What I Appreciate About Artsymom, Day 2

Today’s post is short and simple, but something I really value.

I appreciate Artsymom’s tenacity. She’s just not the type to give up and let life roll her over. She’s feisty. She’s a fighter. She clings tight to her values and will fiercly protect them. There is a general “do or die” spirit in her that I really admire!

What I Appreciate About Artsymom, Day 1

My “Dark Cloud Couch” Friend
Sarah and I both serve on the Programming Team, which is the team that selects the music, drama, and video pieces which will be used in our weekend services. We’ve been doing that together for over a year. As luck would have it, we just happened to sit on the same couch in the programming room the first few times, and never saw reason to switch it up, I guess.

Over time, this couch came to be known by the other members of the team as the “Dark Cloud Couch.” This was done with affection, but with good reason, too – Sarah and I just tend to be on the darker side of life sometimes. Whether its our temperament, personalities, past experiences, or social aptitudes that led them to give us that name, I can’t say for certain – but I do know we all sure have a lot of fun with the name.

Sarah and I have learned to accept the name, and not fight it. We’ve actually gone further and now consider it a badge of honor, for the reasons listed below. We love the dark cloud couch because, to us, it means:

1. We champion ideas that are based in reality, in tension, and with less “shine”. We are the Anti-Chicken Soup For The Soul.
2. We highly value honesty in our art. We want it to be done with integrity, with excellence, and for the right reasons.
3. Some may think we’re pessimistic or cynical, but that tendency drives us to try harder to reach people. We expect people to put up a fight, to be somewhat resistant to putting God in the driver’s seat, to not “get” things right out of the gate – but that view causes us to be passionate about words, about songs, about ideas, about aesthetics, about excellence – we don’t want anyone to miss something because we didn’t try hard enough.
4. We are not afraid to speak our minds when we feel passionate about something.
5. Mercy may not be one of our top gifts, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care. We care DEEPLY about things, and want the absolute best for our ministries, for our teams, and for our church!
6. We cringe when Christianity is presented as a cure-all fix for your life…that Jesus came to make your life problem free…that being a Christ follower means you are now supposed to live in unspeakable joy 24/7 – that if you do X,Y, and Z, then God will grant you health and wealth. Instead, we want people to realize that with God in your life, down times aren’t eliminated – but you now have someone who will go WITH YOU through the ups and downs of life – and that God is inviting you to go on a journey with Him. It is not about Jesus making our life all better. It is about laying down our life before God and asking Him what He wants us to do with it! Following Jesus is not about US – it is about HIM!
7. We’ve both been through some hard stuff in life, and that does tend to affect the way you see things!
8. I can’t say whether this has anything to do with it or not, but Sarah LOVES the color black. LOL.

P.S. This is not to say that others on the team don’t agree with us on the points above…didn’t want anyone to misunderstand that

It’s Artsymom Week! Aug 2-8

This week I encourage all our friends and associates to celebrate all that is ARTSYMOM! (Sarah Montgomery for those of you who don’t know her by her internet nickname.) The celebration week starts tomorrow, Sunday August 2nd, and runs through next Saturday, August 8th.

What Is It? pure and simple. a way to value someone who means a lot to us.

How did it come about? It all started last year with Jermtech week. You can read about that here.

What can I do to join in? It’s easy. Write a blog post, or a Facebook “Note” about her, and link to it from your facebook and twitter accounts. Or write her a handwritten note and mail it to the church (3409 S 200 West, Kokomo IN 46902), send her an appreciation email, give her a call, make a sign, bring in a treat, take her out to lunch, whatever floats your boat!

Let’s open the floodgates and pour into our friend and colleague. Let’s let her know that, “WE HOLD YOU IN HIGH REGARD!”

Categorizing The Actors

My brain is really weird, or so my wife has convinced me. I have a real obsessive compulsive fanboy/geekdom to me about strange things – like, say, Actors. I’m constantly evaluating them, categorizing them, thinking about the marketing aspects of them, how they play to audiences and why, etc. (I told you my brain is weird.) Well, here is the proof you seek.

