30 Seconds (That Changed My LIfe)

Since I was a college student I've had this one dream that, to this day, has yet to come true. I have always wanted to be nominated for a Dove Award. That may seem silly to some, but to me it's recognition that you're a serious contributor to the Christian music industry. Your songs mean something. Your talent is appreciated. It's one of the highest awards for any Christian music artist. I have never even been considered, of course. But there was one moment--30 seconds--that almost led me down that path. Almost. Right after I graduated college--and somewhat on a whim--I entered a vocal competition in Dallas, Texas. I soon found out that I'd be competing against 186 singers...and I was number 183 to perform. I knew the judges would be tired. And here I was, singing to a track of a song called Crucified that I wrote with some friends in college. Shortly before I went on, I asked one of the other competitors if anyone had "blown away the judges yet." She said, "Not really." I got up, I sang my song. The crowd applauded. The judges applauded. It was an extremely positive response. When I sat back down in the room, the girl I had spoken to previously handed me a note on a piece of torn, red paper. "I think you're the one who just blew everyone away!" (I still have that note to this day.) To my surprise, I won the competition. And the first place prize was to go to Nashville, record a project, open for Morgan Cryar (one of my all-time favorite artists--and who my oldest son is named after) and...wait for it...pitch your project to the president of Star Song records. This was my chance! I went to Nashville. I recorded my first solo project, called Shock the World. It was pop. It was, at moments, a bit corny. There are some songs on there that I'm still proud of though. Probably wasn't my best effort but with the amount of studio time I had been given, (we recorded the entire album in 3 days) it was ok. I opened for Morgan Cryar, singing a handful of my songs and received a strong response. "I'm on my way!" I thought. When I arrived at the office of Star Song records, I sat in the lobby next to a young couple. He had spikey "nashville hair" and she had big, blonde hair! They were dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was wearing a denim jacket. I spent every last dollar I had to buy a cheap suit at the Nashville mall. I was feeling a little out of place. They told me they were a married couple and they were there to sign their recording contract for their first album. They called themselves Two Hearts. It was exciting to meet other artists who were just about to launch their careers. They had done it. They were getting their chance. I was hoping that, by that afternoon, I'd be in the same boat. They comforted me, wished me luck and then went into another room to look at their paperwork. When the president of Star Song came out of his office to meet me, my producer introduced me as "the next Michael W. Smith." The president asked me, "Are you the next Michael W. Smith?" I said, "No sir. I'm the first Tim Glenn!" I was brimming with confidence. I knew this meeting could change my entire career path. I went into the office with the president. Sat down in front of his desk. He sat in his leather chair behind the desk. We made a little bit of chit-chat. I was obviously nervous as he popped my cassette into his tape player. (Yes, we were still using cassettes back then.) "Well then, 'first Tim Glenn', let's see what you've got." The first song--Take Me Away--came on. My foot was tapping. Probably as much out of nervousness as enjoying the beat. 30 seconds. That's all he listened. He stopped the tape. Popped it out. What is he thinking? Was it so good that he didn't need to hear any more? Was it so bad he didn't need to hear any more?" It was the latter. "I'm sorry, Tim. This just isn't what we're looking for right now. Good luck to you though." That was it. No contract. No suggestions. No second chance. Nothing. I walked out of that office, deflated. I took my shot. And I missed. I walked past Two Hearts, sitting in another room poring over paperwork. They looked at me with the obvious question on their faces. I just shook my head no as I walked by. My producer walked me out to the car, where I fought back tears the entire ride back to the house where I was staying. I often have wondered what my life would've been like had that 30 seconds gone differently. Don't get me wrong, I love the way God has blessed me with a family and a career. And I still get to make music, lead worship, etc. But that 30 seconds was a path changer. It led me to pursue a different career...a different life. Tonight, the Dove Awards will be held in Nashville. And at some point, an artist will hear his or her name announced among the list of nominees. Oh, how I wish I knew what that felt like!

