A review that I wrote for the Dublin, Ireland duo known as the Guggenheim Grotto can be found below.

The Guggenheim Grotto ~ The Universe is Laughing

The Dublin, Ireland duo of Kevin May and Mick Lynch are back with their third full-length release titled The Universe is Laughing. As usual, the “dark folk” that characterized their first two releases is no less visible here. The sinister opener, “Trust Me I’m a Thief” testifies to this as the duo harmonizes: “cross your heart and hope to die / stick a needle in your eye / careful what you wish for / Oh, the devil’s in the detail.” On the other end of the spectrum is the joy filled ballad “Wings and Feathers” - a song that mixes piano with an electronic sound that works quite well. Another song worth mentioning is the heartfelt “Concentrate.” Here, two part harmonies abound as duo longingly sings about the desire to see someone no longer there.
While lyrically incomprehensible, the title track “The Universe is Laughing,” is well worth several listens as well. Adding to this sound is the folk pop found layered throughout Happy the Man - their sophomore release. Here too, it’s found weaving its way throughout the recording. Characterizing this is arguably the best song, the single “Wisdom” - an upbeat pop didy that mixes the viola, a fine combination of percussion and the mystical words of principle lyricist May.

In the end, there are no duds here. From start to finish, May and Lynch have crafted a true work of art that manages to span a wide spectrum of sound. While the universe may be laughing, they’ll be no one laughing at this effort. Great stuff!
~Reviewed by Jeff Bouma

Kevin Max - Great New Music

In recent days, I've been digging some really good music. Most notably, from the recent release from Kevin Max of DC Talk fame. He has a new release out NOW titled Cotes d'Armor and it's really good! You can read my review written for local radio station WYCE below. As a side note - he's recently moved back to the GR area and will be investing some of his time and energy into the downtown area music scene. Looking forward to seeing him in November at Schuller's.

KEVIN MAX - Cotes d’ Armor (True Rebels)

While the distinctive voice of the Grand Rapids raised Kevin Max is immediately recognizable - the overall sound found throughout his latest remix release plays like something new for the former member of DC Talk. Self-described by Max as ‘poptronica,’ it’s fairly evident from the start that the singer/songwriter is heavily influenced by the blips, bleeps and bounce that link both electronic and pop music to the point where every song here has some tinge of it.

On the opener and first single “On Yer Bike,” the fast paced pop is laced throughout. Other tracks worth some attention include the lush and heartfelt “Your Beautiful Mind;” the mysterious “Traveler;” the building crescendo of drums and percussion found in “Future love Song;” the overall contribution of Adrian Belew on “Even When It Hurts”- to name only a few of the standouts. Also of note are the two instrumental tracks: the Dracula inspired “Train to Transylvania” and Hot Chip like “Death of CCM.”

In the end, the release from Kevin Max, who has recently relocated to the Grand Rapids area with his wife and family, borders on ‘excellent’ with only a few minor setbacks throughout. While Max may not be as famous as he once was during his days as a strictly Christian artist, his music is arguably now more accessible, more mature, and more poetic than ever before.
~ Reviewed by Jeff Bouma
KEVIN MAX - Cotes d’ Arm

You can also see Kevin Max's latest video for the first single from the album - On Yer Bike! A little weird but oh, well.

Music I'm Digging Now

I thought I'd update you on some great music worth checking out. The first happens to be what's playing this morning at Tower Coffee. It's Arcade Fire's latest titled "Suburbs." Having listened to this a few times through already, I think it's their best yet! Another one that I'm currently digging but haven't listened to as thoroughly is Sufjan Steven's latest release - the EP titled "All Delighted People." So far, so good and well worth checking out. Even more, his new full-length release drops in October and is said to incorporate my favorite instrument of all - the synthesizer - to a large degree. Can't wait! Lastly, have to mention this one. A band I only recently discovered a couple of years ago is the Minneapolis based Cloud Cult. Their songs deal with hearty issues such as end-times, good and evil, etc...Their last release "Tea Partying Through Tornadoes" was my favorite of 2008. Now, this September, their new release "Lightchasers" hits the shelves. I've played a couple of different songs released early to WYCE on my weekly show and their top-notch. Looking forward to listening to the whole thing.

