Christian Musician Magazine - Jul/Aug 2015

Improving Musicianship | Inspiring Talent

TRACK RECORD

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Product Reviews w Wampler Plexi-Drive Pedal w SIGNAL by Output w Aguilar Bass Pedals:

JUL/AUG 2015 Volume 20, Issue 4

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Interview

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Chorusaurus and Fuzzistor

Help!

I Need Someone How the head of The Beatles’ U.S. record label came to Christ.

Arranging Hymns for Solo Guitar by John Standefer w My “Minute” With Amy by Bob Bennett

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Tedd T. Nashville-based Tedd T. (Mutemath, Newsboys, David Crowder Band) is not the type of producer who’s content to sit behind the console all day. He prefers collaborating with and inspiring artists with new approaches and fresh perspectives to music making. Tedd tells us about his process and what it’s like working on the road with For King & Country:

What is it like to record, literally, on the road?

The great thing about recording on the bus is that every day you wake up in a different city. Plus, you also have access to whatever rooms and venues you find. On the bus, I record with an Apollo DUO and a laptop with a solid-state drive. Mainly, what you’re trying to do is to capture inspiration. The DUO is so compact and does such a great job; it’s fantastic. We’d sit out there on the bus and use a little Akai controller keyboard. And, even confined to two octaves on the keyboard, it’s actually cool because it makes you work really hard on what it is that you’re playing. Plus, when you’re on the road, you’re more in the mindset of creating something great, with less of the pressure you might feel when you go to a big, fancy studio and you know you have to “nail it.”

Today, we’re setting up in a church to record. They have a fantastic old upright and an old M3/Leslie. I wondered if it would work, and sure enough, we got it fired up.

Even with a broken key, it sounded great. The church has a soundproofed room for newborns, so we’re setting up in there. That’s a nice surprise. We moved the upright and the M3 in there, and the church has some nice mics they’ve been gracious enough to let us use. So much of the adventure happens when you walk into a new scenario where there are things that inspire art.

Do you have a “go-to” mic you’re currently using?

The main one is the SM7B. It’s very focused. We also used a Peluso tube mic.

Tell us about the software you use.

I record everything in Logic. I use a lot of soft synths in Logic. I start with the presets and do a lot of modifying to get the sounds we’re looking for. I’ve got a lot of Logic-based sounds that we used for the record. I use Absynth a lot; I think it sounds really interesting. It’s great for creating textures and backgrounds. I also use Native Instruments Ultimate, and I love the iZotope stuff.

And I think Auto-Tune 7 is fantastic.

KING

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H o n e s t y, F a i t h , a n d F a m i l y The name is also the mission statement: “It’s an old English battle cry, as they went to fight for what they believed and to stand for something greater than themselves,” says For King & Country’s Joel Smallbone.

“For us, doing music for people and for God is one of the main underlying themes of the band.” And the Nashville-based group, fronted by Joel and his brother Luke, takes their mission statement seriously. By turns exultant, introspective, atmospheric, and immediate, For King & Country’s uplifting music is also incredibly honest and authentic. The brothers spent their youth in Australia and cut their musical teeth in the U.S., eventually backing up their sister, Rebecca St. James, on tour. By 2007, they were making musical waves of their own, and by 2013, they had released two well-received albums and received a Dove Award. The band has played hundreds of shows since then — and they’re not slowing down. Their latest, Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong., features their strongest material yet. During a stop on the band’s fall 2014 tour, Joel spoke with us about the importance of family, respect in relationships, recording on the bus, and the always-present role of faith in the band’s music.

How did you and Luke get interested in music?

Music chose us, I think, more than we chose music. We grew up in a very musical family. Our dad, who is our manager now, was a concert promoter in Australia.

He brought over a lot of artists in the ’80s, including Amy Grant. One of my earliest memories in Sydney was looking at vinyl records by my favorite bands or going to shows and plugging my ears. I was a t-shirt model at four years old, standing onstage with the shirt draping all the way to the floor. I remember there were always bands and musicians coming through the house. It was also on one of those tours that things didn’t go as well as projected, and my dad lost a quarter of a million dollars — which ultimately led to us having to sell the house to pay the debt. For years, he’d felt a prompting to move to the U.S., and he found some work over here in the music industry in Nashville.

Your move to the States was tumultuous.

It was after we got there that he actually lost his job.

So, it was to that point about a month in, and we were

stuck living in a furniture-less house without a car. And he was just trying to find any kind of semblance of work he could. We really knit together during that time. As a family, we raked leaves, we mowed lawns, cleaned houses along with our oldest sister, Rebecca. We really worked as a team.

I remember well: we’d sit in a circle in the living room, and we would just pray. We had nowhere to turn other than upward. We saw pretty miraculous things happen.

The first Thanksgiving we were here, we found out about a family who invited pretty much anyone who wanted to join to Thanksgiving dinner. At the end of the night, the father of the house walked up to my mum and said, “I feel like God is prompting me to give you the keys to our minivan.” Also, someone anonymously paid for our little sister to be born in a hospital. The list goes on — just amazing examples of people giving and serving.

Do you recall particular musical influences?

For Luke, growing up, bands like Switchfoot were very influential. Classic U2 was a big influence on me. I went to a few U2 shows during their 360 tour, and they segued from “Amazing Grace” into “Where the Streets Have No Name.” I was just sitting there flabbergasted at how much of a worship service it felt like, you know? There are other layers of influences too; Luke is a pretty avid reader, and we’ve both been major C. S. Lewis fans since we were kids, so hopefully some of that has rubbed off lyrically. I also love theatrical and cinematic scores.

When did you and Luke begin playing live?

Our oldest sister began traveling as a musician. Dad needed cheap labor, so he put us brothers to work as the crew: lighting, sound, background vocals. That was when Luke and I really began to see the impact of music. It was toward the end of Rebecca’s career that we started kind of leaning in on our own. We ended up writing over a hundred songs and began doing showcases for labels — and got shut down more times than I want to count.

Then, fast-forward to 2009, a gentleman by the name of Mark Bright, who’s primarily a country producer and runs a publishing company, took over our label.

COUNTRY Mark produced Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire and a lot of country icons. He was a real champion for us and signed us, and we recorded some material under his leadership.

How do you approach instrumentation?

Neither of us is classically trained. Luke grew up very rhythmic, and I’d say I grew up more melodic. I’d have a laptop and a little keyboard for the demos we’d cook up. I’d like to say I could “play” everything without playing anything. And now, live, Luke and I don’t do any of the heavy lifting, instrumentally. Luke may play some percussion, and I might play a bit on the harmonium or on a few various drums or tubular bells onstage. But it’s all a very ancillary thing that lets us focus on the vocals and the melodies and the message.

Tell us about your recording process.

We actually have a producer [Tedd T.] out on the road with us right now. We worked with him very closely on several songs on our last album. It’s very collaborative — in sort of a “cyber” way. He and I have a studio setup in the back of the tour bus, with a laptop MIDI controller and a microphone. We’ll build a very rough skeleton of the song and send an MP3 out to the band. Then, they will, respectively, set up their own laptops and will kind of layer in other sounds. Sometimes, we’ll even go into the venue prior to the show and mic up an instrument to get a track.

So, you’re assembling both demos and the final product at the same time?

Yes. In our opinion, your ears don’t lie. Technical perfection does not match the beauty of a really heartfelt piece. I think basically all the vocals on “Run Wild” were sung on the bus. It’s not a pristine, clean kind of thing, but what we went for was “heart over art.” If it feels right, go. Being so busy and being on tour allowed us to discover this recording process.

What about the centrality of faith in your songwriting?

I find that it’s hard to separate the song — regardless of its theme — from our faith. We might be writing about someone who is going through a hard time. In fact, Luke was very ill last year. We wrote a couple of songs walking through, almost in journal form, his illness. Inside the song, you can see the spiritual ramifications.

And on a song like “Shoulders” from the new album, it’s almost a prayer. Almost a psalm, if you will. Or on “Fix My Eyes,” the lead single, that song was very much built around wanting to be

a good human being and contributing to society, but above all of those things, we want to fix our eyes on Heaven and maintain that focus. Because keeping that focus holds us in good stead — in not making it about ourselves.

Family is such a strong element of the band.

I honestly feel that, without my wife and Luke’s wife, Courtney and their son [and they very recently had a second son], the strength of the group would be dramatically decreased. You get a balance and a purpose.

The heartbeat of For King & Country is family. I’ve mentioned that our dad manages us. Daniel, my oldest brother, does a lot of the lighting and design. Brother Ben does any video work that we do.

Mom is out on the road with us right now as well. But even beyond the blood family, the guys onstage with us and the label... there’s a big sense of family.

You’ve mentioned the importance of respect and honor in relationships.

Our parents have been married for almost 40 years, and we’re a really strongly knit family. And borne out of that was the idea of saying to young ladies — and also to men, but especially to girls — don’t let anyone disrespect you in a relationship. Don’t ever settle for second best. Know what you’re worth; know that you matter. We say to guys that, hey, it’s time to step up. Chivalry is alive and well. You might think that we’d get people who scoff, but the response has been one of overwhelming positivity.

Your producers (Tedd T., Seth Mosley, and Matt Hales) are very collaborative with you in the recording process.

I can’t speak more highly of them. One of the things in the creative process that I find most stifling is a “we can’t” attitude — versus a “we can” or a “let’s try.” And these guys are so willing to think outside the box... I hesitate to say even that, because I almost think they don’t acknowledge the box. Their approach is music is music; let’s have fun and be creative.

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For King & Country’s latest album, Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong., is available now.

To find out more, go to forKingandCountry.com!

FRSUEEE! IS

What is next for you and the band?

After this tour, we’ll do something we’ve never done as a band, which is to take off about a month. Then, we’ll be on an arena tour early in 2015. We will be contributing a song to an upcoming television series, and there’s talk about working on music for a film that’s shooting this year. We’re also thinking about a Christmas EP, and there will be another tour in the fall of 2015.

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Given this approach to recording, how do you manage to get such a cohesive sound?

I attribute a lot of that to the guys knowing what they want the music to become. They have a lot of musical input on the parts, and they know what they like. They’re very aware of what’s “them,” and they’re mindful of what’s going on track-wise and arrangement-wise.

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CONTENTS Sweet Savor of Seasons…

As I write this, summer has arrived in the Great Northwest.

This is my favorite time of the year. Not very much rain, lots of sunshine (and thankfully we do not have humidity here like some of our friends across the country have). The sun sets after 9:00pm at night and it is the best season here to ride my motorcycle. We have flowers blooming and there is a scent to summer that I just love. I want to slow down the pace of my life enough to really savor the seasons as they come along (we never really know how many more of each one we have on earth). Each season has it owns smell to it, doesn’t it? There is also a verse in the Bible about us being a sweet savor (or aroma) of Christ to those around us.

I was in a Christian trio/duo (first two guitars and a bass and then just two guitars) way back in the day called Sweet Savor. Some people thought is was a typo and that we meant to write Sweet Savior but no, it was called Sweet Savor. The talented singer songwriter young woman that I backed up played rhythm guitar and sang, and I played both rhythm and lead guitar. This was over 35 years ago and I remember she had a tendency to write most of her songs in the key of F (which really wasn’t my favorite key to play in, mind you).

I can’t even remember her name at the moment.

We would play small churches, back yard parties… whoever would have us, and we always went on just a love offering for payment. Sometimes the new guitar strings and gas cost us more to drive to a gig than we took in. I remember once playing in a small Hispanic church in San Pedro, CA where it seemed like not one person there even spoke English (and we knew very little Spanish) but the Lord moved the people through song. It was an amazing night. She would always state why we were called Sweet Savor, quoting the scripture and exhorting us all that we needed to be a sweet savor (aroma) of Christ for those around us.

Looking at the rays of sunlight this morning coming through the trees in my backyard turns my thoughts to this… not only do I want to embrace the changing seasons in my life as a sweet time, but I want to get so close to Jesus that I know what He smells like… the sweet aroma of Christ himself. If I know what He smells like then maybe I can smell more like Him myself.

