What My Twitter/FB Peeps want from CCM

when asked...

-Honesty. i want to hear the "wrong" solution. and a song with no resolution. (rhyme not intended)

-Lyrically? lot's of metaphor. Musically? Whatever God leads you sweet awesome people of Christian music ministry (aw thx)

-About God overcoming our hardships and not letting our circumstances define us.

-Musically...united meets brewster...united type songs, brewster solos. That would be friggin awesome!

-I would like to hear songs that actually make sense in everyday life, use everyday language, and are interesting ro common peeps (...or...)

-I want to hear some creativity in the music instead of the same ol' same ol'. I also want to see more depth in the lyric writing

-Originality, more artists taking risks and not chasing other artist's hits. Deeper lyrics across the board with few exceptions

-I'd like more beatles in your music with a little U2 in the guitars and maybe some myriah in the vocals. go. (lol)

-Lot's of metaphor,different sounds or mixes?is that the word? different sounds,lot's of melodies

-I've noticed that more & more CCM artists are becoming worship-centered in their songs & songwriting....nothing wrong with that!

-I really luvd ur Version of Silent Night. Guess I'd love 2 hear some of the old songz interpreted in a more modern way=) (thx, chucks)

something different and doesn't sound like everything else. I don't know what that sounds like. Ive been listening & listening & still can't figure out what it is I'm looking for.

-Pick up where u left off with Take Over, clean simple melodic not over-produced, solid message. My favorite AS record (so far) (cool thanks)

-I'd like more quiet songs where the singing takes center stage. Like "Carry Me Home." But the songs could be slow or fast.

-A version of with everything by hillsong by and a collaberatio of u and Phil wickham

-less talk, more rock. ( :) )

-I'm tired of seeing Christian versions of secular stuff, I want people to make music they want to make, Not just music that will be popular and get a lot of attention, more messages like the unedited "My Jesus" from Todd Agnew. (good song!)

-Something new and inventive. New chord structures. Something that takes me beyond myself. Chart some new styles.

-"More love oh Christ, to Thee" and unapologetic truth logically thought out (i.e. nix the vague, go deep) there is something different between talking about someone we don't know, anyone can do that- &telling of a Christ you've met

-Love to hear more edgy original stuff. something that sounds different from what's out there and not a copy of a secular trend

-There are some mainstream artists I would love to see collab with CCM artists! some positive artists that would be compatible

And from Facebook...

-i'd like to hear more melodic rock stuff. Less of the 3/4 ballady kind of rock that everyone seems to be doing. With the Lord's blessing, we'll have our album done this year, too. See you on the charts! (tell me if I'm there)

-Electronic nuances with your trademark acoustic pop and worshipful lyrics. I am currently digging Jars of Clay and Paper Route, and Switchfoot's latest. Stay true to your roots.

-Lyrics inspired from the book of Romans, please! :) (awesome)

-I like that idea -- Word of God put to music.

-More scripture set to music. That is what I love so much about the Glory Revealed cds!

-I think it needs more cowbell! (thanks Uhly)

-How about a song about going to Krispy Kreme and doing a flip on a beam (do the bear, Matt)

-If it isn't broke, don't fix it, I say!

-I pretty much like everything anyway, but to answer your request: How about some local bands - The Wrecking (Maine) Lyrically - I'm partial to songs about God's incredible love for us (such as "More" - Matthew West, "My Savior My God") or applying to everyday life/how we can live for Him - anything Leeland, several of Third Day, Todd Agnew, Addison...

-I think that the lyrics should totally be inspired by Scripture. And have them set to music in the likes of Skillet, Kutless, etc. would be awesome.

-Any music you do will be a blessing to us all...I love the booklet that comes in your cd's...getting an Ipod soon first music on it will be all your albums...my fav of yours come to me... (see, when Jesus writes the lyrics, they're really good, eh?)

-I like songs of praise & worship I can sing to God. My taste in music is eclectic, so I like many styles.

Thanks all!

