I know what you’re thinking. “George Bush really didn’t have to give me this $300, $600 or $1200 check, but I’m sure glad he did. Now what should I spend it on?”
Well, aside from chipping in to help me raise money to send African children to school (CLICK HERE) you could always buy some used musical equipment. From me. Right now.
I’ve been trying to put this stuff together to sell for a while, but it’s a lot of stuff, and some of it I don’t really want to sell. So procrastination has come easy. BUT… it’s time to replace a car (already) and to replace the Telecaster I sold off last year.
So here’s a big ol’ list of gear for sale. I’ll leave these up here for a week or two, and then they’ll go on ebay. I’d rather them go to folks I know, have you guys get a deal, and not mess with ebay, so that’s why I like to throw them on here first.
Everything is first come, first serve. Send me an email at andrew@andrewosenga.com and tell me what you want. Once I confirm it you can paypal me and I’ll send the item(s) out in a day or two.
Thanks! (And feel free to ask any questions, or tell me if you think I’m asking too much.)
I’ve broken everything down into three categories, to make it a bit easier. Happy Federal Rebate Spending!!
P.S. And here’s one you just need to see. This is Ebi, Neilson’s temporary puppy. She’s been with us every day in the studio, and yesterday somehow fell asleep wrapped up in my guitar cable. Very cute. Almost makes me want a dog. Except that she doesn’t.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I just signed up to run a 5k race. Which turns out to be something like 3.1 miles. Which is probably more than the grand total that I’ve run since high school. But I’m going to do it.
And I need your help.
The event is called Ellie’s Run. (CLICK HERE) All the money raised will go to providing school books, uniforms and shoes for kids in Africa. These items are required for them to be allowed to go to school at all, and the cost to meet those needs for one child is $25.
My goal is to raise $1000, or to put 40 kids in school next year. And I think we can do it. I ponied up the first $25 today, and would love to see you guys match it.
CLICK HERE to go to the donate page, and enter my name “Andrew Osenga” where it asks for Hero’s Name, and then put your own. I’ll keep a running tally on here and let you know where we are on our quest to put 40 kids in school.
And I’ll occasionally let you know how my “training” goes, since I’ll need to be get myself in shape for it, which is pathetic, since it’s not really that long, but hey…
First up, I need a pair of real, actual running shoes.
Thanks in advance for your support of me and Ellie’s Run. It’s going to be exciting.
Chris asked - “What inspired “Man of the House” off the Photographs record?”
I had just read, from start to finish, the coffee table book of the complete Springsteen lyrics and I thought “I need to write a song that good.” I don’t know that I did that, but I had been inspired by some reading about the children of divorce, my parents are still together, and thought it would be something worth really trying to understand more deeply.
My favorite part is the bridge…
A boy without a father has mighty shoes to fill,
becomes a husband to his mother and a daddy to himself
I had known a lot of my friends whose parents had turned to them for what they needed to get from a spouse. That’s got to be a tough way to live and my heart hurts for people who go through it. And, like the character in the song, it makes me that much more determined to not let it happen to my own children.
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Jason asked - I know from experience that song writing is an intensely personal venture. I struggle to play my own tunes for other people because of the vulnerability that this act creates in me. What song in your catalog was the most difficult to play to other people for the first time?
That’s a good question. The real answer is too close for me to share, honestly, but the song “Hold the Light” mentions a very personal story, the willow tree reference, and I wanted to make sure that Randall, the co-writer, and I had done it justice.
Also the time I played “Early in the Morning” for Kenny and Meredith, two of my neighbors who are mentioned in the tune. I needed their blessing before I could feel ok to use their names, and they were very gracious and encouraging. Which was good, since the song was already mixed at that point!
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Clay A (Aiken, I imagine) asked - Why do you hate me? Im in Spamalot.
I think some questions don’t deserve answers. How did you even find this website? Don’t you have a eRestraining order?
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Tammy - I saw you in Hickory NC playing with Caedmons and the live version of Hold the Light blew me away. It’s my favorite song on the album but you added so much to it live. Still, I can think of the moment and my insides pause in transcendent awe. Is there any place where one could download a live version of that song? I’d be willing to pay.
Hopefully there will be soon. More as it develops. (And thanks for wanting it!)
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Gronk - What do you use to amplify your acoustic guitars? Are you an under-saddle piezo guy or a passive transducer (a la K&K Pure Western) guy? Do you have any internal mics in your guitars? Does your technology and/or technique differ between your various guitars? I’m just askin’ cuz, man, they always sound *good*.
I pretty much just use what came in the guitar. Charley, my old Guild, has an ancient Baggs in it that sounds fantastic. I think the McPherson uses the same type of pickup, though I haven’t been as happy with it on that guitar.
My Avalon has the Fishman dual thing, with a mic and a traditional pickup. I really like that sound. I also often throw them through my amps with a little Memory Man on them. I think the Radial Direct boxes are pretty great, as well.
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Thanks so much for sending in your questions, and feel free to send any others you may have. More answers to come soon.
Had a good weekend. Cason and Katie had our family over for lunch Saturday. After that, we laid low and watched a couple movies, something we never get the time to do anymore. Saw The Darjeeling Limited tonight, which I loved. Brought me back to India.
It’s been four years since I was there, but it seems like maybe a year ago. The older I get the faster time seems to be moving. I’m not even 30. Scary.
I cooked and baked today. Two things I rarely do. Mother’s Day with a 3 year old and 1 year old means Daddy making pancakes, Daddy making a real cake, Daddy trying to make the 3 year old and 1 year old feel like they’re helping without actually letting them touch anything. It was a lot of fun, and I ate too much.
My wife is a good mom, and it was good to celebrate her today. The girls really enjoyed it, and we really enjoy them.
