Ahhh Spartanburg...ahhh my bed

I'm home. Back to the burg. This past week was so much fun and so much work. I was looking at our youtube videos just now...I put 10 up the first week and maybe 2 this week.

Recording with Kenny was great. I can't say enough good things about him. He fit us perfectly....he knows music and Jesus really well. It seriously couldn't have been better.

Next week Kenny will mix everything then it'll be mastered. We should have some rough cuts in 2 weeks. The artwork we're thinking about it awesome.

Looking back on the quickest, most fun week ever, I must say the Favor of the Lord was all over this project. I could tell people were praying for us like crazy. I really do think these songs are going to be big. I look forward to how the Lord uses it, for His glory. Now, it is bedtime....for there are faces to be melted tomorrow. Goodnight!

Wednesday Meltage

What I'm going to do tomorrow

I am going to find someone who facebooks or twitters WAY too much and comment on every single thing they post. Everything.

Should've Brought My Crochet Set

I'm just chillin in the studio right now, taking up space while Shag rips it, and I decided to do something I never do - read the news. Why on earth would anyone read this garbage?? I really like not knowing all this stuff....gross, mean, bad people doing gross, mean, bad things. The only awesome news I read was about a huge blob in Alaska (it was kinda boring but I like the word blob).

So I'm going to not read or watch the news ever again (I found out Michael Jackson died about 2 weeks after it happened...and that's the way I like it).

Monday - Week 2

Shag and Kenny teamed up yesterday to create the raddest, hottest, nastiest, sickest guitar riffs and solos in the world. These songs are really taking shape. When they would talk about tone or gear or theory I was pretty much in the corner eating Ritz crackers and counting to 10 with my fingers (im a big boy).

We worked from 9 am to 7 pm on guitars then started tracking vocals till about 11:30. Twas a looooooong day. But great. Got 2 songs finished. Seriously, this album i gonna be hot. Imagine Celene Dion, mixed with Brooks & Dunn, coupled with Journey, married to Matchbox 20. It doesnt get much better than that.

Week 1 Wrap Up

It's 1 am Sunday night and I'm back in Columbia to do some work on the album. We killed it last week - hopefully this week will be the same. This week will be fun, pretty stuff...all the electrics, keys, and vocals (bass and drums are the manly stuff).

I am really excited about this project. My flesh gets caught up in the "who's who" of worship leaders....I want to be in the cool group, leading at huge camps, turning heads at all the "cool" churches and that is all garbage. Pure doo doo. My only goal is to chase after Jesus Christ. Very simple....I want to know God.

That's our prayer every morning when we get started tracking in the studio - that the Name of Jesus would have all the fame not Kenny or the Josh Ridings Band. Please pray that with us.

My Mornings This Week

Every morning this week I have woke up in the Woodard dungeon (suuuuper cold and awesome) and walked upstairs to the perfect morning: breakfast casserole or homemade banana bread, 2 RAD kids, Yo Gabba Gabba, fresh coffee, and playing.

If you're sneaky you can catch Archie and Connie Anne singing along to the Josh Ridings band and playing their instruments....but as soon as you turn the camera on they freeze. This week has been awesome. Check it out.

Friday..Rocking it

Thursday Fun

Ode to Freida

Mom drew this when she realized the Post Office has You Tube blocked. Haha

Hansel, So Hot Right Now

Today is going very well. William is wrapping up the last 3 songs, Shag is asleep in the lounge, Pinkerton is designing a website (he's a machine...never stops), and I am destroying the Coke that Kenny bought for us/me. I love that guy.

I'll probably start acoustics after lunch. Yum yum time is over. (thanks Rachel and Stu for the food!!)

Hey, Where's Shag?

So You Think You Can Dance? Seriously Robby?

I am pretty excited about figuring out videos and imovie...I'm only about 10 years behind (i can thank Ron and Frieda for that). If you told Ron you'd give him $1,000 if he could turn on a computer you would lose no money.

Recording is going great. I over-think and worry about everything, so, of course, I was worried about tracking with Kenny....what if he doesn't get our sound...what if we cant get the exact sound we want....what if something goes wrong....what if i lose both of my hands in a freak gasoline accident?? Buuuuuuuuut, it is Wednesday night and we are about a week ahead of schedule. Not only have we KILLED it, we have done some super creative stuff. I dont think things could be going better.

Also Emily and Robby's kids are awesome. They love us. We played animal hospital this morning before I had to leave, the waved out the window as we left, they were waiting at the window when we got home, they played drums and sang along to our older CD when we walked in, we played basketball in Archie's room, then they helped me change my guitar strings. Man, kids are hilarious! This just goes to show that toddlers love us.

