Marketing, THE MAN, & Our Kids...

Is it weird to educate your 22 month old and 3 year old about marketing...how it works, its intent, its alluring effectiveness, and so on? Because if it is, Kate and I are weird!

We decided recently to have these little chats, because we see the girls (Cora mostly) being suckered in by marketing campaigns, co-branding, and yes...THE MAN. (well, maybe not the man)

Nonetheless we've been able to talk about the fact that macaroni is the same whether there's a picture of Shreik or Mickey Mouse on the box. We've been able to show her that generic Aldi cereal is just as good as the prettier boxes with fun cartoon characters and Disney princesses. So there, EAT THAT Kraft and General Mills!

Basically we're just trying to open up their eyes as early as possible to how we are a manipulated society that are so easily co-opted by the slick and sexy. It certainly is broader than products and the like, but affects everything we do and the decisions we make. I truly believe that gone is the day when the consumer presses and pushes the market. We've entered into an era where marketing and branding is everything, and we rarely even see it anymore. THE MAN is now telling us what we want, need, and desire.

We'll see how it goes...

Peace,
Ross

Fortune?...

That pretty much sums it up...

I also came across this video of Darren King (drummer of MUTEMATH) having fun and making videos...he's by far my favorite drummer - uber creative and forward thinking. I had the tremendous opportunity to play with him in 2 projects this past year, so you've got to see this. Enjoy!

Peace,
Ross

END OF JUNE > VIDEO BLOG

Peace,
Ross

"Every Day, When I Know What You Want To Do..."

Cora is the little songstress of the family (which makes since, because Olive can't talk). She sings these incredible melodies over and over, day after day. But lyrically, she's still learning :-) Her songs are usually some iteration of this:

Every day
When I know what
You want to do

Every day
When I know what
You want to do...

Peace,
Ross & Cora

Oreo, you've finally done it...

To my beloved Oreo's...

Typically I open you up, eat you 2 at a time, dunking you and drenching you in skim milk (i'm trying to watch my weight). Then, 10 minutes later you are gone. All that is left are the 2 I set aside for Kate before engulfing and devouring the rest of you.

But in your quest to create new flavors, color combinations, etc, you've decided upon "berry burst." Tonight, I opened you, I took two in hand, dunked and soaked, popped both in my mouth, and then my face cringed. Wow, these are horrible.

Sadly, the Oreo's are now in the trash. I know, I know...its almost heretical!

Peace,
Ross

[On] Telling Stories...

Here's a snippet from my interview on 88.1 FM KDHX. Enjoy!

Peace,
Ross

p.s. i'll be posting more snippets as I have them ready - check back soon!

The Upheaval

As many of you know, my sis and I are putting the finishing touches on an upcoming album as The Lost Narrative. Last week, I had the itch to do some additional recording and came up with this little ditty, The Upheaval. It will make an appearance of some sort on the album. Do you like it? Thoughts?

The Upheaval by rosschristopher

Don't forget that you can also download our SINGLE FOR FREE HERE!!!

Peace,
Ross

My 30th Birthday Weekend...

It was a whirlwind weekend...I turned 30 (yes, I'm now officially a man), I celebrated Father's Day with my girlies, we entertained our closest friends and family for a good 'ole party, Kate and I partook in some O-mazing authentic Mexican fusion and then saw Super 8, and we even caught a Cardinal's game!




Peace,
Ross

Stache'd

seriously folks
is there anything better than a fine stache?
no, there isn’t
which is why i’m left to fake ones
otherwise I look like a patchy-upper-lipped-over-developed-sixth-grader…

have a fantastic day!

stay classy,
Ross

p.s. DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE RECENTLY LAUNCHED THE LOST NARRATIVE WEBSITE!

The Lost Narrative

Hey folks,

If you don't already know, my sis and I are adding the finishing touches to an AWESOME project, THE LOST NARRATIVE. (click for our official website)

We're making pretty music eerie and eerie music pretty...think The Osmond's...oh wait, no, don't.

Later this summer we're going to be releasing the album, but for now you can download FOR FREE our first single, Take My Life.

***And if you'd be so kind to help spread the word, we'd love all you blogger types and social networking gurus to pass along the word, the widget, the tunes, and the love!!!

Help us climb the NoiseTrade ladder for now and we'll see where this thing goes.

Much peace,
Ross

LOVE WINS. (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 - Dying to Live

Bell does a fantastic job highlighting scripture's reflection of Jesus' death and resurrection. He shows the fullness of what the bible says about the power of the cross. The cross served to completely transform, renew, and restore social constructs, practices, and beliefs; such as:

cancel the sacrificial system - turning religion upside-down (Hebrews)
reconcile relationships and create peace/shalom - turning injustice upside-down (Colossians)
justify oneself - turning the legal system upside-down (Romans)
claim victory and destroy death - turning the military model upside-down (2 Timothy)
redeem - turning the economic system upside-down (Ephesians)

I like this because it adds so much to how I was personally brought up in the church. The cross saved Christians, you got baptized, then you went to heaven when you died. That was the totality of the faith. But seeing the fullness of the cross makes us participatory in this salvation - not just heavenly, but worldly, practically, currently, and urgently!

