Stay On The Beat

Can't play the song if we can't stay on beat, ya know? You can't play your part like you're the only one in the band, how would that sound, I'm on Em7 and everyone is in C. Train wreck! There's no groove in that, now is there?

Life is much the same way, if we don't have harmony things get messy. Communication breaks down misunderstanding drives the car. Just recently I had to be reminded of this very thing dealing with trying to get various projects done. Talk often sounds good, but when the work begins we sometimes find out our ideas are completely different. We take for granted that people know more than they do, and may not have the experience needed to complete a task. One can be left hanging with little or no room to pull it together. Too many times I've been involved with folks that can dream real good, and turns out they're full fluff, of course nothing solid materializes and you're back to square one.

I thank God that I'm back with some people that have been producing music successfully for many years and they're looking to record the music of the old school musicians here in Seattle to upload on the net. So some great original music will be coming forth hopefully by the Fall or shortly after. The music projects I'm involved with are all Christian music projects so that's a blessing.

I've been awfully busy in my home studio making music with my wife and a few friends. Diana and I sang at church last Sunday and had a great time. Looking forward to doing more of that soon. I still haven't found out how to post music on this blog, but if and when I do ....... look out.

Till next, stay bless.

Freddy

Two & Four

If you're a drummer you most likely know what that means. I've been thinking lately, what time signature is life in? If it 4/4 two four would mean hit the second and fourth beats. Keep that pattern, lock it up and you've got a smooth kind of groove. Not a New Life Groove, but a groove just the same. So you're thinking what would make a New Life Groove? Then again, I might be all by myself, the only one who's giving it any thought. Anytime you realize that the Lord has brought you from a mighty long way, any beat you can get a hold of is like a new thing, and all good things are of God.
When I was strung out on drugs and alcohol for 23 yrs. I didn't think I'd ever get out of it, get another chance. Put the Lord brought me out, and showed me something new. I had stopped playing music, writing or creating anything of use. When I picked up my bible after years of spiritual starvation the Lord revealed wonderful truths in His word. One of the lovely truths was that He would restore me, and He did beyond what I could ever imagine. Blessed me with reconciliation to my family, gave me a lovely wife (and step son, son) and daughter and restored my relationship with my first born son. This July 9th I celebrated 19 yrs. clean and sober, all due to the Lord Jesus. Two and four,I've got to keep that beat and stay in the pocket, His way, that's the pocket or covering that will keep me. He's given me a new life, New Life Groove.

Nuff said.

Bless ya'll.

Hit me up and let me know what it's 'bout,

Freddy

Oh My

What can I say. Haven't seemed to be able to get enough sleep lately. I thought I was sleeping well most nights, but I guess I really wasn't. I'd sit up in the mornings after doing my exercises and then I could hardly stay awake. Even after laying down for 30 mins., which would turn into an hour or two, I'd still feel sleepy. Oh well, I pushed through and got a lot of music recoreded.

I've been jammin' like a crazy man trying to get this song done for Diana and I to sing in church in a week or so. It'll sound smooth when we're done. I'm almost to the point where I'm ready to record Diana's voice for the background vocals. Prayerfully Ericka will help her with those vocals as well. Ericka's voice has gotten better the past year. Once I get this song done (just the performance track) then I'll start on the CD mix that we plan to put on and upcoming EP (econo play: short mix) or future CD. We'd like to have that done by the Fall, with the Lord's blessing.

I'm hoping I feel well enough to attend service tomorrow, praying for the Lord's healing power to move through me now. Amen!

God bless,

Freddy

Deep In The 33rd

The 33rd refers to the groove. Or being i the groove. So when you ask me what I'm up to and I respond "I'm deep in the 33rd" I'm really saying in a sho nuff pocket. Yea!!! Wild language, I know. But I'm told I'm a wild kinda guy. So there :])

Today is quite a wonderful day. July 9th marks 19 years clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. Doesn't mean I've arrived, I'm still striving to be what God has called me to be, fighting the good fight of faith. I don't talk about my clean time much because one, I don't want to over whelmed those who are struggling in early recovery, and two it's easy to get in a place where I might forget and get out of pocket. It starts with behaviors, which is the start of relapse which leads to using, and that would be certain death for me. Praise the Lord for His deliverance. So I still have to stay on the grind and work toward 20 years. Celebration isn't what most might think. No bells and whistles, balloons and all, but a real presence of the great life. Yea for real!

