With a pair of great concerts in the rear view mirror, one highly-anticipated show awaits me tomorrow: Derek Webb’s “Black Eye Tour” is coming to Orlando!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here’s a quick look back at highlights from 1) the U2/Muse show in Tampa and 2) the David Bazan show here in Orlando.

U2 and Muse

U2's "The Claw"

Friday, October 9th @ Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. Somewhere around 70,000 people were in attendance!

In many ways, the whole thing was larger than life. Besides the record-breaking attendance, U2’s MASSIVE “Claw” enclosed their stage. Recently, I found out that this and other big-time elements contributed to the $1.5 million overhead cost of the tour!

Just being in a stadium where U2 was playing their songs made me happy to be there. They’ve been such an innovative force for years, so it was amazing to get to see and hear them. However, my extremely high expectations were not completely met. I must admit that I did hope for a surreal, perspective-shifting event…the kind of concert that really inspires you to want to make a mark… It fell short of that, and to quote a couple of friends at the show, “I was underwhelmed.”

I have to mention that Muse gave the superstar headliners a run for their money! Excellent vocals, skillful playing, great presentation. Left me wanting to hear more.

David Bazan

David Bazan & Company

Tuesday, October 13th @ The Social in Orlando. To cut my reaction into a few words, it was an inspiring and thought-provoking performance that did not at all disappoint.

Bazan sang songs mostly from his latest album, “Curse Your Branches”. This guy really knows how to say things well. The metaphors are fresh. And he also has a knack for saying very difficult things—asking difficult questions—very well. Unfortunately, his doubts have lately led him to lose his faith in God. And in that journey, he’s asked the toughest questions of all.

Here’s a snippet of Bazan’s falling out with God from his song, “Hard To Be”:

wait just a minute
you expect me to believe
that all this misbehaving
grew from one enchanted tree
and helpless to fight it
we should all be satisfied
with this magical explanation
for why the living die
and why it’s hard to be
hard to be, hard to be
a decent human being

As a person with deep faith in Jesus Christ, I think these kinds of questions can be fruitful in growing and strengthening one’s faith, as hard as they are to face. I also think it’s vital to remember that faith, while it is often supported by facts, doesn’t just come in the form of a clear answer to these questions.

Tomorrow night, the line-up of good music and good songwriting continues with one of my most prominent musical/lyrical influences, Derek Webb. He’s another great “question-asker”, using his expressions to—among other things—challenge the church to truthfully live out God’s call to further His kingdom.

I’ll keep ya posted.

Fireworks. I remember being both amazed and terrified as a kid. Are we too close to the fireworks? How do they do that? Wait, is that gonna fall on me?

The older I get, the more amazed I am at the art of it all. Last night, I got a close-up view at Disney World’s fireworks show at the on the Seven Seas lagoon near the Magic Kingdom. The experience was inspiring, like watching a master artist splash paint on a canvas to a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack.

And that’s exactly what it was! On the sky, pyrotechnics gurus conveyed the broadest spectrum of emotions that their palette could boast: glimmers of hope through sparse sparkles of light, ominous foreboding of fiery red trajectories, the humor of swirling yellow-green pinwheels, and a majestic finale by a precisely coordinated army of colors timed impeccably at the orchestra’s command.

The attention to detail dazzled me. I love being unexpectedly amazed by work done exceptionally well, inventively, and thoughtfully. To me, such moments seem to invoke the deepest inspiration.

From Charlie’s second session which took place this morning @ the Mt. Hermon Songwriters Conference. Enjoy!

Lyrics

• “Songwriting is truth-telling, or it’s not true songwriting.”
• “God’s musical people are supposed to be everywhere and in everything without neglecting the church.”
• “Our job is to sing songs rooted in the truest truths of the universe so that the whole world can sing along.” -Steve Garber
• “Part of a songwriter’s job is to be a scout… to go ahead and come back with a report of the good or the danger that lies ahead.”
• Vertical vs. Horizontal: Talking to God, or to one another.
• Implicit vs. Explicit: The language used in lyrics. They’re both devices through which a writer says something. They both have merit and work together.
• Inspiration-blockers:
  • Being too hungry, angry, lonely, and tired
  • Apathy
  • Lack of integration (separating a “Christian” life from a “secular” life)…”Human integrity is what’s at stake here.”
• Part of being a great lyricist is learning to analyze and recognize what a worldview is (in yourself, in others).
• Cultivate the skill of adaptivity.

