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The Monday Mojo – Loops In Worship

Posted by Jaydubbs On March - 8 - 2010

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

The Mojo for this week is another great resource for all of you worship leaders incorporating some form of electronic music programming into your music sets. For quite a while now, there was not a whole lot of really good sites or places where you could locate usable loops or tracks to use during leading worship. For a season there was Sacred Loops, but that site seems to be getting less and less contributors…and it was a little hodge podge at times as well. Bwack’s Forum can be a cool place to discuss methods of programming and talk gear with other forum members, even directly from David Crowder Band dudes. But even there, it’s a bit difficult to hunt down great programmed tracks or sounds that people are sharing.

So when I ran across Loops In Worship, I was pleasantly surprised.  liwlogo

Finally, there was a resource and well laid out website where you could easily find loops and program sounds that are actually really good, and with the distinct purpose for use in a worship music setting. Granted, you won’t find really any “tracks” for actual songs that have been created like you might in Sacred Loops or Bwacks Forum. But you will find useful sounds that you can use to easily build your own tracks inside a program like Ableton Live, Reason, or Garageband in a short time.

All the sounds you will find at Loops In Worship come with a small charge, usually less than $20 for a large package of them, but you know what they always say…”you pay for what you get”. And that doesn’t change here. You pay a little, but again you get some great sounds that will go a long way to build another layer into your sound.

The Monday Mojo – Using A Click or Metronome

Posted by Jaydubbs On February - 15 - 2010

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

Lets get straight to the point here. If you are a worship leader/musician in the church and you’re not implementing a click or metronome during your music sets, you are severely limiting yourself and your ministry in terms of versatility & musicianship/talent. I will explain my thoughts on why that is below, but first, there is a prerequisite before you can begin piping in click to your players…you must have the ability to use in-ear monitors (IEM’s).ROL-DB-90

In-ears vs. wedge monitors are a whole other discussion, so I’m not going to focus on that, but the bottom line is you can’t use a click if you are only using wedges for your monitor feeds.

If you have the capability to use IEM’s, it would be ideal to have all your musicians and vocalists on click, meaning that they all have the ability to hear the click. At bare minimum, just having the drummer on click would raise the level of musicianship significantly once your players are accustomed to it a bit. Here’s 3 reasons you should be using a click: Read the rest of this entry »

Weekend In A Nutshell

Posted by Jaydubbs On February - 9 - 2010

This last weekend, we took a trip to Seattle to check out a possible new opportunity to join a new church community called Bethany Community Church and lead the music ministry. We came away with a ton of thoughts and ideas. Here’s a conclusion to our weekend visit to the Emerald City without all the crazy details…think 30,000 foot flyover.IMG_0129

Seattle – That city is the straight up jam. Really. I could spend a whole other week just walking around downtown. I’ve yet, in my life, to come across a city with more culture, grittiness, fantastic design, and color. You have the city lights. You have water. And you have natural beauty all around wherever you look. We loved it! Jess thinks she would love the gray skies and drizzle all the time…not sure how it would fit me. But the catch-22 here is that, without the climate and weather that Seattle goes through, the city wouldn’t have the particular beauty that it does.

Seattle: 2 thumbs up

Chelsea Station Inn - This is the bed and breakfast that we stayed at over the weekend, and it was probably one of the coolest places we’ve stayed at in a long time. It was sort of a small apartment inside a renovated old building right across the street from the zoo & a huge park called Woodland Park. Every morning we crept downstairs where the innkeepers would make a ridiculously good breakfast from scratch! Some of the nicest people ever there as well. Check out the Chelsea here.

Chelsea Station Inn: 2 thumbs up

Flying/traveling with a 15 month old rambunctious boy - Don’t get me wrong, I love my son Cruz like crazy…I just didn’t like him that much over the weekend. He was like a different kid, I swear. I’m sure there was at least 8 people on our flights that would’ve duct taped his mouth shut if they could have. Including me. Southwest Airlines made our flying time as comfortable as they possibly could, but even they couldn’t fix Cruz “uncomfortability” every single time I had to change his diaper in a 3×3 airplane bathroom. Picture evidence A:

IMG_0125

Cruz & flying: 2 thumbs down…and in to my ears because Cruz is screaming.

Bethany Community Church – What an incredible community. These guys are excited about where God has led them until now and are rampant in seeing God awaken hearts in their local community. Pastor Richard Dahlstrom is a tremendous teacher and such a down to earth dude, that you get to experience his real heart in the first 10 minutes of hanging with him. They have a slew of worshipers who are stoked to be part of serving Gods people in music with their various talents. And trust me, these peeps have talent.

