As I sit here about to embark on some new adventures in my life, I can’t help but think through all of the details and all of the possibilities that come with each new thing. What will come of this initial trip to Kenya? How is the first course of my new college career going to go? How in the world are we ever going to pay for this new adoption? What about Lucy’s adoption? (I must admit, there is still a lot of anxiety in that one and there will be until the day it’s finalized.)

And yet, even as I look forward, I’m also looking back. At the encouragement of a friend, I am writing out the complete story of how Melody and I got to where we are now. I will be posting it in a series of blog posts on our new adoption blog. And, what reflection I’ve done up to this point (I’m up to 2001) has brought back a flood of incredible memories and set my mind to wondering about some of the people we encountered along the way.

All of this, the looking forward and looking back (and now I have a Paul Abdul song in my head…great) has spawned a little creative monster in me. He creeps up now and again and REALLY doesn’t want me to sleep! But sleep I must, because I have a 14 month old who will wake up early tomorrow whether I want to sleep or not. So, I’m hoping that a little bit of writing here will calm that little monster down. Here goes:

Journeys longed for; adventures sought
Joy experienced, but pain brought forth
Forged by skilled hands, I stand alone
Unique among creation, just like everyone else

My story, not so unusual as to be remembered
Not so drab as to be left untold
Seemingly enjoyed by my Father
As he reminds me of its arc

Yet, once again, my particulars,
Not singularly spectacular,
Amass in strange ways
Which seem, somehow, to matter

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Heaven Calling

I have to admit, I’m not much of a “love at first listen” music consumer. Very rarely do I love an album the first time I hear it. Even the ones I like on first listen, I tend to like even more upon repeated listen. Then, there are those albums that simply don’t grab me at first, but sneak up on me later, when I least expect it.

Matt McCoy’s new release, Heaven Calling falls into the latter category. It’s hard to describe. It’s not that I didn’t like the record the first time I heard it. I actually really enjoyed the opening track “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” from the first note, but the album as a whole didn’t really grab me. Mind you, the production quality is great, mix is excellent, musicality is solid and the songwriting is mostly good. There just seemed to be something missing.

But I know Matt and I know him to be a great worship leader, so I continued to listen…and I wasn’t disappointed. What I found is an inspired album that, in spite of one significant flaw, which I will discuss later, manages to bring a lot to the table. Mentioned earlier, the opening track, “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” is one of the best on the album. It is a big song with big production and nice little aural touches that make it feel much more like a big-budget song than an indie record. “My Eyes Are Fixed On You” is followed by “Stronger Than The Storm” and “Sovereign King”, two songs reminiscent of some of Chris Tomlin’s early work. “Sovereign King” stands out, however, as a great congregational worship tune with emotionally charged verses, an anthemic chorus that begs to be sung by a crowd and great interaction between McCoy’s lead vocal and excellent BGVs provided by Lindsay McCaul.

Lindsay also lends a hand on the fourth track, “Alleluia”, which opens with a bit of a surprise for a solo album – someone other than Matt singing lead. It works for the record, though. A bit reminiscent of a Christy Nockels vocal in the midst of an otherwise male-led Passion record, the track benefits greatly from the female voice.

The next two tracks, “Take Control” and “You Will Be My Song” are solid in their own right, but not especially noteworthy. Track 7, “Will You Carry Me” is an honest conversation with God that reminds me of so many I’ve had – the thoughts and questions of a broken person and the recognition of an ever-present and loving God. It is the story of a prodigal returning home – or rather, of a prodigal recognizing the need to turn homeward.

For “I Know I’m Yours”, McCoy returns to the Passion ’98 vibe in a way that almost makes me nostalgic. All that’s missing are several thousand other voices singing along in agreement. I can hear the crowd singing the tag – “So take the world, but give me You…” This is one of those “lost in worship” songs that could go on forever (at almost 6 minutes, it’s one of the longer songs on the record).

