Analog Hope

Listen..and Make Some Noise

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:30:00 -0800

Each of us lives in two cities.

There’s the city that we breathe, sleep, feel, fight, and work in.

And there’s the city we communicate, socialize, learn, shop, and play in.

While our geographic cities may receive our physical selves, our laptops, mobile devices, and global networks receive our social, mental, and consumer energies.

It seems, as a generation of millenials, we have the unique opportunity to become better at merging our lives between these two realities. We need to become better listeners in our physical cities and better noisemakers in our global one.

All too often we reach for our iPod to drown out the noise of the culture outside our backdoor, unintentionally ignoring the artists, the musicians, the filmmakers, the poets, and the prophets saying something awakening and unique just steps away from our living room. We’d rather grab the nearest Starbucks than a caffeine fix from our neighborhood coffee shop. We’d rather chat with a picture and a profile than strike up a conversation with a three-dimensional stranger.

Conversely, we don’t own our second city the way we should. If we stopped and realized the unprecedented magnitude of communication accessible to us at this time in the history of the world, if we really took it in, saw it as a responsibility, a gift, a sign of hope…it would profoundly change the way we utilize the technology that’s become so common to us now.

With the ability to connect with anyone in the world with a wi-fi signal, injustices oceans away are now as close to us as our fingertips. The Haiti victim, the Ugandan child-soldier, the woman without water are now closer than our neighbors next door. We now share a responsibility for our global community, a unique connection that should move us to breathe, sleep, feel, fight, and work together in it rather than passively observe.

I want to be better at living in both these cities.

I want to change the world, not buy a bumper sticker.

I want to be a better listener and a better noisemaker.

How about you?

Talking with Frightened Rabbit

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:40:01 -0800

There’s an electric energy that fills the small, historic dive club in Hollywood, California. It’s not because Rainn Wilson and John Kransinski are there to watch their favorite band. People couldn’t seem to care less. Rather, the packed out, A/C deprived hipster crowd is fixated, their adrenaline hormones haunted by the driving Scottish melodies of Frightened Rabbit, a band whose anthems reverberate idioms like “Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name” and “It takes more than f*cking someone to keep yourself warm.” Behind these spiritual musings and loose proverbs is Frightened Rabbit’s frontman, Scott Hutchinson, a twenty-something son of Scotland whose dabbling in artistry and ability to transmit the melancholy story over crashing symbols and cranked amps have gained him significant attention both in his home country and the US alike.

“I started out as a solo artist,” Scott says, recalling the band’s beginnings. “You can’t even say artist actually. I was really, really bad. It was really difficult to get people to pay attention to what I was doing. So my brother joined on drums and people started paying attention. It was really f*cking loud. But then there was something missing because I was layering things up at home with my recording equipment and I wanted to expand the live sound so Billy joined and started playing a little guitar. By that time our first album, Sing the Greys, was done and we toured that as a 3 piece in Scotland and the US. Then, Midnight Organ Fight was written, produced, and recorded in the US. Andy joined then to flesh out the sound. With the new record we again find ourselves ready to add a new member. He’s going to be joining us when we get back to Scotland.”

When asked to describe Frightened Rabbit’s interwoven landscape of indie, pop, rock, electronica, and folk, Hutchinson confesses, “It’s all by mistake. None of it’s contrived. It’s just, I have bands that I love. I do admit to just taking from here and there but I try to put as much in as possible. The sound of Frightened Rabbit is basically me trying really bad to sound like other bands. One of the nicest things people say about our band is, ‘You know, you’re not really doing anything new but I just can’t put my finger on what makes it so special.’”

While some may argue over their sound reflecting everything from The Frames to Snow Patrol to Death Cab to Weezer, The band’s loyalty to Scottish folk tradition and storytelling carries an unwavering and undeniable current that sweeps across the breadth of their musical landscape. “At the core of everything there’s always a song,” says Scott. “And the song structure remains traditional, even with the new record we just finished over the summer, the arrangements are a little more experimental, but still at the core there is a song and that for me is what ties us back to folk, what ties us back to Scotland… the fact that it’s really important to have this melody and something to say.”

Hutchinson is true to his convictions. The lyrics of Frightened Rabbit are rarely without “something to say.” In a society of authorities that seem indifferent to doubts and uncertainties, bands like Frighten Rabbit resonate with a post-modern, question-driven culture. Hutchinson’s lyrics don’t wrap up and don’t play down…they brood, they muse, they challenge in a manner that would provoke anyone to ask big questions about the role relationships, sexuality, and religion play out in their life.

