For the last few weeks I have been absolutely fascinated by Katie Perry, the recent pop sensation. You all know her from the intentionally shocking I Kissed A Girl but I just recently learned that I know her from a Christian concert that I saw in Auburn, CA five years ago. At the time, she was going by the name Katie Hudson which she later dropt in favor of Perry, her mother’s maiden name, so that she wouldn’t be confused with the actress.

So crazy! She went from singing about a love for God to singing for the sake of scandalous sensation—in a very catchy way no less. What is really fascinating is that she has Jesus tattooed on her left wrist. Every time she plays guitar and sings she sees it and is reminded about her former faith. Like Jessica and Ashley Simpson her Dad is a pastor too. Unlike the Simpsons, Perry’s dad isn’t managing her career in delighted approval. That must be interesting at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It really makes you wonder what is going on in the minds of Christian artists. In our current Industry of Christian music, Perry’s former industry, it is very easy to let “Christian lyrics” be a substitute for Christian faith and living. Words that are sung seem to be fused with the image that we have of those that sing them whether or not such a relationship is real. I am sure those that followed Perry’s Christian artistry were convinced of the same.

I think it is a healthy reminder to us that a person’s life should be evaluated apart from the assumptions that come with the industry that they are in—that is reversible by the way (seemingly “unchristian” lyrics can be sung by very Godly people). Any thoughts? Any thoughts about the assumptions we make? Any thoughts about Perry or Christian music? Let me know what you think.

Yes! I am home and the CD is rolling! I got back from Des Moines on Saturday afternoon having wrapped up an incredible week of recording goodness and I am just now starting to recover from the trip.

Like I was saying in my posts from the studio, the recording was going great all week. Pretty cool stuff was getting tracked but I still didn’t have my voice back. I was still Bronchitis riddled; in fact, I was getting worse. Determining that a good vocal take for four songs was out of the question, we had made arrangements to do it in California. It was going to be a little more difficult, but doable.

Friday rolled in and as I was listening over what we had done, I decided to cut one of the songs that we had done in favor of one that I thought would be a better fit for the artistic vibe of the project (Oh the snobbery!).

Woody gave a good sigh and with this one day remaining, we quickly tracked guitars. We had to get at least a rough vocal, so I stepped up to the mic and gave what I could. Despite my illness, it sounded decent. From there, we decided that we just might be able to make some final vocals happen.

I consumed a small mountain of cough drops and Earl Grey in that session but we came up with some pretty good takes. We recorded well into the evening and got all the final vocals that we needed. It was amazing and undeniable that the Lord was working stuff out.

That night, with a hefty amount of lingering Caffeine from all of the Tea, sleep was simply out of the question. My flight departed at 5:00AM the next morning. As 3:00AM rolled in, I was as wide eyed as I was when I laid down, so I left for the airport. Unfortunately, it took way longer to return the car than I had anticipated and I arrived at NWA check-in at 4:45. I was glared at, the pilot was telephoned, and the less-than-friendly lady told me that the plane would not wait but if I ran I might make it. I ran. Sure enough, security decided that the x-raying of my bag was insufficient and that a more thorough search was in order. Since nothing illegal was discovered, I thanked security for their thoroughness and kept running. As the gangway door was closing I ran up. They let me on. Everyone was extremely happy with me. Just kidding. They were the opposite.

So it’s 5:01 AM, I haven’t slept, people want me dead, but I am heading home to see my family, so life is all good. I got home Saturday afternoon and my kids were bigger and my wife was more beautiful than when I left.

What a week! What a great end to a great week. So the EP process has begun. Over the next few weeks, Woody and I will be exchanging tracks back and forth from my computer to his (I love modern technology). Hopefully we will get everything done before January 1, but now I am uncertain. There is quite a bit still to do and I am super picky. We will still shoot for January but—here’s a brilliant statement—it won’t be done until it’s done. Thanks for checking in. I totally appreciate your interest in my music and I hope and pray that it can be a blessing to you when it is finally in your iPods and stereos. Cheers!

Have you read? Are you going to be there next week? A lot of excitment floating around about this.

There is no doubt about it, the time between now and January, 1 is going to be a millennia if it’s a minute. I can’t wait to be holding the final CD because it’s already coming together so well. The recording that we did today is every bit what I imagined it to be, maybe a little more. We have one song almost completely finished and I think you may end up liking it. We’ll see.

We have packed up for the day so I am killing the evening out at a mall in Des Moines. Who would have thought that there would be a ridiculously nice mall here? It’s pretty stinkn classy (though I have been told that the mall in Nashville blows it away). And, yup, Santa is already here too—What’s with that? What about Thanksgiving? They better break out the Easter Décor on New Years Eve or they just might be too late.

Well Friends that’s it from me tonight. I hope you are all enjoying your evenings wherever you are. Hopefully you get a chance to swing out to your local mall. I hear that this year Santa will be giving out Turkeys instead of Candy Canes. So have fun with that. Good Night!

