Garage Voice's Album: Let Us Reconcile

I know I've written about these guys a couple times before, but bear with me one more time: there's free music in it for me. :)

I've been thinking about the difference between experiencing a band live and listening to their recordings, especially after Creation, where I found out I don't like a band in person that I do like on CD. Some bands are better live, and others are great recording artists - the fun part about Garage Voice is that they're both. The thing is that their music really should be played in a place that you have the option of getting up and dancing because it really makes me want to move (and other people, I assume). Thus the benefit of the CD - you can listen to them anywhere!

Let Us Reconcile has all the things I liked about Garage Voice when I first heard them: Great lyrics, fun bass lines, intelligence, humor, and general "listenability" (did I just make that word up?). I think the album has broad appeal - a little bit of something for everyone.

Probably the thing I like the best (besides the pleasant eardrum tickling) is the lyrics. My favorite phrase comes on the third song, Repentance:
"Every time I hear the word of law
The love of God just blows my mind
Tells me I can be confident His love is really enough"

Another gem? In Tips of Your Hands, they say:
"Habits are structured by what often occupies the mind
It builds up a highway and keeps it prioritized"
which makes me wonder, "What often occupies my mind?".

My favorite song when I first got the CD was Mercy Came a Runnin' - it's got some great accapella bits and guitar... Then, it was Book It. Today? Maybe Cropper - I was groovin' whilst mixing up a blueberry lime desert and enjoyed the music as much as the sweetness. Or perhaps In My Iniquity - any song that can gracefully combine tuba, organ, and guitar is to be recognized!

Find Garage Voice online at garagevoice.com

Okay, thanks for reading - I know I don't have the encyclopedic knowledge required to write a proper review with allusions and comparisons, but the bottom line is: It's a great album from a really great band. Listen. Posthaste.

Garage Voice and Seth Martin

This weekend was pretty quiet and uneventful until yesterday afternoon, when Garage Voice came to town. (Or, the Garage Band Boys, as mom calls them.) They played at the Boiler Room, and while there was not a huge crowd, it was a good show, and the people who were there LOVED it. They let me tag along and afterward we had Thai food - delish!

They opened with a jam and basically everyone there joined in - then Garage Voice & Seth Martin took turns playing. They both played a lot of new stuff, and they were both quite good. Okay, they were great.

The Boiler Room is this place for young people to hang out and there was a girl there working on Calculus homework, so I read it over her shoulder and felt like I was getting some studying done! Bonus!

So, the Garage Band Boys are now on twitter and they're totally excited about it. Also, one of the people who works at Khu Larb - looks like I may have to consider joining up... I'll definitely keep you posted, and I may have to cave and get a better phone... We'll see.

After a short detour through downtown...

Last Friday night I was dreading another depressing, deflating experience at my small town church that inevitably leaves me angry and frustrated. So, I looked around to see what else was going on and noticed a special event called GODencounters that was being held at UW. Of course, I caught the ferry and headed over. I was very proud of myself because, despite getting on the express lanes which have no exit to UW when they're heading south, I was nearly on time!

The speaker, Matthew Gamble, was great. I've heard him speak before and always appreciated his humor, but this time he said some pretty heavy things that really resonated with me. In the morning he talked about Romans 8, then in the afternoon the focus was "Be still and know that I am God." It was really refreshing, and even though I was "alone" among about 170 people I had a wonderful time. It was nice to be reminded that NO MATTER what I experience, Jesus has experienced it, too. He doesn't leave just because we're going through unpleasantness. He's the person you can call when you don't want to be too negative or depress anyone else by saying what you're really thinking.

The real surprise of the day was how much I liked the band, Garage Voice. These guys are talented, intelligent people and it shows in their lyrics and the way their fingers move. I'd also be willing to bet that they have a pretty good sense of humor. Something about the music made me smile, and want to laugh a little bit. I was blown away. Their second CD is coming out next month, and I'm totally buying it and the first. Also, they had the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen. I don't know anything about guitars - but this one was pretty. It's green and has the cut outs like a violin and was flatter and more circular than the guitars people play around the campfire. I think God has blessed them, and through them, He blessed me.

Now it's back to the day to day, but I've got new fabric to sew and a Martha Stewart recipe to test - so it's all good.