Their most recent album, Midnight Organ Fight exploded in the US as part break-up album, part existential excursion. On “Head Rolls Off,” Hutchinson denounces Christ as any sort of deity and wonders “How come one man got so much fame?” “Head Rolls Off” is my thesis for spirituality, Hutchinson explains. “It comes back again on the new record. I love using religious imagery in my songs because it’s really amongst the most powerful imagery that we have as lyricists. It’s a huge part of Scottish life as well – religious tension has shaped the way our country has come to be. I love using it but I don’t want it to be mistaken for actually believing in it. So in that sense I like to use it perhaps to display just how pointless I feel it is sometimes. Because we’re just alive and then we’re dead. That’s as simple as it is to me: You’re alive and then you’re dead. It can happen at any point in time. All you have to do is something while you’re alive because there’s no opportunity to do it after.”

That theme reaches its peak on Midnight Organ Flight with its blunt ballad “Keep Yourself Warm,” a song that begs for life to move beyond the superficial pleasures of screwing around and asks the forthright yet sincere question, “Do you really think you’ll find love in a hole?” “That one’s not about me so much,” Hutchinson says, his eyes lighting up as if about to tell another Scottish folk story. “I wrote that one about a couple of friends of mine that were having different experiences. One of them, alright, was f*cking around and there was nothing in it and he just wasn’t happy. No matter how much he complained and complained about it, he’d go back and do it again. I’d just be like ‘man, come on.’ Then there was the other guy who was doing nothing: sleeping in until 4, not actually meeting anyone. So there are these two aspects of that song whereby one is quite clearly…‘the hole’ [laughs] and the other one is “the hole,” as in, ‘you’re stuck in a rut and you can’t get out of it.’ Maybe they’re both kind of like that because they’re both a place where nothing productive is being done and you’re not really advancing yourself as a person or helping anything.

Frightened Rabbit’s new album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, is streaming on their myspace now and releases world-wide next month. The album promises to break apart the band’s traditional rock band mentality and surprise even close fans of the group. Says Hutchinson, “The new record is really layered. With the last one, there were a lot of things missing that I really wanted to be in there that I didn’t have time to do. This time I think I went purposely overboard and we pulled it back in the mix. We’ve also got a new member who’s going to be joining us when we get back to Scotland. Hopefully he’ll be able to add those elements from the new record live. He’s going to play a bunch of everything. We have a lot sampled, we have more interestingly layered drum sounds…we’re not trying to use the kit as much. There are a few easily identifiable Frightened Rabbit tunes that could have easily cropped up on the last one but this new one is very much disregarding the four piece guitar band attitude that we had at the time of doing Midnight Organ Fight. “

Whether or not Frightened Rabbit’s new record departs too much from their former sound in the opinion of American hipsters is currently up for debate. What is resolute is the underground phenomenon this band of Scots has created, seizing the attention of indie college-something culture by its skinny jeans.

Not an Artist, So Why Should I Care?

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:15:00 -0800

Well, the truth is, you are.

The dictionary defines an artist as, “a person having superior skill or ability, or who is capable of producing superior work.”

If God is a creative God, and we are made in His image, then we carry an imprint of that creativity with us in our humanity. Whether we’re a doctor, engineer, barista, mechanic, painter, musician, or administrative assistant, we each possess unique giftings and abilities that mirror the heartbeat of the Great Creator.

It isn’t so much about the fact that our drawing skills may peak at stick figures or our singing voices may be confused by some cats for a dinner invitation. It’s about the incredible realization that the elements that make you and I unique branch from the God whose roots were deeply planted in rich creative soil long before time began.

This is the God who created the universe with both purpose and beauty,

“Who stretches the heavens out like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in, “

“Who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name.” (Is. 40)

And we are his offspring! His story for humanity is our story for humanity.

When the doctor who visits Haiti decides to build a hospital using merely tents and the limited medical supplies available to heal the hopeless….he or she becomes an artist.

When the barista sees their customer not simply as another credit-card transaction but as a living, breathing work of art with a story to tell and finds creative ways to draw that story out each morning as they serve them their coffee….he or she becomes an artist.

It seems to me that there is no such thing as the mundane, only moments we fail to see God’s still, small voice speaking into them, breathing profound holiness.

