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07/31/10 - Added several sound files to the Rough Sketches CD page. Click here to check them out.
07/26/10 - We had our annual porch concert DFL fundraiser on 07/23/10, and had
a nice turnout. Here are a couple of pictures. Will put up a more extensive page as pictures come in. A splendid time was
had by all!
07/20/10 - Updated the new CD page for ROUGH SKETCHES. To check it out go here. Also, the porch concert is coming up this Friday the 23rd. Should be a good time!
07/05/10- Just added an out take to my front page. If you want to listen to a
more rocking version of "Something's Wrong," click here.
06/19/10 - Just spent some time cleaning up the site, eliminating pages, and updating others. I updated the gear page as well as how to navigate to the free downloads on Sound Click. Need to figure out what to do with the site now that I don't play out much anymore.
06/17/10 - It has been awhile since I've written. Have our annual porch concert
to raise money for the DFL - see the performance link for more details. I have been playing with our church praise band at Brooklyn UMC, as our church Riverview closed, and they want to use a lot of my songs. I also get to play the electric guitar again, and
do lead things. Very fun! Not a whole lot else on the grid now. I do have a couple newer songs on Sounclick.com, some political
stuff, one is called "Bad to Worse" and the other "Listen to the New America". Click on the links to listen. They were both written and recorded in Duluth in a hotel room sometime in April of this year.
10/25/09 - It's been awhile since I updated, so here goes. I have been busy lately
on some different musical fronts. I am enjoying producing other people. I just recently finished a small project in which
I wrote music to another's lyrics, and have finished up a project with my pastor working on her songs. It is tempting to look
at trying to help others with their musical ideas.
I also worked recording demo recordings for my son Tyler's band Flipmind. Things
went well, and I found that I can record a small band live in the basement. To hear these demos, go ahead and click here.
I've been putting some new tunes together - but it goes slow.
09/23/09 - I don't know if I haven't updated in 5 months or something got removed. Anyway, I am currently finishing up
a recording process for a friend in which we did 7 of her songs. I am pretty happy with how things came out.
On 09/05/09 I became 47 years old. Yikes.
Work on the new CD continues. I've got about 9 songs, but some of them are pretty personal. Not sure all of what I'll
keep or if we will do another EP.
A few things have happened. My grandfather Ken Meliza passed away this summer, and we did sing at his funeral in Chicago.
It was good to see some family I rarely see anymore.
I am still thinking a lot about Kimberly, my friend who passed away in February from cancer. I went out to the cemetary
a couple weeks ago and put a flower on her grave. It still makes me sad. She was a good songwriter, and a great friend.
More to come later...
04/23/09 - For a limited time (I don't know how long) I have all my songs up
for free download at SoundClick. That's 96 songs. The only one not up is "Filled With Love" as I did not write it and
have not asked for permission to give it away. I only have permission to put it on my CD.
04/11/09 - I am up to the OFFERTORY cd on my quest to get everything online. I have decided to offer the OFFERTORY tracks
for free, so they are free at the SoundClick page. All I have left to do is THE LEFT IS RIGHT and the self named CD.
04/05/09 - I have updated my Soundclick page by getting all the songs for my first CD up (All Along the Way) and hope to get all the songs up in a week
or so. You can buy individual songs as fifty cent downloads. I have a couple free things at the end of the list. You can still
purchase from CD Baby as well if you want physical CDs, but my latest (Sacred Ground) is not up there at this time.
03/31/09 - Kimberly was buried on Saturday, 03/28/09. It is a hard death to deal with, as there was so much talent and
love in her. It was neat to hear the songs I worked on with her ("Beloved in His Presence" and "Bless Me" ) played at the
funeral. She was loved deeply by Erin and me, and will be missed so much.
In other news, I am working on a new CD, and have five songs done, and others planned. I am looking at older material
and doing some re-writing. So far, it seems to be coming together okay. I also just got done playing at the DFL fundraiser
on the 28th as well, and below you see me and my son Tyler playing together. He also did a set of his own songs and went over
well.
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| Tyler and me playing through "Sideshow Blues." |
03/22/09 - My friend Kimberly Hiltbrand passed away today after
a long battle with cancer. I put up a page for her here. If you want to see her website she kept while she was ill, please click here.
12/17/08 - I added a video to the Videos page, a performance from the 2007 porch concert. Let me know if you can watch
it on high speed internet.
I will be doing a show at the DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor Party) Walleye Dinner in early 2009, will get the date up
for you. This is not a free event, but one of my political events.
A good friend of mine, Paul Putrid, has allowed me to administrate his Soundclick webpage. Paul is a little "off" so to speak, but he has interesting music.
Go ahead and click his name to listen. He wouldn't let me put up any pictures, so he suggested a redressed Jesse Ventura doll,
and he also thinks he looks like Donny Osmond, so I took a picture of my wife's Donny Osmond doll for one picture. Strange man.
11/28/08 - Now that I have DSL, I have drastically updated my Soundclick site
and you can listen and download songs from there. You can get to that site by going to the Free Music Downloads page. I plan to shortly make the last CD available there instead of through the CD Baby arena.
10/05/08 - Slowly writing new songs for what should be the next CD. It's a long process. The time I spent in Manitoba
was helpful, and ideas of a very secular nature keep coming. I am kind of at a crossroads now. We keep losing places to play
around here as a solo act. I actually considered playing at the Pot Belly Stove but the thought of singing these songs to
a group munching on subs and chips really gets me down.
My son came back from MSU Moorhead as he breezed into town to see Weezer. He is majoring in Music Business and his main
instrument is guitar. He is taking private instruction and the joy and fear is that he will surpass me some day.
I have been listening to Todd Snider a lot lately. There is something about how he writes that rings true to me. I've been listening to Songs for the Daily
Planet, East Nashville Skyline, The Devil You Know, and Peace, Love, and Anarchy. I am learning even
at my old age that personal experience and what you know makes a song ring with authenticity. From Snider you get lines like:
"Believing and knowing are two different thngs," and "I say we can't just kill what we don't understand but I turn on my tv
and see that oh yes, we can."
Just for fun, here is one of the demos I recorded in Canada, a song called "Only Good Things." Hope you enjoy. Just click
the control below:
08/03/08 - We just completed our annual porch concert on 08/01/08, and it went
pretty well. My son Tyler opened for us and did about 5 original songs and he was well received. I previewed a newer song
as well as doing an odd little version of "Smoke on the Water." It was a little ragged, but it was a lot of fun. Will
get pics and some sound files up soon.
05/31/08 - Some sad news today. A friend of ours, Janet Bosshart, passed away. She was a musical friend with whom we had done many performances for church services and other things. She
also spent many years taking care of our cats when we were on vacation. She had been very ill as of late, but this was still
undexepcted and sad. Our condolences to the Bosshart family.
