I know many of you live out of the area, but if you
happen to be in the area this Sunday why not stop by!
The event is at a covered pavilion so we are planning to have the
event rain or shine!
Bricker's Famous French Fries will be providing hot dogs, chicken fingers, and drinks (non alcoholic)
If you plan on attending the concert and need directions I will be happy to send them to you. And don't forget to invite your friends!
We are hoping for the best turn out ever!
Thanks and God bless,
Keith
Band With A Mission Showcase! - June 27, 2008
On Monday June 23, 2008 I had the opportunity to play at the Band With A Mission Showcase in Nashville, TN at Rocketown.
I heard a lot of good bands and solo performers play at the event. I saw some pretty awesome musicians and singers at the showcase.
I like to watch other musicians play to get ideas on stage presence, guitar technique, and songs.
To me it is a lot of fun just to sit back and listen to other people. And I think most musicians like to have other musicians listen to them.
One of my favorite bands to watch play was a Christian heavy metal band called 3 Times Driven.
Although I don't play metal music, in fact the furthest thing from it, I still enjoyed watching this band.
They had fun with each other and their musical technique was awesome.
So I guess what I am saying is that I am open to learning from other genres of music from just the style I play.
I don't play metal music but I can still enjoy watching good musicians of any genre.
When it was my turn the songs I played were The Lord of Lords Is Risen Today, El Amor De Dios, and To Know You. These three original compositions are some of the better received songs in my concerts.
The judges had differing opinions of my songs, but overall I got pretty good reviews from the judges.
Although I didn't get a record contract out of the event, I met some really nice people.
My family also went with me. While in Nashville we went to see the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Grand Ole Opry, ate at a restaurant called The Aquarium, played Glow Ball Miniature Golf, and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.
At the Country Music Hall of Fame my favorite part was looking at all the guitars the country stars played over the years.
I liked looking at the vintage guitars as well as some of the modern looking guitars.
My two favorite guitars were Buck Owens' Red, White, and Blue guitar. Buck Owens was one of the hosts of Hee Haw.
The other one was an electric guitar that had a football painted on it played by Hank Williams, Jr.
We also toured the Grand Old Opry. I liked listening to the tour guide talk about the history of the Opry and what it means to the stars.
Our tour group also got to sing happy birthday to people in our group on the Grand Ol Opry stage! I can now add to my resume that I sang on the stage!
After we toured the Opry we ate at a place called The Aquarium. It is a seafood place in the Opry Mills Mall.
I asked the waitress if any of the country music stars ever eat there. She told us that Carrie Underwood was there recently. She showed us the booth where she sat.
My wife and daughter are big fans of hers. We didn't sit in that booth to eat, but the waitress said it was OK to let my daughter sit in the booth that Carrie sat in to get a picture.
At the mall I had a red hat made that has my name on the front with a blue guitar under it. It also has my web address on the back.
Nikki had a purple had made that says Miley Cyrus Rocks. She hasn't taken the hat off very much except to sleep and swim.
My wife and daughter were hoping to see someone famous while we were there.
The most famous person we saw was Ashlee Hewitt, who is a contestant on Nashville Star, walk into the Roy Acuff Theater to rehearse for the show on Monday night. We saw her the Sunday before the show aired.
We asked one of the workers if we could watch the rehearsal for Monday's show but it was closed to the public.
But I did get to see some of it on TV on Monday night!
One other thing we did was stop at a place called The Grand Guitar in Bristol Tennessee on the way home.
It is a small museum with vintage guitars and blue grass instruments. They also broadcast a radio program from The Grand Guitar.
One of the DJs took two of my CDs and I may be possibly played on the station. The show she does is basically a bluegrass gospel show.
My playing, although it doesn't sound blue grass, is a very similar flat pick technique that the blue grass players play. So maybe I'll get some air time in Bristol, Tennessee!
Anyway, that was my experience of playing at The Band With A Mission Showcase!
May Update 2008- KAG Summer Tour! - May 17, 2008
Today is Saturday May 17. I now have 13 school days left until my summer vacation from my teaching job begins on June 6.
The summer is already jammed packed with vacations and gigs. My summer schedule is filling up fast.
Once again this is a typical year for me as far as gigs go. I don’t get too many between January and May, but once June gets here my summer schedule gets pretty busy. Then it is usually slow again until the Christmas season.
So I thought I’d update you on the music events I am playing this summer.
