Note: The following is a compilation of several posts and some new updates intended for newer readers of this blog.  Much has been written about our new project, Goin’ Home.  If you’ve been following all along, you may find some redundancies here; however, if you’re somewhat new to the project, you’ll find here a summary of events and thoughts that will bring you somewhat up to date.

What if today you could go over to your neighborhood grocery, grab that cart and shop for anything your little ol’ heart desired, then, instead of getting into the checkout line, skip that and just head home with your groceries – steak, shrimp, Haagen Daz, throw in a little Kobe Beef, some chocolate truffles and perchance a tin or two of Almas Caviar.

When you got outside with your overflowing shopping cart, the police would be there, but would just look the other way as you passed by chuckling gleefully, licking your chops.

What a great idea!  Why don’t we do this?  Food should be free!  I think most of us would agree that life would be a lot easier if food were free.

Trouble is, after very little time, maybe the next time we went back to the supermarket, the aisles would be empty, the shelves bare.  “Hey, all the food is gone!” you might cry.  “Well, let’s go back to the farmers and get more,” the store manager would say.

So we’d go to the farmers and say, “Hey farmers, make more food!”  They would respond like this:  “Without getting paid, it’s just too hard.  Sorry, but there’s just no more food.  We’re gonna go do something else.”

Well, essentially that’s what just happened to the music business – except for one problem.  Of course the farmers equal the artists in this little analogy and the artists, who love to make music, are still saying, “Oh cool, you like my music? You actually want to listen to my music?  OK, I’ll give it to you for free!”

So it’s gonna take a little time before this situation is righted.  Give the starving artists a chance to really starve.   Then they won’t be able to make any more music no matter how much they love to do it.  Cuz we all gotta eat!

We are, today, living in that era of empty aisles and starving artists.  The music business has collapsed under the weight of horrible leadership. (The four majors ignored the power of the Internet for so long that now they’ve missed the boat.) File sharing and outright stealing have become the norm for millions of young people.

The unfair treatment of artists by the companies has long been legendary (the companies themselves would always make back all their investment before the artists ever saw a cent of their royalties), and now development money has completely dried up as both the major record labels and the indies struggle for survival.  Where would the pharmaceutical industry be without research and development?  Nowhere.

That’s the old record business.

But all is not lost.  Never before in the history of the world has music been more proliferate.  Everywhere we turn, there is music.  “The day the music died” is a virtual impossibility.  Music is simply that much a part of the human consciousness.

So, as part of the natural order of things, a new world emerges.  Out of the ashes of the old one rise new ideas, a more fair treatment of the artists by now paying royalties on first dollar earned, and a cutting edge approach to new ways of approaching fans and customers.

It is a renaissance time in which the artist is now asked to be both business person and artist.  Not only must he be able to play his guitar, but he must also be able to understand the constantly changing evolution of the Internet and its powers.

In most cases today, the artist must be his or her own investor, marketing department, graphics designer, videographer, accounting department and retail store.  Selling from their own websites, many artists have almost been able to accomplish the near impossible.  Where most fail is on the all-important level of promotion.  By the time the new music is finished, mastered and manufactured, there usually just isn’t enough money left to promote the product.

So the music sells to a few friends and family and sits quietly on a website among millions of other sites that perhaps receives a hundred hits a month, if they’re lucky.  And the music languishes on a virtual shelf.

One thing we know for sure: Acts who tour, sell.  Acts who don’t, don’t.  So we must tour.  Touring is expensive, however, and the money is gone.  Often, many artists don’t even get to this point, running out of money before the CD is actually completed.  It’s a frustrating scenario.

However, now there is the hope of companies like Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com, on-line companies where artists and entrepreneurs with creative projects can raise money through crowd-funding from leagues of possible friends and supporters from around the world.

We are exploring this very real possibility right now with a new CD, Goin’ Home – On Heaven and Beyond to be released in November of 2011 and promises to be an in-depth look at a subject that many of us spend most of our lives avoiding.  Here is a joyful, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, exploration of the transition from this world to the next.  It’s really a celebration of eternal life.

The CD’s purpose is to open our eyes to the timelessness of our future.  The vision is to take an open-eyed look at an eventuality we all will face one day and face it head on.

The music is drawn from both original compositions, and also from the rich tradition of beloved Spiritual songs and Gospel lyrics from the past hundred years of the American songbook.

Great traditional songs like In Dat Great Gittin’ Up Mornin’, When The Saints Go Marchin In, the title song, Goin’ Home, with Antonín Dvo?ák’s timeless melody, and even Spiritual classics, I Ain’t Gonna Grieve My Lord No More and I Got A Robe all receive new fresh approaches and orchestrations and tremendous performances by a powerful cast of New York session vocalists and guest artists.

The choir alone is worth the price of purchase.  Led by double gold album R&B/Gospel vocalist, Jenny Burton, it’s performers comprise an ‘A’ list of world-class back-up singers who have sung with just about every major star in the music business – from Celine Dion to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Sting, Bobby McFerrin and even Luciano Pavarotti.  The list goes on and on.

They are flawlessly organized by vocal arranger, Margaret Dorn, (Bette Midler, Jennifer Lopez, Carly Simon, Michael McDonald, Garth Brooks, Diana Ross) and together create a sound that blends with both a rich meticulous warmth and also can get up and shout down the rafters when needed.  They are: Angela Clemmons, Keith Fluitt, John James, Kevin Osborne, Catherine Russell, Vaneese Thomas and Darryl Tookes.

