Set List for 02.28.10

Hosanna(Praise is Rising) - Paul Baloche/Brenton Brown

Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin

You Are Enough - Elevation Worship

My Deliverer w/Everlasting God tag - Chris Tomlin

'Til I see You - Hillsong United

Top 12 most influential albums(Part 2)

Just some background before I go any further with this post, a lot of people may be surprised to find that my interest in music didn't really begin until the mid '90s. As I have discovered all types and styles of music since then, I think I picked out the albums that best directly relate to my personal musical style. Here's the top 6.

6. New Found Glory - Sticks and Stone

For those of you who may not know, I was in a pop punk band throughout the majority of my high school career. That in itself is worthy of its own blog. In the beginning, we were horrible. But over time, we grew into our own skin. This album was one of the biggest influences on me in that particular musical stage of my life. I love the guitar riffs/rhythms. I had a chance to catch a show of theirs at The House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC. Their energy and stage presence was incredible. During the last song of the show, they encouraged people to jump up on stage. Of course the bouncers were against that idea, so NFG got mad at the bouncers. Eventually, chaos broke out and the stage was flooded with people(mostly teenagers). I think our bassist at the time ended up with a drum stick. Call it brand loyalty or what have you, but I've continued to invest in every album of their since.

5. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College

If you don't own this record, Go. Buy. It. Now. I picked this up as a senior in high school. I saw a VH1 Storytellers of these two guys and have been hooked ever since. I think most people would agree that Dave Matthews is on a higher level than most singer/songwriters. You know it's Dave when you hear that percussive acoustic riff. Only Dave can sing and scat the way he does and still get away with it being cool. Plus, adding a phenomenal guitarist like Tim Reynolds is just mind blowing. I can't believe that he(Tim) can play an acoustic with that much speed and still retain its clarity and voicing. My favorite song is probably Trippin' Billies, I just love the riff.

4. Delirious? - Mezzamorphis

This album belonged to my sister. As I went to visit her one summer in Columbia, SC, we were listening to this as we drove around. Somehow I ended up going home with this. If I'm not mistaken we traded cd's. I digress. For me, this was one of the records you put on repeat and listen to over and over again. Delirious? has a very unique sound and I would count them in as one of the pioneers of Christian rock, even some aspects of worship music. I remember plugging in my Epiphone SG into my little Peavey amp and working my way through this record. Deeper is one that stands out in my mind that I spent hours playing to. It's not typical music and I think that's why I was drawn to it.

3. Third Day - Time

Time is one of the first albums I was introduced and listening to when I first felt the calling on my life to get involved with performing/writing Christian music. Every song was solid. They all have a strong message, strong riffs and melodies. I've Always Love You, Your Love Oh Lord(Psalm 36), What Good, Sky Falls Down, and Give are my favorites if I had to narrow them down. Unfortunately after this record I started to grow away from Third Day. Can't explain it, I could but it would take too long, but I do have a lot of respect for their music and appreciate the impact they've had on me my life.

2. Brevada - This Too Shall Pass

This band, native to the Columbia, SC area and also formerly known at The Doc Sommers Band, rocked my world in high school and a little of my college life. They may have had the greatest impact on me as a whole being a young musician when I discovered them. First off, one of the coolest things about the band is the fact that the lead singer's mother played the drums. Yeah, it was awesome because she rocked out better than most. The guitars were aggressive yet extremely melodic. There was passion and authenticity in the lyrics, overall great music. Sadly, they dispersed in, I think, the spring of 2005. The lead singer, Mack Brock is currently on staff at Elevation Church in Charlotte. If you haven't heard any of the worship music coming out of Elevation, you should do that right now. You might even catch a hint of Brevada in the music.

1. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Bling

This was my first real record purchase. I was a 7th grader and for my birthday had a gift card to a record store. I had heard Semi-Charmed Life on the radio and thought that it was a good enough reason for me to buy the cd. I can listen to this album at any time and all day long. I know the content is questionable for most middle schoolers(which is crazy cause that's when I bought this), but it's poppy. I like Pop Rock. The hooks/songs are great. No doubt. You'll be singing these songs long after you have listened to them. The guitar tones are superb. There are a lot of alternate tunings which gives it a very open feel. Favorite songs are Narcolepsy, Semi-Charmed Life, How's It Going to Be, you know actually every song is a favorite.

