My Recordings Part II

Out of all the songs I have recorded, what it your favorite and why? Here is a list:

1. Adlib Instrumental
2. Apaloosa Spirit
3. But a Breath
4. California (The first time)
5. California (The second time)
6. Chem 6a
7. My Girl (The shower song)
8. Every Little Thing
9. Getting Into You
10. Hey There Delilah
11. High of '75
12. I Wish We'd All Been Ready
13. Lean Back and Listen (My first recording)
14. Lean Back and Listen (Lean on me)
15. Lean on Me 2.0
16. Oh Gravity
17. Luv Addict
18. The Best Thign
19. Whispers in the Dark
20. You Give Love a Bad Name
21. Three Days Later
22. My First Stereo
23. Swing Swing
24. Company Car
25. Amazing Grace
26. Auld Lang Syne
27. Michael Row Your Boat Ashore
28. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
29. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
30. Blue Christmas
31. Last Christmas
32. Silver Bells
33. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
34. Santa Clause is Coming to Town
35. Oh Holy Night
36. Lonely

Wow... I hadn't even realized I recorded that many... Is there anyone out there that has heard all of them?
I realize that some of these songs have only been heard by select people and some of them cannot even be downloaded anymore (If they ever could have been downloaded in the first place). Also, I've been thinking about re-recording some of the songs I've already done. Do you guys have any favorites that you would like me to remix? Or maybe there's one you hate that I could try to make better. Post some comments please!

My new guitar!

Hoooray! I got my new guitar! (Acousitc electric)! I'll have to post a picture of it later. It rocks way hard! After I put the picture up I'll take some suggestions for a name for it... Also, does anyone have some suggestions of songs to record next?

The Things People Do When They Are Bored

So I was sitting in my Metro class with nothing to do, (We had finished a test and the other half of the room was still taking it and the teacher was grading, so we were sitting there doing nothing. I tried to talk to the guy next to me, but it's hard to talk in a completely quiet room when you're the only one trying to talk... It pretty much amplifies everything, so instead I made up a little code using numbers from bianary and english letters... Lol... Too much time, but it's kinda fun. If you want me to send you the rules for using it, just post a comment saying that you want them and I'll get them to you somehow. Here's a little sample of it:

English: The Fabulous Fegan Floop

Code: 11111_10011_10000*10001_1100_1101_100000_10111_11010_100000_11110*10001_10000_10010_1100_11001*10001_10111_11010_11010_11011.

Of course, you could always try and decode it yourself, but it's easier if I send you the solutions... lol

Getting Into You

Ok... This is a new direction for the recordings I've been posting. Upon request from a very special friend to me I've made an alliance with my buddy Holysword and recorded the Relient K song from the cd Two Lefts Don't Make a Right, but Three Do. The song is called, "Getting Into You". I say that I got together with him about it, but actually we never physically saw each other during this recording... lol... And actually, I didn't really do anything... It's pretty much just Holysword on this one. He recorded the layers of guitar and the bgvs (Suggested that would make the recordings better) Much props to him for making this a more memorable recording. He added some very original stuff at the end that wasn't in the original. (Lol... you'll know what I'm talking about when you hear it). Thanks Holysword! Please just listen to the lyrics and music of this song. It has a good message and some sweet music. Try to ignore the bad lead vocals... lol... this song was definately out of my range. Listen, then post a comment!

Hooray Bethany and Amanda!

Both of my favorite imagination inspiring characters have been guessed. If haven't seen their movies in awhile then you should rewatch them. You will definately know what I mean when I was talking about them letting their imagination wild! In case you haven't been reading the comments, the characters were Willy Wonka and the fabulous Fegan Floop.

Yay Bethany and Amanda for guessing them!

Score 1

Yay! Amanda got the first one of my imaginary inspirational characters characters right by guessing Willy Wonka! There's still one more to go! In comments to the same post, she got the mystery character right! lol... I had just watched that same episode where they start the band the first time. What are the odds? lol.