Guest artists joining this gathering of superb talent include: Julia Wade, who with seven Inspirational solo CDs under her belt is Watchfire Music’s best-selling recording artist, Tom Tipton, who served for 29 years as a soloist at Reverend Robert H. Schuler’s internationally famous Crystal Cathedral and has sung for four U.S. Presidents, Barry Danielian, one of New York City’s most in-demand session players recording with such pop notables as Celine Dion, Paul Simon, Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, and James Taylor, and AHMIR, the #1 most popular R&B group on YouTube with over 50 million views.

We also close the CD with a new song recently penned by Grammy award winning songwriter, Julie Gold, best known for Bette Midler’s version of her song From A Distance which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991.  Come To Me As A Bird is a heartbreakingly beautiful new song that is sure to capture the imagination of millions.

Watchfire Music, www.watchfiremusic.com , an Inspirational music company and on-line store, will release this CD and be the machinery behind the product.  Without the machinery, it’s pretty much a dead end road no matter how talented you are.  That machinery is almost in place.  The company is now in the black and running off earnings and no longer investor monies.

However, we’re not a rich organization.  We have to find special funding for special projects.  This new Kickstarter concept is most interesting to us because we have such a loyal and appreciative customer base.  We receive letters every day from people around the world expressing their gratitude.

With the projected Kickstarter money we will hire an Internet publicist, who knows these new and far less expensive ropes very well.  We have little overhead.  We run our company from virtual offices in four cities across the country over Skype, the Internet and email with a little telephone thrown in.”

It’s a different world, but I truly believe we’re on the cutting edge of it.  The Internet is the new way and we’re using it and understanding it.  It’s an exciting new Phoenix rising that fascinates me every day.”

So, once again we mount another CD, another show, but with a stronger machinery behind us.  With the success of Watchfire Music over these past 6 years during the roughest period in the history of the music business, we have been able to put together a strong on-line presence, a smoothly working delivery system to tens of thousands of loyal customers and have an Inspirational record company and on-line store to back this project.

Let’s be honest here, however.  The future of the music business, with all the file sharing and “free music” concepts, is a very tough road ahead.  The Internet is the new Tower Records and the hope is that this new and challenging world will provide a new start and a better way.

We’re small, but nimble – perhaps not yet a supermarket, but rather an elegant deli finding it’s way through this new world.

A three-city tour and subsequent Internet webcasts of the live performances are in the planning stages for 2012.

To find out more go to:

http://kck.st/o9vUvR

Even More Inspiration

• Light At The End Of The Tunnel
• Spiritual Scientist
• Love Is The Reason For Living
• Looking Back on 2010
• I Stood In The Wings… Part 4
• The Changing Scene

Coupled with a hot Mac computer and a few other relatively inexpensive pieces of hardware, this software system has taken the place of the entire recording studio of yore amazingly for the price of $499.

For 25 years I owned a major recording studio here in NYC and operated 3 rooms for various recording spending, over time, a couple of million dollars on equipment to keep up with the times and keep the shop running.

Today all that has changed dramatically.  Today I record symphony orchestras in my son’s converted bedroom in my apartment.  Of course I’ve put some serious money into the acoustics of the room including an isolation booth that fits five, but essentially, I’ve got everything I ever had before and more, for infinitely less.

This is one of the few pluses in our rapidly changing music world.  Technology, especially digital technology, has made a tremendous impact on our lives in music.  And fortunately, I’ve had the wherewithal to keep up with the technology and take advantage of its wonders.

My studio, Link Recording Studios, which used to require 4 Mac computers to run it at full capacity, now runs on one dual quad 3.2 processor with 16 GB of ram running at 64 bit.  For those of you who are somewhat computer challenged, that’s not even the hottest new one on the market today, though it certainly is extremely powerful.

I teach Logic and yet I’m still learning it.  The learning curve is steep in that they give you ten different ways to achieve the same task, but after a while you figure our what your favorite two of those ten ways are and choose your methods accordingly.  Logic is logical.  If you’ve worked on other DAW systems you can swing over to Logic and know your way around it in a matter of hours enough to record.

I recently helped a young composer who was doing a movie score for a film house and had only first bought the program 2 months ago.  Though he still has a lot of holes in his knowledge and understanding of the program, he was making music, and good music using sampled and very realistic orchestra.

Every day when I walk into my studio and hit 5 switches to power things up, I breathe a sigh of gratitude for this wondrous time where I can sit by myself and make the music of my dreams in elegant, comfortable surroundings.  The systems of orchestration, mixing and especially editing are so far advanced from just 15 years ago in a tape machine world as to make those past days ancient and archaic.

I remember days of standing at a tape machine editing ¼” tape with pieces of tape taped to the wall, hanging around my shoulders and organized in little batches on my machine while I hand cut and rearranged with tape and editing block.  God help me if I sneezed.  It would take a week to put it all back together.

Today I take mouse in hand, highlight the section of music in the screen of my choosing and simply drag it where it belongs.  If I don’t like what I hear, I simply hit Re-do and try again.  It’s a better world.

In the old days, when it was time to mix a song we would book 24 hours in the studio to mix one song and then an extra 3-4 hours the next morning in addition.  A 24-hour mix is extremely rough on the ears.  By the end of day both producer and engineer are exhausted and brain dead and not at all trusting as to what they are hearing anymore, so the wiser ones would go home, get some sleep and then come back and finish with fresher ears the next morning.

