Christian DIVAs Weekend! - Gig Canceled!

Well, the snow came! It actually didn't come until later in the evening, but the owner of tonight's venue figured we wouldn't get an audience with the 'storm warning', so he canceled the show. Here's how the day played out...

After posting my blog this morning, I headed out to Gallatin to pick up my CDs and tracks. As soon as I got them, I popped the tracks in the CD player. They sound amazing! It's incredible to hear these songs, especially the ones I wrote, all set up like this. It was really lovely to listen the background vocals on their own, and to really listen to the track and imagine what it will be like to sing with them this weekend! So excited!

While listening, I drove over to the hotel to finally meet the DIVAs! I joined the group last summer, and I've spoken to Leah on the phone a few times, but basically, I've only ever communicated with Leah and Beth via email. How awesome to meet them in person! There were little moments when it was almost surreal - to know some one's personality and their voice for months, and then you finally see them in front of you - it's all kind of wild.

Leah and Beth have been touring together for a few weeks, so I knew they'd already have an established routine and chemistry. I also knew that this would present a challenge for me to enter into their dynamic, not destroying the balance, but offering my gifts as would be best for the shows.

Luckily, we were all open to the process, and things fit together so beautifully! We learned about the cancellation this afternoon, so we focused on rehearsing for Sunday. We'll each do 2 solo songs plus our testimony. We'll have a group opening song, and we'll end with a worship set, with Beth on guitar. Leah has been singing a lower harmony, which leaves the upper harmony open for me. 3-part girl harmony - Love it!!

Since our night was free, we grabbed Gerald and Leah's husband, Jan, and all went to dinner at Maggiano's. We'd never been there before, but it reminded me of Papa Leoni's in Toronto (how much do I miss that place!). We ate tonnes of pasta and gorgeous desserts, and we laughed like old friends.

It's actually 1:19am as I write this, and the snow is still coming down. It's far from a 'storm', but it's definitely a legitimate snowfall. Oh, and on the way home, we had thunder and lightening - in the snow! Crazy!

Christian DIVAs Weekend! - Morning of...

I wanted to write a quick entry last night, but I was completely shut down by a terrific headache. It was horrible! I couldn't do a thing all night, and I went to bed at 10 o'clock! (Very unusual!)

So, here's what's on the go:

- This weekend is our Christian DIVAs weekend in Nashville! Whoo-hoo! Leah and Beth are here already, staying in a hotel. We're going to meet and rehearse this afternoon, and our first gig is tonight. (Assuming it doesn't get canceled on account of the "terrible" snow storm coming our way!)

- Running out to AHA Productions today to pick up 100 CDs and my mastered tracks. So excited! Can't believe I moved 150 CDs already, and I haven't even performed any songs from it yet. The big run of 1000 won't be ready til next week, which is why I needed the short run for this weekend.

- My latest SGM Article is now up! I did an interview with Charlotte Ritchie, and so far, the feedback has been very positive. And ... they put it as this month's "SGM Feature"! You can check it out here.

- Gerald and I have signed up for the Write About Jesus workshop in Nashville this month. Should be very awesome!

- I took a Song U course this week on "Releasing Your Record". Very informative, and gave me lots of great ideas for marketing Real Big Fan.

That's it! I'll post something again tonight after our gig. Now, off to stretch, warm up, and enjoy the wonders of the day!

Celtic Woman

I call her "International Amy". My friend, Amy Rivard, has literally sung and danced her way around the world. She's currently touring with the show, Celtic Woman, and gave me tickets for tonight's show in Nashville.

I had some idea what to expect, in that it was a vocal show, all female lead singers, with lots of stage flash. I don't think it was as Celtic as I thought it would be. They did a number of contemporary songs, including popera favourites like "You Raise Me Up". The percussion team was truly amazing - almost a show all by themselves. The main vocal quartet did do a really beautiful 4-part acapella version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Very still in places, with some unexpected harmonies. Really lovely.

I met Amy years ago through our church choir, and she sang in one (maybe 2?) of my Gospel concerts in Toronto. She truly enjoys life, and it was so awesome to see her tonight. I always feel inspired after seeing Amy!

In other news: I got 2 requests from DJs last week for Real Big Fan, so that's pretty cool. I used my GMA membership to vote on the Dove Awards today - also pretty cool. Oh, and I'm currently a Featured Product on House of Jubal- hopefully a very cool thing that will lead to some sales!

Tomorrow, I'm helping Gerald record some demos for a possible gig. Should probably think about getting some sleep soon...

Working on the dream...

I finally got to see Aaron today and put "Real Big Fan" in his hands! Obviously, he's heard it, but we haven't been able to hook up since we got back from Christmas. It was great to get his reaction on the graphics, and get his thoughts on where to go from here.

And a few bits of news:

- "Real Big Fan" is a Featured Product on HouseOfJubal.com! You can check it out here.

- I finished my article on Charlotte Ritchie for SGMRadio.com. It should be posted the first of March. I'll post a link when it's up.

- Three of the Christian DIVAs will be gathering in Nashville in March. I've just booked a church for us on the Sunday morning in Lebanon (Gerald and I did their Christmas concert in early December). We'll be doing the whole service, so it's going to be cool.

- I'm having a run of 1000 CDs manufactured. As soon as I get them, I'm going to start sending them out for reviews and radio play.

Working on the dream, one step at a time...

Writing, talking, taking it step by step...

Happy Valentine's Day! We don't do a whole lot for V-Day, as we put our big celebrations into our anniversary. However, today is also Sebastian's birthday, so that needs a little celebration!

My day started with a long-distance co-write. Kara and I are continuing to work on our Song U co-write that we started in December. After our last draft, Kara submitted the song for a critique. The feedback was very good, with a few suggestions. So today, we tweaked the lyric and made some final decisions on the song. I think it's pretty much done, which is very exciting!

Next step: Kara is going to record an instrumental track at her house and email it to me. Then, I'll record a vocal here at our place, and when that's done, we should have a good little demo. I'd like to bring it to Write About Jesus in March and see what reaction we get there.

This afternoon, I started work on my next article for SGMRadio.com. I decided I wanted to write about Charlotte Ritchie moving into solo ministry, so last week at the Gaither concert, I asked her manager for an introduction. I was hoping we could do a phone interview, but I couldn't find the right equipment to record the call. So today, I called Charlotte to re-introduce myself and chat a bit. I've emailed her 7 questions, and should get her response tomorrow. I'll have lots of time this weekend for writing the article. Well, in between NBA All Star coverage...

The rest of the day was filled with small steps necessary for achieving the bigger goals. I'm still waiting for a few cheques from Christmas, so I followed up on them. I'm getting 1000 CDs manufactured, so I connected my graphics designer with the manufacturer, and got all the required paperwork.

I also posted my House of Jubal link on my Shoutlife page. What is "House of Jubal" you say? House of Jubal is a CD store for indie CDs. It's very similar to CDBaby.com, but it's all Christian music.

Here's my page: REAL BIG FAN

I have lots of plans for getting my CD online: a Snocap store, a Paypal button on my site, CD Baby, and itunes, to name a few. It's all so much work, but I have to remember that the big goals happen by small consistent steps.

Breakout Artist Interview

A few weeks ago, I got the awesome news that Rob Patz, host of radio's "Southern Styles Show", wanted to make me the "Breakout Artist" of the month. The show is carried on 100 stations across the US and Canada. The feature involves playing a song from the CD, plus an interview. I sent Rob my CD so he could take a listen, and we did the interview over the phone today.

The whole thing was very cool! We did 8 questions. I think 6 will be on the show, and 2 will be featured on their website. Rob loves the CD, which is just awesome. He actually thought a well known writer wrote "Do You Wanna Be My Neighbour in Gloryland", so I took that as high praise.

We talked about all sorts of things in the interview - making the CD, my experience at Stamps-Baxter, how I came to learn about Southern Gospel, who inspired me to start singing, and growing up a PK (pastor's kid). We also did a Christmas moment. You know at Christmastime when they have artists talk about their favourite Christmas memory? Well, he asked me my favourite thing to eat at Christmas. My answer was "ginger snaps", which gave me the chance to talk about my family a little.

I was really nervous before the interview, but I felt very confident once we started. Rob thought I sounded very comfortable and asked if I'd done a lot of radio. The answer is "no", but I think all my improv training helps in moments like that.

The interview will either play the end of this month, or early March. I'll post more info when I know! So excited!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today marks our second wedding anniversary! We decided to do something special, so we just got back from...

Memphis! It was our first visit, and we just loved it! We stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel - the perfect mix of music history with a hint of kitsch. We spent yesterday afternoon at Sun Records. We heard amazing stories that never make the TV documentaries. And we stood right in the Sun studio. The air changes when you walk through those doors. Music and history and life have steeped into the floors and the tiles and the dust in the corners. I held the mic that Elvis and Johnny and Jerry Lee sang into. It was truly amazing.

Last night, we hit Beale Street. It was fairly quiet (I think this is their off-season) but it was still ringing with the sound of the blues. They had all the traffic blocked off, so you could wander in safety. The bars all had open doors and windows, so the music mingled in the street. We saw a great band at an outdoor stage, and people were dancing and grooving on park benches. We wandered into A. Schwab's, the oldest general store in the South. It was like Honest Ed's, but even older, with a strange but charming time-warp appeal.

This morning, we went to Graceland, which we've learned is properly pronounced GRACE-lind. There's a fine line to be walked in Memphis - We wanted to learn about the history and touch the energy that started it all, but we didn't want to be tourists. We wanted to be inspired, but not by buying key-chains and ashtrays. So, we stood across the street from Graceland, and remembered the talent of the man, and the generosity of a son who wanted a great house for his Momma. As I looked at those famous gates and that long stone wall, I couldn't help but remember film footage of mourners lining the streets, leaving flowers and tears for the man that inspired them. We'll probably tour Graceland some time in the future, but for today, just being there was enough.

