Thoughts and Musings on Faith, Music, Family, Life

A free album is just a download away

I spent way too long thinking of a clever title for this blog post, announcing the release of my new album Let Go as a 100% free download.  I do the same thing with sermon titles - trying to capture something profound in a few brief words. It doesn't always work, as is evidenced by this blog title.  It won't win any Pulizter awards, but it gets the job done.

If you've been following my many blog posts/Facebook updates/Twitter tweets for the past nine months about this recording project, then God bless you.  Because I know it's probably been overwhelming at times. You've been gracious in absorbing my excitement about this new album - the songs themselves, the whole recording process, the wonderful people I've had the privilege of working with.  You've listened to me ramble on and on about it, like a good friend loyally subjecting themselves to the verbal onslaught over a cup of coffee.  At least now it's some actual music you get to listen to.

Just in case there were parts of the Let Go story you missed out on and you hadn't heard about the sabbatical last summer and the songs that came out of it, feel free to CLICK HERE and read all about it.  Incidentally, this is also where you can download the album.  I'm highlighting Bandcamp as the primary download option, a pretty awesome music service that makes downloading music easy (as a side note, I also happen to have my other three albums there, which you can purchase as a download for a grand total of ten bucks).  But I've also got links to some other free services: Noisetrade, SoundCloud, and even the zip files themselves.  There's a printable CD insert if you want to burn your own copy, too.  There are even links to itunes, CD Baby and Amazonmp3.com just in case you have a problem getting music for free (but in this case, why would you??)

This release date has been a bit of an exercise in patience for me, something I'm not known to be a big fan of.  I actually had these songs ready about a month ago but decided to wait until the promo CDs had arrived and could be distributed before making the download available to the general public - especially to my church, who all got free copies yesterday.  It crossed my mind a couple of times about going ahead and making them available early online - lots of bands do it, and really, in the big scheme of things, would the wait really matter?? 

But I held out, and I'm glad I did.  It makes the day all the more special.  And if nothing else, it's given me a chance to make them available to you with zero regrets.  It's natural for an artist to be all enamored with their stuff when it's fresh out of the studio in that blissful period before the release.  Inevitably, though, around the time the general public gets a hold of it, the artist has started second-guess themselves: Should've brought that guitar solo up more. Don't really like the way the song fades.  Meant to re-record my vocal in that one spot. 

Not for me.  I've been listening to these songs in their final version for a month now, and as I make them available to you I really can't think of anything I'd want to change.  If this is the last album I ever make in my life, I can totally live with that.

So enjoy the tunes, leave a comment on the Facebook page, and share the songs with anyone and everyone. Nothing makes a singer/songwriter more happier than when the music takes on a life of its own.

Big News for May 9th

May 9th, for the most part, will be a typical morning for me.  I may go for an early morning jog before everyone else in the Lindsley house gets up.  I'll get ready for work, run the boys to school, head to the office and start working on Sunday's sermon.

And I'll also release my new album. :-)

After months of writing and rewriting, studio time in Winston-Salem, recording on Mitch Easter's killer Yamaha C-7, composing string parts with a guy in Nashville, listening to innumerable mixes, singing on a track with my family and friends, taking one cool trip to Kitchen Mastering in Chapel Hill, and giving the green light for the absolute final set of masters, I'm  proud to announce that Let Go will be released on the morning of May 9th.  I've put a lot of my heart into these seven songs and approached the whole project as if it would be my last.  Translation: I didn't cut any corners.  I know it's natural to feel that your most recent project is your best, but there's no doubt that this is hands-down the best of my four studio efforts as far as recording, production, performance and songwriting in general.

So here's how it'll go down: on the morning of May 9th I'll release the album as a free download (you can read about why I'm giving the album away for free here) at http://let-go.stevelindsley.com.  Not only will you be able to download the album there, but you'll also be able to read the credits, liner notes and lyrics.  In addition, the mp3 itself will be encoded with lyrics and artwork so you'll get to see all that stuff when you sync it up to your ipod.

If you happen to be a member of the church I serve, you're in for a special treat.  Since this entire project was born out the sabbatical experience we took part in together last summer, every "family unit" at the church will receive a free CD, to be given out the day before.  A simple "thank you" not only for going on the sabbatical with me but for the eight years we've been together!

And since I'm not charging anything for the album, I have no problems whatsoever with folks copying it and sharing it.  In fact, I'm begging you to do that!  The "success" of this album won't depend on how much money I'll be making from it (obviously), but on how many people get to hear it.  I hope when it comes out on May 9th that you'll enjoy it and then share it to your heart's content!

I'll send out reminders on May 9th on this blog and on the album's Facebook page - but go ahead and mark your calendars and spread the word!

