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Be a Sheep

14 May

Shepherd with SheepSource

Last Tuesday, Adam excitedly called me about a Catholic Answers Live podcast episode he was in the middle of listening to. Host Patrick Coffin was interviewing Catholic country artist, Collin Raye, about his new book, A Voice Undefeated, and the state of the music industry in Nashville right now. It was so refreshing to hear him speak on a lot of the same things that Adam has expressed frustration about, like how hard it is to get any songs of substance cut right now!

To listen to this podcast with Collin Raye that originally aired May 12th, click here.

Later that night, after I had an opportunity to listen to it myself we talked on the phone about it and, again, about figuring out what steps God wants us to pursue… It’s easy to get overwhelmed when looking at the big picture and the work and time a music ministry would take, especially when we work opposite schedules and have two young children. Things seem impossible to even think about. We ended with the conclusion that we need to keep bringing our fears honestly before the Lord and continue to pray and be open to God’s will. We need to focus on one step at a time. Listening to this podcast, though, was definitely some sort of step on the journey.

Before I went to bed, I read the gospel reading (John 10:22-30) and meditation for the day in The Word Among Us. No surprise – it totally went along with what we had just been discussing. Here’s a little snippet of the meditation for May 13:

…he wants you to become more sheeplike: more single-minded in faith, more reliant on him, more “helpless.” He wants you to learn to rest in his salvation and trust him more fully…

Spend some time today thinking about being a sheep. Watch and listen for messages from the world and from your own heart that urge you to be independent, to take care of yourself. Are you listening to those messages more than to the messages that come from the Good Shepherd? He truly does love and care for you so let him make you more and more like one of his trusting, obedient sheep.

Often times, I think we feel like we need to do something- anything- to make our dreams happen. Yes, we need to put forth a lot of effort, but sometimes we are just spinning our wheels. Being busy makes us feel like we are making progress, but it is just wasted energy if we’re not following and trusting God’s path for us.

I love the image of being a sheep! It can be so hard to let go of the illusion of control, but there is so much peace and freedom in letting our Good Shepherd lead us! He wants what is best for us and will not lead us astray!

We are working on knowing when to wait for God’s hand and when it may be fear that is holding us back. I pray that the Lord will lead these two aspiring sheep to what he has called us to do and that we may follow! I also pray for any of you sheep who are reading this! I’m so inspired by the commitment and example of so many who are responding to God’s will for their lives! Thank you for your courage!

Adam Shick at Nashville Catholic Underground: Recap

1 May

20140501-210701.jpgAdam accompanied by Jon Conley (Guitarist for Kenny Chesney)

This past Saturday, Adam played a set at Saint Mary of the Seven Sorrows for the monthly Catholic Underground event in downtown Nashville! He hadn’t played a show for awhile and was a little concerned about whether or not his voice would last for an hour-long set, especially after doing an afternoon rehearsal with amazing guitar player, Jon Conley. (Adam played with him while on the road in Emma Jacob’s band a few years ago.) Fortunately, his voice was just fine! I’m certain the Holy Spirit was helping him out! 🙂

20140501-210722.jpgBustin’ out a note… and, yes, he got to sign the backdrop! 🙂

Adam sang mostly originals, but mixed in a Coldplay cover and a NEEDTOBREATHE cover. He wrapped up the night with a Lean on Me/This Little Light of Mine/You are My Sunshine Medley! Everybody was singing and clapping along, so it was a great way to end! Here’s the link to the video! Oh, and you have to hear what he did with the last note, because it totally caught me by surprise. Dude is awesome!

20140501-210711.jpgSitting on Grandpa’s lap, watching Daddy sing one of her favorite songs (with favorite stuffed animal “Monkey”)!

We let our almost-five-year-old stay up that night to watch her daddy perform! She loved it, although she was exhausted! We’re so excited that a good number of our family and friends could come out! Even one of our high school friends who was in town for a bachelor party stopped by!

As usual, we’re contemplating how God wants Adam to move forward with his music… first thing is to get his record done!!! At least we have the website up-and-going: adamshickmusic.com! It’s a start!

