“Until the Whole World Hears”

It has been a couple of weeks since I have blogged, but I have come to terms that this is how life is going to be for the next 12 months. I promise I will try to get better at fitting blogging into this crazy life of mine. J I am more than happy to walk this road God is leading us down. Becoming a missionary and joining a church planting team is an enormous commitment, but I couldn’t be more thankful. We have to make the most of everyday from sun up till sun down. The days of relaxation are going to have to be over for the next 12 months to give this our all. I have recently changed my ringtone (lol) to a song that really inspires me. It is on Casting Crowns’ new album and really touches me. It is actually the title of their new album and my blog it is called “Until the Whole World Hears”. Here is the chorus just to show you why it inspires me during this time.

ready yourselves
ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
ready yourselves
ready yourselves
May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise
Until the whole world hears Lord we are calling out
Lifting up Your name for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness we're crying out
as the day draws near
we'll sing until the whole world hears

I am currently taking an Old Testament class in college, and it has been an amazing blessing. During this time when life is turned upside down and you are preparing to leave everyone and everything you know, it is a comforting feeling to be reminded of the sacrifices God has made for us. It makes what we feel like is a major life change seems ill in comparison to what God has sacrificed for us. I sit in class each week with 20 other students and a facilitator. I get to hear their thoughts, beliefs and hear about their relationship with the Lord if they have one, and see their eyes light up when they learn things that they did not know about our savior. I thought this is just a taste of what we will experience in an area where God is not often spoken of. To go to an area where people are not sure what to believe in and walking around with an agonizing emptiness inside, it will be amazing to see the changes in their lives when they accept Christ. Once we realize it is not about us it is about him it is an amazing feeling.

If you have been keeping up with our blog you already know that we are working in so many areas of our lives that our heads are spinning. We are meeting with ministry partners, learning French, constantly seeking God and praying, cleaning out clutter, selling unneeded items, meeting with a financial counselor, plus everyday normal life. Our biggest plan for the coming weeks is to get our house on the market by next weekend. We have been advised from our financial counselor to try the for sale by owner thing for a couple of months. If that doesn’t work then we will seek the help of a realtor. Please pray for us as there is so much to do to have the house ready.

Thinking of leaving my family is one of the hardest things I will do in my life. I have amazing Grandparents, Parents, and siblings who I will leave behind. I also have amazing in laws, nieces, and nephews who we will leave as well. This is a sacrifice we are willing to make. We have families who love us so much and we are so thankful, and we are lucky enough to have families who love the Lord so I know they will understand why we have to do this. When God is calling you to something it would be easier to look the other way and go on about your normal life, but answering that call is the right thing to do as Christ followers. My main goal is to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength and be obedient to him. I ask you to pray for our families during this time. I pray that God will give them understanding. I know they will be a constant support in our lives no matter where we are at. To our Mothers we will be home once per year and you can come visit whenever you like. J We love you all.

I was reading a team members blog and it was talking about how we started this process 7 months ago. I cannot believe how these months have flown by. I cannot believe that I have had the blessing of visiting this country to help make plans for the coming year. It is scary and exciting all rolled into one. Even though I got to spend a week there I still cannot imagine what all God has in store for when we get there. We are trusting God through it all. Please join with us in praying for the missionaries serving in Belgium now and for the people of Belgium, please pray for us along with our teammates as we work harder than ever before to answer the call.

Matthew 28:18-20 (New International Version)

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We are going to be in the hall of fame!

Time is just flying by. Cassi and I have been so busy since her trip to Belgium and my stint with Casting Crowns. This weekend is the first time we are really going to have to debrief and spend some time together. We plan on taking in a tourist attraction this weekend. We are going to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

So we will be in the Hall of Fame; as visitors, not inductees.

Meet the people who are making it happen

Hey guys,

I am still out on the road with Casting Crowns. Yesterday we were at a Provident Records dinner and performed with Brandon Heath, Matt Maher, Chynna and Vaughan, Phil Stacey, and Leeland. It was really neat spending time with all these artists back stage. Admittedly, I was one of those guys who had a bit of a Junior High crush on Chynna Phillips when she was with Wilson Phillips. I ended up not talking with her, fearing that I might come across as a gurm.

The tour rehearsals earlier this week were in Nashville at the Sommet Center with Casting Crowns and Matt Redman. His band sounded so good in rehearsal. Especially the opener. The keyboard player is a guy named Nathan Nockels. He was one of the guys who almost produced the DDB record for us. He does quite a bit of producing in Nashville, especially for his wife Christy Nockels. He and his wife were a group called Watermark for years.

It has been cool to meet and hang out with a lot of the artists that have been writing the lion's share of worship songs of the modern church. This is all just over the past 8 days I have been with Casting Crowns.

We are staying at a nice resort style hotel called Lowes Portofino Bay Hotel. Free tickets to the Universal theme parks. I am staying in the room today though. I have to realize that this is work for me. I need to make sure the music I play tomorrow is right on the money. If I get done later I might venture out to the park.

Chris and Amanda had their baby last night. This morning Hannah seems to be doing well. I should know soon how much longer I am on the road with Crowns. Their tour for the new album starts this coming Thursday in Albuquerque and Friday in Phoenix. By the way this new album, for me, is the Casting Crowns I fell in love with in the beginning. There is quite a bit of worship on this particular album. I have had moments of "church" sitting there learning the tunes. I find myself going between work and worship. This album drops in November and I suggest you OWN IT!

Well, gotta run. I think Cassi said she was going to try to do an update on her trip to Belgium. Not sure about when, but keep looking here for it.

Peace

Greater Than Us All...going, going, GONE!!!

Ok y'all. For those of you who have not heard, the Daniel Doss Band is an independent artist again. We are no longer on EMI/Sparrow. That being said, we have purchased every copy that the EMI warehouse had left. It was only a couple thousand. If you will ever want one, or another copy of it you need to let us know soon. Once they are gone they are gone.

One cool thing about being independent is that we are working on a record that will have our stamp on it. Complete artistic license again, but with better knowledge than before. There are some great new songs that are going to be coming out. We plan on recording the album this fall. There is not a release date yet, but it would be late this year or early next year.

Go to http://www.danieldossband.com/ or let me know if you want a Greater Than Us All CD.

Blog #100: I want to Change - by Russ and Tori Taff

This song/prayer is perfect for the 100th blog! It is from Russ Taff's 1983 Walls of Glass album.

Lord, You know my past
How the many things of life have molded me
The years have brought so many things from examples I have seen
Some good, some bad -- they're all a part of me
So I see my selfish motives and my inconsistencies
And block upon block, the wall was built complete
Lord, please come and break the wall down
And show this captive heart how to be free

(Chorus)
I want to be like You
I want to change
And not be trapped in the paths my life has set for me
I want to be like You
Please help me change
Into what I was meant to be
Until all I can clearly see
Is the loving reflection of You in me

Teach me to forgive
Letting go of hurts I hide behind
Replacing all the things in me that I've buried deep inside
Till Your healing love brings all of them to light
Let my life be an example of what true life can be
When it's given like a gift to those who need
Please come and take control, Lord,
Of this yielding, willing soul and live through me

(Chorus)

This album is on iTunes. I suggest you get it if you like or miss soulful worship music. Man we gotta get churches doing this stuff again. Church soul is my favorite! These lyrics are great for prayer and reflection too. I downloaded this album a few weeks ago. I wish I was playing in church back then. We gotta bring it back. Who's comin' with me?

Peace

Dates with Casting Crowns

I received some dates that I will be performing with Casting Crowns. Chris Huffman, the bass player for Casting Crowns, is taking a short leave for his 2nd child to be born. I will be filling in for him while he is out. As of right now that is looking like September 3-5.

