June 21, 2011 - New Releases

Today, there are many releases of Praise&Worship, Contemporary, Hard Rock, and some Hip Hop. The artists are John Michael Talbot, These Hearts, Peter Furler, The Martins, Casey Darnell, Aaron Keyes, Stuart Townend, August Burns Red, Shonlock, and Ronnie Freeman.

*Disclaimer: Richard Smallwood moved to a street date of July 19!

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A Day Set Aside to Honour Fathers

      Studies have shown that having a father in one's life is a necessary element, even if they are 5 or 55. That necessary element has an impact that can be positive or negative.  Every person needs a father. Sadly for many, the only great father that they will ever have in their life is their Heavenly Father. 
     We all need a father who is more than just one in name. It is said that there are many fathers, but few "Daddys." Some men choose to be "fathers" to those that do not have one present in their lives. I salute all courageous fathers who step up to the plate and provide a positive impact in the lives of their children. What does a positive impact look like? Being a girl there is only so much that I can conclude, so I asked the father's of our store (on the spot I might add).
What does it mean to be a good father?

      "The predicable answer is that of a spiritual nature. Even though everyone says it, it is still important to leave a good spiritual legacy for our next generation to have. Also providing food, clothes, room and board is always essential in a safe environment." - Louis

     

      "To tell your children that you love them, and to tell them a lot" - Lanny

      

      "A father is something like a role model. To have a communication of love that is both vocal and seen in actions" - Greg

      

      "I would want my daughter to describe me as funny but there for me. To be dependable." - Josh (new father of a 9 month old)


      "I would protect my daughter and give her my support. Encouraging her when she faces the challenges of life." - Chase (new father of a 2 month old)

     
      The movie Courageous is coming to theaters September 30. It is a movie to inspire men and fathers especially to live with honor. This movie is one worth seeing, it will make you laugh and become slightly emotional.

Lastly, Thank You Dad for being a positive part of my life. Though miles may separate us this weekend, 

you are always in my heart.

Daniel Marsalese was Melodious!

Now I know that two weeks have passed since Daniel Marsalese can and did an acoustic set for our store. You would not believe the problems that I had with the video editing. To keep a long and emotional story short, there were problems with blonde moments, and then there were glorious, stress-relieving solutions.
      Daniel Marsalese is a talented musician who can play various instruments and can compose melodious sounding songs. Daniel played for us on his guitar and harmonica, while accompanying him was a talented cellist, Kayleigh. The song that they played was from his debut album, Pages of a Book. Needless to say my videos taken on my camera do not compare to the sound of a live performance. I encourage you if you ever get the chance to hear Daniel Marsalese live to do so. The impression that I get from Daniel is that he is not just playing music, but he is orchestrating a sound that is pleasing to the ear.


Now as a special treat here is another video...

All Things Bright and Beautiful by Owl City - A Review

Owl City is Adam Young...and friends


      With great song writing and bright composing, the music fits together "beautifully." What I have always enjoyed about Owl Cit is that it is electronica without sounding repetitive and is from "real" instruments like the violin, cello, vibraphone, and hand claps as performed on various songs. The songs have high and low rhythms that dance with the words sung.
      All Things Bright and Beautiful poses such a happy and "bright" sound; however, the subject matter is kinda melancholy and sober like the song "Galaxies." This song is a tribute to the tragedy of the Challenger explosion. This album is one of those occasions when just listening to the radio singles is a real shame. The track before "Galaxies" is called "January 28, 1986," and features a clip of the Ronald Reagon's speech to honor the crew of the Challenger. Now with the the album being called All Things Bright and Beautiful, but  most of the subject matter is of a tragic nature, one wonders if there is a deeper meaning to this pairing of title and song. Can tragedy be beautiful? Can humans cling to the hope of a brighter day after the dark of a passing storm? The song "Alligator Sky" is about two guys leaving behind a apocalyptic Earth for a new life elsewhere. The song could be sad; however, here the leaving of Earth is shown in a prespective that is opitmistic and adventurous. Now one should not worry, there is one fun light romantic song on the album called "Honey and Bees." It is such sweet love song.
      Adam Young lives in Minnesota were it snows about 6 months of the year and only reaches 90 F about 5 times in the 3 months of the summer. Where during t winter months, one could go days without seeing the sun, and when you see the sun it is only between the hours of 8:30am till 4:30pm. So Adam to be able to create such  bright and beautiful art, this Michigander removes her mittens, and then gloves, and applauds you. Your music is like the sun on a cold January day.

June 14, 2011 - New Releases

Today, there are only two new releases. The new releases are both the sophomore albums for Owl City and Jackie Evancho.
June 14 2011 Releases

The Road of Tricia Brock

If one likes the softer songs of Superchick and the worship music of Meredith Andrew, Laura Story, or the modern hymns of Keith and Kristyn Getty, then one will love the worship music of Tricia Brock.

Tricia is the lead singer of Superchick and has been for the last 13 years. This is her first solo album.
      "I love singing rock and always will. But going back to my roots, I grew up in a church where hymns were the worship norm, and I still have a love for them! For the reverance in the lyrics and the way they were written, not being afraid of keeping the thees and thous. There was just something special to me about How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace, Leaning On the Everlasting Arms...so I wanted to bring that love into this album. More importantly I wanted lyrically to reflect my heart of worship and the place I find myself in my journey with God, my road to Holiness."


The Road is a reflection of the journey Tricia and her husband Nick have been travelling for the last few years. It hasn't been an easy path they found themselves on. They have been walking through an ongoing battle with cancer with Nick's mom, almost lost Tricia's mom to a heart attack 2 years ago, have had health scares of their own, all leading up to the start of the album. Next is her voice describing a part of her life's journey.
      "Anyone who has  walked through a wilderness of your own will know where I was last year. I just felt like we couldn't handle another disappointment, another closed door, another year of feeling like we had unanswered prayers. Not only us, but all around us we have family and friends affected by the economy, losing jobs, seeing dreams lost, trudging though this battle of their faith. And we have seen them make it through. It seems that sometimes God allows times where we don't see Him, we don't feel Him, we ask the hard questions...but always He has rescued us just in time. This album was my way of saying I will worship Him when I don't have all the answers, when I haven't seen my dreams fulfilled, when I might feel like there is no song left to sing. But I still believe He will rescue, He will heal what is broken in all of us, He will be faithful to make our lives what He knows they can be.
      So this winter we were mostly done and working on the final vocals for the album, I found out that I was pregnant, right around Christmas and couldn't have been happier. It felt like this baby was kind of an answer to so many prayers for so long, and my dream of being a mom was finally here. And then in January I found out I had lost the baby around 5 weeks. Finishing the record was one of the hardest thing I have ever done. I have gone through so many stages of dealing with the hardest loss I have ever known. I still have days where it is hard to accept and I am angry and confused with God. But I was able to look back at songs we had written months before and see that God knew. He knew the songs I would need to sing that would breathe some peace and some hope back into me. And I guess the comfort in that is that He has never left me. He sees our tears and our sorrows, and without answers to all my questions I just believe that one day it will make sense and that He will redeem all that was lost."


I hope that you will enjoy the album as I have enjoyed it. There is a real honest tone to the songs that pulls at the soul. Here is her first of many singles...

June 7, 2011 - New Releases

Today's new releases includes some live performances, new artists, artists going solo, and some next albums for some. These artists include Blindside, Planetshakers, Royal Tailor, Thousand Foot Krutch, Manafest, Tricia Brock, Jake Hamilton, Crystal Lewis, Texas in July, and Maranatha!
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