we have two more weeks of summer events.  a student life camp in Mount Bethel, PA.  and a weeklong city-wide event in Louisiana.  i wish i could fully explain how great this summer has been.  it seems like every week of the summer, we’ve seen some incredible movements.  we’ve met some great people on the road, and had a blast as a band.

me and the boys are heading to NYC a few days before we play in PA.  bush, jimmie, and philip have NEVER been to NYC.  can you believe that?  so, we’ll have 1.5 days in NYC to eat our weight in thin-slice NY pizza and see the sites.  looking forward to that!

after the summer, we’re excited about finishing up the studio we’ve been working on… we’ve got some new music to record and get to you guys.  it will be a creative and interesting Fall for sure.

happy summer.

Last week we did a show at Stubb’s with our friends Jason Poe (amazing songwriter and all-around cool guy) and Miranda Dodson (stellar songwriter, stupid good voice, amazing show).  It was an honor to play alongside these guys and open for Miranda’s CD release show.  You can get her new record here.  It’s really good.

I love being a part of such a great community of artists in Austin.  They’ve each become friends, and to be able to play music with them downtown Austin is just fantastic.

I’m not sure why people keep letting us play our songs (which are blatantly Christian) in bars and clubs in Austin, but we absolutely count it a privilege.  We love playing in these venues… we are grateful for every opportunity.  And for those of you that came out to the show at Stubbs… THANK YOU.  Thanks for letting us sing songs about adoption, justice, Haiti, and Jesus.

And thanks to Miranda Dodson and her team for inviting us!

(photo credit: Todd White)

now we’re chilling at Crema in Nashville before we catch our flight home to Austin tonight…

looking forward to a busy week ahead. leading at UBC in Waco, TX on Sunday, then looking forward to playing at Subb’s in Austin Friday night for our friend Miranda Dodson’s CD release show. besides that, i’ve got a lot of unpacking to do since we moved right before i left for Cleveland last weekend. yeah….excited about unpacking…really. (sarcasm)

It’s Miranda Dodson’s CD release show. We’re really excited for Miranda and her new record! I’ve heard it and it’s stupid good (yes, that’s a compliment). It’s going to be a really great night, and we’re honored to play music alongside our friends.

Love for all our ATX friends to come to Stubb’s next week. You can get more info here on the do512.com page.

Also, you can go ahead and purchase your tickets here.

SATURDAY, MAY 8
LA ZONA ROSA, AUSTIN
Doors open at 6pm.  Show starts at 7pm.
Tickets $15

Music For The City is releasing Volume 1 of a multi-artist compilation record.  It’s a great record… and seriously, this will be one amazing show.  we are privileged to play alongside some great bands like Alpha Rev, Solider Thread, Quiet Company, Miranda Dodson, Matt McCloskey, Jason Poe, and more.  

a few reasons you need to purchase your tickets RIGHT NOW.

#1 – This venue only holds about 1,000 people, and with so many great bands the show will sell out.  
#2 – Your $15 benefits Austin Children’s Shelter & Austin Safe Place… two great non-profits here in ATX.
#3 – It’s going to be an absolute party.  
#4 – We’ll be playing a few new songs that we’re eager to let you hear.
#5 – Music For The City is stellar org that brings music and charity together.  These are great people that do great things in our city.  And music lovers need to join and support these guys!  It might be one of the best things about the music culture here in Austin.  So, block out Saturday, May 8 for some music & charity.

Stop reading blogs and CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.
THANKS!!  See you there. 

Here are lyrics to “Try”

I want to write a song to tell of all my love
The perfect words to dance a melody;
Then maybe you would know, just maybe you could hear,
How beautiful the world, with you my dear.

I want to write a play about a girl who finds,
a boy that makes her feel just like a queen;
The story would unfold, his love for her a shield,
Then maybe all my love for you revealed?

There’s no way to understand, no way to comprehend
No words could tell of all my love for you.
There’s no means to calculate,
No scientist could formulate
A way to tell of all my love for you.

But I will try.
I will try.

Close your eyes and dream of our future,
We’re old and grey and wrinkled from the years;
We’ll sit out on the edge of all that we’ve embraced,
No memory of us could be replaced.

There’s no way to understand, no way to comprehend
No words could tell of all my love for you.
There’s no means to calculate,
No scientist could formulate
A way to tell of all my love for you.

But I will try.
I will try.

Here are the lyrics for “O Wonderful Love!”

King of Glory, forever worthy
Your faithfulness and truth endures;
For you remember your chosen people,
Salvation is alive in us.

We confess You’re all we need;
Everything in You, our King.

O Wonderful Love! Wonderful Love!
The Savior’s love for us upon the cross
Where mercy and grace flowed perfectly
You died to save, and rose victoriously
O Wonderful Love! 

