I look at this blog here and realize there's a lot more I would have liked to have written over the last 12 months. I don't have a good excuse for this other than time was spent on other things. Much of the time was wasted I must admit though some of it was spent doing things I enjoy or had made a commitment to do so it just didn't get done. There are things in my head that I hope to one day articulate into this blog. I hope to be a person that is transparent in my life…an open book. I often wonder though if some things once I written out should be kept for personal reflection. I guess in the end that will be a decision I will make and will be known most likely only be me.
Anyway this is not the time for those things but to reflect on how 2011 turned out. Like 2010 and all year's past in reflection I see nothing less than that God is faithful. Here are 11 moments or things from 2011 that will stick with me for one reason or another:
1. Opening The 86. It took close to a year for us to get this thing open and on April 1st, 2011 that is what happened. It is what kept me here in Cincinnati. It has had it's share of difficulties but has brought a ton of joy as well. The crew at The 86 is family and I wouldn't want to work with anyone else. We have had some great shows over the last few months. Here is the footage so far with more to come as soon as I have time to edit and post:
2. Thank You For Being A Friend Tour happening at my house. Dan Smith contacted me and The 86 about this tour. The problem that arose was that the date given was a Sunday. I offered my house and after the unsuccessful search for other locations it was finally confirmed that this would happen. Lisa, who also works at The 86 offered to help me put this on so I didn't have to try to collect money, deal with sound, and other little things. Another music scene friend Carissa came out to support along with many, many other friends. This was a show that likely will never be topped as far as house shows go. The turnout was probably larger than my basement could handle so it was a good thing that Derek Zanetti of The Homeless Gospel Choir came up with the idea to do it in the back yard. Josh Scogin, vocalist for The Chariot, was also on this little tour. He brought up the idea of shooting a The Chariot video in my basement. I am all for it if it were to happen. Anyway, this night was a snapshot of why I open my house for these kind of events to build community with other music lovers. It also seems to open up conversation of eternal things with the artists and others who come to enjoy the event most of the time as well. I believe God is using these opportunities. This is why I do what I do. Here are the playlists that highlight that night:
3. Cornerstone 2011. It started with a bang…literally. We were blindsided by a storm the first night we were there. So much for the plan to have a relaxing first day before the gates open. Though my little "slug" tent survived and I got to sleep in it while the others had to sleep in cars, we spent the next day rebuilding the many destroyed tents and canopy. We also spent time at a laundromat for those who needed to dry their bedding and clothes. After all that excitement, then we got to enjoy the live music and community that Cornerstone provides each year. There was speculation this could be the end of Cornerstone but it appears that this favorite annual event will go on. Here is a playlist of all that Cornerstone was to me:
4. Growing Closer To My Friends. Going to shows with a few other people this year instead of always doing it alone allowed me to grow closer to some friends. Lisa, Josh, Tara, Gabrielle, and Russ all were traveling friends to one or more shows. Working at The 86 allowed this to happen with some of the same friends and some others. Booking my own shows also did this. This I no doubt believe will continue beyond this year but it was important to me so I included it here.
5. GothiCon. New friends were made and I saw a beautiful communal gathering of a subculture often misunderstood. Many things came against the ministry that put this together as well as against those of us of The 86 who opened our venue and our lives to this event but God used all of it for good. We enjoyed it and hope it can occur again soon.
6. Headnoise/Deadhorse Show. Once again I recruited help from Lisa and Carissa came by as well and things went pretty good for this show until Deadhorse was nearing the climatic end of their set and the power went out. Upon further investigation it was found that the whole block was without power at least if not a greater area and power was not expected to be restored for several hours. Headnoise decided to do their very first acoustic set of three songs on the front porch where a little light from a neighboring building that likely has a generator allowed us to see a little bit and listen. Robert Goodwin said a prayer to close the evening and there were many great conversations about what it is we do and how our faith is in it. I hope to have another opportunity to work with Headnoise again in the future.