My summer schedule begins by playing special music at my home church on Father’s Day June 15. This will be a great way to kick off the summer. I think this year I am going to play all original tunes at the service. I usually stick with hymns for church, but it is time to branch out and show a different side of my playing!
On June 23 I head to Nashville to play in a show case sponsored by Band With A Mission. This is for a possible record contract with Fervent records. Although I am not expecting to win the competition the organizers of the event wanted me to showcase my song called To Know You. I am very excited about this opportunity! And I am going to do a little site seeing while I am there.
On June 29 my summer tour continues with a concert at Waggoner’s United Methodist Church in Carlisle, PA. I played this church a few years ago and really enjoyed my time at the church and found the people really friendly! I am looking forward to another fun concert this year!
July 20 marks the Third Annual Cystic Fibrosis Concert. This event has some of the finest musicians in York County playing at the event. This event started two years ago with a concert in our backyard. Last year we held the concert in our backyard also. But this year we felt it was time to expand and move the event to a venue. Naylor’s Winery in Stewartstown, PA let us have their venue at a discount rate, so we took it. See my calendar page for the people who are to perform.
This event started when my wife wanted to raise money for CF research for my neighbor’s children. We hope to grow this event into an all day festival some day, but for now we are taking baby steps.
My summer tour continues with a gig playing at the Gospel Mountain Jubilee on July 26. This event is in it’s 2nd year and is a great setting to play. It is on a farm just south of Red Lion, PA and features many local Christian musicians and artists from our area! It is one of the most scenic venues I have ever played! I had a great time playing this event last year and look forward to playing it again. It was a diverse line up of inspirational, southern gospel, rock, and instrumental artists.
The very next day I play with my pastor Bob Vizthum at my home church! We usually play together at our Wednesday night Bible study and play a couple of special music events a year at our church. It’s a lot of fun playing with him. We call our style a combination of southern gospel/folk. I don’t play this style too often, so it is a lot of fun to play with him!
My next stop is the following weekend, August 2nd and 3rd. My date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I will be playing on one of those dates. This event is called Dunkard Valley Live. It is held on the softball field of Codorus Brethren Church in Loganville, PA. This is another Christian music festival featuring many Christian country, southern gospel, gospel, and CCM musicians. I enjoy playing this event and even played softball on the same field back in the day when I was athletic.
My summer tour ends on August 16 at a Christian Music Network Festival in Warminster, PA. This event features many Christian musicians and singers from eastern PA, southern NJ and northern MD. It is a lot of fun playing at these festivals and I enjoy hearing the variety of styles of musicians who play at these events.
And now the bad news, this is the last stop on my summer tour. I head back to my teaching job the Wednesday after this gig.
Then I don’t have anything officially scheduled until the Christmas season.
In the mean time I am looking forward to playing this summer at all of these events.
And all this is all sandwiched between a trip to Disney World and the beach. It seems as if summer is over before it even starts! Oh well....life goes on!
I hope you can make to one or all of these events! I'd love to see you there!
Even though I am busy this summer I wouldn’t mind being busier! So just contact me if you want to schedule an event!
Have a great day!
Keith
Keith Andrew Grim April Update 2008! - April 18, 2008
Boy, get a day off from work and music stuff just starts exploding!
CHAPTER 1 From Frustrating to OK!
Once again this year we are going to do a Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Concert to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. It was kind of touch and go for a while because one of the artists we wanted to play at the event had a conflict in schedule. His name is Mark DeRose. He is a fan favorite at this event and it would have been a shame not to have him play this year. He is also very well known in our area.
Anyway, I called the venue to see if we could get the date changed and we did! It now so happens that Mark can play the event and the organizers of the event are very happy! He is also going to bring a few of his friends along to play. The date is now on July 20, 20008 from 3 to 8 PM at Naylor’s Winery in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. The full address is listed on my calendar’s page.
Also scheduled to play are my friends Stu Miller, Mike Kelkis, and me! (Of course I get to play...any event where I organize the musicians I get to play at that event! LOL!)
So it looks like the frustration of organizing the event is going to be OK! It is starting to work out!
So if you are in the area why not check out the gig?
CHAPTER 2 From York, Pennsylvania (well really Dallastown, PA) to Nashville, Tennessee!
This morning it was confirmed that I am heading to Nashville once again to play in a showcase. It is sponsored by Band With A Mission. They are an organization whose goal is to help Christian musicians further their careers.
The showcase I will be playing in is on June 23, 2008 at Rocketown, which is a well known venue in Nashville, however it is a private event. I think Michael W. Smith sang about this place in one of his songs.
