Of Elmo and old poetry

Happy Labor Day weekend!  Speaking of labor, frankly, this has been a challenging year.  Exciting, but challenging.  A music blog is the tip of the iceberg, as far as what ONE Atlanta has in the works. There are a few of us working hard behind the scenes to get some exciting things off the ground, all having to do with the amazing community of artists to which we’re connected in this town.  We know that this our time to take these specific steps toward building up so many of the people in this town that we believe in.  I know that’s vague, but as I’ve said before, please stay tuned to ONE Atlanta.

 

Anyway, of all things, it was an Elmo puppet that got me thinking about an old poem of mine that applies here.  My youngest child was playing with it this weekend, and I recalled that I bought it for my oldest some ten years ago, while shopping at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.   As I recall, that night my band Smalltown Poets parked our bus in an empty lot somewhere near the bay.  Missing my wife and then-infant son back in Atlanta, I penned this poem about the struggle of living up to the vision God can place on one’s heart and the difficult tasks that go along with it.  (There’s a link to explain one particularly obscure reference in the poem.) 

 

The bottom line is that the right path is often the hard path.  But there is strength for the journey if God has called us to it.  Maybe some of you can relate to this poem.  Writing it was certainly therapeutic.

 

What message do I bring so well

That He would dare illumine me

And set me on these distant hills

To make my pitch imperfectly?

Were I a man of bereft of muse

Directed to a simpler field

I’d grip the pulpit or the plow

And glory in such grace revealed

But with my charge and with its price

I’ll make my peace but day to day

And put each method to the test

To know full well that I obey

I would for such a call rejoice

Where lovers’ lips are ever kissed

Where sons awake to fathers’ hands

And little joys are never missed

But with my charge and with its price

I’ll make my peace but day to day

And put each method to the test

To know full well that I obey

You’ll find me where the waters part

Still leaving breadcrumb trails about

Or by the springs at Meribah

Debating yet to drink or doubt

But with my charge and with its price

I’ll make my peace but day to day

And put each method to the test

To know full well that I obey

Until I’m shown a better way

 

 

 

Just the FAQs.

 

Our friends at theAMP have their first AMPSaturday event coming up in less than a month. It happens Sep. 20th at Midtown Church in Atlanta GA. Below is an installment of Frequently AMPed Questions with theAMP’s Ryan Fitzgerald and our pal Casey Darnell. (The previous installments are easy to find on YouTube.) What is theAMP and what is an AMPSaturday? Well, it’s all about the next generation of worship leaders. Click here to find out more and stay tuned to their site for more installments of FAQ.

 

 

Just for fun…In the above clip, Casey Darnell makes a vague reference to a very old commercial. Anyone catch that? Well, here it is.

 

 

 

 

Buckhead Music Project

I was on staff as music director for Buckhead Church from June 2002 until this past Christmas. I left my job there to start ONE Atlanta Music (with my partners, of course). You’re thinking, “He left a full time job to start a blog?” Believe me, there are much bigger things being developed behind the scenes, which will be announced before much longer. We’ve also added an Artist Agency to our arsenal recently, and hope to add more artists to that side of things.

 

I have to hand it to Buckhead Church. This new thing they’re doing, the Buckhead Music Project, looks pretty cool. It’s basically a concert series using talented artists who are believers, but it happens in Buckhead clubs instead of churches. It features many of the artists you can read about on this site. It’s very similar to what 12Stone Church has been doing with their amazing bevy of singers/songwriters (called Playchase Music) at venue’s like Eddie’s Attic and Picasso.

 

The Buckhead Music Project will include concerts by: Meghan Coffee, Jamie Portee, James David Carter, Chrystina Lloree Fincher, Clarissa Rivera Gibson, Eddie Kirkland, Erica Ambrose, and Moxie Davis Worship (next Thursday 9/4 at The Vinyl with me on keys; oh yeah!) A complete listing of artists and details can be found here.  Check out this video as well.

 

History

Today was historic for two reasons, the first of which is pretty amazing and the second of which is not, but it makes me happy.

