Craig McClellan

Be A Student

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:10:01 -0500

I started playing guitar when I was a sophomore in high school. There was something about the instrument that clicked with me more than any other I had played before. I was able to learn really quickly and was majoring in guitar at Belmont University just three years later.

However, this was not because I had learned so much in those three years that I was qualified to be in the guitar program. It was because I was able to learn quickly and simply learned the audition pieces. This isn’t to say I hadn’t grown in that time, but I was not nearly as equipped as I could have/should have been.

The main cause of my lack of foundation was a fundamental flaw in how I thought learning worked. I wanted to learn how to make up guitar solos like John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan without first learning how to play exactly what they were playing.

I wanted to make great art without first studying great art.

Almost ten years later, this hasn’t changed much. I want to write the next amazing song without studying what makes a song great. I want to produce an amazing record without trying to find out how some of my favorite records were made.

So I’ve decided to be intentional about being a student. The first step of this is between now and when I leave for Crossroads, I’m going to be taking some of my favorite records and tearing them apart. Some of it may be simple and I’ll pick it up easily, but that’s ok. It will still introduce new ideas into my playing more than just hearing them will. I’m really excited about the time.

Am I the only one who struggles with a bad study ethic? If not, what are some things (songs, guitar parts, books, anything) you would like to pick apart sometime soon?

Beyond the Overplayed Single: Gotye It feels strange to mention...

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:22:37 -0500

Beyond the Overplayed Single: Gotye

It feels strange to mention a musician as popular as Gotye on my blog. Everybody and their brother has heard “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and rightfully so. It’s a great song. However, until recently I hadn’t listened to anything beyond that song.

After his SNL appearance and performance of “Eyes Wide Open” I knew that Gotye was an incredible talent, and began to look into him more. I came across this documentary on the recording of that very song.

Immediately I became aware that this wasn’t just some singer/songwriter who happened to get a song on the radio. This guy is brilliant. He wrote, engineered, and produced the entire record in a barn, and played/programmed most of the instruments. The amount of pure talent, and learned skill is incredible.

Along with the “Eyes Wide Open” documentary, he made one on the process of recording the entire “Making Mirrors” album which can be found here. It’s fascinating because every song almost sits in its own genre. While this creates a very diverse album, some of the songs end up downright strange (“State of the Art” for instance). However, songs like “I Feel Better” and “In Your Light” make the album worth checking out.

What are your thoughts on Gotye? One hit wonder, or here to stay (rhyme not intended)?

The Nashville Hello

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:05:36 -0500

Nashville has the tendency to feel like a small town sometimes. I frequently run into Belmont classmates, or other people that I’ve worked with while out and about. Often times, these aren’t people I know incredibly well, so one of us will inevitably give “The Nashville Hello.”

“Hey man, good to see you. What have you been up to?”

This seemingly nice question immediately turns any conversation into a competition of whose music career is currently the more successful.

Perhaps I’m the only person prideful enough to see it this way, but we’re all musicians. I imagine we struggle with a lot of similar insecurities.

The main thing that bothers me about these exchanges is that it puts all of the emphasis on what people do instead of who they are or what they are experiencing. I always enjoy a conversation so much more when someone asks me “How are you doing?” instead of “What are you up to?”

Even if we’re not close enough for me to drop truth bombs on the difficulty of my life, or at least go into great detail, I still feel more valued than if someone wants to know how my career is going.

So I issue a challenge to Nashville musicians. If you’re going to have a 30 second conversation with someone you run into at Baja Burrito, ask them how they’re doing instead of skipping straight to business. If they choose to go there on their own, so be it, but at least you tried to show someone that you care instead of slipping into one-upmanship.

How the iPad has Changed Songwriting for me

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:31:17 -0500

I’ve had an iPad for almost two months now, and I think my favorite use for it is songwriting.

Obviously the iPad is not a necessity (especially for songwriting). However, if you’re a writer on the fence about whether or not to purchase one, or you already have one and are looking for ideas on how to use it, maybe this post can be of service.

For Ideas
I’ve already mentioned how I use Evernote for collecting ideas. When I arrive at a writing session, I can just open my song ideas folder and see if there’s anything we want to start with.

