WWJD with the internet

Here I go, typing away at my computer again. Spence and TJ are over here putting in their "band time." There was once a day (before the days of internet) when rock stars just played gigs and signed with big labels. Those days are no more. Now, its all about indie bands putting in their quality connect time and keeping up to date with blogs on myspace. Although we are on a major label, the way we run ourselves is more like and indie band. We're here, putting in our time together...doing more than just playing gigs but trying to connect in ways that matter.

In some ways, its kind of fun to be forced to operate in the internet world we live in. Doing this blog has been a pleasure. Sometimes I have no idea what to say, but for the most part its so good for me to have something that connects my music with real people. And although the concerts do that the most, its the internet that everyone has their whole head buried in. What an opportunity it is.

I wonder what would Jesus do with the internet. Would he have a blog? What would he be saying in his blog? Imagine how fast and widespread his message would have reached if he were doing it all on the internet instead of wearing his sandals out from town to town. I'd bet he would do some sweet "you tube" videos with random life lessons. Millions would be clicking on his videos. If he lived in San Diego like me, he'd probably surf and talk the surf lingo. "bro" this. "dude" that. "gnarly" this. "sick" that. Then he would talk about riding waves and use it as some metaphor of what its like to catch on to the the Father's love and how live isn't the same with out it. Pretty gnarly bro.

Well, fortunately for all the people in the last 2 millennium, he came to Jerusalem two thousand years ago instead of San Diego 2008. So what can I do but trust that His heart and purpose lives on here and now. Meanwhile, we'll keep blogging about random things and pray that His spirit use whatever digital networking we got going on.

An internet blessing to you today my cyber-friends...

eric

Writing with Urban Rescue

Sorry, i've been so busy. I'm helping Jordan and Tucker from Urban rescue write songs for their next album. Then I'm gonna catch some surf! Will be back.

e

This Sunday, leading worship at the Rock Church

I'm at the Rock Church right now (see pic in last blog) hanging in the foyer at the merch table. We're playing 5 services today, crazy. Its amazing how early the peeps get up for sundays normally. the worship team needs to be done sound checking by about 7am! So that means they are getting here around 5am or something. Ridiculous. I don't think Church was EVER meant to make you wake up so early! I imagine if Jesus and the disciples were in San Diego, they would INSIST on going for coffee and breakfast burrito FIRST, then catch some good surf, and then go to Church...night Church. That's some sweet California theology for you.

The Rock Church is definitely on the one end of the spectrum of production vs. non-production. Some Churches like these have incredible sounds systems, all in ear-monitors run on separate automated monitor consoles, count-down timers, and production managers that will get on you if you're not ready to go up on stage. Then there are other Churches that don't know what a sound system looks like or what Power Point or Media Shout is. I've been worship leading long enough to have spent a good part of my career writing those overhead projector sheets for the words. And sometimes, the Church doesn't bother with any of it. Just a guitar and some guy shouting out the songs as loud as he can.

I've grown in my affinity for the later. A style of worship that doesn't have to worry about the production that is going on. With that you might think i'm a hippocrite because i'm here right now doing the big production thing. To clarify, i have no problem with production. What i'm getting at is that, there is something very nice about the simple, the small, and the persona in worship. That's where the idea of doing house worship events came from. Bringing the worship experience into someone's house.

So what do we do on days like this? Well...pretty much the same thing...just play. Even on a day like today where there's about 10,000 people coming on a Sunday...just play. Make it personal. I kinda have to tell myself that so that i continue to do what I am called to do. When i fall into the machine of something big, i tend to start saying the things that you're supposed to say from stage or praying the prayers that i'm "supposed" to pray. The tragedy of that is that its not only NOT me anymore, but its not led by God anymore. Instead its just some regurgitation of what I've heard over and over.

Church is a pretty dynamic thing. One of the best and worst things about touring is getting a picture of what Church is all across the world. Its pretty amazing how different people and different cultures approach it. Gives you a real picture of how nobody really knows the definitive truth of what Church is supposed to look like. We all think we have the right way don't we?

I hope to learn from it all in the end. Whether I'm playing a Church with a huge production or for a few people with no sound system. I just want to make sure that the music is leading me to the heart of God. And that the production or even the LACK of production doesn't matter in the end. The people matter. God matters. The interaction between Him and his children matters.

Till next time

eric

At the rock church today.

I`m about to play a concert here in san diego. An artist is here painting as we play.

