GMA Festival - Wednesday, Day Four, Part One

This ended up being my favorite day of the whole week! Yay Wednesday!

It was also the most eventful day of the week, so for ease of reading, I am divding the day into two separate posts. Perhaps I should be merciful to you all and do the same thing with my Christmas Letter. Ya know, send it in like, twelve separate parts? Oh wait, that'll never work. I'm a starving artist and could never afford the postage... ;-)

Ok, I intended on starting the day with a class called "Writing A Song Based On A Scripture or Storyline". Now, try not to be shocked, but I was a little late to the class. I know that is astounding, but, well...sometimes I am late. Anyway, the class had ended up getting cancelled for reasons I am still not sure of. So I decided instead to go to the Women's Retreat, which was being led by Sandi Patty, arguably the greatest vocalist in the history of Christian music. With her four-octave voice, she had completely blown the roof off at her concert the night before, and I was thrilled at the prospect of getting to spend some time with her at this retreat.

She spoke for about 45 minutes, then did a Q&A with us for about an hour. "Let's just sit around and have some girl-talk for a while," she said. Ok by me! Nothing I love more. After the Q&A, she sat at a piano in the corner of our small room and sang an exquisite version of "Amazing Grace".

At this point, I simply couldn't quite believe it was all happening. Here I was with Sandi Patty, one of the greatest voices in the known world - someone who has performed for kings and presidents, and someone whose music had ministered so powerfully to me, especially during my critical teenage years. And here I was having "girl-talk" with her and sitting ten feet from her as she raised her voice in song (see Picture just below). It was an absolute thrill.


At the end of the two-hour retreat, we had the opportunity to meet and visit with Sandi (we're on a first-name basis now). Even though I am really a very giant dork, I manage to keep things really appropriate when I meet artists whose works have impacted my life. I try to make it a point to 1) express my tremendous thanks to them for sharing their extraordinary gifts and 2) encourage them to continue their good works. And rather than pour out my life story to them, I simply encapsulate that by saying, "Your music has ministered so much to me." I had the opportunity to share all of the above with Sandi, and she was incredibly gracious. (See us togeth in Picture just below). Me and Sandi! Sandi and Me! This was a highlight of my year for sure!

That afternoon, I attended a class called "Getting Gigs", which was led by a VP of the William Morris Agency. It was a supremely valuable class, and one in which I learned a ton. One of the coolest things I kept seeing throughout the week was a great generosity of spirit between all of the musicians, and the Getting Gigs class was no exception. Many artists who are already doing regular gigs were freely sharing advice and ideas, and I found that to be so useful. These are the folks who are in the trenches and really doing it!

I would like to add that I love the word "gig" and that I can't wait to someday say things like, "Oh, I would love to go to dinner with you, but I have a gig tonight." LOL!

GMA Festival - Tuesday, Day Three

Tuesday morning, I woke up with a bit of anxiety, as I had two rather daunting tasks ahead of me.

First, I was taking one of my original songs to a what is called a Song Critique. A Song Critique gives you the opportunity to meet with a representative from a major Christian music publishing company, play him your song on CD, and then listen to feedback from him as to the quality/marketability of the song. Eek! Skeert!

Second, I was particpating in the Vocal Competition, singing yet another original song, this time in front of a panel of judges from the Christian music industry and about 15 peers and fellow competitors. Double Eek! Triple skeert! I want my mommy!

Fortunately, both went well. My song was critiqued by the Vice-President of Publishing for Word Records (GULP!) and he had very nice things to say. His few criticisms were very fair and accurate, I felt. He also asked if he could keep the CD and the lyric sheet. Cool! He was cute, too! I know, not relevant, but I sorta wanted to kiss him. Anyway....

I had not planned on competing in the Vocal Competition. Not because I didn't feel worthy of competing, but because I felt it would be a distraction to me. My purpose in going to this convention was to LEARN and to soak in as much knowledge as possible, not to shoot for a grand prize. But I ultimately decided to do it because I thought the feedback from the judges would be constructive and valuable.

For the Vocal Competition, I sang a song called "We'll Sing On" that I had written about 9/11 in the week immediately following the 2001 tragedy. There were three judges and I tried to engage all of them during my performance, but they had their heads in their critique sheets and were writing furiously. Talk about nerve-wracking! What are they writing? "Nice voice, but seems like kind of a geek." Ha, ha. The performance went well, though, and I could not wait to get my feedback sheets from them. I would receive those, as well as the results of whether or not I advanced to the semi-finals, on Wednesday night. More on that later.

I spent the afternoon in more classes, the first of which was a class led by a guy named Tom Jackson, who is a Performance Coach who helps artists make the most of their live performances. He focuses on three key components: 1) Are you capturing and engaging your audience?, 2) Are you creating "moments" for your audience or just making music?, 3) Are you affecting and changing lives? Ya'll, this was FABULOUS knowledge and helped pull me out of denial about the fact that I am not a great live performer. Yeah, I can hit the notes and engage my audience to an extent, but I have A LOT more work to do in this area. Many of my colleagues acknowledged the same thing about themselves during the week. As the week went on, I ended up attending three more of Tom's classes. The guy's a genius.