Woohoo! Almost TGIF! Have a great weekend, y’all!

 

An Update: Adam’s Musical Journey

26 Feb

Day 3 of 7 Posts in 7 Days with Jennifer Fulwiler of Conversion Diary!

7 day blog challenge 7 posts, 7 days

I haven’t talked much about Adam and his music on this blog lately, and since I have to write everyday this week it’s probably a good time to touch base on this topic! This is called A Dreamer’s Wife after all!

Honestly, I’ve thought about whether I should even keep that domain name, because it probably seems a little misleading to visitors who pop in and check out this site. My husband hasn’t toured for over two years. Is Adam still going to pursue music? When? On what level? How come he doesn’t have an active website? Why is he a social media hermit right now? How can someone be a successful musician with a family?

I think my husband fits the title of “dreamer” perfectly, though. He has his priorities in order and is making sure that he feels led by God to really pursue this path before diving in. In his own words, “I’m an all or nothing person”. He has been very focused on being a father, husband, and full-time engineer at Soundcheck. Obviously this leaves little room for an essential thing called TIME! I know that if God is leading Adam to share his music, it will be in a way that will not jeopardize our family.

About a month ago, though, Adam did have a sort of revelation about what motivates him. The idea of recording a CD of his songs as a legacy for his daughters inspired him to really focus on getting his project together. What a tragedy it would be for these amazing songs he has written in the past few years to go unheard and be lost forever if something were to happen to him in the near future! Whatever happens with his music outside of that, is up to God! Although we both think it would be cool for him to play Catholic conferences and events like that on occasion.

Adam is no longer motivated by getting validation from strangers about his music. Many musicians and artists are desperate for fan feedback to reinforce their worth. This is why music often overshadows anything in a musician’s life – why so many marriages fall apart. Adam finds a strong purpose and mission in his vocation of fatherhood. (Disclaimer: I know that there are amazing individuals who are evangelizing and using their gifts to spread God’s message -Adam is one of them, but many more are seeking their own self-interests.)

So, right now, Adam has begun recording his EP/album (whatever it’s going to be!) in his home studio. Gotta love Pro Tools! I absolutely cannot wait until the day comes when I can start sharing some of these songs with you all! I know that it is all in God’s timing, though, and I’m trusting in Him. He is also rehearsing for his one-hour set for Catholic Underground in April. All of you Nashville people need to mark April 26th on your calendars! We’re going to bring our oldest daughter along so she can listen to her daddy play the songs she loves!

Any prayers you can throw my husband’s way as he discerns God’s plan for him in regards to his music would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

What the Heck Has Adam Been Doing in Nashville These Past 11 Years?

6 Sep

I found one of Adam’s recordings from 2006 in my car the other week. It made me reflect on all of the ups and downs in Adam’s Nashville journey thus far. Mid-July actually marked eleven years since Adam moved south from Elkhart, Indiana at the age of 19 to pursue his dream.

While listening to this CD, I also realized that for more than half of the duration that I have been blogging (I started in May 2011), Adam has been on hiatus from his music career. Like, he RARELY gets on Facebook or Twitter anymore. He’s practically fallen off the face of the earth!

Many of you who have started following A Dreamer’s Wife in the past several months are probably like, “So, her husband is this dreamer musician guy, but what has he even done?!” Or, if you knew Adam in high school, you’re probably wondering, “Where the heck is Shick?” So, I’ve decided to put together a very rough timeline of Adam’s musical history since being in Tennessee.

Adam Shick’s Nashville Timeline

Photo Credit: Tommy Gravelle

July 2002

Adam moves to Nashville and shares a house with three other guys. Adam gets a couple of long-term full-time temp gigs to pay rent and the bills. Adam attends Nashville State Tech (now Nashville State Community College) for music technology. He quits after one semester because he doesn’t have enough money to continue with classes.

My attempt at being a “professional” photographer – ha! (2002)

2003

Adam rents a bedroom from a chronic smoker. He stuffs t-shirts under his door to limit inhalation! He lives here for the next couple years.