The shows will be in St. Paul, MN, Kansas City, MO, and New Braunfels, TX respectively. Come out and check them out if you can.

Casting Crowns tour dates information can be found here.

I am Looking at You.

This is what it looks like for us on stage. There are only 4 of us on stage and hundreds and sometimes thousands of you out there.

It is a little bit different perspective.

It is always better when the people are satisfied that you brought the rock. I see at least 4 people that think that the rock had been "brought-en."

There are also some people that fall into the category that others talk about when they say "you can't please 'em all."

Peace

Recording

I was going through some pics on the camera and putting them on the computer.

Here is my buddy Derek doing a session we had at SAE in Nashville. He was using this sweet Les Paul with a Bigsby. He has some great sounding gear. He is one of those tone Nazi's. Always looking to make it better.

I used my '95 Warwick Corvette FNA direct into my Avalon U5. What a sweet sound that is.

Peace

Something a little embarrassing happened to me

So are you a sick individual that saw the title of this post and decided that you had to see what dorky Bryan did? "Let's see if we can kick him while he is down!" Right? It is ok I would have done the same thing.

I teach guitar and bass lessons and one of my students wanted me to chart a song for her. The first one was a Kelly Clarkson song. At first run through I liked the tune and started charting it. Then she decided that, "oh wait there is a brand new Miley Cyrus song I have to learn." I am not a Miley Cyrus fan, to be fair, I am not her target audience.

The embarrassing part is coming. I started listening and charting it. I actually liked it. It seems to be a really good song. It is called The Climb.

Enjoy, or not.

Peace

I had the crud

I have been battling different sicknesses for about 4 weeks. I am finally feeling better. I will try to get caught up on all of my reading and writing. I actually have been writing songs with a friend for the past few weeks. It is nice to have a creative outlet for that.

I am looking forward to playing with my "old band" at church this week. I go to LifePoint Church and we used to have set bands. Now we have about 4 bands worth of musicians that rotate through our different venues. It is always nice to get back and play with old friends.

Peace

America does have talent. I say it is Martin Sexton.

This guy is one of America's great talents. His writing and singing are fantastic. This is not necessarily the best quality or his best song but you need to go see him. Please.

He plays a Godin A6. You ever hear of it? Probably not, but Godin makes some VERY good Guitars. I gotta get one some day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO_IZGbCDv0&feature=related

Peace

From the Ashes

Here are some lyrics of a ballad I have to learn for a CD release party. I like them for some reason. Not sure who the writer is.

My right hand holds matches
My left holds my past
I hope the wind catches
And burns it down fast
I’m gonna step into the fire
With my failures and my shames
And wave goodbye to yesterday
While I dance among the flames

So don’t try to save me now
Let the walls of my world all burn down
Just stand back and wait till the smoke finally passes
And I will rise from the ashes, from the ashes, from the ashes

For all that I’m losing
Much more will I gain
The hard part is choosing
To change what needs changed
Well my step will be much lighter
With these demons off my chest
I’m born a better spirit
Lay the old to rest

So don’t try to save me now
Let the walls of my world all burn down
Just stand back and wait till the smoke finally passes
And I will rise from the ashes, from the ashes, from the ashes

I’ll walk away stronger
I will be flying
Higher and truer than I’ve flown before

My right hand holds matches
My left holds my past
I hope the wind catches
And burns it down fast

Rediscovering the Arts

There are some of us that have an artistic mind. Being in and around music, theatre, motion pictures, paint, sculptures and the like are where our brains are in their natural state. The synapses? Sure they fire more but they seem to fire in a beautiful order. It gives me the feeling of being home. I am at rest. I am at peace with myself and the world. Without art I would be a shell filled with a great abyss of nothing. Only God himself could keep me from literal insanity if I did not have the arts.

Music and art is not what I like. It is what I am. I guess I have always known that but it has never been more prominent than now.

It is a new year

Hey all. The new year is upon us. Lots of questions for this year. Seems more than normal.

