Catching Up...

First off, I really need to apologize to you all for not updating for the last month. I know it deserves some explanation and I'm fully prepared to answer.

My main excuse is that I go through these phases as an artist where my inspiration is running a little thin. The right thing to do would be to work hard, push through it and diversify my expression. The wrong thing to do would be to get another job so that I feel really busy and can make an excuse for why I'm not doing my art.

Anyone want to take a guess as to which one I did?

Anyway, my last day of work was last wednesday. I realized my sin and I'm in the process of repenting.

A few other things I've been busy with...

My dear friends Jon, Ian and Hanna were up to visit for awhile. We worked hard on putting out a little Hip Hop E.P. together which I'm very proud of.
Also, I just Got finished leading worship for this big youth confrence in Portland Called Winter Youth. I had an incredible time and realized a lot about myself and the calling God has on my life.

With All that Said, I'm very sorry and I will try and be a better blog friend.

Here's one of the songs that we finished for the hip hop project. I hope you like it.

Love you guys,
We'll talk soon,

Casey

Song of The Week 11.2.08

I apologize for the long delay. Things have been a little bit crazy lately so I haven't got as much posting done as I would have liked.

Anyway, The Song this week is called "I'll Be Near". Honestly I don't have a ton to say about this song just yet because I only finished it about an hour ago. It's still has some maturing to do but all in all I really like it. The song was inspired by a new album I bought recently by Ray LaMontagne titled Gossip In the Grain. It's incredible and if you don't have it you should stop reading and go buy it right now. One of the Main themes of the album seems to be friendship and I guess that's what inspired me. I'm learning more and more these days to write about things that are good. It's really freeing. I'm finding these really complex inspirational joys in the midst of happiness and I love it. It's not to say that things aren't still hard at times, I guess I'm just learning how to see the gospel in those times.
I love you guys a lot and I will try to be better at posting.

Peace,

Casey

Delay of Game...

We just switched to a new computer and I'm having some technical difficulties with protools right now. I am unable to record at this moment but I will post this weeks song soon. I love you guys. Thanks for understanding.

Casey

Song of the Week 10.07.08

Hey Ladies and Gentlemen,

Sorry again for lack of posts lately. Life has been pretty crazy, It seems like there has been an overwhelming since of responsibility on my hands. Most of it's good stuff, it just keeps me really busy. Anyway,
The song this week is titled Babylon. It's actually one I've been working on a little bit longer than this week. It comes out of psalm 137 where it talks about God's people being in captivity in Babylon and almost forgetting there first Joy, Zion. As I was writing this song I felt really compelled to stay true to the text. Sometimes I allow my self the liberty to expound on the ideas but I just felt that this needed to be as close to verbatim as I could get it. Because of that it became a rather long song. I struggled a lot with the tension of feeling like I should make it fit a tighter mold but there was still just this pulling inside of me that said, "stay true to the text and let it take as long as it needs to." So that's what I did.
I really like the feel of this song, it's different from the way I usually write and it was a nice change. It's no Jimmy Cliff, but it'll do.
I try to be better at posting on time but the truth is I'm exhausted. There has been a lot of different circumstances that have caused me to feel weighted down lately emotional and physically, but I will do my best to keep the music coming, even it the hard times.
I Love you all a lot, We'll talk next week.

Casey

Shows and Sickness...

Hey all, so as you can probably figure out, I didn't get a song finished this week. Things have been pretty crazy lately around here. I had a show in Portland this last Thursday at the Camellia Lounge, which was fun cause I got to open for this band called Two Step Slumber. Over the course of the week though I became more and more sick. Also, the church that I'm the worship pastor at changed venues this week so we had plenty of details to work out there. All in All it's been a crazy week and I didn't have as much time to write as I would have liked. I'll do my best to be back on for next week. Here are some pictures to tide you over.

Love you guys,

Casey

Song of the Week - 09.19.08 I will be

I was pretty close this week to not posting a song. I tried all week to write and every time I sat down at the piano or with the guitar I just couldn't do it. I felt pretty distracted all week. Lauren and I were both kind of sick and things just got busy. It wasn't till late last night/early this morning that the music started to come. The song itself must have switched between 5 or so different keys before I settled into this one. It also changed tempo a few times. It started out fast but it just didn't sing right that way.
The song it self I think is really another statement of the war that goes on inside my brain. The battle between needing other people and being an introvert. I think we all have our defense mechanisms where when we get tired or get our feelings hurt or feel threaten we do what feels natural to us. For me that's shutting down, not letting anyone around me in including God. I get lost in my own thoughts and it's sometimes hard to get out. The chorus in this song for me really feels like a desperate prayer. It's me just asking God to remind me that the he sees something more then I see and that he believes in me because he is good and see's what I truly am.
Love you guys, thanks for going through all this with me. If you wanted to hear other songs of the week push the far right arrow and it should skip to past song.