May 2003

Adam gets a job at Soundcheck rehearsal facility doing cartage (delivering, setting up, and picking up gear for session musicians at recording studios). Long story short, Adam met the owner a couple of years before moving to Nashville, because the father of the owner’s wife took organ lessons from Adam’s dad. Adam decided to follow-up on this contact after a temp job at Dell ended. It just so happened that someone was just fired that day for being drunk on the job! I think this was more than a coincidence!

It is shortly after this time that Adam becomes good friends and songwriting buddies with co-worker, Mark Hull. For the next seven years, they write together regularly.

Due to having a small staff at this time, Adam often works an average of six nights per week for the next couple years. This doesn’t leave much time for getting in the Nashville scene.

June 2005
Adam and Stef wedding

Adam marries me. 🙂

Later in 2005?

Adam auditions for Nashville Star – makes it past the first two rounds.

He also writes Make Your Way Back.

A song that opens doors with some of the industry professionals named later in this post.

April 2006

Adam is welcomed into the Catholic Church!

2006

Adam records some demos for Dean Sams of Lonestar. Dean introduces Adam to Glen Mitchell, a guitar player and aspiring artist. They hit it off and write a little bit, and Dean draws up contracts for him to produce them as a duo project. Nothing was signed by either party as this was a kind of manufactured arrangement and wasn’t really destined to work out.

Also, a session musician (who will remain nameless) who Adam met through Soundcheck takes an interest in producing Adam. He tries to get Adam and Jason Aldean’s three original band members together for a project. There is some mild interest, but Jason’s career takes off and the rest is history!

Fall 2007

adamemma

Adam gets a guitar gig with a young, aspiring country singer, Emma Jacob, through a referral by a Soundcheck client.

This gig lasted through 2011. During that time, Adam became production manager and band leader. He got to travel all over the country, do radio tours, and open for acts like Charlie Daniels and Jason Aldean.

Adam, Mark, my cousin Tommy, Mark’s childhood friend Mike, a guitar player, and a keyboard player create DoubleTake, an awesome 80’s cover band! Adam and Mark were both lead singers and guitar players who would each sing a song by whatever 80’s bands or artists they had on their set list. For example, Adam sang Bryan Adam’s Run To You and Mark sang Cuts Like a Knife or Adam would sing Foreigner’s Double Vision and Mark would sing Jukebox Hero.

20130719-221753.jpg

Here’s their promo video. (Thanks, Adam, for re-uploading it!) The plan was to do corporate parties, but this fizzled out for some reason and instead they pursued an original band so they wouldn’t have to worry about paying a keyboard player at downtown gigs anymore when nobody else was making any money!

2008

Adam quits working full-time at Soundcheck.

Longshot Rocket

Photo by Rick Malkin

Longshot Rocket is formed. It consists of some of the same members of DoubleTake. Adam and Mark alternate lead vocals and guitar. Brent Rowan (produced Joe Nichols, Julie Roberts, and Blake Shelton) becomes interested in Adam and Mark’s songs and their project. He questions the stability and longevity of the band. Thus…

The duo, 2AM, is born. Adam and Mark play acoustic sets around town, but yet again this project dies, too, when Mark chooses not to come out on the road to play some dates on the Nashville To You 2010 summer tour. Brent Rowan becomes busy with other projects and his interest fades when an attorney gets involved and tries to encourage 2AM to negotiate different percentages on publishing and what not. (Adam majorly regrets this, as he really wanted to work with Brent!)

Adam makes the decision to try to pursue a solo career.

Adam Shick

May 2009
Holding Daddy's finger

Oldest daughter, C, is born.

Summers of 2010 and 2011

Adam on tour

Adam plays and sings for Emma and also performs as a solo artist on the Nashville To You Campground and NASCAR Tours. On this tour he gets to know THE LiNE (on The Voice in 2012) and Jenn Bostic (April’s Dreamer in the Spotlight).

Here’s a video of Adam singing his original song, Liar, with THE LiNE on the tour.

Spring 2011

Little A Coming Home

Little A is born.