Until next time...

Paul Thorn

On Wednesday, had the wonderful opportunity to interview Mississippian Paul Thorn. He has an incredible story to say the least. He's a PK (preacher's kid), and most notably, a former professional boxer. He even went six rounds in a nationally televised match against Roberto Duran back in 1988. After his boxing career was over, he went back to what he'd been doing since he was a kid - playing music. After playing local gigs, he was discovered by Miles Copeland (brother of Stewart Copeland of The Police) and soon after signed a record deal. He's opened for notable acts such as Mark Knopfler and Sting. He was just in town supporting his 9th full-length release and his most successful yet - "Pimps and Preachers."

As he shared, the album represents the two different people in his life. The "pimp" is is uncle that showed up at his doorstep when he was just twelve-years of age. His long lost uncle that many in his family thought was dead. And yes, he was a "pimp." His father, on the other hand, was a "preacher." The point in sharing these two polar opposites, the evil and the good, is that each of them became equally influential in Paul Thorn's life. His father taught him incredibly valuable things but his uncle also taught him some things about this "evil world" that his father could never have.

Anyway, thought I'd just share my admiration for not only another musician, but an artist that is also telling an incredible story through his writing. Each of his songs tells a story - my favorite, (and his dad's too) is "I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love." Here's a video link to Mr. Thorn that you might be interested in.

What I'm Listening to

From time to time, I get the question - Hey, Jeff, what music are you listening to right now? What's in your CD Player in the car? What's on your ipod, etc...? So, here's my TOP 3 of what I'm currently listening to right now (NOTE: What I'm listening to changes all the time).

The Holmes Brothers - Feed My Soul
Brothers Wendell and Sherman Holmes sing the Blues, interlacing several genres of music therein including a heavy dose of Gospel. This one's been out for a few months now but just now getting to it. Really good stuff!

The Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
Described by some as handclapping Indie-Pop, this New York based band has released an outstanding debut. Worth checking out - trust me!

Crooked Still - Some Strange Country
Ever since they joined me in studio a few months ago, I've really been turned on to this Boston-based five-some. Classified as Alternative Bluegrass, these guys and gals have released a truly GREAT album with this their fourth full-length release.

Willie Nelson Cuts Hair

The BIG news of the day is that the always prolific and much beloved Willie Nelson has cut his hair. Gone now are the long and reddish pigtails that Mr. Nelson sported for as long as my memory has been around; now replaced with short hair like he used to sport earlier in his career (before he looked like Willie Nelson). So, in light of this, what does such a BIG change mean. Well, here's my thoughts - both good and bad.

Here's the Bad :(

Much like Samson (he lost his hair too only it wasn't his decision), suddenly Willie's superhuman powers to write music will suddenly come to a screeching halt. Really, this guy has released a ton of music over his career; especially since being caught by the IRS for all those years of not paying taxes. For every record he sells, a good bit goes straight back to our government. For that, we can thank Mr. Nelson for making good on his debt. So, could this be the end to his powers? Yes, I'm speculating here, but this could happen.

Here's the Good :)

This summer, with Willie touring and playing at all sorts of music festivals, he'll be a lot cooler. I mean, can you imagine how hot it gets playing on stage in 90 degree heat with a head full of hair? I've never had hair as long as Willie but there's days in the summer that I want to shave it all off. So, in this case, I can't blame him at all.

Moreover, rumor has it that he gave his hair to Locks of Love - an organization that makes hairpieces out of donated hair. Both my wife and son Josh donated their hair to this great organization. They look different, feel cooler, and know that they've helped out a wonderful organization that will in turn help out a child. But, (and I'm not downplaying my wife's or my own kids hair) can you imagine how cool that would be to be sporting Willie Nelson's hair as a kid? How cool would that be?

