Sunday Setlist: November 27th, 2011

First Sunday in Advent! Thinking about a post about advent as we prepare for our first Advent worship at the Crossing, in the meantime, here is our set list for the day.

You are the Light - Lisa Gungor
Earth is Yours - Gungor
Shine On - Carlos Whittaker
A Thousand Amens - Tim Timmons
Your Love is a Song - Switchfoot
I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin

Sunday Set-List: November 20th, 2011

Exciting things up for this week including post-worship Foodtruck and Football!

You Are The Light - Lisa Gungor
Song of Hope (Heaven Come Down) - Robbie Seay Band
Oh Happiness - David Crowder Band
Beautiful Things - Gungor
What Joy (Psalm 140) - Sarah Emerson
Always - Switchfoot

 

New song - Song of Hope (Heaven Come Down)

This is the new song we did last week and we like it so much we're doing it again. This version of the video has the lyrics so you can have your own karaoke at home!

Sunday Set List, October 23rd 2011

Light of the World

Thinking about the concept this morning that worship is not something we do but rather an attitude or possibly even a way of living. Should be interesting to see how that plays out through our set this morning.

Save Me From Myself - Carpark North
Love Found Me - Revive
Wonder, Worship, Believe -Doug Bryson
I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin
Shine On - Carlos Whittaker
Send Me Out - Fee

Sunday Set List 9/18/2011

Sunday Set List

Oh Happiness - David Crowder Band
Love Found Me - Revive
Earth is Yours - Gungor
By Faith - Keith and Kristyn Getty
Jericho - Trevor Morgan

Sunday Set List - September 11th, 2011

Hard to not think about the tragedies of ten years ago even as I simply type out the date and although we will not be focusing in on the issue we have chosen a lesson from the book of acts we feel speaks to this situation. In this lesson we find God speaking to Ananias telling him to reach out to his sworn enemy, Saul, who persecutes him and to give him aid. Crossing his path.

Heart wrenching if we apply it to our own times isn't it?

Save Me From Myself - Carpark North
I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin
What Joy (Psalm 146) - Sarah Emerson
We've a Story to Tell the Nations - Arr. Vicksburg
Send Me Out - Fee

As you probably noticed, each week is going to have at least two repeated songs and one new song until we've "broken in" most of our song list. We'll probably keep the song list compact for a while so that people feel like they can learn the music and sing along and then expand from there.

Sunday Set List 9/4/11

Not exactly our first "Sunday Set List" but it kind of feels like it. September 4th will be the first of our "Soft Launch" series in which we get to work out the "bugs" in the technology and deal with the difficulties of 4 services in the span of 4 hours. It seems weird for a church to be doing previews with a live audience but it is a lot more common than you might think. At least we won't be like Spiderman the musical which ran for 8 months of "previews" with live audiences before they officially opened.

Anyway, our plan is to essentially repeat these first 6 services when we open to the public on October 16th. Of course, if we're feeling moved by the spirit (or we realize some songs tank) then we will change things up a bit.

Set-list for Sunday, September 4th, 2011
Earth is Yours - Michael Gungor
Oh Happiness - David Crowder and Jack Parker
Save Me From Myself - Carpark North
Love Found me - Blink (Hanbury, Thompson, Tenkate, Hall and Ingram)
Beautiful Things - Lisa and Michael Gungor
I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram and Reuben Morgan

Artists Who Inspire Us

This post is dedicated to the artists who inspire us. Most of these will work their way into our "Sunday Set List" though some are either beyond our abilities or not really conducive to our gatherings and all of these artists have a strong spiritual element to their songs.


Gungor - Fronted by longtime songwriter, singer (not exactly in the mold of the singer/songwriter), guitarist, husband and band leader Michael Gungor; this band is one of our main models for what it means to be artists in this genre of music. In 2010 they were nominated for a grammy and though they were competing against two other groups on our list, including some friends of friends, we thought they should have gone home with the award. Their theology and their music are both intelligent and accessible which is a rare feat but they pull it off well. Their 2009 release Beautiful things changed the way we approach worship and music and we can't wait for their new record this fall. No other artist is more strongly represented in our repertoire than these guys.


Future of Forestry - Honestly, the fact that this band is from San Diego has nothing to do with why they are on this list. I (Juan) was turned on to them by fellow choir nerd/worship leader Jonathan Vevia and literally had one of those goose bump inducing experiences when I saw this video.