05/30/08 - My little child graduated last night, and that was a little surreal
and a happy occasion. It is hard to believe that after all those band concerts that there will be no more there. Below is
a picture from the festivities:
05/06/08 - Had the rather surreal experience of watching my son play a gig at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis with his band Troubled Reputation. Kind of an odd feeling, and it was cool that they made it through the set. The venue there is pretty amazing. Other good
bands I saw were the National Ass Grooving Association and the 2 Tone Runts. The first was Zappa-esque and the second a very good ska band with tight vocals and politically charged songs.
My child has gotten off to a better start than I did, and the Varsity Theater is a very cool place. I was proud of how
he organized it, got his people together, wrote his music, and pulled it off. At age 17 he is driven.
02/20/08 - I have been archiving several older recordings, some going back to age 15. I have tons of stuff, and a lot
of it is pretty bad! There are 10 minute space ballads, there are countless love songs, and it's been pretty interesting.
I also came across an old karaoke tape made by my friend Rob A. and I. I thought going through old material would yield some
interesting things to record agan, but that doesn't seem to be.
I am recovering from at torn ligament in my knee, and I am finally mobile again. Will start recording my 11th CD soon.
I felt good when I listed them:
1. All Along the Way
2. Independence Av.
3. End of the Day
4. Extended Play
5. Live
6. The Left is Right
7. Cover Boy (family and friends project of favorite cover songs)
8. Offertory ("Unofficial solo acoustic CD)
9. Stephen Berg
10. Sacred Land
01/01/08 - Another year, and I find it hard to believe how long I've had
this site up. A couple concious changes on the site. First, I am no longer billing myself as a "Christian" singer or songwriter.
I write from a Christian perspective, but my songs don't fit as well into that category, and the last CD is certainly a much
more secular effort.
I've had some time to reflect on it, and it is a pretty angry and different recording
for me. I struggled with some of the language issues but I decided to take the Bruce Cockburn route - if it's honest enough
to write it is honest enough to put out. I do think I've move to a happier place since then, and I will hopefully not be waiting
2 years between CDs in the future.
Also, if you notice the North Dakota Places link, I am putting up pictures of
the ghost towns we have visited while travelling across North Dakota. Why? Because it's becoming a strange hobby of mine and
I find some of these deserted places inspiring.
I have still not decided what to do with the ministry career. I do not have a
way forward with the United Methodists, as mentioned before, as the committee that makes these decisions is not flexible when
dealing with older candidates. They also have not been as truthful with some of the statements they have made to me, and I
am tired of people making excuses for what is in reality a bad decision. All things aside, they seem to feel that I need to
pursue the ministry track full time, and that the fact that I need an income is secondary. I am given vague instructions just
to "do it" and not given the support or direction as to how. I do not see how I can juggle full time school and other requirements
and meet my family commitments. It is through this experience that I have come to the realization that to do ministry, I will
have to leave the United Methodist Church. What I find amazing is that there is no effort made to retain me, in spite of the
"tremendous gifts" I showed to them previously. I have come to the realization that the candidate process is broken.
In doing some research, I have seen many have the same complaints that I have
had. Lowell Weems has suggested that the problem is the system the church uses which states that ordained elders have to have
a position. Therefore, it takes longer in the United Methodist Church to get ordained if you are going that route, and once
ordained impossible to get rid of anyone unless they are really incompetent. This makes the committees that are the gatekeepers
really cautious about who they let in. In studying this, I have come to a similar conclusion. Unfortunately, since the current
system in the United Methodist Church insures appointment and employement to the ordained minister, it is very doubtful that
it will change to a more traditional call system. It comes down to job security and retaining power.
Also, the current system does allow equal access to female ministry candidates,
and my of the female clergy I have talked to state again that they system as it is allows them to remain employed and not
be descriminated against. I can see the point, but I do feel the current system and polity is a real problem in the UMC at
this time, and if this is not addressed, this will trickle down to clergy that may not be that good leading churches because
they have to. I truly believe a more congregational system would revitalized the ministry, and create pastors that are more
adept at serving the needs of the individual congregations, thus allowing them to grow.
I have lived through really bad appointments as a member of the United Methodist
Church. A bad appointment can literally kill a church. Unfortunately, change will never come in time, and I have learned how
powerless one really is. It's kind of sad.
10/31/07 - Halloween and reflection. I just finished putting to CD a pretty rough live recording from North United Methodist
Church from 2002. I pulled it off a video and it features the band I had with Pastor Chuck and Dan F. when I was working more
with a band.
This was great band. In watching and listening to the video, we could be pretty powerful, but always tight. It has a
version of the song "Justice" by Bruce Cockburn and a much stronger version of "I Was There." I would describe Chuck's drumming
as busy and adventurous, but never losing the beat. I really miss playing with him.
You can find Dan's website at rubegabble.com. I'm not sure what it is all about. I talked to Chuck awhile back and he's very busy.
10/22/07 - Things change in life. I have learned that it is official that my
church of my childhood is closing doors. Resurrection Lutheran Church in Blaine will officially close on December 31, 2007. They are another victim of the problem small mainline churches
are having as they age.
I am slowly getting sound files as well as info regarding the new CD on line. Since I do not have high speed internet,
it takes some time. I am liking the CD more as I listen, though it is a bit all over the place.
It will be, hopefully within the month, available at CD Baby. I plan to also do the bar coding and make digital downloads available on this one and possibly the last CD and see how that
goes.
09/27/07 - Well, it's finally here. The new CD is called Sacred Ground and will be more widely available soon. Go to the web page, download the free song.
I will have all the other songs up on low fi mp3 soon to listen to.
This is definitely more of a secular effort, and I hope very different. More
later...
08/21/07 - I picked up another political gig on September 30th, and Todd and John have committed to play, so I am hoping
to rock out a little more.
I have just committed to CD my first solo gig ever which was at the Rendezvous Room at Bemidji State University.
It's a little painful to listen to and I am certainly not witty, but it does have its charms. This dates from January 30th,
1985 and shows extreme non confidence in my own material. Of the thirteen songs I sang, only two were original.
I am preaching at my church this coming Sunday the 26th.
08/10/07
– Yesterday I met with someone from the UCC church to speak about changing denominations. It does appear that with the
Licensed Minister there are some opportunities. I went through my situation and again found agreement that finances and ability
to make a living play a part in what I can do.
I
picked up a couple movies recently, Roger and Me which is Michael Moore’s first movie, and the VH1 special that explores the last few months of Warren Zevon’s life. The Zevon movie really moved me. He really took what appeared to be his last days and made the most of it. I liked the
song “Disorder in the House” and his single minded quest to finish his last album and see his grandchildren. I
only hope that when I go I can go with as much dignity.