It is basically a contest to win a record contract with Fervent Records. Not that I am expecting to win, but it may be a chance to help further my career as a musician. They will also give a critique on what you are great at and what you need improvement on.
Anyway, it sounds like a lot of fun. So.....if anyone out there is reading this from the Nashville, TN area and would like to book me for a gig or 2 on Sunday June 22, 2008, I’d be more than happy to accept! (OK enough for a shameless plug!)
The one person who helps organize this event liked the song I wrote “To Know You” and would like me to showcase 2 other songs along with this song.
CHAPTER 3 Keeping Things Simple!
I tend to like things simple in life. That’s why my playing style isn’t a real flashy style of playing. I don’t play with a whole lot of bells and whistles. My playing is basically the same style I learned as kid. Even when I use my guitar synthesizer I don’t add a whole lot to the playing. It’s usually just the one setting on the synthesizer or sometimes I’ll add the guitar with the synthesizer when I use the strings setting.
Even though I don’t consider myself a blue grass flat picker that’s basically how I play my instrument. I play a flat picking style that comes out sounding folk, classical, country, and Celtic. I have found this is the best way to describe my music. It’s a simple style without a whole lot of overdubs and clutter.
I also now have a calendar widget that I put on most of my web sites. It is simple and easy to use. All I have to do is go into my official web site, update the calendar info one time and by some kind of internet magic the widget updates automatically. In other words no more going into 5 web sites to update whenever I get a new gig! I get to do it only once!
The widget shows my first 10 gigs, but by clicking on any calendar date it takes you to my official calendar page! It’s cool and simple!
I also like to keep my web sites simple and easy to find things. The hosting company I use for my web site I think does a good job of this. I think they have designs that are easy to navigate and simple to use. The same with my myspace sites, ccm.org site, and shoutlife site. I don’t like to clutter up my web sites with a lot of graphics and stuff.
Why all this stuff about my music being simple and web sites being
cluttered? Well, I am now finally getting to the point of this whole
update. Sometimes our lives get so cluttered with a bunch of things that
just bog us down. We all have times where we are just so busy with stuff
or just things weighing us down it is hard to keep life simple in the
21st century. Sometimes it is hard to get past all the busyness of life
and burdens of life to quiet our hearts.
So what’s the simple solution? I think it is just to spend some time
with God each day. Maybe just read a few verses or say a simple prayer.
But even just 5 minutes a day of doing things like this may just quiet
our hearts enough to make it through life when it isn’t so simple.
I know it sounds simple, but it is sometimes tough to do. Even if our
prayer is just saying, “Jesus. Help me, “ or just quoting one Bible
verse such as John 3:16 may just go a long way in helping us get through
the tough times!
With all this said,
Have a great day!
Keith
Page Created At EZ Folk - March 1, 2008
I just created a page at EZfolk.com. Just go to my LINKS page to link to the new site!
Facebook Link! - February 29, 2008
I created a page at Facebook today. Just go to my LINKS page to link to the site!
Interesting Digital Sales Stats - February 29, 2008
I just got a digital report of my most recent sales sold through digital stores.
The top 5 selling hymns of all time off of my Lasting Love and Lasting Peace album are:
1. Patriotic Medley
2. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
3. Christ Arose
4. Jesus Loves Me
5. I Am Thine, O Lord
The top 2 selling original songs of all time from the same album are:
1. Lasting Love and Lasting Peace
2. The Lord Of Lords Is Risen Today
The top 5 selling Christmas singles of all time are:
1. Angel Medley
2. Joy To The World
3. What Child Is This
4. O Holy Night
5. We Three Kings
February Update 2008! - February 12, 2008
CHAPTER 1 -TO KNOW YOU CD
It’s really hard to believe, but this March represents the 10th anniversary of my first CD release To Know You. Previously I had recorded two cassettes, but this was the first one that was available on cassette and CD.
To Know You has become a special album to me. I am still playing some of the songs from this album in concerts. The ones I play the most are Two Know You, Follow In God’s Way, This Is My Father’s World, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, and Nikki’s Song.
This is the first album where I used the eBow and also had did a vocal called Faith. This song was patterned after the guy who used to do the Motel 6 commercials! I even but it on the web site!
Now for the first time I have added what I feel are the highlights to this album on my music page. To hear these songs please click on the following link:
There are several advantages to going hiking in the winter time. First of all I don’t have to worry about being eaten alive by bugs! Secondly there isn’t as much plant growth on the trails so some trails that aren’t as passable in the summer are better to hike in the winter. And thirdly, there are less people out hiking so I can enjoy being alone in nature more. And it’s not hot!
