1st week

It's the end of the first full week of training for the full time teams here in Willmar, and we are glad to have a break.  Since this is the first of the blog posts since starting CTI, I want to give you all an idea of a what a normal day looks like here in Willmar.

We all live at different host homes, some people like myself, have housemates from other teams.  We get picked up around 8 and are at the church where we do all our training by 8:30 and we then have half an hour to do a personal devotions from our CTI packet before we meet up to go over announcements and plans for the day.  After that we have full band rehearsal to go over the songs we learned and worked on the previous day.  After full band rehearsal we break off into sectional practice, vocalists, keys, guitarists and rhythm section.  After sectionals we break for lunch and afterwards have some time for the teams to get together on their own.  After team time we have a full group time to meet and talk about life and ministry on the road with CTI, then we have more full band rehearsals.  Our last organized session of the day is a seminar where we really hammer on what the whole deal means, that is, really taking a time to evaluate and check our current thoughts on ministry and how those may need to change if they aren't truly centered on the Gospel.  Afterwards we head from the church to the CTI Ministry building for dinner before heading home.

The host home I am at is a wonderful family with three awesome kids, 12, 9, and 7.  Sometimes we aren't home early enough to hang out with them before they go to bed, but get a chance to talk the host parents a little which is always great.  Weekends though we have had some cool times with the kids, like today I worked on some legos with one of them.

It's going to be a great experience, so far I can see how God is setting things up to do really cool work.  My housemate was perfectly picked and we've been able to encourage one another and talk through different ideas or thoughts we've had through out the day about the music, the seminars or just our own stories of God.

Always groove responsibly

Not much for words

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible,
     is music - Aldous Huxley

If a composer could say what he wanted to say in words,
      he would not bother to try to say it in music - Gustav Mahler

Music expresses that which cannot be said
     and on which it is impossible to remain silent. - Victor Hugo

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music
       is the greatest treasure in the world. - Martin Luther

All good music resembles something.  Good music stirs
       by its mysterious resemblance
       to the objects and feelings which motivated it -     Jean Cocteau

To play without passion is inexcusable! - Beethoven

Music should strike fire from the heart of every man
        and bring tears from the eyes of women - Beethoven

Music bridges the spiritual and the sensual life - Beethoven

Always groove responsibly

How to keep track of me

So you may or may not be hooked up to various versions of social networks, but I a certainly am.

So just in case any of you happen to be, you can follow me in a few different places.

I have a Twitter account that you can follow, to hear snippets of what I'm doing as I'm running around doing ministry and music

@paulpmq
https://twitter.com/paulpmq 

I also have an Instagram account for those of you visual people out there.  I do love to take pictures at shows, whether I'm watching or performing.  I think it's a really cool way to keep up with what's going on.  you can follow that at

paulpmq
http://instagram.com/paulpmq

You can also see some of the videos I've got posted on youtube.  Including my CTI bass audition!  It's scary to look at that and see how much I've grown as a player!

and as always you can follow this blog, or find me on facebook

Always groove responsibly

Fundraiser fun

Ah yes, the fun of fundraisers, this one seems like it will be more fun, I've been doing more individual fundraising up to this point, and now it's time to plan a fundraiser night.

I'm kind of excited because my my Dad is going to be cooking for it, we'll have a silent auction and a concert.  It should be a fun time, and I'm hoping for a big turn out, partly for fundraising purposes, but mainly because more people at a concert is better.

It's exciting for pretty much all parties involved.  If I know musicians, they want to play and in front of people is always better.  There's something of a conversation between the performers and the audience.  As a musician you get to impart feeling and emotions to the crowd, really as a way of feeling together what could not be described in words.

My Dad has always been excited to cook for groups of people, the bigger the better.  For my grad parties from high school and college he had the best ideas for food, and made sure that he cooked everything fresh.  No, really at my high school grad party he made fresh pitas, by hand, for about 300-400 hundred people.  When I got to my parent's house the day of my college grad party he was cutting steaks, by hand.  So for him to get to cook for a group of people is always exciting.