August Rush - cello concerto

Last night, Tam and I watched the movie August Rush. I am not a movie critic, but I must offer my few cents here. If you are a musician (which many of you are being that this site is centered around music) then you might find yourself in a similar place of frustration when watching this movie. Why is it that film directors don't care about how ridiculous actors look when they are pretending to play an instrument? It drives me nuts! I've seen movies where the string players in the background don't even have their bows on the strings when playing. And God forbid that they would actually bow the same direction. While this beautiful music is playing, there is a clump of random sticks waving frantically in the air without any sense of rhythm or sync. Anyway, it was quite apparent the main actress who played the cello in the movie didn't know how to actually play the thing. Ok fine. But if i'm directing the movie, I'm gonna hire a pro to be a body double, zoom in on the hands, and make it look convincing. We do that for action films right? When Brad Pitt goes flying over the cliff onto the train, nobody wants his billion dollar face to get scratched, so some other less important guy gets paid a few bucks to hurt himself. Makes a lot more sense.

Anyway, the film can be fairly described as "cute." But musicians, please don't go see the movie to get inspired to write your next album. It won't do the trick.

It DID however make me think about my days in college studying classical music (the picture posted here is one of my old Mozart scores). The classical piece they used in the film for the cello player was Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto. That's one of my most favorite classical pieces written. So much depth. So much emotion. If you have some time or if you are at work in a cubicle getting paid by the hour, make sure you enjoy Yo-Yo Ma playing this beautiful work of art today. It doesn't get better than this.

TJ plays the saw

T.J. Hill has been playing with Future of Forestry for the last few gigs. This past weekend was his debut of playing the saw. I know you can barely see him because of the lighting, but didn't want to miss the opportunity to post the picture because it was his debut of the instrument in a live setting. He played it on "Christ the Solid Rock," our mysterious and ambient version of the song. TJ has been a great asset to the band lately with contributions like this. We'll post more soon on how he actually plays it.

I missed journaling yesterday. It was funny because my dad saw that I called this "Eric's DAILY fof Blog." He was a bit worried because when you call it daily in his world, then YOU MEAN DAILY. To me, a daily blog means, bloggins somewhat frequently so that people like you can usually find a new entry throughout the week. But to my dad, it REALLY means daily. That is something that my dad has always shown me...integrity. You never have to wonder with him. He says what he means, he means what he says. There is a sense of commitment in everything he does. There is a sense of justice and morality in everything. Especially with the little things that the rest of the world excuses such as pirating mp3's or software programs. He is a man who is about what is truth, what is right, and what is honorable.

It makes me wonder what makes a person that way. I know lots of Christians, and many of them exhibit varying degrees of integrity. Some, like my dad, simply live and breathe that way. Others I've known to have varying degrees of this strange inconsistency. There is this division within them.

I once heard someone describe the word integrity as “being one with yourself.” Like a building that has structural integrity. It is not fractured within. Its internal structure or integrity is as one.

That is the kind of life I want to live. One in which the deepest parts of my body, soul, and mind are united. The things that I say, do, and think are as one. I think that one of God’s main works in our lives is to bring us to this kind of wholeness.

God, I pray that you would give me a listening heart today. One that sees You as You are and me as I am. And that through the revealing of those two things, that the fractured parts of my life would become mended. That the worries of my life would align with the true faith and trust I have in You. And that my love and affection for You would be the joy that fills me and motivates me in who I am and what I do in this day.

Eric

Day Off

Today is a day off. As normal people think of mondays as this dreaded day of the week, i often think of monday as rest and freedom. It is a time to breathe, a time to think. Most importantly, a time to enjoy a beautiful cup of coffee. This pic is my coveted morning coffee. I take it pretty dark, usually a bolder roast. I like it to sting me a little bit. A decent amount of cream is good with it, organic. Why organic? Because all the hormones they put in those cows goes straight into the milk. With the amount of cream I use, pumping my system with cow hormones, i am afraid of growing breasts. Or maybe my voice sounding like a soprano opera singer. So paying twice as much for the organic in this case lets me enjoy every sip.

Days off could mean a lot of things. I would say that summarizing the day is "a day of searching." I might be searching for God, searching to find my identity, searching for a way to rest, searching for a cure to my worries, or maybe just searching for fun. Its probably a combination of all of those. How that actually plays out is the question. Sometimes i succeed in my quest. Other times, i end up getting caught up in the same worries that i am in the other work days of my life, and all i can do is hope that the next day off i will do better.

I'm doing pretty good so far (thanks for the applause). I woke up and went surfing. I was a bit late for the waves though. By the time I paddled out, they got all messy and crumbly. I can't say i surfed but more paddled in circles and got hit by a few bigger sets. But regardless of my success in the actual wave riding arena, I did get some great exercise, and i got my blood flowing.