CATEGORY ONE: EVERYMAN ACTORS
It sounds easy – but its not. You’re kind of born with “it” – the ability to portray the average man in such a way that the entire audience can put themselves in your shoes. Everymen aren’t big and muscular. They aren’t geniuses. They don’t tend to have superpowers. They don’t see themselves as heroes. They have self-doubt. They wrestle with moral choices. In short, they are completely human. But you trust them. You root for them. You see yourself in them. And Tom Hanks may just be the best everyman ever.
Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire, Jimmy Stewart, Matt Damon, Owen Wilson, Viggo Mortensen, Jim Caviezel, Bill Pullman, Matthew Broderick, Michael J. Fox

CATEGORY TWO: CHARACTER ACTORS
These guys specialize in wide range…they can play the villain, the creep, the underdog, the authority figure, the weird neighbor, the colorful family member, the flamboyant friend…you get the picture. These guys can really act. All hail Steve Buscemi – King of the character actors.
Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Johnny Depp, Hugo Weaving, Alan Rickman, Joe Pesci, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Randy Quaid, Christopher Lloyd, Geoffrey Rush, Don Cheadle, Paul Giamatti, Edward Norton, William H. Macy, John Rhys-Davies, Jeffrey Jones, Donald Sutherland, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lee, J.T. Walsh, John Heard, James Cromwell

CATEGORY THREE: PERSONALITY ACTORS
Some of America’s most popular actors are on this list. We love them. It’s just that…they always seem to be playing different variations of the same character…like they’re really just playing bigger-than-life versions of themselves. It leads you to say things like, “it’s Tom Cruise as a sports agent. It’s Tom Cruise as a fighter pilot. It’s Tom Cruise as a race car driver.” In the end…it’s still Tom Cruise. These actors sell us their own hyped personality again and again and again…(and amazingly we keep buying it). Mainstream comedic actors tend to fall here, too, as they all tend to have a “schtick” that carries over from movie to movie.
Tom Cruise, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Tim Allen, John Travolta, Jack Black, Samuel L. Jackson (but agreed he’s the best on-screen cusser ever!), Tommy Lee Jones, Dustin Hoffman (hailed as a big ‘character actor’ when The Graduate came out – but looking back on his long career – ehh, they’re pretty much all the same soft-spoken, smallish jewish guy who sometimes reaches his boiling point – am I right?), Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Douglas, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Alec Bladwin, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Russell Crowe, Val Kilmer, Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins

CATEGORY FOUR: PRETTY BOYS
Actors who may actually have some skills, but whose looks always seem to take priority over the quality of their material. Rarely do you see emotional depth or range from this type…it seems to be all about the hair (or the pecks, or the abs, or the whatever…)
Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Hugh Grant, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Gere, Matthew McConaughey, Warren Beatty, Jude Law, Ryan Phillipe, Orlando Bloom

CATEGORY FIVE: ACTOR’S ACTORS
The ones who appear to be giving a master’s class in acting every time they’re on screen – they dominate the scenes they’re in – you can’t take your eye off them – they turn even mediocre scripts into Hollywood Magic…
Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Ian McKellen, Ralph Fiennes, Ed Harris, Patrick Stewart, John Malkovich, Robert Duvall, Kenneth Branagh

CATEGORY SIX: WOODEN ACTORS
Actors who somehow manage to get themselves cast repeatedly in big budget Hollywood films, yet you wonder if they realize they look like wooden cutouts on screen…
Kevin Costner, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, David Duchovny, Ben Affleck, Hayden Christensen, Freddie Prinze Jr., Chris O’Donnell

Alright, readers out there. Who did I tick off? Who’s on the wrong list? Who did I forget? (Yes the list is inherently sexist…I’ll get around to the females someday…)

The Essential Bassists

I’ve been playing bass guitar since I was 8 years old. That means I’ve been playing for 30 years now! Wow…time sure flies. I began playing with my dad’s traveling gospel group that year. My dad was a guitarist, and knew enough to show me where the notes were and how to get started. I began playing with my thumb until I got a little older and switched to standard finger-style. I was completely absorbed in southern gospel music until I got to middle and high school. Then I began to see what else was out there and slowly began to get into the history of the instrument and seek out all the treasure trove of bass masters. So I’ve decided, in this post, to share some of what I’ve found. These are the bassists that, in my opinion, are essential study in becoming a well-rounded bassist. Every list will have people arguing over who should be listed above who, and in what order, and who’s been left off or shouldn’t be there…but hey – that’s what makes music so fun – It’s all subjective and conditional to your experiences. So have some fun with the following list. Hopefully, if I’ve done my job well, you’ll see some new names and faces and get exposed to some new music!

