Vacation! November 21, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Things that amuse me.Tags: basketball, college, football
add a comment
Faster than digging a hole through the center of the Earth November 19, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Things that amuse me.add a comment
I have beeen emailing and faxing Hong Kong today, and that amuses me. I know some people do that sort of thing all the time, but I still get a kick out of sticking a piece of paper in a little machine and imagining all the wires and relays and satellites and what-not that zap it so far around the world.
These are times when I feel like Farmer Hoggett when he gets that fax machine in Babe.
Interview Leftovers: Chris Tomlin November 19, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.Tags: Chris Tomlin, Passion
1 comment so far
The sixsteps article went up yesterday on Christian Music Today. Read it here. Warning: it’s long! Economy of words has never been my strongest suit.
Also, for Sarah’s sake, I will point out that I brazenly borrowed her upcoming Christmas present for the article. If you happen to read the article, you’ll notice mention of the year 1,000 BC. I didn’t know that date off the top of my head, so I used the new Chronological Bible that Sarah will be getting. She knows she’s getting it (she picked it out!) and she’s desperate to start reading it, but we’re making her wait until Christmas. (It’s such a blessing that our kids all have a hunger for God’s word.)
Back on topic: here are some parts of my interview with Chris Tomlin that didn’t make the article.
I asked if the artists of sixsteps start to “rub off” on each other musically since they tour together for Passion conferences.
Chris: “I’m not thinking so much. I think one of the great dynamics that we have at sixsteps is that we’re coming from such different places with our music. I think that’s a thing we try to keep, the uniqueness, the personality, the way we approach things and ideas about what we want to do. I think that’s one of the testaments to Louie and Shelley, having a real wide love. ‘We want to embrace you guys as who you are, and let’s not create this little mold of what music from sixsteps should sound like.’ They really have an awesome way of saying, ‘Hey, be yourself.’ That’s pretty unusual. Not saying, ‘This sound works really well, let’s all do this.’ There have never been any of those conversations. One of the strengths is the uniqueness that you’ll find between the four of us.”
Chris had a lot of interesting things to say on the changing music industry. “It’s obvious, the hard times in the music business. What a traditional label was is going by the wayside. As far as EMI changing, it’s just different. It’s a different world when you’re answering to shareholders and you’re publicly traded. It’s different from when you’re just doing your little sixsteps thing. For us, it’s a little bit easier because we’re small. There’s less pressure there. Not that the other is bad, there are just different obligations, different responsibilities. I think EMI has amazing leadership, which is why it’s been able to weather this storm. I see them staying.”
Later: “I would have definitely sold a lot more records in the 90’s. That’s just reality. There will never be a huge, big big selling record anymore, because that’s just the way music is bought, or not bought. Big artists could sell ten million records. That’s gone. Huge records coming out over the next couple of years will sell three to five million. I’m talking like Metallica or something like that. I know from a business side, there’s a part of me that goes, ‘I would have sold a lot more,’ but I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it or worrying about it.”
And finally, still later, when we were talking about something completely different, Chris came back to the subject. It’s clearly something he cares a lot about: “It is serious stuff, ripping the music. I’ve seen it put a strain on people not being able to do their jobs, because there’s no business there to do the job with. I do hope there is a conscience that comes around. I doubt it, knowing human nature, but I’m really tired of seeing a lot of people I know being laid off. These are people who are just trying to do a good job putting music out, but they just can’t do it because there’s no business there. It’s frustrating to see that. There’s a lot of energy that went into that little product on the shelf.”
So, from Chris Tomlin and me: pay for your music!
Broken November 17, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Family.add a comment
This is Rebekah.
The one in the middle, being goofy. Rebekah is seven years old, the youngest of our three girls. She is smart and beautiful and so quirky she makes us all laugh every day. And, for a time this weekend, she was utterly crushed and broken-hearted.
There’s this game we have for our Playstation called Karaoke Revolution.
That’s my nephew Joshua playing along with Hannah, except that he’s singing into a light saber. Go figure.
It’s a singing game with little bars that show you the notes you’re supposed to sing, and a little arrow that shows your actual pitch. We are a rather competitive lot, so we quite enjoy the aspect of the game that “scores” your singing based on how closely you match the pitch. The game even responds to how well you’re doing: more animated people show up to watch, the crowd starts clapping and dancing, and the house starts-a-rockin’.
We have five different versions of this game. They’re worth mucho moolah on e-Bay, but we shall not part with them. Karaoke night at the Geils’ is too much fun. We have a country version, and a version that lets you sing and dance at the same time, and our most recent version, the American Idol edition.