I liked what Bell wrote on page 134: that when we reduce the cross to saving us (humans) only, we reduce the totality of what God was doing, and what scripture shows us to be true about the cross. God stripped the world of its perceived power (military, government, economic, etc) and shows a new way...a better way.

Again, we see in Romans the "universal" nature of God's saving and restoring, "just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for ALL, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for ALL" (Romans 5).

In recent conversations, some say that a god who justifies and saves all is a small god that can't be served, because justice isn't served. I say that a god that ignores his creation and turns on his own words is small. And if God is to be trusted, then we must trust ALL of what God says, not simply the parts that work out best for us in the end.

I hope you'll chime in...

Peace,
Ross

LOVE WINS. (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4 - Does God Get What God Wants?

As we enter into the chapter 4 discussion of Love Wins, I think its appropriate once again for us to hold back from personal attack, or even attacking the entire essence of Bell's book and Bell himself, but to keep criticism focused on chapter 4. I think we should look at what Bell proposes in this chapter and determine if its founded, true, or if its just an agenda of his and he's twisting reality to fit that agenda.

The title of the chapter (Does God Get What God Wants?) really says it all. Bell spends the bulk of the chapter going through scripture after scripture that tells of God's desire(s). He uses scriptures, such as:

"All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52).

"Every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2).

And the list continues (almost exhaustively)...

So the real question becomes, why do we gravitate to the scripture references that suit our beliefs, denominations, etc the most closely? Why do we accept some, and neglect the others? This is true for Bell too...

But the point (for me) isn't in proving one scripture over the other, or one theology over another, but in relishing the grey! Why, if God says that every knee will bow and tongue confess Jesus is Lord, do we argue contrary to that; that indeed hell will be filled with the unrepentant? Do we know better than God? Is God not trustworthy? Is our doctrine and dogma more solid than God's words?

Because that's exactly what we're saying (without so many words) when we neglect and forget these texts.

And just like we sometimes focus on John 3:16 as our single way to gain salvation - through belief, we neglect the countless other biblical examples for how salvation takes root.

I suppose to sum up this chapter, I would say that Bell once again does a great job of giving us a scriptural basis for what seems to be the polar opposite of most evangelical teaching (in the West). I do not see him making wild claims or identifying words and phrases incorrectly. He shows through scriprure that God's mission has been restoring, renewing, and saving creation, and that in the end, God DOES get what God wants!

What say you?

Peace,
Ross

URGENCY > LIVE IN ST. LOUIS

Here's a clip of URGENCY live from Cicero's in St. Louis on June 3, 2011. Enjoy!



Peace,
Ross

The Inseparability of Mission. [PART 1.2]

A couple of weeks ago I promised a series of entries on the concept of mission. We've had a couple posts, but I promise more now that my writing is finished. (I just dropboxed my final papers for my Spring semester classes, so now I have a bit more time to roll this out) Whew!

I believe that as a member of humanity, we cannot be separated from mission. I believe mission is occurring all around us, has been occurring since creation began, and is the inevitable consequence of time and creation.

We can however be unaware as well as participatory-antagonists to the mission; to restoration and shalom.

But we are ALL players!

Check in, and chime in with your thoughts...

Peace,
Ross

Doubt Brings Hope

Here's a song (Doubt Brings Hope) from the CD RELEASE show last Fri. Enjoy!

Peace,
Ross

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

Thanks so very much to all that came out to support me and the great causes this past Friday, June 3rd at the CD RELEASE concert in St. Louis! It means the world to feel your love and support year after year, album after album, & live show after live show!

Here's a few shots from the show...i'll post a few videos in case you missed it in the next few days.

Peace,
Ross

SongsFor#Joplin

Here it is folks...SPREAD THE WORD & help in the relief efforts!



Peace,
Ross

FRI, JUNE 3rd: getting some press...

Tomorrow is Friday, June 3rd and I've got a lot to be excited about.

1. my CD Release Concert at Cicero's w/ Dear Genre, Syna So Pro, and John Boy's Courage
2. a partnership with wearVIVE.com to help with relief efforts in Joplin
3. a partnership and contributor to the SongsFor#Joplin album

The show will be a great time, with tons of excellent music! The show though, serves a deeper purpose...we're coming together to add a little hope to the tragedy in Joplin, MO.

Zach Becker (in an interview with the RiverFrontTimes) said, "We live in a world where, because of the Internet, everything is local.The global community is at our fingertips, and there's no excuse to ignore this."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Peace,
Ross