Adam is still a road musician at this time and supplements by working at a relative’s gold-buying store until the tour begins.

Adam gets a wake up call about his motivation as an artist when talking to an acquaintance in the music industry. He asks Adam, “What do you want to do with your music?” Adam responds, “Make money.” He’s pretty embarrassed by the answer, but at the time, we just had our second daughter and he was thinking about supporting his family, but this was a turning point in discovering his true motivation for pursuing music.

Fall 2011

Adam starts rehearsing new material with my cousin, Tommy, and his friend, Ed. They play a couple of shows, but due to lack of time and Adam’s continued struggle with finding his right purpose, he withdraws from trying to “make it” in the music industry.

Adam, Ed, and Tommy 2012
2012

Adam begins working full-time at Soundcheck again as an engineer for rehearsing acts. He decides to spend more time focusing on his own career, rather than go out on the road with another artist. He also wants to be home as much as possible with our family.

2013

Adam continues to write songs, mostly by himself. (He feels that not a lot of other musicians are on the same page spiritually and priority-wise.) This new material is hopeful, positive, and truthful.

Adam also sings demos and jingles for extra income. His voice is on the radio somewhere in the country singing about eye banks in South Dakota. Yes, eye banks! True Story!

Adam is focusing on raising our young daughters while working a full-time job. He has dreams of playing/speaking at men’s conferences and championing fatherhood. He feels the time is getting close to jump back into music, but he isn’t quite there yet! Adam truly enjoys and loves our family and I’m so thankful to have this man as my husband!

~

Whew! This post took a lot more time than I had anticipated!

Thanks for hanging in with us! I hope you enjoyed this time traveling down memory lane!

While browsing YouTube vids, I ran across this impromptu throwback of Adam doing a cover of Stormy Monday at a hotel room while on the road. I’ll let this close out the post!

Have a good weekend!

Has It Really Been Two Years?!

17 May

hands

Today marks two years since I wrote my first post for A Dreamer’s Wife! Woohoo! 

What a journey so far! Adam and I have both grown so much in our faith and trust in God! Those who have been following along since the beginning have witnessed how our dreams regarding Adam’s music career have been shaped and molded into aligning with what God wants. It’s been a fun ride so far and I believe it’s just going to keep getting more exciting! Adam will likely start to come out of hiding in the coming months! He’s been consumed (happily) with being a daddy and working, but he is starting to feel that the time is getting close to put an album together and get the official website up-and-running. I cannot wait to share his latest songs! I CANNOT WAIT! 🙂 I know that I am biased because he is my husband, but seriously, y’all! He’s so freakin’ amazing!

I’m also excited about all of the Dreamers’ stories that I’ve been able to share, and will continue to share each month! I’m so passionate about seeing others use their talents to make a difference in the world. I look forward to getting to know more dreamers and bloggers! There is definitely not a shortage!! 

Speaking of dreamers, be sure to check out this month’s Dreamer in the Spotlight in two weeks! This entrepreneur will be sharing some great tips regarding the New Evangelization! Don’t miss it!

Something special about this week marking the anniversary of my blog, is that I was given a few awards all within the past few days by fellow bloggers! One of those is the Very Inspiring Blogger Award given to me by Cindy at The Veil of Chastity! If I could, I’d nominate her, as well, but I basically already did a few months ago!

Very Inspiring Blog Award

The rules of the blog award include:

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you. (Done!)
2. Post the award image to your page. (Done!)
3. Share 7 facts about yourself – fun things, favorite things, humorous things, or things that inspire you.
4. Nominate up to 15 other blogs and invite them to participate. (This is the fun part for me!  And some of these are repeats of blogs that I have highlighted before! Like Cindy, I’m going to nominate 7!)

FUN FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I like to eat chocolate chip pancakes in stacks of three!
2. I love to read life-changing books!
3. My confirmation name is Bernadette.
4. In less than three months time, at the age of 21, I graduated college, got married, moved to another state, and found a job! 
5. Even though I’ve lived in Tennessee for nearly 8 years, I’ll always feel like Indiana is home. GO IRISH!
6. I put on a comfy pair of flannel pajama pants as soon as I get home from work every evening!
7. I carry around a little notebook in my purse to scribble down ideas, quotes, etc. (Sometimes typing on an iPhone doesn’t cut it!)

