Trampin on the Road

Stayed at a beautiful place in Castle Rock Washington while passing through. I decided to sneak onto the trampoline and give it a whirl. The pictures ended up looking so cool that I will do the next photoshoot with a guitar in my hands and use it for the album cover. Cutting edge acrobatic rock worship. Chris Tomlin meets Sigur Ros and Cirque de Soleil (and maybe Bruce Lee since I’m Chinese and have a mean sidekick).
UNEXPECTED PLACES
The nice things about living on the road are the unexpected places we end up staying at. In this case a beautiful and peaceful home in a small quiet town. Spence and TJ woke up and sat in the rocking chairs for this pic. The important element missing is the shot-gun laying across the lap or leaning against the wall next to them.
It’s difficult for me to blog while on the road. I feel like I’ve cheated people a bit in the last few weeks since my daily blog turnei hope that those of you who are reading will have sympathy and understanding of inconsistency of my life as a musician and the seasons that tend to pass my way. There are times of being home and having a regular schedule, and other times when life feels like the grand-finale of a juggling show and all the balls are thrown into the air at the same time. Nothing to stable, nothing predictable. Don’t ever expect anything consistent if you go into music for a living.

GREAT GIGS
We had a great rock set at Creationfest West in the state of Washington. Such a beautiful place to play. We had a lot of excited music fans hear our music for the time there. It was really encouraging and inspiring to see the response from the crowd. They were truly hungry for something musically different.

One of my favorite gigs so far has been at TJ’s home town in Brentwood. Thanks to his family and friends, the accommodations and help was amazing. The opening bands were a real joy too. Nobility Obliged is on tour with us for a few gigs here in California. And last night Valeri Lopez and Andrea Hamilton played a beautiful acoustic set.

A MOMENT TO BREATHE
On the way out, we stopped to enjoy the view of the gorge. After long days of touring and stressful gigs, finding a moment to connect is like swimming in an oasis after walking long desert miles in Arizona. My soul said, “thank you” for a moment to just be quiet and enjoy the voices of peace that reside in nature.


THANKING GOD
I’m thankful to be surrounded by great people and great musicians. With the economy being low and the music industry being in crises, it pushes musicians to really determine what matters. Doing music for the money is pretty much not much of an option right now. So when you’re struggling to pay the bills as a musician, you take a look at what you DO have. Last night, I got to take a look at how much I enjoyed the music and musicians all night. And how grateful I am to doing something meaningful, playing music that reaches my soul and is honest. I thank God for the people in the band. And most of all, my wife who is at home praying for me and supporting me in my music. We may end up spending most of our cash on $5/gallon gas on this tour, broke with bills to pay. But we are surrounded by the things that we love and feed our souls.

Just finished playing a fun set at creation festival in the state of WA and stopped to enjoy the view on the road out at what they all the gorge. Its been a long drive and i miss home, but the musical experience playing today was gratifying. This message and picture is sent from my cam phone.

Life is Unpredictable

We’re on the road for our short West Coast tour this summer. This pic is from my trusty little web cam on my MacBook. This is live in the FOF van. 2 bucket seats, 2 bench seats, and a bed in the back (TJ is catching sweet Z’s in the back).

AM I LOSING MY HOUSE?

Things are a bit crazy before leaving. The morning before we left, I got a call from my landlord telling me that we had to move out because of a foreclosure issue with the landlords property (we do not own the house). For those of you who are new to this blog, you might not realize what this means. My wife and I moved our entire house and recording studio to a new place just 2 months ago. The last 2 months have been purely focused on getting the studio setup and configured. The idea of picking up and moving was indescribable to say the least.

After sitting in the thought for a few hours, the landlord calls us back and tells us the bank reconsidered the foreclosure and that we MAY not have to move out. So the 30 day notice turned into a tentative rent.

My wife and I felt like the day was quite a hurricane. Added on to that, we had to say good-bye for 2 weeks while I’m on tour and she stays home for her art school classes. Not a very happy good-bye.


TAKE WITH YOU WHAT LASTS FOREVER

I keep hoping that life will slow down and stabilize. I want it to be more predictable, more dependable. I’m starting to digest the fact that it may NEVER be that way. We can spend our existence trying to protect ourselves, trying to manage our lives into a controlled safe environment. But ultimately, we are not in control. LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE. It will come with great gains and great losses.

I stepped back a little. And began to feel significance of the “love” in my life. My beautiful wife. The faithfulness I have in my Heavenly Father. The steadfastness of my family who continues to love and support me. These are the few things we have and hold to.

I’m compelled to release the lyrics of a song that will be on the next album:

If you travel here, you will feel it all, the brightest and the darkest.
If you travel here, listen to your heart, and take with you what lasts forever

These words continue to ring true in this season. Every time I begin to hold on to something temporal, I am reminded how fragile it is. We will travel the face of this earth experiencing the unpredictable and volatile changes of joy and sorrow. Hold on to what will last my friends. What really matters will always matter.

Why Eric Has Scary Long Nails

I always have people get really freaked out when they see my nails. So to clarify, I just want to make sure people understand what they are NOT for.