Some excellent, insightful thoughts from Sara Groves’ songwriting workshop @ the Mt. Hermon Songwriters Conference.

1. “Art frames the ordinary.”
   • Living with open eyes and seeing the significance in the everyday.
2. The great gift, labor, and responsibility of a songwriter is to contemplate. We do the work of making connections in life for others to enjoy.
3. Priming the pump.
   • Writing every day, reworking songs, writing the same song over and over again in different ways.
   • “When The Saints” has the form of her 1st version with the lyrics of one of her last versions.
   • Writing different versions gives you clarity into what you really want to say.
   • Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life
4. Ride inspiration.
   • Be willing to be interrupted and take up time.
   • Those moments are fleeting.
5. Embrace input.
   • Look at ideas from all over the place. “Square off” with ideas that aren’t just within the church.
   • Listen to all sorts of music.
6. Don’t edit yourself.
   • When you’re creating, allow yourself to say whatever you want to say however you want to say it. Don’t limit yourself.
   • You can always go back and tweak later.
7. Elevate your calling to the level of vocation.
   • e.g. Andi Ashworth making hospitality (and entertaining people @ her home) her vocation; caring for your family. writing songs.

So I’m having a great time gleaning wisdom from some great artists and songwriters here at Mt. Hermon Conference Center near San Jose, California. It’s a beautiful place and I’m so grateful to have some time to grow in my craft. Some of the artists/writers out here this week: Sara Groves, Shane & Shane, Bethany Dillon, Lincoln Brewster, Joy Williams, Brent Bourgeois, Don Moen, etc…

Here are some notes from Charlie Peacock’s first session from this morning. (This guy has such amazing insight into making good art… I’d have to say he’s the main reason I’ve come out here again this year!)

Essentials for the Effective Songwriter

Identity

• Knowing who you are will affect who you want to become.
• Understand the paradox on what it means to be human:
  • The good and the not good. We are both!
  • The benediction (Creation), the malediction (entrance of sin), and the benediction again (in Jesus).
  • We’re a “Beautiful Letdown” or a “Glorious Mess”
• Why do we need to know our identity?
  • When we write about the human experience we need to be able to do it accurately.
  • You will not have a balance in your writing until you know your identity as a sinful, but redeemed human being.
• We don’t always have to tell the whole story in our songs. Just small stories of the things that God is doing and teaching you.
• When you do tell others about the gospel, make sure that you tell the comprehensive story: Creation, malediction, redemption, new Creation
• Our calling:
  • Be a person of good reputation.
  • Pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
  • Be a trustworthy person. (“The only good songwriter is a trustworthy songwriter. A songwriter has to be a truth-teller.”)
  • We’re all called to be obedient.

Music

• Made of certain elements, emotions, styles, sound.
• Rhythm. The times that we live in have a rhythmic reflection. Certain tempos and feels are indicative of the culture at the time.
• Emotion/Mood/Attitude
• Style, genre. You need to be aware of the style familiar to your “door of access” through which you have an opportunity present your song.
• Sounds. Hearing things in nature. Listen to different frequencies!
• All that to say…. “We are without excuse!” The song is there. We just have to have ears to hear and eyes to see. The ability to access what is already there is vital!
• Listen to everything. Allow yourself to be inspired by all the music in the world. Be a good student.
• Be willing to unlearn as well. You’re not just collecting data to insert into a song.
• Cultivate an ability to store and reproduce information.
• “You are to be a person of your time and live in the culture God has placed you.”
• “We live in a time where our adherence to ‘place’ has changed dramatically” because we are becoming more and more of a global community.
• Identity and the body – Don’t be a detached head. Experience the music through the body and not just your head.