BLOGGERS WHO INSPIRE ME!

1. Erin at Humble Handmaid One of the first blogs I started following! She keeps it real and writes great reflections!

2. Leanne at Life Happens When She’s inspired me with her journey of healthy eating and avoiding processed foods! 

3. Stephanie at Captive the Heart – Cindy nominated her as well, but I have to give her a shout-out, too, because her blog is LOVELY!

4. Melissa at For Better or Worse – I recently came across Melissa’s blog via Catholic Bloggers Network. Her family is an absolutely AMAZING example of completely trusting God’s will IN ACTION!

5. Cecilia at Dance Immaculata – I featured Cecilia as one of my Dreamers last fall! Read this post to find out more about her!

6. Patty at Tales of Me and the Husband – Patty is a youth minister and a newlywed. I love her honest posts!

7. Stephanie at I Found Him Whom My Soul Loves – First of all, we have a lot in common, and second of all, her posts are beautiful and heart-felt!

~

Thanks to all who have followed my blog or have checked in with me now and then! I appreciate your support and encouragement! I love how we all inspire each other to be the best versions of ourselves! Have a great weekend, y’all!

P.S. I may take a tiny break next week from blogging, but I’ll be right back the following week for sure!

A Father Who Gets It

1 Feb

holding hands

Let me just start out by saying that I am truly blessed to be married to my husband, Adam!  In this world of broken marriages, fatherless children, and faithless families, I have a man who desires to do God’s will and be a loving, engaged husband and father.  When asked by other musicians about what he has been up to lately, Adam tells them, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been” despite not having much time to focus on anything musically.

Are our lives now quite like we envisioned they would be eight years ago? No…and yes!  No, Adam is not where we thought he’d be in his music career right now.  We are both working full-time jobs.  We live in a house with too many crazy issues that we have to spend more money on than we’d like.  Yes, because we get to be the parents of two beautiful, silly girls.  Adam writes meaningful, amazing music.  We’re able to pay the bills.  We work together as a team to take care of our home and family.  We’re continuing to grow closer to God and discuss his will for our lives.

Most recently on this journey of discovering what God is calling us, particularly Adam, to do in regards to his career, Adam has found what he is really passionate about – Being a good father and encouraging other men to do the same.  When our oldest daughter was born, he read Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Dr. Meg Meeker.  He loved it!  In December, he stumbled across the documentary, Absent, by Justin Hunt on Netflix.  Absent is about the effect that disengaged fathers have on their children and how this lack of a relationship affects society.  We also recently watched Courageous, a movie about this same topic.  What’s interesting is that independent of these movies, Adam was already thinking a lot about this.  These two films just reinforced that God is trying to show him something!

The path that we are exploring now includes possibly recording a CD of his latest real, positive music and putting together his own story for Catholic Men’s Conferences.   This would allow him to do what he loves and spread a message that can inspire others.  Adam relates to people very well and would be a great speaker.  This is definitely just the tip of the iceberg, but we feel that God is definitely giving us some sort of direction.

There are so many question marks and mysteries ahead of us, but I know that our priorities are in order.  I know that Adam has the right perspective on what is important in life.  The following quote from Courageous, when character Adam Mitchell speaks to a church congregation, sums it up. (Adam rewound this sentence twice!)

You can’t fall asleep at the wheel, only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value, but the souls of your children do.

Please pray for us as we continue to discern God’s call in our lives.  We will do the same for you!  Let’s also pray that more men will have the courage to be good fathers to their children!  Thank you to all the wonderful men out there who are already amazing husbands and fathers!  Your value in this world is priceless!

I’d like to also say a special thank you to my own father.  Thanks, Dad, for always finding time to support my interests and challenging me to be the best version of myself!

