Come On, Come On

Every once in a while there is a song or record that comes along and just stops me in my tracks. These are the moments in music that crystallize the very deepest of emotions, and when you hear it you wonder how it is possible that anyone can possibly communicate with such absolute clarity and passion.

For me as a songwriter and a musician, these moments make me want to throw away everything and start afresh, and hope that maybe one day I will be able to write even half as convincingly as that.

Last night I got to listen to a little bit of the new record by Jars of Clay. The song I heard was a song called Come On, and I have to be honest, it stopped me dead in my tracks. Even now, I'm still haunted by this one vocal line. Amazing pure and simple.

The Scene

It may come as a surprise to some of you but Nashville has a great Rock/Indie/Alternative music scene. It's not all country.

Here are a couple of bands I saw over the weekend and thought I would pass them along.
Enjoy

Disappointed By Candy www.myspace.com/disappointedbycandy
Brenn www.myspace.com/brennmusic

Politics Asside

So we witnessed one of the most historic presidential elections in our country's history this past week. Honestly, I'm not a huge Barack Obama supporter, for that matter I am not a big fan of John McCain either.

Personally I think that both men were lacking in leadership abilities as well as character. I really couldn't tell you what either of them actually stand for, aside from the obvious that John McCain is a Republican/Pro-War/Maverick who promised not be another George Bush. Barack Obama on the other hand is a Democrat/Anti-war/Candidate for Change who also promised not be like George Bush. But leadership is more than being different or better than the other guy.
This subject has been a popular topic at Hummingbird over the last couple of weeks. Last night my boss said something that I found really interesting and thought I would pass it along.

I told him that I can't remember a time in our nations history where the issues were so defined and yet the polices and positions of those running for office were so unclear. I said that I personally thought that that neither one of the candidates would make good presidents because they lacked character and true leadership. To which my boss replied, "You know that's what made Ronald Reagan such a great president, he was a leader of leaders." Take for example President Jimmy Carter, a brilliant man, and yet not a great leader, why? Carter could not delegate, he was unable to impart his vision to others. However, during his administration, President Reagan gathered together men who were leaders in their respective fields each of them brilliant men. Yet what set these brilliant men apart was the vision that guided them, Reagan's vision. He could communicate to his cabinet in such a way that he could say, "You know what I want, You get the big picture. Any questions? Good, I'm going to go play golf."

I can't say I really saw a big picture on either side of the political equation. And that to me is disappointing when the two best men that America could pick to lead our country did little more than point fingers and complain about how our country deserves change. YES we do deserve change, but change is not simply a new face. True change is a man of leadership, character and virtue.


Oh and if you are wandering where I found this image It was linked from this blog and that guy got it from here. Hey credit where credit's due. I personally think it's a pretty cool.

Nashville Round One

So I moved up to Nashville a couple of weeks ago for an internship at Hummingbird Productions. You have probably never heard of this studio but chances are you have seen or at least heard quite a few of the things that have come from Hummingbird, like the Budweiser Frogs commercial. Yeah my boss wrote that jingle a few years back, he has also done quite a bit of work with Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Converse, Nike, to name a few. In fact here is the website go check it out http://www.hummingbirdproductions.com/reel.php.

Anyway, before I left a good friend back home in Athens, GA asked me if I was going to start a blog now that I was moving away, so I could keep everyone updated on what was going on. It seemed like a good idea so here it is, may not be much to look at but here it is just the same. Hope you enjoy it.