I haven't posted in a few days because my life has been extremely busy- but it's been pretty awesome. Friday night was my last piano recital- number 12. I have enjoyed piano immensely but I am excited about moving on in so many areas in my life. After the recital, I went up my youth group's Spring Retreat at Cedarmore. I missed the first couple of sessions but I was able to catch up by Saturday. Last night JMB played a concert for my youth group- many of the people had no idea that I was in a band of any sorts! And while JMB isn't geared towards youth at all, everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Towards the end of the concert we slowed down a lot and went into 4 or 5 worship songs to set the mood for a prayer service to follow. WOW! I do not think that I have ever been a part of a more powerful worship service. God was speaking to me so much last nigh, it was just so amazing. Usually at the end of services like that I go away feeling so guilty because God used that time to point out all of the sins in my life of which I should repent. But it wasn't like that at all last night. It was as if God sat me down and simply said "Derek, I am God, and I am awesome. Worship me." It was such a great service. We are about to leave in 30 minutes or so and head up to my aunt and uncle's church in Indiana to play a concert tonight. We have played there before and last time the crowd was so open and receptive to the holy spirit- I'm really looking forward to tonight. More later...

Warning! This post is filled with musical jargon and some potentially boring content. You have been warned.

Let the quest begin. Last night I began my quest for the ultimate bass tone. Since listening to the rough mix of our newest album I've realized that I'm going about bass tone all wrong. All this time I have been searching for this perfect soloed bass tone, this tone that sounds exactly how I want it to sound... when I play by myself. But there's no way that this sound will work in the JMB. I need a less bassy, more midrangy, distint, cutting sound in order to get through 3 guitars and keyboards. I've been doing some research about different recording options and eq suggestions and I feel like such a loser. My amp has a graphic equalizer and I have been adjusting my sound by boosting the bass like crazy, leveling out for the mids, and then dropping a little bit of the highs off. While there could be worse things to do to my sound, this is not at all good. The lowest two frequencies that I've been boosting aren't even really audible to the human ear, and therefore, result in mostly low rumble and air movement. What I should be doing is cut those back drastically and mostly use the mid controls to shape my tone. I can't wait until Saturday when I can finally play through my whole rig again and try to fix what I've spent years messing up. I'll keep you posted on the details.

It's been a few days since I last posted and, to be honest, I haven't missed it that much. I'm sure that as my life goes on I will grow more attached to this blog but it hasn't happened yet. Although it has been nice to have a place to speak my mind... oh well. The last couple of nights, my friends and myself have had the pleasure of experiencing Zaireeka. I am certain that only a handful of people reading this blog have ever heard of Zaireeka so I will explain. Zaireeka is a Flaming Lips album recorded in 1997, a four disk album. Now, it's not that it's so long that it takes up 4 whole cds, no, each cd actually contains the same 8 songs. But, each disk holds a different part to each song. On track 1, disk 1 might have drums and some vocal, disk 2 might contain some guitar, and so on and so forth. In order to hear the songs as a whole, you must play all 4 disks on 4 separate cd players and sync them up. It takes a few attempts to get them together but the results are well worth it. Being extremely experimental, Zaireeka has really opened up my eyes to what music is and can be. I encourage you all to look it up and read a little about it, I don't think you'll be sorry.

No need to fear... I have returned. I'm sure that everyone was pretty worried about me since I didn't post anything yesterday. I got no fewer than 47 emails from concerned fans making sure I was still alive. Actually, that didn't really happen. I'm not even sure if anyone realized that I didn't get on yesterday. Oh well! I didn't finish my spanish essay and while it was quite difficult to write, I was able to knock it out in about an hour. Yesterday, The Capital City Boys played a benefit concert with The Palmer Sisters and The Gary Polston Family to raise money for Send-a-Kid-to-Camp. It was a pretty fun night all around and a little over $1000 was raised making it possible to send 15.3333333333 kids to a christian camp this summer. I'm not sure which kid is going to be the 1/3 but either way, I don't think I want to be around when they cut him up. Normally, I would be sleeping right now. It's early Saturday morning and I wish that I could still be in bed but at 9, our church is hosting a free car wash and oil change for single women in the community. It's a really neat service that is provided. While their oil is being changed (by the bubbas of the church) and car washed (by the youth), a lady from our ladies ministry takes the women inside to talk to her. You can be sure that the gospel will be shared many times today and that is the most awesome thing of all. I'm pretty excited to see what happens today. I'll see you guys later...

