Doxology

This past, week Gary Sadler and I released our long-awaited collaboration called "Doxology."

We've been working on this project (many of you have heard all about it here over the years) for too long to mention. We finally focused our energies toward a finish date, and here, right around Thanksgiving, 2012, we've stepped across the finish line.

For years, Gary and I have been known for our songwriting, together and as individuals. We have, for the last twenty years, seen our careers build as song writers for other artists and worship leaders with each new song release. Now with this project, we wanted to do all of the producing, playing, singing, arranging, recording and mixing in our own studios. We did, however, get a lot of help in areas from which we needed to steer clear, such as playing drums! We have some great players on this record like my son, Josh, playing drums on several cuts; Danny O'Lannerghty plays bass on many songs and arranged the strings for "Incredible God;" the drum/ bass duo of Tony Morra and Randy Smith graced "All This Time" and "He Loves You, Too." There are too many vocalists besides Gary and I to count, but we are pleased with how Hetti-Marie Barroll sang with us on "Call On Jesus."

The point is: Gary and I are players and singers, too, and wanted to showcase our musicianship on the project. The songs are varied, with many that can be used in a worship service, and several which are intended for listening, reflection and as radio cuts. Bottom line: our songs are God-centered and were painstakingly crafted.

"All This Time" is probably the most curious song of them all. Without a reference to God, Christ, etc., it simply displays the grace of God as we sometimes wander away from our Lord for a time, only to find Him there with open arms when we, like prodigal sons, run back into our Father's arms.

We are pleased to offer the project as a download at all of the major outlets like iTunes, Amazon mp3, and our host site at the CD Baby Music Store.

Thanks for your support of this project, and please download your own copy from one of these great stores. It's also available for a listen from top to bottom on Spotify.

The paragraph below is from CD Baby: 

"Since their first recorded collaboration in 1992 ( Ancient of Days), these two platinum selling songwriters have had hundreds of songs recorded by numerous artists. Jamie Harvill and Gary Sadler have songs heard all around the world in worship services, radio and film. Now they have come together again as artists to produce a recording of 10 new songs of worship and encouragement. Whether through a simple worship chorus or a modern musical statement, this project highlights Jamie and Gary's heart for God while pushing to the foreground their instrumental and vocal prowess. Songs like "Doxology" and "Incredible God" are both congregational and radio friendly, while "All This Time" "River of Freedom" and "Hope of the World" display a high level of craftsmanship and artistry, both musically and lyrically. This is great album sure to appeal to believers and seekers alike."

Thankful

I'm a cologne freak--a fragrance geek. This malady probably started to germinate back in the '60s, when my next-door neighbor--who worked at a department store--brought me a bag of samples from the fragrance counter she managed. As a 7-year-old, I had all of the cool designer colognes of the day at my disposal. I was a mean-smelling second grader! I never lost the passion for good smelling stuff, and have a way over-blown collection of the best scents available on my bathroom counter.

A few weeks ago, I wandered into our local Macy's store and into the cologne department. The sales lady immediately saw me as an easy target (way too much money spent there already), and had a sample of a newer cologne ready for me to test. I instantly loved it for it's unique scent--and it did smell curiously familiar. I was intrigued. Since we are so close to Christmas, I thought it could be a good gift from my family. I kept smelling that cologne sample for the rest of our stroll through the mall.

I got home and went online to find the scent--maybe on Amazon for a cheaper price. A few days later, I was searching for some cologne to wear, and thought I'd peer into the back line of the many fragrance bottles, lined up like toy soldiers. There in the very back was a lonely bottle, not often used, and it looked quite like the cologne I was hunting online. I reached over, pulled it into the light and, behold, it was the very one I was searching for...I already had it!

That says a lot about me: One, I have too many bottles of cologne, two, I have spent way too much money on such fru fru items and, three, I have a terrible memory. But my main thought, as I found the forgotten cologne, was that so much of what we have is taken for granted, and  the things for which we desperately seek may already be in our possession.

I think of Moses and his staff, where God asked him: "What do you have in your hand?" The staff that he already had was then commanded to be thrown to the ground, consecrated, and used to lead his people out of slavery.

I know this Moses story is a far cry from my sorry cologne saga, but the point is: If we spend enough time in prayer, soul searching, and following after God's Word, we may find that what we're looking for is already in our hands, waiting to be dusted off and put into service.

I'm thankful today for the blessings I didn't know I had--there are so many. I will take this reminder  into tomorrow as my family gathers for our Thanksgiving feast. Thank you, God, for Your many unseen blessings--and for my new found cologne!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

10 Guitars That Changed Music Forever

Please allow me another indulgence...

I want to share with you a cool series of videos hosted by Randy Bachman (The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive). Each video spotlights a particular guitar which has, in some way, played an important part in Rock and Roll. Every gigging guitar player would love to have each of these models in his/her arsenal. Even though the tone differences can be subtle between certain models, it's clear that a few are very distinctive.

Which three of these tones are your faves? I'm missing a Gretch in my collection, and I'm sorry I sold my Gibson Les Paul Special a few years ago. Oh well, I still enjoy the ones living in my studio guitar boat, and they'll NEVER get away!

All the videos are from a playlist and will play in sequence...it's worth your time, git-pickers!

Enjoy,
Jamie

Late Night Guitar Geek

When I write my weekly blog I try not to isolate or, rather, bore any one reader--though it's always a gamble. Today I am probably going to alienate somebody with a guitar geek post.

I'm a huge fan of Premier Guitar magazine (PG). Along with a great print edition, they have an extraordinary web presence, including an ever-flowing stream of gear reviews and rig breakdowns from some of my favorite players. Yesterday, PG sent out an email with six links to rig rundowns for guitar players and bassists of six late-night show bands. I think interviewer Rebecca Dirks and PG hit the ball out of the park on this one!

I am partial to the Conan O'Brien Show and Saturday Night Live because I watch them regularly. I'm also a fan of both Conan's Jimmy Vivino (his guitar gear  passion is contagious) and SNL's Jared Scharff.

I have included the videos to these two rig rundowns I mention below, and a link to all six can be found HERE.

I am a lover and a chaser of killer guitar tone. It's such a subjective journey. But as most of those interviewed in the rig rundowns attest: it's all about getting the job done, every night of the week. In other words: songs first, gear second!

Stranger Than Fiction

Frankenstorm has flooded the east coast of the U.S.. I am watching the hurricane aftermath this morning with one eye on the T.V. and the other on my computer. The election has all but been silenced by the storm. Even as the candidates cross their fingers, hoping their message holds until the election day next Tuesday, other news seems to have passed under the radar. It's amazing the kind of stories that squeeze their way to the forefront during deadlocked news days like today. Also, many good stories get buried, unfortunately.

Brenda forwarded this headline from the UK's Daily Mail website to my phone this morning:

"Mega church pastor beaten to death with electric guitar by man who rammed car into church."  

The news shocked me as I read the article. Apparently, a crazed man rammed the church, ran after, caught and killed the pastor, Rev. Danny Kirk Sr., founding pastor of the Greater Sweethome Missionary Baptist Church in Forest Hill, Texas. The congregants are in disbelief. They say the pastor was a caring man and a great preacher, that he will be greatly missed.


Am I dreaming? Another story from the Daily Mail website was from the U.K (Oct. 30, 2012):

"Mr. (Geoffrey) Haywood was pretending to be blind when he went for a walk near his home and fell into the water-filled ditch, where his body was found by searchers. The coroner described it as the most extraordinary case he had dealt with in more than 30 years...Mr Haywood’s brother Howard said: ‘Geoffrey had psychological blindness which started after the death of our mother. I would put a Christmas dinner in front of him and he would say, “Where’s mine?” But if someone dropped money in front of him he would pick it up straight away."

Again, am I hallucinating? Are these reports for real?