Another hint on my other favorite imaginative movie character: Gum has saved my life before.

Name That Character

There's a character from a tv show that is rarely talked about, yet has some vary distinct features. Other than people in my family, who is this character?

I was crowned a deity in Norway.

I'm not good at playing the bass guitar.

I did shotput in school.

My first love was figure skating.

When my father saw I had dyed my hair white, I was grounded from the blender for two weeks.


(Is no one going to guess my two inspirational characters? Here's a good hint for one of them. The movie was remade with an actor who wasn't Wilder and had Depp(th).)

My Recordings

Okay... I've been recording songs for a while now, but there's still something missing... (Lol... It needs... children) They are mostly just cheap covers of popular songs. Nothing to write home or tell friends about. What is something I should change to improve the quality/likability of my recordings? I would like to hear from the listeners what they would like to hear more of... what would make them better? Different genre? New vocals? They just don't have "it". What should I add or remove? Or maybe I should just stop recording all together... I need to hear from you guys.

The Most Honest Recording

I just recorded (By suggestion from a friend) "You Give Love a Bad Name". I feel that it is one of my most honest recordings. Instead of recording it a million times trying to have the house perfectly quiet or trying to get all the parts right, I recorded this one on the second try through. As a result, there are voices in the background (Including one of my mom yelling at me telling me to shut up... Ah... so goes the amatuer recording life... everyone's a critic), but I don't think I sound sick of singing the same song over and over trying to get it perfect. Another thing about it, I normally have a set way I'm going to play a song before I record it. This one I just kinda made up as I went along, with only a general direction of where I was going. This recording one was of my favorites to make because of the simplicity of it. I just went with the flow and tried to put my own little spin on the song.
As a result of this, the listeners of the song (Sorry everyone) are probably going to hate it. Lol... from my mom's yelling, I've already proved that once. Then there's the problem of length. You'll probably be sick of it after the first 30 seconds (If not sooner) so you might not even notice, but this is definately my longest recording to date... So I apologize to everyone beforehand, BUT I feel that I needed to get this off. I will probably lose all my listeners I have developed thus far, but I felt I need to show everyone that this is what recording is really like. The honest way.

Some Random Lists

Songs I have had stuck in my head or have been caught singing (Or both) recently:

Last Words ~ Thousand Foot Krutch
California ~ Hawk Nelson
Dare You to Move ~ Switchfoot
One is the Lonliest Number ~ Three Dog Night
You Give Love a Bad Name ~ Bon Jovi
Let Your Love be Strong ~ Switchfoot
Godspeed ~ Anberlin
Adelaide ~ Anberlin
Dismantle Repair ~ Anberlin
Awake ~ Pillar
Learning How to Die ~ Jon Foreman

My Groups I'm a Part of on Facebook:

The Really Real Family Force Five Facebook Group
THEY ARE TRYING TO SHUT DOWN FACEBOOK - PETITION TO KEEP IT! INVITE ALL
Even Stevens was one of the best shows EVER MADE!!!
Switchfoot Fan Club
Skillet
I bet I can find 1,000,000 Christians
Why Yes, I Do Frequently Burst Out In Song
Unsocialized Homeschoolers AND PROUD OF IT!!!
Switchfoot!
The Offial Hawk Nelson Fan Club
Skillet Fan Club
Polarity (4/17)
Relient K Fan Club
Chad Butler(Switchfoot) and/or Dave Douglas(Relient K) are rad drummers!!
Psych Fan Club
Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker are MASTERS
KINGDOM HEARTS FAN CLUB
Family Force 5
The Legend of Zelda Fan Club
An appriciation for MONK - The Obsessive Compulsive Detective

An odd description of me from a friend when asked how he would describe me:

"Wow..Umm...I'm not sure.Some where between hardcore rocker and neetly dressed gentleman. "

Some of the cds I would like to buy (The ones I can think of right now... there are probably more):

