July 29, 2011

Hello Friends - I hope you have enjoyed the videos I posted on my website.  Aren't my kiddos cute?  I love being a father.

I am way excited about this blog!  I love relaying new announcements!  Today's big announcement is...

I am happy to share with you that the title of my next project (to be released this Oct 29 tentatively) will be "TO KEEP LOVE ALIVE".  The name is taken from what will be the opening track for the EP.  I feel this title and song summarizes most completely the overall theme of this project.  Over this last year I have seen many friends and acquaintances struggle through some incredibly challenging things as husband and wife.  Some fought through it (some still fighting) and others lead to divorce.  I love my life with my wife and family...and I believe God brings man and women together for marital unity that cannot be matched in any other way.  It saddens me the perspective our culture has on love, unity, faithfulness, and marriage...a perspective of self-centeredness, quick solutions and easy commitments..because I feel culture is leading others to miss something beautiful about love that can only be found in marriage.  I know this may seem like an unusual concept for an recording, but I believe the EP takes us through that struggle into a reminder of the love we continually fight for.  The tracks begin with "To Keep Love Alive" ending with a love some about my wife called "Simply".  My prayer and hope for this recording is to remind us what we persevere for regarding love.

All concepts and deep meanings aside, the 5 songs are fantastic and the recordings are really coming along.  I am excited that bass tracking is complete and keys will happen in the next week or so.  We are getting close!

Nic

*some lyrics from the song "To Keep Love Alive"
"Someday I'll remember the little things
and the trivial nuances they all bring
Someday I'll know just what it means when
you said you've given everything you need
to keep love alive"

July 18, 2011

Dear Friends:
I took a 4 week break from recording to prepare for and go on two youth ministry trips.  I am officially done with my big trips for the summer.  It feels great to be back home with family, but I always go into internal mode a little after getting back.  This summer my mission trip Wind River Reservation, Wyoming and my Bible camp trip to Covenant Pines Bible Camp in McGregor, MN were a week apart from each other, so I tend to need some time to process.  I am kinda treating this blog entry as such, a brief chance to reflect on these last 2 trips.

"If you want to know what poverty looks like in the United States visit a reservation" was a quote I read while preparing for this summer's mission trip.  In many ways, being involved in ministry while in Wind River was more of a culture shock than the Mexico mission trip I lead last summer.  The poverty is evident in the landscape, housing, and within family - however God's love and provision still is alive and strong.  It was amazing witnessing his revelation while in Ethete, Wyoming.  One brief story.  Monday evening we walked down a residential street in Ethete.  Before we started we asked that God would break any strongholds in this small community, dealing with drug use, violence and neglect.  As we walked in silence me and a dozen students prayed.  When we got to the end of the street (one of 2 in the neighborhood) we prayed that God would reveal is beauty and love in this community, that we would be able to see goodness and his design.  Right (and I mean instantly) when we were done praying 2 little girls on bike rode up to us with big smiles and a little boy began to chase some of my students around with a lasso.  It was so clear it was an answered prayer that it was almost laughable.  Many other things occurred during our time on Wind River Reservation (like Vacation Bible School, Prison Ministry, 2 Detox centers, a Pastor Appreciation Dinner, etc) but the main echo in my heart comes from how moved my students were by the people they met and the friendships they built.  May the unity and fellowship we experienced continue for a long time.

    

Bible Camp was fantastic as well.  I love Bible Camp ministry and Covenant Pines does a great job.  Here are a couple testimonies from a couple middle school guys in my cabin... "I learned that God doesn't want me to be a lukewarm Christian.  He wants me all in.  If I can raise my hands in worship at Bible Camp I should be able to do it back home too."  "If you talk to God he will talk back.  It might not be in the way you want him to, but no matter what his answer is he has our best interest in mind."  Pretty wise words from middle schoolers.

Lastly, I added 3 videos to my home page.  2 of them are of my kiddos missing me...too cute.  The last one I just thought was hilarious...my son and daughter singing and dancing to Justin Bieber!

May God continue to bless your summer.

Nic Stevens

*By the way, I will be updating you soon about my upcoming recording...including the projects final name!

