Early Morning Prayer Walks provide me ample time to Commune with God.
I Give Thanks, Reflect, Confess and Still My Heart to Receive More of the Many Musical Downloads God Generously shares from His Throne room while several of my neighbors prepare to rise.
One such drizzly, chilly May Morning, The Lord was so gracious to do this again. I had long known that this project would be called "SOURCE," but had not yet written the title track. If you recall, "Perseverance" & "Endurance" bore no such track and the memory of my dear friend and mentor, Corny McKnight, doggone near demanded "Inspire."
But I had no idea what I wanted "Source" to sound like. I planned it to be succinct, figured it would more than likely be Instrumental, but wanted it to really be the complete acknowledgement of The Lord God as Thee Source of All - period. I figured that the best thing to do was ask, since the song was to, for and about Him - why shouldn't it come FROM HIM (since everything already does anyway, but you know what I mean...!!)
So, please try to imagine my surprise when these three little - my opinion - elementary, rather mundane chords dropped out of the sky. "Uhm, kinda looking for something a little more aggressive, perhaps funkier and...uh, interesting," I muttered.
Ding, Dring, Ding...
Dring, Ding, Dring...
It wouldn't let go.
I know what this means. Obedience is Better than trying to be Brilliant, or even Ordinary.
When I got home, I immediately went downstairs and fired up the Funk Machine.
Ding, Dring, Ding.
Words. Blam!!! - Faster than I could write them...Slow Down Lord! But He Would Not. There!
A tiny little drumbeat here. Nothing too complicated, keep it simple. The Bass Line is the most subdued I'd ever played. But Less is More and you barely need strings here.
My 14 year old, Ayana - who - well...accepts her daddy's music for what it is, but...she's 14. She likes it! She listens, twice.
I 'mock' sing her the lyrics and she smiles. "OK," I Think - "This is NOT anywhere near jazz, and I'm down with experimentation, but..."
Yet, I had been smitten. There was something about it.
Jerry Thompson came through a few days later. I played it for him. Silence. The response I expected. And Deserved! This Song is Confirmation that I had went a little nuts. Maybe A Lot Nuts.
"But God gave it to me," I began to defend. Silence. This is Jerry's usual response when he dislikes one of my grooves.
I sat about looking for the perfect voice. Right now - my opinion - It's a 'white, teen-aged girl pop tune' that most 50 year old men like me turn away from with furled brow. But if this is the trail I am on, let me at least search out a worthy navigator.
Days later I let the guys hear it. Everyone was very kind, but you can see it - and feel it. "Where Are We Going with This?!?"
I thought about Mikel Lagaris. No, he's not a teen-aged girl and the fact that he's white is purely circumstantial. He has an incredible voice that carries the tone of pure anointing. He would be great and I remember even mentioning it to him. But Michaela stopped by.
By now, I could tell my Prayer Walk Story in 20 seconds or less and I hit the Start Button. I shoved the lyrics in front of her face before she could really hear the music - as if I am setting up my defense before she giggles over the simplicity of it all. Then she begins to sing the melody. Insert BLAM Here.______________
I Never Looked Back. The Next Time we were in the studio - at the end of the session, I dialed up "Source" and asked her to step into the booth. She didn't have the lyrics, so Jerry recorded her mumbles and hums, so I could work around it.
Frank's brother, Jon Thomas, who had played keys with us at the 2013 Youngstown Jazz Fest was back in town from New York. Late last year, he had put some things down on a few of the tunes for this project and I needed his help here.
"I Am Thinking Herbie Hancock's 'Imagine Project' here," I told him. "Jazz Over Pop." And like that - just two takes later, he was on it.
I Mean -DONE!
Michaela came back in - and this time with my Ayana to lay down the vocals. I asked Uncle Jerry to put a little 'Jamaica Mon' in it for spice and everyone agreed that This was the Tune. A tiny bit of Mute Trumpet sprinkled on like icing and suddenly I needed to apologize to God - The Source - who had answered my prayer within the first few seconds I had asked Him. But I thought I knew what I was doing and I'm grateful I didn't stick with my plan for long.
I've got one final edit to do - just reducing a little reverb - and I will upload the track for you to hear. It's different. It's definitely another direction for SD - but in the whole scope of things, it's exactly what we are about - Giving God the Glory through the Gifts He's Given Us!