Of course there is an extreme quality in both of the preceding stories. I wonder what other kinds of crazy happenings are going on in our world that are not even reported. (As a minister, I've been privy to many crazy stories that would boggle the everyday mind). But in this crazy world, truth is stranger than fiction.

We almost forget that 20 years ago we barely had cell phones. I remember watching the OJ's "low-speed" chase live in my living room on June 17, 1994. We thought then that we were super hi-tech. In the years since, the availability of immediate news on our phones has ramped-up the need for news agencies to offer a constant flow of stories to elevate ratings.

I can't wait for the elections and the storm to blow over so we can get back to normal. Who knows what stories will next make their way to our phones and our hi-def TVs? Maybe something like:

"He's alive! 'Dead' man stuns his grieving family by turning up to his own funeral!"

No, wait, that happened six days ago to a Gilberto Araujo of Brazil. 

Waiting For the Rain

Today the world awaits the second installment of ABC's new prime time soap, "Nashville."

As a resident of greater Nashville, I am interested in how the TV show will affect our economy. It is said that 125 to 150 people have found steady employment on the production and that, better yet, if a full season is shot here (hoping that last week's pilot and it's 9 million viewers keep coming back for more), $44 million dollars is expected to be spent. Also, according to Sunday's Tennessean article by Jaquetta White : "So far, (the) 'Nashville' produc­tion has involved 350 to 400 Tennessee vendors, according to an assistant to the show’s pro­ducer. That includes transportation, construction, design, cleaning and just about any other type of company that comes to mind."

As the pilot's storyline portrays, the real Nashville is filled with people who have moved their lives to this great Music City to fulfill dreams of being a star. The problem is the industry has a very narrow view of who's an investment-worthy new act. Its all about how quickly a company can return their investment and start making a profit. If your song moves up too slow or stalls somewhere on the chart without establishing you as a star, you're probably going to return to the line of starving artists, hoping for another shot.

Being a song writer myself, I can relate. The music business has changed dramatically since the digital revolution, and even the stalwart "Big Three" music conglomerates haven't seen profits like they used to back in the boom days. The game is tougher, meaner and potentially leaves more souls in the dust.

Being creative is a faith game. We write songs, books, screenplays, or whatever, without any guarantee that they'll ever see the light of day. We can only do our best and keep writing, re-writing and editing so that, hopefully, someone will see what we see in our work.

For twenty years I've been waiting at the curb four times a year for that royalty check from which comes a diminishing amount of money. The faith it takes to keep writing and creating is too costly for many. Its not uncommon for those who moved to town in the boom days to head back to Indiana or Louisiana, in hopes of finding a different line of work in a less competitive environment.

Its kind of like Noah in the Bible: We keep building something for which there is no apparent reason. A voice in our head says, "Build it and the opportunity will come." But there are no clouds in the sky! As a creative person, I can't let the discouragement freeze me out of doing what I love. Living in Nashville among other artist creates camaraderie...we all cry on each other's shoulders. The best we can do is build the finest "boat" we can while waiting for the rain. There's something to be said about being ready when opportunity strikes!

A Disaster Averted

Sunday was a day I won't soon forget. As music director, it's my responsibility to keep things rolling smoothly at church on a weekly basis, and to make corrections when necessary. I'll contact the worship leader the week before if anything in the song list or the the musical lineup needs tweaking. I try to head any problems off at the pass, but this particular weekend was crazy.

Our drummer was driving down from East Nashville to be with us at our Spring Hill location--about a 45-minute drive. I usually leave my house at 6:50 AM to be on stage by 7:00 (oh, the blessing of living near my church!). The musicians started arriving and began setting up. I noticed our drummer wasn't there, and it was 7:10. Then 7:20 came;  I started to get concerned.

My brother Jon and his family were in town from Birmingham, Alabama, for a visit. I had just said "good morning" to him as he was doing his quiet time. Collecting my things before leaving, I mentioned how cool it would be for him to play drums with our worship band sometime,  and that it would be like old times when we traveled the country and the world together thirty years ago as musicians. (I am reluctant to ask him to play because, when he comes to my place, he's looking for a break from his own weekend responsibilities as drummer for his church's worship band).

The hands on my watch showed 7:30. Oh crap--we've got a problem! I needed to somehow locate the missing drummer and started plotting what to do if he couldn't make it. I was concerned that he had an accident, slept in, or had mistakenly showed up at our Franklin campus. I couldn't find a phone number for the drummer and didn't see any texts or messages from him on my phone. So, it was up to me to find a solution to the eminent catastrophe brewing on the horizon: no drums for the two services that were only a little over an hour away.

I called my brother when he was still sitting alone doing devotions. He was surprised that we needed a drummer--especially since we talked about it a short while before.  He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll be there!" He made it within 15 minutes, we rehearsed, and he did a killer job both services.

In my career, I've learned that anything can happen, anytime, like the time Jon's drums never showed up at a gig we flew to in Houston. After a bit of an emotional and an equipment adjustment, Jon improvised and played the whole gig on just a snare drum--the only piece of gear we were able to scrape up. We probably played one of our best shows that night.

It's convenient when my brother, a drummer, is staying at my place, five minutes from church when I need him. But most of the time, it seems that options are few and time is limited when problems arise.

I later learned that our original drummer had blown a tire on the interstate. He didn't have my phone number to make a call. I was relieved to hear that he had the tire repaired, and since we were already starting the second service by that time he was set to go, he just headed back home.

I thank God for turning a disaster into a heart-affirming opportunity for my brother. It was also a chance to reunite with him after a 15-year gap between playing together. And most of all, the church didn't even know the difference--maybe it was one of the best worship sets we've done.

Sometimes the pressure helps to step up our game. I hope we don't see another one of those "growth opportunities" for a while...I'm still reeling from the bullet that just missed us!

Lead...Then Get Out of the Way!

Dolly Parton was in our local news this week. It brought to mind what she always says about her appearance: "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!" And that, my friends, leads me to a few thoughts about leading worship.

I had a great conversation yesterday with a new friend on the subject of worship. He once had a mentor who said the #1 thing to remember as a worship leader is to lead the congregation to the Throne, then get out of the way. I heartily agree.

The difficulty in preparing for worship, and making plans to get out of the way, is that it takes a lot of skill to make it look so simple--thus, the reference to Dolly Parton. I've had the rich experience of playing behind some of the greatest worship leaders of our time. I took the opportunity years ago, while being a back-up musician, to study the way an excellent leader bonds with and leads their audience. It's hard to reduce a skill like this to a few points--and with such limited time--but there are some basic things to which a young, or a new worship leader can aspire.

It's important to have a worship plan, but be willing to abandon it to follow where the Holy Spirit leads. The crucial thing to remember is that the Spirit is leading us during our planning time, too, and it has been the rare occasion that I've ventured away from the original plan. So, the plans we make must be solid, Spirit-filled, and we must scrutinize every aspect in order to help the audience focus on God.

Our goal is not necessarily to have an impressive set of songs, or to create an opportunity to display our artistry. It's always been, though, about leading our congregation to God and getting out of the way! Here are some things that help me every time I sit down to plan a service.

1) Choose congregational keys for the songs.

Some worship leaders blame the audience for not singing, but the reason they aren't singing may be because they can't sing the song in the key you've chosen. A congregation has a limited range that goes fro B flat--below middle C--to D, an octave and a whole-step from middle C. Choose song keys where the melody stays within these boundaries. Worship leaders that are altos and high tenors can make the mistake in keying the songs to their own singing range.  In doing so, they alienate John and Jane Q. Public's ability to sing the songs!

2) Be prepared so that you are at rest with yourself on stage.

