I was not in Houston this week.

I was not in Houston this week. Caedmon's Call however, was there, starting to put together a new project. It was my decision to sit this one out, and I feel it was the right one.

Basically, I finished what was scheduled with Caedmon's through the end of last year (and a couple things earlier this year) and after that dove headfirst into production/songwriting/artist stuff in Nashville. It's been good. When the band started talking about a new project I thought about it, prayed about it, looked at my schedule and my goals and realized: this wasn't a project for me.

This year off the road in Nashville has been a pretty powerful one for me. I've felt a new foundation solidifying under my feet. Still not sure what all it means, but I know it's good, and that it means pursuing some new things.

Seems like that decision was a good one for the band as well, freeing them up to pursue something they couldn't have done with me. I think it will be a great project and I look forward to seeing what it becomes.

There is no ill will, none at all. Just a matter of moving on. Knowing the history of this band, and the way I am, I don't imagine never working alongside these friends again. The success rate of people quitting this band is shockingly low.

Instead I'll be playing a few select solo shows in the Fall, moving into a new, more permanent studio space, producing and writing with a few other artists and trying to finish a quartet of random solo projects. I just got my mailing list working again, so sign up and I'll keep you up to date.

Anyway, that's the long and short of it. I've been blessed and honored to be a part of the Caedmon's story for six and a half years now. I want to thank you guys for listening and accepting me and thank the band for inviting me in and loving me.

The best part about Caedmon’s being the family that they are is that you always remain a part of it. That’s a great thing to know, and a testament to who the band is as people. I can't wait to hear what they come up with next.

Eric Peters - "Chrome"

So yesterday I surprised myself, got up at 6 (am!) and went for a run.  It was drizzling, not quite raining, and the sun was hesitantly peeking out through the clouds.  As I left my driveway I hit play on Eric Peters' new record, "Chrome".



I played guitar on this record a good while back (he's been working on it for a little over a year) and had forgotten all but the few tunes I've heard him play live over the past few shows we've done together.  This was a good thing.  I was able to hear the album as a whole, the songs how they were intended, not as how I remembered them.

And this is a fine record.  Easily his best.

Ben Shive produced it, and did a wonderful job framing Eric's tunes with a minimalist's restraint.  Eric could be the killer singer of a great rock band, as I hope will happen soon, (ideally with me on guitar), but here, for the most part, he tells these stories in his inside voice.

There are some pop tunes, jangly and vibrant, but the whole album has a cohesive reserve to it.  Maybe it's the lyrics.  Yeah, it's probably the lyrics.

I think I need a box of these CD's to hand out to people who tell me they want to move to Nashville to start a music career.  Eric spends a good bit of time telling us of his journey, his dreams and the way he's dealt with the realities that he's been faced with.  It's a deeply honest telling, in some places it is pretty dark, and it's that openness that lets you believe the hard-fought freedom that rings throughout.

But there is a huge tension in the record.  It would not be at all surprising if a later record adds another perspective to this one.  It feels like the middle of a journey.  Eric doesn't sing about arriving somewhere, though there are beautiful moments of epiphanies along the way (I Had To Tell You). He's singing about not being there yet.

Listening to this record does for me what I think all good art ought to do; it makes me think about my own story, and to see it from new angles.  I kept having to go back a couple songs, because something he would say would set my mind going and I'd realized I'd missed the last few tracks.

Running through my neighborhood early Sunday morning, feeling envious of the bigger, cooler houses on the more expensive streets, the voice of my friend laid upon me a gentle and loving conviction.  "Chrome" at its heart is a beautiful and heart-wrenching look at what happens when we set our sights on our idols as opposed to our Creator, and its subtle redemptions show there is always another chance to believe what is really true.  At least that's what I got out of it.

Thank you, Eric, for making such a brave and honest record.

Thank you, internet friends, for going to his website and buying it.  You will not be disappointed.

The Welcome Will Not End

So here I am, packing up the dreams God planted, in the fertile soil of... wait, no... I'm packing my bag for two and a half days in a van with the Square Peg Alliance!  So excited.

