What's keeping you up?

In my shoes?

Chris — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:29:48 +0000

So it’s 5 am or so when I leave this morning to go to work. It’s pitch black outside and of course I don’t turn on a ton of lights getting ready to keep the family asleep. So I grab my shoes and hit the road.

After church I come home, grab lunch, and hit the sofa for a holy nap just before leaving to mix at IO. Low and behold it’s 2:24. So I grab my shoes and head up to the church and I look down and see this. Two different shoes. I’m a dork.

Waffles and Jesus

Chris — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:24:57 +0000

I read this verse this morning in 2 Corinthians 2 and it made me think of my team at work.

¹⁵For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

I love my team. I believe each and every one of us has been called to serve here, and I pray that we are so close to Jesus that we even smell like him.

This reminded me of Waffle House. You ever go there and when you leave, you smell like it? It’s one of those special benifits you walk away with for free . This verse made me think…. I hope when people hang around me that they go away with the aroma of Christ. For this to happen, I have to be close to Jesus…..a lot.

Father, may I be so close to you that people recognize the aroma of you! Lord, may our team be permeating of your character. I love you so much. Thank you for your word. May your Holy Spirit guide my day as you live through me. I love you so much!

Label Makers

Chris — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:21:24 +0000

So I get ragged a bit about how excited I get about label makers. I guess I’ve just paid the consequences of things not being labeled and some of those insistences were costly. But the right label that looks nice can make a simple project look really professional.

It’s sound guy 101 as a matter of fact or production 101. Yet, it surprises me at how many times I witness things in production unlabeled.

My current tools of the trade are these models. If you are serious about doing it right, then multiple machines will be necessary:).

Brother P-touch 2700
Cream of the crop portable/hand held.
Back-lit display, USB port for Mac or PC control (absolute must for video patch bays), up to 1″ tape, a lot of color options, and it looks cool:). The p-touch editor software gives you complete design freedom with logos and fonts. $100 unit / $19 per cartridge.

Rhino 6000
This beast has all of the same features as the Brother but adds some key features for installation. This machine is best for wrapping cables. You can select the type of wire you are labeling and it knows how big to make your wrap. Plus you can serialize your printouts to keep those repetitive jobs consistent and efficient. This model has limited tape options but adds self laminating and heat shrink tubing you can print right onto. It has limited fonts and the software is OK, but really adds nothing that you can’t do straight from the machine.

One feature that is kind of cool is that it has filing on it. You can save and recall any design you have previously saved. $300 unit / $27 per cartridge. (pricey I know but it’s the real deal)

I also have several other machines around. I have a small p-touch at my desk for file folders and stuff in the office. I also have a Brother 1500PC at our tape station. This model is computer controlled only but we have a template file on the Mac sitting right next to it and it’s really easy to put a label on the tape as it comes out of the deck!

So I’m a lable nut. But I like things when they are done neatly and these tools make that possible.

30 years and Thankful. (belated)

Chris — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:05:38 +0000

This is a post I started….but didn’t finish until now. One of the many downsides to perfectionism…….never finishing . But I’m working on finishing things I’ve started.

So about two months ago I turned 30. I know, I know. I’m getting old. But I was thinking at how amazingly blessed I am. So I thought I would list 30 of my blessings. No particular order.

I have a relationship with my Savior.
I have the best wife in the world.
I have a healthy, amazingly beautiful baby girl.
I was raised in a Christian home by two great parents (who are still together)
I have a home.
I live 3 miles from work (nice with Gas prices as bad as they are!)
I live in America.
I am free.
I have no debt (other than my home)
I have a dream job.
I have the best volunteers in the world.
I work with my best friends.
I have a Meyer PA.
I have Digidesign Consoles.
I have a mac.
Both our cars are paid for and working.
I have health, dental, and life Insurance.
I have a Roth IRA.
I have the most beautiful wife in the world.
I have two dogs.
I have an iPhone.
I work for the coolest church on the planet.
I play golf about once a month!
I have a great relationship with my brother (and miss him dearly)
I have a wife who is the best mom in the world.
I’m married to my best friend….did I mention who is HOT!….and
she threw an awesome surprise party for me on my 30th!
Which reminds me…… I have great friends.
I am so rich!
Oh….and my wife is awesome! She’s my hero!

Here’s a pic from the party!

Progress!

Chris — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:57:48 +0000

You ever get those seasons in your job where you just feel like nothing is moving along. The last few weeks have been like that for me. We always have a list a mile long of projects and they get done eventually, but recently we have been making some massive headway! The guys on my team have been great and really make me proud to work with them.

Thanks!

That’s Just Cool!

Chris — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:59:32 +0000

Okay, I finally got my iPhone after waiting a year. The recessed headphone jack literally held me off…..oh and the fact that it was $499. So today I found a VNC application for the iPhone that lets you log into other machines with it (thanks BJ).

I’m sorry, but that’s just cool. Here’s a screen shot from the phone (cool too) that shows our console at FOH on it. You can control….move faders….recall scenes……all from my phone.

So i’ve gone a little application crazy on it. Here’s my page of apps.
This keeps me up !

Proverbs 22:6

Chris — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:17:53 +0000

Train a child in the (s)he should go and when (s)he is old (s)he will not turn from it.

Mixing in the Vocal Smash Group….on her first Midas.

Clarity

Chris — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:18:05 +0000

Tonight I got the pleasure of mixing Kristian Stanfill and his band…..and it was a pleasure! Above all of the talent that these guys oooz…they have huge hearts!

God has been doing cool things with our team at BB and I feel like he is bringing clarity to me in the process. Tonight i had mentioned to Kristian I really resonated with what he said on this post. Here was his prayer that just brought such clear words to desires in my heart.

God…
i want more. i want as much of your presence and power as i can handle in my human frame. turn our expectations upside down. deliver us from what we think is a successful worship experience. make us open and willing to follow You to uncharted places. amen.

I’ve been involved in worship experiences all my life. I’ve toured with Passion, mixed for 7|22 for years, and been at FOH mixing and producing for almost 7 years at NPM. I have worked with some of the most talented people in the world and it has been such a blessing……but I want more.

Holy Spirit,
please come into our church. i know You have called me here, to this place. i need You to bring life. i need You to bring clarity to our team. i need You to do things that are only You. You have gifted us so graciously with resources, talent, and excellence that other churches beg to have. May we not raise those blessings subconsciously and miss You. the hearts that sit in our seats need You. You have called me to be excellent at what i do. but i need You. we need You.

Mixing and Loving It!

Chris — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:54:25 +0000

This past weekend we had Married Life Live at our Church. It’s an event that married couples attend to have fun and give attention to their marriages. I always love these events cause we get to do songs that span all kinds of genres and it really stretches my mixing.

Here was the set list….fun stuff!

So I thought I would share a little insight into my world of mixing….some of you have been asking…so here goes.

For this event I wanted to take some risks. I feel like I’ve been in mixing rut so i thought….why not…let’s go all out and go for it.

I started with the list above in itunes and just listened to the originals. I got used to them the way they sounded and listed the details that I thought were significant. As I listened I just made notes. I threw in my molds and just started typing all the things that i thought I could do. Here’s the list:

Just simple things but they really helped me as a guide when I sat down at the console. Even while I mixed I had this playlist rolling in itunes and i could at any time just solo the song i was working on and listen.

This is the most fun I’ve had mixing in a while and it really challenged me to get out of the usuals everytime i heard a kick drum.

What do you do that helps you mix?

Yes, another Eva post and proud of it!

Chris — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:27:55 +0000

being a dad is one of the top coolest things in the world.