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It is still amazing to me that a song I played on over 15 years ago still gets air play on the radio and in movies.  I found out recently that "Kiss Me" was also featured in "You Again" starring Kristen Bell and Jamie Lee Curtis, along with Sigourney Weaver and Betty White (among others).  Here is the trailer (the song isn't featured in the trailer, FYI):

Adding drum and percussion overdubs for a client in Los Angeles. @ Second Story Studios in Durham, NC--

Found this on my kitchen table this morning.  Byzantine Breakfast!  (my wife is working on one of her commissions)

I played a gig near this museum in Dunn, NC earlier today...--

Last week my family and just happened to walk by this sign in Washington, D.C.

I had the privilege of hearing Makoto Fujimura speak earlier this evening at Duke and also this afternoon at a "Brown Bag" lunch event.   This evening he spoke about John 11:4 in relation to his illuminated gospels project:

"Every act of creativity is, directly or indirectly, an intuitive response to offer to God what He has given to us. We twist this intuition and may create something transgressive and injurious, but this creative impulse originates from the Creator. Jesus wept.

Judas was livid at Mary’s act, and argued that the nard could have been sold and the money given to the poor (Mark 14:5). Pragmatism, legalism, and greed cannot comprehend the power of ephemeral beauty. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness; the opposite of beauty is legalism. Legalism is hard determinism that slowly strangles the soul. Legalism injures by giving pragmatic answers to our suffering. Legalism takes away life by forbidding the nard to be spilled onto our feet. Artists, like Mary, can intuitively give generatively and break open the oppression. Often, in the church and in the world, pragmatism and legalism stand in the way.

Artists need Jesus’ tears to create. They need to relate to Jesus’ tears.

Artists know the poor, and they do not need to be told by a legalist to give to the poor. Jesus knows that those who truly give cheerfully are merely responding to an extravagant God. What we deem to be extravagant and wasteful, Jesus calls the most necessary. The problem is not that we do not respond extravagantly to the poor; the problem is that we do not believe in an extravagant God."

The above passage is from an essay on his web site.  To hear him articulate this in person was amazing and profoundly encouraging to me. 

To learn more about Mako, visit his website:  http://www.makotofujimura.com/ .  His paintings for the Four Holy Gospels project will be exhibiting this summer at MOBiA in New York.  I hope to make it up there to see his work in person...

 

Makoto Fujimura - The Art of "The Four Holy Gospels" from Crossway on Vimeo.

From Oceanway Nashville, circa 2000:

Bass Drums!

 

Studio Kit:

 

I'll be playing drums for the encore performance of Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at Historic Playmakers Theatre on the UNC Campus.  It's going to be a wonderful night of music.  Come on out if you can! 

From the website:

The next performance of Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers will be on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011  at Historic Playmakers Theatre on the UNC Campus. This special performance will feature members of Lost in Trees, Old Ceremony, Birds & Arrows, The dBs, NC Symphony, Mayflies USA, the Tomahawks and guests Brett Harris, Sidney Dixon & Greg Humphreys Tickets are $15 ($8 for students advance/$10 day of show). Tickets are on sale now at the Memorial Hall website or by calling the box office, (919) 843-3333.

 

I'm selling my beloved Rode NT-4 Condenser (NT4 - Cardioid Studio Condenser X/Y Stereo Microphone) - it's selling online for over $500 - I'll sell it to you for $375 plus shipping.

It's a great mic, and I've only used it a few times. Leave a message in the comments if you're interested and I'll get back to you.

Here are some pictures I took:

The Case:

Inside view of the case and contents: (all original documentation, mic clip (hard to see in upper left corner of box), RM3 Stand Mount plus 3/8" - 5/8" Thread Adapter (upper right of box in plastic), mic in the center, WS4 twin-head Wind Shield (in bottom left), cables (bottom center and right)

Upclose view of the mic capsules:

View of the mic cables : two are included (one is XLR to XLR, and the other is XLR to 8th inch):

I have probably only used this mic less than 10 times since I purchased it a few years ago.  I've only used it in my home studio here, and it's never been out of it's case for longer than a few hours at a time.  I'm selling it to help pay some bills, otherwise I would hold onto it forever!  It's a great mic!

I originally purchased it from Sweetwater: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NT4

 You can view more pictures of the mic on the Sweetwater site, and also I've copied some of their promotional info on the mic below:

"The RODE NT4 is a striking microphone that solves the age-old problem of affordable stereo miking, eliminating the need for purchasing matched pairs of expensive mics to get professional results!

Thanks to the RODE NT4's true stereo condenser design, clever X/Y configuration, and perfectly matched capsules, the NT4 lets you record any stereo source with immaculate detail.

RODE NT4 Included Accessories:

• Custom Carry Case
• WS4 twin-head Wind Shield
• RM3 Stand Mount plus 3/8" - 5/8" Thread Adapter

RODE NT4 Features:

• Stereo XY Condenser Microphone
• 2 X Externally biased 1/2" Capsules with gold sputtered diaphragm
• Capsules closely matched with full frequency response
• Phantom power or 9V battery operation
• Durable satin-nickel finish
• Custom stereo cables (included) dual XLR and mini stereo jack
• Custom WS4 twin-head Wind Shield
• Surface-mount transformerless circuitry
• Complete with Custom Carry Case and RM3 Stand Mount"

My drumming is featured on the new record by songwriter/ musician Bill Hayden who performs under the band name Timeseven. The record was produced/engineered by Mark Williams. Mark is also peforming vocal duties, as well as playing bass, keyboards and additional guitar.  Most of the guitars (Electric, Lead, Acoustic, etc) are performed by Bill.  This project has been a few years in the making, so I'm excited for it to finally see the light of day! You can pick up a copy of the disc at iTunes - here's the link:  Timeseven "This Road"