For Writing
Prior to buying my iPad, I tried using both moleskins and a laptop in a writing session, but each left me wanting. The laptop was bulky and often difficult to situate with a guitar in hand. The moleskin was much more convenient, but it was difficult to manage edits and rewrites when everything was done in pen. I’d end up taking up 3 or 4 pages per song, I couldn’t find the most current verses after finishing a chorus.

The iPad solves this for me. It’s much smaller and more convenient than my laptop, however I can still edit digitally (generally in Evernote).

For Reference
More seasoned songwriters may not use these, but I always need a good thesaurus and rhyming dictionary on me in a session. Instead of keeping physical copies, I pull the free dictionary.com app up in one window, and rhymeszone.com in another. With a quick swipe I can access whatever resource I need.

For Recording
No one needs a full, nice demo of a song when they leave a writing session. A quick work tape to help remember the song is all that is necessary. Apple’s $5 GarageBand app is great for this. The mic always picks up what I need and sounds really great for what it is. After recording, I email the audio into Evernote and combine it with my lyrics note. I then move the note into my completed songs folder to be a part of my portfolio. Writing session complete.

Do you use an iPad for songwriting? Let me know how you use it in the comments.

The Finish Line

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:38:46 -0500

I’m blessed to be a full time musician. I am living my dream of playing guitar and making records for people. The production side is still a lot newer for me though than the guitar. Currently, I’m simultaneously wrapping up my first and second projects.

Because of the newness, every step in the process feels like a milestone for me. Yesterday was another one for me. I got to hold in my hand a mastered copy of Sarah Banks’ EP “For Your Kingdom.”

Let me explain what that means.

Mastering is the final process of making a record before the physical copies are made. It basically makes the indivual songs into a cohesive album. It insures that volume levels are the same on all the songs and that they all sound relatively similar in terms of EQs and such.

Sarah’s mastering was done by Rob Burrell who did a fantastic job. It was great to work with him and glean from his years of experience. He talked me through the whole process and was super encouraging the whole time.

Now the EP is done, at least on my end. Sarah still needs to finish with artwork and get final copies made. However, my part of the process was completed this afternoon. I was able to hold in my hand a final copy of my first album I’ve produced.

It was a great feeling, and I’m so thankful to everyone who contributed to it. I’m so excited to share this project with everyone.

Musician Support

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:31:23 -0500

I love my job as a musician. I get to make music for a living. Almost every day is different, and I get to do so many fun things.

However, it can also be a very lonely job. Unlike with a normal 9-5 job. I don’t have coworkers I see every day to build relationship and community with. I might write with a friend, then not see them again for a month. In more tedious parts of the record making process, there can be several days in a row where I don’t leave the music room at my house. And often, people with “normal” jobs don’t understand what I do.

That’s why Wednesday mornings are so important to me.

For over a year and a half now, every Wednesday my best friends and I have gotten together. We are all musicians facing a lot of the same struggles. Several of us even got married around the same time and are walking through relatively new marriages together.

It’s my chance to actually be known.

It’s also great because we all are musicians, but all do slightly different things or play different instruments. So when someone needs a recommendation for a drummer or bass player, I have some of my best friends to suggest and bring on the road with me. And they do the same for me. It’s not why we meet, but it’s definitely a fun bonus of the group.

I feel like a group like ours is a rare thing in creative professions (or even outside of them). However, I know I couldn’t function without this group. So I encourage you, make sure you surround yourself with people who can support and challenge you in life and work.

My friend Jeromy wrote about our little group on his blog recently. You can check out that post if you want to meet my friends.

A Guitarist’s Dream Come True Last week I had the supreme...

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:00 -0500

A Guitarist’s Dream Come True

Last week I had the supreme privilege of spending time with Bob Weil and Dana Weaver of Visual Sound at their office in Spring Hill, TN. I’m a big believer in trying pedals with your own amp and guitar which is not easy at local guitar stores, so I’d never really been able to try out their pedals for myself.

First and foremost, let me say what awesome guys Bob and Dana are. Their goal as a company is to make amazing guitar gear that is actually affordable. They want everyone from kids just starting out to people serving on church worship teams, to full time guitarists to be able to achieve their dream tone. Going into the showroom, I wasn’t sure their pedals would be able to stand up next to other, more expensive pedals already on my board. Yet I was so impressed to see everything sounded as good or better than more expensive gear already on my board.