Homework... bleh. Tonight I have to write a 200 word essay in spanish about whether or not I believe that fashion reflects who a person is on the inside. I could barely write that much about the topic in english. Maybe more posts tonight... if I make it out alive, but if I don't come back, I just want to tell you all that I love you and it's been real fun. Oh, and don't let my family sell my stuff yet, give me a few years in case I've actually been stranded on some island with only a volleyball for a friend. Later...

I am sitting here at the computer doing some research on different basses through harmonycentral reading reviews and what not and my dad just came down to play piano. He is playing songs from his southern gospel group, The Joymakers. For those unfamiliar with The Joymakers, they are one of the longest lasting southern gospel groups ever (Dad says that this is the groups 49th year.) Although the members have frequently changed the ministry has never stopped. The southern gospel world lost a great man this week with the passing of Tim Durall, Joymakers' tenor. My parents just got back from visitation and the funeral with be tomorrow. Tim was in his second stint with The Joymakers, I believe, and I have often listened to early Joymakers' recordings when Tim was with them in the past. The voice that comes through the speakers is honestly one of the best southern gospel tenor voices that I have ever heard. Not only was he an excellent vocalist, he was also one heck of a songwriter, writing many Joymaker songs throughout the years and also writing songs performed by professional groups. I have been priviledged to have been able to play with The Joymakers on a few occasions and Tim was always so much fun to be around. He will be greatly missed.

I recently obtained Derek Webb's new CD, "Mockingbird" and it is absolutely amazing. For those who aren't familiar with Derek Webb, he was one of the singer/ songwriters in Caedmon's Call and is currently in the midst of a successful solo career. His latest album looks deep into God, politics, and social issues. Here are some lyrics that have been rolling through my mind the last couple of days from "Mockingbird."

there are two great lies that i've heard: the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him -from A King & A Kingdom

peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication it's like telling someone murder is wrong and then showing them by way of execution -from My Enemies Are Men Like Me
are we defending life when we just pick and choose lives acceptable to lose and which ones to defend -from Love Is Not Against The Law

don't teach me about moderation and liberty, i prefer a shot of grape juice -from A New Law

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man, my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood it's to a king & a kingdom -from A King & A Kingdom

come on and follow Me, but sell your house, sell your suv, sell your stocks, sell your security and give it to the poor -From Rich Young Ruler

I love live albums. I just want to say that right off the bat. Now, a lot can be said for an extremely deep, extremely produced studio effort, but it always lacks the energy level and the overall ambience of the live recording. I've finished listening to our newest studio project and have began listening to the live board feed from our Freedom Experience benefit concert a couple weeks ago. I am proud to say that I consider the JMB a live band. Now, you may ask yourself, what is a live band? Don't all bands play live? A live band is simply a band that is better live. It's a band that communicates well onstage. It's a band that puts on a much better show in the spotlight than in your cd player. As I listen to this recording (live), I am actually a little disappointed in my performance at Cedarmore in the studio. I don't know if my style developed so much between the two days or if I am just timid when that red light goes on, but my playing live is much more melodic and in the pocket. I'm not saying that I'm not proud of my work on "Not So Easily Pleased", I'm just saying that I wish I would've thought a little more about my parts before recording them. You see, that's the funny thing about recordings. They represent exactly where you are as a musician at that moment, almost like a snapshot. But years (or months in my case) down the road you go back a listen and instead of feeling nostalgia, you often feel anguish and regret thinking "Why did I play that note there?" or "Why weren't we together going into that bridge?" With live recordings, I sometimes feel the same way, but there is so much more that goes into a live show than just playing notes. Whereas studio time is dedicated to getting music recorded, live shows are focused on energy, getting the audience involved, and if you miss a few notes or rhythms, the show isn't a bust at all. You can listen to those concerts and immediately be taken back and overwhelmed with feelings of pride, sentimentality, and inspiration to get back on the stage. I hope there will be a new JMB live album coming out this year. We'll surely keep you posted.