In truth, I wish the country music pioneer much continued success. I'm sure he has a lot of music left in him and he can always grow his hair back out!

Crooked Still In-Studio Performance

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to interview the Boston-based Bluegrass and Nu-Folk artists Crooked Still. They have a new album coming out on May 18 titled "Some Strange Country" and they we're in town promoting this and their upcoming concert that night at Wealthy Theater. In addition, beginning next week, their album will be streaming for FREE on NPR so that you can preview it. Having already heard it, you won't be disappointed. Below is a portion of the in-studio performance. Enjoy!

More Great New Local Music!

Hey, yesterday while raising money for 88.1 FM WYCE, I had the chance to interview another great local talent - the band known as Nate Scott and Those Eighty Acres. Grand Rapids based, they have their first full-length release out now. Not only are these guys great musicians, they also have a willingness and desire to give back to the community that they are part of. They've recently donated their time and a show to benefit the Red Cross and then they were down at the station yesterday helping us raise money too! Even better, they donated money themselves! While I couldn't find a video, you can listen to their music right here.

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Yesterday on my show I had the chance to interview Cathy Holbroke - Executive Director of the St. Cecilia Music Center. If your interested, you can find out more information about this great organization impacting the Greater Grand Rapids community right here. She shared a great deal about the organization and their purpose as a whole but her main agenda was to promote the upcoming concert this weekend, Saturday, March 20th at St. Cecilia's Royce Auditorium. The band is the Grammy winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - now out with their most recent release titled LAGQ-Brazil. For you guitar aficionados, this is pretty good stuff! I've posted a video down below for your listening satisfaction. Enjoy!

More Regional Music

Last week on my normally scheduled show on 88.1 WYCE (Wednesdays from Noon to 3 PM) I had the chance to interview and listen live to Chicago-based Daphne Willis. At only 22 years of age, she's truly an amazing talent. Look for some big things to come from this gal in the future. Her debut full-length release just came out in February and "boy, is it good!" You can check some of music out on her Myspace page

I've also provided a video of her playing below...

Grand Rapids' Best

Hey, for you local music fans. My favorite little radio station on the planet (88.1 WYCE) just handed out the Jammie award to local artist Drew Nelson. In 2009 he released "Dusty Road to Beulah Land," for which he received album of the year honors. He also won a Jammie for a song off of that album - "Waiting For the Sun." If your not familiar with the local music scene, check out Mr. Drew in the video below. He's a pretty nice guy too!

My Life On Music

A few years ago I started a different blog that I called "My Life on Music." The idea behind it was to share my thoughts on all things music since music (for me anyway) is a large part of my life. Well, I failed to keep both blogs going. So why not a little or lot of that here? After all, I haven't written anything in quite a while. I've shared those reasons in a past blog.

So, for now anyway, I'll be sharing some music related stuff here, most likely links to music and the accompanying video that has inspired me or caught my attention as of late. So, here goes. Instead of me doing the talking, I'll let the music do the talking instead...

I've really been digging the latest release from Switchfoot titled "Hello Hurricane." If you're not familiar with this California based band, check out a sampling of their sound in their single "Mess of Me" shown below. Enjoy!

Gerhard Tersteegen (1697-1769) was one of many so-called German Pietists, known for their desire to stir the hearts of their followers in order for them to live holy and pious lives. Tersteegen was an amazing writer and preacher who also wrote several hymns (some of which were translated by John Wesley from the German into the English). In light of our recent discussion on finding joy in the midst of death, I found one of his hymns that I thought was inspiring and helpful, so I thought I'd share a portion.

Pilgrim Song

"On, oh beloved children

The evening is at hand,

and desolate and fearful

The solitary land.