What the click of a LIKE button can do

I'm sure you've seen these Facebook "LIKE" buttons before.  This particular one, though, is near and dear to my heart.  That's because it's for the Facebook page for my upcoming album, set to debut in 2011.  So I really hope you'll take the .5 seconds and click on it, as well as visiting the page itself to check out updates, pics, videos, links, and other goodies.

The story behind this latest project of mine is something I'm pretty excited about.  This past summer I took a three-month sabbatical with the blessing of my wonderful church and with a grant from the Lily Endowment.  One of the main purposes was to reconnect with music in a way I hadn’t in years: listening, playing and especially writing.  I wrote a number of songs during that time – some brand spanking new, others that I revisited after filing them away for too long.   The plan was to head back into the studio to record them – in fact, I built funds into the grant budget to do just that.

So in mid-October I got the ball rolling.  I’m working once again with fellow Mediocre Bad Guy bandmate and WFU fraternity brother Doug Davis and Flytrap Music Production in Winston-Salem.  I’m also excited to work with Nashville singer/songwriter Jeremy Casella on one particular song, using some session players like cellist John Catchings who have played with the likes of Cat Stevens, John Mellencamp and Bon Jovi (yeah, I know, it is cool!)  We’re still very much in the middle of things and anticipate a release sometime next year. 

As I've already said, I’m very excited about LET GO – I feel really good about the seven songs we're working on, and it's always a joy watching the tunes come to life.  But the thing that really has me excited is something I bet you’ll be excited about too. Here it is....

When the album is released, it will be a FREE DOWNLOAD.  That’s right – free.  As in “you pay nothing.”   All seven songs, high-quality stuff, fully mixed and mastered, no corners cut.  And it won’t cost you a penny.

Why, you ask?  Simple.  Music is a passion, not my job.   Like most musicians, though, I’ve always had to charge something for CDs and mp3s to make back the investment I put into it – recording studio fees, guest instrumentalists, production costs, CD manufacturing, etc.  It's not cheap, and it adds up quick. This time, though, every bit of the expense is covered by the aforementioned grant.  And since the album will be download-only, I’m not having to pay CD production costs either.

The long and short of it is this: if I’m not spending my money to make music, I don’t feel you should have to spend yours to listen to it.

This really excites me, people.  My hope is that you and a whole bunch of other folks will be willing to download this seven-song album not just because you know me, not just because you will hopefully like the music, but because it won’t cost you anything.  I also hope you’ll let your family and friends know about it too.  When the songs become available you'll have my full permission to burn as many CDs as you want; copy as many mp3 files as you want.  Or simply invite people to download it themselves.  In a music business where artists are being protective of their material (and rightfully so) I’m not only allowing you to copy and share to your heart’s content - I'm begging you!

So, back to that Facebook page thing.  As I see it, the "success" of this project depends on the number of people who know about it. The more the merrier, as they say.  So please click the LIKE button and encourage others do the same.  My goal is to have 500 "Likers" by mid-December.  Thanks for putting your mouse to work for me, and I can't wait to share the new songs with you.

(For more information visit www.stevelindsley.com and click on the "LET GO" link - this is where the downloads will eventually be available).

 

 

Nine weeks down, three to go

Three months.

Three months seems like a big chunk of time when you first think about it. Ask Lindsay Lohan - last week she got sentenced to three months in jail and cried like a baby at the hearing.  When your favorite band says their new album is coming out in three months, or your favorite show takes a three-month hiatus, it feels like an eternity.  As a kid summer break is a much-enjoyed three-month break from school, lived to the fullest.  Just ask my boys.

Three months seemed like a long time when I walked out of the church office on the last Thursday of May this year, knowing that I would not set foot back in there until my sabbatical was complete on the second Monday of August.  It felt strange to say the least.  I had left before on week-long vacations; been absent for two-week doctoral study sessions.  So three months, I figured, was going to seem like forever.

Let me tell you something: three months flies by.

And in no way am I complaining.  I've had an opportunity that most grown adults can only dream of; I realize that.  I'm thankful for every minute of it.  But it is seriously hard to believe that I have just a few more weeks before I walk back through those church doors again.

I've done a lot for the past nine weeks.  I started off the whole excursion by taking a family trip to Disney World, where we soaked in everything Mickey.  I've spent a week in Austin, TX; I've led music for two Massanetta Springs Middle School youth conferences and released my first CD in eleven years.  I did a lot of stuff at the boys' school like helping with their field day and playing some music at their end-of-year assembly.  I've written some songs, listened to a lot of songs, played some songs too.  So by no means have I been sitting still.

And perhaps that's why it's all flown by so fast.

