Practice was not our typical barrage of music and endurance test this week. Michael spent most of practice discussing where he and Robert feel God is leading our group in the coming months. They both feel as if we need to get out and do more ministering to the people of the area, and not just practice on Fridays. We are looking for places that want us to come share this message in music, and are willing to go anywhere that might be. We are following up with a couple of prisons to fill out the necessary paperwork to allow us to share in that setting, and we are currently planning on going back down to Cairo, IL to sing at the mission church (we have gone down twice now, once to perform and once mainly to deliver clothing).
We are hoping to get to perform at various churches, nursing homes, hospitals, children's homes and anywhere else we may be given the opportunity. So, if you know of a place that would like to have our group come sing, please e-mail me and we will work out the details.
I'm in the process of attempting to "backblog" everything that happened in Nashville. So far I have one day completed, and it is quite lengthy. I will not post it though, until the whole trip is ready to be read about (seems fair to me - after all, I wouldn't want to leave you all hanging for the second part)
By the way, I like the definition of "Backblog" which I just came across in this blog:
Backblog: Any blog entry which tries to recapture a series of events just on the verge of mental overripeness, often resulting in a long boring entry which no one really ever reads.
Yeah, I think that is a good summary word for a lot of what I do on this site.
By the way, I like the definition of "Backblog" which I just came across in this blog:
Backblog: Any blog entry which tries to recapture a series of events just on the verge of mental overripeness, often resulting in a long boring entry which no one really ever reads.
Yeah, I think that is a good summary word for a lot of what I do on this site.
At practice tonight, we worked on the new song "A Patch of Blue", which sounds like something from a Bing Crosby musical. It has some really incredibly smooth harmonies, builds up to a massive wall of sound, then immediately breaks back to the tender harmonies that run through the chorus. I like the way this song moves and sounds a lot - it's definately a new type of song for the musical. We then had the newer members go over their songs, which sound pretty good, considering the short amount of time they have been involved with this adventure.
Michael then proceeded to pull out the "memo" that Deke wrote to BMI regarding this endeavor. (Explanatory note: When trying to land a record deal for a musical, it is standard procedure for the production company(Deke) to provide a basic 2 or 3 paragraph memo stating its intent to fully back/fund the jusical for a certain period of time. This allows the record company (BMI) to know that it's product (the CD) will be supported and actively promoted, thus making it more inviting of a proposition for the record company.(
Well, Deke's "memo" ended up being a full 5 pages in length, so I guess that makes it a letter.
In it, Deke proceeded to list some of his various accomplishments and accolades, in order to prove his status in the industry and the fact that he is successful and that he knows what a good product is. He then proceeded to explain how his company (Sanctuary Productions) is very successful in promoting various products around the world. He explained the status of the company and how it continues to expand it's influence not only in the radio/music market, but also in the publishing, multimedia, movie and theatrical realms as well. Then he moved into explaining why he thinks this musical is a good business endeavor, and how he feels it can be a very successful investment.
He spoke of various broad strategies that could be pursued in marketing and promoting the "Isle of Dreams", and explained how he hoped the synergy between Santuary and BMI could accomplish these things. He then stated exactly how Sanctuary is planning on promoting this musical on its own, with specific market plans and events that will be scheduled in various locales around the United States as well as the world. He also stated that our group will be going over to Iraq to sing for the troops.
Throughout the letter, he made mention of the "magnificent cast", the "incredibly talented group of performers", "these amazing singers" and other incredibly humbling descriptions of our group. He basically stated in more than one portion of the letter how our group would be specifically involved in what he was talking about. He even proceeded to mention several of the castmembers by name, and how they could be promoted into being "actual stars" of their own right. He also stated that this musical does not need "stars" or famous people to promote it. He believes the music and the message presented is more than enough to make people love the musical and want to hear it/see it again.
It was an amazing time to listen to these words being read to us. Words which were written by a man of amazing talent and intelligence, on the other side of an ocean, not obligated to write such acclaims or reviews of us at all. And yet he felt compelled to include us in his letter. He included us as part of the reason why BMI should be involved with this musical.
We have been honored in the highest way, by one of the most highly respected men in the music industry. People all around the globe know who this man is by name only, and we have had the opportunity to meet him, sing for him, spend time with him, and even speak with him openly regarding many various things.
