Lael musings

2011-09-18T11:28:00.001-05:00

Grace=getting something I do not deserve
Mercy=not getting something I do deserve

2011-03-10T12:39:00.001-06:00

Watched an AMAZING film last night. French movie called "Les Choristes". Gotta check it out!

2010-12-11T10:55:00.001-06:00

Vacation here I come!!

2010-10-13T00:21:00.001-05:00

Goodnight birthday. I'll miss you! See you next year.

2010-10-07T20:49:00.001-05:00

Just saw advanced screening of "It's Kind of a Funny Story.". AMAZING! Go see it!

2010-08-19T11:32:00.001-05:00

Getting numbed at the dentist

2010-08-17T07:24:00.001-05:00

Gathering 4 Guys! Don't miss out on this! It'll change your life

2010-08-15T14:03:00.001-05:00

Loved thumpin the bass this AM. Now we just need to get Rooster, Poorboy, and Willy and all head "Down on the Corner."

2010-05-26T23:27:00.001-05:00

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
â€” Gerald R. Ford

2010-05-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

"Chimes of Canaan" in the Studio today at Studio IV!

2010-04-25T07:07:00.001-05:00

Daily Pun:
I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.

2010-04-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

Daily Pun:
Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

2010-04-23T08:19:00.001-05:00

Pun for the day:
A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.

2010-03-18T21:31:00.001-05:00

NCAA Tourney...Possibly the best sports event all year! GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!

2010-03-08T11:44:00.001-06:00

AWESOME session last night at Studio IV. Come check us out sometime. Great music is still being made.

2010-03-05T13:16:00.001-06:00

Sun is Shining! Life is good! I love living in Nashville.

House Concert Season Starting Up

2008-04-07T11:57:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,
It has been a busy winter, and I'm looking forward to a busy and productive spring. If you would like to have a concert in the comfort of your home, please contact me. We can set up a great party and one that will have everyone talking for years to come.
For more info, please check out ConcertsInYourHome.com
Have a great day, more to post soon.

Look in My Eyes

2007-09-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I was privilaged to record "Look In My Eyes" for Mike Bauer. He and another Nashville artist penned the song, and felt my voice would be perfect for it. It was such a great experience, and I want to say thanks to Mike and Kata for giving me that opportunity. Also thank you Kristen for all the coaching and improvements! The song came out great, and when mixing/finalization is complete, I'll post it here and on my website.

The song was written for an independent movie, which is in production. The idea sounds cool, and I can't wait to see the movie. When complete, I'll also put a link here, so stay tuned!

Have a great week, and let me know about any of your projects!

Don't forget about the house concert on Sept 15!

Phenomenal Guitar Players

2007-09-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

I was looking around myspace the other day, and came across this guitar player named Erik Mongrain.

He has this awesome way of playing the guitar. His song Percusienfa is here.

While there, check out Air Tap too! It is so cool.

Another great artist who is similar but different (does that make any sense?) is Rodney Branigan. Check him out too!

Leave a comment for any other great videos you have of unique guitar players!

Concert In Your Home

2007-08-28T07:55:00.000-05:00

The new trend in concerts and live performance is House Concerts. Last year at the Americana Music Conference, house concerts were the topic of conversation.

The format is something like this. Everyone arrives at the house carrying a dish to share. The concert starts with about a 45 minute set. At the end of the set, there is a break, and everyone shares in the pot luck. This allows the artist and crowd to mingle, talk, and communicate. Then, the artist finishes the evening with another set, usually 45 minutes.

If the host decides to have 2 artists, they will split the evening with one taking the first, and the other the second. Sometimes, they will play together as well, which is a special treat!

During the evening, the host usually passes a bowl/jar/hat/anything to collect a suggested donation (usually $10-$15). This goes to the artist(s) to help with traveling/living costs. The artist also usually has CDs for sale as well.

For the audience members, this provides an opportunity to go out for a special evening with live music, dinner, friends, all without having to battle the "downtown" crowd, deal with smoky atmosphere (for those sensitive) , and poor sound. This is all for a "suggested" donation, which even at $15 each will save money over "going out on the town."

This new format is quickly growing, and becoming a favorite for all musicians, from veteran musicians to up-and-coming artists.