June 9, 2011

Hey Friends:

Progress has slowed a little bit on the recording while Zach, who is co-producing the project with me, finishes up two other time sensitive projects.  If you have the time, check out www.bensonwells.com and www.myspace.com/alexmastersmusic ...they sound like great projects from great local musicians.  Next week we are jumping back into the "mix" and pushing hard till the end of June (when I leave for a mission trip).  So, please stay tuned with for more music news and the announcement about the name of my upcoming project.  Until then, here are the last 3 books I've read...

1-Forgotten God - Francis Chan (great great book about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives...one of my wife's recent favorites)
2-Hunger Games I+II (yeah, they are teenage books, but it is safe to say that I am addicted...the series is about a "gladiator" type games set in the future)
3-Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo (a story about a near death experience of a 4 year old boy...might have hit me hard because of my four year old son...remarkable story)

What's your last 3?  I love reading recommendations!

Blessings.
Nic

May 24, 2011

Hello Friends -

Summer is so close I can hear it and sense it (I can't quite feel it yet...but it is close).  As we move along preparing for my fall CD release I am finding myself taking care of things of little interest to most.  So how 'bout I include you in my summer movie excitement.  I love summer movies!  Here are my top five movies I look forward to seeing this summer.  I am all about the hype, so you aren't going to be too surprised if you know me (and my enjoyment of Sci-fi)...Here we go...

#1 - Super 8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCRQQCKS7go) - its look reminds me of the movies that excited me when I was a kid.  Sci-Fi action from some of the industries best storytellers!

#2 - Cowboys + Aliens (and my wife's eyes roll) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH7KZD5vGBY) - Western + Sci-Fi with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig...I'm kinda twitching with excitement

#3 - Green Lantern (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8ZPg8uaoR0) - I don't know much about the storyline, but I like Ryan Reynolds a lot.  Looks sweet.

#4 - Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_kDb-pRCds) - I don't follow 'ol Harry too closely, but this movie will be too monumental to miss.

And probably the surprise of the list...

#5 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_gKq200EBk) - Now honestly, there is a little nostalgia to this one...I grew up with my dad loving the original movies.  Not a lot done by the director, but must be good enough to get Franco to climb on board.  Kinda risky, but I can't help being excited.

It looks like it is the summer of Sci-Fi!!!  Here are a couple that didn't make the list...

Runners up:
-Conan
-X-men: First Class

Movie I will not see:
Transformers 3 (yes, the 2nd one was that bad)

Blessings to you as we begin this summer season!
Nic Stevens
www.nicstevens.com

May 3, 2011

Hello Friends -

I was able to start my week off on a great foot. Sunday night I have the kiddos to myself while my wife was out of town for work. We made pizza, blew up the air mattress, got our sleeping bags out and watched the Neverending Story (a regular favorite of mine when I was a kid). It was a blessings to remember the pure joys of being a dad to great kids. Then this morning I was able to meet with Zach from Tone Flood Studio to help with a little music editing. I love it. We met at Spencer Combs and his wife Alex Masters house. Side note...you should check out www.spencer-combs.com - he's an amazing photographer. And Alex Masters is a great songwriter working on a project with Zach as well... www.myspace.com/alexmastersmusic.

Zach and I were able to finish up one drum edit and two cello edits. The song Simply is coming along so nicely. The cello parts add such a depth to a lovely song. As I said last week, this one may be a favorite. Next on the docket are 3 more drum edits and 5 guitar edits. Editing is a very time consuming and brain numbing process, but I honestly love it.

Thank you for your continued prayers during this recording.

Blessings.
Nic

*Another “Simply” lyrical treat…

“I’ve watched you every step of the way
You’re so beautiful, simply beautiful”

Hey friends - I hope you all had a great Easter.  I love Jesus and am so thankful for the glory of the cross and empty grave!  I was shown a good deal of grace Easter morning on my way to church...I got pulled over going 67 in a 55.  Oops.  Now honestly, I am a pretty cautious driver and I was actually listening intently to what the radio guy was saying on a Christians station...mind wandering.  Thanks for the warning Officer Admunson.

Editing is in the works at Tone Flood Studio from the work we did at the Minneapolis Relic Room Studio a week or so ago.  I am so excited to let you know how it sounds.  Until then I thought I would give a little song choice update.