Other honorable mentions(in no particular order): Relient K - Mmhmm; Hootie & The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View; Jennifer Knapp - Lay It Down; Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown; Nickelback - All The Right Reasons; Shane & Shane - An Evening with Shane and Shane; Nine Days - The Madding Crowd; Erich Skelton - Some Other City; Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar; John Mayer - Heavier Things; Further Seems Forever - How to Start a Fire Disc 1; David Crowder Band - Illuminate, Story of the Year - Page Avenue; Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane

Set List for 02.21.10

Sing to the King - Billy Foote

How Great Thou Art - Charlie Hall

Glory to God Forever - Fee

Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill

I Stand Amazed(How Marvelous) - Chris Tomlin

We Will Not Be Shaken - River Hills Worship

Top 12 most influential albums(Part 1)

I've been wanting to write this post for a long time. I always get a lot of questions about my influences and what music I listen to. It's probably not going to be what you would expect. Sometimes I think people assume, as a worship leader, all I listen to is mainstream Christian music, which isn't entirely true. These albums have had the most impact on me musically and inspirationally. I'm going to split this into two posts in order to keep them shorter. This post fill be followed by another blog about my top 10 favorite/most influential worship albums for those who are interested in my favorite worship artists.

12. Lifehouse - No Name Face

I wore this cd out in high school. Hanging by a Moment was one of my favorites. They write great songs with great hooks, the kind that leave you humming the melodies for the rest of the day. And somehow this guy gets the thickest guitar tones that I've ever heard. Still trying to get mine to sound that good. I haven't made it a priority to see them live, but I'm really wanting to. I've heard they put on a solid show.

11. Edison Glass - A Burn or a Shiver

My good friend Chris Lee invited me to attend a concert with him in Charlotte one time while I was in college. Since Megan was there at school I made it a weekend trip with a rock show and some time with the future Mrs. Farmer. Just happened to be an Edison Glass concert. Changed my life. These four guys blew my mind with the live show. Killer guitar rythms and leads all meshed together with great hooks and melodies, I never get tired of listening to this record. You can bet that you'll catch yourself singing one of these songs at the top of your lungs while you're driving down the road too.

10. The Working Title - About-Face

I saw these guys for the first time as a freshman in college, found out they were from Charleston, SC. I've always tried to support the local music scene. Didn't get their full album until I was a junior. I wore this thing slap out. The vocalist has a very unique voice, but every song is strong. If I had to choose, I think The Mary Getaway (I Lost Everything) would be my favorite track on the album. But that's a tough choice to make.

9. Hillsong United - Look to You

Right when I felt I was in a drought of good worship music, here comes Hillsong United. I still have songs from this album in a regular rotation in my set lists. They have a sound that is completely their own, one that everyone else has tried to replicate, including me. But these songs connected with me on a very deep level and they still do today. Salvation is Here and 'Til I See You are two classics.

8. Jason Morant - Abandon

I stumbled across this album sometime around my sophomore year of college. It was extremely inspirational, and always motivates me to worship authentically and try to write songs out of that worship. I think that his version of I Love You Lord is genius. There is No One is probably my favorite worship song of all time. It basically states that there is no one like our God, so let's worship Him with all we have.

7. Derek Webb - She Must and Shall Go Free

Derek Webb is a very passionate songwriter. You may not recognize him, but since he is formerly of the group Caedmon's Call, I'm sure you'd recognize something that he's written if you've been listening to Christian music. This album is all about the church and it's flaws. It's very convicting yet encouraging at the same time. I got to meet him once and after talking with him I walked away with a greater appreciation for his music. Nobody Loves Me, Crooked Deep Down, Saint and Sinner, and Wedding Dress are four of my favorites on this album(hard to narrow that one down). I would cover Nobody Loves Me when I played shows in coffee houses.

Stay tuned to find out the top six...I know you're on the edge of your seat. I can tell.

