Release!

The Doorpost Songs: Next Generation is finally here!  We had our release concert on Friday, June 12 at Tallowood with a full band backed by a choir of 100 kids.  The night was incredibly exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling for us.  It was wonderful to see the fruits of our labor over these last six months, and it was touching to see the kids sing these timeless truths with such enthusiasm!

The band was filled out by new and old friends.  Clint Milburn, the guitar player that I played with in Better Days Ahead, flew down from Nashville to be a part of the concert.  He was also heading out to Camp Tallowood the next day with us.  Seth Marcum, a new friend, also flew down to play bass.  He would be a part of the Camp band as well.  John Stanley, a new friend from Second Baptist who attended the band sessions in Nashville and actually played on one of the tracks, played drums, and Jeremy Good, a local musician, arranger, and producer played keys.  Finally, Lisa Pierre join us on background vocals.

We had a great rehearsal on Thursday with the band, which turned out to be an all-star cast.  They had all been listening to the music and had the songs down flat.  The only thing we had to do was put it together.  Having Lisa on BGVs was also a huge help, allowing us to pull off some of the more complex background vocal parts on the album.  The only question that remained was how the kids would sing on Friday night.

Just before 5:00 on Friday we finally gathered to soundcheck with the kids.  I was nervous about whether or not the kids would sing out and know the songs well, but those nerves were quickly put to rest.  They knew the songs cold, and sang their little hearts out.  There were multiple moments when I got choked up listening to them sing these words from Scripture.

Once we had soundchecked we dismissed the kids, put some finishing touches on our monitor mixes, and then grabbed a quick dinner.  (Regrettably I was only able to get a couple bites of my ice cream cookie sandwich!)  Before I knew it the clock struck 7:00 and we stepped on stage to begin the concert.  The lights dimmed and we played the opening video segment before launching into If God is For Us.  I tried to savor each moment, but they passed incredibly quickly.  Each song was met with enthusiastic response from the audience, for which the most credit must go to the kids.  Their energetic, enthusiastic singing carried the night.  In the blink of an eye we went from the first song all the way to Stand Firm, the final track.  The kids sang the final refrain, “Death is swallowed up in victory,” and after one last “trash can” ending, the night was completed.

It has been wonderful since then to receive feedback from kids and parents alike about how they are experiencing the new album.  I’ll try to share some of their stories in upcoming posts.  But for now it’s enough to say that I am both exhilarated and relieved to finally have the album out.  The CD release concert was a wonderful, memorable experience, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the media team (Gary Revis, Miguel Ortiz, Stefan Gerrard, Kyle Smith, Jonathan Lafferty); Alicia Music, the director of the kids choir; and, of course, the kids themselves.  We continue to pray that God would use this album to plant His truth in the lives of the next generation!

New Doorpost Songs Project!

Coming soon to fine retailers everywhere…okay, well really just to Tallowood…The Doorpost Songs II.  You may remember that in December of 2006 we released the first Doorpost Songs project, a collection of scripture set to music and sung by Jess, me, and a group of kids from Tallowood.  Take a listen to the first project if you haven’t heard it before.  This time around we did the band tracks in Nashville with Scott Williamson, the producer who did the first record as well as the Dave and Jess album.  Then we came back to Houston to record Jess and me, and in late March we’ll record the kids.  The project will be released on Friday, June 12 with a release concert at VBS Family Night.  Stay tuned for more updates!

S.P.A.M.A.R.A.M.A.

No doubt you’re wondering what in the world SPAMARAMA is – I know I did the first time I saw the name.  It sounds like a celebration of the infamous “meat-like” product.  But it actually stands for Students Proclaim A Message About Repentance And Mercy Available, and for over a decade hundreds of students have been gathering at Bethel Baptist Church in North Houston each summer for this weeklong evening revival.  This year it was our privilege to lead them in worship.

Each service was an eclectic mix of music, drama, and video elements capped with a message that invariably spoke directly and honestly to the life situations that these students find themselves in.  It was sobering to see how many people came forward when one speaker asked any student that had a broken family situation to come forward for prayer.  We were impressed with the way the leaders spoke truth into the lives of these students without fear.  They addressed issues with refreshing frankness, from the lyrics of music on the radio today to the perils of the gang lifestyle, all the while speaking in love and offering the kids the promise of redemption in Christ.

With our friends Blaine Fallis (bass), Dave Donahoo (guitar) and John Stanley (drums) backing us up we led about 30 minutes of worship each evening and then gave a concert on Friday night after the service.  It was exciting to see the kids respond well to the music and we even got a chance to give some encouragement to an aspiring worship band formed by a few of the students.  We’re looking forward to more of these opportunities in the future.  Thanks again to everyone who was a part of putting on this great event!

Release Concert Pics

At long last, here are a few of our favorite photos from the release concert, courtesy of Clay Wisner.  (Thank you, Clay!)

Our logo on the screen before the show.  Don’t think for a moment we weren’t crazy nervous backstage!

Great work by Vincent Young, Kyle Smith, Miguel Ortiz, and Gary Revis to get the stage looking incredible!

A new friend: bass player, James Gregory.

An old friend: guitar player, Clint Milburn.

And appearing on second guitar: Dave Donahoo.

