Saturday, August 30, 2008

Saturday Song Stories - "Hope Will Rise"

When I first stared to learn how to finger-pick (I'm talking about guitar, not my nose), I came up with a catchy pattern that I would use to impress people when we were sitting around someone's living room. I could play it fast because I would use it as a warm-up whenever I practiced, seeing how fast I could play it. But try as I might, I couldn't put words to it.

One night as I read through the writings of an ancient prophet named Isaiah, the words struck me as profound. Isaiah 35 talks about God coming to save his people, a pretty common theme in the Bible. But the imagery that Isaiah used was intense. Lines Like "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way", "say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear, your God will come...", and "he will come to save you...Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy...They will enter Zion with singing."

It's every songwriters dream to have someone else write the poetic stuff for you (after all, Isaiah isn't about to sue me for copyright infringement). When I played around with different chord progressions, it fit perfectly with my show-off finger-picking lick.

How often in our world are we faced with fears? And how comforting is it to know that God will cause hope to rise within us because of his promises? It has happened on a few occasions that people who have heard this song, among a couple of others on the album, found comfort in the midst of storms that they were facing. That is one of the reasons why I write music.

(Please note, that the phrase "Finger-picking lick" is not an endorsement of KFC)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Contest... Win a copy of "Hope Will Rise"

I'm not kidding. I'll be sending one blog reader a free copy of "Hope Will Rise". Here's how it works...

On the Dan Bursey MySpace page I have four songs posted. In the lyrics of one of the songs is the answer to this question:

What did I see going a different direction?


When you find the answer, email me at dfbursey@hotmail.com, or message me on facebook. I will be drawing from the correct answers and will announce the winner on my blog next Saturday.

If you don't win? If you sign up for my email list on the MySpace page, you'll get a free download. That'll dry your tears...

Monday, August 25, 2008

A Spot for Everyone...

I spent all of last week at a youth camp in Lewisporte. Yeah...I admit it...I am so tired that my eyes are crossing. But that's not the point of this blog.

On Thursday afternoon, they had a talent search as part of the weeks on-going team games. It was crazy! I was amazed at the amount of talent that is out there, especially among our young people, who are definitely thinking outside the box in terms of where their talents can take them.

There was a bass duo, a metal-core band, a tender-hearted worship leader, and two guys that ripped it up beatboxing.

Why am I telling you this? I was struck again by the diversity of talents and giftings that exist in the Christ's family. Those people will be used in ways that I never could. (I doubt that my music would ever appeal to much of the metal-core community.) God designs people so that they can reach into areas of culture that others cannot. Where do you fit into God's plan.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Saturday Song Stories - "Like Your Love"

As any songwriter will tell you, there is no one way to write a song. Some come easily and others are hard work. Like Your Love, the second song on the album that talks about God's love and how it remains the same in a world that is in a constant state of change, is one of those songs that needed time to marinate...sort of like a $1.99 fast fry steak. Here's what I mean.

In early 2006, I wrote the first line, "The Sunset sets the city ablaze in a sultry yellow-orange haze", while walking in Deer Lake NL. I think it was late spring, and the setting sun was bright and orange and it seemed to be setting the whole town on fire. This line came to me, but nothing else. I wrote it down and let it marinate.

Around the same time, I had also written a song called Tired of Gone about a man whose love had left him. The song was over the top in terms of how sad it was. It contained lines like "Now their house is a park where mommas play with their babies in the noonday." The song ends with a poor old man sitting in a coffee shop dreaming about being in love with every girl that walks in. I actually performed it once in concert and apologized for how mournful it was. That song got put away to marinate.

Then, in early 2008, the night before I was to go into the studio with my contributions to the "Hope In The Midst of a Storm" Project, I looked through my notebooks. I came across these bits and pieces and they all seemed to fit together, as if they had finished marinating and were now ready to be grilled. All of these pieces - the sunset line, the bridge part from "Tired of Gone" (Seen a million faces pass me by...) a jazz inspired chord progression- all came together to make my fast fry steak into a piece of meat that doesn't taste half bad.

The moral of this story: You don't always need to rush your creative ideas. Don't force it. Ideas often need time to marinate.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Saturday Song Stories - "Not Be Afraid"

Songwriters will often talk of times when songs seem to write themselves. One of the rare times that has happened for me is with "Not Be Afraid", the album's opening track.

One Saturday night in early 2006, I turned on the news. Big mistake. There were bombings in the Middle East, train wrecks, people killing each other, politicians lying... I'm not one of those people that is always griping about the state of the world, but I have to admit that it was a particularly scary news cast. It seems that our world is fueled by fear. If this world is all there is, we have reason to be afraid.

People even try to capitalize on this fear. For instance...There is even a recent television commercial that sells bathtubs to elderly people. The commercial has clips of people who are 75+ talking about how afraid they are of falling in the bathtub. Once the comsumer is sufficiently convinced that they need to be afraid of falling in their bathtub, they are urged to buy the slip-proof tub. Ours is a world where danger really does lurk around every corner and towel rack.

And so, on my basement couch after I had turned off the news, "Not Be Afraid" was born. It started as a reaction to the fearsome problems that the world is facing, but turned into a prayer that simply says, "I will not be afraid...I am safe within your arms." Repeatedly in the Bible we are told to "Fear Not". Whether we face death, poverty, sickness, or slippery bathtubs, we have no need to fear while we rest in the shadow of His wings.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Dirt Under My Nails

If you've ever gone through the process of recording, and releasing an album, you know all of the feelings that go along with it. Will it stink? Will it connect with people? Sort of a nervous excitement as you now get taken more seriously as a performer, writer and musician.

As I was excitedly showing my mother the album cover - me with the symbolic and esoteric mound of dirt with a hybiscus plant gently cradled in my hands - she looked at it for moment and, in the way that only she can, said "Look at the dirt under your nails!" It must always be left up to your mother to keep you grounded.