a brave, chivalrous endeavor

the day eddie vedder taught me how to surf

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:08:37 -0500

first of all, there was a rainbow. now, given that we were in hawaii, this is not so significant. here, there are rainbows everyday. it is a magical rainbow land. they have rainbows on their license plates, just rubbing it in: “yeah, we have rainbows, like, all the time.” my texas license plate proudly proclaims, “the lone star state,” yet has exactly 23 stars, a moon, a cowboy riding a horse across a plateau-like terrain, two oil wells, two desert plants, and a space shuttle. the narrative line of our license plate is: this cowboy went out riding through a succulent laden oil field and the space shuttle flew over. this, obviously, is awesome. but it is nothing so defining and singular as a rainbow. just looking at hawaii’s license plate makes you feel better. not to mention seeing one, as in, a real-live-hawaiian rainbow, as in, the brightest, most vivid rainbow you’ve ever seen in your whole life, as in, every single color that makes up the world is very, very discernible, like right there in the sky, with the big fat end of the thing, as in, the part you’re never ever supposed to see without pots of gold and small people in green dancing around it, sitting there, right in the middle of the pacific ocean, like right where you’re about to go surf for the first time in your whole life. with eddie vedder.

i took a picture of this rainbow with my iphone. here it is.

also, this is me and eddie the evening prior.

i should mention a few things before we go on.

one. celebrities are like voltswagens.

this celebrity-as-voltswagen started with tone loc. hogan, our violinist, came running up as we stood waiting for bags in the LAX american airlines baggage terminal and said, “hey, that’s tone loc over there.” and it was. we know this because when he said hello it came out as, “was’up,” in that exact low, gravel-filled tone [ha] as, “hasta la vista baby,” and this encounter made us collectively less weary. in fact, our bags had arrived and it hadn’t even occurred to us that we were waiting on them, because, you know, we were hanging with tone loc, and then, after he was gone, we were busy trying to quote as many lines as we could remember from wild thing and funky cold medina or name any other songs he had recorded. (turns out we couldn’t, remember the names of any other songs, although his debut album, loc-ed after dark, was chock-full of gems like, cheeba cheeba and loc’in on the shaw, and i would not be able to recall them now, had hogan never spotted, mystically, mr. loc.) and so it began, this game of celebrity spotting. although we were pretty sure it wouldn’t ever get better than tone loc. in our game, it seems, random-famous is way better than uber-famous, as in, tone loc beats brangelina. this may be because brangelina would never fly commercial and is/are therefore not even in the running, but we like to think it’s because part of the value of the game is the inherent non-sense of celebrity and the insanely good feelings you get when you see someone who was very visible and public at one point, or who might have provided you meaningful entertainment with little, to no, serious, ongoing public recognition, and so, richard simons trumps tom hanks. and it turns out we’re pretty good at this game. granted, we (the band) travel in a large pack, as in, nine of us, and ninety percent of our time is spent in public spaces of transportation, as in, airport terminals, and the odds are very great that some random-famous person is there, waiting to be spotted, and with nine on the hunt, they tend to turn up.

i realize how this sounds. “hunt,” is too strong a word. and so, i feel i should qualify and assure you that this is not a stalker-like obsession or paparazzi-like pursuit; i mean, we’re quite busy: hauling luggage and all manner of gear and equipment, checking in at the ticket counter, attempting to secure exit rows or bulkhead or finagle upgrades, searching for temporarily misplaced passports or tickets or mobile phones, or a taco bell, or a starbucks (actually, you don’t have to search for these, they’re just there); basically, we’re in an ever present state of performing demonstrably important and necessary tasks, so this “hunt’ is more just a tickle in the back of the mind, a finely tuned sense that is always at the ready for the observation and assimilation of common data other people overlook, like todd bridges standing in line in front of you at the admirals club, or the voice of gillian michaels asking about a hoodie at the other register while you are purchasing mentos, or larry miller eating handfuls of mcdonald’s fries directly across from you as you’re reaching for salt and a straw. these moments are golden and respected and the collective weariness is dissipated by the retelling of them. it is the exact euphoria of spotting a white vw beetle on a twelve hour road trip with your family and punching your younger brother hard in the arm.

this may still sound cruel, this basic, non-stalker–non-paparazzi–osmosis-like–non-hunt for celebrities, and it may be. i think we justify it, partially, by telling ourselves, “well, you know, we get stopped sometimes, and, well, it’s not so bad, really.” and this is a true statement. we’re no tone loc, but there is rarely a trip through the airport that i’m not stopped and asked if i am who i am and if i would mind a quick photo, and i am happy to oblige. granted, it is easily argued that i’m bringing this on, this recognition, with my fancy hair and regal beard and my aberrant height. in other words, i’m an easy spot. but that doesn’t change the fact that saying a few words to someone who is saying nice things to you is not too very difficult. and i think this is partially why we like the game so much: we know the demands. sure, we might have just gotten off a red eye from seattle to dallas after having flown on a different red eye from atlanta to seattle the day prior, but there is an awareness that this moment, this present tense, has brought a very kind person into our path and it is possible that what we have done as a band has been meaningful to this person in some very real, emotional, non-ironic way and this may be the moment that either validates or undermines those possible experiences. in other words, when you meet santa claus, do you hope to meet the guy who has applied for a seasonal, part time job, or do you hope to meet the guy from the north pole who brings goodness and cheer and whose belly shakes like a bowl that is full of a sweet, clear, semisolid made from fruit juice and sugar.

which brings me to: two. celebrities are like santa claus.

and this is part of it, the game: it is interesting to approach famous people and see how they treat you – to see if you get santa claus or the part time employee. i mean, it is absolutely reasonable to get a brusque, curt response; if you were to approach a non-famous person in the airport and abruptly introduce yourself, say, like when they were eating handfuls of fries, and then asked them if your friend could take a photo of the two of you, the odds are great you’d get denied and possibly reported to the nearest authorities. and yet, despite the reasonableness of dismissal as a response, we have never been denied a photo from a celebrity we have approached. in fact, for the most part, the people we have encountered and imposed upon have been generous and kind. and i think this is wonderful.

but the reason this is interesting, this approaching famous people partially to observe response, is because, for the most part, i don’t care. at least that’s what i conclude. if i cared deeply whether the person treated me kindly or not, i would be much more hesitant to approach them. and the reason, i think, i might not care is because, really, how much has willis (todd bridges) helped me navigate life of late? maybe this is why random-celebrity beats uber-celebrity, there’s no real investment. there’s no real consequence. it is a completely selfish act on our part. i know it is selfish because i can ask, “what can it hurt,” and the answer to that question is, “not me.” but what if the person is someone who has created something that has moved you in a significant, formative way? what if the person is someone who has created things that have helped you navigate the landscape of yourself? what if they have written and sung songs that have been attached to some of the most important moments of your life? what if these songs sometimes helped you know what it was exactly that you were feeling in these particularly important moments? what if these creations animated the things that were in your chest and made them more experience-able, more real, more concrete and significant, as if you and these moments actually existed, that you and them were undeniable facts, validated by the sound and melody? what if these songs were inseparable from the moments, so much a part of them that they are dependent upon each other, that to think about the song is to think about the moment and the inverse? well, then, if this is the case, i believe it would matter a great deal which santa claus showed up.

and there i was, sitting on a surf board in the pacific ocean, the end of a rainbow on one side, oahu’s diamond head on the other, the early morning air cool and already full of sunshine, and eddie vedder is sitting on his board next to me. we’ve been here for about an hour and a half, him pushing me into waves, him telling me to spread my stance, to keep the nose up, not that up, yelling and clapping and throwing me a shaka sign when things go well, floating, watching for the right color in the undulating water, talking about songwriting, evel knievel, guitars, the ocean, near death experiences, gene simons, the moore theater, long haired john, ace frehley’s guitar solos, rocking in the free world, latest reads, solo tours, chuck klosterman, paddle boards, adrenaline, the choice of the present tense, happiness, church music. there are exactly seven people i’ve dreamed of meeting, to the point of fantasizing, imagining what we’d talk about, planning the annoying questions, because these individuals have had such an effect on how i create and what i want to accomplish through what i create. four are musicians. three are writers. one is dead. and i was in the pacific ocean with a rainbow and a surf board and one of them. i believe in santa claus.

fantastical!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:08:28 -0500

everything you expect... plus! a whole lot more

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:12:21 -0500

we, the david crowder*band, have a developing theory that we frequently pull out, to laugh about and add to, and it is this: there is a grocery store on the outskirts of waco, texas, this beautiful metropolis we call home, that we are convinced is a psychological testing facility. i say this and you don’t take me seriously. but i am. i am serious. it is the only reasonable explanation for the store’s layout. i mean, we all know that grocery stores, and the magical stocking thereof, are the stuffs of science; precisely planned for calculated events to unfold upon your entrance. you may believe that it was your idea to buy the lime flavored water additive on the way to get the fresh head of lettuce, but no, this event was foreseen by a computer program months ago, knowing that you would enter from the south doors at 3pm on a wednesday. the ideology of impulse buying and the intentional direction of traffic flow for optimal manipulation is expected on our modern hunting and gathering outings, but what unfolds upon entrance into the H.E.B on woodway drive is nothing short of mystifying.

this notion of a psychological-testing-facility came to me while catching sight of a man tapping away frantically at a mysterious, portable, rolling, computer cart that had various science-type periphery hanging from it while observing me as i calmly pointed out to my wife that i could touch weed killer with one hand while reaching across the aisle and, with the other hand, simultaneously touch baby diapers. and so we, as a band, have made humorous statements about this, and other equally mystifying product placements, and have made statements, with no real intent of following through on, about mapping the store to cartographically document the many bizarre commercial pairings.

well, today i had the great joy of locating a particularly unsettling pairing. and i took pictures. the pictures are significant because i’ve been banned from this, the taking of pictures, in this store. it is true! i have been shut down twice for taking photos, which, as one would imagine, serves to grow my suspicion rather than suppress it. but yes, this time i was successful, and so i texted the band the following: ‘in my right hand i can grab a spray bottle of something called, ‘urine eliminator’ while simultaneously grabbing a fully cooked chicken that sits beneath an infrared heat lamp. magical i say!”

here is the thing that is called, “urine eliminator.”:

here is the whole chicken, warming beneath the lamp:

here is me grabbing both:

here are the text responses back from band members:

hogan: did you need a leather couch too? next aisle.

bwack: can you grab the nickleback cd? it’s next to the vacuum bags, to the left of the chicken.

mike d: amazing!

jack: if you’re looking for the hamburger buns, they’re next to the hamburger patties.

mark: yes! don’t get arrested.

crowder's fantastical church music conference.

