Progress

So there has been some significant progress made in the construction of the studio. I finely finished the framing......after taking apart several walls because I goofed the spacing of the studs. Lesson learned. Always double check for 16" center on the top AND bottom plates....oh and frame your windows in before you you raise the wall.... After framing, I installed one layer of 1/2 inch black tar impregnated sheathing to the top and out side walls and then a layer of 1/2 sheet rock with silicone in between. After all that I nailed some outlet boxes up and some light boxes....and called in some reinforcement.

Sheet Rock and Silicone on the Outside!

Entrance with place for the "In Session" Light above.

Shedding some light on the inside.

Watch and learn.

This is me with my Grandpa Tom who recently moved to OKC from Freedom Maine. My heart was filled with joy to be able to share in working on a project like this with him. He is an amazing guy! He was gracious enough to walk me through the wiring process for the power and lights. We will be adding two new circuits dedicated to the studio to our existing fuse box. One for all the lights and the office equipment and the other for gear and instruments. Today we knocked out wiring all the lights and outlets. When I get the sheet rock up on the inside we will make the runs from the attic to the breaker box. Thanks G-pa Tom!!!!

Okay Chris, run this wire to that light box.

....now tack the wires in place so they are nice and neat.

We make a great team.

Studio Project Update

The final cleaning...

The calm before the storm....

A truck load of lumber....

The Studio is framed!

Shelving moved.

Element fits with doors wide open.

Drum kit has very small and isolated spot, closed off from the rest of the studio.

Taping off the walls and door openings.

The next step:

Both the attic access and crawl space access will need to be moved since they are currently located where I plan to build. I have have consulted "the professional," Mr. Suhre, who is a dear friend and master carpenter on the details of the next phase. After the access move comes framing!!!

Stoked!

Names

So I feel like I have got some direction about names this week. I have been frustrated with trying to come up with a name for this instrumental project. After a lot of thought and time spent in a thesaurus and brief web search I thought that I would name the record "Resound". I also figured that my artist name would simply be my name. So on that basis I started this blog. Well the following day. I decided to type in Resound Project in the little Google search bar and found this Resound "downtown music project" an amazing local project..... Here!..... In OKC! What are the odds?!!....... Classic! So I continued my search by typing in Christopher Clark. Well it turns out there are quite a few artists under that same name as well.

Insert lots of frustration!

I almost deleted the blog all together....

So after a couple weeks of thinking through all this, here is what I have come up with

My artist name will officially be:

Sunrise Over Cemeteries.

My Studio name will be (not in stone):

Resound Studio

The Record title is still to be decided.

I will post soon about the inspiration behind name Sunrise Over Cemeteries.

One a more exciting note. It is a tremendous honor to announce that Sunrise Over Cemeteries will be opening for Zach Payne and Brad Kilman on November 6th. Brad Kilman had released a new record, "Mouths Like Trumpets" and this is the official "release show".

More info to come.

Jumping......

So it is official. As of today October 23rd 2009. A dream will continue to take shape. A studio will be built at our home. Thanks to very loving and supportive family, the funds are in place and building will begin.


The tool boxes have been opened.

This is the area in which the new studio will sit.

Most of this is music gear that just gets piled up in the corner. It will soon be set up inside The Resound Studio.

This is the side our Honda will reside. I will also be installing shelving along the upper portion of this wall for storage. The open door leads into our kitchen. The closed door leads to outside.

So the first step is a bit of organizing and finalizing the basic floor plan for the new room. Next comes a trip to the lumber yard and a truck load of 2x4s. Hopefully the framing will begin this week!

I plan to post frequently about the progress.

Lastly, I am on a budget for this project so if anyone has any building materials they are looking to get rid of for a good price or if anyone has any connections for great prices, please let me know.

Jumping.....

Sigur Ros "Glosoli"

"Glosoli"

by Sigur Ros

I love the contemplative morning. I love the foot tapping. I love the boy who leads with a drum. I love the innocent kiss. I love laying down to rest in the midst of fun and adventure. I love the drum rolling down the hill as the children run toward the cliff. I love that they jump. I love that they fly......

We were created for such simple yet profound things.....

I want to lead....