I also said, silent auction, as an introvert silence is good, but having grown up in 2 small businesses in the house, and all the other ones around our family, I like to chance to have businesses donate but also get the advertisement for themselves.  So I'm only asking places that I have some level of relationship with or know they do a great job at what they do.  So places like my favorite coffee shop, the garage I take my car to, and other businesses that have a good rep are all going to be asked to be a part of the night.

As much fun as fundraising is for me, this one could actually be pretty good.

Always groove responsibly

Preparations on top of preparations

There is a normal level of work for getting ready for something, and then there's whatever I've got going on.  Maybe it's my tendency to dive into commitments and start serious relationships with my work, but it seems like there's a lot I scoop on my plate for this.  Don't get me wrong though most if it's pretty fun.

There's the obvious musical portion, which a normal human being might rehearse for, my nut ball self takes it a bit further.  When I started teaching bass lessons I realized that I had to not just get how it worked, but understand how it worked.  So thus I have been learning my music theory to a little different level than I had.  rhythms, chord progressions, modes, scales and different techniques are all part of the deal now.  Nevermind the volume and breadth of music (mainly bassists) I have been pumping into my brain.

While the music is important, having run a worship team at a college for a few years has drastically changed my understanding of how a worship team works, mainly in the spiritual and discipleship aspects of things.  I have seen how true worship from the team changes the atmosphere.  I have seen how 2 awful musicians (we got better) trusting in God get to see some unbelievable things both during the worship nights and outside of them.

What is the most amazing thing to me looking back, is really how much we would use phrases like, "We'll see what God can do." "It's up to God." Whatever God wants to do with it/us."  We said these enough times that it probably sounded like a joke to those who didn't get it, but to us it was/is a way of life, a creed said in a sentence.  This motivates me to foster the same attitude more and more in myself, especially heading into CTI.

Always groove responsibly

And the fundraising continues

As I keep on preparing to leave for CTI as, what appears now to be the bassist, I am still in the course of raising support for the trip.  There's a link in the right hand corner of the blog that takes you directly to the donation page of the CTI website, or you can click here and donate to a fundraising website.

Its a long process to get funds together for a year and its amazing what God will do when you trust Him, because there is no way I could raise this on my own, but where God guides He also provides.

I'll be posting an update later with info on where I am with rehearsals and things like that.  Music is an awesome way to communicate things with people, and so besides fundraising there's lots of practicing!

Always Groove Responsibly

Highbrow Musicianship

One of the easiest ways for a musician to look down on another musician is to ask if they read music.  It is the ultimate litmus test that divides musicians into two categories, and the funny part is the categories aren't even good and bad.  They are "can read music" and "can't read music."

For me, I read music, I make sure to teach students to read music, I encourage every musician to learn to read music, and read it better.  Proficiency in sight-reading is a bonus, but not totally necessary (even though once you can read, why not read quickly).

The amazing thing is, this idea of, "do you read?" transfers over to faith very easily, and not just that, the excuses for not are almost the same.  If you ask a musician who can't read music, and has no interest in reading music, why they don't, you'll get a litany of answers, they often sound like this: "I don't need to read music to play it."  "I can feel it, why do I need to be told what to play."  "So and so didn't read music." and my personal favorite "you're just jealous that I don't need to have my music written down to play it."

While I don't know of many Christians who would disagree with the idea that you need to read the Word, I know of more than a lot who would argue that you don't need to understand your faith.  The go-to verse?  Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (NASB).  This is a great definition of faith, but it doesn't say have faith and know nothing.  Peter, the same guy who wrote this, wrote that to your faith you should add knowledge (and other things, but these are the base for all the others).  Why would he say that if we don't need to understand even a little theology, if we "can feel God's presence, so why do I need to know theology?" "don't have to prove faith, that defeats the purpose." and the one that gets me going "I don't need to prove what I believe, to believe it."

The odd part is, reading music isn't about not having the ability to play on your own creativity, and having knowledge of your faith isn't about lacking trust in God.  These both have everything to do with gaining a better appreciation for what you have.  As a musician, I read a potion of a score and see amazing interlocking rhythms, call and response passages, harmonies and counter melodies.  If I couldn't read I might never know just how intricate and intertwined a piece really is.

