Category: Song

This Lamp - a few words about the song

3/5/2013

Sorry for the lack of posting recently - I am on a short (two-month) trip to Australia, and will be continuing to work on my thesis and music and such while I'm here. I only just arrived on Friday March 1st, so it's taken me a few days to get settled. More on that later. For now, here are some thoughts about a song on the new album called "This Lamp", which you can listen to on the left.

"This Lamp" is a popular song among people who have heard me play it live, I think in part because of the groove and the simple words, as well as the images that the words evoke. It comes across as a simple love song, which is good in one way, but not so good in another. We should be clear here: this song is not about a girl.

It may be shocking to some that there are other kinds of love besides romantic love, but that is clearly the case. The kind of love I feel for my parents, for my brothers and sisters, for my friends, and (hopefully one day for my) children - this is not romantic love. And the love that this song in particular talks about is the desire for a relationship that one of the participants left.

I like to tell people that this is the story of an abandoned house, one that once was occupied but now remains empty. Empty, that is, except for the house itself, and the things that make a comfortable home so important to all of us - warmth, light, companionship. Of course this makes it a metaphor for something much larger, but I'll let you connect the dots on your own.

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Feature: the Andreola sisters

2/25/2013

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I first met Yolanda and her sister Sophia in Quarryville, PA, at the Coffee Bean, a small coffee shop in the town, back in 2006 when I was starting to play shows in the Lancaster area. I got to know them better through events and fellowship at Faith Reformed Presbyterian church, and when I heard them play cello and violin I knew I wanted them to play on some of my songs.

Yolanda first recorded with me on the 2007 release of "Word >>> Flesh", making the track 'O Little Child' come alive. I've asked them to play on numerous tracks since then, and they both joined me live for the 2009 release of "Breathe Deep".

Some of my music has a flowing quality that I associate most with the simple and beautiful sounds of strings. So in preparing for the album there were a few songs in particular that needed the texture of strings. With all the travel I was doing, I wasn't quite sure how to record strings, but while in India last year I put out some feelers to Yolanda and Sophia.

They were both interested in being part of the project, so I began writing parts in ProTools, using a midi string sound to arrange the notes that I wanted the string section to play. Over the course of a month, checking the parts with the two of them and my composer friend Matthew Monticchio, I managed to finish the parts and send Yolanda and Sophia sheet music and reference tracks for them to practice with, then contacted Anthony Guyer at Forgotten Genre Productions to help with recording the parts in Lancaster, while I was still in India.

As a result of this long-distance collaboration, several of the new songs on "Home" feature Yolanda on cello and Sophia on violin, including 'All I Want', 'I've Got a Girl', 'Greet the Dawn', and 'Zion's Walls'. It's kind of incredible to me that we were able to accomplish this feat from opposite sides of the world.

Six years later, the two sisters are both married and teach private lessons in the Susquehanna river valley. They're also available for recording and private events. If you're anywhere near southern Lancaster County or over the border in Maryland, check out their work. Yolanda can be found via YolandaMott.com and Sophia through SophiaEnglar.com - and of course you can listen to their playing on the new album "Home".

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Happy Valentine's Day!

2/14/2013

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Happy Valentine's Day! In true Valentine's spirit, Tunecore has put together a compilation (or 3) for all the lovers out there. My song, "I've Got a Girl" competed with over 1,000 other songs for a spot, and you can now download the 28 tracks on Volume 2 for free on Amazon.com. Just click on the picture to the left, which will take you to a page where you can listen to all the tracks and even download individual ones. Mine is track 5.

As for the story behind this song (which is also on the new album 'Home'), it was written in 2009. I was thinking of the kind of amazement that people sometimes experience when they are in a relationship. Amazement that the person they love also loves them back, and that draws them deeper in love with the other person. I hope that people who are in a loving relationship never to lose that wonder, but instead treasure it and work hard to keep it.

I always imagined this song with strings, so when I was in India this past year and had the opportunity to arrange string parts, what you hear on this track are what I came up with. I hope you enjoy the arrangements and can share this song with the one you love.

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Greet the Dawn

2/9/2013

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I've been reminded this week of my mortality. It's always good to be reminded of the big picture, that my life is simply a part of the tapestry of humanity, of life. But when someone you know dies unexpectedly it's a hard reminder. Like a brick wall to the face.

In 2010 a friend of mine was killed in a car accident. Aimee was a beautiful young woman full of life and joy, when a car coming the opposite direction drifted into her lane. They were both going over 45 mph and she died soon after.

I penned the song 'Greet the Dawn' shortly after hearing about the accident. In some ways I was trying to understand the situation - the random death of a friend - and to reconcile this occurrence with the promises of God to his people.

God gives a lot of promises in the bible, that those who believe in him will experience blessings and joy, but also trials and pain. I try to grapple with some of these things in my new album, ultimately finding comfort in the promise that through everything God is with us, that if we trust him death is truly a dawn that we can greet with joy.

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This Lamp - a few words about the song

Feature: the Andreola sisters

Happy Valentine's Day!

Greet the Dawn

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