Mkay, this is to be a CMC-free post...
I graduated from Northwestern College (Orange City, IA) on May 8th with my BA in Music Ministry. What will I do with said degree? I'm not really certain, but until I figure that out I'll be looking for work just about anywhere and sticking around MN until at least December (or until one of my loans is paid off, whichever comes first :).
Where will I go after that? My plan is to eventually move to Knoxville, TN with some friends (yeah, from CMC...) and live/work/play/write with them. So yes, we're a band...of sorts, just nameless and partially disconnected for the time being.
Mmhmm, and that is my life at the moment. Nothing crazy, but that's alright.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
So life goes...
It's official, I'm a horrid blogger. Along those lines however, it wasn't completely my fault, just mostly.
Since I didn't or couldn't make the time to chronicle the events of the past few months as they happened, I'll try to summarize in a succinct and creative manner.
Mkay, the CMC wrap (March/April).
It's funny, but as I try to recall those months on Marthas Vineyard I can't remember the actual time-line of events, just what happened and where. Amid all of the previously described activities and classes we embarked on a 5-day excursion to Nashville at the beginning of spring break. Among the CMC alums/former staff we met were Leah LaRocco, Tina Parker, ScratchTrack, Rick Elias, David and Sara Dark, and Nathan Lee. We also visited Word Records (not my favorite place ever...), the Grammy Office, the home/studio of Charlie Peacock, Toby Mac's studio Franklin, The Jar Hole (Jars of Clay's studio), and Nathan Lee's warehouse. While it was awesome to see those places and meet with such notable people, I think my favorite part of the trip was when we went and helped out with Ryan Lampa's (Toby's tour manager) homeless ministry. It was so crazy to see how hard life could be in the middle of a place so full of glamor (to some extent) and apparent affluence...
Hmm, post-Nashville.
Finished off break in Everett, MA, with my friends Sam and Lucy (whose real name is Eliza, but we call her Lucy...) and Sam's family. One room heir house had more colors in it than my entire house combined, so that was pretty funny...We also traipsed about Gordon College for a day and met up with some more CMC alum from semesters 16 and 17 which was pretty awesome.
And then we went back to the CMC for our final four weeks.
Our final 28-ish days consisted of rehearsals, tracking sessions (including some late/all-nighters), performances, an approximately 17+ page final, and the CMC Soring 2010 Grammys (our own and much shorter version of the real Grammys).
Oh, one more thing. The CMC has officially moved to Nashville now, so the last week of our semester consisted of us packing all of the gear (including 6 Hammond B3s), chairs, tables, office supplies, etc. into a semi trailer and sending it south. It was a bittersweet thing, knowing that the experience we'd all had would never really be the same for the semesters to come, but we'd also seen and experience the place where they were going and were (are) excited to see what will come from it.
Since I didn't or couldn't make the time to chronicle the events of the past few months as they happened, I'll try to summarize in a succinct and creative manner.
Mkay, the CMC wrap (March/April).
It's funny, but as I try to recall those months on Marthas Vineyard I can't remember the actual time-line of events, just what happened and where. Amid all of the previously described activities and classes we embarked on a 5-day excursion to Nashville at the beginning of spring break. Among the CMC alums/former staff we met were Leah LaRocco, Tina Parker, ScratchTrack, Rick Elias, David and Sara Dark, and Nathan Lee. We also visited Word Records (not my favorite place ever...), the Grammy Office, the home/studio of Charlie Peacock, Toby Mac's studio Franklin, The Jar Hole (Jars of Clay's studio), and Nathan Lee's warehouse. While it was awesome to see those places and meet with such notable people, I think my favorite part of the trip was when we went and helped out with Ryan Lampa's (Toby's tour manager) homeless ministry. It was so crazy to see how hard life could be in the middle of a place so full of glamor (to some extent) and apparent affluence...
Hmm, post-Nashville.
Finished off break in Everett, MA, with my friends Sam and Lucy (whose real name is Eliza, but we call her Lucy...) and Sam's family. One room heir house had more colors in it than my entire house combined, so that was pretty funny...We also traipsed about Gordon College for a day and met up with some more CMC alum from semesters 16 and 17 which was pretty awesome.
And then we went back to the CMC for our final four weeks.
Our final 28-ish days consisted of rehearsals, tracking sessions (including some late/all-nighters), performances, an approximately 17+ page final, and the CMC Soring 2010 Grammys (our own and much shorter version of the real Grammys).