They took me through their entire lineup and took video of the whole thing to put up on their website. I have artist endorsements from Divided by 13 and Pedaltrain, but this is the first time a company has put a demo video by me up on their website. It was a huge moment for me to see that posted.

As you can see from the video, I loved their pedals. I ended up buying 5 from them, and have my eye on a few more. I purchased their Open Road Overdrive, Route 808 Overdrive, Son of Hyde Distortion, Angry Fuzz, and Dual Tap Delay.

After I left the Visual Sound offices, I had a small fear in the back of my mind I had let the excitement of the moment push me into buying stuff I wouldn’t like as much after I got home. After playing through all of it this weekend, and at Inspire rehearsal yesterday, those fears have been laid to rest. I have never felt as good about my tone.

I am currently waiting on my true bypass looper to come in. It should be here any day now. Once it arrives, I’ll write a Gear Spotlight post about my pedalboard with pictures from before and after my day at Visual Sound and my looper.

If you like what you hear in the video, you can check out http://visualsound.net for more info.

I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to visit Visual Sound. Thanks to Bob, Dana, and everyone else. I’m proud to have your pedals on my board.

The Thing About Kickstarter

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:31:46 -0500

Since I’ve now worked on two musical projects that have used kickstarter to raise funding, a friend recently asked me to send him some thoughts on the good and the bad of the service. I’m obviously very thankful for kickstarter and the projects it has allowed me to be a part of, but it definitely has its drawbacks. I thought they might be useful to others as well, so I’m posting them here. I’ll begin with the issues, then put a silver lining around it.

(Note: I have only been a part of campaigns to raise money for music projects, so that’s as much as I can and will speak to in this post.)

Market Saturation
The first time I heard of kickstarter was in the summer of 2010. A Nashville band that I really like was raising money for a new album. I thought it was a great idea. I got to preorder the album, and they were able to make it. It was a cool new thing and I was happy to contribute.

Now it seems that everybody and their brother is trying to raise money via the site. Rarely does a day pass that my newsfeed or twitter feed doesn’t have some kickstarter promotion on it. I admit that I am guilty of this as well, but it’s a necessary evil. I can’t not promote campaigns for artists I’m working with. Still, I fear that people are growing tired of seeing constant requests for money, and are now less likely to support even good and worthwhile projects.

All or Nothing
I understand the reasoning behind the all or nothing model. It protects the donors from giving money to a project that has no hope of ever being made. However, this can be problematic for smaller projects. If someone reaches $5000 of a $7000 goal, chances are they could round up the other $2000 if they needed to. However, they don’t want to downplay the need either.

I wish there was an “absolutely have to have to make this project happen” amount, and a real goal amount. Though might discourage them from giving past the initial goal. I’m not sure the solution, but it is a major problem with kickstarter.

Now, here are some ways a kickstarter campaign can still work amid those difficulties:

The Campaigner Already Has a Following
Strangers will not support a random artist’s first project. I cannot tweet a campaign for an artist none of my friends and followers have ever heard of and have them donate. If the money is going to someone they don’t know personally, it needs to be an established artist. For example, if one of my favorite Nashville artists like Sandra McCracken or Leagues posted that the only way I would get more music from them was through kickstarter, I would donate in a heartbeat. I would have purchased the album when it came out anyway, and I want to make sure it gets made so I contribute. But I have already had a taste of their music that makes me want more. I don’t have that with a new artist, so I’m less Iikely to support them.

The Campaigner Has Generous Family and Friends (Mostly Family)
Most of the time, a first project is going to be primarily funded by family, and that’s ok. That’s part of what your family is for, to support you no matter what. Some friends might, but chances are that if you are a young twenty-something without much money, most of your friends are too. Larger donations will usually have to come from people who can afford it.

That’s my opinion of kickstarter. Have you had a similar (or different) experience with the service? Let me know in the comments.

What's on My iPod? April Edition

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:31:08 -0500

I wrote my first What’s on my iPod post just for fun and to share good music. However, as I’ve contemplated the second installment, I’ve realized it can also be an interesting way to document seasons in my life.

