Monday, June 26, 2006

SOFT ROCKIN' ON THE AIR?

I love writing music. It's how I unwind, ponder, question, and muse. I didn't imagine or dream of anything outside of playing for those I love in an upstairs room of a church or a coffe house. I sang this morning at my church, here in Waco. My song was about where God is in the suffering of people throughout the world, especially the children in Northern Uganda. I didn't try to answer the question, but pose it.

I plugged Invisible Children before singing, just to get the message out - the children were my reason for singing this morning. So, I plugged in my Yamaha, and let it go.

My voice was scratchy; I've had sinus problems since Thursday. I don't much care for my voice in the first place. While it's gotten better, I still don't think it sounds all that good. My singing voice has been known in the past to scare puppies and small children.

But I sang. And after the service I was approached by a good friend of mine. She works as a radio DJ and her bosslady person was also there in the service this morning. Somehow (only God it could have been) I was asked if I would be interested in having my music played on air at KBDE. The people that make those descisions are aparently the ones who made this decision. Aparently they like my music, and they really will play my stuff on the air if I get them recordings. The station is part of the American Family Radio Network, and it's a local branch, but apprently have some influence/control with other stations. It would be played in the evenings, and then eventually thoughout the day on several stations throughout the country, as I understand it.

Honestly, this scares the mess out of me! I'm confortable with the Common Grounds (you Waco folk know what I'm talking about) arenas. I like small intimate atmospheres. I'm guess just not really confortable with large audiences - of course I've never had experience with really large audiences before to get used to the idea. But oh well, God doesn't call us to comfort, right? He calls us to make his glory, name, and grace known to everyone we come into contact with.

And if this is a way to make God known and praised, then it's worth a leap of faith. It just kinda weird, different, and cool at all the same time. (Sort of like AskaNinja.com)

It's really hard for any idie artist to get airplay on any radio stations, even local ones - let alone regional or national stations. Indie CD's that are delivered to stations are usually filed in the trash can upon arrival. I'll walk through this door (although my foot is shaking as I write this), but I'll need some prayer. This really was not the direction I thought God (actually I) wanted my music to take. But still, here I am - with this opportunity.

I think I'm just expecting to wake up with my Snoopy alarm going off and the whole 'it's a dream' thing to set in. I'll keep yall posted on what goes down. I'd appreciate your prayers as well.

-JC

4 comments:

Chris said...

suh-WEET.

I played a gig of my own music once. I was dating my wife, at the time, and I was a worship leader for the UR chapter of Campus Crusade. I was asked by another CCC group at a neighboring college to play a concert; apparently, they liked my worship leading or something. So my girlfriend, my roommate, and a few friends slapped a concert together.

It was awesome! I got to hear my music played, and my favorite part, my Dad got to hear it. He didn't know I'd written all the music, so it was so cool when he said (to my mom later), "that was great, where did he find such diverse music?" and my mom got to say, "honey, he wrote all of that." Still gives me tingles thinking about it ...

Anonymous said...

cool cruz,
God is pretty amazing isn't He? I will pray for you. Common Grounds is probably one of my favorite Waco places. Caffeine, good music, good friends. Where ever you play, you will be honoring Him. Rock on, bro.

theboythatis said...

You wanted to be a soft rocker, here's your chance. Your music is inspiring, and your attitude about it is astounding. God has truly blessed you with the gift of music. Keep on rockin' bro. God bless and good luck!

cruz-control said...

Thanks so much for all yall's support. I can still use your prayers.