Reed Pittman

Christmas Song!

2011-12-02T08:29:00.001-08:00

Quick note here. Need your help!

My friend Austin Adams has released a Christmas EP that has two songs that we wrote together on it. One of them, "The Holidays Are Here Again." has drawn some attention from the FISH FM. They have it on their website right now for "pre-spin." They measure the popularity of the song by how many "points" are merited from it.
If a song get enough points on the site, they will start spinning it on the radio! So this is where you come in!

1. Go to www.94fmthefish.net and click on "fish family rewards" (its the big blue box on the right side)
2. Sign up for "fish family rewards" or login with your Facebook Account!
3. Once you've signed up, click on or mouse over on "Get Points" and look for the section "Music and More"
4. Then click on the song and listen to a clip of "The Holidays Are Here Again"---Rate it (high, preferably)---- Then click:"Submit"

I hate to sign up for things, so I get it, trust me! But it really would help us out if you could!

Ferris Wheel

2011-11-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hello,

For the curious and esteemed... I wanted to give you a description, however brief, of what I intended for this album. My last (and first) EP, Sunday Afternoon, was my first real effort at putting some of my music out into the world. I enjoyed making that record, and am still proud of how it turned out. However, as I think is a necessary part of growth as an artist, I tried to re-assess my approach on that album as I prepared to make this one and what I thought was the best approach and the best way to convey my songwriting.

So, I decided to make a trio record (with a few exceptions). There is one acoustic guitar part in one bridge of this record. The rest of the album is bass, drums, piano and other keys instruments. It's not an "acoustic" album per se, just an album where I wanted the melodies and the stories in the songs to shine, as opposed to being overwhelmed by layers and layers of sound. I love that approach as well, don't get me wrong. I can dig a track with 15 guitar parts just as much as a track that has 1. I just felt like I wanted the songwriting to shine, and the piano parts as well. So... that was my intention with it. It may not follow the lead of some of the pop stars of our current age, but I like the live, roomy feel in this album. It's warm to me, yet also melancholy. It's reflective. These are real stories inspired by things that have affected me in the past couple of years. More importantly, I hope you find something in them that speaks to you. I am glad that it is being released near the dawn of winter, it has a wintry feel to me at times, if that makes sense. It seems seasonally appropriate.

So, enough now... Thanks family, friends, colleagues for all your support in this. This is a cool, cool moment for me and I am deeply grateful for your part in it.

Invent a religion!

2011-01-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

... It is the best way to make a million bucks, so I have heard.

I was reading a passage out of Deuteronomy this morning and began to think about the truth of God's word. Every religion, other than Christianity, has been started more or less by a person who claims they had some vision, some enlightenment, where they feel they have connected... had nirvana, etc.. with some supreme being or beings. I compared that notion to Moses and his writings.

Deuteronomy is essentially a recap of the exodus from Egypt and Israel's time spent wandering through the wilderness. As I read about the ten commandments and Moses' interaction with God, I began to think, "is it odd that a man writes his own story like this?" "why is he the author?" "what sets him apart?" Then I realized that nothing really does. His story ends with him dying... yes. dead. Moses dies at the end of this book (though I am not there yet), and never enters the land promised him and his descendants. Only Joshua and Caleb enter the promised land, due to their consistent faith in God, when others fell short.

How is this significant? Well, I zoomed out a bit and thought about the characters of the old testament. I am fairly familiar with it, certainly all the key stories. Up to this point in the Torah, we see again and again stories of men who failed. Godly men who still fall short at times. Men who make mistakes, men who deceive, men who are afraid to do God's will... So, not only are the stories about a collection of men, rather than one man's idea of religion, but the stories generally reflect poorly on the protagonist. All the way back to Adam. Love ya buddy but ya blew it. All the stories and adventures point to one thing, faith and reliance on God! We are sinners. These men were acting just like you and I do today. Messed up, screwed up, and yet God intervenes in their lives and the lives of Israel because He is completing a story that points to Christ, our savior. That's what strikes me and really gives me peace about my faith. No one is flattering themselves in this sacred book. They are telling a story, as best as they can, about their interaction with a holy God. A God who foreknew the path to redemption with his creation. Jacob deceives his father to receive a blessing. David commits adultery and has the husband killed. Rahab is a whore who's offspring, ultimately, is JESUS! To me that is exciting! Forget your flaws, forget your depravity, fall down at the cross of Jesus and know that his grace and mercy are everlasting. No author in the bible, new testament or old, claims to have it all together. They all express full awareness that they are completely reliant on God, even through their moments of being out of fellowship with Him. In every other religion, it's about self-centered striving to achieve some sense of holy living. The product of those religions is not necessarily morally corrupt, often times they, in some sense, are good to the world and the people in it. But every single one falls short by centering around people reaching up to God, to try to connect with him by personal achievement, which since we are all sinners, is an impossibility. We are all going to fall short. We are born selfish and prideful.... Only the one true God reaches down to us to have a relationship with him through his son Jesus. I don't need to invent a religion; I know my savior.

