Fretless Jazz Bass: Micro-Tilt Install

This blog is dedicated to the tender love and care of a Fender Jazz bass belonging to a friend of mine that has been converted from the standard fretted model into a unique fretless version. The nut height, the neck angle, and the bridge setup were all still setup for a fretted bass guitar. This presented a bass that was hard to play and only had a marginal sound. I was asked to take a look at this bass to see what I could do to bring it up to speed.

First things first - I measured the string height at the nut and it was way too high for the proper fretless feel. So, I had to file the nut slots nearly all the way down to the neck to get them close enough. Since you don't have a huge fret in the way, you can go much lower with a fretless neck.

Once that was set properly, I took a look at the bridge and saw that it had virtually no more room to lower the strings any further without bottoming out the saddles. The truss rod had already been tightened as far it could. So, the only solution to get the strings low enough for proper string action at the 12th fret is to either shim the neck pocket or to install a micro-tilt adjustment mechanism. Luckily, I had just installed a DIY micro-tilt in my relic Stratocaster and it worked like a dream to give me proper string action.

Here's how I installed the micro-tilt adjuster with step-by-step photos. First, remove the neck from the pocket and check the back-side of the neck to see if it has a metal surface that the micro-tilt will provide leverage against. In this case, it does indeed have a metal surface that will work perfectly. I'm going to countersink a t-nut with a forstner bit (that I picked up at my local hardware store) in the area directly below the metal spot on the neck.

This is a multi-step process and must be done slowly and carefully to keep from wrecking the finish. The first drilling should be only deep enough to recess the head of the t-nut. Here's what that looks like:

For the next step of drilling, you should take a smaller forstner bit (the size of the t-nut shaft) and drill about half-way through the neck pocket. Then take a small drill bit and drill very slowly down the middle and through to the other side of the neck pocket. Here are the front and back photos (notice the small amount of paint chipped away by the small drill bit - it would've been much worse had I drilled all the way through with the mid-sized forstner bit!):

Now take your middle sized forstner bit and drill from the backside towards the front - this keeps the bit from pulling a huge chunk of the finish away if you had drilled straight through from the front side. What you get is a clean round hole with minimal damage to the finish:

Finally, you can finish drilling from the front side and complete the hole. Now, it's ready to hammer in the t-nut and prepare to drill a hole in the neck plate (that will allow for adjustment of the t-nut without removal of the neck plate). Here's what that looks like up close:


The final piece of the puzzle is up next. Now that you've installed the t-nut directly into the neck pocket, find the biggest carbide (for drilling through the metal neck plate itself) drill bit that will fit cleanly through the t-nut shaft. Now, you are going to screw the neck plate back onto the back side of the neck pocket, but it needs to be backwards. The reason to have it in reverse is simple; you want any lip that may be caused by the drill bit to be hidden when the guitar is reassembled. Now, make sure that the body is level and placed on something solid that you don't mind drilling through a little - you don't want to drill a 1/4" hole into your nice coffee table or something.

That's it! Your new micro-tilt adjusting mechanism is ready to use. All you have to do is bolt everything back together and use an allen key to adjust the set screw to give you a more or less negative neck angle - the more negative angle, the lower you can set the string height at the bridge. TIP - you only need to turn the set screw about one quarter turn at a time (any more may be too much, take it slow). Also, be sure to loosen all four neck bolts AND the strings before adjusting the set screw - NEVER turn it with tension on the strings or the neck screws.

I also re-wired the bass with new pots and a push/pull series/parallel switch to give it some extra oomph just like those new American Jazz Basses. I'm planning to do the same wiring upgrade to my own jazz bass. So, I will devote another future blog to the play-by-play instructions plus photos.

Here are a few more photos of this truly unique bass:

Les Paul - Jimmy Page Re-Wire

The first time I tried to wire the Les Paul with Jimmy Page style wiring, I burned out the internal wipers in the volume pots (the volume was either full-on or only partially down - it wouldn't cut completely off). Plus, I had some ground buzz problems. I was content to live with these issues for a little while - I mean, for most rock guitarists with a Ernie Ball VP Jr. (passive volume pedal), who needs to turn off the volume anyways?! A few months of this and I couldn't take it anymore. My OCD tendencies took over and I had to shield and re-wire everything. Here are a few things that I've recently acquired that made the job infinitely easier:

Xytronic 168-3C Soldering Station - the best solding tool available for guitarists (be sure to get some quality resin-core solder and 26 gauge wire)

Copper Shielding Tape - makes shielding the control cavity almost too easy

A Good Wiring Diagram - I've found several fantastic graphical wiring diagrams from Seymour Duncan - check out their complete free database

A Cardboard Jig - use this to aid in wiring everything but the grounds and pickups before installing (cut a piece out of the shipping box for the soldering station - recycling, ftw)

The first big thing to do was to remove the knobs, unbolt the pots, unsolder the pickup wires and pull everything out. We'll get back to the wiring in a bit. It's time to put the copper shielding tape to good use. Take care installing this stuff - it may be pliable, but it's still got sharp edges. Start by taping the bottom of the cavity and then add the sides. The tape I used was 2" across and it was a perfect fit. Here's a shot of the control cavity once the shielding is installed:


Now that the control cavity is finished, it's time to start soldering the pots together on the cardboard jig. I was re-using the pots from the last re-wire. So, I had to remove all the wiring and clean the contacts with de-soldering braid. It also helps to label the backs of the pots with a sharpie because it's easy to get crossed up when working on projects like this. Here are a few shots of the pots in the jig and how I labeled them - i.e. BT = Bridge Tone:



After being careful to check every joint twice, here's what the half-wired pots look like:


Now it's time to punch out the holes in the copper shielding and install the pots in the control cavity. I went ahead and finished up soldering the pickup wires and the output jack.




Now that everything's finished, it's time to install the new Wilkinson Locking Roller Bridge (brass rollers and locking studs) and new stop tailpiece - the old worn and tarnished pieces needed to go and I was looking for a quality bridge that would help keep the beast in tune with all those bends and wailing solos. Here are a few shots of the finished guitar:

Les Paul - Graph Tech Nut Install

Ever had issues with your string binding on the nut while tuning only to have them go horribly flat (especially the "G" string) once you've starting wailing and bending notes?! I have had this problem on my Les Paul for years and I've just lived with it as part of the Les Paul playing experience.

