Cherishing God's Forgiveness

So today I have been struggling with anger, condemnation, and bitterness ... basically just way too much thinking about me and my circumstances. Before playing buckets tonight I read the following quotes from John Piper:
"The battle against bitterness is fought ... by cherishing the experience of being forgiven."
"Saving faith cherishes being forgiven by God, and from there rises to cherishing the God who forgives - and all that he is for us in Jesus."
(P. 115, Battling Unbelief, John Piper)
The solution to my problem is not for the circumstances to change, but rather for my focus to shift off of myself and on to the God who saved me from all my sins. May God help me to cherish His forgiveness that is made available to me through Jesus!

Peter Bang Photography

I forgot to mention where I received the jazz trio pictures from. Peter Bang emailed them to me. He was one of the photographers @ the Garfield Wedding where we played. Check out his blog.

Jazz Trio : Saturday October 4th, 2008

Here are some pics from a wedding I played at w/ Roger Hooper and John Spiro. I always look forward to playing w/ these guys. As of late, this is the only chance I get to play drum set. Hopefully we'll record a demo pretty soon. One thing that was cool at this gig, was the crazy sounds Roger got out of his keyboards. It was fun to go from playing Satin Doll w/ an acoustic piano into a synth version of Rocket by Herbie Hancock.

National Harbor Percussion Gig Update

This past Wednesday + Thursday I had the privelege of rehearsing with all the guys who I play with at the National Harbor. We rehearsed from 10am - 2pm up in the nightclub of the Gaylord hotel called Pose. The person who wrote the show, Charlie, flew up from Florida with 6 new songs for us. The 'Zen' drum parts (which I don't play) were much more challenging this time. My parts fit very well with the rest of the ensemble.
I have been looking forward to this rehearsal for a long time. The new songs seem to be perfect and it was fun to learn all the parts. As usual, check out the schedule on the blog to see when you can come by. The times of the shows seem to be changing, so please call or email me before you come so I can give you specific times. Below are some pictures from the rehearsal.

This is the VIP portion of the nightclub. Some music we were expected to practice beforehand, some we received at the rehearsal, that's why we have the music stands.

You can see the Washington Monument from Pose.

We use all sorts of 'percussion.' Pots, Pans, Cajon, and Pepper Shakers. Here the guys make sure everything is set up.

This is Steve Bloom. He is one of the best hand percussionists in DC.

Here Charlie demonstrates on the Zen Drum.

Now it's Zak's turn.

Here Zak + Dominic have dueling cajons.

My Grandmother's 90th Birthday Party Weekend

From Friday October 9th through Monday October 13th, Mariana and I spent the weekend in Little Rock Arkansas. My Dad was born and raised in Little Rock and my Grandmother still lives in the house where he grew up. We spent the weekend in Arkansas becuase we were celebrating my Grandmother's 90th Birthday. My Uncle and Dad threw a party for her in the dining area of Bill Clinton's Presidential Library. This was a great oppurtunity to hang out with family I do not get to see that often. Pictures follow with captions below the pictures.

Here we have my cousins Andy + Brad, my G-ma with my cousin Amy.

Here is my Aunt Barbi ... she always used to have her kids kick me and spit on me during family gatherings ... she still does, I just said, don't spit on Mari!

Cousin Amy + G-ma.

Mari + I w/ Ed and Neesham (my brother and sister in-law).

This is a cute picture of G-ma + Mari.

My Dad's cousin Jean has two daughters (Brenda + Melissa) ... and they both have iPhones.

I am not a big history buff, but last year I started to study the American Civil Rights Movement. Little Rock plays a significant role in American History. The Little Rock 9 were the first African American students to integrate a white school in Arkansas. It is sobering to think about the hatred these nine students went through, and now there is a monument to honor their courage at the Arkansas Capital.

This is Mari posing in front of President Clinton's Limo. I think she should run in four years ...of course she wasn't born in America, but maybe the constitution can be amended ...

Here is my Dad + Virginia honoring my G-ma.

Here is cousin Brad + Andy singing an original song to honor my G-ma.

Here is G-ma enjoying the festivities.

And finally, the honored guest with her two sons.

My Brilliant Picture + My Beautiful Wife

Here is a quick update about my weekend. I spent the entire weekend in Little Rock Arkansas celebrating my Grandmother's 90th birthday. I will post more later, but I took this first picture by swirling the glass of red wine. I think it's interesting how the reflection of my hand is only in the wine part. If I ever produce my own cd, this will be my album cover.