Freebies

2010-09-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

I keep coming back to this passage at the end of John Chapter 1 where Nathaniel believes in Jesus simply because Jesus says he saw Nathaniel under the fig tree, when just moments before Nathaniel says to Philip, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" As if to say, who is this joker? Complete doubt to utter surrender in a matter of seconds.

Jesus' response is what sticks with me. I kind of get the feeling He enjoys Nathaniel's simplicity, seeing how little it took to convince him that Jesus was, in fact, divine. He's not mocking Nathaniel, Jesus is simply stating the insignificance of his statement about the fig tree when it is compared to the majesty of God. He speaks about the heavens opening up, and angels ascending and descending upon the son of the Father. Now, I have never seen an angel coming or going to heaven, but I have felt their presence, and certainly that of the Holy Spirit. To me, this little fig tree example is a freebie. It's a handout from God. It's a sampler tray of chicken tenders from McDonald's before getting a $80 filet from a top-10 steakhouse. Jesus is saying, "oh boy, Nathaniel, that's all it took? really, that's it??... just you wait..." I hope that I can continue to both seek and hopefully know the full glory of the things that God has to reveal. The things that give me a glimpse into His expansive mystery. I don't want to get caught up on the freebies, the little handouts.

I am not saying that they are not important. Sometimes the little movements in our hearts and the little tugs from spirit are life-changing. In a way, they really contribute to the other, more impressive feats of God. They are the little shocks along the way that keep our faith alive in a dying culture. The point I am really trying to make is that I want those AND more. I don't just want to live on those little moments, though I know I will continue to have them. I want to seek and find some of the deeper glories that my heavenly father has to bestow upon us. I want to taste the steak, not the tenders. I want to be bewildered.

The Martyr

2010-08-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

My dad said to me that he's learned finally to not place your trust in any person, any human... because ultimately they are likely to let you down. Seems pessimistic, huh? Well, let me dissect that statement, because really it offers true, unaffected hope.

Humans are worthless, depraved people. Let's face it. We are selfish and constantly concerned with our reputations. I am none the wiser or stronger than anyone else in this matter. I seek approval, I seek acceptance... and that is God-given. The catch: I search for it, too often, not in God but in other people, things, ideas. I trust in those things. I place faith and belief in those things. To what avail?

I've been in an unbelievable tailspin this summer. My faith has been shattered. At times, I have felt irreconcilable. Lots of frustration, lots of questions, lots of heartache, and this was all spurned from me placing that trust in a person, an idol. Under the guise of a spiritual leader, I attempted, as best as I knew how, to help, and at times drag, another person along. The emotional and spiritual tax of doing this proved to be immeasurable when the whole relationship was pulled out from under me like a rug. It provided some clarity, by default. I was forced to see some of the holes in scheme, the kinks in the chain... but I truly felt like a martyr. And therein, miraculously, lies my comfort, my peace. I spent so much of myself on this, that when it ended, there was no growth left for me. I took 7 or 8 steps backwards. However, the peace I have found is knowing that my efforts were not in vain because they caused growth in that other person. They encouraged change in another life, and though mine was shambled, there was a benefit to all of it, and that's kind of point, isn't it?

So, going back to the trust thing and my father's brief but potent statement, I pray you can see now that the hope I see in it is that our trust, placed in our heavenly Father's hands, is in every way the right location for it to be. That realization is what drove my dad's thoughts. Who cares if others let you down? There is always a God who is seeking an active relationship with you, and challenging you, and by the way, He is perfect, so don't worry about mistakes on His end, only you will make them, and He will forgive you from them every time. Without fail or ceasing.