Bethany: 2 big thumbs up

You’ll have to wait a bit to hear where we are thinking of landing in our search for a new church community to be a part of or whether we’ll be in Scottsdale or Seattle. We are still processing a bit with various people and praying about the situation, but you friends will know sooner than later.

Thanks for your prayers and support over the weekend, we have been SO blessed to have people like you behind us!

Stay tuned…

Crossroads

Posted by Jaydubbs On January - 21 - 2010

I have been given two fantastic and very unique different opportunities since my family and I began our search for a new church community and/or job.

downtownphx02seattle-skyline-with-space-needleOne of the opportunities is a leadership role that we know very well. We know the community. We know most of the leadership. We love the ministry that is and has been happening there for a long time. It’s here in the Phoenix area so it would keep us near family and little Cruz near his grandmas and aunts who adore him. It would allow for great freedom to be able to network and involve myself with helping other leaders and ministries create great worship experiences. And that is a very important value to me.

On the other hand, we have this other opportunity that is full of the unknown. It is uncertain, yet possibly full of adventure as well. It has the potential to open me up to new levels of leadership and influence that I’ve yet to navigate. Full of great biblical teaching and possible mentorship, the opportunity would be a definite growth experience. The role is at a community that has been around for over 100 years so there is maturity and wisdom. It is away from family, 1485 miles to be exact (give or take a couple feet or so), in the heart of Seattle. Full of green and water and texture and beauty.

They both, in the heart of our hearts, sound truly fantastic and Jess and I are extremely blessed to have the choice. But, there is a choice.

And we are praying. And considering. And processing. I am confident that God will be honored with either decision, but the husband and father in me wishes and hopes to make the “right” decision.

Would you please pray alongside us in this moment of decision for us? We are charging headlong into the crossroads and it would be nice to know there are people walking with us.

Much love.

Remember

Posted by Jaydubbs On December - 14 - 2009

I thought of little Kate this morning.

Sometimes I go far too long without praying or thinking of her and her story. But then, something causes me to remember how her 5 year old life has been completely flipped upside down. How she hasn’t had time to be a little kid yet before disease crept in to her world.

But Kate’s a straight up fighter. And she needs our prayers and the McRae’s need our support still. Let’s not forget.

l.ciapBzBDtCbHBEhl

Would you say a quick prayer for the continued healing of little Kate McRae?

I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be Like Mike…

Posted by Jaydubbs On December - 9 - 2009

Remember that little jingle back in the early 90’s? Gatorade had kids and adults alike singing that simple tune in every conversation and basketball dreamers attempting dunks from the free throw line whenever they could. The ad campaign was a phenomenal success.michael20jordan20dunk1

And it was all centered around “being” someone else.

As harmless as the advertising was, nearly 20 years later I find myself sometimes pondering what it would be like to “be” someone else. No, not completely, I love my life. Just to have certain skills or attributes that others have. There’s times where I wish I could be some bomb-diggity graphic designer. Or a better guitarist or photographer. Or that I could just sit down and hammer out 5 new songs every time I attempted to write.

The fact is sometimes, my mind just feels like it’s ten steps ahead of my actual abilities. I can see, hear, and feel how I want something to be…a lot of the times I just can’t “do it”. (Wow. Two different Michael ad campaigns in one post?)

The tension that I’m leading up to here is that in those times, when I feel inadequate in my skills, I have to remember that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Created in the image of the Creator. With nothing lacking. And I’m in the camp that believes that He does not make mistakes. So I just try and be bold and purposeful with the amazing skills that He has given me…and simply try in small steps to grow and learn from others in the ones that I’m not that good at.

If I get there, great. If not, I just gotta pay some people to do it instead. :)

What are some areas/skills/attributes that you find yourself at times wishing you had or were better at? Are you pressing towards them or are you realizing that it’s simply not YOU?

Tell us on the jump…

Gnarly November

Posted by Jaydubbs On November - 30 - 2009

Blame it on November.

That’s at least how I’m justifying my lack of presence lately here. Truth of the matter is that, really, I just needed to take some time off and focus on a few other things. Ministry transition (which is nice French for “I got laid off from my church staff position and now I’m looking for a new job”). Cruz’s first birthday planning. Thanksgiving. Insurance madness. Broken car. Our wonderful small group. A TON of photography and post-processing. And a bunch of other stuff that I’m sure I’m forgetting.