Oh, one more thing. The CMC has officially moved to Nashville now, so the last week of our semester consisted of us packing all of the gear (including 6 Hammond B3s), chairs, tables, office supplies, etc. into a semi trailer and sending it south. It was a bittersweet thing, knowing that the experience we'd all had would never really be the same for the semesters to come, but we'd also seen and experience the place where they were going and were (are) excited to see what will come from it.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Yep, I'm still alive :)
Sorry it's been so long since the last post, there's honestly not a lot of time during the day that isn't consumed completely with rehearsals, writing, class, more rehearsals, talking, eating...oh, and sometimes sleeping ;)
Well, what can I say beyond that?
I've been writing, not a lot, but it's going pretty great for the most part. We have songwriting class on Monday and Tuesday mornings where we play our songs for each other. Mildly nerve-wracking, not so much because it's in front of people, but because Tom proceeds to critique the song with and in front of the class once we've performed it. It's ridiculous how much I've learned about writing style, connecting with a target audience, thinking outside my own perspective, holding an audience's attention...honestly, I've never had so much fun being under an artistic microscope.
How's the RA thing going?
I love being an RA out here, part of that is probably due to the fact that we're a small enough group that everyone can grow individual friendships within the larger community. It's been awesome seeing everyone's personalities and artistic styles emerge and flourish in under a month. Brad and I have planned some pretty sweet events, beginning with "P, P & P" (Pancakes, PJs & Princess Bride) which was a big hit with everyone, soon to be followed by our very own holiday "Valloween" (an anti-Valentine's Day costume party on the 14th). Not gonna lie, we were pretty pleased with ourselves, coming up with that one :)
Hmmm, more more more...
Oh, so the students/faculty usually go on tour each semester, visiting colleges, performing some of their music and promoting the program. Unfortunately, the dates that we had planned coincided with Spring Break for most of those colleges, hence, the tour was canceled. Very sad? Yeah, it was a little disappointing, however the news that came afterward was pretty exciting - we're all going to Nashville for 5 days in March instead!
Both Tom and Warren are friends with a bunch of execs, producers, performers, you-name-it, all over the place and we'll be meeting some of them when we head down there. I'm kind of pumped, not gonna lie...
So, that's what's been happening over the past couple of weeks, hope it's interesting.
I'll try to do a better job keeping you all updated!
Well, what can I say beyond that?
I've been writing, not a lot, but it's going pretty great for the most part. We have songwriting class on Monday and Tuesday mornings where we play our songs for each other. Mildly nerve-wracking, not so much because it's in front of people, but because Tom proceeds to critique the song with and in front of the class once we've performed it. It's ridiculous how much I've learned about writing style, connecting with a target audience, thinking outside my own perspective, holding an audience's attention...honestly, I've never had so much fun being under an artistic microscope.
How's the RA thing going?
I love being an RA out here, part of that is probably due to the fact that we're a small enough group that everyone can grow individual friendships within the larger community. It's been awesome seeing everyone's personalities and artistic styles emerge and flourish in under a month. Brad and I have planned some pretty sweet events, beginning with "P, P & P" (Pancakes, PJs & Princess Bride) which was a big hit with everyone, soon to be followed by our very own holiday "Valloween" (an anti-Valentine's Day costume party on the 14th). Not gonna lie, we were pretty pleased with ourselves, coming up with that one :)
Hmmm, more more more...
Oh, so the students/faculty usually go on tour each semester, visiting colleges, performing some of their music and promoting the program. Unfortunately, the dates that we had planned coincided with Spring Break for most of those colleges, hence, the tour was canceled. Very sad? Yeah, it was a little disappointing, however the news that came afterward was pretty exciting - we're all going to Nashville for 5 days in March instead!
Both Tom and Warren are friends with a bunch of execs, producers, performers, you-name-it, all over the place and we'll be meeting some of them when we head down there. I'm kind of pumped, not gonna lie...
So, that's what's been happening over the past couple of weeks, hope it's interesting.
I'll try to do a better job keeping you all updated!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Here, I'll show you.
Hey guys!
This is a link to the few pictures I've taken here so far. Let me know if it works or not!
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2164973&id=199105252&saved#/album.php?aid=2164973&id=199105252&ref=mf
This is a link to the few pictures I've taken here so far. Let me know if it works or not!
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2164973&id=199105252&saved#/album.php?aid=2164973&id=199105252&ref=mf
Thursday, January 14, 2010
My "Homework"
So this morning in class we were given an assignment to think about and list our "Purposes and Goals" for our lives. This is what I came up with.
It was pretty thought-provoking, I must say (you should give it a try).
What is your Purpose (with a capital "P")?
What's my purpose?
That may simultaneously be the easiest and hardest question I've ever had to answer. Truthfully, I don't believe I've ever given it that much thought before today so I'll give it my best shot.