Mark it. It's time to stop asking questions that don't matter. I am so content to feel like I am finally coming out of the valley...

Dark Spots

2010-07-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

This verse in Matthew 12 has been sticking out to me. The context of which is quite impacting as well. The verse before (33) says quite plainly, if a tree is good make it's fruit good, and if it is bad the fruit will be bad. That's our meter. That is what measures us. Our fruit.

I have been feeling a strong conviction for my words. What am I saying? Is it encouraging? sarcastic? cynical? hopeless? hopeful? loving? hateful? And what are the things that I stand for in my words and do my actions support that. Where is the fruit in my life? I claim Christ sure. Many people do. Many people claim Him but do not KNOW Him. Please understand I say these things in the context of my own desire to know Him better, and not in a judging manner. My desire is that all who claim Christ would seek Him, I know I fail at this.

I guess at the center of this musing is the concept that the things that we say are evidence of the condition of our heart. Saying that it is just a personality trait to be sarcastic or cynical is a cop out. To me, if those things exist in a malicious way, it means there is some black spot on our heart that is yet to be eradicated. I am not saying you can't tease someone in good faith or be honest about a negative situation. There is a difference between the two.

If we are actively pursuing God, it seems our hearts should follow suit. Any inconsistency in that indicates that we are not diligent in His pursuit. It doesn't mean we will not make mistakes, it does not mean that we will not take steps backwards, because we surely will. It's a long process of sanctification. Still for myself, I desire to be uncomfortable with the condition of my heart, that I would guard it above all else, as Proverbs 4 says. That I would be in constant repair of the wounds and in active battle against the darkness inside of it. I would be a bold liar to say I didn't have some blotches. I think we all would be to some extent. I hope we take those dark spots in our hearts and turn them bright red.

They are many

2010-04-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He keeps all his bones, not one is broken."

-Psalm 34:18-20

As I lay in my bunk the other night en route from Vegas to Albaquerque, I opened up my bible app (hah) on my phone and that was the first passage I saw. Again, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all." I don't know how things progress in your walk, but for me, it helps to be reminded, actually, that I will face many afflictions, because I most certainly do. The big battles, the small battles, they are all intertwined in my pursuit of my savior. That was the key verse for me. Verse 19. That no matter what, we have the promise of deliverance from those trials through the saving graces of our heavenly father. Now for David, the author of this particular Psalm, it was written in leaving one dangerous situation and arriving at another. In 1 Samuel 21, it speaks of how he was fleeing from Saul in fear of his life, and fled towards the Philistines. Upon arriving there, the Philistines said, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?" At this point, David has got to be thinking... crap. I ran from one man and my reputation here precedes me, this men want to kill me. The key here is that David, in recognition of his futile attempts of evasion, finally let go of trying to do it himself and prays to his God, to our God. Thus, God delivers him from the Philistines. And, thus, the source of his praise in Psalm 34.

God is near to you, to me, when our spirits are crushed. If you think this life is a cakewalk, especially the christian one, you are drastically incorrect. But God promises deliverance, and he is aware that your afflictions are many. Also, think of the perfection of our savior, not one bone is broken, he keeps them all. Think of that. That prophecy is fulfilled, Christ walked this earth and never broke a bone, and there is a strong significance to me in that. It speaks to the purity of Christ, and the impurity of us. The depravity we are born into. Don't misinterpret me. I am not bashing humanity and saying we are worthless. I am simply recognizing the fact that due to the nature of this earth and due to our own nature, affliction, sin, despair... is an inevitability. And as David had to, you and I must be reminded to see that God delivers us FROM THEM ALL. Not one, not many, but all. What a reassurance!

RWRS!