It’s been a fantastic 30 days, but it’s been seriously probably one of the busiest months of my life. I’m looking forward to the last month of 2009 and to a couple new disciplines and commitments that Jess and I are staking in the ground.

One of those being Jaydubbs.com. So here’s to ringing in the holidays with you fine friends! Thanks for all your support and prayers in what has been a wild season for our family.

See you on the flip.

(A wise man once told me that every good blog post needs a picture, so here’s Cruz melting hearts to leave you with….)

IMG_0765-resize

The Monday Mojo – Are You Being Led?

Posted by Jaydubbs On November - 9 - 2009

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

Last night Jess and I were leading worship up in Scottsdale at Scottsdale Bible Church’s SomaNorth service. It was the first time I had led there so I didn’t really have any expectations as to how the community would respond in worship, sing, follow, etc.

I was blown away.

These peeps don’t take their worship lightly. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a group sing that loud. The great thing is it had absolutely nothing to do with me. Or the band. Or the music.

It was just worship.

During rehearsal earlier in the day when we were going over the song “Everlasting God”, we had planned that when we got to the first chorus we would just do half of it and save the second half of the chorus for when the song picked up. Well during worship, in an amazing moment for my heart, after we had sung that first half the people of Soma just kept on singing the second half.

It’s a bit hard to explain in words, maybe you just need to have been there, haha. But in that moment, I thought about the idea of what true worship is all about. It’s not about a good worship leader or a killer band or singing beautifully. It’s about the people of God coming together in obeisance to the Father. Just as Jesus did. God calls us to worship and that’s just what we did last night.

And simultaneously I remembered something that my good friend CJ once said. Sometimes, as a worship leader, the people that you are leading need to lead you. We as worship leaders need to be led in worship as well. Does that make sense? It means a lot to me after last night.

Just remember we are all going up in worship together and there are moments when you need to step back from leading and let your people lead you. Whether it’s a verse or chorus, whatever. Let your people take the lead.

worship


Are you letting your people lead too?

The Monday Mojo – John Mark McMillan

Posted by Jaydubbs On November - 2 - 2009

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

Today, the mojo takes us clear across the country to North Carolina where John Mark McMillan hails from. An absolutely amazing songwriter, John’s music has pretty much been the soundtrack of my life for as much as the past year.

I keep returning to his album The Medicine over and over again. It’s simply that good. medicine_album

But what I love most about John’s songwriting and attitude towards his music is his honesty and his heart. Every word that is sung is truly transparent, bringing hope and sorrow, tragedy and celebration with each turn of the melody.  And his deep love for Jesus is forefront throughout the entire project. He makes no mistake in doing so. John describes himself on his blog, The Promenade, as a “North Carolinian songwriter who makes music for human beings and God to listen to.”

With a mix of folk, rock, soul, country, and ambient layerings, this album simply jams.

The main reason for this post is that I keep running into worship leaders and worshipers alike who have never heard John’s music, besides the popular song “How He Loves” which most people assume is a Jesus Culture song.  And yet his music will encourage you and inspire you. Truly some of the best worship music I’ve had the chance to dive into in a while. The Medicine is on my top 5 albums of all last year.

Take a few minutes to check out John’s music and support him. You’ll be super glad you did, especially if you’re looking for music outside of the usual worship channels from Passion and Hillsong. But before you do check out this sweet video of John and his boys (and girl) at their finest. Here’s a live “acoustic-y” version of the song “Skeleton Bones”…



The Monday Mojo – “Your Love Never Fails”

Posted by Jaydubbs On October - 19 - 2009

The Monday Mojo is a weekly posting of great resources for worship leaders. You’ll find anything from album highlights and releases, introspective articles on worship and the church, helpful media, tips on instrumentation and sound, sites and applications to boost the organization & structure of your respective teams, even simple words of encouragement. Click the Monday Mojo category above or come back every Monday to stay in tune with the mojo… -Jaydubbs

Ok. So if you haven’t heard this song yet, your day just became better.

Worship leaders, if you’re not leading this song yet and letting these words of hope fall on your communities…you need to.

This song, “You Love Never Fails”, came out of the friends over at Jesus Culture in Redding, CA. And boy, is this song amazing. I’ve had nothing but great feedback when leading this tune.

I’ll shut up and just let you watch the video. Turn up the volume and listen to these lyrics…

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About Me

I'm Jason Williams, nicknamed "Jaydubbs" by friends, and I've been leading worship and helping create unique, relevant worship experiences for the past 11 years. I'm an artist at heart, using music and photography as my everyday canvas. I'm also a lover of the local church and am committed to growing and maturing in my life following Jesus.

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