Peace,
Casey

House Keeping / Great Song

Hey, Just wanted to give a little explanation with blog amp. If you want to listen to past songs, just click on the far right arrows and it will take you to previous songs. All the songs of the week should be labeled with the date. There's some more hip hop stuff on there also. Just thought I'd let you know.
Also, I wish I would have written this song. To bad for me.

Song of the Week 09.10.08

Alright, Back to normal...

This weeks song is called Great lakes. I have to confess I've been working on this one for a little longer then a week. I guess sometimes it just takes me a little longer to know what the songs about. I originally started writing this song because I felt like I was in a slump where all I was writing was blue-grassy folk songs. I wanted to write something a little more straight and poppy. The main Idea of the song is that a lot of the time we as humans get so busy in our day to day lives that we forget about the things that we really love and long for. I think we have good intentions but we end up making all sorts of plans to write that book, go back to school or take that chance with music and before you know it we've settled for a life that is so much less then we ever dreamed of. I don't want to be a victim of my own good intentions. I want to know what I was made for. I think that the author of the book Walden said it best.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

Henry David Thoreau, "Walden", 1854

Song of the Week - Side Project

Alright, back to work. This weeks song comes from a little side project that I am doing with some friends of mine down in LA. It's obviously not my normal sound but hip hop is closer to my heart then one would thing. Growing up I listened to a lot of hip hop, blues and soul and when I first learned to play guitar I was mostly playing the blues with my dad. I'm not really sure how I got into it but all through middle school and most of High School I listened to hard core gangsta rap. You know like NWA and EAZY-E and through the years I have held a high appreciation for good hip-hop.
This project has been a lot of fun so far because it's really making me use a side of my brian that I'm not used to. I usually spend most of my time writeing melodies and lyrics but now I'm forced to think in beats and hooks. Don't worry, next week I'll be back to normal, I just watned to share with you what I'm up to. I love ya, It's good to be back.

Casey

Song of the Week?

I have to let you all know, I have not forgot about you or about the song but I decided to go on vacation this last week. My wife and I went to visit family in Hawaii and we spent every day in the beach. I promise to post a songs soon, thanks for the vacation. Love you guys,

- Cheers

Casey

Song of the Week 08.18.08

A lot of the time when I write songs I feel like I'm trying to get an idea or message of some sort across. That was not the case this week. This week all I was trying to do was describe a picture that I had in my head.
Last Thursday night I went on a walk at about 11:30. I was just trying to get my head clear because I had been trying to write and it was feeling really forced. I think I just had a lot on my mind and wasn't really sure what I was supposed to write about.
As I was walking and praying, I just asked God to give me something to write about. There was an amazing full moon out that night and as I started to concentrate on it the line, " the man in the moon has got his eye on you" came into my head. As I thought about that line I got a picture in my mind of a little girl, and her father watching her.
I already had the basic melody line in my head from a few weeks earlier. It really seemed to fit the picture well because it kind of sounded like a lullaby.
As I was writing I was just trying to imagine what it would feel like to have a daughter. In a lot of ways that thought scares me to death. The impression that I got from this father picture in my head was that raising this child would be the best and most important thing he ever does. It was like he was looking at her with such amazement because he never knew that he could love something so much.
It's crazy to think that the best thing I'll ever do with my life, is love and teach and raise a child. It really makes all the busyness seem less important.

