Waterdeep returns to the music scene with a diverse recording inspired by two rockin’ toddlers, Don and Lori Chaffer’s son Miles (5), and daughter Ruby (2).

Pink and Blue is a full-length album that will be packaged as two EPs: “The Pink CD” featuring Lori’s songs and “The Blue CD” featuring Don’s. Multiple online packaging options include a limited edition version which features an original piece of art by their children and a 40-page “grown-up” activity book written by the Chaffers.

The album features Waterdeep founding member, Brandon Graves, on drums, as well as Stan Sheldon (Frampton Comes Alive) on the bass. According to a press release, the album covers both a wide range of moods - from the fun-filled “Life of the Party” to the somber “My Second Try” - and a broad palette of musical elements - from unexpected pop grooves to familiarly vibey, acoustic timbres. The album will be available online at through online retailers and through www.waterdeep.com/store.

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Fuller Seminary’s Travis Auditorium was sold out on Saturday for a solo show by acclaimed musician, David Bazan. Sitting center stage with his guitar, Bazan entranced his devoted fans with an hour of songs and stories. He is a poet of uncertainty, excavating his Christian roots in search of the authentic. His acoustic show packed plenty of punch with his signature dry wit. Performing on the heels of America’s historic presidential election, Bazan basked in the outcome. Amidst his downboat, introspective songs, David Bazan sounded genuinely happy.

He introduced a host of new tunes from his long-awaited debut on Seattle’s Barsuk Records. Acknowledging the countless recording devices in the room, Bazan bargained with his fans, “Don’t be a hero” and post things online before the album’s Spring release. Bazan performed the parabolic, “Weeds in the Wheat,” the haunting “Curse Your Branches,” and his jaunty new track, “Please Baby Please.”

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This is a song I've been working on lately. Needs a title. Any suggestions?

five years old, fourth of july
the long island sound, fireworks in the sky
the smell of burnt charcoal and sweet apple pie
nothing could be better than this

seven years old down in lucky man park
see the prince in his kingdom playing tag in the dark
all the king's horses and all the king's men
couldn't put these days back together again

do we ever grow up
or do we only grow old?
do we keep traveling on
or are we traveling home?

twenty three, still pushing this boulder up a hill
I might collapse under its weight but I keep thinking about
the struggle to stand still
and if and when these heavy dreams might come tumbling down into view
it's enough to keep me kinetic
but for the moment I'm scared as hell

do we ever grow up
or do we only grow old?
do we keep traveling on
or are we traveling home?

when I'm an old man I'm gonna kick off my shoes
I'm gonna die like a full man with nothing to lose
I'll make love to a woman, the same one from my youth
and I'll have given more than I've held onto

when I arrive at the valley of death
I'm gonna dance with the devil, I'm gonna waltz with regret
then I'll be on my way, cause I aint done traveling yet
no there's someone I've got to meet
been waiting to sit at His feet

he says son you sure did grow up
but now you'll never grow old
you've been traveling long
but you're finally home

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I finally uploaded the hour-long radio show I did back in March. If you've got an hour or so, and you feel like hearing some of my previously unrecorded songs, click here to listen to me on WCWP FM Radio with DJ Grandfather Rock (Chris Macintosh).

I was the special guest, and I brought with me Aaron Niles and Steve Segarra on percussion. We had a grand ol' time. In between songs, Chris interviewed us. We talked about everything from International Arts Movement to songwriting to adoption.

Interesting side note: as we were driving out to the studio, we got stuck in traffic on the LIE, and who should we see tooling around in a cute little convertable? None other than Orlando Bloom.

Today, over lunch I went to hear Ian Mackaye speak and give a Q & A session at one of the Claremont Colleges.  Ian was formerly the frontman for the hardcore punk band Minor Threat and later in Fugazi, amongst several other musical projects.  Having grown up on punk music, and seen him perform several times, I was fascinated to go attend this Q & A and hear what he had to say.

Ian has lived in DC all of his life and runs an independent record label called Discord Records which has been going for 28 years now.  It was very interesting to hear his approach to life which is basically to shun everything that involves supporting someone elses corporate interest.  Instead, he espouses an overall DIY (do-it-yourself) approach to life.  His credo is to never play a show that is not all ages, always make shows reasonable (all shows I have attended have been 5-10 bucks), and live as simply as possible.  He doesn't believe in the political system even though his dad was once a political aid to the President and he believes strongly in local community and helping others.  His bands have often kicked people out of their shows for violence and even refunded their money.  He states that it is not worth it to create music that becomes a soundtrack for someone else's violence.

