the starfield blog

So, I’m thinking about taking a dip in the “Salt Lake” this week.  After all, we’re in Salt Lake City, and what better way to experience the local culture than taking a swim in the lake that gave this city it’s name…I’ve heard that you float…Without treading water or using “water wings” (those orange things you wear on your arms when you’re a kid) But, I also heard you smell like a rotten egg afterwards.  So there’s pros and cons…

Anyways, the reason we’re here in Salt Lake is because of an Evangelical free church event that happens every 2 years.  So this year it’s called “Challenge ‘08″.  Last night, Francis Chan  spoke a phenomenal message on how we view God.  He outlined a few different descriptions of encounters with God in the bible from Isaiah to John.  In every story he recounted, the one who experienced a vision of God fell on their face, not worthy to look upon a Holy God.  He communicated the “other-ness” of God in a descriptive and powerful way, and it left the room in silence and reverent repentance.  We went on stage and slowly built up into “How great is our God” and ended with the people singing “Our God is an Awesome God” Acapella.  It was a powerful night that we won’t soon forget.  - Jon. 

Look up Francis Chan’s podcast in Itunes if you get the chance - He’s great.  

somehow we snacked at McDonalds again today… how does this keep happening? we’re in one of the culinary capitals of the world and we’re eating at McDonalds! I’m so disappointed in myself… On a lighter note, we saw ‘Hairspray’ (the musical) and visited the ‘British Museum’ http://www.britishmuseum.org/ today… I have to say i prefer Zac to whoever the dude playing Link was in the musical…. but i digress… the museum was AMAZING… all those years growing up i never realized just how un-awesome the manitoba museum of man and nature really was I do however remember being terrified of the Native American/buffalo/cliff display though… were they REALLY just lifeless dummies?  We’re headed Back to Edinburgh tomorrow then flying home to Canada on Saturday… it’s been a fun getaway but I’m dying to be home,      tim.  

London is like New York’s older brother… more refined, more mature, and the very best kind of cool (not because it tries so hard - but just because it is).  We’re loving our few days off in England’s capitol… Jon and Myself (and our lovely wives) rented a flat just outside the city center and have spent the first couple of days just soaking in the sights and sounds. Today is tourist day as we’re booked at 1:30 on the ‘London Eye’ (a massive ferris wheel on the banks of the river thames - hopefully it doesn’t rain) and hope to see a few of the other historic sites and museums as well. on a much sadder note: somehow we’ve already been to McDonalds twice since we’ve been here… booo       tim. ps - here’s video from last night of some brotherly shenanigans in an english grocery store…  it was late, and yes i was about as tired as a man can be while still performing for the cameras :-) mvi_4301-iphone-cell.3gp

I can’t begin to explain how spectacular this event is. For those that were there - 30,000 strong - there’s no need for me to explain… but for those that weren’t - believe me when i say it is the single greatest event we’ve ever been apart of… Nothing we’ve done in any other country in the world exceeds the the production team, production value, and overall vibe of this event. Sponsored by the dutch government, and televised on Dutch TV, EO youth day was a BLAST to be a part of.  oh, and the people were great too! they LOVE their soccer… and why wouldn’t they? the night before we played, the Netherlands team won their second straight match against France in the Euro Cup… and that’s another thing… you haven’t lived until you’ve watched a playoff soccer match with the Dutch on their home turf… life-changing!  We can’t wait to be back in the Netherlands for Flevo Festival in August.      I’ve added some video so you can experience it for yourself!       tim.  

Excited and nervous about the “make-up” concerts this weekend in Burnaby and Abbotsford.  It’s a strange thing to feel that a tour is done, and then pick it up again a few weeks later.  Yet these gigs of course carry special significance for us as a band, being the 2 that were post-poned due to the incident in Abbotsford. 

Should be a couple of emotionally charged evenings, especially Abbotsford which will include a few testimonies from people who attended the concert as well as a time of response and prayer. My hope and prayer is that all those who attend this weekend will come in expectation. Expectant that God will heal and restore his people, and encourage and unify the body of Christ. I am humbled that we get the chance to press on.  In unity and surrender before our Great God, who has our lives in the palm of his hand.  

I might add, it’s an extra perk for me, that I’ll be sleeping in my own bed after both concerts this weekend.  I wish all our concerts were this close to home.   - Jon.  

Finding balance in a line of work such as ours requires constant fine tuning of ones self.  Boarding a plane every weekend or living on a bus with 12 other people for months at a time requires some getting used to.  Having only been with Starfield for a few months, I am considered the rookie when it comes to life on the road.  Learning the ropes has been a challenge that I have welcomed with open arms.  The cons? 4:00 am lobby calls and 3 planes in one day. The Pros?  Traveling the world and playing music with 3 of my closest friends.

I had the amazing opportunity to visit Memphis TN, a few weeks ago.  This was something that I had been looking forward to for a some time.  The city of Memphis has within it two things very close to my heart:

The first - The Lorraine Motel

This was the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.  He was shot outside room 603 on the second floor around 6:00 PM (Yes, Bono made a mistake) on April 4th 1968.  To stand and observe where this great man fell shook me to my core.  His death was only the beginning of his victory.

The second -  Sun Studios, the very birthplace of Rock n Roll. 

My excitement became more and more evident by the smile on my face as I entered the very room where some of my biggest musical influences created some of their greatest masterpieces.  Johnny Cash - Walk The Line, U2 - Rattle & Hum or Elvis Presley - That’s All Right, take your pic. 