Today, by the time I get to mix day, the song is already 90% mixed and remembered in my computer’s automation.  Every little move and nuance of what I want to hear is recorded and performed by my computer as set up by me previous to the final day.  The final day comes and I spend anywhere from 2-4 hours finishing up.  It’s a better world.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  Occasionally, there are technical breakdowns, and they are no fun, but actually running my own studio where I’m the only engineer means far less problems than ever before when several engineers worked the hardware equipment.  Then, I had a regular maintenance man come in every two weeks to fix that which was broken or in the process of breaking.  Today, I am that maintenance man and I’ve learned to only buy software from companies who have great customer service.  9 times out of 10 I’m able to fix problems with a half hour phone call.

It’s a better world.

With all my complaints about the condition of today’s music world, here’s one aspect that really works and is actually miraculous in its results and costs.

Technology has its upside and downside in today’s world.  I could certainly write another couple of posts on how technology has ruined songwriting and record-making today.  But that’s perhaps for another day.  Today, this morning as I look to a weekend of intensive work in my studio on a new CD project, I’m simply grateful for this wonderland of creation and imagination that supports my every musical thought.

I often wish I could take Johann Sebastian Bach on a 3-hour tour of my studio.  He was, in his day, a true technologist.  He would simply gasp in wonder at what was available to him at his fingertips.

And then he would sit down and get to work.

Even More Inspiration

• Gabriel, Come Blow Your Horn
• Even Now
• WFM Listening Room — Series II Opener
• Spiritual Scientist
• By The Numbers?
• Chanting/Enchanting

The creation of the Watchfire Music Collection – thematic compilation CDs featuring the best music of Watchfire Music artists.

Send To A Friend – Send the gift of music to a friend along with a personalized seasonal gift card.  It’s easy and quick!

Catch up on Sparks From The Fire – monthly fliers featuring the best of posts from the past month.  Easy to follow and comprehensive.

Accompaniment tracks from our DSM division for vocalists everywhere.

Solo Thoughts 2.0 — a superb resource tool for all soloists, music committees, and musicians in Christian Science Churches.

Solo Treasures – a comprehensive list of classic and out-of-print solos that may be in your church music library.

WFM Radio — choose from a growing list of 2 hour music programs featuring ?the best of our Watchfire Music artists.

The beginning of a comprehensive Choir Music catalogue from our DSM composers.

Fascinating Interviews from Julia Wade’s blog, Inspiratus, featuring many of our DSM composers.

New artists Désirée Goyette, Roger Brainard, Rod Kinny, Serah, and Charles Owens II and new CDs from Chieli Minucci, Branice Mckenzie, Julia Wade, Jenny Burton, and Brad Ross.

New Composers Andrew D. Brewis, Peter B. Allen, Désirée Goyette, Rebecca Minor, John William Gordon, and new titles from Carolyn Kardinal, Pressman and Ponzek, Peter Link, Greg Granoff, The Solo Committee, Deborah Offenhauser, and Kevin Cox among others.

The Watchfire Music Listening Room – highly successful NYC concert series led by Julia Wade and featuring Watchfire Music artists and top NYC music acts working in all genres!

Organ and piano scores for your church services from WFM composers.

WFM artist participation in A Million Minutes for Peace, Jenny Burton’s moving tribute singing “The Prayer of St Francis”.

Watchfire Music’s Inspirational Music Library for Film, Television and Advertising!  Listen to samples from thousands of the best inspirational songs available for licensing.

And lastly, we’d like to thank you, our customers, for making the 4^th quarter of 2010 the best quarter in terms of sales in the history of the company.

It’s going to be a Happy New Year!

Even More Inspiration

• Even Now
• Gettin’ It Done
• WFM Listening Room — Series II Opener
• Phoenix Rising
• Kickstarter.com Campaign – I
• Love Is The Reason For Living

1. Your new CD, Every Day, is due out for Christmas.  Word has it, it’s a bit of a change of direction for you.  Is that true, and if so, would you please explain?

Well, yes!  My producer, Peter Link, and I set out to broaden my reach — stretch the borders of the music I have been singing in these last 8 years or so.  I love singing sacred and inspirational music, but I also wanted to record songs that reach beyond strictly sacred music and deal with social and world issues as well.  The idea of this CD is to apply the sacred to all parts of our every day lives – both on a personal and a universal level.

Also, I have continued to move into a more fusion style of singing.  I have evolved further away from classical, and feel myself firmly grounded in the classical crossover genre.  This evolution is a dovetailing of folk, pop, theatrical and classical influences.

2. Why is the new CD titled “Every Day”?

The title song on the album, “Every Day,” is a sweet joyful song of gratitude for God being here every day in our lives.  The song just invaded my soul and took me over when I first heard it after Peter Link wrote it.  I went through life singing this song in my head for about a month non-stop.  One morning I woke up and it just hit me: Every Day is the title of the CD!  Why?  Because it referred to the fact that I was singing about things I think about every day – issues and dilemmas in my own life as well as those going on around me in the world – and joys too – all the good things going on.

As I continued to think about this concept, I realized that I was singing about things that I believe are important to most people.  My hope is that the songs on this CD will speak directly from my heart to the listener’s.

3. Peter Link is your principle composer, your record producer and your husband.  What’s that like working with him?  It seems like a lot to handle with one person.