I've recently built a new project Telecaster (body/neck from Warmoth.com) and had Graph Tech style nut installed on the Tele neck and it plays like a dream without all the tuning problems. This made it impossible for me to go back to the "tuning hell" of playing the Les Paul. I decided it was time to upgrade the low quality plastic nut with a high-end nut from Graph Tech called the Black Tusq XL. After searching the 'net for a good deal on Graph Tech stuff, I found a seller on eBay with a good selection of guitar nuts. I bought two just in case I happened to ruin the first attempt (cheap insurance).

Installing a nut was way easier than I thought. Graph Tech has a fantastic walk-thru for this sort of thing (with big pictures)! It's one thing to read this manual of sorts, but it's another thing to actually do it. So, here are the highlights of how I did it. I started by removing the strings and the truss rod cover - check out the cheap plastic nut and the graphite paste I was using to cut back on the binding.


Next step is to score every exposed joint surrounding the nut. This serves to weaken and finally loosen the glue enough to pry the old nut out of the slot - it's a tight fit, so don't expect it to fall out on it's own. Once you've got the old nut removed, it's time to use a chisel and scrap out the remaining glue and level the nut slot as flat as you possibly can.



Once the slot has been prepped, it's time to "shape" the nut to fit the neck/slot. This is the longest and most time consuming part of the entire process. I used a mill bastard file for this part - you can find them at an hardware store. The bottom and backside of the nut should be filed completely flat and smooth. The front of the nut is curved and only the bottom 1/8" should be filed flat. Next, the sides needed to be shaved down to match the curvature of the neck profile. The last step was to check the fit and file down the backside if needed until the nut fits extremely snug in the prepped slot. Once everything fits just right, apply some quality super glue, press the nut in as tight as you can by hand and then re-string the guitar. The strings should be tuned to pitch and then you should let the guitar sit for several hours - overnight would be preferable. Here's the nut installed and waiting for fresh strings.





Next, I decided to polish the frets/nut, install the strings, setup the truss rod, adjust the action height and finally replace the truss rod cover. After installing the strings, I checked the string height at the first fret and found that every single string was within 1-2 thousandths of an inch of recommended specifications. Wow! That is simply amazing luck. So, no need to file the nut slots.

Without further ado, here's the final picture:


Check back for more guitar upgrades and tweaks. There are many guitar upgrades and repairs to come.

Work: On The Go

So, I find myself at a deli for lunch. Why did I choose this particular deli for lunch? Couple reasons: I like the food, and... more importantly, they provide free WiFi. I'm writing this blog from said deli.

Due to the liquid nature of my job (and my increasing awareness of my A.D.D.), I just simply can't be all that productive day-in-day-out sitting in the same place (office or otherwise). Sure, I love working in my home studio and I love being around my co-workers in the office. But then there's a moment where I realize that I've been blankly staring at my laptop screen for the past 10 minutes and absolutely nothing has gotten done... It's like I'm staring into the oblivion waiting for something to smack me in the face and knock me out of this trance. Well, somehow my subconscious gets my attention and I get my laptop and anything else I want in my daypack (TimBuk2 DataDump, LOVE IT) and head out of the office/house. My destination: somewhere noisy with a good ambiance and free WiFi. It's a magical experience. I feel motivated and inspired to finish daily tasks and on good days, brainstorm for the future and even write songs!

Where do you work on the go?

A Modern Worship Service

I've been working on staff at Brookwood Church in Simpsonville for the past several months as a "Creative Associate." I've been tasked with organizing and implementing different aspects of the worship experience at the church. This is an on-going task - the entire worship staff is constantly brainstorming to implement trend-setting techniques. Simply copying what other churches have done/are doing only works to a point. Then there comes a chance to take risks and try new things with the ultimate goal of reaching a higher quality in your church's worship experience.

Let me clarify that I do not have all the answers! I'm on a quest to reach a higher plane and I'd like to share some of the successes with my fellow worship leaders and band members. Take from this what you will and please comment on how you might be doing things differently or perhaps in a similar manner.

1. One of the first things we changed was how we capture electric guitars in the live setting. We tried a few weeks of using tube amps in different places on the stage - they all simply had too much volume. The main auditorium has far too many hard surfaces and the excess stage volume had to go. Removing the tube amps from the stage, we switched to playing through the new Line6 POD X3 Live. I'm a tube amp freak, and was a little resistant to using a POD for live sound. I've toured the country with tube amps and know how to get great sounds with a real amp. That said, although these little boxes don't have many usable presets out of the box, we've created and settled on a few different amp sounds that work and sound great and eliminate the stage volume from loud amps. The most amazing part about using a POD is the ability to save individual delay and effects settings/tempo for every song. All you have to do is hit the next button and all your tempos and effects are setup perfectly every-time. Line6 also has this cool GearBox software that comes with the X3 Live for free. You can use it to manage/cut/paste/save your presets to/from your POD. It makes the week in/week out changes really easy.

2. One of the next big things that was implemented into our system is the use of Jeff Berg's Planning Center. This is a really fantastic piece of web-based software that allows you to coordinate multiple departments, automatically email your band/vocalists and organize the worship/service flow. This is a paid service, but from our experience, it is a great investment since Jeff and his team are constantly working to update and improve this already fantastic service.

3. Probably the most important change: changing to an Aviom-based in-ear system and integrating a click-track into everyone's in-ears. This is one of the most critical additions that has helped improve the worship flow and quality. The click track is simply a metronome that is triggered to start/stop and advance to the next song by the drummer via a footpedal situated near the base of the hi-hat stand. Every week before rehearsal, I tap out the tempo of each worship song (while I'm programing the delays on my POD for the week, btw) and write them down. Then I take those tempos and program them into a Boss DB-90 Dr. Beat metronome. It's extremely customizable and easy to setup and use. There are other metronomes that would work, but I prefer this one to the rest. The end result is that the band is more consistent and much tighter than ever before. Thank you Dr. Beat! :)

4. The last big change has been to streamline the way we handle/create chord charts for the band. When I arrived at the church, there were beautifully prepared notebooks for each band member, complete with cover sheets and everything. The only problem with this setup is that the vast majority of the charts were lead sheets and tended to be over 3 or 4 pages long. These can be more accurate, but far too cumbersome to use in a regular dress rehearsal. The new rule has been to keep the charts to an absolute maximum of 2 pages. This is made really simple with the use of some free software by John Huss. His little gem of a software package is called Chord Chart Wizard. This software works on pretty much all platforms: PC/Mac/Linux. There are a couple bugs here and there, but the overall usefulness is good and I've been able to use it to craft functional and beautiful charts that are easily transposable.

For more info and pictures of my adventure at Brookwood Church: Follow me on Twitter.