So I'm changing course a bit these last few weeks - I'm not doing much.  I'm not going on any big trips (save some family time at the beach).  I'm hanging out at home, spending some time at the music space downtown.  I'm going to the pool a lot with the family - making me one of the very few Dads there, which I'm okay with.  I'm taking Elder to swim team practices in the afternoon and watching him at swim meets with a lot of fatherly pride.

And I imagine when August 2 rolls around three weeks from today and I find myself sitting back in my office at 326 South Main Street, I'll be ready for it.  We humans are creatures of habit and we cling to our routines by our very nature.  We also can become enslaved to them, which is why these three months have been such a blessing.  But we are still inevitably drawn back to them because they define a large part of who we are.

I have missed my church family, I will admit.  Hanging out around town means I've still bumped into folks here and there - at the pool, in the grocery store.  And there's always Facebook. But it's not the "family" that assembles together every Sunday morning in a sacred space.  I have missed that gathering and look forward to being reunited with them when the time comes (I just hope I remember how to write a sermon).

But until then, I'll make the most of these last few weeks.  And not by doing too much or doing too little.  In fact, I'm going to try and make the most of it not by "doing" at all.  I'm going to focus on just "being" for a change.  Maybe then it won't seem to go too fast or too slow.  It'll be just right.

Austin-bound

I love flying - always have.  I get such a rush out of the whole experience - from walking down the concourse seeing all the different destinations, to the random assembly of people you pass by, to the act of flying itself.  And I joyfully put up with long security lines, waiting at baggage claim, and even the occasional delay.  Like the flight I'm waiting for right now.  You see that time to the right?  Our departure was supposed to be 4pm.  Oh well.

Just a few short weeks ago, the entire Lindsley family boarded a flight out of the Charlotte airport to Orlando and Disney World.  And now I'm back here, specifically at Gate E20, waiting to begin a five-day journey to Austin Texas as part of my sabbatical.

What will I be doing in Austin?  That's a good question; one I've been asked a lot recently.  It's kind of strange; usually when I fly somewhere I have a specific purpose in doing so; attending a conference or some other occasion.  So usually it's easy to answer that question. But not so much this time.  That's because I don't have any planned events I'm going to; no real agenda I'm following.  Those of you who know me know this is very unlike me.

Here's the gist of what I'll be doing, as much as I know at the moment. I'll be staying in some housing at Austin Seminary, continuing my annual "tour" of Presbyterian Church (USA) seminaries (hey, some folks do major league ballparks, I do seminaries).  During the day I'll do some reading and studying; I've brought a few books that go well with the music theme of my sabbatical, and I'll also check out the seminary library and bookstore too.  In addition, the seminary is directly across the street from the University of Texas, which I hear is a pretty cool place.  I hope to log some jogging miles checking out the campus.

The evenings, though, will bring about the primary reason for making Austin one of my sabbatical stops.  In case you haven't heard, Austin has quite the live music scene, represented in a number of renowned festivals, the infamous Austin City Limits, and literally hundreds of live music venues.  And they have live music seven days a week.  I've heard the highest concentration of places are on 6th Street, which is a dozen or so blocks away from where I'll be staying.  Pretty much every musical genre is represented - rock, folk, country, blues, jazz, classical and everything in between. A live music smorgasbord.

It probably won't come as much of a shock to know that I'm pretty excited about this.  Recorded music is great and all - I won't be giving up my CDs and ipod anytime soon - but to experience music live is to experience music the way it is meant to be, apart from the studio magic that poisons so much of Top-40 radio.  You simply can't hide a lack of ability when you're onstage in front of a crowd of people looking at you and listening to you.  You can also get to the heart of the spirituality of music; that element that takes you to another level if you let it - the interplay between performers and crowd, a good jam that takes on a life of its own.  You listen to a song on a CD or mp3 and it's the same every single time; you listen to a song played live and it's unique and different in each instance.  It's that aspect that I'm excited about immersing myself in for a few days in what has been billed as "the live music capital of the world."

But I won't be just listening to music while I'm in Austin.  I hope to do some songwriting as well, capturing a little bit of the vibe while I'm there.  Which led me to make a decision that I semi-agonized over for a few days - bringing one of my guitars with me.  I get a little nervous every time I check baggage, and for good reason.  I can close my eyes and still see the scene: my wife and I, returning from a lovely honeymoon ten years ago, watching her hard-shell suitcase coming down the conveyor belt at baggage claim.  It was wrapped in some kind of industrial plastic to hold it together.  They never said what happened, but by the looks of things it had been run over by one of those baggage transport carts.  Crushed a hard-shell suitcase!

So with that image ingrained in my mind I understandably went back and forth on bringing one of my prized guitars.  I finally decided to do it, hoping I'd be able to keep it as a carry-on or at least check it at the gate with the plane right there.  So far, so good. Feel free to say a prayer for my Taylor 310-CE if you think about it.