Have a great (and savoring) summer!

In His Grace, Bruce and Judy

Features 39 Product Review 8 Product Review

by Stefan Konstantopoulos

by Eric Dahl Aguilar Bass Pedals: Chorusaurus Wampler delivers Plexi Pleasure in and Fuzzistor a Pedal 40 Guitar From A 2 Z 10 Bassic Communication

by Roger Zimish

by Norm Stockton String Skipping (Part 3) Into Fun Bass Grooves (Part 4) Chromatic Exercises 12 Guitar Workshop 42 Good For the Soul

by John Standefer by Bryan Duncan Arranging Hymns For Solo Guitar What Happened to the Bridge?

14 Drumming Dynamics 44 CODA

by David Owens

by Bob Bennett Roll Strokes “Over The Bar Line” My “Minute” With Amy 16 Vocal Coach’s Corner

by Roger Beale #100 - A Milestone Article!

18 The Groove of Grace

by Rick Cua Light Black 25 Selective Hearing

by Shawn McLaughlin Hillsong United Jimmy Needham Jon Foreman Kevin Max Owl City 32 Taking the Stage

by Tom Jackson 5 Do’s to Optimize Your Success 34 Product Review

by Michael Hodge Signal by Output 37 The Indie Mechanics

by Keith Mohr & Sue Ross-Mohr Legacy

InterviewS

20 Track Record: Brent Milligan talks with Stefan Konstantopoulos 28 Help! I Need Someone How the head of The Beatles’ U.S. record label came to Christ.

An interview with Ken Mansfield by Bruce Adolph cover photo by Jeremy Cowart

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Adolph Agency Direct Line: 253.445.1973 Fax: 888.391.4440 Email: bruce@christianmusician.com Website: www.christianmusician.com Editor & President: Bruce Adolph VP/Office Manager: Judy Adolph, judy@christianmusician.com Customer Service: Brian Felix, brianfelix@christianmusician.com, 888.391.4440 x.1 Street Team: Mike Adolph, Jesse Hill & Winston Design & Layout: Matt Kees Director of Advertising: Steve Sattler, steve@creativesalesresource.com 626-836-3106 ©2015 Published by the Adolph Agency Inc.

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PRODUCT REVIEW

by eric dahl

Wampler delivers Plexi Pleasure in a Pedal Brian Wampler, the owner and creator of Wampler Pedals, is a truly interesting tone-chasing guy when you get to talk with him. Brian, his wife, and entire staff are dedicated to the pursuit of creating usable guitar sounds that gear buyers want and ask for.

The Wampler designs have become increasingly popular with stage and studio musicians such as Brad Paisley and Brent Mason, who not only use them but also have developed signature pedals of their own.

Their latest pedal launch appealed to me and I reached out to the company for a demo model of the new “Plexi-Drive Deluxe” to test it myself.

Don’t let the cool British paint job on the top of the pedal fool you, there is even more coolness inside of this box.

Top mounted controls include a 3 band EQ (bass, middle, and treble) and post-gain knobs. The next row of adjustments contains Level (output) boost/ bass mini toggle, while on the Pre Gain side you have a boost/bright mini toggle. Although not much larger than a single button stomp box, Wampler provides a Pre Gain foot switch and a Post Gain foot switch.

Power is derived from a 9v battery or external 9v power supply.

The Deluxe differs from the Plexi Standard in a number of ways, such as the bass boost,

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differences. I was able to achieve vintage Bloomfield and Clapton style tones at one setting, and get heavier metal sounds by simply increasing the gain settings.

There was still plenty of note definition in all settings without the muddiness and compression that you find in similar pedals. The singing open headroom and sustain were truly amazing while soloing, and my ears weren’t bleeding as they would be from a Marshall at full volume to achieve the same!

which allows you to have the sound and feel of a 4x12 cabinet at your feet. The bright boost switch was added for guitars from say, a Strat to a Les Paul. You can adjust the pedal tone by simply flipping the mini toggle switch.

Since this is one of Brian’s personal favorite pedals a lot of time and effort was devoted to getting things right on this one, and I believe they achieved it. Plugged in, you can really nail some of the great Marshall sounds from previous decades, and the bass boost and bright boost provide very audible

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For contemporary Christian music this pedal would be ideal for covering the new, heavier bands on the scene, and a great way to beef up your solos on stage without getting too loud.

Having owned, played, and hauled a Marshall half-stack in the 90’s, I believe that the Wampler creation may not replace a real Plexi head with a slant cab filled with greenback Celestion speakers, but it certainly costs a lot less, and weighs less too!

Street price is $239.97, which isn’t bad for an American designed and built pedal that has Plexi sounds and comes with no buyer’s remorse!

Eric Dahl resides in Nashville TN with his wife and daughter.

He is the author of “B.B. King’s Lucille and the Loves Before Her” and he does a weekly TV gear review show called the FOX 17 Rock and Review.

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Chris Tomlin and his 1999 Collings OM 42 SB

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BASSIC COMMUNICATION

by norm stockton

Fun Bass Grooves (Part 4) Welcome back to the woodshed!

same beat and it gives the tune some of its signature energy.

In this installment of our series, we’ll look at the bass groove for the verse from Lincoln Brewster’s version of the Joel Houston/Hillsong United favorite, “Everyday” that appeared on his All to You…Live project (Integrity).

I frequently say that there aren’t as often right vs. wrong choices in music, but more effective and less effective musical choices—based upon context. I encourage you to listen to a broad range of music that’s done well, and try to listen analytically. If you hear an idea or concept that works well and can be integrated into your musical palette, you’ll have more options for future musical occasions.

That said, Linc was looking for a bass figure in the verse section that would smooth over some of that syncopation, so opted for straight 8th-notes from the bass. It’s not too overt in the radio mix, but it definitely introduces a nice contrast between the verse and the chorus section when the bass figure starts hitting that 16th-note push with the kick.

I’ve included the kick and snare pattern in the bottom system to clearly illustrate one of the elements of the bass line that I find compelling. By the way, this bass line existed prior to when I began touring and recording with Linc, so I can freely express how creative and groovy I think it is without it being boastful! :^)

Here’s an example of when not following the kick drum can work, too. :^)

Another point of interest is the slides, which give some energy and motion to the line. Linc preferred the feel created by using the fretting hand index finger to fret the entire line, hence the layout of this bass line on the fingerboard which some of you probably were thinking “there’s an easier way to play that!” :^)

Those of you familiar with the song might recall that the kick drum pattern’s 16th-note anticipation of beat 3 is a prominent element of the tune; the vocal melody hits that

Have a blast!

Blessings- Norm (Note-for-note video bass tutorials for many of Lincoln Brewster’s tunes are available at ArtOfGroove.com)

Bassic Communication Fun Bass Grooves (Part 3) Intro Vamp from "Salvation Is Here"

Joel Houston / Arr. Lincoln Brewster "Today Is The Day" CD (Integrity Music)

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Norm Stockton is a bassist/ clinician/solo artist based in Orange County, CA. Following his long tenure as bassist with Lincoln Brewster, Norm has been focused on equipping bassists around the world through his instructional site (www.ArtOfGroove.com), as well as freelancing (including tour dates with Bobby Kimball, original lead singer of Toto, and Bill Champlin from Chicago). His book, The Worship Bass Book, is published by Hal Leonard. Also visit Norm at www.normstockton. com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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GUITAR WORKSHOP

by john standefer

Arranging Hymns For Solo Guitar At church most of us live in a pretty modern setting where older hymns aren’t used that much anymore. Thankfully, they aren’t forgotten altogether. Also, most everything you hear in church is a vocal piece, very few instrumental arrangements finding their way onto the play list. Again, thankfully, they do still surface from time to time. Part of the reason hymns are becoming obscure is that during the time period in which they were written, the harmony structure was very sim-

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ple and the rhythmic quality was more like a Sousa march than something you’d hear on radio today. If a person takes the time to re-harmonize a hymn with more colorful chords and add a different rhythmic feel to the mix, they can be revitalized. These same qualities of developing a good modern arrangement makes instrumental music more appealing as well. Here’s a hymn that I wrote out for a recent skype student. I hope you enjoy it. By the way, contact me anytime

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you’d like to take a few skype lessons!

I Know In Whom I Have Believed Check out John’s 5-DVD set ‘Praise Guitar Lessons’ at the ‘store’ page at www.johnstandefer.com. You get 52 video lessons similar to these CM articles, but you can see and hear the lessons! Includes charts. Also consider private lessons with John via Skype!

DRUMMING DYNAMICS

by david owens

Roll Strokes “Over The Bar Line” I was working on the article for this edition of the magazine, and I realized it was getting way too complex. I was transcribing the vocal drum solo by Tigran Hamasyan called, “What The Waves Brought” that I mentioned in the last article. I thought it best to be simpler and more practical in this issue. But if you have not watched his vocal drum solo over his piano playing, you need to check it out. About 7:30 minuets into the video he starts the vocal solo and there are enough rhythmic gems in it to keep me transcribing for quite some time.

I have first written the traditional way of playing a 4 and 5 stroke roll. The last versions of these rolls are how I teach them.

These roll strokes go “over the bar line”, and return to one after three bars. It is important to make sure you are thinking in four when you play these “over the bar line” figures.

Use a metronome and always tap both your feet to quarter notes. On a drum set you can play different foot patterns (like a Samba) as you play the roll strokes on the snare and make the accented notes rim shots. You can also play the accented notes on toms for a variation.

So here is something way less complex, but very practical. Knowing your basic roll stokes is a must for any drummer. Having precise doubles will make your drum set playing cleaner and is something I see a lot of students neglect.

R L R

Blessings, David David freelances in and around Los Angeles and is currently playing for Franklin Graham events worldwide. He has played with Fernando Ortega, Sara Groves, Bebo Norman, Tommy Walker, Lincoln Brewster, Thomas Dolby, The Righteous Brothers and Peter White as well as spending 2 plus years playing The Lion King at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. He is also an adjunct professor at Biola and Hope International Universities. His home church is Plymouth Congregational in Whittier, CA. Feel free to contact him at DavidOwensDrums.com.

Traditional 5 Stroke Roll

> > œ œ œ œ L L R

R L R

L R L

R L R

I hope you find this a challenging way to play a basic rudiment all drummers need to know. Enjoy your practice time.

You will notice different stickings. The first is the traditional sticking, which naturally alternates. The other stickings remain as a right hand lead or a left hand lead. You can do this same type of thing for all the

Traditional 4 Stroke Roll

> > ™™44 œ œ œ œ

roll strokes, but some (like the six and seven stroke rolls), will not go over the bar line.

L L R

R R L

L L R

> ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ R L R

R L R

L R L

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R L R

> œ œ œ œ œ ETC

™™

.....

4 Stroke Roll "over the bar line"

>> > > >> >> >> >> >> >> ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ R L R

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L L R

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R L R

R R L

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L L R

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ETC......

5 Stroke Roll "over the bar line"

> > > > > > > > ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ R R L L R L L R R L R R L L R

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L L R R L L L R R L R R L L R

R R L L L L R R R R L L

R L R

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

L L R R L L L R R L R R L L R

ETC.....

VOCAL COACH’S CORNER #100 - A MILESTONE ARTICLE! Big News! After 16 years and over 100,000 words, this is my 100th article for Christian Musician Magazine. I can say this with all honesty that when I started to write the first Vocal Coach’s Corner, I never thought I would have enough material to fill 100 articles. The constantly changing world of Contemporary Christian music altered that thought very quickly though.

But first, I would like to thank our intrepid magazine creator, owner, and publisher Bruce Adolph. He has put up with all my missed deadlines, misspellings, semi-colons instead of commas, and all the Internet corruptions of my content for these 16 years.

I would also like to congratulate Bruce for his success with this magazine. Most new magazine publications don’t last very long.