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:56:45 -0500

i have some exciting news.

i am putting on a conference, yes, you read that correctly, i am putting on a conference. it will be called, “crowder’s fantastical church music conference.” and here’s what i’m wondering – who you think i should include in this conference, as far as presenters go. i mean, i have a lot of ideas and have been talking to many of my friends about this, but i suspect you’d have some ideas that i’ve neglected. my hope is that it will let those in attendance explore the purposes of congregational singing in our respective settings and give exposure to music and thoughts that will inspire and provoke and lead to various beautiful things. so, any ideas? who have you seen or heard and appreciated in a way that made you think, “wow, i wish there were more of that!”

definition: crowder

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:03:53 -0500

sent to me by one todd fadel. thank you todd. who knew?

finally, a's to the q's in two parts: part two.

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:26:00 -0500

Question!

I attended the A Collision Cd release party in Waco Texas. While there we were handed out FREE dvds. Inside the DVD was a link to download acoustic songs from A Collision. You guys however did give a very special treat by giving away a free download of a song called Bent/dear katrina! This song is pretty intense and yet I can never figure out the words! Once and a while i think i have it and when i let someone else listen to it they suggest a alternative. It has been driving me crazy for years!!! At one point i even contacted the your OFFICIAL myspace and shared my question in a message and the response was

“i forget

nononono Crowder!!! the question needs a answer! make this almost 5 year old question be put to rest!! what are the lyrics to Bent/dear katrina!!!!!

almost5yourold. as of first reading this questions i am presented two problems. one, i still don’t have any idea what the lyrics are, although i do recall our exchange and i officially apologize for the feebleness of mind on my part. two, i do not possess a copy of that dvd, nor the song. and so, in lieu of access to the dvd, i am attempting to track down the original pro-tools file. this way, i can solo the vocal channel and we will know, once and for all, what it is that the vocalist, i believe it to be me, “it” being the vocalist, is saying. ok, so i found the hard drive that it is on, but i don’t have my mbox with me. i’ll have to wait until i can go out to the studio. ok, so i am now in the studio. i have opened the pro-tools file that is labeled “bending2”. sure enough, it’s that song! ok, soloing the vocal track. here’s what i say: “i am bendable you’ll see, watch me folding at the knees.” i’m intrigued by the news samples i included toward the end of the song. i’m soloing them now. ok, here’s the first guy: “…overcome. the drinking water supply is going to become undrinkable and the the longer people stay in the city the more people are going to become gravely ill and that’s only going to compound the problem and that just adds another degree of absolute immediate seriousness to the situation here in new orleans. it is an urban crisis. the city is going to be closed off for good for seemingly 6 to 8 weeks possibly even longer. it is barricaded around the city limits you cannot get in, you are not allowed into this city, there is only one direction to go & it is out…” then a female newscaster enters: “…the red cross volunteers here….sound of the choppers overhead have to be a welcome sound to the people on the ground as they hope to be on these choppers to get out of there in short order…there’s a place where you can list missing loved ones…missing loved ones…missing loved ones…missing loved ones…”

How many years did Hogan take violin lessons? How long did it take him to be proficient enough to play The Lark Ascending?

klswan. i dont’ know. i would guess pretty long.

ooooh my gosh i’m so glad you decided to do this…

ok, what is the speak & spell spelling in church music? (i can’t tell you the amount of time i spent intently listening trying to make words out of the random letters i would catch ha)

also, so glad someone asked about the columns…i literally almost charged the stage at yall’s q&a session at passion atlanta a few years back but figured the topic wasn’t completely revelent; also i didn’t even know where to begin on what exactly to ask about them. i reread the book recently and i think i now have a better understanding about what yall were trying to accomplish there (at least i don’t have the insane urge to run at you and demand answers anymore…it was actually in search of an explanation for the columns that i first started following your blog a few years back) but would still love to hear any thoughts you have on that portion of the book, which was great by the way. thanks!!

sarah. i’m glad that you’re glad. as for speak and spell, please see above. as for columns, also see above. (i fear i’m not explaining enough about the columns, but i do think it is best this way, i hope it doesn’t cause you to be less than glad.)

1. I noticed that you use a wide variety of instruments in your music. For example, in your “A Collision” album you draw from bluegrass style and instruments. Have you ever considered looking into and incorporating instruments and textures from other cultures and countries? (For example, the tubla from India, zheng from China, exotic rhytmnic texturing from Africa, etc.)

2. Though I am sure you have probably explained it at another time, can you please explain the meaning and implementation of the “Or (3+4=7)” subtitle of the A Collision album?

3. Does the band have any interim project planned for next year? If so, can you provide any details?

4. Was the background synth line on Eastern Hymn inspired by any Mega Man soundtrack? Mega Man music came to mind when I first listened to Eastern Hymn.

Thanks man!

christopher. 1. the various textures you refer to have appeared because something caught our ear and attention and we ran down a trail that seemed somehow inevitable. i think this is what lets us explore a thing and present it in an authentic way, rather than just finding new textures for the sake of finding new textures. none of us have yet gotten into indian music (outside of the academic exposure that several of us have had, or the westernized version experienced in sound tracks for like, movies about millionaire game shows) or african rhythmic textures (see previous explanation regarding indian music) and thus could not present it in a way that was not simply co-opting a culture’s art with no real kinship or understanding of that culture. as for the math thing, we have been toying with the number 7 since we started this dc*b thing, the reason being – we have viewed art as this space where the human and the divine collide, “3” being representative of the divine, “4” being representative of the earthly. currently we have no interim project planned, officially, so i don’t have details. and no, sadly, mega man was not an inspirational factor in eastern hymn, although, i will admit, most of us in the band have very much been influenced by video game music.

What is the robot spelling in Church Music - Dance (!)?

bethany. see above.

You were in my dream last night. You shaved your beard. I almost cried. I then got a photo with you and some other band members. I went to your show in Minneapolis. Not getting a picture with you when you were standing in the church alcove thing is the second largest regret of my life. The dream photo fixed things up a bit.

nathan. that’s scary. i’m wondering, of course, what the first was.

The Minneapolis thing happened it wasn’t in my dream.

Are there answers to these questions?

How do you keep “it”-the spiritual worship mood/experience thing- fresh?

nathan. i think this has most to do with the people you surround yourself with and the intentions behind what you are doing.

Are you going to do Rockumentaries in the future?

linz. see above.

what do you think of all that crazy construction and new road nonsense in texarkana!? you have to go all over the place just to get to tamollys or cracker barrel. can’t get there from richmond. i am not a fan. haha.

janette. yes. the construction is crazy! what town is that?

1. How many times have you hit your head on the ceiling/wall above the staircase, and if many, is that what inspired you to write “Stars”?

2. What do you do when you are down, struggling with inspiration, to find strength and peace?

chris. i have hit my head twice. i’m a fast learner. this was not a factor in composing “stars”. i attempt to figure out what has me down, struggling with inspiration. then i attempt to do what i can to physically eliminate the problem. the physical and the spiritual are entwined, i think we overlook this often. often this means i simply need some sleep, or rest, or food. other times, when perhaps the reason for the struggle is not so clear, i recall the words of my friend who once said, “you know, sometimes god led his people into the desert. just because you feel like you’re in the desert doesn’t mean you’re not exactly where god wants you to be.” i usually ignore the double negative though.

i’ll try a couple-

(forgive me if i repeat- there are a lot of comments, and i nary read them all)

1) favorite/funniest moment from church music tour?

2) insight into being a vegetarian/pizza-ite? i remember you once mentioning it on the old blog and recently converted… any tips/tricks/thoughts?

3) if you could be a master of any form of martial arts, what would it be (barring you already aren’t)?

and finally…

4) just discovered ubc’s christmas for kenya albums. they are pretty astounding… did you all have a hand in this in any way?

tim. my favoite moment was putting on my suit for the first time. i felt so important and like i was about to do something really essential. the funniest moment was when i put my suit on for the first time. it was, what they call, ridiculous. the shoes were so very long and slippery on the soles and i don’t think i had the right kind of socks on. as for insight into the word “pizzatarian”, and tips for successful participation in such a discipline. first is morningstar farms. this is a company owned by kellogg’s that uses science to make magical delights that feel and taste like the items your carnivorous self pines for. also, the boca burger - flame grilled, it too is the stuff of magic. you will thank me. speaking of magic, it is true that i’m a grand master of dim mak (death touch), which is a very star wars-like form of martial arts, (which is, of course, the reason i chose to practice this art, the star wars-like qualities of it) involving joints and pressure points and consisting of attacks that take very little energy and can be done with one or two fingers. so, yes, i am a supreme mater at this, the star wars-like death touch, as well as tang soo do and shodokan. this explains why i appear so tall when i’m really little more than five feet tall, and also why people who know me well call me master yoda, you know, because of my real size and the fact that i can barely touch you and the result will be you in a fetal position moaning, “why? why?” on the ground, and this would happen in a flash, an instant, with speed and decisiveness on my part. as for christmas in kenya, no, we had absolutely nothing to do with it, although i am like you and agree, it is just fantastic listening.

What are the favorite songs on Church Music for each of the band members?

michael. for me, it is eastern hymn. i think. i should leave unstated that i am unable to answer on behalf of the rest of the guys, however, i can not. i am also unsure as to whether or not the rest of the members of the band have a forum such as this to express such things. perhaps some do and some don’t. you should check into that. but yes, mine is eastern hymn.

Is there a way to download your musical musings on this blog. I would totally jam them constantly.

sean. currently, no. but if you would pass along your email to me, i’ll be happy send them to you as long as you don’t mind getting a large number of emails from people hoping to sell you things as i like to make massive amounts of money selling the email addresses i collect from people requesting things through the internet as i assume that these people like things from the internet and i’d be doing you a favor.

I have request:

could dcb please go get high off of sigur ros and sufjan and then make a kick butt instrumental album?

thanks!

aaron. that is an interesting suggestion.

What are you doing for Christmas?

bria. i am heading home to texarkana to visit my wife’s side of the family and then after the new year arrives i will be going to boulder colorado to visit my side of the family.

Okay, I have a question for ya - did you get the Birthday package I sent to you with the drawing and your offer and request form?? I sure hope so. And did you like it??? ‘Kay 2 questions. Sorry. Pray for you every day!

kelly yes! i did! that was totally my house, and i sent in the request form. and we are so so grateful for the prayers. you are the nicest person ever, i just decided this.

When are you guys gonna make a Christmas album?

choumein. we have been talking about recording one in january, as in, next month. that would mean it would be ready for christmas 2010. what do you think should be on it?