You can look for this to make it into our repertoire when the time is right.


Switchfoot - Again, we're honestly not playing hometown favorites here. Though this group puts forward what at one time was called "alternative" and now is essentially mainstream rock it is incredibly thoughtful and catchy and can speak to anyone, wherever they are on their faith journey. What more could you ask for in music? We have two cuts off of the last album in our song list and will likely add some new and some of their older stuff as time goes on.


David Crowder Band - Ok, I know our list is looking like a who's who of "contemporary christian" music but really, these guys deserve some respect. Their latest record,"Church Music" turns every expectation on it's head and although these guys are essentially alternative rockers it draws inspiration from pop/dance music. Genius and almost impossible to recreate on stage. That being said, you can expect to see some of this very soon....

Sadly their last two records will be released this Fall and then they will be disbanding though you can expect great things out of each of the members of this band.

Ok, this is where we get a little off of the beaten path.


Welcome Wagon - Highly influenced by Sufjan Stephens. Actually, it's almost like a side project of Sufjan as he acts as the produce and plays on their recordings. You'll find extensive use of real instruments, and lots of them and they aren't using autotune so it sounds even more real and natural along with what we like to call "gang vocals" meaning a bunch of people singing.


New York Hymn Project - An assortment of musicians that came together to record some of America's oldest hymns in what is both contemporary and almost timeless style. If you are a fan of the Civil Wars, Fleet Foxes or even Bon Iver you will probably find this very moving. What's more is that this record is available for free and any tips go to "Plywood People" a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless people.

Andy Gullahorn - If you like Glen Phillips or the singer/songwriter genre then you will love this guy.


Trevor Morgan - Another amazing singer/songwriter

We'd love to hear about the artists that inspire you, please comment below.

What's the point of Worship

What's the Point of Worship

A great article from Relevant Magazine about worship. The article quote two of our favorite worship leaders Lisa and Michael Gungor as well as the hugely successful Joel Houston of Hillsong Fame.

Set-list: Matsuri of Faith and Praise

Here is the set-list from our portion of the Matsuri of Faith and Praise in Torrance

You Won't Let Go - Israel Houghton/Gungor
Save Me From Myself - Carpark North
You Love is a Song - Switchfoot (Foreman)
Earth is Yours - Gungor
Beautiful Things - Gungor
*Say So - Gungor/Houghton

Skipped this one since we were running behind schedule.

Thank you Torrance and Faith UMC!

"Official" picture

How can a band picture be "official" with so many people missing from the photo?
For that matter, how can any picture be official with any band members missing?
Good questions, and I have one more: What is the official band anyway?

In Search of Grace is a fluid group, we change line-up and instrumentation to meet the needs of whatever event we are playing for and who is available. To accomplish this we essentially have two people at every position and may even have more down the road. This process is designed so that people don't get burned out once the band starts playing for weekly services and to have options if certain people are unavailable.

At this point I would say that there is sort of a core group that has been to the majority of events and rehearsals but even the those who have only participated once or twice or have expressed interest but haven't been able to join us yet are all equally part of the group. When we have enough people who are reliable and firmly rooted in the band we will likely split off and start multiple bands that would continue this vision.

We needed a picture that helped people understand what our band was about and now we have that, it's even possible that the next band picture would not include ANY of the people currently in the photo, and that's awesome.

Peace
Juan

Band pictures

Last week, as we were preparing for the Easter service we took a little time to take some pictures as promo for the band. Of course with our current rotational format it wouldn't make sense to have everyone there but even of the line-up for Easter morning we were still missing Michiko and April. Marelene saved us from having a male dominated picture session. We had fun but didn't come up with anything that we were all that happy with so we'll keep trying.



This one is my favorite. We were trying to go with a theme of having everyone's head line up with mine but we had to be creative to make that happen. What you can't easily see is that the ground slopes away gradually and the way we worked with this (and the reason this is my favorite) was by putting Marlene on a chair to be roughly the same height as everyone else.

 In this photo Jason was behind the lense and trying to find an angle that was kind of cool. This is not a pose or planned but genuinely something Jason just took for a reference, I like it a lot and would pick this if it actually had more of the band members in it.