(Above photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net)

A Randomly Chosen Winner? {Matthew West – December’s Dreamer in the Spotlight}

21 Dec

There are times in life when you just know that God is trying to show you something, and what I’m about to describe is one of those moments…

Last Tuesday, Adam and I were blessed to be able to enjoy an intimate mid-day performance in downtown Nashville by Matthew West that will air on SiriusXM’s The Message. (Thanks to my supervisor for letting me have a late, extended lunch!) While the concert itself was amazing (and I will talk about it more in a little bit), the story of getting the opportunity to go is pretty awesome, as well, so I’ll start at the beginning…

20121220-215445.jpg

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we spent time at my parents’ house. I heard my dad showing Adam the latest Matthew West CD, Into the Light, that he recently bought. (I was familiar with Matthew West’s background and some of his music already, but not a dedicated fan – yet!) We started discussing how he is the type of artist that Adam aspires to be and it would be neat if he could meet with him over lunch or whatever to ask him some questions and get some insight into how he balances family and music, etc. About a week later, my dad emails me details about an opportunity to randomly win two tickets to an in-studio performance by Matthew West in Nashville. Without giving it much thought, and noting that the timing was too perfect to be a coincidence, I entered the contest. A few days later I received an email that I was one of the winners! I really wasn’t surprised that I won, because I sensed that God was trying to speak to us, especially Adam, through Matthew. (I later found out that even my dad wasn’t surprised, because after I told him I entered the contest, he decided he didn’t need to enter it anymore!) Let me just note, that if it wasn’t for my dad getting Matthew West’s CD and showing it to Adam just a week prior, he probably would not have alerted me about the contest!

So back to the SiriusXM performance at the Bridgestone Arena… There was only about 40-50 people in this small room above the Visitor’s Center, and I’m sure each person that day was supposed to be there for a reason. (That’s the great thing about Matthew West’s concerts – I don’t see how anyone can leave and not be affected and changed in some way.) Adam said that he could feel the Holy Spirit in the room, and I definitely agree!

For those who aren’t familiar with Matthew West, his past two albums have consisted of songs written about some of the heart-breaking personal experiences he has received in over 20,000 letters. Each of his songs is about a specific individual and what God’s response would be to offer hope and healing. To listen to the songs and read these stories, check out Matthew West’s website. He has found a way to make his music career not about himself, but about encouraging others! How refreshing and inspirational! It’s something that Adam has really struggled with lately when thinking about his future music plans. He does not want to do music for his own sake, for money, or for fame. Adam wants to use his music to make a difference and he doesn’t want to promote himself just to try to gain more fans.

Adam said that this is the first time he has listened to live music without focusing on whether or not the singer hit the right notes or if the right part was played. He went to the performance totally open to listen with his heart. I can’t tell you how many times Adam gave me this look of, “Are you serious? Is he reading my mind? This is crazy!” Matthew also had his daughter, Lulu, there with him. Like us, he has two little girls, so that’s just another reason Adam feels he can relate to him. During the interview portion of the show, Matthew was asked if it was hard to be on the road when his girls were so young. Matthew stated that he struggled with it a lot and wondered if it was really God’s will to pursue his ministry while leaving his family at home. He said that God has provided ways for things to work out, and now they are able to home-school their girls so his family can be on the road with him when he goes on tour. This is one of those times when Adam looked at me with eyes that said, “Wow, this guy is totally like who I want to be! What is God trying to tell me?!” Adam has talked often, recently, about wondering if God would want him to be away from the girls and our family to pursue music.

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After this amazing performance that will be airing at some point on The Message (Keep an ear out, those of you who have SiriusXM!), we all got to do a little meet-and-greet with Matthew and he signed free CD’s!! Adam is still processing everything that happened in that hour-and-a-half on a Tuesday afternoon! God was definitely speaking and we’ll be keeping everyone updated on the next steps!

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Please check out Matthew West’s music! He’s bringing truth and hope to people in a real way! Artists like him should be supported! I know that he has at least two new devoted fans in Tennessee!

Merry Christmas and see you back at A Dreamer’s Wife in 2013!  I’ll leave all you dreamers with the lyrics to Matthew West’s song, Do Something!