As a Christian, who knows some theology, I can see the interlocking ideas, the cohesive structure of God's Word, the web of supporting commands and teachings, the foreshadowing and the internal references.  I gain a better appreciation for just how amazing God and His Word are.  Really, it makes my faith even greater, because I can grasp the tiniest bit more of how amazing God really is.  

Moral of the story, learn to read music, learn theology, you will be amazed at what see, when you understand what you are looking at.

Always groove responsibly 

Rehearsal and introversion

I'm not ashamed to say I'm an introvert, this means I need to be away from people to recharge.  Really it doesn't have to be physically away from people, just mentally.  This is I think part of why I love solo rehearsal time.  I get to be alone, be totally in my own head, and productive (which eliminates the guilt).

It doesn't matter whether I'm playing a particular set of tunes for an upcoming gig, the 5 songs for Sunday morning service I've played at least a hundred times, or just throwing down grooves as they come out of my head.  It really doesn't matter what I'm doing, what matters in particular is that I am alone when doing it.

If you are unfamiliar with the Meyers-Briggs personality test, I recommend taking it, it's very revealing, and if you understand how the letters work, you can learn how to work the way you work best.  I, for example am an INFJ, which is Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging.  In order, this essentially means: I: I prefer the internal world to the external world, N: I will probably tell you what I feel the impression the speaker, movie, song, etc was trying to make, rather than the verbatim version. F: I will probably use the phrase "I feel like..." and then give whether I felt something was good, bad, out of place, set perfectly, just off, etc.  J: I'm a fairly structured and organized person, although you wouldn't know this looking at my house or car.  I do have plan, usually at least 2 backup plans.

What does this mean?  it means I will spend hours playing scales and modes until I feel like I've got them, that I will choose my bass tone based on if it "feels" like it matches the impression I get from a song.  It also means that often, technically it will be accurate, but ascetically, it will be totally wrong for me.  It also means that more often than not, if I have stopped paying attention during a talk or sermon, I've gone off on an internal tangent that might or might not have been sparked by the speaker.

Anywho, the point being is that for me, music is a very visceral, internal thing.  it runs deep within me, and has always been important to me, whether listening or playing it.  Because of this my alone time, within an instrument is some of the best times I've had.  so here's a quote from Ray Charles, I feel like I identify with this a lot.

Always groove responsibly

Teaching and Doing

The joke is those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach, teach gym...while I'm not going to comment on gym teachers, I do disagree with the first part.

Being both a bassist and sound tech, I have a fair number of things I do with each that are unique to how I like things to sound, how I hear the sound shaping up, etc.  I noticed almost right away when I started teaching both of these, that to play and notice subtle things is one thing.  To attempt to communicate why "it feels better" to play the exact same note on the E string instead of the A string is an entirely different idea.

I can be handed music and I can usually feel okay with how I'm playing it in a few run-throughs, mainly by changing subtle things to get a sound that is: more crunchy, more boomy, kinda thunky, etc.  This is well and good, but when a 15 year old girl is looking at you all perplexed, trying to figure out what you mean by "a bubbly sound", you realize that to teach and explain something, you've really got to be able to know what it is.

I am really glad for both my sound board student and my bass student, because 1. having to teach them really forces me to really know what I'm talking about, which has made me a better player and tech, and 2. They both are really into what they are doing, and it's really exciting to watch them nail a groove they worked on for weeks or to hear when they dial in the guitar's tone just so to make it "gently weep"

But really, the look they have when they get it, is easily the best part.

Always Groove Responibly

Here a gig, there gig

I've never gotten a $50 gig...

When I think back across the various places and types of venues I've played at, it's interesting to note that you get just as excited to play all sorts of places.  Over the course of my time playing music I have played: from pubs to churches, and nursing homes to music festivals.  There is always something unique about each location, whether it's the odd reverb of the room or the wacky style switches (an example is a set that went: soca, reggae, jazz, hard rock, baroque, and finished out on Mario Bros.).

One thing that remains the same, is there is always an excitement to play, to get to do what you practice and love.  The best part is when you don't play a worship set, or even a "Christian" set, and when people ask you were you learned to play.  That's the moment you wait for after the music, the point when you get to blow someone's mind, "I learned by playing at church."  This usually confuses more people in bars than coffee shops, but the conversation has begun, and you get to share why music and faith intertwine in your life, how God is your primary reason for playing and music is secondary.