A friend at church had to to a paper on whether or not notes could go up in octives to the point of infinity. I though that because of atmospheric pressure and other variables, it is not possible for infinity. I said only God is infinite! What do you think, sir? I told him you would know! Haa!! :o)

kelly. well, i’m glad you asked this as i’ve spent much time thinking about things such as this and the formation of rainbows, as in, is it true that apple (the supposed computer/mp3-player/phone maker) produces them in mass (of course they do!), and the existence of badgers, like, as in, are they real or not (they are not). ok, so as for octaves and infinity, no, it is not possible to go up in octaves to the point of infinity, just as there are not badgers, at least not truly feral ones. here’s why: you would eventually reach a cycle of vibration that approaches the speed of light, and there your journey would end, unless this journey had disrupted the space time continuum due to your meddling, and, obviously, you’d have to go back and fix it, because it was your fault and all. you would, of course, cease hearing the movement of molecules long before then, the approaching of the speed of light, due to the limitations of the human ear, and yes, atmospheric pressure would have something to do with the speed of the molecules’ movement allowing this moment, the hearing to not hearing, to come sooner or later, and it would also, to some extent, the atmospheric pressure, effect the theoretical device that was producing the materially constructed theoretical sound waves. but what is really interesting to me is less the nonexistence of badgers and the real live detail that we have chosen to order sound in a way that is, how do i say it, so orderly. the human ear can discern sounds between 15 hz and 20 khz (rate of vibration). frequencies higher than this range are often referred to as ultrasonic (“ultra” being a submodifier meaning “very; extremely” which is kind of fun to say, as in, “extremely sonic”), like as in dogs and bats can hear them. sounds below this range are often referred to as infrasonic (“infra” being a submodifer that seems to fit more appropriately than “ultra”, “infra” meaning “below”; “further on”), like snakes sense through their bellies and whales and giraffes and elephants communicate with. of course, thinking about whales, our hearing threshold and ability to localize sound is greatly reduced underwater, which the speed of sound is faster in, as compared to air. underwater hearing is accomplished through magic and bone conduction. but that’s beside the point and you already knew that. the point is that we westerners (not “westerner” in the cowboy-riding-a-horse sense but more similar to the those-living-in-california sense) have chosen to divide sound into 12 pitches, or distinct tones. we chose to order, or limit, the seemingly limitless. and we agree, basically, that this is a good idea, that when we hear these 12 pitches plucked from the full range of available frequencies, we call it music. and this is all mathematically explainable, our leanings as humans toward this ordering. (see above reference to pythagoras) if you pluck a single string, then divide it exactly in half, you will hear the same note, only an octave higher (of course, double the length of the string and you hear the same note an octave below). i suspect this is the thought experiment that your friend was working on. the reason why you would hear an octave higher is because the rate of string vibration is doubled. (and this is why the thought experiment would end when the theoretically halved string’s rate of vibration approached the speed of light. because that is impossible! unless you believe in naturally occurring feral badgers. then, who knows! not me!) now we could discuss whether or not our ordering was because our ideas of beauty are inherent in nature or whether it was our ordering that produced our ideas of beauty. and this would be fun, this discussion. it would be just like talking about rainbows. like when you would say, “you know, most rainbows use infrasound to communicate with each other.” and i would respond, “i know! isn’t that just nuts!?”

Did anyone ever send you $100 for your toothbrush commercial?

taylor. i was never in a toothbrush commercial.

Or, perhaps more accurately (haha!), did Hogan ever get $100 for the toothbrush commercial?

taylor. hogan was in a toothbrush commercial, and no, he did not get $100 dollars, as was promised. but he did get to meet vanna white.

actually, just, did anyone get paid?

taylor. no. no one we know was awarded compensation for their appearance in the toothbrush commercial, with the exception of vanna, we’re pretty sure she got paid.

Did you enjoy the toothbrush that i gave you? Or did you just throw it away??… haha….

Josh Mitchell. i did enjoy the toothbrush. i found it a thoughtful and random gift and was not offended at what it could have suggested as far as my hygienic efforts go. i did eventually throw it away.

If David Crowder* Band had to be summed up in one word, what would that word be?

Also, is it possible that the asterisk in the band name is a reference to the rest of the band? That is, the * kind of works as an et. al in much the same way it use to back in the olden days?

Fred. astrobolism. it is very possible.

So really, how much do you like it when people stop by your house while you are outside and ask you to meet their kids? : )

Paul. it was great meeting your kids.

In the song “Church Music - Dance (!)” is the robot saying actual words? Or is it just a fun synthesized sound?

Drew Dixon. see above in part one.

I’ll bite.

I was thinking last night about “famous” Christians, and how there’s such a range. I also have a problem with certain famous Christians because they seem to enjoy the idol-worship that they’re supposed to be preaching about. I then feel guilty for judging.

Anyway, I was wondering… You guys seem very down to earth. Like you really enjoy playing. But it must get hard to keep in touch with God and not have your sets come across as hokey when you’re playing them 500 times. I was wondering, how do you all keep so down to earth? Is there anything you all do as a group to keep each other in check, and have there ever been times in your performances when you want to say, “Wow. What a cliche Christian band moment.”

Thanks!

abhutchinson. see above. but to reiterate, yes, it is impossible to judge motive and i think this is the brilliance of the reference to the divine and the heart in relation to judging in scripture. we are all prideful, some are just in a more visible position to have their pride observable. i think what helps transform us most in relation to pride is the community of people we surround ourselves with. if there is the intentionality of transformation in your relationships then the possibility for your self worth to be derived from places that are not based in relationship is lessened.

Did you ever get in a fight when you were a kid?

Francesca. yes.

what do you think about the Sabbath day, i.e. saturday or sunday brothers dc*b

Iraknathal. we are for it.

I just want to know one thing…what kind of microphone did you use on the church music tour? It was some rappers name that you used to describe what it did to your voice but I cant figure it out for anything??

mclain. you are referring to the “i am t-pain” app on my iphone. for a while there i was addicted.

I attended the Church Music tour at East 91st St. in Indianapolis. My husband and I have been waiting for you to come back to Indy for a long time and it was well worth the wait—we had so much fun!

So my question is that the next time you come to Indianapolis can I invite you guys over for dinner? Is that too presumptuous? My husband said that I couldn’t invite you because there was no way that you guys would come. I said that just for that I was going to put the invitation out there. Not that I like to disappoint him or anything but I do like to blow his expectations out of the water :)

One more thing: what is your favorite worship cd written by someone other than you.

Jax. yes. no. “i bow down” by vineyard music from the “touching the father’s heart” series. if i had never heard that cd i probably wouldn’t be doing this.

how did you get an orange macbook?

oh and from where did your fascination with “la la la” come from?

Lee. i ordered it through www.colorwarepc.com. childhood.

Do you think there will soon be a resurgence of new, deeply theological worship songs (i.e. hymns)? I’m dying for more truth and less feeling.

Kevin. yes. i think it may be helpful to you to realize that it is less the fault of those creating the music and more the fault of the container that they are attempting to use, which is the modern pop song. our previous container, the hymn, was based on a genre of literature, poetry, which was fantastic at carrying philosophical and theological ideas. a song (hymn) would spend years looking for the proper musical setting because the lyric or content was the most important element. pop music is not content based, it is melody based. so, those who excel in the writing of modern congregational song are those who excel at melody rather than those who excel in the composition of theologically rich ideas in repetitive metrical form. and you’re also talking about an era where the poetry section in a bookstore can hardly be found, when in the past it was one of the more competitive genres. so, gifted writers are less inclined to hone their poetic inclinations. all of that said, there are many within progressive church settings that share your frustration, the solution of which seems to be an attempt at collaborative efforts and the building of bridges between high church and low church traditions. and this is exciting to me.

Can David C pinpoint Nashville on a map? [I shall answer for him in case he doesn’t read this: “No! I cannot… that is why we elect not to play there.”] Note back to hypothetical response from David C: Ok, but we’d be happy to send you mapquest directions to town so you can visit and play. Hypothetical reply to hypothetical reply: ok, you get the point, come play here please. We’ll even house you and feed you, promise.

briand_comeoncleatus. firstly, david c is deathly afraid of maps. even the word “cartography” frightens him. so please, forgive his ignore-ance. he does, however, appreciate your willingness to locate this mystical city for him and to even go so far as to send him directions. with that in mind he’ll consider more carefully where in the grand state of tennessee the band chooses to stop on its next outing.

Was bwack serious about building a robot that can play drums?

jeremiah. yes. please visit www.thebwack.com to see for yourself. the uprising has begun.

Where can I get those awesome… err…

tracks?

Remixes?

From your playlist on the side?? =O They’re awesomee…

That and the… semi-secret songs on the dcb website?

I love them….

aigoo…

10gu. they are currently not available, unless you give me your email with a request for them.

If it’s not too late, take your pick of question…

-dogs or cats?

-hamsters or parakeets?

lisa c. dogs. parakeets.

about you and your church in waco…

I read something one time in a magazine that talked about you helping establish UBC… How did this come about? How did God make it evident that you were called to do this?

Also in this magazine, I saw a picture of you as a kid. I saw that you were on a soccer team called the darth vadors… Did you play soccer for fun or do you really enjoy soccer?

swalker412. well, i really stumbled into the ubc thing. a friend of mine started dreaming out loud one evening on my balcony about what he thought church could be, and all of these “what if” statements caused something to swell in my chest. baylor, the university we both attended, had done a survey of their student population and had discovered that over half of the students in undergrad never attended church. this was both startling and something intuited. and it was not for lack of churches. there has to be more churches per capita here than anywhere on the planet. we believed it must be something to with students experience of the church as an institution rather than issues with the person of jesus we read of in scripture. and so we attempted to make a space for those students to struggle with very large questions regarding faith and church and society. being somewhat musically inclined it fell in my lap to pull together the musical portion of our sunday morning gatherings. i think this is often the case, god places something in our lap that we didn’t see coming and that we feel incapable of doing. as for your second question, um, i’m not sure i understood correctly as my answer would be yes to both portions of it.

Amo você. Deus tem me tocado através das letras de suas canções. Continua, nunca pare.

Emiliano. obrigado.

I would like to know what all you guys are running through your MacBooks on stage live… are y’all just running loops through them? Instruments? What programs/patches are y’all are using?

PS- David, y’all fared really well in Spokane when your keyboard station malfunctioned. It was a great show, and commend you and the bands’ incredibly flexible musicianship.

Eric. we are all using either abelton live or reason. some are running loops in ableton. reason is used for patches mostly, with some soft synths in ableton such as sylenth. ah, the list of patches would be endless. head over to bwacks forum for more detailed info on this. and thank you for your kind words regarding spokane.

ok - new blog looks really cool david but you do need to blog more often

peace,

andrew jones. yes. once a week at the minimum.

finally, a's to the q's in two parts: part one.

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:18:36 -0500

What are the mechanized voices saying in “Church Music – Dance?

dear george, bethany, and joe. the mechanized voices, (which are produced by one jack partker) are saying the following: s-h-o-u-t shout it from your l-u-n-g-s oh we s-i-n-g-i-t-l-o-u-d. there may also be a brief reference to peppermint mocha being the tastiest beverage offered by the ubiquitous franchise chain, starbucks coffee, but it’s impossible to be sure.