This magazine, Christian Musician, has lasted a very long time and has led the way to a Christian music magazine conglomerate. Thanks Bruce, for this wonderful opportunity to communicate a practical vocal pedagogy on a wider scale than I ever could have imagined. Good grief, Bruce, we’re in Guitar Center!

Let’s go back and take a look at some of the changes over these past 16 plus years. When I started writing these articles, everyone was teaching to a classical vocal model that had been created in the mid to late 1800’s. That, as you can imagine, has changed rapidly and drastically. At the present time it is almost like “anything goes”, so far as vocal skill and technique is concerned.

The first change that has happened is the extreme rise in the intense desire for fame.

It may seem funny for a vocal coach to discuss this subject, but it speaks to vocal development. Many students’ desire to improve is not equal to their desire for fame. The chasing of fame is far more important than the development of a solid grasp of vocal technique. For many singers, vocal technique is very low on their list of priorities.

That is why we are seeing a noticeable rise in the number of vocal surgeries with what we all would call, “famous singers.” You can 16

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probably name two or three of these famous singers while you are reading this article.

The second change that has happened is in regard to music in schools. Today’s music programs are really interesting things to watch. Instead of really teaching music, they seem to exist for performance only. The sum total of many of these programs seem to be that of teaching to the next musical crisis; that is, the next performance. The performance is paramount, not the development of the individual musicianship of the student. It is even a bigger problem when looking at a music magnet school, or a fine arts high school. It always seems like the school is promoting its performance groups, with never a mention of individual musicians that they have developed. This is a real problem for younger musicians. Where do they go to develop their individual music skills?

The third change is how electronics affect today’s singers. The microphone was the first electric influence on how singers sing.

The original recording devices had to use some type of ancient microphone to get the sound into the recording device. The result was the rise of the crooning style of singing. The next electronic influence was floor monitors. They have damaged more voices than we can imagine. They are very quickly becoming a thing of the past for singers, and none too soon. Now we have in-ear monitors. That has been a giant step forward in saving voices! Today’s singer does not have to try to compete with the sound levels of the drummer, bass player, guitar player, and keyboard dude. Today’s singers can individually control the levels of sound input going into their ears. What a relief! Using in-ear monitors will save unknown numbers of voices from serious damage. That voice could be yours.

Other types of electronic devices that are very much affecting the singer’s world are effects (EFX) units. You can add different vocal shadings to your voice with these units.

Push a button, and you instantly sound different. Push another button, and now you

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

by roger beale

Roger! Congrats on #100!

Thanks! ~ Bruce & Judy

are singing in two-part harmony. Push another button, and now you are singing in three-part harmony. Wow! This is getting fun now. Then push another button and you have auto tune. Uh-oh! Here comes controversy. I am not going into that at the present time. But it is so prevalent that while I was perusing a musical merchandise catalog the other day I discovered that I could purchase an analog mixer with built-in auto tune. The basic requirement of a singer is to sing in tune, so I didn’t buy one. Sorry.

In writing all of these Vocal Coach’s Corner articles, I would like you, the reader, to know that I have always tried to give you the latest vocal research and information that I could find. I have been privileged to get to know some of the world’s preeminent researchers in vocal science. Whether it be in lecture, reading, clinic, private discussion, or on the golf course, I have pulled an incredible amount of valuable information from these researchers. I have then shared this with you, the reader, as much as I could in a brief article such as this. I have been able to offer you the best from the best through all of these many articles.

Thanks for reading. Hey, let’s do another 100,000 words!! I mean 100 articles.

Now go sing well!

Roger Beale has been writing the Vocal Coach’s Corner for over sixteen years. He is one of the nation’s foremost vocal coaches. He presently works with professional singers in all areas of musical performance.

His teaching and coaching facility, The Voice House, is involved in the management and care of the professional voice.

Many of his students have won prestigious vocal competitions and scholarships. In addition, he has worked with Grammy and Dove award winners and nominees. He also offers vocal clinics and seminars, as well as assistance in recording sessions. Roger is an adjunct professor in the Fine Arts department at Point University (formerly Atlanta Christian College), website: www.point.edu. Roger can be contacted at: The Voice House, 1029 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 276, Peachtree City, GA 30269, (404) 822-5097, e-mail: rbeale251@gmail.com.

FOR SALE

1975 Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar Black body, Maple fretboard, White plastic. All original 9.5 Collector’s condition with original hardshell case. $2,950.00

1971 Martin D-35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Spruce Top with Rosewood 3 piece back and sides. Comes with original hardshell case.

Sounds big and full like a Martin should! $2,750.00

1960’s Kay Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar with Barney Kessel “Kleenex Box” Pick-Ups Lot’s of vintage vibe, adjustable bridge and the original case even! $575.00

(buyer is responsible for shipping and insurance expenses on any guitar purchases)

If you have a vintage guitar that you’d like to sell please contact me, maybe we can work something out...

Interested? Contact Bruce Adolph ~ 253.445.1973 / bruceadolph@mac.com

THE GROOVE OF GRACE

by rick cua

Light Black I remember well the early days of my faith when I was shedding my bad habits like a snake sheds old skin. I began walking away from things that ran contrary to the Word of God. One by one I said goodbye to the obvious stuff. Then, as I was convicted, each subsequent tier of bad behavior was purposefully driven out of my life. There were, however, a few things that I wanted to hang onto. They may have been mostly inactive, but they were still there. Looking back it was like burying the hatchet with the end of the handle poking out of the dirt just enough to grip and pull out, re-activating that thing you thought you finally left behind. It’s also like a faucet that’s almost off... just a drip every so often until you mess up again and that occasional drip returns to a steady flow. How much better off I would have been just leaving ALL the junk behind. Not a little here and there, but all of it all at once, a ceremonial cleansing with no hesitation or regret.

Many times the enemy of our good behavior is believing the lie that when you engage in your remaining guilty pleasures you will somehow fit in and be happy. Acting on that will never move you forward, bring lasting joy, or allow you to fulfill the destiny that God has placed before you. Your momentary pleasure instantly becomes a handicap that, if left unchecked, can become terminal.

1 John 1:7 says “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” If we walk in God’s light there are no shadows, no darkness at all, we are cleansed.

The issue here is: Are we really committed? To be clear, commitment doesn’t mean perfection. It means that you have made up your mind to stay the course and not look back. You will have a misstep here and there but it won’t deflate you if you quickly pick yourself up, repent, and move forward. You will feel bad and have some level of disap-

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pointment, as you should, but it’s not derailment.

It’s interesting to me that reality tells us we will mess up, but our determination not to fail shouldn’t allow us to consider it. Honestly the battle is really in our mind. It takes just as long to make the right decision as it does the wrong decision. Here is what happens: we believe the lie by dwelling on it instead of taking that thought captive and getting rid of it.

Many times we consider the really bad stuff the really big stuff. That’s just not the case.

If it doesn’t reflect God’s Word, it’s all really big. The enemy will continually tell us, “That’s just a small thing”, but the Holy Spirit will convict us of our righteousness every time... if we are listening.

John 16:8-11 Tells us “And when He (The Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.”

I always thought that the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, but nowhere in the New Testament do we see this. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of their sin and us of our righteousness. In other words, when we sin, we convict ourselves because The Holy Spirit reminds us that we are righteous. So, if we are living in an unrighteous way and a friend, for example, tells us that he admires how wonderfully we are living, immediately our sin is called to mind, again because the Holy Spirit convicts us of our righteousness (which helps us quickly identify our sin) and we (hopefully) repent.

We’re not alone. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Again, it’s up to us. God always does His part and we must do ours if we want lasting victory.

Let’s let God shine His light on every area of our lives leaving no unrighteous space in the dark. Remember this truth from 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

We are living in a world where the black gets blacker and the white gets whiter. We all need to choose who we will serve and, like it or not, our choice becomes evident by our actions. In the words of the great Wilson Pickett, “Ninety nine and a half just won’t do”, and neither will light black. You’re either living right or you’re not. Paul encourages us in Romans 13:14 to...”put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

We can do it...God says we can! Walk in the light... lose the leaven... take every thought captive, flood your light black with His marvelous light and never forget God’s promise; “I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 Not just a musical artist, Rick knows the business of music as well. Besides being a music publisher, artist manager and booking agent, he founded and ran his own record label, UCA Records, in the 1990s which led to a position for five and 1⁄2 years as Vice President, Creative/ Copyright Development at EMI CMG in Nashville. There he managed a large songwriter roster and exponentially grew revenue through film and TV licensing, song promotion and print music development. He is currently on staff as the minister of Pastoral Care and Visitation at Grace Chapel in Franklin, TN.

BRENT MiLLigan

Talks with Stefan Konstantopoulos 20

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photo by Jeremy Cowart

TRACK RECORD

In 20 years of working with an impressive list of artists and producers like Charlie Peacock, DC Talk, Tedd T. (Mutemath et al), Paul Colman, Colony House and Steven Curtis Chapman, Brent Milligan’s fingerprints are on countless influential records.

From session bassist and arranger to recordlabel executive and producer, Milligan is living a dream and remains inspired to foster compelling artistry at every level.

Christian Musician: When you first moved to Nashville and began playing bass in sessions, what were your professional aspirations?

Brent Milligan: I had a couple of aspirations. I wanted to push myself and get as good at playing sessions as I could. Not just executing, but making up compelling parts that drove the song. There were also a couple of producers and artists like Charlie Peacock, Mark Heimermann, Brown Bannister, Out of the Grey, and Margaret Becker that I felt were leading the way at the time, breaking new ground, and I aspired to work with them. I was fortunate enough to connect with Charlie Peacock early on, as well as Mark Heimermann, Tedd T., and a few other guys who were great to work with and

learn from.

CM: At the time, did you plan to ultimately transition into engineering and producing?

Brent: I did ultimately want to produce, but engineering was not something I aspired to; it was something I learned over time.

CM: After working as the VP of A&R at Forefront (EMI) and then going back to working in the studio, did your approach to production change?

Brent: Yes. I like to think I’m much more aware and respectful of deadlines and the needs of the label now. After being on the other side of things when someone doesn’t deliver, I try not to be that guy because I’ve seen what is at stake. I also think more in terms of what will open doors for the artist and make them successful. I used to think as a producer it was just me and the artist in the process, but when I work on a label record, I’m more aware of being part of a team now.

CM: In terms of the pros and cons of each, contrast for us the production process of an indie record with that of a major-label record?

Brent: Label records tend to have concrete

deadlines. There are more people speaking into the creative process, and label artists feel a different kind of pressure. All of those can be good things as well as bad. Indie artists are freer to do whatever they want, but that can also be a good thing or a bad thing.

If an indie has a bad song, there’s not a label guy backing me up saying ‘hey, that’s a bad song’. The good thing is that often with indies we can explore different territory because of the freedom and lack of time constraints. I would say the biggest con of label records is the occasions when they want you to turn something around in an insanely small amount of time. I would say the biggest drawback to indies is when you work on a record that’s limited financially. I strive not to treat the process any differently whether it’s a label or an indie record.

CM: When you perform on a record you are producing, does your creative investment undermine your objectivity or further inspire you to bring the best out of everyone involved?

Brent: It’s funny, but I feel like that has changed. It wasn’t always this way, but now I don’t feel like it really undermines my objectivity and I invite others in the room to

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critique any part I’m doing and speak into it. If they want to grab the instrument and show me, or play it themselves, that’s great.

I would rather someone else play whatever instrument we’re working on unless I have a very specific vision that the artist agrees with and I know exactly how to play that idea.

Sometimes when you have a specific idea in the studio it takes longer to explain than to just play it.

CM: When you’re playing bass, live or in a session, what are some of your favorite tools?

