I’m going to get spiritual on you for just a post or two. Well, actually, if you buy into Rob Bell, you might argue that everything is spiritual. In that case, anything you’ve ever read here is spiritual. . . but I digress.

One of the more challenging things for Christ followers to realize is that we are to bring a little heaven to Earth. That is, believing in Christ isn’t just a ticket to some post-game party. Rather, a relationship with Christ is a transformation in which we, the followers, become instrumental in carrying out God’s work in this world. Right now.

What kind of work? Good works.

There’s a ton more going on in Ephesians 2:8-10 – especially on grace, the gift that it is, and the fact that there is no “earning your way” to heaven – however, my purpose here is not to give a sermon as much as to offer a simple melody for anyone who may be looking for a way to memorize these or potentially for a worship leader who might want to use this in a relevant service.

It’s a rough draft, but I’m not really in a position right now to need a “polished draft.” I put it together to memorize it myself. If I were to produce it, I’d probably do it once in a simple manner and then repeat with full band, distorted guitar, etc. until the last bit where I would chill out again as I fade out on the last line.

• MP3 of Ephesians 2:8-10. (2.1 mb)
• Sheet music with chords for Ephesians 2:8-10 (kinda big .PDF – 5.6 mb)

The funny thing about the recording is that it seems to have more in common with John Michael Talbot than with The Foo Fighters. Why is that funny? Well, I kinda wish all worship music sounded more like the Foo Fighters. Oh well, I’ll do a Foo Fighters version later.

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At one point, I had thought about doing a blog on parenting, being a dad, etc. I envisioned someone Googling “How to be a better dad” and seeing my site “DadMustard” pop up on the top of the list. (My brother-in-law said, “huh, I never would have thought of someone doing that.” Needless to say, I wasn’t terribly encouraged!) I had this concept that I would write music – focusing on things I want my kids to learn or know – and then I would create questions to go along with the music. Questions that dads could ask their kids.

Of course, having worked in marketing, I wanted to do a little market analysis (ha! big mistake). So I sent my first song off to some friends and family members with the little review worksheet. I think only one of them actually tried to do what I asked (thanks Bill G.). Needless to say, I became a little frustrated and went on with life.

I haven’t really given up on the idea that I need to make the most of my time with the kids, though. Lots to teach while I got them.

Now, years later, I may not be trying to “market” that particular concept, but – even with the less-than-perfect sound of the recording – I still like what the song says to my kids, to my wife, to anyone I love.

Maybe it will speak to you. Originally, I called it The First Thing because it talks about the first thing I want my kids to know. A good friend suggested You Make My Heart Smile would be a better title. He’s probably right (Gregg usually is). So, here is You Make My Heart Smile.

It’s the first thing I recorded with my home studio gear years ago (ha! maybe that’s what the title really means) – so definitely not perfect. But I’ve given up on being perfect anymore.

In that spirit, I’ll even link here to some of the questions I had prepared for that song. At a minimum, it might make you ask whether you need to tell your kids how much you love them and how important they are to your life. Your time is limited. Make the best of it.

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I’ll make the first post of 2008 a great one!

I had a chance to sit down with Peter Mathews and ask him a ton of questions about his project, Far From Haggersville.

We cover everything from the themes of the story as well as the various ways that Peter is giving you to interact with this creative project. We also discuss dreams, the challenges of being an independent musician and film maker, and his recommendations for overcoming those challenges.

You can download the complete interview with Peter Mathews here.

You can open the interview with Peter Mathews in iTunes here.

The complete conversation is just under 20 minutes, including music clips and some sound clips from the short films that are a part of the project. A full download of the MustardCast is about 18mb.

You can learn more about Peter Mathews and Far From Haggersville at www.haggersville.com.

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Ha! And you thought I was gone forever, didn’t you? Oh ye of little faith. . .

I had a new dishwasher installed a couple weeks ago (apparently the model we replaced has started on fire in numerous homes – cool). The new one’s a Bosch, because, as we know, I’m a Germanphile (and it was rated well by Consumer Reports). The cool thing about our dishwasher is that the guy installing it is an aspiring musician. Of course, I had a lot of questions for him.

It’s not everyday I get to meet people who are really going after it. This guy is working to build out a recording studio, has an album finished and wants to keep going. He’s cranking away at his day job to support his musical dreams. Impressive.

You can listen to Patrick Bodell’s music at www.patrickbodell.com.

We may even connect and do some recording together.

Nice surprise in a dishwasher install I would say. (and, weeks later, I have clean dishes too!)

PS If you haven’t yet purchased Peter Mathew’s “Far From Haggersville,” go to www.haggersville.com and do it now!

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I’ve had a great last couple of weeks far from my computer (more about that later). Now I want to tell you about a new CD called, Far From Haggersville. It’s a unique project that tells the story of a young musician via song, film, and other media. I helped with some of the drumming, some of the film shoots, and just general overall project assistance.

Peter Mathews, the musician/songwriter/director, is a great friend of mine and I would encourage any of you reading this to learn more via any of his websites. I’ll probably work up a podcast with Peter in the future.