Take heart! the rest eternal

Awaits our weary feet;

From strength to strength press onwards

The end, how passing sweet."

Inspiration or Lack Thereof

In all honesty, I've not been all that inspired as of late to write here a whole lot here on the Fuse. Not sure why, but inspiration to do anything can be a bit sporadic at times.  Such is the case with blogging.  Blogging, in all honesty, is probably one of those fads that will eventually go by the wayside.  Yes, everyone does it now but wait a couple of more years and let's track how many are actually blogging.  Anyway, here's some of my common excuses for not blogging as they relate to inspiration:

1.  Too many other things to do (Honestly, I do have other responsibilities).

2.  I may think it, I just don't feel like sharing it by writing it out.

3.  Too tired when I do get the inspiration (This usually happens around 10 pm when I'm truly not at my best and when I'm less likely to pull out the old laptop to share)

4.  Truly don't have anything of substance to share.

So, if I'm not blogging, faithful readers, don't take it personal.  I just don't want to saddle you with a bunch of rubbish.  

Going Places

I love to go places.  If I had a choice in retirement to stay in one place or to go from place to place, I'd chose the latter.  

I especially like to go to places that I've never been before.  I like to explore cities and towns that are completely new and to do so without much or any agenda.  This is the adventurous spirit in me.  This works that same for me when it comes to music.  I love discovering a new artist, a new song, that I've never heard before!  

But, you know what?  I also enjoy going to places that I've been a hundred times.  Those kind of places where you know every corner, every restaurant, every store.  The kind of place that brings back fond memories time and time again.  In music, there's the "oldies but goodies" that we return to time and time again.  The kinds of songs that we just can't stop listening to.  

Still, in my book, it's always great to come home!  My son Zach said it best after returning from a day trip up north: "Home Sweet Home."  When all is said and done, home is a good place to be. It allows us the most security and comfort and brings us a normalcy that, after being away from for a few days or weeks, we really long for.  

Now that summer is nearly over, the "normal" life of school and work picks back up.  Part of me is sad that the adventurous time of the summer is over but there's another part of me that likes the normal too.  In the end, it's all good and it's all a part of what makes this life that God has given us that much more refreshing and enjoyable.   So, while the normal returns for most of us, the seasons do change and another adventure is sure to be around the next corner.  

James 2 - Faith and Works Explained

In the 2nd chapter that bears his name, James, the brother of Jesus, expends no small amount of energy trying to get a simple and yet profound message across.  In three specific instances, in verses 17, 20 and then again in verse 26, the message is the same: faith that isn't accompanied by action is useless.  In other words, if our faith isn't backed up with some sort of living out of the faith, it probably isn't faith at all.  

What James is not talking about here is is saving faith.  This is where Luther got hung up and wrongfully concluded that James was merely an "epistle of straw" as well as a "chaotic mess." Here, James is in agreement with the Apostle Paul who claims that it's by "grace through faith by which we are saved."  However, what James is talking about here in James 2 is a faith that goes above and beyond saving faith.

James was well aware of the tendency that could easily overtake many of the earliest followers of Christ.  Scattered among the nations, they could easily fall into complacency and turn their time and attention in the wrong direction.  As such, James seemingly nips in the bud the potential and perhaps actual problem, seeking to warn his audience before things got out of hand. It would be easy to fall into the trap that faith is all that  is needed.  That works are simply an added benefit.  Nevertheless, James feels quite ecstaticlly that faith without works is useless and dead.  

And here's the main point: these actions that he's calling for arent' something we're supposed to add to our belief.  Rather, they become a part of who we are.  As a band of Christ followers, we're supposed to be living out our faith by fulfilling the two great commandments.  We're to love God and we're to love our neighbors.  The Law of Christ requires that we live our lives as servants to those around us.  

