my left fingers hurt... yesterday i played on the electric guitar... like, seriously PLAYED... it's been a while since i've seriously sat down in front of the fender and tried to really work on a riff... i was trying to get down the jeremy camp - i will trust in you riff, so as a result, my left fingers got hardened slightly.
next up; i'll have to work on the mark tremonti riff during "open your eyes", alter bridge's flagship song right now. i have doubts about pulling it off though; if you've watched the video for free on their site, you might agree. how the hell does he do that!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!! this is why i love 70's style rock guitar... it IS talent... period. not this chord stumming you hear on radio these days.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Scott Stapp, 08/04 - Interviews - Christian Music Today
i have found out some pretty amazing things about the creed band recently; call me ignorant if it's been a while, but:
creed broke up(i found this out a while back), but mark the guitarist and the drummer teamed up w/former creed bassist and some other vocalist from mayfield 4 to make another band with a few other guys; it's now called alter bridge(that's where they went!); so i can still relish mark tremonti's guitar work, which i have always admired for a long time.
and...
going by the above link, scott stapp is now a christian; don't assume that's WHY creed broke up though, because while creed was not officially a christian band, scott himself stated that it was because they had other interests. although, take a lot at the below quote and decide whether that means they broke up cause stapp became a christian(you could argue it was like that)
(taken from the alter bridge website about why they broke up:
"Mark and Flip:
We were just going different directions, he had a lot going on his life personally and professionally and we just wanted to play music. After taking a break it was apparent that Scott wanted to make a studio record but not tour as much and we wanted to tour and get back to work. When we got together to do the next record, it just wasn’t happening musically. There was no progress being made so we just decided to part ways. There’s no animosity there. We talked on the phone and wished each other good luck.")
and no, alter bridge is not considered to be a christian band, like creed was:
"Are the band and album spiritual? Did you try to go in a more secular direction? How different will it be lyrically? The album is entitled ONE DAY REMAINS – that seems spiritual.
Flip:
It’s not super spiritual, but the band members are all spiritual. Spirituality will always be a part of who we are but the album’s more about life experiences. You can take from it what you will but it’s not an agenda of ours. There was no difference in opinion between Tremonti and Stapp when it came to the direction of Creed’s message. We’re not trying to be secular or spiritual; we just want to express positivity in our lives."
so we still got 4 more ppls to pray for...
but, let's get back to scott stapp, whom i'm happy for, since he's now a christian:
"What had triggered those spiritual changes in your life?
Stapp: A lot of personal things. I was hurt and beaten down. Five years ago, I had a divorce that I didn't really want. I was so busy with Creed that I don't think I ever really dealt with that emotionally. She [his ex-wife] elected not to be involved in my son's life, leaving me as a single father, and I was really worried about my little boy [Jagger, who turns 6 in October]. And there were other things that came along in the trappings of fame, things that hurt some of my relationships. So when I finally had time to reflect on everything, I was broken down to the point where I had no other way but to look up. I couldn't handle it all. I was asking a lot of questions—of myself, of God—looking for answers.
My dad always said I was hard-headed, that it would take something like that to wake me up spiritually, and I guess it did. My heart had gotten so beat up that I didn't have anything left to give. I was emotionally and spiritually dried up, so I was just searching for God. I reached out to my pastor and my father for some guidance. I was really soul searching and, I guess, on my path to coming home spiritually. And once that process began—and I'm still going through that process, and probably will for the rest of my life—that's when things started changing in my life. I started making some proper decisions, getting things in order. It's kind of like cleaning up your house. I was looking for direction for what God wanted me to do—and that's when I got a call about The Passion."
Prior to this recent renewal, how would you have described your faith?
Stapp: I'd have called myself a struggling Christian who was trying to find holes in everything he had been raised to believe. I was a doubting Thomas. I was raised in a climate where I believed in God because I was afraid of going to hell—and I didn't think that was the right way to fall in love with somebody. I always believed in God and Christ, but I was in rebellion—trying to make my relationship with God fit into my life instead of making my life fit in with him. I was stubborn.
It just took all of that to come to a screeching halt, to get to the point of having nothing, for me to finally realize, Hey, what are you fighting with this for? Until then, I hadn't claimed my faith as my own; I had just grown up with it. But I finally got to that point after years and years of running from God. Christ stepped in when I asked him."
