I like a good book.
I really love a great book.
So when I heard the rumblings of a book written by Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) and illustrated by his wife and resident band artist, Carson Ellis — I was elated.
So what did I do? I ordered the book.
I even ordered it in an indie fashion — Powell’s Books, a Portland, Oregon store, offered a signed copy of the book.
How could I refuse?

When the book finally arrived, I had great plans for the evening.
We had just purchased a tent, and I had decided that my young listeners (my 6 kids) would hear the first chapter as we sat around a campfire.
There are no photos of the event because my wife and I decided to switch off – unplug – and be fully engaged.
Darkness fell, the fire was started by my eldest daughter (we even used some Powell’s packaging to keep the fire burning), and the journey began.
As the Hebrew National hot dogs were finished, I started to read.
The cover art lured us in as we cracked the binding for the first time.
Trusting the craftsmanship of Meloy’s lyrical genius evident in the band’s music, I turned each page.
And we all were enthralled.
Everyone sat and stared at the dancing flames.
I read by the firelight and my family fell quiet and listened.
The smoke from the fire fused with the thick pages of the book, so that even now, the parchment smells of the sweet plumes.
At present, our evening bedtime agenda consists of pajamas, brushed teeth and a chapter from Wildwood.
And I really love it.
Because I really love a great book.

Did/do you read with your family?
What books have made their impression on you?

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, one and all — today I am closing my Music is for Mondays feature.
While I love music (can’t even begin to tell you how much it is like my breath and my blood), it doesn’t seem to fit my blog.
I am trying to focus many things in my professional life — this blog being one of them.
I am dreaming big and aiming high, so every press of a key or every thought towards any action is extremely valuable to me.
I can’t waste those.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts on music and your comments.
The humour will continue to flow here.
Like honey.
And milk.
And water.
And some other liquid.
Cue Boyz ii Men and sing with me…

See you tomorrow.

The Fratellis are a Scottish band out of Glasgow.  They based their name on the crooked and dysfunctional family in The Goonies.  Remember them?  With that mom that played all of those terrible roles in the 80′s?  And they kept poor old Sloth in the basement?
Well, the band is nothing like that.
The band is really good.

For this week’s Mi4M, I am just going to recommend one song.
Just one.
It is a selection you should have on your playlist — your wake-up-in-the-morning playlist or especially your running playlist.  It has helped me push through many a rough runs.
The song is called “Whistle for the Choir.”
It has such a Euro-alt-acoustic feel that makes you wish you had a cool accent.  In fact, when I sing this song, I belt out the notes with the richest accent I can humanly muster without being deported.
You should try it.
And then go to a drive-thru and carry on with your accent and smile to yourself.
With “Whistle for the Choir” blasting in the background.

The Bowerbirds have music that I would liken to a piece of earthen clay that has been crafted by a skilled artisan at a well-known folk festival.
In other words, I think that their music has fingerprints.
Bowerbirds were formed in 2006 in Raleigh, NC and are comprised of Phil Moore, Beth Tacular and Matt Damron.

I have a few Bowerbirds essential tracks for your playlist.
“Hooves” and “In Our Talons” from their album Hymns for a Dark Horse. And from their more recent album, Upper Air, I prefer “Teeth” and “Northern Lights.”
This is creative music.
By that, I mean it is music to play whilst drawing, sketching, sculpting, cooking — anything that requires you to tap into a deep place and make something — this is the theme music.
So get some of their ear candy and go create.

This is a first on the 11ty Million Dollar Blog.
To be able to combine 2 majestic things, beards and music — it is a wonderful thing.
I had the distinct pleasure to spend some time with this week’s combo feature, Brian Wurzell.
Brian’s 10 song worship album, Grace Ocean, debuts tomorrow — you’ll want this album.

Me: I am being joined by musician, Brian Wilson.  How do you spell — no, it’s not Wilson, it’s…

Brian: Brian Wilson was actually part of the Beach Boys — which is totally fine.  We’ve only been together for 4 days, so I understand [how you] don’t remember my name.  [Consensual laughter ensues] It’s Brian Wurzell.  And you can spell that — it’s Brian with an “i” — B-R-I-A-N.  And then the last name is W-U-R-Z-E-L-L.  It’s German.  [Pronounces it German-style] It means “root.”

