Backbeats & Backgrounds

As I was piddling around on liveleak.com, this video caught my attention:



For any of you who grew up in conservative evangelicalism, I'm sure this brings back some memories, or at least rings a few bells. As an impressionable youth who wanted nothing more than to please his parents and other ecclesiastical authority figures, I was taken in by speeches of these type. I remember myself railing against friend and family member alike on the evils of the popular style "invading" church music. OY! Was I ever a mean-body! What really gets me is how this preacher drives home the idea that music which makes you want to dance is not gospel music. And of course, as a good legalist, I bought right into it back in the day. But why, pray tell, is dancing so evil? The Bible is rife with dancing and general merriment-making - in settings of worship or celebratory thanksgiving, even. It frustrates me that Christians can be such killjoys. Why shouldn't our music encourage us to dance?

Ironically, I now sing with the worship team at my church, complete with drums and guitars. At some points, I've attempted to infuse some of the music we sing with stronger rhythmic drive - perish the thought of a backbeat - perhaps to get the congregation moving a bit. Inspiration has at points hit me to whit that I have even composed some of my very own pieces of this sort. It occurs to me that as the Christian world has embraced popular musical idioms, we have made them our own: "redeemed" them, if you will. Praise & Worship has become its very own genre. I will contend that Christian music is not just about lyrics or performers' intention. Certainly it is imperative that as we make choices about particular rhythmic emphasis or melodic/harmonic construction, we should be diligent to promote the glory of God above all. As a classically trained vocalist who loves the longstanding tradition of high church music, I find that there is plenty of fluff and crap on either side of the fence. We must strive - in whatever musical idiom we prefer - to do it right, to do it well, to do it in a way that exalts our Savior.

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On a completely different note, one of my college singer friends Lisa Sain Odom was an extra in the upcoming movie Leatherheads starring George Clooney and Renee Zelwegger. When you watch this preview, you'll catch a glimpse of Lisa in a fabulous cloche and fur-trimmed coat, cheering in the stands with her movie family, right at the 17 second mark. How cool is that?!

Purgatory & Penance

So I'm really good at forgetting about the blog. But then, when your life is as exciting as mine, there isn't much to share with the world.


Well, perhaps I exaggerate a bit, because the last month or so has had its share of busy-ness. I was in charge of the Lessons & Carols program for the Harvest young professionals ministry at my church, so I was in full musical hyper-drive, composing, arranging, hunting (for music of course), practicing, brainstorming, programming, and organizing. Phew! It was great fun and was well-received, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if that had been the only thing on my mind....

The past couple months have been rough for me: money was tight, deadlines came and went, plans postponed, dreams faded. Money is still a big issue right now, mainly because my employment status hasn't positively changed since I started temping in June - apparently I'm not qualified for the jobs where I temped for months to great acclaim. My original plan was to be hired by the end of the summer so that with a full-time salary and benefits, I could focus my attention to preparing for graduate school auditions and preparations - you know, voice lessons, recording an audition CD, application fees. But alas! 'Tis the week before Christmas, I'm still an hourly employee, and I can't afford to put gas in my car. Graduate school will have to wait for another year. And that leaves me in office purgatory, a grey and mundane world of spreadsheets and faxes and databases where I do penance for attempting an artistic career. Bartending looks more and more lucrative every day, but then again, I'm probably not qualified for that job, either.