In October I wrote about Overcomers In Christ recording a new theme song, H2O, at Tesco Productions.  The primary musician tapped for leading the way was Justin Nordstrom.  While he was here he laid down the basic tracks for one of his own songs Eyes on You.  Well we’ve been able to clear the schedule enough that Justin is revisiting that recording and has replaced the vocal and updated the percussion parts with Vinnie Yates.  The name “Yates” raised my attention when they were here for H2O and I asked Vinnie if he was related to Lyle Yates.  Well it turns out Lyle is his dad.  I had lost touch with Lyle for a number of years and missed him – as well as his excellent bass playing.  Lyle and I got acquainted possibly while I was still in college (now Grace University) or shortly thereafter.  He has played on a number of projects over the years and Justin had him lay down bass on his song.  It was so good to meet up again and hear his familiar skill.  Lyle gave me a piece of advice over 25 years ago when I was just starting the studio.  “Pay attention to your customers, be there and ready and take care of them and you’ll do alright”.  Well his advice has never been forgotten and has served me well and provided encouragement over the years.  Thank you. 

Justin’s song is coming along nicely and we have one more session scheduled to add some other parts as he displays his versatility of playing additional percussion elements as well. You can find more pics of the session in the photo gallery.

DeJa Blu has just released their latest CD – “Sentimental Christmas”. The eight songs take you down Christmas lane with traditional songs, classic, modern and a little in between. The response to the disc is off to a great start – with one CD purchase turning into an order of 75 more! DeJa Blu has a lot of shows between now and Christmas and so the time is right for you to catch them in concert – or gift wrap one of their discs. For more info check out their site. Merry Christmas! (Yeah I know, it’s not Thanksgiving yet.)

Anyone familiar with the local and regional bluegrass and old-time music venues have no doubt had the privilege of being warmed by the musical prowess of the Kopsa Family. From the recent Applegrass Festival (Council Bluffs) to the Great Plains Bluegrass and Old-Time Music shows (Omaha), and a number of other events the Kopsas have spread their family sound and shared the joy they have in each other. Sarah underscores their sound with her acoustic rhythm, James fills the mandolin call, Maria plies her bow to the fiddle and Julia thumps the bottom bass notes. A total of twelve songs were laid down in various configurations – most of them with all four siblings playing. The vocals are equally shared with great harmonies typical of bluegrass and old time music.

We all gathered today (Nov. 1) to begin their mixdown. It has actually been several weeks since the recording session, but I have been extremely busy with a number of projects and on-going work all coming together at the same time. The Kopsas have been very patient and we made our way through four of their songs today. It was a fun afternoon and the results are coming together quite nicely. Did I hear something about Christmas in conversation? Thank you for sharing your God-given talents with us all.