Think through the transitions between songs--what you're going to say and what you'll play. Work out a seamless way to go from one song to another. Dead airtime in a service (mostly between songs) can be a trust-killer for audiences (sometimes in the middle of a sweet time of worship, though, silence can be golden). It's smart to practice transitions in rehearsal. Make a "cheat sheet," if needed, to lay on the stage floor in front of you. A quick glance downward can rescue you during a momentary lapse of memory. Know your chords, use a monitor for lyrics, make eye contact with your congregation and draw them in. Being comfortable on stage will help your audience trust and follow you. Confidence breeds confidence.

3) Don't be afraid of dynamics in the service.

It's okay to bring the music down to one instrument at times, especially during an intimate moment in worship. The stripped-down, single instrument can facilitate a "one-on-one" feel that will enhance an intimate lyric. Some people ask me why my sets usually start with faster songs and end with softer songs. I answer that it's human nature. In other words, folks are coming in from the parking lot, hardly focused on spiritual things. Faster songs, with a "gather together" lyric, help focus attention toward the stage to begin the worship journey ahead.  It's our job as leaders to help the congregation focus ultimately on God and not themselves. I design a worship set to facilitate this journey for them--like concentric circles leading into the "bulls eye" of intimate worship.

4) New songs may be cool, but a familiar song always wins.

Choosing songs from the CCLI top 25 may keep us from feeling stagnant and bored, but don't underestimate the emotional power of hymns and of older worship songs. Why? Because people are already familiar with these songs; they've already made an emotional connection with them. Emotional connections and familiarity are important in worship because the congregation can close their eyes and sing without looking at the lyrics on screen. It's important to teach new songs, too, just not too many at one time. Remember, it's not about you, but about the journey of the congregation and, more importantly, about God. Don't let the need to be cutting-edge veer you away from the chief goal: to lead the congregation toward a deep and personal connection with God.

As we grow in our ability to lead people, we see that it takes a ton of  life-experience and skill to make our jobs look easy, and it takes a considerable investment of time each week to be effective. It's all about leading our church family to the Throne and getting out of the way, to leave them standing alone in the presence of God.

Family Is Everything

It's sad to witness a family falling apart. On the Orange County Chopper TV show, with it's stars Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Jr., we have, like voyeurs, watched them fighting over business matters for the past three years. This new season shows the Teutuls making an attempt to heal the rift through building a bike together. I felt like cringing every time I'd hear the disrespect, from both sides, in the form of fiery comments to the camera, as if the camera crew were arbitrators in the on-going battle.

Last night, as Brenda and I sat with my dad for dinner, I asked him if he has good memories of his father. He said that he never really knew his dad and that, as far as he remembered, he wasn't home very much. When he was home, my dad continued, it was to sleep-off a late-night drinking marathon. I feel bad for my father because he never had that opportunity to hang out with his pop like I have been blessed to do with mine.

After all is said and done, our families are the core of our lives. I couldn't imagine a life without clear communication, love and trust between those in my family. So much of who I am is wrapped up in being a husband and a father. My greatest memories are of reading to my kids as we cozied up in their beds after bath time. If I made a mistake with a show of anger, I always tried to say I was sorry.

Tomorrow, Brenda and I will make an early morning trip to Murfreesboro where, in a local hospital, our first grand baby will be delivered by C-section. Pop will be with us, too. That will make four generations of Harvills in that hospital, when Josh and Amber's Norah Charlotte finally arrives.

Brenda and I weren't perfect parents. I especially lost my patience more than a couple of times, and in the heat of frustration, I most certainly said some regrettable things. But I am proud of the way Josh and Betsy have turned out, in spite of my failings. I see the way they treat their spouses with love and through servant-hood. I hope my love for their mother was an inspiration to them.

I pray the forth generation of Harvills carries on the legacy that my parents and Brenda's parents started back before she and I were born. On both sides, there were broken marriages, but our parents were determined to change all that.

I feel for broken families. Its not too late to make a change, to take a u-turn and come together as families. I believe my wife, kids, grand kids and extended family are, next to God, everything.

Writing Is Hard

Writing is hard. It's like writing songs: you rewrite over and over again, and when you think everything is fine, there's still a need for revision. I am, what you might call, an avid reader, so I know what great writing tends to look like. The tough part is that what I think--or should I say--the way my brain composes sentences, isn't particularly kosher with grammar nerds. By the way, if it weren't for the spellchecker on my Mac, I would be in serious trouble.

I wouldn't call my wife and editor, Brenda, a nerd, but she has a mighty fine eye for poor grammar, due to her excellent private school education. Can I blame my lame writing skills on the fact that I grew up in Southern California during a particularly lax period when my public school system thought it intrusive to actually fail students with poor writing skills? How would I know then that I'd grow up and want to be a writer?

Kids don't usually have the forethought when it comes to their health or good writing and math skills. We trash our bodies with doughnuts and candy bars until, in our 40s, we get a bad report from the doctor. Only then do we kick into high gear and change our slothful eating habits. As kids we look at our report cards and chuckle, thinking we'll never use those skills we learned (or didn't learn) in real life. Well, I'm here to tell you--yes, all you kindergarten students just starting your first few weeks of school.--PAY ATTENTION!

I wish I had taken seriously my English teacher in Jr. High who said good grammar is the foundation for a good life. Well, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but I will admit that learning good grammar habits will save you the grief I've experienced since deciding to become a writer. Even in the case of writing songs,  verb and subject agreement still applies. On a side note, if you're going to write worship songs, take a few classes on theology in college: it helps when you get that right, too!

So, with all of this push-back when it comes to writing, why do I still want to sit here at my Mac and pound through another blog post, work on a book or write another song? I mean...who is really reading or listening? My answer is: It doesn't matter. I am compelled--simply put! I love the process, and will keep writing until either my hands wither up from arthritis or I die and my cold hands lay frozen on this keyboard--God forbid!

Please work with me here--I"m probably going to misspell a few words, and will certainly abuse grammar now and then, but I'm going to say what's on my heart. No matter how difficult the process, here I go again. And, oh, thanks for reading!

When You're Not Invited to the Party...

I wasn't surprised to see on the Tennessean newspaper's front page this past Sunday morning a prominent photo and headline of one of my favorite country artists, Marty Stuart. If you've been reading my blog for the past two years, you already know about my fascination with this guy.

Photo by Anthony Scarlati

Yes, his music is what I like to listen to. Yes, I am a sucker for his Saturday night TV show on the RFD-TV network--probably because it's got an old-school Porter Wagoner Show look, due to the fact that Directv doesn't broadcast it in HD yet.

All of this pales to the fact that the music coming out of my TV speakers during the show each week is fresh. This is ironic since many of the music styles Stuart leans on hale from late 60s/ early 70s. The Fabulous Superlatives, Marty's band, are creating killer music, and everyone from Shooter Jennings to Emmylou Harris to Merle Haggard have made an appearance on the show. Everybody seems to be paying attention! That's why I wasn't surprised to see the front page Sunday.

Marty has enjoyed a remarkable career. In 1972, as a 13-year-old fresh out of Philadelphia, Mississippi, he was invited to play mandolin with the Lester Flatt bluegrass band. As he got older and his playing matured, he was introduced to all of the bad things that many a young musician finds along the road: drugs and too much alcohol. His career took a huge step forward when, in October 1989, his solo record "Hillbilly Rock" started climbing the charts. He spent most of the 90s releasing hit records and enjoying "star" status. After a while, country music headed in a different direction, leaving Stuart and many other artist clamoring for a career. That's when Marty went to his old friend and former boss, Johnny Cash, for some advise. From  Peter Cooper's interview in Sunday's Tennessean, Marty explained,

“I said (to Cash), ‘I can’t seem to get my hand on the brass ring down­town,’ ” he says. “He (Cash) said, ‘There ain’t no brass ring, and if there is and if you get it, what have you got?’

Another pivotal conversation  spawned one more of many "aha" moments. Stuart was troubled with the state of traditional country music and expressed:

“I thought, our culture’s slip­ping away,” he says. “I thought, ‘The music itself is fast fading.’ I had a talk with (gospel music kingpin) Bill Gaither, and he said, ‘If you love your culture and stand by it when nobody else does, you become the go-to guy for your culture, because of your love.’ ” 

 Since then, Marty has taken a lonely road but one that proved to be exactly the best direction he could have steered his career. Now he is the go-to guy for traditional music.

