This Morning @ NewPointe: Set List

Once again... I'm behind on posting the set-list for the weekend. This morning was the first message in a two-part series called "Making Room"... as Dwight shared the importance of making room at NewPointe... so that more people can come to know Christ through our ministry. This morning Dwight announced that we will be adding another service... and a second KidStuf starting Easter weekend. Also... sometime in the not too distant future... we will be launching a NewPointe campus in a surrounding city. WOW! Talk about making room! These are the most exciting days ever!

We also Baptized 8 people in our services this morning! Those are always the highlight of our services.

Oh yeah... what we sang this morning @ NewPointe:

"Let God Arise" - Chris Tomlin

"Awesome Is The Lord Most High" - Chris Tomlin

"All Because of Jesus" - Steve Fee

"Here I Go Again" - Casting Crowns

If you didn't get to be at NewPointe this morning... you can watch the services on-line. Check 'em out (right here).

tobyMac's "Get Away Car" @ NewPointe

Here is a video from this past weekend's services @ NewPointe. The song is tobyMac's "Get Away Car". We used the song to open the services as we wrapped up our XCELR8 Series. Enjoy!

The Marriage Referee

I promised that I would post the Married Life LIVE video that I was working on... on my blog after the big Valentine's Day event was over. So... here it is:

The Marriage Referee



It was an incredible night. There were over 600 people in attendance (around tables!)... so the room was packed! The food was amazing (including Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. WOW!), The Entertainment was top shelf and the message was powerful! The theme for the night was "It's How You Play The Game" and everything was based on "sports". From our "Sport Center guys" who officiated throughout the night... to our LIVE "sports themed" music... to the "Madison Square Gardens" style introduction of our speaker, Dwight Mason (That in itself was worth the cost of admission) everything was planned with tons of intentionality . It was just a fantastic night... and everyone there had an amazing time.

Here are a few photos from the night:

American Idol Update: The First Dozen

Tonight... I am lying in my bed as I watch American Idol. You see... I have been really sick since yesterday afternoon (And I mean S-I-C-K). So... since I cannot sit up at the computer to blog LIVE... I am ready with a pad and pencil.



OK: So here are my thoughts about tonight's show:

Tonight's song selections are from the Billboard HOT 100 chart. There are a lot of great songs on that list. As I understand it... for the next three weeks they will eliminate all but 3 vocalists from 3 groups of 12 (One male... one female... and a wild card each week). I am not so sure that I like this format. What if they put 4 or 5 of the best singers in one group? What if they are all male (which is extremely possible this season)? Some of the "best of the best" vocalists could potentially go home... allowing weaker vocalist to advance from another group... just because they were the "best of the worst". Anyways! WOW... that's a tough one.

First up tonight:

Jackie Tohn: She's singing an Elvis tune that I am not very familiar with. She is definitely an entertainer! Lots of energy. She is way "over-playing" the song though. This is a vocal competition... not a drama try-out. I don't know. I didn't think she was that bad in the auditions. We'll see...

Ricky Braddy: I don't remember seeing this guy before... but I like him. Nice pipes. I'm not crazy about the "thin nasal" quality to his voice... but the kid can "bring it".

Alexis Grace: Whoah.... very soft... weak vocal. She's getting stronger as the song builds. Her pitch is a little unfocused. she is trying to do things with her voice that are not really her style... mostly on ad-libs. She CAN sing... but I am just not crazy about many of the female vocalists this year. She is as good as any I've heard this season.

WOW... the judges loved her. I wouldn't go THAT far.

Brent Keith: He is singing a country tune. Now... when he talks he sounds very country... but he is not a country singer. I like his voice a lot. He's pretty strong.

Stevie Wright: The song is way out of her range here at the beginning. Very pitchy. She looks like she is trying to be somebody she's not... very awkward and uncomfortable.

It's OK, Stevie... Taylor Swift can't pull that song off LIVE either. - (Oooops... did I say that out loud?)

Anoop Desai: I like this guy's voice a lot. Smooth vocal. This particular song makes him sound too much like a "boy band" vocalist though. He is singing on the high side of the notes through most of the song... which really makes me wonder is there is something going on with the monitors tonight.

Is it me - or are the BGVs just OFF tonight. WOW! It's really hard to hear any detail to the contestant's voices. It may be a monitor issue for them as well... let's hope.

