Summer is here. For much of my life, especially as a child, that meant No More School! Now as a parent of children, no more school just means I have to be responsible for those kids… all day. I’m not complaining… well, not too much. It just changes the nature of what summer …
I love music. I love listening to music. I love playing music. I love listening to music with my friends. I love playing music with my friends. I love it when I get to listen with my friends to music that I made with my friends. Such was the joy I had last Friday night, listening to an EP that my …
Are you enjoying your summer? I think I’m enjoying my summer. At least, I’m trying to enjoy my summer. I had a great evening celebrating my birthday and singing songs with my sister in The Bratton Backyard (look at those siblings singing sad songs together). I’m grateful for the …
Over the past few months I’ve been having fun writing songs, recording songs, and teaching songs all in a joint effort with my friend Amanda Trapp to create the best sound design for not one but two Shakespearean plays. Romeo and Juliet opened on Friday, July 7, and As You Like It opens on …
Back in 2002 I was an intern working with the youth group at my church in Edmonton. My good friend Dave Von Bieker and I worked together for two years helping entertain, engage, and sometimes (Lord help us) have a positive impact on the spiritual formation of young people. During my time in that …
I’ve been blessed by the generosity of other artists who have freely let me use their art in a variety of creative ways, but I’ve never been so bold as to ask Peter Gabriel if I could use any of his music. Thankfully Deanne Bertsch was that bold, and Peter Gabriel was so impressed with …
It’s that season again. No, not that season - Not the season of Santa Clause & wreckless overindulgence. Not the season of shopping in congested malls, or the season of happy-clappy Christmas music. Not the season of slippery roads and ice damned roofs. Then again, maybe it is a season …
Making the decision to give yourself more fully to a vocation is always a little fraught. I’m not just talking about changing jobs, though that may be part of it. I mean that dedicating yourself to work that is deeply connected to your identity can come with a host of challenges. It may mean …