My take-away from Marty Stuart and his amazing story is this: When you're not invited to the party, throw your own! In doing so we may find that, 1) everyone's waiting for someone else to make the move, and 2) the music business needs a brave soul to step out and take a chance with passion, determination and class with music they love. Chances are there are thousands of fans just waiting to throw their hard-earned money down on you and your music.

Hammond Organ Heaven

You could walk into a grandma's house--probably one out of ten in the 1970s--and would see a beautiful wooden console keyboard in the corner next to a couch covered in protective plastic. I'll admit I took those old spinet organs for granted. Sure, its still common to see a rock concert stage fitted with a Hammond B3 or C3, but those smaller-sized organs seemed to be the ones old folks would buy to power up for family gatherings at Christmas. I'll bet many a Hammond spinet organ found its way into a trash heap, the value unbeknownst to those cleaning out grandma's house.

Hold on before you make that mistake! As I have learned from my dear friend Kevin Shaw, those old Hammond keyboards can still, if in solid working order, put out the wonderfully mind-blowing tones that we all cherish.

A Hammond M3, similar to the one Kevin's restoring.

I have an indelible memory of hearing a rock band with a Hammond organ back in the 60s at Disneyland. The swirl and stereo effect of the organ/Leslie combo helped give bands a signature sound. Deep Purple and other groups like Procal Harrum with "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," songs by Emerson, Lake and Palmer and late-70s rockers like Foreigner, Styx and Kansas, are all known for using a Hammond. The slightly distorted organ helped glue each band's sound together and paired so well with the dirty dual guitars that filled our stereo speakers.

Arguably, little spinets like grandma's Hammond M3 can sound mighty close to their big brother, the B3, albeit with fewer bells and whistles.

I wrote earlier this spring of a Hammond M3 that my buddy Kevin Shaw masterfully restored for my church. Once we got that thing up and running for our worship band to enjoy, I started to pray for my own Hammond set up--and I don't even play keys!

Leslie 120 cabinet

This past week I visited Kevin and he pointed to a Leslie 120 in the corner of his shop. We hooked it up to one of his fabulous-sounding guitar amps--and there it was: the swirling, room-filling tone that guitarists die for (remember that George Harrison "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"?). Its the real thing!

He then took me out to his fabrication shop and showed me the Hammond M3 he was fixing. Kevin asked me if I was interested in purchasing both the M3 and the Leslie cabinet after he completed the repairs...Is the pope Catholic?!...YES!!

So, this weekend Kevin's bringing the M3 and the Leslie over to my place. I am looking forward to using this rig for organ overdubs but am equally looking forward to using the Leslie for some of that classic guitar swirl that most players can only get from using pedals. Yep! I'll be be in swirl heaven.

Get the Right Person For the Job

An alternate title for this piece could be "careful casting," because it's important to employ the most suitable persons to complete any given project, including movies, music, home fix-it folks, relationships--you name it.

I've watched a boatload of blu ray special features in my time and have heard several directors say that they carefully cast their actors. This means the director and staff carefully look into hundreds of photos, audition tapes and have several meetings to fill a role with the perfect actor, who embodies the specific skills to get the job done. Chemistry is important among the actors in film, too, to project authenticity on the screen. That way when the movie hits theaters, it has the greatest chance of being financially and critically successful.

To illustrate this in my world of music production, I have been putting together some song demos for a client. I arranged one of the songs in the style of one of my favorite country artists, Emmylou Harris. I am well aware that the "Emmylou sound" is very particular in that I was going to require a very specific singer to pull off the lead vocal. I knew who to call. And when I did, she wasn't immediately available to come in and record the part. I could have found someone else, who I would have ended up frustrating and who would have ended up frustrating me. The job would have barely been completed, if even done at all. I would have wasted time, money and energy trying to cram an otherwise wonderful singer into a roll that was unsuitable for them. In this way, nobody is happy when the day is done.

Long story short...Heather came over last night to sing and knocked the ball out of the park! We even had plenty of time to do some killer background vocals.

Like I stated earlier, to get the job done, we must be very careful to use the most suitable person for the job. Sometimes we bring in the wrong person and, when the result is negative, we blame them. Well, the blame should be put on us because we tried to force a proverbial right shoe on a left foot and expected them to dance like a ballerina!

We must take the time to find the right person for the job. It really is more of a reflection on we as team leaders, producers, directors, project managers,  business owners, etc., than on those we choose. "Careful casting" is also imperative when searching for a marriage partner. Sometimes, like actors, our prospective mate may say they can ride horses and shoot guns like John Wayne, only to find that they've never even been three feet from a horse in their lives. Poor decision making creates bad movies and bad marriages. Careful choosing helps avoid painful losing.

When You Get To Your Goals--What's Next?

After tossing and turning last night, I resorted to perusing my iPad. Waiting in my email box was a weekly installment from "In the Studio with Redbeard," containing an interview with the classic rock band Kansas and their thoughts on the 35th anniversary of their mega-successful record, "Point of Know Return."

Kerry Livgren--co-founder, principle songwriter, lead guitarist and former member of Kansas--remembered the road to fame in an audio portion from the "In the Studio" website. When asked about the rise to success after the band's beginnings in Topeka, Kansas, Livgren said,

"You know, success is harder to live with than the road getting to it, I thought. We lived in some amazing poverty, and we had a really rough road--and people thought we were making all this money…All of a sudden that changed, rather abruptly and dramatically. All of a sudden we had everything we ever wanted just tossed in our lap. You know you've had this pie-in-the-sky dream for like ten years and all of a sudden here you are--you got it! What do you do next? You know, that's a hard thing to deal with in your life--it really is--'cause when you've got a direction, that's great. But when you get to the destination, you no longer have a direction, you're there--and that's real tough."

This past week I had the pleasure of attending the Global Leadership Summit at the Franklin campus of The People's Church, an annual simulcast from the Chicago-area Willow Creek Association. So many excellent speakers took the stage over the two-day conference. My favorite was Patrick Lencioni's session (apparently, he is the favorite of most everyone, according to answers to exit questionnaires). He said that every organization must ask themselves six critical questions--and I believe we as individuals must do the same,

"Why do we exist? How do we behave? What can we actually do? How do we succeed? What is most important in our organization right now? Who must do what?"

If we continually answer these questions as individuals, and live our lives in response, then our goals are always alive. I would restate these questions as a continual goal-setting activity as follows:

1. Why do I exist? (To life for and bring glory to God).
2. How do I behave? (Purpose to live out the life-principles found in the Word of God--the Bible).
3. What can I actually do? (Seek God's purposes for my life in light of my particular gifts, talents and passion).
4. How do I succeed? (Create specific, attainable and measurable goals in light of the preceding three directives).
5, What is most important in my life now? (The ever-present values of God and family first never change, but with life seasons, always adjust to the immanent priorities in life while setting boundaries to protect myself from the "tyranny of the urgent").
6. What must I do? (In the same light of directive number five, I must learn that there is only so much I myself can accomplish; there maybe others more suitable to do certain things. Understanding our limitations may dictate what the "next" will be. I must work alongside others to attain my goals).

I want to continually grow and set new, fresh goals. It's a sad day for some who feel they've already hit their glory days. Not me--I'm still rockin'!

Bacon Rules!

Did you know that there's a bacon-lovers group with a website called the "Royal Bacon Society?" On the site they talk of bacon brownies, bacon beer, bacon Elvis cookies, and a whole slew of bacon-related merchandise. They even have a Facebook page!

I totally get it because I adore bacon. Its my favorite protein for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I make excuses all the time to make breakfast for dinner, just so I can cook me up some bacon!