That was all we did at practice tonight, as if that wasn't enough.
We are continually being amazed by how God is moving through other people in order to promote His message.
Who are we to deserve such statements of praise? What did we do to deserve such treatment and favor from God?
Well, as a group we have remained faithful to Him. We have always sought to promote Christ, and nothing less. We have held to our convictions, and have unashamedly promoted the Gospel everywhere we have gone. Individually, we have drawn closer to God and continually strive to walk in His ways.
God blesses us in spite of ourselves, and He rewards us because He loves us. Awesome!
Michael then proceeded to pull out the "memo" that Deke wrote to BMI regarding this endeavor. (Explanatory note: When trying to land a record deal for a musical, it is standard procedure for the production company(Deke) to provide a basic 2 or 3 paragraph memo stating its intent to fully back/fund the jusical for a certain period of time. This allows the record company (BMI) to know that it's product (the CD) will be supported and actively promoted, thus making it more inviting of a proposition for the record company.(
Well, Deke's "memo" ended up being a full 5 pages in length, so I guess that makes it a letter.
In it, Deke proceeded to list some of his various accomplishments and accolades, in order to prove his status in the industry and the fact that he is successful and that he knows what a good product is. He then proceeded to explain how his company (Sanctuary Productions) is very successful in promoting various products around the world. He explained the status of the company and how it continues to expand it's influence not only in the radio/music market, but also in the publishing, multimedia, movie and theatrical realms as well. Then he moved into explaining why he thinks this musical is a good business endeavor, and how he feels it can be a very successful investment.
He spoke of various broad strategies that could be pursued in marketing and promoting the "Isle of Dreams", and explained how he hoped the synergy between Santuary and BMI could accomplish these things. He then stated exactly how Sanctuary is planning on promoting this musical on its own, with specific market plans and events that will be scheduled in various locales around the United States as well as the world. He also stated that our group will be going over to Iraq to sing for the troops.
Throughout the letter, he made mention of the "magnificent cast", the "incredibly talented group of performers", "these amazing singers" and other incredibly humbling descriptions of our group. He basically stated in more than one portion of the letter how our group would be specifically involved in what he was talking about. He even proceeded to mention several of the castmembers by name, and how they could be promoted into being "actual stars" of their own right. He also stated that this musical does not need "stars" or famous people to promote it. He believes the music and the message presented is more than enough to make people love the musical and want to hear it/see it again.
It was an amazing time to listen to these words being read to us. Words which were written by a man of amazing talent and intelligence, on the other side of an ocean, not obligated to write such acclaims or reviews of us at all. And yet he felt compelled to include us in his letter. He included us as part of the reason why BMI should be involved with this musical.
We have been honored in the highest way, by one of the most highly respected men in the music industry. People all around the globe know who this man is by name only, and we have had the opportunity to meet him, sing for him, spend time with him, and even speak with him openly regarding many various things.
That was all we did at practice tonight, as if that wasn't enough.
We are continually being amazed by how God is moving through other people in order to promote His message.
Who are we to deserve such statements of praise? What did we do to deserve such treatment and favor from God?
Well, as a group we have remained faithful to Him. We have always sought to promote Christ, and nothing less. We have held to our convictions, and have unashamedly promoted the Gospel everywhere we have gone. Individually, we have drawn closer to God and continually strive to walk in His ways.
God blesses us in spite of ourselves, and He rewards us because He loves us. Awesome!
For those of you who may not have heard, or just simply aren't aware of it...
I have a girlfriend! Yep, that's right. Me. With a girl. With me...
I'm not posting much here about her yet, because I haven't asked her if it would be okay. Maybe eventually I'll release some of the pictures I have, but not yet. I have to respect her privacy until she tells me it's okay. And if that doesn't happen, then you will all be missing out on some really cool stuff...
I have a girlfriend! Yep, that's right. Me. With a girl. With me...
I'm not posting much here about her yet, because I haven't asked her if it would be okay. Maybe eventually I'll release some of the pictures I have, but not yet. I have to respect her privacy until she tells me it's okay. And if that doesn't happen, then you will all be missing out on some really cool stuff...
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