What is the deal on the Pour Over Me album? Where’d it go? Why is it so secretive? and why haven’t you guys made it more available?

dear cspears20. ok, so here’s the deal with the pour over me album. it doesn’t exist. it never has. i don’t know what you’re talking about. not even back in 1996 when it was recorded live at ubc when we were meeting in the hippodrome theater and well before we could play or sing thus making it slightly to greatly embarrassing to acknowledge its existence or point someone in a direction to procure this none existent thing.

What is the meaning of the Polar Bear on Lost?

dear sean. i don’t know the answer to this one. (wow. that’s two very disappointing questions in a row. you people should ask things that i’m an expert on, like stuff pertaining to glassblowing, and the sport of cricket, or the rodeo competition of barrel racing.) i didn’t even know there was/is a polar bear on lost. this is because i don’t watch lost, and here is why: j. j. abrams can’t be trusted. yeah, i know what you’ll say, you’ll say, “but lost is awesome. if it ended today, i’d be happy.” you would speak naively! this would mean you have lived your life thus far spared by the devastation mr abrams leaves in his wake. but chances are great that soon you will feel the pain completely that i allude to. he lulls you in supremely and then crushes you with his farcical conclusions. sure, he creates a complex and compelling story layered with subtext and subtlety and interwoven storylines and you swallow whole and then comes the climax and denouement and you will say aloud, “no! this is ridiculous!! you’re ruining everything! how could you do this to me? do you hate me? mr. abrams, you are an evil, evil man.” and there is history supporting this! felicity! alias!!! go look at the message boards. bet you didn’t know that the last season of alias involved vampirezombie things and large red floating spheres. well, it did! and so i swore, “no more mr abrams, no more! never again will i fall for your savage malevolent brutality.” and so, it is with light heart and conscious that i await the reviews for the last season of lost and will begin my watching if at its (the nationally syndicated television show lost’s) conclusion you inform me that my fears were excessive and needless and that i will not be disappointed. (i have a theory about this, about mr abrams inability to finish a story. i once read an article that jj has a box in his possession that he was given by his father that is a mystery gift of sorts. it was a gift to jj but he has never opened the box. he believes the mystery of what’s inside the box to be better than what is actually inside the box. jj abrams doesn’t know how to open the box. that last sentence is intended to be profoundly metaphorical.)

what’s the significance behind Birmingham (We Are Safe)!!?

dear tim. it is an enigma, a conundrum, a mystery, the name of this song. it cannot be confirmed or denied that this song has historical links to a specific city in the u.s.a. or the u.k. and whether it also functions as a phonemic pun[1], but there is great likelihood that both are the case.

Any speculations as to why the Afro to Non-Afro ratio is so high within the band?

dear nick. i had to do some research on this one. turns out most of us are black.

why can’t you make kings come back on tv?

dear mark. as you know i have contacted the director/creator of kings. i have let him know that we would really appreciate the show’s return. also, as you well know, i have informed him that if this is not possible, the shows return to television, that we would appreciate at least one more episode, as there are still a few things we’d like to see developed with the storyline before we can, as they say in the profitable industry of psychology, “let go.” i let him know that it would be fine for him to just dump it on a writable dvd. i sent him a blank one, so don’t worry. we could watch it at my place if you’d like. i let him know that the script would be forth coming as i was almost finished with it and it really would be fine to shoot it as a two hour finale-sequel to the finale. i don’t know if such a thing exist, a sequel to a finale that is really the finale, but it should, and will soon! i let him know just how exciting it would be to see my vision for the show’s ending brought to life and reiterated the fact that i would only trust such a thing to his capable hands. needless to say, i’m very excited about all of this.

What is up with the squirrels on the Foreverandever etc. music video? Why squirrels?

dear caleb. it seems you are unaware of the malevolent nature of the squirrel. there are a number of proofs for the fall (the transition of humans from a state of innocent obedience to god, to a state of guilty disobedience to god) that we have been given here on planet earth. you know, earthquakes, tsunamis, war, telemarketing, and, of course, the squirrel[2]. for more on this:

what is your favorite family Christmas tradition?

courtney. we only have one christmas tradition. actually, two. but one is way better than the other. one is eating egg casserole together. also, there is the opening of gifts.

and then there is the one where we sit around a tiny tree wearing a crown (the tree, not us) and we place pieces of paper with things written on them like, “king of kings,” “prince of peace,” “emmanuel,” etc. while announcing aloud what it is that is written upon our piece of paper. each year i ask what the tree with the crown is about and it eludes my memory now. my mom made it up and she’s reading this now, i’m sure, so perhaps she’ll comment and let us all know what is going on with the tiny tree with the crown and the words and such. also, i’ve listed three traditions. of the three my favorite is the tree. you know, what’s with the tree? please comment if you have a tiny tree with a crown. we used to make egg nog every year. everyone feared e. coli and so this ceased, this tradition of the making of egg nog. we attempted it again last year and no one got sick, so things look promising for its return. what is christmas without a little fear and trembling?

Are you guys going to post more rockumentaries? The bits were very original if not amusing. Oh, and what were some of your fondest memories during the recording of the album?

christian yes. we have grand plans for more rockumentaries. the next one might be about the coming apocalypse that will occur in 2012. jack is convinced of our impending doom and has started stock piling supplies such as hormel meat products and water and various other non-perishables. he also realizes he will be in need of a companion to shred with since the rest of the band is taking him less than seriously, and so he embarks on a friendship with one steve3po, a robot drummer extraordinaire. jack teaches steve all of the songs that he will need him to know post apocalypse but is troubled to discover that steve3po is more a fan of taylor swift than slayer. also, the band is destroyed by asteroids and various other natural phenomenon. this will be the first use of explosive effects in a rockumentary. it is still not clear whom will hit whom, mike d or jack, or what blunt object will be used.

Have you heard about the bird?

What will it take to get you guys to follow my twitter?

ok, now for the real question. Where is the strangest place you have found inspiration/God spoke to you for a song?

isaac. the strangest place i’ve ever found inspiration for a song was here: http://www.molossia.org/countryeng.html. i will say this, when i am driving long distances it is impossible to not write a song. i am unsure of the meaning of this, but it is proven fact. and yes, we will follow your twitter. oh, and as for the bird…

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

oh and, can you PLEASE come to St. Louis?!!!

katie. i do not have a favorite color, per se. i like most all of them. however, i do enjoy the way some of them go together better than others. you know, how like pink and turquiose can say, “welcome to panama city, florida,” but, when considered individually, i find them all of equal value. i probably use black most though.

2. The Eschatology of Bluegrass. The Columns. Did you write the Columns? Because that is the most profound, confusing thing I have ever read. I understand the story of the Lark (I’m assuming that the Lark is anything/anyone who gives hope to someone and lifts their spirit with it) lifting the weight of human existence, but other details elude me. Who is the boy with the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen? Is he representative of Christ? How come when he admits that the death of the birds is his fault, neither a pebble nor nettle appear in the garden? Why is the priest so upset by this? Why is the ratio of pebble to nettles (or, sinful actions to sinful words) the golden ratio?

I have a couple more questions, but I don’t have time to type them right now. If you wanna answer them, but don’t want to post it all here, can you just e-mail them to me? It would be awesome. my e-mail is tjd1991@bellsouth.net

taylor. yes. the columns are all my fault. and i am as confused by them as you are. i’m still figuring stuff out. like, why does one third of it have to do with memory and the assignment of language for meaning? the boy with the bluest eyes references kyle, or humans at their best, or well, the portions of us that act out redemption, or the person of christ. the pebbles and nettles didn’t appear because he was not at fault. i can almost say why the priest is troubled by this, in the same way i can almost say why grace is so unsettling. it is actually the addition of pebbles to nettles that is equal to the golden ration which is, in mythic layman’s terms, the mathematical equivalent to beauty. to understand that the entrance of depravity into the story is what brings the suffering we experience, we are able to find beauty and share in the suffering of christ. i am attempting to insinuate that pain might be the most transformative vehicle we have here on planet earth in light of the suffering of christ.

what do the columns mean in everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die?

confusedman. i wish i knew. please see above.

Sometimes I find myself so deeply in praise listening to your music. This sounds silly, but I was curious if you do too? I mean do you get to deeply praise as you play, or is it so very much about the next bar, the next change, what whoever is playing whatever back there?

Put another way, (but not quite) do you get to enjoy your music as much as I do, or is it more like work?

jjddgg. it most definitely doesn’t feel like work. and sometimes, on very rare, mystical occasions, everything material disappears, or at least seems to. and there are a handful of moments, like maybe listening back to a final version of a song, when my chest fills with a reverence and i feel like i had nothing to do with this thing that i’m hearing, as if i weren’t even present in its construction, as if it were dropped from the sky, and i think, “i can’t believe i get to be a part of such a thing as this with such generously talented people whose gifts i’m astounded and moved by.” and these moments are filled with awe and amazement and held onto tightly.

do you compose alone, or with the band? what’s the process like? does it have to do with what’s going on in church… or just personal life?

timgo. it happens in as many ways imaginable, i suspect. my favorite way to go about composition is to get a rough file together that has an inspirational starting point, whether that be as simple as a beat or a rough arrangement with acoustic, that we start passing around. you can think of it as a word document that keeps getting added to and amended with each handoff, the storyline taking twists and turns unforeseen by the previous person. it’s like playing the icebreaker telephone game, you know how a group sits in a circle and one person whispers something into the person’s ear who they are sitting next to and then that person turns to the person sitting next to them and is supposed to whisper the same thing to them and it goes around the circle and by the time it’s back to where it started it’s resemblance to the original message is very slight. we work in protools, abelton live, reason and logic. some songs have a life in all four mediums. we view the computer as compositional tool so it plays a very large roll. the content, as far as lyric and overarching theme go, pertains, almost entirely, to the conversations and spiritual formation that we are participating in here at our church in waco.

Do use any type of hair product?

jacob. yes i do. bed head hard head by tigi. it is the stuff of science. also, there is the lack of showering. and then there are the happy, happy thoughts. these are probably the most necessary of things in the styling of the hair. it takes massive amounts of concentration to pull this off.

Have DCB considered doin a sweet collaboration with an awesomeness of LeCrae? The combination of DCB’s pop musicness and solid theologies (I love could I lie hear in your arms - when I read the hidden (maybe not so obvious is better) meaning!!) with LeCrae’s ridiculous skilz would be chart poppin yo! … or could you get bwack to freestyle instead?

deHow. it is most likely that bwack will freestyle at any second.