We had lunch at a Memphis institution, Corky's - without a doubt the best BBQ we have ever tasted. We thought about visiting another music museum, but what we really wanted was to feel inspired by the musical energy of the town. So we sat in a cafe, pulled out a note pad, and did some Memphis dreamin'. We talked about how we were doing with our 2008 goals. We made plans for the month and for the week. And we talked about how we could each help the other with our individual goals.

In our wedding ceremony, we both wrote vows that stated our commitment to each other, not just as people, but also as artists. I vowed to "always choose the dream over the comfortable". For some people, making a "to do list" might be a weird way to spend their anniversary, but for us, it was the perfect way to celebrate our partnership and love for one another.

I'm entering the week feeling strong and inspired, and that's always a good thing.

On a quick side note, I want to applaud the Grammies for having such a great presentation of Gospel music. In those 5 minutes, the Gospel was preached to millions of people around the world. In a city ruled by money, power, and the gods of fame, the name of Jesus was lifted up and praised and blessed. Amen to that!

Booking 101 Dinner

We spent time with Tara and Kyle Jackson today, to pick their brains about the ins and outs of booking in the Southern Gospel world. They were a good match for teaching - Tara could speak from the artist point of view, and Kyle from the management side. Like us, they are on the newer side of the industry, so they're hungry to sing and minister. They're neither jaded nor naive. They still care about reaching people, and they know that a bus may eventually be a necessity, but it is never the goal.

We talked a lot about practical things, like travel fees, love offerings, contracts, and festivals. We talked about press kits and bios and websites. Allison Durham Speer always teaches that you enter a church as a servant - Besides serving God and the Gospel, you are there to serve that specific church and their ministry. So one of our biggest topics today was maintaining an authentic and sincere approach to ministry.

At one point, I tentatively suggested that, when Tara releases her CD, perhaps we could do a joint concert? Well, that lead into a huge discussion, and we are now looking at touring together over the next year, including a possible trip to Newfoundland!

Gerald and I left with brains chock-full of information, but mostly, we left inspired and excited about all the opportunities before us.

My SGM Radio article!

My SGM Radio article is up! Check it out here.

So excited! I didn't know it would be a feature. They included all the photos I sent, and I just think the whole thing looks great!

Soooo excited!!!!!!!

(Our Booking 101 dinner has been postponed, so I'll write about that tomorrow.)

Sooooo excited!!!!!!

Exciting Days!

So, as a quick catch up: The last 2 days have been very busy with working stuff. I finally got everything booked for Music on the Hill and all the grant info submitted - yay! I dropped my CD off at NSAI for Sheree, the membership coordinator who has been incredibly supportive. And I've been chatting with a Canadian singer-songwriter about how to get an O1 Visa.

I spent a good part of the day working on a new song. Actually, it's only really "new" in that it's not finished yet. I started it last summer. I'm really struggling with it, but I'm so confident in the idea and the chorus that I still think it's worth working on (dangling preposition, I know!) It's my first praise and worship song, and even though I've had a few people look at it, I think I need to get a praise writer to take a look and give me their thoughts.

But here's the exciting stuff: I don't know if I mentioned this before, but a few months ago, I was asked to write an article for SGMRadio.com about my experience with the Stamps-Baxter School. Well, they liked it so much that they've asked me to become a monthly contributor! Sooo excited! I still need to find out some details, but Tara writes every month, and she gets thousands of hits each time. I'll post a link when the first article comes out.

And speaking of Tara, we had a very exciting phone call yesterday. SGMRadio.com is going to feature me as a "Breakout Artist", and they also want me to submit my CD for review. Again, I still don't have all the details on the Breakout Artist thing, but I know it involves an interview, and radio play for my CD. Sooo excited!

Tomorrow, we're going out with Tara and Kyle for our Booking 101 dinner. Toronto and the surrounding area is so dense that you really don't need to travel far to find dates. We rarely drove more than an hour to a gig, and we worked different places all the time. Here in Nashville, and especially in SG, touring is the norm, and things are done very differently than they are in Toronto. So tomorrow night, we're going to pick those JMA brains to figure out how to book and tour and all that other cool stuff!

Feeling very positive and excited! Already making headway into my 2008 Goals and Resolutions! Yay!

ps - Can you figure out who just learned how to add links to her blog? Cool, wha?

Back to the Bridge

I was back at the Bridge Ministry again tonight. Thunder storms were in the forecast, so the volunteer turnout was much smaller than last time.

I was put to work tonight, singing with the praise team. I didn't know most of the songs, but praise songs are meant to be singable, so it was pretty easy to pick them up as we went along. After the music, we had the message from a preacher who is also on the city's Homeless Commission (I think I have that right?). He spoke on Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He was great in speaking to the homeless about how this passage applies to them; how even in this time of difficulty and brokenness, God still has a plan, and is watching over each of them.

To be honest, it was a message I needed to hear too. As we enter 2008, we are facing some financial challenges. The limits of our visa are making it very hard to support ourselves. Don't get me wrong - We are incredibly thankful for our visa! But it's difficult to support a family on one income, especially while also paying for studio time, demos, songwriting workshops, etc. I know God brought us here to Nashville, and I know He didn't bring us here to abandon us. And again, I don't want to sound ungrateful for the opportunities we're being given. It's just difficult. If things don't change soon, it may limit our time here, and I hate that thought. It's also difficult, and a little embarrassing, to admit that we're having financial difficulties. (When I started this blog, I promised myself I'd always be honest in it. Some days, that's easier said than done. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I should delete this whole entry!) We're far from bankrupt, and when I see the people I saw tonight, I know we're very blessed indeed. We're not seeking riches, just stability. It would take so much pressure off my head.

In light of those thoughts ... Positive blessings of the day:

- Today was a day off, and it was too rainy to go outside, so Gerald, the puppies, and I got to spend some much needed family time together.

- I'm putting my CDs up for sale on HouseOfJubal.com. Today, I got all the info loaded on the site, and I've mailed them product, so it should be up and running very soon.

- I had great conversations with my parents and my father-in-law.

- I learned about DPD licenses, which are required to sell songs digitally.

- Kara and I got feedback on "Diamond Horizon", the song we wrote over the phone. The feedback was very positive, and suggested that, after a few tweaks, we should demo and pitch it.

- I am 99% finished booking and collecting grant info for Music on the Hill.

- I'm working Gordon Mote's table next week at a Homecoming concert.

- Tara may have a possible booking for me.

When people attend the Bridge, they receive a meal and clothes, and if they stay til the end, they are entered into a drawing to win a large item, like a bike or tent. But the focus of the night is the worship service. There's lots of inspiring music, a short but Biblical message, an altar call, and prayer. They feed the body, but it is also a reminder that, more than anything, we need to feed the soul. Instead of dieting to starve ourselves, we need to stuff ourselves full with music, love, and Jesus!

Getting things done...

It's been a mixed kind of weekend - My first real quiet days in ages, while also trying to catch up on a backlog of administrative stuff.

I'm sending out copies of Real Big Fan to all our songwriters, as well as to some people who've been very supportive of me since coming to Nashville. Still have a few more addresses to collect, but I got most of that done.

I've been asked to write an article about the Stamps-Baxter School for sgmradio.com. It was due today, so this weekend was about getting the opinions of the 'trusted few' and making all those final tweaks. I think it might be out next month?

I'm still on as Artistic Director of Music on the Hill, the lunchtime concert series at St. John's York Mills Church. Our grant application is due a month earlier than expected, so I'm having to rush things a little. I have 18 concerts to book. Most of them are in place, but it's always finicky having to balance the different shows, and then collecting all the info needed for the grant application. I love doing this; it just requires a lot of work.

The Christian DIVAs are taking on a group project: a compilation CD. We each gave in 2 songs, and we're each paying a little for mastering and manufacturing. It's the first time the group has done anything like this, and I'm so happy my new songs were done in time to be included.

This week, I have a few large goals (including finishing the Music on the Hill booking):
- I need to set up Real Big Fan for online sales.
- Gerald and I need to have a meeting so we can decide how we're going to approach booking.
- I need to set up the large run of 1000 CDs.

I also want to start sending out press releases about the new CD. I've compiled a list of Southern Gospel news websites, so now I'll just need to work on the content of the actual release. I've been studying different articles, etc, for several months, and I have some people I can go to for advice.

The other thing I need to start working on is finding some creative time! In the last few months, every second of creativity went into the CD (as it should!). But now, I want to make time for writing and painting and all that good stuff that will 'fill the well'. I want to take Song U courses and visit the Frist and paint the living room. Very excited about all of it!

Steve Seskin, in concert.

Gerald is doing a workshop this weekend with country songwriter, Steve Seskin. I think this is going to be great for him. Gerald is too advanced for most workshops. He doesn't need to hear the basics of rhyme schemes and song structures. He needs mentoring. This weekend will be a small group, and, on Monday, he'll have a one-on-one with Steve Seskin himself. Awesome!

Tonight, Steve did a solo show at Douglas Corner, a small club just south of downtown. (At least, I think that's where it is. I'm still trying to navigate this city!) You usually only see rounds in songwriter clubs, so this was a real treat. He did 2 60-minute sets, with nothing but a guitar. He took requests from the audience, and told the story behind each song.

There were 2 things that I loved about tonight:

#1. The songs were very positive, very encouraging. He has this one song called "Use Mine" - A little boy wants a bike; the Dad can't afford it so he gives his bike to his son saying "Use mine"; later, the Dad is ill and has no strength, so the son says, "Use mine". Oh! Just broke my heart. And other great song was about how everyone has mountains to climb, but some people's mountains "are steeper than mine". And then were was "Don't Laugh at Me", which has become an anti-bullying anthem. Loved it!

And #2. Every time Steve sang a song, he just opened his heart to the audience. He sang like his life depended on it - passionate, immediate, generous. He doesn't have a perfect voice, but he was just so authentic you couldn't help but listen to the stories he sang.