A Kingdom Imagination

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:13:00 -0800

Believe it or not, there was a time when the church set the standard for art and culture. During the age of the Renaissance, there were no movie theatres, concert venues, or art galleries. Instead there were cathedrals, beautiful depictions of God’s glory bursting at the corners with original music, visual art, and the latest technology. People actually looked to the church for culture. Now, many seem to avoid it.

Take a step closer in history to the age of rhythm and blues. It’s likely you’d discover an uproar of unhappy Christians frustrated with “secular” artists who stole sounds and themes originally conceived by gospel churches and transported them into the worldly bars and night clubs of the 40’s and 50’s.

What once was a birthing place for culture now often settles to copy it. There are marketing firms, organizations, and consultants all over the country trying to make church look more appealing by dressing it up with what’s “mainstream.”

It’s our deep desire, however, to see the church become a place that once again fosters creativity, ingenuity, and originality, a space that invites people boldly into the knowledge that we serve a creative God, the world’s greatest storyteller. We want to see a new generation of artisans, pioneers, and communicators develop a “kingdom imagination,” a longing to both tell and be God’s story to a world in desperate need of it.

Where do you see kingdom imaginations forming? How are God’s people telling his story uniquely and creatively?

What is your part to play?

When Creativity Meets Community (or a New Old Idea)

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:52:08 -0800

Ever since moving to Calfornia in the Summer of 2004, I began this journey that would lead me over and over again to the same conviction - that blending music, art, and creative causes in the midst of authentic community is simply a good idea.

So to make a 5-year-long story short, a few months ago I had a BBQ (because ideas are always better when ketchup, mustard, and relish are present), told some friends about this concept I’d been brewing, had a couple more meetings, and decided to launch an organization called
SOUNDS LIKE A MOVEMENT.

You can read more about it in the one-sheet on the post below this one (please excuse the “founder street-cred” part. It’s just my sad attempt to sound legit).

Regardless of whether you’re an artist, non-profit entrepreneur, or just a friend, my team and I at SOUNDS LIKE A MOVEMENT would like to invite you to share this organization with us (don’t worry, that doesn’t mean we’re looking for your money…don’t you hate that?).

We want you to be a part of these events
part of the fabric of this community we’re developing
part of a collective of next-generation creators with a passion to see community change for the better.

Our launch event will be on Friday, March 26th with Invisible Children, TOMS Shoes,and Krochet Kids representing along with some of our talented artists (we can’t say just yet but trust us..it’s gonna be good). It would be a HUGE honor to have you as our guest for this free event. Mark it down!

There’s a TON more info to come on this stuff as we continue to develop it. We’re working on the website as we speak and pulling together the next couple of months of events.

Looking forward to creating culture with you.

with much gratitude,
cj casciotta
lead communicator

e. cj@soundslikeamovement.com
m. 562.298.8128
t. twitter.com/cjcasciotta
f. facebook.com/cjcasciotta
w. soundslikeamovement.com

SOUNDS LIKE A MOVEMENT overview

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Can Your Toilet Brush Slay Giants?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:19:20 -0800

The Bible is full of reluctant heroes, an endless procession of people saying “who me? How about someone else?”

…And then there’s David.

David exhibits this bizarre combination of being chosen to lead and choosing to be a leader. On the one hand, David was the least likely candidate chosen to be king (the youngest of seven other brothers whose daily highlight consisted of watching sheep think.) On the other hand, this is the same youth who rose up to face Goliath when an entire army of trained soldiers stood motionless, who lived the life of a warrior poet that wrote and led and conquered and influenced with confidence, skill, and determination.

I wonder how much of my life is God leading me or me choosing to lead. American culture tells me alluring tales of the self-made man and all that comes with his hard work, ambition, and determination. Church culture has upheld a different picture, the portrait of the hesitant everyman, the kind of person God prefers to use, the kind that asks “Who me? You must be thinking of someone more qualified.”

But what about the Davids of planet earth? The restless warriors convicted they hold something profound from God stitched into their marrow, who see giants, and believe they can slay them?

For so long I was convinced that God wouldn’t use me to my full potential unless I somehow became ok with taking a job void of nobility likes scrubbing toilets or “watching sheep think.” I thought, “I need to love God so much that even if he took everything I find worth and significance in away from me, I wouldn’t care.” This became an impossible task to wrap my mind around. I began thinking God was pretty unfair for putting all this passion and potential in me just to tell me that if He decided to take it all away, I’d have to be happy about it and love Him anyway. Weary and bitter, I wondered if I could ever live up to His expectations.