"Can you give me a specific example of how that "relearned love" is manifesting itself in your life?
Stapp: It's simple for me: It's giving without expecting anything in return. Prior to this, the way that I loved people around me, I always expected something—even if that was just expecting them to treat me like I treated them. But now I understand that real love is just giving without expecting anything. That's what love is to me, and that's what I feel that Christ showed us."
and later in this interview, he says he now declares himself a christian:
"On Creed's website, you had answered an FAQ in part by writing, "Who are we to say that being a Christian is the only way to heaven?"
Stapp: Well, I can honestly tell you, I didn't write that.
But your name was on it.
Stapp: [Turns to tell his manager sitting nearby to call his record label and "tell them there's something on the Creed website that I didn't write … again." Then he addresses Christian Music Today again.] I didn't write that. I would never answer a question that way. That sounds like something the owner of my record company [Wind-Up Records] would say.
[Stapp, clearly perturbed at this revelation, says something else to his manager, then addresses us again.] I would never say that, dude, because that's not what I believe. We'll be sure to make a note of that. That stuff happens all the time, because my label, you know, they're about making money. They don't want to disenfranchise people. Creed wasn't a Christian band, but I would never insinuate or say anything that would make that kind of a statement. I'm glad you told me about that.
So, where do you stand in regards to that statement?
Stapp: Oh, I'm a Christian. I was a Christian in Creed, but nobody ever asked me.
You've been really open in this interview. Is that because I'm with the Christian media? Or would you answer these questions similarly for the mainstream media?
Stapp: The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I'm no longer with Creed. I'm a solo artist now, and I don't have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.
Well, you never got interviewed by us!
Stapp (laughs): But I'm glad nobody asked, because my life wasn't right with God. The Christian community latched onto a lot of my music, because there were a lot of things about my struggle they related to. But I didn't really want to come out and be identified as a Christian, because I didn't want to be a hypocrite, because my life wasn't right. I didn't want to make any kind of public profession until I felt like my heart was right.
I've since learned that my life's never gonna be right, and I'm always going to be scrutinized and looked at under a microscope. And it took me, since I was 17 and left home, running from God, to now, as a 30-year-old man, when I honestly feel like I've come full circle and my heart's finally in the right place. I'm still going to make mistakes, but I don't have any problems with publicly professing my faith now. It just took me a long time to get to the right place in my relationship with Christ.
It's just crazy how things have come full circle for me as a solo artist. I kind of look at everything that happened with Creed as a preparation—me going through things to get my life ready for God's plan. It's been a journey and a learning experience.
So, are you now a "Christian artist," or an artist who happens to be a Christian?
Stapp: I'm an artist who's a Christian, because I don't write music to be evangelical. Now, if that happens, it happens. My dad's a dentist, and he's a Christian. Now, does he put in Christian fillings? No, that's just part of his three-dimensional life. Now, there are people that are Christian artists, because they have a purpose to be evangelical for Christ. I don't feel I've been called to that yet. Now, that could change. There's no telling what kind of call God will put on my life."
i like though, how he was hesitant about saying he was a christian, because he did wrong, afraid that he'd give a wrong impression of christians. and the fact that now he learns that's life.
i have found out some pretty amazing things about the creed band recently; call me ignorant if it's been a while, but:
creed broke up(i found this out a while back), but mark the guitarist and the drummer teamed up w/former creed bassist and some other vocalist from mayfield 4 to make another band with a few other guys; it's now called alter bridge(that's where they went!); so i can still relish mark tremonti's guitar work, which i have always admired for a long time.
and...
going by the above link, scott stapp is now a christian; don't assume that's WHY creed broke up though, because while creed was not officially a christian band, scott himself stated that it was because they had other interests. although, take a lot at the below quote and decide whether that means they broke up cause stapp became a christian(you could argue it was like that)
(taken from the alter bridge website about why they broke up:
"Mark and Flip:
We were just going different directions, he had a lot going on his life personally and professionally and we just wanted to play music. After taking a break it was apparent that Scott wanted to make a studio record but not tour as much and we wanted to tour and get back to work. When we got together to do the next record, it just wasn’t happening musically. There was no progress being made so we just decided to part ways. There’s no animosity there. We talked on the phone and wished each other good luck.")
and no, alter bridge is not considered to be a christian band, like creed was:
"Are the band and album spiritual? Did you try to go in a more secular direction? How different will it be lyrically? The album is entitled ONE DAY REMAINS – that seems spiritual.
