Kingdom Bound 2013 - Day 4

And what a day 4 she was! Today seemed to be "get a picture with an artist day" for me. I'm not complaining either! Just warning you that you're going to see a lot of mug shots in this post. Most of them are my mug too.

After going for a round or two... or three... on the bumper cars I happened upon Jekob Washington (from the Washington Projects and his solo project). I had the chance to interview him a few months ago so meeting him was a lot of fun!



After going for another walk... past the bumper cars... I happened upon Jenny Simmons performing. She used to be the lead singer for Addison Road. She's solo now, taking her sweet voice to the road with two acoustic guitars and nothing else. It was a great set. Doing some old Addison Road stuff, new solo stuff and a cover of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" as well as "How He Loves".

Plus - PHOTO OP!


After that, it was time to rock out... or dance out(?) with Capital Kings.

They're an electronic group, which always makes live shows hard. They basically just sang to the tracks. Yet it was a lot of fun... more fun than it should have been at least. There's just something about a driving kick with good synth backing it up!

After that Jason Dunn took the stage. He used to be the front man for Hawk Nelson. Now, he's a solo artist! The show was a mix of new stuff (three songs) and his Hawk Nelson back catalog. Jason did songs like "California," "Everything You Ever Wanted," and "Friend Like That." He also pulled a couple of random kids onto the stage to pretend to play the guitar. Many awes were heard! I did get a picture with Jason, but I'll spare you seeing me in another goofy pose... just kidding.

While Jason was on stage, Colton Dixion showed up at stage left... since I had the camera out anyway...

If only I had gel in my hair... that would have made this so much better... oh well....

Speaking of Colton, he put on an amazing show. I didn't expect it to be nearly as intense as it was. Lots of crunchy guitars and crazy drum solos.

Then came the grand finale to Kingdom Bound -- MercyMe. To be honest, I had really low expectations. Their songs are usually slow, long and about death. Not that that's a bad thing... It's just that it sounds like an awesome concert (sarcasm).

Man, was I wrong! They had a lot of rock to their sound. They weren't the most active (them getting up at 3a.m may have had something to do with it), but can they ever play. Plus, getting to hear "I Can Only Imagine" live was awesome. Bart Millard (lead singer) even gave a 10 minute sermon. It was really good. I may even have to do a blog post about that on it's own. Plus, there were a lot of people there. Like, a lot of people.

And that was my day. The best part was getting back to the hotel, walking past the lobby... and meeting MercyMe. I even got to ride in the elevator with them. I know I sound like a giddy little kid. I probably am too. But, man! What a day.

Hawk Nelson Interview

As you have probably assumed from the title, I recently interviewed Jon Stiengard from Hawk Nelson!
Here's what the lead singer had to say -

Hawk Nelson - Words

The first time I heard the song, I was a little concerned.
For me, there is a thin line between profound and cheesy... the verse started out great, but the odds of the chorus bringing the cheese seemed really good.
Thankfully, I was wrong.
This song is totally awesome!
Not only from a lyrical and musical stand point, but content as well.
Something as simple as joking around with friends can cause hurt feelings. You say something without thinking, wham. Someone says the wrong thing to you on the wrong day, wham.
What I love about this song is the reminder it gives us to watch what we say. If it's going to come back to bite us, we're better off keeping it to ourselves.

After this, I'm more than excited for the new Hawk album in the new year!

Top 10 of 2011

I did this last year and since I like lists as well as opinionateing on music, I thought I'd do'er again!

10. Hawk Nelson - Crazy Love

The boys from Air Raid 20 kick things off. Crazy Love is a fun album with some great foot tapers. One of my favorite songs is L.A.X. It's about being stuck at an airport, great for a laugh.

9. Peter Furler - On Fire

While not what I was hoping for from the former Newsboys front man (I was hoping for a Newsboys album to be honest), this cd was great. If for no other reason just to hear Peter's voice in a song. My favorite songs were On Fire, Closer, All In Your Head and one you'll know from LIFE 100.3, Reach.

8. The Natatorium - The Natatorium EP

I only found out that this band existed a few weeks ago when we started to play the song Burning Out. The cd isn't "ground breaking" par say, but it is different. Banjo, synths, guitar all mixed into a strange sound that is really great. Look out for Burning Out and Too Believe.

7. Hawk Nelson - The Light Sides

This is available with the Deluxe edition of Crazy Love. It's a lot of the Hawk songs that you know and love, with an acoustic twist. Some songs (Friend Like That) just take the electric guitars and make them acoustics (which is cool) and others change the sound totally! (California is all acapella).

6. Needtobreath - The Reckoning

O.k, a disclamer... I don't own the album ... but, that will change soon! Drive All Night will get stuck in your head for at least a day... maybe two... or four... Not to mention the soaring opener Oohs and Aahs.

