CHUCK GIRARD- Singer, Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Worship Leader
A Pioneer of Contemporary Christian Music, Member and Co-Founder of the CCM group 'LOVE SONG.'
A Pioneer of Contemporary Christian Music, Member and Co-Founder of the CCM group 'LOVE SONG.'
July 31, 2004
What A Summer...
Dear friends and supporters of this ministry.
Well, what a summer it has been so far! A couple of months back, God began to stir the hearts of my wife Karen and I about a huge life style change. We weren’t sure what was going to happen, but many things occurred which literally forced us into moving to …..Nashville! We were very skeptical at first, but as the steps began to fall into place, it became obvious that this was His will for us at this stage of our life.
Let me be clear to those of you who know my feelings about the CCM industry, this move was not about pursuing recording contracts or other opportunities in the industry. Not to say that there won’t be some involvement in the future, but if so, that part of our move has not been revealed to us at this time. As I began to pray about where to move and what to do, God instructed me to articulate my goals for such a move. There were 4 things that loomed prominently in my thinking:
1) A MORE MANAGEABLE FINANCIAL SITUATION. The cost of living in LA had become very burdensome, and I was looking for way to downsize our overhead. Selling our house there, liquidating our burdensome mortgages, and buying one here seemed to make great sense.
2) GREATER EASE IN MAKING RECORDINGS.. A family situation has made the use of a local studio available to me. This, coupled with my own limited studio situation, promised the possibility of making my future recordings at substantial savings.
3) THE POSSIBILITY OF MENTORING YOUNG MUSICIANS. Almost everybody in CCM lives here now, and if I was ever going to impact the younger generation of musicians with whatever wisdom and experience I have to offer, it was not happening in L.A. I feel that the Lord has told me He will be able to realize this potential far more easily here in Nashville.
4) REALIZING A DREAM TO START A WORSHIP EVENT OR MUSICIAN’S FELLOWSHIP OR BOTH. Many years of attempting to get an event off the ground which I called ‘WORSHIP L.A.”, never resulted in anything permanent. There never seemed to be the perfect venue or time or situation to get the event off the ground on a regular basis. I believe that God is going to fulfill this vision here. Here, there is a sense of new beginning, and I believe that with the proliferation of excellent churches in this are, my event will find a home. The same thing might go for a Musician’s Fellowship. This directly impacts the completion of the long awaited Vol. 2 of “Personal Worship."
The project has remained half done for over a year now. One of the major hang-ups was the participation of my daughter Alisa, who is currently in the popular CCM group ZOEgirl. Her contribution to Vol. 1 was so seminal, that I could not conceive of putting out Vol. 2 without her. However, due to the popularity of ZOEgirl, her schedule never left a breathing moment to make plans to fly her out to L.A. to do her parts. So…the project has come to her. We will be able to facilitate piecemeal recording on her off times, and this will allow for the final steps to be taken in getting the project out. However, recording facilities will not be available until the end of the year. It will require a combination of the services of the above mentioned studio, and our own home studio setup. Our studio will not be able to be made operational until our home becomes available at the end of the year. So there is little chance of completion of the project in 2004. However, once things are in place, we should be able to sail through the remaining steps quite handily, and God willing, may have the project out by middle of next year. I guarantee you, it will be worth waiting for, and we are so excited to get it finished. Following such a special project as “Voice Of The Wind” is a daunting task, but I truly believe that the new one will satisfy everyone. It will be the “same thing, only different."
The main difference is that there is more prelude to this one. VOTW kind of plopped you down in the middle of the throne room on song 1, while this one will take about 20 minutes to get you to that point. But, though fans of an album think they want more of the same, I think what they really want is the same feel and certain elements of the original, but would be disappointed with a carbon copy of the that original.
Technically, this CD will be an improvement. The original live recordings on Vol. 1 were done using my old Yamaha DX-7 keyboard, which has a dated sound by today’s standards. The new live recordings were done at a church in Orange County, CA, which has a beautiful big grand piano, which has been modified to accept midi equipment. This enabled me to get the same string sound I got on the first one, but playing an actual grand piano. Recording quality overall is better than Vol. 1, so if the anointing is just as good, everyone should be more than happy. Please be praying for us as we get acquainted with our new home, and settle in to what is a very different lifestyle for us on so many levels. We have already visited several churches, and the big problem will be choosing where to land, as they are all so wonderful. One of my 4 daughters moved here with us, so 2 out of 4 are here, with the other 2 entertaining the possibility of moving here as well. That means…grandbabies close to us as well as family all in one place. Thank you for how special you all are to us, and how we have sensed your interest and support over the years. I will keep you updated more often now that we are settling in, and have an internet connection again.
Karen and I would like to extend a special thank you not only to all of you who have supported us, but a special acknowledgement to those individuals who have really come along side in making this transition go so smoothly. Starting with Susie Dixon, who is our personal assistant, and always goes above and beyond what we could imagine. Also Randy Dixon, Rod and Deb Reimer, Eric Brown, and Linda Oakland.