The United Methodist Church traces its main root to the Methodist Movement of John Wesley in England in the 1700s. But never in their 300 year history, until today (okay, maybe last night) had leaders from the 100 largest United Methodist Churches in the world gathered together. Today I was at their Leading Edge Conference at Chateau Elan near Atlanta. President Bush’s pastor was there. I’m not getting political. Just stating a fact. I was there to plays keys for my friend Vaughn Stafford.

Second, today was historic because I rehearsed with Moxie Davis Worship this evening, for the first time; I’m playing keys with them at The Vinyl next week as part of the Buckhead Music Project. Historic? I oversold that one a bit. Btw, click here to book them at your church or event.

I’d also like to mention that my road manager for the day was my 11-year-old son, Noah. Not only did he run the computer that generated graphics and lyrics for parts of the Methodist event today, he helped me load gear in and out at both the conference and the Moxie rehearsal. He even made sure I was in the right place at the right time as I played for different conference sessions throughout the day. He was with me from 7am to 11pm today. Great job, pal. I had a blast with you today. Please let me “roadie” for you and ride on your tour bus when your band hits it big!

Tats for Tots 2 details to be announced soon.

Tats for Tots was a success, so we’re doing it again. This time it’s to raise money for the adoption of an Ethiopian orphan by our friends Chad and Candy Pearson, of P is for Panda (a new record label and merchandise company). For an idea of what to expect, click here to see video from the first Tats for Tots.

The talented Jamie Pierce will be our tattoo artist once again. He’s awesome. We already have a lot of folks planning to get inked, so please drop us a comment here or click CONTACT to let us know if you’re interested.

Casey’s blog

 

Casey Darnell is a good friend. And he’s a good songwriter. This blog he’s started should be good, because he usually has really good thoughts on whatever it is he’s talking about. The conversation is always interesting with him.

 

Some random items from our friendship: He’s in my Community Group. We carpooled together to a rehearsal today. He beat me at Tip-In HORSE on the b-ball court twice yesterday. We went to Sydney Australia together last summer for the Hillsong Conference. And, he’s almost 30, folks; he only looks like a teenager.  I like to call him Darnell Harris.  About 4 of you will get that. 

 

Please check out his blog and his record. 

P is for Press.

 

My buddy Chad Pearson of P is for Panda recently got some good press.  Check it out here.  Here’s a teaser: P is for Panda is an Atlanta-based indie clothing line that started in 2007, relying mostly on word of mouth to generate sales, and contributing a third of those sales to various charities.

These days, they’re also branching out into music by starting a record label in partnership with Hopeless/Sub City Records. It’s a more natural evolution than one might expect; the founder of P is for Panda, Chad Pearson, has a long history in the music industry.

 

You can also read more about Chad and P is for Panda in a previous blog post of mine here.  He and his wife Candy are amazing people.  Please support P is for Panda.

 

 

 

 

 

Still powerful.

I came across this today and had almost forgotten how amazing it is.  It’s from the late 2007 Northpoint series It’s Personal.  Meghan Coffee is a dear friend who has posted here before.  She’s also a newlywed.  Meghan is an amazing singer/songwriter.  Please check out her site.  The video below gives you some insight into who she is, what she’s been through, and from Whom she draws her strength.  The video is  brilliantly put together; Meg’s gift with words and her beautiful heart take this piece from brilliant to powerful.

 

 

 

 

Tonight’s the night.

Tonight at 7:30pm.  Buckhead Church.  Night of Worship.  Led by Casey Darnell, Seth Condrey, Eddie Kirkland, and Carlos Whittaker.  I’m on keys.  We’re expecting a ton of folks.  Please come.  

Update: Video from Friday’s lunch

Told you I’d try to get my video issues worked out, so I could share a little of the music that went down at this past Friday’s 1ATL Thank You Lunch for Jackson Spalding.  (Click here if you have no idea what I’m talking about, or just scroll down to the Aug. 8th entry.)  Thanks to Josh Peters for fixing the video problem.  Here’s a 10 minute series of song clips with Rudy Vaughn and Miriam Ah Kuoi, doing all original music.  (Sorry it’s so dark; but hey, studios are usually dark.)  

 

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