Check it out…
http://www.myspace.com/matthewduhonmusic
Matt was my student worship team leader for a year while I was at CFNI. A really amazing man of God, Matt has finally completed his first album. I had the blessing of recording a little piano on it. Have a listen…not because of me, but because it’s a great album and definitely worth a listen.
The album is coming out on June 16th…preorder now!
I’ve been loosely following the progression of this indie artist for a few years now. Her first album, “Rumor of Flight”, came out a few years ago. I’ve heard several songs and they are all quite good. Unfortunately, I never got to see her play a show, even though she used to perform (somewhat) nearby in the Philadelphia area. However, now she’s in Los Angeles and working on her second album, “Who is Sukey Rose?”
I like Mia. She’s a great songwriter: good lyrics + music that’s easy to love and play over and over and over again. (A favorite of mine is “Here With Me”, an earlier one of hers but a great example of her amazing ability to craft meaningful, poetic lyrics and beautiful, attention-holding music.) She’s also launched this really great concept on her website to build support for the project and independent music. She’s raising the money herself and also giving people the opportunity of being a voice in the creation of the project through polls (for example, a recent one was on the choosing of which song title you preferred). And through it all, Mia’s posts on her blog help document the process of the rather large undertaking of recording an album. It kind of reminds me of Imogen Heap…I think she did something similar a few years ago, that is, she put up polls to get people’s opinions of lyrics and such. It also helped keep her accountable to keep on working on the album.
Anyhow, I thought this was a neat idea, and I encourage you to check out the site!
A lot of stuff has happened since last month…stuff for which I am sure you are just on the edge of your seat in anticipation. 
- recorded some piano for Matt Duhon’s upcoming worship album. I really look forward to its release; Matt is a true worshiper and a great songwriter.
- CFNI just released its latest live worship recording, Desperate Hour, and, like last year, I’m listed in the credits under the string section.
- gained some painful, but “it’s-all-part-of-life” life experience. ‘Nuff said.
- played at a Women’s Conference for my church (Faith Christian Center) yesterday and today.
- oh yeah, I graduated from CFNI with a diploma in Practical Theology.
Riveting news, eh? 
Is it really April already?! The year is flying by. As you can tell, I’ve been so diligently keeping this site up-to-date (ha), but I thought I’d give you a little update anyway.
There have been several new songs rolling around in my cranial cavity as of late, but words are a different story. There are a lot of songs on the back burner for now…marinating, if you will. But there has been some progress: back in January I wrote a new song (in a matter of a few days, believe it or not) entitled “It Was Me”, a very different song from my usual fare. It is, in fact, a love song! *gasp* Or rather, the lack thereof…it’s about unrequited love. While it’s not exactly written from personal experience, who hasn’t experienced that feeling of being into someone…and they’re just not that into you? I think the appeal in this one lies in that pretty much everyone can relate.
Good news: I have a new opportunity to do some recording! Family friend Jeff Hastings has been gracious enough to help me out. We recorded a rough demo of “It Was Me” and “Let It Go”. It went really well…it’s just been a struggle to find time in my schedule to do some more work on it. This season has been way busier than normal and music has also been on the back burner…marinating.
Marinating is a good thing. It implies a season of soaking in the good things so that the finished product is mmm mmm. It might look like things are coming around slowly, and yeah, they are… But in the midst of the slowness, I’m able to think and chew a bit more on some things. Also, there’s a lot of life experience happening right now…and I don’t doubt God will turn it into a fresh well from which to draw new song ideas.
Anyways, it’s late (why do I always seem to write these things ridiculously late at night…or rather, early in the morning?!), but I hope this will suffice to give the masses (masses = all 2 of you who read this) something new to talk about at the water cooler on Monday.
Haha.
There is something about the freshness of a new year that’s just downright invigorating to me. Granted, there’s nothing extraordinarily different between the day of December 31st and the day of January 1st, but with the turn of the calendar comes forth a new batch of a dozen untainted months…blank slates, if you will. And I have a particular weakness for blank things. When I was little, I used to walk down stationery aisles and get excited over blank composition books and notebooks…and buy them “just in case” I ever felt like trying my hand at a novel. Or a three-act play. Or a manifesto.
Just kidding.
Anyways…I’m excited to see what unfolds in 2008. There is a lot I hope to accomplish and much I hope to see come to pass, God willing. “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless, the Lord’s counsel - that will stand.” (Prov. 19:21) And while I am anxious to scribble all over my brand-new Van Gogh-themed calendar with important dates and notes, I am even more anxious to see what dates and notes He will be making…and what will stand a year from now.
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”
It’s finally turning cool(er) out here in Dallas now…a whopping 70 degrees kind of cool. 
October is a beautiful month for this otherwise sweltering city.
I realize it’s been quiet here the past few months…but nevertheless, it’s been a good season for writing! I wrote a new song on *gasp* guitar in late August, and it really only sounds cool on guitar. (Watch out, Van Halen.)