My purpose is: To reflect Christ's love with every fiber of my being, whether that's through my music (what I write and how I perform it), conversations, or thought-life. Whether life is going well or horribly, whether it makes sense or I'm feeling lost and overwhelmed, my ambition is to live in a way that unquestionably demonstrates the love that God has given me.
What are your Goals? (Answer these 5 questions):
What do you want to do? (Actions, experiences)
I want to live/be without fearing failure, to fully invest myself in whatever I do. I want to learn how to break/swing dance, play the accordion, drums, bass, and cello by the time I'm 40. I think it would be awesome to go to driving school and learn how to do stunts. If I get married, I want lots of kids (like 6 or 7). I want to learn to surf/windsurf, take a road-trip across the US, visit (tour?) Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Norway. Meet and appear as a guest artist on a Decemberists and/or Imogen Heap album...
What do you want to get? (Material things)
A Dodge Ram truck, ATV and a dirt bike, a MacbookPro, lots of cool shoes, several pairs of Levi's jeans, more Larrivee guitars and a Roland Fantom G8 or Yamaha MOTIF XS8, a sitar other and other ethnic instruments, a house up north on a lake in MN or near water in Colorado, two big dogs, a boat, jet ski, snowmobile, in-home theater (with Bose sound) system...
What do you want to give? (Impact on others)
I want to be able to give anything that I have willingly, sacrificially if necessary.
What do you want to be? (Possible careers)
Worship/music director at a camp, recording artist/band member, barista, coffee shop owner, wife/mom potentially...
What do you want to become? (Character)
Humble, dedicated, sincere, ambitious, a role model, honest, trustworthy, loving, loved.
What's your Plan?
List 10 specific actions you will commit to doing this semester to move you toward your goals and purpose?
1) Work on my relationships with God and the people around me by communicating well and openly.
2) Read my Bible daily and intentionally be still.
3) Practice on the instruments that are available to me.
4) Develop my stage presence.
5) Collaborate with other musicians, even if their styles differ from mine.
6) Develop discernment/streetsmarts.
7) Be open to criticism.
8) Be open to suggestions and new ideas.
9) Solidify my vocals.
10) Try new things and break "rules" (think outside the boxes and cliches).
Yup, that's about it.
Thoughts and opinions are more than welcome.
It was pretty thought-provoking, I must say (you should give it a try).
What is your Purpose (with a capital "P")?
What's my purpose?
That may simultaneously be the easiest and hardest question I've ever had to answer. Truthfully, I don't believe I've ever given it that much thought before today so I'll give it my best shot.
My purpose is: To reflect Christ's love with every fiber of my being, whether that's through my music (what I write and how I perform it), conversations, or thought-life. Whether life is going well or horribly, whether it makes sense or I'm feeling lost and overwhelmed, my ambition is to live in a way that unquestionably demonstrates the love that God has given me.
What are your Goals? (Answer these 5 questions):
What do you want to do? (Actions, experiences)
I want to live/be without fearing failure, to fully invest myself in whatever I do. I want to learn how to break/swing dance, play the accordion, drums, bass, and cello by the time I'm 40. I think it would be awesome to go to driving school and learn how to do stunts. If I get married, I want lots of kids (like 6 or 7). I want to learn to surf/windsurf, take a road-trip across the US, visit (tour?) Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Norway. Meet and appear as a guest artist on a Decemberists and/or Imogen Heap album...
What do you want to get? (Material things)
A Dodge Ram truck, ATV and a dirt bike, a MacbookPro, lots of cool shoes, several pairs of Levi's jeans, more Larrivee guitars and a Roland Fantom G8 or Yamaha MOTIF XS8, a sitar other and other ethnic instruments, a house up north on a lake in MN or near water in Colorado, two big dogs, a boat, jet ski, snowmobile, in-home theater (with Bose sound) system...
What do you want to give? (Impact on others)
I want to be able to give anything that I have willingly, sacrificially if necessary.
What do you want to be? (Possible careers)
Worship/music director at a camp, recording artist/band member, barista, coffee shop owner, wife/mom potentially...
What do you want to become? (Character)
Humble, dedicated, sincere, ambitious, a role model, honest, trustworthy, loving, loved.
What's your Plan?
List 10 specific actions you will commit to doing this semester to move you toward your goals and purpose?
1) Work on my relationships with God and the people around me by communicating well and openly.
2) Read my Bible daily and intentionally be still.
3) Practice on the instruments that are available to me.
4) Develop my stage presence.
5) Collaborate with other musicians, even if their styles differ from mine.