I Give Thanks, Reflect, Confess and Still My Heart to Receive More of the Many Musical Downloads God Generously shares from His Throne room while several of my neighbors prepare to rise.
One such drizzly, chilly May Morning, The Lord was so gracious to do this again. I had long known that this project would be called "SOURCE," but had not yet written the title track. If you recall, "Perseverance" & "Endurance" bore no such track and the memory of my dear friend and mentor, Corny McKnight, doggone near demanded "Inspire."
But I had no idea what I wanted "Source" to sound like. I planned it to be succinct, figured it would more than likely be Instrumental, but wanted it to really be the complete acknowledgement of The Lord God as Thee Source of All - period. I figured that the best thing to do was ask, since the song was to, for and about Him - why shouldn't it come FROM HIM (since everything already does anyway, but you know what I mean...!!)
So, please try to imagine my surprise when these three little - my opinion - elementary, rather mundane chords dropped out of the sky. "Uhm, kinda looking for something a little more aggressive, perhaps funkier and...uh, interesting," I muttered.
Ding, Dring, Ding...
Dring, Ding, Dring...
It wouldn't let go.
I know what this means. Obedience is Better than trying to be Brilliant, or even Ordinary.
When I got home, I immediately went downstairs and fired up the Funk Machine.
Ding, Dring, Ding.
Words. Blam!!! - Faster than I could write them...Slow Down Lord! But He Would Not. There!
A tiny little drumbeat here. Nothing too complicated, keep it simple. The Bass Line is the most subdued I'd ever played. But Less is More and you barely need strings here.
My 14 year old, Ayana - who - well...accepts her daddy's music for what it is, but...she's 14. She likes it! She listens, twice.
I 'mock' sing her the lyrics and she smiles. "OK," I Think - "This is NOT anywhere near jazz, and I'm down with experimentation, but..."
Yet, I had been smitten. There was something about it.
Jerry Thompson came through a few days later. I played it for him. Silence. The response I expected. And Deserved! This Song is Confirmation that I had went a little nuts. Maybe A Lot Nuts.
"But God gave it to me," I began to defend. Silence. This is Jerry's usual response when he dislikes one of my grooves.
I sat about looking for the perfect voice. Right now - my opinion - It's a 'white, teen-aged girl pop tune' that most 50 year old men like me turn away from with furled brow. But if this is the trail I am on, let me at least search out a worthy navigator.
Days later I let the guys hear it. Everyone was very kind, but you can see it - and feel it. "Where Are We Going with This?!?"
I thought about Mikel Lagaris. No, he's not a teen-aged girl and the fact that he's white is purely circumstantial. He has an incredible voice that carries the tone of pure anointing. He would be great and I remember even mentioning it to him. But Michaela stopped by.
By now, I could tell my Prayer Walk Story in 20 seconds or less and I hit the Start Button. I shoved the lyrics in front of her face before she could really hear the music - as if I am setting up my defense before she giggles over the simplicity of it all. Then she begins to sing the melody. Insert BLAM Here.______________
I Never Looked Back. The Next Time we were in the studio - at the end of the session, I dialed up "Source" and asked her to step into the booth. She didn't have the lyrics, so Jerry recorded her mumbles and hums, so I could work around it.
Frank's brother, Jon Thomas, who had played keys with us at the 2013 Youngstown Jazz Fest was back in town from New York. Late last year, he had put some things down on a few of the tunes for this project and I needed his help here.
"I Am Thinking Herbie Hancock's 'Imagine Project' here," I told him. "Jazz Over Pop." And like that - just two takes later, he was on it.
I Mean -DONE!
Michaela came back in - and this time with my Ayana to lay down the vocals. I asked Uncle Jerry to put a little 'Jamaica Mon' in it for spice and everyone agreed that This was the Tune. A tiny bit of Mute Trumpet sprinkled on like icing and suddenly I needed to apologize to God - The Source - who had answered my prayer within the first few seconds I had asked Him. But I thought I knew what I was doing and I'm grateful I didn't stick with my plan for long.
I've got one final edit to do - just reducing a little reverb - and I will upload the track for you to hear. It's different. It's definitely another direction for SD - but in the whole scope of things, it's exactly what we are about - Giving God the Glory through the Gifts He's Given Us!