Brent: My basses, a ‘64 Fender Jazz, a ‘62 Fender Jazz, a ‘70 P-bass, and a few funky pawn shop specials that make it on records sometimes. I really like my Demeter tube DI, my Neves, my old Gates sta-level, and my ancient UTC transformer EQ. Those things can make anything sound good. I use D’Addario strings on everything and love them. I play nickel wound strings mostly, but I put steels on for aggressive tracks, sometimes I use flatwounds, it just depends on the track and what it needs. I have a flip top made by Tyler amps that is the best flip top I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned quite a few.

The Tyler wins in a landslide. I have a first 22

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year Ampeg SVT that is the dirtiest, snarliest bass amp ever put on earth. The lights dim when you turn it on and it shakes everything and it just makes you smile. I love recording one of those amps along with a DI. CM: What about tracking and mixing tools?

Brent: I’m a ProTools guy and have been for a long time. Mic-wise, I love my Korby KAT. Tracy Korby rebuilt it for me and I love that mic. I have a Manley Gold reference that is great too, and I would hate to live without the Royer 122v tube ribbon.

The Royer is pure magic. I have some other ribbons and condensers and the normal selection of dynamic mics and geeky strange mics. Instrument wise, I love my old Hammond C3 and Leslie, and my old Roland Jupiter 6. The Jupiter is so fun to mess around with and run through a pedalboard. Again, my Gates Sta-level is a go-to, as well as a Manley Vari-mu I’ve had forever. I’m loving the 500 series revolution and have a growing collection of that stuff. I can’t get enough of the Shadow Hills gear.

CM: What suggestions do you have for artists who want to gear up and record at home?

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

Brent: That’s a tough one. I would say do your homework on what gear people are raving about. Learn your DAW really well. ALWAYS have a backup of your information.

If it doesn’t exist in two places, it doesn’t really exist. Cultivate a circle of people who know their stuff and will be honest with you.

You have to embrace the fact that if you’re just starting to record, it will likely take you time to get good at it. I would suggest getting the best mic, mic pre, and convertors you can afford. Save compression and EQ for later or in the DAW, unless you are able to get something nice. Cheap gear almost always sounds cheap. However, a great song and a great performance trump everything.

It all comes down to songs and passion and uniqueness, no matter what gear you own.

CM: Which industry trends concern you and which inspire you?

Brent: Obviously, the downward spiral of recorded music sales is the biggest bummer.

American Idol just announced the last season yesterday and that can’t be a bad thing.

The trend of so many schools of recording and engineering concerns me, because there are more and more kids promised pieces of what is a smaller and smaller pie. There

RolandUS.com/JC

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we try lots of different things.

They are deliberate about almost everything, and they have a vision for who they are, what they want to sound like and what they want to say, which makes my job easier and more fun. I’m very proud of the songs I’ve gotten to work on with them, so (shameless plug alert) check out their new single “Waiting for my time to come” and go see them when they play near your town. Also, I have to mention that although I produced “Waiting for my time” and “Keep on keeping on” on their latest record, Ben Shive and Joe Causey did a masterful job on the rest of it, because they are both brilliant men and musicians.

CM: In terms of developing a sound and building a name, what suggestions can you offer to artists?

are only a few that are preparing kids really well. Labels seem fairly stable now, but aren’t able to offer as much as they did in the past, which is unfortunate.

As far as the tech side, it’s inspiring to see the power of laptops, and the ability of a laptop to actually be powerful enough to do complex full productions. Plug-ins have gotten more and more interesting. Soft synths have gotten pretty insane. I’m both troubled and inspired by Spotify. They pay out so little and yet it is an amazing way to explore new music and also instantly reach back and find songs that you loved 15 years ago. The amount of content on call is staggering. Ev-

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erything from The Grays “Ro Sham Bo” to the new Passion Pit is right there, along with everything from deep indie to top 40. It’s brilliant, I just want to see it get to a place where artists and writers are being compensated fairly, and I’m hopeful. Obviously, these days, indie artists have more avenues and doors available than ever, which I’m sure will continue, and that’s great.

CM: Would you talk a little about Colony House and your experience working with them?

Brent: Of course! I love those guys! I have known them for a long time, since they were teenagers, and have watched them develop into amazing men and musicians. I love working with them because they put 100% into every song, every part, every detail, and we push each other and laugh a lot and have fun together while we try to make the best music they’re capable of. It’s so fun to be in the studio and feel like any crazy idea in the room is worth trying and hearing, so

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

Brent: Go with your quirks.

Go with what makes you unique. Hone it, refine it, but don’t lose it. Instead of writing one chorus, write three totally different ones and pick the best. Write six verses, pick two or three. Great artists are always trying to outdo themselves, always looking for that extra few % of better. Record yourself as much as you can. Get feedback from others. Make sure your live show is solid. Video yourself. Go back to the drawing board if you need to.

Ask yourself, “Why should I expect anyone else to care about this? To want to buy a ticket? To want to click on $1.29 or www.thenameofmyband.com?” Great music opens doors. If you record great music and put it out there, doors will open. If you’re amazing live, doors will open. Spend time promoting yourself, but if you’re promoting mediocrity, it won’t work long term. Get the music right and other things tend to fall in line.

CM: What’s next for you?

Brent: I’m working on a Steven Curtis Chapman project that I’m very excited about. I’ve been writing more, and trying to deliberately make time for that. I’ve been tinkering with tube DI’s and strange enclosures, so hopefully I will finish one in the near future and not electrocute myself. I don’t know what I’ll be producing six months from now.

My planning tends to only be two or three months ahead.

SELECTIVE HEARING Empires Hillsong United Hillsong Ever since Hillsong United ditched the standard Hillsong family formula (you know, at least one live album of “new” material every year), they’ve been a band that has steadily gained not only the adoration of hipsters near and far, but also other Christian music fans who steer clear of Hillsong. They caught my attention with Aftermath four years ago, and Virtue and Vice Jimmy Needham Platinum Pop With Jimmy Needham’s latest release, and the first for latest label home, Platinum Pop Records, the artist proves to be one of the CCM genre’s finest underground talents. Much of that “underground” vibe comes from the artist’s determination to be who he is musically; his soulful swells of R&B, funk, blues, and soul just refusing to conform to the usual radio friendly pop that typifies so much of Christian radio. Yet, for those willing to dig in and give Vice & Virtue a listen, they’ll be glad they did as Needham delivers the goods all the way through. This is a very pleasant development for Needham, who previously seemed content with expertly mimicking his influences (Stevie Wonder, Jason Mraz).

The title track stems from the combination of a spiritual crisis the artist found himself in while he studied through a study on Galatians by popular pastor and author Tim Keller. One quote from Keller in particular really hit home as the author wrote, “Irreligious people repent of nothing. Religious people repent of their sin. But Christians repent of their righteousness,” leading NeedThe Wonderlands: Sunlight Jon Foreman Independent From 2007 to 2008, Jon Foreman gave Switchfoot fans something completely unique and intimate with his very own solo project. 7 years later, he’s back with his long hoped for The Wonderlands project and its first of four EPs: Sunlight. Those

by shawn mclaughlin

continued to impress with 2013’s electronic-based Zion. In 2015, Empires is doing a bit of impressing as well. With the massive, out-of-nowhere success of their song “Oceans,” you wouldn’t be surprised to hear there was an “Oceans”-esque song this time around as well; given the fact that “Oceans” never stood out to me at the beginning makes it a little hard to say if Empires will produce another huge single like that, although the anthemic “Heart Like Heaven” may end up doing the trick. Personally, I think “Even When It Hurts (Praise Song)”

stands out as a strong candidate; it’s a wonderful, relaxed song with raw lyrics about giving God thanks and worshipping Him no matter the cost and no matter how we feel inside. As per usual, United doesn’t necessarily win points for the most creative lyricism, but they’re leagues above where they used to be, and that certainly earns some marks.

More indie pop than electronic this time around (though there are still synthesizers used), Hillsong United seems to have found where their strengths lie, as they stand out as a worship highlight of 2015 thus far.

ham to a place of questioning. And those questions led to a powerful realization.

“Sirens” provides a rich musical template for the artist to work with, while plunking bass notes lay the groundwork for Needham’s eclectic vocal delivery. “Only You”, and “Forever and Ever Amen” shine the light on love, with Needham delivering two great, R&B-flavored love jams. Country fans will recall the latter as the Randy Travis hit, but Needham clearly makes the song his, making the lyrics sing for him. “Better Man” follows suit, a slowed down arrangement letting the artist’s smooth message of love flow. “Mr. Nice Guy” is a full-on soul dance extravaganza, despite its bold and honest lyric, and “Jekyll and Hyde” nearly steals the show with its stripped down, bluesy composition that frames Needham’s lyrics that deal with demons within. And to close things up, Needham delivers an artistic high point with “The Story (A Spoken Word)” which deftly summarizes the Gospel story in smooth prose, capturing the head and the heart at once. Jimmy Needham’s Vice & Virtue may not quite make it past the radio powers that be, and that’s a shame because the songs found here are some of the better to make their appearance this year. Rich in soul both in lyric and sound, Needham’s latest allows him to transcend past exercises in mimicry to achieve a musical statement that displays genuine artistry.

“My ‘nicety’ gave me a sense of worth and value,” Needham shares. “But that’s really the opposite of the gospel. We bring nothing to the table except sin and brokenness.

Through all of my religious efforts, I was actually fleeing from the cross.”

It’s with that mentality that Needham attacks the eleven tracks found on Vice & Virtue, blending spiritual exploration together with celebrations of praise and love. The title track leads off with a lyrical onslaught, a tight soul-rhythm infused song with bright percussion and hits of horns that carry forward a scathing, insightful lyric that finds the artist declaring, “Which is good and which is bad/Crystal meth or a gospel tract?/If it’s done for me and not for you./There’s vice in all my virtue.” Similar vibes and funky rhythms color in the vertical praise of “Thank You”, while “Momma Didn’t Raise No Fool” delights with playful percussions and smooth vocals from Needham, the lyric celebrating God’s deliverance. “All We Need Is Need” carries something of an autobiographical feel, challenging our spiritual pride and reminding listeners that they need to engage in lives of humility, surrounding the lyrics with the most radio-ready vibes to be found here. expecting a mirror image of previous releases will be both sorely disappointed and pleasantly surprised. Songs like “Terminal” and “You Don’t Know How Beautiful You Are” have a sound that is reminiscent of Switchfoot b-sides, without the more aggressive instrumentation. On the flipside, “The Mountain” and “Patron Saint of Rock & Roll” sound like something more along the lines of Fiction Family, as they feature organic sounds, but with a pinch of eclectic synths and strings. However “Caroline” and

“All of God’s Children” are what many will find to be classic Foreman - acoustic guitar and growling raspy vocals. Without a doubt, these songs are all lyrically rich and musically diverse with a distinctive West Coast sound.

If there is any uncertainty whether or not to purchase this album just remember these two simple words: JON. FOREMAN. If this is just the first chapter of The Wonderlands, this is going to be a joy-filled adventure. Enjoy the sunlight.