Here are a few iPhone pics of a recent dress rehearsal at Brookwood Church.

Generation Y and the Church

You can love it or hate it. Generation Y should seriously be looked at by the current church. Some churches are marketing directly towards this group and others are completely avoiding them like the plague. I hope to shed some light on the importance of this group and give good reason for a balanced church marketing approach to all the major generational groups. I will most certainly be flamed for saying such things. I only ask that you consider what I have to say.

Here's how my generation stacks up to others like my parent's (Baby Boomers) and some of my friend's (Generation X). My wife and I are smack in the middle of the Generation Y - a.k.a. Millennials or Echo Boomers.

Here are some of the specs on Generation Y:

• people born in western culture from the early 1980s (some say the late 1970s) to the early 1990s
• alternatively defined as the children of the Baby Boomer generation
• reputation for being peer oriented and for seeking instant gratification from the use of the internet, such as E-mail, texting, and IM and new media used through websites like YouTube and social networking sites
• earning approx. 213 billion per year and spending approx. 172 billion per year
• tend to get involved with causes or organizations that have an effect on the world and allow them to do something greater then themselves

What I find interesting is that this group of people is soon to be the largest generation ever. The Baby Boomer generation topped out at around 70 million. The current number from initial surveys is sitting above 70 million. This is a very significant number because the Gen Y group is already starting to dominate the trends in the market place. Market analysts have never studied more then they do on Gen Y. Why? Because they earn and spend a lot of money! Gen Y is very conscious of brands and branding. So, the typical marketing methods that worked great for the Baby Boomers simply don't reach the young Generation Y'ers.

Gen Y is extremely tech savvy. 97% of Gen Y'ers own a computer. The vast majority of them use e-mail and social networking to communicate. The internet is their playground. Products that are marketed through the internet in these ways are greatly successful. This trend is starting to appear in church. Podcasts of sermons, video broadcasts of entire services, and even full live-streaming internet campuses are starting to make some serious headway with the available technology. The churches that have adopted such means are finding that this is a completely new mission field to send the Gospel to.

The Protestant church has usually been a reflection of culture. Over the course of the 20th century there has been a slowing of some cultural changes within many church denominations. This slowing has caused a disconnect between church and culture - some say the separation of church and state in the 60's has something to do with it. Whatever the case, many churches (even today) have remained in an aged cultural style and have not updated their presentation and technology to reach lost/unchurched people in our modern times. The message is the same! Christ was sent to sacrifice Himself for our sins so that we might be redeemed. Period. However, without updated language and more current culture aspects of modern times (music, small groups, etc...), this leads to older, dwindling congregations and almost complete lack of interest from Gen Y (and Gen X to some extent as well). Without support from the younger generations, the church is destined for failure in the long-term. Over the course of the 20th century, churches have remained resilient due to hand-off across generations. Now, the younger generation is leaving the church behind due to an lack of relavance.

The most talked about and debated part of the modern church is the style of music played and how loud it is played. This is far more controversial than sermons or even child-care at church. Most younger people tend to listen to a variety of music. They usually have it played loud. They want to feel the bass and hear the guitars and drums loud and clear. The older generations tend to like their music played quieter and more mellow. There are certainly exceptions to all of these people. However, the debate rises when the people in authority (almost never the younger Gen Y'ers) who don't care to cater to the younger generation by supporting modern music and modern volumes. They stay in their comfort zone and alienate many unchurched/unsaved. This is an epidemic in the modern church. The Gospel is meant to be shared with the world not saved for ourselves. We (as Christians) are called to be in the world but not of it. If your music sound like it's from several years ago, then go find out what Christians are listening to on the radio and start singing those songs instead. Chances are, your music just might have more of an impact with the congregation - thus breaking down the barriers of an unchurched/overchurched person allowing the sermon fully to impact them. I can't stress how important it is to use music to break through to people and open them up to the Word of God. All church music should not be the same, however. It depends on your area and who you are trying to reach. If you are trying to reach more urban culture, pursue that style of music. If you want to reach Latin culture, pursue that style. You need to find the right balance. You never know until you start trying.

I live in the Greenville, SC area. There are a few churches that are moving forward to reach the unchurched, but they all have their own vibe. NewSpring Church is geared mostly for the Generation Y crowd. Seacoast Church is geared towards a combination of Gen X'ers and Gen Y'ers and a few Boomers. Brookwood Church is geared more as a multi-generational church to reach all ages. All three of these churches are constantly updating and changing to stay ahead of the game and reach as many unchurched and unsaved people as they can in their respective areas. Also, each of these churches has gained momentum and they are headed into GigaChurch territory - 10,000 in worship. This is a milestone number for several reasons. Don Chapman has a great article on the GigaChurch trend.

In a few years, Generation Y will be the driving force behind politics, the economy, and the church. To be blunt, get on board or get left behind. No cost should be spared to reach the unchurched. Gen Y is a huge part of the unchurched in our culture and they need to be reached for many reasons (some of these laid out in this article).

Here are a few things that can help dwindling churches become more culturally relevant (and hopefully spark revival and growth):

• excellence is crucial in reaching the younger audience - everything from sermon, music, look of the building are all important and should be carried out in the best way possible
  
• update the sermon to be more conversational
  
• update the music styles and sound systems to attract more than just the older generations
• use technology to spread the Word more effectively to a larger audience - multi-site churches, etc...
  
• consider uses of social networking services (Facebook) to create community with your congregation
• update the look of the church building - new paint/wallpaper, lighting systems for the stage, new window styles, updated exterior design

I'm sure the churches I've mentioned in this blog will probably find this. If so, please feel free to comment on how your church is driving to keep in touch with the younger generation.

Texas - the real blog

Ryan, Cole, Christine & Adam

Way too big and way too hot, to be honest. But now I can add it to my list of places visited. In this blog, I'll give it a day by day breakdown of my trip to Corpus Christi, TX to rock out with pop/rock artist Christine Evans:

Day 1:

Flew into Houston, TX with my band-mates - Cole & Ryan (bass & drums respectively). We met up with Christine there and took a short flight to Corpus Christi. Both our flights were stuffy and hot in the plane. It was so bad everyone on the plane was trying to fan themselves and it was miserable. Once we made it to Corpus, we checked into our hotel and then proceeded to a local Mexican restaurant called "La Playa." I got to experience the most amazing Chimichanga I've ever had - certainly made up for the muggy air and hot plane flights. At dinner, we got to chat with Joey (the pastor that was organizing the event we were headlining).

