Category Archives: Music

Why Music Matters

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Stephen

A friend of mine, a Grammy-nominated arranger that I work with, recently forwarded me a speech he’d come across given by Karl Paulnack to incoming freshmen at the Boston Conservatory. In it, Paulnack argues that musicians are as important as … Continue reading →

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Rock Band + French Horn = Awesome

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Stephen

I’m at that point in my interaction with the new U2 CD, No Line on the Horizon, where I haven’t yet grasped the meaning of any of the songs on the whole. I just keep hearing individual lines go by … Continue reading →

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Handbells

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Stephen

I played in a handbell choir my uncle directed for a couple years when I lived in Chattanooga, so when I moved to Nashville and a friend asked if I wanted to play in the choir his wife directs, I … Continue reading →

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Tokens Radio Show

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Stephen

Where else but Nashville can you be a part of an audience for a radio show taping that talks about justice, death row, Will Campbell, English-only laws, revivalist preachers, and climaxes with an ensemble performance of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Music, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Joy Desires Eternity

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Stephen

This weekend, the Nashville Symphony is playing Mozart’s 40th Symphony in G minor (a nice piece, but overplayed), Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 in D minor, and a contemporary piece by Lukas Foss, Time Cycle for Soprano and Orchestra. I love … Continue reading →

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Be Your Home

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Stephen

Remember the song I wrote for my sister’s wedding with Matthew Paul Turner? My brother-in-law, Daniel Roberts, just uploaded the video from the wedding. The audio mix isn’t great, but it was nice to hear it again. I was playing … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Work | 4 Comments

Andy Osenga, Futureman, Over the Rhine, and Stevie Wonder

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Stephen

This past week was a good week for live music. On Sunday, Andy Osenga and I drove out to a concert just outside of Nashville, a fundraiser for Blood:Water Mission that featured Andy and a couple other guys playing “in … Continue reading →

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Eric Peters’ new record nearing completion

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Stephen

This afternoon, I dropped by Sputnik Studio to hear Andy Osenga record another day of electric guitar overdubs on Eric Peters’ new record, with Ben Shive producing. I was a fly on the wall back in November for the first … Continue reading →

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Check one off the list…

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Stephen

After reading Christianity Today’s review of Randall Goodgame’s new EP Bluebird earlier this week, I put a check-mark next to one of the entries on the list of goals I keep in my head: To have a CT music review … Continue reading →

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Flecktones on Conan O’Brien

Posted on January 3, 2009 by Stephen

Here’s the aforementioned clip of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones on Late Night with Conan O’Brien from just before Christmas. Roy, as he usually does with the Flecktones, is playing a combo of his SynthAxe Drumitar and real kit. Every … Continue reading →

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