Casey Carlson: A really bad song choice. Really... only Sting can make this song work. Very average vocal. No dynamics... it all sounds the same. Very awkward movements. Nope.

QUESTION: How do the producers and coaches of AI allow the vocalists to go out on that stage and perform a song that is so WRONG for them. I just don't get it.

Michael Sarver: I have been "up and down" with this guy. I really, really liked his audition... and then I didn't care much for him in Hollywood. I like his voice... and he seems like he's the most likable guy in the bunch. Let's see how he does tonight: I still say that there is something up with the monitors... something is off. He is so much better than he sounds right now. He still did a nice job. I don't know if he is strong enough to be in the top 3 tonight... but he was good.

Ann Marie Boskovich: She is starting out sharp (like some of the others - strange). She can sing. Nothing that really blows me away though. I would have to say that she is in the top 3 female vocalists so far. But that's mainly because there are no strong female vocalists in this group.

So here's a situation where one of these ladies will be going on to the next level... when they probably don't deserve to. They were just "lucky" enough to be the strongest female vocalist in a very weak group. I don't like this format at all.

Stephen Fowler: OK... so I am surprised that he is even here. This is not based on his vocal skillz... the boy can SING. When he forgot his words... twice... slammed his hands on the keys... and walked off in Hollywood... I really thought that was IT for him. Here we go: Woah!!! BGVs are terrible! (FWIW: I think that they should sing WITHOUT BGVs. It can be an advantage if they are ON... or a huge disadvantage if they are OFF. And none of that has anything to do with the contestants vocal abilities). Bad song choice. Michael Jackson has a very "tight percussive" vocal style that made that song work for him. Stephen is way to smooth R&B for this song. He may have wasted his second chance tonight. That's too bad. I really like him.

Tatiana De Toro: Turn her mic up! It's really hard to hear her voice... here at the beginning. It's buried in the band. OK... I can't believe I am saying this... she CAN sing (BTW:There is a big difference in "CAN sing" and "can SING"). Not a very memorable presentation though. She was very stiff and boring tonight. At least we haven't seen the "drama" on stage yet. That's a nice change.

Danny Gokey: This guy could go all the way. He is head and shoulders above the rest of the contestants when it comes to sheer vocal ability. I think the only guy who would have given Danny a "run for his money" in this competition... was cut 2 weeks ago because he had laryngitis (David Osmond). Hey... they just said that Danny is a worship leader at his home church. I KNEW I liked that guy! : ) My guess is that he leads worship at a charismatic church. He just has that "Clint Brown" (You know... the guy who used to be at World Harvest in Columbus, Ohio) sound. You know what I mean? OK... here he goes: WOW! Smooth vocal. This guy is strong! I love the soulful raspy quality to his voice. By far... the best of the night. Strong!


It was an interesting show tonight. I have never seen so many technical difficulties in one show. Between all of the wrong camera shots, videos not cued and all of the audio problems... it kinda makes you wonder why they don't have all of this "down to a science" after 7 seasons. Oh well... tomorrow night they will announce the 3 from this dozen... that will move on to the next level.

My picks: (and I'm usually wrong. I mean... who would have thought that "America" would send Michael Johns home last year???)

MALE: Danny Gokey





FEMALE: Alexis Grace





WILDCARD: (This one I'm just not sure about - I just know that it will be a guy) Ricky Braddy, Anoop Desai, Michael Sarver, Stephen Fowler??? I just don't know.

I never get to see the Wednesday night shows because of band rehearsal at the church.

So... until next Tuesday night...

There's No Place Like Home

A old friend from college posted an amazing video on Facebook the other day. Garrett is an audio, video, lighting professional from Nashville, TN. He has had some great opportunities over the years to work with very creative teams over the years. Well... a couple of weeks ago, he was invited to travel to one of my old "stomping grounds", the great state of Kansas... to help out with a LIVE concert recording (soon to be released on DVD) of one of my favorite "old school" bands, KANSAS. He had posted some photos that were pretty amazing... but then he posted a video that just blew my mind. It was a sneak peak at what goes "behind the scenes" in the production truck (called The Journey HD). The company that is producing the video is Camp Digital and they have a pretty amazing process for these "on location" LIVE recordings. As you are watching the video, (after you get over the fact that it is actually KANSAS performing LIVE on all of those monitors) keep your eyes on the Video Director, Steve Angus as he calls the camera shots and Audio Director, Curt Casassa as he calls the music cues. These guys are absolutely amazing! Both Steve and Curt just HAD to be music directors, conductors, musicians... before they got this gig. It seems like total chaos in the truck... but these guys are real pros. They know exactly what they are doing. Amazing Stuf! Check it out:




Before the Steve Angus gives that "finger snap" signal to go to a specific camera... there is another guy in the truck that is "painting" that camera (adjusting the iris and getting the color just right) BEFORE they can go to that shot. Timing is everything. Talk about intense?? WOW! Now you can see a little of the hard work and preparation goes into the making of one of these LIVE Concert DVDs.

Here are a few photos from the concert:

Phil Ehart with the Symphony behind him. WOW!


















Dave Ragsdale & Steve Morse (one of my all-time favorite lead guitarists - obviously playing violin here.) on "Dust In The Wind"


















Garrett hanging out with Kerry Livgren backstage. Are you kidding me???


















Thanks, Garrett, for giving us this very cool "behind the scenes" look at LIVE video production.

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

This is the last weekend of our XCELR8 Series. It has been a powerful series with a lot of helpful insights from God's Word on how to accelerate our spiritual growth in the areas of faith, family, finance, fun and (this weekend)... freedom.

Here is the music for this weekend @ NewPointe:

"Get Away Car" - TobyMac

"I Am Free" - Desperation Band

"In The Mystery" - Hillsong United

"How Great Is Our God" - Chris Tomlin

"Undone" - MercyMe

If you can't actually be at NewPointe on Sunday morning... you can watch the services LIVE on-line. Check it out (right here) at 9:00 and 11:00 on Sunday morning! See you there!

Random Stuf: One I Forgot - "Shop Talk"

Random stuf 4: During the XCELR8 Series at NewPointe... our team created a "TV show style" drama sketch called "Shop Talk" to use as a sermon bumper each week. It has been a lot of fun to see what Mark and Louie are "working on" in their garage each week. When we were talking about the concept for the show... we knew that it would need a "theme song" to play on the way in and again on the way out. So as music director... that was my responsibility. I knew that I wanted the tune to sound a little quirky with ratchets, car horns, engine sounds and jingling tools incorporated into the rhythm. Plus... I wanted it to be fun and "catchy" so that each week people would get excited about what was to follow. So... with a little help from REASON and ProTools... this is what I came up with (I went ahead and posted the whole show from week 4 of the series. It's short) Enjoy!

American Idol Update: Hollywood Week 2

I didn't get to see "group night" last week... but April informed me that it was even more dramatic than last year. I know they have to narrow it down to 36... but what a process. I am ready for them to get on with the show.

They are singing with a band tonight. This should be good. I have been looking forward to hearing several of these vocalists sing with a band behind them.

I am going to blog while I am watching the show again tonight. Again... you don't have to agree with my evaluation. Do you agree with me so far? What are your picks? Leave me a comment... or two.

OK... the show is coming on. First up...
Adam Lambert: Cher's "Believe"??? That's a bad song choice.... before he even starts. OK... he sounds a little bit like a wounded animal. Next.
Matt Giraud: I like his voice. Very soulful. WOW! Definitely a contender. He sounded great with the piano too.
Jamar Rogers: I am just not crazy about this guy. He can sing... but there's just something about him that I don't care for.
Danny Gokey: Now... I LOVE the texture of this guy's voice. He has a very emotional and powerful vocal.

- commercial

Jorge Nunez: Annoying performance.
Scott McEntire: I appreciate this guy's story... but I don't get the vocal thing at all. He has a very average voice. Reminds me too much of a "Josh Grobin wannabe".
Kendall Beard: The little bit that I heard... wasn't very good.
Stevie Wright: I like her voice. Wish I could have heard more of her.
Lil Rounds: I think she is one of the stronger female vocalists.
Kristin McNamara: I like the "raspy" quality to her voice. I think she was overdoing the song though.
Mishavana Henson: She's... just OK

