If you haven't already seen it... this is a great Honda commercial. You really have to watch it a couple of times to appreciate the creativity. It is absolutely amazing! All of the sound effects are done vocally. Unbelievable!
So then... someone came up with this spoof on the Honda commercial. Make sure that you have a couple of extra minutes to stop crying and pick yourself up off of the floor from laughing before you get back to work though. This is FUNNY STUF!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Curiosity
As a musician... research is probably not at the top of your list of responsibilities. I mean you just have play the chart that is in front of you... right? You may have to set up your rig... change your strings... punch up a few preset patches... but research? Please! Most musicians are content with getting the chord, sound, effect, etc... "in the ballpark". I mean... it's just church... right?
We opened our services yesterday at NewPointe with the U2 song, "Where The Streets Have No Name"... and it sounded pretty tight. One of the reasons that it worked: Our lead guitarist (Jody - stage left in the photo) spent hours researching how David Howell Evans (aka "The Edge") actually got that cool delay effect with his live rig. Jody showed up to rehearsal on Wednesday night telling me all about the multiple amplifier/mic/delay configurations that Evans used to get that one effect. He knew the delay BPMs and everything. Now I would have thought that Jody was a little over the top the whole research thing... if I hadn't been on-line looking up the very same thing earlier that day. You see... as a leader... I was going to be totally prepared to help Jody get that signature sound out of his rig... but Jody was already there. He had already done his homework. Way to go, man!
SIDE NOTE:
OK... so it's a fact: If you just "show up" to lead worship weekend after weekend without "doing your homework"... without trying anything new... without putting some effort into what you are about to present... then you are just going to get the same results weekend after weekend... and you will become stagnant as an artist. I tell our guys all the time that their charts should have pencil scratches all over them by the time the weekend rolls around. In other words... don't leave 'em here. Take them home with you and study them. Practice... practice... practice. David said, "I will not offer to the Lord, anything that costs me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24). So how can we possibly show up to lead people in worship without being prepared? We should offer the very best of our gifts to God.
BACK TO THE TOPIC:
Curiosity is a huge part of being an artist. If you are not curious... then you will never grow. If you are not asking questions like, "How did they come up with that sound?" or "What would happen if we were to...?" or "I wonder what that is that made out of?" then you are probably not growing as an artist.
Hey... none of the musicians here at NewPointe are studio players. They don't even play music for a living. We don't always get it right. We don't claim to "have it all together" musically. We are just a bunch of "hackers" who love God, love what we do and work very hard to give back to God our very best effort... week after week. I am so proud of our team. I look forward to jamming with them every week.
We opened our services yesterday at NewPointe with the U2 song, "Where The Streets Have No Name"... and it sounded pretty tight. One of the reasons that it worked: Our lead guitarist (Jody - stage left in the photo) spent hours researching how David Howell Evans (aka "The Edge") actually got that cool delay effect with his live rig. Jody showed up to rehearsal on Wednesday night telling me all about the multiple amplifier/mic/delay configurations that Evans used to get that one effect. He knew the delay BPMs and everything. Now I would have thought that Jody was a little over the top the whole research thing... if I hadn't been on-line looking up the very same thing earlier that day. You see... as a leader... I was going to be totally prepared to help Jody get that signature sound out of his rig... but Jody was already there. He had already done his homework. Way to go, man!
SIDE NOTE:
OK... so it's a fact: If you just "show up" to lead worship weekend after weekend without "doing your homework"... without trying anything new... without putting some effort into what you are about to present... then you are just going to get the same results weekend after weekend... and you will become stagnant as an artist. I tell our guys all the time that their charts should have pencil scratches all over them by the time the weekend rolls around. In other words... don't leave 'em here. Take them home with you and study them. Practice... practice... practice. David said, "I will not offer to the Lord, anything that costs me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24). So how can we possibly show up to lead people in worship without being prepared? We should offer the very best of our gifts to God.
BACK TO THE TOPIC:
Curiosity is a huge part of being an artist. If you are not curious... then you will never grow. If you are not asking questions like, "How did they come up with that sound?" or "What would happen if we were to...?" or "I wonder what that is that made out of?" then you are probably not growing as an artist.
Hey... none of the musicians here at NewPointe are studio players. They don't even play music for a living. We don't always get it right. We don't claim to "have it all together" musically. We are just a bunch of "hackers" who love God, love what we do and work very hard to give back to God our very best effort... week after week. I am so proud of our team. I look forward to jamming with them every week.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A Real Miracle
As you probably noticed... I went for quite a while without blogging (up until Easter Sunday). Well... we had some pretty crazy stuff going on in our family during that time. April had received a call from her family (in Kentucky) informing her that her youngest sister, Heather had been taken to the hospital and was fighting for her life. Through a series of tests they discovered that Heather has pancreatitus. They had found a hole in her pancreas, acid in her blood and water on her brain. The doctors said that when she arrived at the hospital, she was about as close to "brain-dead" as a person can possibly get. The doctors were amazed that she was alive.
