The End Is Near..."Reality"

It is a sad day in the Jarnagin home. The end of the Newlyweds (Nick & Jessica) is tonight. OK seriously, I am having a bit of fun with this, but it is really the only TV show that my wife and I will ever try to sit down and watch. If knowing this makes you think of me differently now, GET OVER IT!

No really, this show is too entertaining. I think that one of the reasons I enjoy watching Nick and Jessica is that they remind me a bit of me and my wife (my wife is probably now offended). Unfortunately MTV has some of the best "reality" shows on TV in my opinion (Punk'd). I really thought that "reality" TV was going to be gone by now. There isn't much reality on "reality" TV.

Try to imagine your life on TV. Say someone wanted to put your life to film (like the Truman Show). "Reality" TV is just situational TV. People act totally different while on TV or camera. How real is it really? If I try to imagine being filmed, it doesn't excite me so much. Would I be afraid of what people would think of my life? Would I "ham" it up for the camera? The public would either love me or hate me. But the truth is...it wouldn't really be me.

Next week look for the special Blog on MTV.

Watch Out For These Rock Artists!

New Rock bands are making their way to the forefront for the masses to enjoy. These are a few that have peaked my ear....


Paramore: A new fresh young band from Franklin (TN). They have potential to be frikin' great! Lead singer Haley Williams is one of the most talented teenagers I have ever known. It is good to see more Alternative/ Rock music coming out of our area. We have quite enough of Christian, Country, and Pop "stuff". Stay tuned for more on Paramore.
WEB SITE: www.Paramore.net

Copeland: I have had my eye and ear on these guys for over a year now. Their new CD (In Motion) just dropped last week, and all I can say is WOW! These guys are really stepping into their own. ATL (Atlanta) is known for it's Hip Hop and R & B, but Copeland will help the Rock scene be noticed for sure! Spiritually you find lots of truth in their music.
WEB SITE: www.theCopelandsite.com

Lovedrug: It is only fitting that I have to spotlight these guys right after Copeland. They have toured together a lot. I'll be honest and say up front that you will either like the lead vocal or hate it. Musically it is fun. They sound a bit like The Music (opening band for Coldplay last tour) only you don't feel like your high when you listen to them. They have an amazing underground following. Ohio represent!!!
WEB SITE: www.Lovedrugmusic.com

Luna Halo: My personal favorite. They are well toured and known in europe and parts of the US. If you have followed Christian music at all you might have heard of the name. MAKE NO MISTAKE, they won't be at the next "See You At The Pole" rally or whatever. After getting real with their passion for art & really just Rock and Roll, they dropped the CCM thing and now want to just make music...me likey. They just finished several opening spots for Hoobastank, and are headed back to europe with Kevin Max this coming month. Be on the lookout for their upcoming CD over the next few months. You will hear them for the first time again soon.
WEB SITE: www.lunahalo.com

Erwin McManus, Thomas Nelson, Cannibals, and A Cool Little Notebook.

Thanks to Mark for his presentation of the Moleskine notebook. I purchased one yesterday in hopes that the spirit of Van Gogh or Hemingway would inspire great writings and art through it's pages. Well not really, but who knows...it's a cool little book. I am pretty sure that Borders might be the only place to find them if you are interested.

I just picked up a new book by Erwin McManus called "The Barbarian Way". Thomas Nelson, his publisher is marketing the book as a "Guaranteed READ", which basically means that if you can't really get through the book (b/c you're not feeling it) just send it back with the receipt and they will refund your money postage and all. I have to say that this book might ruffle some feathers. I am loving it so far. Thomas Nelson has been "right on" the past couple of years with a lot of their material. Blue Like Jazz has been the conversation of much debate as of late as well. Rock on! It is good for the church to actually start to think for themselves for a change. If you haven't read Searching For God Knows What, it's a must if you were feeling BLJ.

On the subject of Erwin McManus...I had dinner with Erwin serveral months back while he was in Nashville. He and his family have been fans of my band of 4 years Among Thorns. We just hung out and got to know each other. I kinda felt bad for him during our time together. From the time we got on our shuttle bus to go to dinner people wouldn't leave him alone. Even dinner seemed to be a chore with others just trying to get a minute of Erwin's time as if he had answers to their questions and problems. For the record Erwin was very gracious...much more than I might have been. Everyone wants a quick fix to everything when in reality there are probably no fixes at all this side of heaven.

Sometimes it seems to me that sometimes people can be lazy, myself probebly included. We all want someone to come and make all of our problems go away. Maybe the quick fix was never meant to be. Just maybe we are to work and search within ourselves to find answers. Our own answers...what WE really believe...NOT just what someone else told us to believe (or think). Just a thought.

Edun Clothing

Bono’s wife, Ali Hewson, and Rogan have teamed up with (if there was ever a real rock star) Bono to be the latest to start a clothing line. Edun (yes that is nude spelled backwards) is the line name and can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue. You can read more about it below

EDUN (FOX)
EDUN (MSN)

I want to give some props to Bono for really putting his "faith" to action. This guy is an unbelievable force that will stop at nothing to help the poor, sick, and hungry. I don't really care what people think about Bono, his faith, music, mouth, or lifestyle. Actions sometimes speak louder than words.