We're off to St. Louis in an hour or so.  I won't be taking my computer, which will be weird for me, but I feel like it will be a nice break to "unplug" from the matrix for a few days and devote the time to my friends.  Says the dude who's bringing his iPod, in-ears, cel phone (and promises to twitter and facebook update the whole time).

Still, for me, it will be one less distraction and that's something I'm looking forward to.  Oh, and the music.  And the friends.

Upcoming Shows w/ the Square Peg Alliance and Jars of Clay

As some of you know, this year I decided to take the show off the road and spend my time in Nashville, working on records and writing.  It's been great and I've loved seeing my kids every day and diving into helping other artists achieve their vision.

That said, every now and then you need to get on the road with some friends and play some music.

And over the next couple of weeks that's what I'll be doing.

This coming Tuesday and Wednesday my friends in the Square Peg Alliance and I will be teaming up to play a few things.  The bulk of us (sans Derek) will be at:

Grace Community Chapel
7661 Mexico Rd
St Peters, MO 63376
(636) 970-1311
June 30, 7:00 PM
$5

From there we'll head up to the Cornerstone Festival, where we will meet Derek, and the nine of us will have about five hours to ourselves on the Gallery Stage.  HERE'S THE SCHEDULE if you want to make sure you also get to catch Bloodline Severed and Austrian Death Machine.  I know, I know.  Sometimes it's hard to fit it all in.

June 1, 6-11 PM.



The following week I'll achieve my high school dream and fill in playing guitar for a couple of Jars of Clay shows.  15-year old Andy is nervous and giddy while 30-year old Andy is calm and professionally charting out the songs and running over harmonies.  My dream, of course, always included our national pasttime, so gloriously both shows I'll be playing with them will be at baseball games.

Nashville, TN - Greer Stadium (Nashville Sounds)
Thursday, July 9
5:30 p.m. concert, 7 p.m. game
Ticket Info

Minneapolis, MN - Metrodome (Minneapolis Twins)
Saturday, July 11
6:10 p.m. game, concert afterwards
Ticket Info

If you haven't heard their new record, The Long Fall Back to Earth, you need to.  It's my favorite thing they've ever done.  Including their first record.  Go get it.

I said when I came off the road that I would only go back out for things that were really special.  Needless to say, making music with both these groups of friends is a rare gift and I'm grateful for the opportunities and excited that they're coming up soon.  If you can make it to any of these shows please come and say hi!

Ellie's Run Update - A week late

Sorry this took me a week to post.  Quite lamely, I wanted to gather pictures before I posted.  So for an entire week I have been crawling through the jungles of Nashville, camo vest, black paint on my face, machete in my teeth, just hunting and gathering these elusive photos.

Now that I've captured these wild beasts I can tell you THANK YOU!  You helped me raise $395.  My goal was $250.  That's $5 shy of 15 African children in school next year.  So cool to be a part of this.  So without further adieu, the photos...

My family and I before the race.  Sadie just learned how to wink.



Here's Sadie talking to Mandy Mann about who knows what.  Probably princesses.



My Dad, who ran the race too (!) and I with the girls afterwards.



Ella and one of her best friends cruising to the finish line in the Kids Run.



Sadie and I crossing the finish line for the Kids Race.  (Confession: I carried her 96% of the way, and I got tired so we cheated.)



And now to what's really important.  Mr. Andrew Peterson started bragging all over the internet that he would beat me.  I could not let this happen.  So it was an actual race.  For about two miles we were neck and neck.  Then we were both tired, so we just ran next to each other, not trying to win.  Then we got another burst of energy, declared that we would cross the finish line together, holding hands, and then both sprinted as hard as we could hoping the other believed them.  Then we crossed the finish line.  I thought he won.  He thought I won.  We both thought that we would puke.

Who are these girls?  They're not even breathing hard?



The final results:



A tie.  To the second.  NEXT YEAR, PETERSON!  NEXT YEAR YOU'RE MINE!