Even Heroes Need A Parachute ~ This Beautiful Republic
Phenomenon ~ Thousand Foot Krutch
The Art of Breaking ~ Thousand Foot Krutch
The Flame in All of Us ~ Thousand Foot Krutch
Collide ~ Skillet
Buisness up Front, Party in the Back ~ Family Force 5
Tarzan ~ Various
Annie ~ Various
How Can We be Silent ~ Barlowgirl
Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest Soundtrack ~ Various
Kingdom Hearts 2 Soundtrack ~ Various
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Soundtrack ~ Various
Halo 2 Soundtrack ~ Various
Crashings ~ Falling Up
Dawn Escapes ~ Falling Up
Blueprints for the Black Market ~ Anberlin
Never Take Friendship Personal ~ Anberlin
Cities ~ Anberlin


(No one except my mom has posted any guesses for two of my favorite characters... At least guess somebody ... None of my mom's guesses were correct if you wanted to know. Another clue: Lot's of purple)

Strange...

Well... I was thinking of something deep to write today, but nothing came to my head. Oddly enough, I couldn't think of anything silly to write about either... I'm at a proverbial loss for words. My life has not given me anything very inspiring at all to write about today. Anyone who has known me for any period of time knows that I am VERY rarely at a loss for words. VERY VERY rarely. I guess every once in a while strange things happen and there's nothing we can do to explain them. I guess I could put down some random and/or odd quotes...

"Not today" ~ The Prestiege

"Once upon a time there was a magical land where it never rained. The end" ~ Holes

"Why do we fall, Bruce?" ~ Batman

"It's the frost. Sometimes it makes the blade stick." ~ Gladiator

"Rodents of unusual size? I don't believe they exist." ~ The Princess Bride

"This was once alive. It is a lizard or a mammal?" ~ Extreme Days

"Fool of a Took" ~ The Lord of the Rings

"Put your behind in the past" ~ The Lion King

"You are a sad, strange, little man" ~ Toy Story

"This reeks so bad I can't take it!" ~ Jonny Tsunami

"What's life if you never pull down your shorts and slide on the ice?" ~ Even Stevens

"Sick and wrong" ~ Kim Possible

"Santa Clause we never see..." ~ Annie

"It needs... Children" ~ Spy Kids

"I usually wear it." ~ Hoodwinked

"Don't repeat!" ~ Lizzie Mcguire

"Life stinks... then you die." ~ UNKNOWN

"If all else fails... Use potty humor" ~ My mom

"Mood ring, oh mood ring, oh tell me can you bring the key to unlock this mystery of girls and their emotions. Play it back in slow motion so I might understand the complex infrastructure known as the female mind." ~ Matthew Thiessen


(Hints about the two characters: One can be found in a story that was a book, then became a movie. The other can be found in a story that was a movie then later had books as spin-offs)

Imagination

With all the movies I have seen, and all the books I have read. Two characters stand out to me and being some of my favorites of all time. What makes them my favorite you ask? The answer is simple. Imagination. These characters had brillaint imaginations (Though shunned by others) and used their imaginations to create their own unique "homes" for themselves. They used their imagination to take them wherever they wanted to go. One of them is a classic, and one of them is much newer, and slightly less acknowledged. They both strike me similarly, though they are found in different contexts. I myself have always enjoyed using my imagination to play games and write stories. It's one of my favorite things to do. I can read books and pretend I'm there. I can watch movies and do the same. I love stories that stimulate the imagination. The stories these characters are involved in do that. Maybe that's one reason that I enjoy Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis (In the Chronicles of Narnia) so much.
Who are these characters that I care for such much you ask? Instead of telling you outright. I'll use my imagination to give my blog readers clues as to who they are. You may already know who they are. When you think you have them figured out, just post your answers in a comment to one of my posts. When both of them have been guessed, I will post the correct answer in a new post. Have fun!!!