Me: So I can say, [Slaughters name with hokey German accent]?  We are just getting back to our roots here.  Speaking of roots.  Let’s talk about whiskers.  Let’s talk about facial hair.  It’s obvious, people can see from the photo that you are a fellow Beardy — which is very exciting.  I’m here at Ridgecrest at a conference for people who are in Christian camping, and you are leading worship here with a lot of good people — who were some people on stage with you?

Brian: We had The Technicolors who were backing me up — 3 of the guys from The Technicolors.  And then Audrey Assad, who’s also an amazing musician — on tour, you can catch her this Spring with Jars of Clay.  Um… yeah.  So that’s kind of the band.

Me: As a musician, one who leads worship, are there ever times where your beard presents a problem for you?  Maybe it’s the lighting, maybe it’s getting in touch with the microphone — giving you some extra acoustic or percussion you’re not planning on?  Tell us about that.

Brian: So, probably the most trouble with my beard — from the musician’s standpoint on the stage, is oftentimes the bottom part of my beard [points to beard], as I eat the mic if you will, it gets tangled in the little rivets of the mic.  So I’ll pull away and…

Me: [Makes a cartoonish hair-being-pulled sound]

Brian: Yep — there’s a couple gone right there.  But the funny part is it’s stuck in the mic, so you cannot only see it, but then you are trying to eat the mic again to sing  — and there are whisker hairs… in the mouth.  In the mouth.

Me: Brian, at least they’re your whisker hairs.  Maybe.

Brian: Unless you’ve been on the mic before me of course.

Me: That is always a possibility.  Wow.  So, see — not only are the general Joe Shmoes at home making a ham sandwich gonna have trouble with his beard — getting it hung up on his attire.  As a musician, [a beard] gets hung up on the microphone.  So, ladies and gentlemen — trouble everywhere.

Brain: [Nodding in resounding agreement]

Me: You are a musician, who are some people you listen to that some of our listeners might be interested in?

Brian: A good Beardy out there is John Mark McMillan.  I mean he’s got a firm, solid beard.

Me: Typically worn with like a white V-neck too, like he just walked out of his house on to stage somewhere.

Brian: That’s just how he rolls.  American Apparel deep V — that’s just how it goes down in the South, you know?  I think he’s from the South…

Me: Well I can attest to this Brian, you are a Beardy, so you are a musician that folks can follow.  Can they pick up your music anywhere?

Brian: Yeah, absolutely.  Depending upon when you are listening to this, I have a brand new worship project coming out January 4th.  It will be on iTunes and Amazon or whatever else like that.  Yeah, check it out.  January 4th is the release date.  BrianWurzell.com.  W-U-R-Z-E-L-L.

Me: [Pathetically attempts a German pronunciation of Brian's last name]

Brian: [Corrects me]

Me: Sorry.  What’s the name of the album?

Brian: It’s called Grace Ocean. It’s a little 10 song worship project.

Me: Brian, thank you for your time and good luck with your beard.

Brian: Keep growing it.

To get to all of the glorious gems from my chat with Brian Wurzell, click below for the full one-on-one interview.

His name is Johnny Cash.
In fact, though everyone in the building knew him, he would still step to the microphone and introduce himself as if it were his first appearance on stage.  He would then be met with uproarious applause and cheers, then the performance would begin.
Today’s Mi4M is a bit different.

I am so excited about The Johnny Cash Project.  This venture is described as, “…a unique communal work, a living portrait of the Man in Black.”
The project is simple.  You enter the site and select “contribute.” Then you are shown three slides from which to choose.  The stills are from a video set to the song, “Ain’t No Grave.”  You select the frame of your choice, and then you draw over top of that frame and it is added to the thousands of other frames drawn by people all over the world.  The result is an amazing work that celebrates a man, his music and communal art.
So go and watch the video.
Be inspired.
By the man.
By the music.
By the legacy.
By art.
Go make your unique mark.
I have my frame selected…

Do you have a particular Johnny Cash favourite?  I will go first.

Are you tired of the same old Christmas songs year after year after year?
Do you want to mix up the Christmas playlist a little bit?
Do you like Indie music?
Do you want me to come over and make a turkey sandwich?
If you answered “yes” to at least 3 of those questions, then you need to read on.

