Since I became one of the song leaders at our church I have learned many phenomenal old hymns that I had never heard before. One that really blows me away is “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” An absolutely beautiful hymn in every way.

I decided on the way home from work today that I wanted to record my own rendition of this classic tune. From the first time I heard it I thought it would sound great played in an old, lamenting folk style so that’s how I approached it on this recording.

I hope you like it.

Download the mp3 here.

Here is a wonderful, traditional version by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Stunning.

If you happen to own a copy of the Internet you’ve probably already heard this but if you don’t, check it out. This blows my mind.

We are very easily entertained around here.

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Riley and I decided to collaborate once again on a sequel to The Loser Truck. It didn’t turn out so great. We had a few laughs but it’s not really ready for prime time. Maybe it was the sophomore slump.

The intro was awesome but it quickly took a dive after that. I thought I’d share the intro though because it cracks me up.

If any of you remember the skit comedy show The State from many years ago you’ll most certainly remember their commercial spoof called “Little Brown Dog Food.”  One of the lines was “I don’t eat dog food myself on a particular basis but I’ve heard from sources that it’s good for feeding dogs.” Ever since that skit, we’ve changed our pronunciation of the word dog. Riley demonstrates the new pronunciation in this intro.

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This is what happens when Riley and I team up to make the most awesome Monster Truck movie ever. Even with a very limited supply of footage I was able to make cinematic history. Riley’s emotional monologue to set up the movie is the stuff Golden Globes are made of. Windows Movie Maker (in the right hands) provides more than enough power to stun even the harshest of critics.

You’re welcome. 

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When I was in college it was said that there are two kinds of tenor sax players in the world, the ones who want to be John Coltrane and the ones who want to be Michael Brecker. I wanted to be Michael Brecker, and I believe Michael Brecker wanted to be John Coltrane.

As much as I love great pop songwriting, and soulful singing, and punch-you-in-the-mouth guitar playing, there are few things that will reduce me to a puddle of sloppy tears faster than the immeasurable virtuosity and expressiveness of Michael Brecker’s playing.

One of the tunes I’ve been using to pull my sax chops back together is one of Brecker’s tunes called Itsbynne Reel. This was always one of my favorites and it’s a real pain in the neck to play.

I was looking for a free version of this tune on the net so I could have something to play along with and I found this very unorthodox rendition on You Tube. You must listen to this. This is musical mastery of the highest order.

There is a long, solo accordion bit at the beginning that you might want to skip. Go straight to 2:45 and strap yourself in. Here is a transcription of the album version of the tune if you want to follow along with the head.

I was actually brought to tears twice today listening to music. Here is the other thing that made me a girl. This is Jonny Lang on Leno last night. Thanks to Jeff H. for the heads-up on this.

Another vlog discussing the use of studio musicians and the role of a drummer in the making of a singer/songwriter album.

Day one of tracking went extremely well, better than I could have hoped really. Joe Meyer (Drums) and Eric Grossman (Bass) both turned in some rather outstanding performances. Today we went back in and recorded some more drum tracks for about an hour, got what we needed to get done, and called it a day. I can’t tell you how excited I am with what we’ve got so far.

I took my camcorder with me to capture some of the weekend but the thing died on me. I was able to get a little bit of video with my digital camera but not much. You’ll get to hear a little of the new music and a lot of the rhythm section/comic duo of Joe and Eric.

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Here’s another vlog giving some updates about what’s going on with the album. I apologize that this video player insists that the entire video must load before it starts to play. Please be patient.

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Here is a link to Jacob Detering’s website. I talk about Jacob in the video if you’re wondering why I’m posting the link. He’s the producer for my album.

I highly recommend listening to some of the tunes on his site.

Here’s my first attempt at vlogging.

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