All in all I'm pretty psyched about the experience, other than being apart from the wife and kids for a few days.  I'm looking forward to doing a lot of stuff but not having a firm plan I have to stick to.  I'll make it up as I go along.

Hmm, looks like the flight may be leaving a little early now.  They keep changing the schedule, making it hard for me to plan things out. And you know what?  That's not such a bad thing.  Kind of an appropriate way to start the week ahead of me.

Next stop - Austin, Texas!

Z-packs, Facebook pages, getting published and sabbatical hammocks

In a nutshell, that describes my first full week of sabbatical.  Sure, the first official week was back at the beginning of the month, spent with the family at Disney World (you can experience it for yourself in this previous post via tweets, if you like).  But in many ways that felt like nothing more than a standard vacation week.  The real odd sensation was coming back from that trip and not having to go to work the following day.  That's when the full effect of the sabbatical began to hit.

Unfortunately, what also hit soon upon my return was a nasty sinus infection.  All the wonderful symptoms started to rear their ugly head around Monday - mostly head congestion and a general desire to do absolutely nothing.  Thankfully I got to the doctor for a nifty z-pack prescription.  And while the sick bug plagued me for most of the week, I started to feel noticeably better by Thursday.  So thankfully it wasn't a totally lost week.  Which is good, because already I'm sensing that these three months are going to fly by.

Around the middle of the week I mustered up enough energy in my sickly state to create a Facebook page for my new CD, whose back-story you can read about here.  I must admit that the end of this project has kind of snuck up on me - since the CD's debut will be at the June Massanetta Middle School Conferences, there's a fixed date I have to deal with - it's not like I can put it off or anything.  And the time between then and now, hard as it is to believe, is quickly shrinking.  Already my producer, Doug Davis, and I are beginning to feel the heat and have scheduled what looks to be a marathon mixing session tomorrow night (thank goodness it's only five songs we're having to work with).

But back to the Facebook page - I figured this would be the quickest way to get the word out about the CD and keep people informed of its progress and the general public release sometime in early July.  It was also a chance to show off the hot-off-the-presses artwork.  The first is a nifty creation by local art store owner Sara Ann Butner, whose husband happens to be one of my landlords at the music space I've rented during the sabbatical (I need to do a blog on that space, by the way.  I'll try and do that this week).  I dig the artsy earth for sure.

The second one was done by a youth in my church, Maggie Mills, whose artistic endeavors (visual and musical) I've admired for many years.  I asked her to include a lot of feet and hands in the artwork, given that it's part of the project's title; and as you'll see she did not disappoint.  I like the title she gave it: "Explosion."

Anyway, both of these will find their way into the CD packaging, as well as come with any downloads from CD Baby or itunes when they're available.  And of course I'd be more than happy (elated, in fact), if you saw fit to join the Facebook page titled "Feet & Hands & Stuff" and invited lots of others to do the same.  Actually, I believe the official lingo is "like the page," but that just doesn't sound right. Whatever it is you do, please do it.  The more the merrier.

What else?  Oh yeah, getting published.  We've got a neat lady in our little town named Wanda Urbanska - you may have heard of her through her syndicated TV show on PBS titled "Simple Living."  Wanda is a strong proponent of Mount Airy and an author as well; and back about eight months ago she asked me to write a small piece for a new book she was working on.  The subject: simplifying your wedding.  Which was kind of funny, since my wedding was anything but ("This is what happens when you marry a minister," I had to keep telling my then-fiancee).

But I have seen a different side of weddings as an officiant and an occasional wedding musician.  So I thought I was up to the task and could come up with 700 or so helpful words (that's the number Wanda gave me to work with).  Back in the fall Wanda took a sabbatical of her own and moved back to her native Poland to finish the book.  I kind of forgot about it, until this past week when she left a message on my Facebook wall telling me she was home, the book was out, and that my contribution had made the cut.  If you're interested you can check the book out for yourself here and read my piece on pgs. 231-232.  And while you're at it, read the other 251 pages too.

One last thing: the hammock.  You know, it's funny - I had to plan out a fair amount of stuff in preparation for this sabbatical.  But the idea of a hammock never crossed my mind.  I remember having a hammock as a kid growing up in Raleigh - I always loved the thing, but for some reason I never got one of my own.  That may have something to do with the fact that I've not always lived in a location that lent itself to decent hammock-installation.  Here in Mount Airy, though, our house is surrounded by trees.  So I found a good pair underneath a canopy of pines and maples that shield the sun.

Of course I installed it with tree straps and not hooks drilled into the tree itself - silly you should even ask.  I haven't used it much yet, just now getting over the sick thing.  But I promise you, I will. Very soon. Except not right now, because it's storming outside.

