Album Spotlight: Live at Bare Bulb

Click on the pic to listen to the album at Bandcamp.

In 2015, I was granted a wonderful gift of sabbatical. In my church, priests are given a sabbatical in their contract after every 6 years of service in one place. I submitted an application to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment for such a sabbatical. At the time, I was at a small church that wouldn't have been able to afford to grant me the sabbatical. As luck would have it, we were granted $50,000 to fund it, $30k to me and $20k to the parish.

I was in the infancy of songwriting, so I wanted to learn as much as I could about it by experiencing as much music as I could. So my sabbatical theme was to explore music from cathedrals to pubs to festivals to coffee shops. I got to take my wife and 4 children to England, Ireland, and Scotland for 2 of the 3 months of the sabbatical. Many of the songs on Incomplete Dreams were written during that time or shortly thereafter.

Before we left, I wanted to explore performing, and at that point had only played one or two "official" gigs. My wife's cousin Tara suggested I play at the coffee shop owned by her church in Warner Robins, Georgia. So she got me booked there and another coffee shop in Macon called Taste & See, and I played two shows in that first month of sabbatical. This one was on May 16, 2015.

It was terrifying, but a lot fun. There were only a few folks at each show, but everyone was very nice to this guy who was clearly new to performing. I recorded the show for posterity, and the songs didn't turn out that bad, so I ended up making them into a little live album for Bandcamp.

Some of these songs are pretty rare. I either discovered that I didn't like playing them or they didn't work well live. Also, it's fun to listen to how other songs have evolved over time. Here's the track listing:

1. The List

A song about Jesus' shady family tree and the amazingly scandalous women that made the list.

2. Sleight of Hand

The guitar version that was later adapted to piano by Josh Cave.

3. Hallelujah/Let It Be (Cohen, Lennon/McCartney)

A cover mash-up of two amazing songs. One of the youth of my church at the time, Abbey Crowley, arranged this and we would do a duet at church of these two songs.

4. Heaven Now

I think I had just written this one not long before this show.

5. Last Face

Oldie but goodie.

6. Worth It

This may be the only time I ever played this one live.

7. Hour the Earth Cried

Here's another rarity. This is a song I wrote for my friend Rachel, who's husband died of a brain tumor. At the funeral, the sun had been shining, but the minute it started, it began to pour rain, which mirrored how we were all feeling. Once the service stopped, so did the rain.

8. Zion, Talbotton

Another tried and true from the early set.