We were only there Wednesday evening through lunch Friday, but I think we squeezed a lot of the town into that time period.  We ate at East Bay Deli (Voted Charleston’s Best Deli), Boulevard Diner, Virginia’s on King (absolutely amazing), and even hit Saffron for dessert & coffee.  We visited the battery, saw some really old cannons and monuments, went in the shops, and visited the Market.

On the ministry side, I got to make some great new friends.  I always love getting to see how God is moving in other cities around the world.  Fourteen kids accepted Christ for the first time and several more were interested in knowing more about what it means to walk with him.

Here are a few more photos from the trip:

I was able to snap this shot just in time. The church was doing baptisms…

we started hanging fabric, hanging a 16:9 screen, and getting ladders to hang lights:

Then, we plugged in some lights, turned them on, and kept hanging other lights…notice my drum kit in the middle of the stage:

Lighting gels, colors, movers…

Programmed and ready to go:

Shows are DECEMBER 11-13th @ 7:00 pm, with an additional Sunday Matinee @ 2:30 pm.  Who needs tickets? Comment which days, and how many!

mp: Make a good first impression.  What is the first thing you’d like to say?

jpd: Well, Michael. Buenos dias to you sir.  Muchas gracias for conducting this interview.  You’re so wise to do something like this. I should have done somethings like this muchos tiempo ago.

mp: You’re very welcome.  I hope this interview highlights the music and art that you make, and lets people know about you.  I know we’re just getting started, but I’ve already noticed your broken English.  It seems that you transition so fluidly between the Spanish and el English. How do you do that?

jpd: Ah, yes…You see, Michael. Many of my relative are from the Spanish speaking countries. Tambien, I have spent many a days in the Peru, Puerto Rico, Honduras, etceterrrra.  But I mostly hang out at local Mexican restuarants where I order water, a chicken burrito (no vegetables), and eat free chips and salsa until I cannot eat them anymore.

mp: Tell me a little about your music background. I know that you play with every band in Raleigh (Silver, Shelly Moore Band, Daniel Renstrom, Chad Lister, Mirrors, Dakota Darling…), but how did you get started? Who influenced you?

jpd: Great question. You really are good at these interviews!  Well, when I was growing up, I would spend my summers in the Peru visiting relatives. The mariachi bands were always in need of one more player. I practiced until late in the evening on my Esteban guitarra, wearing my fingers to the bone in hopes that one day they would choose me. They never did. I vowed to make them regret their decision, so I switched from the black beauty acoustic guitar (pictured below) to the electric guitar.

Then, I began listening to the great rock bands that we all know and love.  The rest is history…even though it’s still happening…so it’s present history. right now, history in the making.

mp: Thanks so much Patrick for your time.

jpd: No, Michael, thank you.  Buenos.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my first interview! I’ll be conducting more interviews soon.  Hopefully Shelly, Daniel, and James will be kind enough to stop by and share a few words.

This church has great tradition and great people.  Last night, the speaker talked a little bit about tradition vs. traditionalism.  He says, “Tradition is Living Faith of dead people.  Traditionalism is Dead Faith of living people.”  I think the people of FBC Sparta have great roots and I’m excited to see how God moves tonight.

Also, when Shelly and I arrived, there was a bat (a real bat) hanging outside on the wall of the church. Just sleeping…or was it waiting?? For me…to let my guard down.  Either way, if I come back with special powers, or rabies…you’ll know what happened…(I would have a picture but I wasn’t about to get all up on that thing)

The church has all the great marks of a Baptist church!  Let’s see:

Organ. Check

Stained Glass. Done.

125 Year Celebration Quilt. Absolutely.

Pews. Of course.

Sound booth in the top cornerest part of the room. Yep.

Pictures of all the pastors. They all look like this guy:

What else have I missed and what else should I look for?

What makes a good studio project happen? Or, what made our project happen? Coffee.  Good musicians, good songs, and good vibe are all overrated. Coffee was the MVP.  We worked most days from 2:00pm until 5:00am.  If you listen hard enough, you can hear coffee brewing in the background of every song…

This guitar (Guild) is old as dirt. The strings were as dead as they could be AND the guitar was tuned down a 1/2 step! (giving it even more deadness) It was perfect for the songs we used it on.  This picture is me tracking “Comfort Ye” with the AKG 414 and toboggan (even though it was 93º in the studio).

Judging by the cymbal setup, this is me tracking drums for “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”.  Zildjian K Constantinople 21″ Big Band Ride (via Dale Baker…used on Sixpence None the Richer’s Divine Discontent record), Zildjian K Constantinople Hi Hat BOTTOM w/New Beat TOP for a little bit of shine, K Custom Dark Crash (left), and 18″ Paiste 2002 Crash (right).

The OTI Crew.  From Left: James Childs (E.Gtr, Bass, Mandolin, A.Gtr), me (Drums/Perc, A.Gtr), Patrick Downing (E.Gtr, A.Gtr, Bass), Daniel Renstrom (Vocals, A.Gtr).  This picture accurately represents what it felt like in the studio.  We all look pretty grimey and look like we’ve had too much coffee.