(P.S. If you subscribe to this blog in RSS feed or email format and got a strange blog post from me early this morning, please accept my apologies.  If you're wondering, this is what happens when you accidentally hit the "Invite All My Friends to Facebook" button and have your blog email in your address book.)

Sabbatical, Sabbath, Rest, Music, Family

 

Sabbatical.  The word comes from scripture; the Hebrew word sabbath which means "to rest from labor."  This cycle of work and rest is woven into the very fabric of the Israelites' history, mimicking the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest.  It's an odd-sounding word; certainly not something that comes up in casual conversation all that often.  And it's not always easy to spell (just ask the session of my church).  But it's something that my family, my church and I will be getting to know very well over the course of the next few months.

Here's how it all started.  About a year ago I met with members of our church's Personnel Ministry Team and we talked about the possibility of a sabbatical in 2010.  We were heeding the advice of many friends in ministry over the years - both clergy and lay people - who have strongly advocated a sabbatical period for both church and pastor after seven years of ministry together.  It's hard to believe, but March 2010 marked the beginning of my eighth year at First Presbyterian Church of Mount Airy, NC - a wonderful relationship that my family and I are most grateful for and look forward to furthering.  As with a lot of things these days, funding a sabbatical was an issue.  So we entered the grant-writing arena and applied for a National Clergy Renewal grant from the Lily Endowment.  It was a great process because it forced us to think long and hard about why we wanted this sabbatical, why it was important to us, and what we would do with it.

That last part is really important, because it's easy for a sabbatical to err toward one of two extremes, neither of which are advisable.  On one end is the kind found in most academic circles where the professor takes a semester off from the classroom to do intense research or write a book, playing right into the "publish or perish" mentality.  Nice, but hardly resting from one's labors.  The other extreme is the one conjured up in the minds of some: a vision of three months doing absolutely nothing, laying by the pool or beach sipping a cool beverage.  Neither of these really get to the heart of "sabbath" in its truest form.  It is not a period of inactivity.  At the same time, it's not "work" that drains.  It is activity that serves to refresh and renew pastors, their families, and their congregations.

Back to the story.  The grant application was sent off and the waiting period began.  And then in October, the church got word that our grant had been approved - no small feat, I'm told, as apparently most ministers/churches do not receive this grant on their first try.  The sabbatical plan was then approved by the session in November and announced to the congregation.  Earlier this month I wrote this letter in our church's monthly newsletter about what this sabbatical would mean for me, my family and the church.  A few Sundays ago I preached a sermon about sabbath and sabbatical titled The Seventh-Inning Stretch.  And this Friday, after over a year of preparation and anticipation, this sabbatical will become a reality for me and the church I lovingly serve.  I won't be seen at First Presbyterian until the first Monday in August.

So, what will I be doing?  That's a loaded question.  While I had to plan out specific things as part of the grant application, there will also be a significant element of "going with the flow."  In short, though, I guess you could summarize the experience in three categories: REST, MUSIC, FAMILY (and not necessarily in that order).  The first will be the biggest challenge, as I'm one of those people who does not easily slow down.  I don't really know how to, frankly.  Proverbially speaking, I'd much rather zoom past the roses instead of bothering to stop and smell them.  This period of sabbatical is going to force me to intentionally let go of the fast pace I'm accustomed to and and do things more deliberately.  I'm not lying when I say that's gonna be a challenge.

Then there's MUSIC.  It should come as no surprise to those who know me that this has always been a big part of my life.  As I mentioned in this previous post, however, in recent years my songwriting has suffered a bit. Okay, more than a bit.  A large part of my sabbatical grant is designed to recreate some of the music "spaces" I have lost; namely, the time to write music and a place to do it.  I've secured a nifty little music loft in downtown Mayberry where I'll retreat over the course of the sabbatical to listen to music, think and breathe music, and write and compose music.  I recently acquired an upright bass and am learning how to play it (using muscles in my hands I never knew existed, I might add).  I'll also be leading music for the June Massanetta Middle School Conferences this summer and releasing a five-song EP to go along with it (which I talked about in my last blog).

And last but certainly not least, there's FAMILY.  Listen, I'm not one to whine about missed time with my family just because I'm a pastor.  Lots of husbands and Dads out there work as hard and as long as I do.  Still, I want to make sure that our boys never doubt that their Dad treasures them and their mother above anything and everything else.  So this sabbatical is going to allow me to give them some amazing time I wouldn't have to give otherwise.  There will be a week trip to Disney World, a Lindsley first.  There will be our annual beach trip, and the family will join me for the second week of the Massanetta youth conference.  And there will also be lots of "regular" moments - going to the pool, walking to the library, tending to the family garden, playing Wii.  It'll be big stuff and little stuff, and all of it will be special.