If you are interested in hosting or checking out more information you can click here or e-mail me. There are tons of resources on the web, so feel free to google House Concerts as well.

There will be a house concert on Sept. 15th here in Nashville TN. E-mail me for directions, and come check it all out.

Kim Richey

2007-08-25T10:40:00.000-05:00

So about a month ago, I'm at work and Stef calls me and says...."if there was a someone coming in town for a concert, and it was in your top 3 of people to see of all time, would you want to go." So I'm like DEFINATELY!!! Long story short, she tells me it is Kim Richey, the best songwriter of ALL time! No joke. Check her out. Her craft and lyrics are phenomenal! No comparison. Tell me of someone else who has the ability to craft words in such a way. I bet you can't.
Anyway, we went to the concert at the Belcourt. Great intimate setting and it sounded AWESOME!!!
So after she gets a standing O for about 5 minutes, she comes back out to do an encore. I hollered out for her to do "Hello Old Friend." She didn't think she could remember it, but..did it anyway. SO GREAT! Didn't even mess up.

So, if that wasn't enough, she did about a 30 min encore finishing with a great rendition of "What a Wonderful World."
When we walk out the back of the theatre, she was standing there for a meet and greet. So, not only did I get to meet her

but she signed my guitar too!

Completely awesome.
Stef had her sign the CD covers, and she was gracious enough to sign one for a friend too. ("Mike, where the heck were you?")
Anyway, the best concert I have ever been to, and a completely wonderful evening!

Emmylou

2007-06-02T20:25:00.000-05:00

This past week we went to a really AWESOME concert. The Franklin Factory is hosting a series called Wednesday Night Wags. It raises money for the humane society. About 2PM on the night of the concert, I got a call from my next door neighbor. She is big into the movie industry, and was doing some shoots down in the area. Her boss asked her if she would like to ask some friends to come to the concert for free. So enter the 2PM invitation. We didn't have anything planned, so off to the concert we went.

It was so good. Performing with Emmylou were three great musicians. They had some fantastic harmonies, and really put on a top-notch show.
After the concert, we stopped by Logans for a bite to eat. All in all it was a great evening! (even if we did forget the van at the mall) :-)

Singing Sunday

2007-02-25T19:32:00.000-06:00

I spent my Sunday at Silver Springs Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet, TN. It was a nice church. I got there EARLY! (not really, but had to get up around 6AM) to lead two services. The first was at 8:30 AM and suprisingly was bigger than the second service at 11AM. However, both were good, and I had a great time leading them in worship (despite the allergy induced "cold" I have).

We rushed back home, stopping by the mall to check on our kiosk, and then had some lunch. We rested for a few minutes then headed off to FPU. We are currently going through the Dave Ramsey plan for getting out of debt. Praise the Lord we have paid off our first debt since beginning the plan!! :-) We are so excited. There is still a lot to go, but we are "baby steppin" our way through it.

Have a great week, and I'll try to post about my exciting day at ENCO tomorrow.

A Great Party!

2007-02-24T22:52:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to write a quick note and thank Courtney and Daniel Rose for having us to thier house this evening. It was a great party. We had some awesome chicken tenders and squash and twiced baked potatoes. Then it was polished off with some smoothies topped with supposedly "light" cool whip. Either way it was SO good.
Thanks again guys...(I won't Mad Gab that to make you figure it out :-) )
More tomorrow on what's going on around here, but for now, I'm off to get rested up for tomorrow. I'm leading worship at Silver Springs Baptist Church in Mt Juliet. Stop by if you're in the area! I would love to worship with you!
Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Posters, (Am I Back in Jr. High?)

2007-02-02T21:12:00.000-06:00

I was referred to this site: Posters by this guy and just had a ball. Here is my first (of hopefully not too many) submissions to the great inspirational catalogue.

Were you inspired? Let me know what you think!

Remodel

2006-09-29T01:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't written for the past few days because....I have been remodeling the bathroom. As some of you know we had a water leak back in June, and ever since have been remodeling the whole house.

Most is done now, but we still hadn't got to some of the smaller areas.