Well... for a week and a half they kept her in an induced coma so that they could treat her condition. Most of that time she was on a respirator... and there was even talk of a tracheotomy to help her breath. They had given her a 50/50 chance of survival. The family was hanging on to every little bit of good news that they could get... but it wasn't looking good.
Well... people everywhere were praying for Heather... and to make a long story short (too late): Last Wednesday (in the middle of the night) they took her off of the respirator.
WOW! God is awesome! Everyone knew that what they had witnessed was a real miracle... including Heather. The doctors and nurses were amazed. Heather is home now... and we are all very thankful that God has given her this incredible gift.
April is also home now... and (once again) all is well at the Bunnelle house. Yes... the house was still in one piece after almost 2 weeks without her. The kids and dog were all well fed. They (the kids) were all wearing clean clothes... teeth brushed... wearing deodorant... when we went to pick her up from the airport in Cleveland. OK... so maybe that was another miracle.
I know that April needed to be there with her sister... that was HUGE... but I absolutely hate it when she is away for that long. I missed her like crazy. It's really good to have her back home where she belongs. And it is good to know that Heather is home and on the way to a complete recovery. One thing is for sure... we were all once again reminded of how fragile life is... and how BIG our God is.
Well... for a week and a half they kept her in an induced coma so that they could treat her condition. Most of that time she was on a respirator... and there was even talk of a tracheotomy to help her breath. They had given her a 50/50 chance of survival. The family was hanging on to every little bit of good news that they could get... but it wasn't looking good.
Well... people everywhere were praying for Heather... and to make a long story short (too late): Last Wednesday (in the middle of the night) they took her off of the respirator.
- She started breathing on her own.
- She immediately recognized the nurse that was working with her (an old high school friend) and she asked for her mom!
- By the time the family was allowed to visit Heather the next morning... she was sitting up in her bed, talking and laughing... and singing!
- Later that evening... she was moved from ICU to her own room!
WOW! God is awesome! Everyone knew that what they had witnessed was a real miracle... including Heather. The doctors and nurses were amazed. Heather is home now... and we are all very thankful that God has given her this incredible gift.
April is also home now... and (once again) all is well at the Bunnelle house. Yes... the house was still in one piece after almost 2 weeks without her. The kids and dog were all well fed. They (the kids) were all wearing clean clothes... teeth brushed... wearing deodorant... when we went to pick her up from the airport in Cleveland. OK... so maybe that was another miracle.
I know that April needed to be there with her sister... that was HUGE... but I absolutely hate it when she is away for that long. I missed her like crazy. It's really good to have her back home where she belongs. And it is good to know that Heather is home and on the way to a complete recovery. One thing is for sure... we were all once again reminded of how fragile life is... and how BIG our God is.
The NewPointe Meeting Place
We have found a new regular meeting place in Sugarcreek. It is a brand new coffee shop called Wall House. This place is amazing! They have great coffee and specialty drinks... great food... a friendly staff... in an unbelievable atmosphere. Wall House is "first class" all the way.
John and I meet there every Thursday morning now for our "brainstorm meetings". We really felt like getting away from the office for these meetings was important... and Wall House was just what we were looking for. The colors, the textures, the architecture, the sounds and smells... everything about this place just stimulates creativity. That is something that I have been looking for ever since we moved to this area. So... if you haven't checked it out already... get there soon!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Amazing New Artist!
This is awesome! I just downloaded the video from iTUNES and then I found it on youtube. I can't wait for this dude's music to be released on iTUNES (April 29th). I'm HOOKED! His name is Josh Wilson. Check it out:
BTW: He sings too. Check out his first cut on iTUNES.
BTW: He sings too. Check out his first cut on iTUNES.
This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set list
This weekend we kick off a new series: Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Man, I am excited about this series. The messages are going to be strong... the stage set looks amazing... and you can look forward to some great tunes along the way. Check out this week's set-list:
"Where The Streets Have No Name" - U2 (Get there early... you will not want to miss this!)
"Sing Sing Sing" - Chris Tomlin
"O Praise Him" - David Crowder Band
"A Few More Days" - Matthew West
It's gonna be "off-the-hook"! See you there!
"Where The Streets Have No Name" - U2 (Get there early... you will not want to miss this!)
"Sing Sing Sing" - Chris Tomlin
"O Praise Him" - David Crowder Band
"A Few More Days" - Matthew West
It's gonna be "off-the-hook"! See you there!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Easter Sunday @ NewPointe
We had an amazing Easter celebration yesterday at NewPointe! WOW! Everything from the opening of the service to the closing song was absolutely powerful. God definitely met with us yesterday... and because of that... lives will be changed forever.
I have always wanted to do this... but I kept my camera with me and took some photos from the stage. This what it looked like as the 3rd service crowd was leaving the auditorium. Pretty cool... eh? It was packed! We had 3450 in attendance in 3 services (That's a new NewPointe record).
Here are a couple of shots of our music team in action. Man, I was so proud of these guys. They absolutely "knocked it out of the park" all 3 services. What most people do not know... is that sound checks for this team started at 6:00 AM! Thanks, guys for all of your hard work and dedication to the ministry. You all rock!
