Tag Archive - music

Zapped

September 19, 2011 in Links, Ministry with 9 Comments

I love music.  I would also like for my own kids to know and love music. I believe one of the easiest ways to introduce kids to music, is to start introducing them to good music in our Weekend Experiences at church. I know that “church music” and “good music” haven’t always flowed in the same sentence as it pertains to kids; but Amber Sky Records is working hard to change that!

  • There is of course the music, and 12 songs of greatness!  My kids favorites off the Zapped album include; Happy and YouKnowIt (a great version!), Jesus Freak/Undiginified, and No One Greater.
  • There is also a Dance Moves DVD that includes instructional dance moves as well as Dance Move Videos.
  • There is also an entire Performance DVD package that gives you every conceivable combination of live lyric videos and dance move instructional.  You can get the music with a full background mix, or full vocal mix.  It’s crazy how much you get from just 12 songs on the Zapped album!
Something this great has changed the way we lead the worship experience for Elementary students at our church.  Using a combination of the live lyric videos from Amber Sky Records; we’ve been able to create something meaningful for our kids.  At the same time, we are introducing them to good music!  A Win-Win!  Speaking of winning, look what we have here.  It’s a chance to win!

I’m going to giveaway some great Zapped music this week.  Use the PunchTab application above to enter yourself up to 5 times!  I’m going to giveaway ONE Zapped Audio CD ($15 value) and ONE Zapped Dance Moves DVD ($30 value).  The winner gets both to use at church or home!  Enter right now!

Family Fun with Spotify

August 5, 2011 in Personal with 4 Comments

Last week the family and I took a Texas vacation (aren’t those the best) in which we visited Dallas for a couple of nights, spent a week on Surfside Beach, and then trolled through Austin for a night before returning home.  All the travel made for 20+ hours of being in the car.  Have I mentioned we have 3 kids?  To top it all off the DVD player we’ve used for 9 years in the car finally breathed it’s last breathe last month.  How did we survive?  Besides the sharing of two Nintendo DS’s, we used Spotify.

I’m going to hope that you’ve spent time reading online about the greatness of Spotify.  It’s basically a music service that puts the value on accessibility of music over the ownership of music.  Simply put, you listen to whatever you want whenever you want.  For $9.99/a month you get the music on your iPhone.  After purchasing a iPod compatible stereo in the car this year, we had a Spotify car-trip for vacation.  Besides introducing my kids to tons of music they’ve never heard, we made up a few games too.

  • We started a Summer 2011 playlist.  (You can go listen to it HERE.)  Throughout all our travels the kids and parents, could choose to add a song we liked to the “Official Summer Playlist.”  If you got look at the playlist, you’ll see the absurdity of the collection.  It’s truly a Cliff family invention.
  • We played a bunch of “name that movie” games with movie songs.  The kids thought this was a blast, and were pretty good at naming the movies the music came from.  Probably the most fun thing we did in the car with Spotify.
  • Starr and I played a game where one of us chooses a song, then the next song has to be related in some way to the song just played.  It could be a shared word in the title, or same state mentioned in the lyrics, or anything else debatable that connects the two songs.

If you aren’t yet a user of Spotify, then go check it out today.  And make the investment  to hear the music in your car!  It’s changing family road trips for the better!

Looking Forward to the Kidmin Conference

April 5, 2011 in Ministry with 0 Comments

The KIDMIN conference is coming people!  It’s October 7th-10th in Chicago.  It’s going to be a blast sharing the time and space with other Children’s Ministry leaders as we come together to better ourselves, better our churches, and increase our influence.  I’ll be leading a 2-hour workshop, and can’t wait to meet and share with everyone there!  I’m so looking forward to hearing my friend Gina McClain teach a General Session at the conference, and I know you will NOT want to miss her sharing her heart for what we do as leaders of families.

But of all the great things happening one the things I’m looking the most forward to is hearing and experiencing Gungor.  I have never followed their music until just recently, but they have found a permanent place on my playlist.  First of all, let me say that I’m not a huge Christian Music fan.  I know, I know…I’m a secularist.  Sorry.  Getting that out of the way, let me say that “We Will Run” by Gungor might be my favorite song right now.  When I need inspiration, need a reminder, or need a moment to meditate it is my song to play!  I’m also loving “Beautiful Things” off of their new album.

If you are still on the fence about whether to attend the Kidmin Conference this October, then let the fact that one of the best bands around will be there with you in Chicago push you on over!

Gungor

The Michael Gungor Band’s Brash Music debut (which follows a head-turning EP of the same name), range from the wide-angle atmospherics of a U2, Coldplay or-at it’s most ethereal-Sigur Rós, to the bluesy intimacy of a John Mayer. The contributions of all of the players loom large, in addition to the band leading, songwriting couple. (The band currently includes Michael Gungor on lead vocals & acoustic guitar, Lisa Gungor on vocals & keyboards, Brad Waller on bass, Brad Nyght on drums and Michael Rossback-who’s co-written many of the songs-on guitars.) And while created for the church, the lyrics range from openhearted, full-throated adoration to stinging reminders of the ways humanity tries to limit God.

