Free Derek Webb Album - The Ringing Bell

If you're a fan of Derek Webb, chances are you already have this album. But, if you're a Derek Webb fan with very limited funds (like me) then perhaps you were waiting for something like this to come along.

I got an email from the DW camp yesterday telling me I could get the album The Ringing Bell for FREE if I just tell three friends about NoiseTrade.com, the site that is offering this free download deal. So... I gave it a try, and am enjoying my new album right now! :-)

There are many more artists offering their music this way at the site linked above, but you can use the handy-dandy widget at the top of this post to email some friends, and get yourself the Derek Webb album in your email box. Fun!

Enjoy, and spread the word!

The Chapmans

I learned today that earlier this week, singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman's 5-year-old adopted daughter was killed in an accident in the family's driveway.

Somehow, God has made us similar. I am a fan of his music - and something inexplicably deeper than that. There are similarities in my songwriting to his. Also a "big fan" of their family, and the way they are not only adopting, but helping lots of families do the same. We have not adopted - yet - but apparently share a similar love for big families.

And as a dad of little girls... how sad this family must be right now. How sad. We know that we only grieve temporarily when we know Jesus (to know him is eternal life...) but still... how they must hurt.

They set up a page with a little family video they made just a few weeks before she was killed. As well as a place to leave comments. Here's the link:

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

Cinderella

A friend of ours can't stop talking about this song, and I have to agree with her. As with most all of his songs, Steven Curtis Chapman is simply a great word craftsman. We listened to it New Year's Eve and it had Jen crying while holding Kirstie. (Which I think confused Kirstie, cause you're not supposed to cry if you're happy she said...) :-)

I'm probably not supposed to post these here (and if Steven asks, I'll take them down...) But for now, just thought I'd share in case you haven't heard the song. The title below will link to the song at iTunes, so you can buy the album or the song alone if you'd like. It's really a great song, and so amazing how hearing of or seeing the love of a child for their parent (and vice versa) does melt the heart of a mommy or daddy. It does for me at least. Just about every time. :-)

Cinderella
Steven Curtis Chapman

Verse 1:
She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders
It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh please, Daddy, please!"

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

Verse 2:
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of her dress
She says, "Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancin'
Oh please, Daddy, please!"

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

She will be gone

Verse 3:
But she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned
She says, "Dad the wedding's still six months away but I need to practice my dancin'
Oh please, Daddy, please!"

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

My Music

More than a dozen years ago now I started writing songs. Sorta out of the blue. (Yes, Mom, I do remember the songs I was writing when I was eight years old, but really... the first real songs I started writing were a bit later in life, and seemed to be "out of the blue".)

At first these "OOTB" songs were a neat time for me to reflect on God and for me to express my heart to him. But slowly I began to share them with other people. A song here and there "at church", and then for my college floor-mates (I still remember Brian loving the song What You Say, and predicting it would be "a hit".) :-)

Eventually, we formed a band and made a cd. And for a time, that was that.

We went separate ways after college, and I continued to write songs, but used them in public a bit less. Even less when Jen & I were married as she had a strong aversion to them. No worries, it was fun while it lasted.... let's move on.

But God wanted something different. I could not put them down. I was compelled to use them. For other people. And use them we did. Listening to God in that moment (and watching him lead Jen toward the same thing) led to some six or seven years of full-time music traveling across the entire United States, and recording some five, six or seven albums.

Then in 2005, again at God's leading, it just stopped. Check out the "past events" at the calendar page on our website. Incredibly sparse over the last two years! (Compare it to 2002-2004!) So it would seem that at least for the time being, God does not have a use for my music.

Or does he?

Two nights ago, as I was saying good night to the girls, I just sat down next to Kirstie's bed and stayed there. She asked me what I was doing and I said, "I just wanted to stay here a while. I don't have anywhere to go right now, so I wanted to stay with you." She smiled a big "I love you" smile, and after a little pause she asked, "Dad, can you sing us a song on your guitar?"

"Not tonight, Kirstie. I don't have a song tonight."

"Can you sing the 'Lay your head on your pillow' song?" she asked, again with a big "I love you" smile. Now, it took me a second to remember what she was talking about, but it really was a song. A song I had sung once for the girls... about TWO MONTHS AGO. :-) I just brought my guitar in the room and made up a song, as I am wont to do for the girls, and the boys.