08/03/07 - Erin, my cat Xena, and me are now famous in Champlin. We made the local paper regarding our encounter with
the bat in our bedroom.
I am also working on adding more links to text, so you can be taken all over the web!
07/29/07 - We played our third annual porch concert as a fundraiser for
the DFL. Check out the pictures and soon to be added sound files here.
07/25/07 - Considering ideas for a new CD, but all goes very slowly.
07/14/07 - I have officially withdrawn as a candidate for ministry with the United
Methodist Church. The reasons can be complicated, but basically, it comes down to how I percieve my call and how they percieve
my call is different, and we need to part ways at this point.
05/11/07 - It has been rather eventful. I am considering a change in denomination in order to pursue my ministry studies.
I won't be making any decisions soon, I need to see what else is out there.
I have been exploring the United Church of Christ. They have a licensed ministry program that would well suit me and enable me to continue my studies and work in the field
of ministry. At this time I am very dissapointed in the polity and the process of the United Methodist Church, and I need to stop, take a breath, and see where I am called. I am being asked to follow a path that is different from what
I declared as my intention, and I need to consider if they are right, or if we are not on the same page.
My theology is liberal, and I am interested in the Congregational organization of the UCC. I am currently plowing through
a polity manual and intend on meeting and visiting some other churches this summer.
I survived a bit of gout recently, and I realized it was NOT a stomach disorder. I now have a lot of sympathy to those who suffer from arthritis -
I could barely walk, but it is under control now.
I continue to work on new music, and am about half done with a new CD. It is decidedly secular and liberal.
We will be having a porch concert again in July, and I am looking to fill an opening act spot.
10/03/06 - A lot has happened. I gave a porch concert for the DFL on August 19th
and that went rather well. It is a really neat feeling sitting on your porch with a crowd on your lawn playing music you love.
I did have my friend Michael ("T-Bone") Menege open for me with his friend Reverend G, and they did a set of old standards
and blues. Michael's band is Funkwire and they are well worth seeing.
I am back in seminary at United Theological Seminary. I am working through an
Orientation to Old Testament class. It is involved but really fun.
My son and I did a short piece for our church variety show. That was very fun
and we were a very small band with my son on sax and me on drums.
I am starting to work on new songs for the next CD. I did release a CD for the
porch concert called Save the Whales and Other Hits. It is a collection of out-takes and alternate versions. If you
want one let me know, as I don't think I'll be shipping it to CD Baby.
I will be putting my seminary papers up on the Methodist Musings site. I was
also so disgusted with the Torture Bill that came out of congress that I devoted a page to who I think Jesus would torture.
06/03/06 - Some significant updates. I was certified as a ministry candidate in the United Methodist Church on May 1,
2006. I continue to work toward Local Pastor licensing.
The new cd comes slowly. Two tracks are done, the 16 minute opus "Presidential Suite" which is a departure, mostly instrumental
meshing of the techno type pieces I've been working on. Also, I recently recorded my friend Kimberly's song "Bless Me" which
I plan to include.
A porch concert in August is planned if the new CD is ready and if we schedule with the DFL as a fundraiser. I plan a
more full frontal band assault.
I just got back from Minnesota Annual Conference and can read my Lay Delegate Report by going to this link:
I also preached on 05/21/06 and my sermon is at this link:
I also had some music and vocals used in a local film by my friend Phil Holt. The film is entitled Living
Room Fragile and has aired on local cable. This is my second project with Mr. Holt, the previous being the filmThe
Ballad of Lenny Leatherhead in which I wrote and arranged music for the soundtrack.
04/29/06 - Has been a long time since an update. I am currently working on an
instrumental CD with touches of techno and new age. Sounds ghastly, but it really seems to be working and is stretching my
playing. I am tentatively calling it Nothing To Say.
I am nearing the completion of the first part of my ministry quest, as I will
soon be meeting with our District Committee in the hopes of becoming a Certified Candidate in the United Methodist Church.
I also want to link you to a website of a friend of mine who has cancer. Please
take time to read this as she is a good writer and musician friend of mine:
11/21/05 - Did a massive update to my Methodist Musings site. I added a recent sermon as well as some other content. If anyone would like to submit something to the site, feel
free to do so.
I theoretically have reached the declared stage of my candidacy, yet we need to redo the charge conference do to a procedural
error.
09/12/05 - I was able to salvage a couple pictures from the porch concert taken by Erin. I scanned them and put them
on the Image Gallery page.
My birthday, September 5th, makes me 43. Wow.
My ministry studies continue on, as I am slowly moving from Exploring Candidate to Declared Candidate.
08/26/05 - In review of the last month, it has been rather busy. I played a porch
concert on 08/19/05 on my front porch. None of the pictures we took turned out. It was a fundraiser for the DFL (Democratic) party, and we had a turnout of about 60 people, as well as candidates for U.S. Senate (Amy Klobuchar, Ford Bell, among others) as well as our local representatives, all of whom got to speak at the end.
I moved about 20 CDs which was very gratifying. It was a stripped down acoustic
set with my friend Todd Fugere on drums and a young DFLer named Alex playing brushes and snare. Other than some guitar tuning issues it was one of the best
performances I've ever given. This was my crowd - progressive liberals.
The set was as follows with the original songwriter in parentheses:
4. All Along The Way (Stephen Berg)
5. Forest - instrumental (Stephen Berg)
6. All I Know (Stephen Berg)
8. Samuel Checote (Stephen Berg)
9. Nothing But A Killer (Stephen Berg)
Encore:
I was preceeded by Art Bjorngjeld who opened with a set of Norweigen stories
and songs.
We did get a very good video of the performance which may or may not be available
down the road in portions.
I also just got back from a swing through North Dakota in early July. I had a chance to visit the Assumption Abbey in Richardton, cruise the Enchanted Highway between Richardton and Regent, see New Salem Sue, and visit the ghost towns of Burt, Heil, Lark, and Sims. Incidently, the town of Heil has little signs saying Trespassers
will be Shot, and I especially enjoyed the one nailed to the old church. Praise the Lord!
05/09/05 - Have started making my concerts available for little or no cost
- just the cost of the CD and shipping, or 2.00. Check out the Official Bootlegs page for more info.
03/27/05 - Easter Sunday. I have put up my journal on a link from the Silent Retreat 2005 page. If you want to view the
journal, you can from that page or from right here:
03/11/05 - A month fraught with changes. I am moving to a new job that will hopefully be less stressful as I work toward
ministry. I also finished a Silent Retreat at a primative cabin at Lake Maria State Park in MN. An update on that can be found
by clicking this link: Silent Retreat 2005 .
01/06/04 - I added lyrics to STEPHEN BERG to the Lyrics page and updated the New Releases page. I also included a studio log. Had a good review from a friend of mine,
who wrote:
"I listened to most of the CD and I have to tell you
it is wonderful. I have a couple of favorites and I do like the song about G Bush. You have a great voice
and the CD is very professionally done. I wanted to say thank you for the CD and the great music."