When I married Peter, I told my family and friends that I first had to consider how to take on the kingdom of Peter Link.  It was a lot!  But, conversely, over the years we have mutually decided that I am a bit of a handful as well!  It all kind of balances out!

Yes, Peter and I wear a lot of different hats with one another.  When he is the producer, I am the recording artist.  When he is the director, I am the performer.  When he is the composer lyricist working on songs for me, I am his singer, or interpreter.  Continuing with the work hats, we also wear them together every day working with Watchfire Music.

Then of course, we are husband and wife.  That is the very best part of it all.  We are just like any couple – working it out every day.  I think what makes it all possible is a deep mutual sense of respect and love – and a very strong friendship.

Where it gets kind of dicey is that once in a while we forget which hat we are wearing with one another and we get a little confused!  Sometimes I will be in the studio recording with him, and while he’s wearing his “gotta get it done we’re on a crazy deadline” producer hat, I might still be wearing my “there are only so many hours in the day in which I can sing, manage WFM, cook dinner, pay the bills and do the laundry” wife hat.

Wife and Producer don’t always mix well.  I might end up in tears and sit down on his lap to cry out my woes.  After momentarily taking off his producer hat, Peter will hug me and comfort me.  When all is well again, he might comment, “I hope you don’t cry like that and get hugs on other laps.  It’s just not professional.” 

4. Are you the same Julia Wade who also is the Director of the Digital Sheet Music division of Watchfire Music or is that your clone?  How do you find the hours in the day to accomplish so much?

Yes.  That’s me. (sighs)  Being the Director of Digital Sheet Music is another one of those hats that I wear in life.  I really like it, but sometimes I do wish that I had a clone to do all the things that are in my in box!

I think the answer to how I get through it is that I absolutely love what I do.  I have loved developing this division of Watchfire Music – it’s a natural response to my work as a church soloist.  I saw a huge need for a central place for church musicians of all kinds to come and find great sacred and inspirational music.  I am one of those musicians who’s always searching high and low for new and fresh music for worship services.

So about 3 years ago, I dove in and created the Digital Sheet Music division of Watchfire Music.  We started with 30 sheet music titles and now offer almost 2000.

How do I do this?  With a lot of prayer, help and hard work.  I could not maintain my fast-paced schedule without consistent quiet time and prayer.  We also have a terrific staff at WFM, some of whom I manage and mentor.  They are a huge help in the process.  And then, it’s just good old-fashioned elbow grease and long hours that get the job done.

It’s also true that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day, so I still work to become more organized and efficient.  I don’t think that’s any different than what most people contend with.  One of my biggest problems is that I consistently fall behind in correspondence – email, letters, inquiries, and yes, Facebook!  That area is still a major work in progress.

5. Can you tell us about some of the new songs on the CD?

Yes!  We set out to make an album that would express a broader definition of Inspirational music.  So, we have included a gorgeous love song, “Nothing Only Love” from the Broadway musical, KING OF HEARTS.  I also sing a wonderful story song, “Woman On A Train” about an experience I had during my normal commute from New York to Boston.  Peter Link created an amazing new arrangement of Julie Gold’s “From a Distance” made famous by Bette Midler.  This song is what I call my prayer for social justice in the world.

To be sure, I have recorded fresh new sacred songs as well, including a beautiful new setting of the 23^rd Psalm by Peter.  There is also a track on the CD of Greg Granoff’s joyful setting of “Satisfied,” a poem by Mary Baker Eddy.

6. How do you go about the selection process?  Where do you find your songs?

The process of choosing songs for a CD is for me a magical mix of many things – an elixir, if you will.  My producer/composer Peter Link has huge input into this process.  He writes a large percentage of the songs that I sing on my CDs.  Sometimes he presents me with a song he has written and thinks I am the right singer to record it.  Other times, I will come to Peter with an idea for a song – a concept or theme – or even the rough outline for the lyrics, and I ask him to write the song.

Other music comes from my experience as the soloist at the international headquarters of the Christian Science church in Boston.  I spend a large portion of my time programming music, preparing and performing solo songs that match the sermons each week.  So I discover a lot of gorgeous music along the way.  I keep lists of songs that might be good for future recordings.  And some of those do end up on our CDs.

I should add that folks write in often with requests for songs to be recorded.  We try to listen to those requests as well.  Sometimes that is where inspiration for a song choice comes from.

Sometimes, we will start with a theme for a CD.  If that is the case, Peter begins to write songs specifically for that CD.  I begin to gather material from my lists and search for songs through other research.

In the case of Every Day, we did a combination of these processes.  We began by looking at some of the songs we have wanted to record for a long time.  I also did a lot of reading and writing about what’s important to me these days – what’s been on my mind.  Out of this reading/writing exploration, it became clear that I needed to expand my definition of ‘inspirational’ and to deal with world issues like hunger and war.  I hope this CD will help in the healing of these world-wide issues.

7. Both your previous CDs, Upon The Mountain and Story For The Ages, were best sellers for Watchfire Music and yet it’s been two and a half years since you’ve recorded an album.  Why is that?