I enjoy being alone in nature to take in all the beauty of God’s creation. Even in the winter there are things to enjoy in nature. One is that I can really see the evergreen trees more. Evergreens are probably my most favorite types of trees. They really stand out among the rest of the trees in the winter. In my yard right now we have three evergreens. We have one blue spruce and two Colorado Spruce Pines. We also have some evergreen bushes around the house which I don’t know the names of, I just think they look pretty!
As I get older and arthritic knees, a bad back, and coming off of ACL surgery about a year and a half ago, I am finding I don’t move as well as I did in my 20's. (Just for your reference I’m 46 now.) I use hiking poles to go hiking. I have been using them for years. I was even using them before I started falling apart. I find they help take the pressure off of my legs and back as I hike. They also give me a great upper body work out. I like to push off using the poles. It’s sort of like using four wheel drive in my Trail Blazer! They help with balance in tricky places. They also help stabilize going down hill and give more power going up hill. They are truly a beneficial tool in hiking.
As I was hiking on a cold winter day on Sunday I thought my hiking poles are similar to how God works. In life we face all kinds of trials. I am finding that God helps stabilize me in the rough times of life. By going to church and listening to Christian music I find I am uplifted each time.
Each time I go to church I learn just a little more how God stabilizes us in life. How He helps us get through rough times and trials. Sometimes it is small things. Sometimes it is bigger things. One of the biggest things I am learning now is how our salvation is secure in Christ. I think most of us struggle with our faith at times and if God really accepts us as we are.
But I am learning that He does and is willing to help us change if we are willing to come to Him and let Him change us. He has enough mercy and grace to help stabilize us and to help us deal with the pressures of life! So let God come and take some of the pressure off of your life!
Have a great day!
Keith
Music Added to tSr! - January 26, 2008
Christ Arose has just been added to the rotation at The Spirit Radio Music Group Web Site!
They will also be distributing this song to different radio stations.
K.A.G. Trivia - January 19, 2008
K.A.G. TRIVIA!
Favorite Bible verses: Psalm 23 and John 3:16
Favorite Bible versions: New American Standard Version (Updated) and The New King James Version.
Birthday: October 9, 1961.
Hobbies: Basketball, Bicycle riding, Weight lifting, and Hiking.
Day Job: Physical Education Teacher
Anniversary: July 14, 1990
Favorite guitar players: Phil Keaggy, Gary Lowry, Jonathan Salas
Favorite sports to watch: Football and March Madness!
Favorite sport to Play: Basketball
Favorite songs I have ever written: To Know You, The Lord of Lords Is Risen Today, and El Amor De Dios
Favorite Christmas songs: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and O Holy Night
Favorite Easter songs: Christ Arose, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, and The Easter Song (Keith Green's version)!
Favorite hymns: How Great Thou Art, Jesus Loves Me, This Is My Father's World, and Amazing Grace
Favorite Christian singers: Phil Keaggy, Keith Green, Jonathan Salas, Margaret Becker, and Jaci Velasquez
Favorite CCM songs: Your Love Broke Through (a tie betrwen Phil Keaggy's and Keith Green's versions), and The Lord Is My Shepherd by Keith Green.
Favorite non-Christian music artists: The Monkees, The Beatles, Jim Croce, Andres Segovia, Andy Williams, Hilary Duff (yes I admit it!), and Billy Ray Cyrus!
Favorite Bible based movies: The Ten Commandments, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Nativity Story
Favorite action heros: Indiana Jones, Rocky, Rambo, and John McClane!
Favorite Superheros: Spiderman and Superman
Favorite TV shows (other than sports): Smallville and 24
Graduate of: Dallastown High School, Dallastown, Pennsylvania, 1979
Graduate of: West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1983
Sports played in High School: Football and Basketball
Sports in college: Shot Put for track.
All Time favorite basketball player: Pete Maravich
All Time favorite baseball player: Cal Ripken, Jr.
All Time favorite football player: Art Monk
Favorite Sports teams:
College Football: Penn State Nittany Lions
Pro Football: Washington Redskins
College basketball: North Carolina
Baseball: Baltimore Orioles
Pro basketball: USA Olympic Team!
Christmas Update 2007! - December 1, 2007
Christmas Update 2007!