So here I am, enjoying the presence of my wife, my cup of coffee, and this wonderful sense of "What will today be?" There is excitement in that because i have hope that God will lead me into some discoveries concerning the many questions i have in life. There is space in a day off that allows for something special to be found. The tyranny of the urgent does not control the day. In the realm of productiveness, this may be the most important day of my week. This is where I might possibly be at my best. For I am finding that when my heart begins to rest, to trust, to be most like a child, then I become so much more of who God really made me to be.

Cheers to the calm after the storm.

eric

FOF gets ticket (PLUS: trailer advice for bands)

Got another dang parking ticket! To those who live in the East coast or Iceland or something and think that FOF is the hugest band out there and tours in a pimped out tour bus, this picture is a bit more of reality. Our gray Ford Econoline 15 passenger van and Wells Fargo trailer with ticket. Every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month, I have a panic attack as I am awaken by the sound of the street sweeper at 9am (I know that's not early for normal people, but it is for musicians). What is worse though is the guy or lady preceeding the street sweeper with a ticket book in hand who threatens to take the well-being and first born children of anyone neglecting to abide by the "no parking 9 to 1 every 1st and 3rd Friday." I've even run out there while she was writing up the ticket and she wouldn't let me off if I moved it. First of all, I am usually too dumb to figure out the 1st and 3rd Friday. But even if I do, I'm usually apt to forgetting to do it the night before. I think I have nightmares in the form of street-sweeper sounds. If i ever write a horror film score, I'll be sure to put street sweepers in the background.

If you are in a band and have a trailer, a few words of advice on keeping your tow from eventually getting jacked up. I learned the hard way.

1) Grease the axles - about every time you get an oil change, grease the axles. You will need to go to an auto parts store and get a little axle greasing gun (kind of like a caulking gun) and a few bottles of axle grease. Pump that axle full of grease or else your axle will certainly burn out and you will be late for your debut opening for Coldplay.

2) Grease your balls - ok seriously this is no joke. You need to put grease on the trailer ball that the hitch sits on. If you don't, the metal will start to get ground up and you will have to buy a new one. Its super easy with a white lithium spray lube. DON'T USE WD-40.

3) Grease the crank - same thing with the crank. you can spray it on the whole bar when the crank is down. if you don't, it can rust and get stuck.

We've been in some BAD situations before with trailer axles smoking and on fire. Then of course, we're stranded out in the middle of nowhere. If can save someone else that trouble by passing this on, sweet!

That's it for today. Sorry nothing deep to say. All of that stuff is just swimming somewhere in a place that I'm not accessing today.

eric

The song I finished yesterday

I finished writing a song yesterday. This is the guitar I used to write it with. Its actually not mine. My producer friend Pete Kipley just moved here and lives down the street now. He let me borrow the guitar for awhile cause I fell in love with it. It's a locally made guitar (san diego) called A. Davis, and it is worth a butt-load of money. I thanked Pete by scratching the guitar the other day when my humungous SE electronics Gemini mic came towering down and fell straight on the guitar. And though I was bummed I was also thankful that it was Pete cause he's a super cool guy.

Anyway, the song I wrote is a mellow one. The gist of it comes from the phrase in the Chorus "Close your eyes this time." The idea represent trust. Closing your eyes and letting something or someone guide you.

Yesterday, as i was writing, i was in a bit of a funk. Actually, that hasn't been uncommon for me these days. Ever get in a funk because you're just waiting for change? But no matter how hard you try to change things (clean the house, put on a different outfit, eat something you normally wouldn't) it doesn't seem to really change anything? That's where I was...so I added these lyrics, "The house sits stale/And lets you roam/Inside it just don’t feel like home now."

I spend a lot of hours at home, working on band stuff, working on recordings, writing songs. Sometimes, things feel stale here. Not like home. I guess home is where the heart is right?

Thankfully, I finished the song with a bridge about the concept of being a son. For me, I am speaking of being an adopted son. For Jesus, it means being the first-born Son. And for the both of us (Jesus and I) it means exploring a relationship of understanding as sons. A deeper concept that I will need more time to explore in future blogs.

Till next time...
eric

MY FIRST BLOG EVER

This is my first blog EVER and I couldn't be more proud of it. This picture was taken from my trusty Verizon crazy "Krazer" in my kitchen as i worked. This is a momentous occasion, and I shall forever cherish the act of any act done for the first time.