The Story Behind...(I'll Drive Yesterday)

Track 6 on my latest project, So Human, is titled, "So, I had this dream..." It's a scene where I'm sitting down with my engineer/producer, Mike Manthei, and discussing the upcoming song. On the track, Mike and I are at a diner, talking about the title to track 7, "I'll Drive Yesterday." Now, there are some things you should know about this scene as it plays out on the CD. First, Mike and I were never at a diner. (Well, I mean we've had lunch together several times but this taping didn't take place at a diner.) Instead, we recorded the scene right there in the recording studio. I sat down on a stool, under the microphone, with Mikey (that's what I call him) sitting next to me. For a little more realism, I actually had a plate in front of me. On the plate was a slice of bread and a butter knife. I cut up the bread and ate it while we talked. The background noise you hear on the track was actually recorded a couple of weeks earlier--at my workplace. I sat a microphone and a small digital recorder out on a table in our cafeteria and just recorded people eating, talking, walking by. But the story I tell in the scene is true. The song really did come about as the result of a dream. Like I explain in track 6, I dreamed I was on stage in front of a massive crowd. My band began this chunky rock groove and I shouted in a pseudo-British/Australian/Cockney accent, "This song's called I'll Drive Yesterday!" And the crowd went nuts. They were screaming and yelling. But then I woke up. I didn't know how the song went. All I had was a title. Meanwhile, my guitarist, Brian DeKam, had written a cool guitar groove for another song that we ended up never using. But I really liked the music tracks. So I stole those music tracks and wrote the words to I'll Drive Yesterday to go with them. About the song: So I sat down and tried to figure out what the heck the words, I'll Drive Yesterday could possibly mean. And the only thing that I could come up with was God's promise...of taking those pains and sins of the past and throwing them away. Have you been lied to? Cheated on? Hurt? That was yesterday. God will drive it away. I also wanted to paint a picture of how holding on to past hurts can affect you:

"Yesterday's a prison. A room without a view.

A judge without a pardon and no remorse for you."

and contrast that with the hope that comes through Christ, who says:

" I'll Drive Yesterday all away and leave it all behind you

there'll be nothing to remind you of yesterday. It's gone today

and the pain and sorrow life put in your way, that was yesterday."

I think my favorite part of the song is the bridge. It has a bit of a "scat" feel to it and the message is, I think, important:

"All of the baggage, all of the scars

all of the wreckage left on your heart

you've gotta let go, it'll tear you apart

you've gotta give it away.

Ah man...that was yesterday."

So there you have it. Some truth. Some deception. But the real story behind the song whose title confuses so many folks upon hearing it the first time. Hope you enjoy!

The CDs Are Here!

They've finally arrived! The first batch of So Human CDs is here! The UPS man delivered them this afternoon (thanks Mr. UPS guy!) To give you an idea of how long I've been waiting to have this CD in hand, ready to sell...well, our first studio recording session was in August of 2005. That's right--over three years. But the songwriting began several months before that. So this project has taken nearly four years to complete. (Of course, I took a few months off during my wife's pregnancy and a few months after Morgan was born too...but still-four years!) Part of it is that I just wanted this project to be as good as possible. So, I was extremely picky...finicky perhaps. We added songs mid-stream, subtracted songs. We brought in musicians and vocalists and then brought in more. It was a lengthy process, but the end result, I believe, is the best CD I've ever produced. The songs on So Human are honest...they are real. There are lyrics that I think you will definitely be able to relate to, no matter where you are in your spiritual journey. So...how do you get one? Glad you asked! Right now, the CDs are only available by sending a check for $17 ($15 for CD, $2 for shipping/handling) to:

Tim Glenn Music

7103 McEwan St.

Colorado Springs, CO 80922

If you want to purchase with a credit card, you'll have to wait til they're available through iTunes and/or CDBaby. That will take about another month. Or you could come to my CD Release Concert on November 21st. Here are the details:

Tim Glenn CD Release Concert

Friday, Nov. 21st

7:00pm

Rocky Mtn. Calvary

4285 N. Academy Blvd.

Colorado Springs, CO

FREE!

God bless! Tim

Big Day!

Today is a big day! For a couple of reasons: 1. The final artwork and audio master have been approved for my new album, So Human, so that means the copies are being burned and printed right now. Yep, as you're reading this, a factory in New Jersey is making mass quantities of my CD for sale. Yay! It will be available through my website in about two weeks. It will be available via iTunes and CDBaby in about 4-6 weeks. 2. Today starts the national radio promotion for my first single from So Human. The song is called Open Up the Darkness and it's being promoted to nearly 1000 Christian radio stations (mostly Christian rock) across the country. One station, WSNL in Flint, Michigan, has already started playing the song. Wanna help? Contact your local rock radio station--Christian or secular--and ask them to play Open Up the Darkness by Tim Glenn. You can also hear the song on the music player on this page! The date for the CD release concert has been set. Info is below.

