fellow storytellers

From WeddingsongStories: 

i could not have made this initial effort into wedding songs/stories without the help of many, many friends and family.

as stated earlier, the theme for this album and site is inspired by Storyphotographers, and i am proud to claim Ashley as kin - a distant cousin, for real!  If you are curious about their work, you can get lost in their site exploring all of the different stories (wedding, engagement, couples, families, pets!, and more).  Their photo shoot for me also gives direction to the images you see here.

my brother, Daniel, is a talented designer and illustrator - stratopixel is his freelance headquarters, and he has been gracious enough to provide me with insightful and meaningful art and design for all of the albums i've recorded over the years.

Vocals:

my wife Sarah Jean Calvert is a blessing beyond anything i could have imagined - and one dimension of that blessing to me is her vocal abilities.  She has a keen ear for harmony and a deep love for good melodies, so i am blessed that she sang on this album and sings almost weekly with me as we lead music with our church family. 

my cousin Bethany Hamilton is a stellar performer, classically trained in Chicago and Scotland, and as well as sharing an abiding love for all things Star Wars, we also share the musical end of the gene pool.  I am very thankful that Bethany allowed me to track Call it Love for WeddingSongs, and i hope to collaborate with her on more songwriting thanks to the magical interwebs and digital transfer of music!

Guitars:

I have had the privilege and curse of knowing Rick Hinson for around 9 years - he has challenged me as a songwriter the whole time, and has also depicted me as a small blue dragon in a photo-story on facebook.  feel free to ask, i don't know if i can explain.  anyway, Rick doesn't play guitar as much as he used to, so i'm glad he dusted it off to craft some beautiful and unique parts to these songs.

Andrew Tatum is a colleague in many senses of the word: theologian, philosopher, musician, comicbook reader, minister.  I'm grateful that he took the time to bless these songs with his talent.  you can usually catch Andrew playing with me during live performances of these songs and more, as well.

Bass Guitar:

my arch-nemesis, David Phillippi, has been a great friend for 12 years.  He is serving as music director at PC3, a multi-campus church in the Wilmington area.  He is my arch-nemesis because although we love many of the same bands, we approach songwriting from two different perspectives - and thus, we argued a lot when we were in a band together.  He still found the time in his busy schedule to lay down a fretless bass track on Awake, and i am thankful again for the magical interweb assisting that process!

Matthew McGhee, or Jorge, has been a friend and fellow musician for more years than i can count - probably close to 20 at this point.  He helped me develop my ear for harmonies and my taste for good music back in High School, and he was willing to share his talents on Satisfied on short notice - i am thankful for that blessing!

Zach Anderson has served as bass guitarist for Grace Community Church and for various worship events i've led, and i miss his friendship and musicianship.  Now that he is Dr. Anderson, he has focused on pharmacy for the time being - but hopefully his bass is still active.  He jumped in on 'Living' on short notice and delivered a solid track, and for that as well as many other things, i am grateful. 

Drums:

Mike McKee has been gracious enough to join me on my musical journey several times - as part of OneLessFrame (w/Rick and Melinda), as a fill-in for worship events, and as a part of this album.  He makes his living playing with various bands, and excels in every genre he attempts.  Catch him currently with the Triangle Jazz Quartet or Delta Rae. 

Dale Baker seems to be connected to just about everyone - you can see that through his website.  He is friends with my engineer/producer, and had suggested sitting in on a session for me if i ever had need.  I was excited to have the former Sixpence drummer sit in on 'Satisfied' and knock it out in one listen-through!

Cello:

Melinda McKee has been a great friend for many years.  Her talents on the cello match her vocal abilities, and i'm glad that she was willing to work with me on 'What We Are,' which became a sort of OneLessFrame reunion when we recorded and performed it.  Check out her new endeavors at MelindaMcKee.com

Last but not least - 

Randy Hayes of Cross-eyed Studio served as co-producer, engineer, guitarist, lyricist, and friend throughout this two-year project, and i will be indebted to him for his patience and insight over the last 12 years of my musical journey.  he was watched, and helped, as i've grown as a young man and a songwriter, and i was very pleased that he could add some guitar work to this project, bringing it full circle.