Well, I have to admit it, I’ve been in the Christmas spirit for a while now. It usually starts for me in October when I start preparing for Christmas gigs. Playing the songs that early just gets me in the mood. So far this year I have played two official Christmas gigs at Rocky Ridge Park in York, PA. And one unofficial one at Emerson’s Pub, also in York.
My unofficial gig was with the acoustic duo Me And This Guy, featuring Mike Kelkis and Stu Miller. They asked me to play a couple of songs last Saturday night when they were booked there. So I played Jingle Bells, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Follow In God’s Way, and El Amor De Dios.
Anyway, Christmas music always gets me in the mood for Christmas. I like many styles of Christmas music. I like to listen to the old standards by people like Andy Williams and Nat King Cole.
I also have several instrumental guitar Christmas albums. My three favorite guitar players playing Christmas music are Phil Keaggy, Gary Lowry, and Jack Jezzro.
I have so many Christmas albums that it would take too long to list them all for this update, so I just mentioned some of my most favorite.
And there about 6 more albums I’d like to buy this year, but I don’t know if I will buy them. I don’t think I have that much money! Maybe I just need to start my own Christmas music radio station! Then maybe I could get them all for free!
I like to hear non-traditional Christmas songs as well as the traditional ones. One of my most favorite non-traditional songs is And On That day by Phil Keaggy.
My most favorite traditional carols are God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and O Holy Night. These two songs just hit me with the true meaning of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!
I like to listen to the Christian Christmas carols as well as songs like Frosty and Rudolph.
Thinking about my gig last night, it was so much fun playing for people. At The Festival of Lights at Rocky Ridge Park I play in the food court. People walk through the light displays and they have to pass through the food court on their way. Some people just pass right on through, others stop and listen for a minute or two, but then still others stay and listen for a while.
One my most favorite things to do during Christmas gigs is to have kids come up on stage and play the bells I bought at the Dollar Store.
They ring and shake them as I play songs like Frosty, Rudolph, Jingle Bells, and Deck The Halls. And of course all the mommies and daddies break out the cameras to get pictures of their kids. Sometimes the kids even sing along.
But with all the fun and excitement of Christmas, I hope we all remember the true meaning of this season... it is to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and that He came to save us from our sins.
Sometimes we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas we forget why we celebrate it in the first place.
In some small way I hope that my music helps people realize the true meaning of Christmas.
So with all that being said, I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and may God bless you all!
Keith
Thanksgiving Update! - November 3, 2007
Fall is one of my favorite times of year. The leaves begin to change, the weather becomes crisp and cool, it’s football season, and especially this month, we begin to anticipate the holidays. It is really hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away.
Sometimes it seems as if Thanksgiving is the forgotten holiday during the holiday run. Christmas stuff starts to show up in the stores during the summers. People really seem to begin preparing for Christmas earlier and earlier. And I have to say I’m guilty also!
I personally like to have most of my Christmas shopping finished before Thanksgiving because of the number of gigs I get between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Another thing that is really weird is that I have to begin practicing my Christmas music in October so all the rust is off of the songs for the Christmas season.
Sometimes it is hard to get into the Christmas spirit that early. My first Christmas gig is traditionally the weekend after Thanksgiving. And this year is no exception.
But anyway, back to Thanksgiving. I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving. Mostly eating way to much and then trying to work off all the calories from that one meal until the next Thanksgiving!
I think the most special times for Thanksgiving are being able to be with our family. It is nice to get together with my relatives.
I can remember going to my dad’s side of the family when I was really little. We used to go to his aunt’s house a lot. If I remember right, one year we had goose instead of turkey!
As we got older we started to alternate years going to my mom’s side of the family in Virginia. We’d go there one year and they would come up to Pennsylvania the next.
It was a time of laughs and just good old fun with people we didn’t get to see very often.
This we year we are heading to central Pennsylvania to spend the holiday with my brother and his family.
As I reflect on Thanksgiving, I thought I write a few things I am thankful for. I am very thankful for my wife. I am also thankful for my daughter. I’m thankful for my parents, my brother and his family, the rest of my extended family, and my friends.
I am also thankful for my job as a physical education teacher. I am also thankful for being able to play the guitar when I can. And most importantly I am thankful for the sacrifice of Christ and His redeeming grace!
There is so much to be thankful for I guess I just could go on and on, but I don’t want to make this update too long!
Anyway, let’s take a look at what we have to be thankful for and have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Seasonal Update - September 2007 - New Revelations! - September 14, 2007
This month’s update is separated into three chapters! The title of this mini book is called New Revelations by Keith Andrew Grim!