Tonight was great! We've made a New Year's Resolution to go out and hear live music at least once a week. We were doing it for a while, but then I started working and making the CD, so staying in at night became a better option.

Now that our first year has flown by, I am more conscious than ever of our very short visa. "Green cards" is also on that list of Resolutions. Start praying for us!

Catching Up, and the Bridge Ministry

Yes, we're back in Nashville! I have a bit of back-blogging to do. I had this great intention of writing every day of the 12 days of Christmas. Then, on January 2nd, we lost our internet! Dad and Gerald spent hours and hours trying to fix it, but it didn't get restored til after we got back to Nashville. (I'm sure those points aren't related.) I came home to over 325 emails in my inbox. Needless to say, it's taking me a while to catch up.

Since getting back, I'm back to working for Ben. We're gearing up for the 20th anniversary year of the Stamps-Baxter School, and it's going to be a great.

This afternoon, Kara and I finished our long distance, Song U co-write. We still want to do a bit of tweaking on the song, but we finished enough of a draft to submit to the site. If we posted our song by today, we won 25 points. Those points are collected, and can eventually be turned in for free song evaluations.

My friend, Tara, listened to my CD today. I was sort of freaking out - this was the first time a SG peer has listened to it. She loved it! I was very excited! She really loves the mix of jazz with Southern Gospel, so that was all very satisfying.

Gerald and I are planning on sitting down soon and making up our New Year's goals and resolutions. I really don't want to rush this process. There's a lot for us to do in 2008. Now that we're one year into our visa, I'm becoming aware that our time is very limited. We're still interested in green cards, so that may be a goal for the year. I'm also looking at making resolutions around spending more time and energy on outreach and charity work, and that lead to tonight's activity...

Tonight, I visited the Bridge Ministry. Tara, is very involved in it, and I've been interested in visiting for a while. Every Tuesday night, a group of people gather under a downtown bridge to minister to Nashville's homeless. They serve a hot meal, give out clothing, and lead an informal, but spirit-filled, worship service.

Tonight was close to freezing, but there was still a crowd of people, both on the giving and receiving end of things. In some ways, it was what I expected - great people doing great work. And in other ways, it was all a little surreal. Volunteers set up chairs, lights and a sound system. Professional singers give their gifts of song. A crowd forms an orderly line to accept a hot meal, and then receive food for the soul. The whole thing is like the warm, generous oasis, pitched against the chilling backdrop of a concrete bridge and freezing temperatures.

Two things really jumped out at me tonight: One: Candy Christmas (the Gaither artist who founded the Bridge) welcomed the crowd by saying, "I love you. If no one has said it to you today, let me be the first. I love you." Isn't this something most of us take for granted? I am never very far away from someone who is willing to tell me they love me. But there were people gathered tonight who probably only hear "I love you" on Tuesday nights. Such a simple thing, but it's like breath to our souls.

And two: Tonight was freezing, but I got to go home to a warm house with happy puppies and extra blankets for my bed. For some of these people, the Bridge was probably the warmest part of their night.

I know I'm not saying anything profound or new. But I think we lose perspective. It's one thing to see homeless people on TV, or to give them a nod as a political issue. It's another thing to look into some one's eyes, and realize that you are looking into the eyes of another child of God.

Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!
(Hebrews 13:1-2, The Message)

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 7

HAPPY 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all started the year on a quiet note. There are now 6 of us in the house, and 2 of us are healthy. Colds, stomach bugs, coughing, sneezing ... you name it, someone has it. So the day was somewhat lazy and very, very soft.

The afternoon was spent watching "Flags of Our Fathers" - fantastic, but disturbing. Meals took hours, as we'd sit around the table taking in long courses and even longer conversations. There were many cups of tea, and a few cat naps as well.

I spent an hour working on my Song U co-write. I'm finding it a bit of a struggle, but given the strangeness of writing with someone you've never met in person, I guess that's kind of normal. We're scheduled for our next phone call tomorrow, so I'm hoping that goes okay.

Last New Year's Eve, we all wrote predictions for 2007. Tonight, we opened the sealed envelopes and read them aloud. Most were very silly, but a few were interesting. For my "outlandish" sports prediction, I said Steve Nash would win his third MVP award, and this year, he was second in the running. Dad predicted he would start working as a writer and photographer, and that came true. Gerald predicted his first Nashville cut, and he received 2 indie cuts last year. I predicted Mom would win Longo's Most Valuable Customer... no word on that one yet.

But Dad and I both predicted that, in 2007, I would record my first Nashville CD, and that indeed came true!

I think all the family, and most of our close friends (at least here in Canada) have heard the CD, and their reviews are very positive. Yes, they are biased. But after a while, you learn to decipher "That sounds like my daughter/niece/cousin singing" from "I'm going to play this on my next road trip". Gerald and I are so excited about how things turned out, and it's great to hear that excitement from other people now too.

I haven't written any resolutions yet for 2008. I have lots of goals in mind, but I need a few quiet moments to really set things down. We've been so lucky to have worked so much in the last month, but with the exception of the odd day off, I really feel like I haven't had much of a break yet. There's been no feeling of 'vacation'. Maybe a-week-in-Mexico should be on that list of resolutions?

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 6

We're in pre-party mode, so I'm writing a little earlier tonight. And it's going to be a quiet party, because...

One of the main concerns with Gerald's illness last night was his voice. Not only do we have lots of social engagements over the next week, but we were booked for an hour-long New Year's Eve concert this afternoon. Well, as soon as we woke up this morning, we knew we were in trouble. Gerald had no voice! He could whisper and speak softly, but there were no beautiful tenor notes to be found. We'd worked out the entire program so that we could share the solos and do lots of songs with harmony. And now, most of that had to be scrapped!

I grabbed our song list, and tried to figure out which of Gerald's songs I could sing by myself. Then, I found a website that has free Christmas sheet music, including guitar chords, so I printed off a bunch of songs that we both knew. Finally, I planned long segues that could fill in any extra time.

After a very quick rehearsal, we loaded up the car and took off for Mississauga. We arrived and started in good time, but the day continued to be a comedy of errors. Our favourite was the assistant program director who, fifteen minutes into the show, arrived with a dead mic attached to a ghetto blaster. The audience made it very clear that they could hear me just fine, yet she insisted on doing a nearly-ten minute sound check with this contraption. In the end, it was a no-sound check, and I just used my theatre training to project to the room.

Given our last minute reprogramming, we both felt the show went well. We ended with "Auld Lang Syne", and it was great. People held hands and sang with huge voices and hearts. But then, the highlight of the day: The program director announced that one of the residents wanted to sing. This old, old black man stood up and sang "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus". It was awesome. His voice was low and rich and filled with a lifetime. When he was finished with the song, he prayed over the group. It was so powerful and wonderful. We spoke to him after and thanked him for his song and his prayer. On the way out to the car, Gerald and I turned to each other, and almost in the same breath said, "It was worth it all just to be there for that".

So tonight, my sicky husband and I are sticking close to home. Mom and Dad will host a small party, including my aunt and uncle from Newfoundland. So to all:

Take a cab if you need one!

Don't make resolutions you know you can't keep!

and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 5

We started the morning as the music leaders for St. John's West. This church was one of the first to welcome me and my music when I decided to go "all-Gospel, all-the-time", and they are always the first to invite us to visit whenever we return home. We haven't been there since last spring, so it was a real homecoming today - lots of hugs, lots of hellos, lots of how's-it-goings.

It's always my job to choose the music for these Sundays. I usually try to choose songs that fit in closely with the Bible readings and the preaching, but today, we mostly just sang great Christmas carols and hymns. We did "Coventry Carol" for the Gospel processional (today is the Slaying of the Innocents), and Gerald lead us on the djembe. We also used djembe for "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime", and people played along on the shakers and drums I'd put in the pews. Our anthem was our duet version of "My Heart is the Manger", which is quickly becoming our signature Christmas song.

We did have a postlude planned, but there was so much chatting and visiting to be done, that the music had to take a rest. People were very interested in our life in Nashville and new CD, and it was great to hear about the church's recent pageant and other community efforts.

We had very little turnaround time for our afternoon service. Billings Court Manor is a seniors residence with a vibrant Christian community. Their weekly non-denominational service brings out 50-70 people, including residents and families. They had a volunteer to play piano for the hymns, so we were brought in for special music. We had several duets planned, but by midday, Gerald's throat started to give out on him, so we did some last minute switching around.

We did "Welcome to Bethlehem", with dueling guitars and me on vocals. Gerald played djembe and I sang "Twas in the Moon", and we did the duet of "My Heart is the Manger", with Gerald relying heavily on the mic for his solo verse.

The whole service was light and wonderful. Staff members read the lessons, and the entire congregation sang out on the hymns. After the final prayer, tea and sweets encouraged chatting and fellowship.

But my fellow was looking worse for wear. We've been surrounded by Christmas colds, and now Gerald seems to be getting his. We had plans to go out tonight, but we had to cancel them. The whole night became about warm blankets and cups of tea.

It's been snowing just the tiniest and prettiest bit tonight. Just before coming to write, I looked out the front window. This house faces directly onto a cross-street. The entire neighbourhood is quiet and white. No cars have driven through the fresh snow, so even the street is a perfect sheet of white. I can't imagine Christmas any other way. I'm starting to feel the urge to go back to Nashville, but I'm so glad we were here for all this.

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 4

It's actually just past midnight, and I must be off to bed soon. Tomorrow will come very early and will, in all likelihood, run very late.

Today was, as promised, all about music and family. My aunt and uncle are visiting from Newfoundland - their first Christmas visit ever to Toronto! They're staying at my cousin and family's house for now, and then spending New Year's here. Today, we drove out to have lunch with them, my cousins, and the four awesome children.

It was just so good and so grounding and so full of joy! There's nothing better than kids at Christmas. We chatted and laughed and the time flew by far too quickly.