6) Develop discernment/streetsmarts.
7) Be open to criticism.
8) Be open to suggestions and new ideas.
9) Solidify my vocals.
10) Try new things and break "rules" (think outside the boxes and cliches).
Yup, that's about it.
Thoughts and opinions are more than welcome.
Friday, January 8, 2010
So It Begins
Hey everybody!
This is the beginning of my efforts to chronicle my life for the next four months or so out at the Contemporary Music Center (CMC) on Martha's Vineyard. Hopefully it's interesting (I'll try to put some pictures up eventually...) and feel free to shoot me questions if any come up as I'm sure there will be things I forget to mention in here.
Okay so, *Dun-dun-dunnnn...* here's what's happened so far:
Getting to the island - I'm the female RA this semester along with a guy named Brad, and we had to be out to the CMC a day early for training, so my original plan was to drive out to MA with mom, but at the last minute (literally the day before we were supposed to leave) I found out that my car had a couple of severe issues that couldn't possibly be fixed before the trip.
Conundrum.
Shift to...no, create Plan B.
Mom and I ended up flying out of Minneapolis on Thursday morning (Jan. 7th), connecting in Philadelphia, flying another hour to Boston where we caught a charter bus to the ferry at Woods Hole, and finally arrived at the CMC at about 6pm. Mom caught a ferry back to the mainland on Friday (the 8th), took another bus ride back to Boston and arrived in the Cities around 10pm that evening.
Campus - The campus is actually a camp in the summer and is owned/used by a group called FOCUS (Fellowship Of...something. I'm horrible with long acronyms). There are several buildings on the grounds, a couple of which date back to the 1920s, but most were built between the 70s and mid-90s.
The Buildings
The Palace - This is the place where all of the students sleep and occasionally hang out. There are six rooms (three on each end with a common area separating the two sides), each with 3-4 bunk beds, 6 small dressers and a closet-esque fixture.
The Cafe - The upper level of the Cafe is the main congregating area on campus where everything from (amazing) meals to classes to late-night games of Scattergories (or whatever else you can think of) happens. The basement consists of a practice studio, linen closet and laundry room (both of which double as practice spaces), and the Res Life office.
The Lodge - This is where the Executive track students consider home base and it's primarily under their jurisdiction, but when they're not having secret meetings (class) everyone else is free to watch movies, play Wii, use the computers, etc.
The Barn - This is by far the most expensive/intimidating/exciting location on campus. It's the place where all official performances happen and where the Techs do their thing. I don't know how to describe this. Honestly, anything I say would make it sound cool but wouldn't do it justice at all, so I'll just put up some pics later.
Days 1 + 2
Well, seeing as I meant to post this before, this is going to be more of a recap of the first few days.
Everyone started showing up around 11:30am until 6pm, so Brad and I spent most of the afternoon showing people where everything is on campus, explaining what would be happening the rest of the day, and attempting to answer any questions they came up with.
Some of the A.I.R.s (Artist In Residence, former students) and local artist Mike Benjamin put on a great mini-show for us in the Barn, kind of gave us an idea of what to expect for the rest of the semester.
Yesterday (Sunday) we all had church together in the Barn and it was quite the experience. I've never been in a service where the message was completely music based with a few monologues and readings scattered throughout. After an amazing lunch we all just sat around playing games or instruments for a few hours until dinner, and I planned the evening social event (which ended up being called "Speed Friendship") with Brad. Overall, the night was a great success and I think everyone here is going to click really well.
Day 3
Today.
Monday.
The first day of class.
My final first day of class...ever?
Dang...alrighty then.
So yes, all of the above. Basically, Monday consisted of our directors Tom and Warren overwhelming everyone with the amount of technology at our fingertips. Stage lights, instruments, their own expertise in just about anything musical or music related, more Mac computers than I've ever seen in one place other than my dad's office...
Next came 3-ish hours of freetime in the afternoon to do (literally) whatever we wanted, then some of us closed the day with a showing of (500) Days of Summer on the Lodge's enormous flatscreen.
It was a good day.
Day 4 (Today)
Tuesday brought another wave of information overload. Today it was ProTools and the $75k worth of sound/recording equipment located in Studio A (alone). Warren demonstrated is sound-god abilities on the mildly intimidating soundboard, giving a basic explanation of the process of transferring sound from mic to the amplifiers (and everything in between). Tom discussed the importance of a well-functioning relationship between an artist and their manager, describing some real-life scenarios that any of us may encounter once we leave the CMC. It's going to take some time for all of this to sink in, but I think the foundation that they are building, not only in me or the other students as individuals but also as a group/family, is going to be more beneficial than any of us realize right now.