That Michael Gungor grew up to become a worship leader is hardly surprising, considering that he grew up as a pastor’s son in Wisconsin and demonstrated an aptitude for music from an early age. And while still a student at Western Michigan University-following a stopover at the University of North Texas-he found himself leading worship at a sizable Michigan congregation. Music degree in hand, he continued to perform that role for another six years, eventually touring arenas as a worship leader before looking for a fresh start in Denver.

While the band is passionate about its music, Gungor is equally passionate about connecting his sung declarations of faith to concrete action, throwing the band’s support behind The Mocha Club, which, for $8 a month (mocha money for many Americans) funds worthwhile relief projects in Africa. The band has made raising money to dig wells in the Sudan a priority, and it offers that opportunity to others at its shows.

Website: www.gungormusic.com

 

We have a Yancy Music Winner!

November 1, 2010 in Ministry with 1 Comment

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Last week I offered a giveaway on this ‘ol blog and we have a winner.

Frank is our winner.  Frank entered twice, through a comment and a twitter retweet.  He’s a smart cookie, because out of 4 entries he had two of them.  Smart, smart cookie!

Don’t forget that Yancy’s newest CD releases on November 2nd.  Head over to www.yancynotnancy.com today and take a FREE listen to some music and purchase the newest release right now!  And there is a special this week only: FREE SHIPPING Nov 1-7 on “Stars, Guitars & Megaphone Dreams”. go tohttp://www.yancynotnancy.com/store enter code: starsfreeship @checkout

Yancy Releases Stars, Guitars, and Megaphone Dreams

October 28, 2010 in Ministry with 4 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for great Kidmin music for my church and family.  I want things that are useable in our church environments, and I want music that my kids love to listen to.  In very few have I found this great combination, and one of them is with Yancy.  She’s fantastic, and I’ve been using her DVD’s and music for years now!
I highly recommend anything she’s done and she’s got something great coming your way!

She is releasing a totally new album this very next week and I’d like to help Yancy get the word out. Of course, I want you to buy the CD/DVD, but I want you to also tell people about it!  Come on people, when you have something great you have to tell others, right?!

Here’s what you need to do.

  1. Listen to the album now by clicking here!
  2. Get a free download of the song “Make it Loud” by clicking here (I think you need to have twitter, but it would be worth signing up for twitter to get the song).
  3. Win a free CD/DVD combo of her new album. Just send out this tweet: “Win a CD/DVD Combo pack by visiting jonathancliff.com and leaving a comment at http://bit.ly/YancyGiveaway #kidmin #thinkorange”

If you leave a comment and tweet the news, I’ll enter you twice!  I’ll do the giveaway on Monday, November 1st!

After sending out the tweet, leave a comment below saying you did it. On Friday I’ll pick a winner.

WE have a winner: http://www.jonathancliff.com/2010/11/yancy-music-winner/

See Yancy’s press release below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2010

Yancy Offers Up ‘Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams’ on November 2nd

(NASHVILLE, Tennessee) – Combining praise and worship with her unique pop/rock sensibilities, Yancy returns with her latest album Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams, available everywhere on November 2nd.

With a decade under her belt, and countless credits to her name, Yancy has proven herself to be one of Christian music’s most versatile performers. As a recording artist, Yancy has released radio friendly pop/rock albums, a rocking Christmas collection and multiple projects for kids and young adults, all while sharing the stage with such artists as Mute Math, Newsboys, 4Him and Nichole Nordeman. As a writer, Yancy has teamed up with Third Day’s Mac Powell, wrote Avalon’s #1 hit “I Don’t Want To Go” and Jaci Velasquez’s “Something Beautiful,” and still found the time to compose two devotional books for worship leaders and musicians and a devotional book for pre-teens.

Widely recognized as a top worship leader at numerous conferences and conventions, Yancy also helped launch the nationwide Kings & Princesses events with her dad (and veteran children’s pastor) Jim Wideman. These unique events are created for Dad’s and their elementary age daughters, creating a fairy tale night that will strengthen father and daughter relationships.

“I started off doing more traditional CCM-type of music performing at a lot of youth groups, festivals and ministry events, but then I got involved in leading worship in a local church setting,” explains Yancy. “I’ve often joked I’ve led worship with every age from birth to death, but through that, I gained ton of experience and knowledge.”

At the end of the day, Yancy hopes that her music will encourage people and help them understand that they’re here for a purpose. “We all have different talents and abilities that God wants to use,” says Yancy. “And I make it a point to remind people to go after their dreams with all they’ve got.”

Yancy maintains a full-time tour schedule including conferences and conventions throughout the USA, and this fall, she will return to Christ In Youth’s successful preteen event SuperStart! as the featured artist for the 2010-2011 national tour.

The first radio single from Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams, “Don’t Stop,” is currently being worked to AC and CHR formats by Jason Miller at Lion Chaser Entertainment.

For more information on Yancy or to find out when she’ll be in a city near you, visit the official website at http://www.yancynotnancy.com.
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