Thanks guys,
God bless all of you.
Chuck Girard
(BTW, Mars Hill lives again! The board is finally fixed.
Well, what a summer it has been so far! A couple of months back, God began to stir the hearts of my wife Karen and I about a huge life style change. We weren’t sure what was going to happen, but many things occurred which literally forced us into moving to …..Nashville! We were very skeptical at first, but as the steps began to fall into place, it became obvious that this was His will for us at this stage of our life.
Let me be clear to those of you who know my feelings about the CCM industry, this move was not about pursuing recording contracts or other opportunities in the industry. Not to say that there won’t be some involvement in the future, but if so, that part of our move has not been revealed to us at this time. As I began to pray about where to move and what to do, God instructed me to articulate my goals for such a move. There were 4 things that loomed prominently in my thinking:
1) A MORE MANAGEABLE FINANCIAL SITUATION. The cost of living in LA had become very burdensome, and I was looking for way to downsize our overhead. Selling our house there, liquidating our burdensome mortgages, and buying one here seemed to make great sense.
2) GREATER EASE IN MAKING RECORDINGS.. A family situation has made the use of a local studio available to me. This, coupled with my own limited studio situation, promised the possibility of making my future recordings at substantial savings.
3) THE POSSIBILITY OF MENTORING YOUNG MUSICIANS. Almost everybody in CCM lives here now, and if I was ever going to impact the younger generation of musicians with whatever wisdom and experience I have to offer, it was not happening in L.A. I feel that the Lord has told me He will be able to realize this potential far more easily here in Nashville.
4) REALIZING A DREAM TO START A WORSHIP EVENT OR MUSICIAN’S FELLOWSHIP OR BOTH. Many years of attempting to get an event off the ground which I called ‘WORSHIP L.A.”, never resulted in anything permanent. There never seemed to be the perfect venue or time or situation to get the event off the ground on a regular basis. I believe that God is going to fulfill this vision here. Here, there is a sense of new beginning, and I believe that with the proliferation of excellent churches in this are, my event will find a home. The same thing might go for a Musician’s Fellowship. This directly impacts the completion of the long awaited Vol. 2 of “Personal Worship."
The project has remained half done for over a year now. One of the major hang-ups was the participation of my daughter Alisa, who is currently in the popular CCM group ZOEgirl. Her contribution to Vol. 1 was so seminal, that I could not conceive of putting out Vol. 2 without her. However, due to the popularity of ZOEgirl, her schedule never left a breathing moment to make plans to fly her out to L.A. to do her parts. So…the project has come to her. We will be able to facilitate piecemeal recording on her off times, and this will allow for the final steps to be taken in getting the project out. However, recording facilities will not be available until the end of the year. It will require a combination of the services of the above mentioned studio, and our own home studio setup. Our studio will not be able to be made operational until our home becomes available at the end of the year. So there is little chance of completion of the project in 2004. However, once things are in place, we should be able to sail through the remaining steps quite handily, and God willing, may have the project out by middle of next year. I guarantee you, it will be worth waiting for, and we are so excited to get it finished. Following such a special project as “Voice Of The Wind” is a daunting task, but I truly believe that the new one will satisfy everyone. It will be the “same thing, only different."
The main difference is that there is more prelude to this one. VOTW kind of plopped you down in the middle of the throne room on song 1, while this one will take about 20 minutes to get you to that point. But, though fans of an album think they want more of the same, I think what they really want is the same feel and certain elements of the original, but would be disappointed with a carbon copy of the that original.
Technically, this CD will be an improvement. The original live recordings on Vol. 1 were done using my old Yamaha DX-7 keyboard, which has a dated sound by today’s standards. The new live recordings were done at a church in Orange County, CA, which has a beautiful big grand piano, which has been modified to accept midi equipment. This enabled me to get the same string sound I got on the first one, but playing an actual grand piano. Recording quality overall is better than Vol. 1, so if the anointing is just as good, everyone should be more than happy. Please be praying for us as we get acquainted with our new home, and settle in to what is a very different lifestyle for us on so many levels. We have already visited several churches, and the big problem will be choosing where to land, as they are all so wonderful. One of my 4 daughters moved here with us, so 2 out of 4 are here, with the other 2 entertaining the possibility of moving here as well. That means…grandbabies close to us as well as family all in one place. Thank you for how special you all are to us, and how we have sensed your interest and support over the years. I will keep you updated more often now that we are settling in, and have an internet connection again.
Karen and I would like to extend a special thank you not only to all of you who have supported us, but a special acknowledgement to those individuals who have really come along side in making this transition go so smoothly. Starting with Susie Dixon, who is our personal assistant, and always goes above and beyond what we could imagine. Also Randy Dixon, Rod and Deb Reimer, Eric Brown, and Linda Oakland.
Thanks guys,
God bless all of you.
Chuck Girard
(BTW, Mars Hill lives again! The board is finally fixed.
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Chuck Girard's Music
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