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Broken Temples Kevin Max Independent/iTunes, Amazon.com In the words of Peter Furler, music is “like painting a painting - if you kept painting paintings the same way, the first one would lose its luster.” It’s the best description of Kevin Max’s track record as well, as he’s always taken a different direction with every musical project he’s pursued, both solo and as a band member. And right after his short stint fronting Audio Adrenaline comes Broken Temples, Max’s first solo album in almost five years and perhaps the veteran’s most earnest project yet. At first, the slick pop vibe of Broken Temples feels like a continuation of where Audio A’s Kings

& Queens left off; but with more time and exposure, it feels more like a product of Max’s own doing. The vocals are on point as usual, but every song’s creative direction feels more purposeful and direct, while also converging effectively for a polished album statement. The opener, “Good Kings Highway” is reminiscent of U2’s famous, “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “Light Me Up” is the most radio-friendly of the album (perhaps to a slight fault), and that’s just the start. Other highlights include the infectious bass-led “Clear,” the epic nature of “White Horse,” and the show-stopping finale “Infinite” (complete with a brief but impactful

Mobile Orchestra Owl City Universal Records Since the late 2000s, Adam Young (better known the world over as Owl City) experienced a trajectory nothing short of meteoric. After selling millions of records, the small towner from Owatonna, MN has practically laid the blueprints for the modern pop/electronica troubadours following in his footsteps. All the while, he has never been shy about his faith, which continues alongside the mounds of sugary surges that permeate the fifth full-length effort, Mobile Orchestra. In addition to delightfully quirky arrangements and diary-styled lyrics, Young taps Avicii collaborator Aloe Blacc on “Verge,” aims straight for the dance floor with Hanson on “Unbelievable,” and takes a catchy country sidestep with Jake Owen throughout “Back Home”. “My Everything” and “You’re Not Alone” definitely ride the worship bandwagon, in more ways than one. Easily the most generic songs, both lyrically and musically, their inclusion keeps Mobile Orchestra from being an unmitigated success. Fortunately, Young fares extremely well on the contemplative finale, “This Isn’t The End,” telling the tale of a girl whose father takes his life, but ultimately points to forgiveness, redemption, and the reminder that “when the light goes out, this isn’t the end.” With the added bonus of Young’s exploring the nuances of adding acoustic textures to his electronic palette, Mobile Orchestra sees Owl City making their most varied project yet.

Shawn McLaughlin is a hard-working, dedicated, tireless worshipper of Christ.

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appearance by Rachael Lampa). Right before “Infinite” come two remixes of previous songs on the album, courtesy of Derek Webb. While they are quality cuts, they end up disrupting the album’s overall flow and should have been allocated to the album’s “bonus material” in the deluxe edition. Still, an album like Broken Temples only adds to the vast landscape of Kevin Max’s discography, and though not as quirky as Cotes D’Amour, it’s also in many ways the album that Kings & Queens should have been. Listeners are truly fortunate that powerhouse songwriters like Kevin Max are still creating quality music, and his latest effort will most assuredly be one of the finest achievements of CCM this year.

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HELP! I NEED SOMEONE How the head of The Beatles’ U.S. record label came to Christ.

An interview with Ken Mansfield by Bruce Adolph

Bruce: Give us the condensed version of how you got into the music business and ended up being Apple Record’s U.S. guy?

Ken: During the late 50’s and early 60’s, while attending San Diego State College, I performed in a folk group called The Town Crier’s. Mildly successful; that stint evolved into me opening a folk club in San Diego.

During these folk years I met Bill Wagner, who was the head of artist relations at Capitol Records. We met while we were out scouting acts - me for my club and him for the record label. A close friendship developed; especially for me when I found out he was the manager for the Four Freshmen – my favorite group. One night at the Ice House in Pasadena he asked if I would ever consider coming to work for a record company. Fascinated with the idea, I said, “Yes” - he sponsored my interviews at Capitol for the West Coast district promotion manager position. I got the job and began working at Capitol January 5, 1965. Incredibly, a few month’s later I found myself in August 1965 working with one of our bands who was touring the country - called the Beatles.

We were twenty something’s, and I was fascinated with their British bit, and they were fascinated with the California suntanned guy with the Cadillac convertible and a house with the pool in the Hollywood Hills. The friendship and business relationship deepened when I worked with them again on their 1966 tour. I was the only young executive that they could relate to, and when they decided to set up Apple the most important position was establishing the label and running it in America. I was a natural choice – the new head of their company, Ron Kass, agreed and appointed me as the first U.S. manager of Apple records.

Next thing I knew the young kid who grew up alongside the Indian reservation lands of northern Idaho was ensconced in a posh Hyde Park suite in London, spending my days with the lads organizing Apple’s launch in the United States. The responsibility in Capitol’s eyes was humongous because at that time the word was the Beatles accounted for 50% of Capitol’s revenues.

In the middle of the madness a close friendship developed between the guys and

The guys in the band and me just hit it off.

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me individually and collectively, personally and businesswise. There was such innocence about all of us - they gave me great respect as a young hip businessman, treating me incredibly. And they were the Beatles, so it’s pretty obvious what my attitude was towards them.

Bruce: Working so close with the Beatles, how would you characterize each one’s personality and how you interacted with them?

Ken: Because of their innocence, it was easy to get a feel for each person in the band. Simplistically, Paul came off as the leader of the group mainly because of his constant energy, enthusiasm, great ideas, and unending creativity. He was like a schoolboy who would obviously win the ‘most popular’ title in the high school yearbook. Ringo was a lot like he was characterized by the fans and the press – always keeping things light and simple, great work ethic, and a sophisticated clown of sorts, maintaining an upbeat attitude for the group. George was the one I was attracted to personally more than any other member of the group. There was a great sensitivity, kindness, and caring nature about him. He always made me feel as if every conversation was personal and important. Because of the pressure on me from Capitol Records he would take it upon Ken sitting between Paul and Ringo.

himself to make sure I was okay, and in a couple of instances covered for me. John, as could be expected, soon departed from the mop top image and became very serious, distant, frustrated, and withdrawn when Yoko came on the scene. There was a vast difference from the early John I met and the later Ono John. He was more concerned about equality and world peace than the music. I sometimes felt he was frustrated because he couldn’t sort things out for everyone by the power of his celebrity.

Maybe a point to be made here is that the Beatles would’ve never been, in my opinion, the Beatles without those four specific members. It was like the perfect recipe because all the ingredients, regardless of their amount or dominance in the mix, dwelt in those special four young men. Together they had it all for the fans and the times. With only Ringo it could be too salty… with just Paul it might be too sweet… with John possibly a bit too bitter, and of course with George… way mellow!

Bruce: When and how did you become a Christian?

Ken: I have been asked so many times over the years to give my testimony - my story of coming to the Lord. I always have a faltering answer, because as hard as I try to frame a response to fit the question I feel like I can see God wagging His finger at me and admonishing me to tell like it is. You see I didn’t come to Him – He came to me. No matter how many times I rejected Him and lived my life in my own way, He was steadily and patiently coming at me in little pieces until some of those pieces eventually glommed on to me where I couldn’t ignore His wondrous truth anymore. I personally didn’t have a ‘Damascus Road’ experience … I had a ‘long and winding road’ trip. The point is; I eventually got there. Now that I’ve gotten to know Him I realize how close…dangerously close I came to spending my eternity apart from Him and His glory. As my heart got harder and harder and stronger and stronger in rejecting Him, I now know how close I came to where I was becoming impenetrable.

But He never gave up, because of His love, mercy, grace, and patience He stayed with it until I gave in. It is very funny to describe His way of loving me, and the ways He used to accomplish bringing me safely home and into His loving arms. It doesn’t sound very loving when a father takes everything away from you that you spent your whole life gathering together, including not only pos-

sessions and family relationships, friendships, career, and all the things that I have been told were the symbols of success and happiness. In fact, if I had to use a word to describe how I felt about His methods, I would have to use the word ‘brutal’. But it took a full on attack to break through the armor and the walls I had built around me to keep Him out of my life. I was so far in the mire, so hopeless, so helpless, and even as I look back at myself I have to smile and even use the word hapless.

My drugs weren’t working. My dalliances, worldly indulgences, and even my guru couldn’t get the job done. I was a mess.

He brought me to my knees, and when I realized I couldn’t sink any lower I decided to look up and cry out for help. One of my favorite scriptures from the Psalms in the living Bible version of the Bible says, “the day I cried out for help, the tide of the battle turned.” If I may quote myself from the opening chapter of ROCK AND A HEART PLACE … “...the entertainment industry is built on induced fantasy and even less certainty.

Long periods of being submerged within its abstraction does leave a person with the mind-bends when finally floating up from its depths. In some odd way, I feel those of us who survived this immersion find our salvation even more precious than some believers – because we paid for it so dearly. It’s not because we are more saved or more loved; it just might be because once we emerge from that degenerate mire we are startled by the purity we experience through His unconditional love, mercy and grace.

The contrast is rather extreme.

This pretty much summarizes the journey

for most of the participants in this book.”

To describe what happened in real terms in a few sentences, what happened over a period of time was that God blessed me by bringing into my life, at just the perfect moment, a godly lady that showed me the cross and the blood shed there just for me. When we met she was sold out to the Lord, and I was following my guru down a rather shaky and shoddy path. She continually witnessed to me, but I was convinced that my guru was all I needed and couldn’t convince her that there was a middle ground where we could reconcile “Jesus is the way”, and my assertion that my guru was “a way” - one of the many ways to the mountaintop. We were in Nashville, and because of my background she took me to all the great churches with the great musicians in the worship teams, all kinds of cutting-edge Christian concerts, and introduced me to some very fascinating believers. But we couldn’t get past the “the way” and “a way” disagreement. She just wouldn’t compromise – I knew there

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Ken in front of the Beatles (wearing the tie) during the “Help” Press Conference.

was a middle place we could agree upon, and I even offered to change gurus if she would just back off the Jesus thing a little.

During this time our personal relationship deepened, and one night she said she needed to talk to me. She said she saw where our relationship was heading and that she could not be unequally yoked and had to make a decision between Jesus and me. That’s when she told me that she chose Jesus. Up to this time she had been talking the talk, but when she walked the walk that’s when I turned the corner. I wanted to believe in something as deeply as she did to the point I would be willing to give up earthly matters that meant a lot to me. So in street terms that’s when I came over to her side, and now Jesus walks by my side.

That was 1985 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Some of my greatest accomplishments and biggest downfalls, my most sordid and sacred moments took place there in Music City, so I now call it the place of my “diamonds and dirt - my heart and my hurt.”

Bruce: Tell me about this new book you have written and it’s premise of hearing wellknown musician’s stories?

Ken: Actually Bruce, I did not want to write this book. My reason was simple - in order to write this book I had to relive a lot of dark moments in my life and, as was 30

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the case with my cancer book (Stumbling On Open Ground) that I was asked to write by my publisher, I was once again very hesitant because, like in the Bible, both books required me to be like the dog returning to his vomit. Over the course of years in writing my Beatles books I had a biographer/researcher make sure that all my facts were straight, because that would distract from my testimony in the books if Beatles fans found me incorrect, and would possibly negate my believability. The biographer’s name is Marshall Terrill, who has written a ton of books about famous people and is most well known for his exhaustive work on Steve McQueen. During the course of these years, in informal conversations, I would talk about the music business and those of us who had climbed our way out of some pretty deep, dank, dark, and dirty holes into the light of the Lord’s sweet salvation.

For a period of about three years he kept bugging me to write a book about these experiences. As you know, artists are pretty temperamental people, and in the past I have worked with some of the most extreme of the bunch. I couldn’t imagine assembling over a dozen people who had been to the very peak of superstardom, and handling all the twists and turns that would be expected in putting a creative effort together with a gang of crazy survivors. I love them all, but I knew it would be a huge task, especially from legal standpoints, managers, publishers, agents etc. But Marshall never gave up, and finally convinced me that I should sit down with a couple of artists that I was closest to and felt most comfortable with and explain to them the concept of the book and ask them to do a chapter with me for the proposed book. I agreed to do that, and after I got about two or three artists deep in this book it started taking on its own life. As in any book I write, my goal is to minister to people and mainly draw unbelievers into the kingdom. This book and the people in it started ministering to me, and once the momentum began, it was unstoppable. Every artist that we invited to participate in Rock And A Heart Place, surprisingly, accepted our invitation, and I was amazed how raw, honest, and open they were in telling their

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

stories.

The original concept and format for the book, simplistically speaking, was something like… A guy or gal comes out of simple beginnings and makes it big in the music industry, then falls into all the decadence and sinful ways of the secular industry, and then because of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll their lives fall apart, turning from magic to tragic. And then at one point, while at the bottom of their fall, they find Jesus and ride off into the sunset on the Holy Ghost. But the stories didn’t turn out that simple, and that’s what makes this book so special. Some started out bad, got saved, and have a great ministry. Some started out bad, got worse, got saved, and have exemplary lives. Some started out good, then bad, then good again, and became believers and either have a ministry or lead noticeably Christian lives. Then there were some that started out good and stayed good. Some of the stories are about some of them who incorporated all of the above in their testimony. This is what made the book so relevant, with such a broad message for a much wider audience than we anticipated.

