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. 

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.

I didn’t feel like I did much.  I tried to make sure the bands knew how much time they had before they went on stage.  I passed out water to the musicians.  The best part of the day was helping a guy named Rufus recharge his wheelchair using an outlet on stage.  I hate that I didn’t get a picture of him.

Several of the Jackson Spalding creative staff were there, including Glen Jackson himself.  There was also a contingent of 12Stone’s redemptive arts staff there.  A few other friends of 1ATL were there, too, including Glow in the Dark owner Matt Goldman (thanks for the room) and Michael Johnston (thanks for the pics), both of whom are former bandmates of mine in Smalltown Poets.  Fellow 1ATL founders Dan Hannon and David Fussell were there; even my wife, kids, and in laws were there!   Okay, sorry for the who’s who.  (But I do still need to thank Cindy, Alice, Jenny, and Jake for the food and the chairs.)

Hoping to update this post soon with video.  My camera is being very uncooperative at the moment.

Our friends at theAMP opened registration this past Friday for their first AMPsaturday, which is coming up Sep. 20th.  Read on for how you can get a 50% discount on this event.  

So, what’s theAMP?  They’re a new, non-profit organization based in Atlanta whose heart centers around equipping and connecting the next generation of worship leaders.  The way the vision plays out is primarily through two environments: their website and regular one-day conferences called AMPsaturdays. This fall they are hosting two AMPsaturdays in Atlanta - one on Sep. 20th and one on Nov. 8th.  Again, registration is now open.