The truth is, I have just been far too busy.  I had the opportunity to do some other great projects that simply put off the CD.  For example, right after recording Upon The Mountain and Story For The Ages, we were asked to record a CD of sacred songs in Spanish to minister to the worldwide Spanish congregation of the Christian Science church.  So we recorded “Alabado sea Dios”.  This was a complete joy and a great spiritual and artistic achievement in my life.  I should add that many people that do not speak Spanish have loved it, so please check it out at wathfiremusic.com.  It’s a beautiful listening experience full of beautiful music!

It was also about this time when I became much more involved with Watchfire Music.  That took over a huge portion of my time.

8. We recently caught your act at the Watchfire Music Listening Room and were so impressed by your deep connection with the lyrical content of your songs.  You seemed to embody these songs and live inside them.  Many singers don’t seem to be able to commit to their material the way you do.  Can you help us understand why this is?

How much time do you have?  I could talk about this for hours!  Quickly though, I believe deeply in the acting process behind the singing.

As a singer, my goal is to faithfully interpret the composer’s and lyricist’s intentions as I understand them – to be true to the music and the lyrics.  As an actor, my goal is to live Sanford Meisner’s definition of acting: “to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” As a soloist in church, my goal is to live my solo in my own expanded definition of acting: “to live truthfully here and now in this healing circumstance.”

In essence, I have to create a story of imaginary circumstances for each song that I then live out in performance.  I have to commit to living this story fully on stage.  I work the actor’s process as much as I work the singer’s process.  I try to live the songs truthfully.

I have actually been writing a series of blog articles on just this subject.  If anyone is interested please check out my blog, Inspiratus at http://juliawade.wordpress.com/

9. We also noticed that there’s a rather dramatic drop in the pricing of your new CD.  Can you tell us why?

The music industry has never been more difficult or perplexing.  We have been watching it and changing with the trends and times.  We’ve learned to be nimble these days.

As recordings go, the emphasis is on single song purchases these days, mostly downloads from the Internet.  So, we decided to stay cutting edge.  Rather than recording a 12 or 14-song CD, which would not have been released till the spring of 2011, we decided to record fewer songs and get the CD out now.  Fewer songs equals a lower priced CD – but one still full of great Inspirational music, carefully and lovingly crafted.

On Every Day, we have recorded 8 gorgeous songs – one for every day of the week plus a bonus track!

10. Will we have to wait another two and a half years for the next one?

Absolutely not!  When we made the decision to cut our CD tracks down to 8 for Every Day, we looked at each other and said, “Great!  As soon as this is done, we can go back into the studio and do the next 8-song CD!”  We hope to get that out in June of 2011.

11. What’s in store for the future of Julia Wade?

I am looking forward to getting this CD out to the world and continuing my shows at The Watchfire Music Listening Room here in NYC in the 2010 /2011 season.  I am planning to do a concert tour again in 2011 and we will be getting back into the studio for the follow up CD to Every Day.  In the meantime, I continue to enjoy my solo work in Boston as well as working with Watchfire Music to continue developing its Digital Sheet Music division.  I also hope to get a little sleep.

Even More Inspiration

• I Stood In The Wings… Part 4
• Phoenix Rising
• Kickstarter.com Campaign – I
• My Body
• Light At The End Of The Tunnel
• Even Now

Perhaps this sub-heading needs further explanation before we start.  On the Watchfire Music website an artist is someone or some group that makes records (CDs, songs).  In this case I’m using the larger meaning of the word.  In my case I am an artist with several hats.  Stick around while I try them on.

In my last blog post we dealt with ‘things to come’ as a producer.  That certainly is an artist as well.  It’s an interesting word actually.  In nearly every other entertainment medium (films, television, theater, etc.) the producer is the person who organizes the business part of the project and is normally differentiated from the artistic bent of the director of the project in creative responsibilities.

In the music industry alone the producer is actually the director.  He directs the sessions and works with the talent just like the directors in film TV and theater.  He just has a different moniker.  It is his (or her) responsibility to head up both the artistic and financial responsibilities of the project.

Sometimes the recording artist is also the producer of his/her own project.  I don’t advise it.  It’s great to have somebody who really knows what they are doing to bump up against in the making of a project – someone who might challenge you as an artist to reach for more, a great listener and judge of the music whom one can feed off.

In my case, though I can sing, my writing goes far beyond my singing abilities.  In the case of my new CD, Goin’ Home, I have chosen to work with a largely African American cast because the music is largely derivative of Gospel.  I will sing one song on the CD – a deeply personal one that I think I can handle well with my limited instrument.

That song is called “What Could Have Been” and it’s a love song coming from the POV of someone who is moving on.  Here’s a touch of the lyric:

I’ll always miss what could have been

And all the things that might have been

When I am gone from here

If looking back upon this life

Is possible beyond this life

The one thing that I fear

Is missing you

Is missing all the years ahead…

And missing us

And all the joys gone up in smoke

Yes the one thing that I fear

So I’ll sing this song on the CD, but none else.  For the rest I have a magnificent cast of vocalists that I’ve worked with over the years who are proven pros and have worked with nearly everyone in the industry.

Anyway, I’ll record this song in the next month.  The track is done, but I’m just letting the song stew in my brain for a bit before I record it.  Even though I wrote it, I still have to take off the composer’s hat and put on the artist’s hat and basically start all over again with the learning of the song to perform it.

Here’s menu of what else lies ahead:

• Just got commissioned to write a new song for a youth summit meeting on spirituality being held in NYC in mid-April.  I’ll write a new theme song for this meeting and record it as a take-home souvenir for all the attendees.