My Uncle the Troy Bolton of the 70's

Okay... It's about time... I know you guys out there are getting sick of hearing my deep and intulectually (Spelling? lol) stimulating thoughts, so I decided that I would post something very light hearted. I recently found out some very interesting news. My Uncle David was the Troy Bolton of his high school. Lol... Actually I think I might have enough proof to sue Disney for taking the idea for Troy from my uncle. Here's the thing...:

1.) He was great looking and all the girls loved him. (The typical hottie superbomb) That alone isn't enough to prove my point though. I can think of a couple hottie superbombs off the top of my head... lol

2.) He was a school jock. (Of course his main sport was football). He set school records for football and still holds some of them (Interesting). Oddly enough however, he did play basketball for a short time... he was a starter on the team when they won the championship game... This is getting a little interesting now...

3.) The final crowd killer and proof for my case. My mom can't remember which year of high school this was, but one of his years guess what he did? HE STARED IN THE SCHOOL MUSICAL!!!! If that's not enough to prove Disney stole Troy Bolton right off my uncle, I don't know what is...

Schizophrenia

"I'm my own worst enemy.
I sink my teeth into the hand that feeds.
I curse and praise in the same breath.
Which man in the mirror is the one that's left?" ~ The Wedding in the song Schizophrenia on the cd Polarity

Many people live like Schizophrenics. They are double minded. Paul summerized it very well when he said something resembling, "I don't do the things I want to, and the things that I don't want to do, I do". There is good and evil inside all of us, saved or unsaved and it's like two personalities fighting for control of our lives. We may do something to honor God with one action, then turn around and do something dishonoring. It's like the Pharisees. They could talk the talk and follow all the rules, but they didn't really have the faith nessasary for salvation. They were the ones that ended up crucifying Jesus. People these days are very hypocritical. We say that we love God and say that we are Christians, but by our actions we deny that very fact. What kind of witness is that to someone who isn't a believer?

It's true that one will always sin on this earth because he has a sin nature and we are still living int he flesh, but we can't let the sin define who we are. We have to allow God to help our Schizoprenic state by allowing His Spirit to live through us. Only then can we be the witness we were called to be.

God doesn't want us to just serve Him with our mouths.
"If you love Me (God) then just love Me. Don't you give me pretty words. Lay your life down at the alter. Let Me see how serious you are." ~ The Wedding on the song The Call on the cd Polarity.

He wants us to serve Him with our lives. He wants us to let His love shine through us into the
darkened world and illuminate it.

(I realize that those songs aren't Scripture, but I think that the concepts from them are Biblically sound and help to show the point of my argument)

(On a much less serious note: Lol... I had to take a break from the Underoath titles because I'm running out of good ones to even come close to relating to my point... The closest one I could think of was "Writing on the Walls"... lol... So I just decided to use a title from The Wedding (A band that I actually like) because the title went so well with what I was trying to say.)

The Impact of Reason

If only I would have said it.

How many times do our feeble minds lack the wit to intelligently come up with what we want to say when we want to say it?

Many times one will finish a convorsation only to realize that there was something else he wanted to say.
Many times one will think of a perfect comeback to an argument only seconds after the argument is over.
Many times one will think of a comforting word too late after one is hurt.
Many times one will think of the right thing to have said in that awkward situation only after they have passed through it.
Many times one will think he said the right think, only to realize that he made the situation worse.
Many times one will think of the best thing to have said to greatly improve an already good situation after it is too late.

A lot of times I just think about what's been happening, and I'm just like... If only I would have said it.