Tonight, Gerald and I rehearsed for our upcoming gigs. Tomorrow, we have a morning service in Toronto and an afternoon one in Burlington. The morning is a big commitment as we are the entire music team for the prelude, hymns, postlude, and all liturgical music. We've chosen lots of carols, with a few originals for special music.

Monday is a totally different gig - a concert of jazz, popular, and Christmas standards. We'll do some of the Christmas music we've been performing lately, but we also had to add in some other music, so tonight was all about choosing songs, building a program, and laying down quick arrangements. I'm happy with our selections, so it should all be good.

But first, sleep!

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 3

Today felt like a bit of a nothing day. I ran errands and tried to get stuff done, but it never really felt like I was accomplishing much. My car was seizing a bit on the highway last weekend, so I took into Canadian Tire this morning. Four hours and $200 later, we still don't know what's wrong with it, but it "should be okay now".

The rest of the day progressed in a similar, though less expensive, fashion. We tried rehearsing, but there were too many distractions. We were supposed to go to a party, and a stomach ache prevented it. We wanted to take the dogs for a walk, but torrential rains kept us inside. See what I mean? Just couldn't get a thing accomplished!

So after that kind of day, the best thing to do is curl up and watch a movie, and our choice was "The Nativity Story". We hadn't seen it yet, so this was, obviously, a great time for viewing. I get a little tired of low budget Christian films where characters wear bathrobes and have bad English accents. Happily, this was no such project!

What I really loved was the the way it showed the hardships of living in Year 0000. No detail is spared. From the abusive tax collectors to the roadside crucifixions, we see a vivid portrait of a world that desperately needed a Saviour. The acting was outstanding, the visuals were striking, and even in a community so different from anything you'd find in North America, the relationships were still endearing and identifiable.

Tomorrow is all about music and family. After the oddness of today, I'm looking forward to it.

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 2

Today, we have been continuing to celebrate the gift of relaxation. The weather outside was frightful, but the fire and Christmas cookies were so delightful!

Actually, I did a fair bit of work today in preparation for the weekend. On Sunday, we have 2 church services at 2 different churches, and Monday afternoon, we're doing a New Year's Eve concert at a seniors centre. Gerald and I are in good shape for each, but we still need to do final rehearsals, final song choices, and after our beautiful days of relaxation, it's a little tough to wrap our heads around performing again this weekend.

This afternoon, I had a brand new experience: My first long-distance co-write! I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but I'm participating in a 'challenge' from Song U, where they pair you up with another writer from a different part of the country, or even the world, and you have to write a song together. The tricky part, of course, is that you must write over the phone, on the computer, whatever - just not face to face.

I'd seen Kara's profile on the Song U website, so I was happy when we were paired up. We both have free long distance plans, and I have slower internet right now, so we decided to meet over the phone. We chatted briefly last week, and scheduled our first real writing session for today.

At 1pm, my phone rang, and we started to chat. But to back it up a bit, before 1pm, I was getting nervous. I've done very little co-writing, and to be honest, it's mostly been with Gerald. I was nervous about doing it over the phone with someone I never get to see in person, because I'm a big fan of body language, and without seeing her, how could I tell her honest reactions to my ideas? Also, what if I couldn't think of any ideas? Or what if I got controlling? Or what if I froze? Arg!

I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, asking for peace and openness, and picked up the phone.

We spent the first large chunk of time just getting to know each other, chatting about families and Christmas and music and such. We completely clicked. We could have talked for hours! Eventually, we got comfortable enough to share our ideas, and we decided to work with Kara's hook.

We brainstormed about the hook - What caused the original image? What did you think of when you found the hook? What do I think of when I hear it? What excites us about this idea?

Next, we started to get practical with it - What is the main focus of the song? What do we want the chorus to say? What about the verses? Do we need a bridge? What about a prechorus?

Before long, we were ready to get off the phone and start writing on our own for a bit. In a very short time, we had chosen an idea, a structure, and a musical vibe. We knew the main theme of the song, and we'd determined the number of lines per section. We broke up the writing - Kara verse 1, me verse 2 - and scheduled our next phone session.

Obviously, nothing is written in stone (pardon the pun!). We may change the structure, the vibe, whatever. We're each going to write "our" pieces over the next few days, and start emailing them back and forth with our own suggestions. And as every writer knows, the song will probably step forward with thoughts and suggestions of its own.

But I'm excited by this challenge, and proud of myself for taking it on. Now, my goal is to have fun, be open to the process, and, hopefully, complete a great song!

The 12 Blogs of Christmas - Day 1

Why "The 12 Blogs of Christmas"? Probably from my love of all things Christmas, and probably from my frustration with our media-and-mall-based Christmas celebrations.

For those who follow the church calendar, you know that December 25 is not the end of the Christmas season - it's just the beginning. What follows are the infamous "12 Days". They end on January 6 with Epiphany, a.k.a. the arrival of the 3 wise guys. In British traditions, this is also a time of visiting friends, sharing time with family, burning yule logs, and other festive merriments.

So, I'm going to write every day for the next 12 days, sometimes to talk about what I'm up to, and sometimes, just for the festive merriment of it all!

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations were all just fantastic! Christmas Eve afternoon, Gerald and I did our last Victorian Carolling gig of the season. It was a mini-concert in a seniors home. The crowd wasn't as boisterous as some, but you could tell they had a deep appreciation for the music, and we felt very embraced by them.

At 6:15pm, we arrived back at St. John's Weston to prepare for the first of our 2 Christmas Eve services. Both services were the same, which meant we only had to practice one set of songs, but with the carolling gig, it still made for a long day of singing.

The first service was packed to capacity. I opened things with "O Holy Night", verses one and three, accompanied by piano. I felt very good about it, and was surprised by the spontaneous round of applause. The entire service just flowed from there with great congregational singing and lots of positive energy. Dad preached a marvelous sermon about finding meaning in the physical symbols of Christmas. As the final part of the message, Gerald and I sang "My Heart is the Manger". Gerald wrote this song after hearing Dad's Christmas sermon last year, so it was only fitting to do it this year. We worked it up into a duet, and I think it went really well.

The church was full of candles. Not only did they have 3 white tapers in tall candelabras on the end of each pew, but they also had sconces, also with 3 white tapers, lining the walls of the sanctuary. More candles decorated the choir stalls and the altar area. The Christmas tree was lit with white mini-lights. The creche was light with a small spotlight. Near the end of the service, each person in attendance was given a taper, they turned out all the lights, and we sang 'Silent Night'. Stunning!

In between services, we had a little rest, and got to chat with some of the choir members. At 10 o'clock, we did it all over again. The crowd was much smaller this time, but I think the whole service was actually better - Perhaps because it was our second time out, or perhaps because we were actually getting closer to the day, maybe even the actual minute, that God came to Earth.

(Yes, I know academics believe Jesus was born in the spring, but I'm having a Christmas moment here, people!)

Christmas Day was wonderful! We gathered with friends and family, some who had travelled from as far as New Brunswick to be here. We ate incredible food, shared hearty laughs, and gave generous hugs.

And today, Boxing Day, has been a self-appointed day of rest and relaxation. No shopping. No noise. Just quiet chats, hours of reading, and opening each and every box of chocolates we got for Christmas!

Christmas Carol Service

It's actually much later than the time clock will show on this post. It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted, and tomorrow is even longer... but this morning was just wonderful, and I really want to have a record of it, so here goes...

We all know Dad is retired, but those of us who know him well knew that he wouldn't actually stop working. For the last few months, he has been working an interim position at a small church in Weston (West Toronto). They've been without permanent clergy for some time now, and they've all just fallen in love with Dad and his creative approach to ministry. Once we knew he'd be there for Christmas, we asked if we could sing, and we were booked for their Christmas Carol Service, and both Christmas Eve services.

The music was chosen weeks ago, so I felt very prepared, but this morning nearly stressed me out completely. First, we were late leaving the house. Then, we had horrific rain, which made it a very tense, and extra long, highway drive. We didn't arrive at the church until 30 minutes before the worship time, and in that time, we had to find our places, tune the guitar, practice with the organist, do a sound check ourselves, and get ourselves ready and presentable. And, of course, because it was our first visit, we had to meet everybody too. It was just way too much in way too little time. Finally, I sat in the pew, and said a quick prayer for God to give me peace, and to take control of the music... and the service began.

St. John's Weston is a truly beautiful little church. It could be in a movie, it's just so pretty. The congregation is small but vibrant. Dad had told us how they had welcomed him, and we felt that this morning. It wasn't just that people were friendly - They had a genuine interest in who we were and what we were all about. We just loved being there!

The service was the traditional Christmas Carol Service of readings, hymns, and special music. We opened with "Once in Royal David's City" and I did the acapella-verse-one solo, followed by the choral procession. My first full solo was "Soon and Very Soon". I was a little nervous going in to this one, party due to the craziness of the morning, and partly because I had very little (read: "almost no") rehearsal with the organist. But it actually went really well. I repeated the first verse at the end, and asked the congregation to sing along. It was great! They all sang and clapped, and the whole thing just made me feel very comfortable and confident.

Next, I did "The Joseph Carol", and the congregation sang on the chorus. Gerald and I did "The Stable Bare" with him on guitar, me on vocals, and our last song was "Sing Me a Song", with Gerald on djembe. The rest of the music was choral selections and congregational carols. Each song was in response to a specific Bible reading, and the whole service just flowed beautifully.

At the end of the service, one of the parishioners led the dismissal, and this is what she said:

"Our worship has ended. Our service has just begun.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord."

I just love this! I had goosebumps when she said it!

We stayed for the coffee hour, and I think every person in the congregation stayed too. What a great group of people. We did lots of chatting, and even found a few Gaither fans! This was also our first public opportunity to sell the new CD, and it was very successful. This just thrilled us, especially given the smaller size of the congregation, because it meant that people were really excited by what we did in the service.

Tomorrow, I've booked a carolling gig for us in the afternoon (sort of regretting that now, but I'm sure it will be great). Then we'll do 2 services in the evening. The music load is a little lighter, but it's still going to be a long day with lots of singing. Must get some sleep so I can enjoy it all.