There’s another song I started writing over the summer that had a sweet Coldplay-meets-the-Beatles vibe to it. Like many of my songs, I got through a verse and a chorus before banging my head into that wretched wall known as writer’s block that seems to plague everyone at one time or another. In fact, there are only perhaps 2 or 3 songs that I have ever written in a single day. Most of my music has spanned over months, sometimes even over a year. Usually, the following occurs
But back to that song…so I started it in probably early July and then shelved it until a few weeks ago. It’s a song about the first step in any healing process, which involves letting all those emotions out, whether it be by crying, screaming…running over your cheating husband with a car (JUST KIDDING…I don’t condone murder. Or manslaughter)… Anyways…I wrote this song for the people that tend to keep their hurt pent up inside, the ones who hold it all back in the name of being strong…the ones who stuff it down so far that it starts to kill them on the inside. I think I’m going to call it “Let It Go”. The climax comes with a driving instrumental part…a part that I pray and believe the Holy Spirit is going to use to break down walls and help people release. Songs might as well go beyond entertainment and actually be useful…because I know that God certainly works through music (hey, the old testament musicians even prophesied with their instruments! How cool is that?!). So, to sum it up, the actual concept is reminiscent of U2’s “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” (AMAZING song, by the way) and Switchfoot’s “Let It Go”.
And finally…there’s a new one I just started a few days ago…the working title is “Over Me”. And I think I’m on step 2 and creeping on to step 3…
So whaddya think of the new layout? I got a little tired of looking at a Japanese-maple-in-the-fall template when it’s the beginning of SUMMER! New season, new layout…I dig it. And hope you do, too. (And once again, my amazing big bro helped tweak the site for me.)
It’s been a whirlwind past couple of weeks. First off, I just got back from a 3-week missions trip to the Philippines and Malaysia. It was an intense but incredible time. There’s too much to explain and describe in one post, but I hope to expound a little bit more on the trip later. I’m still digesting some things.
Also, the new CFNI worship album came out in May: “The Great Xchange.” Check it out at www.cfnmusic.com. I had the privilege of co-writing the cello part on “That’s How You Love Me” as well as backing up the string section on the night of the recording. It was a ton of fun…I LOVE anything to do with strings!
Aaaanndd…there’s new music up! 
Finally! Check out the music section to hear the songs I recorded over the past semester. Special thanks to Kenny Calderon for all the time and energy he put into making it happen. The man is amazing.
So, that’s about it for now…enjoy the newness!
Alright folks, it looks like this MONDAY is the day…the day I finish up the editing/mixing/mastering/whatever with Kenny. It turns out we only had time to work on two songs (a remake of Where Were You and a new one, Through the Ages)…but at least we did ‘em! So by the end of the day on Monday I should be holding a cd in my hands.
Well, lads and lassies, here’s some long-awaited good news: I’m back in the studio. God opened the doors for me to record some songs here on campus, and I’m uber-grateful to Him for Kenny, the kind soul that is graciously willing to record me and be oh-so-very patient with me.
Lessee…on Monday we laid down the piano track and vocals for “Through the Ages”, the hymn I finally finished. I’m thinking it’d be cool to add a cello part to it…maybe even a little bit of acoustic guitar licks…maybe…but really just keep it simple and sweet. Natural, organic, acoustic.
And tonight (well, technically last night…since it IS 2 am on Sunday morning), I FINALLY rerecorded “Where Were You” in such a way that I’m very pleased with the outcome. Tonight we pretty much did it all…laid down piano, cello, vocals, background vocals, and a li’l bit of string pads (which sound decent on a Yamaha S90) to fill it out some more. Usually string pads sound cheesy, but I think these shall suffice for now. Of course, there’s mixing and some editing to be done yet, but it’s great to get an entire song out of the way. [Insert sigh of jubilation here]
So, friends, I ask that you pray for me during this season of recording…that it would be productive, satisfying, a quick process that will be completed before school lets out in May, but most of all, that God would be pleased and that He would sing through me…because all the niceties of ProTools and studios and great music or a great voice really don’t mean a thing if it doesn’t touch people. And that’s something that God’s Spirit can do in a way that I would never be able to do.
It’s all from Him and for Him, anyways.
Good night, friends, and happy Palm Sunday to you! <3
So if you’ve never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you shan’t understand that title.
But I am alive!! And well. Crazy busy (but what else is new?) with school, work, music, RA duties, preparing for a missions trip I’m taking this summer…and so this site would have continued to fall by the wayside if it were not for my stinkin’ awesome big brother, John T. So I credit him with pretty much anything that you think looks cool on this site.
What’s new with me…um, well, school continues to be amazing. More specifically, God continues to be amazing. I like God. He’s nice. He’s a good Dad…always loving, even when I make mistakes (no matter how big or how tiny). And He gives healthy, I-love-you-so-I-need-to-tell-you-this guidance and correction. Like, right now, He’s reminding me to keep in touch with my familia…which I’ve been doing a lousy job of lately. (Sorry, family!) So if you haven’t heard from me in a while, don’t feel too bad…my ‘rents (let alone the rest of my immediate family) haven’t even heard from me… :/
So I think this site is pretty cool. And I think I’m going to try to keep it updated…the updated coolness factor of it (compared to my old layout) may help me be more motivated to update.
Ciao!
Kim