A few weeks ago, Daniel, Nick, and I (I probably had the least amount of influence…) put together a “Service Evaluation” document to help guide our worship planning and leading.  Here are a few of the key questions on the list that helped guide my song choices:

Was (How is) the Gospel clear in every element of Worship?

(How)Did the songs chosen help the Word of God to dwell richly among the congregation? (Col 3:16, Eph. 5:19)

(How) Did we communicate an “already, not yet” philosophy?

Below is my #setlist from Sunday morning along with my (brief) reason for choosing that song.

Hosanna // Hebrews 12:3 says “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” The pre-chorus to this song reads “When we see You, we find strength to face the day”.  I think it is important for the congregation to see and sing that seeing Jesus is essential for our endurance as believers.  When we don’t see Jesus rightly, we quickly become weary.

Glory to God Forever // This has to be one of the best chorus songs that hasn’t been released yet! I believe FEE will release this song on their upcoming album in October.  “Before the world was made, before You spoke it to be, You were the King of kings…”  God has eternally existed and will exist forever.  He alone is worthy of lives lived al for His glory.

There is a Fountain Filled With Blood // William Cowper is easily one of my favorite hymn writers of all time.  I think I can relate to him in many ways, but I think many other Christians could as well…if they knew his story.  (This song may turn into a separate post.)  Cowper struggled with doubt all of his life. He attempted suicide many times, and because he was unsuccessful, he felt as though he had offended God in an unforgivable way.  He goes on to pen this lyric: “The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day; and there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away”

This song needs (I say this, not the Lord…) to be a part of the church catalog.  This song does an amazing job of communicating the “already, not yet” philos0phy.  Though we are “seated with Christ in the heavenlies”, we still toil, strive, labor, fight, endure hardships, and grow in faith.

Before the Throne of God Above // Oh how different the Christian life would be if we understood that we have a great High Priest who “lives to intercede” for us. Daily.  (Is. 53, Heb. 4:14-16, Heb. 7)

I Will Sing of My Redeemer // A great Gospel song of response.  The church needs to sing “I will sing of my Redeemer, how He sought me while a slave; loosed me from the curse of sin and from the power of the grave.”  That truth is solid enough to build life and hope upon.

So, to turn this post into a question: What songs does your church do regularly and do those songs point you to the Gospel?  If you are a worship leader, how do you plan a service?

Video 2 will post tomorrow…

The very nice people over at Under the Radar radio have starting playing a song that we covered for a nationally released compilation record called “Life is Precious: A Wes King Tribute“. The song that we covered is called “Do You Tremble“, so we’re very excited that Under the Radar has started playing it!

Make sure you check them out, and support the artists that they are working hard to promote!

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features a subtle use of vocal harmony, extensive vamping, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, minor key tonality, and melodic songwriting.

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features a subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, major key tonality, and a dynamic female vocalist.

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features basic rock song structures, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mixed minor & major key tonality, and acoustic rhythm guitars.

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features acoustic rock instrumentation, folk influences, a subtle use of vocal counterpoint…

This next quote is my favorite! Pandora played our track, “Whisper”, which can be found on our studio project Hope & Decay, or on the EMI compilation “Underground Sound“.  I thought the reason given for playing the song would read…”because this is a Shelly Moore Band station.”  I was wrong. The answer they give was better…

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features basic rock song structures, funk influences, flat out funky grooves, a subtle use of vocal harmony, and rhythmic syncopation.

They might be on to something…

Shelly and I were just in Nashville for a few days with Pat, Brent, and Tom to play some music.  We left late Thursday night @ 10:00 and arrived to the cold of Nashville @ 7:00 a.m.  I drove the whole way.  There is only one stretch of road that I don’t remember…pretty good, I guess?

We had a great time meeting some of the bands, hearing stories, and just hanging out as a band.  Here are some of the quick hits from the weekend:

• I learned that 5 Hour Energy drink does indeed last for 5 hours.  It tastes terrible and smells awful, but took me from midnight until 5:00a.m. I had 1/2 of another one (which still tasted awful) but got me through until we reached Nashville.
• I’m still not that impressed with Nashville and the “music scene”.  We attended mandatory sessions and I really (hopefully not being prideful here) didn’t hear anything that I didn’t already know. Ex. 1: When recording a project, have it mixed and mastered professionally. Ex. 2: You need to work hard at being a musician. Songwriting. Recording. Managing. Booking.  It’s all hard work.  I think I knew that already…I think.
• The music business makes business decisions.  They do not make ministry decisions.
• There are 8,000 calories in the crackers at Cracker Barrel.
• Even if you have a “confirmation number” for your hotel rooms, the hotel may not define “confirmation number” the same way as you do.
• Driving the whole way back just to say that I drove the entire trip may seem like a good idea, but isn’t worth catching a cold over.
• I don’t know why I’m continually surprised by artists who think that artistic integrity means that art is only about the art.  Doesn’t art, at it’s core, stand for and represent something?  Isn’t all art communicating something? Trying to affect change in the viewer and listener?  An artist does not “sell out” when art is “about” something…