La Playa - best Tex-Mex I've ever had

Day 2:

Christine & Adam on the radio

Got up bright and early to hit up the local radio station for some promo. Then we went onward to a few local schools to perform several acoustic sets. Later that night we had a full band practice at a local church auditorium. The school gigs were a blast to play. One was a high-school and the other a middle-school. The high-schoolers were really digging Christine's material and they even cheered for Christine to do an encore. We hadn't prepared for that! We only had 3 songs for each school. So, like the professional she is, Christine pulled a song out of her hat and sounded amazing.

Day 3:

Pick a hat, any hat...

The Texas air was starting to change me a little bit. Cole, Ryan and I were needing some fresh air. So, we took a cruise in our pimped out Chrysler SUV (rental of course) to get some breakfast. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Cavender's Boot City - an unbelievable place. A 'rich' cowboy could walk in and drop a cool grand on just one out-fit. One out-fit. Boots started at $99 and went all the way up to $1,199. Geez. Genuine cowboy hats were sitting in glass cases for up to $900. Yikes. Despite the sticker shock, I was starting to get the bug and I saw a couple cowboy hats a little more in my 'price-range.' After much deliberation, I decided on the perfect cowboy hat. I'm a cowboy now! Well, sorta.

Lots and lots of waves

We had a full-band practice shortly after our excursion to the boot city. After the 'early' band practice, Cole, Ryan and I took the Chrysler and drove out to the see the Gulf of Mexico. Very cool to see since none of us had been there before. Later that night, we had yet another full-band practice - needless to say, we were getting mentally frazzled at the end of the second practice. Two in one day can be tough.

Day 4:

The big day. Tonight is the big show that we were flown in for. We were the headlining act for the evening. The event was a community outreach designed to attract the younger crowd and share the gospel with them. There were several rides and festivities during the afternoon - including a motorized riding bull and a rap/hip hop duo.

Cole gets his grip

We opened with a 4 song worship set. This got the stage ready for the speaker that spent about 45 minutes sharing the gospel with the youth there. Afterwards, around 60 of the youth accepted Christ and we arrived on stage to rock out in a celebratory manner. We made our way through 11 songs and although some of the kids had to go home early - it was a school night - the ones that stuck around had an amazing time. As a band we had an absolute blast and as we've been playing together, we've really been getting closer as friends. There's something special with the group we have together now. When you have that kind of chemistry, it really makes it that much more fun. Here are a few shots from the performance:

The Workings of a Modern Live Band

I'm working on a project for an upcoming gig with Christine Evans. I was brought on to play lead guitar for her last year for a few spot dates and we all had a great time and really fit together well as a group (Cole Edmonson and Ryan Siders on bass guitar and drums, respectively). We got to see several parts of Canada as well as playing on TV and radio and for festivals and such. But anyways, I've covered all that in previous blogs...

Christine gave me a call recently about a gig in Texas. We're heading to Corpus Christi for a few acoustic gigs and full band gig. For the full band stuff, I've been tasked to put my mixing skills to good use in making back tracks that we will run during the live show. The band will be playing the majority of the music - the key here is that the back tracks will double up the rhythm guitars (to make them sound bigger) and add keyboard pads and BGVs in addition to any drum loops that the drummer won't be able to play live.

This is a staple of major touring bands over the past few years. Let's be honest here, most artists can't afford to hire a full 3 piece backing band let alone a string section and a second guitarist and a couple keyboard players and some backup singers and... well you get the picture. Using a back track with a 3 piece band works wonders and looks and sounds really amazing. Sounds easy enough right? You just take the recordings from the album, hook it up to the sound system and play along right? Way wrong. The process of making a proper back track is extremely complicated and time-consuming, but a much more realistic alternative to hiring 10 more musicians per show.

Here's how I do it. While I was touring with Chris Sligh last year, I created back tracks with loops and extra stuff. We didn't have the optimal setup for running back tracks, but I came up with a simple solution that worked surprisingly well. The solution was to create one stereo MP3 track and download into your iPod. The stereo MP3 would have a standard click track hard panned to the left channel and a mono mix of the pre-mixed back track hard panned to the right. The complicated part is actually mixing the back track and getting the levels right. In a full professional setup, you would have a ProTools rig that could output 8 to 16 different tracks - each with a different part (BGVs on one, strings on another, etc...). Since we don't have that kind of a complicated setup, we'll stick with the iPod for now.

One thing that you must do before mixing the back track is select what you want to be playing during the song live. If your band has 6 players like the Chris Sligh band (vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, and drums), then you may not need as many extra parts. For Christine Evans, she only has 4 players (vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, drums). So, she asked me to create a back track that would "fill-out" the sound more appropriately.

For the back tracks I did for Chris, I was co-producing and mixing the songs myself. So, I had full access to all the individual files already. For Christine, I had to call her producer, who had the engineer call me and then I told the engineer what I needed and now he's FedEx'ing a DVDR to me to mixdown next week. Once I get the files, I'll have to arrange them and get the levels sorted out and add a click track and pan them and everything. The tracks I'm working with are the extra rhythm guitars, keyboard pads, background vocals, and various effects. There is one track that Christine will do solo, and I'm going to add the strings that were recorded in the studio as a back track for that song. It should be beautiful when she performs it live.

Here's an example of what a back track sounds like as I've described above. I've taken samples from the song "Need" that I played many times live with Chris Sligh and his touring band last year. This song is on the album "Take A Chance On Something Beautiful." You can find it at any Best Buy or major retailer in the country. Click the link below to listen:

Need - Back Track & Full Band Demos

Winter NAMM '08 - in LA

It was that time of year. Cold. Rainy. Dark, damp and nasty. That is - if you live around the southeast where my hometown of Greenville is. I wanted to start the year off right this time. So, I made the pilgrimage to Los Angles to attend the NAMM show in the Anaheim convention center. Last year, I decided that I didn't want to drop the cash on the plane ticket (not to mention a hotel and rent-a-car and such).

Laguna Beach - H2O?... but oh so beautiful!

Ah yes, this is the place where dreams are born. Well - at least I had some dreams to fulfill. Every music manufacture - big and small - was at this event and I needed to meet them and touch the gear and see how it worked. Some companies were displaying guitars. Others had keyboards and synthesizers.

