Let the sessions begin

The sessions have begun! Cindy, Preston, Dave, all traveled to the studio to put down some bed tracks. It was the Friday of a long weekend and I wasn't sure if they'd run into traffic on their way across town, but they showed up right at seven.

We played two songs, Thank You and How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise. Cindy played the keyboard, Dave on rhythm guitar, Preston on bass. I sang guide vocals in the isolation booth and Cindy contributed secondary vocals.

We put down two takes for Thank You. Cindy suggested playing the instrumental break based on the tag but I hear it as being based on the chorus so that's how we did it in those two takes. I wanted to do a third take with the instrumental based on the tag as per Cindy's idea, to see where it could go, but we didn't have time for that. The chord structure for the tag is similar to the chords in the chorus so the end result may not have been that different from what we did anyway.

We also recorded three takes of How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise. The third take felt the best. I really felt on, especially the last time through the chorus, and built it up through each repetition of the final take.

I listened to the session mix while driving home and got really excited about it. I was singing harmonies in my car and waving my arms around, playing air drums. I think the next step will be to focus on the percussion and rhythm on Thank You, especially on the tag. I'll want to bring in a drummer and I think a bass player too, so that drums and bass can play off each other.

Click on the play button below to hear an excerpt from the session.


powered by ODEO

The Big Brother waiting game

Over half a year has passed since I had the personal interview with the Big Brothers association (BBBST). I wrote about that in my post, Prologue to my Big Brother Adventure.

I went through a major disruption in my lifestyle in the winter months when I moved, so I was not in a place to provide a sense of stability to a Little. However, I'm settling in nicely following my move, so I want to pick up that part of my life again, of becoming a Big Brother. I've left a couple of follow-up messages with the volunteer coordinator I met last year but have had no response yet.

In addition to becoming a Big Brother, I see another opportunity for leadership. The company I work for wishes to encourage volunteerism and is offering a grant to employees who volunteer 40 hours within the next fiscal year. So I see this as a personal challenge and a leadership opportunity for me to qualify for that grant on behalf of BBBST.

Forty hours in a year averages to about 4 hours a month. I know the BBBST is having a Big Night Out event in June and they have asked the men's division I am in for volunteers to help with the event. So this looks like a great place for me to start working on that goal.

I've sent a couple of messages (email and voice mail) to the designated BBBST representative to get more information about volunteering for the Big Night Out event, but have not heard back from him either.

So while I play this waiting game, I have some choices. I could be frustrated about this lack of response. I could decide that I've done all I can here and put my energy into something else instead. I could think about a concept I learned last year at 21CL, called stretching my line of ownership.

What does stretching my line of ownership mean and what does it look like in this case? For now, it means I continue to hold the vision of a successful event put on by the BBBST with all the volunteer help they need - including me and other men in the men's division that want to help. It means I hold the vision of a mutually satisfying relationship developing between BBBST and the men's division. It means holding the vision of BBBST benefiting from the grant that my employer wants to give away. It means holding the vision of myself forming a mutually satisfying relationship with a Little, and moving forward in creating or attracting my own family.

When I hold this vision in mind, I am moved to make different choices and take different actions, be more persistent, proactive and powerful, than when I remain frustrated or discouraged.

Pivotal moments

Tonight at my men's team meeting, we were led through an exercise in which we were asked to think about a time when someone said something to us that altered the course of our life.

One such experience that came up for me was when I was still in university. I had completed my first year in an Arts program and I was dissatisfied. I recalled that in my final year at high school I had really put myself to it and did really well in my Math classes. I often stayed up until three in the morning studying for my Math tests and I got 80s and 90s on my tests. In my first year in Arts I would sometimes stay up until three working on an assignment and only get a C. When I was in Math my marks were proportional to the amount of effort I put into my assignments and tests. In Arts, my marks seemed completely arbitrary. I started to think about transferring to a Math program.

I made some inquiries and learned that I could transfer to the Math department. However, I hadn't earned enough transfer credits in my Arts program. This meant that I would have to start over at Year One if I were to transfer - and graduate a year later than if I stayed in Arts. Should I do it or not? I had the summer to decide.

One night I was at a weekend long beach party up in cottage country. I met a girl on the beach at night and we chatted away. I mentioned to her the decision I was facing, that would mean delay my graduation by a year and cause me to graduate later than my peers. She said, "When you're forty and doing what you want, that one year won't matter."

I took her point and decided then and there that I would do it, transfer into Math. As for falling behind my peers, I realized I would meet a new set of peers. The girl's comment to me that night on the beach encouraged me to make a decision that affected the rest of my adult life. I know too, with the benefit of hindsight, that I made the right choice. She was right - I am in my forties now and it doesn't matter that I took an extra year to finish school.

Rolling the music ball

After my failed attempt to start the Come Now Is The Time To Worship remix (see Now is the time) I'm picking up this recording project again, with a different approach.

The archives still have not appeared so I've picked two other songs to start recording first. One is Thank You - no, it's not the Led Zeppelin song. It's a song the worship team learned last year. It's one of those songs that I get goosebumps when we perform it at a service. The other song I've picked is How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise. The worship team learned it last year for Vern and Angie's 20th wedding anniversary (see Twenty Years).We practiced it a lot for the anniversary last year and if I do say so myself, we really did a good job of it.

I've got a session booked at the studio for next Friday. I've booked it around Cindy's schedule. Cindy is the worship team leader and keyboard player. The guys on the team describe her as the glue that binds together all the instrumentalists. Dave, one of the guitar players, won't feel confident to put down his tracks without having Cindy's cues to follow, so I've got them both booked to come to the studio with me to start putting down the bed tracks.

I am really excited about starting this project.