Though hardly an "official" review, I have had a lot of good response over
the copies I've gotten to people for feedback.
Also, nearly all the songs on the Buy Stephen's CDs have song clips, so you can sample pretty much everything.
01/04/05 - Did some extensive updates to the Buy Stephen's CDs page. I linked in some sound clips on three of the CDs and will do the rest later. This will allow you to sample pretty
much the whole CD before you buy several copies.
01/01/05 - A Happy New Year to all! I decided not to include the instrumental
tracks, and that project will remain shelved. I retitled the CD as STEPHEN BERG. It is pretty representative of where
I am today. If you check the New Releases page you will see the revised artwork and title.
This is probably the best CD I have done. I'm very happy with the production,
etc. This is my first entirely all digital production, and I didn't use any older or any 4-track porta studio stuff. I did
keep a studio log and I will put it online. The main software used was Magix Music Studio 7 and I occasionally used Magix Music Studio 2000 for editing the individual wave files. All the electric guitars
are Fender Stratocaster, and I did get my friend Art to contribute a push button accordian part to "Samuel Checote."
The frustrating thing is that I don't have the time to really promote this CD,
as I am busy with the ministry process, work and other things that playing is pretty low on my list of things to do right
now. I sent copies to CD Baby and will post on the site when the CD is available to purchase.
12/23/04 - I believe I will add to the end of the new disc of the offertory songs that I have put out to the current
project. That CD is only, like, 20 minutes so I will put them on the end. These songs that will go on are all original solo
acoustic meanderings titiled:
Forest
Don't Come Running
Apologies to Leo
Long Long Ago (Traditional, arr. by Berg)
Sweet Hour of Prayer (William Walford-William Bradbury)
The Time That Was
Wintergrove
Snowbound
An End of Things
Evening Stroll
All except "Evening Stroll" were recorded at Phil King's Studio. That will give you all 63 or so minutes of listening
pleasure...
12/19/04 - I have pretty much completed the new CD, with the exception of having
my friend Art put some accordian on "Samuel Checote." The running order is pretty much determined, and I will also put my
studio log online when I am done. I've taken a lot of time with this, and this is probably the best I can do with the software
I have. The running order is:
Filled With Love (Joyce Andersen) - rock
John the Revelator (Traditional) - blues rock
Samuel Checote (Stephen Berg) - folk
All I Know (Stephen Berg) acoustic rock
I Will Always (Stephen Berg) - voice and guitar
Over and Over (Stephen Berg) - grunge rock
Nation of Victims (Stephen Berg) - loud obnoxious rock
All The Same (Stephen Berg) - country (!?)
Ancient Mariners (Stephen Berg) - folk
Nothing But A Killer (Stephen Berg) - rock
Some of these songs are older. In fact, the only really new song is "Over and
Over" which was a little about protesting the war on the Lake Street Bridge in Minneapolis, MN. "Filled With Love" I learned
off a CD called VOTE IN NOVEMBER and I contacted Joyce Andersen and got permission to record the song. "John the Revelator"
is new to me to play, and I first heard the song on Phil Keaggy's album CRIMSON AND BLUE. It's an old traditional folk/blues/gospel
thing orginally made famous by Sun House. "All I Know II" is a reworking of "All I Know" which was on THE LEFT IS RIGHT. I
like this one better, and it sounds completely different. This was recorded at Phil King's studio in Rogers and features Phil
on bass and Mike Kebsheart on drums. "Nation of Victims" is old, and has seen several recordings, and finally I am happy with
this one. The song is about 10 years old.
The song I will probably get some grief on is "Nothing But A Killer," which was
written back when George Bush was governor of Texas. Texas leads the nation in capital punishment and has killed more human
beings than any other state in the Union by at least a 2/1 margin. As a United Methodist, I cannot support the death penalty.
I often think of what Jesus said about how we treat the least among us is how we treat Him. I would imagine a loathsome (spelling?)
murdering person is about the least we can get. All humans, regardless of their crimes, are of sacred worth. I can't see any
good that comes from the death penalty. It is disproportionately distributed to minorities, and Illinois illustrated how DNA
evidence is clearing a noticeable portion of inmates who were convicted falsely.
Secondly, my understanding is that Bush is a United Methodist. His
support of capital punishment runs contrary to our Discipline, and I am troubled by it. So...I wrote the song "Nothing But
A Killer." I had recorded it about 5 years ago and it was dramatic, but not together. I really like this new version.
I plan to take a long break after this CD. I'm not playing nearly as much and
I need to concentrate on my ministry studies for Local Pastor in the United Methodist Church. Will keep you posted. Here is
the proposed art work, and the CD is tentatively entitled: SWAN SONG.
11/30/04 - I have been working slowly on the new CD. I recently did a CD for a
friend of instrumental pieces, and the response from her and others has been positive. Unfortunately, it is only about 22
minutes long, but I will work on making that available. It contains 9 instrumentals I wrote as well as an instrumental version
of "Sweet Hour Of Prayer." The project is tentatively entitled OFFERTORY as these were many of the songs I played for offertory
at our church. I recorded them at Phil King's studio in Rogers, and I am going to try to go back and do about 5 more.
The vocal CD is coming. I've got about six tracks done, including the re-recording
of "All I Know." Tentatively, I have these songs so far:
1. All I Know (version 2)
2. All The Same
3. Filled With Love (by Joyce Andersen)
4. Nation of Victims (an old song with new lyrics)
5. I Will Always
6. Over and Over (a song about peace)
7. Samuel Checote (song about the Indian Methodist in the 1800's) is awaiting
an accordian track.
I plan to re-record "Ancient Mariners" and hopefully come up with about four
new tunes. Tentatively I hope to be done before Christmas.
This may be my last CD for awhile as I focus on my Ministry studies which is
prohibiting me from playing out as much as I would like.
I am also keeping a detailed studio log so I can remember, for once, when I recorded
stuff and what guitars, effects, etc. are used.
11/05/04 - Recovering after the election. My wife and I were very involved in a local race for the Minnesota House, and
our DFL Senate District 47 turned two house races! We beat two incumbant Republicans! Unfortunately, the presidency did not
turn out as I would have liked.
I have started recording more in earnest, and I have finished a cover song of "Filled With Love" by Maine singer/songwriter/guitarist/fiddle
player Joyce Andersen. Check out her website here:
This is a very healing song, and my version is much more rock and roll, but it pretty much sums things up. I have
also recorded 10 solo acoustic pieces at Phil King's studio, and I am really pleased with them. Unfortunately, they come to
22 minutes so I need to do about 5 more of them. The project is tentatively titled Offertory as many of these songs
were done during offering times at my church.
