Music

I am very pleased to announce the arrival of the third installment of Summer of Rock, my annual summer music compilation. Summer of Rock ‘06 and ‘07 have been (I flatter myself to think) great successes, and I’m hoping this year will continue the trend. As we all know, summer is a time for making memories, and nothing goes with memories like good music. From the high-energy, sunny days to the lazy, reflective and romantic nights, this compilation will be the perfect soundtrack to your summer adventures. I’m showcasing primarily songs that have been released in the past year, though there are a handful of older favorites. ...

It is the Quiet Saturday before Easter Sunday, when thousands of years ago the universe held its breath, awaiting the vindication of God for the as-yet-unveiled Messiah, Jesus. That vindication came in the most unexpected form–the resurrection of the dead! Long looked-for, but almost overlooked when it did come, Jesus became the firstfruits of that most remarkable of events, the completion of which we still eagerly desire. I am writing at the Tumaini orphanage, near Nyeri, Kenya (where I have extended my stay an additional 5 weeks). From where I am sitting, I can see no end of reasons why we should continue to eagerly await that desire. It is the one fundamental hope that undergirds every other, because it is the hope which defeats the oldest and hardest of all despairs, which is Death itself. I have a lot of reasons (or so I think) to despair at the moment, and when I look at the children who surround me, I know that they have many more and legitimate ones–some have reason to despair even of life, which I know nothing about. ...

I have some great Splendour Hyaline news to share! First of all, Paste magazine (my favorite music magazine) has run a short “review” of our new EP, Hope (A Sliver, Like the Moon), in their March edition (with the Norah Jones cover). This is a first for David and me, and we’re super excited about it–as it turns out, the review is (in my opinion) overwhelmingly positive! Please go and support Paste by picking up a copy (they should be at places like Barnes & Noble, etc…). Our review is, I’m told, on page 69, right underneath Bright Eyes! ...

When I last wrote about the sabbatical which is underway (read part 1 here), I was in the middle of my time at Schloss Mitersill, in Austria. That time has now ended! I’m currently writing at a hostel in Oxford, and tomorrow I’ll be catching a flight to Nairobi, before heading to Nyeri, Kenya. I’m very happy to report that my time at the Schloss finished well. This, of course, means that I’m certainly sad to see it end. But before I talk more about that, here are some pictures of the Schloss and the gorgeous surrounding area:

No time for a huge entry, but I wanted to post some tour dates. I am hanging out with my friends The New Frontiers on their southeast tour with Manchester Orchestra. At some venues I may be able to play some Splendour Hyaline music. Either way, if you’re anywhere near these towns on these dates, come and say hello! Dec 27 2006 - 8:00P - Juanita’s - Little Rock, Arkansas Dec 28 2006 - 8:00P - The Hi-Tone - Memphis, Tennessee Dec 29 2006 - 8:00P - 3rd & Lindsley - Nashville, Tennessee Dec 30 2006 - 8:00P - The Brothers Pizza - Owensboro, Kentucky Jan 1 2007 - 8:00P - The Village Tavern - Charleston, SouthCarolina Jan 2 2007 - 8:00P - New Brookland Tavern - West Columbia, SouthCarolina Jan 3 2007 - 8:00P - Tasty World - Athens, Georgia Jan 4 2007 - 7:00P - The Sound - Ft. WaltonBeach, Florida Jan 5 2007 - 8:00P - The Venue - Pensacola, Florida Jan 6 2007 - 8:00P - The 585 Club - Atlanta, Georgia Jan 7 2007 - 8:00P - The Rave Arcade - Florence, Alabama Jan 8 2007 - 8:00P - Hal & Mal’s - Jackson, Mississippi Jan 9 2007 - 8:00P - Flannagan’s - Shreveport, Louisiana Jan 10 2007 - 8:00P - Rikenjack’s Brew - PubLakeCharles, Louisiana Jan 11 2007 - 8:00P - Red Seven - Austin, Texas Jan 12 2007 - 8:00P - Sons of Hermann Hall - Dallas, Texas Also, Splendour Hyaline’s new album, Hope (A Sliver, Like the Moon) (cover pictured above) has been released and it will be for sale on tour. It will be for sale later via the internet (including iTunes). ...

Now that we are in December, and are therefore allowed to start thinking about Christmas (whereas consumer hegemony would have us believe that time was three weeks ago), I am very pleased to present Splendour Hyaline’s 2006 Christmas EP, Holy Night: We Three Kings of Orient Are Hark! The Herald Angels Sing O Holy Night (To download the album, right-click the above links and choose the option to download the files to your computer.) ...

Last weekend, our small church community went on a retreat to a place in San Francisco. As a major part of the time, each person had one or more pieces of art to present on the subject of her “deepest dream(s)”. The idea was that something prepared in advance on that subject, then later presented and discussed, would provide an interesting, focused, and perhaps vulnerable manner of getting to know one another more intimately. When I started working on my own art a couple weeks ago, I found that having a deadline for the creative process actually made me quite fruitful, and I ended up having three songs and the start of a short story / novel to share. ...

Anyone who has been around this weblog for long enough has realized that I care a lot about mainly two categories of things. The first is Girls, and specifically how to entice an especially awesome, as-yet-unpinpointed one to eventually marry me. The second is The Stuff I Am Passionate About. This second category is usually seen in long diatribes about how I have so many passions that the thought of finding one thing to do in my life (my life’s project, so to speak) is incredibly daunting. I usually think of such pursuits as falling under one of the following headings: Philosophy, Theology, Music, Language, Coding, Writing, or Design. Importantly, I’m interested in the creative elements of each. ...

Last night I went back to the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco for the second time this month, to see the Smoking Popes / Lovedrug show. It was an incredible experience, and I realized something about myself that is important to share (and might also be an important contribution to Rock Theory in general). Gratuitous picture to get you to read further: Lovedrug’s symbol of the moment

My recent weeks in Orlando were excellent, though not very relaxing. Between intense meetings at Teleios World Domination HQ (we’re meeting resistance in certain parts of eastern Europe), and non-stop work on the new album, I got 2-3 hours less sleep per night than my normal. (There was also the fantastic celebration of my dad’s 50th birthday party, attended by close family and the uncorking of a very expensive bottle of wine which was a good bit older than I was. Not to mention the less-meaningful but more-rowdy celebration of Cinco de Mayo). The result, at least on the music side, was a brand new 6-song EP that sounds incredible. The performance, production, everything is stellar. My brother David was in charge of the engineering, mixing, production, and mastering, and he is becoming very talented at all of the above. ...