I even pulled out the electric guitar for a couple tunes.

As usual, Jess delivered a great vocal performance.

I moved to the keyboard for songs like Undone and Face of God.

Going for it on One in a Million.

Love this shot – the moment right before the final note of the concert.  Thanks, Clay for some great pics!

Face of God Video

Here is the video that accompanies the song Face of God.

More thoughts…

So it’s been a while since I (Jess) have posted anything on here, so I thought I’d offer up some reflections on Friday’s concert as well.

First of all – THANKS TO MY MOM AND DAD for making the surprise trip down for the concert!  It meant so much for us to have them there in the audience!  It wouldn’t have been the same without them.  I also echo Dave in thanking everyone who had a hand in pulling this whole thing together.  It took a village to make this happen, and how lucky we are to have each and every person that was involved. 

I’m also SO grateful for the guys that played in the band.  It was such privilege to sing alongside these outstanding musicians.  They gave this singer a major boost of confidence! 

I also want to be sure everyone knows how brilliant my husband is.  Not only did he write some killer songs, but his whole vision for the concert just blew me away – from the video that introduced the concert to the Face of God video that I’m still receiving comments on.  God has simply gifted him in a multitude of ways, and it’s so cool for me as his wife to see him using them for God’s glory.  I’m so blessed to share this project with him, and God is fulfilling one of my deepest desires by allowing us to do this together.

Finally – as we’ve released this album my prayer has simply been this: that people would encounter Truth.  Of course we’d love for the choruses to get stuck in your head, or for you to find yourself whistling one of the melodies without even knowing it.  BUT – more than that we want it to impact you on a much more personal level.  Whether it’s challenging you to view your interactions with others differently, encouraging you during times of deepest need, or simply putting a voice to the things you’ve felt before, we hope that these songs are more than just entertainment.  We hope they make you think.

Much love, my friends.  Thanks for listening to our music!

A Great Evening

It has been quite a while since we got something up on the blog, mostly because we’ve been so busy preparing for the CD release concert Friday night.  We’ve got plenty of things to share with you, but let me begin by giving you some random, non-sequential reflections on Friday night:

-  First, a big thank you to everyone who was a part of making all of this possible!  So many people were involved in this project from its inception to its release that we could not possibly list everyone.  Just know that it was incredibly rewarding for both of us to be able to create this music and then share it with our friends, family, and church on such a memorable night.  I turned to Jess after we finished and said, “That’s one of my favorite things we’ve ever done together,” and it would not have come about without the help that we received from so many of you.  Thank you!

-  Jess’ parents receive the award for Longest Distance Traveled and Best Surprise of the Night for flying in from Illinois, navigating Houston traffic and showing up for the concert.  What a great surprise!  As Jess’ mom said, “I’ve been to every one of your concerts since you were little.  Why would I miss this one?”

-  Some of you know that Friday was a bit nerve-wracking for another reason: we did not receive our product until 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon!  Believe me we were sweating it!  Due to a mix-up between our photographer and our artist the artwork was delayed which meant that we were cutting it as close as we possibly could.  I was praying all day that the UPS driver would be on time!  Thankfully I did not have to stand in front of 400 people and say, “Well, I know you thought you were coming to a CD release concert, but…”

-  What a great joy it was to share that concert with two of our closest friends in the band: Clint Milburn on guitar and Scott Williamson on drums.  Clint and I have played countless shows together and he just keeps getting better as a guitar player.  And this was our first time to play live with Scott, but what a great drummer!  No less than 10 people came up to me after the show with the following statement: “Wow!  Scott is a(n) insert superlative here drummer!”  (And if the superlative is more than one syllable it should be pronounced as slowly as possible, stressing each individual syllable, i.e. “in-cre-di-ble”.)  It was also a pleasure to be joined by two newer friends, Dave Donahoo, who has been playing guitar with us for the last couple years, and James Gregory, a friend of Scott’s.  We could not have asked for a better band.

Okay, I think that’s enough for now, but here’s a preview of some things you can look forward to on the blog in the coming days:

• Information on how to order the CD online and through iTunes.
• The concert video for Face of God
• The promo videos we used to advertise for the concert
• More reflections and pictures from the release concert

Stay tuned!

 

Put it on Your Calendars!

We have mentioned it before, but let’s make it official: the CD release concert will be on Friday, May 30 at Tallowood in the Activities Center at 7:30 PM.  Now go mark your calendars, cancel any conflicting appointments, round up all your friends, and wait in eager anticipation!

The band is going to be rockin’!  Scott Williamson, our producer who also played drums on the record, will be coming down from Nashville to play with us.  He will be joined by two more of our good friends from Nashville: Clint Milburn is a great guitar player that played lead in Better Days Ahead, and Walt Smith is an awesome bass player who has been playing with Jeremy Camp for the last few months.  Finally, Dave Donahoo, one of our Saturday and Sunday regulars and a great guitar player in his own right, will be joining us to round out the band.

We hope you’ll join us!

show at HBU!

Hey friends!  We’ll be opening for Stephen Miller at Houston Baptist University on Tuesday, January 22.  Details are below – would love for you to come!

Houston Baptist University

Belin Chapel in the Morris Cultural Arts Center

6:30pm

For directions, click HERE.