For weeks, I’ve been exploring smartphone options, from the iPhone to the Palm Pre to a few Google Android phones (both released & unreleased). I was looking for a phone that would keep me connected, informed, on task, and–yes, at times–entertained! I pored over specs, speed tests, reviews, and videos. Finally, it was apparent which would be the best phone for me… the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G.

Thursday, August 13th:

• Arrived from the Dominican Republic at 3PM.
• Unpacked and promptly went to the T-Mobile store to purchase the MyTouch 3G.
• Discovered my first apps on the Android Market, including Imeem, Astrid, Twidroid, etc.

Friday, August 14th:

• Went a little app and widget crazy. (See WeatherWidget, PureCalendar, Imeem, SportsTap, CNN Widget…) Realized that, while multitasking is a marvel, it can require some memory management.
• Fortunately, memory management became easier with a little app de-cluttering and an app/widget called “Taskiller”.

Saturday, August 15th:

• Discovered dxTop. Oh. Man. Completely customized my home screens and added even more good memory management into the mix. They add support for desktop themes, icons, fonts, more screen space, and an added 4th pane to append to Android’s original 3. Check out the screen shots of my customized desktop after the first week:

Monday, August 16th:

• Fought with HTC’s “Work Email” app. I’m sure it’d work great, but it doesn’t support me having a space character in my user name and is therefore unusable for me! Lamented and looked for other ways to get my e-mail from work.
• Discovered “Bloo”, one of the only native Facebook apps for Android! Terrific app that notifies you on friend requests, wall postings, messages, etc, etc, etc. Beautiful work.

Wednesday, August 17th:

• Chomp SMS vs. Handcent SMS: Round 1. Chomp SMS won out early because it looked pretty good and clean. Both apps are way better than Android’s stock messaging app, including a better look, easier group messaging, and text-to-speech (TTS) support. (You can hear the message spoken to you if you want!)
• TouchPal. Alternative software keyboard. Better word prediction and feel but it took up too much memory. Gone.

Thursday, August 18th:

• Chomps SMS vs. Handcent SMS: Round 2. OK, so Handcent ended up winning over my heart! I ended up finding out that it did everything Chomp did and more. The popup message window and quick text features put it out in front for me!
• Exchange by TouchDown temporarily fixed my work e-mail issue. It’s a robust, full-featured app supporting Microsoft Exchange mail. But alas, I’m on a 5-day free trial. The free version won’t support my work e-mail system, and the full version costs a good $25–relatively big bucks for Google Android’s Market.
• Did I mention dxTop is amazing? Really, take a look at the screen shots above just one more time.

My overall experience thus far with the phone has been HUGELY POSITIVE! The only negative: I’d say that, in my first week, I went about 80% of my usage with out software slowness issues (due to memory and too many apps/widgets running at once). I think that’s pretty good considering that it’s just my first week with it, and I hadn’t figured out what’s too much to run at once, nor how to manage memory. Now, it’s running super-fast and customized just the way I like it! The tweaking is a small price to pay for excellent multitasking and push update functionality. I highly recommend this phone to anyone considering a smartphone out there. The basic phone features work seamlessly, and T-Mobile is shaping up to be a better and better carrier every day. Ultimately, the elegant AND open-source Google Android OS has really won me over, and I can truthfully say that my days of iPhone envy are behind me!

More reviews on apps will follow in the weeks to come.

Happy tech-ing!

El Dr. Socrates Osiris Perez; mi Abuelito

My grandfather, the original Socrates Perez, passed away on Thursday morning, July 9th, 2009. While we are deeply saddened by the loss of such a great and loving man, we rejoice in knowing that he is with our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffering no more of the pain of this world.

As we look ahead to honoring the full life of Dr. Perez, we are solidifying plans for his upcoming memorial. Here are the details at the moment:

• The official viewing will take place on Wednesday evening, July 15th, from 5:00-8:00PM at the Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home in Winter Garden (428 E Plant St., 34787). For map and directions, please visit http://bit.ly/L9AFZ
• The memorial service will take place on Thursday morning, July 16th, at 10:00AM and will be located at the Henry Chapel in First Baptist Church of Orlando (3000 S John Young Pkwy., 32805). Map/directions at http://bit.ly/f6V9f

We are immensely grateful to all of those who have been so kind and compassionate with our family, offering your support and prayers. Your walking alongside us during this time has meant a great deal to each of us. Please continue to be in prayer for our family, especially for my grandmother, Maria Perez. She has suffered a deep loss and we are closely monitoring her health as she endures this difficult process of grieving.