I am boarding a plane soon for Dallas. Tequila Sunrise, A Tribute to the Eagles, has one more show. It is one of those things that happened out of the blue. Paul plays for Taylor Swift now so this show was kind of a last minute deal. They had some time off, so we are doing a show at the House of Blues in Dallas.

Peace

Take Me Back Andrae

I was listening to an old Andrae Crouch song a few days ago. My parents used to play his records all the time. Please read the lyrics to this song. Andrae was and is one of the best Gospel writers of modern time. My prayer is that YOU make this the desire of your heart if there is ANY distance between you and God. I know I can always be closer. Literally stop what you are doing and pray these words. It will change your day.

Take Me Back

(Chorus)
Take me back, take me back dear Lord
To the place where I first received you.
Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I first believed.

(Verse)
I feel that I'm so far from you Lord
But still I hear you calling me
Those simple things that I once knew,
The memories are drawing me.
I must confess, Lord I've been blessed
But yet my soul's not satisfied.
Renew my faith, restore my joy
And dry my weeping eyes.

(Bridge)
I tried so hard
To make it all alone
I need your help
Just to make it home.

Andrae's website is found at http://www.andraecrouch.com/.

Bored-Again Christians...we are everywhere

If you are like me, you like positive music. You love hearing great music. You wonder if you are the only one out there that wishes there was more "arty" faith-based music. The reality is that Christian radio just can't survive that way.

I guess one great way to overcome the safe sound is to have bands made up of Christians get a secular deal, market themselves as a secular band and make sure their songs have a positive message. Plenty of bands have done this. Mute Math, POD, Collective Soul, and plenty of bands that I am just now getting to know thanks to a new podcast I just found. I was about the 11,001st person to find it though.

Check out the Bored-Again Christian site and subsequent podcast. I DO listen to Christian radio but sometimes I want to take a chance. This will help you find that music you are looking for.

Peace

Daniel Doss Band featured on WorshipTogether.com

Hey everybody. Worship together has featured a new song from the Daniel Doss Band and has made it available for a free music chart download. My personal favorite song "Blessed Is the One" is what they picked to feature. There is also a "New Song Cafe" episode dedicated to this song. Go to http://rqst4.info/track/viewmsg.cfm?n35037s2093c11303373t2310 to check it out. We are pretty excited!

Peace

He IS my favorite artist

My favorite artist out there right now is Martin Sexton. He has a cult following of a few hundred thousand in America. He used to be a signed artist on Capitol Records. He was not getting much radio play and found that he was selling most of his albums at his concerts as opposed to in music stores and such. He parted ways with Capitol and started his own label. His thought process was that he sells more records than his label, why cut them in on it? They were not getting him radio play. Why pay them?

I heard an interview with him on NPR about 5 years ago and he said that he was clearing about $500k a year traveling independently and selling his own records. Now the rocker in me says it is way better to sell 2 million records and have sold out concerts to 50,000 fans, but is that more profitable?

Signed artist? Think about this. You give up much of your artistic license. You pay someone else for distribution. You actually give them ownership in your project. If you hit it big you make more than $500k per year. Most people do not hit it big and spend their time being broke. I dare say though that most people reading this blog have not heard Martin Sexton much at all if ever. He does not need to be a commercial or radio success to make a great living. Now with the integration of the internet distribution is even less important than it used to be.

So if you want to be big and important in the music industry go with a label. If you just want to make music for art's sake and make a living you might want to think about staying independent. It is just very hard for labels to be everything to artists. Too many cut backs and such to be as effective as they once were.

Wow, I started this post to tell you about my ALL TIME FAVORITE ARTIST and ended up on a soap box. That was unintentional. Yes, I do play for a signed artist/band and they do treat us exceptionally well. I am just trying to dispel the "pie-in-the-sky" ideas that we all have when we start looking for that deal.

PLEASE check out Martin Sexton!

Peace