But speaking of "enjoying", we've just been loving our time home! Here are a few Christmas traditions and cool Canadian things we've done so far:

- Shopping at Canadian Tire - the best store ever!
- Experiencing a true winter storm.
- Swiss Chalet quarter-chicken-dark-with-fries.
- The $1 breakfast at IKEA. (no IKEA in Tennessee!)
- Victorian Christmas Carolling, especially our night at Centennial Gardens.
- Making Christmas cookies with Mom, using Nana's recipes.
- Watching Dante, our Nashville puppy, fall in love with snow.
- Mom's homemade Tourtiere.
- Trying to figure out how to seat 14 people for Christmas dinner in the new house.

Just loving every minute of it! Now... must sleep!

Snow Day!

Today was supposed to be a very busy day - a church service in the morning, and a 2 hour carolling gig in the afternoon, both in different parts of town (which in Toronto means - very far apart!).

But none of it happened, because we had a Snow Day!

Yesterday, they started warning people that the snow was a'coming, and you were best to cancel your plans and stay at home. They were predicting the snowiest snow storm in sixty years, and they were right.

The service was cancelled on Saturday, and I got a call early today postponing the carolling, which meant - Snow Day!

A completely free to day to read and rest and play! And it was awesome!

There is nothing like a snow storm. It brings out dual Canadian pleasures - We love to cuddle by the fire and drink eggnog, but there's also nothing like bundling up and getting outside in the snow. I felt very happy that I'd left my winter coat here last year, and very frustrated that I'd left my lovely pink snow boots back in Nashville last week.

Today was the kind of weather where practicality wins out over vanity. The longest coat, the thickest gloves, the heaviest, most waterproof boots you can find. In this weather, Warm is beautiful. As you shovel the snow, your legs get cold and your back gets sweaty. Your finely coiffed hair sticks to your face, and your nose drips unceremoniously. Your cheeks tingle, and your back starts to ache.

But the beauty of the day is unsurpassed. Everything is clean - the air, the snow, the street. And it's somehow warmer than you thought it would be. The world is quiet, and peace seems closer than ever. Unexpected delights fill your day - like seeing a community of birds gather for warmth in the hedge, or watching the puppies playing together in the snow. Snow drifts provide sculpture, and the sunlight makes the whole thing sparkle.

On our third time clearing the driveway, I turned to Mom and said, "I'm so glad we were here for this." She just smiled and said, "I know you are!".

Nothing beats a snow day!

THE CDs ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it! I have them! I have the CDs!!!

I was told I'd have them by Friday, maybe Thursday. But this afternoon, I checked my email, and there was a quick note saying my CDs were ready. It was rush hour, but Gerald and I jumped in the car anyways. The ride took twice as long as normal, and we were running late, so we used our Nashville cell phone to call the office to tell them we were on our way and please don't go home yet! (I don't even want to know how much that call cost!) But we arrived and the CDs were there, and now, I have them at home with me.

I can't even tell you how exciting and overwhelming it has been. We, the family, had already planned a dinner out to tonight so we could celebrate my birthday together, and it was well-planned, because we were all in the mood to celebrate.

As soon as we got home, I gave the first CD to Mom and Dad, and we put it on. I'm so happy with it! It's even better than I had originally dreamed!

We pulled out the hundred life goals list, and a red pen. In 2000, I saw a show on goal setting that inspired me to write a list of 100 Life Goals. Each year since then, I choose 2 or 3 goals to accomplish each year. As each goal is reached, we make a little ceremony around signing the list. I check it off with a red pen and record the date, and we all have a little cheer. Tonight, I checked off, "Record a solo CD". This is the 21st goal I've accomplished on this list! Awesome!!!

And yes, gentle reader, I did record another CD before this one. And yes, it was a solo CD. But it was different. When I recorded, "It Is Well With My Soul", Gospel music was more of a serious artistic hobby than a life pursuit. I always intended this particular goal to reflect the time when I would record a true "artist" CD, with music that reflected me and all my passions and all the things I want to say with my art and my life. Does this CD say all the things I ever want to say? Not at all. (I can't fit it all on one CD!) But it definitely shows what I want my life to be about - I want people to get excited about Jesus. I want them to feel God's all-encompassing love and grace. And I want people to know that faith is always the best choice.

I know that this CD only opens the doors to more work: bookings, radio promo, product tables, and website revamps. But tonight, I am only celebrating and praising! This is such a great accomplishment for me and my family (yes, my family - there's no way I could have done this alone), and I am full of praise to God for calling and trusting me with His amazing work!

CDs and Carolling

I don't think we've stopped since we arrived - literally!

Friday was supposed to be our day of rest and recovery, but we actually had to spend part of the day preparing for the weekend - We were kicking off the season with three Victorian Christmas Carolling gigs. Saturday started with a quartet at a senior's home. We had no rehearsal time, and we didn't know all the singers in the group, so it was a little scary going in. Upon arriving, we found out we were part of their open house, and it ended up being a mini-concert. Moments of fright, but mostly okay. Saturday night was much more relaxed. Just me and Gerald doing background music during the cocktail hour of a small office party. Very calm, great people, fun gig.

Sunday was one of my favourite gigs all year - Centennial Gardens in Etobicoke. I think this is our third year there, maybe our fourth? We were in the conservatories, singing amongst the tropical plants, fountains, and Christmas flower displays, while families sipped cider, munched cookies, and waited for their turn on the sleigh rides. Just gorgeous, and the people were incredible. We did an entire set of children's requests. Jingle Bells, anyone?

Monday, today, was graphics day. Last night, I proof-read and double-proof-read every word of text to go into the insert and tray card of my CD. I agonized over my final choice of photos, and made sure I had everyone's opinions - twice. This afternoon, Dad and I went out to Canclone, a small, family-run company. They did my first CD, and they've done work for many of my friends, and I just love them. We sat with the graphic designer for almost two hours, fiddling with fonts and making everything look fantastic. I had originally planned to get the whole manufacturing job done here, but it's just not practical. So, I'm getting a short run of 150, so I'll have CDs for our Christmas gigs, and then I'll get the rest done in Nashville. I'll have the master and the graphics done already, so it will all be pretty simple.

Finally, we finished the graphics, signed the appropriate paperwork, and I had to let go of my baby. For months now, I have nurtured and caressed every part of this project, and now, it's time to let it go off to the plant and go through that final step of manufacturing. I feel a little nervous, because I still need to see the discs and touch them and listen to them to make sure it's all correct and good. But mostly, I feel an incredible relief. It's almost done, and that final step is out of my hands. I've made a CD, and by Friday, I'll be able to look at in my hand. I'm starting to feel so calm. The work is almost done. I can't believe we've come this far...

Safe in Canada!

We're safe. We're home. We're all in one piece, including the car.



(I'm not faking the time on this one!)

Gateway of Hope

Happy New Year!

For those who may not celebrate the church year, this is the first Sunday in Advent, which is the start of the church year. Christmas is getting closer all the time!

I've changed the time on this posting so it still fits Dec 2. My nights have been getting later and later as I try to get everything done before heading home this week. I've finally chosen my photos, and tonight, Gerald and I confirmed the song order. I'm continuing to book new gigs for Toronto, as well as working out details of the gigs we have.

The songs go in to be mastered tomorrow. We'll receive a disc on Monday or Tuesday and, hopefully, it will be perfect and we can submit it and have it ready-to-go on Wednesday.

We have gigs booked for this weekend, so we really need to drive Thursday. Oh, and I am working this week too. Crazy!

And in the midst of all that, we decided to do a concert tonight. My friend, Janelle, from the Christian Women of Entertainment group, asked if we would sing at her church for a Christmas concert tonight. Each year, they do a concert to support single mothers and widows within their community. How could we resist that?

Gateway of Hope is a small, friendly, contemporary church in Lebanon, TN. (Pronounced LEH-beh-nin, with a drawl.) The concert was well laid out, with a mix of performers. Each person did one or 2 songs, and they were interspersed with very short verses from the Biblical Christmas stories.

We had chosen my song, "Welcome to Bethlehem" and Gerald's song, "My Heart is the Manger".

Well, literally 5 minutes before we're supposed to go on stage, Gerald turns to me and says, "I can't remember the lyrics to my song. We have to do something else." I just about fell off my chair. Oh, and we weren't in a green room somewhere. We were in the middle of the audience, while Janelle was singing "O, Holy Night".

He said, "I think I can do 'Hallelujah, I Remember'." Um, you mean that song I've never sung? I just looked at him and begged him to remember the lyrics. I don't quite know how I thought that would work, but I was in a panic. Finally, I said, "Let's just get through my song, and then see what happens."

So we get up and do "Welcome to Bethlehem", and it's awesome! I sang and we both played guitar. We sounded great, people clapped along, and the response was wonderful. I looked at Gerald, praying that he'd remembered the song.

Nope. He starts explaining to the audience that he's having a forgetful moment, that he would like to do a different song. Ironically called, "Hallelujah, I Remember". They had a great laugh over that one.

Now, I've heard this song a few times, and when Monika was here, they started working out harmonies, but I haven't actually ever sung the song myself. Talk about trial by fire! He started the song, and I grabbed the mic and started groovin' along. I figured even if no notes came out, at least I'd look involved.

When the chorus came, I started singing, and somehow it all started to come out okay. I improvised a bit throughout the song, and got all the tight chorus harmonies. And we ended together, which is always the most important part.

We got back to our seats and I was shaking! I whispered to Gerald, "That was great, but let's never do it again!".

I'm so glad God is in control so I don't have to be!

The mixes are done!

Back in the studio again today to put the finishing touches on the final 4 songs. We had a long list of possible tweaks, but Aaron was able to make a few quick changes that seemed to lock almost everything in place. I re-sang about 3 lines from 2 songs, and it was done! I can't believe we've come so far, so quickly!