Verse 1:
I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around

So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty

Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”

He said, “I did, I created you”

Chorus:
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Verse 2:
I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else will do something”

Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
“I’m gonna do something”

Chorus:
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something (yes, it is)
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Bridge:
We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill (shine shine, shine shine)
But we’re never gonna change the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still (x3)

Chorus:
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

It’s time for us to do something (x2)

Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/matthew-west-lyrics-do-something-mdw36nq#ixzz2FhDtRCYs
LetsSingIt – Your favorite Music Community

The Music Does Not Make the Man

7 Dec

Today, my husband, Adam, is the author of this post!

adamadri

As this year is coming to a close, I thought I’d take a moment to share what has been going on with my music, but more importantly with my heart.

I unofficially declared this year as a year of reflection and growth last January, and it has changed me in so many ways. I decided that in order for me to listen to God, I needed to eliminate some distractions in my life, starting with Facebook. Now I realize that to some, that may be the end of the world as they know, it but I can’t tell you how liberating it has been to not be a slave to the never-ending updates. I do think that Facebook is a very effective way to connect with family, friends, and fans and share so many great things with the people we care about, so I’ll probably be more active as 2013 approaches.

For so many years, my life and worth as a man has centered around, and been measured by, the amount of “success” I have in my music career. Nashville does a really great job of fostering that feeling of “if I only had a record deal, I’d be happy” or “if Rascal Flatts would just cut one of my songs, I’d have money”. But something happens when you have an amazing, loving, supportive wife and two wonderful daughters that can make you smile so much your cheeks hurt. You begin to realize that life is so much more than what you do. So, I’ve stripped myself of all the pretenses, self-fulfilling prophecies, and expectations, and I must say I’m happier, healthier and more blessed than I’ve ever been. I may not have a producer, manager, publishing deal or a platinum album, but God has revealed to me that I’m loved no matter what. My worth is not found on a tour bus or within the pages of a recording contract. And guess what, you are loved no matter what, too.

Now, in no way have I “given up”. Stef and I have decided that I’m going to continue to write, record, and share my songs to any and all who will listen. If I can make a living in the process, that would be awesome, but we refuse to let money, and the prospects of money, drive our decisions when it comes to sharing music that I pray can put a smile on someone’s face or make them look to God. I truly feel like I am finally doing music for the right reason. I still have dreams. I still have hopes. But most importantly, I still have love. I look forward to sharing my music and journey with you all. If you have an inspirational story, please share. God bless and Merry Christmas!

Nashville: TV vs. Reality

2 Nov

Have you watched Nashville on ABC yet?

Since the show is shot in Nashville (obviously), I wanted to check it out to see where they filmed around the city!  I love the  montage of the different views of Nashville in the beginning of the pilot episode.  It never gets old driving into downtown, especially at night!

Some episodes were also shot at Soundcheck, the rehearsal facility where Adam works, and they are preparing to shoot some more scenes there soon.  Keep an eye out for the Soundcheck logo (it was all over the place in the 2nd episode)!

Okay, so I know this show is a drama, and things tend to be exaggerated on television and movies, but there is one thing that totally irritates me about Nashville.  One of the story lines is about a girl, who didn’t even intend to be a singer/songwriter and never sang into a microphone before, getting discovered at The Bluebird Cafe.

Let me just tell you – no one gets discovered at The Bluebird anymore! That’s so late 80’s/early 90’s!  It’s definitely not how things happen nowadays.  Record executives usually only go to legendary bars in Nashville in the afternoon for artist showcases.

Adam playing in a writer’s round at The Bluebird Cafe

Plus, there are so many talented people in town who are trying to get a record deal, that it is almost insulting to them that they’re featuring a character who stumbles into a huge opportunity the first time she sings at a bar in Nashville.

This show is perpetuating the idea to outsiders who aren’t familiar with how things work that “all you have to do is move to Nashville and you’ll randomly get discovered playing out some night.”  The main reason to play around town is to network with other musicians and songwriters.

Alright, I’m done!  I still plan to keep tabs on the show to see how they continue to feature the city and other landmarks.