Holding On To A Moment

I don't really have a point to this blog except to stamp a moment in time and share it with you.

It's officially Christmas Eve in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States, 2:11am to be more precise. My wife and I finished wrapping all the presents we lavished on our boys (too many...just little things mainly, but a lot of things to open...the joy of watching them receive is more a gift to us I'm sure...but that's another blog) and for the rest of my family. We watched the tail end of the 1999 A Christmas Carol and the Nativity Story twice before we finished wrapping. We wrap slowly. And now I should be in bed. I need to shower first and we plan to get up at 6 to make sure we are all prepped when Daniel wakes up and walks downstairs. I'm looking at 3 hours of sleep...but the only lights on in the house are the tree and the mantle above the fireplace. All is quiet except for the clock on the wall and I just can't bring myself to sleep yet. I love how we mark this season. It's truly beautiful to me. The Music, the food, the movies, the decorations, the candles...and we do it all (except for the lights on the outside, never got around to that) but I certainly don't think we allow it to take our focus away from The Real Reason like pop-Christian-culture seems to be trying to tell us we do.

All these things mark the season. Just like pumpkins in October, Turkey and Pilgrims in November, Blueberry pie and fireworks in July and Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds in March! December is just my favorite and I'm a little sad when it has to end, the tree comes down and I don't replace it with anything. But the absence of the things that mark only make them sweeter come next December 1st. The beautiful truth is that our God is with us Jan 1-Dec 31, our God made flesh, our God come to live among us, our God who bought us back to Himself!

Redemption. What an incredible and beautiful concept.

And what a beautiful night. :) Thanks for listening.

Merry Christmas!

Aaron

Last Minute Angels

I've been enjoying a December at home, unlike some of my hard working colleagues out and about on tours this Christmas, and while I love to perform Christmas music and get the itch for the tour bus (vans and airports aren't itchy) life, I am absolutely Loving being home and finding a rhythm with my wife and kids. I did play with Glory Revealed December 6th here in the Atlanta area which is always a blast, and had a concert outside of Wichita, Kansas last week (a special little intimate concert with just me a guitar and a piano...that I ended with Silent Night!) but beside that, I've been home, trying to keep margin, make cookies, finish the end-of-year family home video, catch up on photo albums, brainstorm Christmas presents for loved ones, plan for next year, reading influentially worthwhile books, write good songs and make sure that I enjoy it all without missing out on the beauty of the season.

Sidenote...if we make an effort to keep Jesus the focal point of our lives all year round, we may not need to feel the pressure to 'make sure we focus on Jesus this month.' It's kinda nice to look forward to simple things, like the fact that the Christmas lights can make your house look really pretty, egg nog tastes awesome and making dozens of cookies is finally socially acceptable, all the while never forgetting that the reason WE celebrate this time of year is GOD became one of us in order to save us. Pretty outstanding: even in June.

So yesterday, enjoying our margin, I began chatting with a good friend of mine about how he looks just like a TV show host who inspired us to make a Sicilian Pizza for dinner. He jokingly invited himself over to join us, and I said, "sweet, come over!" (I still say sweet) His wife was at Bible study so he brought over the kids: we ate some homemade pizza, decorated some cookies with a LOT of sprinkles, sang, danced and just talked like good friends do.

There's a certain energy in a spontaneous evening that is so much more fun to me than something that has been on the calendar for weeks. I highly recommend the last minute invite.

You're Blessed?

Morning, faithful blog followers. Sorry so absent. I'm up early enough to see the sun rise...well, I have a massive row of town-homes blocking my sunrise, but the sky is no longer black...and thought I'd share my morning reading with you.

I love the sermon on the mount, it's rather incredible in my opinion. I simply read through the beatitudes this morning, or as Eugene Petersen calls the section: You're Blessed. Most of the them, while incredibly insightful (insights from God Himself) seem to make obvious sense, such as, "You're blessed when you care...you find yourselves cared for." But the last one always gives me pause. Check it out:

"Not only that--count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens--give a cheer, even! -- for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble."