And of course my beautiful wife.

Zak, Jeff, + Dominic

So I've been playing pots + pans at the National Harbor for four months now. It has been the best job I have ever had. There are two main reasons for this. One is I get to do what I love ... hit random objects and try to get new sounds and rhythms out of these metal or plastic percussion sounding utensils. The other reason I enjoy playing is because of the other guys on the job. I thought I would highlight three of them on this post and why I specifically enjoy their skills and personality.

The first guy I'd like to highlight is Zak. He is pictured here second from the right or third from the left. Zak is a true musician, and man, is he creative! For the restaurant show there were only two guys in the beginning to play the electronic drum controller and Zak is one of those guys. I think he was chosen because of his drumming skills and overall musicianship. Zak still practices a lot. He also spent three weeks studying in Cuba to learn how to play the rhythms indigenous from that country more legit. Zak also does crazy stuff during his solos like put the bucket on his head or stand on one bucket w/ one leg ... pretty cool. Not only is Zak a great musician, but he has a great sense of humor. There have been many times I've been crying because he makes me laugh so hard. I always look forward to playing the show when I know Zak is scheduled.

Next up, we have Jeff.

During the first rehearsals we had, the producer of the show commented about Jeff in the following way (paraphrased w/ my vague memory) "I'm no dummy, I can tell when some one's got hands." I've noticed that Jeff plays w/ a specific style that I've always wanted. Jeff plays around town w/ a variety of musicians and I can tell why he keeps getting hired. His solos are tasteful and he combines fast rhythms w/ exquisite rudimental style. Jeff is also one of those guys who makes me laugh, the only thing is that Jeff and Zak sometimes tease me ... hmmm.

Last but not least, Dominic.

Dominic is one of the youngest guys in the group, but his skills are impressive. He can do a one handed drum roll, flip his sticks like no ones business, play crazy syncopated odd metered rhythms, and come up w/ a cool beat to jam with before I can even figure out where beat 1 is. Dominic is the other guy chosen to do the (Zen Drum) electronic drum controller. I never know what to expect when he does a solo and when each of us are on a ladder, he makes me feel like an old man because of the way he jumps up and down and slides off of it.

So, I do enjoy playing w/ all the guys, and thanks to Wes for getting me the gig in the first place, but I thought I would highlight these three guys. If you can, come check us out some time, the schedule is on the right side of the blog.

What's Been Happening

So it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Life has been full (I guess life is full for everybody, so maybe I should not say that ... too late). What have I been doing? Lot's of stuff I guess ... let me check my calendar just to update myself. I think I'll go to the pictures instead of updating myself of the last two weeks. (Captions Below Pics)

Last Saturday (not this Saturday when I was helping w/ the Garfield wedding), Mari went to the National Book fair. They had the Magic School Bus. Mari is working hard on her classes. I may use one of the books she read for her children's lit class as a resource for my instrumental students. More on that another time.

I have no idea who these people are, but Mari was excited to get her pictures w/ them. I think she is the author of Duck For President.

Last Thursday we received an impromptu invitation to have dinner w/ our friends the Boer's. This is me and their son Carter. He is an extremely cute baby. I told him he should play a real instrument ... the drums, not like his parents who play organ and viola.

On Sunday Mari and I went to Great Falls w/ my Mom, Ed (my brother), and Neesham (my younger sister-in-law) to do something called Tashlikh. This is a Jewish ritual where you put bread in a flowing river and it represents making atonement for your sins. That's the way I understand it, but my Mom can explain it better than I. Now, I believe the only way to atone for my sins is through believing that Jesus Christ's death on the cross has made a way for our sins to be atoned. But, I have accompanied my mother in doing this for the past few years. It has become a family tradition.

This is my Mom, a very faithful reader of this blog.

Here is everyone accept for me.

This is the act of throwing the bread.

This is Sammy, my brother's newest dog. He's cute and wearing a redskins jersey that my Mom bought.

This is Beemer, an old friend ... even though we didn't start off on the right foot, it was good to see him.

The Potomac River, before it becomes Great Fall.

This is a lock.

Last, but certainly not least, the love of my life. Besides Jesus, she is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me!