I have since been in touch with the manager of the Weed and he has quite a few connections and he is placing me in the local bar and restaurant scene to play some more gigs beginning in the Fall! Stillwater has a great lack in female performers in the scene so I am really nervous but it should provide for some good opportunity! I met with the owner of Rivals yesterday and should get to start playing there in the Fall also!

So, I have had my guitar for 12 years now and it’s near falling apart so especially with how much I am playing it now Im thinking about investing in a new one. Also, I got asked to play at College Fest so if any of you are thinking about going you definitely should! I have never even been! woops. But I might not be able to play if its the same day as my big’s wedding… we’ll see!

Anyone have a good idea about some good acoustic music for the bar/concert scene?

BUT, I just feel as if I am in a music rut. These happen on occasion. I am lacking inspiration and there is nothing I am hooked on. I guess the main focus of me writing this is for true feedback. GIVE ME SOMETHING NEW TO LISTEN TO. I do a lot of the underground searching, and you find a lot of cool stuff that way, but I also like for it to be easy sometimes too. I want someone to give me a list of songs and tell me why they appreciate each one.

So there ya go, friends. Homework.

Get to commenting.

Socially Orange

People lack the ability to know how to take care of themselves more and more. We do what helps temporarily, but ultimately leads us to an even darker place. It is easier to train a child up right than to fix a broken man later. But we are so much more willing to soothe ourselves with instant gratification than do hard things and find strength in our will. I want it to never be said that my spirit was willing but my body was weak.

Music is one of the ways I choose to positively self-medicate myself. The Healing Music Organization posts some interesting research on the psychological evidence of the fact.

So, in the spirit of enlightenment, I decided to post some of my favorite “healing” songs. Enjoy

Amazing Because It Is – The Almost
A Little’s Enough – Angels and Airwaves
Sleep – Azure Ray
A Time for Yohe – Between the Trees
Hate Me – Blue October
Broken Man – Boys Like Girls
Slow Fade – Casting Crowns
Rootless Tree – Damien Rice
Sincerely Hope Its You – Edith Backlund
Beautiful – Eminem
Supernatural (Acoustic) – Flyleaf
Hurt – Johnny Cash
In The Sun – Joseph Arthur
Hallelujah – Kate Voegle
Simon – Lifehouse
Only One – Lifehouse
Leave Out All The Rest – Linkin Park
Spiders – Lovedrug
God Bless The Child – Michelle Featherstone
Dream – Priscilla Ahn
Hazy – Rosi Golan
Fallen – Sarah McLachlan
Pieces – Sum 41
Second Place Victory – This Day And Age
Save a Place – 1969

Do you have any healing songs… ? Let me know about them

This phrase had eradicated my life since I first heard it. It sounds like nothing at first, but if you truly take the time to think about how OFTEN we do this, it will shock you, surely, as it shocked me.

We hear other people’s opinions about things day in and day out. “we should party hard tonight, we’re YOUNG!” “If she did that to you, you have a right to do that back to her.” “If you’re not taking this course you’re obviously not dedicated enough.”

Even if statements similar are not said in this way, the implications of them can be equally as clear. And so often this is a subconscious reality of letting other people determine the standards of right and wrong and all the gray in between.

People are quick to let music influence their opinions. If a song explains or reasons something copacetic with our circumstances, we, if we don’t stand on our own two feet, we will be quick to adapt their advice or perspective onto ourselves. Music is such a powerful tool and has an incredible capacity for persuasion.

That is why, personally, if I am angry, I do not allow myself to listen to angry music and stay that way, taking on the opinion of the music. You have to know yourself.

What do you all think maintains the most powerful tool of persuasion for our demographic? (18-24)

Don’t we often hear this question asked in the beginning of many pseudo-communities? It presents opportunity to discover common grounds and a binding force between individuals. Music provides connections of understanding that reign above simple commentary… if someone understands and appreciates a song or musician in the same way that you do, your connective chemistry with that person may have just instantly risen many personal layers higher than many hours of small talk would’ve provided.

