Here’s the video that I promised! (For those of you getting this post via email, click here to watch the video).
And for those of you who want to download the mp3, get it right here! (Right click, save as).
Feel free to download the file to your ipods, copy and share it with friends, or what have you. I just registered the copyright to the song, so we should be all squared away! 
Yep, we finally did it. We recorded a song in the studio!
I couldn’t believe how nervous I was at first, but the experience turned out to be extremely enjoyable! It’s really cool to work with tons of fancy pants equipment that you have no clue how to operate.
Coming up soon (hopefully) will be the track that we recorded, and a little video. Right now we’re trying to figure out copyright stuff…. As soon as we get that squared away, we’ll post the mp3 song for you to download!
I’ll leave you with a picture of Kasie singing to whet your appetite.
For those of you who know what twitter is, I set up a twitter feed for our band, The Willi.
+ The Willi Twitter Page +
(Subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the “RSS” button on the bottom-left of the page)
It’s main purpose is to provide updates for the band site, thewilli.com. (Check it out – it’s already embedded into the site). I might even integrate the twitter feed directly into this blog, and have the blog software automatically post our “tweets”.
Our time in the studio was AWESOME! It’s amazing what those wizard audio engineers can do these days…. Video and track coming soon!
Well, as you may have picked up in one of my comments, I just bought a new guitar!
Watch the video to hear how it sounds! (And trust me – our camcorder mic does not give the guitar justice…)
This purchase has been in the works for a looong time. For the past few years I’ve grabbed every opportunity I could to play other guitars, and by last month, I knew almost exactly what I wanted.
It had to be a dreadnought, have a cutaway, and have a built-in preamp. In addition it couldn’t be “glitzy”, had to play well, and sound extraordinary!
My budget: up to $800. (But my cheap self preferred something in the $300-$500 range).
To make a long story short, the Martin DCX1KE impressed me the most out of all the other guitars in that price range. It has a wonderful tone, especially to the player – every single string not only rings out crisp and clear, but reverberates inside the body for an amazing (bassy?) feel. If this is a hallmark of all Martin guitars, you can call me a fan!
The playability and action “out of the box” was perfect for me, and the factory strings, although no longer quite as jangly crisp as they were a few weeks ago, are mellowing out beautifully.
The bass and treble response are both awesome – clear and loud without messing up the mix. I’ll allow that the mid range on this guitar is more prominent (but not dominant) than most others on the market, and it takes some time getting used to. But I love it now!
And the look? Well, you can’t beat it. Matte, hand rubbed finish throughout – not a spec of shiny lacquer. The wood grain in the neck is beautiful, and feels almost like it’s just been sanded at the woodshop. That’s how I like it!
An added bonus is the smell. It’s been 3 weeks since I ordered the guitar online, and the spruce top still emits a wonderful woodsy aroma.
Now for the bad news. The price. It was still well within my budget, but I had secretly been hoping to find a dream guitar for something cheaper…
Price: $699.00
In the end, you usually get what you pay for. I didn’t pay for the $8,000 Martin guitar that I played at one of the music shops that I visited. But neither did I skimp, and go with a “halfway decent” $300 – $400 Fender or Takamine.
I’m very glad that God led me to this perfect balance, and pray that I may use this guitar for His glory in the days, months, and years to come.
Truth be told, I’m not fond of spiders. However, I do like the beautiful webs they create! They’re so tiny; so intricate. It’s intriguing to me to try and photograph the delicate strands of a spiderweb. It can be a bit challenging at times, but I enjoy experimenting with closeups – it was neat!
Here’s one laden with dewdrops…
…and a large view of that same web.
“Kasie! Take a loot at THIS cool looking spider!”
This guy was actually quite photogenic , and let me snap pictures to my heart’s desire. It was a much more comfortable setting than, say, photographing black widows!
-Kasie
Tomorrow we attempt to record our first song in a studio! We have no idea what to expect.
Had a “worship jam” at Bible study – awesomeness.
Our first “gig” at Wellington Place (nursing home) went well! I think we brought too much equipment, though… http://snipurl.com/449ij
It’s been a step of faith to start our music ministry. We had no sound equipment, microphones or anything when Mom scheduled dates for us to play at local nursing homes, but God has provided all that in a wonderful way…
We told the pastor of our church about our plans to make a CD, hold worship services in our community and minister with music. He was very excited, and generously offered us the use of the church sound equipment!
“It’s the set we used when we first started the church,” he told us “but after we updated, it’s just been sitting in my brother’s garage. It’s not a high-end or anything, but it’s in great working order and served us well. Y’all are welcome to use it for as long as you need to.”
Wow. Thank you Lord!
And so, in preparation for our first ‘gig’, we packed “Homer” up with all our instruments and headed into town where the equipment is kept for a practice.
This past Sunday afternoon as planned, we set up at a nursing home and played music for almost an hour. Although we were a little nervous at first, all went well, and more residents wandered in to hear us as time went on!
Here are a few pictures Mom took that day;
Our prayer was that we would be a blessing, and that God would be glorified. I think we accomplished just that! We received a phone call on Monday from the manager of The Wellington Place telling us what a hit we were and asking when we were coming back!
To God be the glory!
-Kasie
