Top Gear- The Best Show on Television!

Unfortunately, I cannot watch it on a regular basis.  It is a British show that airs on BBC America, but I cannot get this channel in LA without spending a ton of money.  I watch it as much as I can on Hulu and Youtube.  Recently, a friend gifted me the 15th season on DVD which is awesome!  14 more seasons to go and I will own the entire collection...

I have been a petrolhead (gearhead for those in the States) since I was born.  I could name every single car on our street at the age of one.  I have read books and done countless school reports on cars.  In 4th grade, I actually did a report on the mechanics of the internal combustion engine.  I read two books on F1 cars and engine mechanics at the age of nine!  I am still very much obsessed with cars and car culture.  Cars embody independence and freedom and many created today are engineering marvels (Bugatti Veyron SuperSport to name one).

Top Gear is a show that celebrates cars and man's obsession with all things car-related.  Each show contains road tests, challenges, news segments, and interviews with celebrities.  The show is a massive success in England and there is a loyal following here in the USA.  There have been several spin-offs as a result of the original Top Gear's success.  It is truly brilliant television!

The three hosts are: Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.  Each of these car enthusiasts blend humour and information into a truly entertaining hour-long program.  Some of my favorite episodes are the ones featuring really long challenges or long film segments.  For instance, the three presenters each selected a supercar and tried to figure out which one was the best.  The Ford GT, Pagani Zonda, and the Ferrari F430 were the three chosen cars.  They all drove through France and ended the journey on the Millau Viaduct (a massive suspension bridge in southern France).  The film takes up a majority of the episode and the editing/cinematography is brilliant.

Other episodes pit the presenters against each other in crazy challenges.  In one challenge, they had to buy a supercar for less than 10,000 pounds and compete in a series of tests and challenges.  In another epsiode, the presenters had to cross the salt flats in Botswana in three old beat-up cars.  I could go on an on, but it is really something that must be watched in order to get the full experience.  Each episode is truly entertaining.

As I mentioned before, Top Gear is not only entertaining, but educational.  Most episodes feature one of the presenters (usually Clarkson) testing a car.  The report contains information on the cars's engine, 0-60 mph time, interior/exterior design, the car's handling etc... The road tests conclude with the Stig (more about him later) driving the cars around the test track.  This time is then recorded and placed on a leader-board that tracks the all-time best results for each car.  The opinions of the Top Gear presenters way heavy on many car manufacturers.  Many car companies have taken their comments to heart and improved their cars (Aston-Martin and Maserati to name a few).  Top Gear has tested pretty every major sports-car.

When they have celebrities on the show, Jeremy Clarkson (the founder of Top Gear) usually spends about 5 minutes talking cars and interviewing.  Then he announces that the real reason they came on Top Gear was to take a "reasonably priced car" around the Top Gear test track.  Each celebrity gets the time of their lap put on a leader-board.  A competition ensues as each new celebrity comes on the show.  Simon Cowell had the best lap on record, but I believe that Jay Kay (from Jamiroquoi) now holds the lead.

In addition to all of this, Top Gear has created a "fictional" character of epic proportions.  The Stig is Top Gear's 4th presenter.  He never speaks and is only used to drive the cars around the test track.  There have been two Stigs.  The original Stig was "killed" in season 3 when he drove a car off of the air-craft carrier, HMS Invincible.  The second Stig wore white and there has actually been a lot of controversy lately about his identity.  The Stig's identity is supposed to remain unknown and the audience has never seen the Stig without his trademark helmet and jumpsuit.  However, the identity of the most recent Stig has been made known and it has raised all kinds of trouble at the BBC.  Regardless, the Stig is incredibly famous and he certainly has a "cult" following!

In conclusion , the point of this post is to share my love of cars and Top Gear.  I could talk all day about both subjects, but I am afraid that this post has been long enough.  I hope that this has encouraged you to watch some of the short clips on Youtube or maybe even an entire episode.  It is highly entertaining and my favorite show of all time.

Weekend Recording Sessions

Grayson and I had two recording sessions this weekend.  We laid down acoustic guitar tracks to three songs and laid down "scratch" vocals for those three songs.  We also used the weekend to brainstorm the song selection for the EP and the general direction of the album.  We also used our time to discuss vocal/instrumental arrangements for the songs on the EP.

I have ten songs that are pretty much ready to go.  Some of them need a little bit of work and there is one that I am currently re-writing.  We have settled on five songs for the EP.  Here is the track list for the EP:

1.  California Sunset
2.  Live in Now and Today
3.  I'll See You
4.  Love as a Desert
5.  Come Tomorrow

I am not 100% sure of the order, but this will work for now.  I might consider putting up some of the lyrics to these songs, but I haven't decided on that yet.