It'll be great, this sabbatical.  But just in case you're wondering; no, it won't all be easy.  When you do something practically every day for seven years, you kind of get used to doing it, you know?  There's a clean break that has to happen in order for the sabbatical to do what it's supposed to do, and it's not just about me not coming to work for three months.  There's a whole group of people I'm used to seeing nearly every day - church staff and members - that I won't be seeing as much, and certainly won't be seeing in a church context.  There's a Sunday morning worship routine that is so ingrained in who I am as a person that will be put on hold for three months.  I still plan to worship on Sundays, I just won't be experiencing it at FPC.  And I won't be leading it either.   All pastoral duties, including funerals, will be handled by the temporary supply pastor, my good friend and mentor Steve McCutchan.  Not me - and that's weird.  We clergy are notorious for not being able to let go of our work when we're away or on vacation.  I've got to do it for three months.  It'll be something I have to get used to, as will the church.

But in the end I believe - no, I know - that this sabbatical will be a wonderful thing for all of us: me, my wife and boys, the church.  Which is why I chose the image of a seventh-inning stretch to describe this period of sabbatical in my recent sermon (and I invite you to read it here).  Because in the end this "break" is not just about me; it is also about the church and our relationship together - a relationship that will continue after these three months are over. 

I'm excited.  I'm nervous.  And I'll be blogging all about it right here at Thoughts & Musings.  So stay tuned.  Join me in the journey!

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(Note: if you haven't yet subscribed to this blog, now would be a great time to do so as I begin this time of sabbatical.  Simply enter your email in the text box on the right near the top of the page.  And feel free to suggest this site to others too!)

Update on the latest music project

As I mentioned almost two months ago in this post, I've recently been bitten by the songwriting bug and have gotten back into the swing of things after an extended hiatus.  Okay, an almost-decade long writing block.  As a good friend said upon hearing the news, "It's about time!"  Good friends have an incredible knack for cutting to the chase and speaking the hard truth.

The focus of my first songwriting project of the new millennium centers around my preparations for a summer youth conference and some of the music I'll be leading there.  So I've compiled five original tunes and am currently in the studio putting finishing touches on them.  It's been an adventure, getting back in the studio.  It reminds me that good songs are never thrown together overnight, or at least shouldn't be (did you hear that, Top 40 radio?)  It takes some work, a lot of patience, and in my case some trips to Winston-Salem.

That's where I've been doing the recording with my good friend Doug Davis, who along with Anand Gan run Flytrap Music Production out of Winston-Salem NC and New York. Yep, you heard right.  It's a cool little operation where I record with Doug in Winston-Salem and he adds on bass parts.  Then those computer files are sent via this thing called the internet to Anand in NYC, where he lays a nifty percussion track.  Then they're promptly sent back to the Old North State for further work and fine-tuning.  I assume the whole process works the other way as well.  Ah, technology.

Anyway, the studio experience has been fun.  We first laid down the acoustic guitar parts, which went very fast.  Doug then added his bass playing to the mix, and somewhere in there Anand worked his magic.  We're now working on vocals, and that's taking a little more time.  I made the mistake of recording an EP at the height of the pollen season, so my allergies have been in full swing.  That usually doesn't translate to ideal singing circumstances, but we're making it work.

At this point we've got more recording behind us than ahead of us.  Still remaining are the lead vocals for one more tune, which I hope to knock out this Friday (this on the day after experiencing my first Bon Jovi concert ever - I'll let the Mrs. do the screaming).  We're also in the throes of recording strings for one song - real strings, too, not some MIDI concoction.  Doug and I wrote the parts a week or so ago and that was a pretty cool experience, I tell ya.  I'm looking forward to hearing the track once the cello and viola have paid their visit to Flytrap.  After that the only thing left, other than a few incidentals, are some group vocals for a tune where I'm trying to create a bit of a "choir feel" without, well, the choir.  We'll write a few parts and hopefully get three or four people to sing them once or twice over.  Oh, and the singers live in New York. Amazing.

It's been good - and if nothing else it'll get the creative juices flowing and get me back in the studio groove for the writing and recording I'll do as part of my upcoming sabbatical (now just a few weeks away).  But this is more than just a warmup act, trust me - I'm proud of this material and am working hard to make it the best it can be.

The EP will be five songs long and is titled Feet And Hands And Stuff.  And the song lineup is as follows:

Turn Around
Everything Everyone Everywhere
A Life like Yours
You Are the Hands of God
Carry Me

The plan is to press some CDs and have digital downloads available at itunes and CD Baby.  Since they're oriented around this June youth conference I'll initially have them for sale there, with a good chunk of the proceeds going back to the conference center for camper scholarships.  I'm hoping to have a CD release party here in Mayberry at Moby's Coffee, sometime in early July, after which it'll be available to the masses. Incidentally, I'm also looking for some artwork for the album.  The only requirements are that it needs to have a lot of feet and hands in it and it needs to be colorful.  If you happen to know any good artists/graphic designers who'd be interested in a non-paying gig to get some pretty decent publicity, let me know.

