Pitch Pipecast: Episode 3

I have posted the 2nd half of the interview with Alan Beard of True Lift Ministries. You can find it at pitchpipepro.com. You'll also hear news about Rescue Ministries, Acafest, and a preview of episode 4 (I feel like George Lucas).

Or, as always, you can download the Pipecast right now directly with this link.

Excelsior!

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 2

I have just posted episode 2 of the Pitch Pipecast. I had a great conversation with Alan Beard of True Lift Ministries in Thousand Oaks, CA. Since 2003, Alan and Jeremy Johnson have joined forces to deliver a truly excellent singing ministry. True Lift has released five albums, three of which are excellent renditions of old and cherished hymns. Our conversation was right at 30 minutes, so I decided to make this Pipecast a 2-parter.

As always, you can find the Pipecast at pitchpipepro.com. Or, you can download the podcast directly from this link. Enjoy!

~Gary

Ashley of Narnia

Here's a picture of my daughter, Ashley. We're not sure, but we think she may have been one of the Ice Queen's dwarves in the Chronicles of Narnia. Either that or maybe she's actually Stumpy or Bumpy from Snow White. Or maybe she's related to the Amish folk from central Missouri where my Mom's side of the family comes from.

Or maybe she went a little haywire with her ponytails on the last day of school.

Nah.... I vote for Stumpy.

Doolittle Rant

In my opinion, the best singer of the past several seasons was voted off American Idol tonight. The two who are left, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks, are good singers, but they can't even touch Melinda Doolittle's heels. She stands so far above them it is laughable.

It's just another example of the lack of talent in the music industry effecting what America thinks real talent should be. The label execs have foisted so much garbage on us that we think it smells good, and anything that doesn't smell like what they throw at us must not be good either. So real talent, like Melinda Doolittle, gets tossed aside in favor of a cute 17-year old and a beat boxer who can't quite stay in tune.

It's a shame, and everyone on that show knew it. You could tell by the look on their faces. So now they can take the winner and mold him/her to look like all the other stuff out there. That's okay. Let Melinda do her own thing. Her talent will shine through whatever she does.

On the same topic, someone should vote Ryan Seacrest off the show. I'm really getting tired of his elementary antics and jabs toward Simon.

My girl's off the show. On to 24 and Heroes.

Pitch Pipecast Launch

I am using this particular entry to announce the launch of my new podcast, or in this case a pipecast. Starting today you can catch the Pitch Pipecast on a somewhat regular basis. There is a large and devoted core fan base out there for Christian a cappella music. My new podcast will deliver news, reviews and interviews of the artists who do this music well.

Eventually my own URL (pitchpipepro.com), will point to the site. But for now you can listen in at http://pitchpipecast.libsyn.com. UPDATE: The URL pitchpipepro.com now works for the new podcast home.

If all goes well, it should be available on iTunes within the next couple of weeks. Or you can listen to it right here:

Pitch Pipecast: Episode #1

There's a lot to come. I hope you enjoy it. ~Gary

GCR Missions: India

Here is an update we are showing this weekend on the work in Northeast India. I had the chance to shoot and edit this video. Our normal AV guy (who is amazing) is snowed under with tons of other things. So it falls to me.

For those of you who are familiar with the work GCR supports, this is about Gary Tate and Joe Crabtree. They reference the continued work of Dimbeswar Burman, Shyam Salam, and Dr. Tarun Mahanta.

The Price of a Ride

A few months ago, when the price of gasoline rose dramatically, there was a great outcry from the masses... so much that Congress jumped into the middle of it. Prices dropped back down.

Up to now I have believed the pundits when they stammer on about supply and demand, etc. But once again, just as vacation time rolls around, prices have jumped. Here's an article from the Santa Monica Mirror that will certainly make your conspiracy radar jump. And another from the Salem News. And yet another from the Arizona Daily Star. I could go on. Google is my friend.

All I know is that it cost my wife $35 to fill her tank in her small economy car. I'm living in the heart of oil country. You can't throw a rock in this town without hitting an oil exec and we are paying $2.95 per gallon. My feelings for the oil industry are approaching my level of ire for Microshaft. UPDATE: As of May 13, gas is now $3.09.

But then I guess I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me (he shakes his head in slight frustration).