If your travels ever lead you to the city of Memphis, make sure to check out these two very remarkable pieces of American history.

David

The Microphone Elvis Presley used at Sun Studios… 

Hello all. I have been absent from the ‘blog’ thing as it has been an interesting month - one filled with much thought and reflection. Since the accident in Abbotsford, I had someone close to me pass away and the combination of the 2 has left me asking some difficult questions. I am left re-evaluating life, relationships, priorities and where God is in all of these things. In this place I feel broken and humbled, which leaves me ever dependent on God and his promise of faithfulness. This last weeknd, I had the privilege to travel with my wife to Edmonton, AB to visit family and to play with worship leader Vicky Beeching. I really appreciate Vicky’s heart as a worship leader and her message about the faithfulness of a God the same yesterday and today. He is faithful when I am not and he is merciful when I am far from it. In a time when I feel like the waves have tossed me around a bit the unchanging, loving nature of my Father gives me a sense of peace. A quote by John Piper to think about - “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”. Right now I’m continually asking myself if I can truly say I find my worth and satisfaction in who I am as a child of God. I guess I’m just realizing that without God at the centre of every part of my life, things lose meaning…  Gordie. 

So we’re finally home.  in Abbotsford, laying low… we’ve been home only about 3 weeks so far this year and we’re at the beginning of another 3 weeks off… glorious.  As fun as the road is (and don’t get me wrong - it’s alot of fun) NOTHING beats coming home… especially to the Northwest… I can’t begin to explain how therapeutic the smells are… how calming the site of Mount Baker is… how amazing ABC perogies and farmer sausage can taste… And how energizing a walk through the trails behind the house with the dog can be.  However, that said, coming home this time was different. The last time we were here was the day after the Abbotsford stop on the ‘I will go’ tour… The day after the floor gave way…. that day was alot of things for us - but mostly - it was a  re-alignment… or maybe better put, a reckoning… to the urgency of the moment. Of all the ways that we were trying to communicate the message behind ‘i will go’ …  speaking to our generation’s ‘indifference’ to the lost and poor… talking about the blinding nature of own privilege…  singing about the illusion of our safety in North America, and our general apathy towards the things of God… NOTHING could have spoken louder to these things than the floor falling out from under us in the thick of our worship.  God revealed to those in the room (and so many more)  in a matter of seconds just how sovereign He is…. and in turn how precious, and utterly gifted to us each breath we breathe really is.  I shed alot of tears and asked alot of hard questions in the weeks following… but ‘where were you God?’ was not one of them… I know we was right there… I felt him in that room as the floor gave way…  There was that peace that passes all understanding… that gut-feeling of security in the middle of calamity - that can only come from God…  and that’s the heart of it i think… not knowing, not understanding, but still trusting, still beleiving, still persevering and still ‘holding on’ .  These are the things that shape us into kind of people God is trying to make us… If we let him.  Back in Abby, almost exactly one month later, I’m still being shaped and changed by the events of April 25th… I kindof hope i never stop being shaped by what happened… Life is too short to get comfortable with our comfort… It’s such a facade… such a thin veil.  i think that’s all i wanted to say…  sorry it’s been so long      tim. 

Feels like we’ve been in the Toronto / Jersey area alot lately… I guess we have… I’m excited to get back… truth is, I’m excited to just get back on the road… as much as we pine for home when we’re gone there’s just something about being rested and reuniting with the guys, getting back on stage with a clear head and a rested body - that feels like me doing what I was created to do. I LOVE doing what I do by the way… I’m so fulfilled to have the creative outlet that I have. So blessed, so lucky, so grateful. It’s interesting to me too - in reading the comments - at how many of you that read the blog are also musicians (aspiring or otherwise) and are dealing with many of the same issues/challenges. I think it’s cool, I’m excited about the relationship that can come of our little internet relationship.   I’m off to soundcheck -   tim. 

This past week was release week…  the time in every signed musician’s life where their value as a recording artist is reduced to the exact number of CD’s/legal digital downloads they can sell in the first week of a new record’s release. Right down to the single digits, the scans are counted and the fate of the record (and in many cases - the artists career) is cast…. Okay, i’m being a little melo-dramatic - it can be a very exciting time - but it can also be a stressful, fearful, and insecure time as well… It’s always been difficult for me to separate MY worth from the success and momentum of the band… And this unhealthy pattern is only intensified when something like release week puts a big ole’ magnifying glass on the situation. As hard as we work to establish ourselves, to write music, and lead worship from a genuine place I’d be lying if I said it was always motivated from a place of humility and surrender. Most of the time I walk on stage insecure, fearful, and intimidated… The truth is that I’m constantly having to lay down my pride, and subsequently lay down my music career, the very thing I work so hard to control and see succeed. It’s just so interesting to me how far i HAVEN’T come… All it takes is a little industry ‘under-performance’ to make me second-guess the very thing I’ve been called to!… as if God CALLS me to sell records!? He doesn’t by the way… He calls me to service. Service that’s not dependent on how I feel or how I’M being validated. At the end of the day, I don’t believe God cares much about record sales, radio chart positions, or even how many people hear my music… He cares only about my heart. About my soul. And about my Spirit. My music isn’t important to the Kingdom, only my love is.  And that’s the lesson i guess. let us not find our identity or worth or value or hope in anything but Christ.  Because only in Christ can we truly find any of those things anyway. that’s all i got for now. tim.