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

~Socrates Oscar Perez Jr.

Got an undiscovered band you’re crazy about? A new album that a good friend has turned you on to? Let’s hear about it! Post your recent favorites as a comment and let’s get some dialogue going!

Here’s a quick list of some of what’s on my playlist lately:

• Joe Pug’s Nation of Heat EP
• Paul Simon’s Graceland
• Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It
• Al Green’s Lay It Down
• The Roots’ Do You Want More?!!!??!
• Siah & Yeshua dapoED’s The Visualz Anthology
• Jars of Clay’s The Long Fall Back To Earth
• Joe Henderson’s Mode for Joe
• Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 6 and No. 9
  

Keep ‘em coming!

This update is long overdue, so here’s a quick rundown of LOTS of music I’ve been listening to over the past few months. Open up your mind and check it out!

• Be — Common
• Volume One — She & Him
• Dear Science — TV On The Radio
• St. Elsewhere – Gnarls Barkley
• The Odd Couple – Gnarls Barkley
• Electric Arguments – The Fireman
• Narrow Stairs – Death Cab for Cutie
• Grace — Jeff Buckley
• Evolver — John Legend
• Almost and Always – David Mead
• The Renaissance – Q-Tip

By my opinion, these are all worth a listen! But “must-listens” are here on my top 5:

1. David Mead’s Almost and Always
2. Jeff Buckley’s Grace
3. Q-Tip’s The Renaissance
4. Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere
5. Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs

Do it!

I love easily staying up to date with whatever I can! Be it Orlando Magic games, the latest news, my friends and family, and whatever info I might want to get at any time. Since I don’t have an iPhone or a phone with a data plan, text messages are the way to go! (My unlimited text plan helps too!)

Here are a few great (and free!) tools that I’ve come to enjoy and use to keep current in this fast-paced world:

Twitter – I’m sure you’ve heard of this snazzy web tool to keep in touch with what your friends are doing. But you can also keep up with your favorite news sources (e.g. CNN, NPR, etc.) and artists/authors/celebrities. If you want updates on your phone, Twitter gives you the option to receive a text message as a source updates. See http://twitter.com

TwitPic — TwitPic allows you to post pictures onto Twitter. Set up your phone and you can easily send a picture message on a whim! See http://twitpic.com

4INFO — This is a recent favorite for me! Set up free alerts for sports scores, stocks, weather, news, and personal reminders. 4INFO allows you personalize updates for sports games to come at various times (lead changes, final score only, each quarter, etc.). You can also opt to receive daily tips, jokes, and trivia just for fun. See http://4info.com

ChaCha — Do the ChaCha! Send a text message to CHACHA (242242) with ANY question, and a guide will do the online research and send you a response! Looking for parking at the game? Want to settle a trivia bet with a friend? This is the way to go! Use keywords (like “w ZIP CODE” for weather) for a quick response. See http://chacha.com

Google — Text one the web’s most used search engines for directions, weather, sports scores, word definitions, and tons more. It’s automated, so it tends to be quicker than ChaCha, but this service is less personalized and at times unreliable. Text GOOGLE (466453) to use it, and be sure to check the website for available features and keywords. See http://google.com/sms

Joopz — This service allows you to send individual or group/mass text messages from the web. You can also easily set up personal reminders to be texted to your own phone. The free version has some feature limitations, but you won’t need their premium service unless you use this heavily. See http://joopz.com

Facebook Mobile — Keep your Facebook page up to date via text message. My personal beef with this is that it doesn’t support T-Mobile. (Honestly, that’s how I got into Twitter in the first place!) See http://register.facebook.com/mobile

Keep surfing for more useful and fun text message tools on the web. (There are LOTS!) I recommend checking your favorite newspaper to see if they offer news alerts. If you find anything interested, comment about it here!