twenty-three

Local songwriter and piano player, and friend, Dana Little is playing this Friday at the Lettered Streets Coffeehouse in Bellingham. Dana, formerly of Late Tuesday fame, is kicking off some summer shows with an intimate gathering at Bellingham's newest and coolest coffee shop. The concert is at 7pm at 1001 Dupont Street, over by the court house in Bellingham. If you're in the area this weekend, you should totally stop by!

I've had the opportunity to get to know Dana over the past few years because of our mutual connections to music at First Pres. She is very talented and has been a good friend to the INN over the years, helping out with our Christmas program up on campus and other concerts for as long as I can remember. Recently, she and I have been working together to put some of her summer shows together, so I've gotten to know her a bit more and I'm really excited about her new music.

The concert on Friday is free and open to all. If you're around and looking for something to do this Friday night, come by. There will be two sets, one at 7pm and one at 8pm, so even if you're running late, you'll get to hear some great music.

Finally, if you haven't heard Dana in a while (or ever), check out her MySpace page and listen to a few tracks: www.myspace.com/danalittlemusic

I got my brand new kicks in the mail today. Say hello to 100% recycled foot goodness.

Last week, I decided it was once again time to up and buy a new pair of shoes. I decided that since it seems like the world is collapsing around me, with rising gas prices, global warming, etc., it might be interesting to find a "green" shoe alternative. You know, something not made in a sweat shop, but maybe something made using ethical practices and eco-friendly material. And I found Simple shoes.

I had heard of the company before, but never owned a pair. I have usually needed to be pretty picky when it comes to shoes, as I have super-super-flat feet. But I thought I'd give something different a shot, knowing that by rocking the Superfeet orthotics that I already have, I might be ok.

My choice turns out to be the "Skiff" model, made with the following (from Simple's website):

• The men's Skiff contains no animal byproducts or even regular animal products. This shoe is vegan friendly and veggie friendly.
• Hemp uppers
• Yes those toe and heel bumpers are old bike tires
• Organic cotton linings
• Recycled PET (that’s recycled plastic bottles) wrapped latex elastic
• PET pedbeds (that’s recycled plastic bottles)
• Yes, that outsole used to be a car tire
• 100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms

How about that? And they're comfortable too!

Well, the race has been run hiked.

It was a beautiful day up at Mt. Baker this Sunday for the Ski to Sea race. I arrived at 7:45am with two of my team mates to get ready, find the start line, and slowly move towards a frenzied state of nausea as my leg approached. For the first time in about 3 years, I was going to be skiing. Raised on skis as a kid up a Stevens Pass, it is second nature, but I was still pretty nervous and rusty.

We were joined by a bunch of INN friends and students up at the mountain, comprising at least 4 different teams. It was really fun to keep bumping into people I knew, from at Western, from church, from around Bellingham. Like I said before, the community connections this event creates are amazing.

As for my performance, it was pretty tough. The first time I did the downhill skiing leg, 6 years ago, the weather was pretty nasty, with clouds and a little wind. Sunday, on the other hand, was gorgeous. It was warm climbing up (I got a bit sun burned) and the view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. I pushed myself pretty hard this time, knowing a bit more of what to expect from the steep hill climb. I felt pretty good upon finish, knowing I'd worked hard, but also knowing that physically, I could have been more prepared. The steep snow climb (which makes up most of the "downhill" skiing leg) definitely requires some different muscle use than my normal running routine exercises, so I was pretty worn out by the end. I finished in 0:35:55, about 3.5 minutes slower than my first time. Nothing to get too excited about, but I'm proud that I finished strong nonetheless.

The rest of the day was a bunch of hurry up and wait. Waiting in the car to get down the mountain. Waiting in traffic to pick up our biker. Waiting at the finish line for our team to come through. It was fun to hang out with friends, compare stories from the other legs of the race, and just enjoy the beautiful weather. The rest of my team did awesome. Everyone pushed themselves and had a blast, so for me, that's pretty good.

