We're a band from Chula Vista, California. We provide the musical leadership for the Crossing, an emergent worship community based at First United Methodist Church, Chula Vista.
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.
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
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!
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.”
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)
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.
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."
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
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.
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.