Then someone asked me a question: Do you believe God would still love you if all you did was scrub toilets?

Would you have value?
Would you have worth?
Would you have significance?

I realized I had been putting the weight on me to strive, to change, to suppress my strengths and aspirations. Never once did I turn the equation around and ask whether God could still favor me even if I couldn’t bring myself to favor his will for my life. In fact, I was convinced He couldn’t.

I figured God couldn’t love me if I became a toilet scrubber because I don’t love people who scrub toilets. After all, what do they contribute to society? What do they have to offer humanity besides a clean bathroom experience?

The beautiful part about the love of God though is that it not only changes us, but also changes the way we see the people around us. It makes us better leaders, better caretakers, gives us purer eyes and wider hearts. By wrestling with these questions I’m learning that to lead people effectively, my love for others must spill out of God’s unrestricted love for me.

I wonder, where was God while David was watching sheep think? Staring down at him from heaven, waiting for him to fake the fact that he knew he was destined for things God put inside of him… or was God pursuing him, training him, embracing his strength and character, preparing him for giants he would soon face?

"Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The..."

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:00:00 -0800

““Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!””

- - Excerpt from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Christmas for the Culture of NOW...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:13:00 -0800

We belong to the culture of NOW…

The instant gratification culture.

We have everything we need without ever having to wait for it.

Some might say we’re a culture who doesn’t know how to wait.

But thousands and thousands of years ago, a culture waited for one day they knew would change EVERYTHING.

They longed

They hoped

They anticipated

Emmanuel: God with us…

It was something generations waited their entire lives for, many wondering if they’d ever get a chance to see it with their own eyes.

Heaven colliding with earth

Magnificence embracing disorder

Divinity invading humanity

This season, we, the culture of NOW, have a chance to practice and gather others into something that’s become completely foreign to us… a practice that beckons explanation and swims against the current of the commercial holiday season.

This season we begin to wait, to long, to anticipate something bigger than ourselves…

Emmanuel.

God with us.

How to Pick Your Religion:

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:55:09 -0700

thanks to @human3rror for finding this.

Storytelling vs. Promotion

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:10:00 -0700

I’d rather tell a good story than sell someone on an idea. But can I accomplish one without the other? I toggle this line of being part-marketing guy, part-artist. It’s not easy - especially because creativity and promotion are so intrinsically linked. I’ve worked for companies that kept me awake at night thinking “all they care about is promoting their product without any regard for its integrity.” And I’ve thought, “I don’t want to tell that story.” I’ve also seen organizations become so scared to do anything that might remotely look or feel like promotion, that they sacrifice communicating a great story to an audience who could really benefit from it

sto⋅ry
1 [stawr-ee, stohr-ee] noun, plural -ries,verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.
–noun
1.a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader; tale.2.a fictitious tale, shorter and less elaborate than a novel.3.such narratives or tales as a branch of literature: song and story.4.the plot or succession of incidents of a novel, poem, drama, etc.: The characterizations were good, but the story was weak.5.a narration of an incident or a series of events or an example of these that is or may be narrated, as an anecdote, joke, etc.6.a narration of the events in the life of a person or the existence of a thing, or such events as a subject for narration: the story of medicine; the story of his life.7.a report or account of a matter; statement or allegation: The story goes that he rejected the offer.
pro⋅mote
[pruh-moht]
–verb (used with object), -mot⋅ed, -mot⋅ing.
1.to help or encourage to exist or flourish; further: to promote world peace.2.to advance in rank, dignity, position, etc. (opposed to demote).3.Education. to put ahead to the next higher stage or grade of a course or series of classes.4.to aid in organizing (business undertakings).5.to encourage the sales, acceptance, etc., of (a product), esp. through advertising or other publicity.6.Informal. to obtain (something) by cunning or trickery; wangle.

So my question to you is simply this: What’s the difference, in your mind, between storytelling and promotion?

At what point does a tweet, a blog, a film, an ad, etc, cease to be a story and become a billboard? At what point to you tune out or tune in to a great story? At what point are you sold on an idea?

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself..."

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:04:00 -0700

““Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life…””

- - Galatians 6:4-5 (The Message)

I don’t do this well at all. Sometimes I think I’m way more awesome than I really am. Often times I compare myself to others, their accomplishments, and what makes them better than me.