While we were working, Michael Sykes (producer extraordinaire) dropped by, and Aaron asked him to listen to "Moving Up To Gloryland". He really liked it, which was very encouraging.

We'll live with the mixes this weekend, and determine a song order for the CD. Then, Aaron will send the songs out to be mastered on Monday.

This just feels amazing!

Once I choose the song order, my next big job is photos and graphics. Everything is all lined up for manufacturing - I just need to get all the pieces together to submit to them.

I'm just exhausted tonight. I would love to take a day off tomorrow, but I'm working Saturday, and singing in a concert on Sunday. Also, having a little birthday thing tomorrow night, so that will be cool.

Relaxed a little tonight by watching one of the vintage Speer Family videos. They are amazing! So vibrant and joyful. And, I think I may have found a song for my next record...

We're so close!

I can't believe we're so close to having these CDs actually in our hands. I can almost taste it. I know that's a cliche, but it's true. I can feel the shrink wrap between my fingers, and I can feel my nails struggling to rip it open. In just a few weeks, that will be reality!

Today was our final day in the studio. (Actually, we still have some more work to do, so we'll be back in again tomorrow.) We've spent the last few days listening to the mixes. We listened on my laptop, Gerald's laptop, with headphones, without headphones, my stereo, and the rental car. (Don't know if I've mentioned the rental car, but that's a whole other story!) I also sent it around to our "trusted few" for listening. The parents provided our "consumer research" ears. Monika and Brent were our studio references. And Allison and Brian provided studio-plus-genre experience. Overall, the response was good, but there were things that needed tweaking.

I was a little stressed going in today. We're hitting that "past the point of no return" moment. Soon, the CDs will be made, and I won't be able to make any further changes. The perfectionist side of me is freaking out a little. But I'm coming to terms with the fact that this will not be a "perfect" album, nor should it be. Who makes a perfect album? Everyone has told me that next year, I'll listen to it, and wish I done some things differently. It happens to all CDs and all musicians. But that's where learning and growing as an artist comes into play. If I didn't want to get better with each project, then I'd really be in trouble.

So I'm coming to terms with the fact that this record will be many things, and the last thing it needs to be is perfect. Actually, I think we're going to look back on this and realized that we've done a number of things right. One thing I was very clear about from the start was the idea of a "signature sound" - even with a range of songs, I wanted a cohesive sound and identity to the record, and I think we've achieved that. I also wanted to create new music, and we've definitely done that. We have seven new songs, and the three classics have very unique arrangements. I wrote a list of Purposes early on in the process, reasons why I wanted to make the CD. I've been checking in with that list on a regular basis, and I think we've been sticking pretty close to it. I also wrote a list of Goals, and those are definitely happening, bit by bit.

So, today was all about tweaking and fixing. We did a little bit of re-recording, but not much, just a word here and there. I got a disc when we left, and listened to it tonight, and here's the cool part - Tonight, I enjoyed my music. I wasn't just listening for my vocal glitches or funny sounds to tweak. I started listening for that, and after a while it dawned on me, "I'm enjoying this music!" It was such an exciting moment!

Tuesday, Brian gave me a disc of my photos, so tonight I imported them into my computer. ("onto" my computer? I'm so techno-dumb!) Anyways, as each photo imported, it would flick on the screen for just a second. The effect was a like a film. I wanted to see how the style of the music fit with the style of the photos, so I turned on "Real Big Fan". It was awesome! The effect was like a music video, with my photos flashing and the music playing like a soundtrack.

The big dilemma now is which photo location to use. The Ryman reflects the elegance of the music, yet the mural near Monell's expresses the joyful side of the record.

Still so much work to do, but it's all just feeling so good!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today was an amazing birthday!

We woke up to beautiful weather, which meant we could actually have our photo shoot! We decided to meet at 1:00 to get the best light, which meant Gerald and I could have a nice, slow morning. It also meant that I could be home to get all my birthday calls from Canada. I've been horribly homesick since last night, but at least we'll be home next week, so that's not too bad.

We loaded up the car with my pile of outfits, and met Brian and Allison Speer at their house. Brian is a great photographer, and they're both such cool people - I knew we were in for a great day. We raided Allison's closet for a few more items, and took off downtown.

I was excited because we were all on the same page with regards to styling the photos: fun, elegant clothing with cool architectural backdrops. Our first location was the back alley of the Ryman. We love this spot and all it's history, so it was wonderful to spend time back there. For the uninitiated, when the Ryman was first built, it didn't have enough dressing rooms, so the performers would spend time in the back alley, just hanging out, or running back and forth from Tootsies, a now legendary bar. When you walk back there, you can feel the spirits of Patsy and Johnny and Elvis and all the rest. It's just awesome!

For those shots, I wore the Edwardian opera coat I got for Christmas years ago (thanks, Mom and Dad!), with jeans and boots. The contrast of the antique velvet coat with the rough brick of the alley was really cool. Brian is a relaxed photographer, which made me feel very open. And Allison stayed close at hand as stylist, which made me feel very relaxed. (Didn't have to worry about rumpled clothes or my hair doing weird things.) It was also very cool to see Brian and Allison work as a team. They think the same thoughts and anticipate the other's next move. So inspiring to see!

Our second location was a painted mural near Monell's. It's on the side of a galvanized metal wall, and it's a city scape done in bright blocks of colour. I actually commented on it the last time we visited Monell's, as I loved the colours and the energy. We tried a bunch of different outfits against this backdrop, complimenting and contrasting the bright colours of the wall. Some of my favourite set-ups were with a long white vintage coat, and a bright pink sweater.

The whole day was just so much fun. I felt gorgeous and open and creative - all great things to feel on a photo shoot. We all joked and laughed and had a great time together. After getting over 500 shots, we headed back to the house to take a look at things. The photos are gorgeous! And I'm not saying that just cause it's me. I know I can take a bad photo. But these are seriously gorgeous! The hard part will be choosing only a few for the album.

Gerald and I headed home around suppertime for a little rest with the puppies. After a little while, we headed out for my birthday dinner - sushi! We had the 2-foot-long "Love Boat for 2". It had over 60 pieces of sushi. Outrageously good!

What a fantastic birthday! Getting older rocks!

The Big Picture

Well, no photo shoot yet again. More rain, more thunder, so no shooting outside. We've postponed the shoot til tomorrow, which is supposed to be beautiful and sunny.

"But wait - Tomorrow's your birthday!"

Yay! Yes, it is my birthday! Thank you for remembering!

Tomorrow is my big day, and I'm so excited about it. Sunday was the official start of Birthday Week, and we'll keep celebrating right through til Saturday. I had planned to keep tomorrow totally open, but the CD must come first right now. And really, how awesome is it to be spending my birthday getting photos taken, by Allison and Brian Speer, for my new CD?

It really got me thinking about this past year.

Last year this time: We had an empty apartment. We had to pay a-dollar-a-minute on my Canadian cell phone for my birthday call from home. We barely knew anyone in Nashville. We had just sold our house in Toronto. We had no jobs, no visas, and no back-up plan.

In the past year: We received visas. We moved and settled into a different country. We moved Mom and Dad into their new city. We adopted a new furry baby. We wrote a slew of new songs. We tried fried turkey, fried biscuits and fried Snickers bars. We attended NSAI Song Camps and NQC. We performed at the Bluebird, Indiefest, and onstage with the Speers. We bought furniture. We received interested from publishers. We made a whole new community of friends.

And in this moment in time: I'm working for Ben Speer. Gerald is co-writing with pro-writers on "The Row". I'm making a CD that is surpassing my own expectations. I have a second possible job lined up for next year. People I knew for years through TV and arena concerts are now friends and colleagues. Gerald and I are making a business plan for the next stage of my ministry, as well as making plans for his first CD. We are also in the early stages of writing two books.

Without a doubt, this has been the most dynamic and exciting year of my life. Anthony Robbins says that people overestimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they can do in three. When I look back at the last 12 months, I am just amazed at all that has happened. I couldn't always see it in the moment, but I guess that's why days like this are so important - So we can step back and see the big picture, and just be grateful for it all!

So Happy Birthday to everyone, whether today's your day or not!

The listening begins...

I got seven of the ten mixes yesterday. What that means is this: The recording part is done, and the next step is for Aaron to mix all the pieces together - choose the best takes, tune the 'off' notes, put the correct volumes on each instrument - to make the best possible version of each song.

I set myself up in the living room with no noise, a scented candle, and a cup of hot chocolate this afternoon. I wanted to be very calm and relaxed for my first listen.

Overall, I think it all sounds great, but I also know I'm having trouble being objective. The tracks sound awesome. The new clarinet part is wonderful. And the background vocals are just perfect.

The trouble is listening to myself! I listen to it, and I think it probably sounds good, but all I keep thinking is, "I can't tell if it sounds good or bad - It just sounds like me!".

My plan is to get my 'trusted few' to take a listen and get their thoughts. Meanwhile, I'm going to listen to it on as many different sound systems as possible. It's one thing for it to sound great on a two-thousand-dollar set of speakers, but most people listen to music in their car, on their laptops, or on the CD player they got for Christmas five years ago. I want it to sound good all time!

HAPPY (American) THANKSGIVING!

I forgot to write yesterday that we had to postpone the photo shoot. We want to shoot outside, and well, that's not so easy in the middle of a thunder storm. Actually, we've been having some real Newfoundland weather lately. Warmer that Newfoundland, but lots of RDF - rain, drizzle, and last week, we actually had fog. Not mist. Fog. I couldn't see the houses across the street. Where I'm from, that's called fog.

We're getting ready to go over to our friend's house for our first ever American Thanksgiving celebration. Last year, we were on our own, and we went to the only restaurant that was open - Shoney's. I feel we'll be in much better hands this year. We're going to have fried turkey, so that should be ... interesting.