Some of my favorite booths were the ones with actual players playing guitars and keyboards through new and exciting effects pedals. I remember this rocker chick playing acoustic guitar and singing some of her own material to demo a set of special effects pedals for vocals and acoustic guitars. The most amazing thing happened when she used the harmony effect on the one vocal pedal. Her voice came through loud and clear, but she now had a quartet of female vocalists backing her up in a really amazingly "real-sounding" harmony - sounded like something from a Point of Grace album. Then she showed off the pedal's true prowess. The next song sounded normal enough. Then she engaged the pedal and it was magic - she had a single male vocal backing her up with harmonies a 3rd down. It really sounded like a guy singing with her. I've heard the older versions of these pedals and they sounded cheesy and fake. Not this - really a step up.

I almost forgot to mention that I made the trip to LA with to of my best buddies - Don Chapman & Chris Sligh. We had a fabulous time walking up and down the massive aisles and seeing all the heads turn as we walked around. It would go something like this - a group of people would brush past Don, Chris and myself and they would do a double take and kinda whisper and murmur something like, "hey, [insert friend's name here],... isn't that the guy from American Idol?!" - It gave us many hours of entertainment! Of course, Chris is extremely gracious with his fans and he takes time to talk with people and doesn't brush them off like a typical star might.

There were so many different sights to see at the NAMM show. Everything from electric guitars that looks like machine guns to special types of wood used in instrument making to interactive displays of new software for computer recording. I was really fascinated by one company called Spectrasonics. They are the makers of the Stylus drum machine software - Stylus is used in practically every major action movie sound track - it does a good bit more than just drum loops. They were showing an interactive demo on a huge screen of their new software (coming out this fall) called Omnisphere. This new software provides a cool new way to create experimental sounds through samples and modulation and filtering and such. Geeky paradise!

I bumped into several "famous people" including Phil Keaggy, Slash, and Lincoln Brewster. Of course, being in the presence of such greatness, how could you not be inspired?! I certainly was and I hope to go back to this event again next year.

Bringing In the New Year!

The "New" Chris Sligh Band: Jon, Chris, Adam, Clint, Walt

The New Year was brought in right this time. The Chris Sligh band traveled all the way to Westerly, Rhode Island to play a full 90 minute rock show. I got a call from Chris several weeks ago about playing this gig and I'm really glad I did. We spent most of the day on the 30th practicing the 16 song set list. Having only played together during this practice, the stakes and expectations were high. This band was up to the task. When the lights come on, we had an absolute blast rocking with the cool folks in Rhode Island. We did a few Beatles' covers as well as some U2. Chris has several new songs from his new album which made their first public debut. I even met some really cool folks there! After the show, I got to spend some time with Keegan, an aspiring guitarist.

My new buddy: Keegan

The life of a touring band is not all fame and glory. Time spent traveling sometimes seems to take forever to pass, but we tend to have a great time with each other. Musician's don't usually tend to be dull. So, this makes for a very interesting experience all the way around. Both Jon and Walt have worked with Casting Crowns in the past and we all got to share the many (sometimes really funny) stories of gigs and traveling.

For those of you that haven't heard, Chris Sligh is working on a new album with the legendary producer, Brown Bannister. This album will be released on April 8th, 2008. The first single, Empty Me, will be hitting the Christian radio airwaves very soon. So, be sure to call in and request it!

Chris Sligh tracking vocals

A few weeks ago I had the chance to drive up to Nashville with a buddy of mine, Don Chapman. We spent two days in Nashville and got to watch as Chris tracked vocals in Brown Bannister's amazing home studio. Stephen Leiweke is also co-producing the album and he was doing a good portion of Chris' vocals on a song while we were there. If you'd like to read more about Brown's studio read my newsletter article covering it:

HomeRecordingHowTo.com

Stephen Leiweke & Brown Bannister discussing production ideas

The British are Coming!

From Left: Tim Light, Pat Robertson, Don Chapman, Adam Fisher

My latest adventures take me and my lovely wife, Megan, to the Virginia Beach area. This locale is filled with amazing historical sites. We visited Williamsburg & Jamestown to see the amazing beginnings of our free country.

Williamsburg was particularly exciting to see. There were live actors walking the storefront town where our country broke free of colonialism. In the afternoon, an official rode into town to announce the coming of the governor. Soon a carriage carrying the governor sped through the town to the main building where a sizzling debate took place for all to see (various actors dressed as townsfolk cheered as the debate went on). This scene flowed into several other live scenes that outlined the drastic changes that took place in this town to shape out country. The thing that really got me was that there were hundreds of people (tourists) walking the streets and intermingling with us were actors portraying important historical figures. It really felt like being there when it actually happened. My personal favorite experience was walking into a local shoemaker's shop and talking with him about how he makes his shoes. Well worth the $35 bucks to get in.

The Streets of Williamsburg

We also traveled to the grounds of CBN, the empire birthed by Pat Robertson. Pat is the center of many controversial issues, but he has accomplished much over the course of his lifetime. I grew up watching the 700 Club show on TV as a kid. We attended a live broadcast of the show while Pat and his long-time co-host Terry anchored the show. It was a surreal experience getting to meet the people that I had only seen on TV over the years. They are actually real people that you can talk to and shake their hand. I even got to meet Pat himself while leading worship (with my friends, Tim Light & Don Chapman) during a weekly chapel service. Pat shared a devotional with much of the staff at CBN. Even in his late 70's, he is still healthy as ever and going strong. I hope to be in such health when I reach that age!

I now have a new friend from the UK. Tim Light and his wife, Amber, traveled from Romsey across the big pond to visit the states. Tim is a worship leader in England. That is a significant difference from being a worship leader in the States. One study found that only 3% of people attend church in the UK. Typically, being a worship leader is not a staff position in a church like it is here. Being such a talented song writer and vocalist, Tim is considering moving to the US (with his wife) in hopes of pursuing a career in worship leading.

Tim & Amber stayed in town with another good friend of mine, Don Chapman. Don is a successful web entrepreneur and fellow worship leader. I met Don when he started attending Seacoast Church in Greenville. Don toured with myself and Chris Sligh (American Idol Top 10 finalist in 2007) in the band, Half Past Forever. He also arranged and orchestrated the strings on our internationally distributed album "Take A Chance On Something Beautiful."

Don originally introduced me to Tim's music earlier this year. I was very excited to meet this musician from England. Since he's been in town, we've really hit it off. I've gotten a real kick out of sharing many different foods and traditions with the Englishman. Fun moment: eating at what they called Crinkle Barrel (Crackle Barrel to us red-necks) and drinking root beer. He is also astonished to the typical advertising for a barbecue restaurant. Why is it that there is a "happy hog" on the sign? Something to ponder... I now plan to visit the UK (with Megan) at some point next year. I am fascinated with the vast cultural differences. For example: what the heck is a digestive biscuit?! LOL.

