07.03.05 From The Road: Kelso/Lingview, WA

Two gigs today.  The first was playing a handful of songs at a church in Kelso decked out in the usual Fourth of July trimmings.  I’ve grown up around this kind of thing but I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable seeing this much nation stuff in God’s house.  Something about it just feel wrong to me.  But that’s another post for another day I guess.

Chuck Lopez, the music minister at the church, let us use his office as a green room.  He’s got good toys in there.  Thanks for letting me use your force, Chuck.

Then it was off in the “tour bus” (this week’s was a Ford Focus) to lunch with Danny from Way-FM and a few other new friends.  Then, once stuffed with Oregon’s version of Mexican food (man, these people need some real Tex-Mex in a big way) we drove a few blocks to the “Go Fourth” festival, thrown by numerous denominations in the cities of Longview and Kelso to celebrate and create unity among all Christians here.

And did I mention already that folks in the Northwest are a little different from us down south.  Yea, they are.  We eat funnel cakes, cotton candy and other heart stopping indulgences at shindigs like this.  Apparently people in these parts want to live though.  What’s that about?

Thanks to the cities of Kelso and Longview, Danny and everyone at WAY-FM.  I had a great time.  Next time though, I’m bringing you some real Mexican food.

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07.02.05 From The Road: Salem, OR

Oregon’s definitely not the South.  For starters, when you walk into a southern gas station the first thing you’ll see is NASCAR memorabilia, beef jerky or bumper stickers.  The second thing you’ll see is every partially hydrogenated snack food ever made.  But in Oregon all that is replaced with mixed fruit and nuts and every granola snack food ever made.

Then there’s the rain.  Every time I’ve been to the Northwest it’s rained - a lot.

But today in Salem I actually spotted beef jerky in a convenience store and it didn’t rain a drop.  It was a good day in the sun on a stage at the base of a treed mountain.  I do think there are more trees in Oregon than people.  And that made for an amazing drive from Portland, where we landed late last night, to Thrillville USA.  Yes, Thrillville USA...and RV park.

Sure it’s not Carnegie Hall but there was sound and lights and people.  What else do you need?

Thanks to K-Love, Air1 and Excel Marketing for bringing me out.  It was a...thrill.

07.01.05 Cucumbers Of Unusual Size

On my last day of playing Mr. Mom my kids and I paid a visit to Big Idea headquarters.  Big Idea recently relocated from Chicago to Franklin, Tn and is the maker of all things Veggie Tales.  A friend of mine works there and invited me to bring the kids by if I ever ran out of fun things to do with them.  It took me only three days to call him.  Thankfully his schedule had a hole in it.

He met us at the door to the big Idea offices along with Kurt Heinecke, the main music guy at Big Idea.  Veggie Tales music is the only kid music I can actually enjoy.  Most of that is because the lyrics are very well crafted - not at all about “adult” things, but very well done, extremely smart and irreverent.  They remind me of old Warner Brothers cartoons in that there are two layers happening at once.  A kid layer of bold color and big eyed talking vegetables and another layer of sarcastic grown-up pleasing humor (poking fun at suburbanites in SUVs they don’t really need, for instance).  And the chord progressions are complex and clever enough to make a music nerd like me appreciative.  Kurt Heinecke has everything to do with all of that.  I’m a big fan.

After seeing the offices, playing with toys in development and coveting the Big Idea conference room with its massive screen and killer sound system, we went to Kurt’s office.  He let us see a rough of a new Veggie Tales flick in the making, with just enough animated for him to compose and record to.  It was impressive to see his studio and the process of film scoring midstream. 

But four year-olds and two year-olds aren’t into composing.  They’re into farting.

Fortunately for them, their father and his composer friend are too.  Kurt let the kids play with his fart noise making toys, melodicas, “thunder pipes”, cymbals and other toys for kids of all ages (he’s got more of them than he has actual studio gear I think).

Then it was off to meet Mike Nawrocki, one of the founders of Big Idea, the voice of Larry the Cucumber and another co-writer of Veggie Tales’ songs.  He was extremely gracious, taking time out of his busy day to hang out with us for a few minutes.  He even broke into the Larry voice for next extra charge, which freaked my kids out.  They weren’t sure how Larry’s voice was coming from this strange man.  So I just told them Mr.Mike got hungry and ate Larry.  They seemed OK with that.  I think.

Thanks Steve, Mike, Kurt and everyone else at Big idea for putting a smile on my kids’ faces and making stuff for little people that parents don’t hate.

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07.01.05 NEW FEATURE AT SHLOG.COM

I’ve added a poll section to the right under “Today’s Quote”.  I’ll use it to pick your brain, get us thinking, answer my own questions or just amuse myself.  Check it out.  And find out what the other shloggers are thinking by viewing the results.

-Shaun

07.01.05 Painted And Untainted

I paint. Well, not much anymore, but I began life as a visual artist and only migrated to melodies and poetry in an effort to woo women in high school.  But I’ve always thought in pictures more than sounds.  And my most content moments as a child were at the kitchen table, crayon or paintbrush in hand, glue under my nails, slivers of paper scattered around me, covered in the debris of the creative process.  Created was my Ritalin.  Still is.  Before doctors and moms medicated the overly enthusiastic and manic my mother channelled my hyperactivity and intellect into pages and paint.  And it’s still my drug of choice.

Today my work is songs and my hobby is painting pieces like this one.  I made this last week when I needed a break from industry and wanted to fill a bare wall in my bedroom.  Making it was the highlight of my week.  The most peaceful and happy I’ve felt in a long time.  My life is good right now, great even, but putting this image on canvas took me from content to downright euphoric.

I guess the thing I love so much about painting these days is how untainted the whole process is by the outside world, by the critic and the audience.  It’s free.  There’s nothing riding on how well my images are liked.  There’s no mandate to be an upbeat, positive and safe for the whole family painter.  There’s no testing done on my brushstrokes, no corporate voice changing my palette with the market, no chart to make, no tickets to sell, no trips to take and awards to aspire to.

When I smear color on canvas I’m a kid again, mesmerized and enthralled by being able to make something I like.  And there’s not even the slightest desire to stand back to back to anyone else.  There’s no assessment of value.  No labeling it “art” or “good.”

Instead I just make.  Make what I like.  And while people sometimes comment on the honesty of my shows or songs I have to admit that my paintings, because they’re unscrutinized and unsold, are the most honest works I make these days.  The rest is half honesty and half marketable commodity.  Half joy and half necessary labor. 

If only we artists could make a living making stuff for mom’s refrigerator and not the masses.  If only I could write songs as unashamedly, freely and flippantly as I decorate a page.  Maybe someday.

(Picture credits: 1:"People Watching Daddy Sing” by Gabriella Groves, 2:Untitled by Me, 3:"Mommy Loves Daddy” by Gabriella Groves)