Does Keppler and the music of the spheres tie in to Church Music? When you posted about it on Xanga it piqued my curiosity but I fail to see the correlation.

beth. yes. keppler and the music of the spheres factors greatly in the making of church music. well, that’s slightly disingenuous. the construction of the album church music resulted from a conversation stream about good sound and bad sound. is there such a thing as good sound? is there such a thing as bad sound? pythagoras plays into this conversation as does keppler. can beauty be assigned a number? (is it mathematically explainable. is the limiting of perceived chaos good and helpful in our understanding of god.) that is the question we toyed with most i think.

At a ‘meet & greet’ on your tour I had the great delight of shaking your hand. I was taken aback by your personable and friendly demeanor (and my comical state of being ‘starstruck’), and I never got to ask you (though it was probably the wrong place anyway):

Is there ever a day that goes by that you don’t think about the ones you’ve lost?

I ask you because, besides the good Lord, A Collision is the closest thing I have ever had to a grief councilor.

(BTW I later told my mom about our encounter. “Of course he’s friendly,” she said, “he’s a Texan!” I laughed; she’s from Plainview.)

kena. yes! we texans are most decidedly friendly! of course we are. we ride horses and wear hats. who wouldn’t be friendly when you get to do that day in and day out. no one, that’s who! and no.

Are any of your tracks going to be released for Rock Band/Guitar Hero? I’d love to have some good Christian music to play along with. :-) Both games have free editors you can use to upload your own tracks.

computersherpa. no. that is, unless you make one. please let us know when you get it finished. or, maybe bwack and jack will do this if i can get them in the same room again after that fight over the turkey baster.

How about a Christmas concert…..at my church, Mughty Wind Worship Center…..your UBC….wherever. : )

Sound good?

paul. this sounds like a fantastic idea! we should make this happen, ubc, christmas time next year (maybe). you’re a genius!

Why do you not use capitals when you type?

nadine. THAT’S ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE.

Do you know what your Meyers-Briggs personality type is? INFJ perhaps? And what ramifications, if any, has this had on your career/personal life?

vanna. no, i’m unaware of mr or mrs/miss meyers or briggs and what they have to do with my career or personal life. they should stay out of it! i’m going to go look this infj up and see what it is you think of me.

1. What is “nationalistic Christianity”? 2. I too would like to know more about The Columns, because that little segment found me in way over my head, y’all. :) I began to feel a little defeated about it each time it came up, only I went ahead and read it out of curiosity. And it was neat… AND the Lark Ascending that you opened your Remedy dvd with… THAT is majestic music in my soul, and I can’t get enough of it. Irrelevant, I know- that wasn’t a question. Let’s see… 3. How does music composition happen? As a visual artist, I get things about visual expression, but MUSIC? So many things at the same time… Words, music, LAYERS of music, rhythms… 4. Do you mind if I quote you at random about things like “I am what you would call “winded”… In context of course. 5. Do you listen to Weird Al, ever? Because -stay with me here- you and he have a thing in common to me, that has something to do with putting words together with each other and with music in a way that seems humanly impossible. As if there were only one way that those words and music could have come out right, and you GOT it. There’s genius going on there, I’m sure of it. Or in the case of you all in the DCB, more likely divine inspiration, of course.

sherylee. you are demanding. there are like six questions here. when i speak of “nationalistic christianity” i speak of culture. i am admitting aloud that the version of the gospel that i am attempting to follow is, and has been, shaped by the culture i have grown up in, which is, particularly, the bible belt of the united states of america. a favorite author of mine made this joke once: an older fish swims by a couple of younger fish and says, “so, how’s the water today?” to which one of the younger fishes responds, “what’s water?” this is intended as a metaphor for culture. it is dangerous to not acknowledge what we can barely acknowledge. maybe. see above for more confusion on the columns. i should say now, that the columns are about feeling, what language can make you feel and intuit, almost. it’s like smelling a color. maybe. as for music composition, see above. no, i’m comfortable contributing to your interactions with others through the borrowing of language such as, “i am what you would call, ‘winded.’” you could also use, “you know, space stations in 2008 aren’t nearly as cool as they were in 2001. you’d think we could make one that looked like, you know, a space station or something with super long curvy white hallways and rooms with one person standing on the ceiling and one person standing on the floor with really cool lounges and stuff.” if you did this you would be quoting me misquoting the guy from the mac commercial, not the cool guy that was in die hard, but the uncool guy who is actually way cooler than the cool guy and who is also the guy who is the occasional foil on the jon stewart show and was also in the movie, “baby mama,” which i haven’t seen. he was not in the movie, “species.” i haven’t seen that movie either. and no, i don’t listen to weird al. i mean i’ve heard songs like, “eat it,” and have even laughed out loud at them. i do have a weird al story though. it goes like this: i was skiing with my wife in colorado and a guy walked by and my wife goes, “hey look! it’s weird al!!!” to which the guy responded angrily, like, he was seriously mad, “gallagher. i’m gallagher!” he was carrying his skis in that really cool over the shoulder way. it was an honest mistake. i mean, my wife doesn’t listen to weird al either.

if you weren’t in an awesome rock band, or a world renowned author, what would you envision yourself doing for a living?

endoftheroadj. yes, if i wasn’t a member of a rock band of awesomeness and if i did not spend all of my time rocking faces plum off while penning tomes the world will read for generation after generation i would most definitely drive trucks, as in 18 wheelers, as in burning the open road, the productivity of the great industry of america loaded in my trailer, me with a really cool cb handle like “ace of space” or “full moon hauling” saying really cool things like, “hey good buddy, you’re breaking the ol needle, brush your teeth and comb your hair we got a bubble gum machine in a brown paper bag at mile marker 223. i’m pulling into the chew ‘n choke to shake off the christmas card i just got. this is 505 wishing you all the good numbers, i’m clear.”

You should write another book. Are you and hogan going to in the future? I’d be interested to here your theological waxing on many a topic.

timothy. timothy, you are both wise and smart, ‘smart’ being another word for wise. oh yes! i am a master of words! (and other single distinct elements of speech, which are also known as words!) it is truly stunning that i haven’t written more books, because, as i mentioned earlier in this response, like, as in the last sentence before this one, i am a master of words. and you know what books are filled of don’t you? that’s right, words! but fear not. oh yes, we shall write again. yes, we shall and will, ‘will’ being a less cool version of the word shall. wow. there i go again. i’m amazing. (yes, to answer your question for rea, i do enjoy writing and have been working on a couple of things for the past few years. hopefully we’ll see some of the ideas come together in a form that is accessible to the public in the not too distant future. the future is cool. and there may be some left of it, and so, barring death or christ’s return, there shall and will be more. the past is pretty cool too. there’s always more of it!)

Are the songs on “Church Music” telling a chronological story about the history of music in the church in the order that they are presented on the album? (e.g. Track 1 is the oldest hymn still in use, Track 2 is about such-and-such that the earliest Christians used to do in their liturgies, Track 3 is yada yada yada…) Or am I being too pedantic in my attempts to interpret the origin of each one?

david. no, you are not being too pedantic. it is in fact the history of church music (in our opinion, as in, we secretly inserted into each song a slight nod to a pivotal moment within the evolution of music in the church) in chronological order, and the end of the album is a nod to the future. (see above for more on ‘the future’.) granted, we really don’t expect anyone to figure it out. it was more just our way of having an outline of sorts to write into. we like puzzles and this album was most definitely a puzzle for us. glad you’re attempting though. if you’ll send me what you’ve come up with, i’ll happily let you know if you’re on the right track. but yes, the way you have described your approach to cracking the thing was exactly our approach in constructing it. much props. (what does that even mean? props? what is that short for?)

Are you guys going to release a live record for this tour?

kyle. no. unfortunately, we are not.

What is the robot at the bottom of your blog saying?

And, what happened to Jason Solley? (Ok, sorry, but it’s been itching me forever….)

joseph. the robot is saying, basically, “look! it is a complete work of art.” and as for solley, he hurt his ankle. (we were told by a drummer who used to play for lennie kravitz that anytime something happened to an artist while in the middle of a tour and the situation was such that it was difficult to discuss properly in the public sphere, (since you know, things are always more complex and less exciting than what the imagination can create with the inability of real live conversation to take place, as in the exchange of dialogue, as in i talk and then you talk and then i talk) the official statement released would be, “they injured their ankle,” or something to that effect. this made us laugh and so we adopted that answer for awhile, since, of course, we were constantly being asked, “what happened to solley.” it was of course a joke, as it would be ludicrous that someone would injure their ankle and cease to be in a band, and so this was funny. the reality of the situation was that we all, jason and the rest of the band, mutually arrived at the conclusion that life had unfolded in such a way that had taken jason in a different direction and it was best for both him and us if he ceased being a part of the thing. he moved from waco to fort worth where he still resides. we love him deeply. hope that helps a little!)

hypothetically, if darren king recorded material for church music, why would it be kept hidden? and if a youtube video showing him in the studio existed and then didn’t exist anymore (hypothetically) why would it cease to exist?

thomas. hypothetically. if one darren king recorded material for church music and it were indeed kept hidden, there must be a theoretical reason. i can think of several. one, the band might be embarrassed to have mr king appear on the album. they might feel it undermined the musicianship that is present elsewhere. i mean, if people knew that it was mr king they were hearing in a few splendid moments of the recording, say, birmingham, maybe, or even what a miracle, like some of those fills in the second verse, maybe. yes, one reason may indeed be that to associate with such a musician as mr king would be detrimental to the credibility of a band like ours. hypothetically, that would be a reasonable explanation. doubtful, but possible. another that comes to mind has to do with darren king’s band having struggled to rid themselves of the “christian band” label for the duration of their band’s existence. the fact that they sued their label for marketing them as such comes to mind. so perhaps, hypothetically, this played a part. or, hypothetically, perhaps the crowder band just didn’t think names that started with d and ended with n looked aesthetically pleasing in the font chosen for the album insert artwork. or perhaps the “king” thing intimidated the bwack, since he often refers to the drumset as “my dominion of which i rule justly and goodly”. yeah, the “king” thing seems most likely.

Do you eat squirrell?

bobby. no.

Have you recovered from your fall in Atlanta? (I’ll be editing the video next week). Great show!!!

amber. yes. after a week of rehab (this is not true, this is blatant exaggeration) i am as good as new. i’ve been watching for the video and am excited to see just what happened. it definitely contributed to the memorable-ness of the night. and, thanks!!!!

What is the most random memory that you can recall in your whole life?

brandon. my mom giving me permission to bite my brother on the arm after he had bit me while playing in a pool shaped like a frog.

What kind of strings do you put on your acoustic guitars? brand and guage.

ashok. elixir acoustic light gauge.