-commercial

Tatiana Del Toro: She's such a "diva drama queen"... but she has some talent. I don't know. I guess I think she needs to go home.
Alexis Grace: That was pretty rough
Jasmine: Off pitch.
Nathaniel Marshall: Cut the drama. This guy needs to go home.
Joanna Pacitti: She just wasn't able to pull it off.
Stephen Fowler: I LOVE this guys voice! Open your eyes, Stephen. Aughh... he dropped the words. Twice! He slammed his fist on the keys. Really? Your gonna go out like that? Dude! You're amazing! That could be the last we see of Stephen. WOW! What a loss!
Nick (Norman Gentle) Mitchell: What a joke! He must WANT to go home.
Ann Marie Boskovich: She sounded better than some of the others that sang "I Hope You Dance". I actually liked her voice.
Juno Joyner: Boring. And he destroyed a perfectly good song.

-commercial

Kaylan Lloyd: Whoah... that was just baaaaad.
Lenesha Young: She sounded much better WITHOUT the band. It was a very average vocal. I am really kind of surprised.
Tai Kalama: Rough vocal. Of course he is obviously sick.
Michael Sarver: Sort of a Michael Bolton-esque performance. Not all that good.
India Morrison: Weak performance... pacing... uncomfortable.

- commercial

RESULTS:

So... Danny Gokey moves on! Stephen Fowler gets a second chance (I sure hope he can pull it all together... because he is one of the best vocalists in there). Nathaniel Marshall and Nick Mitchell go on??? (I don't get that at all). Over all: All i can say is that the judges were very forgiving this round. Where were David Osmond and Jasmine Murray? Did I miss something? They weren't even in any of the group shots tonight. How do they do that?

Again... let me know what you thought about tonight's show. Leave a comment.

Well... until next week...

Random Stuf: Creativity

It has been a while since I've posted a Random Stuf blog... and a lot has happened over the past few weeks. So I had better get everybody "caught up". This is a very busy season at NewPointe. As a matter of fact... I just got home from our Service Programming Training Day at the church. OK... so that's a good place to start:

Random Stuf #1: Today we had our quarterly training event for the Service Programming Department. This is a time when all of our artists, actors, dancers, greeters, ushers, musicians, vocalists and technicians get together to sharpen our skills. Today... we talked about PURPLE COWS. Actually the theme was about "being remarkable". Anybody can be a brown cow... but we want to be a purple cow. Purple cows are memorable. We have such a great time when we get all of our teams together in one place... to get "on the same page". Here are a few pics from the event.













































Random Stuf #2: Aly's 11th birthday was last weekend and she wanted a "horse" themed birthday this year. She also informed us that she wanted a "horse cake" to take to school to share with her class. So... April looked around for a cake in the shape of a horse. We were going to end up paying a ridiculous amount of money for a "horse cake"... so my creative wife (once again) saved the day. It was Super Bowl weekend... so there were plenty of football shaped "cupcake" cakes at Wal-Mart. She got the bright idea of rearranging the cupcakes into the shape of a horse. I mean... the football had brown icing... right? So April was thinking "how hard could it be to just change the shape a little?".

My mom and dad were here to help out. April and my mom iced the cake. My dad tried to spread some of the white icing around with a fork to create a mane. My big contribution was creating a saddle to put on it's back. Honestly... it needed all the help it could get. : )









Well... here are the before and after photos (The lighting was very different for the "after" photo but you get the idea):

BEFORE











AFTER














ALY LOVED IT! She thought it was the coolest cake ever. And even better... she thought that her mom was the greatest mom ever.

And she was right!

Random stuf #3: Married Life LIVE is coming up this next weekend... and I had the opportunity to script and direct another video for this event. The theme for Married Life LIVE this time around is SPORTS ("It's How You Play The Game") and the concept for the video is "The Marriage Referee". You can imagine where that's going... right? Well... we actually shot the video on one of the snowiest nights of the season. There was literally a "white out" blizzard that night... and we had to shoot the video in 4 different locations. What a night! Here are a few pics from the video shoot:

















































































Now... you'll just have to get your tickets and join us for Married Life LIVE to see what the video is really all about. It was an absolute blast to put together. Now that the video is done... I can focus on getting the music ready for the evening. It is going to be so much fun! We will be performing songs by Smash Mouth, Faith Hill, Queen, John Fogerty... and many more. Don't miss it! Hope to see you there!



More Random Stuf later...