Brit Rice, who I interviewed in my last MustardCast (I know, it’s been a while), produced the music.

If you like art, music, or life (I think I’ve covered you all!), you should be listening to this. . .

Here are some links and more information I recently got from Peter:

It is with great pleasure that I announce the release of the music album Far from Haggersville. We are also happy to announce the release of select scenes from the film Far from Haggersville available on the Enhanced CD.

We have been working on this project for several years and have finally come to its completion. You can find more about the album and film at www.haggersville.com or www.petermathews.com. The CD includes 9 songs many with sound scenes that preclude the music tracks as well as the Enhanced CD content (for your computer) such as scenes from the film, wallpapers, mp3 songs, artist promotional music and more.

Please feel free to download the QuickTime file of the Far from Haggersville Trailer and distribute and post it as you desire or link to a low quality version of it on Youtube. You can find the links on the www.haggersville.com homepage.

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I really enjoyed listening to this interview as I edited it. I know you will enjoy it and learn from it as well. This is not just for musicians, but for anyone seeking to make their passions a bigger part of their life. I’ve broken the interview into two MustardCasts and used a less “high fidelity” setting to make the file sizes a bit more manageable. I hope you audiophiles will be ok with that.

Part I (MustardCast 3a)
Length: 16:27

Play or Download MustardCast 3a
Play MustardCast #3a, interview with Brit Rice, in iTunes

Download the .mp3 file of MustardCast 3a, interview with Brit Rice (5.6mb)

• Intro / How did you get into the music business?
• 3:30 How did you crack into the studio scene?
• 5:20 What’s your favorite part? Playing, producing, songwriting? What’s the role of the producer?
• 7:55 Do you feel that the concept of album/cd is a lost art? Is there still an audience for the album?
• 10:35 What do you feel is essential for great music?
• 13:00 What do you feel structure does to the ability to deliver emotion in a song?

Brit’s recommended listening:

• The New Congress
• Chris Coza

Part II of the MustardCast (3b)
Length: Approx. 19 Minutes

Play or Download MustardCast 3b
Play MustardCast #3b, interview with Brit Rice, in iTunes

Download the .mp3 file of MustardCast 3b, interview with Brit Rice (6.6mb)

• 16:45 Talk about some of the sacrifices you’ve had to make to do the things you love.
• 21:10 What do you struggle with as someone trying to work your passion?
• 22:20 Would you share your mom’s philosophy of drumming?
• 23:10 How important is it to you to have your parents support what you are going after?
• 27:27 What do you fear the most as a musician?
• 30:08 What encouragement could you give to people who want to move towards doing something they are passionate about?

Learn More About Polydream
Listen to samples and buy Polydream music at iTunes
Polydream’s MySpace site
Polydream’s Website

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My kids worked up a song for their mom this Christmas. Maybe your kids would like to sing along?

Listen to We Love You Mom!. (4.2mb .mp3)

Keep in mind, we had to write and record this when mom wasn’t around, so the kids didn’t get much practice time! (and I mixed it a lot in the headphones, which isn’t always the best.) Alissa (9) actually recorded the little solo too – she was pretty excited to do that.

I think it’s fun and says a lot of things moms need to hear.

View the lyrics of We Love You Mom! (76kb .pdf).

Enjoy.

PS. If you liked that, you might also enjoy last year’s Christmas gift to mom, a song called Super Mom. It’s a rocker.

Play Super Mom. (3mb .mp3)

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Was my wife, Mary Elizabeth.

I don’t tell her that enough. Seems only appropriate to do that on Christmas.

To honor her, I wrote a little song.

Play The Best Gift I Ever Got (5mb .mp3).

If you’re curious to see the lyrics you can view this .pdf (73kb).

Enjoy.

PS Apologies to those who are tired of love songs. The thing is, authentic love is worth writing about.

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I promised an MP3 of a song many moons ago in my MustardCast with Ben Delzer of the band, standing mavis.

It has taken me too long to get this out to you, and I apologize for the imperfections of it. It was played live and mixed down by me, a non-engineer. (This is what you get when you let a drummer behind the board!)

I promised my wife I’d do the dishes tonight before midnight, and then I went into final mixdown of this and. . .whoops. . .looks like another late night. (I will do the dishes, though.)

This month has been crazy, but I am so excited by the music I’ve been able to be a part of.

As I finished this track up, I thought about Ben and Matt, who make up the other 2/3rds of standing mavis. I would do anything for these guys. They are so great.

Jim Collins in his business research (visit his link in my blogroll) often talks about “getting the right people on the bus” in your company. (Read Good to Great to understand this.) It’s a lost art in terms of bands.

I cannot think of two people I’d rather be on the bus with than Ben Delzer and Matt Rodgers. Two fantastic musicians. Two fantastic people.

Here’s the song, Steel. (4.3mb .mp3)

I’ll also upload it at http://www.myspace.com/standingmavis.

MustardCast Number 3 with Brit Rice is next on the list…before Christmas? Oh man, I don’t know. . .

Thanks for visiting!

PS If you didn’t catch the interview with Ben, you might want to. Learn more here.

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