The Latest...

So, we finished the mixing, mastering, etc...for So Human a couple of weeks ago. But I still haven't sent everything off to the duplicators. There are some forms to be filled out, and some arrangements to be made regarding digital distribution, (it's going to be available on iTunes, digistation.com and a few others.) Plus, I'm waiting to have an insert created by Compassion International, that will promote their child sponsorship ministry. I want everyone who gets a copy of my CD to be able to learn about the incredible work that Compassion is doing in the lives of children in poverty.So...all that to say...it will be at least four weeks AFTER I send the stuff off before I have the album ready to sell. I'm hoping to be able to send it off late this week, or early next week. So, that would put availability at the end of September/first week of October. BONUS: Since you've been so patient, I have included some of the new songs on the player on my page here. You can listen to some of the songs that will be on the album now!

FINISHED!

I'm so stoked! Last night, 8-8-08, (which was also supposedly the start of some big sporting event--wink wink!), we finally finished the album. Just to give you an idea of how long we've been working on this project, our very first recording session took place on 8-29-05. That's right...almost THREE YEARS AGO! And that doesn't include the time writing and learning songs BEFORE we started recording. (Now, of course, we took a lot of time off, to have a baby and all...but it's still been more than a three year process.)

All the recording is done. All the mixing. The mastering.

Now, the cd is ready to send off for printing, duplication, etc. And, I'm also excited to tell you, Chris Tschamler has come up with some great new artwork for the project. Check out the new album cover: Sweet huh?

I'll let you know once the cd is in ourhands...and ready for sale! Probably another 4 weeks or so.

One More Track

Hi gang!

Tonight, we will record the last track for the So Human album...a guitar track that my co-songwriter, good friend and amazing guitarist Brian will be laying down.

That means that, after this weekend, all that's left to do is mix the album! That will likely take a few weekends...into mid/late June. Once the album is mixed and mastered, it will have to be sent out for printing and duplication. That's another three weeks. So it's possible we could have the project in hand by the end of July!

:fingers crossed:

I'm So Excited!

This past weekend, I spent some time in the recording studio...and we are definitely getting close to finishing the So Human project!

Yesterday, Bret Major came in and recorded a kick-butt bass track for Simple Me. Then, I had to do some background vocal work on a song called, I'll Drive Yesterday. I was really struggling with the song and had pretty much decided that if I couldn't get the background vocals to work, I was going to scrap the song. Luckily, I was able to make them work. So the song stays!

All that's left is a lead guitar track on Forgive and Forget...and background vocals on Turn Your Eyes. Then we start mixing!

Best case scenario: we could have this album ready for duplication by the end of May. Though that may be a bit of a stretch, because I'm pretty much booked with something every weekend in May. Ugh! So, most likely, we'll be ready for duplication sometime in mid-late June. It will take about three weeks or so to get the CDs back in hand...so they should be ready for sale by mid-July! Yay!

I'll be sooooooo glad to get this project finished...and make it available so you all can hear what I've been working on for the past two years! (With an 8-9 month break to have a baby of course!) Once we have a more firm date for the cd release, we'll start booking concerts to promote it.

I'll keep ya informed!

Album Update

I've been making quite a bit of progress on my album, So Human, lately. This has been the longest it's ever taken me to produce an album. August of 2005 was when we started the process. Whew! Of course a lot happened during that time--job changes, my drummer moving to Texas and oh yeah--having a baby!

Tonight, Gail Knoepfle, a background vocalist will be in the studio to cut her final tracks. Then, all that's left is:

• -Re-do some lead vocal parts on two songs.
• -Re-do a bass track on one song.
• -Bring in John Donovan to add a male background vocal on two songs.

Then we start mixing!

It's been a long process and I'm glad that we're getting this close. If you'd like to hear some "rough mixes" of some of the songs, (some with background vocals, some without), scroll down a bit and check out the music player on this page.

To find out more about the project, you can always check out my music website.

Will You Remember Me?

