The Kevlar Beard

Please click below to see Mark and I perform “Weary Hands” in his basement:

Weary Hands from Josh Mickelson on Vimeo.

V1

You reached through the clouds to me,

You filled my lungs with praise

Now my heart will sing your name

And Spread it through the Earth

Chorus

Just rivers turn to sea

Your love flows through me

And you crossed the grave

To touch humanity

V2

Like the sea reflects the sky

I’ll be your face to men

And when I fall I’ll reach to you

I’ll stand and look to you

Chorus

Just rivers turn to sea

Your love flows through me

And you crossed the grave

To touch humanity

As many of you know, I am working on writing a worship album with my friend Mark Thomas. I am going to use my blog to post some of the lyrics I have written for it. I fully realize that a lot of people will be uninterested in reading these, and I am totally ok with that. Congregational music is a tricky beast. You have to write something heartfelt and inspired, yet it needs to be easy for a community to participate in. there is this balance that needs to be felt in the song. Hopefully I am capturing that in these.

Verse 1:

In the shadow of your heart

I hear you whisper in the wind

Here’s my heart for you to mend

Take my life and make it whole.

Chorus:

I’ll raise my weary hands to the sky

And sing my praise to the Lord on high

Through your blood my ransom paid

Jesus, you have made a way.

Verse 2:

Lord, the fullness of your love

Is like the vastness of the sky

Lord, the thunder of your voice

Will shake our sleeping souls to life

Chorus:

I’ll raise my weary hands to the sky

And sing my praise to the Lord on high

Through your blood my ransom paid

Jesus, you have made a way.

Bridge:

Abba Father, I surrender.

David Bazan – House Show (4/16/09 Denver, CO)

This is the house show that was in my living room. There were approximately 50 of us huddled around David as he sang us his music. It was a really special evening that I will remember for the rest of my life.

The tracks are unmastered, so the volume is a bit low, but they sound good and convey the feel of the evening quite well. We used a Protools Digi 002 set up with a matched set of Audio Technica 4050s.  Thanks to Mark Thomas for his recording set up. Just download this file and un-zip it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?nmmhjiyqwuz

Tracklist:

1. Graduation
2. Please, Baby, Please
3. Priests and Paramedics
4. The Man in Me (Dylan cover)
5. Curse Your Branches
6. Harmless Sparks Fewer Broken Pieces
7. Transcontinental
8. When We Fell
9. Options
10. Bearing Witness
11. Weeds in the Wheat
12. Cold Beer and Cigarettes
13. In Stitches
14. Hallelujah (Cohen cover)

Cantatrice

Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding, misunderstanding.
Are we stationed here among another thing?
Sometimes I wonder.
After the lightning, this afternoon, came thunder:
the natural world makes sense: cats hate water
and love fish.

Fish, plankton, bats’ radar, the sense of fish
who glide up the coast of South America
and head for Gibraltar.
How do they know it’s there? We call this instinct
by which we dream we know what instinct is,
like misunderstanding.

I was soft on a green girl once and we smiled across
and married, childed. Never did we truly take in
one burning wing.
Henry flounders. What is the name of that fish?
So better organized than we are oh.
Sing to me that name, enchanter, sing!

the slow motion sneeze:

This is a fascinating video about a deaf percussionist. She talks about how music needs to be felt. It’s a bit long, but really interesting:

Okay, here is my first contribution to OurCC. It has taken me a while, but at least I got around to it! This is one of the first worship songs I have ever written. The recording is very rough, but I think the thought/sentiment gets conveyed.

Click here to listen

Lyrics:

Dear Lord,  May I be loving and faithful, always displaying your will.

Keep me safe in your arms while the world is reaching out further away

Shine a Light Through Me

Set My Spirit free

That my sould may sing

Your name

Dear Lord, May I be thankful and gracious, I don’t deserve anything.

Willing, Lord I’m your vessel for shaping, I’ll carry your word to the earth.

(chorus)

Hallelujah to your name.

I think I just found the ultimate photo of me lurking. This is from back when I lived in Wisconsin Rapids. I was in High School. Boo ya: