I’m an artist, producer, and creative leader. A few years back I left the safety of a “day job,” and started contracting live performances and zany think-tank ideas as a way to make my living. Turns out people liked my performances, leadership and other creative stuff! Today, I use my leadership and ideas to help navigate a larger multigenerational church through a changing landscape. I’m most excited about creativity when it intersects and affects people.
Each week I post a thought, drawing, video or song that deals with the stuff I care about.
Today I “worship architected” a hefty-sized creative meeting at Calvary. As a team, we made final plans for Easter and the series that will follow. We’re hoping to weave Rock Band into the new series (which I am terrible at). Its going to be a family series and we think it will be pretty cool to see parents go up against students via Rock Band.
Afterwards, I drove over to Santa Cruz, CA to see a good friend of mine, Dave Matsumura. He’s a really great producer and artist. He’s got a band called, “Kokua” which is currently recording some new music.
Before making my way over to his studio in Santa Cruz, I took his suggestion to check out “Lulu Carpenters.” It’s a local coffee bar right in down town Santa Cruz. Lulu’s is on a one-way-street and I had to figure out how to parallel park on the left-side. After making sure I didn’t dent my sister’s car (another story) I got a chance to check out the inside of Lulu’s (pictured above). The owner owns another killer spot in Scott’s Valley, called “Coffee Cat.” Lulu’s was a really awesome place - cool old brick building, cool old windows and cool “inside ambiance.” I think if I ever needed to escape to I’d go there. I saw people reading, talking, writing… The coolest part was due to a few recent album sales I paid with cash (which feels way more earthy and inline with drinking a cup of coffee).
I just was watching the latest Imogen Heap vblog. She’s one of my favorite artists due to her crazy ability to push outside “the box.” While checking out her newest rants, I became aware of a cool site called “Sound Cloud.” She has some stuff posted via sound cloud.
Seems like a cool resource for other artists, etc.
It has been a fantastic and full year for me. Alongside leading a large church through significant cultural change, I’ve had the privilege to tour to new places, meet new friends, and also catch up with old friends. My new disc, “Mirrors and Moonbeams,” has afforded me some licensing and publishing opportunities as well as some exciting touring invitations in 2009. Likewise, my presence on the web continues to grow due in part to my recent video release of the song, “O Come Emmanuel” on Youtube. (Thank you if you further promoted this video by posting it on your own facebook page or blog.)
I want to share with you something cool I hadn’t heard of before receiving the following email. If you are limited on budget or time and still looking for a solid gift, go over to iTunes and gift a copy of my latest collection of songs. Check out this recent email:
Hi Andy,
Thanks again for bringing an awesome spirit of worship to our community…your visiting has permeated at a global level!… After your visit several weeks ago, I popped the CD in my car and the messages—and the modes of delivery—coming through my speakers provided impetus and encouragement to worship [God], to take time to understand His will and to meditate on my faith. So, I “gifted” a copy of the disc on iTunes to my friend, Kyle, who is about halfway through an unpaid stint as a ‘Roadie’ for Invisible Children . I figured, hey, at the very least it’s a free fun thing for her to receive from a friend. As she and her team work to facilitate positive change in the lives of the children of Northern Uganda, Kyle let me know everyone—[even team members of other faiths]—connected to your music when she played it in their van moving across the country. So… through you’re music, you are truly speaking into the hearts of a group of thoughtful young people who are acting globally. All of this is to say, keep up the great work to which God has called you!
How bomb is that!? Its not just another sale. It’s a story of being involved in something greater and larger than myself - the heartbeat behind the new album, “Mirrors and Moonbeams.” Thank you for giving me the opportunity to effect change through great art. I hope you’ll consider gifting Mirrors and Moonbeams to yourself or someone else this Christmas.
This is a quick recap of my new, “vintage” pew currently housed in my music room. Some people are paid with cash… others with pews. I prefer the latter.