Here's a picture of the happy skier! I'm already pumped for next year!

Well folks, tomorrow's the big Ski to Sea race here in Whatcom County. The buzz is building around town. Today, I'm sure we'll see cars all over the place with kayaks and canoes on roof-racks. This is a big weekend for Bellingham.

The Ski to Sea race takes competitors through 7 event legs, starting with cross-country skiing up at Mt. Baker, followed by downhill skiing, road running, road biking, canoing, mountain biking, and ended with sea kayaking on the Bellingham bay. It covers quite a broad scope of outdoor activities, as well as a substantial chunk of county land.

I will be participating this year for the 3rd time since I came up to Bellingham in 2001. In May 2002, my freshman year of school, I did the downhill skiing leg. Junior year of college I did the sea kayaking leg (after only barely learning how to kayak). This year, I'm back to the downhill skiing. It's kind of fun to be "repeating" a leg, because I've done it, know the terrain a bit more, and have a time to shoot for (and hopefully beat). My first time (in '02) was 0:32:02. It's not a long leg, but it's plenty difficult, as it includes a rough climb up to the top of one of Mt. Baker's ridges and then a leisurely ski down a cat track to the base area. The toughest part is the climb. I feel like I'm in about the same (or hopefully better) shape, so I'm really hoping to match or beat that time.

I'll be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, shuttling up to the mountain. I will hopefully have a wonderful update for everyone, explaining how my team, "LightINNing" (made up of INN staff and students) miraculously won the race. Wish us luck!

***UPDATE***
The skis are waxed. They haven't been treated that nicely in a long time. I think they can tell tomorrow's a big day.

"Hi. We’re Death Cab for Cutie. We think it might be worthwhile re-introducing ourselves, because we just released our newest full length album. And it doesn’t really sound like us. Or at least you might not think so. So, pleased to meet you once again."

Here’s the first review I was eluding to with yesterday’s post. I’m just wrapping up my first listening to "Narrow Stairs", the newest offering from Bellingham’s-own Death Cab for Cutie. Thanks to an iTunes pre-order, I’m listening to the deluxe edition before the release date, which clicks over in about an hour. So, that’s cool. But let’s get to the album.

I’ve been reading, over the past few weeks, that this new album might ruffle a few feathers, might make people uneasy, might not quite be what people expect. They’re saying things like "some people might not like this album". I like the line in the last track, "The Ice Is Getting Thinner": "we’re not the same dear, as we used to be |
The seasons have changed and so have we." There’s definitely something different going on here and it seems like they’re ok with admitting it. For one, the band seems a whole lot more aggressive on this album than any of the past. Where songs like "The New Year" and "Crooked Teeth" (of previous albums) had some "piss and drive" to them, they pale in comparison to the kick in the teeth that "Bixby Canyon Bridge", "Long Division", and "Pity and Fear" throw at you.

The other note I’ve heard again and again with regards to this album is about frontman Ben Gibbard’s rediscovery of the guitar. Whereas Plans, their last release, had very little distorted guitar, Narrow Stairs is saturated with long, sustained power fed by heavy distortion. This kicks the band up a notch as they shake off some of their old standby styles for a fresh look at their sound. Embracing new sonic perspectives, with songs like "I Will Posses Your Heart" (the 8 minute long jam) and "Pity and Fear" (a little more sitar, please), the band moves into uncharted territory, unexplored landscapes of sound that I’ve only heard them dance around on previous albums and mildly entertain in their live performances.

Stand out tracks, for me, have to be "Bixby Canyon Bridge", a tale of Gibbard’s soul-searching journey to meet up with Jack Kerouac’s spirit in Big Sur, CA; "I Will Posses Your Heart", the creepy stalker tale that just doesn’t go away (8:35 minutes of building, layered, sonic mess sweetness that isn’t half bad as a single); and "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", because while they depart stylistically through the middle half of the album, exploring way too many major keys and bright harmonies than one would expect from a grey-skied Bellingham/Seattle band, they return home to dark, sparse, and brooding to close the album.

