Anthem For Today - Raise It Up

Last week I shared about my current video project. This week, I present it!

I am fairly happy with how it came out. I'm slowly learning that most people are never truly happy with a finished product... unfortunately I am one of those people.

That being said, I'm still pretty excited about it!



A lot of credit needs to go to AFT's lead singer Pip Lucas. He help out a lot with cutting the words out.

The Ups And Downs of Photography

As I've mentioned multiple times before on this blog - I love film, music and radio. Those levels of love ebb and flow depending on the day, but all of them are things I get joy in doing. Something else I love is photography. Except... it's something that usually causes me more frustration than anything else!

Why? Well, photography is really all about luck. Yes, there is a load of skill involved too. Don't get me wrong. You have to know what ISO setting to use, how much light to let into the sensor... etc etc... But at the same time it's all about the timing.

You could have your focus perfect, settings exact with a great angle and still not get the a shot that is worth talking about. And if it's the last batch of photos I took... focus may be the biggest stumbling block!

Studio photography is different (obviously), but I find it less fun. I'd rather be shooting some video if we're in a studio.

So I guess I'm my own worst enemy... Don't like the controlled environment of studio photography and don't generally have the luck for live photography.

Thankfully Air Raid 24 was a different story. I was incredibly fortunate (BLESSED!) to be in the right place at the right time with the right focus (again... stupid focus)

The last one (one above this line) is one of my favourites. I know... it's dimly lit and there's no context for what's going on... but that's what I love about it. It looks science-fictiony to me. Gotta love that!

Anyway... that's my rant on photography. Glad I was able to get some shots at Air Raid. Here's hoping something good comes out of Heart of Worship this Sunday as well!!!

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.

Kingdom Bound 2013 - Day 3

Talk about a busy day! We got things rockin' and rollin' at 9:30... as in, that's when we left the hotel. DJs, as it turns out, take a lot of time to get their faces done up. 

After hanging out around the rides for a bit with some friends (which included a ride on giant moose... sorry, no pictures) it was time for the music to begin again. 

I only caught the tail end of We Are Leo. What I saw was impressive! They did their new single (listen for it Monday!) as well as another song that had a long dubstep break down. It was awesome! Plus, they had a keytar!

If all that wasn't enough, I even got to chat it up with David Duffield (lead singer). Which, lead to a photo op!

Then it was onto Shine Bright Baby. I am really loving their song "Beautiful Love"... but they're originally a punk band... so what would the live show be like? 

It turned out to be a cross of fluffy pop sounding stuff and punk rock. Was it a bad combo? Not in the least! 

Afterwards, another photo op presented itself. I couldn't say no!

Project 86 was next up. They were the loudest band I have ever heard live. It was pretty crazy. No pictures. Just imagine head banging and mohawks and you have it!

Two years ago at Kingdom Bound, I saw an up and coming band called For King and Country. They were awesome. I've loved 'em ever since. I was really excited to see them this year to see how their live show had changed. It's 10 times better!

4 sets of drums going at once, an accordion thing and a cello. Not to mention the piano and guitars. It sounds like it would be an eclectic train wreck. Instead, it was a musical masterpiece. If you ever have a chance. Check them out!

Thousand Foot Krutch was next. Man, that was intense. They did all their hits like " Let the Sparks Fly", "Be Somebody", "Falls Apart" and "Fire It Up".

Then the moment everyone had been waiting for, Newsboys. They have changed a lot since I last saw them. Now, they have huge video screens projecting the band members onto them with funky lighting effects. It made for a bright show! Plus, we got to hear 3 tracks off their new album Restart... that's not out till September!

And we get to do it all over again tomorrow with Mercy Me! Looking forward to it!

Kingdom Bound 2013 - Day 2

Today was awesome! We got up and rolling with some breakfast from Cracker Barrel (always a personal favorite). Then it was off to the park! We saw Matthew West last night. He was really good. I unfortunately don't have pictures though...

TODAY is the subject though. After catching up and coming acts Everfound (surprisingly good electro-rock) and Kronicals (They claimed to be dubstep rock... it was mostly rock...) it was on to Aaron Gillespie.
He's the lead singer for The Almost. When he's not out with them, he does a "worship" side project. Worship is in quotes cause it's not like any worship you'll ever hear! He sang... and played the drums! It was crazzzzzzzzzzzy! Oh ya, he also had his eyes closed quite a bit...


After Aaron... I kinda went and saw him again at the worship tent... WHAT? I'm a fan. You would have done the same!

One of my must sees this year (aside from Aaron and Mathew West) was Audio Adrenaline. I never saw them when they were in their prime, so this would be the next best thing. And man, is it a solid thing.

Kevin Max (from dc Talk) is the new vocalist. That should be an awkward fit. But it wasn't! It actually sounded really good. Not the same as Mark Stuart's voice, but really good none the less.

Then it was time for tonight's headliners. Hillsong United!
The crowd loved them! I liked them too... it may have had something to do with the Aussie accents though...
The obsurd amount of lights didn't hurt either....

And that was my day at Kingdom Bound!
Tomorrow - For King and Country, Shine Bright Baby, We Are Leo, Thousand Foot Krutch and the headliners... Newsboys! Should be good!

The Almost

Whenever I really love a band, I'm always scared of seeing them live. The thought of a group that brings me much joy being loose, boring or using tracks really does scare me. I'm not kidding.
The Almost is no exception. I really loved their album Monster Monster... could their live show be able to top the awesomeness they captured on the disk?

Yes. Yes it could.

I joined a buddy of mine at the 905 Venue in Whitby (Ajax/Oshawa... it's sorta confusing) on Sunday for the concert. Amazing venue for a youth group. It's in an old club so it's ideal for music, smoke machines and merch. Plus, that's where they do youth!

After a really good worship set and quick message, The Almost took the stage... wow, did they take the stage.

Unless I am mistaken, no tracks. I heard mistakes, which is very refreshing. However, they were few and far between.
Aaron Gillespie has one amazing voice. Going from singing to yelling to singing with ease. It makes for quite the dynamic... add in 3 guitars all doing different things.... well, you get the idea.

They covered instant classics like Monster Monster, Lonely Wheel and Hands as well as some stuff from their new (!) album Fear Inside Our Bones. After hearing the title track, I'm Down and Ghost, I'm more excited than ever for the April 9th release.

Afterward, got to grab a shirt and bumped into Aaron.

All in all, a really stellar night.

Fireflight Concert

As you probably hear once or twice... or 15 dozen thousand times... Fireflight was in town on the 19th. I was stoked! So stoked, I brought my camera along for the ride.
As before, I shall let my adequate skill as a photographer do all the talking...

Getting things started with some flying guitar.

 Why not add another guitar and a bass (not to be confused with a bass)?

 Dawn begins to serenade us

 I really like this photo... in case you were wondering

Slappin De Bass, Mon!   

I love this shot too... during one of the few calm moments

More concert shots

 Look! We found a fern!

 This is my favorite shot. Love the back lighting on it.