As we end 2008 and begin 2009, we hope the best for all and best luck on the New Year resolutions!  We’ll put up some of our resolutions to share with you guys later on.  Until then, have fun with your families!

On the eve of one of the most important days of all time, we’d like to wish you and your loved ones a very, merry Christmas.   May good cheer fill your houses alongside the smell of peppermint and grandpa!  But don’t forget that Christmas is the birth of Christ, the Savior to all.  So please keep Him in mind as we celebrate this joyous day with our loved ones.  Good tidings to all!

What happens when you put 125 teens, Catechists-In-Trainings, and adults in a room?  A lot of interesting talks, heartfelt worship, and ridiculous activities.  It’s been a little over a year since I’ve been to / helped out at a retreat.  I remember the last time I helped out at a retreat, I felt that I was too sick of them to come back, but here I was, at Green Oak Ranch, doing it all over again. It was my first time actually playing with the guys.  Here’s the weekend, recapped:

Note to drivers: If you like hills, take the 73, it was so much fun driving them.

1. The night started with a talk from Ken, and ended a lot earlier than I thought.  Sleeping in a cabin with Thom is very interesting though.  Late night antics with Victor trying to find a solution to our snore-somnia was even more interesting.

2. Saturday started with one of the most wholesome breakfasts I’ve had in my life.  Sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and OJ.  Oh, and it was unlimited.  A happy tummy for a happy day.

3. After a short worship session, we moved into the next phase of the retreat, the other talks and activities.  I’m definitely guilty of staying up late the night before playing video games and then going into my dorm during the activities to nap.

4. Lunch came quickly after the activities and the grilled cheese could not be any cheesier. 

5. The night came quickly, and well, aloing with its emotions, too.  Hearts of stone turned into hearts of mush.  

6.  Staying up on Saturday night is a great deal of fun, but it makes you miss breakfast the next day.

That pretty much wraps up the retreat.  We had a great deal of fun watching everyone just be foolish.  Nothing beats shenanigans for Jesus.

More often than not you will have someone asking, “Can you turn your amp down?” or stating “You’re amp is too loud”. This has also applied to bassist and drummers. Isolation is one of the most sought after applications for today’s churches. You find that even a lot of mainstream stages doing it as well. For example, internationally renowned country artist Keith Urban has 9 empty matchless dc30s with a 15 watt 1×12 Bogner cranked.

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If you ever listen to Hillsong United live you’ll notice some spacey sounds going on with the electric guitar like “whale sounds”. Usually it takes some coordination between one or two guitarists or with a synth player. However, you can do a lot of this on your own for example Kenny Butler (Matt Maher www.mattmahermusic.com).

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This next article on is on Delay. It’s meant for beginner to mid-level worship musicians. Advanced worship guitarists might benefit out of this too.

DL-4 Delay

Delay, as you know, replicates the initial sound and reprocesses it. You can usually dictate the amount of repeats (how many times the signal is processed again), the length inbetween each repeat, effect level (how loud the repeats are), and on more advanced delays add some modulation. Modulation adds either Chorus or Tremolo to the effect.

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Every electric guitar player will employ the use of an overdrive or distortion pedal. It’s a signature sound of today’s music. In worship it gives a song some lift, edge, and excitement. There are also very many other techniques where you can employ overdrive like an ambient fuzzed droning type of sound. As guitar players we just know it’s a cool sound. Read more…

Here are some places we’ll be playing at in the next couple weeks.

May 2 - Youth in the Holy Spirit at the Vietnamese Catholic Center (Harbor/Westminster)
May 23 - Santa Clara de Asis (Yorba Linda, CA)
May 30 - Call 2 Serve

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