It's fun. I've said that already, haven't I?  Well, it bears repeating.  I know I'm never going to make a living out of this; I chose my career path long ago and haven't regretted it for a second.  But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this. I hope to have the songs ready for your listening pleasure in the next few months - to hear the news first, feel free to subscribe to this blog, follow me on Twitter, or sign up for my email list at www.stevelindsley.com. Or you can do all three and make sure you don't miss a thing.

More to come....

I'm writing again

Well, I guess it's official. After an over ten-year hiatus I'm finally back to writing songs.

The last time I wrote music and assembled a collection of original tunes was in early 1999.  That's when I traveled to Asheville, NC to record and release my second CD in three years.  I wrote a few songs after While I'm Here with every intention of heading into the studio a third time.  But a number of things happened that kept me from doing so. 

The short answer is "life."  The long answer is that my wife and I welcomed our first son into the world.  Which I wouldn't trade for the world, you understand.  But it changed things, as those sorts of things always do.  For one, I lost my music space.  What had been a spare room to house all my music equipment in and crank out a few new tunes quickly became a baby nursery.  When instruments are stored away they're not so easily accessible - out of sight, out of mind.  I also lost my weekday alone at the house, when the wife would work and I had my pastor's day off.  I used to spend a fair amount of that day strumming the six string, tickling the ivories, singing at the top of my lungs and not worrying about who might hear me.  The arrival of the bundle of joy put an end to that.

My songwriting took another hit when the family made the move up Highway 52.  It may sound strange, but something about cranking out a sermon every six days has had the effect of exhausting the "creative muse," if you will.  Again, I wouldn't give up my weekly preaching for anything, but apparently it came with a price.

So that was it.  Since then I've been out of my rhythm, out of a few different kinds of "space," and the songwriting has suffered.  Occasionally I hear a tune in my mind, usually first thing in the morning when my brain is fresh and all is quiet.  But within a matter of minutes as the hustle and bustle of the new day descends, the song is lost.  And it's not like I want to come home from work and ditch family time to lock myself in the bedroom with the six-string.  It's all about priorities, and the fact is there are new things in my life that are higher up the totem pole.  So for nearly a decade, the songwriting has laid dormant. Sometimes I even wondered if I had lost it altogether.

Until a month or so ago, as 2010 rang in and my upcoming music-based sabbatical inched closer.  It was almost as if the anticipation of three months spent listening to and writing music was waking the creative muse from her hibernation.  The breakthrough continued as I began planning music for the Massanetta Middle School Conference.  I've already mentioned in a previous blog about my skepticism regarding most praise & worship music.  Part of the solution, I decided, was to write some of my own.  I don't want to give away too much here - things are still in progress and a lot can change in the next few months.  But the plan is to compile a five-song EP in some format; original tunes that will work well in a songleading environment.  One is a co-write with fellow Mayberry musician Jerry Chapman, two are older originals I'm dusting off the shelves, and two more are brand-spanking new tunes. 

The main thing is, ten years removed from my last serious effort, I'm doing some things differently this time around.  I'm listening to music with a particular ear toward song structure, melodies and rhythm, looking to find what musical identity fits me best (U2, Kings of Leon and David Crowder Band are getting a workout on my ipod).  I'm trying out some new ways of writing - not going to the guitar as is my habit, but beginning with rhythms and bass instead.  I'm inviting some others to join me on the journey - the aforementioned Chapman and fellow bandmate Doug Davis, who in addition to being a phenomenal songwriter himself also happens to have a pretty sweet studio where I'll do the recording. 

But the biggest difference, if I had to guess, is simple: I'm trusting myself more.  I'm not nixing a melody or chord progression just because I don't fall in love with it immediately.  I'm not getting frustrated when the song doesn't materialize as quickly as I want it to - I'm granting it more "space" to form on its own. There's an inherent fear in songwriting when you hit those road blocks along the way and that little voice inside you wonders out loud if you've still "got it."  I'm choosing not to listen to that voice anymore, which is a big step for me.

It's exciting.  I've had a blast playing covers for the past eight years and plan to keep it up.  But it's also good to know there's still some music left in me that is uniquely me.  We'll see where this goes.  For the time being, it's good to be writing again.

A strange, inter-connected, never-ending, awesome musical journey

I've been on a weird music kick lately.  Well, weird for me.

Take Duke Ellington, for instance.  I've never listened to a lot of Duke.  If I did it was by accident, like catching him on jazz night on NPR riding home from a gig on Friday night.  But for some reason I still don't fully understand, last week I decided I wanted to listen to some Duke Ellington.  A coworker had a CD she let me listen to.  And you know what?  Duke's music is really good.  Great to listen to while writing a sermon, actually.  Not sure why - maybe because it's mostly instrumental, and I tend to get distracted from thinking about words when other words are thrown in the mix.

