So, along with the big 4th of July project, we also spent the better portion of last week hard at work on this one. I must tell you, I’m a bit frustrated by the screenshot that was automatically generated as we were very conscious of concealing the punchline. Oh, well. What can you do? Hopefully there will be an extended directors cut available in the near future.
Tina Brown: Director, Producer, Editor, Photographer, Voice of “The Director”
Ryan Brymer: Concept, Script, Props, Nigel Wayne
Kevin Goldstein: Concept, Script, himself
Scott Appleton, Wes Ashworth, Alison Grider, Russ McLennan: themselves
Motorcycle Driveby by Third Eye Blind – From 2000 to 2002, I’m not sure that this album ever left my CD changer in my dorm room. I probably heard this song a hundred times before I really listened to it. I love the way that it builds and builds in stages and then resolves. Lyrically, it was very relevant to me around that time in life and still hits me pretty hard when I sit back and take it in. It’s equal parts beauty and tragedy – at least that’s how I hear it. Couple it with Deep Inside of You and you’ve got a double dose of greatness.
Walked in the Spirit of Coppell 4th of July Parade and had a better time than I expected.
Took a nice nap.
Spent the evening at home working on laundry and dishes while watching Anchorman.
Sunday:
Awesome church service honoring civil servants.
Um, nap.
Good times at the block party. Lincoln had a blast in the bounce house.
So, here’s what we were working so hard on last week for yesterday’s service.
Video:
Tina Brown: Director, Producer, Editor,Concept, Photography, Voiceover
Ryan Brymer: Production Assistant, Props
Staff and Members of FBC Coppell, Coppell Police Dept, Coppell Fire Station no. 3: Lead Actors
America the Beautiful:
Ryan Brymer: Guitar, Xylophone, Congas
Tina Brown: Cello
Wes Ashworth: Engineering, Production
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?”
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!!!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