It’s a different game. They’ve decided to change the rules a bit. This isn’t the Postal Service, it’s not Plans, and yet, it is the proper evolution. These guys, who I saw when they played the Viking Union at WWU my freshmen year of college, showing off their new release, The Photo Album, have changed. And that’s alright.

PS: I’ll be interested what a few more listens will bring out. I always a need a few times around to get it really settled in my mind. We’ll see what happens, I suppose.

Whatever it takes to get the blogging juices flowing again, I think I’m going to try a music review. I’m thinking it’d be a good idea to prime the pump for a couple of albums I’m really looking forward to that come out in the next month or so, so why not start with a deluxe edition, reissue, b-sides disc of one of my favorite bands?

Originally release in 2001, Jimmy Eat World’s major label debut "Bleed American" lingered in my Volkswagen Golf CD player for quite a long time. A soundtrack to senior year of high school (along with lesser-wonders Blink 182 and New Found Glory), this was album was a bright star in the mess of pop-punk, hormonally-influenced snot-rock that I spent a lot of time listening to. There was something different about the energy and drive behind songs like "Sweetness", "A Praise Chorus", and "Your House". I felt pretty cool for starting to listen to these guys before their songs started getting major radio play. After seeing a summer concert at the Gorge (in which they opened for the aforementioned bands), they began to hold a very special place in my heart.

This album’s life took a pretty significant turn, as did a lot of popular culture, on 9/11/2001. The original title, "Bleed American", also the name for the lead single, didn’t quite cut if for politically-correctness in a time where we had a lot of people talking about our nation’s insecurities. So, with a huge marketing push, led by excited college kids like myself, and a reissue of the album under the name "Jimmy Eat World", they salvaged the success of the album. "The Middle" became our anthem, however much any of my generation never wants to hear that song again, and helped us know that we’d get through whatever was going on. The big ideas, the big heart of this album became a rally cry of a bunch of kids who were trying to figure out what to do with their world which all of a sudden had threats of war, uncertainty of security and safety, not to mention the first quarter of college classes and dorm food.

Fast forward 7 years and 2 more albums. After modest success with "Futures" and riding on the tails of "Chase This Light", Jimmy Eat World has re-released a deluxe edition of "Bleed American". The album not only features the original artwork with the former title, it also includes an 18-track second disc of rarities, b-sides, and live tracks. Being the fiend for downloading b-sides and live tracks that I am, I already have a lot of these songs on MP3. But all combined into a full second album, these tracks help complete the full picture of all this album became, way back then. Stand out tracks include "Firestarter" (a Prodigy cover), "Last Christmas" (everyone’s favorite cover of Wham!’s holiday love anthem), and a reworked version of "Your House", which the band debuted on the "Chase this Light" tour last fall. I have to say, the new rendition of "Your House" live was one of the high points of their show at WWU last October. All together, it’s a disc for fans who want to see it all.

My top 10 list of albums is always evolving, kicking out stuff that I said "I’ll love forever" and taking in a new gem here and there. One album that has stayed with me for a long while is "Bleed American". It’s one of those albums that speaks to a special place and time in my life. It’s one I can hear blaring off the prison-white hallway in Nash Hall. It’s an album that knew me back when I was blowing my grandpa’s old Blaupunkt speakers in a 1987 Golf. Maybe you know what this feels like to have a special album like this to listen to. "If you don’t well, honey, then you don’t".

What better way to make her brother’s evening? My sister started a blog! She’s on staff at Tall Timber Ranch this summer, working with kids at the camp we grew up going to.