This weekend I'll be in the studio again. We've been making a lot of progress on the album. In fact, three songs are completely mixed. (I put one of them on my music player on my MySpace page, it's called Forgive and Forget. Check it out when you get a chance.) We still have background vocals to cut on four songs...and a bass track to finish on another. But this weekend, I'll be focusing on something else. This weekend, I'm going to be recording a song I wrote for Compassion International. I wrote it after my trip to Kenya last August. While we were there, I met a single mother, named Anrietta, who was HIV positive. During my conversation with her, she asked me twice: "Will you remember me?" I thought it was an odd question. I told her, "Of course I will!" Later, as other members of our group were talking to this same lady, she asked them the same question: "Will you remember me?" And it dawned on me. She was afraid. She was afraid that she'd be dying soon, leaving her young daughter to fend for herself. She was afraid she'd die...and be forgotten. Then I started thinking about the 1-billion plus children who live in extreme poverty in our world. They struggle just to survive. 30,000 children die everyday, from things that could easily be prevented. Who will remember them? I suppose we all want a legacy, right? We all want to leave this world a better place than the way we found it. We all want to be remembered. So, I'm going into the studio this weekend to start recording on this song...and to remember Anrietta. I'll upload an mp3 file of it once it's done. In the meantime, here are the lyrics: Will You Remember Me? VERSE: I am naked and I am poor I’m an orphan but so much more Won’t you look beyond your own front door to save? I’m just looking for some food to eat A pair of shoes for my two bare feet And I was hoping you could meet those needs today. CHORUS: When you hear my cries, will you rescue me? Will you just walk by through the moment? When you see my tears, will you comfort me? If I disappear, will you notice? I want a legacy…but will you remember me at all? BRIDGE: What’s it matter, how I got here? What’s it matter, where I’ve been? All that matters, is I should matter… Yes, I should matter to you. CHORUS: When you hear my cries, will you rescue me? Will you just walk by through the moment? When you see my tears, will you comfort me? If I disappear, will you notice? Yes, Anrietta, I will remember you.

What's New (& What's Old) This New Year

It's 2008. Is it just me, or does that sound incredibly "space age?" I remember back in high school (in the ancient ole' 1980's) thinking, "I wonder if I'll live to see the year 2000?" 2000 was 8 years ago! Can you believe that? Remember the Y2K scare? Years ago!

Some things have changed in the past year...some have remained the same. Here are a few things from my life:

First and foremost, I became a daddy in 2007. The greatest title I've ever held. My son, Morgan Douglas Glenn was born on March 21st. What a blessing it has been this past year to experience a first Father's Day, Mother's Day, Morgan's first Thanksgiving (so much to be thankful for!) and Christmas. And oh...to watch him grow! He's 9 months old now...has seven teeth...is crawling all over the place.

I still have the same job...which, in this day and age, is a pretty good thing! I actually love my job. I'm the US Advocacy Director for Compassion International--a ministry I believe in whole-heartedly. Basically my job is to educate Christians in the US about the biblical mandate to care for children and the poor.

I visited the Philippines for the first time...and got to spend time with Jen Rina, the girl my family sponsors through Compassion International. She's a beautiful, shy young girl who does well in school, loves arts and crafts (and her dog) and who is very good about writing letters to let us know how her family is doing.

I'm still working on my new album, So Human. (Ha! I think I wrote that last New Years' Day too!) I promise, I really did make a lot of progress this year. All that's left is to re-cut a bass track on one song...and background vocals on five songs. I'm hoping to have the cd packaged and ready for you to listen to, by summer.

And, I took part in a new venture, called IndieDrive this past year. IndieDrive is a company that sells music albums on flash drives. They are focusing on independent artists like myself. The cool thing about it is, they let the artist decide what goes on the flash drive. So...my 1GB flash drive includes songs from my last album, New Pair of Shoes, some demo versions of songs from So Human, some never-before released acoustic songs (recorded live), some songs from my college band, Main Street, some downloadable photos, lyric sheets and a video. Yep. All that for $20! Check it out!

All in all, it's been a busy year. A productive year. Now that I think about it...a tiring year! Ha!

Welcome 2008! Hope your new year is a blessed one.

A Little Family Pride...

You know, usually when someone tells you they have a family member that's "really talented", you might think, "Yeah, yeah...whatever." Well, at the risk of falling into that category, I do want to tell you about my 15-year old neice, Shayne. I didn't even know was interested in music, but last week, she recorded her first song with a friend...and in my opinion, it's pretty good. She shows really good vocal technique and the hook is pretty strong. Good writing. I love good writing. I know it may sound silly, but I'd love it if you would at least listen to her song on myspace and leave her a comment. Trust me, it would go a long way for her. Check it out! Thank you so much!