• As a composer I’ll write several new songs for the new Julia Wade CD.  This CD will still be an Inspirational CD for classical crossover artist Wade, but will lean more towards the commercial worlds of Josh Grobin and Andrea Bocelli.

• As a director I’ll direct (and produce) the Saturday night concert at the same youth summit meeting on spirituality being held in NYC in mid-April.  Right now I’m picking talent to appear from around the country.  It promises to be an evening of great celebration and music.

• As Creative Director of Watchfire Music I’ll try to keep my head above water managing a whole raft of projects for the company.  I hope and pray to balance my life better this year between the work for the company and the work outside of the company.  Actually, it’s all for the company.  The company now provides me, as an artist, an immediate venue to you, the audience, for all the creative projects that I get involved with.

• And then there’s the great unknown.  What else will come down the pike at me in the months ahead?  What other opportunities lay ahead?  It’s what I live for… what lies beyond the horizon.

• And then there’s this blog…  I’ll continue to write and to spend these alone times with my own thoughts on ‘all things Inspirational’ and then, of course, sharing them with you, my dear readers.  I’ll have to admit I never grew up dreaming of being a blogger, but it seems now to have taken over a few hours of my life on a daily basis.  It’s a joy that I look forward to each day and I thank you for your interest and responses.

So that’s it in a rather large nutshell – 3 parts to be exact.  Now stay tuned for more and excuse me while I get to work.

For more inspiring music you can download
and information about Peter Link, please visit Watchfire Music.

Even More Inspiration

• Kickstarter.com Campaign – I
• Gabriel, Come Blow Your Horn
• Light At The End Of The Tunnel
• Even Now
• WFM Listening Room – Series II – Event 4
• Gettin’ It Done

As a composer and producer I’ve had a long-standing relationship with vocalist, Jenny Burton.  I’ve often found her erudite in her ability to describe her craft and art. In the following interview I find her no less prescient. Jenny is a singer blessed with an amazing instrument that can shake the heavens and seed the clouds. She also is a performer extraordinaire.  On top of all that, in the studio, she’s a totally experienced pro. I had the chance to interview her lately for Watchfire Music. – PL

Peter Link: Why have you chosen music as your instrument of communication?

Jenny Burton: Without managing to sound too unoriginal or sappy, I must say that it’s more that music chose me — was infused into my bones and my life this time around. I have had the great joy of “just waking up” to it and living in it for these many years. Music is an essential part of who I am. It feeds me on the deepest of levels. I know as well that singing and performing is an honor and affords me the chance to give something back from the highest, most unencumbered parts of my self.

What central idea is most important to you in your communication with your audience?

Truth and clarity are very important to me.  The closer I can get to these two aspects of life, the better.  There is much that can be accomplished with music that is transcending.  I believe one of the reasons “the musical” was conceived is because once the playwright/composer has said all he/she can with the written and spoken word, he then finds it imperative to lay those words atop a groove, give them rhythm, and then a melody.  The composer then gives this to a singer to take the scene the rest of the way home.

Give us your own truly original definition of God?

There are many wonderful books available that work at explaining God, but it is my belief that one can only know or define God through their own personal experience. Attempting to put my own spin on a definition of God would only serve to polarize the someone reading this. My relationship and definition of God continues to grow and is deeply personal.  I’m happy to leave the rest to those that consider themselves the experts.

What is your musical objective in this endeavor?

My objective is to share and grow the gifts I’ve been given. I believe that inspiration is a magical thing, a force unto itself. I don’t believe in beating people over the head with my personal beliefs or even with the idea of God, but rather to sing in a manner that uplifts and perhaps causes a thoughtfulness that touches and changes things for someone else. It’s been said that the best laid plans of man/woman go astray, so I put my intention into my preparation, my choices of interpretation, and into being vocally and physically fit so I can be at the top of my game.  I place the rest into the hands of the Author of all and let inspiration do it’s thing.

What song that you’ve written most clearly defines who you are?

I haven’t done much writing in my career, but for my present album I collaborated with composer Peter Link on the lyrics of four of the songs. Often I come up with the title and concept for a song.  Doing so allows me to be more involved in more than just the singing of the song. “I Stand For You”, a song on I Think On These Things, was born from a letter I’d read from one friend to another. I was so touched and struck by the title that I decided to create a song that embodied what it means to truly stand for something or someone!

My foster mother was a metaphysical preacher and pastor of her own church for 30 years. She did not waiver in her faith and she didn’t fool around when it came to God. She taught me how to be sober and discerning where religion is concerned. There’s an old song called “Everybody Talking ‘Bout Heaven Ain’t Goin’ There”. In other words, faith without works is dead. So, I knew that I had to do more than just pay lip service about my faith and belief in God. She preached and taught about the wonders and potential that lay in one’s pursuing their faith and she stood strong in what she preached.

Reverend Josephine Richards is not with us any more, but I will ever remember what she stood for and the impressions and teachings she left me with. She is my lighthouse!  I stand for her. Standing for something wonderful and strong is what I strive to do.

Who are your mentors and why?

My mentors run the gamut. I’ve had Gospel mentors, R&B mentors, Jazz and Blues mentors. Artists like Aretha, of course, — James Cleveland, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, The Four Tops, Otis Redding, Mahaila Jackson, Jerry Butler, Bill Withers, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Tracy Chapman, Michael McDonald, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Bassey, Streisand, James Taylor, B.B. King and his guitar Lucille, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Ella, Gladys Knight, Oleta Adams. Tina Turner, Mavis Staple, Sammy Davis Jr, Sarah Vaughn and Judy Garland, just to name a few. I also had the influence of musical theatre. These artists sang from their souls and fed mine!  That’s the why.