After Capital City Boys practice tonight, Josh handed me a copy of the rough mix thus far to JMBs newest album and also a live recording from a few weeks ago. I listened to the rough mix a couple times so far and I'm pretty excited about it. Andrew has been doing all of the mixing and although he isn't finished yet it's sounding like a real band- go figure! The only areas that I would improve would be the vocals- they sound dry (no effects added) and there are a couple instances where the background vocals could stand to be brought up a little more. Andrew- thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to get this cd finished. And who knows? If it turns out to be good, you might find yourself being treated to an ice cream cone!
So... here's some proof in the pointlessness of high school (as if you needed more). For the next couple of weeks we have CATS testing at our school. The seniors have to do an on-demand writing that will take 90 min. on wednesday but tomorrow is a testing day for the rest of the school as well. The seniors will be attending a seminar entitled "Making College Count" and then sitting around in homeroom for 3 hours doing NOTHING. Therefore, I have decided to skip school tomorrow. Not all day- just until lunch is over and we have to go back to regular class (I can't afford to miss calculus or spanish). Out.

I've been thinking and have come to the conclusion that a blog should be observed as you would a story. Because what more is a blog than a running commentary on one's life? Therefore, as to not start my story in medias res, I should start with some sort of opening explaining a little about me.
Hi, my name is Derek Hughes (as you can clearly see at the left side of the page) and I am 18 years old. I am currently enrolled as a senior at Franklin County High School and I cannot wait until graduation. It's not that I haven't enjoyed high school, because I honestly have. Sad as it may sound, school is definitely pretty high on my "fun things I've done list" and I'm sure that I will miss high school dearly. But still, I am ready to move on to a new chapter in my life as I become a freshman at the University of Kentucky. OOOOOOOH C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS! Actually, I am already enrolled in my classes and have been accepted into the Fine Arts Living Learning Community (a community of all of fine art aficionados) which places me in my first-choice dorm, New North. I'll be majoring in Vocal Music Education in hopes of eventually attending seminary and becoming a music minister at a nice Southern Baptist church.
Yes, that's right- I am a Southern Baptist. I am a member of Buck Run Baptist church here in Frankfort and have been for about 16 years now. Wow- time flies huh? I am involved in the youth praise band, Hott Rob and the Heartbreakers, and also the regular praise band, sans any cool name. I am also a member of the church. Not some fancy building- but the holy body of believers that Chirst has chosen as his bride.
I believe that all humans are truly wicked to the core and that our sin separates us from the one true God. There is nothing that we can do on our own to get close to God and that failure to do so results in us all going to hell when we die- eternal separation from God. Although this truth may sound terrible, God is just and cannot allow any blemish into his perfect kingdom. Thankfully, He allowed a way for our salvation to be possible. He came to earth in the form of man to live a perfect life and to show us the way of holiness. That man was Jesus and He was murdered for our sake. The sin of God's people was placed on Jesus and God poured out all of His wrath, the wrath that was intended for us, and Jesus died. But, 3 days later, He raised Himself up from the dead and whoever believes in this truth with a truly repentant heart will have eternal salvation with Him in heaven. That truth is my reason for living. It is the only real shred of hope that I have and I desire to live my life in such a way that everyone realizes that.
I can't think of much of a segue- so I'll just start talking about music. Music is a huge aspect of my life and I am fortunate to be involved in so many awesome groups. I have been playing piano for the past 12 years and I began playing bass in the 6th grade. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am a bass player. For years I regarded myself as a pianist who also played bass but just in this past year I've realized that I am, indeed, a bass player. More to come on bass later. Probably a few posts dedicated to it actually. I play in a southern gospel group, The Capital City Boys, and also The Josh Martin Band. If you are on my blog you have probably heard of The Josh Martin Band so you know what we sound like. If you don't know- I would probably not be the best person to ask because I'm not quite sure how to classify us. We have been described in the past as, no joke, "progressive country gospel". I don't have a clue as to what that means! If you have a better explanation I'd love to hear it.
Well, that appears to be a pretty good intro to my new blog. I have obviously left out much of my life and I plan on covering those areas in much greater detail in posts to come. But until then, you stay classy San Diego.

Well, I finally did it. I have accepted the fact that everyone must have a blog. If you haven't come to this realization yet- just wait. I have been putting this off for awhile now. Ever since The Josh Martin Band has started blogging I've longed for a blog of my very own- not necessarily because I believe people want to read about me or my life, but because that's how it should be! No, I'm just kidding. I just want my own little online space, dedicated to sharing my thoughts, interests, struggles, corny jokes, and (occasionally) some inspirational thoughts. So, if you're reading this, I just want to say thanks for taking time to visit and there will be a lot more to come...