It's always exciting to go play, whether its on rehearsal that you convinced your director to do outside, or a weekend-long music festival that gets crowds swaying and screaming.  Music is just an exciting time, and then if you get to turn around and talk to someone about God, church and faith after they've heard you throw down some "Folsom Prison Blues", it gets better.

P.S. when a Christian band says "We have lots of influences" it means they don't want to be judged for listening to Metalica

Always Groove Responsibly

Tick, Tick, Tick, AHHHHH!

Sometimes time moves incredibly slow, like when you're waiting for someone to get ready or for cookies to come out of the oven.  Sometimes it moves really fast, like the 5 minutes between the time hit snooze and when the alarm goes off again, or when you are running late (which is my time zone).

Recently I was thinking about how to structure my bill paying (no I'm not kidding), and it occurred to me how soon it is until August 9th, that is, the day of arrival at CTI. When I got to my office I quick looked at my desk calendar and then my sponsorship amount, and I realized it was time to quick it in gear.

So being the systematic list person I am I started setting up a few things in my head: 1. Get the big church announcements out and my partnership letters set out.  2. Talk to the adult commission about the standard missions funding that I can request and 3. Clean my house.

I sat down about a two weeks ago and folded, stuffed, and sealed all my letters (by the way self-sealing envelopes are worth the extra $3 for 100).  The majority of envelopes are destined for a table in the church basement for people to pick up, others are going to be mailed out to family.  Either way it occurred a little late how much farther I should be with them.

As far as cleaning my house, I live alone in a 3 bedroom house owned by the church, this means that like a gas expands to fill its container, so do I.  So long story short I've been trying to clean one room at a time, because then its not so scary to think about.

To end on a more pleasant thought, I do get the chance to play a few shows here and there which awesome, especially when there is permission to rock out.

Always Groove Responsibly

The line

There exists a thin line, between playing skillfully while enjoying the music and playing skillfully while enjoying yourself.  It may be that only musicians will see the distinction, or rather understand it in a visceral way.

For the Easter Sunday service, our Pastor asked that we play upbeat, exciting, celebratory songs.  He asked this because the very reason we celebrate Easter, Christ has risen, He defeated death, so why not play music that expresses that!  Thus we played, we had extra songs in the set: countrified traditional hymns, Motown inspired interpretation of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" and some funked out versions of a few favorites. 

The result you ask?  Lots of clapping (some was even in time!), applause after songs, and much more than that, an electric feeling of excitement that radiated from both the praise team and the congregation.  While I can tell you I personally received compliments about the music, I find it far more important to tell you that it was a great joy to feel like we had freedom to play with the excitement, the songs proclaiming the exciting message of salvation.

It is very helpful for me, to be the one typing the slideshow, because it gives me a chance to think about the words, what they mean and how I feel about what they say (in the literal way of, how does the message of the song make me feel).  When I step up to play this allow me to express the feelings I have processed, because I always feel like I can rarely describe it in words.  So it was quite the day to continue building on the excitement of songs like "Are You Washed in the Blood?" knowing I could say "Yes!" and knowing what that means, playing "Joyful, Joyful" and feeling, joyful joyful, and to rock out on the Newsboys "I Am Free" like a person who is free.

I have said time and time again, and tell my student this, "every song has a mood and tone, they are supposed to make you feel something, and you can't mess with that"  So when all the songs were celebrating and declaring salvation and joy, its impossible to not feel that way, and it then shows, or sounds rather, in your playing.

Yet there is always part of you that wants to revel in the moment of a sweet bass groove, soaring solo or huge driving section.  The part that wants to hold it up and go "Look what I have created!"  Its the temptation of every musician, to be recognized for skill and talents, and its temptation which pops up more and more the better and bigger you can play.

This is the point where musicians need to choose their path, one is easy, take the compliment and the second is harder, take the compliment and point it to God, after all our gifts come from God, and they are to be used for His glory, not ours.  