In March, I was listening to a lot of music while traveling and needed it to entertain me on the road. My choices were a bit lighter and eased hours in a van.

I’ve been home more this month, and it has been a very difficult month personally. I feel like my music choices have reflected that. From hymns of comfort to pop goodness for distraction, I give you What’s on my iPod, April Edition.

Christy Nockels - Into the Glorious
Christy has been one of my favorite singers for years, and just hearing her voice can make me feel better about anything. Her new album is everything I’ve always loved about her music. Its production feels fresh, but still like Christy, and the lyrics that are full of truth that I need to remind myself of. My favorite songs are Be Loved and Into the Glorious.

One Direction
Who knew boy bands were back? I can’t say I mind at all. Laura and I heard One Direction perform on SNL a couple weeks ago and were hooked immediately. I only bought the two songs they performed there, but those two have seen a lot of circulation on my iPod. It’s everything you could want out of pop music. If that’s your thing, check out What Makes You Beautiful.

Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons
Not a new album to me, but definitely one of my favorite worship albums right now. The songs are amazing, and Nathan Nockels did a great job producing it. It’s been great for me to have on in the car or around the house. My favorites are Holy, Never Once, and O This God.

Matthew Perryman Jones - Land of the Living
I just picked this up a week or two ago. MPJ is a great singer songwriter out of Nashville, and his newest record is great. The songs are just beautiful. I’m still getting to know this one, but I highly recommend it.

Sandra McCracken - In Feast or Fallow
This is the oldest album on my list, having come out two years ago. However it holds a special place in my heart as Laura and I used its title track in our wedding. It is a beautiful album of hymns new and old. Its lyrics are full of rich truths about God, and its production (by Derek Webb) compliments the songs perfectly. I honestly can’t pick a favorite song. The album is too good.

That’s what I’ve been listening to lately. What’s on your iPod?

Why I Love the Inspire Worship Conference

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:20:01 -0500

The first Thursday and Friday of May are two of my favorite days of the year. On those days, you’ll find me at the Inspire Worship Conference.

Inspire is put on by my friend Carl Cartee at our church, Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. Carl has a passion and calling to equip others to lead worship, and this is his primary outlet. It is a conference for anyone who leads worship musically in churches. This means worship pastors, worship leaders, and worship team members.

Beyond Carl, there are always amazing speakers and guest worship leaders. This year I’m most excited about All Sons and Daughters as I haven’t stopped listening to their music since last summer. Other guests include Charlie Hall and Stan Mitchell.

That’s what Inspire is, but here’s why I love it.

Every year I see people come in empty and tired and leave refreshed and encouraged. Leading worship from a musical standpoint in a church can be a lonely, difficult job. Even if your church is fantastic, people don’t always understand musicians. This is a conference for musicians, by musicians. Every year, I’m surprised how quickly I feel like I’m around “my people.” The sense of community is always so refreshing.

I also love that Inspire doesn’t just impact the people in attendance, but their congregations as well. I love seeing leaders better equipped to bring their church before God in worship.

If you (or someone you know) could benefit from Inspire, go check out http://inspireworshipconference.com. I don’t receive anything to promote the conference. I just believe in it so strongly that I want to make sure people know about it.

I hope to see you there.

A little blog change up...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:54:49 -0500

Since February, I’ve been posting regularly on Mondays and Thursdays. Unfortunately, as of late, it has become increasingly difficult to prepare a post for Thursday, leave town on Friday, return home Sunday Night, and still post on Monday.

For this reason, I’m going to start testing out a Tuesday/Thursday post schedule beginning this week. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll try something else. Regardless of what days I post on, I’m committed to 2 per week.

See you tomorrow!

Gear Spotlight: Gibson J-45 Last weekend (April 8 to be exact)...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:09:06 -0500

Gear Spotlight: Gibson J-45

Last weekend (April 8 to be exact) was the two year anniversary of my purchase of my beloved Gibson J-45 (I’m aware that knowing that makes me a nerd). In honor of this occasion, I thought it might be fun to write a post about that guitar. As I started planning it out, I had a realization. I get asked about my guitar gear frequently and rarely post about it. So today, I introduce a new feature on the blog, Gear Spotlight.