I also attended a class that addressed the power of exposing your music to the world through the power of the Internet. Amazing. The web has changed music so much, ya'll. Much of the work that record companies had to do for you can now be done on your own via personal websites, blogs, MySpace, and online stores that sell work done by independent artists. Again, an incredibly valuable class and one that I plan to put to good use!

The day was capped off with an Artist Teaching Concert led by none other than the brilliant singer/songwriter Mark Schultz, who has been one of my favorite Christian artists for about 4 years now. The Artist Teaching Concerts are essentially very casual mini-concerts where the artist sits there and chats with the audience (see 2nd photo above), tells the stories behind his songs, offers advice about the biz, and sings a few of his biggest hits. I got to meet Mark afterwards (see 1st photo above), which was a big thrill. He was so sweet and he is a total punkin'! I thought for a long time I would marry him, but he got snagged up by a gorgeous doctor about a year ago. Now how in the heck am I supposed to compete with that? ;-)

That night's concert featured the great Sandi Patty, Mark Shultz again, David Phelps, the Crabb Family, and Tammy Trent.

(Funny Side-Note: After the concert, I walked back to the room with a gal I had met in the course of the week. The walk back to our cabin was mostly uphill, and since I was still adjusting to the Colorado altitude, my breath was starting to get a little ragged. I said something like, "Gosh, I guess I am still adjusting to the altitude change." And she said, "Really? I think I've gotten used to it by now." And since I was carrying my laptop on my back, I said, "Well, I guess carrying this laptop on my back doesn't help matters." Then, quickly realizing the ridiculousness of that statement, I said, "I guess it also doesn't help matters that I am 70 pounds overweight." HA! Ya'll, she was horrified. My close friends are used to me making little jabs at myself like this, but she was downright SHOCKED that I would say such a thing about myself. I honestly thought that she was gonna start genuflecting right then and there and pray over me for saying such a thing. I made a note to myself that not everyone appreciates a healthy dose of self-deprecation).

GMA Festival - Monday, Day Two

The day got off to an early start, as all days have this week (breakfast is from 7:00 to 8:30 and morning worship starts at 8:30). I am a night owl and early mornings do not thrill me (I rather loathe them), but on this Monday I practically bounced out of bed with great expectations for the day ahead. And the day did NOT disappoint!

Funny Side-Note: As I headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, I started getting a case of the junior high heebee jeebees! Who was I going to sit with in the cafeteria? I had only met a few people so far, and what if they weren't there? I'd have to sit with strangers who might immediately see me for the geek that I am! After a few minutes of this ridiculous internal dialogue, I reminded myself that I was, in fact, NOT in the 7th grade and that I was indeed a grown woman of 37. I got a grip, sat down at a random table with a random group of people, and soaked up their endlessly interesting life-stories. It would be the first of many meals spent doing this. I will talk about this more later. (The junior high heebee jeebies would still creep in occasionally throughout the week, but only in brief spurts, which I would quickly quell. Get behind me Satan)!

Following some great words of encouragement at morning worship, I went to my first class of the day entitled, "Writing Melodies That Sing". It was led by a very prolific and successful Christian composer named Don Koch. That class was followed by one entitled "Building a Great Lyric," led by an equally successful Christian lyricist named Dave Clark. (Shout-Out to my Baby Boomer friends: NOT the Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five). These men have been writing songs that have spoken to my heart for years, and I hung on their every word in class. It was just so thrilling to be learning about things about which I am so hugely passionate.

I continued to meet more really lovely people throughout the day and as the day went on, I just really began to realize what an amazing week this was going to be, and what a unique opportunity it was for me to be here. Before I went to bed that night, I made a promise to myself and to God that I would be the very best version of myself this week - that I would make it to every class, ask every question I could think of, take notes furiously, and not squander any opportunity to learn, grow, and connect. It felt good.

For my Christian music fans out there, Monday night's concert included Rebecca St. James, Shaun Groves, and Aaron Shust. Sweet, huh?

GMA Festival - Sunday, Day One

I arrived safely in Denver on Sunday and hung out in the airport for about 2 hours waiting for the shuttle to take me from Denver to Estes Park. It wasn't long before I started seeing musicians popping up all around me - people with funky hair and cool clothes, carrying guitars and keyboards and violins and all manner of musical accoutrement. I started to feel excited but nervous, very similar to the way I felt my first few days Texas A&M. Of course, what I didn't realize as a college freshman (20 years ago - OUCH!), but do realize today, is that EVERYONE was feeling nervous. Even the ones who seemed cool and collected. So I tried to just chill and be myself and embrace whatever lay ahead.

Once I boarded the shuttle (which was actually a SWEET chartered bus), my nerves were quickly soothed, as I began meeting all kinds of nice people from all over the country. Everyone was so sweet and interested and interesting, and we all spent the entire 2-hour trip chatting away. I love hearing people's stories, and the stories I heard on the bus that day were the first of MANY that the week would have in store for me. More on that later...