We were in darkness ’til beauty rescued
Your Spirit has awakened us;
We want this city, to see your Kingdom,
To know you in your victory 

We confess You’re all we need;
Everything in You, our King.

O Wonderful Love! Wonderful Love!
The Savior’s love for us upon the cross
Where mercy and grace flowed perfectly
You died to save, and rose victoriously
O Wonderful Love! 

I started fairly early yesterday.  It was Saturday, so that meant we had a few soccer games in the afternoon.  I was surprised how quickly song #5 came!  Within a few hours I had a working verse and chorus.  Then, the rest just kinda came together after that.  It was encouraging, because until then it was taking me 8-10 hours for each song.  

I’ve figured it up…I’ve spent about 8 hours nearly every day this week on writing.  Typically, I’ll spend a few weeks on starting & finishing a song.  So, doing all of that within one day has been a big stretch for me.  It’s forced me to stop meddling and make a firm decision on lyric and melody, then move on.  I like the movement it’s forced me to keep.  I tend to wallow in a song for weeks…this has forced me to approach the process with less pressure of making something “amazing” and simply write what’s on my heart and in my head.

Day 6 song is titled “Trust Me.”  I think I might demo all of these songs (even if it’s just piano/vocals) and post them on here for you guys to listen to.  

Here’s the lyrics to “Trust Me”

The mighty wind that moves the ocean waves
Is the same breath that fills your fragile lungs.
There is no illusion, no grand mistake;
You were made, you were formed with Love. 

From the time you were born, you ran away from Me,
Filling up the spaces with regret.
You’re walk down a path to what you’re running from;
Don’t wrestle, don’t wrestle with defeat.

Oh, won’t you trust Me.
Oh, won’t you trust Me.
Oh, won’t you trust Me.
I’ve been running after, running after you. 

Etched within a tree I wrote me love for you,
And covered it with blood for all to see.
The weight of all your shame upon My shoulder,
I gladly took so you would always see.

Oh, you can trust Me.
Oh, you can trust Me.
Oh, you can trust Me.
I’ve been running after, running after you.

May all the stars within the sky
Remind you of My love for you.

It feels totally unnatural to do that.  I’m used to spending weeks on a song, so to write one and consider it instantly done is so hard.  But I absolutely see the benefit of this challenge.  It forces you to find a starting point and a stopping point.  My friend Austin and I were talking (he’s also doing this 7-in-7) about how hard it is to balance being a perfectionist with completing an artistic task.  They seem to fight each other.  I told him that I had to make a conscious choice to approach today MUCH differently.  I had to release myself from self-imposed pressure to write 7 GREAT songs this week.  Instead the only pressure was to start and finish 7 song ideas.  Then, if an absolutely terrible song is started…AT LEAST that thought is forever thrown away and you don’t have to deal with it anymore.  

I just finished song #3.  ”Surrender.”  Hands-down the most poppy song I’ve ever written.  Jamie says I’ve been listening to too much hip-hop lately.  Fair.

Now, I’m starting song #4.  Late night for me.

It’s drawing near to the end of Day 3, and I have 2 completed songs.  (yes, I know…I’m behind).  

This challenge has been really difficult for me.  Honestly, without discipline, I can go days without sitting at a piano or guitar.  For me, this challenge is forcing me to work on creativity, not just wait around for inspiration or creative juice (whatever that is) to flow.  The first couple of days were not good.  And today has been incredibly long.  I worked for a few hours this morning on a couple of melody ideas I had…but no lyrics were to be found.  Then, this afternoon from about 3:30-6pm I hashed out some more progressions and melodies, but nothing seemed to work.  I was frustrated again around 9pm and decided to get out of the house and go run.  After running about 5 miles on a stinking treadmill, I came home and have been determined to see this thing through.  It’s now almost midnight, and I’m wrapping up song #2.  It’s dark.  I didn’t intend for it to be.  But it’s a dark song.  One no one will probably ever hear.  Song therapy maybe?  

I have a deep respect for songwriters that write a song a day…much-less those that write 15 or so a month.  I want to get better.  I want to articulate what I’m experiencing in my heart/soul better.  And that takes practice.  Lots of it.  And practice means writing quite a few really bad songs…and trusting that good ones come out once in a while too.  

Honestly, I’ve learned something about myself in these 3 days.  I’m a perfectionist.  Actually, I already knew that.  But, I didn’t know that my perfectionist approach to everything actually HINDERS my songwriting ability.  I never want to write a bad song.  Or waste a melody on a potentially mediocre song.  So, I just retreat…and wait…and end up paralyzed by my perfectionism.  It’s not good.  The aim of writing shouldn’t be to craft an excellent song every time…or to write a “hit.”  The aim of writing should simply be to write what the heart is experiencing.  And the more honest and transparent we are, the better…right?  I hope so…

Song #1 – “What a Savior”
Song #2 – “Alone”
Song #3 – (starting that one right now…)