With Gear Spotlight, I’ll share about my specific gear (mostly guitar, but possibly some live loops and studio) as well as recommended rigs for beginners. Since I only post twice a week, Gear Spotlight will not be a weekly occurrence, but I’m excited for it to be pretty regular.

So without further adieu, the Gear Spotlight on my Gibson J-45:

When I first began playing guitar, I was far more concerned about electric tone than acoustic. Electric tone is much more in your face and easier to discern, while differences in acoustics can be more subtle. However, I knew I wanted a decent acoustic, so I saved up and bought a Taylor my junior year of high school solely because my youth minister played one.

That Taylor lasted me for several years. It was a pretty guitar, and it played well. It just didn’t sound great plugged in.

Upon moving to Nashville, I started noticing people playing J-45s and loved the sound. They were really crisp and bright. I knew one day I would have to have one.

I eventually started doing enough acoustic work around town that I could justify selling my Taylor and getting a particular J-45 I had been playing in a guitar store for months. It was hands down one of the best gear decisions I’ve made. I hear people complain about the quality of modern Gibsons, but mine is a 2009, and is amazing.

I love how it sounds unplugged and plugged in. Acoustically, you can hear individual strings ring out when you strum a chord, and it is loud enough to carry a fair distance on its own. Sitting around strumming it has inspired some of my favorite songs that I’ve written.

Live, I plug it into an LR Baggs Venue DI, which is convenient due to its size, boost function, and built in tuner. Plus it sounds great. No acoustic guitar pickup can completely capture the sound of just playing your guitar into a mic, but every time I plug in my J-45 I’m pleasantly surprised.

Right now my Gibson is my only acoustic. At some point, I’d love to own a few more for tonal variety in the studio. However, my J-45 will always be around and my go to acoustic.

What’s your go to acoustic guitar right now?

Greg Wells Vocal Tracking Video Last week, Greg was in town to...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:00:13 -0500

Greg Wells Vocal Tracking Video

Last week, Greg was in town to record all of the lead vocals for his EP. It was a really great experience, and he is super talented. It made the tedious process of vocal tracking a lot of fun.

Since I was on vacation this weekend, and it was a holiday, I’ll leave you with this video today. We filmed this for Greg’s kickstarter backers, but you can see some studio footage in there as well. Enjoy!

Finding Inspiration

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:40:27 -0500

Almost two months ago, I began regularly writing on this blog. It has been a great learning experience so far.

The main thing I was hoping for from this was that it would help me to write consistently, and this would help me in my songwriting as well. I would say up to this point, it has been a success. I have posted twice a week for two months, and have been proud of my writing in all of those posts.

However, two months in, the difficulty is now beginning.

For the first couple weeks, I was frequently coming up with post ideas. I had enough to last me for probably 6 weeks. I was able to write all of my posts several days in advance because I had posts in the pipeline.

The problem came after those 6 weeks of posts were actually written. Inspiration slowed down, and I am now only coming up with topics at the very last minute.

This has always been a writing difficulty of mine. Whether it was for writing papers in school, or writing songs, once I find a strong direction to go, I can generally finish it. However, if the first idea isn’t clear or strong, my piece never gets off the ground.

I know the majority of my issue is I’m busy and don’t pay attention. I don’t look at the world with my “inspiration lens” on. I need to be actively looking for ideas. I’m just not sure how to train my mind to do this.

So fellow writers, what are your main sources of inspiration? What do I need to be paying attention to as I go throughout my day? Where do your song, blog, or book ideas come from?

Music Monday 10: The Shins - Port of MorrowI first heard of The...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:52:20 -0500

Music Monday 10: The Shins - Port of Morrow

I first heard of The Shins the way that most people did, in the movie “Garden State.” At the time though, they were too out there for my musically simple mind. I couldn’t ever connect with their music, so I gave up trying.

Fast forward to 2010 when lead singer James Mercer teamed up with Danger Mouse to form Broken Bells. This was my first time truly experiencing Mercer’s awesome voice and songwriting prowess.

When I found out that The Shins would be the musical guest on SNL a few weeks ago, I was excited to give them another try, and to hear what Mercer had been working on since Broken Bells. They did not disappoint. I knew that I was going to want their album when it came out.