2010-03-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

So, for the next 6 weeks, off and on, I will be playing keys for Francesca Battistelli on the Rock and Worship Roadshow. We played our first show last night in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse, and this evening we have just finished up in Madison, WI and are gearing up to head to Council Bluffs, IA. It's been an exciting and now snowy and wet and cold start to the tour. Madison welcomed us with sunny weather this morning and got drastically colder as the day wore on. Now they are expecting 1 to 5 inches here in Madison tonight. Heath (of Fee) demonstrated his attitude towards the snow quite effectively in this picture... It was a slippery, chilly load-in to say the least. At any rate, I think it's off to a good start. It's great to get to hang with Franny and Matt more, and Fee and his guys are killer as well (that's our bus, with a few crew members as well). We are sharing Heath and Matt from the Fee camp on our set. Tonight was especially good in terms of crowd size. They were at capacity here at Alliant Energy Center, which was great compared to a slightly smaller, yet still solid crowd in Indiana last night. Here's to a great tour!

The Sun and the Moon

2010-03-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

I really want to share this thought from bible study yesterday morning.

Me and the C Church band have been studying Hebrews for months now, and we just finished this incredible book describing faith, Christ's priesthood, Godly discipline and many other facets of the Christian walk. We are now moving onto John, and basically studied the first 18 verses of the first book yesterday. I cannot take credit for all of this imagery because Michael Olson shared this thought, and here is my response to it.

John establishes who Jesus is in the opening verses. I am sure many of you have familiarity with John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." But, after that, John begins drawing comparisons of light to Christ. He uses light to describe the character of Christ seven times from verses 3-9 (NIV). What's the significance of this?

Well, let's imagine a world without light? A world of darkness. The emotion I feel is sadness, hopelessness, something about the promise of the sun in the morning is reassuring to me. What does light do, really? This is fairly trite, but it illuminates things, yes? Or better said, it reveals things that were once dark. Take the moon for example. It's just a dark spot, unrevealed, sailing around our planet, until the sun hits it. When the sun shines on the moon, it reveals a beautiful, soft, white reflection that has spurned the imagination of kids and scientists alike. So, as Paul indicates, Jesus is light. Jesus is the sun. God the moon. When Jesus came into this world, as was planned from the beginning, he revealed the true nature of who God is, and the active relationship and love that God seeks with us and from us. Jesus essentially illuminates who God is and the hope is that it drives us to seek communion with God. The moon does not illuminate itself, it cannot, it needs the sun to reflect its beauty. So, God, the trinity, working in harmony, do the same. God is a reflection of the light Jesus brought to the world, he is the picture that Jesus painted.

Maybe the stars are the Holy Spirit?

Leviticus

2009-11-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

Not since June...

It's been dry. An incredible dry fall spiritually... I wish I knew the reasons behind peaks and valleys in the christian walk. Instead, what I think I've begun to recognize is that the walk is truly what it is all about. Obedience to my heavenly father in both trying and triumphant times. The times where it seems like no growth is evident and that sense of enrichment is completely absent from your life... those are crucial times to still get up and take up your cross and follow your Savior! That is completely where I have been and honestly I am glad to be writing this because I feel like I have some real thoughts to share where I truly haven't in a while. It's been frustrating at the very least.

I've been at my third attempt in reading through the bible. (the previous two were not entirely successful, I've never gotten through the entire OT, though I have been through the NT a handful of times). This time around, I've tried to diligently follow the advice of my pastor and good friend, Ryan Britt. He recommends, as do I now, that we all read the bible from the perspective that it really is one continuous story about Christ. The bible, and indeed, history is centered around this man who was both fully human and fully divine (and also not white with long brown hair, by the way... haha). At any rate, I am sifting through some pretty slow chapters of Leviticus and something is really standing out to me. It really is not that profound of a thought, but it still encouraged me... The rules and regulations that Moses writes about in this portion of the Pentateuch are thoroughly endless. Mundane. Depressing. Seemingly trivial. But that is at first glance and if you try to read the bible like fiction... you say... where are the juicy stories of murder and intrigue? where are the stories of conquest and where are the dazzling miracles?... or if you read it like a self-help book... where is the advice for what I am going through? what do the diagnostics for building the temple have to do with me? These are easy questions to ask, and all of those things ARE in the bible. A likely attitude to adopt if you come to the bible looking for some personal fulfillment is to desire these things so strongly and miss some greater lesson. God would not call us to be in His word, I argue, for us to feel better about ourselves. He wants us to be in His word out of obedience to him, so we can more diligently follow His commands and seek His will. I am not suggesting that you won't find answers in the word, I am simply stating that if you constantly seek God in the Word and the message of Christ's redemption in it that you will find more concrete, biblical direction for your life.

