Monday, November 8, 2010

Sufjan Stevens at the Tabernacle - 11/6/10



 The first time I saw Sufjan Stevens was in August, 2005 at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. I had fallen in love with his music several years earlier through listening to the "Seven Swans" and "Michigan" albums. When "Illinois" was released it was so different from his earlier stuff but so magical. I was excited to see that show but really curious how he was going to pull off all that elaborate instrumentation during a live set. Well, he and his band of Illinoisemakers did not disappoint that night and did an amazing job creating a live experience that managed to transcended the greatness of an already incredible album.

I went into Saturday night's show with many of the same questions. I'd listened to "The Age of Adz" several times over the last few weeks. Again, it's material that is so different from his early work yet still retains the uniquely Sufjan sound. I read up on the background for the new album and honestly was pretty confused about the whole deal.

The concert was completely different from what I expected but I loved it even more than I imagined I would. I never thought I'd see a Sufjan show break out into a dance party but that's exactly what happened. The shy, introverted singer-songwriter from just a few years ago has been replaced by a dancing, neon-accessory-wearing, captivating performer. Whereas a few years ago, Sufjan seemed almost reluctant to sing and speak into the mic, he now owns the performance. Elements that could seem contrived or gimmicky like the costumes or auto-tuned vocals had a deliberate, confident usage that led an odd sense of authenticity to such things.

The visuals were absolutely captivating. They were adapted from the works of Royal Robertson. This excerpt from Sufjan's bandcamp page gives a little background:

The Age of Adz refers to the Apocalyptic art of Royal Robertson (1930 –1997), a black Louisiana-based sign-maker (and self-proclaimed prophet) who suffered from schizophrenia, and whose work depicts the artist’s vivid dreams and visions of space aliens, futuristic automobiles, eccentric monsters, and signs of the Last Judgment, all cloaked in a confusing psychobabble of biblical prophecy, numerology, Nordic mythology and comic book jargon. Portions of the album use Robertson’s work as a springboard into a cosmic consciousness in which basic instincts are transposed on a tableau of extraordinary scenes of divine wrath, environmental catastrophe, and personal loss. In Robertson’s imagination, guns, lasers, gargoyles, and warring battleships upend the sins of mankind with the pageantry of a Hollywood B-movie. (A selection of Robertson’s work adds extraordinary color to the album art as well).

But Robertson was also a man of mundane circumstances (his primary media were poster board, magic marker, and glitter). Living alone in a trailer in near poverty, even his most fantastical work contains heart-wrenching references to hunger, fatigue, anxiety, food stamps, loneliness and the desire for intimacy, scripted with unabashedly affectionate grievances. In the same way, Sufjan sets his imagination on the splendor of high places (divine revelation, oracles, love, the cosmos, the Apocalypse) rending his heart in the mire of loneliness, self-doubt, or panic, while his body urges for the ordinary touch of a lover, a brother, or a friend.


 If you're a Sufjan fan or not, it's worth checking out the new "Age of Adz" album. I definitely appreciate it more after seeing the live show.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Waffle House Made My Wildest Dreams Come True!

I just got home from the most amazing night at Waffle House! We took the whole family up there to check out a rumor we'd heard that they were passing out something with mine and Mavis' picture on it. At first I thought maybe it was some sort of local promotion. I would never have guessed what the real story was!

Here's the deal: this week is Waffle House's 55th Anniversary. As part of the celebration, they have created a pin for all their employees to wear and given them a few extra to hand out to their favorite customers. Here's a pic of the card that the pin comes attached to:


I had no idea this was going to happen! About a year ago, I went to the Waffle House website and signed up for the Waffle House Regulars Club. There is a section of the site where they feature stories from other regulars. They had a place where you can enter your own Waffle House story and submit a photo. I decided to share my story and uploaded the photo of Mavis and myself. I really haven't thought about it since then.

Now, the story is up on their website. If you refresh the home page, a different regular shows up every time and eventually our picture comes up (or you can follow this link to go directly there).

While we were at Waffle House tonight, we tried to recreate the photo:

We also tried the new Apple Cinnamon Oat waffle and I have to say, it is quite delicious. Hannah actually said it was the best thing that she's ever had at Waffle House.

So, now that you know the whole story, go to your nearest Waffle House as soon as possible and ask for a 55th Anniversay pin before they run out! If you pick one up, leave a comment below and let me know where you got it - I'd love to hear where people are able to find them!

UPDATE:
I called Waffle House corporate headquarters on Thursday to get some more information about the 55th Anniversary pin. I was transferred to Catherine in community relations. I started to introduce myself but she stopped my by saying, "I know who you are - I just read your blog." I replied, "Well, I guess you know what I'm calling about." We got to talk for several minutes about how the pin came to be. She said that they always try to use real pictures of real people and employees for their promotions. She had pulled our picture from the Waffle House Regulars and decided to use it for the pin. I let her know that I was excited they had chosen our picture! They really made the day for this Waffle House fan!