09/24/04 - I have finished the "Exploring Candidate" stage of my minsitry candidacy.
I look forward to being an "Inquiring Candidate." Added my personal rant against George W. Bush.
09/05/04 - Well, I had a birthday, and I am 42. Not that old, I guess. Got wonderful gifts - the Simpsons 4th Season
and Season 1 of Gilligan's Island.
08/27/04 - I have finished assembling my DVD, which is a film that was shot by
my friend and playwright Phil Holt. With it I am enclosing a bonus CD of studio outtakes. Please check out the Buy Stephen's
DVD page.
05/16/04 - Well, I made it through my Seminary class and am continueing my work toward Local Pastor. If you want to know
anything about United Methodist History or Polity, ask away. I will be posting my last paper on my Methodist Musings site,
as well as working on some other writings.
03/30/04 - I moved my seminary papers, sermons, and Methodist musings to my new
site on Methodism called Methodist Musings. My take on the Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson is there too. To check it out,
click the link below.
Click here to enter METHODIST MUSINGS
03/23/04-I currently have a sale at CD Baby in that if you order three cds, they are 5.00 each. Click the CD below if
you want to order!
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| CLICK ME TO ORDER 5.00 CDS!!!!!!!! |
03/06/04 - I have added my little rock throwing to the discussion of THE PASSION
OF THE CHRIST, the mega-bloody Christ saga by Mel Gibson. I devoted a page to it. Also added my latest Seminary Paper to the
Seminary Papers page, as well as wrote a song for the long awaited CD that may or may not come out. Cheers!
02/10/04 - I am taking a class at United Theological Seminary on United Methodist History and Polity. It's pretty interesting,
and hopefully I will learn something! We also have a new addition to our family. A friend of mine needed to move and ended
up at a place that would only allow her to take two of her three cats. Therefore, we have a foster cat named Costello, who
is featured on the Cats Rule page. Check him out!
12/27/03 - Just got back from Christmas in Arizona. It was my first visit to
the desert, and as you can see from the picture on my home page, I made many desert friends. We spent some time visiting my
wife's parents in the Mesa area. I really enjoyed the desert, and we did some hiking. I wish I could put a big cactus in my
yard, but I don't think that it would survive the winter!
Happy Holidays to all!
12/01/03 - I have just finished a project that was quite involved, as I produced a CD for a family group at my church
called the Erickson and Bjorngjeld Family Singers. We did around 30-40 total takes of songs, and got it down to 11 songs and
1 remix. Working with the groups guitarist who overdubbed extra acoustic guitar and bass, and myself (who added electric guitar
on two numbers, occasional bass, and drums) we came up with a really nice project. I will put some up on the web if they
give me permission. It was a joy to do, and the first real outside group I've ever brought into my project studio. Will have
more on this later
10/08/03 - I changed the picture on the home page with something a little more
whimsical, and I have finished a compilation that is not available called THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED: THE BEST OF STEPHEN BERG.
Check it out on the feature page, and if you want one, e-mail me!
09/30/03 - Just added gig at Chez Cafe, a great little coffeehouse in Brooklyn Center. The gig is October 25, 2003.
09/29/03 - Just finished some more "cover" songs. Since I am feeling relatively
uninspired, I've been recording songs by people I like. Last night I did "Hurt" by Trent Rezner (Nine Inch Nails) which I
learned off the last Johnny Cash CD The Man Comes Around. I felt pretty bad about Cash's death, as he was
pretty forward about his spirituality and his life. The last album, though he sounds old and weary, is pretty fantastic. We
also lost Warren Zevon, and I picked up his CD and like it very much.
I am coming to terms a little with my mortality, as I am now the ripe old age
of 41 and most of my idols are now playing the casino circuits. Some have asked me, as a Christian artist, how I can play
and sing some secular songs. I believe that we hear God in everything. As Van Morrison so eloquently put it in his song "When
Will I Ever Learn to Live In God" (I think I got it right) all things are made in God. Even Renzner's "Hurt" speaks to me
about the pain and isolation some people feel. As Christians, we have to understand and function in the secular world. We
can't hide our heads in the sand.
Other bigger news, I have declared myself a candidate for ministry. I am hoping
someday to work as a Local Pastor with the United Methodist Church.
The cover songs will probably be made available to familiy and friends, free
of charge, as a Christmas gift. The disc will also include a couple new originals (all I've written this year) and some cover
versions I did awhile back. So far, I've got:
Hurt (Trent Reznor)
Six Blade Knife (Mark Knopfler)
Gone Again (Patti Smith)
Believe What You're Saying (Bob Mould)
Sweet Hour of Prayer (Old Traditional Hymn)
The Blues Got The World (Bruce Cockburn)
Sure Love (Hal Ketchum)
Little Mascara (Paul Westerberg)
No Other Baby (The Vipers) - recorded a couple years ago
Beautiful Day (Ziggy Marley) - recorded a couple years ago
Beautiful Day - Live Version - recorded at New Union in 2002
Free To Be - (Bruce Cockburn) - recorded at New Union in 2002
All The Same (Stephen Berg) - new original recorded 2003
Ancient Mariners (Stephen Berg) - new original recorded 2003
All The Same - acoustic demo - recorded 2003
There may be a few more. This is informational only. These songs are not going
to be sold or distributed for profit.
09/19/03 - Added a song to the front page. I redid "All I Know" with at Phil King's Studio. I decided I liked it so much
I'd make it available for all.
09/03/03 - Jazzed the site up a bit with animated cursors, a poll on the Free
Music Download page, and I got the guest book up and running.
09/02/03 - Added a rocking version of "Sweet Hour Of Prayer." I am working on a cd of cover songs, as I have been
a little uninspired, and it will be free to anyone who wants it down the road. I can hardly sell it!
08/08/03 - Returned today from a trip to Winnipeg for Folklorama, a multicultural festival featuring dance, music, and food of over 45 countries. We attended 6 shows showcasising Scotland,
Spain, Argentina, Korea, Czechoslovakia, and Greece. We sampled ethnic food, saw a lot of good music and dance. It was a great
experience.
Also, added a new page, just for fun on the cats. Below are a couple pictures
from our trip.
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| La Revuelta - A trio fror Argentina. Left to right: Pablo Fraguela, Jose Cena, Pedro Furio. |
Pictured above, La Revuelta was a fantastic group that played sultry tangos with
excellent showmanship. The guitarist Pedro Furio teaches guitar at a conservatory in Argentina, and all of the lads were great
when we met them. We picked up a copy of thier CD Melodia de Arrabal.
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| Bagpipes and drummers from the Scottish Pavilion |
The Scottish Pavilion was, of course, lots of bagpipes, drummers, and music.
They had the Flying Haggis Showband coupled with a large group of singers as well. I did not try the haggis, as cow bladders,
sheep stomachs, and liver are not high on my list of favorite edible foods.