So, because Stef was having a Pampered Chef party tommorrow, it meant I got to begin remodeling. She is a great help though! We started Monday night sanding and staining the stairs. Apparently, I don't know how to put on stain, because still today it is not fully dry, and it ended up being darker than I thought. Oh well, now I know for the next time (Please say there won't be a next time, please say there won't........).
Anyway, while we were waiting for that to dry, I built some shelves in the storage shed, then organized that. Then hung some new lighting in the kitchen, and then demolished the old sink, and began laying flooring and installing a new sink. Oh yeah, and we painted in there. So about 20 trips to Lowes and more money than I care to think about later, we are more on our way. At least the house looks presentable. I still have TONS of work though. None of the quarter round has been laid, and I haven't laid any transitions yet. I'm also debating on whether or not to do the closets. Jury is still out.
Then I have to replace or fix our dishwasher (it was recalled), change a few remaining water lines, paint a few more rooms, go to the store with Stef and get decorations, and then somehow take time to enjoy the things I'm putting in the house.
It is fun though and I'm having a good time learning all the things (even if it is the hard way).
Well I'm going to go for now and get some R&R.
Have a good one, and if you need anything fixed, you know who to call!
Andrew
no, not me, someone who knows what they're doing. JJ, you can call me too. :-)

What a week!

2006-09-26T14:07:00.000-05:00

I'm back home, and wow, what a week it has been! I got home Monday night, Tues morning, and the next day, I was told about a conference that was in town. So, Wed. Morn, bright and early, Stef and I headed downtown for the conference. It was with the Americana Music Association, and it was AWESOME! Tons of great info, and getting to meet and talk with fellow musicians. MMM...good times :-)
So, while I was there, I was given the opportunity to play in a Songwriter's night. It was so much fun! I am supposed to play again this Friday.
This was my first songwriter night. I will be playing more songwriter nights very soon. I have quite a few new songs that I'm looking forward to showing you. Let me know if you're interested in having me perform. I am also going to be doing more house concerts. If you would like me to come play in your living room, let me know. E-mail me at andrew@andrewlael.com
For now, it is time to get busy on finalizing those songs!
Until next time,
Andrew

Howdy, Stranger

2006-09-17T19:47:00.000-05:00

Okay,
I know it's been about six months since I have posted, but like all good ideas, they start out strong, and then slowly fizzle out.
So, I'm giving this a go, one more time. I'm writing this on my last day of selling EZ-Buns. I am excited about being home, and getting more involved with my church and friends and music. So, stay tuned for more info on my musical journey.
Later!

Day 2 of Daytona Rally

2006-04-08T22:50:00.000-05:00

Ok,
Here I am again, late and in a rush to post because everyone else has gone to bed. I'm sure the tapping of the keys are going to annoy some, but, I will try to keep it short. I promised some pics, so here they are.

First, we are at the Daytona 500 Speedway, right in the smack center of the track. I go by the pit area every day, so for any of you Nascar fans, all I have to say is HAHAHAHAH :-)
Here are a few shots of us driving out tonight.

Pretty cool huh? As you could see in some of the pics, there are RVs galore! It is a "rally" for Rv'ers and boy what an interesting bunch. I never would have know it, but it is whole community and lifestyle. It is crazy! And so many people!!! Boy, unbelievable. I snapped this pic of an RV right out the door of our booth. I'm not sure right now, but I think that I would enjoy something like this one day.

Finally, I thought some of you may want to see what I see all day, while working. Actually, this is what you would see if you came to visit me. If you're lucky, I may give you the "speal" too :-)

I'm outta here for tonight. Hopefully, I'll check back in tommorrow.
SEEYA!

First Day of The Rally

2006-04-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

Today I am in Daytona, and I know I promised pics of the track, but... I didn't do it today. Sorry, maybe tommorrow.

Anyway, today there were SO many people. I cannot believe it. It was hot and sticky, and they still came. Do that many of you out there LOVE RVs and RV merchandise that much? I would never have gone to one of these. But, I guess that's what makes the world go round. Different strokes for different folks huh? Overall, it was a good day, but...I am not looking forward to tommorrow. It is supposed to be hotter and rain, so...we'll see how crazy that is. Hopefully, it will make the folks come inside where we are and buy, buy, buy :-)

It does make for some fun with the Airzooka though. Maybe that is what I will discuss tommorrow. It is so awesome and makes for some great laughs.

