Shawn Lewis of Hyper Static Union

I've long been a fan of HyperStatic Union. I've known these guys since well before their RKT CD debut. These guys are incredibly talented and make some funky rock-n-roll. I've just about worn our their national debut release "Life Giver." You should really pick up a copy of this album!

Anyway, recently, I've stumbled on a video that I just had to share. Here is Shawn Lewis singing a song made popular by Michael Jackson. I've always been impressed by Shawn's vocal prowess. He is talented, earnest, and sound amazing. He even impressed Lenny Kravitz during the warm-up for a show in Portland.

I love telling you about quality musicians. Hopefully this video will encourage you to give a spin to HSU's music.

Encomium

My weekly artist review is on Portland based band Encomium. This is a young band with some great talent. In 2006 they released “Expression of Praise”, an impressive 9-song disc which mixes rock riffs and worship lyrics.

One of the first things that grabbed my attention on this CD was the expert musicianship. This isn’t a sequenced garage band recording, but rather a major label quality offering. Many young bands have an album of songs that all sound the same stylistically. But this CD has a variety of sounds without becoming disjointed.

Led by Devy Jamin, the group has recently put out a new EP entitled “Like the Dawn”. The samples on their MySpace page promise more of the same quality and no-compromise lyrics found on their first effort.

Check these guys out at http://www.encomiummusic.com/

Keeping Up Appearances

I have been bit by the Facebook bug. Like MySpace and other social networking sites Facebook allows you to connect with friends (new and old) through the Internet. I have enjoyed reading the profiles of friends whom I've not seen in years and finding out what they are now up to.

But as I've read the profiles of people from around the world, I'm struck by the fact that nearly all of us are trying to impress the readers of our profiles. We put our best foot forward. We tell about our accomplishments. We "brag" about where we've been and what we've done.

This has caused me to wonder what it would be like if we became really vulnerable and showed our true colors. What would happen if I told about my struggles and failures as well as my victories?

I'm not saying that we should avoid celebrating the high points of life. But I would guess that if we presented the dark sides as well as the bright we would be able to connect with each other on a deeper level. If we shared our frustrations and defeats we would most likely be able to relate better with others.

At this point in my life I've been longing for deeper connections with those people around me. I want to connect with people who have experienced the same struggles as I so that I can learn from them and discover how they worked through those difficult times. I want to share with others so they can learn from my mistakes and not have to repeat the negative lessons.

So, here is to being vulnerable; here is to presenting the real me, warts and all. And I hope that as we interact, we will be able to grow stronger as individuals and as friends through the better understanding of our shared victories AND failures.

Q v Q II

A few months back I discussed my obsession with records in my GeoCaching quest. Since then Sam8994 and DarK JazZ have had many quality excursions. But today was a quantity day. 42 finds in 10 hours of hunting! Our new single day record. In fact, our new weekend record and a tie with the best week of caching.