Good thoughts from David Baroni via CCLI blog:

It takes a degree of trust to launch out with other musicians into the unknown waters of spontaneous composition. Our tendency, especially as Greek-mindset influenced westerners who rely on empiricism- that is, on what we perceive by our natural senses- is to lean too heavily on the sheet music. It seems safer that way, we like structure.

But does our structure make room for God? He dwells not in temples (structures) made with human hands. He came in the unlikely womb of a young virgin… to the natural minded a woman of reproach. A King? Yes, but born in a stall surrounded by smelly animals and lower class shepherds. The Word was made flesh… the Eternal/Invisible clothed, indeed bound Himself with Time and the Physical so that we who were blind could finally, by faith, see the Father.

The church is a wineskin for the Kingdom of God, not an inflexible piece of pottery that crumbles under the intoxicating pressure of the flowing wine of God’s grace and Presence.

I am not advocating that we have no structure, no wineskin, only that the new wine of the Kingdom of God is poured into the accommodating wineskin that the church is meant to be.

Full piece here.

Title to a great song by Brady White, a dear friend to this ministry who gets it.

Click here to listen to it via My Space.

…is all you need, according to Kevin Kelley:

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce.

They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

The hard part:

The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. They are giving you their support directly. Maybe they come to your house concerts, or they are buying your DVDs from your website, or they order your prints from Pictopia. As much as possible you retain the full amount of their support. You also benefit from the direct feedback and love.

Author/marketer Seth Godwin calls 1000 fans “a breakthrough opportunity” for artists and songwriters.

Consider:

1. What would it take for you to acquire 1000 ‘true fans’?
2. What are you doing now to make that happen?

Bring me a white horse for Christmas

Underneath white birches
Our faces toward the sky
We will make snow angels
With our white horse standing by

Hush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the sky

Bring me a white horse for Christmas
We’ll ride him through the snow
All the way to Bethlehem
2000 years ago

I wanna speak with the angel
Who said do not be afraid
I wanna kneel where the oxen knelt
Where the little child was laid

Hush now baby
One day you’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Your white horse through the sky

No bridle will he be wearing
His unshod hoofs they will fly
Keep a watch out this Christmas
For that white horse in the sky

Hush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the sky

Hush now baby
Let every angel sing
Hush now baby
One day we’ll ride again

• Words & music by Linford Detweiler
  
• Stream OTR’s Christmas album free here. (more…)

“If he has like a ninja or superhero quality, it’s definitely his ability to see that one, tiny little spot that’s not filled and put something in it that you’re like, ‘oh my gosh.’ That becomes literally to me as the artist, that literally makes the song.”

- singer/songwriter Dave Barnes on producer Ed Cash.

To check out Ed Cash and David Barnes creating in the studio, check out this interview from NPR Nashville:

Audio stream

Mp3 download

Transcript

Ed assisted in writing two of the three finalists for our Song of the Year, so this is a particularly interesting piece if you’re interesting in songwriting and recording.

Some good insight here including:

• Discipline in songwriting (he sometime writes a song a day for a month or two).
• He appreciates old school rock (Sting, James Taylor, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin).
• The importance of melody and “swagger.”
• Stealing from Kierkegaard and Augustine.

View on YouTube here.

HT:  Daniel Renstrom

We are poised to present (ta-DAH!) our first annual Song of the Year award.

• To discover who the three finalists are for this year, go here.
• To watch videos of the finalists, go here.
• For more info on the award, here is where you go.

The Minneapolis native’s new release, Fireflies and Songs, was profoundly affected by the needs overseas for the poor & disenfranchised:

“The phrase ‘social justice’ can be loaded. To some people it is a political or a liberal conversation, but to me, it is a Kingdom conversation.

There are people behind these stories and statistics, and God’s heart for justice burns on their behalf.

I wanted to write songs that drew attention to the people like Elizabeth who know God deeply because of their suffering. There is a commonality in all of these friends, and that is the perseverance of hope.”

You can stream the new release at HearItFirst.com here.

Did you know that drum machines were created to accompany church organists?

That’s according to Moby, who shows off his Manhattan recording studio and his prized drum machine collection in this video (see below).

He also tells why he is a fan of analogue (as opposed to digital) and why electronic musicians are “not cool.”

If you have an inner geek, this 12-minute view should satisfy him/her.

From the promo site:

(On November 4) Hillsong United will appear LIVE on movie screens across the US for an exclusive One Night Event featuring a performance by the internationally recognized worship band and their much-anticipated documentary…

This one-night event will begin with a LIVE intro by Hillsong United’s lead singer Joel Houston, followed by the band performing from their church in Sydney and conclude with the worldwide debut of their cause-based documentary telling the stories of justice, compassion, and mercy around the globe.

Other than being scheduled on a rehearsal night for many church worship teams (!), this shows that Hillsong gets it.

Check out Hillsong’s songs of mercy on the playlist here.