Wow. Whether you're ridiculed by someone who doesn't believe what you believe, whether a fellow Christian makes you feel like a spiritual goodie-two-shoes because of how you believe, or you just get blindsided and don't know how in the world to classify it or why it even happened...take comfort in Matthew 5:11-12. Heaven may be applauding!

Early In The Morning

Good Morning! Well it's early for me. I woke up and turned my alarm off and came downstairs before the house got active. I fixed some Cafe Du Monde coffee in my french press, sat in my man chair, and read a little bit with Yo-Yo Ma in the background and the rain falling outside. Nice.

This tour has been a bit physically draining, what with the travel taking place after the show's ending in vans, grabbing a hotel around sunrise oftentimes and catching a few hours sleep before checkout. My aging body doesn't like that. I turn the big 3-4 this month, which I never thought would be a benchmark, but for the first time I won't be able to ask myself, "What was Jesus doing at my age?"

Anyhow, speaking of Early and Jesus, I read a bit in Mark 1 today. I had planned to read more, but recalled something that Charles Shepson referred to as "Walking through the Bible" I believe. Instead of reading the Bible all the way through once per year, he'd read until something tugged at his heart, stop, meditate on that, and that was his reading for the day. Sometimes 3 chapters, sometimes one verse. Sometimes it took him 2-3 years to read through.

Mark 1:32ff (MSG) "THAT EVENING, AFTER THE SUN WENT DOWN, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him, THE WHOLE CITY LINED UP at his door! He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn't let them say a word. WHILE IT WAS STILL NIGHT, WAY BEFORE DAWN, HE GOT UP and went out to a secluded spot and prayed." (emphasis mine)

I never realized the timeline that preceded the story of Jesus' early morning. He was up late. I've never healed anyone, but if I had a show one night where a whole city lined up to meet me afterward, I might plan on sleeping in the next day.

Not Jesus. He placed a high value on waking up WAY early to talk to his heavenly Father.

The NFC North Tour

So we were in Green Bay last night and finally got most all the kinks out out of the show. Our apologies to the first 3 shows in PA, MD and NC. We played Green Bay last night, Madison tonight, Duluth and Brainerd, Minnesota the next two days.

The Auditions have been fun! We had Caroline Deason from North Carolina come to the Raleigh show, she played acoustic guitar during Matchless (that's the contest song) and twas a lot of fun. We don't provide a comfy soundcheck for the contest winners, it adds to the excitement. Tonight, we'll have Andy Boettcher play and sing...he doesn't know that he'll be singing yet...but he will. We've had a guy audition for drums, which would be a lot of fun too. So keep those auditions coming and tell your friends about it too!

I had a nice morning this morning, we arrived in Madison around 3am and I slept til 10:15, had a leisurely morning sitting by the window, letting the warm sun stream in, had some coffee, read the Sports page of the USA Today, Romans 2 and another great chapter from David Nasser's Glory Revealed. Went for a run, grabbed a bite to eat with Nate at Yola's, turns out that the owner is a pastor and the girl working there was coming to the show tonight, so we got her tickets and she got us free dessert. The barter system is alive and well in Wisconsin.

First two nights

So I'm blogging on my iPhone. So it'll be short. The first two nights in Washington PA and Laurel MD were challenging to say the least but God was glorified none the less and a total of 55 children were sponsored through compassion international which means their lives will be forever changed and the cycle of emotional, economical and spiritual poverty has been broken for them! 125,000 children made commitment to Christ last year through Compassion: indescribable!

We had a technical nightmare or two this evening occur on stage: my favorite of which was when the live version video for To God Alone that was playing for our last song reset right in the middle of the song and started over!! While we kept playing! So instead of seeing how God can take our struggles and our broken lives and turn it into something beautiful... The concert members in Maryland only saw the struggles depicted...twice. If you wanna see the whole thing click here.

Now we're driving to Raliegh. We should get in around 5am. That's rough man. Pray for Nathan: he's driving.