I do want to note that I am glad that Bono can admit that some of his ventures are not just charity (like you will see in the MSN video), but they are enjoyable business ventures. Bono states that Edun "isn't a charity...Africans don't want aid they want TRADE". It is just cool that he is trying to bring trade to places that struggle with the trade laws and industry.

Just so you all know, my new clothing line will called DEKAN...more on that later.

Donald Miller Artist Retreat- Part 2

Did you know that St. Patrick was British and that he spoke latin? Anways...

So many people (not just artists) are thirsty for authenticity. We are realizing that it is okay to ask questions about truth, life, beliefs, and spirituality.

Don taught using parts of his books Blue Like Jazz, and Searching For God Knows What. I took 4 pages of notes. Don started talking about how we all seem to be getting tired of asking "how" questions and how we are starting to ask "why" questions.

As a follower of Jesus (as Don is), I tend to gravitate towards "who" being the answer to the "why" and "how" questions. That who for me is God. He says "I AM". Our culture doesn't want to receive that answer. If we believe that God created the chemicals in our brains to experience creation, we must matter to Him. I guess it starts with faith though.

Don went on to talk about how Jesus taught to live life by TRUTH, TRUTH, TRUTH, ART (repeat). Truth is what we need (if we want to hear it or not) and art gets our attention. Since the fall (of mankind) we tend to look to a jury of peers to find our value. That has got to be true. From elementary school to the present day. We fight for our importance everyday. Think about road rage. Tom Arnold was even quoted saying "people like me are broken people looking to others to get approval."

As an artist, I plan on trying to learn more as I live, continue surrendering life to One higher than me, and hopefully people can see that my value, (though encouragement and judgment do still affect me) comes from the One who made me.

I want to thank Don for being willing to write the words he does, and to ask the hard questions that many are too timid to ask and address. Keep bringing the TRUTH.

Donald Miller Artist Retreat- Part 1

Porter's Call in a organization in my area that reaches out the the Artist who live around here. The greater Metro region (Nashville) is home to thousands of professional Artists, Entertainers, and Musicians, and Porter's Call helps meet a great need for understanding some of these artists.

Back in January I was invited to an Artist Retreat w/ Donald Miller. About 100 artists came out for 2 days of conversation, interaction, study, and refection. It was frikin' GREAT! I think that the majority of us in the room were starving for something like this. I would dare to say that very few of us (if any) had ever experienced anything like it, even at our individual churches.

It is hard for any of us (especially artists) to let down our walls and allow ourselves to be encouraged, refreshed, and yes, even blessed. I am learning how to be more transparent as I go. I find myself almost preaching "authenticity", but then I realize that the current of the world is SCREAMING "take control", "do it", "make a name for yourself." There isn't much room for being real. I definitely need to be moved by something MUCH larger than myself. I have found that peace and surrender in Jesus. Please don't let anyone ever tell you that peace and surrender come overnight. That is BS. If is does, that it is supernatural.

Donald wrote a little note in my books that I had him sign (hey, people do it to me with CD's, so...) that said "...Much grace to you on this journey!" We are ALL on a journey towards the end. Regardless of what you believe is after the end, it is good to know peace and surrender on this side.

Tomorrow I will talk more about the Retreat itself.

How WE live (or don't live) - Defining Part 1

I am starting a series of entries called Defining. This is part 1.

Community is a popular word these days in my world. I hear it all the time. "It is so great to live in community with you Chad" this quote coming from someone that might live 5 miles from my house, but I don't really live in community with them do I? Well some definitions of Community are as follows...

1. A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government.
2. The district or locality in which such a group lives.
3. A group of people having common interests: the scientific community; the international business community.
4. A group viewed as forming a distinct segment of society: the gay community; the community of color.
5. Ecology. A group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions.

In Don Miller's book "Searching For God Knows What" he writes the following..."We have a community, a group of people who, because of their own deformities, accept the deformity of others. We are the lucky ones, because we understand that people are only people, that the thing you think makes you better than us is an illusion." The quote comes from a group of "misfits" in the circus talking to a "regular" person.

If I truly try to remove myself from reality, I might believe that there is a lot of truth in that quote from the circus misfit. It might be that we all have social, cultural, or even religious deformities. I think that when it comes to living life, we have to eventually ask ourselves "how am I living?" & then "How do I want to live?"

To be honest I am still figuring that out. I know I want to help people that can't help themselves, create thoughtful and creative art, change the way people think about Jesus, and to make a sometimes invisible God visible. BUT, for me I still don't have that all figured out. I guess I have to let all of the above become an actual part of me and believe it.

New Beginnings

Thoughts of blogging has been on my radar everyday since I first heard the term. MySpace.com was where I first heard the term Blog. The next time was reading about Hugh Hewitt (more about him later), and then again shortly there after in my mentoring group. Now there's pod-casting (more on that later too). All I can say for now is.....cool.

I have been in music for about 10 years. Many types from Pop, Rock, CCM (Christian) to Worship. I have been the lead singer for a band called Among Thorns for the past 4 years. We are actually finishing up our ventures as a band at the end of the summer. I work part-time at a church in Franklin, TN, teach voice, and record studio work for all kinds of things. I am also working on new material for another CD which will actually be my first "solo" CD. I just have one word for all of that...stoked!

This has just been an intro so I can just get that out of the way.