Song of the Week 08.11.08 - Psalm 5

This week was challenging for me. I have to admit that I must have started two or three songs before I eventually decided to stick with this one. It all started out when I began to read through the book of psalms. I had a strong feeling that I was supposed to read through the book very intentionally and not just rush through it like I sometimes have a tendency to do.
One of the things that intrigued me very quickly after I started reading was that the writer knew God in a very different way then I did. He was not in the least bit ashamed of the fact that God hated Evil. I decided to try and put one of the psalms to music and as I did a started to get very uncomfortable. There were a lot of phrases that I had a hard time singing. Phrases like, "You destroy all who tell lies" Psalm 5:6a., or " the arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong."Psalm 5:5
As I finished the song I was pretty unimpressed. I decided to show it to Lauren to get a second opinion and I was surprised with what I herd. After I finished the song she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, THAT IS TRUE ABOUT GOD.
I don't hate evil like God does. God hated evil enough to do something about it. In the middle of Psalm 5 the writer says, "but I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence i bow down toward your holy temple." The writer knew the intensity of Gods love because he saw the reality of his hatred. It gives me chills to think about the punishment that Christ received. He took upon himself the evil that God hated so much. When Christ prayed in the Garden he must have really new what he was up against.
Luke 22:42-44
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

technical difficulties

I just wanted to write you all a quick note to tell you that I'm having technical difficulties. I have my song for this week recorded but I can't get it into mp3 format right now. I hope to have it up by tomorrow. Sorry,

Love you guys,

Casey

Song of the Week - I am Free - 08.05.08

So this song has kind of got a long story to it. I first started writing music because I was looking for a way to express a lot of the hurt and frustration that I had inside. My songs were raw and genuine and that's where I found most of my inspiration. The only problem was that pain became my only inspiration. It seemed like I was getting myself into bad situations just to have some sort of material. I know that sounds awful but unfortunately it's true. I don't think that I did it intentionally, but I did it non the less.
Then one day I reunited with a beautiful young woman. She was smart, funny, and full of joy. She, over time was able to teach me what it was like to enjoy life and eventually we got married.
All sounds great, right? I've got one problem though. I don't know how to write songs when I'm happy. I eventually learned how to look to God and to the people around me for my inspiration but the one thing my wife always kept asking me was why I never wrote a song for her.
My excuse was that she was in every song I wrote, which was true but I was still having a hell of a time writing songs that were happy. Over the past six months I began to realize that even though being happy might not be in style, it's still worth writing about even if at times it seems cheesy or cliche'
So with all that said, I dedicate this post to her. I finally leaned how to write a happy song, and this songs for You. Happy Anniversary!

- Casey

Ode to Camas, WA

I had a great time in Camas, Washington this weekend. Met some really great people, and I'll definitly be coming back soon. A huge thanks to Twilight Pizza Bistro for everything they did this weekend. Love you guys.
- Casey

Song of the Week - Come to me - 08.01.08

The song of the week is called Come To Me. Sometimes writing a song can take me hours, even days to do, and other times it just comes out in minutes. This was one of those time. I just sat down at the piano and it gushed out of me. I think that I was inspired by that invitation Jesus gave to the broken people around him. I realized how broad that invitation was, it could include almost anyone. My initial picture of someone who is burdened or heavyhearted is very glum. I picture a homeless man or an orphan or something like that. I know that those people are included in his invitation but I guess what I realized is that I'm around burdened people everyday. A lot of them don't even know it. Hell, I don't even know it sometimes. I suppose we all have baggage, and I would guess that we're all looking for a place to set that baggage down from time to time. My problem is that i've become very attached to my baggage, and I don't like to trust people with it. In fact, I think I might find some of my Identity in my baggage. I guess that's what makes Christ's invitation so hard. He not only wants me to lay down my baggage, he actually want me to leave it. He says. " Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

For me, this song is an invitation to find my identity in Christ, not my own issues.

.

The start of something new...

So, I'm officially breaking the rules with this one. I know that media says I'm supposed to be dark and mysterious, that I'm not supposed to let my songs be heard until they are completely polished but I say, the hell with it. Since I started writing songs, (which was at the age of 13 for anyone who cares) I've always been about being honest with my audience. Now I'll admit that some of that came from the huge influence that Dashboard had on me ( pre-cover of spin magazine) but most of it came from family and close friends. I was fortunate enough to have a family that challenged me to be honest at all times, even if I was scared. I guess I started wearing my heart on my sleeve because it felt like the most natural thing to do. It also didn't hurt that more women paid attention to me.  

Anyway, I'll try and get to the point. 

I want this to be a place where you can be invited into my journey as a songwriter. I can't promise that it will be neat and polished, in-fact I can almost guarantee that it wont be. But one thing I will say is that I'll be honest about the process, even if it sounds like madness. 

My plan is to write one song a week and then post it for you all to hear. I'll try as best I can to explain what inspired it, but I must warn you that some of it might seem dark.  

Don't be afraid. It's only art. And who knows, I might learn how to write a happy song somewhere along the way.