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| Erin, Spanish Pavilion Host, and Me |
Lastly, the photo above was from the Spanish Pavilion. I was somewhat forced
to dance with the Spanish dancers, and I am told there is a video tape of this now. This is our host and she was wonderful,
but we did not get her name. I got to dance with another woman on my anniversary! Erin and I had a great time at Folklorama!
07/26/03 - Just finished the rest of the changes to the site. On the LISTEN TO STEPHEN page, I replaced the links with
low fi MP3 files. This should bring better playback without all the flanging etc. that comes with the Real Audio. I've
also brought the Image Gallery to one page, as having four or five of them seemed a little....well....self-indulgent.
07/23/03 - Just made some significant updates to the site, as I have added some
music to some pages and created a new page of stuff that should be fun - some old concert stuff as well as some "unreleasables"
that have some merit. I just got back from at trip to the Thunder Bay area and a vacation picture also graces the homepage.
07/08/03 - Added a new song "Ancient Mariners." I love the North Shore and Lake Superior, and I was thinking about all
those who had sailed the lake, and especially those who had died on the lake. This is just a simple folk tune, but I kind
of l ike it. Go to the Listen To Stephen page to listen!
07/03/03 - We had our gig on June 30 at Segue, and all went well, though we were
a bit rusty. Todd Fugere joined me and he did a set of his own material with me on percussion. The crowd was small but very
supportive. There are some plans of putting together a little combo with a percussionist. Erin also joined us on the keyboard
for some tunes. As soon as I can get pictures scanned, I will put them up.
06/07/03 - You can now order all my CDs on line with CD Baby. You can access this through the Buy Stephen's CDs page.
You can listen to sound clips of nearly every song.
05/26/03 - I have two more cds on the CD Baby Site. Check out the recordings
page to order and listen to the sound samples.
05/23/03 - Just got INDEPENDENCE AV. shipped off to CD Baby, and when all is up I will put the links up and you will
be able to order CDs online. The artwork is redone for INDEPENDENCE AV. and I took off the CD "bonus" tracks "Here I Stand"
and "Never Say Goodbye," as they were really not anything special.
Purchased an Ovation UKII guitar today, and I am going to dump the Ovation Preacher. Not much else, plan on some recording
soon taking a much more acoustic bent.
Have a great Memorial Day!
05/21/03 - I am in the process of putting all my back catalog on the CD Baby
site. They are letting you set up for free until the end of the month, so I thought I would take advantage of that. I did
have to redesign artwork for INDEPENDENCE AV. as ran out of inserts and the jpg file resides on an old MacIntosh of my sister's
that doesn't work anymore.
I will let you all know when you can order from CD Baby, as you can order with
Visa or Mastercard.
05/13/03 - I have my own domain name, stephenbergmusic.com. Cool!
05/10/03- Recording again, I just finished the final touches on "All The Same,"
a basic country-ish unrequited love song. I really like it, and I hope you do too. You can listen to it on the Listen To Stephen
page, or download it on iuma.com. I recorded most of the tracks on 05-07-03 and 05-08-03, and finished mixing it this morning.
Check it out!
05/08/03 - I just picked up a gig at the Segue Cafe in Maple grove. Check out the concert schedule for the particulars.
05/0603 - It has been a long time since I've updated you. Musically, I am trying
some new directions. It has been rather hard to maintain a band, so except for a few gigs a year, I think I am going to go
back to being a solo acoustic player. I've been writing, though less in a Christian vein and more in a folk vein. I've been
recording demos down in my basement studio and they are coming out nice. I am looking for a much more acoustic approach.
I recorded two songs, "All The Same" and an untitled one about some of my thoughts
on Lake Superior. The power of the lake is incredible, and I can't help thinking about what some of the sailors who have gone
down with their ships must have been thinking. It is at these times we either accept and trust our faith or abandon it
all together.
We spent the weekend of the May 3rd in Duluth, and hiked Superior Point to the
other harbor entrance and also spent some time up at Split Rock hiking the trails there. I love the north country, and I found
a really nice place to play called Amazing Grace Bakery, which does coffehouse type concerts, and the people there are really
listening. I will send a demo up there, as I would gladly drive up there to play. Saw a couple really good guitar players
perform there.
That's all for now. Grace and peace to all of you!
03/16/03 - I have updated the Listen To Stephen page to allow you to stream in Real Audio some tracks. I will slowly
expand this until I have songs from each CD.
03/14/03 - Been awhile since I last updated. You can now listen to me on iuma.com,
link below and the Listen To Stephen page. IndieLaunch.com went under, so I've moved the stuff over to this page. Eventually
it looks like you can sell CD's through there. Not much else going on, though working on a couple of gigs coming up. Will
let you know
01-12-02
I have an acoustic gig coming up at the Segue Cafe. To check out the Segue, please see the link on the links page.
12/12/02 - Here are some pictures from the last gig.
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| Erin, Charles, Me, and Dan. I am displaying my famous "hands off" approach to guitar playing. |
12/07/02 - Pearl Harbor Day and the day after my first gig since the new CD. Sparsely attended, but exhuberently attentive,
the Resurrection gig is the best the band has played since the New Union. Setlist was:
Nothing But The Blood
James Two
All Along The Way
Let Them In
Free To Be
All I Know (acoustic)
Only Teasing (acoustic)
Money Blues
Tunnel Vision
I Was There
Judas In Me
The Lens
Beautiful Day
Lies
No Other Baby (encore)
The new space at Resurrection Lutheran in Blaine is beautiful, though a bit exhoey. The lighting, the "stage" area, etc
are very nice. It was a blast and we'd like to thank Pastor Scott Fredericksen for the opportinity. Will have pictures up
soon. Also, thanks to Phil King for the monitors for the night. We all love ya, Phil!
Really don't know what is going on next as we take a break through the holidays. Hope yours are wonderful!
11/25/02 - Finished the lyrics section on the Left Is Right lyrics page. We also
have a time for our performance at Resurrection ... 7 p.m. Continue to rehearse, expect a couple off beat things!
11/16/02 - Finally finished the new CD. I've also finished the artwork and labeling. Now, it just the burning! This one
is decidedly more "political" than anything I've ever done. I've also included a couple of really old songs, so it takes a
slightly more secular turn. Just for my Dad, I included "Only Teasing," which he says is the best song I have ever written.
I wrote it in 1981! The cd is dedicated to the memory of Paul Wellstone, and two of the songs, "All I Know" and "The Left
Is Right" were written for him after his tragic death.
I've got the concert at Resurrection Lutheran coming up on December 6, and I am trying to get the time nailed down. The
new CD will be available then or from me. I'm also packaging it in a sleeve as opposed to a jewel case.