It’s easier for me to stamp my identity as a worship leader, a filmmaker, a marketing consultant, a writer, a (insert meaningless title here). It’s much harder for me to see myself (and other people) as “loved child of God regardless of past, present, or future titles, achievements, screw-ups, and events.” That title is both a grammatical nightmare and, at most times, a completely alien concept to everything present culture and past history pushes my way at lightspeed.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. I’m writing while in process with no brilliant wisdom or advice, but I’m interested in your stories. Who or what do you compare yourself to? When was the last time you were reminded that you were loved by God and that was enough? Ready? Go…

C.S. Lewis & My Flannelgraph Faith

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:40:00 -0700

I’ve never been much of a sentimental guy. But I also haven’t had much to miss until recently. A year out of college and into the work force will make you think about everything that’s worked to define you over the past 23 years.

It still catches me off guard when I think how I spent those first 23 years impatiently anticipating their demise so that they might make room for the rest of my life with all its freedoms, responsibilities, titles, and significance. Now that those years are finally here, I find my mind retreating every so often to places, memories, and people from the past that can never be replicated.

As another summer slips into oblivion and a new season rushes in, I take stock of all the “misses” I’ve experienced this year. I’ve missed a woman. I’ve missed the clutter of a crowded dorm room. I’ve missed Innocence, which seems to smell faintly like burnt charcoal and occasionally takes on the color of grass stains.

I think these notions are directly related to our quest to know God and be known by Him. To get glory, to see heaven, to inhale eternity. For so long my idea of heaven seemed, frankly, boring – a selfless, sexless, worship service that lasted for eternity with the occasional weird looking winged creature flying around to keep my mind occupied. It wasn’t until reading the words of C.S. Lewis in his book, The Weight of Glory, that I began to think differently:

We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends or as the landscape loses the celestial light. What we feel then has been well described by Keats as “the journey homeward to habitual self.” You know what I mean. For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing. We have been mere spectators. Beauty has smiled, but not to welcome us; her face was turned in our direction, but not to see us. We have not been accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance. We may go when we please, we may stay if we can: “Nobody marks us.” A scientist may reply that since most of the things we call beautiful are inanimate, it is not very surprising that they take no notice of us. That, of course, is true. It is not the physical objects that I am speaking of, but that indescribable something of which they become for a moment the messengers. And part of the bitterness which mixes with the sweetness of that message is due to the fact that it so seldom seems to be a message intended for us but rather something we have overheard. By bitterness I mean pain, not resentment. We should hardly dare to ask that any notice be taken of ourselves. But we pine. The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory meant good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.

Could it be the things that mark us as humans – nostalgia, desire, significance, the stuff that people deal with in reality, have been instilled in us by the Creator FOR The Creator? Could it be that heaven is less like the Magic Kingdom and more like the satisfaction of what we just can’t seem to stop longing for here on earth? Too often I settle for flannelgraph depictions and forget that redemption is for real life. That the God who created space, stars, and seraphim also cares about what’s going on here on earth down to the microscopic soul. When thinking about your own life and the lives of people around you let the truth that God’s redemption is for today not just for eternity change everything about the way you live. Just some thoughts from a guy waking up to this stuff.

Phil Wickham: A Look into Heaven & Earth

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Hey, go on over to ConversantLife.com for a sweet video interview I did with Phil Wickham in the studio while recording his new album, Heaven & Earth, available now for download and in stores Nov. 17th. Props to Brandon Setter for the epic cinematography/editing job he did on this.

Thoughts on Stuff Christians Like with creator, Jon Acuff.

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:28:00 -0700

Thoughts on Stuff Christians Like with creator, Jon Acuff.

Morning Prayer

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

God, Creator and Sustainer of Life
Thank You for filling these lungs with air and this heart with blood another day.
Please provide me with the things I wearily strive toward on my own.
Stretch my heart wider than I have tried,
Expand the scope of my eyes can see with,
And give me an imagination for Your Kingdom here on earth.
Strengthen me with bravery, creativity, and passion.
Move me across the chasm of knowledge to action.
Invade my heart with grace so it has no choice but to leak onto others,
So it cannot distinguish between “loved-ones” and “strangers.”
Unclench my hands from pride, fear, slavery, and self-preservation
And make real your nonsensical inherent love.

I release control to You.