But Duke is great.  So much so that I downloaded a "live album," I guess you'd call it, from emusic.com.  Ellington At Newport.  It's so cool listening to the very proper way concerts were conducted back in 1956.  It's a show, of course, but it's more of a two-way conversation than today's spectacles.  Oh, and the music's great too.  So I will certainly be in the process of acquiring more Duke.

Listening to Duke prompted me to turn to the music of another jazz artist who happens to live right here in Mayberry.  Melva Houston is a local icon who's pretty big in the jazz and gospel circuit, state-side and internationally.  If you haven't heard her before, you're missing out.  I've been talking with Melva a lot recently, working to schedule her for a concert at our church as part of their sabbatical experience this summer.  She's also performing jazz every Thursday night at Elliotts, a local restaurant.  My family and I went last week to hear her and enjoyed her music.  I also made a long-overdue purchase that night, acquiring her CD Black Coffee.  Good stuff.  You should get it.

My time with Melva led me to another stop on this musical journey to, of all things, gospel music.  Good gospel music, that is.  Because there is such a thing as not-so-good gospel music, at least in my humble opinion.  Southern gospel has pretty much the same effect on me as long, well-manicured nails sliding precariously down a brand spanking-new chalkboard.  It does not fit me in the least.

But you get together a choir of thirty, forty or more people singing some energized three-part harmony (soprano, alto, tenor) and throw in a cadenced lead vocal, and you've got something pretty amazing.  I've always had an inclination for gospel music but had nowhere to direct my journey.  Where to begin??  Melva pointed me to groups like Chicago Mass Choir, John P. Kee and Hezekiah Walker.  I listen to this stuff and know I'm barely scratching the surface, which gets me excited about what I have yet to find.  I know this music isn't for everyone, but it taps into something in me that I can't quite explain; the passionate expression of faith through voices belting forth. See, I told you I couldn't explain it.

And in a weird sort of way this took me to the next stop on the journey, which is sort of like returning home.  I've always greeted the term "praise & worship" music with a lot of disdain and skepticism.  I used to do this stuff all the time, leading music for youth conferences and such.  I once even toyed around with going full-time into what is nebulously referred to as "contemporary Christian music."  Until I found out there's a lot about the industry that isn't very Christian and more about it that looks and feels an awful lot like the secular genre.  So why draw the line?  I don't have a tremendous stomach for most of what I hear in the genre, as a lot of it is poorly-written/recorded/produced and focuses way too much on an individualistic Christianity telling God how great God is and how much we love God, rather than showing God and the rest of the world that love by daring to actually do something.  I have to feel God appreciates the praise but eventually wants us to follow Jesus' lead; crazy stuff like feed the hungry and help the poor and speak out against injustice and stand with the marginalized.

There, I feel better now.

My icy reception of the genre started to thaw a bit last fall when I was asked to lead music for the Massanetta Middle School Conference this coming summer - four 4-day conferences attracting up to 300 middle-schoolers and adult advisors each week.  I said yes because I love music and enjoy any excuse to play guitar and sing with folks. But I also signed on because somewhere deep in me I knew this was another step in the musical journey that I needed to take.  The fact that it aligned perfectly with a sabbatical that will have a definite music slant made the opportunity seem even more right.

So now instead of avoiding praise and worship music like the plague, I'm writing it.  How's that for a switch!  The thing is, I'm trying to approach it differently than I used to.  I want to find and write tunes that are easy to sing and aren't worn out; I'm striving for refreshing lyrics that focus on putting faith into action and being not just believers but followers.  It's a work in progress, but it's coming along.  And I'm listening to some stuff that's been recommended to me by people whose faith and musical acumen I trust - like the David Crowder Band.  I have tremendous respect for any band that writes solid music, records and produces it well, and resists every temptation to make sure their music remains authentic in every way - whatever genre you assign to it.  And on all accounts these guys pass the test with flying colors.

And I guess that's what it all boils down to, don't you think - authenticity?  That's what we should always look for in our music - that it speaks to something deep within who we are; that the songs we write ultimately come as much from inside passions as outside influences.  That's why two people can like different kinds of music; and that's why the musical journey never ends.  Sometimes I find myself getting overwhelmed; like a sponge thrown in an olympic-sized swimming pool.  Try as I might, I'll never be able to soak it all up.  But then I'm thankful that there will always be something new to discover.  Thankful that the well will never run dry.

Man.  From Duke to Melva to gospel to Crowder to me doing something I haven't done in years.  Can't wait to see where the journey takes me next....