Because I pay attention to what is happening over at the Yellow Bird Project, I was made aware of this musical effort.  The album, For Folk’s Sake it’s Christmas, is a melodious endeavour to raise money for the Integrated Cancer Centre at King’s College London.  All profits from album sales will help fund cancer research and help provide quality cancer services to patients.
The amazing thing about this whole effort is the following — you pay what you want for the album.
That’s right.
You can pay the minimal amount which is ₤1 — which equals about $1.56 (but, come on).
Or, you can pay $1,000 or more.
Either way, whatever you choose to spend, you get this amazing and unique album.
The artists on the album donated their time and skills to make it possible.  You may have heard of some of them or none of them, but I can guarantee that this music will make you stop, listen and enjoy the holidays in a whole new way.
There are so many great tunes, both old and new, but few bits if ear candy that I truly savoured are the following: “I Saw Three Ships” by Wise Children, “I Am Christmas” by Laura Hocking, “In the Bleak Midwinter/Lonely This Christmas” by Sam Airey, and the very Leonard Cohen-esque “Another Messy Christmas” by Dan Michaelson.
So — listen and give.
Merry Christmas from me — enjoy For Folk’s Sake it’s Christmas and support a great cause and maybe change a life or two in the process.

It is hard to find a lot of info regarding the artist AM.  It is also possible, according to his site, that spammers from Turkey have taken over his web page.
I cannot confirm or deny that.
What I do know is that AM plays with a certain “melodic swagger” that is easy to fall into.

My swagger is usually not that melodic.  As soon as I put some AM in my Walkman, my swagger took on a whole new groove.
I have one piece of ear candy to offer you this Mi4M edition: it is the song “I’ll Be Your Mirror (Acoustic Version” by AM and Julianna Raye from the album Side By Side – Duets, Vol. 1.  This is one of those songs best fit for when you are sitting on a dark stage with just a spotlight on you and your gal.  I know that happens every now and again, so the next time you two are front and center, cue this song and woo the audience.
I don’t say this often, but you must get this one.
Seriously.
Stop reading and go get it.
And while you are doing that, I’ll be over here going through your stuff.

Little Joy is a Brazilian/American rock band that has a blog written in a language I can’t understand.  They have a website that doesn’t offer much but a photo of the band looking very happy to be next to lots of water.  Little Joy also has a Twitter account that is as helpful as their blog and their website.  While I don’t get their online presence, I do get their music.

Their music is just so… it’s just so… listenable.
Really.
It is the perfect background music that doesn’t distract but is excellent mood music for small gatherings.  While you can have it filling the air you breathe with a marvelous and melodious sound, you can also really get into it.  I mean, really let it make you smile.
Have you ever wanted theme music for those times you feel like you should be in a commercial for some hip and/or trendy product?  This is the music that would be playing as you are looking awesome in your casual yet fashionable attire. You pull into a Middle Eastern restaurant with your gal/guy, and as you exit your shiny black vehicle, you throw your head back in laughter as you close the car door and exit the frame in slow-motion …
A few bits of ear candy you should have are from their self-titled album, Little Joy.  The songs are “The Next Time Around,” “Unattainable” and “Brand New Start.”  In that order.
I have included a video of “Unattainable,” a song sung by Binki Shapiro.  When she opens her mouth, her marvelous voice almost startles me it is so perfectly matched to the music.
Plus, this video is weird because it is exactly how I chill with my two Brazilian friends that live in a penthouse.

Unattainable

LITTLE JOY | Myspace Music Videos

Torch songs are not typically acquainted with Christmas music.  This year, I appeal to you, add this music to your holiday playlist.  Over the Rhine is awesome for numerous reasons.
Is it because they are from Ohio?  Yes.
Is it because they are a husband and wife band?  Yes.
Is it because they make incredibly delicious ear candy?  Yes.

This pair of musicians, pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist, produce some of the most heartfelt, raw, soulful, forlorn music of which I am aware.  There are two Christmas tunes that I would highly recommend, especially if you are aching.  They are “All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue” and “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming),” both from the album Snow Angels.
Be forewarned — these songs can cause one to wallow in pain in misery during an otherwise delightful and restorative season of Christmas.  So if you feel as though you are covered in the muck and mire of the pain and misery in which you wallowed earlier, turn on some Nat King Cole or Judy Garland for an instant lift.  If that doesn’t work, hit the eggnog.
I hate eggnog.

Do you have some go-to Christmas music that is like an arrow through the heart?
Are there some Christmas tunes that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face?
Is there a song, that when you hear it, you are instantly transported to a certain place and time?  Where and what?