An Interview with M. Ward

Mon, 04 May 2009 23:33:00 -0700

For some people life is best understood through metaphors, through stories from the past or visions of things the world has yet to see. M. Ward seems to communicate best this way. The accomplished auteur-songwriter emits a laid-back passion for creating space, pockets to reflect on truths he believes posses timeless qualities. M. invites his listeners inside his mellow creative mind and asks them to linger while his tranquil acoustic conceptions play warmly in the background as if methodically pulling against the needle of a record player—his newest release, Hold Time, is no exception.

“For me,” Ward says, “I wanted to take the big sounds of the record and make them larger and the subtle sounds subtler to see if I could put them in the same song, the same record, to create a new balance. I learned a lot on making the Post War record and learned even more making this one.”

M. Ward and his suitcase full of Americana licks and tricks travel light with a simple endeavor: to create songs that last. At the core of every serious songwriter is the desire to impart anthems of a timeless quality, works of art that stand on their own and beg the question, “When were these created?” Many of these artists point to the wax libraries they grew up with, vinyl contributions that still communicate powerfully amidst the noise of modern culture.

“I think my biggest inspiration is old records,” affirms M. “What’s ingested is always going to come out in some way. I’ve been lucky to grow up in this big family where there was a lot of music going on.”

M. Ward might be considered a leader in “the timeless campaign” with a body of work that most recently includes the critically acclaimed 50’s soul-pop collaboration with Zooey Deschanel, She & Him (which M. reveals is “currently in the demo stages of Volume 2”) as well as a knack for blending the new with the old. Ward reflects, “A lot of my favorite records… you’re not sure exactly what time they were made or how old these ideas are and I think that’s a good goal for me.”

His latest installment, Hold Time, merges some of the biggest sounds ever heard from M. alongside some of the subtlest as well, oftentimes juxtaposed against each other within the same song. “The background is just as important as the foreground,” says Ward. “I spend a lot of time creating both elements in the studio.”

Perhaps it’s his deep affection for crafting timeless standards that causes M. to often saturate his songs with biblical themes and motifs that have long since accompanied traditional folk music throughout history. When Ward posted the lyrics to “Hold Time” on his Myspace blog, a debate between fans ensued as to whether his rich use of spiritual metaphor and story was oppressive or liberating.

One fan complained, “I love the tunes. But am I the only long-time, every-album M. Ward fan who’s finding all the biblical/Christian references in the lyrics on this one to be…oppressive?”

Another retorted, “Oppressive?! To me biblical themes have always been deeply rooted in American music. They make M. Ward’s songs even more timeless. I love how [he] is not afraid to sing what he feels. Am I the only agnostic every-album fan who finds his lyrics liberating?!”

It’s a viable discussion. Hold Time imparts lyrics like:

He Put His Name in my Chorus like the Dark before the Dawn
So that in my Hour of Weakness: I’d Remember It’s His Song

and

He Shifts in His Sleep and the Earth Begins to Quake
So How Much Difference Could it Possibly Make
To Save Me from sinking over the edge?

Ward joins a list of growing indie personas (My Morning Jacket comes to mind) that seem to enjoy seeping blatant theological themes into their albums while publicly smirking them off leaving them up to interpretation. Tracks off the new album like “To Save Me” and “Fisher of Men” possess strong attributes of the Christian God while the teachings of both Jesus and St. Paul are referenced in “Epistemology” and “For Beginners.”

While his lyrics are far from ambiguous, his commentary on them is. Like his contemporaries, Ward is cleverly quiet when asked to discuss some of his choices. Trying to explain his desire as a lyricist, he offers, “A good song is like a good movie or a book; times when you laugh; times when you cry; shadows in the light. A durable song for me has a long life; it somehow speaks to people’s lives. People’s lives aren’t all happy all the time and they aren’t all bad all the time. They’re both. I think that’s how my life is.”

A brilliant storyteller, thoughtful producer, and laudable guitarist with a warm crooner voice made that much more interesting by the mystical truths that accompany it at times, M. Ward has undoubtedly left a one-of-a-kind footprint on the music industry. With seven albums under his belt, not to mention several noteworthy collaborations, M. Ward continues to show off his creativity and ingenuity for throwing sounds and stories from different eras into the atmosphere, somehow stringing them together to deliver songs that are both unique and tangible, nostalgic yet timely.