Last summer I wrote and rewrote about 30 songs, knowing I would be selecting only five for this project.  During that song selection process I did a little Facebook campaign seeking input from fans about what their top choices would be for this recording.  I had a top 5 in mind, but their input changed 2 of my choices.  One of the songs that wasn't on my radar to record was a song called Simply.  I began working on this song March of 2003 during my first year married to my wife Ash.  I believed I finished what I thought was a pretty average song, so I shelved it and moved on.  Last summer I wrote a guitar part that I liked a lot and began working on a melody.  The melody that I began singing was the one from Simply (7 years later...amazing how the brain works).  I played it a few times, worked out the nuances of the guitar part, changed the chords for the bridge and added a line, tweaked with the lyrics a bit, and then recorded it on my cell phone. 

Summer passed.  In December I did some live recordings to help with selecting songs.  I listened to Simply and it really caught my ear by how different the song structure is...it is a little untraditional, but I liked that.  Probably 75% of the people I heard back from during the Facebook thing had Simply in their top 2-5 out of about 18 songs.  Because of that I added it to this project.  I think that we are going to be pretty true to the song's name by keeping it pretty simple...acoustic guitar and cello.  Personally, I think this song may end up being the favorite on the album.

Blessings.  Nic

*a little lyric sample...

"Though the world has many paths
turns and hills along the way
this walk with be with you
for the smile on your face"

April 17, 2011

Yesterday I spent about 12 hours at The Relic Room studio recording 3 instruments for my upcoming release.  My good friend Zach Parnell from Tone Flood Studio engineered and recorded the day.  I spent about 3.5 morning hours in this box recording acoustics...

By the time I got to the end of acoustic tracking my mind was quite mushy.  I think we got some great stuff, but I hope (pray) things sound perfect.

We began tracking cello at about 12:30.  Ben Rosenbush, whom prior to yesterday I only knew by reputation, did an incredible job.  Every good thing said about him was 100% accurate.  He amazed me, playing at times 5 parts deep, creating and overlapping them perfectly.  His contributions are truly going to wow you.  He's a great guy on top of being so talented.  After meeting him I remember thinking "I would really love to know this guy more."  Ben plays and writes for a sweet band called The Brighton (www.thebrightonsound.com).  I think you should check them out...


We ended the day recording one of my favorite drummers, Mike Schultz.  Mike drummed for Willow Run (my last project) as well, and I feel his contributions paved the direction for a couple of the tunes.  He is aggressive, very creative, and I just love being around the guy.  He also does a great job cutting hair!


I am truly blessed to get to work with such great talent.  I think you will feel blessed when you hear their work on this project.  What a great day...I am still smiling about it!

On a different note, Ash (my wife) found out this morning that her grandmother took a turn for the worse with her health.  Ash and her family are on the way to Wichita, KS to say their goodbyes.  I know my wife longs to pray with her grandmother.  Please pray for that conversation, safe travel, and for our family.  Thanks so much.

Blessings.  Nic

April 15, 2011

It is always a little strange putting language to a newly begun endeavor, so I will try to skip the clichés and jump right in.  I desire to share more music and more about my music with you. 

I have been writing and performing music for some time now, but a while back I made a decision to move from being just a dreamer to becoming more "business-like" in my dreaming.  The first part of that journey was recording and releasing my 2010 EP Willow Run, which I am still incredibly proud of.  Willow Run marked the first step toward a goal of releasing 4 projects in 4 years.  Last December I began the process for project #2. 

My hope for this blog is to share some of my music musings with you...writing, recording, singing, (family, movies, books, faith, etc) so you can feel a bit closer to the process.  I love connecting with you and I am so thrilled to be walking through this process for the second time with your support and love.

Tomorrow I will be at The Relic Room Studio in Minneapolis for about 12 hours recording acoustic guitars, cello (a first for this project), drums, and a group of singing gentlemen (also a first).  I look forward to sharing with you how it all goes, but for now would you please keep me in your prayers.  I deeply desire God to be a part of this musical journey.

So, until next time, be peaceful and prayerful.  I can't wait to unveil the tunes we are producing, and I can't wait to begin singing new tunes in your ears!

Blessings. Nic