Anyway, I better get outta here tonight.

See ya tommorrow

The fun of flying!

2006-04-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

Ok,
Today we flew from Houston to Orlando. Our flight departed at 7:40 and we arrived at the airport at 6:55AM. After checking in and heading to our terminal, we got stopped in the security line for 40 minutes!!!! There was only one group checking in a whole terminal, so...we were stuck. To make a long story umm longer, we get to the gate with the plane still there. But...they wouldn't let us on. We had to go to the next flight and wait standby. It all worked out, because our friends Derrick and Lisa, who were picking us up needed a few extra minutes...but it was very frustrating!

We got here ok, and have had a great rest of the day. We set up for our show. It is pretty cool. We are set up in the middle of the track for the Daytona 500. It is pretty impressive. That place is HUGE! I will try to get a few pics to post here.

There is also a large stage set up, and I'm going to see if I can get a chance to play, but it will be very lucky if it happens. I don't have my guitar, so I will have to use someone elses. Anyway, it is something to hope for at least.

Until tommorrow (or the next chance I get to write)
See Ya!

Friends and Family

2006-04-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

Well, (deep subject huh?)
We have spent the last few days with family, and today Stef and I visited my former place of employment. It was good to catch up on all the "news" and info. Lucky for us, everyone thought we looked so good and refreshed. I believe we told the same stories to about 10 different people, so hopefully, I didn't reapeat anything to anyone.

It was interesting to return and see how on one hand, things have changed, but on the other, things were the same. Some hairstyles were different, some had lost weight, others the opposite, but, there was still the same things there. Most still hated their job, were looking for retirement, and had some problem with someone else there. It made me appreciative for what I have now. God has blessed Stef and I so much! We are able to spend our time together, we travel around the US meeting so may different and unique people, and we are able to make a little money as well.

It really makes me take life into perspective. Why is America so obsessed with making themselves miserable day after day with the "grind?" It is so much better to enjoy life and whatever comes your way. There is enough that comes at you that will make you worry, why complicate it? And are the fancy "toys" worth it? It is funny how fast the "toys" aren't worth it. Last night I went to Frys (perhaps the best tech store in the world) and found a 300 gig hard drive! :-) I was so excited! It was cheap and a good speed. But in probably less than a year, that is going to be full and not a good deal. Same with my TV. I bought a 53" widescreen HDTV a year and a half ago. The technology is so "old" now that I need to upgrade in order to get something "decent." Or so I think. All my friends come over and are amazed, wowed, and impressed with how great it is, but to me, it is "old school." I can't believe how soon the "love" for things wears off.

I am so fickle in my thoughts and ideas and wants. Will this ever change? Will I be satisfied? When does it become enough. Shaun Groves has a great blog on this he wrote a while back. Check it out here. http://readshlog.blogspot.com/2005/08/enough.html

What do you think? Is the "grind" worth it? Will consumerism ever subside? Maybe end? What will it take to make that happen?

The big number one!

2006-04-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

Ok,
Now how many of you are actually going to read this, there is no telling, but...I am going to begin posting my $1.5o here and also some of my encouters and happenings. Now that I am on the road, I'm getting to meet all kinds of interesting people and funny things. So...

Today I'm sitting in Houston, Tx visiting with family. Stef and I just got done with a show at Mule Days in Columbia, TN, and flew out last night to Houston. It was a nice flight (probably because there were only 8 people on the flight) and right on time. Thanks Contenintal.

On the music front, good things are happening. I have been writing, and have a new song that I getting good response from. I have been meeting with SESAC and they are very excited about this song. I am working on my work tape right now, and getting ready to go into the studio for a demo. Once that is done, my contact at SESAC is going to start showing it to people. Not really earthshattering, but...a step in the right direction! Once I get a good copy of the song, I'll post it on myspace at.... http://www.myspace.com/andrewlael

I will try and post a few more songs (remember in work form, so rough) and I would like your input on which songs are your favorite. I am making an "independent" album of about 5 or 6 songs to start out with, so I would like some input.

Ok, well I will end my first (official) blog now, and get started with my "life" so I can return and tell you all about it...(like you really want to know :-) )

So until then, keep living, and enjoy life!
Andrew