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Here are  3 quick thoughts on how to “make it” in today’s rapidly changing online music world. This stuff is being said by guys WAY more successful than me as well. Though some of these are original thoughts, in many ways, I’m just the messenger guy so listen up!

1. You’re music has to be good.

Sounds obvious, but at the end of the day it's the most important factor. Your stuff has to be quality in three specific areas. You can’t afford to slack off on any of these.

• Arrangements – have we heard this song before? Verse, chorus, verse chorus bridge? You need to be creative and take the listener on a journey without going over his or her head.

• Lyrics – everything has already been said. Don’t say it the same way. “I love you and here are the reasons why” is not enough anymore. Tell stories not feelings. Your feelings will come out through the stories more powerfully.

• Production - This is were you need to get creative. It doesn’t need to sound like a $10,000 product, but it needs to be clear, tight, and blunder free. The simpler the better. If you’re on a tight budget, leave the bells and whistles out. They’ll only get in the way when it’s time to master.

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From the first horn blast of his new single, “You Are the Best Thing” Ray Lamontagne grabs the listener by the ear and the soul with his new album, Gossip in the Grain. From start to finish the album takes the listener on a nostalgic journey through seasons and memories. Touching everything from Motown to folk to bluegrass, Lamontagne shows his diversity as a songwriter and composer but fails to highlight his vocal range as much as previous albums. The organic, almost “oldie” sounding production adds to its purity and attraction.

The first time I listened to the album was on the way home from work last night. As I drove away from daylight into the night, the songs became the perfect accompaniment as a huge sense of nostalgia wiped over me for seasons past and summers gone. For a song to take you somewhere you’ve been before the very first time you hear it, I think, is one of the highest achievements an artist can ever shoot for. “Winter Birds” did this to me especially. “Meg White” opens like the climax of an old western complete with distant whistles and rattling maracas, as Lamontagne battles for the affection of the White Stripes drummer as depicted in the song’s quirky lyrics. The album closes with the title track, a dark lullaby (there’s a beautiful duel between glockenspiel and flute later accompanied by double bass and female background vocals) that wraps up the album nicely .

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Several months ago I took a chance and posted a new lyric called "I Am a Soul" here on Conversantlife. It was scary to go "public" with a baby song, especially when it involved sharing naked words without their accompanying music. Still, folks were kind and the process was useful enough that, well, here I go again.

This is another new song on deck for the project I am currently recording. It is my attempt to articulate some of my struggle with the way we (I) understand God's sovereignty as it relates to the events (monumental and trivial) of our lives. Not everyone is going to agree with my current understanding of things -- I can live with that. But I'm curious to know what the song says to people.

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This is the fourth installment in my cover songs series. The introduction and "Hey Ya!" cover are here; the second post featuring Ryan Adams' cover of "Wonderwall" is here; and the third post about Scala & Kolacny Brothers' cover of "With Or WIthout You" is here .

Like I said in my first post, I came up with a list of about 11 songs but I'm seeing that a four part series is taxing on the attention span so I'll wrap it up in the next two posts. In this one I'll talk about a few songs and in the next I'll show you were I was going with all of this. Since I'm cramming a lot into this post, please excuse its brevity.

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It's hard to add anything to the discussion about "With or Without You" because it's a song that already has connections to so many people. But, if a teenage Belgian girls choir is bold enough to try their hand at it, we should give it a listen.

Now, is this song about God or a woman? Is it from God to Bono or from God to the church? Or is it from Bono to the church or from Bono to God?

Again, that's the genius of U2; writing a song vague enough that anyone can pretty much put their own experience into it. The perfect example and contrast is the fact that people play it at weddings for their first dance or comfort themselves during a break-up with it. See what I mean?

Even though I don't understand exactly what the song is about it's gorgeous, and honestly, I can't think of another song that builds and climaxes as perfectly as "With Or Without You" does. My friend Pete does A&R for Epic and he used to give copies of the song to bands and challenge them to write a song as gripping and climactic. Though I remember one that tried, I don't think it's ever happened.

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