There is so much to draw from in the book for believers and nonbelievers alike. Not only are there some very startling testimonies, but there are also some very insightful stories about the road and about the music industry, especially at the fevered pitch these people embraced in their superstar careers.

You’ll laugh and shake your head at the folly of some of the artists. Plus, you will cry for and identify very definitely with some of them in their struggle with faith. The struggles are intensified and highlighted by the extreme business these people were in for so many years. At one point in everyone’s life in the book they were brought to their knees which turned out to be the perfect place to meet God. The reaction from some of the artists in the book, who now have read the whole book, was exceptionally rewarding. Here’s an unsolicited comment from Ruth Pointer: “I just finished ‘Rock and a Heart Place,’ and what a great book! I am SO PRIVILEGED to have been part of such a passionate, honest, and beautiful experience. I have no other words other than “THANK YOU” for considering me. I am humbled.

GOD is working with me and in me in ways I never imagined.”

Bruce: That’s amazing. Not to be a name dropper, but I would like our readers to hear Continued on page 38.

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TAKING THE STAGE

by tom jackson

5 Do’s to Optimize Your Success If you are a songwriter, you know there are basic rules to follow when writing for radio.

The normal structure goes intro/ verse/ chorus/ verse/ chorus/ bridge/ chorus. It’s important to have it the right length (about 3 1/2 minutes long), and be sure and get to the chorus within the first minute (sooner, if possible). And so on and so on. . .

But few artists realize there are also rules for how to put together your live show.

I’m often asked to give quick tips on performance. And of course, like most things, it’s a process, not a quick tip kind of thing!

However, here’s a quick list of some of the things you need to know (taken from some hand-outs and short tips I’ve created for special round tables, blogs, and more): DO’S 1. Learn how to rehearse — Rehearsals aren’t “practice sessions” as most musicians think. They should be a place to take chances and be spontaneous!

2. Create moments — Find the “moments” in your songs and develop them during a rehearsal. Help your audience feel something with you, whether it’s touching, funny, exciting, musical, thoughtful, etc.

3. Learn what an audience wants — As I said, your audience wants to feel something, not hear something. It’s about how you and your music affect people.

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They want to forget about themselves, to be captured and engaged, and to have their lives changed in some small way.

4. Exceed your audience’s expectations — There are onstage skills, tools, and techniques to win an audience, and to keep them captured and engaged and wanting more. It’s all about an emotional connection with people! And when people are moved, they remember and want to buy those moments to take home and relive.

5. Change pressure onstage — An artist wouldn’t even think of using the same lyrics, rhythms, or tones for every song, yet artists have a tendency to do the same thing visually for every song.

Remember, 55% of communication is what the audience sees.

DON’TS If you’re the kind of person who learns more from hearing the negative side of all that, here are the things you should not do: 1. Don’t wing it onstage 2. Don’t just sing and play songs 3. Don’t play for yourself and other musicians in the room 4. Don’t change who you are 5. Your songs don’t sound the same… they shouldn’t look the same

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I’ve developed my Live Music Method over many years. I’ve seen it proven over and over with many artists in numerous genres.

Following the rules for the stage will help you make an emotional connection between you and your audience, keep your audience connected and engaged, and create moments that will resonate with your audience long after they go home.

Lately what I’ve been telling people is that it will help them (the artists) have more fun AND help their audiences have more fun.

Knowing & putting this Method into practice will optimize your success!

Tom Jackson Tom Jackson is a Live Music Producer & master of creating moments onstage. Author of the book “Tom Jackson’s Live Music Method,” he helps artists at every level create a live show that is engaging and memorable, exceeding audiences’ expectations, creating fans for life. Tom has taught 100’s of artists of every genre and worked with major artists like Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Jars of Clay, & more, on their live shows. He also shares his expertise as a highly demanded speaker at colleges, conferences & events worldwide.

Website – Onstagesuccess.com

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PRODUCT REVIEW

by michael hodge

SIGNAL by Output SIGNAL is an exciting new powerful Pulse engine synth created for the Native Instruments Kontakt Sampler platform. This is the second instrument developed by the new LA based company called Output, the first being the groundbreaking “REV” which is a unique instrument containing all instruments playing in reverse. Output is a company made up of musicians and producers with experience in the film industry, and a unique perspective when it comes to creating sounds.

INSTALLATION: First, if you don’t own Kontakt, download the Free Kontakt Player version 5 at https://www.native-instruments. com. You will need the Kontakt player version 5.3.1 or higher to run SIGNAL, and It comes along with some free patches too. Kontakt is a platform numerous outside manufacturers use for their Virtual Instruments. It comes as both a DAW virtual instrument plug-in, and standalone version when you install it. , The Continuata Connect installer application will automate the SIGNAL download. After downloading and installing connect (Mac or PC), run the utility, and follow the instructions. Then you will add SIGNAL as a library to Kontakt. It sounds a bit complicated but in reality just takes a little time and patience. Once installed you’ll find Kontakt in the instrument folder in you DAW under Native Instruments. Open Kontakt and SIGNAL will show up in the Library Browser on the left.

If you need help there are videos on the Output site. http://outputsounds.com/support FIRST LOOK: Signal has a beautiful Sy-Fi kind of interface.

It’s elegant looking, well thought out, and surprisingly simple to navigate. What’s unique is how both the analog synths and recorded instruments are combined together with powerful pulse engines and effects. Signal comes with about 40 GB of uncompressed content before entering the proprietary Kontakt Codec.

DIVING IN: Signal is a Rhythmic Pulse driven Synth. It automatically syncs to your DAW tempo and adds rhythmic energy and excitement with every patch. There are 3 main interface pages: the Pulse Engines page, the Pulse Instruments page, and the Effects page.

The Main Page shows four big vertical macro sliders surrounding a giant button that control the mix levels of six or more parameters individualized for each patch. These sliders can be

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moved around to get a custom patch, or automated to add drama and energy as a song unfolds. I found this to be so much fun to mess with. Everything about this instrument is very musical. The large logo button in the middle shuts off the pulse engine in case you want to hear or use the original patch by itself. Each SIGNAL patch is made up of two sound sources and each has it’s own channel strip. Both sources also have two independent pulse rhythms, making a total of four individual rhythms playable at once in a patch. This makes for incredibly complex patches where the four rhythms can work together. Conversely you can have just use one master rhythm for your whole patch. The two sounds also have individual control over their pulse rates based in standard rhythmic Note values. There are also four different types of Pulses. They are Wave Shapes, a Step Sequencer, an Arpeggiator, and a proprietary Looper. These make for a seemingly endless number of rhythmic possibilities.

There is also a whole pile of Arpeggiator and Step Sequencer patterns built in, and of course they can also be customized on the fly. Lastly there is an Advanced parameter button if you want to access things like pan, filter, and ADSR. All these features make SIGNAL a fantastic live synth for EDM music. Both quick and simple to use or tweak able like crazy.

The Source Menu page is where you can access the actual instruments made up from the 40 GB library of recorded sounds. The Output team spent over a year recording them from scratch.

You can combine two live-recorded sounds for a patch or mix recorded with synth patches to create an instrument. This page also has a bottom half panel with a directory to find pre tagged patches. The tags on the left correspond with the patches containing them on the right.

I found this very intuitive and helpful. With a huge library, this kind of tagging system works really well. You can create your own tags and presets too. I also took some cues from the built in HELP button “?” on the top right corner of the page. Why doesn’t every synth have one of these? Maybe one day!

The EFFECTS page is the third page. I enjoyed the ability to take a patch that I already liked and modify it further with Effects. There are three places to insert effects in SIGNAL. Each Pulse layer has their own Effects group

CHRISTIANMUSICIAN.COM

featuring EQ, Compressor, LoFi Distortion, Tape Saturation, Drive, Stereo Spread, Multiple Delays, Reverb, and Flutter for adjusting pitch drift. Then there’s a Global Effects page with EQ, Compressor, Phaser, Chorus, Limiter, Filter, more Delays, and a sweet Convolution Reverb. The quality of the effects is impressive and powerful. The lush Convolution Reverb is especially nice for a Virtual instrument.

CONCLUSIONS: SIGNAL has made a deep impression on me, and I’m excited to spend more time with it. I enjoy programming, and creating original sounds, though it’s time consuming. SIGNAL sounds so incredible that it just feels like cheating! We’re coming up with stuff in minutes that would take hours to try to duplicate from scratch. Over all, the patches sound gigantic and the library of sounds are well recorded and fat. Many patches are so inspirational; this is a great songwriting tool. Output has already come out with two new Expansion packs: Tape Loop, and Cinematic. All I can say is they are both fantastic.

Note: to run SIGNAL you will need Mac OS X 10.7,8 or higher, Windows 7 or higher, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), and 41 GB of free drive space. Also you’ll need a good Internet connection for download.

With a price of $199.00 SIGNAL is affordable and a solid value. They offer a discount if you buy SIGNAL and REV together. The company also has a 14-day satisfaction guarantee. I give SIGNAL two big Thumbs up! For more info see http://outputsounds.com.

Michael Hodge is involved with the music ministry and plays guitar for Lakewood Church in Houston, TX

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INDIE MECHANICS

by keith mohr & sue ross-mohr

LEGACY

I’ve always thought of a legacy as a shadow that we leave behind once we pass. A handprint, per se, of all that we have touched in our lifetime. The definition in the dictionary states this, “anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.”

It really brings us to a pause when we begin to think of the things that are packaged within our legacy. We are an imperfect people, to say the least. Our decisions warrant how and what people will remember about us. As we were penning this article, I thought about that word ‘legacy’ and how it affects the musician and songwriter.

A song has a life of its own. It has a heartbeat, legs on which to run, a face that emits emotion, arms to wrap around the listener, and warm blood that runs through it. The songs you write are a part of your legacy. What you say, through music, will stay much longer than our human bodies. It is part of your time capsule. This is especially true since the emergence of social media and online storage. A song can be saved in a format that is uploaded and shared in the ‘forever’ cloud, lasting much longer than previous renderings through tape, vinyl, or disc.

So let’s go back to that word, “legacy”. It is so important to continuously consider all that will be part of yours. Legacy is the gift of your work that you give others when you are gone.

We want it to be the best of us that people remember. When we apply the word legacy to music, it takes on a whole new light. We have seen musicians and songwriters become very blasé lately regarding what they release to the public. Much of it unfinished, filled with holes, and lacking excellence. It bewilders us.

We ask, “Why?” and the answer is always the same: “I just want people to hear what I created.” The ability to do so quickly and easily has had a ‘watered down’ effect on much of the music that we hear today. People are addicted to hurry, and their music is showing it.

A complete legacy happens over a lifetime.

Every nuance of it is filled with things, places, and actions. As a musician/songwriter, pieces of the puzzle come through the music you create. I have a favorite poem by Haki Aitoro that talks about legacy. Here is a small piece of it.

Let us all be remembered For the lives we touched

For the people helped For the wisdom we shared For the stories we told For the laughter we initiated For the love we gave For the affection we showed For the good role models we were For the communities we inspired For the youth we guided For the hungry we fed For the needy we assisted For the success we created For the risk we took For the world we changed Let us write down our stories Let us tell our experiences Let us record our tales Let us share our struggles For our children For our grandchildren For generations to see For generations to hear As a source of hope As a source of wisdom As a source of guidance As an example of our legacy So what will you leave?

So what will you leave in the form of your music? Take a moment and think about all that you have created and what is in the wings. If you now consider the above and realize that you have been informed that these pieces are part of your legacy, what, if anything, would you or could you change?

