Gabriel’s Sword was originally formed in 1987 by legends of metal

• Brian “Amadeus” Wahl
• Heath “Heartbreaker” Epley
• Curtis “the Destroyer” Dick
• Reid “Tommy Gun” Gossen.

These four warriors of rock met at a Petra concert (Stryper and Carmen opened), and the Sword was forged.

Come out this Friday night to the Worship Night at Amazing Tone Music in Raleigh. We’ll be playing a bunch of new originals.

The show starts at 7:00p. The first hour is open mic, so bring a guitar and play a song or two. For the second hour, Alastair Vance and I (plus a few friends) will provide the entertainment.

Update (12/14/11)

I’m no longer going to be offering my music for free. Click here to read why and how much I’ll be charging.

Why I used to offer my music for free

Let’s face it, as an unknown independent artist, I’m not getting rich off album sales. Or sold out concerts. In fact, I have two day jobs that, shall we say, supplement my passion for writing and recording music. I’m far more interested in exposure than profit, which is why I’ve decided to give my music away for free.

I can be bought
Persuaded and sold
With fancy pictures and marketing you can steal my soul

Greed is my god
Jealousy my lord
There is always bigger, always better, always more

My society – lies to me – tells me things and I believe
My heart it longs – and all it wants – is something that will make me complete

Look at all my things
And count all my gold
Dig a hole you can’t fill and then ask for more

Sell me your dreams
Sell me your hopes
Just make sure you tell me that it’s nothing at all

You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale
You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale
You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale…
I’m already paid for

1st Chorinthians 6:19-20 has a curious line in it. It says, “You were bought with a price”. If I can be purchased, I suppose that means I’m for sale. There is a lot of imagery in the Bible that suggests (or, rather, proclaims) that we belong to God. We have been ransomed, purchased, reconciled, etc. I think if we belong to God, we could also belong to something else. If God has purchased us, that means we can be bought by someone or something else as well.

We live in a world that is trying desperately to buy us out. Through a system of greed and jealousy, we are always desiring, always acquiring, and never, ever satisfied. There is always a bigger house. A nicer car. A higher salary. Better lifestyle. The list goes on and on. If we allow ourselves to be sold to consumerism, we will never, ever be truly happy.

We have been bought with a price. It may seem odd to think about – maybe we never wanted to sell ourselves.  Maybe I don’t want to be owned, but I know I do want to be fulfilled. Complete. And I know that selling myself to whatever thing I want at the moment has never completed me. Only God can do that.

Well – Photo Friday on a Monday – I’ve been lazy!

Hit the “read more” button to see a bigger shot.

This guy looks like he’s having a good time. Took this shot at the open mic night the other day.

I realized this debate has gone on forever and will go on forever, and I also want to say that I’m not going to attempt to solve it or shed brand new light on the subject. I just want to give my perspective.

Let me start this post off by stating a few things about myself:

• First of all, I’m a Christian. I believe the Bible. I believe it is the infallible word of God, and I believe that what is written in it is truth.
• Second, I’m a scientist. I majored in Chemistry and Biology in college, and I’ve worked for several years as a research technician in a biomedical research lab.

If you were expecting two conflicting viewpoints about this issue, sorry – I guess I tricked you. One of the reasons I’m writing this is because I’m tired of people arguing one versus the other – creation vs evolution, and science vs religion. I don’t really think anything good comes from that argument, and ultimately, I think that argument is flawed. I think science and religion – creation and evolution – go hand in hand.

Alastair Vance (@alastairvance) and I took part in an open mic night yesterday at Amazing Tone Music in Raleigh. Man, you never know what you’re going to get with an open mic night.

Shot of Alastair:

Shot of me:

Musical style and performance were all over the board, which I think is pretty cool. We heard everything from folk and jazz to rap/rock and metal to country. Even a song about house pets and another about Barney the Purple Dinosaur (the song was titled “Barney is a Purple Dinosaur”). Catch a clip of the Barney song here.

Alastair and I were kind of toward the end. Alastair started off with “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley (and quite a nice interpretation of it, I might add). He finished with a traditional Irish song which was really cool. I hadn’t heard it before. As usual, his performance was right on – sounded great. You should check out his music either on his YouTube page or on his blog. Follow Alastair on Twitter here.

I went up after Alastair and started off with “Seasons”, which is an original of mine. I followed with an Irish tune of my own – “Mysterious Ways” by U2. OK, so maybe U2′s songs can’t be considered “Irish”.

It was a lot of fun. Alastair and I are going to try and hit this open mic night on a semi-regular basis, so stay tuned for the next time we’re there and come hang out with us!

Here are some photos I took during the evening for your enjoyment:

Alastair is the worship leader at Story Church in Durham.

I’ll be performing a few acoustic numbers at the open mic night at Amazing Tone Music with my friend and fellow worship leader Alastair Vance (@alastairvance on twitter).

Come out and have a good time! They’ve got a coffee bar at the shop in case you get sleepy.