new album (EP)...

So, oneway is wrapping up all the sticky little details of making an album or any sort of recorded piece of art. First comes the craziness of recording the songs and the insanity of making sure that they all sound good and that no one is stepping on someone else's chords or whatever. After the initial battle is over, the real task comes. The mixing and mastering are the more extensive parts of recording. Neill will mix and we will listen and say, "Yeah, that's awesome!" or "No, that's not so awesome." We are almost through with that portion of it. It will be finished within this week I hope.
Now comes the strenuous responsibility of naming it, deciding on the track order, and deciding on artwork. This is something that very literally took us months on our last album A Closer Silence. We have a cover and back that we feel fairly positive about; but the issue came from the actual title of the album. This is really a very big deal when you think about it. Granted, many people don't pay much attention to the name of the album. However, some people do notice it and that the title of the album in a sense brings all of the songs together. It's like a thesis statement for a paper or the one ultimate one liner in a movie. It's the glue.
I rode home from Conway with Matt Mc yesterday and we discussed many things of how the world turns including this topic. The one title that we came up with really seemed to fit with the things that we were facing in our lives at the time and how we feel the songs reflect that. We are thinking about the title Whisper Louder. I know that is an oxymoron but it really does seem to fit the makeup of the album.
At the time all of these songs were coming together, many of us were in a transitional period in our lives. Matt Mc was getting ready to get married and starting a new chapter in his novel of life. He was trying to decide how this was all going to play together. How was his ministry going to fit in with his marriage and family and new job. I was nearing my college graduation which is in all actuality more of a scray thing than an awesome thing. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing and exciting day but the mystery of what's next can be horrifying. I was trying to figure out what was I to do with my life. I was trying to piece together my career path and how that may effect the rest of my life. I was trying to struggle with finding a way to stay in the ministry that God had called me to and still be able to pay my bills and take care of other things. Gwin was struggling with some decisions in his life with relationships and with school. He is also nearing the end of college and there are again some decisions that he will have to make. Justin and Tim were facing a really hard choice. They felt the Father telling them to leave the band they were in and come to us. That can be more than a frightening thing I am sure. Last March, Dusty Harris (our old guitar player) left the band and oneway went through a time of adaptation. We didn't know what we were going to do for a guitar player and then Justin and Tim came along. We weren't sure how things were going to work out with all of us playing and with Tim and I both singing lead, but it did.
We were all at points in our lives that things were changing for us and we were needing God to provide us with some direction. We knew that he was holy, and that he was God, and that he had placed this enormous passion in our heart for worship. However, we needed to know what he wanted us to do with it. Several of the songs reflect almost a sense of frustration and if that is what you feel then it's true. We were a bit frustrated because we needed to hear from God. His timing is perfect. In all of that frustration he was drawing us closer to him and helping us find ways of expressing our love and desire for what he had called us to do. Songs, like "Words" and "What if Your Hands are Full" reflect those feelings. Songs like "My" and "True Friend" seem to provide a resolution so to speak for that frustration.
The Lord worked everything out in his timing and with his perfect will. He is continuing to draw us together and to give us new music to tell of his greatness. I feel that our next album will be one of celebration of the greatness and glory of our God. Because he is just that, great and glorious.