Creatively His, Keith and Sue Mohr MOHR CREATIVE GROUP www.mohrcreativegroup.com Keith Mohr and Sue Ross-Mohr of “The Mohr Creative Group” have years of experience serving independent Christian artists, musicians and songwriters. Keith founded www.indieheaven.com in 2002, the leading portal for Christian independent music. Sue Ross-Mohr founded www.theinnervizion.com in 2003, a creative promotions /marketing/ consulting service to individuals and companies worldwide. Also check out www.indiemechanics.com for more helpful info!

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37

Ken Mansfield continued from page 30

a partial list of who you have interviewed in this book… can you tell us some of the artists names?

Ken: Bruce, I had talked earlier about the similarity and the uniqueness of these artists and their stories, but it’s like when people asked me to give a simple rundown of what the Beatles were . . . like, it was amazing the difference of the personalities in a band that was definitely a one entity. But here goes…

Mark Farmer to me was the muscleman of the group – his story and the music of Grand Funk Railroad matched this both in its extremeness and power. Mark started out with passion almost being forced upon him because of what he had to deal with, starting with the death of his father at nine years old.

That was followed by the trials that came out of that moment through all the normal things that a future superstar goes through in their journey. But everything that happened to Mark was so big, so over-the-top, beginning with their American Band success to king-size betrayals and disappointments.

He came out strong and a fighter to the end.

Ruth Pointer was the grand lady in the book. Her beginnings couldn’t have been more basic as a young black girl growing up in a fire and brimstone family in Oakland.

The sisters dazzled people, their presence and music sparkled, but all these glitter type analogies shattered when it came to the struggles she went through. The nitty-gritty of her story turned a corner, and if I had to describe it in one word – that would be poignant. As I’ve said many times I’ve never written a book about a person as I’m crying while I’m writing, because I was so overwhelmed by her and her testimony.

Mark Volman in some ways brought a story to the project with the greatest dimension in the fact that he weathered the storm 38

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probably better than anybody in the book, but at the same time his travels covered just about everything you can imagine…

His uplifting spirit prevailed through all the mechanization’s of the bad guys and typical obstacles encountered along the way.

His story never lets you down – only entertains you as you read through some unbelievable ups and downs.

Rudy Sarzo from Ozzy Osbourne’s band was probably the most unexpected story for me. I met him through a mutual acquaintance and expected this to be our premier darkness story, but it turned out to be the one were a believer’s life never dimmed and stayed focused on the prize amidst all that darkness. Rudy came in to his success as a firm believer with a strong faith background and upbringing, and he held tight to that through the most challenging circumstances and lifestyle. His is an unbelievable story with great pathos.

Richie Furay in his testimony and story gave us the most real-life look at how many things a person in their search for success can go through in life and, like Ruth’s story, actually held one of the most heart-wrenching moments. Richie’s mistakes led to some of the deepest inner struggles in the book, and the way he was so open about his emotions and acceptance of what his life has brought about because of his own falling in to the sirens call of all the wrong things in our business. He owned up and, in the end, won out.

Brian Head Welch’s testimony was not only what I expected, but 10 times more powerful than I ever imagined. Brian made messing up over and over into a fine tuned craft. He kept digging himself deeper and deeper, to the point where you could feel the mire and desperation on your own skin as you read on. Brian, I think, makes the point better than anyone else that no matter how much you mess up you will never mess up beyond the forgiveness our loving Heavenly Father has waiting for us when we come home to Him. Nedra Ross, like Rudy Sarzo, carried

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her Godly teaching from a Godly family throughout the darkness and fame of a very special time in the music business. Touring with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, being the bad girls rock ‘n roll and the center of Phil Spector’s aspirations and genius that created the legendary “wall of sound.” It’s all quiet now, and she can rest knowing that she did the right thing instead of taking the wrong turns.

Dez Dickerson, who was a driving force in Prince’s music and there from the very beginning, has a racial story where he never allowed race to become a part of the story.

He symbolizes the heart of the music industry where prejudice was not the determining factor in our relationships. In simple terms, if you played best, sang best, or performed best, that was just the color we were all looking for in creating and you got the job. Dez is a classic study in thinking and doing right.

Chris Hillman wins the class act award in the book.

John Elefante is voted the most overall talented.

John Ford Coley gets the nod for filling in the soundtrack of this book with all the right fills and missing pieces.

Bruce: Ken, we appreciate your approach to evangelism. You have written books that reach out to Beatle fans, to those who are going through the challenge of cancer, and now to those who love classic rock. You have given them a chance to meet The Rock!

Thank you for your ministry.

Ken: Bruce, thank you for creating a setting and a vehicle where people can share their love of God’s gifts while openly enjoying God – the giver of all gifts. While you and I have been exchanging our ideas I have felt like a favorite old guitar playing a new song that has the beauty of also being that same old song – one that lives forever.

Its lyric always declares that Jesus is Lord.

Every person in “Rock and a Heart Place” had their share of hit songs, but the thing I want people to notice is how much happier they are now once they discovered this new song – the “Jesus Is Lord” song. The most incredible thing is that everyone is invited to sing this song and share in the joy that His melody of truth brings into our lives. It is the number one song of the time and for all time. And to all you young and old guitars out there who are playing a new song… may you never go out of tune.

Peace and His love.

PRODUCT REVIEW

by stefan konstantopoulos

Aguilar Bass Pedals: Chorusaurus and Fuzzistor In the bass community, Aguilar is known for manufacturing high-quality, straightforward tools, exclusively in their NYC factory.

Their line began with amps, preamps, and cabs. In the past few years, Aguilar introduced their own line of bass pickups and effect pedals, which are also built in-house.

Aguilar’s two newest pedals are in the spotlight here. Chorusaurus is a pure-analog chorus pedal designed around the legendary “Bucket Brigade” circuit. Fuzzistor is a pureanalog fuzz pedal, offering transitor-based fuzz and a classic tilt EQ.

Chorusaurus and Fuzzistor are generally identical in terms of construction and layout. As a result, the two pedals have a few thoughtful features in common. For example, the jack panels are recessed just enough to protect the jacks, yet shallow enough to accommodate right-angle connectors. The battery compartments are well padded, and the control knobs could not be any better.

Each pedal sports a distinctive paint job.

Chorusaurus is dressed in a vintage white with a satin finish, and sister Fuzzistor is dressed in a rich orange with a gloss finish.

Both pedals are nicely painted, but Fuzzistor looks especially inviting and inspiring to me.

These pedals will each operate on a single 9V battery or an external (sold separately) power supply. According to Aguilar, an alkaline battery will run Chorusaurus for about 50 hours or Fuzzistor for about 133 hours. Note: The footswitch position does not determine battery life; the battery will power the circuit continuously when an input cable is fully inserted.

Another common feature worth noting is the “gig-saver” bypass function. This allows the dry (unaffected) signal to pass through the pedal even if the battery fails. As a result, there is no need to stop the show to re-route cables just to hear your natural bass tone.

Chorusaurus has four control knobs. The “Blend” knob varies (10% to 90%) the wet/dry balance.

The “Rate” knob sets the frequency or rate of modulation. The “Intensity” knob controls the amplitude of modulation. The “Width” knob sets the range for the “Intensity” function.

I experimented with Chorusaurus in a variety of musical contexts, and I was impressed by the range of relevant options. I expected such a pedal to satisfy funk players, for example, but not rockers. However, certain Continued on page 41.

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JUL/AUG 2015

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GUITAR: A2Z

by roger zimish

STRING SKIPPING (Part 3) Into Chromatic Exercises I hope you have been getting into our past lessons on “String Skipping” and have been able to utilize them in your playing. Moving forward in this lesson we will look at an exercise that will combine string skipping while moving chromatically across the fret board up and down from the low E and high E string in a contrary motion that will meet on a common note.

Looking at Example #1, at first it may seem challenging and it is, so to get the concept lets break it in half. Start on the low E string at the first fret, the note “F”. Play the notes chromatically, meaning each note in order, from”F” to the first octave “F”. To do this start on the low “E” string and play the F, F#, G, G#, followed by the A, A#, B, C, C# on the “A” string, followed by the D, D#, E, and F on the “D” string. This is the ascending pattern. The descending pattern will start on the high “E” string first fret “F” to E, then Eb, D, Db, C, Cb, B on the “B” string, then Bb, A, Ab, G on the “G” string, then the Gb, and F on the “D” string. Now that you see each note’s sequence chromatically, put them together in contrary motion. This means two lines moving in different directions, as used in Example #1. You may find it helpful to use a metronome starting at around 74 bpm.

Example #2 is in chromatic sets of four notes per string. Leave each finger down after you have played the note in this consecutive chromatic scale exercise. This is a good exercise to play in other positions up and down the neck.

Coda: Finding ways to combine chromatic runs with string skipping phrases will lead you to find new riffs and ideas as you continue to achieve your own God given voice on your instrument. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV. Roger Zimish is a freelance guitarist / indie artist and clinician based in Hendersonville, TN. Contact Roger: Email rogerzimish@ yahoo.com, like Roger Zimish Guitarist on facebook

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Aguilar review continued from page 39

settings evoked thoughts of Peter Hook and a young Gordon Sumner. The “Bucket Brigade” circuit adds a freight-train of harmonic bloom and presence, even with the “Blend” control dialed all the way back.

Fuzzistor also has four control knobs. The “Blend” knob varies (100% to 100%) the wet/dry balance. The “Level” knob sets the input gain. The “Tone” knob operates a tilt EQ. The “Fuzz” knob varies the level of saturation or intensity of the fuzz.

I tested Fuzzistor in the same fashion.

Though the fuzz textures are worth the price of admission, the “Tone” functions make it even more versatile. The tilt EQ is analogous to a seesaw. The frequency band can be swept up or down from the neutral midpoint. The selected band will be boosted while frequencies on the opposite end of the spectrum are cut. This results in distinct fuzz tones. If desired, the filtered gaps can be filled in by blending in the dry signal. Even the brightest range of the EQ retains a fluid, analog sound that does not fatigue the ears.

I have no issues or concerns to report, but I have one thought to offer on a minor design detail: The battery tray-compartment of each pedal is accessible by loosening a screw on the underside of the chassis. While that is not a difficult task, I could wish for something else that would eliminate the need for a screwdriver in the gig bag.

Overall, Chorusaurus and Fuzzistor are expertly-crafted pedals. They perform well enough to be on hit records and they are sturdy enough to go on tour. While Chorusaurus and Fuzzistor can be used to add obvious processing to your bass tone, they may also be used to add more subtle textures and help you stand out on a dull PA-system or in a dense mix.

Street prices are approximately $199 for Chorusaurus and $159 for Fuzzistor. Batteries are not included. Aguilar offers a 3-year warranty for all of their pedals.

For more information about Aguilar products, visit www.aguilaramp.com or plug in at your local Aguilar dealer.

Published by The Adolph Agency, Inc Christian Musician 4227 S. Meridian Suite C-275, Puyallup, WA 98373 (253) 445-1973 Customer Service: 888.391.4440 x1 brianfelix@christianmusician.com

Stefan Konstantopoulos is a writer and music aficionado in Nashville, Tennessee.

GOOD FOR THE SOUL

by bryan duncan

What Happened To The Bridge?

“In the beginning, God saw that man was dense, and slow to respond to subtlety. And on the morning of a second day, God found himself repeating what he had just said to man the day before, because man was slow to respond. Therefore, he created music that man might add a melody to the repetition.

And God saw that music was good. And, at the end of the second chorus he created a rest. And he decreed that it shall be so, as a time of reflection upon all that God had said in the verses. And he called this time of rest a bridge.”

Sorry, I couldn’t find a real scripture to fit my purpose here. I’m lamenting two things in this diatribe. One is the loss of the bridge in music today, as many songs are taking their primary cues from rap loops. It’s leaving a lot of real musicians unemployed. But there’s another ‘bridge’ tragically missing too. It is a connection from one person to the next through the beauty of pure music.

After hearing one of my new songs a woman emailed me recently to ask if I was still doing “Christian Music”. She added a few scriptures as she suggested what I was missing in my lyrics, and then added something about what her daughters needed to hear.