So how have these passages spoke to me? They have made me in awe of God. Simple and plain. The reason for all of these rules and regulations were for one purpose, to access a relationship with our Heavenly Father. For the Israelites, it took quite the measured lifestyle to have that, and even then, only one man could step into the Holy of Holies with being struck to death, and if even he was unclean in that moment, he too would die. This doesn't mean God is some rule happy dictator that wants us to live rigid, unhappy lives. It means he literally is so holy, so blameless, so perfect... that we now, and the Israelites then, could never access His presence freely without Christ. Without Christ paying the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to redeem a personal relationship with our Father, we would still be separated like the Jewish people of the Old Testament were. That's what the passage clarified for me. The gratefulness I ought to live in daily for no longer needing those laws, but being able instead to pray, to talk, to share freely a deeply personal relationship with our perfect Father through our perfect Savior. A simple thought really...

Peter

2009-06-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

So after InsideOut last night, or really, during small group discussion, I took a moment to myself in the church's main auditorium. To me, there is something fascinating about being in a room that is normally vibrant, cheerful, loud, full of people and sounds, music and worship and being there in stillness and silence and darkness. The only contribution to otherwise dead silence was the low hum of the computer racks and light rigs and air conditioning, but no disturbing or intermittent noises that attract the ears. In my hearing's inattentivness, I found a peacful solitude that can't be achieved in many places. There was a trail of light leaking through one of the side entrances so I laid prostrate and began to read in 1st Peter. There were a few verses in the first chapter that stuck out to me... and looking at two translations here... verse 14. It says in the NIV, "do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance." I liked the ESV even better. It's not in front of me but I believe it said something to the effect of don't be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. I like that concept of ignorant passions. As sinners, as lost people, or even as misguided, unconvicted Christians... we give in constantly to these "passions." Yes, they are evil desires, but only under a somewhat religous umbrella do we see them as such. In otherwords, ignorance lends itself to a form of bliss, where we don't see our passions and vices as evil. A unbeliever doesn't see their sin as evil, whether or not their conscience is telling them otherwise. So, I find that is really what we are, or were, under sin. Ignorant. Given to the whims of the world and finding no fault in those, or as believers, choosing to live in ignorance and conform to what we know, on an eternal scale, are weightless behaviors. Either way, Peter is encouraging us, don't give in! don't conform! It's your former ignorance. You are not and do not have to live in it anymore, and really you ought not to be.

Secondly, I like the passage in verse 22 which says to love your brothers sincerely, deeply, purely from the heart. That's a challenge, is it not? I was considering how often I love purely, selflessly, because of Christ in me versus how often I love conditionally and with Reed in mind. I know I struggle with that. There are many things I can attribute that to, but I know one is that I have a passion for excellence and commitment and competitivness in whatever it is I am doing. Be it sports, games, friendships, relationships or most obviously music, I want to do well and be seen as doing well. When I fail or feel like my best foot was not put forward, I tend to want to find esteem in others, and thus create a bubble of falsified love to fall back onto, to the point that I will love others conditionally to recieve it. It's sick, it's twisted, but it's truth. Actually, twisted is an apt way to describe it. In reality, the idea of being excellent in something is good. God wants that for us. He wants us to enjoy our passions (not the former ignorant ones) to the fullest, and excel in those things. Satan is the Great Deceiver. He can turn good into bad as fast as Jesus did water to wine. He can take the innately good in us and twist it and squeeze some bad out of us, as if we were a sponge nearly dry but damp, and Satan finds just a drop of sin or two to extract from us when otherwise we were tapped out. So this remains my hope, to in every moment possible, love purely and selflessly and to know deeply the passions of my Father and the restoration of Christ living in me.

The Crispy Realization

2009-04-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

Wow...

God has done nothing short but shake my core for the last six weeks. Little did I know that as I went through the release that day that I last posted here, I was starting a journey that is still very much in it's infancy, but is the most beautiful experience of my life.