Download M. Ward’s new single, “Never Had Nobody Like You,” free from ConversantLife.com

Just Messin' Around: An Interview with Fiction Family

Mon, 04 May 2009 23:31:00 -0700

Fiction Family, the culmination of two of our generation’s most prolific and respected songwriters, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, debuted in January as a masterful collection of tales about murder, adventure, lost love, and war highlighting each contributor’s strengths and personalities while managing to defy perceived expectations. The best news? It’s only the beginning.

There’s a beautiful carelessness to what is now Fiction Family (originally named “The Real SeanJon” with a goal of being sued by Puffy) – a creative endeavor birthed out of rest, friendship, and unabashed innovation. With no immediate deadlines, rules, or formats to follow, Foreman and Watkins decided to embark on a musical journey of the purist, most unadulterated kind.

“We just started writing stuff we wanted to write about,” says Watkins from the porch of his San Diego home. “It was never going to be a record either. There were a lot of conversations that never happened. All that happened was having fun playing music and writing songs.”

“One of the endearing things about this record is that because we were doing it in our bedrooms, we were literally just screwing around,” adds Foreman. “I mixed the whole thing at my folks’ house in a couple of days just to get it done and shop it around to people. Those mixes ended up being the record. The demo became the final thing. I like to think that added a little bit to the charm. “

The result is a perfect union: two notable songwriters strapping each other’s strengths to their own songwriting utility belt, each coming out of the process even more equipped then they were before.

“One of the things I love about bluegrass music and where it’s coming from is the simplicity,” says Jon like an eager new student of the genre. “[Bluegrass] makes every note count. I think that’s one of the things I’ve been trying to learn more and more…trying to say one thing well. I’m captivated by the way melodies intertwine, and many times I end up trying to say too many things melodically. Sean is really good at pressing the mute button. It was a really freeing thing to have him there playing the producer role saying things like ‘yeah, that’s kind of endearing but it’s not needed.’”

Watkins feels equally appreciative: “A lot of times I’d bring [Jon] a verse and chorus of something and he’d say ‘that’s really cool but can we make this part bigger?’ or ‘Can there be a change in the middle that really departs from where you were?’ Those are things I think about now when I write songs. That’s the good part about working with someone. You get to collect pieces of who they are musically. You get to pick and choose what you want to add to your collection of songwriting tools.”

There’s an idea that the farther one departs from the traditional pop format, the less tangible their work becomes to the average listener. Not so with Fiction Family. Wildly inventive and spontaneous, the two recording artists who once enjoyed the luxury of major record labels now stand in victorious defiance against a crumbling conventional music industry. “This year has marked our first year of our independence from Sony,” explains Foreman speaking of Switchfoot’s long time relationship with the label. “It was the chance to let loose some projects that have been bottled up for a long time.”

An outpouring of that pent-up creativity, Fiction Family reflects a strong sense of musical maturity from both its contributors. It’s the stories and raw emotion embedded into that music, however, that give the project a sense of profound timelessness. “At the end of any given record you’re left with the question of whether you believe it or not,” says Foreman. “Part of what you’re investing in that question is whether or not that singer/songwriter is putting a piece of him on the line. Voices like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan do that. Whether they’re singing their own song or someone else’s, you can hear a piece of them when they’re singing it. It’s a matter of vulnerability. That’s something I try to put into all my songs … which is kind of nerve-racking sometimes.”

Part of that vulnerability means wrestling with the deep spiritual complexities of human nature, familiar territory for both the Switchfoot and Nickel Creek members. On “Closer Than You Think,” a track from their album debut, Watkins muses over the widely held notion of heaven as a distant and out of reach destination, suggesting it may be “right under your feet.”

Watkins explains, “I felt like there are a whole lot of people putting all their eggs into a basket of after-lives while completely overlooking what we’ve been given today. I’ve seen so many people sell this life short of possibilities saying ‘man, someday it’s going to be great, but it’s just going to suck until then’ and that’s not the attitude we’re supposed to have. That isn’t to say the concept of heaven isn’t an amazing thing and shouldn’t be kept as a paramount in our mind, but we’ve also been put on this earth to do something, to live in the here and now.”

Along with focusing on “the here and now” Fiction Family is looking forward to the future. So what’s next for the duo? What once began as two friends jamming over coffee on their days off is now considered by both an adventure too fun to stop.

“We had a blast on this tour with Aaron Redfield playing the drums and Tyler Chester playing the bass,” says Jon. “It felt like a really natural fit. I’d love to make a record as a four piece.”