1. James Jamerson (1936 – 1983)
   
   The pulse of Motown. Modern bass guitar owes more to this man than you can imagine. He invented so many conventions that we take for granted today: Taking the electric bass into mainstream, syncopated lines under straight arrangements, dissonant leading tones being used to create momentum, etc. His masterpieces include: “What’s Going On”, “Bernadette”, “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”, “For Once In My Life”, “Dancing In The Street”, “I Was Made To Love Her”, etc.
   
2. Paul McCartney (1942 – )
   
   One of the greatest melodic minds of the 20th century brought that same sensibility to the bass guitar. Originally a 6-string man, Paul’s bass lines created lots of movement and interest in otherwise straight-ahead songs, such as, “All My Loving”, “Eight Days A Week”, “Tell Me Why”, “Drive My Car”, “Nowhere Man”, and “Hello Goodbye”. Not only that, but the man was an awesome lead vocalist while simultaneously playing these gems!
   
3. Jaco Pastorius (1951 – 1987)
   
   In the late 70’s and early 80’s this man totally blew past the expectations of what the bass guitar instrument could be. No longer a background instrument, it could be an instrument that was Front And Center! Jaco’s soloing was groundbreaking – and he definitely had his own distinctive tone (favoring the treble/bridge pickup of the Fender Jazz bass for clarity rather than the bassier/boomier neck pickup as was common with the Fender Precision bass. He also often added a little chorus effect to his solo sounds and was equally at home on the fretless bass as well as the fretted.)
   
4. Victor Wooten (1964 – )
   
   Virtuoso. Technical Mastery. Slap-Bass Legend. Rhythmic Genius. Banjo-style Flailing Technique. Whatever words you choose, they simply aren’t descriptive enough for Victor Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
   
5. Rocco Prestia (1951 – )
   
   The funkiest white boy ever! Rocco is the long-time bassist of the funk band, Tower of Power. In the following clip, you get to hear the same song 3 different ways; first, with just solo bass; second as a demo; and third you get to see him play live with Tower of Power. Stick with it till you get to part 3 to see how Rocco’s intricate lines play off of the other instruments and establish the funk pocket.
   
6. Tom Kennedy (1960 – )
   Dave Weckl Band, Randy Brecker, Al Di Meola
   
   An extremely under-rated player! (I’ve never seen him on any best-of list that I know of.) But HOLY COW can this dude play. Perhaps one of the reasons people don’t gravitate toward him is because he comes from that intellectual Chick Corea-style school of jazz that a small sliver of the population are aware of, let alone enjoy. But you cannot dis this guy’s playing. He’s one of the very best finger-style players out there (you rarely see him slap.) Check him out playing on Weckl’s version of “The Chicken” below. Dave Weckl is a master at beat displacement on the drums, and watch for Tom to school you how beat displacement is done on the bass at time index 2:28. He starts a bass solo at 6:05, and he displays blinding speed at 7:40.
   
7. Roscoe Beck ( – )
   
   A crossover player equally at home with jazz and blues, he is the perfect compliment to guitarists Robben Ford and Eric Johnson. In the clip below, listen for Roscoe playing an intricate walking bass line, while simultaneously playing jazz chords over the top! (beginning at time index 1:44)
   
8. Ray Brown (1926 – 2002)
   
   This dude is a jazz legend! Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson, Sara Vaughan, and Quncy Jones. Ray played with them all. No single clip could ever capture his full range, but here is one piece of his musical legacy:
   
9. Oteil Burbridge (1967 – )
   
   Who? You’ve never heard of him? Shame on you. The bassist for Aquarium Rescue Unit, the tour bassist for the Allman Brothers, and bandleader of The Peacemakers. They even made a documentary about him:
   
10. Geddy Lee (1953 – )
    
    Three-piece bands always put an extra bit of pressure on the bass player. When the guitarist goes to solo, there’s nobody playing chords anymore – so the bass part becomes very important as the only accompaniment. Geddy Lee not only was the master of covering the solos, but did so while being the band’s lead singer! His playing influenced a whole generation of rock and metal bassists. The following clip is of “Freewill” – check out the guitar solo section just after the 3:00 mark.
    