And she remembered.

At that moment I realized that God is still using my music. But instead of audiences across the country, and indeed the world, the audience is my four beautiful kids.

My little girl is listening, and loves her Daddy's songs.

Could it be any better?

Steven Curtis Chapman

Some of you may know that I hold Steven Curtis Champan - and particularly his music - in high regard. More than that, there's definitely some strange connection I have with him. When I hear his stuff, I just completely identify with it. Those aren't the right words. I can't really explain it. It's almost like we're song-writing brothers or something. Twins even. When I hear his stuff, I can hear beyond the lyrics and music... I can hear how he wrote it. And, on top of that, nearly every time I hear his stuff, I either feel like writing a song, write a part of a song, or actually write a whole song.

Yes... it's kinda weird.

Perhaps someday I will meet him, and we will collaborate on some musical project. That seems far-fetched from my current vantage point, but there's definitely something strange there...

Strange is cool.

Well anyway... I found out that he has a new album coming out soon, and he's doing a tour to promote that, among other things. A good friend of ours has been to a few (I think) of his shows and is just blown away by them. Not only the music, but just every part of it. What he says, how it's said, and the music is powerful, too! :-)

Tonight I was visiting his website and found a pretty fun feature. It's not unique to him. The internet has brought the "famous people" a lot closer to us "regular folk". (In fact, some of you reading this right now might think I'm famous... so it has also made us "regular folk" appear "famous". Fascinating... It is indeed the great equalizer. Well, on his website you can view some amateur-ish videos of him in his home studio, teaching us his songs. :-) It was cool to get a preview of the new songs, and just fun to have him teach it to me :-) (He even told us the guitar tuning... just for fun.)

So, click the photo or link above and go check it out. And, if you get a chance to see him in person, I hear it's phenomenal.

And I hope to get his new album, This Moment, as soon as it is available! :-)

Happy Birthday, CAYA!

Today is the 5th anniversary of one of our albums, Come As You Are. CAYA, as it is known around here, is CD that I recommend to people who don't have any of our CDs. I think the Christmas album is my favorite overall, but this one is the best collection of songs that captures most of our sound. From one instrument and two vocals, to nice acoustic rhythm stuff, to a full-on electrified rock out song (or two). It's definitely a favorite.

We had a big CD release party on August 29th, 2002, and I think around 200 people came to celebrate with us. If you were there, thanks for coming! If you didn't yet get your copy of CAYA, you still can!! :-) We have some, and you can just order through our site. Or, you can always pick it up at iTunes. Or just a track or two, if you want.

(By the way, I just noticed when getting the iTunes link... there are no reviews there on that page. Anyone who knows the album care to leave one? That'd be swell!) :-)

So, it's a fun day in the basic world, and just thought I'd share. Five years is a long time. But actually, the songs on the album are as old as 14 years old now! That's awesome! :-)

Happy Birthday, CAYA. :-)

John Lennon @ iTunes

Apple announced on Tuesday that the entire catalog of John Lennon's solo music has been added to their store. It's all available as DRM-free music (which is also higher quality AAC files). This follows the addition of Paul McCartney's entire catalog earlier this year.

Good stuff. But when will the Beatles arrive?

Weekend Visit

I am tired and sunburned, but it was a really good weekend! :-)

It began Thursday night, actually. My parents got into town (a bit later than they would have liked) and we went out for some ice cream at Chill & Grill. Nice! Actually, they ended up staying at our house and just chatting till after 11pm, which is very odd for my Dad at least... :-) That was a nice start to a fun visit.

On Friday we spent the day with them at their KOA campground site. They brought their big Arctic Fox trailer up and we hung out in that, but mostly outside. Yes, you read that right... OUTSIDE. If you know me, and perhaps know what our weather was like on Friday (mid 90s, and overpoweringly humid) then you know that is very out of the ordinary...

But, we weren't going to let a little heat stop us! ;-)

We played miniature golf... a LOT! We swam in the in ground pool... A LOT! We had pizza, Esther Price chocolate, swam, walked, completed and obstacle course, played on a playground, played football, swam, and played some more miniature golf! By the time we had done all that, it was time for a nice dinner at the Wegman's Market Cafe. Then off to Sharks Custard & Candy for some great homemade ice cream to top off the evening! QUITE a day. Seriously beat at the end of that one!!!