Flip:
It’s not super spiritual, but the band members are all spiritual. Spirituality will always be a part of who we are but the album’s more about life experiences. You can take from it what you will but it’s not an agenda of ours. There was no difference in opinion between Tremonti and Stapp when it came to the direction of Creed’s message. We’re not trying to be secular or spiritual; we just want to express positivity in our lives."
so we still got 4 more ppls to pray for...
but, let's get back to scott stapp, whom i'm happy for, since he's now a christian:
"What had triggered those spiritual changes in your life?
Stapp: A lot of personal things. I was hurt and beaten down. Five years ago, I had a divorce that I didn't really want. I was so busy with Creed that I don't think I ever really dealt with that emotionally. She [his ex-wife] elected not to be involved in my son's life, leaving me as a single father, and I was really worried about my little boy [Jagger, who turns 6 in October]. And there were other things that came along in the trappings of fame, things that hurt some of my relationships. So when I finally had time to reflect on everything, I was broken down to the point where I had no other way but to look up. I couldn't handle it all. I was asking a lot of questions—of myself, of God—looking for answers.
My dad always said I was hard-headed, that it would take something like that to wake me up spiritually, and I guess it did. My heart had gotten so beat up that I didn't have anything left to give. I was emotionally and spiritually dried up, so I was just searching for God. I reached out to my pastor and my father for some guidance. I was really soul searching and, I guess, on my path to coming home spiritually. And once that process began—and I'm still going through that process, and probably will for the rest of my life—that's when things started changing in my life. I started making some proper decisions, getting things in order. It's kind of like cleaning up your house. I was looking for direction for what God wanted me to do—and that's when I got a call about The Passion."
Prior to this recent renewal, how would you have described your faith?
Stapp: I'd have called myself a struggling Christian who was trying to find holes in everything he had been raised to believe. I was a doubting Thomas. I was raised in a climate where I believed in God because I was afraid of going to hell—and I didn't think that was the right way to fall in love with somebody. I always believed in God and Christ, but I was in rebellion—trying to make my relationship with God fit into my life instead of making my life fit in with him. I was stubborn.
It just took all of that to come to a screeching halt, to get to the point of having nothing, for me to finally realize, Hey, what are you fighting with this for? Until then, I hadn't claimed my faith as my own; I had just grown up with it. But I finally got to that point after years and years of running from God. Christ stepped in when I asked him."
"Can you give me a specific example of how that "relearned love" is manifesting itself in your life?
Stapp: It's simple for me: It's giving without expecting anything in return. Prior to this, the way that I loved people around me, I always expected something—even if that was just expecting them to treat me like I treated them. But now I understand that real love is just giving without expecting anything. That's what love is to me, and that's what I feel that Christ showed us."
and later in this interview, he says he now declares himself a christian:
"On Creed's website, you had answered an FAQ in part by writing, "Who are we to say that being a Christian is the only way to heaven?"
Stapp: Well, I can honestly tell you, I didn't write that.
But your name was on it.
Stapp: [Turns to tell his manager sitting nearby to call his record label and "tell them there's something on the Creed website that I didn't write … again." Then he addresses Christian Music Today again.] I didn't write that. I would never answer a question that way. That sounds like something the owner of my record company [Wind-Up Records] would say.
[Stapp, clearly perturbed at this revelation, says something else to his manager, then addresses us again.] I would never say that, dude, because that's not what I believe. We'll be sure to make a note of that. That stuff happens all the time, because my label, you know, they're about making money. They don't want to disenfranchise people. Creed wasn't a Christian band, but I would never insinuate or say anything that would make that kind of a statement. I'm glad you told me about that.
So, where do you stand in regards to that statement?
Stapp: Oh, I'm a Christian. I was a Christian in Creed, but nobody ever asked me.
You've been really open in this interview. Is that because I'm with the Christian media? Or would you answer these questions similarly for the mainstream media?
Stapp: The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I'm no longer with Creed. I'm a solo artist now, and I don't have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.
Well, you never got interviewed by us!