I know I did this on our Thanksgiving, but in the spirit of the day, here are the things for which I'm thankful:

- For Gerald, my partner in all things good and true.
- For Mom and Dad, who love and support me unconditionally.
- For Sandy and Gerry, who took me into their family without reserve.
- For all our friends in Toronto, and our new friends here in Nashville.
- For the CD, and all the dreams that are coming true right now.
- For Sebastian and Dante, and their new friendship.
- For the chance to live here in Nashville and be a part of the musical community.
- For family across the country.
- For our home, our car, and having all our basic needs fulfilled.
- For my new job with Ben, and my second new job that's right around the corner.
- For the courage to risk it all to fight for the dream.
- And finally, for a God who knows me completely, and still loves me completely.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Saxophone Session

I went to the studio this afternoon to watch saxophonist, Mark Douthit, add some special sounds to "Real Big Fan". This was one of those days that I wish Mom and Dad lived closer to us. Sax is Dad's favourite instrument, and I know he would have loved being at the session.

Again, Mark worked without a chart, and just improvised his way through 3 full passes of the song. He would occasionally redo a lick, but generally, things were just one-offs. He did 2 passes using a tenor sax, and one using the soprano. Aaron had two mics in the booth - one directly in front of the instrument, and one in the room to catch the natural reverb, kind of like recording the ambiance on set. Everything sounded warm and present.

I think Aaron is leaning towards the tenor sound for the final mix. It just suits the overall feel of the song a little better.

Johnny Minick was at the studio when I got there. He and Aaron had just recorded Mills-Brothers-style harmonies for "Moving Up to Gloryland". They sound great, and with the clarinet in there too - it's just awesome! Johnny told me how much he's enjoying my project, and, given his history in the industry, I'm taking that as high praise.

So, this is the last official session! All the big stuff is recorded! It's amazing that it's come together so quickly. We'll have one more chance to do a few clean-ups on one or two vocal sections. After that, it's mixing, mastering, graphics, and manufacturing. Aaron will do the mixing, and I'm going to go with a local mastering house. (Mastering is that final touch, like a good coat of varnish. It makes sure that all the songs are the same volume, the spacing between the songs is correct when you're playing the CD as a whole, it puts the songs in the proper order, etc.)

I also think I'm going to get the graphics and manufacturing done in Canada. It will probably cost the same, and it will work much better with our travel schedule.

My photo shoot is Wednesday, so that's my next focus. Tomorrow will be the day I pull out all my clothes, decide I truly have nothing to wear, and take a panicked trip down to Ross and Target!

Gerald played the Bluebird!

Gerald has recently started co-writing with Tom Manning. Tom is best known around town for his Tuesday night songwriting workshop, and at one point, he also had a publishing deal with the late, great Buddy Killen.

Well, tonight, Tom was booked to play in the early show at the Bluebird. When Gerald and I said we'd love to come and see the show, Tom told Gerald to come prepared to sing a song!

This is a common thing to see in Nashville. Someone in the round will give up one of their songs to let a promising songwriter friend come up and do a song. It's just one more sign of the friendly and generous atmosphere here in this city.

Gerald has written 70, yes seven-zero, new songs since moving here, so choosing just one is always an issue. He settled on a really new one, "Whiskey and Dragonflies". I love this song - it's very cool with a Tom Waites feel.

The whole round was fantastic. Mersaidee Soules, the host, and Lisa McCallum both performed in the round before us at Tin Pan North in Toronto, so that was very cool. Both women are great performers with killer voices. Trent Jeffcoat rounded out the group with a great voice and fun songs. He had a gorgeous ballad called "I Let Her" which is just waiting to get cut. Tom's songs were hilarious, my favourite being "Prenup", and yes, it's actually about getting a prenup.

Gerald stepped in about three-quarters through the show, and he just nailed it! Yes, I'm biased, but I'm also a performer, and he nailed it! His guitar playing was spot on, his vocals were strong and flexible, and his entire performance was committed and passionate. Even his stage presence entering and exiting the round was great. The audience gave him a terrific response, and several people stopped him after the show to pass on their compliments.

I was just so proud of him! My only role for the night was to look pretty and support my husband, and I couldn't have been happier with it! It's been so amazing to see him creating all these fantastic songs. But then to see him play them in public, and get such a strong response, well, that's just awesome!

It's just so satisfying to get these moments of confirmation - We're in the right place. We're doing the right stuff. We're on the right path.

More BGVs, and a Clarinet

Today was long and incredible.

I was up early to take Dante to the vet (it's his 'special day'), and I worked for Ben in the morning.

Early afternoon, I headed over to the studio to watch 2 sessions. The first to arrive was clarinet player extraordinaire, John Jorgenson. (John is also a great, Django-style guitar player. He's so well known for it, that he's endorsed several guitars through ad campaigns, and there's actually a guitar model named for him!) The moment John heard what we were doing musically, he locked into the style. He did everything by ear - no charts or lead sheets. Aaron recorded the clarinet on an RCA "ribbon" mic, which was very old and cool looking. It traps the sound using a vibrating ribbon inside the mic, and apparently, this is the mic of choice for this style of playing.

For "Moving Up To Gloryland", he listened and played along with the little fills that are replacing the traditional vocal bass leads. On "Do You Wanna Be My Neighbour", he just played all out in a Dixieland, big band style. If we were playing live, that's what all the musicians would do, and this way Aaron can have lots of choice and just piece together the parts that work perfectly. As soon as I heard what John was doing, I knew I wanted him on "Wedding at Cana", and luckily, Aaron felt the same way. It sounded so good! It's amazing how that one instrument just lifted all the tracks to a new level. John was a very cool guy too, so the whole session was very fun and inspiring.

While waiting for the next session, I listened to a few near-ready mixes - "Shepherd of the Hills", "Sin Ain't Nothing", and "Real Big Fan". Things are sounding great! I know it sounds weird when I say this, but it's sounding like a real CD! You know, not just something you'd record in your basement, but a real CD like you'd buy in a store. It's so exciting to hear it all coming together!

Soon, our BGV singers arrived: Reggie and Ladye Love Smith. I first knew them through the Gaither stuff, and then through the school. And here's the cool (some might say 'geeky') part: Last year, before moving to Nashville, I wrote out my dream team of who I wanted for my CD. Now some people, like Aaron and Johnny, didn't make the list because, well, I just didn't know enough about their talents. But guess who I had on my list for background singers? Reggie and Ladye Love! How cool is that??? I just love their work, and I really felt they'd be a good fit for my voice and this music, and it actually came true today!

They arrived in a whirlwind, and once the music started, all that energy went into the song. And at work, they are truly amazing. As soon as each song started, they would just start humming notes, and choosing who would sing what line. They speak in that "we're-married-and-we-work-together-all-the-time" shorthand. It was just impressive to see how quickly the parts were formed. Even on the the first pass, things would be almost perfect. And they spoke in numbers too - "You sing the 5 and I'll sing the 9." Crazy!

We started with "At The Cross". Aaron joined them on baritone, so we had a good choral fullness on the harmonies. Next we moved on to "Neighbour". It became really clear that this would sound good with just Ladye singing 2 parts, and it developed into an Andrew Sisters type thing. Some of the intervals were really tricky, and this probably took the longest of all the songs. ("longest" being relative, as they work so quickly!) It was very cool to see Reggie and Aaron working with Ladye to work out the parts and get the phrasing perfect. And they loved the song, which thrilled me to no end! Ladye asked to take the lyric home, she loved it so much! Smiling, happy me!

We discussed adding stuff to "Faith Will Take You Farther" and "In Less Than a Moment", but decided, for various reasons, that they were better just as they are. In listening to "Wedding at Cana" earlier, we decided the harmonies needed a little beefing up. Monika did great work on it, but as the mix has developed, her beautiful breathy vocals were floating too far above the rest of the track. So we quickly laid down more parts for it, and it all sounded great in the end.

Next week, Aaron is bringing in a saxophone player for another project, and he'll get him to add a little something to "Real Big Fan". On Wednesday, I'm having my photos done. I'm also starting to collect my lyrics, credits, thank you's, etc, for the liner notes.

Oh, and I think I've decided on a title for the CD: "Real Big Fan". It pretty much says all I want to say!

BCC Songwriter Night

Two days ago, I got an email from Laurie Kerr at BCC Church. They'd had a cancellation in their line-up for their songwriter night, and they offered me a one song guest spot. The plan was to fill the empty chair with several writers doing one song each. They requested an uptempo, so I grabbed Gerald to accompany me on "Point of the Song".

The show was in the "Onion", the fancy-shaped portable in the back of the property. This is the same place where Gerald and I played for their youth worship, almost one year ago! (Wow, how did that happen?) The stage was set with candles for a nice intimate feel.

The crowd was small but appreciative. I did my song near the end, and they still had space, so Gerald did a new song, "Hallelujah, I Remember". Both songs went really well, and got a good response from the crowd. This was the first time Gerald performed Hallelujah, and I can't wait to add harmonies to it.

We realized tonight that it's been ages since we've played out like that, what with the CD and all. It felt good, even though doing one song is more like a warm up than a performance. I think Gerald wants to get back to doing songwriter nights on a regular basis. He is just overflowing with new songs, and they really need to be played and heard.

I'm really working hard right now to coordinate the CD and Christmas. We're booking lots of stuff in Toronto - church services, Victorian carolling, and possibly a full concert. That in and of itself is a lot of work, but on top of that, I'm also trying to organize the final steps of the CD - mastering, graphics, and manufacturing. The BGVs and mixing are all happening in the next few days, so we'll be ready for that final stuff soon.

The tricky part in all this is to schedule things so that we have CDs to bring home with us at Christmas. No easy feat! I'm like the guy on Ed Sullivan with all the plates.

Trying to take time to rest and be still, and celebrate family moments. This month, Gerald and I are celebrating 5 years since we started dating. Can't believe it's been that long! And I can't believe we've done so much together in that time! Feeling so blessed to have him in my life.

Also taking time to rest because I have a photo shoot coming up, and no one wants to buy the CD of a tired looking Gospel singer!