Last night Brenda suggested we have some BLTs for dinner. I jumped up and started breaking into a fresh package of thick bacon and promptly placed six strips on the microwave plate to start the process (I'm not a fan of frying bacon because of the mess it leaves on the stove afterward--a cover over the microwave plate cleans up nicely!).

Burger King Bacon Sundae

We had lunch yesterday at Burger King, and promptly displayed on the counter was an advertisement for their Bacon Sundae. Yep, I get it: sweet, salty and crunchy, with that smokey bacon goodness--all in one beautiful package!

I'm a sausage guy, too, but bacon takes the top-spot in my breakfast pantheon of food. There's something about the aroma that brings me back to the days when my family went camping, and the smell of frying bacon on the old green Coleman stove in the broad open spaces of the mountains around Big Bear, California, that made an indelible memory that is vivid today. For generations my family saved bacon grease (the stuff never seemed to spoil!) in a jar to later flavor cornbread and green beans.

My family is Southern all the way and bacon sits prominently in the place of honor among foods with us. That's probably because hogs were slaughtered in the fall and bacon was cured--just like all parts of a pig were back in the day--salted or smoked for later consumption. My ancestors might not have been financially rich, but we never went hungry on account of all the wonderful foods that were canned, smoked or pickled.

Bacon rocks--that's something I'm gonna be politically incorrect about, no matter what!

Faked Or For Real?

Yesterday evening I felt like one of those presenters on PBS' Antiques Roadshow. Its painful to watch their faces while awaiting the good or the bad news regarding the value of the item they brought to the show for appraisal. I always hold my breath during the awkward silence when the appraiser asks the two questions: 1) how much did you pay for it? and 2) what do you think it's worth? 

I answered the phone and my buddy John Scott from Bluesman Vintage Guitars here in Spring Hill asked if I was free to talk. It was about the Gibson Les Paul Gold Top I took to his shop earlier that day (I hoped he could fix the intonation problems I've been having). He asked me where I purchased it. I said I bought it brand-new in '05 from a reputable Gibson dealer. He paused and then said, "I've been looking at this guitar with Big Mike (Bluesman's repair guy and stellar blues picker) all afternoon and there's something weird about it." He went on to mention the quirky electronics routing, the neck binding and neck width; the color of the gold was even different than he'd ever seen before.

As John kept talking my heart began to sink. Its no secret that there are incredible Chinese fakes out there that have made it past many a discriminating eye into the the hands of unsuspecting players. John was leading me to the that very possibility: could this guitar I payed two grand for seven years ago be a fake?

John has a friend here in Nashville who works at the Gibson factory and knows all of the ins-and-outs of most every Gibson made. He also has a trained eye for fakes. John promised me he'd call his buddy and would let me know the next day what the verdict was on my prized Gold Top.

I spent the next 24 hours in suspension--at least the folks on Antiques Roadshow are only held over for a few seconds. I was afraid that my $2000 investment might turn out to be actually valued at $200...maybe. The fakes that have been floating around are said to be unbelievably well constructed, with papers, hanging tags and a real Gibson hard case! I was even contemplating casing it and shoving it way back into the corner of my studio closet where I wouldn't have to face the humility if the Les Paul was in fact a forgery.

I called John today and he played me a bit just for fun. It turns out that my Les Paul is a Gibson, confirmed by the serial number, proving that the store where I bought it was a match. His friend explained to John that the 60s-style necks are hand-sanded and that the funky differences between two necks of the same model are very possible. Different suppliers can explain the binding and the gold paint differences, too. All in all, my guitar is the real deal. Whew! That was close...I am sooo relieved!

Its easy to get duped these days. With all of the picker and pawn shows on TV, we're getting better as an audience at pointing out quirks that lead to suspicions and an item's true value. Thank God I've got great friends who stand in the gap for me when, even as a pro player, I can be so easily bamboozled.

Done!

Like I wrote a few weeks ago, its so good to be finished with a project. In my case, two projects! Gary and I are finished with our project and I'm finished with the instrumental project.

My son Josh was here overnight yesterday and expertly completed the artwork for my instrumental record. I knew the title pretty much says that its an instrumental, but I wanted to make sure that guitars were prominently displayed on the cover, too.

I'm pleased to present to you the final cover!

The record is now available on iTunes, Spotify, AmazonMp3, eMusic, etc,. Go there now and download a copy!

Gary and I have named our project "Doxology" (there's singin' on that one...guitars, too). We will have it uploaded and ready to purchase real soon.

Oh, and thanks for reading my blog. I have been distracted of late but promise to pick up my regularity soon. Its not good to be irregular...there's a medicine for that!

The Things We Leave Behind

As I write this, I have been forced into my office upstairs while carpet is being installed throughout the bottom floor of our home. Eleven years of living has made way into the fibers of those dilapidated, stained and tired fibers; It was due time to upgrade to something fresh--with greater quality than the builders originally installed.

Like with used carpet, life makes an imprint in the places we live. With so many ghost hunter-related shows filling our cable channels, we see that not only are our homes filled with our earthly stuff, but apparently our living spaces retain a bit of spiritual energy, too. I have been in places where there is a distinct vibe present--either negative or positive--rarely neutral. I must say I enjoy watching some of the ghost-oriented shows and have seen some pretty astonishing things. As a Christian, I believe in eternal life (life after death), and I believe that through our decision to acknowledge Christ as Savior here on earth, we will, therefore, find an eternal home with Him in Heaven, waiting on the other side of life.

I don't know the full explanation of why supernatural phenomena happens on earth (and I'll remain a skeptic, for the most part, as to most claims), but I have to say I believe there are evil spirits roaming the earth whose sole purpose is to lead people away from God.

For this reason, every time a family member moves into a new place, I like to bring anointing oil to dab over each doorway and accompany it with a prayer of consecration and protection for the inhabitants. To some this may seem extreme but, as a Christ-follower, I am convinced that humans are vulnerable to evil even though they may believe it doesn't exist.

As the guys haul away the old, dirty carpet to the dump, I know that love, grace and redemption remains in every fiber of our home. We made a choice eleven years ago when we bought this place that Christ would be Lord of this place. I know He makes Himself known to all who come through our door. I bet you'll feel it if you come for a visit.

Rain, Rain

It poured last night. After a couple of weeks of scorching 100 degree-plus temperatures, the sky finally broke open and soaked the dry ground--especially the lawn, flowers and garden--around our house. It reminded me of just how dependent upon God we humans are.

I am humbled by the fact that my life is unsustainable outside of the grace and provision of God. If our planet scooted closer or further away from the sun, we would all burn up or freeze. The same with the delicate balance of oxygen on earth: we would suffocate if the mix changed even a smidgeon. Here's the skinny: We are all dependent on God, whether we want to admit it, confess it, believe it or not. I choose to accept that God is involved in the tiniest details of our lives and our environment.

Thank you, God, for the rain. I pray that we get more over the next few days. Our air conditioner out back has been carrying a heavy load lately. I feel the same way at times in my life: circumstances can get tough and it's always good when God's grace rains down and brings needed relief in my heart.

I say, "Let it pour!"

25 Songs That Changed The Way We Worship : Integrity Music 25th Anniversary

What a surprise and a blessing it was to see that "Ancient of Days" was included in this list of worship songs, released this week on CD from Integrity Music. I am honored that after 20 years, the song has risen to this place in history.

I never have recorded the song on any personal projects until I included it as an instrumental on my new project coming out in a week or so.

Our prayers go out to all in Colorado Springs, CO--where coincidentally, Integrity Music is now based as a subsidiary of David C. Cook--who are battling fires that are threatening homes, communities, churches and livelihoods.

Thanks again, Integrity Music, for blessing the Harvills beyond imagination, and for affecting the way the Church worships God over the past quarter century! I pray "Ancient of Days" is included on the 50th anniversary collection one day!