This Morning @ NewPointe: Set List

Sorry that I am so late posting today's set-list. Here are the songs that we used this morning @ NewPointe as we continued our XCELR8 Series (Today's message was on "finances"):

"Dear, Money" - Josh Wilson

"Never Let Go" - David Crowder

"Unfailing Love" - Chris Tomlin

"From The Inside Out" - Hillsong United

If you couldn't actually be at NewPointe this morning... you can always watch the services through our website on Vimeo. Check it out (right here).

American Idol Update: Hollywood Week

If you ask me... the American Idol auditions were pretty uneventful this year. It seemed like they were focusing more on the really bad singers and the "just plain goofy" people than they have in the past. I mean... they have always had fun featuring the weirdos... but this year I found myself waiting (and waiting) each night for SOMEBODY (please, somebody!) to come along who actually qualified for the show. You know... the VOCAL competition. It wasn't until about 15 minutes before the end of the show each week that they would show any any "real" singers. At this point... I am really hoping that there were other strong vocalists who made it to Hollywood... and we just haven't seen them yet.

I really like the new judge, Kara DioGuardi. I think that she will actually be able to bring some resemblance of knowledgable, constructive feedback to the competitors. They already have Simon with is abrasive no-nonsense approach... Randy with his vague inconsistent evaluations... and Paula with her... well... what exactly does Paula do? I guess Paula is there to make everybody feel like they are loved and appreciated... right? Kara seems to know her stuff though. It will be interesting to see how that chemistry plays out this season.


So... for tonight's show... I am going to BLOG while I'm watching. So what I write... is my impression of tonight's show... as I am watching it LIVE. You don't have to agree with me... these are just my thoughts

My favorite after the auditions: David Osmond (son of the big brother of the singing group, The Osmonds - Allen) They gave him a rough time during the audition... but I am sure that the expectations are high for this guy. He can deliver though.


So... here we go:

First up....
Lil Rounds - OK... she is yelling. She has a very strong voice... she can style... but she's screaming at us. Now Paula and Kara are giving her a standing Ovation? She must have sounded a lot better in the Kodak theatre.
Dennis Brigham - WOW... deer in the headlights! Very strange performance. (How did he make it to Hollywood?)

Only 2 winners featured this segment? I want to hear the other winners!! what's up with that?

- commercial

Nathaniel Marshall - Ray Boltz - "The Anchor Holds"? Are you kidding me??? WOW! It was a very boring performance. When they asked him what the song meant to him... he said "music has always been his anchor". He said that when his friends deserted him... "He has always had his music.". So did he like totally miss the meaning of the song... or what? Then he said that music just "bursts out of his skin"??? OK... NEXT!
Anoop Desai - Yeah! WOW! Smooth! I like his voice.

Jasmine Murray - Yeah! I liked her a lot! I can't wait to hear her with the band.




Rose Flack - Average. Cool vibe... but very average vocal.

- commercial

Stephen Fowler- Great voice! WOW! One of my favs so far! And he's from NE Ohio!




Jorge Mendez - Strong vocal
Von Smith - He is over-singing. Trying to hard to "sell it". Very strange performance. (That's what Simon said too)
Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) - What was he thinking??? He's got one shot at this... and he is doing the whole Norman gag! The boy can sing! What is he doing??? (OK... I can't believe they put him through. We are being set-up. He is probably going to just blow us away when he gets serious and sings.)

- commercial

(Michael Buble sounded great on the intro to this segment...)

Jackie Tohn - Unique. She has a very interesting voice.
Jamar Rogers - He has a nice voice. Not really a stand-out though.

Danny Gokey - WOW! I love the quality of his voice. It's very soulful. Yeah! He can "bring it". I'm a big fan!



I WANT TO HEAR THE OTHER WINNERS!!!

- commercial

Katrina Darrell- Very average singer.
Jeremy Sarver - Nice voice. I was impressed with his first audition.
Jesus Valenzuela - Very "karaoke" sounding.
- commercial

David Ozborne - Nice voice
Erica Wesley - Average singer
Emily Hughes - Why did she change songs??? The coaches loved her with the other song. She can sing though. She'll make it through.

DAVID OSMOND is through to the next round!!! WOOOHOOO!!! I wanted to hear him sing though! From the little I heard him the other night... the kid can sing anything!

So... 104 vocalists go to the next round. Tomorrow... is group day.

Ohhhh... the drama begins.