    
11. Bootsy Collins (1951 – )
    
    In the following clip, Bootsy gives the “formula for funk”. This formula was invented by James Brown, and performed by Bootsy and the rest of the band. With Parliament Funkadelic, they took funk to its further extreme.
    
12. Marcus Miller (1959 – )
    
    Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn
13. Charles Mingus (1922 – 1979)
    
14. Stanley Clarke (1951 – )
    
15. Larry Graham (1946 – )
    Sly & The Family Stone
    
16. Flea (1962 – )
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
    
17. Les Claypool (1963 – )
    Primus
    
18. John Paul Jones (1946 – )
    Led Zeppelin
    
19. Stu Hamm (1960 – )
    Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Joe Satriani
    
20. John Clayton (1953 – )
    Count Basie Orchestra, Clayton Brothers Jazz Quintet, Diana Krall
    
21. John Entwistle (1944 – 2002)
    The Who
    
22. Lee Sklar (1947 – )
    Studio session player, Phil Collins, James Taylor, Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill, Richard Marx, Steve Lukather, Rod Stewart, Warren Zevon
    
23. John Patitucci (1959 – )
    B.B. King, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, Sting
    
24. Nathan East (1955 – )
    Anita Baker, Babyface, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, Fourplay
    
25. Ron Carter (1937 – )
    Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock
    
26. Abe Laboriel (1947 – )
    Henry mancini, Donald Fagen, Larry Carlton, Dave Grusin, Stevie Wonder, Barbara Streisand, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Paul Simon)
    
27. Kim Stone ( – )
    The Rippingtons, Spyrogyra, David Benoit, Larry Carlton, B.B. King
    
28. Carol Kaye (1935 – )
    Best known as one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in history, playing on an estimated 10,000 recording sessions. Kaye was the bassist on several Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and David Axelrod productions in the 1960s and 1970s. She played guitar on Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and is credited with the bass tracks on several Simon & Garfunkel hits and many film scores by Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin. Among her most often cited work Kaye anchored the Beach Boys’ album Pet Sounds.
    

Surgery Day

Today’s post is more of a personal family nature, so casual readers may want to skip this particular post I am primarily posting this information on my blog today because the hospital has blocked Facebook and Twitter on their wireless internet and so this is the only connection I have today with some extended family and friends. [If you read this today, and can post a link to this page via Facebook or Twitter, I would appreciate it!]

For those who aren’t aware, my wife has been having some issues with endometriosis. This has caused her lots of internal pain for many years, and has been getting progressively worse. One of the issues with this is that there is endometrial tissue wrapped completely around one of her ovaries. Today, she is having laproscopic surgery, where they will remove excess endometrial tissue with a laser, and will then perform a uterine ablation, which will cauterize the endometrium in hopes of preventing any future growth. This procedure will also prevent any future pregnancy. Also, if the surgeon cannot successfully “clean off” her left ovary, then they will have to remove it. There was initial talk that they may do a partial hysterectomy, but that has since been ruled out at this time.

Mandy is doing very well. We arrived at the hospital at 7am, and her surgery is scheduled at 8am. They took her back at 7:30 to get ready. As you would expect if you know Mandy, she is calm and cool and ready to get it done. The surgery is estimated to be about 2 hours long. Check back here throughout the day for updates to this post!
========================
UPDATE #1: Post-Surgery, 9:08am

I just met with the doctor, and she said everything went well. Thanks for your prayers, everybody. Doc said there was, in fact, endometriosis that needed to be cleaned off behind the uterus and from the ovary. She didn’t see the need to remove the ovary at this time. They did do the ablation and a DNC (as my friend Nick Pate calls it – a “Dust ‘N’ Clean”).

Mandy is in post-op now. I have not seen her yet. More to come!

=========================
UPDATE #2: We’re Home! 11:00am

I’m amazed at how fast this all went! She’s doing fine. We just got home, after a brief stop at the pharmacy. Mandy is having lots of pain, but we’re keeping it under control with our little friend, Lortab! They said she will have to sleep in a recliner for the next two nights. She thanks everybody for your prayers. Maybe tonight she’ll write her own little update on here.