After “I Know I’m Yours” comes the pop-rock tune “Trust In The Lord” followed by the somewhat confusing “Kindness”. Don’t get me wrong, I like the song. The confusing part is the production choices made in the first 45 seconds. I must have listened to this track 20 plus times trying to find the downbeat in the first verse before ultimately pulling out the metronome to try to decipher the code. What I discovered was that either my ears were completely fooled, or Matt and the band weren’t actually sure of where the downbeat was either. About half way through the first verse, I think we all found it and the song progressed nicely from that point, but up until then, I was really lost. Now, I’ve had those times before when my mind was convinced that the downbeat should be in a certain place and I just couldn’t shake it. Admittedly, this may be one of those times and, if shown the correct position of “1″, I might reevaluate my previous statements, but nonetheless, this seems like a production decision that may have sounded cool in the studio, but served as a distraction to me.

But enough of that technical pissy-ness. “I Choose You” is a straight-forward presentation of the incredible choice that we are offered in Jesus. Stylistically, there’s somewhat of a Matt Redman quality to the song, especially in the verses. That is followed by the mysterious, atmospheric opening of “You’ve Given Everything”, which eventually builds into a furious, driving, repeatable chorus which, again, begs to be sung in a big arena with a big crowd, flowing into the album’s final track, “Calling Home”, which is more of an extended tag on the end of “You’ve Given Everything” than it is a stand-alone song.

The verdict: Yes, this album is full of Passion-esque songs and sounds. Just as songwriters and worship leaders of my generation and a little older were profoundly impacted by Vineyard Music and early Delirious?, so Matt’s generation and younger have been forever impacted by Tomlin, Crowder and the rest of the Sixsteps crew. I don’t have a problem with that, but if you’re not a Tomlin fan, you may not be a fan of this record. It’s certainly not “rehashed” in any way, but the style and sound are similar to what you would expect from the Passion folks. On the other hand, if you like Chris, David, Charlie and the gang (and many certainly do) then I would wholeheartedly suggest that you pick this record up.

“What about the one significant flaw?” Yes, I mentioned in my open that there was a significant flaw in this record (and no, it wasn’t the opening of “Kindness”). It took me a while to put my finger on it, but this is what I concluded: Matt seems to suffer from the same syndrome as many other excellent worship leaders. The passion, energy and authenticity he exhibits on stage in a live worship setting simply doesn’t come through in a studio recording. There is a huge gap between the Matt McCoy you get in a live setting and the Matt McCoy you get in the studio.

Fortunately for Matt, he is in good company when it comes to the live vs. studio disconnect. Two of the most influential worship leaders in recent history, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, both suffered (or still suffer) from the same issue. Fortunately for both of these artists, they had, in addition to studio work, live recordings which let people know what they could really do. Tomlin’s contribution to the live Passion records and Redman’s 2004 release Facedown allowed these two seminal worship leaders to exist in their comfort zone and allowed the listener to hear “what all the fuss was about”.

In McCoy’s album, you hear this familiar problem, which is often discovered when one tries to record a worship leader. Unlike the pop stars and TV creations found on hit radio, worship leaders tend to actually be better live artists than they are studio artists. Most worship leaders, after all, are playing live in front of large crowds on a regular basis long before they record an album. Take a guy or girl out of that in-the-moment worship setting, put them in a tiny box with a giant microphone and some engineer or producer yelling in their ear, and the whole experience loses something. The “something” could be called many things – maybe “passion” or “worshipfulness” or more mysteriously “the Spirit”. Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with musicality or technicality, but affects the overall sound just the same. Is that Matt’s fault? I don’t think so. Personally, I would rather go to a live event and hear something better than the record than to hear something worse. In short, I’d rather hear Matt than, say, Taylor, the Jonas boys or Miley.

In the end, this is a good record with some really good songs. It’s definitely worth picking up and is, I think, a taste of what’s to come from McCoy. Here’s to hoping we get live recordings of some of these songs in the future.