I will try to get the lyrics up soon. There's some lighter stuff on it too, as well as Phil King's song "James Two."
10/28/02 - I have a few more songs recorded, and the new CD is taking shape.
This has been a very difficult few days. As many of you know, Paul
Wellstone was killed in a plane crash along with
his wife and a daughter. Wellstone was one of my idols. His ability to stand up for those who had nothing, and his rampant
liberalism was very intoxicating. I had occasion to meet him once, and when he talked to my wife and I, it was like we were
the only two people in the world that mattered. I feel very sad, and have a hard time believing it. Wellstone was the heart
and soul of the Democratic Party in Minnesota. He will be missed.
10/10/02 - It's been awhile since the last update. A few things are happening. I am about three songs into recording
my new CD. I'm going entirely digital and mixing and mastering on the old computer, and I've been pleased with the results.
Charles will be coming in to do the drumming I can't do.
I am eagerly awaiting the short documentary on my band and me that a friend is producing. He is still in the editing
stage, but the interviews and concert footage are all done.
I now have T-shirts and baseball jerseys on sale online. Please check the link
below or go to the Merchandise page!
T-Shirts and Jerseys
09/02/02 - Have just added some pictures from the gig at Riverview's Ice Cream Social. They are in Picture Gallery V.
We were a little loud, but we won over most of the people. Charles did a great job drumming, and we had a good time.
We also picked up one last gig at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Blaine on December 6, 2002 at 7:30 pm for a concert. This
is probably the last thing we will play this year.
08/23/02- Played our last gig of the summer at my church's Ice Cream Social.
We ended the night and it was a little ragged, but fun. Setlist was:
Nothing But The Blood
All Along The Way
Look Into Your World
Lies
No Other Baby
Money Blues
The Lens
Beautiful Day
Free To Be
We had not played since the last time we gigged at Segue, and I had not really
picked up a guitar in over a week as we had vacationed in North Dakota. So, I started in some wrong keys, but we survived.
I will post some pictures on the site soon. I really want to thank my wife Erin (keyboards), Pastor Chuck (drums), and
Dan (bass) for hanging in there gamely, and especially Dan and Chuck for the "jazz interludes" between songs! It's been a
good year!
08/09/02- We are set for the Ice Cream Social. Charles has agreed to play drums and Dan has committed, and we will have
Erin back on keyboards.Tentative setlist will be:
All Along The Way
Look Into Your World
Let Them In
Free To Be
Money Blues
The Lens
Lies
We will only be playing about a half hour. There will be other acts there as well as pie and ice cream. It is free but
a donation for the pie and ice cream would be appreciated.
I've really gotten no recording done, with Erin in Kentucky on a Mission Trip, so the new CD will be pushed back a bit.
I also added some lyrics that were on LIVE but were not on any other albums.
07/28/02- Have finished our last two gigs at Seque (7/21 and 7/27) and things
went well.We were playing musical band members, as not all were available for reach gig. The 21st was an acoustic show which
featured Erin, Dan, and myself, and the 27th featured Dan, Charles, and me. For the electric gig we played a little different
setlist:
All Along The Way
Look Into Your World
Free To Be
No Other Baby
Let Them In
Money Blues
So Far Away
You Really Got Me
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Beautiful Day
The Lens
Lies
Rant/Smoke on the Water
Phil King also stopped by and he sang "James Two" and "Summertime Blues."
At the acoustic gig I was able to add songs like "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing
Out," and "Who Are We." I hope to book there again as more of an acoustic act on Fridays. All we have upcoming
is the Riverview Ice Cream Social and something at Resurrection Lutheran in Blaine in the fall.
Also, have recompiled my LIVE album, throwing the original thing out and using
tracks from the New Union gig and two live studio tracks I recorded at Phil King's studio. The songs included are "All Along
The Way," "Look Into Your World," "Let Them In," "Money Blues," "The Lens," "Lies," "Queen of the Mountain," and
"Broken World." The latter two are the ones recorded by Phil, and "Queen of the Mountain" "Queen of the Mountain," incidently,
was co-written with a friend of mine Rob Aldrich. We played briefly in a band and wrote some good songs, but the recordings
needed help. I hope to work some more of these in. I had toyed with including "Rant" from the Union show, but it was so ragged
(but fun) it is, sadly, not included. I hope to get some of the LIVE material on my INDIE LAUNCH site this week.
Also, please remember Erin in your prayers as she spends the next two weeks in
Kentucky on a mission trip.
06/22/02 - Had a great time tonight as I got to sit in on a couple of songs with
Kidz X. I played on "Abortion" and "Tell Ya." It was a wonderful night as Kidz X played their first concert in over a year
at the Segue Coffehouse in Maple Grove. They will also be playing on Saturday June 29 at the Eternal Jesus Christ Ministry
Open House in Watkins, MN. I, hopefully, will be opening for them with my little acoustic guitar. If you want to know more
about Kidz X check the Cool Music page, or if you want to know more about theSegue Coffehouse, check the Links page.
06/14/02 - I've picked up some gigs here and there, so check out the Concert Schedule page. I've discovered a cool new
place, the Segue Cafe in Maple Grove. They let bands play there and they are not so uptight about what is played, just as
long as we are not offensive! My friend Phil King told me about it.I am also doing a music festival in Watkins, see the Concert
page. I've tentatively slated the last week in July, first week in August to record the new CD. Also, I plan to revamp the
"Live" cd, as the recording I got from the New Union was fantastic!
05/23/02 - I just had a great time last night adding guitar tracks to a friends
CD. I rarely get called as a lead guitarist, and it was fun. We have some tentative gigs coming up, so stay tuned!
05/19/02 - I just finished playing an outdoor "Tailgate" party at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Blaine, MN. It
was fun because I got to play a lot of songs I don't normally play.I did get a good photo which is in Picture Gallery IV.
I have no gigs on the horizon, but there are some things worked out to play at Champlin United Methodist (tentative, I've
put some feelers out and it seemed positive), we will return to North United Methodist this summer for an outdoor thing, and
Resurrection did state they wanted the band back when the new space is completed.
We will be getting a new computer soon, so when we do that I can devote the old one to hard
disc recording and get down to a new CD hopefully out this fall.
05/05/02 - It is Sunday evening, and I am reflecting on our show at the Union.
It went well. I cannot say how much I appreciated Jason from One Good Man filling in. I could not have asked for a better
job. Also, my interactions with the second band Existence were so positive that I think there is some hope for Christian music.
We all need to help each other out here. I mean, we are not in this for the money...it is ministry.
04/28/02 - We have Jason from the band One Good Man filling in for us on Thursday. Rehearsals went very well and the
show on Thursday should be good! We need as many people out there as possible.