This morning I was listening to Joseph Arthur’s “In the Sun” where he sings one of my favorite lyrics:

“Oh I don’t know anymore
What it’s for.
I’m not even sure
If there is anyone
Who is in the sun,
Can you help me to understand?
‘Cause I’ve been caught in between
All I wish for
And all I need.
Or maybe you’re not even sure
What it’s for
Any more than me.”

These confused lyrics represent the viewpoints of so many individuals that I know, and for someone to claim them and voice them honestly is a beautiful thing. It is binding and comforting, resolving and encouraging. The songs that present honest questions, like Noah Gundersen’s “Jesus, Jesus” sort of seem to tie humanity together by our doubts and our questions and I believe there are few sources stronger than people resolving to one accord.

What are some of your songs that represent and shape the way you see the world?

Share here or visit me at Socially Orange.

A quote I frequently allude to when discussing music came from the mouth of a man with a passion for it’s power, Jamie Tworkowski.

“Stories ask for endings, but songs are brave things bold enough to sing when all they know is darkness,” he writes. What a powerful comparison.

I began dreaming of a time in my life when I could plan concerts. I could form line-ups of all my favorite bands and send them off to travel the world. So, I did some planning for that day in the future when I could perhaps do just that. And I have decided to share my fabricated concerts with you all.

What a rough decision it was though! I came up with four great genres… the best 3 tier lineup… and here are the qualifiers. I mixed it up a little bit and for my shows I am having each one represent a cause I know that the band has ties with and chooses to represent. Music is powerful and brave, and it has the power to change the world by changing perspectives. Even jazz… a lot of jazz doesn’t include lyrics. But if it’s right, you know exactly what the composer was feeling when he first played it. So here we go:

In the Rock division (my personal favorite…)

OPENING THE SHOW: Single File

THE MIDWAY: Cute Is What We Aim For

THE BIG ONE: BOYS LIKE GIRLS

This concert’s philanthropy is with TAKEACTION! It is its ninth year up-and-running, and TA raises funds and public awareness for youth involvement in charitable action. DoSomething.org would be where their percentage of profits from donations, ticket sales, and merchandise would go to.

IN MY JAZZ CATAGORY:

OPENING: RON COBB

SUSPENSING: CHRIS MCDONALD

HEADLINING: RHONDA MCCOY!

It just so happens that all of these jazz artists are under Christian label. Donald Miller is an incredible Christian author and he will be a midway guest speaker at this concert (which is in a Jazz hall in Chi-town). The first 100 people there will get a copy of his book “Blue Like Jazz.” Miller, in the preface of his book, talks about spirituality being like jazz in a way.

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that, I liked jazz. Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way…”

Donald will also speak at the event.

IN THE HIP HOP DIVISION:

First up: DJ LAZ

Following: Pitbull

FINISHING: MISSY ELLIOT

I’m pumped about this one! Missy is the best selling female hip hop artist of all time with 5 multi platinum albums. she owns her own record label AND she is a national spokeswoman for “Break The Cycle,” a non-prof organization dedicated to preventing domestic violence. Way to go, girl. Missy will speak out against the cause right before she plays “Ching-A-Ling.”

I like passionate music, and I am passionate about what God has done in and through my life and the power of it all, so I’m presenting an ideal line up for some crazy amazing artists from a Christian genre.

OPENING: BETWEEN THE TREES

FOLLOWING: SINCE OCTOBER

HEADLINING: FLYLEAF

These are all Christian heavy rock bands and their lyrics are nothing short of life-changing. They certainly were for me at least.

These bands will represent the non-profit To Write Love On Her Arms. Though TWLOHA is not a Christian movement, it is a message meant for all ears. TWLOHA is a cause I am personally involved with. It exists to present hope and find help for those who suffer from depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. Between The Trees will speak on behalf of TWLOHA as they were a part of the organizations founding.

So there it is… my ultimate concert line-up for 4 different genres. Any comments, suggestions or disagreements are welcome. What would YOUR ultimate line-up be?