We’re continuing in the Good Song Sunday tradition this year, and you can look forward to a new video every first Sunday of the month. So even though we’re technically two days late this month, we’re excited to roll out February’s Good Song Sunday!

LOVE DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE

Clap your hands, raise up your voices
Beat your drums, get out your guitars
We love the Lord, He loved us first
So stomp on the floor and rattle the earth

Love don’t leave me alone (love don’t leave me alone)

He opened his mouth, out came the heavens
And the moon and the stars that go on forever
He opened his hand, out came the earth
Rain for the rivers and food from the dirt

Love don’t leave me alone (love don’t leave me alone)

Our road has been long, our minds full of worry
Our road has been long, our minds full of worry
Our road has been long, our minds full of worry
But he won’t forget no one who hopes in his mercy

Love don’t leave me alone (love don’t leave me alone)
from Reckless
Tim F Thornton (Bricklayer Music Publishing, ASCAP) and Aaron Strumpel (Thirsty Dirt Records, ASCAP)

You can add this song to your permanent music collection here: music.theblackthornproject.com

Whisper Your Love
When I’m small
When I’m helpless
When I’m scared to leave the place where I hide
When my head is loud
but full of nothing
Oh how I need the sound of your voice

Every time I cry
help me remember

Your love is so great you lift up my heavy heart
You break off the ropes that burn my skin
Your love is so great you set me in open fields
You whisper your love, you whisper your love

When I’m small
When I’m helpless
When I’ve believed all the lies I’ve been told
When I’m tangled up in lesser loves
Oh how I need the strength of your touch

Every time I cry
help me remember

by Laurie and Tim Thornton–Contact us for licensing, CCLI info, and more specific chords.

Anyway, here’s a new video for your viewing enjoyment. I’m off to record some lead vocals at Aaron’s house.

Making this video made me want to play this song more often. It’s an old one, but I love it. Enjoy!

Don’t be bashful–tell us what you think. You can even share it on facebook and twitter if you want.

By the way, if you’re interested in lyrics, you can find them on peartreemommy.com –’member, this is part of Good Song Sunday.

Our great friend Aaron Strumpel (writer of the songs Twenty-Three, Centuries, and co-writer with us on Trouble Won’t Go, Too Proud, and Sweep Me Away) agreed to co-produce the project with us, and we love the flavor that he brings to our work. Aaron challenges us in the best ways to stretch the boundaries of our music, to really push ourselves creatively, and to fully understand our vision for the album. And we do know this for sure: this is an album of songs of worship.

We’ve tried not to put many limits on ourselves and on the work–and the work has been so fun as a result. Tim has been living out quite a few of his secret dreams, in fact. The latin percussionist, the Bruce Springsteen, and the crazy goat-hoof shaker guy all thrive within him.  And with this project, they finally have their outlet!

And I get to pursue some secret dreams of my own.  No, I haven’t gotten a Shakira moment yet, but yesterday I put a string section on Whisper Your Love that involved “Sugar-Plum Fairy” strings. High, flitty, and super fun to play. That’s almost as good, right? I also get to continue my foray into the wonderful and frustrating world of the cello. Most of the time, if I keep it simple, the cello does what I tell it to.  Yesterday, however, it almost got itself thrown off the back deck because of its disobedience.

We’re recording in Aaron’s house here in Woodland Park–here’s the view heading up–

and we’re thinking about splitting the studio to be in our house, too, so that we can continue recording when the babies are in bed. It’s a completely different thing than our last album; we’re working around our kids, we’re recording in a home studio, and we’re having so much fun experimenting, drinking coffee, making pancakes, and then experimenting some more.

I’m not sure when the new CD will be available for you to hear and enjoy. I know we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be done tracking our vocals and instruments by the end of this month, but with our chaotic family life, we just have to hold everything loosely. Rest assured, though, you’ll have it before Christmas for sure!

There are lots of ways you can keep up with our recording process. The best way is to be a fan of us on Facebook. It is so easy to upload pictures and one-liner status updates, so we do that often.

You can also follow us on Twitter, which also has some one-liner updates.

I am also updating my new blog for mommies with reflections about how this process fits in with my life as a mom of two small kids. Those posts that are less about motherhood and more about the process will also be posted here, I think.

So there you have it! We’ll try to be updating often, but until the next one, we’ll see you on Facebook or Twitter!

We’re introducing a new service for indie musicians and producers. Follow the link or type StringOverdubs.com into your browser to find out more! We’ll be adding more and more audio samples and photos.

If you’re an artist or know one, why not tweet this, forward it, or share it on facebook?

Click the poster for more information! The full day of worship music featuring Karla Adolphe, Aaron Strumpel, Ben and Robin Pasley, and more TBA. The gathering is going to be casual and packed with value. You might never get a better chance to revel with and engage us in our hometown…er home mountain…pass…area.

Our good buddy Aaron Strumpel has a new album called Elephants. We played with him on it and it stretched us musically beyond what we knew before. It was magnificent and is now available for you and very worth hearing. It’s not light listening (hence the name) but is full of deep, pungent layers and unhindered expression of every kind, all soaked in the scriptures.

Aaron is having a CD release concert on Friday night in Fort Collins, CO at Everyday Joe’s. Laurie and I will be joining many crazy (and I think crazily dressed) friends who will bow, pluck, pound, shake, yell, dance, and sweetly whisper into the microphone as Aaron’s band of supporting pachyderms. Come on out if you’re ready for some crazy Jesus love for the courageously faint of heart.

You can buy a CD at the show, but if you live far away, you can listen and order a first edition on Aaron’s website. Click the image or links above. Here are the show details:

Aaron Strumpel Album Release w/ Listener & Fienix,
Friday, May 1st
Everyday Joe’s
144 S. Mason St.
Fort Collins, CO
7:00pm- 10:00pm
$5

One final note: Gary Adolphe is playing in the band. Wowza.