Of course she led with something a writer needs to avoid. In the broadcast news world it’s called “burying the lead”. That’s where you put the most important part of a story under a weaker start in your conversation.

(Kind of like what I’m doing in this article) And I missed the ‘bridge’ to a connection with her.

Like all of us reading email, we often simply catch the first line and only half read through the rest of it. So what happened upon reading her first comment? I became defensive. Hearing the criticism first has never been my strong suit. It wasn’t until the next day, (after stewing over the ramifications of tepid evangelism for hours) that I revisited this woman’s intent.

Her primary reason for speaking to me was a sincere concern for her children and not my musical preferences.

My understanding of her request was that I sing scriptures to her daughters. She even gave me the selections she wanted to pass on to them. But that is not what I felt. No, I went to the worst reason I can think of for people to pass around music.

In my mind, that would be some kind of secret sermon that might come with it. It’s like reading scripture so you can apply it to someone else’s life rather than your own. Or buying a self help book for someone who’s not asking for help. It’s not likely to be successful.

Thank God for written communications. We get the chance to think about how we want to

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respond. We can then write a better ‘bridge’ to the conversation. And it dawns on me that I’m using songwriting techniques as a tool in my interactions with others. Just as in a song, I made room to reflect on her ‘verses’ before joining her in the chorus. And how many conversations have you had where you wished you could do a rewrite?

What was she actually saying? First of all she appreciated some of my songs, and wanted to direct my attention to her passion for her babies. In fact, the song I assumed she was criticizing was actually what made her feel something about her daughters to start with. That’s what songs do best.

I love music because it often puts me in touch with feelings I haven’t defined as of yet. So why did I mention new songs without bridges in the beginning of this article?

Because the way we communicate is changing. The entire structure of songs is not so much defined by the ‘formula’ I grew up with. I’m still learning a craft I used to think I knew. And I’m not talking simply of music.

Deciphering what a song needs to fulfill its purpose is a microcosm of our relationships with others. In songs, I always consider what I want someone to feel. Sadly, in my conversations however, I just react to how someone else is making me feel. Is it any wonder that I’m often at odds with the world? Conversations and music both require a constant attention to details. One thing I know for sure in music and relationships is that the window of time where you are allowed to make your point without distraction is shrinking. So should you lead with the hook, or the verse?

You get to choose, but let’s not leave out the bridge!

Bryan Duncan/ Singer / Songwriter/ author / Publisher. Radio Show host for RadioRehab.com Inducted into the Christian music Hall of Fame in 2007. 40 years, 22 albums, Dove and Grammy awarded. www.bryanduncan.com

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JUL/AUG 2015

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by bob bennett

MY “MINUTE” WITH AMY as night-after-night I was getting killed. Now, of course, there were some folks within each audience that I managed to win over. To this day I’ll sometimes still hear, “I came to see her but you won me over too.” But, trust me, this is a small and hardy minority of the crowd. If you think about an audience as a single multicelled organism, the Unguarded Audience Organism perceived me as the one thing that was standing between them and their Amy.

As a preamble to the body of this article, two definitions of a “minute”: 1) Sixty seconds. How long or short it feels depends upon the minute itself. If it’s an earthquake, it takes forever. Other times, it’s sixty-seconds that feel like two or three.

2) In “jazz slang” (at least that’s the context in which I first heard it), a minute is not sixty seconds. It’s a short period of time … something like, “Yeah, I toured with Amy Grant for a minute!”

One of my biggest fears in life is being misunderstood. My patient and loving wife, my children, and those close enough to know me well have experienced the backpedaling and obsessive “over-explaining” that often accompany my shortcomings. I certainly have enough to answer for when people have me pegged exactly without anyone adding unnecessary demerits to my record.

So let me state emphatically at the outset that I dearly love Amy Grant. I haven’t been in the same room with her for many years, but thirty years ago our lives were in pretty close proximity for 35 dates on the Fall 1985 leg of the Unguarded Tour.

For a couple years before I first met her in ’85, I had a mostly-tongue-in-cheek “Help Me Meet Amy Grant” campaign going. The line was, as I remember, “Everybody knows her but me. They’re always dropping her name in conversations: ‘I did lunch with Amy Grant. I played tennis with Amy Grant. I lubed a car with Amy Grant.’ Come on people; give a guy a hand here. Help me meet Amy Grant!”

Somewhere in my personal effects, I have a VHS of a short video I prepared for the Word Sales Team in early 1985 to advance the release of Non-Fiction. I essentially delivered that coda at the end of my brief self-promotional spiel. I intended it to be funny, but I never quite knew.

People have a tendency to simply avoid you if they think something is desperate or stupid.

For all I know, it could have been all three things at once!

The precise coordinates are lost to time and my faulty memory, but a few months later I was playing a concert at a Presbyterian Church somewhere in Denver. As it turns out, Amy was in town a day early to play Red Rocks, and

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somebody in her entourage induced her to come to my concert. For all of my attemptedLettermanesque aloofness, I’m glad I didn’t know she was there until the end, as I would have been genuinely nervous. She was very gracious. I’m certain I told her about the Campaign and my relief at no longer having to carry it on. And, as far as I knew, end of story.

But shortly thereafter, I got a phone call from my record company (Star Song Records) telling me that Amy’s management had called with the news that she had requested I open for her on tour. You need to understand that this was a pretty big deal for me. Up to that point I had labored in chronic and, in music business terms, very disappointing obscurity, so I got pretty excited. I figured this was “it”. My ship had come in. (As the old saying goes, when my ship came in I was at the airport. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) I heard that when one of the William Morris agents were told of this, they blurted out a much saltier version of (invoking a place of eternal torment): “Who the heck is Bob Bennett?” Who, indeed?

It was the mid-’80’s. Suzanne Vega was the only acoustic artist that I can remember getting started then. Almost nobody was in the mood to hear a solo acoustic, reminds-you-ofyour-parents singer-songwriter. I’ve told the story for years of what followed. Amy and her Team (road crew, production, sound, musicians, management), right down the line, were very kind to me, but the audience was another matter entirely.

All the bad opening-act stories that I had read about in Rolling Stone were swirling in my head

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And that just would not do. There was no change in indifferent audience noise level from before the lights went down, to when I was introduced, during my set, and after I walked off stage. There were no cell phones to stare into.

It was one giant, collective yawn while people were making their way to their seats for what they had come for. It would have been more engaging if they had thrown stuff at me. But they didn’t. The fact was, I just wasn’t their Cup of Music.

I was devastated. I was convinced that I had touched the hem of the Leopard Skin Coat and that career stability and healing were surely on the way. Of course, nobody said any of this to me. Nobody promised anything. It was my ridiculous, “maybe-I’ll-win-the-lottery” mind and ego in full self-delusional crisis. For months after the tour, I sat next to a mostly silent telephone in my bathrobe, wondering what I had done wrong. Why wasn’t I batting in the big leagues now?

If you’ve read any of my previous columns in this magazine, it will probably not surprise you to learn that, although I cry at sappy endings at movies, I’m fairly suspicious of them in real life. That brief disclaimer precedes my telling you that it really did work out all for the best. Yes, it was tough to realize that I wasn’t going to get to be CCM Jackson Browne and tour endlessly with Amy, Michael W, Sandi, etc.

But I had to go through one of those classic, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” scenarios. The truth is that I got my derrière handed to me … and, in retrospect; it was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me. Again, don’t you hate stories that take this turn?

It wasn’t (and still isn’t) my task to go big … so I, literally, had to go home. And because

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of that, I eventually found my way “home” to who and what I was really to be about. Small things. Small crowds. Living rooms. Coffeehouses. Churches that will never be anything but mega-ignored by the “Jesus-as-Celebrity” culture. And the sacred place where a listener meets a song in concert, or on some sort of audio device, and something bigger and better than we can describe happens.

Lest you think this is a sideways, sour-grapes, falsely virtuous, make-myself-feel better view in thin disguise, please know that I really do mean it. As for those who really can make an arena of 10,000 or more seats into a large living room, I’m in awe. There’s a part of me that will always appreciate it when someone is in the “spectacular business” but still manages to somehow be real. They manage to transcend the trappings of celebrity and get to something blessedly common between all of us. Some people are well equipped and good at being famous in public. And from where I sit, Amy Grant has been pretty stellar at that for most of her life. Human, flawed, confused, and yet magnificent.

Which leads me to a recent night at The La Mirada Theater in Southern California with the lovely Mrs. Bennett. We went to see and hear Amy after all these years. Although this is not strictly a concert review, I can’t help but tell you that I was mightily impressed throughout both sets. Of course she had me at “hello”, because she spent the night with an acoustic guitar in her hands. (With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I say, “You know, eventually they

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all come around, don’t they?”) Although she did a generous amount of songs we all knew and loved, she also dug deep into her catalog, and her song choices were spot on. Although she writes her own songs, a lot of the material was written by others. And it takes a knowing hand to curate a diverse set list as masterfully as she did. However the CCM Industry might’ve wanted to co-opt her and make her into their image for the duration, that simply did not happen. This was not one huge advertorial for pew recruitment. It was a nuanced, honest, and warm portrait of someone you’d want to tell a secret or two to if you could somehow grab that cup of coffee with her. During the concert she didn’t, as I am fond of saying, “reach over to the person next to her and start cutting up the meat on their plate.” She trusted us enough to not have to “Christian-ize” everything. And, in so doing, those signature songs that were the soundtrack for thousands of lives in the Faith resonated deeply and naturally in a much fuller context of music and a life fully lived.

It’s been decades since I’ve known or had contact with Amy or anyone who works with her. So, I attended this night as a “full civilian”.

Generally speaking, after thirty years, whatever backstage laminate all-access pass that used to work then doesn’t quite work now. And I was bound and determined to not try anything presumptuous. One of the most embarrassing sentences in the world is some variation of, “Don’t you know or remember who I am?” that you’re tempted to say to someone when faced with “I don’t know you or remember who you are.”

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After the show, there was a meetand-greet with nice snacks, conversations with audience members, a little hang-time with Gene Miller (her consummate guitarist, vocalist, and one-man-army in a small squad of great backing musicians). There was a line for photos, which we gladly stood in, as that was the way to say, “hello”.

At the moment of greeting, she knew exactly who I was. And said, “Bob Bennett, I didn’t know you were here,” in a way that made me feel as though she genuinely wished she had known. My needs are modest, so that was the ballgame for me. I told her with a smile and utter truthfulness that time had been kind to one of us.

We had a couple photos snapped, and then it was time to move along. She was headed out to an overnight bus ride to the next gig and it was clear that that was that. (I left that last sentence “as is” because I couldn’t resist driving somebody’s inner-editor nuts.)

[Mission accomplished Bob! - Copyeditor Kevin] Late into the night and the next day, I thought about how grateful I still am that she, at the tender age of 25 (heck, I’ve got wrinkles older than that now), took a chance on the antiCCM-poster-boy of 1985. We didn’t get to be lifelong pals as I had hoped at the time, but that’s how real life works sometimes. But with both “minutes” with Amy … the 35-datesin-1985 minute and my literal 2015 “minute”, it was a very good thing.

Back when we both had some of the same troubles, some of our self-appointed brethren were all too quick to express world-class unkindness toward her. Less so for me, because I think people always correctly sensed that I’m an underachiever in almost everything except music. My reaction, unbeknownst to her, was much like an older brother. “Will you leave that woman alone? She’s doing the Lord’s work.”

For my money, she’s still faithfully doing just that. And that certainly makes a sixty-second minute seem a whole lot longer.

Bob Bennett lives, works, and trolls for the elusive Next Great Burrito in Costa Mesa, CA. He attends St. Matthew’s Church in Newport Beach, CA. He is married to the charming and personable Elena Bennett. Legend in his own mind, rumor in his own room, he still writes songs, records, and tours but has concluded that being a rich-yet-benevolent Christian musician is, apparently, not his calling.

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