anything can be an instrument
we visited my wife’s aunt and uncle in Maryland last week and had an amazing time! wanted to share this video with you all. amazing how something like a hand saw can become a musical instrument.
even if you’re not a fan of Celine Dion, you’ll be a fan of this unique talent and sound! enjoy
the beauty of collaborative art (a new song on video)
i am part of a songwriter’s group that meets monthly and this past Monday night, we attempted our first ever collaborative song-writing session. These things are not easy to do, especially when more than 2 heads are involved (we had 6).
this was a lesson in how creative art can be a shared experience. we normally think of performance art as a medium that involves other people and creative ventures typically thrive in solo atmospheres (at least for me). however, when we put ourselves into a group of other creatives we trust (which is something we’ve been building by meeting together for the past few months), some great things can happen.
we wrote a song in about an hour and a half.
some key learnings for me on how this happened:
- everyone contributed something – whether it was a beat, a key word, a melody, or riff, everyone had the right and permission to speak into the song
- not everyone was trying to be the next Justin Timberlake in this short session – meaning, we naturally yielded to each other and some of us were more quiet in the process than others, which was necessary. we knew and embraced our roles for this moment. too many dominant voices and this project would have blown up like the Titanic– oh wait, the Titanic sank…
- we kept building on spontaneous ideas. we weren’t waiting for something fantastic to come along and slap us in the face. if someone had a guitar riff, we had them play it out and loop it until a melody and eventually lyrics were formed.
- we had fun. we weren’t trying to meet a deadline, we weren’t trying to write a hit. this was merely a project for the moment.
- we prayed. seriously, we asked for inspiration and specifically asked for a song and the prayer was answered.
so without further ado, here’s the video. we filmed it right after we wrote the tune. none of us in this video are “experts” and we’re all actually playing instruments we normally wouldn’t play. it was our attempt at being third culture. this was our tribute to Africa and the song ended up being about contentment and beauty! please don’t take offense to our sounds at the end of the song… we’re really hoping that actual African words can be uttered in that spot!
Behold, “All is Well” by Ben Chang, Alvin King, Jeff Fulkerson, Theo Tam, Jen Liu and DK (yours truly)
the lyrics:
Beauty and light surrounds me now
The clouds rolled through
I throw my head to the breeze
And my face welcomes the cold, crisp air
All is well within my soul, soul
All is well within my soul, soul
This is life I have now, never felt it before
Awaken my senses to depths of a love
In this moment the worries can pass with the storm
I’m immersed in the rays of hope
And this mist of life
artist spotlight – Matt Shockley
This is my buddy Matt. He currently plays electric guitar for our band here at Newsong Irvine but he is a full-time singer/songwriter and a dang good one at that! You gotta watch his live shows, especially to get a taste of his chops on the guitar and hear some of his unique melodies and sounds! I had the privilege of writing out a new bio for his website recently and thought I’d let you all read it and then encourage you to visit www.mattshockley.com to purchase his music and show your support for another quality artist! This was my first stab at doing an artist’s bio but I had a lot of fun doing it. Hope you like it and I hope it motivates you to give Matt Shockley some love! Check it out:
artist spotlight – vaughn thompson jr., third culture worship
hey dudes. so check it out! I’m part of this crazy Third Culture Movement and one of my buddies, Vaughn Thompson Jr. recently released his first ever EP. I must say, I was ready to love this album no matter what, just because he is my friend and friends need to love each other’s albums! BUT, I’m so glad that I can pimp this thing with full integrity and say, this album is the bomb!
Vaughn is at the forefront of trying to define what third culture music/worship is — not just because he happens to be biracial (Korean and German) or because he sings and talks like a black dude — but because he feels that it reflects Kingdom and that’s what he’s about!
Once again, whether you’re a Christian or atheist, my blog is all about spitting truth and I hope you’ll join me in purchasing a good piece of work. 5 bucks, 5 tracks, what a deal! Get it here: www.vaughnthompsonjr.com
Check out this quick interview I did with Vaughn as he talks a little bit about his EP.
You can also take a listen on his stuff through myspace: http://www.myspace.com/vaughnthompsonjr
these are a few of my unfavorite things – hating on coldplay
Every once in a while, I come across a talented and somewhat accomplished musician who proudly proclaims that they hate Coldplay; some of these people are actually my friends. There’s even a scene in the “40 Year Old Virgin” when they imply that anyone who listens to Coldplay is “gay” (their words, not mine!).
song to jump off a cliff to – “Hoppipolla” by Sigur Ros
You probably heard this song on the Slum Dog Millionaire commercials and felt a sudden desire to watch/buy this film (crank your speakers or headphones up and listen):
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