This has been a great break from the norm. I love, love, love, love Spartanburg - i really do - but it has been great to be in Columbia. I am loving it. I think the record is going to be ridiculous. Hopefully it'll be in your hands in September.

Day 3...Blom killing it

Yay Blundy!

Pinkerton Rocking

Calling all Toddlers

Day 2 in the Studio

Today was all about John Pinkerton. He's our drummer. We were scheduled to work tonight till about midnight but we got done before 5. That's because Pink is a machine. I think he may really be a robot. It is totally normal to get 3 songs done per day when recording....Pinkerton did 8. He's the man (he's so humble he'd be really mad if he knew I was saying this stuff about him).

Our songs are all very upbeat, fast, and loud. Hence, John gets no break. He probably burned about 5,000 calories today. Right now I am exhausted....I can't imagine how tired he must be. We have a video we'll upload later. So rad.

It was cool to pray over the album, pray when things weren't working, and see dudes who weren't recording reading the bible. How cool is that? Anywho, today was the best day I have ever had in a studio. I am very tired. We are very far ahead of schedule. That excites me.

I am now going to bed and dream of the breakfast casserole, fruit, and coffee I will enjoy with the most perfect family ever.

Living the Dream

Shag, Bill Z, Josh (sweaty), Pinkerton, Kenny

Yesterdays session with Kenny at Archer Street Studio.....by Josh Ridings

I had a good time yesterday in the studio. Kenny is a nice guy. He made us coffee. It was very good. He has blond hair and is smart. There is a pool here. I hope to go swimming.

Thats a paper I've been working on for a while.

Yesterday was really cool. Not only are we getting to record with THE Kenny McWilliams but we're also staying with my crazy awesome friends Robby and Andrew (plus their wives, toddlers, infants, great danes, and some candy bars). We sat down with Kenny in the morning for a couple hours and talked through all our songs, our expectations, the arrangements, hooks, etc....he has some great ideas that work perfectly with our ideas. I really think the Lord has put us with him for this project. Plus he wears super cool clothes and has tatoos (which means he's totally legit, duh).

We filled our stomachs with Chick Fil A then began tracking drums. Man, it is awesome. These songs are going to be hot. Kenny + Pinkerton = love/rock.

I cant decided what's more fun....recording with the best band in the world or hanging out with the coolest families in Columbia. They are totally going to Heaven for how nice they've been to us already...just read James, you'll agree. But for real - they pretty much just gave us keys to their houses, cooked us breakfast casseroles, made our beds for us....it's a little ridiculous. I love them. (plus Robby and Andrew are the 2 funniest humans on the planet).

Waking up this morning to a 4 and 2 year old suuuuuuuuper excited about seeing us was awesome. I love the Woodards and Eckstroms. Probably the coolest thing is praying with the band and Kenny. We know this record is way bigger than just 5 bozos recording some sounds. We've prayed together asking God to do what He wants through us for these songs. We know the next 3 weeks are a big deal....God is doing something cool and He's letting us be a part of it. Every word, very strum, every drum beat, every button pressed on the computer - it's all for the glory of Jesus Christ. We are worshiping the beauty of our Creator as we make this album.

We hope to knock out a lot of drums today then come back tonight and start tracking some bass. I love when a plan comes together.

Yay Columbia!

I don't have words to describe how rad Hope Point was this morning. The music was so much fun and Richard (the Rev Doctor Smith) has been rocking me lately. We had our friends Shawn and Sharon sing with us and they've got soul. Real soul. Man, it was awesome. Nothing flashy, just the Spirit of the Lord filling up that gym...it was great. I'm still amazed that God chooses to use me like He does.

I've been getting ready to record with my band in Columbia for the last few months and we leave tonight! We start with Kenny McWilliams in the morning. I caaaaaaaaaaaan't wait. I've been like a child waiting on Christmas morning. I am super excited.

We have 12 original worship songs that we hope to complete in the next 3 weeks. We're staying with the 2 coolest families in the world - Andrew and Flo Eckstrom and Robby and Emily Woodard. It shall be the biggest party since 2002. They are opening up their houses to us for 3 weeks! Isn't that ridiculous. They are way too nice. So, if you live in Columbia and you love to party, let's hang out. We should be free in the late evenings. If you are a huge nerd and love Phase 10 or Dancing With the Stars boy are you in luck.

I think this album is going to be great for our church and for our city. I want to lead worship 5 times a day in Spartanburg. I want to see people experience the Spirit in a real way like I saw at church this morning. It's a beautiful thing.

So, we're going to update the blog rather frequently with videos and stories and maybe some clips of new songs. Please keep up with us (and pray for us tons), it should be fun!