best week ever... or best week this month

much to catch up on from this past week. here's the run-down....

wednesday, 10/26 - my birthday! we led worship with youth for truth at grace chapel (who were so warm and fuzzy). then went off to buca di beppo for a late b-day dinner with carl, leslie, jodi, josh and paul. i'm feeling pretty stinkin' old. trying to embrace the 31-ness.

thursday - finished mixing! done. that's it. no more for me to DO to get the album DONE, because it's done. I've already uploaded my whole album to the mastering engineer's website (see "monday").

friday - i finally got to sit down and play around with my birthday gift - an ipod! i'm going through the slow process of ripping all my CDs and getting them onto this monster. i've already used 10 out of 60GB on it. and we're not close to being done with loading up!

saturday - after more toying with the ipod, jodi and I went to a halloween party at a grad-school-buddy's house. she was a flapper. I was a sumo wrestler - the costume was inflatable with a fan that kept me looking more sumo than I already do. slicked the hair into a bun and the whole deal. please don't ask for photos. it wasn't exactly a fond halloween memory in the making.

sunday - did acoustic worship at crosspointe in the morning, then had my birthday party. jodi really went all out for this one. she made me homemade carrot cake. all the cups, music, decorations, and prizes were themed around star wars. we divided into teams and played games like light saber-balloon relay races, and pin-the-light-saber-on-the-vader. she even got me my very own light saber (not a real one of course). you rock, boss!

monday - today is mastering day. I'm biting my fingernails about this one. I've never had a real pro try to master - or even listen to an album I've produced. the mastering engineer is a gentleman in Nashville named Hank Williams - he's mastered several grammy winners/nominees, as well as the latest records by DCB and Passion.

sorry so long. we'll try to keep up. hope you're well!

campus crusade - 10.19.05

this week, me and josh led worship at ASU's campus crusade. so, so, so cool. it was one of those times when there was little need for a worship leader, and an incredible need for 100+ college students just to sing songs and clap and make noise for God. Alex, Jack, and the whole ASU Cru crew were mighty hospitable.

"yyyyyou should have a wrinkly collar like mine"

-paul 'p-diddy' deluca

after the worship gig, we headed to my big fat greek restaurant on mill ave for the meat lover's platter.

we boys ate our fill, mm-hmm.

done recording... another setback

as of today, we're done with recording for the album!

jj heller and her husband, dave, came over to record the final few vocals for the album. i've already mixed 3 songs - 10 more to mix in the next few days. i'm so thankful to the Big Man. yippeee!

today I realized another setback though. my mastering dude no longer works with the same company. he might not even be doing mastering anymore. I liked him so much - and the work he did on my last album was amazing. not to mention, he was the cheapest person with a dedicated mastering studio i'd ever met.

having to choose another mastering studio/engineer will most likely cost me 3-4 times what my other guy would have cost. there might be good news about who I end up choosing though. we'll keep ya posted. meantime, if you get a minute, please pray for us as we mix and master over the next few weeks. thanks so much.

let the mix begin

it's a wednesday and as of today, I'm all done recording (with the exception of one female vocalist we're trying to get into the studio next week).

and I'm almost completely done editing all the songs. this is where I painstakingly go through each vocal, guitar, bass - everything recorded - and "clean up" the track, getting rid of extra noises and making sure everything lines up and fades nicely. the goal is to set aside mixing days for just mixing and not much else.

speaking of which, I'll (Lord willing) start mixing this saturday and through next week. all going well, we should be started on the mastering process by the last week of October!

in other current events, as I type, Jodi is on the very last hour of her comps (comprehensive exams - three lovely 9 hour days of intensive testing, with questions custom made by her advisor based pretty much on everything she's ever learned). it's the last major milestone in getting her PhD before she actually completes her dissertation.

so life kinda sucks. i'm waiting for my wife back while she waits to get her husband back. hark! the end is in near sight!

getting closer...

as of today, I *think* i'm pretty much done with all the vocals on the album. finished "saint" and "my Jesus" this week. I've still yet to record some odds and ends - a possible guest female vocalist who will remain unnamed until she is actually sitting in my studio recording harmonies on 2 of my songs. kurt's solos on "saint." also a cello track or two. some extra guitars on "my Jesus".

then comes track clean-up and digital editing. and we're off to the mixes. I've actually called discmakers in an effort to have everything's lined up when the dang thing is finally mastered.

it's a beast. but a fun, playful, rewarding beast.

meantime, we're practicing every day this week for the crash competition. my drummer, Josh, has been using an in-ear click all week, and he's sounding pretty darn good. hopefully we'll start using it for every practice, then start using it live. that will be a huge relief.

okay, i'm not really talking about anything of any real consequence, so i'll go to bed now. g'night. G'bless.