Then on Saturday we moved the party to Palmyra, where Grandpa Tom could work on a few projects around our house. While he put up a gutter outside our back door, and leveled our stove, and scoped out a few future projects, Grammy helped do some deep cleaning in the kitchen, and I made some fantastic home-cooked meals. (Skyline for us, a nice vegetable-rich tomato sauce for Grammy & Grandpa, and a fresh Zucchini medley for lunch, then STEAKS on the grill and homemade mashed potatoes for dinner!) We played LifeStories during nap time, and then headed back to Chill & Grill to finish off the evening with some ice cream!! We were stuffed, to be sure!

Overall it was a full, but somehow relaxing and quite enjoyable visit. Thanks for coming up Mom & Dad! Always fun, and somehow particularly so this time!

To finish off the weekend, we spent most of today (it seemed!) over at our friends' new home, celebrating their 10-year-old's birthday! Lots of friends, old and some new... great foot, played some football, and just spent time chatting with friends. We also sang some of our stuff for about 45 minutes as well. It was a nice finish to the weekend. (Oh, we did take a dip in our neighbor's pool after the party... then put the kids in bed a tad early after such a full weekend!!!)

As you can tell from the time of this post, I had some catching up to do on my blog, and on my Buffalo Bills site... as well as a pretty hefty amount of laundry and some dishes to do! That was the finish to my weekend!

If you have read all of tonight's posts... you deserve a medal or something. Leave a comment to that effect and I'll work on something...

For now... time to sleep!

Trailer Listing

Hey folks! Don't usually post our eBay or other such sales here, but this one is different. We have (for the first time on CraigsList) listed our awesome little "basic trailer" for immediate sale.

This is both good, and sad.

I spent the last half of July fixing it up again. It has been our musical storage shed for two years now. We haven't taken it on the road since 2005. So I did everything. Fixed the broken jack, painted just about everything. Cleaned and waxed and shined. We had the electrical wiring completely replaced. The wheel bearings seem to be in great shape, as well as the tires. (Great tread). We even tested the trailer out this week moving some furniture! Still works great!

We just don't need to use it in the near future. So, someone else could probably use it more!

Do you need one? Do you know anyone who does? Send them the link to this post (link) or send them directly to our listing on CraigsList. (The trailer photo is linked to the page on CraigsList.)

Thanks!

Lurkers

You know who you are. You are the ones who read this blog regularly. Perhaps even stopping by daily. You know the ins and outs of life in the Campbell home - and even crazier, life in GregsHead. But even though the link below invites you to comment... you never do.

You... are the Lurker.

So tonight, as a CD Release Party for some friends of ours I met a guy who might fit that category. He recognized me from various things our family were wearing. :-) Things I have mentioned here on the blog. Turns out he's a friend of another friend, and has been reading the blog for a while. But I can't recall (m)any comments from Shane... ;-)

So here's my invitation to anyone out there who has been reading this blog but not had a reason, urge, or any other compulsion to add their two cents (or even just say hello) to GregsHead.net. If you've left a comment before, you're welcome to here as well, but this post is for anyone and everyone who might fit the Lurker bill. This is your chance to come out of the shadows!

:-)

If you still don't want to comment... that will be just fine. Glad you're reading along. :-)

Busy Tonight?

Jen & I will be singing tonight at a new coffee house in Webster, NY. If you live in this area, and happen to stop by the ol' blog page before 7:30 or so... come out and join us. New place, don't know what we'll get, but I just went through the songs we'll be doing and it's a lot of fun stuff! (Absence makes the heart grow fonder perhaps...) :-)

Click the banner above for a link to our latest e-news which has a link to their site, which has directions.

(Clicking is fun!)

Did you even know that we are musicians? :-)

(It's hard for me to remember that sometimes these days...)

Smoke On The Water... Sort Of.

Tonight on the way home from our Wal-Mart Supercenter, there was the normal amount of noise coming from our very full back seats, but I noticed a recognizable melody rising over the din. It was our one-year old, singing the famous guitar riff to "Smoke On The Water", correct rhythm and melody!

A little background.

During the hockey playoffs, there was an automobile commercial that featured that song, and the boys picked up on it and really liked it. So I bought it for them from iTunes, and they always love when it comes up in the shuffle of the day.