Also, did you watch the CMA’s last night?  Adam has been down at the Bridgestone Arena as a ‘tech’ this week.  (Thanks for watching the girls all week Mom and Dad!)  He knows all of the secrets of who actually played/sang and who used tracks, but I won’t tell!

I’m so happy for Little Big Town – they’ve been doing music for a long time and have only started getting recognition in recent years!  I also love how Miranda Lambert individually acknowledged how great each of the other nominees were in the Female Vocalist of the Year category!  Very classy!

If you live in Nashville, or have visited, do you have a favorite place in town?  If you caught the CMA’s, do you have a favorite moment from the show?

Anything You Want: Creating an Independent Artist Utopia

5 Oct

Have you heard of CD Baby?  This company sells independent music online and was founded by Derek Sivers in 1998 and, despite his intentions, became a multimillion dollar business.  A few months ago, I read his book Anything You Want that detailed what he learned about starting and running a business, etc.  His book is not the typical business leadership book – and I loved it! I often find myself coming back to some of the nuggets of wisdom in this short read when making plans and goals for our future, especially in regards to Adam’s music career.

Business is not about money.  It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.

Starting with no money is an advantage.  You don’t need money to start helping people.

When you make a company, you make a utopia.  It’s where you design your perfect world.

I love that Adam and I can create his own “musician utopia.”  There are no “rules” that we have to follow.  There is no record label dictating his schedule and how he spends his time.  He is not confined to a specific genre and does not have to fit a certain type of mold.  Our family can still be a priority and he can write songs about his faith without being confined to the Christian music category box.

Recently, I ran across an old post at Indie Vision Music that asked people what they thought of an article written by artist Gungor on his website, titled “Why the Christian music category shouldn’t exist.”  The post brought up some intriguing points and the comments that followed were pretty interesting, as well.  I know that categories can be useful, but they can be limiting, as well.  Also, it seems odd to me to confine songs about God to a small section of the music industry… Let me know what you think!

A big part of creating our utopia is figuring out how to use Adam’s talents to help others.  I love the following quote by Aristotle.

Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.

If we focus on how Adam’s music can be used to help others, then I think we will be on the right track.  We used to be so consumed with how and when Adam could be a big enough artist to support our family, but now we’re not focused on the money aspect.  Money and fame are not motivators for Adam.  I, personally, just want Adam to be able to enjoy doing music without putting additional pressure on himself.  We are both blessed to  have jobs and be able to spend so much time with our daughters.  God has provided for us time and again financially and I know that He will continue to do so.

Also, Adam wants to be true to himself and his beliefs and sing about things that matter.  He doesn’t like how the music industry panders to a certain demographic.  Country music is a perfect example of this.  Many (superficial) singles on the radio right now have to do with trucks, dirt roads, and drinking.  What happened to the country music of 10 years ago that inspired Adam to move to Nashville? What happened to meaningful songs about love, faith, and family?  I like a fun, upbeat song as much as the next person, but seriously, where is the substance?  Even Vince Gill, Adam’s musical idol, has commented on this topic.

In addition, while social media has given artists more ways to connect to people than ever before, it also forces one to constantly be promoting and thinking of the next gimmick to get everyone’s attention.  From trying to make viral YouTube videos to coming up with a unique merchandise item to sell, it almost seems like there is more effort put into “attention-getters” than the actual music itself.

Of course, doing things on our own is more challenging and time-consuming than if we had a team of professional industry insiders to guide Adam’s musical dreams, but how much would we have to compromise?  How would our marriage endure?  Would our family suffer?  I’m so excited that Adam can release an album (yes, he’s working on a full-length album as opposed to the popular 5-song EP in this radio single-dominated market) full of whatever music he wants.  Some songs are upbeat with irresistible melodies.  Others are thought-provoking, insightful and inspiring.  We are learning how to do new things in order to be creative and professional on our tiny budget.  The freedom that we have is definitely worth the extra time.

Welcome to our utopia- where God, family, being real, and figuring out how our dreams can help others rules our ever-expanding little world!

What does your utopia look like?