Great Weekend!

I had a really awesome weekend.  It started on Friday night with a great jam session at the home of the Director of Worship at PCC.  I met most of the worship musicians and I spent an evening playing original worship/Christian music written by the people that I was playing with.  It was a great evening of fellowship and music-making.

After the jam session, I went straight to the airport to pick up Julie.  She arrived around 9:30 PST which is 11:30 in Texas, so we got an early night on Friday.

Saturday morning started in Hollywood where we went to Grauman's Chinese Theater.  We also managed to see the Kodak Theatre and Julie actually got a really great picture of the Hollywood sign!  We saw all of the famous footprints and hand prints in front of the theater.

Kodak Theatre

                    

Grauman's Chinese Theater

After Hollywood, I took Julie to Rodeo Drive.  There were a ton of amazing cars driving around Beverly Hills.  We went into several of the stores (mainly to laugh at the outrageous prices).  Julie actually bought something at Coach!

Yes, that is a Rolls Royce!!










After Rodeo Drive, we went back to my apartment to get ready for the evening.  Saturday night, we went to Santa Monica and ate at P.F Changs.  We had to wait about half an hour, but the food was great as usual and that made the wait worth while.  After dinner, we walked along the 3rd Street Promenade.  After looking at the stores and checking out a really nice view of the pier, we decided to actually walk down to the beach.  We walked all the way to the end of the pier and looked at the ocean.  Being a Saturday, the pier was very crowded.  We took some pictures in front of the Ferris wheel.

After the pier, we went back to the apartment because it was pretty late.  Sunday morning came very quickly and I decided to take Julie to USC.  I showed her all of the buildings that I frequent during the school week.  After an abbreviated campus tour, we visited my uncle who lives about 20 minutes away!  We spent an hour just talking and sitting by the pool.  The weather was perfect and the sun was shining.

Unfortunately, the end of the weekend was approaching rapidly.  After taking Julie back to my apartment, we only had time to eat quickly and get ready to leave for the airport.  After dropping Julie off, I tried to stay busy.  I went to the evening church service and I met some more great people.  The sermon was exactly what I needed to hear!

It was a terrific weekend, but it went by so fast.  I am really glad that I got to show Julie Los Angeles and I can't wait for the next visit!  Now I have to get back to work.

Julie is in LA for the weekend!

Julie just arrived about 2 hours ago!  It is our 6 year anniversary.  I can't believe that it has been that long, but the time has just flown by.  It blows my mind that 6 years ago we were juniors in high school.

I am excited to show her what I have been up to these past couple of weeks.  Hopefully she can get a really good feel for this great city.  I am sure that my next post will include pictures of our weekend together.

Coldplay

I bought my first Coldplay record in 2005 (X&Y).  I wasn't really a fan at that point, but I wanted to check it out.  I was mildly impressed and I spun the disc a few times.  I didn't really listen to anymore Coldplay until my Freshman year of college.  While working in Aeropostale (not the best place to work, but certainly not the worst), I heard the song "Shiver" off of the "Parachutes" record.  I really liked the song, so I picked up the album.  I began to listen to the entire record all the way through.  I became obsessed.  I could not believe that so much beautiful music was on one album.  I went out and bought "A Rush of Blood to the Head" soon after and fell in love with that album as well.

I could not believe that one band was writing all of this amazing stuff.  I guess it really resonated with me.  I listened to Coldplay all of the time and it began to influence my songwriting.  I began to study how Chris Martin wrote lyrics and how Jonny Buckland got all of those amazing guitar sounds.  Their sound combines U2 with Radiohead and Jeff Buckley.  Some of their most recent stuff is definitely reminiscent of the Beatles.

I waited with patience for their next studio album and they delivered big time.  There next album came out in the summer of 2008.  I remember hearing "Violet Hill" and "Viva La Vida" on the radio for the first time.  Once again, I found myself feeling blown away by the true beauty of their music.  I decided that I wanted to see them when they came into town promoting the new album.  I ended up seeing them twice and I was nearly in tears both times.  Seeing my "musical heroes" play their music reminded me of what I want to do.  In November of 2008, they released an EP entitled "Prospekt's March," which has some amazing stuff on it as well.