Stapp (laughs): But I'm glad nobody asked, because my life wasn't right with God. The Christian community latched onto a lot of my music, because there were a lot of things about my struggle they related to. But I didn't really want to come out and be identified as a Christian, because I didn't want to be a hypocrite, because my life wasn't right. I didn't want to make any kind of public profession until I felt like my heart was right.
I've since learned that my life's never gonna be right, and I'm always going to be scrutinized and looked at under a microscope. And it took me, since I was 17 and left home, running from God, to now, as a 30-year-old man, when I honestly feel like I've come full circle and my heart's finally in the right place. I'm still going to make mistakes, but I don't have any problems with publicly professing my faith now. It just took me a long time to get to the right place in my relationship with Christ.
It's just crazy how things have come full circle for me as a solo artist. I kind of look at everything that happened with Creed as a preparation—me going through things to get my life ready for God's plan. It's been a journey and a learning experience.
So, are you now a "Christian artist," or an artist who happens to be a Christian?
Stapp: I'm an artist who's a Christian, because I don't write music to be evangelical. Now, if that happens, it happens. My dad's a dentist, and he's a Christian. Now, does he put in Christian fillings? No, that's just part of his three-dimensional life. Now, there are people that are Christian artists, because they have a purpose to be evangelical for Christ. I don't feel I've been called to that yet. Now, that could change. There's no telling what kind of call God will put on my life."
i like though, how he was hesitant about saying he was a christian, because he did wrong, afraid that he'd give a wrong impression of christians. and the fact that now he learns that's life.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
ESPN.com - NBA - Smith: Sacramento's crumbling Kingdom:
"In the meantime, the owners got mad at the city over a new arena. Who doesn't believe they're trying to get the franchise to Las Vegas, where they own a casino? They were among this new breed of owners with a lot of money they really didn't work long to earn and frustrated athletic fantasies. So they said they'd spend whatever they had to spend. Until they found themselves writing $10 million checks after the season to the owners practicing financial stability, like, oh, Donald Sterling. So they gutted their bench for a million here and there and there was no one left when Webber wasn't C-Webb and Jackson was on the bench."
damnit... and i thought the lakers were in disarray... it's like the pot calling the kettle black
"In the meantime, the owners got mad at the city over a new arena. Who doesn't believe they're trying to get the franchise to Las Vegas, where they own a casino? They were among this new breed of owners with a lot of money they really didn't work long to earn and frustrated athletic fantasies. So they said they'd spend whatever they had to spend. Until they found themselves writing $10 million checks after the season to the owners practicing financial stability, like, oh, Donald Sterling. So they gutted their bench for a million here and there and there was no one left when Webber wasn't C-Webb and Jackson was on the bench."
damnit... and i thought the lakers were in disarray... it's like the pot calling the kettle black
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Boondocks - Vote Kerry/Edwards!
LOL!
Team USA > Turkey
+supposedly, they did better down the stretch, and rallied to defend well
+one of my fave PF's, duncan, did his thing all over the court
-they almost blew a huge lead; every point, every defensive possession counts
-none of the younger players did their thing offensively; only the guys WITH EXPERIENCE, aka ai and td, did their thing in double figures
-perimeter shooting NEEDS to get better; this is international bball, so you gotta take advantage of the easier 3
"guns n roses - you could be mine" is too good... it's ol skool rock... one of my favorites from the good ol days... but no, i don't throw up the horns, heh heh. i gotta print out a tab of it soon and work on it; i love the riffs. i almost always stop the .wmv file short of the ending though... he seems to stress that one note way too long. good ol feminine rock star singers...
LOL!
Team USA > Turkey
+supposedly, they did better down the stretch, and rallied to defend well
+one of my fave PF's, duncan, did his thing all over the court
-they almost blew a huge lead; every point, every defensive possession counts
-none of the younger players did their thing offensively; only the guys WITH EXPERIENCE, aka ai and td, did their thing in double figures
-perimeter shooting NEEDS to get better; this is international bball, so you gotta take advantage of the easier 3
"guns n roses - you could be mine" is too good... it's ol skool rock... one of my favorites from the good ol days... but no, i don't throw up the horns, heh heh. i gotta print out a tab of it soon and work on it; i love the riffs. i almost always stop the .wmv file short of the ending though... he seems to stress that one note way too long. good ol feminine rock star singers...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)