Easter Sunday Set List

Happy Easter everyone! Here is our set list for the preview we did on April 24th at 11 am

You Won't Let Go - Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor
Say, Say - Kristian Stanfill, Chris Tomlin,
Oh, Happiness - David Crowder Band
Beautiful Things - Gungor
Always - Jonathan Foreman (Switchfoot)
Earth is Yours - Gungor
Say So - Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor

Matsuri of Faith

We're headed to Torrance, CA for the "Matsuri of Faith"
What's a Matsuri of Faith? Glad you asked. Matsuri is a Japanese word meaning "festival" and Faith is the name of the church in Torrance that is hosting the festival. The portion that we will be participating in is actually a festival of several different worship teams. I'm not sure what line up we will bring but because of the distance involved we probably will not bring all of our tricks, none the less it will be an awesome experience!

I, me, my - Narcisim, our culture and it's reflection in the worship arts

In the following article by Tom Jacobs appearing in the Miller-McCune a study is sited which claims that Narcissism in popular music is on the rise.

Find the original article here
Song Lyrics Reflect Narcissism in Our Culture | Smart Journalism. Real Solutions. Miller-McCune.

One of these days I'd like to find a way to inbed these articles into my posts so that I don't have to paraphrase or cut and paste portions of the text but for the time being I think that asking readers to go read that article and come back to my discussion of it is a little much, plus the article is short, so just read it...

Song Lyrics Reflect Our Narcissistic Age

New research finds a shift in emphasis in pop song lyrics over the decades, from “we” to “me.”

By Tom Jacobs

View Comments | PRINT | E-MAIL

An academic look at top 10 songs over the last 30 years shows that pop music lyrics have veered steadily toward the narcissistic. (Mario Alberto Magallanes Trejo / stockxchange.com)

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Vocalists often warm up by singing “Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi.” But increasingly, the songs they perform — or at least those that make the top 10 lists – are odes to “Me, me, me, me, me.”
Clear evidence of American society’s increasing narcissism can be found in our best-selling popular songs. That’s the conclusion of a study just published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts.
Compared to a quarter-century ago, “Popular music lyrics now include more words related to a focus on the self,” reports a team of researchers led by University of Kentucky psychologist C. Nathan DeWall.
Curious to find whether the increasing levels of narcissism documented in previous studies would be reflected in the music young people listen to, DeWall and his colleagues analyzed the top 10 songs in the U.S. for each year between 1980 and 2007 (as measured by Billboard magazine).
Using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count program, which “counts the percentage of words in a body of text that correspond to various categories,” they analyzed the content of the lyrics in several related ways.
The researchers found the use of first-person plural pronouns (we, us, our) declined over the years, while the use of first-person singular pronouns (I, me, mine) increased. Words reflecting anger or antisocial behavior (hate, kill, damn) became more prevalent over the 28-year period.
Conversely, terms depicting social interactions (talking, sharing) became less common, as did the use of words conveying positive emotions (love, nice, sweet). These findings mirror “recent evidence showing increases in U.S. loneliness and psychopathology over time,” the researchers write.
This is troubling in the light of other recent research that found songs conveying antisocial messages tend to promote aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings, while those with lyrics promoting peace and love can increase empathy and encourage selflessness.
DeWall doesn’t view pop music as a cause of increased narcissism and social isolation, but he and his colleagues do see it reflecting and supporting this societal trend. Psychological processes and pop-culture products “mutually reinforce each other,” they write.
At the moment, the attitude they’re mutually reinforcing seems to be self-centeredness. We’d might as well face it: We’re addicted to self-love.




I think there are several important issues here as they relate to the worship arts but first and foremost for me is how this translates to worship music. For quite some time now worship leaders, predominantly outside the "contemporary" music movement, have been critical of the language used the our songs. The principal criticism has been that the songs our first person/experiential rather than corporate in nature and as such perpetuate an inward version of spirituality rather than one that is expressed to and with others.

This has it's parallels in theology as well. The dominant form of Christianity for perhaps the last thirty years has been primarily concerned with personal salvation as opposed to other very biblical themes like peace, social-justice, human rights and so on. However, there is certainly a turn in the modern church towards service of the poor and needy as way to live out one's faith and that is making it's way back into music.
As we create a new worship space, service and incorporate new types of worship music we are absolutely conscious of modern culture and are trying to find ways in which we might find common ground so that people can find a place in which they can take a rest from the ways of the world. I believe that if we were to create an environment so foreign to them that we were using radically different language, styles of music, attire and setting then it would prove to much of a culture shock and they would never truly feel welcome. Ok, so we already have that in "traditional" worship and for many it doesn't work.