Where do you find the bands that open for your concerts? And, do you know where I can find chord charts (not tabs) for songs on Church Music? It’s been about as easy as finding Bigfoot so far.

cory. the openers for our concert happen a couple of different ways. one, if we are on a tour, we approach bands whose music we have heard and enjoyed and think more people should hear and we then ask them if they would like to go on tour with us. if we are not on tour and are most likely doing what is known in the industry as, “one offs,” then the promoter is usually the one responsible for the opener. so, if you see us heading to your area and arent on a tour with openers already announced, get in touch with the promoter of that particular event and see if they think it is a fit. as for the chord charts, i’m unsure at this point, but stay tuned as we have been working on both tabs and chord charts to post on our site for free very soon. as for bigfoot, i hear he was last seen at bwack’s. he had joined them for dinner. apparently he (bigfoot) really likes pot roast. who knew?

What were some of your fondest memories during the recording of the album? Any interesting new insights/challenges/inspirations?

christian. learning how to record drums on our own was the largest challenge that lead to many new insights and recording tricks as did marrying all of the tracks together. one of my fondest memories was when bwack got mad at me for talking to him while he was trying to track some fills. i captured his admonish for me to stop talking to him and played it back repeatedly throughout our recording sessions. it brought all who heard it great joy and much laughter.

what happened to Jason? what happened to Taylor? probably something personal you aren’t able to share so publicly, but i am curious. this is a genuine question.

justin. please see above regarding jason. as for taylor, he wasn’t a fit, for the band or himself. it was fun while it lasted, as they say.

do you have plans of having a show in Toronto?

cj. yes. we are currently in discussions about a canadian tour. oh, canada! p.s. little known fact: i know all of the words to the canadian national anthem and consider this a unique character quality in myself. it is quirky and unexpected and way more useful than you’d think.

Have you read anything by George MacDonald? Specifically Lilith? If not, shall I bring you a copy at the New Castle, PA show in February?

janet. please bring me a copy as it sounds like something i’d very much enjoy after a brief read about george on wikipedia, plus his picture is super awesome! [insert pic]

Okay so around every fall, it seems as if you ucome out with something new. Last year being the dvd… So my question is, are there plans of releasing something new next year? And will you be playing any new songs at passion 10 this january?

zack. at this point we’re unsure. there are a couple of things that are intriguing to us right now but we’re being slightly indecisive. so, we’ll see. and your observation of our release timing is spot on.

what bands, artist, do u listen to?

timgo. i love music, don’t you? currents and recurrents: civil wars, paper route, phoenix, black eyed peas, lady gaga (gosh, what a badly put together album), switchfoot, animal collective, the xx, passion pit.

my favorite line:

“And what was said to the rose to make it unfold, was said to me here in my chest, so be quiet now and rest.”

was there any inspiration behind?? check this video out

a friend showed this flower to me this summer and i immediately thought of this line… if you haven’t seen these, i hope you appreciate it more as i did.

p.s. i think you would really like “the singer trilogy” by calvin miller

krislaansma. that line is a loose adaptation of an 11^th century sufi poet, rumi. i loved the hint to rose-of-sharon imagery and i love embodying acts 17; using items from outside of our faith to point to the one true god causes in me much joy. it is also one of my favorite lines in our songs. i still find it deeply meaningful. and i will totally check out “the singer trilogy”. thanks for the recommendation! and amazing video. hadn’t seen it but had heard of the flower and didn’t think it could actually be that spectacular!

How did you find writing for Church Music? Seeing as the album is continuous, and you’ve mentioned about sequencing the thing from the ground up, how’d that work? Did you write everything first, then sequence, then build in recorded parts, or did you compose “in the box?”

I love how you’ve managed to integrate technology into your music and live shows…Do you usually have an idea for a synth part in your head, and then work out how to do it, or do you mess around and come up with stuff by “accident” and then tweak it? GEEK ALERT: have you seen Max 4Live, and do you (i.e. bwack) have any cool ideas for it?

WHEN ARE YOU TOURING IN THE UK?! I was at the London Passion concert but had to leave before you came on :(

Finally, what other Christian artists inspire you musically, and spiritually?

ben. writing for church music was the hardest thing we’ve ever done. it was a nightmarish puzzle. and yes, we accomplished the solving of it by all of the means you described. we wrote some of it first, we built in some of the recorded parts, we composed in the box. we came at it from every angle available. the sequence sort of dictated itself, due to the particular piece of history that was inserted into the song. the thing that was most difficult for us was marrying the tracks so they played continuously. for each file we had to import tracks for all of the elements that were in the previous and subsequent song that would carry over. this would lead to files with ridiculous numbers of tracks. the horsepower necessary to have this many tracks running and mixable is and was ludicrous. much creativity was called upon to solve the mixing/mastering dilema. there is a reason pop records don’t play continuously from start to finish (unless they are live recordings of course). as for synth parts, yes, often times there is a melody and sound that is particularly demanding that it be found and played precisely as imagined. but there is an adequate amount of simply dorking around and a particular sound will actually demand a particular part. usually, the “accidents” are my favorite. and i have not seen max 4live. i’m certain bwack has. and i’m certain his little mind is spinning with potential usages. i will now check it out and see what is up with it. thanks for the geek out tip. as for the uk, i’m excited to say that passion is coming back there soon and are kind enough to let us tag along again. hopefully our timing will be better this time around and we’ll get to participate with you. and lastly, as for christian artists, they are mostly writers. g.k. chesterton, francis schaeffer, steve turner (wrote a fantastic book on art and the church, much of schaeffer’s thoughts reiterated), jurgen moltmann (i would say the writing of jurgen has been some of the most formative, i most love his preoccupation with eschatological hope and his understanding of the holy spirit’s activity within the trinity and that theology should have as a basis the experience of the spirit of god and should reflect two things, the experience of god in all things and the experience of all things in god. the recognition that the human experience of god is the foundation of human theology and that the experience of the spirit can be defined as an awareness of god in, with, and beneath the experience of life which gives us assurance of god’s fellowship, friendship, and love.) c.s. lewis (of course), bonhoeffer (i love the fragmentary, unsystematic nature of his theology, granted he was young when he met his death, so this may be the reason for this rather than intentionality. i just prefer to think of theology as symphonic rather than systematic.), the desert fathers, blah blah blah (feel like i’m typing too much here), owl city, mute math, mike crawford and the secret siblings, civil wars, paper route, eisley, welcome wagon, sufjan stevens, danielson, jon foreman, switchfoot, august burns red, norma jean, flyleaf, bifrost arts! now i want to go listen to some music.

soo…

remember that one magical night y’all spent in manhattan, kansas? wasn’t it great? yes, it was. whats the probability of that giving that a second go? closer to 90 or 95 percent?

also, whats the deal with birmingham? civil rights implications? anything to do with electricity and england? or maybe a more lexical thought, i.e. a pun for “berm”, like a bridging space? just wondering…

have a wonderful day. or evening. and both.

ben. i am stunned. firstly, yes, you are correct, we need to return to the place of magic. secondly, as mentioned previously, i’m dazed and in a semiconscious state, which is just another way to say, “stunned” and without sounding redundant. you’re the first to announce the various references intended in the naming of the song. i really thought i was being clever and that this would be my little secret to cause me to smile wryly upon contemplation of my cleverness. i’ll not say more, other than, yes. and thank you. you too.

You guys work to provide your fans with a channel of worship through your music/tours/etc…what would you want fans to do for you (something that allows us to be generous, in Christ’s name, for you guys, perhaps?)

also, i think it would be cool if you did a rocumentary with family members so we could sort of “meet them”…although this could lead to privacy issues, i guess…but might this be a possibility for the future?

crystal. thank you. this is the first time i’ve had such kind words offered on behalf of the fan collective. my eyes watered a bit when i read your first question. the good news is we’re easy to please. we like bags of gold. yes, please, generously send bags of gold to the following address: 1701 dutton, waco tx 76701. also we like candy. really, any kind will do. and carmel apples. and cotton candy, the pink kind, not the blue. actually the blue is fine too. also, we love the oceans and tropical breezes. they could be sent to the above address as well. ah, i jest, i jest, of course, of course. i thought hard about this question for a very long time, as in a few days. here’s what i came up with, really, if you have taken the time to write such a question, i’m confident you’ve already participated in what we’re offering in a way that mutually encourages each other. i suspect you have passed along our music to your friends and foes, that you have prayed for continued creativity and meaningful full relationships for this creativity to announce things on behalf of, that you have prayed for our safety and our families, that you have prayed for our church, that you have joined us on these various tours and by your very presence expressed to us that what we are doing is meaningful to you and your journey with christ. these things are more than could be hoped for. so, thank you. and for the rest of you, let this be a lesson to us! we’re all in this thing together. what a beautiful thought. i have been transformed by the generosity of your question. amazing. and no, it will be unfortunately rare that the family members appear in the rockumentaries as they are less than enthusiastic about presenting themselves through such a medium. also there is the risk that they be hit be some blunt object, like a car. never the less, i presented your question and was met by a hearty, “no thank you”. sorry.

would you please share some of your favorite reason patches?

tj. yes. one of my favorite sounds is bit sutra on the malstrom with the rv-7 reverb on large hall. that sound is imaginative and fanciful and removed from reality, bizzare and exotic. another equally compelling patch to me is jaco’s hendrix-trip going through scream on tube with damage at just past 12oclock and p1 at 12oclock p2 at 1oclock body res at a little less than 10oclock scale at 11 oclock auto all the way off type b then through the foldback distortion with amount on slightly shy of 3oclock and foldback almost all the way up. now that is a dirty dirty tone there. a pad that i enjoy that has a lot of movement would be feedache in subtractor with hall reverb on the rv-7 with everything at 12 oclock except dampening at 11 oclock through the two band parametric eq with a dip at 500ish all the way out, so the q is on about 1 oclock and the gain is all the way down, through ecf-42 freq just past 3 oclock res at just below 12 oclock envelope amount at just past 2ish vel at 2 ish mode 12 a all the way down d just shy of 12 oclock s all the way down release at just shy of 12 oclock. hold that down and listen to it move. if there is any harshness adjust the eq dip and the envelope frequency.

I don’t really have a question- I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for loving and serving the LORD, for using the amazing talents and gifts that He has given you to honor HIM, and most of all, for sharing what you believe with the world. It is my prayer that all who listen to your music will both experience and come to personally know the power and love of God! Thanks again!

brittygirl. dang, again with the watery eyes. why is this getting so mushy? you are welcome. and thank you for such kind words. i found them meaningful.

love your music! I had heard your song “How He loves us” many times on the radio and liked it, but one night at work while I had the radio on, (I am a nurse at a hospital-3rd shift) It’s like the Lord just revealed to me the true meaning of the song all of a sudden and such anointing of the Holy Spirit came over me. I come to tears just about every time I hear it now. Thanks for letting the Lord speak through you! You are such a blessing!

Barbara. you also are welcome, and thank you. any chance you’re pals with brittygirl or crystal?