I found out that they created 40 pins for each of the 1600 Waffle Houses in America (about 64,000 total!). Catherine said they send me some extra pins so now I'm waiting for the postman to drop those off any day now! I was curious if they had used the picture in any other promotions and found out that they used it on the Annual Report this year! Unfortunately, they couldn't send me one of those because they are classified internal documents. I guess even Waffle House has to be on the lookout for corporate espionage!

It was great talking with Catherine and she was so helpful. I'm really glad I could find out more details about the pin. Who knew our picture would travel to every Waffle House in the country!

Speaking of pictures, if you liked that shot of Mavis and I, it was part of a family photo shoot we did with Andy Brophy last year. He is an incredibly talented Atlanta-based photographer. If you like ridiculously good photography, check out his blog and follow him on Twitter: @onenineimages. If you don't like ridiculously good photography, maybe this is more your speed.

It's been really fun hearing from people where they have gotten the pins.
So far, I've heard of people getting them in New York, New Bern, NC, Milledgeville, GA and the Atlanta area. I've also heard that people haven't been able to get them in Tifton, GA and Athens, GA. I can only guess that the pins were sent out at different times and not all restaurants received them on the same day. Since this weekend is the official anniversary, I would assume everyone should have them by now!
Let me know if you've been able to get one and where you found it!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Click Sound / Metronome to use with Loops

A few months ago, I made a video and posted it on YouTube that explained how I setup Ableton Live for use with a worship band. I've gotten a lot of great feedback about the video but one of the most common questions I've gotten is this:
Where did you get that click sound? Can I get a copy of it?
I know this probably sounds ridiculous to people who aren't familiar with using click tracks but a good click sound can really make the difference in being able to lock in with the tempo or not. When I first started using loops, I literally spent days looking for the perfect click sound. Out of hundreds of examples, I landed on using just 2 sounds.

The first one from the video is ClicksBeep.wav. I can't remember where I found this and I can't find it on the net now - so, if you created it and want me to take it down, let me know and I will. This click is a great basic sound that's easy to make stand out in the ear monitor mix.

When I need something more elaborate, I use Foundations from Loops In Worship. This is an awesome tool for creating great click tracks in Ableton Live (there is also a separate version available for Garageband. It is a fully functioning metronome incorporated into Live - you can adjust the subdivisions and accents. You can even use it to send one click sound to the vocalists and another to the drummer. Best of all, you can use your own click sound with it so feel free to drop ClicksBeep.wav right into it!

I posted another video about setting a 1-bar count-in on your click tracks that you use with sequenced loops. Check it out here if you haven't seen it yet.

Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to hear what click sounds other people are using!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Run For Change - World Vision's 30 Hour Famine

Run For Change from stuart atkins on Vimeo.



Every year the youth ministry that I work with participates in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. It is an incredible weekend event that raises awareness about the desperate needs of so many people around the world. Even better, we challenge the students to go out and raise money for people all over the world who are dying from preventable causes. Every year the number of kids dying from things like hunger, poverty and disease is going down...we can't help but think that's because of the work World Vision is doing through the 30-Hour Famine. With all the recent devastation in the world, you can imagine how great the need is right now.

This year, Stuart and Paige Atkins and I decided to do something a little crazy to raise awareness and money for the 30 Hour Famine. We signed up to run a half-marathon ! We are connecting our race to the Famine, and asking for support through donations. We've put together a video that explains everything in a more entertaining way - check it out for more info! We've dubbed ourselves Team "Run For Change." The money raised will go to providing food and care for people in need. The famine and race are only a few weeks away, so if you'd like to be part of making a difference in the world...act fast! Any amount you are able to give will be used to make an impact!

There are a couple of ways you can participate:

1. Be praying for the 30 Hour Famine Event at Sugarloaf UMC on March 19-20 and for the other 30 Hour Famine events that will be held at churches/youth groups all over the world.

2. Pray for Stuart, Paige and me as we finish our preparations for the the half-marathon.

3. Pass this message along to others via email, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (is that still around?), US Postal Service, etc. We'd love as many people as possible to know about it! Here's an easy link to this post you can cut/paste: http://ow.ly/1gflP

4. You can donate online here. That will take you directly to our World Vision account.

5. You can also send your donations to:

Run for Change
c/o Student Life
1795 Old Peachtree Rd.
Duluth, GA 30097

Make checks payable to World Vision and put Run for Change in the memo.

Thanks in advance for your support! We really appreciate it.

Blessings,
Jake, Stuart & Paige
Team Run For Change!

Monday, March 8, 2010

BEST DAY EVER!!!!

Yesterday was the best day I've had in a really long time. I'm planning on uploading some video and stories soon but here's the twitter recap:

3/7/2010 10:38pm
Today=best day ever:SL Sunday,New Orleans team mtg, #passioncitychurch communion, listening to @passion268 Awakening! Heart=full,God=good!!!


140 characters don't do this day justice so just be on the lookout for a longer post.