I want to run....

I want to rest.....

I want jump....

I want to fly....

I promise....I'm not obsessed with Moby.....

Lets Build.

Renting a space just doesn't feel like the right thing to do at this time. Taking on more monthly expense doesn't fit the budget and besides the money would just be lost to somebody else. So....I am good with my hands. I can build things. I can paint things. It would be nice to work from home. Lets build a studio at home! I can purchase materials and build gradually...a sort of one wall, one door at a time concept.

Materials Cost: $2,500-$3,000

Material List:

80 Studs
40 Sheets of Drywall
2 Solid Core Doors
1 Tubular Skylight
100 sqft. of Laminate Wood Flooring
50 ft. of Base
80 ft. of Casing
2 Light Fixtures
4 8" Glass Blocks
Fiber Glass Roll Out Insulation
Screws
Nails
Lots of other small things I have not thought of yet.


Things to be excited about:

The first time being able to set up my drum kit to practice on a regular basis since High School. (10 years)

The opportunity to record my music on a regular basis.

The opportunity to record Emery's music!

The potential to start taking on students. (drums/viola/violin)

My boys getting to grow up with a music room.

The potential to take on more recording projects.



It's rainy today......man it would be a great day to start building.

I Need Space

So here it is... October... Autumn.... Fall.... The cool air gently singing summer to sleep and ushering in the long night. The smell of dust bunnies awakened by the first rattle of the heater. The slow rise of smoke from the chimney. The tea kettle whistling it's tune again after a long rest at the back of the stove. The winter beard coming in full to shield my face from the sting of the winter winds to come. Scarfs, hats, hoods, wool socks, coats....and just around the bend, large family gatherings sharing meals, conversing about life, and celebrating holidays.

What a wonderful season.

I am greatly inspired in the fall. It's just easier for me to see the beauty in creation and in life. I can feel melodies stirring in my soul. I am excited to start tracking this project!


Hurdle #1

I need space. I think the biggest hurdle for me right now to starting this project, is having a designated space to set up my gear, create, and record. My humble 1,100 square foot house is at maximum capacity with the four of us, so all the instruments currently reside in a large corner of our garage, packed away in cases and crying out to be used. On this note I have had two ideas.

First: Build out a small 10x10 room in the garage. I am somewhat handy and could do 90 percent of the work my self. I like this idea because it would be a way to work out of home with enough privacy to focus. The down side is that it would take time to build, since the labor would need to be in my limited spare time. I am estimating $1000.00 to $1500.00 Dollars to get this room up and running.

Second: Rent space. I recently was asked if I would be interested in renting some space on Western Ave. A 400 square foot loft style, finished out, office space in a very well built and insulated commercial building. When I got to the top of the stairs and turned on the light my jaw dropped. It was perfect! It had a bathroom, a little kitchenette, and plenty of closet space beneath. I felt my self stuffing the excitement down with both hands has I pictured a small studio in the room. I was trying not to get my hopes up......well....because of the money. The reality is I don't really have the extra cash flow to be renting something right now. So the verdict is that the space would cost me $200 a month, if I could find two others to rent the large shop space below for $400. I have found one taker and would need to find one more. Also I would need to find away to come up with an extra $200 a month. Ironically the only sign on the whole building reads, in bold; HOPE.

Third: A place that someone would let me use for a month or two free of charge. A place where I could come and go freely. A place where I could leave all my gear set up. A place where noise and time would not be an issue.



I am doing my best to think creatively about how I can get the ball rolling on this. The bottom line is that I need space and I need help. It has been a dream of mine for quite sometime now to have a space to create music. I am believing that the time is now to step out and move forward. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas on this topic, please send them my way.


Eager to begin.....

