animals for $3.
- Family nap.
- Katie worked at night. We stayed home. Realized that the A/C had gone out.
Sunday
- Church - We had an awesome potluck cook out then shot some video for 4th of July.
- Went home to no air conditioning and took another nap.
- Went to dinner with my brother and his family. He told us that they had a portable A/C unit that would cool a single room. We took them up on the offer.
- Bought a little fort/slide for Lincoln off of Craig's List.
- Mowed the yard.
- Set up the A/C unit - blew out the breakers twice before getting it all stowed away.
Monday
- Stayed home for a couple of hours hoping to get the repair worked out. No luck. No one responds to my calls. Very FRUSTRATED!!!
Shout it Out: My Experience
So, 10 days ago, I asked ya'll to help out my band by voting for us in the Shout it Out with Hanson contest. The final results:
#27 out of 140
So here's the full story...
About 6 weeks ago, I first became aware of this contest. My friend, Kevin, and I had been joking around for a while about starting a band and playing 80s cover songs at coffee shops and stuff. I figured that this contest was perfect motivation for getting started. But we didn't really have an original song to submit.
About 4 weeks ago, my friend Wes says to me, "Hey, can you help out with this project for school where I have to fully record and produce an original song." I said, "sure" and faked my way through a rough chord progression that became our song "Caroline." I didn't really realize how big it was going to get until Wes told me that he needed me to finish writing it because he already had the drummer and bass player booked for the recording studio. I went on vacation - the tracked drums, bass, guitar, and piano while I was in KS. When I got back, I finished the lyrics and tracked vocals and guitar just in time for Wes to turn it in and get 100% on his project.
So, for a band and song that didn't exist before a month ago, finishing the contest at #27 out of 140 is not something to be upset about.
Hear the song here.
The Contest...
I really wanted to win and I don't want to play the pity card, but there was really no way for us to win. I think that the voting method was as fair as it could be - and a bit laborious. But, at the end of the day, popularity did matter and there's no way that a non-existent band could challenge the number of voters that an established band could provide - even with my 3 computers lined up next to each other for voting.
I can say that with some certainty because the shifts that happened in the Top 20 over the last 30 minutes of the contest can be explained by nothing other than a bunch of fans and perhaps some rigging of the voting by those more technically minded than I. That is, the #1 dropped to #12. #18 jumped to #2. We moved up one space then fell down three.
Still, we beat people who make their living (or at least try to) by making music. That's fairly impressive.
The Outcome...
1) I'm glad for the contest because it broke a 2 year songwriting dry spell.
2) It made me more confident in my own abilities.
3) I'm always grateful and surprised by the commitment of my friends to help out when I ask.
4) If anyone from Hanson reads this and wants us to come to the show anyway, all you have to do is ask.
5) I'm hoping to go ahead and play some shows sometime in the near future. Hopefully Kevin will be on board.
Review: Addison Road – Stories
Stories, the new album by Addison Road releases today. I've had it for about 5 days now, so here's what I think...
Disclaimer: I love these guys. They can really do no wrong by me.
Ups: They just keep getting better across the board: songwriting, vocals, musicianship. They craft catchy melodies and hooks that are easy to sing along with. For me, the high points are "Change in the Making" and "Who I am in You". Both are pretty straight forward and simple, focusing more on lyrical quality than production value. Also, there just aren't enough songs out there with Hand Clap and Harmonica solos, so for that, you have to love "Fight Another Day" which is a great album opener. I also love the last song, "My Story," I only wish that they had come back in at the end with a little piano outro to "Blessed Assurance" (this is my story/this is my song)
Downs: The production on this record has me scratching my head. I appreciate albums with timeless production. That is, just listening to it, you might think that it just as likely that the album was made 20 years ago or yesterday. (Examples: August and Everything After by Counting Crows, The Bends by Radiohead) This album has a couple of songs that are really dated in their production - specifically, "Won't Let Me Go" and "Don't Wait". While there are some things that sound really "today," as a rule, the album sounds like it was made back in the early 2000s when the band was just starting to play together. You're going to take this too far to the extreme, but the production really reminds me of the first Avril Lavigne record. None of this is necessarily bad, just not what I went in expecting.