What was your favorite thing about going to school at Baylor? [i’m planning on going there next year..=D

betho. my favorite thing about going to baylor was/is the people. i met so many great folks there and everyone is/was super nice. also, there was the heb that was a block away. i really liked walking to the heb. (heb is a grocery store).

Is today your birthday? Oh Happiness Birthday! :)

runner. yes, it was. thank you for the kind wishes.

What is your relationship with Jerry Jones?

It seems that you two make a great team and am wandering when you will be seen again giving him a high five?

What is your favorite line on the record?

@kylelreed. thanks kyle for your question. yes, jerry jones looks to me for pretty much everything. like, you know, when he was planning on building a stadium he asked, “dave, what should it have, this stadium?” and i said, “a tv. it needs a really big tv. people love television, but they love really big ones best. yes jerry, it should have a really big tv.” and he said, “well, what would you show on the tv?” and i said, “well, the game of course. i mean, you know that the people who come to a football game love football, because, you know, they are at the game, so you should show football on the tv, it just makes sense.” and he said, “ but they can watch the game in real life, you know, since they’ve come to the game, shouldn’t we put something else on the tv, like law and order, or csi?” i said, “no jerry, you’re not listening. these people love football and they love television, put the game on the tv and they’ll tell all their friends about it. they’ll say, ‘man, i went to the cowboys game and wow, that television is amazing.’” jerry said, “that doesn’t make any sense. i would think they would go to the game and say, ‘wow, what a great game.’” this went on for a while and finally i convinced him to not show law and order. when we reached an agreement about what to show on the tv, i gave him a high five. he needs this from me, affirmative high fives. and so, i’m certain there will be occasions in the future when i’m called upon and i will deliver. as for my favorite line on the record, i think it is: “can you overcome this heart that’s overcome”.

how long did each band member date their better half before proposing? how did each pop the question?

bungee. i dated my better half for 6 years. i proposed by placing an engagement ring on a necklace she (my better half) had given me and which i wore daily around my neck. we had an ongoing joke (i know! so annoying, the inside-couple-joke) that involved her pulling the necklace out of my shirt. the joke wasn’t funny, wasn’t even a joke really, just one of those “couple” things that is stupid to other people but makes the couple laugh and laugh. and so i counted on her, at some point in the day, to pull the necklace out, and, of course, she would then, upon execution of this inside-couple-non-joke, discover the engagement ring. if it didn’t happen that day, then perhaps the next, but at some point, she would surely pull the necklace and this moment, whenever it came, would be special, hopefully. this created an element of danger which i enjoyed as you see it was impossible to know what the circumstances would be creating this moment we would look back on with fondness for, hopefully, many years to come. the day i placed the ring upon the necklace i had planned a trip to austin to take her (my better half) to dinner with knowledge that we may or may not be engaged by the time we got to the chosen restaurant and that this restaurant may or may not be the very place where the engagement might occur. we arrived at the restaurant still unengaged. the restaurant was/is called “the oasis” and it overlooks lake travis, quite serene and known for its view of the sunset. we were seated at a table with a fantastic opportunity for observation of the setting sun, complete with a guy playing guitar and singing songs on a stage in the corner of the room. my wife dismissed herself shortly after being seated to go to the ladies room and when she did, i summoned the fortuitously placed guitar-playing singer over. i informed him that i may or may not be getting engaged that very night and to pay very close attention as this engagement might transpire at any given moment and if he saw the moment transpiring if he would please be ready to come strong with a song that is appropriate, as we will hold this moment in memory for a good bit of time, it would be greatly appreciated and i would compensate him accordingly. actually there was no mention of compensation, perhaps there should have been. regardless, he seemed agreeable and actually excited, as if i’d given purpose and clarity to his existence. she (my better half) returned, and the meal was consumed without incident. the guitar singer guy and i exchanged anxious glances through out, him nodding, me shaking my head indicating, “no. the thing of which we spoke has not yet happened. don’t play the special song right now.” desert arrived. she eyed my neck. she reached. her fingers on the necklace. the pull. the slide up against my neck and shirt. the ring’s arrival. her surprise. my question. her tears. my tears. our hug. our sitting staring at a finger. a moment of quiet happiness. a nod to the guitar-singer-guy. his huge smile and knowing nod back accompanied by a wink. his stopping of one song and his starting of another. his look, triumphant. my excitement at everything playing out perfectly, as if orchestrated from the beginning of time, everything falling into its proper place. his first words into the microphone…”well, i stopped at a road house in texas…” my confusion. i knew this song. it was by glen cambell. it was about driving trucks, as in 18-wheelers. this made no sense. the guitar-singer-guy winking at me again. here are the lyrics:

Well, I stopped at a roadhouse in Texas

At a little place called ‘Hamburger Den’

I heard a song on the jukebox

A tune called ‘Truck Driving Man’

The waitress then brought me some coffee

I thanked her but called her again

I said that old song sure does hit me

Cause I’m a truck driving man

So pour me another cup of coffee

For it is the best in the land

And put a nickel in the jukebox

And play the truck driving man

I climbed back aboard my old semi

And then like a flash I was gone

I put my hand upon the shifter

Cause I’m on my way to San Antone

When I get my call up to glory

They’ll take me away from this land

I’ll pull this old truck up to Heaven

Cause I’m a truck driving man

So pour me another cup of coffee

For it is the best in the land

And put a nickel in the jukebox

And play the truck driving man

as you can imagine, my face was nonverbally communicating a lack of understanding and firm bewilderment. as he sang the song i explained to her (my better half) that i had asked him to play an appropriate song and this, his song selection, was the reason for my confusion, i could not figure out what exactly was fitting about it, what was the guitar-singer-guy trying to tell us, it is a song about another song about driving trucks? to this day i do not know. (please see the question regarding what my occupation would be were i not occupied as i am currently) meanwhile, the guitar-singer-guy finished the song still looking triumphant and greatly pleased as he approached our table. he asked if we liked it. we lied yes. we then told him we were most likely moving to denver colorado in the near future. he again displayed great excitement and said he had, “a song for that,” and returned to his stage in the corner. he began strumming chords and proceeded to sing a song about west virginia called, “take me home.” i mean it was by a guy whose last name was “denver”, and it was about home, but i mean, west virginia is the geographical location the song is referencing. i’m pretty sure the guitar-singer-guy was a genius and his high art was lost on us. as for the rest of the guys and their respective engagement stories, you’ll have to ask them.

Colgate or Crest?

jana. colgate.

is there anything in particular you hope to find under the tree for you this year?

aaron. i truly hope to find a nook. and a bunch of goats sent through oxfam.

What are you top three favorite books?

ellie. oh wow. this is really difficult. books by dead guys are way different than books by not yet dead guys. in fact, they seem almost a different thing altogether. ok. i’m not even going to think about this. infinite jest, david foster wallace, spirit of life, jurgen moltman, extremely loud, incredibly close, jonathan safran foer. only one of those are dead guys, and he shouldn’t be.

First a question…When you record songs, do you see them playing out like a video? I ask because that’s what happens when I listen to them. I see a video playing out to the song. I am curious to know if you experience the same thing.

Second a statement…David, you remind me so much of my former youth pastor/worship minister. He just has a lot less hair. Your voices, you sense of humor, the way you speak about worship…is totally Dale.

abi. to your question, no. i do not see the songs playing in video form. i would love to see what it is you see while listening. that could be cool. to your statement, please pass along to dale the following: dear dale, i’m sorry. i know what you’ve been through.

Ok, I do a TON of research on your music and literature, and I have a lot of questions about things I just can’t figure out.

1. In the CM Magazine, you talk about how each album correlates with another (ex. Can You Hear Us? and Remedy). So, there will be 6 albums and a 7th to complete this “period” of albums. By using the word “period,” are you insinuating that this is the first of 3 groups of albums that the band will produce? Or, to make my question more specific, are you going to produce 3 sets of 7 albums making a total of 21 (3x7) albums with the final album being the one that connects all the albums together?

taylor. to number one: no, i’m not insinuating this is the first of 3 sets that will eventually total 21, although your idea is intriguing to me. i rather think i’d have to pick up the pace to finish the 21 collection and i fear that would be a pace i’m not physically/mentally/emotionally able to satisfy. but seriously, a fantastic idea. i will say, since you have paid so careful attention, that the most interesting thing we will have done as a band will be the 7^th piece of this period. and when i say period, i intend the usage that is applied to art in hindsight, as in, the usage being typically descriptive rather than prescriptive, as in, “his blue period,” etc…

1.) Could DCB possibly come to my church and speak to the youth? It would be kinda cool to do like a testimonial tour or a small acoustic tour for the youth ministries across America. You have no idea the impact you guys make to teenagers out there who need Christ more than ever in their developing years. It amazes me to see the teens get into DCB and understand the power of worship through you guys’ music. I’m a Sunday School teacher for high school girls (I’m in college) and I’d know they would love you guys to come! :)

2.) David, can I have your pickles?

3.) ….and your white hat in your youtube videos? K, thanks.

mina. 1) no. 2) no. 3) no. ps. as to the first “no”, it is a wonderful idea, but unfortunately everyone in the band has families and we have put firm (well, semi-firm) limits on the number of days we can be away from home, because, you know, everyone would very much like to keep their families as they are fond of them. i should also add that we do do a number of concerts/appearances/smallish-little-get-togethers each year because we value exactly the kind of thing you have described. and, of course, i’m not ruling things out completely, there may be a point in the not too distant future when all of the guys would enjoy a small vacation, because, you know, they are having kids left and right and they would probably be happy for me to run about the country-side hanging out with nice folks just like yourself and your kids, so, who knows! but for the immediate future, sadly, no, i don’t think i’ll be coming to your church to speak.

The robot says something like “You are a work of art” in German. I think.

My question is in two parts, with a small introduction:

The influence of Delirious is very obvious throughout all of modern Christian music - even yours (the cover of Obsession, for example [which is off the hook, if I may say so]).

Question Part 1) In how many and which other ways would you say that Delirious have influenced your characters, work, music, lifestyle, etc?

Question Part 2) Now that Delirious have finally gone to sleep, how do you think that will affect modern Christian music, and in what direction do you feel modern Christian music will go from here?

(Your thoughts on Christian music’s direction would be quite interesting regardless of Delirious’ ending.)

Nathan. hmmm. that’s a big question, number one. i’m not sure how i’d quantify the influence, although i’m like you, i know it’s there. i can say that the level of musicianship that they have demonstrated has always inspired me. they have done church music in an excellent, culturally relevant way, and it is and was beautiful, and this i applaud. as well, the confidence that martin exhibits onstage makes me want to do what i do better. i am too full of pride and aware of self and these things become more clear to me when i watch him onstage. if only to abandon my consciousness of self long enough to see what lies beneath the posturing, that’s what i feel when i observe him sing. in response to question two, unfortunately i don’t think it works like we think it does, as if there is a void that will be filled by someone. i think there is just a void. and i also think that their presence didn’t eliminate the possibility of further innovation. it’s like the free market, the number of jobs is limited only by the limitedness of our creativity and inventivenss. it is not as if there is only so much to spread around. there is the infinite horizon that beckons and all that is needed is to step into it. what i hope is ahead for the music of the church is to bridge the divide between high church and low church. i think the ground is fertile for this to be realized in a way that was not possible 5, 10 years ago. the idea of this is exciting to me.

what year were you born?

jen. 1923. year of the pig in accordance with the chinese calendar.