- Making women jealous: Yes, women who bite their nails look at my hands with longing and envy.
- Drugs: I don’t do drugs and I don’t know how or why you would need long nails to do them. But even if I DID do drugs, I certainly wouldn’t grow my nails to do them. I’d hire someone who had long nails to do whatever they do for that sort of thing.
- Because I’m a transvestite: I do get strange looks when people see my right hand. I wish they would notice its only on one hand and start asking themselves more questions. Fortunately, I don’t live in San Fran and get hit on by the transvestite population, so I’m doing ok.
- To scratch: I’m sure they sell backscratchers at the 99 cent store. Well more worth the investment.

Here’s my list of reasons why I HATE having long nails

1) For all of the reasons mentioned above that people think but seldom say
2) I can’t climb any rocks because its impossible to grip the side of a cliff with brittle strips of protein (Yes, the same material your hair is made of)
3) When I break them, I get bummed like a sissy and I feel broken and abused
4) They get full of food like Cheetos cheese when eating. Upside is I can save my lunch for later that way.

Here’s my list of why I actually grow my nails out

1) To play guitar

Yes, its true. I hate to disappoint. I use my right hand to finger pick the guitar. I shape the nails at an angle and keep them long so I can finger pick. My left hand nails stay super short.

TRACKING BASS


There’s been a few different people playing bass on the new material so far. Ben did a track last week, I did a track yesterday, and my buddy Pete is doing a track today. We do a lot of bass with a pick which is great for me. But at the end of this song I was recording, I wanted to pluck the strings with some meaty fingers, but my nails were too long. Instead, I played the neck with my left hand and had Spencer pluck the strings with his meaty fingers (those of you women who like men with meaty fingers should know Spencer is still available). Not joking, we really did this. 2 people playing one bass guitar! We got some video of it and will post soon.

Eric

Drum Tracking Pics

We’ve got our first 4 songs of drums cut this week. Having a great time and really enjoying the process and successes of music making. It’s a bit of a roller-coaste…this album. One minute we feel like we’re making the best sounds ever recorded. And another minute it feels like we just plain suck. I think that is the emotional side of being a musician that is kicking in. I am very sensitive to how things sound. It can make a great day or a horrible day.

Anyway, there has been some key elements to some super exciting drum sessions:



BORROWING GEAR - This is Spencer on the phone with some other drummer. We gathered a lot of “crap” (they call it sh**t in the industry) to get things going. Tons of cymbals, 8 snares, hi-hats, etc. It pays to be friends with other musicians cause you can borrow their stuff all the time. We used a different snare on every song.




ISTANBUL – Turkey makes Istanbul Cymbals that sound incredible. A sound we have fallen in love with is the buttery wash of huge cymbals to cover the songs in a brilliant shining blanket of bliss. We’ve been overdubbing them on top of the original drum tracks to make it even more washy.


THE RIGHT PARTS - We’re slaving over the notes to make sure each hit is completely right for the song and where it is going. Its taking us a good 5 hours at least per song (not including setup). This pic is Spence and I working out some parts.


Will be back with more gear stuff. Just wanted to do a little visual blog to let you into the recording process. Among other things, just gearing up to do a short tour of the West coast from San Diego to Seattle. Are you coming? If you’re on the west coast, please check our dates on myspace and come to our show. Later.

Eric

Weather and Moodyness - Fight at LEGOLAND

Spencer and I continuing our drum recording sessions. But took a short break this week...

WEATHER AFFECTS MY MOOD
I surfed this morning and was depressed by late morning but couldn't figure out why. Then i realized i was living my day out in a gray, hazy, drizzle that kinda depresses me. Does weather affect you emotionally?

I lived in Seattle for a few years where it rains 9 months of the year. I wouldn't even call it rain though. More like dribble. So it dribbles every day until one random summer day, the clouds decide to go with grace instead of justice by taking a break, and this big thing called the sun comes out. At this point all these desperate pale white bodies comes out to lay on small patches of grass found in front of concrete buildings and on street medians. Believe me, this is not the kind of California bikini experience that you see on the OC. Back then when I lived there, I thought (or pretended) that the weather didn't affect me. But now that I have recovered from my state of weather-effected denial, I am proud to say that I LOVE SUNSHINE, and that the lack of it makes me sad.

FIGHTS AT LEGOLAND
I took my "half-brother-and-sister-in-law" to LEGOLAND here in North County San Diego. Amidst the normal things like long lines, frozen lemonade stands, and souvenir shops, a fight broke out between 2 women in their late 40’s. They may have been younger, but I’m open to the possibility that their history of fist-fights has aged their faces 4 or 5 years give or take. At any rate, it all started in the line for a ride when one of the ladies lied about their kid being 6 when he was actually 5. None of us in line really cared, because when you go to LEGOLAND, you typically root for the kid. Duh. This other particular lady though (with her waaaaay old 6 year-old-kid) ratted on the lying lady with the 5 year-old kid by telling the guy who runs the ride. Of course the guy who gets paid minimum wage couldn’t care less. Next thing I know though, the ladies are seriously slapping each other (no, not the cute flirtatious kind) and kicking each other in front of all of us. Lady #1’s kick flew up between lady #2’s legs. And in a genius martial arts move, lady #2 shut her legs tight and trapped the other ladies foot in between them! We’re talking some serious middle-aged mom Jackie Chan moves here. At this point, she should have done the Master Chi finger tap heart freeze move. Instead, the ladies just hobbled for a second, grabbed their kids and left pouting.