The question that we have to ask ourselves is this?  Do we really believe?  Do we really believe what we're selling?  If not, it should be no surprise that our lives are characterized by very little "works" or "action."  If we do believe, if our faith is authentic, our lives can't help but show the love of Christ in our own unique and authentic way.  

somewhat ironically, in the very words of Luther himself:  Our faith "is a living, busy active mighty thing, this faith.  It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly."

The Day the Stiches Came Out

During this summer, the "Golf Bug" has taken over in our house.  First it was Mitchell, mowing lawns and eventually saving up enough money to buy his own brand new set of golf clubs.  Then it was Josh - similarly working on various odd jobs in order to earn enough money for his brand new set of clubs.  Thanks to Oriole Park down the street, our kids have a great place to go hit around and gain some practice free of charge.  My oldest son even constructed a psuedo putting green behind our shed in the back yard.  On top of all this is Tiger Woods 2010 - a fun game for all to play when the sun goes down.  

In addition to the older two, Zachary and Joy have taken up golf on a lesser but still interested level. With some hand-me-down clubs inherited from a variety of places, they too have been playing around in the backyard in their own unique way.  And all was going well this summer with no injuries to speak of but then it happened.  I wasn't there but I was given the gory details from my wife.  Joy swung the club and hit Zachary just above his left eye.  According to my sources, the blood was dripping as Zachary ran into the house, shouting to my wife:  "Momma, I'm dying..."  Sure enough, this wasn't just any old wound  but one that unfortunately required a trip to the ER.  

Seven stiches and a few hours later, Zachary was home.  A brave, courageous seven- year old had faced his greatest fear (all things doctor related) and returned home victorious.  Beat up and broken, there was also evidence of popsicles on his face - apparently what hospitals give to kids as they make their way around the victory lap.  Recycled toys repackaged as gifts from the neighborhood kids lined the living room floor as Zachary walked through the door.   Visibly relieved, it was great to see his face as he walked in and saw the love and support of his troop of friends and family.

Well, after a few days of having them in, today is the day the stiches come out.  And after they come out we're still reminded of what's happened for quite some time.  The scar from my stiches all those years ago in seventh grade are still there - that day the cow's brain that I was dissecting won.  Likewise, Zach will have a lasting scar that will serve as a reminder of the day his sister clubbed him in the head.  Nevertheless, the healing has begun.  

This little even reminds me of the fact that we all have scars and wounds from our past that remain with us for a long time.  Some are physical of course, but many are of the unseen sort, and perhaps more dangerous.  They are hard to see and they often surface at the most inopportune of times.  Yes, they are subtle but they can cause so much harm to us.    The good news is that healing does happen.  Over time, those harsh words don't seem so harsh.  Over time, the memories grow less memorable and seem to lose their steam.  Still, we rarely forget and we rarely gain complete relief.  We're left with those memories and those reminders whether we like it or not.  

The question as I see it is this: Will we allow these wounds from our past to haunt us forever or will we perservere and find the courage to press on?  James tells us to "consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  Like Paul's "thorn in the flesh" that God never took away, perhaps our past memories (regardless of how painful they may have been and continue to be) can serve to strengthen us.  In fact, I'm confident that it's only when we see them in this way that we'll truly be able to keep on keeping on.  It's only when we allow God to use our wounded past to mature us, that we'll actually be able to experience healing.  It's only when "the stitches come out," so to speak, that we'll be able to get back in the race and run it as God intends for us.  

Today, think on these things... and may God's grace be with you!

The Cure for the Common Soul

On Sunday mornings over the last few weeks, we've been looking at what it means to Renovate our lives with the resulting benefit - a renewed mind. Paul's words are fairly clear: "Don't allow the world to be the mold and model for your lives; instead allow your mind to be transformed by God."

As I mentioned in my last post, it's pretty tough for us to live virtuous lives under our own power. We have a tough time watching our neighbor next door pull up in a vehicle that would suite us perfectly while our own beat-up and broken car leaves us wishing and sometimes praying for something better. In such a scenario, how often and easily envy, jealousy, and even hatred all surface for some reason that's apparently outside of our control. Try as we might, we just can't seem to feel joyful about it at all.