Vocals - Day 3

I woke up this morning, grateful for a good night's sleep, excited about the day, but also nervous. Today was our "big sing" day.

As part of my relaxing morning, I took the puppies for a walk. I said it was to help relax them before a day alone (a friend came to visit them late afternoon), but in actuality, the walk was truly relaxing for me. The weather was very Newfoundland - grey sky, a little haze, a hint of rain - but the air was warm and humid instead of cool and damp.

I left these 3 particular songs til today for very specific reasons. They are, in my opinion, the hardest ones to sing, so I wanted as much time as possible to work on them. I also wanted to be very comfortable in the studio and with Aaron when it came time to sing them. And, as you'll see, I'm glad I waited.

I wanted to start with Daryl Williams' new song, "In Less Than A Moment". Daryl gave me a demo CD with a dozen songs. They were all great, but when I heard this one, I started to cry. When we lost Steve, I was left with so many unanswered questions. Death at any time can be confusing, but I think a suicide is the worst. There's no one to explain what happened or why it happened, and I just couldn't wrap my head around why God would have allowed this to happen. I finally came to the conclusion that I will never get the answers in this lifetime, but, when I get to Heaven, I will get all the answers I need. Well, that's exactly what Daryl's song is about. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I knew I had to sing it. Partly for my own needs, but mostly because I know there are people out there who will need to hear this song.

So, as you can imagine, singing it has been an emotional experience. Vocally, it's a style that's very familiar to me, so that hasn't been difficult. But I wanted to rehearse it so that I could sing it with strength and confidence. I scheduled it early in the day so that I'd be open and relaxed to get all the low notes in the verses.

Well, we started the first take, and by the time we hit the final chorus, I started to cry. And not the pretty Demi-Moore-in-Ghost tears either. Those awful tears that take away your stomach. I was so embarassed. We did another take, and I couldn't even make it to the end. It's been so long since I've gone to that emotional place. I was happy to be singing about this great message of hope, but the emotion was just overwhelming. Remembering my grief felt awful, and imagining the joy of finally seeing Jesus was more than I could bear. Gerald came into the studio and hugged me and talked me through. I was so embarassed to be, what I deemed, unprofessional. But I was also reminded that this is part of taking great artistic risks. Sometimes, it brings you to places that are raw and scary. Aaron was also incredibly encouraging, reminding me that pitches can be fixed, and emotion is the most important thing in a performance. We did one more pass, and then punched in a few chosen lines.

At that point, I was just exhausted. We didn't listen to any of what I'd just done. Gerald and I just took off for a very long lunch, and Aaron worked on the song without us.

The break was good. Gerald and I laughed a lot, and we came back in great moods to take on the next big sing: Gerald's song, "Real Big Fan". Gerald often performs this live as a blues-rock-gospel number, and I just love it! But it's not in my style, so we've given in a big band type of feel. The lyric is incredible, so that was paramount in my performance. But I also wanted to give it a real jazz feel in tone and phrasing. Gerald was a great coach for this. We had practiced it a lot, and this gave us a full palette for when we started recording. It was completely fun to sing! I think it turned out well, and I also can't wait to do it live.

We ended with Lee Roy Abernathy's "Sin Ain't Nothin' But The Blues". I looove this song. I first heard it in Jack Clark's theory class, and as soon as we sang it, and thought, "I need to record this!". I put a lot of work into this one. I studied and practiced my phrasing, and worked on the lyric. I even spent all day Sunday listening to John Lee Hooker as homework and inspiration. Well, it paid off! Three takes and we were done! I had a lot of fun with it, and I think it's going to sound awesome.

All 10 vocals done! We'll still have a clean-up day, but the bulk of my singing work is done. Finally, I can start listening to other songs! (I've been avoiding other music almost entirely! I've only listened to my tracks, or a few selected pieces of 'homework'.) Next week, the rest of the BGVs will get done. Aaron and his Dad, Johnny, are going to do the harmonies on "Moving Up To Gloryland". They haven't done them all yet, but they did lay down a sample for me. It sounds incredible! When I heard it, I thought, "Wow, it's all sounding like a real CD!". Yes, I'm being geeky, but it's all so exciting.

Dreams are coming true every day!

A Bounty of Baptisms...

My morning began with a far-too-early rise at 6:00AM. Today was a full day of singing, and it all started with an 8am call at Church of the Redeemer. Jenna (our music director) was away this weekend, so we were lead by Dave Durham, who was also a guest the first time I sang there. Jenna had sent us a songlist, and I knew the hymns, but I was really unsure about the praise choruses. So, that meant sightreading a bunch of songs in a short, early-morning rehearsal. On top of that, Dave turned to me and asked if I could do alto harmony on everything. Alto! I haven't read an alto part in years, much less finding parts by ear. So, I already knew I'd be outside my comfort zone, but that was that, so off we went.

The team actually ended up working really well together. We had keyboard, guitar, bass, and 3 part vocal harmony. I had a solo on one of the Communion songs. The first service was, well, good but a little loose (I think that's typical of most churches!). But by the second service, we were tight and some stuff just felt great. We got positive feedback from the congregation, and that's always a blessing.

Here's where the day starts getting interesting: At the second service this morning, we had a baptism. It was a little baby girl, who grabbed the Pastor Thomas's beard while she was getting the water poured on her head. We all answered the questions about "Do you promise to support this child in her life in Christ?". (paraphrasing, but you get the point) All very powerful and good.

This afternoon, I attended an adult baptism in Franklin. A friend of mine, who had been baptized as a child, had now decided to rededicate herself to Jesus through a full immersion baptism. About 30 people gathered very casually in this huge Baptist church. The worship area was a huge room with chairs and a stage, and it smelled oddly like a school gym. That's when I noticed that the hardwood floor was actually a basketball court. I have no idea what this means, but this might just be the church for Gerald!

The baptistry was 2 stories up and opened up into the main room like a balcony. The side facing us was clear plexiglass so we could all see the actual immersion.

I had volunteered to sing. There was no sound system to use, so I brought a guitar, and I sang my arrangement of "Jesus Loves Me". It went very well, and everyone seemed very pleased.

Side note: I got compliments from several people, which was lovely, but the coolest moment was when a gentlemen, who claimed to be an "old Southern Gospel singer", came up to me. It was Buck Rambo! Of the Rambos! Crazy!

There were 3 people lined up for baptism - 2 adults and one child. As each person came forward, they spoke a few words about what brought them to this decision. Pastor Stan was very casual, but also very sincere in performing the actual baptism. As each person took the plunge, we actually saw them go under the water, and then that priceless expression as they emerged, changed forever.

So, tonight, I'm thinking about baptisms - adult versus baby, immersion versus sprinkling. I've decided that I love them all, and for lots of different reasons.

I love baby baptisms, because it brings together a group of people to raise and support a child in their life in Christ. The parents choose God-parents - trusted friends who will be a spiritual and loving team for their child. The baptism is done in front of the entire church community, and we are all asked to pledge our support in raising this child in Christ. In some services, we are also given the opportunity to renew our baptismal vows aloud. In the end, we welcome the child into our community of faith. It's always powerful, and always full of joy.

And I've also realized that I love adult baptisms. I love hearing the stories of why people are making this decision. Perhaps they have just come to Jesus. Perhaps they were raised in the church, but they've strayed, and this baptism is a sign of their recommitment to Christ. Either way, this is a life-changing decision that, like a marriage, they have chosen to confirm in a public and holy way. I love seeing the full event of an entire body going under the water, and seeing them come up again, cleansed and renewed. And again, it is powerful, and full of joy.

And I also love that we serve a God who will take our commitment at any point in our lives! Never too early. Never too late.

Vocals - Day 2

My nerves were much less active today than my first vocal day, but still, I started the day with excitement and just a few jitters.

I've been trying to keep these mornings open and relaxed. Lots of time for a slow warm-up, a good breakfast, and lots of breathing and stretching. I also try to get in some good quality time with the puppies - it makes me laugh, which is a great warm-up, and it reminds me that love and simplicity are essential in life and music.

The goal today was to record the vocals for 3 songs. All three of today's selections have a similar vibe, which meant I wouldn't have to completely change gears between each song.

We started with the Cathedral's classic, "Movin' Up To Gloryland". I love this song, and I've been singing it to myself for months now. When I was trying to focus the sound and feel of this project, this was the first song that clicked for me. When I started to sing it to myself, it fell into a natural groove that just screamed, "Mix it all with jazz!". I know this will be a risky choice in some ways - It's a very traditional quartet song, and for some audience members, that means it should only ever be sung by a quartet. But I love it, and I believe the test of a great song is it can bend without breaking.

This part of the recording actually went by pretty quickly. We did 3 full takes, and then came back and fixed up a few little things. We then did a 4th take, just trying some crazier stuff for fun - different phrasings, playing with grace notes, etc. Aaron cut a rough vocal on the spot, and it sounded great.

We moved on to a new Joel Lindsey and Wayne Haun song called, "Faith Will Take You Farther". This is a very fun song, but to be honest, it was one of the hardest songs for me to lock into. I think I was treating it too seriously, and just not having enough fun with it. In the end, I found inspiration in the character actresses of the 1930's musicals, and it all fell into place. My rehearsal process will remain private, but let's just say I had a visit from Lina Lamont...

We took several passes at this one. I think what we got is really good, but we may go back and revisit a few lines on another day.

Finally, we ended with "Do You Wanna Be My Neighbour in Gloryland" - our unofficial Song of the Week! We have the single take from Monday, but we still did 3 full takes and a few single lines. It's such a fun song to sing! I think this one turned out really well, and I can't wait for people to hear it.

We now have 7 songs done, 3 to go. The next vocal day is Tuesday, and that will be the 3 biggest songs vocally. After that, it's BGVs and mixing. While all that's happening, I need to take care of photos and graphics. Then, it's mastering, manufacturing, and finally, carting 1000 CDs into my living room! It all seems so simple when I put it that way...