Lora, I’m glad you’re in. Looking forward to reading it!

loraleone.wordpress.com

I haven’t spent much time writing about the web design I’ve been doing over the past few months. But, I thought I would be appropriate to highlight a new design I just launched because it was put together for a good friend and former co-worker, Becca Howell. Becca does wedding, portrait, and artistic photography. Her work is awesome and you can see it featured on this brand new site.

http://www.beccahowell.com

"Violet Hill", the first single from the long-awaited fourth studio album from Coldplay, is now available for free download at www.coldplay.com. The album comes out June 17 in the US. I’m pretty excited. I know how I’m going to kick off the first week of my summer - sit indoors with my headphones on!

I’m still deciding whether or not I will listen to the song before the whole album is released, but I’ve got it at least. It’s also being released as a limited edition 7" vinyl record in this month’s NME magazine, which I’ve got coming in the mail. Maybe I’ll listen to the vinyl…who knows. I’m kinda wanting to just wait and savor it all when it’s released.

Check it out and let me know what you think. www.coldplay.com

i’ve had a hard time articulating the last portion of our days in hayesville, north carolina. even now, about 3 weeks after returning from our trip, i still struggle to understand what happens when a group of 15 people are placed together by God to contribute to his Kingdom. and it boggles my mind how those perfect strangers can be so open with each other, so vulnerable, so willing to share themselves and learn about each other, about each other’s struggles and faith. i’m amazed at by the times we spent, around a living room, around a dinner table, around a bon fire, in the evenings of our trip.

below is my third and final "story" post on north carolina. i hope these have articulated the trip. it’s been a pleasure sharing stories with people about God’s work in the lives of students over spring break, both here and in person. i hope to share a copy of our trip’s video on the blog sometime this week, so stay tuned. thanks!
seth

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we sat on couches, curled up in sweat pants and hoodies. some made coffee or drank juice. others sipped nalgene water bottles, re-hydrating from the warmth of the day and the hard work. i picked up my guitar and sang a few songs from a loosely bound pack of worship songs, songs we all know from our tuesday night gatherings at the INN. some how, as we begin to enter into our evening time of worship, debrief, and sharing, God meets us, calms us, joins us in our work. we join him in his work. we join each other as one body.

we open our bibles to ephesians. this week, we’ve talked through the whole book, looking at statements about all the has been done "through Christ" and "in Christ". we reflect on the blessing of God, through Christ, that we see each day. we discuss what it means to be members of the body, members of a building, much like the buildings we work on, pieces of a whole community, vital to each other’s survival and accountable to taking care of each other as faithful brothers and sisters. we grow into a better understanding of each other.

a single voice speaks. going around the room, one at a time, over the course of the week, we share our stories. however it comes out, we articulate what our faith looks like, where we’ve come from, who God has placed in our lives that has shaped us. i share about the journey i am on, a journey of deeply rooted faith coming from my parents and family who loved me growing up. i share about hard times in high school, about going to college, about meeting stacy, about being married. i share about the journey i’m still on, a journey filled with hope and doubt, faith and challenge, a continuing journey. we listen to each other. we laugh with each other, we cry and hold each other’s hands when the stories are too hard for words to tell. we are vulnerable and open with one another, trusting in God’s love that binds this group together.

the warmth of the fire is almost too much for me as i stand outside on the final night of our trip. the laughter of the group fills the crisp north carolina air. gathered around the fire, we talk about going home, about how we can continue the conversation over coffee or around similar bon fires indicative of spring quarter. i get amazing music recommendations from an expert, while the rest of the guys stoke the fire a little more than i’d like them to. i chuckle and shake my head at their exuberance. God has brought us together for one last night. the bonds and friendship he is forming may or may not continue to develop, but one thing is for sure: this trip will be remembered. through pictures, journals, blogs, and the stories we will tell, this good work will live on and be a blessing not only to our team and the people we served with, but to many, many others. and so the question of how and why we are brought together fades into the happy understanding that for tonight, we share the warmth of a fire and that tomorrow, we will be called to share the things we’ve learned to bless our world.

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