On the Outskirts of Williamsburg

The last fun excitement was during an interview for CBN News. This interview featured Tim, Don and myself. We talked about worship, Tim's new album, my new website (HomeRecordingHowTo.com), and various other new tidbits. The interview should air at some point before Christmas rolls around this year. If I get a copy, I'll be sure to post a bit of the interview on my website AdamLayneFisher.com. This whole adventure, from meeting Pat Robertson to being interviewed by Mark Martin for CBN is a result of the work of Tracy Winborne. She has become a wonderful new friend. Thanks to her for everything!

Until my next adventure...

CBN Studios (for the interview)
From left: Tracy Winborne, Megan Fisher, Tim Light, Amber Light
Sitting: Adam Fisher, Don Chapman

Canadian Tour with Christine Evans

My journey nearly across the span of Canada took the majority of ten days. I’ve traveled all the way from Toronto through Winnipeg on to the beautiful plains outside of Calgary. Various events this summer led to my band, Half Past Forever (currently consisting of Cole Edmonson on bass guitar, Ryan Siders on drums, and myself on guitar), being hired to play for Christine Evans. Christine is a Canadian singer/songwriter on Warner Music Canada. She has released two albums: “Take Me Home” & “Push" as of 2007.

The bands first outing with Christine was in late August ’07 we played at the Freedom Fest in Barrie, Ontario. The event featured such big names as Jars of Clay, Thousand Foot Krutch and Phil Keaggy to name a few. Being only our first outing, we rocked out and really worked the crowd! About a month later, me and the boys got an e-mail from Christine about a mini-tour through Canada to promote for the upcoming GMA Canada week.

The full band played 3 shows over the course of the week-end. Due to school (and other things, I guess), Cole and Ryan flew home that Sunday. I was able to stay the rest of the week until the culmination of the GMA Canada awards show!

We had the chance to perform Christine's song Surrender (which was #5 on the Christian Charts in Canada last time I checked) on Breakfast TV in Calgary. Breakfast TV is the morning show for cityTV in Canada. I love seeing the behind the scenes stuff in a TV studio and I am ecstatic to have made my major debut on Canadian television!

Christine and I visited several radio stations. Personal favorite was CKVN with Famous Shamus. Both stations were situated in cool locales. CKVN is located in Lethbridge (it's the windiest city I've ever been to!). Famous Shamus is an animated deejay (and now facebook buddy) and served us some of the best hot tea I've ever had (hot tea is awesome for the vocal chords).

A four-time nominee, Christine was poised for success. Her nominations included Female Vocalist of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, Song of the Year & Music Video of the Year. Being only 17, she has commanded the attention of the Christian Canadian music scene. Being a part of the GMA Canada week was full of conferences along with dinners and lunches with the who's who of GMA (US & Canada). The air was filled with excitement as awards made their way to artists and the performances were golden (my personal fav was Starfield and their song, Everything is Beautiful). After the evening was said and done, Christine came away with the Video of the Year award for "Push." This marks yet another huge success for Christine and her support crew.

This year was one event after another that ultimately led to working with Christine. I got a call in late spring from her dad, Andy. He had apparently kept up with Chris Sligh and his American Idol fame. Through visiting the Half Past Forever (Chris Sligh's) MySpace, he found out that Chris would be on tour with American Idol (since the Idol made the top 10). This prompted him to look me up and ask if the band would be interested in playing as Christine's band for the summer. One thing led to another and the rest has been history in the making.

Here are a few more photos of the trip:

Cole, Ryan, Christine, Adam

Fresh Music

I've found some fresh new music that compels me to share my thoughts about it. Each of these albums has impacted me in some sort of way. A few of them have inspired me. Some have turned me into a foul mood and others haven't had enough time to sink in.

Daughtry: Daughtry

noteable songs: Crashed, It's Not Over, What I Want, Home

Yep, this album is now a staple in my iPod's playlists. I, originally, had never watched the season 5 American Idols. I decided to get this album and see what all the fuss is about. Here is the deal on Chris Daughtry. His writing is solid but not ground-breaking. His band is also solid, but they tend to get a tad boring in spots. The thing that keeps me coming back, however, is his incredible voice. I actually liked Creed when they hit it big. The problem with Scott Stapp's vocals, though, is that they wear out your ears and you just have to TURN IT OFF! Daughtry is far away from this awful syndrome. So, in the case of this album, his song-writing and his band actually make it easier to listen to and thus I can enjoy the whole album over and over again. Initially, I was turned off because of the musicianship and the songwriting not being up to par (whatever par is, in my mind). But after listening to it a few times more, I heard the acoustic version of the song "Crashed." It totally changed how I listen to Daughtry. Ever since, I've been a huge fan of his music.

Taylor Hicks: Taylor Hicks

noteable songs: The Runaround, Soul Thing

Taylor, Taylor, Taylor... why did you have to make such a BORING record! I've tried my best to listen to this album. Each time I listen to it feels like every chord, every hit, every vocal is a rehash of something that's been done before. Also, what the heck is this genre?! R&B? Rock? Funk? Soul? I don't really know. From the first track to the last, I haven't found anything that speaks to me. He is supposed to be a HUGE talent with lots of personality. I just can't hear it. I haven't totally written him off for good, though. I expect to listen to that album more before I can decide for good.

Incubus: Light Grenades

noteable songs: Light Grenades, Rogues, Pendulous Threads, Dig

I consider myself an Incubus fan. I put their Morning View album on my top 30 list a few posts back. I've only listened to this a handful of times, but it has given me the impression that they are bored with their past sound and they, for some reason unknown to me, have to go and change it. Most of the same stuff is their. The Rock / Funk / Alt sounds that they have polished over and over again are retained. The problem for me is that some of the new stuff is simply to etheral for me to really dig. Perhaps when I give this album more time, I can see the depth it seemingly could offer.

Seacoast, Chris Sligh and More!

this is an excerpt from another MySpace blog that explains how I first met Chris Sligh and his wife Sarah...

Megan and I have been attending Seacoast Church here in Greenville for almost a year now.  I absolutely love it.  I feel very much like a part of the family.  I've always felt most at home in church working on the volunteer help staff.  So, I've helped out with running the sound board for the band and I was a fill-in man for the band sometimes.  Recently, I was 'promoted' to a full-time position in the band playing electric guitar.  That move has got me really excited.  I have been working on perfecting my guitar rig over the past 6 months and it's getting really close to being as good as I think I want it to be.  The musicians I get to work with are really top-notch people and they are all very professional.  I also really love the relationships I've established with the guys in the band.  Kevin, Chris, Jay, Clint, Don, and Chris are awesome guys and I respect them all in their own specialities.  Small-groups for Seacoast started recently as well.  We met with ours last night and had a great time meeting new folks and old friends.  It was very cool.