We had a DJ (Brian Ketner, from Canton) who "laid down some tight scratchin' and a few phat beats" for us (OK... so that's all the hip-hop lingo this white boy knows... and it was pretty bad at that.). Man, was it ever cool! We also had a horn section... and they did a fantastic job! I think that they all had a great time playing with us. We will definitely be doing that again.
Here are a few cool shots that Paul Rothel took for us:
We started the morning out with a sand art piece by one of our resident artists, Bill Koch. This was his first time to work with sand... but Bill went from the creation all the way to the resurrection in less than 8 minutes with only sand and a a light box. Pretty cool!
Looks like a lot of fun... huh? Well... it was a big day at NewPointe and one that definitely left it's mark on all of the folks who attended.
A HUGE THANKS goes out to everyone who served... from the musicians, singers, dancers, tech team, parking lot team, family life team, cafe volunteers, visual arts team, stage crew, chair team... EVERYONE who made Easter Sunday at NewPointe an opportunity for people to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ! You're the best anywhere!
I have always wanted to do this... but I kept my camera with me and took some photos from the stage. This what it looked like as the 3rd service crowd was leaving the auditorium. Pretty cool... eh? It was packed! We had 3450 in attendance in 3 services (That's a new NewPointe record).
Here are a couple of shots of our music team in action. Man, I was so proud of these guys. They absolutely "knocked it out of the park" all 3 services. What most people do not know... is that sound checks for this team started at 6:00 AM! Thanks, guys for all of your hard work and dedication to the ministry. You all rock!
We had a DJ (Brian Ketner, from Canton) who "laid down some tight scratchin' and a few phat beats" for us (OK... so that's all the hip-hop lingo this white boy knows... and it was pretty bad at that.). Man, was it ever cool! We also had a horn section... and they did a fantastic job! I think that they all had a great time playing with us. We will definitely be doing that again.
Here are a few cool shots that Paul Rothel took for us:
A HUGE THANKS goes out to everyone who served... from the musicians, singers, dancers, tech team, parking lot team, family life team, cafe volunteers, visual arts team, stage crew, chair team... EVERYONE who made Easter Sunday at NewPointe an opportunity for people to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ! You're the best anywhere!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set list
Life has been pretty crazy over the past couple of weeks. I will BLOG about it soon.
This Sunday is Easter... and we are going to CELEBRATE big time! Check out the set-list:
"Happy Day" - Tim Hughes
"Everything Glorious" - David Crowder Band
"Beautiful the Blood" - Steve Fee
"He Reigns" - Kirk Franklin
Come ready to worship and to hear from God. It is going to be a powerful service! See you there!
This Sunday is Easter... and we are going to CELEBRATE big time! Check out the set-list:
"Happy Day" - Tim Hughes
"Everything Glorious" - David Crowder Band
"Beautiful the Blood" - Steve Fee
"He Reigns" - Kirk Franklin
Come ready to worship and to hear from God. It is going to be a powerful service! See you there!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set-list
"Waiting On The World To Change" - John Mayer
"All Over The World" - Tree63
" Awesome Is The Lord Most High" - Chris Tomlin
"Use Me" - Ron Kenoly
"Set The World on Fire" - Britt Nicole
Don't miss it... it is going to be an amazing service!
"All Over The World" - Tree63
" Awesome Is The Lord Most High" - Chris Tomlin
"Use Me" - Ron Kenoly
"Set The World on Fire" - Britt Nicole
Don't miss it... it is going to be an amazing service!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Auuuugh!!! That's it!!!
I am SO SICK OF THIS SNOW!!!!!!!!!So... I am just going to pretend that it doesn't exist.
"Ah... there's nothing like sitting out on my deck with a glass of V8 Fusion while taking in a few rays...
...AFTER SPENDING AN HOUR SHOVELING SNOW OFF OF MY DRIVEWAY AND SIDEWALKS!!!!"
Did I mention... I hate snow?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Photos from Last Weekend at NewPointe
Bubba showed up in KidStuf... and (once again) gave Kevin and the cast reason to focus on the virtue of the week... COURAGE. Funny pic... huh?
Is it just me... or is this a little creepy?(Sorry, John.... I mean... Bubba Joe)
KidStuf was a lot of fun this weekend! These guys give it all they've got week after week in KidStuf to minister to kids and their parents. Kudos to the cast, the writers, the technical team, the singers and dancers and everyone else who make it happen. You guys are the best!
Dwight brought an amazing message on vital service. He said this about serving: "We've made the mistake of thinking listening to teaching makes us go deeper. It's serving that takes you deeper than anything else." The church in America is dying because of people just sitting on their butts weekend after weekend and not exercising their God given gifts. Serving is a crucial part of following Christ.
My daughter, Abby closed the service with the Stacie Orrico song, "I Could Be The One". It was her first time on the main stage at NewPointe... and she knocked it out of the park. I was so proud of her!Here are a couple of photos of Abby "bringin' it". She gets that from her mom.
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