The album is leans towards a classic 70s rock sound, but incorporates the electronic elements Mercer garnered from Broken Bells. It’s not something you think would work very well, but the result is great.

The first single “Simple Song” is my favorite on the album. It is reminiscent of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in melody and guitar tone.

Other standout tracks are “Bait and Switch” and “No Way Down.” However, that list is difficult to make because every track is great in its own right.

All in all, this is a fantastic album and I highly recommend it. I’ll leave you with the music video for “Simple Song” to give you a taste. Enjoy.

Validation

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:00:06 -0500

Back in the fall of 2010, I started meeting with a group of guys every Wednesday morning. The group is led by Jeromy Deibler, and consists of guys around my age all trying to find their place in music. It’s been a place of support and comfort, as well as study. Jeromy did a great post on his blog about the group if you’d like to get to know my friends.

We’re currently reading through a book by Dr. Gregory Jantz called “Gotta Have It! Freedom from Wanting Everything Right Here, Right Now.” At first I thought it would be just a book about why “stuff” can be bad for us.

It turns out that it is actually more about the voids in our lives and how we try to fill them by using “stuff.” the main one that I try to fill is validation.

Validation ties in to self worth. As a musician (or professional creative in general), it is so easy to wrap your self worth up in what you do for a living. You are putting part of yourself out there for everyone to see and judge. It’s so easy to allow criticism of your art to become criticism of your self.

I’ve had many moments like this in my life, and wrestle with it daily. It manifests in fear of actually creating because I worry that it won’t be good enough and people will judge it. It manifests in perfectionism with my projects as I try to protect myself from that judgement.

In some cases, trying to fill the validation void can lead to unhealthy things like alcohol or extreme materialism.

Instead of turning to fear or comfort strategies, I’m attempting to remind myself of my worth in Christ. Jantz mentions Psalm 139 in his chapter on validation. Knowing that God knows and loves us regardless of our mistakes and failures is incredibly comforting.

I don’t have it all together. That’s not why I’m posting this. I am still a mess in this area. However, I did say that as part of my endeavors to blog more frequently that I would not only post about good things I’ve learned, but places I’ve struggled.

Have you ever struggled with filling the validation void?

March Music Progress Report

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0500

I’ve talked about a couple different projects that I’ve been producing via this blog and twitter lately, and some exciting things are happening with both of them. So I thought that this would be a good time to update everyone on what is going on with me musically.

First off, is Greg Wells’ EP. The progress of this album slowed a bit when I started traveling over February and March. However, I am home now and finishing this up is my top priority. As of yesterday, electric guitars are tracked. I’m going to do some programming on it this week, then Greg will come up to work on vocals. This will be finished up by late spring and I cannot wait for you to hear it!

Next up is Sarah Banks. This EP has been a long time in the making, but we are finally entering the home stretch. Final mixes are complete, and these songs sound amazing. However, in order for you to hear them, we need your help. Sarah has started a kickstarter fund to raise the money for mastering and the actual physical production of the CDs. Please check it out. The video features songs from the album in it if you’d like to hear.

That’s what I’ve been working on lately. I can’t wait to wrap these projects up. I’ll post a song or two up here when I do.

Evernote: The Freelance Musician's Best Friend

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0500

A couple nights ago, my wife told me that I was “OCD, but not over things that are useful.”

It’s true. I completely obsess over how to organize my apps on my iOS devices. When I was a kid, if I took a crayon out of the crayon box, it had to go back in the exact same spot. However, I can deal with an unclean house and never think of it.

This need for things to be in their place led to many years of frustration when trying to keep up with everything from song ideas, to receipts, to prayer requests. I tried to keep notebooks with me everywhere, but it was difficult to find things when I needed them.

I tried various apps, but none could handle everything I needed completely. I’d have one for recording songs, one for writing thoughts down. Still, it could never be organized.

Enter Evernote.

I’ve been using Evernote for just over a month now, and it has been such a game changer for me as a musician that I wanted to share it.

What is Evernote?
Evernote is a cloud service that has apps available on Mac, PC, and all of your mobile devices (iOS, Android, etc.). You can create notes and organize them in almost any way that you see fit, then access them on any device. Basically it’s a filing cabinet that you can take with you anywhere. It is a free service which allows you 60MB of uploads per month. You can also pay for the premium version which gets you more upload space per month and a few other useful features. I’ve been using the free version, and it has been great.