Ever since getting married, Megan and I have been looking for friends that we can really get close to and really relate to in personal matters.  When we started attending Seacoast on a regular basis, we got to be friends with Chris and Sarah Sligh.  After small group last night the 4 of us spent a few hours just talking about our families and life in general and how we've all dealt with life in our own way.  It really got the gears turning in my head about where I am in life and made me really think about what I could do to get where I want to be.

Life really is something you have to be fully dedicated to.  You must put your full effort into making it happen because it won't happen unless you make it happen.

Half Past Forever

this is an exerpt from one of the MySpace blogs that I had written during late summer '06...

Half Past Forever has really turned my life upside down over the past year.  I first met Chris Sligh late last year when I started attending Seacoast church.  He's a complete goof-ball most of the time yet he can write some really great songs that so far have spoken to a large amount of people.  His odd personality and great talents in music intrigued me from the start.

I was talking with Chris about my own band, nova77, after a small group meeting one night and he shared his interest in adding a guitar player slash backup vocalist to the his own HPF.  I was very interested in doing something like that because, at the time, nova77 was fizzling out and I was getting ready to give up completely on my music career and go back to school in order to get a "real job" ...  whatever that really means, I still don't know for sure.

Long story short...  I joined HPF only to have everybody in the group quit on Chris.  So, we were left with an idea of a rock band and a few good songs.  A few months later, we retooled somewhat and Chris wrote about 25-30 new tunes.  We recorded about 23 of 'em and picked the best 14 songs and posted them to the web.  We called this the HPF DEMOS.  We burned many, many copies for friends and family and also for contacts in the industry.

We started playing gigs in July and each one has been getting better and better.  Our last gig was our best yet.  I think the whole group as a unit has become very tight.  Also, I really enjoy playing with Chris, Cole and Russ.  They are some of the coolest cats I've ever hung around with.  Not to mention we have a great time hanging out as friends.

We've made several friends along the way to rock-star-dom.  Kelly Nash is a DJ from Irmo, SC who has befriended us and he has even started pushing us to his WNOK radio station.  Dino from Greenville's very own B93.7 has played us on prime-time radio.  I'm talking about mainstream radio play here!  That is some serious bid-niz!  All of that has been made possible from our studio recording of the song Know.  It started out as a really crappy song with a decent idea of a guitar riff.  Then Chris took words from another song and some other music from another and made into a radio single.  First, we recorded the demo version.  Then after the demos had time to grow and develop in our minds, we've started back in the studio and begun recording everything exactly how we want it to sound.  Honestly, I've never doubted in my mind that we could get a great recording with the equipment that we have readily available.  It took us about 3 days total to record, mix, and master the song for the radio.  I think it is so good that I would put it up against almost anything on the radio today.  It really is that good.  Not even considering the fact that we did it absolutely for free in the comfort of our own studio.  I can only thank God for giving Chris and I the talents and the resolve to do these things.

The future is very uncertain (as are most things in life), but I am very excited to see what that future may hold for Chris, Cole, myself!!  Please keep us in your prayers and in your thoughts.  Thank you so much!!

Life is boring... until you start customizing!

This is the first of a series of blogs about my adventures in customizing my stuff.

PART I:

For this first installment, we have my genuine custom-made Fender Stratocaster. It is, by a great margin, one of my favorite masterpieces of late. With a donated neck from one of Chris Sligh's old strats, I found a used body from eBay and put them together to form the basis of my new axe. Some of the other parts I cannibalized from my first electric guitar (a crappy Rogue 80's wanna-be-shredding-guitar). It actually had good pots and a good pickup switch. Right about the same time, I found a website dedicated to guitars and parts (GuitarFetish.com). For a piddly amount of money I was able to acquire a huge amount of custom parts and special hot-rod guitar stuff. Gold hardware (including the neck plate, the bridge, and even the tiny little string trees), custom dark pearloid pickguard (I bought a custom-made copper shield that is glued in place behind the pickguard to eliminate most, if not all, the interference in the guitar's wiring), the sweetest rail-style pickups I've ever seen, and even tuning pegs. When I got the box of parts in the mail I was so excited I almost wet my pants (not really, but you get the idea).

(I forgot to mention my favorite special guitar modification. I also found a mid-boost circuit similar to the TBX mid-boost on the Eric Clapton Special Edition strat. The difference is that this one has been taken up a few notches. It actually has 5 different settings. The first one is basically an 'off' setting so you can get the guitar's natural tone (which, btw, is freaking awesome with those rail pickups). The second one activates the active circuitry and eliminates any loading effects from cables, pickups, effects boxes, etc. The next 3 settings add more mids and bass until you have a fire-breathing, scream machine. Playing a solo with the max setting is quite a thrill.)

Back to the guitar build... Once I got all the parts, I immediately began assembly. First off, I wanted to get a worn-out-like-somebody-beat-the-s***-out-of-it-everyday-for-years look. So, I took a chisel to a few parts and took out a few chunks. Then I proceeded to use rubbing compound and sandpaper to wear away the finish (down to the wood in spots). Then I attached the finished neck with all the gold tuning pegs and string tree and such. Next, the bridge was screwed into place (I got real lucky with that part... I not sure exactly what nationality the body is, but the screw holes lines up perfectly... whew, major pain and suffering avoided). The next steps got quite a bit harder.

Assembling the pickguard was pretty much a nightmare. I had just bought a brand-new soldering iron just for this project. It worked ok, but I ended up buying a bigger and more powerful one later to make the job easier. Anyways, to make a very long and boring story short, it took me a long time and gave me many headaches until I worked out all the kinks in my wiring.