Stay tuned for more sporadic thoughts, pictures (eventually, I promise), and the general train of thought going through my head :)
Romans 12
This is the beginning of my efforts to chronicle my life for the next four months or so out at the Contemporary Music Center (CMC) on Martha's Vineyard. Hopefully it's interesting (I'll try to put some pictures up eventually...) and feel free to shoot me questions if any come up as I'm sure there will be things I forget to mention in here.
Okay so, *Dun-dun-dunnnn...* here's what's happened so far:
Getting to the island - I'm the female RA this semester along with a guy named Brad, and we had to be out to the CMC a day early for training, so my original plan was to drive out to MA with mom, but at the last minute (literally the day before we were supposed to leave) I found out that my car had a couple of severe issues that couldn't possibly be fixed before the trip.
Conundrum.
Shift to...no, create Plan B.
Mom and I ended up flying out of Minneapolis on Thursday morning (Jan. 7th), connecting in Philadelphia, flying another hour to Boston where we caught a charter bus to the ferry at Woods Hole, and finally arrived at the CMC at about 6pm. Mom caught a ferry back to the mainland on Friday (the 8th), took another bus ride back to Boston and arrived in the Cities around 10pm that evening.
Campus - The campus is actually a camp in the summer and is owned/used by a group called FOCUS (Fellowship Of...something. I'm horrible with long acronyms). There are several buildings on the grounds, a couple of which date back to the 1920s, but most were built between the 70s and mid-90s.
The Buildings
The Palace - This is the place where all of the students sleep and occasionally hang out. There are six rooms (three on each end with a common area separating the two sides), each with 3-4 bunk beds, 6 small dressers and a closet-esque fixture.
The Cafe - The upper level of the Cafe is the main congregating area on campus where everything from (amazing) meals to classes to late-night games of Scattergories (or whatever else you can think of) happens. The basement consists of a practice studio, linen closet and laundry room (both of which double as practice spaces), and the Res Life office.
The Lodge - This is where the Executive track students consider home base and it's primarily under their jurisdiction, but when they're not having secret meetings (class) everyone else is free to watch movies, play Wii, use the computers, etc.
The Barn - This is by far the most expensive/intimidating/exciting location on campus. It's the place where all official performances happen and where the Techs do their thing. I don't know how to describe this. Honestly, anything I say would make it sound cool but wouldn't do it justice at all, so I'll just put up some pics later.
Days 1 + 2
Well, seeing as I meant to post this before, this is going to be more of a recap of the first few days.
Everyone started showing up around 11:30am until 6pm, so Brad and I spent most of the afternoon showing people where everything is on campus, explaining what would be happening the rest of the day, and attempting to answer any questions they came up with.
Some of the A.I.R.s (Artist In Residence, former students) and local artist Mike Benjamin put on a great mini-show for us in the Barn, kind of gave us an idea of what to expect for the rest of the semester.
Yesterday (Sunday) we all had church together in the Barn and it was quite the experience. I've never been in a service where the message was completely music based with a few monologues and readings scattered throughout. After an amazing lunch we all just sat around playing games or instruments for a few hours until dinner, and I planned the evening social event (which ended up being called "Speed Friendship") with Brad. Overall, the night was a great success and I think everyone here is going to click really well.
Day 3
Today.
Monday.
The first day of class.
My final first day of class...ever?
Dang...alrighty then.
So yes, all of the above. Basically, Monday consisted of our directors Tom and Warren overwhelming everyone with the amount of technology at our fingertips. Stage lights, instruments, their own expertise in just about anything musical or music related, more Mac computers than I've ever seen in one place other than my dad's office...
Next came 3-ish hours of freetime in the afternoon to do (literally) whatever we wanted, then some of us closed the day with a showing of (500) Days of Summer on the Lodge's enormous flatscreen.
It was a good day.
Day 4 (Today)
Tuesday brought another wave of information overload. Today it was ProTools and the $75k worth of sound/recording equipment located in Studio A (alone). Warren demonstrated is sound-god abilities on the mildly intimidating soundboard, giving a basic explanation of the process of transferring sound from mic to the amplifiers (and everything in between). Tom discussed the importance of a well-functioning relationship between an artist and their manager, describing some real-life scenarios that any of us may encounter once we leave the CMC. It's going to take some time for all of this to sink in, but I think the foundation that they are building, not only in me or the other students as individuals but also as a group/family, is going to be more beneficial than any of us realize right now.
Stay tuned for more sporadic thoughts, pictures (eventually, I promise), and the general train of thought going through my head :)
Romans 12
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