What makes you choose the grooves, harmonies, styles and melodies of the songs you sing?  Describe the process of picking songs.

I love funky, foot stomping, joyful music for the most part. I also love sad songs and story songs. The idea of singing a well crafted lyric over a great groove, rhythm or melody is most amazing to me. From the first moment I hear a song a blueprint forms inside me. The lyric and subject matter has to interest me as well as my feeling that the song is relevant. Included in my building a song interpretation is the fact that I talk to the composer to find out why the song was written and where it came from. I study the lyric for understanding and connectivity. I build from this a palette of sound from which I sing.  Perhaps a song I didn’t write says it best.

Without a song, the day would never end
Without a song, the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain’t got a friend
Without a song.

I’ve got my troubles and woes,
But long as I know the Jordan will roll
I’ll get along, just as long as there’s
A song in my soul

Music by Vincent Youmans, and lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu.

For more inspirational music, thoughts and ideas from Peter Link,
please visit Watchfire Music.

Even More Inspiration

• I Stood In The Wings… Part 3
• Phoenix Rising
• Kickstarter.com Campaign – I
• WFM Listening Room — Series II Opener
• Looking Back on 2010
• The Decline of Lyrical Craftsmanship – Part 1

You may have heard him featured on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” or playing in one of several Broadway musicals.  You may have also caught his magical fingers strumming with the likes of Mark O’Connor, James Taylor, Richie Havens, Noel Redding, Bo Diddley, Susan Tedeschi, Maureen McGovern, Donny Osmond, The Platters, Fabian, Charlie Daniels, only to name a few.

In his spare time (what spare time could he possible have?) he shares his talent and technique as a teacher of guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he was awarded the first ever “Ovation” Award.

Watchfire Music Artist, Bobby Stanton begins his second Inspirational CD bring his special musical mind and deft guitar playing abilities to a number of world famous hymns.  Due to be released late spring, this album of beloved hymns promises to be a terrific seller for WFM if it’s anything like his first, Shepherd which is one of WFM’s biggest selling CDs of all time.

Not too long ago, Bobby and I met and talked about his next CD, his passion for music and his love of all things Inspirational.  The following is excerpts of that discussion.

Peter: Why have you chosen music as your instrument of communication?

Bobby: I’m not entirely sure I chose music. I think that because of my genetic predisposition, and the environment I grew up in, that aspect of me was shaped. I never remember a time that I wasn’t interested in music. My earliest recollections are of my mother playing the piano, and I was always listening to everything on the radio, and I remember being very moved emotionally by music at a very young age. I think music chose me; most likely it’s God’s plan for me, because He’s never recommended anything else.

What central idea is most important to you in your communication with your audience?

Truly I just want to play at the level that I am moved and controlled by the music. I want God to shine His big flashlight through me so to speak. The kick we get from listening to music is feeling our consciousness being raised very rapidly. I believe that the music is a reflection of the person performing, and the performer (no matter what the medium), ideally is experiencing some aspect of life, in a higher plane of existence. When we are exposed to this phenomenon we sympathetically vibrate and vicariously experience this higher plane. I feel that intimacy and a rapport with the audience is essential too, so that they can comfortably be part of the process.

Give us your own truly original definition of God.

“God is Love, he that abides in Love abides in God, and God abides in Him”. “All you need is Love, Love is all you need” If I could describe God, I would probably be omnipresent in the universe and not writing this interview. I think that no one in our world can describe God any more than my cat can describe electricity. However just because she can’t describe how a light bulb works, she knows better than to stick her tongue on one (now).

She clearly knows of the presence of a higher power, and truly believes without hesitation in this presence. My truly original definition of God probably isn’t as good as my cat’s definition of electricity, but if forced to put pen to paper I would say God is the intelligent all-loving being that we are ever evolving toward.

What is your musical objective in this endeavor?

If you are talking about my new album, I want to continue on with my development of the basic spiritual themes, and maybe take them to a new level musically. I think that sometimes there is a place for the kind of pretty postcard treatment of music, for people to listen to as background music, and then there is a time to expand on familiar music. My objective is to bring everything I can to bear on the new album and use my musical abilities to move the listener as much as possible.

What song that you’ve written most clearly defines who you are?

I have not used any original music on the album thus far. You can see who I am a little bit in the arrangements, but I don’t really think that’s what you mean.

Who are your mentors and why?

I have many mentors (including you Mistah Link) so I’ll just mention a few. Of course my parents first and foremost. But then my high school teachers, who encouraged me to ignore everyone, and to do what was in my heart. I studied music with several great musicians. One of the most profound was a man named John LaPorta, one of the great musical minds of our time. Among many other things he taught me to love life with everything you have every day, and never stop learning new things. I studied with a man named Lenny Breau and with Charlie Banacos and they taught me that the musical well we draw on is infinitely deep. My mentors are also books, from the Bible to Ray Kurzweil.

What makes you choose the grooves, harmonies, styles and melodies of your songs? Describe the process.