Evernote for Ideas
The thing that Evernote is best at is the collection and organization of ideas. If I come up with a song melody in while in the car, I can sing it into the Evernote app on my iPhone. Then I can go back later and in the same note, start working on lyrics. I can always access and edit my ideas whenever I need to. This works for blog posts as well. I now write all of my blogs in Evernote so that I can keep editing and working regardless of what device I currently have until it is time to post it. Then I just copy it to Tumblr.

Whenever I go to a writing session or to start a blog post, I can pull up ideas that I’ve already had and start working.

Evernote for Taxes
Being a freelance musician can make doing taxes a pain. You have to keep up with expenses, mileage, people you’ve paid, and so much more. I now take care of most of this in Evernote.

Whenever I have an expense, I take a picture of the receipt with a description of what it was for and save it. Then I can get rid of the receipt (accountant approved). Now I don’t have to have a wallet full of receipts that I haven’t filed. I just take care of it as soon as I make the purchase, and I’m done. Then it’s all in one convenient place when I’m trying to get things ready at the end of the year.

Evernote at Home
Finally, I do use Evernote for things around the house as well. I keep all of our recipes in a folder that is shared with Laura’s Evernote account. That way we can both access everything electronically no matter who is cooking.

I also keep up with paid and unpaid bills. Instead of having to sort that out and use physical space on a counter somewhere, it’s all at my fingertips in Evernote.

Those are just a few of the things that I use Evernote for. I love it so much that I wanted to make sure my friends were aware of it and what it could do.

Do you use Evernote? If so, how do you use it? Let me know in the comments. Also, if you have any questions about it, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.

What's On My iPod?

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:00:06 -0500

I’ve been traveling a lot over the last month which is a blessing. I love getting to travel with friends and lead worship.

It also means that I have spent a lot of time in a van. This time would not have been nearly as enjoyable without my iPod. This inspired what I hope will become a semi regular series here on my blog:

What’s on my iPod?

So without further ado, here’s some of the music that has gotten me through the last few weeks.

Brandon Flowers - Flamingo
All Sons and Daughters - Season One
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
David Crowder* Band - Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys])
Thad Cockrell - To Be Loved

These are some of my favorite records right now. What are some of yours? Let me know in the comments.

The Value of Pop Music

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:01:05 -0500

Everybody has preferences. Whether it’s about food or TV shows, sharing your favorites and least favorites is generally enjoyable, and a good way to get to know someone. Music however, tends to illicit a completely different response. All respect goes out the window (especially on Facebook), and words like “hate” and “garbage” start getting thrown around.

There is of course, a lot of music that I personally don’t like, but see the value in. Metal, for instance, is not my cup of tea. However, I know that it takes a lot of practice and skill to be able to play a guitar that fast. I appreciate the players’ skills.

So when someone starts talking to me about metal their love of Dream Theater, I’m able to join the conversation by nicely conveying my awareness of that skill.

I personally am a pop music junkie. Whenever I mention that to people, they either join me in my affection, or begin to bash my beloved genre.

How many times have I heard someone speak of Lady Gaga’s utter lack of talent? Or how nothing on the radio is good anymore.

So I’m here to explain the value of pop music. You don’t have to love it, but you should appreciate it.

At the center of every good pop song is a killer melody. That’s the appeal. Whether the lyrics are deep or about dancing in a club, whether the production is amazing or sounds like every song out there, what makes a pop song great is the melody.

The trick with writing a pop melody is that it has to be simple enough to be accessible and singable to the masses, but complex enough to be unique. That’s an incredibly difficult line to walk.

Take Jessie J’s song “Domino” for example. The chorus is not complicated in any way. It’s one line that repeats, but it feels so good. Regardless of the lyric, you can’t help but sing along by the second time you’ve heard it.

This, along with the occasional amazing vocalist (see Beyonce), is the talent in pop music.

So before you go bashing Katy Perry’s music, remember what it took for her (and let’s be honest, her cowriters) to write Teenage Dream.

Am I the only one with a shameless affinity for pop music? Let me know I’m not alone in the comments.