Spending some time with Moby

So, I love NPR. You wanna know why?.... Well, I'll tell ya why. There are many many reasons, but for the sake of this post please allow me to indulge in just one. NPR has a tremendous respect for great art and does a fantastic job reporting, supporting, and educating the masses in this realm. Over the past few years I have loved listening to interviews with different artist and musicians I had never heard of before and then going to their website and listening and reading further. Great Stuff I tell you! Occasionally they will have a story about an artist that I, as well as the rest of the world probably knows about. About a month ago I stumbled upon one such article. It was titled "Exclusive First Listen: Moby, 'Wait For Me'" When I fist clicked on the story and saw Moby there with his big black framed glasses and his bald head I started to drag my little arrow back up to the tool bar to find a more interesting story. Something a little more indy and a little less 1990's. That's when some strange force seemed to reach out through the screen of my computer and poke me in the forehead. Then with a loud shout said "Hey! Chris! Give Moby a Chance." sooooo...I did, and I am very glad about it. I was very inspired by listening to his newest record and actually, it kind of sent me into a spiraling google search, which taxied me with ease back and forth between YouTube videos, Moby's website, Facebook, Wikipedia, and the whole lot. I actually know quite a lot about the guy now. I enjoyed his many videos on YouTube and enjoyed reading the several comments below the videos about how much his music was speaking to people. In the land of YouTube one is hard pressed to find so many positive comments about it's content. Moby's videos are full of people's comments about being encouraged. How great is that! Needless to say, all of this was and is very inspiring to me. I feel like the music that is in my heart is in a similar genre as this guy, and here I was so quick to judge and throw him into the pot with all the rest of the sold out pop artists who are making ba-jillions by selling crap. So, here's to Moby!

This was one of my favorites!
Not sure who created the video.

The beginnings

This clip was taken during a spring evening thunderstorm in my living room among my dearest of friends and my wife. This event has been a strong reference point in my heart for this project.

The evening began with dinner and great conversation with friends. Friends that we have shared our lives with over the past 8 years. After dinner we all sat down in the living room and welcomed in a good ole Oklahoma spring storm. We opened all the doors and windows, turned off all the lights, and lit some candles. Something inspired me to offer to play some of the music I had been writing. It was most likely my good friend Cameron who has always had a way of calling me out to pursue my giftings. Anyhow, I got my laptop, plugged a few things in to an amplifier, and played. Afterward we all sat quietly for a long time, with out feeling the need to talk or move on. We just took it all in. The dinner, the conversation, the storm, the music, the life we were all sharing.

It changed me.

The "Resound" Project

There are moments in life when lots of little things happen to come together just right. You know; a great book, followed by a great movie, followed by a sermon at church, followed by a new record, followed by amazing conversations, that all seem to have the same message. Then all those little things, like small pieces to a puzzle, start to work themselves together. Before you know it your looking at something BIG.

This is one of those seasons for me.

Now for some, the thought of recording an Album may not seem like such a BIG thing. For others it may seem larger than life. For me however, it is simply humbling. There has been this small whisper of a voice in my soul for quite some time now that has encouraged hours upon hours of writing and recording music that has rarely left my computer. It has been a hobby to me, a way to explore a gifting. Something I enjoy doing in my spare time, and by spare time I mean when I decide to stay up late into the wee hours of the morning. I never really thought anything of the music that was coming out of me...and to be honest I still don't.

Well, to be to the point, the small whispering voice has become a sort of clamoring loud voice, and instead of leading me off to my private world of creating melody and rhythm, it asking me to share this music with at least my local community if not the wider world. My faith leads me to believe this is God's voice. A voice manifest through my friends, family, and community. Over the past six months I have had a few opportunities to play some of this music for people. Some at the local church I attend and others in living rooms of friends and family. Every time, there has been an overwhelming response from those whom I have shared it with. The response has always been,

Them:"Do you have any CD's?!?"

Me: "No...."

Them:"What?? Why Not!?!"

Them: "You NEED to record this stuff! I will pay you!!"

Me: " I know, I know...okay."


So this is it. I am going to do it! I will do my best to write and record an instrumental project that reflects truth and beauty at its core. I will embark on this journey over the next several weeks and months in hope that it may cause people to pause, consider, and reflect on the truths and beauty that surround us daily. I will do this because I don't want to ask the question later in life, "what if I would have....." In turn I hope this will inspire others to pursue the whispering voice or the loud clamor inside there heart. I would love for this to be a shared process for a community of people. All are welcome! Lets journey together. Lets discover what lies beneath the surface of our hearts. If we decided to go deeper, what would happen?

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
proverbs 27:17