7. Destroy Nate Allen Show. I think what makes this particular show stand out in my mind over the others that I didn't mention on here was the aftershow. Nate contacted me first in 2010 when I didn't have a space to use for a show. He contacted me again early in 2011 trying to set up the summer tour but originally it didn't look like it would work out. In the end it did as I delayed my trip to Warren, PA by a day. This show happened the day after returning from Cornerstone. The DNA set happened outside in the yard like the Listener show and though what DNA does is a bit bizarre, it was a good time. After the show, Nate & his wife and performance partner asked to go out for dinner and spend more time together. Lisa called me to see if the show was still going on. She ended up having to work. She ended up meeting us at Skyline to eat. I learned during the dinner conversation some things I feel will benefit me moving forward with my personal ministry with both The 86 and doing house shows. It also seemed that Nate and I have dealt with some similar issues in our desire to minister to the people we are in constant contact and community with through the live music scene. I appreciated this time we had. Here are the playlists from that show:
8. Shows In General. All the shows I went to were great! All the shows I worked on either at The 86 or at the house were also great! It is my joy working with bands regardless of where. I love live music. In my opinion there is nothing like it. The potential to build community with others who support independent and local music is why I do this. Oftentimes the opportunity to share my faith comes through this. As I said before, some friendships were strengthened through the shared experience of the live shows and traveling to/from them. The performance is another reason I love live music. The music itself is great but there is something special that only comes from a performance. That is why I film a lot of live shows too. The house shows were able to continue even with the strife in the house and the separation of it. Philip has the two upper floors and I have the first and basement. Pomegranates practiced for a time when there were no shows going on and I had anywhere from one to five happen per month. I will continue doing this as long as I can. I will always enjoy live music
9. Pittsburgh. The Pirates were competitive for the first time in nearly 20 years and I had the opportunity to catch a game at PNC Park so I did. I also got to visit with my friend Joe for the first time in several years at Rolland's - a restaurant where he serves. I enjoyed a free meal before the game and we hung out for a while afterwards before I returned to my parent's in the wee hours of the morning before my return to Cincinnati. Pittsburgh feels like home. Will it be? I don't know but I am open for the possibility.
10. Going HD. I switched up some of what I use to create the videos I have created. I first bought Final Cut Pro for a great price (about 1/3 retail) on ebay and came to find that my macbook was not up to the proper standards to handle Final Cut Pro. I returned to ebay to find another great deal on a mac mini which I would run through my HD television. I went to ebay once again to find another great deal and picked up a high definition JVC camera. Unfortunately the first one was stolen but God blessed me with a second one for even cheaper on ebay. I lost about 6 hours of footage which bummed me out but I was able to replace and move forward rather quickly and important events such as Cornerstone was documented for those of us who care to see.
11. Going vinyl. I became closer friends with Brent Lakes who runs Broken Circles Records. Some similar tastes in music led to my purchases of artists who he was pressing to vinyl. I borrowed my parents stereo to start but then purchased my own and have come to enjoy the difference in vinyl enough that I keep my eye out for vinyl editions of albums from bands I happen to like quite a bit.
2011's best music I acquired (in my debatable opinion)
1. Beneath The Oaks (ep)
2. Blindside - With Shivering Hearts We Wait
3. Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
4. Cool Hand Luke - Of Man
5. The Homeless Gospel Choir - You Work So Hard Just To Be Like Everyone Else
6. Jawbone - Loss Of Innocence
7. Josh Garrels - Love & War & The Sea In Between
8. Life In Your Way - Kingdoms
9. Pomegranates - In Your Face Theives/Chestnut Attic
10. Sleeping Giant - Kingdom Days In An Evil Age
11. The Scurvies - Don't Let Me Go
*honorable mention goes to Wooden Heart by Listener…not a 2011 release but released in 2011 on vinyl by Broken Circles Records which is when I got it.