I've been spending a lot of hours this week in my tiny studio. Trying to get gear and stuff straightened out and hooked up. Seems like before I can get it together I make a bigger mess. Then I stop and focus and making a little music. Over and over the process goes. Feels so good, it does. Diana and I are singing at our church on Sunday the 25th of this month so I'm redoing the tracks to an old song of ours that we haven't done for a longtime. It's always fun to play and sing with my wife. I'm the most comfortable then. I don't know if I've blogged that I've been rehearsing with the old LoDebar band, they've changed the name to Devine Deliverance. Diana might get a chance to sing with them too. But the blessing is we're getting busy. That's like the best therapy for me.

I've been doing bible studies too. Did one at the UGM's New Vision program last Saturday morning. I directed that program for seven yeas in the past, so it was a blessing to share. I'm trying to get out and do that more often, it's up lifting.

The hot weather is nice, but hard to get used to at first. We go from cold and raining to sun blast just like that. If the sun stayed out more I could handle it better. Whatcha gonna do? Sit under the fan, that's what.

Be blessed. I'll see if there's a way to post some of our music on the blog or something. Amen? Amen.

Freddy

Here I Go Again

And again, and again. I'm so worn out, that I've been bed all day. I can barely sit up here and type in my blog. I'm truly running on Holy Ghost power. No energy man. I had a long week, going to both my cancer support group and my D/A group on Tues and Thurs during the day and then recording sessions on both of those evenings. Didn't play guitar at church Sunday but went to a 4th of July picnic after church and waited for the sun to come out. But then it started to rain, and rain, and rain some more.

During last week I spent a lot of days straightening out my little music studio, which took a lot out of me too. But it's slowly coming together, and should be more functional. A new friend is going to help me upgrade the software on the computer that's in the shop. When it gets back home, in about a week or so, we'll do the thing with the software and Ced is supposed to add more plug-ins. But, praise God, I've got enough gear and software to make blessed music. Diana and I are supposed to sing special music on July 25th, so I'll be recording some tracks for that to. I still haven't tracked a song for Ericka. I'm sure she thinks dad has forgotten, but it's coming. Between the moods, illness, pain and so on, it's a real fight at times.

Let us ray.

Freddy

It Really Is, In His Music

Yes the Lord really is good, all the time. Listen to the melody ............... it's a sweet tune. Just got home from a 7 pm recording session. The old Outta LoDebar band, now Devinne Deliverance, has a new guitarist, Paul Anderson an old friend of ours and Tim Horiuchi on drums. Tim has a recording studio in a rehearsal building where he leases space. What a set-up! All the gear, equipment, of a big professional studio with a great live room. So we can record live all instruments and lead vocals at the same time. That way you get a real feel that you might not get doing tracks one or two at a time. If the band tracks are tight you can come back in and record as many tracks as you need for the lead vocals, and then dub, record, the background vocals. Then if you haven't recorded with effects, you can put them on the tracks during the mix down.

This session made me feel like coming home and getting into my own little but just as powerful studio. Tim and I just so happen to use the same software. He was ready to send me home with one of his favorite microphones to try out on my own rig. I was shocked at his generosity so I said I'd use it at another time when I had a vocal session set-up. What a graceful brother. Getting back with the band is just what I need to supplement my therapy. Paul and Tim are just the brothers the band needed to push us to the next level. I'm excited to see how God is going to use us for His glory. The ministry we've got ahead of us........ I'm ready, use me Lord.

Gotta go play a little before I go to sleep.

God bless. Drop a brother a line .......... be an encourager,

Freddy

Music Haven

Accept for church, I've been my in studio all weekend and Monday to. I'm worn out. Besides making killer beats, I moved and rearranged a lot of gear all over my little space. If I turn around once I've covered the whole room. It's so small I keep bumpin' into myself. My partner in crime, Ced, came by and helped me out showing me how to use the music software he uses exclusively. He also helped me open up some avenues in my usual choice of software I had forgotten about over the years. It was all good until I tried to put this newer piece of gear in the loop. It's supposed to make using multiple devices mix better. But it just made things worse. So I undid it until I can figure out what I'm doing. Of course trying to go back to the simple old school way had it's problems too. I was really tired by then and only got it part of the way back together. Praise the Lord if He blesses me with tomorrow, I'll be at it again. Because of the software Ced put on my system a couple of months ago, when I opened them up today I found hundreds of plug-ins. Oh yea, I was so blessed today that I forgot my main music computer went down Saturday. The other blessing is that Ced took it with him offering to get it fixed. God is so good, yes, all the time.

I've another wind now. Think it's time to work on my message for Saturday's prayer breakfast at UGM.

Have a blessed week. Let God, the Holy Spirit, drive the car. Amen? Amen.

Freddy