I think this process started in January, when I began to attend Men's Fraternity at C-Church. This weekly men's group has gotten me thinking about manhood and the foundation of faith and conviction that I am currently establishing that will literally define me for the next 20, 30, 40 years. Through that and weekly conversations with my close friends Ross and Austin, and a breakfast with Tim Meldrum, my dear friend and pastor from Atlanta... I have completely reorganized my entire approach to christianity, realizing that in a lot of ways, I have had such an immature approach. I have lived with such a legalistic perspective. Not so much the judgmental elements of a legalist, but more so in the intense focus on good and bad, righteousness versus sin, and keeping a checklist on my sin. The sum of these ideals in my life led to a never-ending cycle of sin, guilt, repentance, redemption, sin, guilt.... etc., ugh... I am letting that GO... man it feels so good. As christians, we need not focus on "not sinning," but on communion with God and a relationship with our heavenly father... after all, that's what Jesus' sacrifice was all about... to open that door. In Hebrews 12:2, it states that Christ "with the joy set before him endured the cross" and despised the shame... It was set before Him. Christ KNEW what His sacrifice was offering to every human EVER... life in Him and a personal relationship with our heavenly Father. He took JOY in that?! despised the shame of the cross, bore the pain on our behalf WITH JOY!? How could I not be wrecked by that?

The thing is... Legalism, though encouraging righteousness, is an insult to God's grace. We literally have nothing to offer God. If we approach it with the attitude that we can contribute to our salvation, that sells God short. He doesn't need our help, He wants to rescue us! We want a role in our salvation, but we have none. We are depraved, we are broken, and can only be rescued and redeemed from it. Of course, the other side of the coin is abusing God's grace by living in sin and feeling covered by that grace, using it as an excuse to continue sinning. Read Romans 6, it blatantly addresses that abuse of God's grace. God's grace is meant for us to live a holy life, don't ever let that be forgotten! Temptation for sin will always exist, but it should lead us to God, to His throne, not away from Him and into sin. The key is that He doesn't want us to be obessesed over sin vs. righteousness... he wants us to abandon ourselves, exchange our lives for Christ's and realize Christ is the only man who ever truly "lived" the christian life. For us, on our own, this is an impossibility. We are completely incapable of living perfectly, we will utterly fail. Thus, the beauty of allowing Christ to live in us and through us to those around us... because in doing that, we CAN live and walk. It's not about trying to be like Christ, because though that is a good notion, it still focuses on us trying succeed by our own power.... Quite simply, it is about Galatians 2:20... Dying to self daily and Christ being the center of our lives, recognizing that Christ has to live out through us.

Give me release...

2009-03-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Let me say...

Yesterday was a day to be broken, to work, to be enveloped in music and then be blessed by the fruits of that labor. I was at C-church (Cumberland) all day... with a short break for lunch, and we toiled through an lengthy worship set for our evening service last night, which ended up running over two hours... It was incredible to see the hearts of the staff and the of the worship leader, Michael Olson, as he described his passion and joy in his relationship with our Savior.

After a powerful evening, I sped over to War Memorial to catch Ryan Adams on what is rumored to be his last tour. He played for a solid 2 and 1/2 hours and was fantastic. Truly glad I finally got to see a performance of his, after completely and utterly wearing out most of his records over the last 10 years. He is a prolific and outstanding songwriter, and his vocals were spot on.

Today though, has been a renewing and refreshing day. I've been doing some cleaning and decided to really overhaul some junk that's been lying around my bedroom. I was cleaning out a box that I keep under my bed that stores cards, notes, etc., meaningful things from the past 5 or 6 years of my life... and I found some things in there that I needed to let go of. Notes, words that were shared in past relationships that began draw out that emptiness inside of me that I have felt in my soul for almost a year now. I had already torn some old photos from this mess, and to drop each note, tear each note, and toss it away was a draining but cathartic process for me... I am moving towards a complete release from this, and today was huge step... ironically, at least for me, I had my iTunes on shuffle, and of the 4200 songs, it decided to play "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie. This is a group and a record (Plans) that had a lot of meaning in that relationship... so to hear it at the moment I was releasing myself from this burden was heavy, to say the least. In that same moment, it was good. The line is... "Love is watching someone die, so who is gonna watch you die?" and in a strange way, I found comfort. Even though this friendship and love is over and this song used to pertain to that particular person for me, I saw that, clearly, there are many who would be beside me at my death bed, and I feel confident there are many to whom I would return that affection and support. It's a confirmation for me, like several things in the past few weeks, that I am surrounded by good people who are sharing the walk on this earth with me, and are sharing pain and joy with me, and we are all growing in our relationship with our Savior, which is most important. I read in colossians this morning, and in the 1st chapter, Paul writes that God literally "qualified" us to be a part of eternity with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. That word (obviously not the same in every translation) struck a chord with me... that I am under-qualified, I am a sinner, I am broken, and that's where it all starts... that God sent his Son and transferred every sin to Him and nailed it on the cross... This is an extremely potent consideration, that God offers that to us out of love and with no other agenda. He is an amazing God.