Who knows? Good grief where does any of that stuff come from? I just try chords, grooves, and melodies until they sound cool. I guess I have all the information of all the songs my brain has ever recorded. I have listened pretty extensively (since I was a little pre-natal rascal), and I was drawn toward the music that moved me. I guess I, on some level, try to emulate that music in my own endeavors.

For more inspirational music, thoughts and ideas from Peter Link,
please visit Watchfire Music.

Even More Inspiration

• Gabriel, Come Blow Your Horn
• The Logic of Logic II
• WFM Listening Room – Series II Finale
• WFM Listening Room – Series II – Event 4
• WFM Listening Room Series II – 3
• WFM Listening Room – Series II

If you were to ask, I’d say that my most favorite singer at the moment on WatchfireMuic.com would be Inspirational singer and Broadway actor, Terron Brooks.

I’ve been putting together a database of all the music of the WFM catalog that has required me to listen to every song from every artist we have.  This is a chore that I first met with some trepidation, but has actually resulted in a most wonderful listening experience over the past couple of weeks.  Like the by-line says, “We got great music!”

I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to put together these last few years and impassioned by the experience to find more of the great talent that’s out there.

Terron Brooks

One of our major finds is definitely the sweet, musical sound of Terron Brooks.  In the course of my job, it’s always, “Oh good, I get to listen to Terron.”

One of my jobs here at Watchfire is to guide you to the right stuff, so please pay attention because I’m now doing just that.  Baby, this man can sing.  And when the music pours out of his throat and inner being, you’ve just got to listen to the effortless sound.

It’s so clear that Terron is an actor.  He seems to always know what he’s singing about and what he is doing.  I believe that is what makes him so appealing – besides his innate talent and musicality.

I went to his site the other day and found an interesting page on it where he answers some fan’s questions.  I thought I might reprint a few to share with you some insights into this most charming and sincere young man.

Q: Are you married and do you have any kids?

Terron

I have been happily married for three years now.  We do not have any children.  My wife and I value what God has given us.  I pray that as friends, you will also.  If there is any good you see in me, it is a reflection of the love I receive at home.

What do you do in your free time?

In my free time I love to sleep.  I am an avid movie buff and I like doing things alone like long drives and running.  When I’m inspired I will write songs or quotes that become songs.

I was wondering when was it you asked God into your life?

At the age of thirteen, I asked Christ into my heart.  However, I didn’t really understand what it all meant — Salvation, Holiness, and the Holy Spirit.  At age 18, I was in a search to know Jesus for myself, intimately.  I wanted to know how I could serve Him with the gift I could not deny was from Him. The best decision in my life has been my surrender to God.  He has given me vision and a purpose that propels my life.

Do you ever have to turn down roles as they would prevent your life from being a witness to Christ?

I have a responsibility to God to use the talents that He has given me for His purpose, that He might find favor in me.  Turning down roles that prevent me from the example I set out to be is easy for me because I’ve set boundaries for what I will and will not do.  I realize that every door that opens AND closes for me is by God’s hands, so I can rest assured that there is never a door I must open if my spirit can’t walk through.

There are always disappointments on my journey.  I wish there were more opportunities for positive creativity in the world.  But, everyday is a chance to do good, even in the smallest things. As long as God is for you, who can be against you?

What was it like to be Simba in “The Lion King”?

The Lion King was a dream for me.  I auditioned so many times to play Simba. I finally got my chance to understudy the role on Broadway and in L.A. It was a challenging and exhilarating experience.  God reminded me through the role that I was His son and that I was a king.  I will never forget that journey.

I was wondering how did it feel to play Eddie Kendricks (in the Emmy Award winning NBC mini-series The Temptations)?

I could not believe it when I won the role of Eddie. I was overwhelmed.  It was my first movie and I was thinking, “how did this happen!”  I knew it was God and that He had a plan for me.  I was 23 when I filmed the movie, playing from 18-late 40′s. I still carry great pride in the fact that I was chosen for such a special project that touched so many people.

I would like to know how you started out in the business.

I started in the business professionally at age 18 after graduating from the Orange County High School of the Arts.  I was doing several recording sessions, performing for Disney, and I got my first big break on the touring company of the Broadway show “Grease!”  I was singing at the age of six in church, of course, but had no intention of becoming an entertainer. I wanted to be a lawyer or a newsman.  Once I got an agent things picked up for me and I knew that I wanted to make people happy through my voice.

Do you have any advice about not giving into peer pressure?

My advice for dealing with peer pressure is I think about what Jesus would do in a given situation and would He be pleased with my behavior at any given time.  I tell people not to be afraid to be a leader and not a follower. The only one to follow is Christ.

Do you ever attend churches in other cities as a guest singer or to give a concert?

I do attend churches all over the country.  I love sharing my music with new people as well as giving my testimony of how God can make something out of nothing and how with Him all things are possible.

What made you write your song “Popular”?

I wrote the song “Popular,” as I watched the first year of American Idol.  I am fascinated with how people will do anything to be famous and I had to check my desires and my ego and realize that I only had to please God.  He is the source of Everything.  My goals have changed along with my purpose in life.  I know what’s important and I know that if I am exalted, I want God to be in control.  If He is pleased then I feel my life is worthwhile.  I know that whatever God has for me I will receive.  I don’t want what belongs to another.

You can find Terron’s music and more about him by clicking here.

Even More Inspiration

• Gettin’ It Done
• For The Birds
• Wonderful
• The Changing Scene
• Phoenix Rising
• Kickstarter.com Campaign – I