I think we need to be careful in how we structure the language of our songs. I think that in the scope of one song (I wouldn't do this on all) that it is possible to move from ones' own personal and admittedly small viewpoint to focus on something bigger and better than ourselves. Indeed, I believe that is at the heart of the teachings of Jesus and I do believe that our culture is yearning for just such a thing.

By way of example I would like to submit to you a new single by the ultra-hip band "Fleet Foxes" called "Helplessness Blues". The song has made quite a buzz on the internet after it was released earlier this year. The much anticipated album will be released in May and I for one can't wait to hear what the rest of the album will be like.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop


I was raised up believing
I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes
Unique in each way you can see

And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me

But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

What's my name, what's my station
Oh just tell me what I should do
I don't need to be kind to the armies of night
That would do such injustice to you

Or bow down and be grateful
And say "Sure take all that you see"
To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls
And determine my future for me

And I don't, I don't know who to believe
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

If I know only one thing
It's that every thing that I see
Of the world outside is so inconceivable
Often I barely can speak

Yeah I'm tongue tied and dizzy
And I can't keep it to myself
What good is it to sing helplessness blues?
Why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf
I'll come back to you someday soon myself

If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm raw
If i had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

And you would wait tables
And soon run the store

Gold hair in the sunlight
My light in the dawn
If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

Someday I'll be
Like the man on the screen

**********

Now anyone with a critical ear will immediately here a direct connection to a group from the late sixties with similar lyrical content and a similar sound ... Simon and Garfunkle.
I would like to point out that this already has parallels in "worship" music. As a worship leader and musician Gungor is perhaps the biggest influence on my work right now so it will come as no surprise that the song I am referring to is "Beautiful Things" by Michael Gungor. The song very gently takes the listener, who is also a singer/participant from an introspect place "All this pain, I wonder if I'll ever find my way" to an outward and almost grateful expression in the chorus.







All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

***********

I don't think I can say it any better... "All around, hope is springing up from this old ground. Out of chaos life is being found in You."

"Sunday" Set List for Wednesday, 2-23-11

Our Wednesday Set-list

Love Found Me - Revive
Say So - Michael Gungor/Israel Houghton (we do it more like Gungor)
A Thousand Amens - Tim Timmons
By Faith - Keith & Kristyn Getty
Shine On - Carlos Whittaker
I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin
Send Me Out - Fee
Earth is Yours - Gungor

Sunday Set Lists

Each week we will posting our "Sunday Set List" and even though we are not having worship on Sunday mornings yet I thought I would I would get that started with one important caveat, this week worship is not on a Sunday!

For those that are unfamiliar with the term, a "set-list" is the list/order of songs that a band plays during their set or performance. Rock concerts, jazz club gigs and the vast majority of music performances do not have printed programs so it is necessary for a band to write out a set list. This usually comes in the form of a handwritten list, on the back of some other piece of paper, written in black sharpie and taped to the floor. Next time you go to a concert take a look and see if you can find one, many bands or their roadies will just give it away after the show and it makes for an awesome souvenir.

We will be posting the set-list for a number of reasons; 1) we want our faith community to know the songs we sing, we want people to dig deeper and read the text 2) we want to have an online record of what songs we are doing 3) we want to share our set lists with other worship leaders and learn from them in return 4) we want to credit and promote the people who's music we use 5) it is a good discipline and keeps us honest.

At some point, probably slightly before our official launch of the Crossing we will be posting our current list of songs in our repertoire at which point I will probably try to attach links to as many of the songs on YouTube, MySpace (yes bands still use this) or artist web sites. We will not be re-posting other people's words or music on our blog because it isn't ours. The very least we can do is direct you to the artists own website for stuff like that.

Side note: If you like a song please purchase it, it's the right thing to do. We're not just saying this because we feel obligated, we really do want you to buy the music. Think of it this way, a song on itunes is less that $1.30, if a single song which you will listen over and over again is not worth less than a cup of coffee (which is a one time deal) then maybe you need to consider what it is worth. Just sayin.

We hope you enjoy the music and that it gives you fuel for your continued faith journey.

Juan

What do they sound like?

Describing what your band sounds like is one of the most important things an emerging band can do. We humans love to categorize things and put them in mental boxes and music is no different. We are constantly looking to assign labels to music or associate certain artists with other artists or styles, it's just natural. Often times when we can't find a label we like we just make up new ones.