Hard at work. Woody and Brian (at least they appear to be).

Wow! 12 hours of recording made for a nice first day. I am super tired. Wah wah right?

Well we got some good stuff done today. Woody has had some great input for my songs and we got the groundwork done for all the songs that are going to be on the EP. Woody has an assistant named Brian and the two of them are great company. Between quoting The Office and Brian Reagan with a little friendly jabbing in between, it is amazing that we get anything done.

I am missing my family like crazy. Be home soon though. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for vocals—today was not pretty—I am still hoarse from the Bronchitis but I think that my body is healing. Woohoo! I am having fun driving around Des Moines because the girl at Enterprise rent had a nice Ford Focus but gave me the Hummer instead. Thanks for checking in. I will keep you posted! Cheers!

Today is the day! In addition to being that which the Lord has made, this is EP recording day. Day 1. I cannot explain my excitement so just try to imagine. I even had trouble sleeping last night. Yeah, it was the same problem that I have on every December 24th. Major anticipation!

Now, there’s some good news and bad news to curb this enthusiasm. Good news or bad news first? I’m a good news first guy because I like hope to hang onto. Good news: This is my first fully produced recording. I am going to be working with phenomenal people to make it happen. God has provided for every step of the way thus far and I can’t imagine what he is going to continue to do.

That’s pretty darn good news. The bad news: simply that, I have not shaken the sickness that I came down with 2 weeks ago. What started out as a small head cold has moved down into my chest and turned into a nasty, wheezy, Bronchitis. As of yesterday, I had 4 consecutive days of steady worsening. I will go ahead not tell you about the green nastyness that I keep coughing up and I will just keep that to myself. Point? Singing and Bronchitis are not friends.

But like I said, I like good news first. God has been faithful every step of the way. He is going to continue being the awesome God that he is. God definitely likes to get the credit for stuff so it’s kind of in his nature to help people not have room for their own boasting. He is pretty great like that. So I my excitement is un hindered. It’s going to be amazing and I can’t wait to tell you guys more as the week goes on. Thanks for your prayers and support. Cheers!

I wouldn’t call my self accident-prone but I definitely have more uninvited nuisances injected into everyday than most people. I loose my keys, my phone, my wallet. I show up at gigs without my guitar and I make pens disappear like they were rabbits. Some call it forgetful but I like to think of it as preoccupation with the beauty of life—call it what you want.

This evening I was reminded that my life is like this. I went to drop off a couple Red Box DVDs, which I had forgotten several nights in a row and was being charged extra money for by the second (one of the drawbacks to being preoccupied with the beauty of life). I got done with the return and headed back to my car.

It’s a good feeling to get back to your car. You get there and it’s, “Yes, I have arrived”—unless of course you do what I did and arrive at the wrong car. I pulled on the handle of the, also gold, 90’s model, Camry and realized after it’s alarm went off that it was somebody else’s. I totally felt like a criminal. I was certain that 50 undercover cops were about to jump out and bust me for my apparent attempt at grand theft auto. Luckily my car was the next parking spot over and I was able to make a quick get away before anyone was able to wrongly accuse me.

Do you see what I mean? Things like that happen to me all the time—remember the lost and found keys post a couple of weeks ago. That’s my life. It definitely stays interesting. If you have a gold 90’s model Camry try not to park next to me, it gets very confusing.

I know this might be a little early to already be talking about, but check out this CD cover that Celest just put together for it. Let me know what you think?

Iowa? Why the heck are you going to Iowa? I keep getting this question over and over (and over and over and over and over) again, so, I thought that I would give a little explanation for why I am heading out there. And I will start off by acknowledging the legitimacy of the question since I do live right between L.A. and San Francisco—You obviously wonder why I am not going to a perfectly good studio in one of those fine music towns.

Let me introduce you to my friend Andrew Woody (most people just call him Woody). A little over 1 year ago, I went out to Arizona with my brother Josiah to record a Single, which Woody produced. I really appreciated working with him at that time. He definitely knows his stuff. He was easy to work with, had a wonderful way of working through the song, and most importantly, he wasn’t a jerk (if you know many producers, you may know what I mean).

Fast-forward to today. The studio in Arizona is now relocated to Des Moines, Iowa because Woody is a really big fan of fresh Corn on the Cob (I actually have no idea why the studio relocated but I assume that’s the reason because I can’t think of any other).

At any rate, to answer the question, I am now heading to Des Moines because that’s where Woody is and I want to work with him. There are several other options that I have had on the table that would have allowed for a cheaper plain ticket, or none at all, but I didn’t feel as comfortable with any. And plus, I too am a big fan of Corn, so why wouldn’t I go to Iowa? So, four more days! I hope that answer is sufficient. If you do have any suggestions for where to find the happening nightlife in Iowa, I will definitely take them. Cheers!