Check out this promotional video about the release. I believe "Ancient of Days" is number five in the lineup.

Finish What You Start

Today's a new day! Yesterday's worship services went well, but as a former pastor often said during our Monday planning meetings: "The problem with church is that it happens every week!" Without fail, Monday comes and a new set of challenges face us, even though we want to take a bit of a rest. Frankly, I like these type of challenges because I am motivated to complete a task.

Completing something--running over the finish line--is satisfying. Now just because I finish something, it doesn't mean I came in first place. It does mean, though, that I chose to do something, planned, prepared and pursued it to completion. There is a satisfaction in finishing something, and it can be rejuvenating, too.

When I decided to pursue the instrumental project I've been writing about recently, it was in the midst of a personal trial. I made some necessary life changes last spring and was faced with several uncertainties--one of which was financial in nature. Leaving a position that brought provision to my family for 8 years was a tough call, but necessary. I needed, among several other things, to sow into something that stirred my creative imagination. There were several things that I could not control at the time, so I put energies into something I could control.

 I love to walk in my neighborhood, listen to music on my headphones and write new melodies for new songs. After several days of walking around the block last summer (not concurrently!), I started hearing melodies without words--melodies that brought up certain emotions. I heard my guitar playing those melodies and soon hatched a plan to record a new project with my guitar as the centerpiece. I also had songs--instrumentals--on the workbench for years, and this was the opportunity to bring them to light.

Yesterday I lined up the finished recordings and created a master disc, ready for replication. It is satisfying to have that dream realized and to hold it in my hand as a completed project. I am ready to move on to another adventure, but first I want to soak in the bliss of finishing what I started!

 ______________________________________________

Here's one more sample of the instrumental record. This song is called "River Road," written for a highway that rolls out of Columbus, Ohio called Olentangy River Road, Hwy 315--a beautiful drive that has stayed in my memory since I first drove it over 30 years ago. The song is one of the mellow tunes from the record, in the style of one of my heroes--Earl Klugh--and in the spirit of  one of his greatest records ever: "Heartstring."

I hope you enjoy it

   River Road by jamieharvill

Another Instrumental Project Song- "Texas Toast"

Here's another selection from my upcoming instrumental project entitled "Songs Without Words." I have been influenced by so many guitarists that it's difficult to limit the styles I wanted to add to the record. I guess some of the songs just dictated how they wanted to be presented--and of course my own style always comes through.

I am going to see ZZ Top tonight in concert, so it's appropriate that I post a song inspired by the band. I have been a huge fan of Bill Gibbons from the start. In fact, fifteen years ago I had the pleasure of working in the same studio in which much of their classic record "Tres Hombres" was recorded; I imagined Billy's unmistakable guitar tones still floating in the air there. Also, I can't help but think of the gigantic Mexican food spread on the inside cover of "Tres Hombres" (Tex Mex food of those proportions are usually found exclusively in Texas and California!). I call this song "Texas Toast," because of it's gritty textures and it's Texas inspiration.

Again, I will have my full project available in July. I hope you enjoy the song... Texas Toast by jamieharvill

Instrumental Project: Emerald City

I've been busy this year completing an instrumental guitar project. I am excited to share a song here today that will be a part of the collection called "Songs Without Words." The following song is entitled "Emerald City;" an ode to heaven, as I imagine it to be even more visually breathtaking than the Land of Oz. I guess the Irish styling helped inspire the name, too.

The songs on the record cover many styles, including rock, light jazz and acoustic. I had a blast recording the project and I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did working on it. I will post another song later this week. The project should be available for download by the first week of July.
  Emerald City by jamieharvill

My Disneyland Bucket List Adventure

Bucket lists are popular these days, probably due to the recent movie of the same name. Everyone has a list of things to do before they die. My list, for the most part, is being steadily filled. I'm a blessed guy!

Blue Bayou, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland

It seems silly to mention, but I have a bucket list item that has been hanging-on in my sub conscience since I was about seven-years-old. It started when I first stood in line for the then brand-new "Pirates Of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland (we lived about four miles away, as the crow flies, in Fullerton, so we visited as often as possible). As the line formed and guests were strung-up along the long, wooden fence that corals the queue, there was (and still is) a clear and deliberate sight-line to the restaurant in the middle of the attraction called "The Blue Bayou."

As a kid, looking at those folks eating in the candle-lit restaurant was like a peak over a neighbor's fence in the summer time, watching them enjoy a swim in their pool, and longing to join them. A special treat like eating at the "Bayou," or having our own family pool was beyond my family's financial reach. I dreamed one day I'd find a way to get my own pool and maybe even a long- shot chance to dine at the Pirates Of the Caribbean and The Blue Bayou.

I got my pool in 2000 and, although I loved it, learned what a challenge it was to keep the water crystal-clear. I still flirt with the idea of a pool where we live now, but I could take it or leave it at this stage in my life.

Brenda and Jamie at the Blue Bayou restaurant, Disneyland

I traveled with my bride--along with both kids and their spouses--to southern California this past week and made our way again to Disneyland. Like me, my son-in-law, Adam, was intrigued with the idea of eating at the "Bayou." He made a quick phone call the night before our Disney trip and, to my surprise, snagged a reservation.

After a long day at the park, we scurried up to the check-in at the restaurant just before 9PM (a terrible time to eat a full meal, but the only slot they had open) and were soon seated. I ordered short ribs and--as we waited for our meal, munching on hot, fresh bread and enjoying a respite form the long day of combing the park--I gazed toward the area where the line for Pirates winds back and forth, across from the fake swamp and the pretend fireflies. There they were-- the folks in line, peeking over at us as we were seated in the restaurant, just like I did for forty-five years!

At that moment I realized: the forty-five-year dream of getting there was much more fun than the experience itself. As I scanned the bill for Brenda and I, totaling just under $100 dollars, I surrendered, then and there, to the fact that when wishes come true, even in Disneyland, they aren't always as fulfilling as hoped. Still, it was a bucket list item I could finally check off.

My thirst is quenched; I don't ever need to return to the "Bayou" again. But that doesn't mean you won't find me standing in line for Pirates Of the Caribbean again and again like a seven-year-old! Another bucket list item I have is a chance to get off the "doom buggy" at the Haunted Mansion and walk around...but I think that wish list item will most likely stay unchecked.

Blessed!!

It's great to be back home in my native Orange County! This time I'm accompanied by Brenda, Josh, Betsy and their spouses. We are celebrating the wedding of my cousin's son, and I'm officiating!

It's always great to be amongst family; it's with them that I realize how blessed I am. When a bummer day tries to force me to feel like giving in to a down-trodden spirit, I remember that I'm so fortunate and I quickly change moods for the better.

Growing up in a loving family where your place at the table is remembered even when you are away is comforting. I've always felt the sense of belonging, and that security can be traced to my wonderful OC upbringing.

There is so much to do here with so little time to do it. We will have to be very selective with our activities and visits, but a requisite trip to Disneyland is on the books, for sure.

Sunday I'll be leading worship at Worship Life Calvary in San Clemente. My buddy, Holland Davis, is pastor there and I am pumped to share some new music as well as hear some great preaching.

The summer is shaping up! There's a ZZ Top concert later this month, where I'll take my rock and roll bride. Blessed, I say!

Marty Stuart: Keeper Of the Twang

My love for country music started with the Bakersfield Sound--led by Buck Owens--a steadfastly independent offshoot of mainstream Nashville, also known as West Coast Country. As a kid in the late 60s and early 70s in Southern California, I had a little AM radio and often tuned into a local station that played all of the West Coast greats, as well as the popular fare coming out of Nashville. As I grew into my teens, I enjoyed the country rock sounds that were brewing through groups like the Eagles and psychedelic crazies like Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

That twang--that pure "Fender Telecaster into a Fender amp" sound isn't dead...by a long shot. It still lives through the efforts of my favorite country artists today, including Marty Stuart. Marty offers the down-home warmth and every-man songs that attract non-musicians as fans, along with wicked chops on guitar and mandolin, and a killer team of top-notch band mates that attract musicians like myself to his music.

