Well… this month has been quite eventful, but not filled with too many adventures to speak of.  Jess and I have been working on recording and practicing our songs as much as possible.  We’ve also been taking all the hours we can get at our jobs.

Aside from that, all “news” is more along the lines of new plans and visions for what’s next.  I wanted to start sharing some of our intentions with this next year and, just for fun, share some favorites from this past year.

Plans for 2012
Jess and I have spent a lot of time recently talking about where we’re headed.

We strongly believe this is our year to give it all we’ve got, as far as our passion through music goes.  We’re finally here;  in a finished studio, with most of our songs ready to record and start sharing.  It’s been about 6-7 years of being patient, living life a little and accumulating the vision and resources to make this happen.

Specifically, we hope to have a finished album by spring or early summer, followed by a “tour” or at least a cluster of shows whenever and wherever we get to play.  In addition to playing in the Atlanta area tons, we’re hoping to go down to Florida and then make a trip across the southern US, for sure making it at least as far as AZ and back, with shows along the way.  (If you know of a place we may be able to play this summer between AZ or even Cali and FL, please let me know)

We’ve been filled with conviction the past few weeks that our music is only important if its about people.  To this end, our goal isn’t to become something, a band or artists, or even to have a radio hit, quality album or great show… but to really only get to be with the people we’d otherwise never know.  Everything else is just a conduit for that.  We feel a strong urgency to start encouraging and becoming friends with as many as we can this year.  Given our personalities and lack of experience, it’ll definitely be a season of growth.  We’re excited to face the challenge!

And now, just for fun, Favorite things in 2011:


Favorite Album:

Mat Kearney’s “Young Love”
Mat has been a long-time favorite, but has finally found the perfect blend of melody and vocal rhythm, the perfect blend of heartfelt songwriting and modern yet unique song production.  Jess and I spent a lot of time signing along to this great album.

Other favorites:  Needtobreathe’s “The Reckoning”, Jeremy Riddle’s “Furious”, Gungor’s “Ghosts Upon the Earth”, Script’s “Faith and Science”, Shawn McDonald’s “Closer” and David Cook’s “This Loud Morning”.

Most Enjoyed Video Game:
Terraria

The biggest hit for me this past year, surprisingly wasn’t Skyrim (although Skyrim may be the most-played in 2012 as I play it into and through lots of next year).  No, my favorite this year has been a little indie game called Terraria.  With Super Nintendo-esque graphics and nearly limitless sandbox gameplay, my brother Jacob and I have spent many long weekends building massive forts to protect our little mans in Terraria’s randomly-generated worlds.  Digging, building, finding treasure, fighting monsters together…  it’s been a blast.  The small group of developers that made this game continue to update and greatly improve this game constantly over the months, causing us to return for weekend Skype-and-Terraria marathons with each one.
It’s refreshing to play something that feels classic and simple, but is also has a powerful and intuitive, creative gaming engine.  As aspiring Indie Game Devs ourselves, Terreria has been not only major source of social entertainment, but even inspiration to Jacob and I for most of this year.

Favorite Movie:

“Real Steel”
I was really surprised by this movie.  I’ve half-jokingly wanted to build a robot for years now, so a movie about building building fighting robots was definitely down my alley.  On top of that, the story had solid challenge that hit home:  for men to stand up and actually fight for what really matters.

Happy New Year!