CHAPTER 1
I just created a new web site totally dedicated to my Christmas CD, Christmas Celebration! Here is the link. I hope you enjoy looking at the site!
Can a young pup teach an old dog new tricks? I would have to say the answer is yes! In the summer of 2004 I entered an instrumental music competition at the Gospel Music Association’s Seminar in the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado.
A teenager named Jonathan Salas was also entered in the competition. He played classic rock on the electric guitar. I have never seen a teenager play the guitar the way he did at that event. His playing was totally awesome!
Well! Now it is three years later and I just discovered more of his music on iTunes and through his mypace page. I bought 8 new songs of his I never had before. As good as he was, he has really developed his style over the last three years!
My favorite genre of music is classic rock even though I’m not a classic rock player. Jonathan has taken classic rock and made it his own. He is fast becoming one of my favorite guitar players and singers.
I never I thought I’d find another guitar player who would capture my attention as much as my all time favorite guitarist Phil Keaggy and my second favorite guitarist Gary Lowry. But I love the style Jonathan brings to the table with his music.
Now what does this have to do with my playing? I think what it shows me is that I can’t be so proud as a guitar player that I can’t learn from other players of any age. Just because some one is younger than me doesn’t mean I can’t learn something from their playing.
I’m reminded of the passage in the Bible where Paul told Timothy not to let people look down on him because he was young. Young people have a lot to offer the body of Christ. Us middle age people just have to sit back sometimes and learn from them.
Jonathan’s lyrics are also uplifting. I like the way he writes his songs. His singing is also great! So in other words: I have to say I am a fan of Jonathan Salas.
Here is a link to his myspace page if you are interested in checking out his music.
As I reflect on my own music ministry, I have come up with some things that I think will help take the pressure off when I play live. It isn’t anything real earth shattering, but I wanted to share anyway.
When I went for my bike ride earlier today I got thinking about how I present my concerts. I really try to vary my concerts musically so that listener doesn’t get bored while they listen.
I try to be unique and creative with my playing. It is fun trying to come up with new ways to present music to an audience. I like to work on my stage presence and refine my playing.
I also always used to try and say something spiritually significant during concerts. I put pressure on myself to say something, especially with me being an instrumentalist. Sometimes I would just stumble over my words trying to “minister” to people with stories, words, or Bible passages.
But I have now decided to leave the preaching to the preachers! I am going to concentrate more on the musical presentation of my concerts. This isn’t to say I won’t talk, but I am no longer going to feel guilty if I don’t come up with something super spiritual to say!
I think that as I get older I am realizing that God has called me to be a musician and not a preacher. But this isn’t to say that I want my music to stop ministering to people, because after all that is the goal as a Christian musician, to minister to people.
All this to say, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”(This quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi!)
Until October!
May God bless you!
Keith
Seasonal Update August 2007! - August 20, 2007
August 20, 2007
Summer is winding down. As I prepare to head back to my teaching job on Thursday (8/23/07) I reflect on a fast paced summer. Days were spent working on music and bookings, working on my tan at the pool, going to Texas, and going to the beach. I was also able to go on several hikes and bike rides. I was also privileged to be invited to play at several events.
I played with my pastor on Wednesday nights at our summer Bible study series. We usually sing 3 songs before we pray and then go into the Bible study. The songs we play are traditional hymns with a bluegrass/country feel to them. This summer the Bible study was on finding our freedom in Christ!
The first concert I played this summer was the Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Concert held in my back yard. We had a great line up of our area’s finest musicians. Stu Miller opened the evening with some riveting acoustic guitar work. Mark DeRose and Curt Sipe played some awesome jazz/acoustic tunes. Mark sang acoustic songs and played guitar while Curt improvised with him on his saxophone. It was a great honor to be on the same bill as these guys!
The next morning I played at Christ UMC in Yoe, Pennsylvania. The people were very receptive. This is the church my childhood guitar teacher, Don Frey, went to before he passed away. Many of the styles I play are direct influences from him. He was very patient and took the time to help us (my brother and several of our friends took lessons from him also) become better guitar players.
Later in the summer I played at the Mountain Gospel Jubilee. This event that was on a farm south of Red Lion, Pennsylvania. It was nice to hear other groups and people play and sing I never heard before. The setting was very scenic! There are some pictures on my official web site’s photo page of this event.
The next morning my pastor Bob Vizthum and I played special music at our church. We played a couple of gospel bluegrass songs where I got to use my banjo setting on my guitar synthesizer. People seem to enjoy our songs!