What's even more puzzling is why the Apostle Paul (keep in mind he was as human as you and I are) tells us to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. The simple answer is that we do so only when we live with the Spirit as our guide. In other words, when the Holy Spirit controls us, the fruit of the spirit (the list of virtues above) begins to show up in our lives. As we shed more and more of our sinful nature (the flesh which isn't really part of who we are IN CHRIST) our lives begin to look a whole lot different. What happens, essentially, is that who we are on the inside resembles who we are on the outside more and more of the time. In a nutshell, we become the same person on the outside that we are on the inside. The old is gone, the new has come.

The implication then is that we don't have to fake it any longer. We don't have to fake compassion and concern because we REALLY do feel the compassion and concern. We don't have to control our anger in public anymore because our hot-temper is gone replaced by the fruit known as patience. So, there you have it. Keep in step with the Spirit and our lives show fruit. Keep in step with the world and we continue to deal with a divided heart and we find ourselves having to fake it over and over.

In my next post, I'll post some practical ways that we can put ourselves into position for the Spirit to work in our lives. Changes are a coming...!

A Jealous Heart

This past week, I saw jealousy surface in my now 7 -year old son Zach that I hadn't seen before. As part of our vacation, we took a hike on one of the many trails in Lincoln State Park (Indiana), one of which led to an old but still climbable Fire Tower. We knew we were looking for something to climb but I had no idea that it would be so BIG. I'm not exactly sure of the height, I'm guessing somewhere close to 75 to 80 ft. Anyway, my oldest son Mitchell took right off and began the long ascent up. My daughter Joy (5) wanted to go next, with mom's help of course. Josh (11) made it up a few flights of stairs before deciding that it was too high so he quickly made his way back down. Next in line was Zach - with my help. We made it up to about 30 feet in the air and Zach was visibly scared. And honestly, I'm not that big a fan of heights either so I was a little nervous too! Well, Zach (determined to find the Crystal Skull at the top of the tower) was at his limit. He tried and he tried to talk himself into going further but at the end of the day, he never made it up. And in a vacuum, with no one else around, he would have been alright. But, what made him so mad - bringing out the jealousy like I've never seen before from him - was the fact that his little sister Joy (who's only five) made it all the way up to the top. Honestly, I think (like Cain and Abel) he wanted his little sister dead at that very moment. Seeing her celebrate her long ascent up created a fury in him that I wasn't quite prepared for.

Well, this story reminds me of my own jealous heart at times. We live in a world of constant comparisons. As a pastor, we compare numbers and stats with other pastors. How easily jealousy arises as one pastor describes tremendous success while the other pastor, in comparison, has quite obviously failed. As a father, we compare ourselves with other fathers who seemingly have it all-together and have the father-child thing down-pat. In comparison, we struggle in our child-rearing ability. The result: jealousy. I could go on, but I think you get the point. In our culture, jealousy is a BIG issue, in kids for sure, but perhaps even more so in us as adults. We always tend to want what we don't presently have. And it drives us mad!

So, what' s the answer? After all, Christian's are called not to covet and not to desire what their neighbors and others have. We can try all we want not to want but sometimes that only makes it worse. The fact of the matter is this: it's a heart issue that only God can truly relieve us from. It's something that has to be dealt with on the inside before our outside lives (jealousy, anger, resentment, etc...) can ever show signs of rightness and righteousness characterized by joy, peace, patience, love etc... So, quit trying to be good or to be better. Quit trying not to be jealous. It's not likely to work. Instead, relinquish control and allow God to change you from the inside out. More on this tomorrow...

Long Overdue

It's been a long time since I've posted to The Fuse but new posts are coming soon! I promise... Stay tuned for some new reviews and other relevant information coming in the days ahead.