Coldplay is my favorite band of all time.  I am sure that millions of others feel the same way, but I don't mind sharing them with the rest of the world.  Their music has left a huge imprint on me.  They continue to get better and better as they grow and mature as musicians.

On a side note, after reading their biography, I found out that they are not only incredible musicians, but great people as well.  Coldplay is a band that cares about a lot of social issues.  They are heavily involved with Oxfam and they work hard to make this planet a better place to live.

I aspire to one day form a band like Coldplay.  I don't need to be as famous, I just want to touch people's lives in the same way that Coldplay touched my life.  They provide another inspiration when I need help following my dreams.

I truly do LOVE every single thing that Coldplay writes, but here are a few of my favorite songs: Shiver, Everything's Not Lost, In My Place, Clocks, Green Eyes, Amsterdam, Swallowed in the Sea, Lovers in Japan, Strawberry Swing, Glass of Water, Prospekt's March, and The Goldrush.

The Alchemist

One of my favorite books is The Alchemist.  For years, my mum told me to read this book.  She said that I would really love it.  I kindly took her advice, but I decided not to read it.  I don't know why, but obviously it was not the right time.  Up until a year ago, my life had been relatively easy.  God had laid out everything for me and I was really comfortable and happy with where I was.  However, as mentioned in my previous post, I felt "drawn" to LA.   I could not ignore this calling and I felt like God really began to point me in the direction of Los Angeles.  This was unsettling to me because it meant that I would have to leave my home, loved ones, and friends for a new place.  I began to question God's plan for me.  LA always seemed like such a great idea when I was laying in my bed at the age of 15, dreaming of pursuing a career in music.  Now that a huge change in my life was imminent, I began to panic.  

It was during this time that my close friend and band mate told me to read this book.  He said that it would really help me during this period of uncertainty in my life.  Well, I read The Alchemist during my semester as a student teacher.  I have never felt so inspired.  This book speaks so much truth and really offers insight into what it means to follow your dreams.  The main character, Santiago, is a shepherd who makes a decent living doing the same thing everyday.  His life is predictable and he is content with that.  One night he dreams about hidden treasure in the Egyptian pyramids.  The rest of the story is about his pursuit of that treasure and what it means to discover what God has in store for a person.  Santiago meets many challenges along the way, but he grows so much because of the journey.  He becomes a better person because he is in pursuit of his "Personal Legend."

I don't want to spoil the story, but it is well worth reading.  This book is for anyone who is uncertain about their future (which based on the state of the economy, seems to be a lot of people).  The Alchemist reminded me that God has a plan for everybody.  All we have to do, as followers, is to follow God.  He will make our path straight.  Once I yielded to Him, I felt true peace in my decision to move away.

For the longest time, I thought about staying in Texas and becoming a band director, but I realized that I would be letting go of my dreams if I did this.

 
"Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place."

"All people who are happy have God within them."

"Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense."

"Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children."

Why LA?

Well, I have finally decided to try out this blog thing.  I think that it will be good to write down my experiences as this move is a really big step for me.

Why LA?

I have wrestled with this question for a very long time.  For as long as I have wanted to be a musician, I have felt "drawn" to LA.  Maybe it's the cliche thing for an "aspiring rockstar" to dream of coming to LA seeking fame and fortune.  There really ARE people that come here to do that, but I know that this is not the reason I am here.  I am doing the most "anti-rock n' roll" thing possible by pursuing higher education (a Master's degree in Music from USC).  When I decided that music was what I wanted to do, I just realized that LA was the place for me.  It was quite simple.  I just knew that I had to go to LA.

I truly do believe that God is calling me here.  When the time came to make my decision, God closed many doors and made my path very clear.  I leaned on Him then and I will continue to lean on Him as I try to make a life out here. 

I have already met some very amazing people.  The church here is fantastic and I hope to share my musical gifts on the praise and worship team.  I am starting to write songs all of the time and I will use this blog to promote new music/lyrics as I write.

I am not sure what God has in store for me, but whatever it is, I know that His plan is perfect.  His love will never fail.