In the American Idol version, you don’t just get a score, you can choose to be “judged” after your song, with the actual voices of Randy and Simon from the TV show. Paula was apparently not available, so they replaced her with “Laura”.
Back to the story. Karaoke night was rolling along. Amy and Hannah nearly blew out the speakers with their vociferous take on Independence Day. (“Let freedom RINNGGGGG!!!) I took on Johnny Cash on Walk the Line. Sarah was over on the couch, reading a book. Tough to get that Sarah off the couch when she has a new book in her immediate vicinity. Rebekah even joined in the fun on several duets, and posted her first ever really good scores.
See, Rebekah’s at a disadvantage because she doesn’t know the songs as well, and she’s still kinda figuring out her singing voice. She’s in her school chorus this year, and even played the starring role of the Little Bell in The Little Bell that Couldn’t Ring. She was doing well on Karaoke Night and having fun, so we thought nothing of it when she asked to play in the real American Idol mode, with the judges.
She chose to sing Unwritten, and she did a pretty good job. She struggled through the verses a bit, but they’re tough and she doesn’t know them very well. After the song, animated Randy came on and was all negative. That happens sometimes. The system uses combinations of recorded phrases from the judges, and sometimes you just get all bad ones. I assumed “Laura” would be nicer, but she was just as mean, and even declared that she didn’t even like the song in the first place! Finally, animated Simon came on and just lambasted the performance, as he is wont to do. We turned to Rebekah, who sat with her mouth agape, and told her it was really good, and that’s just how the judges work sometimes. She didn’t say anything, and for a few long seconds I wondered if she was really horrified or if she was just playing along, faking a look of offense. She’s a nut and she would do that. But no, those few long seconds passed and then the first tear rolled down her cheek. When the sobs could no longer be contained, she just physically broke down in a heap, the very picture of a broken spirit.
Our hearts broke with her. Amy and Rebekah’s sisters rushed to her side to console her. I got angry at the game and myself for not shutting it off and letting all those mean words keep coming. And poor Rebekah just sobbed.
We doted on Bek and encouraged her the rest of that night, but I have scarcely stopped thinking about it since. I’m a third child like her, and the youngest is always called “the baby”, but this was the first time I really felt like Rebekah was my “baby” — maybe a little more sensitive than the rest, maybe even a little more fragile. And my baby had been hurt. I was even up at 4:30 the next morning, thinking about what to do next. Was she just going to blow this off and forget it happened, or had she been “scarred for life”? The last thing I would want is for a dumb game to make her afraid to sing in public or somehow dampen her vibrant and jovial spirit. I thought about whether it would be better to not talk about the game for a while, or get right back at it the next day and keep working on that song until the judges were nice to her. I’m still not sure what would be best.
I suppose that getting your feelings hurt is part of life, and it builds character and all, but that was my baby! And I let it happen! Now I simply pray that this hurt, however small or great it is to Rebekah, does somehow build character, that it can be… oh, what’s the theological word? That it can be redeemed.
Interview Leftovers: Charlie Hall November 17, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.Tags: Charlie Hall
add a comment
My question for Charlie: “I recognize that what you do is a ministry, but there’s a business aspect to it as well. Do all the ups and downs in the music industry make you a bit anxious?”
His answer: “I don’t feel anxious. I’ve definitely felt the changes over the last few years. For me, you do this as long as God wills, as long as all the pieces are in place, you do it. If something stops, obviously it’s time to stop. There is an ending place at some point for people. Anxiety doesn’t get to me. I really enjoy my life and what I get to do and who I get to do it with. Making a living playing and creating music, there’s nothing like that. That’s the dream.”
On the early days of Passion and touring with the other guys: “God really put His hand on it, and it just began to grow and move through other worlds. I’ve watched it cross so many denominations and I’ve watched the music create communities all over the world. It’s beautiful. I want the songs I write to have a life of their own, to join the songs I write with these others great songwriters, to affect people to know and love God.”
And finally, on the value of a small, flexible record label: “They really accepted me. I like to do things a little different, I like to say things a little different. I’ve had to do things different because of a growing family. They take me from where I am and keep moving me along, as opposed to sticking me in a cookie cutter and saying this is what an ‘artist’ does. They’ve taken my personality and gifts and how I do things, and made them better, and not pushed me into some sort of role.”
Song Talk – Brandon Heath, “Give Me Your Eyes” November 17, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.Tags: Brandon Heath
add a comment
I’ve had the thought several times before. I think I first had the thought while traveling down a busy highway. I was a teenager, riding, not driving, and I can picture the scene in my head but I can’t remember where it was. I looked left and right, at cars and vans, and thought, “All these life stories.”