I'm up in the woods...

2009-03-02T09:51:00.001-08:00

I'm down on my mind
I'm building a still
To slow down the time

-Bon Iver

Truly have been obsessed with both of his records, Blood Bank - EP, and For Emma, Forever Ago..

Both of these records are extremely well done. Thanks to this and the Radiohead music video DVD that J Hall got recently, I have been inspired by the pure creativity that remains in the music industry, despite the ugly side. I may never do anything that is as artful or creative as these artists, but they keep me striving, searching for the next step I can take towards a grander appreciation for music and what I can accomplish with it.

I have started true promotion of the new CD and the CD release show! It's keeping me busy but will be well worth it in the end. March 23, 7 p.m., third and lindlsey!

I spent saturday night traveling back from Decatur, AL from a gig, and about 10 miles into TN, the snow came, and came hard. For about the next 50-55 miles, I was driving at about 30-35 mph trying not to slide into the median, or worse, into the trees. I did have one car brake in front of me which caused me to swerve into the shoulder... but the crisis was averted. We (Phil, Britt and I) saw 2 cars in the ditch between the highway, and we saw a truck pulling a trailer with a car on it slide 90 degrees and completely block I-65 southbound... it was a mess. My knuckles were white, my arms and eyes were tired, but the Matrix held up... There were moments where all I could see was a white path in front of me... and an incessant pouring of flakes at my windshield, where my wipers vainly attempted to clear some sort of view for me. It felt like someone was stuffing a big white koosh ball in my face and I couldn't swat the stupid toy away... but, with God's protection, we made it safely. For a boy that grew up in GA, I finally earned my inclement weather driving badge. Phil (from CO) and Britt (from IN) know some snow, and they confirmed that this was indeed a heavy downpour, not just some sissy from the south complaining about a 1/2 inch of snowfall... Phil coined it a "southern blizzard." So, I feel at least legitmate in my fears.

Until next time...

New things...

2009-02-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well, since I blog so often and so well, I thought I would start one apart from the slightly less user-friendly myspace blog (no offense Tom). I want a place for friends, family, fans... whomever... to come and see what's going on in this life of mine.

This week had it's slow days and fast days. I spent Wednesday afternoon and evening recording keyboards for Tom Schreck's new record... which is quite killer by the way. We hammered out 11 songs in close to 7 hours, so it was a marathon of recording, but went really well and busted my chops, which I needed... it was a blast. I am still doing some teaching and just reached the 6 month mark with my first students, Kevin Mawae's kids (of the Titans)... they have come a very long way and we were looking back and what they've accomplished thus far... it's been a blessing to see students progress and attempting to help them along the way.

Austin Adams and I wrote another song yesterday, titled "Push and Shove." Perhaps one of my favorites from the Adams/Pittman catalog (which isn't very large, mind you)... but hey, it is a cool tune for us and a bit of a segue from our typical writing style I would say... We both poured some significant anger and frustration into the song and that is evident when you hear it.

So now I am sitting in bed after staying up way to late on a friday evening. We watched rocketman last night... some disney movie that I regrettably had never heard of, much to the dismay of my friends. When they mentioned the film, I thought they meant "The Rocketeer," so I was thrilled. I loved the Rocketeer as a kid... but not Rocketman... and let me say, I probably needed to watch that movie when I was 12, because I found it lame... I think I laughed twice... maybe... oh well. I'm sure it would be better if I associated childhood memories with it... like I do with so many other average movies.

And there it stands... my first blog... on this site at least... stay tuned.