A Moment Suspended in Time

Odd how the weather can partially control how we feel.
We take things in without thinking most of the time and that will effect how we feel for that day and dictate (To a point) our actions. A sunny day with a good cross breeze makes you feel alive and generally you will be in a better mood and more patient than normally. If the weather is rainy or the sky is cloudy you feel sadder. You will always have a heavy feeling on your shoulders during the day.
Odd how we percieve peoples actions.
Someone can be best friends with a person their entire life and know that they will be best friends for many years to come, however one day when a person is in a bad mood and treats the other friend harshly the friends mind automatically assumes that the person hates him no matter how long they've been friends.
Odd how quickly some feelings change.
One day I may think pizza is the best food on the face of the planet and crave it with an unmatched passion then the next day we can feel different and be despised by the very thing longed for.
Odd how quickly memories can change feelings.
You may be in the worse mood in the world and hear an incredibly depressing song, however the song may have accompanied with it very good memories and the sad song will cheer you up.
Odd how quickly we forget.
We may have loved something, consider a song, but for whatever reason, we get distracted and are unable to listen to that song for an extended period of time. We take for granted that the song could have been our favorite because it is simply put on the back burner and life moves on with it behind. When talking about the song, we have completely forgotten all the joy that song used to bring and we no longer even remember how much we enjoyed the song. When the song is heard again however, all the old enjoyment that the song used to bring floods back into our minds and we remember how much the song meant to us. We suddenly realize how much we liked this song we haven't heard in such a long time and wonder how we could have forgotten such an amazing song.
Odd...

Casting Such a Thin Shadow

Isn't it interesting how different people have different perceptions on the same event? For example, two people can hear a song and have totally different opinions about it and sometimes even descriptions about what the song meant. Two people can read the same book and have totally different takes on what the books purpose or main emphasis was.

Isn't it interesting how one can twist a false thought in his mind to the point where it becomes true in his mind? If you tell yourself something over and over again, you will eventually start to believe it. If one tries to explain this twisted thought to another, it appears lunacy to the second party.

Isn't it interesting how two people that are close to each other, can have completely different feelings about someone else they both know? Me and my best friend could both know the same person who I may love, and he may hate. Each person develops their own taste in others personalities.

Isn't it interesting how people can feel completely different about each other? One person may completely despise me, and I may love them as close as any brother. People don't always have mutual feelings for each other.

Isn't it interesting how quickly people's feelings can change? It is possible to be happy one moment then the next moment be completely depressed. Emotions are always changing.

Perceptions, thoughts, emotions... they are all very interesting...

(On the same much less serious note: There is a specific common factor between this title and 3 of my other posts. No one has yet to name the factor.)

In Reguards to Myself

Ah... the fun must always come to an end.

Summer, like all other seasons must eventually become fall, and the school break itself must eventually be broken and life must continue again. Many good things have happened this summer, and I'm pretty sure it has been the best summer of my entire life. I have gone many special places - Mexico, California, Hawaii, Ohio. I have made many new friends, and reunited with old ones. The summer was a blast with all the people I hung out with, the movies I watched, the music I listened to, and the books I read, but with the privilages I have gained while growing up, I have also gained many responsibilites. The fun always must come to an end.

The Wilson girls leaving was not only sad because of the fact that they were leaving. The departure of the girls brought in the next chapter of my life, my junior year of high school. Last week I started my classes at the community college, and this week I have started my school classes at home. On Saturdays I must now work at the soccer fields refereeing games for spare cash. I no longer have large amounts of free time which I can use freely and pleasureably without plan or reason. The time has come where life must be directed by a strict schedule and pleasure becomes a privilege rather than a right. The fun must always come to an end.

I look on my life and realize that I am growing up. I am now a 16 year old male. The odds dictate that I will leave home for college in 2 more years and then begin to live a life that includes me getting a job and possibly a family. Very rarely will I ever again have time like I did this summer to take a break from life and have such a good time. The fun must always come to an end.

However, instead of being extremely depressed about my situation, I believe that it would be better to look at life through a different perspective. Do all people get to have any time where they can have an entire summer of carefree fun? Many people in third-world countries must work at my age and never get to experience all of the joy I have had in my life. God has blessed me with an entirely great life overall and has given me a wonderful family and friends. Instead of complaining and begging for more of something that not everyone has a right to, I should be greatful to God for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon me. All the fun was from God in the first place.

I have already said it, but I would like to re-emphisize that not everyone has the blessings that I have in my life. There are many homeless, friendless, foodless... Funless. It's not all about fun anway.