Most young musicians, and many older ones as well, like to think of themselves as being something new or fresh or unique. Sure no one else is doing the same songs you do or if they are you should be up front about it but the truth remains that there are probably other groups that sound like you even if you don't know it. At the very least you should be honest about your influences even if you don't think they weigh heavily on your sound. In doing so you may just learn something about yourself or even clarify your own vision for your sound.

So the question is, what do we sound like?

Well, we are a new band and while we are working on original material, we are currently playing a lot of other peoples music and believe it or not we actually trying to sound like those recordings. This may seam bizarre but I believe that as bands form, grow and change that recreating other peoples music (cover) is an incredibly valuable way to learn about each other, our strengths and our limitations.

Our vision for the band at this point is to do new and innovative music with a depth of artistry, musicality and theology. Stylistically we run the gambit from folk-rock to urban gospel and from alternative to pop. The list of people who influence and inspire us is a long one but certainly worth posting our favorites

Gungor - He is bringing in the influences of some of secular music's better innovators from Sufjan Stevens to Audio Slave

David Crowder Band - Constantly reinventing their sound and concept. This music would stretch anyone and recreating their latest record would be a huge accomplishment.

Switchfoot - Just won the Grammy for best "Gospel" album, debatable whether or not they should even be in the Contemporary Christian Music Category but their music definitely spreads "good news" and that's what we are called to do.

Future of Forestry - One word: Amazing. Progressive and artsy music with themes of redemption and love, how can you go wrong. This band can't come out with music fast enough to satisfy us.

Israel Houghton - Can't promise that we can pull of his music with his flare or style, but we'll be trying.

Enjoy!
Juan

Two Videos, One Song

Today's post is about a new(ish) band, an old(ish) CCM artist, the future and the ability to stay fresh or renew one's self. I've never really done this before so I'm not sure if this will come through the way I hope but there is only one way to find out.
I'd like to draw your attention to a new video by Michael W. Smith. The song is from his newest album "Wonder" and the video was released sometime last year.

Save Me From Myself

When I first heard this album my thought was that it was very retro sounding, almost as if Michael W Smith had stayed in the same style long enough for it to more or less come back around. I'll admit that this song stood out as something I would have interest in doing. I won't go so far as to say you won't catch the band doing something else off this record but nothing has jumped out quite like this track.

I decided that I did want to start working on this with the band so I went on my usual search for charts (word, chords, sheet music, etc.) and came up blank. It turns out that this song is not actually by MWS it's by some Danish guys. Ok, not just any Danish guys, it's from a band called Carpark North, whom I had heard of before but decided at the time that they weren't accessible enough.

Here is a video of Carpark North performing the same song live.
Save Me From Myself


The video's couldn't be more different but the overall sound and arrangement of the songs isn't too far off. There is no doubt about it, the eighties are in right now and if we take any cues from the past, a nineties revival is just around the corner (heaven help us). Michael W Smith's video looks like it could have appeared anywhere between 89-91 by my estimation. I think it is kind of cool, honestly.

Carpark North are generally calling their style Electro-Rock, a heavily synthesizer oriented rock band. What to me is most gratifying is to see them pulling this sound off live (in a video). To hear all the different layers covered well raises the expectation of how songs transfer from the studio to the stage. They have and continue to push themselves and genre boundaries with their music and I look forward to what they come out with next.

I think this is a great song and I take away two important observations (at least for me); 1)a great artist, even if I don't always like his/her stuff, is able to keep reinventing themselves and stay fresh 2)highly polished and layered arrangements are totally doable in an exciting live show.

Enjoy
Juan

Welcome

Greetings and thanks for checking out our blog!
In the near future you will be able to all sorts of info including set lists, songs we're working on, pictures of us and even videos but in the meantime we will start with just the basics.

In Search of Grace is the house band/worship team for "the Crossing", an emergent worship community at First United Methodist Church, Chula Vista. Although still in formation the vision behind the band is that it will be a diverse group of musicians (vocal and instrumental) that will combine in different configurations depending on the needs of the occasion. In general the band consists of the usual guitars, singers, bass, drums and keyboard but could occasionally feature a vibraphone, cello, viola and various percussion instruments.
Currently the band is headed up by Juan Carlos Acosta, music director at First United Methodist Church, Chula Vista but the idea is that this one group my grow to be multiple groups with their own unique take on the music.

If you are interested in getting involved with this project please contact Juan juancarlosacosta@firstchurchcv.com