04/26/02- Some massive drummer issues, right out of a page of Spinal Tap. Charles
is unable to play our upcoming Union gig, and that is fine as he told me ages ago, but my replacement drummer has disappeared
and I found out will be out of town until this Sunday, thus effectively missing all rehearsals. I believe I have found another,
but we shall see today. Will keep you posted on the site.
Also, added some concert pics from 4-21-02 on the Gallery IV page.
04/21/02 - Just finished the gig at North United Methodist. We played for about 90 minutes and we do need to shorten
the set. The other guys, Dan and Charles, played fantastically. We had about 25 in attendance, a little low but the weather
was a little dicey. They were enthusiastic and fun. It was good to have the band play through, and I think I will dump most
of the acoustic portions of the show. We did have my friend Phil shoot video for the up and coming documentary. I forgot the
digital camera but a friend was able to take pictures and we will post them when we can. I felt a little ragged, but it's
been over a year since I played a whole set or played out. All in all, a very good night! Erin's keyboards helped a lot on
the songs!
04/09/02 - Charles is unable to play the New Union gig, but he will be able to
help me out at North United Methodist. This guy is a fantastic drummer, and we will try to take some pictures at our jam on
Sunday 4-14-02. We will be replacing Charles with Brandon Morrisett, a gentleman I work with. We will be playing a pretty
straightforward set at the Union, so far it should consist of these numbers:
All Along The Way
Look
Into Your World
Let Them In
Free To Be
Money Blues
I Was There
The Lens
Beautiful World
Rant
Lies
Lies is a new number. Also, the gig at North United Methodist is being filmed
as part of an upcoming documentary. So that will be cool.
04/03/02 - Added a second gig at the New Union on May 2. I hope we draw well enough to get a chance to play there, but
I don't hold out a lot of hope. We are paired with what looks like interesting acts - a new band and an older established
artist. Hopefully, people will see us too. The bands with us are Existence and a gentleman named Troi Aitkinson.
03/20/02 - Finally, you can get END OF THE DAY at MP3.com. It comes minus any
cover art etc. and if you want that you can go ahead and order it at cdbaby.com. I have about had it with MP3.com - it takes
forever for them to do things, and they seem bent at making things difficult. It is, however, a nice way to get cd's
made cheaply.
03-17-02 - Added drummer Charles (Pastor Chuck) and it went really well. He is good to play our gig on 04-21-02. My friend
Phil filmed a large part of the rehearsal for an upcoming documentary. Things seem set to go, we will rehearse once more and
play. It should be fun but loose. Charles adds a real rock feel to the band. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures, so
you'll have to wait to see us "in the flesh".
03/10/02 - Went to the Bruce Cockburn concert at the Fitzgerald in Saint Paul. He played solo, and I picked up a video about his life. I can see now why I feel
so connected to this guy and his music. He has not taken the easy way to success. He sings about what bothers him, the human
condition, and the stupidity of mankind. This has really energized me, and I really am eager to get out and play again.
03-08-02 - Ah, the fluidity of bands! Michael, who seemed enthusiastic, decided
that this was not what he wanted, so we recruited a new drummer Charles who was recommeded by a friend. I had actually seen
Charles play with Kidz X over the summer at the acquarium. He is also a youth pastor. We will rehearse in about a week for
the gig at North United Methodist. I am also tentatively planning to play the New Union in Mineapolis in May. The date will
come soon.
We hope to draw decently. The show will be much harder,
louder, etc. I have several songs that have cried for a band. The lineup now is Dan on bass, Charles on drums, my wife Erin
on keyboards, and myself on guitar and vocals.
February 26, 2002 - I have been spending
the last couple weeks here and there recording in my new basement studio setup. Things are working well. I've got two new
songs done, they are "Lies" and a song whose working title is "I Am The Poor." Things are coming out much heavier than
previously, and the songs are taking a grungie, heavier edge to them. The sound is definitely coming out low-fi. I am having
pretty good success with the mixdown using the four track recorder. Work on the new CD is slow, however, and I am not sure
what will "make the cut."
We will rehearse again, and am currently working on trying
to get some gigs. I also purchased a new guitar recently. I got the Ovation Preacher, which is a circa 1975 solid body Ovation.
I look forward to using it, and I hope to make it my main instrument.
February 7,2002: Had an excellent rehearsal and a new band is put together
for the next couple of gigs. A big thank you to Michael and Dan who have graciously agreed to help. Have also started some
work on a new CD, but recording goes slowly.
I finally got everything into my basement and have set up a nice rehearsal
space. It worked well.
12/30/01 - As I reflect on
this last year, it has been one of the more difficult ones for me. Shortly after mid-June I had various issues with kidney
stones, and have had some nerve damage after some minor operations. I have not felt really very good since early July. My
father also suffered a heart attack this past summer. He is doing fine, but with all the health concerns I had to cancel some
gigs.
I am currently working on a new CD and have some of the songs recorded. It was unfortunate that I became ill
and could not push the new live CD as much as I wanted. I am finally feeling up to playing again and am going to try to agressively
get some some concerts going. Finding band members remains difficult.
I also want to take this time to wish all of
you a Happy New Year and to reflect on the blessings we have. There are many things to be thankful for, at least for me.
Peace in 2002.
8/10/01 -Well, I've just finished my new live CD. It is a mixture of band and solo
performances over the last 5 years. Some of it is a little uneven, but I am happy with it. It captures a lot of what you see
live.
I have to thank a lot of people, but especially my wife Erin who has played with me the past five years, as
well as Riverview United Methodist Church. You can order it from the recordings page, or check out a track at my page on stationmp3.com.
Click below to get to the link.
4/15/01 - Our playing at the Peace United Methodist Maundy Thursday service went
very well, and we recieved a lot of positive comments. We incorporated the songs into a re-enactment of the last supper. They
do want us to do a concert and so we are booked tentatively in October 2001. As soon as I have a date I will put it up.
Erin and I will be playing three songs at Peace United Methodist Church in the
Shoreview area. We will be performing "I Was There," "Judas In Me," and "Nothing But The Blood." We have also put an ad out
for a more permenant bass player in the City pages. If anyone knows of a bass player, let me know.
The gig at the New Union went well. The
only problem is that we had a small crowd (17-20 people). The band played well and this was the first
time in a long time I was able to play the songs as they were written. I really want to thank Dallas Taylor for drumming and
Dan Ferguson for standing in and playing bass. We do have a recording of some of the songs, and with these as well as some
other performances I will be working on the live CD.
4-3-01
UPCOMING GIG/ GENERAL STUFF
Well, I got myself booked at the New Union and am currently working on rehearsing with
some newer members. We will again have Dallas Taylor on drums (thank you Dallas!) and for this gig only Dan Fergeson on bass.
Dan was referred to me by an old friend as I needed a bass player this time only.
I am hoping you all who support
me can come and be loud, as we would like to be booked again someday!
02-10-01
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