The following week I played at Dunkard Valley Live in Loganville, Pennsylvania. I listened to a bluegrass band called Set Free. It was fun listening to them blend together. Another band called Almost Home also played with great vocal harmonies. Then it happened! The first tragedy of the summer! During my set my guitar synthesizer wasn’t tracking right for some reason. I made up a new set list on the fly! But I got through it! The gospel quartet group The Versitones closed out the event!
The next event was a benefit fund raiser for Red Lion Community services. I was invited to play on the same bill as the Chapelman Quartet, a group based out of the church I grew up at as a kid. I saw people I haven’t seen for a while and people had a good time at the event.
Finally, the last event I played this summer was at a church picnic on a Thursday afternoon at Mckendree UMC in Airville, Pennsylvania. People listened to music and ate chicken corn soup! A bluegrass band called Green Branch also played.
So as you can see in this gig report I was very busy and had a lot of fun playing the guitar, meeting new people, and listening to other groups play. I don’t really think of myself as a country musician, but many of the events I played were in country settings with a lot of good gospel, country and bluegrass music.
As I reflect on the gigs I played this summer, I am grateful to all the people who invited me to play. I just hope the audiences enjoyed hearing me play as much as I did playing for them! And in some small way I hope I was able to relieve people’s stress and present Christ to them in music!
Until next time,
Keith
July Update 2007 - July 8, 2007
Update July 2007
Well, it’s happening again this year! The second half of my gig schedule is filling up very quickly. I was amazed to see that in my first half of the year schedule that all the events I played were at my home church. Then it began: gigs started coming in from other places. All still in Pennsylvania and most in my home county of York. In fact only one is outside of York County at the writing of this web log; that gig will be in Norristown, PA, near Philadelphia.
At one time I wanted to travel the world playing guitar. I believed it was my calling. And I did travel some with The Reach Out Singers as a rhythm guitarist back from September 1985 through May 1986. I traveled to many states and to Egypt, Belgium, and Israel. It was a good time (most of the time) and I saw places that I haven’t seen since.
I remember a friend of mine said to me after the tour that “it’s good that you got to these places when you were young because you may never get the chance to go again.” My thought at that time was, “no you don’t understand, I’m going to make a living as a musician and travel all over the place!”
Well, let’s fast forward to today. Here I am still living in the same area I grew up in. And I still love my hometown area! My daughter goes to the same elementary school that I went to. Most of my traveling is within the USA and mostly on vacations and not for gigs. I have a day job as a physical education teacher.
(Hey, I get to travel there, I work 40 miles from home! My job is pretty good this summer! Oh wait, I’m a teacher, I don’t have to work again until late August! I knew there was a reason I was feeling less stress lately!) Back to the subject: Traditionally the second half of the year is busier for me with Christmas being my busiest season for gigs.
Would I still like to make a living as a guitarist? Yes. But the burning desire to travel the world is no longer there. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old! If I could make a living playing around home that would be just fine too!. But sometimes things don’t always work out the way we want or the way we plan.
Our sermon at church on Sunday (July 8, 2007) was about pressing on toward a new goal in Christ and leaving the past behind. Many of us have “what if’s” and “I wish I would’ve’s” in our pasts. But our pastor pointed out that if we hang onto these things for too long they can hinder what God is trying to accomplish in our lives today. This isn’t to say that we can’t learn from the past, but we shouldn’t hang onto our regrets and unfulfilled dreams. It’s time to let God start working in us for what He has planned for us today and in the future.
Maybe God is trying to teach me something. There is a Phil Keaggy song I’ve been listening to a lot lately called Thank You For Today. The song is about thanking God for today and letting go of the past so God can work in us now and in the future. It’s seems to be a recurring theme.
If God only wants me playing at my home church for the rest of my music career, then so be it. If He decides He wants to give me the financial resources to go full time, then so be it also. But the thing I learned this weekend is to be receptive to where God wants to lead me in my music ministry and just maybe I’ll find I’m right where He wants me to be right now!
Thanks for reading and God Bless until next time.
Keith
Easter Update - April 6, 2007
Easter Update:
Ohhhh! My achy break-y back! On Monday of this week my poor back went out on me once again. It was very painful, but now it is starting to loosen up some. I will miss 4 days of work this week. This is the first day I can really sit at my computer for an extended period of time.