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Autumn In Repair

Have you ever had a friend hand you a CD and say something like, “Hey, check this out. This is my son’s band. They are going to be HUGE!” Such was my conversation nearly 10 years ago with Randy McCoy, the father of Autumn In Repair drummer Brandon McCoy. The band he was referring to was a group of high school friends called Three Way Stop. The CD, though rough and musically immature, gave me a glimpse into the potential of this band – specifically the songwriting and vocal potential of frontman Steve Jones. I remember thinking “I don’t know about HUGE, but there’s talent here. If these guys want to and are willing to put in the work, I think they can do something.”

Fast forward to 2010 and the elder McCoy is still advocating for “his boy”. Some of the players have changed, but the core duo of Brandon McCoy and Steve Jones have continued honing their sound since those high school days. The result is a new band called Autumn In Repair. A few years ago, I had the privilege of producing an indie EP for these guys and was exposed to some of the songwriting prowess of not only Jones, but McCoy as well. Though the two seem to approach songwriting from very different perspectives (and each is good in his own right) the combination of the two is where this band shines.

In their self-titled debut (Varietal Records), the Kansas City group presents a kind of Our Lady Peace meets Wilco meets Coldplay vibe that is all at once entertaining, thought provoking and worshipful. The album opens with an acoustic guitar and Jones’ raspy vocal on “Freedom Doxology” before exploding in anthemic shouts of “Let freedom ring out here!”

What follows is a collection of some of Jones’ solo writing efforts and some outside material, all worthy of multiple listens. The catchy “Sing Holy” is a solid worship song that I’m sure will make its way into many set lists over the coming months, while songs like “Draw Me” and “Great Is Your Love” are more suited for listening than they are for congregational singing.

The real gems of the album, however, come in tracks 9, 10 & 11. While most albums are front-loaded with the best material (and perhaps this one is sequenced with song accessibility in mind) this record saves some of the most interesting and moving tunes for the end. All three of the final tracks are co-written by Jones and McCoy.

At the intersection of Plain White T’s and Delirious stands “Desire”, a song that seems to be heavily influenced by the band’s friendship with label-mate Jeremy Riddle (McCoy is Riddle’s drummer and Jones credits Riddle for helping to refine the songs on the project). This song teeters between intimate conversation and bold declaration, with lyrics like “Oh, to live in deep obedience and for Your words to be my own,” followed by shouts of “This is my desire!”

On the heals of “Desire” comes “Rest Your Head”, an emotionally-charged ballad that has Jones singing “Don’t be worried, rest your head” like his life depended on it. Upon first listen, I was moved nearly to tears on a day that I was not in a particularly emotional mood. The final refrain promises the listener that “Your soul will find its way back home,” a lifeline for those who feel adrift in this crazy world.

The final track, “Seeds” is simple in its structure and production, but almost feels like a “To be continued…” tag at the end of a great movie. Here’s to hoping that this journey will be continued for Autumn In Repair and that they find room for more Jones/McCoy co-writes on the next album.

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The Things We've Grown to Love

OK, so I’m a bit late to the game on this one (the album released in August of 2009) but I can’t let it go unnoticed. The band is called All the Day Holiday – AtHD for short – and my review of their record needs a little background.

Back in 2001, I was asked to join the staff of the 4000+ member Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. My first goal was to help raise the bar for their Student Ministries worship experience. I didn’t have to start from scratch, though. A couple of volunteer leaders had already collected a group of talented teenagers who had already begun developing and maturing musically and who I simply needed to engage and encourage along the way.

One of those young musicians was a guy named Mark Ventura. I think Mark was around 12 years old at the time. The first time I heard Mark play, I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” The kid had chops – MAD chops. Mark was the kind of guy that could play anything you threw at him. He had so many tools in his rhythmic arsenal that his biggest challenge was figuring out when (and when NOT) to use them. I spent the first two years repeating the same word over and over to Mark: Simplify.