Well, recently, after a picnic lunch outside, we were cleaning up and heard Ian singing the tune with a variation on the name of a friend of ours:

Mis-sus Shimp, Mis-sus uh-Shimp...
Mis-sus Shimp, Mis-sus...

Of course we were laughing, and then complimented our boys on their creativity, and then e-mailed our friend to let her know she was the source of inspiration for a new song. She loved it!

Well the song has not stopped. A few other people have crept into the lyrics...

Mis-ter Tones, Mis-ter uh-Tones....
Mis-ter Tones, Mis-ter...

But the melody remains the same.

Fast forward again to the ride home tonight. All the kids are talking, singing, playing in the back. Jen and I are talking in the front. In the middle of a conversation with Jen I clearly hear, "Uh, uh, UH-uh..." FROM OUR ONE-YEAR-OLD! I immediately interrupted Jen and said, "Did she just sing Smoke On The Water??!?!" Jen asked her to sing it again, and sure enough... SHE DID!

HILARIOUS!!!!

So, as the bedtime routine has been underway tonight, every once in a while, Julia busts out that famous riff, in her cutest one-year-old voice...

"Uh, uh, uhhh... uh, uh, UH-uh..." :-)

SHE CAN'T EVEN TALK YET!

Oh my goodness. Had to share that one!
Friends coming to spend the day with us tomorrow... eating chicken wings, hamburgers, lots of sweet tea, and even making home made ice cream! Should be a blast!

Wonder if Joodles will sing her song? :-)

iTunes "Releases" Music

iTunes has announced today the beginning of their move to DRM-free music (meaning, no copy protection... which has been really annoying to digital music purchasers for quite some time). This also means that people who don't have iPods can purchase stuff from iTunes and just put the song right on their non-Apple MP3 player now. (I still recommend iPods though...) :-)

Read the linked article for more.

They also announced they have added Paul McCartney's catalog (I believe DRM-free?) to the store. Another first. The Beatles have been scarce to say the least at the iTunes store. But more will be coming.

So, just wanted to let you know... click over to iTunes and have a look!
iTunes Music Store (iTunes link)

Memorial Day

(Flags hung on the front of our house... Soon to be unfurled again!)

It's Memorial Day Weekend! We're planning to get together with Jen's family, and my sister and family this Sunday over in Buffalo. It's the official start of summer! But it's also a time to remember the people who selflessly have given their lives for our country, and our freedom, and for us.

I wrote a song about Memorial Day a few years back now, and posted it to the blog here. If you'd care to have a listen, and/or read the lyrics, please click here.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Musicality

It's been a long time since we have done a "real" basic gig. Well, we did do one retreat weekend in early February, and before that we did 8 or 9 Christmas concerts... but I can't actually remember the last time we just did a concert of our music.

Tonight we're going to be doing that. I've actually had to practice a few songs this week... as some of them are beginning to escape my internal song bank. :-) We're singing at Impact Theatre. It's a free venue for Christian performers. Mostly music, but dance, drama, comedy also. Neat place... usually 75-100 people there? (I'm a bad crowd guesser, so... dunno...)

I decided last night that I should probably change the strings on my guitar. They were sounding really dull... not staying in tune very well. I think this pack of strings has more than done its job. Whereas I used to change strings at least twice a month (sometimes weekly), this pack has been on my guitar for WELL OVER A YEAR.

Now that's longevity! :-)

So, I broke out the tools this morning, and rummaged through my bag of strings, hoping to find a complete pack. I pulled out one that looked that way and began the process. I loosened and removed all six strings. Then got out a cloth and shined up my poor, neglected Taylor guitar. I started pulling the strings out of the pack - one at a time - and got to the 3rd string and... it was not there. :-(

It's not so good to start stringing a guitar - especially one that has not been restrung in over a year - and just abruptly stop, leaving it missing a string or two. The tension difference can play with your tuning after that...

So, I looked up a local music store, and decided to head out. I needed to get this fixed asap. I took the boys and we had fun checking out a new music store. It's only about 5 or 6 miles from our house. That's neat. We had fun, but I had a mission (and Mom needed the van...) so we headed back.