=========================

Reading Challenge Update Apr/May

Sorry I’ve been so lax with the updates, my fellow readers! It seems that there is quite a bit to do around a church from Christmas to Mother’s Day – WHO KNEW? So the delay is 1 part “too busy to post” and 3 parts “too busy to read”, so it would have been embarrassing to post and let the world know I had fallen way behind!

Anyway, here’s the latest things I have finished up.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Dr. Meg Meeker
This book is simply a must have for any Dad who has at least one daughter. It took me a long time to get though it because there is so much good stuff to process and absorb. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rodney Dangerfield: It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs
I’m a sucker for old showbiz books. Especially biographies. There are tons of life lessons in there for anyone who cares to find them. I enjoy finding the hidden gems in a person’s life and experiences. It’s not for everybody, but if you’re a biography fan it’s a pretty good, quick read.

IN PROGRESS
I was hoping to have these further along by now, but c’est la vie.

Do You Guys Ever Sing Christian Music In Church?

Lately on Oakbrook’s YouTube channel, we’ve gotten quite a few comments along the lines of this particular fellow:

dmatthewsfan: Not only is it a bad cover, but do you guys ever sing Christian music in church?

This sort of amazes me, because if you’re an actual attender of Oakbrook, you know that the vast majority of music we do is worship music and/or so-called, “Christian Contemporary.” But I do understand the confusion. These commenters DON’T go to Oakbrook. On the YouTube channel, the more secular “covers” that we do get a lot more views and attention than the other stuff. This is understandable. The fact that a church would do a Dave Matthews Band, U2, Coldplay, Beatles, Linkin Park, Marvin Gaye, Martina McBride, or Montgomery Gentry song is, obviously, somewhat controversial for a “church.” The fans of these artists are constantly trolling the internet for interesting cover versions of their favorite music, too. (Mostly so they can leave nasty comments about how bad the cover versions are!)

So the thought occurred to me to post some of our more “sacred” YouTube clips and put them all here, on one page, where they are easily accessible. My intention here is not to defend Oakbrook or our programming approach, but just to be a resource for fielding these kinds of questions from people who genuinely want to know the full scope of what we do.

The following are some of my favorite “God-centered” songs we’ve done recently. Enjoy!

God Is Alive/Sing Sing Sing

Everlasting God

God Of This City

Praise The Father, Praise The Son

Awesome Is The Lord Most High

True Love

Desperate People

Because Of Your Love

Great Light Of The World

How He Loves

Still Alive

I’d just like to say that I’m still alive, even if I haven’t posted in a while. I’m awaiting inspiration

Idol Power Rankings, Top 8 (Birth Year Week)

Here are my Power Rankings for Top 8 week on Idol.
Previous Rankings: Top 13 | Top 12 | Top 11 | Top 10 | Top 9

1. Allison Iraheta, “I Can’t Me You Love Me”. Her vocals were NAILS, y’all. She is getting better and better each and every week. I was VERY impressed with her SKILLZ this week!
2. Matt Giraud, “Part Time Lovers”. Matt is back, yo! We hope “Rock Band Matt” is gone for good! Very very, nice job.
3. Danny Gokey, “Stand By Me”. Another nice, strong, consistent effort by one of my favorites. Nothing groundbreaking but another strong performance.
4. Adam Lambert, “Mad World”. OK…my personal opinion is that we went backwards into “Weird Adam” land again. It was OK I guess, but it definitely wasn’t my thing at all. I was not a fan of that performance.
5. Anoop Desai, “True Colors”. Anoop the balladeer returns. This is what he can do well. It’s in his sweet spot.
6. Lil Rounds, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” When she sings, it makes me want to take a big breath FOR her! It always seems like she’s struggling to keep up with the beat and to have enough air. It creates a very uneasy feeling. The big high note pushed sharp. Lil started this competition in my top 3, but her impact on me is fading quickly. I think the width of her sweet spot is extremely narrow. She is proving week after week that she can’t sing other genres that are thrown at her.
7. Kris Allen, “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”. What was with that crazy arrangement, bro? I didn’t get it. That song doesn’t really work as a funk pop thing. I think somewhere in the distance, Don Henley is crying himself to sleep.
8. Scott MacIntyre, “The Search Is Over”. Scott, your search for the Idol crown is over. It’s time to go now. Thanx. Buh-bye.