The scenery during the bus trip was gorgeous, but only a sneak preview of what was to come. When we did finally arrive in Estes Park, what I saw literally took my breath away. The facility I am staying at is called YMCA In The Rockies, and it is literally planted squarely in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. Any direction you look in, you are surrounded by the most exquisite and majestic beauty that one could ever imagine. I've always said I am a beach girl first and foremost - and I am - but I tell ya, these mountains do a soul some good! They are absolutely heavenly, as you can see in the above picture.

(Funny Side-Note: The YMCA In The Rockies isn't really a hotel, and it isn't really a resort, and I have been struggling to describe this place to folks back home. I was talking to my friend and 80's soulmate Brenda last night, and she said, "I'm kind of imagining it as being like Kellerman's from 'Dirty Dancing'." HA! She nailed it! That is EXACTLY what it's like...minus the hottie dance instructor and the 60's youth rebellion).

Anyway, I got all registered, checked into my room, had some din-din, and then headed to the first concert of the week, which was Michael W. Smith, the King of Contemporary Christian Music! I hadn't seen W in concert in about 10 years, and he was phenomenal. By 11:00pm, I was running on fumes and decided to call it a day. I lay my head down on the pillow, feeling very much like a big girl, feeling that I was exactly where I belonged, and filled with anticipation of what the week had in store!

Airport Security - Come Here Often?

Allow me to digress from my GMA Festival updates for a moment to share some thoughts on airport security. First, let me make it clear that I have no issue with the airport security requirements, which, as we all know, changed drastically following 9/11. Making minor adjustments such as taking my laptop out of its case and carrying my liquids in small quantities is a small price to pay for national security and safety in the skies. I long ago accepted the changes in security as the new normal, and I never complain about them.

I travel by air so much that I know exactly what items are going to set off the security alarm - my maroon jacket with metal buttons, the James Avery bracelet that my friend Shannon gave me, etc. So I begin removing those items right away, in addition to the required surrender of my shoes. This generally makes my experience through security go rather quickly, and this latest trip was no exception. But...something frequently happens post-security that always cracks me up. It happened again this past Sunday.

Once you are past the brigade, you have to put all of the removed items back on your body. I always seem to end up next to a man at this point. And there we stand at the table, him putting his belt and cufflinks and watch back on, and me putting my jacket and jewelry and shoes back on. And ya'll, it just makes me laugh! I am unmarried and do not practice sex outside of marriage, but here I stand in the middle of the airport in various states of undress along with the dude right next to me! I always chuckle to myself, thinking how funny it would be to say something to him like, "Was it good for you too?" or "You could have at least bought me dinner first."

That would of course be inappropriate, but I've got to find some way to diffuse the situation. Because one of these days, I'm just gonna bust out laughing, and send some guy's cufflinks flying across the airport floor.

GMA Festival - The Night Before

I left Austin for Denver on Sunday morning at 8:10am, which meant I had to wake up at about 5:00am so that I could be at the airport at about 6:45am. While I am never, EVER happy about waking up at 5:00am, this time it was all the more daunting because I was up until 2:30am the night before. You see, my dear friend Tracy was celebrating her 40th birthday downtown on Saturday night. Now, a reasonable person, knowing they had to be up at 5:00am, may have considered skipping the party, but, well...I don't skip parties. Especially parties that afford me the opportunity to celebrate the life of a treasured friend, hang out with some of my favorite people on the planet, and listen to The Spazmatics, the greatest 80's cover band in existence. I had a total, joyful BLAST, and am so glad I went! Above is a photo from Saturday night, a mere 5 hours before my morning alarm went off (from left to right, that's Tracy the birthday girl, me, Amy, and George).

Needless to say, I slept through my entire flight the next morning. I remember taxiing away from the gate, and the next thing I knew, I was awakened by the words, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent into Denver." There was an unopened bag of peanuts sitting on my tray table, which, of course, I had to immediately put in the locked and upright position.

The Gospel Music Association Festival!

Hey Dear Friends and Family! I am currently at the Gospel Music Association Festival in Estes Park, Colorado. This is a week-long convention for Christian singers and musicians, and it provides incredible opportunities to learn the biz, meet with industry professionals, network with other musicians, and make friends from all over the country. At this writing, I have been here for four days, and I have to tell you, I am having the MOST wonderful time! The whole thing has exceeded my expectations and has been worth every penny I had to spend to get here (read: it cost me lots and lots of pennies). ;-)

I have not had much time at the computer, as they keep us busy from about 8:00am until 11:00pm. BUT...I have been keeping a daily journal of the week's highlights and have decided to post them here for your reading pleasure. All of the cabins have wi-fi, so this will be easy for me to do, as long I have can find enough time in the day to do it! I will give a day-by-day account, so that you can just read a little at a time, and not have to peruse through a Christmas Letter-esque essay.

Thanks for indulging me. Chat with ya soon!
Kristin