My doctor assures me it’s muscular and not a problem with a disc. So he said to move as much as I can to loosen it, even though it might hurt a lot, to stretch it, and to put heat on it. So I am. I probably won’t be back to work until Monday April 2, and might have to cancel my gig on Monday, but life moves on.
I guess the only thing that is getting me through this physical pain is that I have been through it before and each time I recover. Now this time when I recover I will make sure I keep up with my back exercises to keep it strengthened. (As I always said before. But I will this time, I promise!) If it truly is muscular, as my doctor said, doing back strengthening exercises should help.
Now why am I telling you about my physical pain? We all have physical pain at some time or another in our lives. I am not writing this for you to give me a pity party. But I am writing this to tell you of a valuable lesson I learned this week.
When my back feels good I tend to slack off on the exercises that will strengthen it. I think, well it is feeling good, I can skip today. But it is doing the exercises when it feels good that will help prevent me pulling a muscle in my back again. If I strengthen it during the good times, it will be healthier when strains are put on my back.
Sometimes I think it is the same in our spiritual lives. When things are going well sometimes we forget to rely on God for sustaining our lives. Then BOOM! When something goes bad we turn to God and say, “Help!” I think if we exercise our faith during the good times it will be easier to exercise our faith in the hard times.
As I often talk with a co-worker, everybody goes through some things in their lives that are difficult. This life isn’t always easy. We will all face struggles during our lives.
I think Christ faced the ultimate struggle when He died on the cross. The pain I felt in my back was nothing compared to the pain He went through when He died on the cross. He died for the sins of the world. He faced the physical pain of being crucified and the spiritual pain for dying for everyone’s sins.
And I know this was hard for Him to do. According to the Bible He prayed to have this cup pass from Him. But he ultimately knew this was God’s will for Him and for people to be saved.
Three days later Christ rose from the grave in victorious triumph! He now reigns with God in heaven and we have the promise of His return someday!
So just remember that Christ faced pain and struggles also. He can sympathize with us because He also faced similar pains, struggles and temptations that we face. So this Easter season let’s all put our trust in Christ who loves us and who will guide us through our lives!
OK, now it is time to go stretch out my achy break-y back!
Update February 2007 - February 19, 2007
February Update 2007
After much prayer and consideration I have begin to feel God pull my music ministry in a different direction. No, I’m not retiring. I’m going to continue to pursue my music ministry, but I am now going to begin to work my finances in a new way.
When I was younger I admired the way Keith Green ran his music ministry. He didn’t charge for concerts. He also made his albums available to people for whatever they could afford. He even gave a lot of albums away. He never believed people should have to pay for ministry. I often vowed if I ever had a music ministry I would like to run my ministry in much the same way as he did.
I would go back and forth between deciding to charge for my services as a guitarist or working for donations, honorariums, and love offerings. I have now decided to work for donations, love offerings, and honorariums or whatever a venue can afford to pay. I believe much the same way that Keith Green did that Christ and the ministry are the most important part of having a music ministry.
Part of the reason I am doing this is that I believe that getting the gospel message out about Christ is more important than any amount of money I could make as a musician. As an instrumentalist my approach to ministry is a different than that of a singer. My ministry has to be viewed in much the same way as David’s music in the Bible. I hope that my music brings soothing to hurting people’s souls like David’s did for Saul (1 Samuel 16:14- 23).
It’s very interesting about this passage in the Bible. One thing I almost missed was verse 13. This verse became very important to the calling of David. Samuel anointed David with the horn of oil and ever since then the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. This verse just jumped out at me right before Christmas. And I knew I was going to write about it in my next update.
David was very effective as a musician because of this. The power of God came upon David in a mighty way. This isn’t to say that he didn’t make mistakes in his life because he did, but he had a special relationship with God. His music must’ve been some of the most powerful in the Old Testament days.
God has used music to minster to His people from the Old Testament days until today. Music of all styles can be very effective in helping the people of God come to a closer relationship with Him.
The other reason I am deciding to do this is from a conversation I had with a record executive last year at this time. He suggested I get my music out wherever I can and not worry so much about always being paid for it. This helped confirm to me the direction I believed I was to take in my music ministry. So I am pursuing new ways to get my music heard. Some of it I will be paid for and some of it will not bring any income.
As I finish up what I am writing about, I am now more concerned about using my music as a ministry tool instead of seeing a financial reward. If in some way what I am doing as a musician helps you draw closer to God, then let Him be praised! Our lives are to be about serving Him and helping people grow in their faith.
So as we push into 2007 may God continue to bless you in mighty ways this year!