I use this moment to thank God for everything that I have. For my life, my family, my friends. For my home, my money, my dog. For my talents, for my church, and for His Son, the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and for His Word. I also thank God for the fun I have had this summer, and for the fun that I will have in the future. For the fun that is not a right, but a gift from God. A gift that I don't deserve, but He has given to me anyway. Thank You.

(On a much less serious note: Does anyone other than Amanda notice anything weird about some of the titles of my blog posts?... lol)

My New Garb-age

Boo goofy pictures. Hooray Looney Toons tie!

SURPRISE!!!!

This has nothing to do with the special recording that I have annoucned for Sunday, but I have made a new recording that you can check out now... I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that it's quite different from what I normall make... For those who are wondering, it has a little of my "Whiteness" in it too! Check it out please! Leave a comment! It's on the Imagine Cup Winners website under "Surprise".

New Recording

For those of you who like to listen to my recordings, I've created a new one. It's going to be put online Sunday, September 9th. I won't say what the song is, I'll just let that be a surprise...
A note to those listening... This recording has the most minitracks playing of any of the other songs I have recorded to date. (Even more than the Rebirthing Instrumental Demo, which used to hold the record). Word out y'all!

The Best Week Ever!

As all of you know, the Wilson girls came to our house this past week. I would like to start off by saying that it was quite possibly the best week of my entire life! I had sooooo much fun! Normally when I have friends over, we have to have a specific thing to do, or mostly a video game to play, but when the Wilson's were here, we just talked, watched movies, listened to some music, and mostly just hung out, and doing so with the Wilson's can be the greatest "game" every played!
Bethany and I didn't used to be on the friendliest terms. (I was a stinking meanie pants when I was younger... to both Amanda and Bethany). I've said it before, but I'll say it again, it's great being able to have a good time with Bethany. She's really funny and fun to be around! (And then there's the fact that I was in love with her... and she broke my heart when I couldn't produce a library... lol)
However, most of the time, I hung out with Amanda. Amanda, it's great being able to talk to a person you've known for as long as we've known each other, and I loved being able to just be myself. I found it hard to believe that we've known each other as long as we have, but then after I thought about it... It did seem to make sence...
I thought about doing the same kind of thing that I did when the Hammacks came and writing a letter to each individual or group of individuals involved in the trip, but instead I'll just be normal and say thank to you Amanda for different things that she did:

1) Thank you for watching Space Jam.... Lol... I know you didn't really like it and I know you hate sports movies, but I'm glad that you watched it anyway... lol

2) Thanks for the forgiveness for all the mean things I did when I was little... I don't even remember being that mean... Again... I really am sorry!

3) Thanks for teaching me that, if done with the right people and the right way, shopping can be fun!

4) Thanks for not remembering any of the random things I was saying that night we were up until 5... I still barely remember that...

5) Thanks for putting up with me singing all the time... I usually just get on people's nerves...

6) Thanks for clapping for me even when I rolled gutter balls...

7) Thanks for being happy for me when my favorite "celebrity" accepted my friend request on Facebook, and not being weirded out that I was freaking out about it.

8) Thanks for coming with me when I had to run errands and the like. I usually get bored when I have to drive all over the place, but having you to talk to made it very very fun!

9) Lol... Thank you for not being afraid of me... I scare a lot of people...

10) One of my biggest thanks is: Thank you for laughing at all the stupid things that I said. Lol... I have always loved it when people laughed at my comments/jokes/antics but I don't know anybody who laughs as hard as you. It made me laugh just to see that you enjoyed it (Or at least pretended too)

I have a ton more things that I could say, but I think I'll leave it at that for now... I miss you guys... :-( I think I'm getting something in my eye... Looking foward to seeing you in Oct.!!!!

It's Dangerous Buisness Walking Out Your Front Door

More pictures from today at the mall:

We tried to take that picture a couple of different times...

Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape

Today we went shopping at the mall. We tried on a bunch of pairs of sunglasses! Check them out!