Overall: It's a great album and totally worth having. You can get it on Amazon for $7.99 digital download. When I heard their first record, I knew that there was greatness lurking just below the surface and I'm glad to know that they are realizing their potential and have connected with people who have helped them discover it. I can only hope that this album helps them snag a Dove award after getting robbed of the New Artist award last year.
Monday Morning List
Friday:
- Hung out with Lincoln and did some grocery shopping.
- Picked up a pizza from Papa Murphy's - quickly becoming my favorite pizza place.
Saturday:
- Worked on the sprinkler system all day with the sprinkler guy. Got some good work accomplished. I think I can honestly claim to have a better yard than either of my neighbors.
- Dug a whole for our tree, but still haven't got it planted.
- Went to dinner at Mi Cocina with Sarah, Sylvain, and JoAnna then hung out in Southlake Town Square listening to some strange cover band.
Sunday:
- Father's Day
- Played in the band.
- Got some lunch from Chili's. Had a hard time getting Lincoln down for a nap, but once he did, we all slept for about 3 hours. Hooray!
- Watched John Mayer and Keith Urban on CMT Crossroads - I thought it was better than the Mayer/Brad Paisley episode from several years ago.
- Watched Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. It was ok. I had a free Redbox rental that was going to expire. I think that the old Batman: TAS movies are a lot better than the new DC animation stuff.
- Spent a while voting for the band, but didn't seem to help our standings any. Voting closes Wednesday at 11pm Central.
Whatever Happend To… the Swatch Guard
Whatever happened to the Swatch Guard? I can't tell you how many watch faces I've scratched up in the last decade. Had I owned a swatch guard, it would have never happened.
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Trailer
When they first started making Narnia films, I was afraid that they wouldn't have the momentum to make it all the way to Book 3 - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is by far my favorite in the series. I was very pleased last night to find that the first trailer for it has been released.
I think that it looks better than Prince Caspian, but maybe not as good as The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. New director on this one, not sure what that's going to do to it. I'm a little tentative about it living up to my expectations, but we will definitely see.
Songs We Wish We’d Written – Homeward Bound
My friend, Clay, and I recently have been reminiscing on our Texas Country years during college. We were talking about the Pat Green & Cory Morrow record Songs We Wish We'd Written. This got us thinking about the songs we, personally, wish we had written. So, starts a little feature.
Homeward Bound by Simon and Garfunkel - If other artists could convey as much in 2:45 the music landscape would be so much better. There really isn't anything to say about this song that it doesn't say for itself.
The Update
So, what's been happening the last 4 months?
- Celebrated Lincoln's 1st birthday back in March.
- Got to play in an amazing worship set on Easter Sunday. Wish we were rolling tape so that I could show it to you.
- I started working out at 24 Hour Fitness. I'm keeping up pretty well except when I accidentally oversleep or get sick.
- We passed a pretty nasty illness around our house one week.
- I've adopted a new character for some videos we're doing here at the church - Bill Bartowsky, host of the remodeling show "My First Place" (hopefully I can post a video link soon).
- Writing and recording music.
- Read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and wondered how a man can get away with writing the same book 3 times over. Saw the killer twist coming a mile away and was completely let down by the final resolution to the mystery.
- Started up a little Tumblr site (Music of the Day) where you can stop by and see what I'm listening to at any given time.
- Got to take a little week-long vacation.
- Fought my lawn sprinkler for 3 weeks before giving in and calling in a professional - if you're having troubles, I've got the number for a great guy to get you fixed up.
Shout it Out Update
Thanks for all your voting yesterday, we made it as high as #21. Right now we're sitting at #23. Keep up the good work.
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