My Project

I've made two recent blog discoveries that I just had to share about. Both are on my list of people who inspire me to the right. The first is the Neil Gaiman blog. Need I say anymore? Okay I will. Basically...I love Neil's work and being able to read his "journal" and randomization of thoughts is even better. I'll leave it at that.
The second would be my discovery today. I am getting this gradual feeling that this summer and this deployment might be themed 'Concerts.' I can totally see myself distracting myself by going to shows (within reason of course). I started eyeing some of the bands I'd love to see live (Blindside...what the crap? Go on tour already...plllleeaaseee?) and randomly ran across the website/blog of Project 86's lead singer Andrew Schwab. Check it out. I'm stoked. AND they're playing in Raleigh next month. Not sure if that'll work or not but...man...I would love to see them live.
I saw Project 86 for the first time at Creation Fest in 2007 at the Gorge in Eastern Washington. It's the sort of music festival where there's around 4 stages playing different shows simultaneously. I was walking to the main stage with a cooler and in the distance I could hear the base from the Fringe stage to the left. And then it hit me. "I KNOW that base line..." And then I started to run. It was Project 86. I was sure of it. Sure enough, there they were playing one of my favorite songs. It was close to the end of their show but it was enough to get me pumped and promise myself I'd see them again live...this time a WHOLE show. They were great. To the left of the lead singer was a woman translating their lyrics into sign language. It was very powerful. What was also powerful that I discovered today is...Andrew Schwab is a great writer. This I was completely unaware of. He's also a public speaker. I was reading some of his stuff on his website and he said it exactly as I felt it: Why are Christian artists shut in this box when they're shoved into the Christian Music industry? It's like you can't be a real human in that industry. You have to be perfect and only write about being a Christian. What about other things? What about life? What about death? What about writing about different experiences to make a point and touch someone in a way you couldn't just singing praise songs? In Andrew's words:
"Can a christian musician write only christian songs? Can he not write about everyday life? Can he play characters in songs which might not reflect his own worldview in order to illustrate a greater point? Is there a such thing as a Christian artist? Is there a such thing as a Christian pilot, mortician, or cab driver? Is God not the God of all things, including the trivial, the mundane? Consider not the messenger only, nor only the motive. The artist himself is only one part of the equation. Consider the medium as well as the message. Consider the fact that God speaks through the confused minds of unbelievers if he so chooses, along with believers. After all, he is the God of all things…"
Wow.