5. Owl City - All Things Bright And Beautiful

Sooooo it's a little mushy.... even sappy, but it's a fun cd all the same. Yacht Club is a fun synth trip, Honey And The Bee is an acoustic driven pop masterpiece and Galaxies, well Galaxies is awesome. Another gem is Plant Life. This track features Mat from Relient K.

The only draw back is Kamikaze... it's .... meh.

4. Abandon - Control

When I started listening to this, I forgot it was a Christian cd. The music sounded like something you'd hear in any mall across Canada, but the lyrics, left no doubt as to where the guys faith lies.

Under Fire, Control, New Years Eve, Help.... plus it was $10 @ the Treasure House!

3. Jason Gray - A Way To See In The Dark

This one is the Dark Horse on the list. While the music doesn't reinvent the wheel, the lyrics do. They are great! Thought provoking and yet, he wears his faith on his sleeve. Even the song Good To Be Alive (which borrows from one of the most over used themes in music [living for today]) is good. My favorite is No Thief Like Fear.

2. FM Static - My Brian Says Stop But My Heart Says Go

This song was suppose to be #1, but Swichfoot kinda killed that for the T.F.K side project. This album is probably the most fun I had all year listening to music. Hey, I Want It, You Don't Know Me and Firefly are all great tracks, not too mention F.M.S.T.A.T.I.C and the title track (which I'm not typing out again). It's catchy, simple, not too deep just great. That not too deep thing is a slight problem on one had (not very spiritual), but when I just want to rock, this album is my first choice.

1. Switchfoot - Vise Verses

The album is awesome. And that's all I can say... From soaring rock master pieces like Dark Horses and The Original to soft balads that pack a punch like Restless and one of my personal favs Thrive. One of best on the cd is Rise Above It, it's catchy, has great lyrics and has flawless instrumentation. I also liked Selling The News, it almost is Newsboysesq with a slightly sarcastic lyrical tone.

The album art even rocks.

The only downside is Souvenirs. I just don't care for that track...

0. David Crowder* Band - Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys])

I haven't heard the album yet... but it's a double disc compilation... and it's the last Crowder Band record. It will be good... when it comes out on the 10th...

That wraps up the portion featuring bands you've heard of... now for...

My 3 Favorite Unheard of Cds of 2011

3. Kye Kye - Young Love

Yes, they beat Mat Kearney to the cd name... Side note aside, this is ambient electronica at it's best, very little to no drums, synths coming out the ears and amazing lyrics. Any doubt these guys are Christian leaves when you listen to one of their songs on YouTube, their lyrics feature scripture references right next to the line!

2. The Hawk In Paris - His + Hers

Who? Well believe it or not, it's Jars of Clay front man Dan Hassletine's side project. It's sorta electric, sorta dancy... really good all the same.

1. Gungor - Ghosts Upon The Earth

These guys made my list last year, and thanks to recording a new cd this year, they've made it again.

The album is epic. That's really the only word for it. Soaring string sections, banjos, pianos, cellos, driving bass lines no song is what it seems at first. This is worship at it's finest!

And there you go! That's my list. What was your favorite cd this year?

The Light Sides

As you have no doubt heard, Hawk Nelson released a new cd by the name of Crazy Love. Scott Jackson posted a review of that album on Tuesday (you can catch that here), however this is "The Rest of the Story" (to quote Paul Harvey)... my review of "The Light Sides". To clarify "The Light Sides" is an acoustic cd that is bundled with Crazy Love in the "Deluxe Edition" of the album.

To the review...

The disc starts off with arguably Hawk's biggest song "California" and what the boys do to the song is... interesting? They replace all of the guitar parts... with human voice... creating an interesting sound.

One of my favorite Hawk Nelson Tunes is "Friend Like That", and I looooooooove the acoustic version. Replacing the electric guitars with acoustic creates a need sound without compromising the already amazing song. "Zero" is next up with as well as "Stagefright" which both sound great. "First Time" sounds more like a rock song without electric guitars than anything. Kinda disappointing.

What is done to You Have What I Need is to say the least, fresh, fun and rockin'. I like.

Everything You Ever Wanted comes in with a decent sound (the highlight is the drill sound playing at the end).

Skip ahead to "Take Me" and you are listening to one of the highlights on the album.

Not really acoustic par~say, but it's a tasteful remix of a already great song.

My only gripe about the album is "36 Days Later". It sounds whiny to me. That is my opinion at least, the song doesn't stink... I just think it's whiny.

That sums up my review. If you're planning to pickup Crazy Love, don't skimp, go all out and pick up the Deluxe Edition. The Light Sides is worth the 4 extra bucks.

My Score -