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March 19, 2008

Underwhat?

Until recently, i've worked at a church. Part of my job at this church was to attend a weekly meeting of the creative arts team. On many-a-wednesday I would walk in for the meeting and there would be a few recently released cd's sitting on the table. Usually I would put them in my computer, listen to a couple songs, and then return them to their home, where I found them. I did this because they didn't really wow me. But there was one blaring exception to this ritual. Carrie Underwood. Most of my friends just rolled their eyes and/or vomited onto their person. I saw the cd sitting there on the table, and I just knew. Mind you, I've always been a huge fan. (I don't mean to say i've always been an obese Carrie Underwood fan, but that my fanship for her music has always been large).

Her first record bent the space time continuum. They made the entire thing in 60 days. Like, start to finish. Like, literally had no songs chosen or anything. Of course, it does help to have Dan Huff as a producer, Diane Warren as a song writer and Shawn Pelton playing drums. But all these things do not equal a great record. There have been other records made with more accomplished musicians working on them, and they've stunk. No, this record was something different. Something special.

And so when I walked in to the office that wednesday and saw her sophomore release, I must admit I was a little snotty inside. Statistically speaking, this record should suck. She should be uber-full of herself, and have begun the long defeat, ultimately ending in the world of infomercials and QVC appearances.

But this was not the case. They brought it. They made a record almost as good as the first one, which is saying a lot. How 'bout a little of this. Ahh?! Ooooorrrrr, a little of this, yes?!

*I'd like to specifically address Mike Marion for a moment: c'mon. You know it's good. You know these songs touch you in a special place that Mic Jager cant even conceive of. I just hope that one day you'll be honest enough with yourself to come over to my house and join me in my nightly ritual of swaying back and forth, cell phone held high, to the sweet sounds of this woman. Drunk.

Anyway, I didn't write this entry until now because I wanted to really let the tunes settle. And the verdict is: wow. This girl and her team are the real thing.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 07:24 AM | Comments (1)

March 12, 2008

Radio Radio

So, y’all know that i’m opening up a music school in Yorba Linda, right? (If you don’t, click here). Well, I’m going to be interviewed about the business tomorrow evening on the Hugh Hewitt show. Tune in from 5:15 - 6:00 pm and hear all about the what we do and how we got started. Here’s all the information:

Thursday, March 13th, 5:15 pm
The Hugh Hewitt Show on KRLA 870 AM (in la)
You can also listen online here.

The show is nationally syndicated, so if you’re not in southern california, you’ll want to find the local Salem Radio Network station in your area.

And as always, if you or someone you know is interested in music lessons, please contact us!

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2008

AAAHHHHHH!

Friends, tonight I had an epiphany. Ah, so much time wasted! All this time spent trying to make it as a singer songwriter, and now as a singer-songwriter-who-never-plays-shows-but-rather-has-opened-up-a-business (an often overlooked career path). Tonight, as Kristi and I plopped down on the couch to unwind after a long day, something came on television that blew my mind. It was a group of people doing something that I love love to do: eating. However, they weren't doing it in the manner I do. They were making their living.

They were food critics.

I've missed my calling. It just hit me like a ton of bricks. I love me some food, and I'm one critical mo-fo. Right?

Maybe I could open up a hybrid business. Music lessons/food criticizing. Or food lessons/music criticizing. Or instrument tasting/food listening. Either way, I think I'm on to something here.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

All this reaching, still no grasping

This song by the Normals is one of my favorites of all time. Every time I hear it, I want to cry. Here are the lyrics for my more serious readers:

I took the long way home
But it led to the same apartment
Where no one's paid the phone bill
And no one really cares
When will that road
Go somewhere beautiful
And somewhere safe?

Cause around here everybody's tring
To find someone to be
Every guy's trying to find respect
In the eyes of a girl
Who just wants to be loved
We're children playing with guns
Children playing with hearts

And we go on...

We drive out of the city
Sometimes you've just got to leave
And scream out at the dark night
Hoping we believe what we believe
Cause it all seems too simple
And it all seems too wild...

And our questions grow in number
And their answers loom with fear
But still we ask and we trust you
Because you've held us here
With chains of grace and longing
Longing to be loved
And longing to be known

And we go on...

(All this reaching, still no grasping
Faith is there but time is passing
Are the answers in the asking
Where the weak become the strong?)

All I want is to be someone
All I want it to be real
All I want is to feel alive
All I want is to be with you
I don't know what I think that means
I want an awful lot, it seems...

And we go on

I especially love the line about no one paying the phone bill and no one really caring. The record this song is on is really good, but this song is something different. This song is different because it is painfully honest. I don't think the Christian life is one of answers. But I think that we in the church have spent the last few hundred years trying to turn it into that. The term "faith" has become, in some ways, meaningless. Just like the term "blessing". I find myself SO frustrated at the church. I find myself so frustrated with life, for that matter. And yet, somehow, God is in control. The truth is, when I really get real, that I'm not actually frustrated with the Church. I'm far too self centered to have thought about the Church long enough to be genuinely frustrated with them. The truth is I feel frustrated when I don't feel control. And somewhere along the line, I began to believe that if I did have control, I would be happy. That this longing in my heart would be satisfied. The interesting thing about this is that I have absolutely zero evidence to back this conclusion up. The truth is I need love. The truth is I'm completely broken. When I get here, I have no fear. But it's hard to get here because the love of man, which is not what my soul really needs, is not abstract. It's here, in front of my face. But the love of God is abstract. It's on a level that is easily ignored. But how good it is. I type those words, but I don't really know what they mean. But I know that I'm looking through the dim glass.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2008

The Real Thing

Sometimes I tell my friends that I want to play "dirty" r&b music. Well, this is more on the "b" side of that phrase, but is exactly what I'm talking about. When Kristi and I have kids, I'm going to put this song on and place the speakers directly on Kristi's belly. That actually might not be a good idea. Our kids would come out with dark bags under their eyes, smoking unfiltered camels. They'll say "put me back in, dad. You just don't understand". Wow. This has gotten away from me. Back to Mr. Waters. It's funny listening to old blues and soul music. These days his guitar playing would be considered archaic and unsophisticated. But this guy is the giant whose shoulders have been stood on by so many. It's funny to think that this guys guitar playing paved the way for Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn. But his singing, oh man. Just listen to the way he sings the first line.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)