So to those who have been given the gift of musicianship, your responsibility it twofold, 1. hone the gift, and two use it to help people connect with God (emotionally, physically, thoughtfully)  and as always

Please Groove Responsibly

Its only a mistake if you don't learn from it

I'm a firm believer in using hindsight to have better foresight.  My example, recordings of myself playing music or speaking, and rereading things I have written.  Sometimes I'm genuinely satisfied with what I have done, its usually nothing spectacular, but if I don't want to hide the fact that it happened its all good.

There have been those times though when for a few days after the fact I just wanted to hide. A few examples include the first time CSS Campus Ministry had their praise and worship night.  It was my friend Andrew (who's still playing it with me after nearly 5 years) my roommate Anthony, myself, and literally 2 people we grabbed to sing.

Long story short, we were awful, tempos all over the place, we could't play very well, and we had practiced for a few weeks.  Andrew and I were both pretty well embarrassed and we took to really pushing ourselves on learning our instruments better.  And what everyone in the room thought would be a first and last time for it, has turned into a very active ministry on campus that has even had a summer tour to 3 churches.

The reason I say this is two fold: 1. Don't take mistakes as a failure, learn from them, if you know what went wrong then you can fix it.  and 2. This is a video of a recently formed rhythm duo called The Engine Room.  Its made up of my friend Chris and myself, we were playing at a coffee house.  

The point of it was to set a groove then have a bass solo then have a drum solo.  Chris's solos sounded great, mine could use some work, but the grooves were good.  So what did I learn?  My grooves were good, I should do a little (lots) more planning of my solos, and someone needs to talk to the audience.  I hope we get another shot to prove that we can be entertaining to watch as well as listen to.

so here it is.  The Engine Room at The Ave Cafe

Please groove responsibly

    

Its all official now

It has now been announced at church that I will be going on the missions trip with CTI Music.  This is very exciting as it has been a long time coming, and much of what God is doing in my life is I feel very linked to the work I will be doing.

I've been feeling very led in a few areas, one is speech, and whether I am too quick to speak and if I shouldn't be doing more listening.  If you want the answer, I feel like I could very much stand to listen more, and speak when prompted either by the other person or by the Holy Spirit.  Another area of speech is that I have become very aware of how powerful words can be, and I recently read a book called "Words that Hurt, Words that Heal" I recommend it to everyone.  It very much pointed out how quickly a word can damage, and much of the book was dedicated to how words hurt.  The section about words that heal was short, most likely because it is so simple to use words that heal, that bring life, especially when we take more time to listen than to talk.

While this comes at the time of Lent, it is by no means a Lenten vow that will be ended at Easter.  I have been watching what I say, and not only that but I am thinking back, and going to people who I should have not said something and apologizing, and also going back and saying things that still need to be said.  Its rather difficult, but there is great purpose behind it.

Please Groove Responsibly

The Fun of Fundraising

NowToday begins the soft opening, as it were, to my fundraising efforts.  A few letters hand delivered or mailed to some close friends and family members before I get a whole stack printed at the UPS store.

The fundraising has 3 important stops on the way to my goal of $12,000.  

1. 20% or $2,400 by the time I step on the campus in August.
2. 50% or $6,000 at which time I can get a living stipend while on tour
3. 100% that means I am done (I look forward to this stop)

I will admit that I had a little shock when I first heard the numbers for funds needed, but then I did the math and saw that it was on 100 people at $10 a month on average, which took away a lot of stress.  Then I realized that I have about 8 months to find 100 people, which relieved more stress, because I am used to 3 months of fundraising, which is nothing more than event after event and sale after sale (by the way I have a left over chainsaw from the youth group's rummage sale if you'd like to purchase one).

I did realize one more thing that really knocked out any imagined need for anxiety I had about this.  God has called me to this, and where God guides, He also provides.  This means I don't have to convince anyone to sponsor me, God has prearranged for them to help.  That means I am on a scavenger hunt, which is way more fun to think about.

Another fun part is that I realized I get to organize a concert or two to make it even more fun...get a groups of bands and musicians together for a fun time, and oh by the way its going to help raise funds...sweet.

So here's a passage that I read that really cemented the idea of God's provision in the midst of His calling for me.  Its Joshua 1:1-9 

"Now it came about that after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant, saying, 'Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross the Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.  Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.  From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea towards the setting of the sun will be your territory.  No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.  Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from t to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.  This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous!  Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."