Keeper of the Night Stand

Meet Ted. You can call him Ted, Teddy, Theodore, Cat, or a few other choice names that I will keep to myself. He likes to perch himself on my night stand and one night Megan and I got tickled at him and nicknamed him Keeper of the Night Stand. He reminds me of the lion statues you see on either side of a driveway or something like that. Ted is the first cat that I've ever had. I've always been a dog person. My family have always been dog people. So there was a bit of a learning curve for me when I brought Ted home to live with us for Megan's birthday surprise. There are a few differences between cats and dogs that I've encountered.

1) When cats wag their tails, that doesn't mean they're happy. It's usually more of a warning. Example: Cat says as he swishes his tail, "I'm not a dog so stop rubbing my head that hard or I will tap into my ancient lion instincts and kick your —."

2) Dogs crave attention. Cats demand attention. Ted is a very affectionate cat, but usually when it's most convenient for him. The best example occurs in the morning time. The cat has associated the sound of our alarms in the morning with the fact that he is going to be fed soon. So in an attempt to speed up the process, he tries to wake us up by rubbing his head into our faces, this happens to be a form of affection for them, but at 7:00 o'clock in the morning it's just plain annoying.

3) I believe the saying "Cats Rule and Dogs Drool" is completely false. Whoever coined that phrase is/was an idiot. Cats may rule, but they drool far more than dogs. And to make matters worse, they prefer to rub the slobber on you, on your leg, hands, face, or anywhere that is in a neck's reach. I understand they are marking their territory and showing affection all at the same time. But cut me some slack, and don't rub your drool on my nose, it's gross and it stinks.

However, over the past five months or so I've grown very attached to this cat. I think most any pet brings joy to a family and Ted definitely brightens up our lives. I could fill a blog just about the crazy things this cat does on a day-to-day basis. He's chilled with me even as I've written this blog. I never thought I'd feel this way, but he definitely makes me a cat-person.

Set List for 02.07.10

Everlasting God - Brenton Brown

You Are Enough - Elevation Worship

Glory to God Forever - Fee

How Great is Our God - Chris Tomlin

We Bring You Praise* - River Hills Worship

We Lift You Up - Jason Morant/Paul Baloche

*If you missed out on The Alleluia Ep you can find "We Bring You Praise" on it, and you can find it here.

Floods of Grace

I had a chance to read through the story of Noah, and just like before, it doesn't matter how many times I read this story something new always hits me like a ton of bricks. Here's my brief summary of Noah and the Ark:

God became disappointed in man. God found favor in Noah. God told Noah to build an Ark and collect two of every animal. Noah obeyed God. The floods came. The floods left. The Ark settled on dry land. Noah offered praise to God. God was pleased, blessed Noah, and made this promise:

"I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." —Genesis 9:13-16 ESV

As I read this the other day all I could think about was Jesus. I always find it fascinating to see allusions to Jesus in the Old Testament, an added support to the fact that God had a plan of redemption from the very beginning. For the true believers in Christ, God looks upon us and sees His son Jesus. He are covered in the blood of Christ. Just as God sees the rainbow and is reminded of the covenant He made with Noah and all living things, He looks on us and sees Jesus and that we are redeemed through that relationship. When we mess up and give into our sinful natures, God doesn't seek to destroy us but shows us grace. It's a beautiful thing.

Mercy

Today I started a new chronological Bible reading plan, so obviously I started in Genesis. It seems over the course of my life I've probably read this book a dozen times and heard many sermons and talks on it as well. But it never seems to amaze me that something new and very relevant pops out at me.

At the end of the third chapter God is about to banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after their disobedience(sin). However, I found it interesting what he does just before that.

"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." Genesis 3:21 ESV

I think it is so cool that God in the midst of our sin and consequences takes the take to provide for our need. He is mercy and He is faithful.

*One struggle I have in my personal bible study time is knowing what to read. Sometime you have to get yourself on a plan. I hate scheduling things but you do what you have to do. Anyway if you need a good resource for reading guides or plans, check out this website. It's definitely one of the best resources I've come across lately and if you're really tech-savvy they have apps for your phone. When it's this easy you can't have any excuse when it come to studying your Bible.