The moral of this story? Always keep your legs closed when being kicked.

Gratefulness

Today, was one of those days you have to pinch yourself because you wonder how or why you have been blessed with so much. This is a picture from my camera phone of me living a life-style in California that I never imagined. Me, shirtless (sorry for the porn) with my surfboard in the back of the car, driving on the 101 Pacific Coast Hwy. I woke up early and went surfing. Caught some incredibly smooth waves (some sets about 6 foot) with my friend Pete Kipley. Then we went to the Pannikin, one of the greatest coffee shops in the world while I sipped a wonderful English Breakfast Tea with crème. Pete thought English Breakfast was actually breakfast. So after awhile, I think he was about to get mad at the server because my food hadn’t come yet till I told him that I was already drinking my “English Breakfast.” What a rad dude he is. The kind of guy that will fight for you.

We chatted about life and some of the musical guilty pleasures we have. Amongst Cindy Lauper and the Dixie Chicks, we reminisced the 80’s when we listened to Yanni, White Lion, and Wilson Phillips…all of which we are eager to make fun of now.

GRATEFULNESS

On my way home, I started counting my blessings. Realizing that after a wonderful morning, I would be making music in the studio all day. And when I got home, my wife would be wearing some soft pink shirt that I would hug her in. How is this possible I have been given so much? I couldn’t help but to just worship God in those moments, just pouring out with thankfulness.

I don’t always feel that way. I think I go between feeling depressed and hopeless, to feeling totally elated and grateful. The transition between the two is pretty steep and short. I can’t seem to be one of those emotionally stable people like my friend Jack. He is always the same, always constant, always just solid and consistent. I’m this emo musician dude who is always living in some extreme emotion one way or another.

HOME STUDIO VS NASHVILLE STUDIO

I’ve been learning a lot in the studio. I love recording in my studio rather than at stale studios in Nashville. We recorded Divine Invitation (Something Like Silas) at the Sound Kitchen in Nashville (http://www.soundkitchen.com/). If you look at their site, it seems amazing. Don’t get me wrong, it IS quite amazing. Some incredible gear, incredible rooms, and famous people walking around while you record (last time Leanne Womack was doing vocals in the room next door). The problem is that you don’t feel at home. It lacks the creative vibe you have at your home studio. For me, the greatest thing when you are lacking ideas is to find something around the house that makes noise. On Twilight, we ended up banging on washing machines and ironing boards. That never would have happened in a Nashville Studio.

Anyway, the process has been inspiring. Spence and I have taken a step forward in the recording. Using our ears and ingenuity more than relying on what is “supposed to be done.” I’ve read tons of articles on how things should be done…how you should place the mic, what kind of mic you should use, etc. Its all super valuable and I use that as a starting place all the time. But there is a great joy in going with what SOUNDS better rather than whether or not you are doing it right. I’ll continue journaling over the next few months about some of that stuff specifically for you recording nuts out there.

Till then…

The industry of cool

How great it is to step off a plane into San Diego air! This past weekend playing at Creationfest East was exhausting, and I still feel like I’m recouping from it. Not just physically, but emotionally…

Christian music festivals are a difficult place for us as a band. We find ourselves drained, confused, and discouraged. Not because of any particular promoter or brand of festival or anything. But because of some of the things that come with festivals that seem to point out how much we DON’T fit in as a band.

I often feel lost in the midst of the Christian music industry. Not only because it is a popularity rat race but because the nature of it tends to be an “industry of cool.” I borrowed that phrase from the great film ALMOST FAMOUS. To be specific about the category, it tends to be an industry of “Christian cool.” There is a stigma of what a Christian band should be. As you enter the industry, your success relies on you ability to climb the ladder of that stigma. You HAVE to conform to it to survive.

When you are a guy like me, all you do is love music. And your insides want to burst when you hear or feel a song welling up inside. The idea of fitting into the industry of cool is a far-fetched thing. I can’t bring myself to wear the outfits or say the phrases that promote me in cool world. I can’t bring myself to sell an art that isn’t totally and completely me. Even if its not as exciting as the band that wears a dark and intimidating black eye-shadow.

This morning, I wake up to hang out with my friend Pete, then work on some band business (which by the way takes up about 95% of my day) then record some drums with Spencer. I assure you that I will not be dressed like a rockstar. I will not be yelling out to the crowd, “Alright Houston Texas, let’s go!” I’ll just be having a cup of coffee and going about my day. I might be demoting myself in the music industry by doing so, but never the less its my greatest and only honest contribution to this world…being totally and completely un-cool.