What are your favorite books?

scott. again, this is just a very hard question. so, this time, i walked into my living room. in my living room there is a coffee table of sorts, one that is squishy on top, covered with material that has little buttons on top of it, and it is open underneath on all four sides and the idea is that you put things in it and these things are visible to anyone looking at the coffee table type thing. in this coffee table type thing i have books which i like. the books that wind up in the coffee table thing are those special ones which i would like access to on occasions of whim. here are some of them: 4 books by dave eggers, 4 books by chuck klosterman, 2 books by jonathan safran foer, 4 books by david foster wallace, a book by douglas coupland, a book by paulo coeloh, 5 graphic novels in the vein of blankets by craig thompson, a book called the architecture of happiness, a book called fruits, a book called mix tape, a book called ambience, a book called book design of graphic designers in the world, a book called reinventing the wheel, a book called 1001 albums you must hear before you die, a book about art called the history of art, a book of photographs taken by marty stuart called country music: the masters, a book by brian greene the frabric of the cosmos, a couple of richard dawkins books (god bless him), a book called the games we play, a book called the pictorial history of waco, some other picture books having to do with scenic drives and strange architecture and gnomes, a french childrens book called le jardin des minimiams, biographies of einstein churchill and reagan, a book of art by mark ryden, a book called tom cruise: an unauthorized biography, a book called everything that rises, a book called giraffes? giraffes!, a book called the seuss, the whole seuss, and nothing but the suess, the tao te ching, a book of portraits from vaniety fair, a book of photography by jeff bridges. i should now mention that my “theological” section is in my office which i am not currently in and it dawns on me that this might have been of more interest to you.

why the hair/beard funky thing? don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome. but… why? just curious.

rochelle. i have no idea. it is quite regal though, isn’t it?

[1] as would be the name of the winsome town in which we reside and affectionately refer to as home when mispronounced with a short “a” vowel sound.

[2] also, the one cent piece, representing one hundredth of a dollar. this is useless. it can’t even buy a flashlight, much less a steering column. i’ve asked, trust me on this one.

q and a

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:39:00 -0500

hope you had a fantastic thanksgiving. the cowboys beat oakland, which isn’t saying much, but still, it was a nice finish to the afternoon.

also, i have to say, “thank you,” to everyone who came out to a stop on the church music tour. it was amazing and you are a star for showing up and sharing an evening with us and our friends. it was a blast! i’m sad it is over but looking forward to a bit of time in waco.

we headed to texarkana for the holidays and i just ate more in three days than i have in a month. you know how when you eat a lot your stomach gets stretched out and then you wake up in the morning and feel like you need to eat a house? well, that was my morning. my word, i’m hungry!

ok, so here’s what i was thinking, we need a little something on this new little blog so we can get to know each other a bit and see what’s up, you know, what’s on the mind and such, so let’s do a question and answer thing. we (the band) have done it on the twitter a couple of times and it is the ultimate fun. i’ll answer the ones that interest me, or are particularly funny or insightful, or theologically mystifying, or i might answer them all, depending, of course, on nothing in particular. we’ll just see where it goes.

so give me your questions, any and everything, and let’s see what comes of it!

veterans day - marching bands of waco

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:51:00 -0500

happy veterans day. (it feels weird to type, “happy,” in that sentence. it’s just what came out.) today, on a number of occasions, i got more than a little choked up, feeling thankfulness well-up from some quiescent space inside of my chest for the men and woman who have sacrificed to defend our country. all of the words i take for granted, like, “democracy,” and, “freedom,” and, “liberty,” and, “justice,” were in my head today.

i went to the veterans day parade downtown and i have to say i think pretty much anyone with a car or horse can be in it. at least that was my conclusion after about fifteen minutes on the street corner watching trucks and horses go by. i toyed sincerely with the thought that i should go get my car, some flags, and a bag of candy. i was surprised at how much i really wanted to drive in the parade. but i didn’t, i just stood there. watching things like this:

waco is all kinds of awesome.

there were two things i liked best about the waco veterans day parade. the first was this feeling, previously mentioned, that i found in my chest. it became much more pronounced when a group of military men and women would march, or drive, or ride by and applause would break out. you could hear the applause coming from up the street and you could listen to it follow after they passed. the unpretentiousness of this applause stopped the breath a little. it was clear, fresh, honest emotion pouring in waves down a street.

the second thing i liked best about the waco veterans day parade was this little redheaded kid who was determined to conduct every single marching band that passed. he would totally freak out when he could hear the next band coming. the first noise to arrive would be the drums and he’d lean way over and stare down the street and start jumping up and down a little bit, pointing, and then start waving his arms as if the sound coming down the street depended on him. i mean, he was focused like an intense beam of monochromatic light [laser] on these bands! trucks would go by, tossing loads of candy at him (he was what they call, “adorable,”) and he was oblivious, well, almost. his mom kept picking these loads of goodness up off the street and sticking it all in a bag they had brought with them while kid just kept swinging those arms letting those band members know what was up! here he is:

you know, i could understand a kid watching the fire trucks go by and flipping at the sheer size or the big ladder or the cool hats or the brightness of the lights in the sunshine or the loudness of the siren and thinking, “man, i have just got to be a fireman when i grow up.” or, seeing the horses and thinking, “i want to be a cowboy,” because you know, horses are awesome and cowboys are awesome. or seeing the motorcycles and thinking, “oh man, i totally need to be a biker.” but the fire trucks and horses and motorcycles would pass, and he’s still just staring down the street because he hears the band coming and there’s something inside that makes him wave his arms. the profundity of it was arresting.

when i was leaving, the thought of getting to grow up in a place like america, thanks to the great gift of service of so many who have believed in the ideas of simple words like, “democracy,” and, “freedom,” and, “liberty,” and, “justice,” well, i felt grateful to have seen such a sight as a little kid oblivious to candy because he could hear the music and i thought about dreams and the pursuit of them and a place to pursue them and the simplicity of happiness that can be found in a few molecules of air blown my direction because of it.

thank you for your service to our country. i join the rest of the nation this veterans day in remembering and expressing gratitude for the sacrifices of america’s 25 million veterans. god bless you.

the epicness of bloggery

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:26:19 -0500

i’d like to kick this thing off with a little honesty. it has been a struggle to decide whether a blog was even necessary. i mean, as a band, we have a myspace, a facebook, a twitter, a website, a youtube page, is there really need for a blog? the answer is yes, and I’ll demonstrate.

what follows could never find an appropriate home in any of those other environments. no, what follows requires space for explanation and context and it requires skill and fortitude from the reader un-requested by those other mediums. so, the form is dictated by both the audience and the content. and so, without further ado, we begin this absolutely necessary thing.

we were in chicago on the church music tour. upon waking, and while gathering breakfast items in the front lounge of the bus, i read on the day sheet that it was a long walk to the stage and that i should take everything i needed from the bus with me, you know, because of the long walk and all, or at least, that was my assumption. well, first, before i get into that, i should state that the church music tour has been amazing thus far, this is the truth. and there is much i’d like to write about the uniqueness of life on the road, as it is a most unusual existence. (for instance, everyday begins with instructions [day sheet] on the cabinet door in the front lounge of the bus, the door that has behind it the tostitos chips and the large stock of nacho cheese jars and gringo killer salsa that have not yet been moved to the fridge. these instructions/information/day-sheets state important things like what city we are in, what time zone we are in, the times that are important throughout the day - like sound check and lunch and dinner and show start time - and information about what type of showers are available at the venue, since the type available will dictate whether or not you wish to make a run to the hotel or not - for instance, there are not very many of us that still enjoy gathering around a locker room pole for a shower. jr high athletics was hard enough.) another unique bit of road life is the means by which we find our way from the bus to the various locations inside the venue that are essential, like our “dressing” room, or catering, or the stage. there are pieces of tape for this. yes, when we exit the bus we find on the ground an arrow constructed of colored gaff tape pointing to the venue door. sometimes it is green. sometimes it is orange. sometimes it is pink. sometimes it is yellow. regardless of color, its consistent existence can be counted on and this consistency is a welcomed comfort, sort of like a home cooked meal, except more colorful. and so our day officially begins by following little tape arrows on the ground, whisking us off on a journey into the unknown waiting day. the feeling is childlike and epic, this following of the tape toward the great waiting unknown. however, chicago’s tape walk was epic and childlike in a way not previously experienced.

when i exited the bus, i found the arrow of tape waiting on the ground and followed it to a door marked by an “x”. i then spotted the next arrow pointing up a concrete ramp. at the top of the ramp was another arrow pointing toward an opened door. typically, the stage, catering, “dressing” room would be located just beyond such a door and so when i entered the door and found another arrow bending around a corner and pointing down the longest hallway i had ever seen in my life a sense of adventure and wonder was awakened. i videoed this adventurous walk. it is posted below:

and so, you see, it is a long walk. and it is wise that rob , our faithful road manager, would have suggested that we take what was needed from the bus when we came. it is unfortunate that i didn’t heed this warning. that last sentence is an understatement.

i have one item in my possession that is necessary for my endeavors on stage to occur. i call it my rock-strap. it is a homemade item fashioned from four of my wife’s pony tail hair-band thingys. i’m not sure what they’re officially called, i call them, “hair-bands”, since they’re like rubber-bands except for hair. there are four of these things tied together that i attach to my glasses via boyscout type knowledge (seriously, you’d be amazed at the complex simplicity of the rock-strap’s engineering) to prevent what i call, slippage. you see, when i start playing the music i start leaking all over. i perspire. and when this happens my glasses slide down my nose. the rock-strap prevents this. if they did not, i would be unable to function without distraction. and so you see, when i was getting ready to go on stage, as in, the set-change had already happened and the rowdiest crowd thus far on tour had begun a spontaneous chant indicating our presence on stage was getting close to necessary, i found that i had left my rock strap in the bus, and well, this was a problem. so i videoed my trip to get it. it is ridiculous. my breathing toward the end is the best. i become what is known as, “winded.” here it is below:

and so you see, this blog is absolutely necessary for two reasons. one, because you are the type of person that would read and watch such a thing. and two, because this is the only place fitting for me to post such a thing.

hello. let us begin...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:36:39 -0400

hello. this is my new blog.

this is my old blog.

goodbye old blog.

hello new blog!