I came across the following article by Peter Cooper in the Tennessean Sunday about Marty Stuart. Check out the sentiment that rings true not only with me, but with a host of others who follow Marty, his music, his Saturday night TV show, and his relentless passion to keep the twang alive.


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Remember Marty Stuart?

CMA big-stage popularity may elude him, but excellence doesn'’t
country singer Marty Stuart was a major label star in the 1990s.
But the poor guy hasn'’t had a Top 40 country hit in 15 years.

Fifteen years was seven albums ago. It was 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple Computer and Princess Diana died, and Rebecca Black of “Friday” You-Tube fame was born (OMG!!!) and Sony Records released music from newly signed band The Dixie Chicks. Fifteen years ago is, as Darrell Scott later wrote for those same Dixie Chicks, “a long time gone.” And so Marty Stuart won’t be playing the big LP Field stage at this week’s CMA Music Festival, where the hot contemporary country stars frolic and wave. And Marty Stuart is signed to independent record label Sugar Hill, not a major. And his television show airs on RFD-TV, a channel some people don’t get and the ones who do get it may never find it. (We’re here to help: Comcast Channel 136, Dish Network Channel 231 and Channel 345 for DirectTV’ers.) The weird thing is, Marty Stuart is on a roll. He has spent the past decade not so much reinventing himself as whittling away at excess and artifice until he emerged at his sharpest and truest, most creative and, somehow, most successful. Check this out:

» He fronts the Fabulous Superlatives, a band that rivals or bests any other for virtuosity, immediacy, adaptability and entertainment value.

» His work as a producer has revived popular and critical interest in country legends Porter Wagoner and Connie Smith, the former of whom is his wife. Wait, make that the latter, not the former. I always get those confused. (Porter and Connie, I mean. Not latter and former. I know those like the back of my hand.)

» Though stuck way up in the triple digits of television receivers, Stuart’s RFD-TV show draws guests including Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Lyle Lovett, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, Ray Price, Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris.

It’s also a rollicking showcase for Stuart, the Fabulous Superlatives, Smith, Leroy Troy and other regulars. “Musicians of every genre watch us, and it’s become one of the favorite shows to watch on rock ’n’ roll tour buses,” Stuart says. “We’'ve got hay bales and rhinestones, but I knew this could be a profound, Smithsonian-level document.”

» Stuart’s more than 20,000-item collection of country music memorabilia features Hank Williams’ boots, Jimmie Rodgers’ railroad lantern, the guitar on which Johnny Cash played “I Walk The Line” and thousands of other treasures.

» Stuart’s making the finest, most traditional music of his career, the latest evidence of which is the tremendous Nashville, Volume 1: Tear the Woodpile Down. “When I reconnected with traditional country music I found myself, my calling,” he writes in the album’s liner notes. “The job seemed to be to champion it, love it, protect it, care for its people, attempt to write a new chapter for it and to make sure that everybody understands that it’s alive and well in the 21st century.” Done, done, done, done, done and done.

» While not a part of CMA Music Festival proper, beginning in 2002 Stuart has headed the festival’s decidedly unofficial kickoff, Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam at the Ryman Auditorium. “It’s the pirate ship of the week, and it was kind of a necessity,” he says. “When I started this, I knew that the big stage comes and goes, and I knew I didn'’t want to play a lesser stage. So I thought, ‘Let’s start our own show. And let’s try to offer the fan an alternative to everything else they’re going to see, and set it up as something different.’ And along with buying the ticket came the contractual handshake with the ticket buyer: You have to trust me.” The Jam has featured a dizzying roster of artists, many of whom haven’t appeared during the official CMA Fest.

Stuart has had Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Duane Eddy on stage with up-and-coming western swing the Quebe Sisters Band. He’s hosted Earl Scruggs and Shooter Jennings, Old Crow Medicine Show and The SteelDrivers, Cowboy Jack Clement and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band.

This year’s jam includes Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Connie Smith & The Sundowners, Wynonna, Roger McGuinn (yep, same Roger McGuinn that led The Byrds), the Oak Ridge Boys, Grand Ole Opry star Stonewall Jackson and grass roots gospel quartet The Chuck Wagon Gang.

Will it be any good?

We’ll just have to trust the poor guy. 

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From the Tennessean's Peter Cooper, Sunday, June 3, 2012

My Digital Tennessean Newspaper

Newspapers throughout the world are failing, one by one. In an age where information can be had by the click of a mouse, daily newspapers have taken a major hit. If it were not for the quality and the special local features offered by our paper here in the Nashville area--The Tennessean--we would probably opt out of having a newspaper delivered to our driveway altogether.

The Tennessean now offers a finely constructed e-version of the paper, available on PC and Mac computers, and  iPads and Apple/ Android phones. In an attempt to stay relevant in this digital age, the 200-year-old paper (through numerous acquisitions and mergers in it's history) took a bold step: The middle-Tennessee newspaper publisher is offering this souped-up digital version in addition to it's print version, as a part of the monthly subscription price, recently raised to accommodate the new offerings . Many cities have already taken this big step toward the future--and survival--but unlike many other markets, big and small, the Tennessean has decided to forgo offering the e-version of the paper through outlets such as the Apple Sore and Amazon.com. Instead, they are going at it in an independent fashion: through their own website. The cool thing is, we can send a complimentary e-subscription to a limited number of non-newspaper subscriber friends and family; a great way to market this new digital platform to potential customers.

I appreciate the journalistic concept of a local paper. It is still important to document culture, the life of the community--it's special interest stories of folks who make a difference in our little world--apart from the national news that, many times, can overshadow the local market. Fifty years from now, because of the journalist's efforts here in middle-Tennessee, we will be able to search the archives for stories of the the lives, the little happenings, the joys, sorrows and achievements of the local folks we hold dear.

Because of the e-version of the paper, when I go to California in a few weeks, I'll still have The Tennessean at my fingertips when I wake up in the morning, via my iPad. Let's continue to support our local papers, lest they fade into oblivion.

A Day To Remember

This past week my dad has re-watched Ken Burns' "The War" on his computer. Throughout the week I sat and watched a few segments with him. I was reminded that my dad was a part of this great war, albeit on the younger side of the spectrum: he was just out of high school when he joined the Navy in 1944.

Tom Harvill, WWII

His time in the Navy took him everywhere but overseas. Because of his lousy eyesight, he stayed back stateside as a hospital corpsman, working hand-in-hand with the Marines in a hospital at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. 

I'm glad because I have my dad to this day, and he's reliving the music, the culture and seeing the young faces of people close to his age, frozen in time,  throughout the Ken Burns documentary. He's almost 86-years-old, and many of the young people in the photos from the PBS special are mostly gone by now, even if they lived to a ripe old age. My dad is one of the last of a dying breed referred to as the "Greatest Generation."

Today we celebrate the bravery, selflessness and determination of tens of thousands of soldiers--men and women, both young and old--who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, at home and abroad. My dad was one who served in two wars: WWII and the Korean War. Without the bravery of people like my dad, we might today be speaking Japanese, German or even Russian as our first language in America. 

We remember the fallen today, as well as those who survived and were fortunate enough to return home to tell about their harrowing experiences. God bless you all!

Thinking About My Purpose In Life

Once again I am inspired by my friend Dr. John Stanko and his thoughts on the subject of finding one's purpose in life. My life was changed when I sat in one of John's "purpose" seminars nearly twenty years ago. I was leading my own classes on worship at the same seminar, but when I had a break in the conference schedule, I was a student in his class. I am still a student as I receive his weekly "Monday Memo," where he continues to ruminate on the pursuit of purpose.