It’s back to the studio tomorrow morning, then writing with JJ and Dave Heller after lunch. They’re a talented pair, and they’re in that stage where they’re flexing their wings. It seems like every song I hear is better than the last one. I remember that stage in my writing, when you started to really figure stuff out. It’s exciting, and it excites me being near someone in that place.
This has been one of the longest stretches off the road in a long while, and the first where I wasn’t totally stressed out for a bunch of outside reasons. It’s been really good. I’ve been calling old friends and making lunch plans just about every day, just so I can reconnect with people I haven’t been able to spend time with recently. I’ve enjoyed it so much, and it feels like my soul is taking a couple deep breaths every time I sit down, look across the table at a dear friend and say “How’ve you been?” I still have a lot more folks to call, which usually sounds dreadful to me, but this time it’s exciting.
Got my iMovie working again and will have some new posts once I finish up a couple videos. It’s fun, but I figure that it takes longer than it feels when you’re in it. I’m looking forward to having more videos up, I like the energy it brings, especially when I’m off the road for a season.
Thanks for letting me catch you up. Hope you guys all had a great weekend. Hope you moms felt loved and cherished and celebrated. See you tomorrow.
My good friend, and the newest member of the Square Peg Alliance, Ben Shive has been working on a masterpiece of a record for the last few years, and people, it is almost done. And you need to own it. In the baddest of ways.
Not only is he the finest piano player I know, but one of the finest songwriters, and producers, and arrangers, and hair stylists. You can preorder his record at the Rabbit Room now. It will be released on June 17 and if you preorder you get two extra tracks and an exclusive digital booklet. But the biggest reason to preorder is to support Ben and allow him to finish the masterpiece that is the Ill-Tempered Klavier.
CLICK HERE to go to the Store, then choose the Ben Shive tab.
Oh, and if you don’t want to take my word for it, take a minute to hear from a few other of Ben’s biggest fans…
No score and three years ago… was a very painful day. Just in case you’re keeping track. Maybe someday I’ll have a party.
So yesterday was drums and bass day on my new project. Andy Hubbard and Aaron Sands were the backbone, Andy Hunt was tweaking the knobs, and Neilson and I were getting them to do whatever we wanted. It was fun.
I still can’t get my iMovie working (I apparently deleted something important when I moved from my old computer to this one) so there’s more to come, but here are a few photos…
Andy Hubbard
Andy Hubbard’s evil twin
Mr. Aaron “Fingers McGillicutty” Sands
Neilson, Andy Hunt and Nate (assisting)
What happened to Nate when he had to leave Calypso Cafe, where were eating lunch, because somebody locked the door wrong, set off the alarm, and the cops were at the studio. Andy Hunt was in charge of placing his order, which included two sides. This is, in case you didn’t notice, a chicken sandwich with potato chips AND tortilla chips. Yummy.
This thing scares me
All right, it’s back to work for me. I’m working on the answers to the questions you sent in a couple days ago. Stay tuned. More soon.
I’ve been learning a lot these days, or it seems, I’ve been unlearning a lot these days.
I’m usually a talker. I have a lot to say. You’ve probably noticed, if you read this blog for a while, that I haven’t had that much to say recently.
It’s because I’ve been trying to listen. And I’ve been hearing a lot about freedom, and my own glaring lack of it.
Raised in midwestern Christianity I’ve been taught to be scared of things like knowing yourself and being yourself. But I’ve believed a lot of things that were untrue, and one by one, painfully but wonderfully, they’re being ripped from me.
The most important thing I’m learning is that I’m valuable. If you read my lyrics over the past decade, it should be no surprise to you that I’m a person who often finds himself despising who he is. But that has to stop.
I’m realizing that if I believe in a God who created me and loved me, then I ought to live like it.
I can’t continue to feel like I’m worthless. I’m not.
I can’t continue to be afraid of who I am. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I can’t continue to be scared of my passions. I’m made in the image of a loving artist.
I can’t be scared of what somebody else thinks. Not because I believe in myself so much that I have the power within me, but because I have power within me that’s greater than me, and I believe in that.
I can’t be scared of my own story. Until I know it and understand it I’ll be controlled and defined by things I might not even be aware of.
I can’t continue to hide from the people I love when I feel I don’t deserve them or I’m not good enough. I need to be with them, for them and for me, knowing that who I am is worthwhile, even if my actions, thoughts or emotions tell me otherwise.
To be present is no easy thing sometimes, but anything less is a lie and dishonors the people that I love and the things I’ve been called to do.
I’ll spend the rest of my life learning what this looks like in real life, but now that I’ve glimpsed it, felt the wind of real freedom blowing through what’s left of my hair, there’s no going back.
Somebody suggested this, and I thought it might be a good idea. We’re going to do a bit of a “Reader Mailbag” type thing. Do you have any questions about what’s behind a song, a guitar sound, some opinion we’ve discussed? Leave your questions as comments on this post. Thanks! Hope you guys have a great week.
I go back in the studio tomorrow to cut drums and bass, so I’ll have photos and, if I can get my iMovie working correctly in time, some video too. Stay tuned.
Well, Neilson and I have finished up our first week of working together. We’re doing four tunes, and they’re turning out great. Tuesday we’ll go back in and cut drums and bass, but right now it’s just some guitars, some vocals, a few finger snaps and a lot of Garett’s thumpings and bangings. And that’s a good thing.
Here are a few hastily taken pictures…
Garett and a few of his toys…
Me, enjoying not having to push every button…
Neilson at work, me backseat producing. (It’s a hard habit to stop!)
I can’t wait for you guys to hear this stuff. Hopefully you will soon. I feel like I haven’t been able to get as much done here on my blog because I’ve been working so much on other content for the new website. It’s going to be a lot of fun. So thanks for your patience.
