Over the past few years I had the honor of connecting with David Leo Schultz, who is the director of Ragamuffin, the movie based on the life of Rich Mullins. The movie premiered January 9th in Wichita, and now they are touring the film across the country.

Rich's life and music was a huge influence on me picking up the hammer dulcimer. To be able to track hammer dulcimer for the soundtrack was wild. I was also able to graft Caleb Cox in on a few scenes playing Irish Pipes. He has been a part of the larger Thin Places Band shows. He's amazing! Also - I leant my old D-25 Dusty Strings hammer dulcimer for the film to use as prop. You'll notice it with the pirate peg leg stand.

When I got my dulcimer back, David the director said they had broken my set of hammer sticks, so Rich's brother Dave gave me a pair of Rich's hammers. Crazy...I'm good with the swap.

http://ragamuffinthemovie.com/

I wrote this song from Peter's perspective on Holy Saturday, living in the tension between Friday and Sunday. Peter was an intense follower of Jesus, and yet even he denied Him. Here is a raw and live music video from Thin Places Easter (thanks Anthony West for filming!). I've also included the current lyric for the song below. John-Paul Gentile helped co-write this tune, and he played chains.


Where Are You Now

It's a lonely Saturday, and I feel the weight of wandering in this land
From the twelve You called me out to be the rock that You would take Your stand

I was sure that when we waived, on high, hosanna branches You would reign
But now Your killers curse Your name with hatred like a hurricane

Where are You now, I want to believe
You’re crushing his head six feet deep

On that night they cuffed you with a curse so I drew the sword from my own sheath
You could cut the tension like a slice of bread baked by the pharisees

It was on my heart was pounding strong with vengeance that would take by force
So I laid my blade upon his ear to let You know that I was Yours

I was even ready to drink Your blood
I was ready to feast upon Your flesh, You know I past that test
Now the rooster called me out and I turned my back on You I must confess
Now I digress

Where are you now, I want to believe
You’re crushing his head six feet deep

Thin Places Easter has been in the works for the past three years when Thin Places Christmas began. Thin Places LOVE is presenting the show at The Stirring. I'm excited to see the culmination of music and art telling this incredibly "thin places" story of death and resurrection. This show is going to be a focused benefit show to raise awareness of sex-trafficking at our local level as well as global level. Good friend Shane Grammer will be painting during the show, a new piece "Anastasis", about a girl named Ana who was betrayed in to the sex-trafficking industry. His art communicates the heaviness and brokenness of this issue as well as a hope for the future. It's part of his Cambodian Flower Series with face portraits of young girls from Svay Pak Cambodia. Their faces carry the weight of brokenness and you can see the struggle to undertstand how this could be. His pieces also include an array of flowers that speak of their true value as young girls created as beautiful flowers in the image of God.

This show is going to weave through the Passion week from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday with music and art with friends: Jeremy Riddle, Gabriel Wilson, Aaron Wardle, Amy Miller, and the Azul Strings (quartet).

We will be raising funds for Shasta Women's Refuge & Family Justice Center from ticket sales and art sold at the show, as well as "Anastasis" painting will be presented to Shasta Women's Refuge & Family Justice Center to hang in their office as a constant reminder of this issue.

Check out the Facebook Event Page

This next week on March 5th, Bethel Music releases it's first instrumental album "Without Words." It was an amazing journey to work on this project as a co-producer and co-artist with Gabriel Wilson. The way the project even began was a gift. I was playing instrumental modern hammer dulcimer with my Strymon Time Line Delay Pedal up at Anselmo Vineyards outside of Redding. It's one of a few venues I'm able to play in that give me the space to let the instrument speak and change the atmosphere. Brian and Jenn Johnson happened to eat dinner that night and after I finished playing we started talking about the goodness and power of instrumental music and if there was a way to capture that for Bethel Music...a few days later Gabriel Wilson and I were on the journey of making an album without using any words. Here is a short promo video where we share the story behind the album. Much peace and creativity...

One of the things I love about the hammer dulcimer is it's diversity. It is a two-edged sword with a percussive/syncopated/groove blade and a melody/harmony/counterpoint blade. Good friend and drummer Scott Davis came to me last year and asked me to record hammer dulcimer on Project 86's latest album. It was a real treat to get creative with these guys. Their drummer (Scott Davis) and bass player (Michael Norman Williams) are dear friends and Thin Places Band mates. Here is a music video of the title track "Fall Galliath Fall" with dulcimer intro included. I didn't make the video shoot cut, but the audio did. Hope you enjoy. Much peace and creativity...

One day my sons (Judah and Gabriel) and I were out for yogurt at The Social Yogurt Society in Redding, CA. In the back they have a turquoise vintage typewriter that Gabriel was typing on. I had my eyes closed at the time and I heard him typing and experienced it as a percussive musical element. I recorded a sample on my iphone and knew that we could use a typewriter on a song. We featured it on "God I Look To You" Watch Music Video. I love how we took a machine that is designed to create words and used it on an instrumental canvas as a percussive element. Nathan Grubbs designed the cover art when he smashed this typewriter up. Click here for behind the scenes story on the album artwork. I love the album artwork. Hope you enjoy! It comes out March 5th worldwide. much peace and creativity...

A few months ago I gave a copy of our final edit to PBS...and they dug it. This next Tuesday PBS station KIXE 9 is going to have us on for a live pledge-drive and airing of our DVD. Seth Carlson and I wrote and arranged all the music for Thin Places Band. Good friend Tyler Faires directed the DVD. Hoping to capture some video and pics to post from studio next week. PBS local this year...we shall see about next year.

I remember a year and a half ago I was listening to Donald Miller speak at the Cascade Theatre for a Moral Revolution conference. He was talking about how exciting and/or terrifying your life would be if it were a movie. Would it be an inspiring movie? Or would viewers click on to another channel? I remember writing down some dreams and passions I want to see come to pass, and Thin Places Christmas was on the list. I stood on the cliff and jumped in to the unknown...it's been a wild and crazy ride of all sorts. I made it to the other side in one piece, and we've all grown in the process, both my family and the thin places band. This Friday, represents the celebration and unleashing of this piece of art.

Watch & Listen to the CD+DVD

Well...the idea of "thin places" began a few years ago while in a Masters in Worship Studies program at St. Stephen's University. The term was used by the Celtic people to describe the veil between this world and the eternal world as being "tissue thin." I believe that music and art can act as doorways to "thin places" and this is why I have begun to unpack this concept with my music, songwriting, and recent release of Thin Places Christmas {Live} CD+DVD.

Recently, I spent some time beginning to brand Thin Places and Thin Places LOVE with good friend and designer Matt Briner - We released the branding icons a few months ago at a show our Thin Places Band played at the Civic Theatre with Josh Garrells and Songs of Water with fellow hammer dulcimer player Stephen Roach. Cheers to the journey of creating "thin places" through music and art.

I love the ability for the hammer dulcimer to create an intimate and epic landing strip for vocals. Rich Mullins was a huge inspiration for me to see the hammer dulcimer used in a modern context with a band. Here is a sneak peek of Joy to the World off Thin Places Christmas {Live} CD+DVD - RELEASE DATE NOV. 21ST. It was a sweet moment in the show