In this week's "Monday Memo," John continues with the third installment in a trio of related articles--the first being "Purpose Prayer," the second, "Purpose Food," and this final installment in the series, "Purpose Thoughts."

I  was particularly intrigued by thought #3, as it relates to pursuing one's purpose as a profession.  Which points speak to you?

THE THOUGHTS

1. Purpose is more relevant than when I began teaching it 20 years ago. Why?  Because there are more opportunities available today than back then. When there are so many things you can do, you must ask the question what it is that you should do more than ever.
2. The number one reason why more people don't know their purpose is because they don't ask and keep on asking until they get an answer.
3. The number two reason why more people don't know their purpose is because they try to figure out too quickly how they can make money from it. Thoughts about career, salary and benefits hinder or destroy emerging purpose thoughts.
4. The number three reason why more people don't know their purpose is because they are afraid, not of failure, but of success!  Meditate on that for a moment.
5. The younger generation is not as interested in purpose as I would have thought.  They are interested in service and meaning, which emanate from purpose.  But because they have seen purpose kidnapped by salary and career interests, they react to the concept of purpose for the wrong reasons.
6. Women continue to be the main consumers of my purpose message, probably because purpose was denied them for so long.
7. I still maintain that motherhood is a role and not a purpose - seldom is anyone's purpose defined in terms of serving or helping another person exclusively, unless that person has special needs due to a physical or mental challenge.
8. It is never too early or too late in life to pursue purpose.
9. When I reached my 50s, I thought my development was pretty much over, that I would do what I had been doing, hopefully a little better or for more money.  To my surprise, my 50s were my greatest growth years.
10. I get more questions and sometimes opposition when I teach about doing what you love and what gives you joy than anything else I teach.  That always surprises me.
11. When I started teaching purpose, I thought every church in the world (well, at least in the U.S.) would want their people to hear that message.  They have not and pastors continue to misunderstand and even oppose the purpose message.
12. If I could help churches get more volunteers to usher, work in the nursery or sing in the choir, I would be a busy and probably wealthy man.

My Love For the Stratocaster

Ever since I heard the opening riff to "Sweet Home Alabama", I was mesmerized by the pure, plucky tone of the Fender Stratocaster. Of course I saw the one Hendrix played in the Woodstock movie my mom took me to for my birthday. But I never connected with the Strat until I heard Ed King's iconic Skynyrd lick sometime in '73-'74. The epiphany made me "aware" and I heard the Strat popping-up all over the place with the Outlaws and "Hurry Sundown",  to the group Orleans and their string of hits while I was in high school. Jackson Browne always had a great Strat tone on his records.

As I have mentioned several times in the past, I was raised in the same city in which the Stratocaster was born: Fullerton, California. All the tones of the Strat that caught my attention originated in a factory not far from my home. I really didn't put two and two together until I moved out on my own, away from Southern California. I'm sad that there is only a small monument to Leo Fender and his factory, on a street corner, in front of a parking garage that sits in the place of one of the most important sites in rock and roll history; it's truly a shame--but that's progress.

When I was a teen, I wanted a Strat so bad. So my dad took me to a local music store in Anaheim where a young salesman convinced me to buy a Telecaster Deluxe model instead. I went home elated yet disappointed at the same time; this Tele Deluxe was a Fender, for sure, but it didn't have that single-coil sound at all. In fact, it had humbucker pickups--ones with tone common to the Gibson Les Paul. I played that Tele throughout high school, in dance bands and a few other gigs. But I still had that love and longing for the Strat sound.

Me & my first Strat, somewhere in Kentucky, circa 1982

I finally saved my money while on the road in 1980 to buy my first 70s-era Strat. It was hanging on the wall of a pawn shop in Columbus, Nebraska. I loved it, bought it and carried it with me to gigs all over the US and the world. I later sold it to acquire a Yamaha electric--similar to a Gibson 335, because the tones I was needing to copy for the gig at the time were from a humbucker-style guitar. I was an idiot--and clueless at the time. Oh, how I wish I had that old 70s Strat today.

I purchased an Eric Clapton signature Fender Strat in the 90s. It was a great guitar. I had to sell it years later to pay some bills. IDIOT again! I wish I still had it. I then put together a "Franken Strat" with castaway pieces from the Island of Lost Guitars. It was nowhere near the quality of my earlier Strats, but it sounded pretty cool. I have done hundreds of recordings and gigs since with that "Franken Strat." That's until I met John Scott.

My new Bluesman Vintage "'54 Sedan" Strat

John's guitar company, Bluesman Vintage, is located here in my current hometown of Spring Hill, Tennessee. His guitars are built to strict vintage standards, with date-appropriate designs of the particular era in which the Fender models originated--down to screw types, plastics and hardware. I love his early 50s Strat model and purchased a '54 Strat relic with minor wear and amazing D. Allen pickups (that's a whole other post!). John's guitars are newly built in his shop but are made to look as old as an original. The build of Bluesman Vintage guitars surpass those of the originals, due to modern techniques in stabilizing intonation, pickup innovation and just "plain ol'" love and care.

I'm loving my new Bluesman Vintage "54 Sedan" Strat. It's funny that I've come full circle and now have a great guitar manufacturer in my backyard again. I may have lost the opportunity to connect with the Fender of my youth, but John Scott and the Bluesman Vintage crew have remedied that!

Gray Hair

Brenda has been reading articles about injecting newness into our home decor. After 11 years in the same place, our builder-grade carpets are starting to look like the hairline is receding; after multiple carpet shampoo sessions there's not much left to clean anymore. It's time for the wood floors that Brenda's been eying in the Traditional Home magazine.

When life sprouts gray hair (the carpet being one example), it's good to "head" it off at the pass and make some changes. There are several areas I can think of where staleness was creeping in and change was necessary. Even though Brenda and I are moving ahead, knowing that the cost of life-overhauls are expensive, it'll be worth it. For example, the air conditioner decided to give up two weeks ago and the alternator in Brenda's car left us stranded on a busy highway this week, leaving us with no choice but to call a tow truck ($75) to the rescue. So, there are a few more gray hairs that popped up out of nowhere, needing our immediate attention.

I find that life's gray hairs are always going to pop up, usually when we are at a low point financially. I do trust that God is ever-present in those challenging times. My best move is to take it all with a good attitude and start looking for wisdom in how to best deal with the situation. God promises that if I ask, He will give the needed wisdom. He's never failed me.

Being a giver is a quality I've tried to cultivate in my life. I find that others are quick to respond to my need, especially if I have been there for other people. I saw this video, an outtake from the Wrecking Crew film, to be inspiring. When one least expects, blessings can pop up in life to let us know God is watching.

Arcadius: Giving It All You've Got

This Sunday's Tennessean sports section had a sad photo on it's front page. It was of a horse that had made it first to the finish line, taking Saturday's Iroquois Steeplechase top honor. But winning jockey Brian Crowley soon realized the triumph in Nashville would take a tragic turn.

 Arcadius, the champion horse of the 71st running of the Iroquois, made it to the winner's circle, then suffered a pulmonary aneurysm and collapsed and died, to the horror of his rider and the fans looking on from the stands. The equine medical staff valiantly attempted to resuscitate Arcadius, but it was too late. The surprise and grief on the jockey's face, as officials shuffled to get answers and make sense of the sudden turn of events, said everything to all who see the photo. It was a huge shock, to say the least.

Seeing tragedies like this, either in person or from afar, cause me to reflect about the fragility of life. Many times there are no answers to why bad stuff happens because some things come upon us in such random fashion. Even though Arcadius ran it's last race Saturday, the horse obviously gave everything it had. Race chairman Dwight Hall said that a pulmonary aneurysm was unavoidable.

 Like Arcadius, I want to go out of this world having given all of my energy, heart and strength toward the purpose for which God called me in this life. Arcadius is a hero in my book; a true show of virtue in a world where character seems to be diminishing. Our hats are off to both rider and champion today. Well done!