Now the craziest part was, once I restrung the guitar - well, even AS I was restringING the guitar - I was immediately blasted back to the past. I used to do this ALL THE TIME. It was a strangely cool (and strong) nostalgic experience. I don't miss doing all the shows we used to do... but I don't mind that we did that. They are (mostly) all good memories. So, it was crazy doing what I used to do for a morning.

And an evening. Tonight should be more of that same thing. I just hope I remember how the songs go... ;-)

If you are free, and near Palmyra, NY... please join us tonight for what is now a quite rare occurance. 7:30pm till about 9:15pm. Stop by their website for details...

See ya out there!

Tuesday Tidbits

• NFL Draft
  This past weekend was the NFL draft, as I mentioned here previously. This year, the crazy part was the Bills drafted pretty much as they were expected to! How crazy is that? Last year everyone was flipping out over the insane picks the Bills made... this year, everyone is much happier. (Last year, all the picks made the team, and made significant contributions to the team... what does that mean for this year?) :-) Anyhoo... I wrote an overview of it yesterday at my Buffalo Bills Review site. (It's also on the Bills website, but that's a crazier link... you can get there from the BBR site...) (PLUS, there are some fun videos on the BBR site...) :-)
  
  
• Sabres Update
  The Buffalo Sabres lost in double overtime on Sunday. We almost missed it due to the confusing side of TiVo. Long story. But, thankfully we did not. :-) Well, sorta thankfully... Game four is tonight... look for the Sabres to take a commanding 3-1 lead heading back to Buffalo for Game 5 Friday night.
  
  
• Macs
  Lots of interest in Macs lately. Been seeing lots of folks who previously have had no interest in the Mac OS switching over to the wonderful world of Apple. If you're tired of spyware, virus protection, strange error messages, and would like to just enjoy using your computer - Apple has a great section of their site you can check out: apple.com/getamac. It has tons of reasons to buy a Mac, and answers to questions about switching. AND, all those fun commercials with Justin Long and John Hodgman. :-)
  
  If you're interested, I would love to help you pick out the best computer for you. I can even get some discounts too, so definitely let me know if you're interested. If you don't need discounts, just click here: bwd-graphics.com/apple. Just enter my Agent ID at checkout. Thanks! :-)
  
  
• BEAUTIFUL weather
  I don't really like summer... at all. But, I am loving the recent couple days. Beautiful blue sky, sunny days, green grass, budding flowers... and only in the 60s!! That's perfect, if you ask me. :-)
  
  
• Visits
  Grammy & Grandpa are coming to visit this weekend (that would be my parents). We're looking forward to it. Have lots planned for the short three day visit. Grandma & Grandpa W (Jen's parents) might be joining us for Friday night too. The boys play baseball on Friday. That would be so fun to have both grandparents there! :-) We're looking forward to seeing them again...
  
  
• Busy...
  I'm feeling busy, but not seeing the return in $$$ at the moment. That is a frustrating place to be. Hopefully that will change in the month of May. Lots of new business on the horizon... perhaps I'll have to start nudging this week. :-)
  
  
• Vacation!
  One more thing on my mind of late... VACATION! We already have a week of vacation planned in California in late October - JUST ME AND JEN! But my parents have graciously offered to help us have a family vacation also this year, and the only time we can do that is THIS MONTH. :-) I'm not complaining! We'll be vacating to a favorite vacation destination in the Poconos two weeks from Saturday! Can't wait! :-)
  
  
• We're Still Singing...
  Because of that newly scheduled vacation... we had to REschedule a concert we are doing this month. They were gracious enough to move the date out one week, and we're looking forward to our evening with them. Now you can hear us at Impact Theater here in Palmyra on May 25th, at 7:30pm. It's free, but you have to make reservations.
  
  So.... we'll see ya out there! :-)

Even More Amazing Guitar

Ok... so THIS is really the video Chris sent me. Just wanted to be totally honest.... :-)

Good stuff. Enjoy.

Some More Amazing Guitar

Our friend Chris passed this along to me, and I thought it was worth sharing. I love this percussive guitar stuff. And this particular guitar is really crazy looking to boot!

Enjoy!

Amazing Guitar

A friend of mine sent this video to me (actually, his didn't include the credits...) but I found it again and listened to it and thought it was amazing as the first time I saw it... so... hope you enjoy it as well. It's 2 min long, and quite incredible.

(Have I talked it up enough?)