I’ve had the same thought on planes before, looking down at cities during the approach, far enough up to see entire neighborhoods but close enough to see people walking out to get their mail. So many people with so many stories and histories and struggles and triumphs. It’s a thought of combined curiosity and bewilderment. I feel a connection with these strangers, and I’d like to hear their stories, but then I come back to reality and know I never will.
Brandon Heath has taught me something with his latest song, and actually helped me complete my thought. He has noticed the people as well, all the life stories, but he is moved not just to be curious, but to care. The song is called “Give Me Your Eyes”. By the way, Heath is now 2-for-2 with hit songs featuring handclaps. First “I’m Not Who I Was,” then “Give Me Your Eyes.” I assume his next song will be a remake of “Jack and Diane”.
“Give Me Your Eyes” prays for a godly compassion in a world of strangers. The lyrics recognize the insulation we place around ourselves and move us not only to recognition of the people all around us, but a desire for spiritual connection. The song is evangelistic to some extent, but beyond that it’s a call to ministry.
Today I append my thought, and it’s a good thing. “All these life stories. Give me Your love for humanity.”
Click here for the video, shot in the Birmingham airport.
And here’s a making-the-video documentary:
Currently listening to… November 14, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Uncategorized.add a comment
Singalong, by Phil Wickham. Download it for free at http://philwickham.com/singalong/
What are you listening to?
Interview Leftovers: David Crowder November 14, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.add a comment
The sixsteps article is away to the editor, probably running left week, so as promised, here’s the first of some topics that came up in interviews with the artists that didn’t quite fit into the article. I’ll start with David Crowder, who was as eloquent as I expected. The one thing that surprised me most about him was his complete disociation with the process of actually getting music out to anyone beyond his local church. He is genuinely and sincerely intent on making music for his church in Waco, and seems at one amazed and amused that the music finds its way onto radio, into our churches, and onto CDs and iTunes. I had to ask him again, “So, you’re making a CD like Remedy, for example, and you never even once think about a larger audience, or radio, or anything besides your local church?” His one-word answer: “Nope.”
Also, there’s this interesting response to my question about the differences between performing live as the David Crowder Band versus performing on a Passion tour.
“We’re trying to pare down a lot of Christian culture preconceptions. Passion is intent on gathering people from within Christian culture. They’re able to use language that we can’t use, they’re able to structure an evening differently than we could because of the people they’re expecting and trying to communicate to. The audience that we’re trying to communicate to definitely has people from the Christian culture; we’re trying to help reshape some of their preconceptions, and then there are people that we’re trying to make feel comfortable and okay for asking a bunch of questions about Christianity to begin with, especially about singing to a Divine Being. I don’t think Passion has any of those hurdles.”
Red-Ink Disillusionment November 11, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Academia, Bible.add a comment
I’ve just finished grading a big stack of exams. There is always a bit of joy associated with the completion of a task like that, with watching the stack get smaller and smaller until every last paper is covered in red ink. However, today it’s that last part – the red ink – that’s left me a little bummed. I have a batch of students in this one class this semester who just aren’t getting it. I led the last five classes asking the definition of a certain concept in biomechanics, Moment of Inertia. It’s a pretty hard concept, but we went over and over it, and it’s in their book, and I even told the students that they would have to write the definition on the exam. Alas, lots of red ink. It wasn’t just that question. So many completely blank spaces after so many questions leave me doubting myself. Are they just not studying, not trying, or am I doing something wrong? That class is this afternoon, and we’re going to have a heart-to-heart chat, as much as one can have a heart-to-heart chat with 49 students.
It is said that Jesus, being fully human and fully God, can identify with all our trials. This isn’t a very grandiose or even burdensome trial, but I did get a chuckle today when I read from John that, indeed, Jesus could identify with even this little bout of red-ink-disillusionment. Here’s what I read:
Jesus: “If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Phillip answers, probably enthusiastically, “Lord, show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
Jesus, perhaps somehow aware at that very moment of what these words would mean to me thousands of years later , replies: “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Phillip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” (John 14:7-10a)
Now, please understand that I don’t try to somehow equate myself with the Messiah in this example, nor do I compare our trials, nor even consider that I’m the tiniest bit as great a teacher as the Master. I’m just gratified, in a lighthearted way, that He was indeed fully human, and that we might have shared a small shred of emotion.
Maybe I’ll start my heart-to-heart chat with the students this afternoon like this: “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing the Moment of Inertia?”
Interview leftovers November 10, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.add a comment
I’ve completed my series of interviews for the next record label article. In the next week, I’ll try to bring you bits and pieces of the interviews that didn’t make the article but still might interest fans of Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and Charlie Hall.
Stay tuned!