After deciding which songs we wanted to focus on, Grayson and I began working on the actual sound of the songs.  Currently the album has an overall mellow vibe, similar in style to Jack Johnson and early Coldplay material.  The first two tracks fit this description.  However, I cannot escape my rock n' roll roots and it comes across in the third track from the EP.  "I'll See You" is a song about the "working man" living in an impossible economic depression and its sound is heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters.  "Love as a Desert" is a slow, bluesy tune that is very nearly a ballad.  I wrote this song about two weeks ago and I feel that it will bring a nice contrast to the album. 

"Come Tomorrow" is an interesting song.  Out of all of the songs that I have written in the past year, this is the one that I have spent the most time on.  It has been through several re-writes, but this song has been a labor of love.  This song is about a journey and about taking hold of the future.  It starts soft, but builds into a fully orchestrated rock tune until finally coming back down again for the end.  I really wanted this song to showcase my love for music of the 60's (especially the Beatles).

I hope that has given you guys an idea of what is to come.  Initially, I wanted to put a deadline on the release of the EP.  I would love for it to be out in early October, but I have decided to detach myself from a specific date.  The EP will be done when it is done.  I really want to put some time and effort into it, so that it is worthwhile.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.  I hope to have some solid scratch recordings available (either on Facebook, Myspace, or another website) in the near future.

I am really looking forward to this and I hope that you are too.  Please stay tuned for more updates.

God Bless 

Psalm 86

For my daily devotional, I will usually work through a devotional guide or pick a book of the Bible and just start studying from the beginning.  Occasionally, I like to just open my Bible and let the "Living Word" guide my devotional.  Sometimes, the verses speak to me right away, and other times the words take time to process.  Last night's attempt at this hit me immediately.

The first page that I opened to contained Psalm 86 in its entirety.  If you haven't read Psalm 86 lately or ever, I strongly recommend reading it.  I love Psalms very much for many reasons.  The psalms speak of the true Christian life.  Psalm 86 contains the words of David.   David struggled greatly with sin and fell into many of the pitfalls that we all fall into as Christians.  Psalm 86 contains a prayer to God, pleading with God to spare him from the "band of ruthless men." 

Whenever I read anything in Psalms written by David specifically, I picture him singing and playing his lyre.  The Bible tells us that David's playing pleased King Saul and the Lord protected David on many occasions.  David was the worship leader of his day and I can only imagine how beautiful his words/music sounded.

Lately, I have entered into several discussions with others about the trials that face Christians.  One of the biggest struggles of living the Christian life is dealing with those that ridicule us for living in the way that we do.  I have not faced persecution like many brothers and sisters in the Middle East or Asia have faced, but I have been ridiculed in other ways for being a Christian.  Living in Los Angeles has already exposed me to the issues facing Christianity in this day and age.  The pastor at my church has just started a sermon series that addresses the issues that skeptics have about Christianity.

We live in an increasingly individualistic society.  Giving yourself completely to Jesus is not choosing an easy life.  Jesus tells his disciples to deny everything and follow.  We must be willing to give every earthly thing away in order to gain Christ.  This is a daily struggle for me.  It becomes even harder to follow God when the world tells me that I am crazy to place my entire life in His hands.  This is where Psalm 86 comes into play.

If you ever find yourself in a low place or in a time of struggle, read Psalm 86.  It is amazing.  I have decided to include the psalm in the hopes that you will find encouragement.  This is the ESV version and I especially love the title that the editor gives this psalm: "Great is Your Steadfast Love."

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

A Prayer of David.

 Psalm 86

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

I am not going to offer my commentary on this (because I am not a pastor), but these words really spoke to me last night.  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  God spoke to me through this psalm of David.  The world seeks our lives daily and Satan would love to tempt us to despair.  But God comforts us and helps us and He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.  Even David (a beloved son of God) faced many trials, but through everything he prayed that he could be more like God.  Even when David faced death, he trusted in the steadfast love of the Father.  He knew that his soul had been delivered from the grave.  Whenever the world is trying to bring us down, we need to pray like David.  The struggles of this life are only temporary, but Heaven is eternal. 

Day 1 of the Recording Process

I do apologize for taking this long to write another post.  Unfortunately, nothing major has happened in the last week.

However, I have now started the process of recording my own material!  Yesterday afternoon, I began laying down guitar parts for my upcoming EP.  I am really excited to get the ball rolling on these songs.  I am working with a good friend of mine from high school, Grayson Palmer.  He is helping me by recording the material and providing input on the vocal melodies/arrangements of the songs.  He is very talented and I am really happy that he has decided to work with me.

The songs have been written within the last year.  They represent the culmination of my earliest attempts at songwriting.  I have written about 50 ideas within the last year and the songs for this EP represent the best of what I have written so far.

My plan is to have a Myspace page up and running soon with preliminary cuts of the songs.  I will try to keep everyone updated on how the recording process is going.  Hopefully, we can have the EP finished by October, so that I can start gigging because I miss playing live very much!

I will post links to the songs as soon as I have it all set up.

Thank you for reading.

God Bless.