Watkins agrees, “We’ve been working on some new songs on this last tour and have a list we think would be good for the next record. During the course of this tour we really started feeling like a band so when we record we’ll record it more like that.”

With Nickel Creek on indefinite hiatus and Switchfoot adjusting to life apart from a major label, the continuation of Fiction Family sounds like an excellent way for these two songwriters to experiment, explore, and continue to learn from each other. In the meantime we’ll be anxiously awaiting the results.

Download the single, “When She’s Near Me,” free on ConversantLife.com

"There are too many people swimming around Christian blogs talking about changing the world while..."

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:02:00 -0700

“There are too many people swimming around Christian blogs talking about changing the world while non-Christians of all stripes are out there actually doing it.”

- Joan Ball (challenging me once again over facebook chat)

The Death of Youth Group

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:56:00 -0700

Ok, so that was just a provactive title to get you here. I’d like to start off saying I don’t have all the answers. I’m only 23, I don’t have a masters in theology, and I’m not a youth pastor. I have been in youth ministry leadership for a number of years, have had the opportunity to meet and dialogue with some forward thinking and innovative Christian leaders, and have been a “youth group kid” since puberty first reeled its awkward head in my life.

In my conversations with people who are thinking about ways to aid and engage the next generation, the same theme always seems to permeate our dialogue:

We need to move away from creating systems and events and begin seeing people more as individuals. In short, mentorship is a much more effective way to foster and grow young Christians….but it’s also a greater sacrifice.

Think about someone you know who’s just a stellar Christian. They’re passionate, live a life of integrity, and allow that life to spill generously to others. Maybe that’s you. I’ll bet you anything they attribute their lifestyle to someone that once stepped outside their busy schedule and personally invested in them, someone they could tell anything to (even their deepest, darkest junk). I have a friend who told me with a straight face once that she felt so comfortable around her mentor that she could tell her something as horrible as she just murdered someone without feeling judged or condemned.

So after all these conversations, here’s a summary of what I’m starting to believe:

Perhaps the reason why youth ministry can often be ineffective is that it emphasizes “the event” far more than it understands the importance of mentorship. We go to Christian camps, host Christian concerts, invest in Christian coffee houses… all safe alternatives to the drug and alcohol driven events most high schoolers attend on the weekends. The tendency is to create this safe playpen for churched teenagers that doesn’t allow them to realistically engage the outside world with their faith (the world they have to live in the majority of the time they’re not sitting in youth group).

I’ve grown so tired of the “just try harder” talk from speakers at youth camp. “You know, last year at camp you probably decided to get right with God, but I’m guessing you’ve done some backsliding since. Well, now it’s time to get right again. As the worship band comes up….etc, etc.”

Of course they’ve “done some backsliding!” Have you been to high school lately?! You got to be Rambo to survive. David Kinnaman calls it “the fractured generation.” Kids are cutting themselves, killing themselves, having casual sex in the bathroom, throwing up in the bathroom so they can look attractive enough for the causal sex they’re going to have later, taking advantage of the porn available to them on their cell phones, experimenting, tormenting, struggling, abusing, all the while desperately hanging on without a seatbelt to a chaotic hormonal rollercoaster.

We can’t keep spending money on blow-up games and new wings in our churches for coffee houses cleverly titled “Higher Grounds” without backing it all up with some serious substance. We all need people in our lives older and wiser than us: people who won’t BS us, people who will kick our butts when we need it (never when we’re down), people who refuse to give up on us, and people who will constantly point us toward Jesus.

…And that takes effort, investment, sacrifice, space, and time… .all those things we love to hear we need more of.

Those of you who know me know I’m REALLY good at doing all that above stuff.
But I’m going to start making this a priority. Maybe you’re thinking you can’t mentor someone because you don’t have your own stuff together. I used to think that for a long time, but then I look at every leader in the Bible (Moses, David, Peter, Paul to name a few) and all their screw-ups and I’m encouraged.

A pretty successful author/speaker/pastor recently told me that on a particular day, he had the opportunity to either speak to 1,000 people about his new book or hang out with a couple of young guys at Starbucks just to talk and be available….he chose the latter….We need more guys like that… a lot more.

People and Organizations Committed to Mentoring the Next Generation:

Donald Miller: The Mentorship Project
Deadly Viper Character Assassins
Project Hangout