I used a special technique to minimize the ground loops in the wiring and thus created a nearly noiseless guitar. Who needs Fender's so called Noiseless pickups when all you have to do is shield the wiring and wire the thing right in the first place?! When I did my research and found out that the stock wiring for a Strat is actually the noisiest way to get sound from the pickups to the amp, I was shocked! It is supposedly common knowledge that Strats are just noisy because they pick-up surrounding interference (like flouresent lights, for example). That's just 'the way they are.' Not so. They are just made like crap! Les Paul countered this whole problem in the 60s (I think) with his new-fangled Hum-Bucking pickups. These were basically two Strat pickups put together with one wound one direction and the second one wired the other way. This way any interference picked up would be cancelled out by the opposite direction of the two pickups. It's quite ingenious, actually. The only caveat with humbuckers (as they are still called) is that they don't have the clarity and punch of a good single coil pickup (a Strat pickup, in other words). However, on the flip side... Les Paul guitars (w/the aforementioned humbuckers) are probably the most popular guitars for the rock genre. In a nut-shell, they sound awesome when distorted through a tube amp or with a distortion or overdrive pedal. I overcame the problem of getting some of the Les Paul sound out of my new Stratocaster. I got humbuckers that fit in the small single coil holes of my pickguard. Not only do they look amazing and all custom, but they have some of the best of both worlds. They distort like humbuckers and have a good tone, but they also have a huge high-range and a fat mid-range (perfect for those wailing and screaming solos). So, I managed to create what would seem like the perfect guitar. Well... not completely. It still has it's share of quirks and personality issues.

To this day, the guitar will sometimes not turn down when you roll the volume back to zero (this might be a problem with the actual pot). This is remedied easily by banging my fist on the tail-end of the guitar. I gave up and stopped trying to fix this problem (if it really is a problem, I mean honestly, playing in a rock band, you really don't need to turn the guitar down... full blast is almost always what you want anyway...) and decided that it just has a personality all it's own and it's still more fun to play than any other guitar I've played.

Now that it's finished (for the most part), I really love everything about it. I love how it looks. I really love how it's got a few surprises under-the-hood (the pickups, the special low-noise wiring, the custom mid-boost circuit). I also love how it sounds. I don't use it for everything I record because it doesn't always get the sound you need for certain things in any given song, but I use it a large portion of the time because I built it from the ground up to be a lead player's axe. Even with the mid-boost circuit dis-engaged, it still has a huge mid range punch that is definitely lacking in my Les Paul Custom (which is my other favorite guitar because it can do so many different sounds well and still get those perfect sounding distortion power chords).

Finally, I would like to say that my life is much more interesting and exciting after spending all the thought, effort and time building this guitar from the ground up. I wouldn't have done it any other way and I had a complete blast in the process. Isn't that what they say? The journey is sometimes better than the end itself. Well, in this case, I think the journey and the end are both awesome.

Favorite Cruisin' Albums

This is a list of mostly current artists that influence me.


30.  The Fray: How To Save A Life

29.  The Killers: Hot Fuss

28.  John Mayer: Continuum

27.  dc Talk: Supernatural

26.  Linkin Park: Meteora

25.  P.O.D.: Satellite

24.  Matchbox 20: More Than You Think You Are

23.  The Afters: I Wish We All Could Win

22.  David Crowder*Band: Illuminate

21.  Audioslave: Out Of Exile

20.  Train: My Private Nation

19.  Newsboys: Step Up To The Microphone

18.  Lincoln Brewster: Lincoln Brewster

17.  Earthsuit: Kaleidoscope Superior

16.  Coldplay: Parachutes

15.  Switchfoot: The Legend Of Chin

14.  Skillet: Collide

13.  Incubus: Morning View

12.  Deliriou5?: King of Fools

11.  OK Go: Oh No

10.  Third Day: Time (also the bonus disc: Southern Tracks)

9.  Vertical Horizon: Go 2.0

8.  Smalltown Poets: Smalltown Poets

7.  Muse: Absolution

6.  Lifehouse: No Name Face

5.  Jimmy Eat World: Futures

4.  Maroon 5: Songs About Jane

3.  John Mayer Trio: Try!

2.  Snow Patrol: Eyes Open

1.  MuteMath: MuteMath


and finally... this last one doesn't really count towards the list because it's my own music, but...


Half Past Forever: Take a Chance on Something Beautiful


... this one has been dominating my car's stereo for quite some time now.  I can't get it out of my head.  It's quite infectious.  I bet you'll see what I mean when you get a chance to hear it for yourself.  Just click on it and you can buy the hard copy or buy the download!!

Chris Sligh could be the next American Idol

Well folks...

...my good friend and fellow musician, Chris Sligh, has made it to Hollywood on American Idol!!

We've been playing this moment out in our heads for months and months now.  Our band, Half Past Forever (or HPF, for short), has been stoked about our very own Fro-Man possibly making waves on AI.  Now it has happened for real.  His own personal MySpace page has well over 800 friends now from his piddly 200 friends just last week.  The HPF MySpace has been getting tons of hits and plays (over 2000 plays per days).  We decided to open up a second MySpace page for the hard-core fans that wanted more of our rockin' tunage.

We had a party for Chris' AI debut.  The gracious host of the aforementioned party is Don Chapman, another fellow musician and friend.  He has been Chris' good luck charm for quite some time now.  He predicts that Chris will win it all on AI.  I am not ready to make that prediction just yet.  I am very biased, however.  Being in a great band with Chris has been, so far, one of the most exciting experiences of my life (it's up there with, but not quite as cool as, getting married and stuff).  We've rocked out on many a stage together and to lose him to a record deal with AI would be a sad day for me.

I really do wish him the best of luck on the show, though.  I will be extremely happy for him to finally make a living doing what he loves, writing great songs and performing them on a stage.  I know his wife, Sarah, has been waiting for this day for a long time too.  I bet she's tickled pink that her hubby could be the biggest star in the world in a matter of months.

To put in a personal plug or two...

HPF has set a release date for February 20.  This date will be the debut of our new album "Take a Chance on Something Beautiful."  The title was taken from a phrase in the second verse of the song "Cry Tonight."  We both picked it as our top choice for the album name.  For the album cover, it will be a stylized shot of Chris' fro.  We figure that people will see it and want to know what it is all about and then they'll buy it because they see the name Chris Sligh (who by that time could very well be a superstar).  Wow... they instantly buy it and are swept away in the bliss of euphoria that comes from listening to such an epic and wonderfully enjoyable album.

Having engineered the album from scratch with Chris' production talents at my side, we matched our goals and abilities and were able to create the finest piece of rock-n-roll that I've ever heard.  Ever.  I mean it for real, folks...  It's raw.  It's beautiful.  It's dark and experimental.  It's so many things rolled into one.  For this moment in my life, I feel like I'm a part of something so much bigger than I can even imagine.  It's like stepping back from one tree to see the whole forest or seeing the whole iceberg after only knowing the tip above the water.  This whole thing is going to get so huge, I honestly don't know what to expect.  I can only hope and pray that God almighty has a little tiny spot for me to fit into so that I can prosper for once in my life from my musical talents and abilities.