A year or two later, another 12 or 13 year old named David Roller came along. Even at a young age, David was already a budding talent on bass, even though the instrument seemed impossibly large hanging on his tiny frame. Watching David play bass was like watching a little boy walk around in his daddy’s shoes…but then owning the stage in those shoes.

Then there was Nathan Frisch. Nathan was what you expect in a junior high guitarist. He had a Squire Strat, hair that hung in his face and I’m pretty sure there was a guitar strap made of duct tape. But underneath the cheap gear, there was definitely talent. And more than that, there was an eagerness to learn and to play. Nathan seemed to surround himself with any interesting musical influence he could find – digging into old indie rock like some kind of music historian – and it began to show in his playing.

All three of these guys made my job easier those years in Cincinnati, even if it was sometimes a chore to reign in the animal that was Ventura – especially when he forgot to take his Ritalin! And over the course of my time there, I began to see bits and pieces of what the musical future might look like for each one of these guys.

It was no surprise, then, when I caught wind of a band called All the Day Holiday – made up of this trio of talented guys and another guy I had never heard of. Obliged to pick up their debut album, The Things We’ve Grown to Love, and take a listen, I would soon learn about this other guy, Daniel Simmons, whose haunting vocals help turn a pretty good band into something unique in the landscape of indie bands.

Upon first listen, I was struck at the musical prowess and creativity of this band. The guys have definitely grown up in the past 8 years or so (as would be expected, I suppose, if I didn’t know so many who hadn’t matured in that time). And I’m not the only one to take notice of AtDH. Rolling Stone Magazine named AtDH one of six breakout bands to watch for at the 2009 Bamboozle Festival. (Bamboozle attendees in Anaheim can catch them on March 27th.)

The album itself is filled with guitar-driven, but atmospherically-laden tunes with Simmons adding soaring vocals and the kind of emotional energy found in frontmen like Matthew Bellamy (Muse) but with a more authentic, less theatrical (and less creepy) sound. The first track, “Autumn”, is one of the best on the record. The song is somewhat of a microcosm of what this group has to offer the listener – atmospheric guitars and keys on top of interesting drum beats with Simmons’ pure vocals layered on top like some kind of sweet cream frosting on an already delicious cake. Yeah, this band is, well…um…I guess…yummy.

“Autumn” is followed by a great upbeat tune, “Real Time” that again highlights Ventura’s creativity on drums. For “2000 Winters”, Simmons’ voice ventures into Adam Young (Owl City) territory, which is not as interesting as the other tunes, but still quite good. What follows in the next three tracks is mostly more of the same, which is not to say it’s bad. It’s actually very good, but no song stands out as remarkable.

Track 6, “Cities”, mixes it up a little as the mellow, melodic and poetic opening verse is followed by a chorus that bursts forth both in energy and in the vividness of the imagery used. Add to that the nice little breakdown about two-thirds of the way through that seems to draw it’s influence from bands like The Who, and you have another gem of a song sitting right in the middle of the record.

“Cities” is followed by the title track, which has a Sondre Lerche vibe to it (never a bad thing) and then onto the solid “Fireworks and Flowers” (a couple of things I’ve also grown to love) and “Cheers”, the longest song on the album at 5:13. Make no mistake, “Cheers” may not be radio-ready due to it’s length, but the wide open instrumentation is certainly ready for an arena show, should these guys break out of the tiny clubs and into that kind of venue.

The final two tracks on the album aren’t to be missed, either. “Mountains” reminds me of another Cincinnati artist, Ashley Peacock, a guy who knows all about super clear, soaring vocals. Then comes “Invisible”, which drops the stereoscopic soundscape vibe entirely. The rest of the band has left the studio and we’re left with Simmons and an acoustic guitar. We take a deep breath and are serenaded with a song that admittedly sounds like a demo, but which I can imagine the producer saying “I like the demo so much I don’t want to mess with it.” As a final track, it’s like the band is saying, “Goodnight all. We’ll see you again in the morning.” Yeah, I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a lot of AtDH in the near future.

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