First day of SXSW ’13 last month in Austin, TX with classmates.

I must admit I am a fool (see 1 Corinthians 3:18). Seriously though, I am. I continually make mistakes and the best I can do is my best – to put my best foot forward. Along the way, I hope that my path leads to the right thing and it will because I’ve given my life to the Creator. No one should have to take my word for it. When I mess up, I expect people to tell me. Thankfully, it is not up to me at the end of the day to fix everything. God is always so enlightening. He is our strength and our provider and anything else that is good.

As I count my blessings, I try not to focus too much on what I have here on earth. I own some nice things, know some nice people and possess certain qualities, but all these things, ultimately tangible (okay, not character, but it can be physically carried out in this lifetime), do not do anything for me in the future. I am living for the Lord. He has the final say. The Purveyor of the Truth will put me to the test. I know I will pass. And this time too, shall pass.

Since I learned about Ghandi in high school, I have advocated his stance on humanity, living a life principled on peace. Ghandi, however, is one man. He does not hold the wisdom that the Lord holds, always staying true to His Word and showing grace to us all. His truth can be fascinated in this verse, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill (Numbers 23:19)?” Ghandi, Ray Allen, myself, any being who walks this planet, is a lost soul without Jesus. We cannot fulfill our lives simply by peace and works. We fulfill our lives because of God’s grace and love for us and love for His Son. Sometimes I’ll be lost in prayer and give thanks for how much He loves me, for loving me like Jesus.

I recently had the viewing pleasure of Henry Kostner’s, The Robe, based off Lloyd C. Douglas’ classic novel. Quite briefly, if you are not familiar, a Roman tribune is changed by faith after his assigning to crucify Jesus. During the movie, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Strongly, I would recommend this film to anyone. The only audience I debate is a young one, however, I believe even a child would understand the Lord’s power in this film, plus it isn’t rated (1953). The Robe, portrays one of the most faithful stories I’ve ever seen. Going from Life of Pi to the new Les Miserables to Seven Days in Utopia, surely, the Lord has led me in quite the direction of cinema. I’m thankful to be watching movies that demonstrate Jesus’ love for us. Sometimes, we can never get enough. The truth, though, is that He is the only way our hearts will be fulfilled. This one you may have heard a time or two, “For I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).”

Several people have spoken to me lately about starting something only to watch it blossom down the road. It’s an eerie feeling, but a slightly gratifying one. Certainly, we wish to see something arise in it’s time, but as we wait, we are growing something. While it builds, we get better. Sure, we stumble, but the seed we’ve planted keeps us moving. Our momentum picks up only to find us finally in that place. We have seen our once planted seed evolve into a subject to be reckoned with. We are changed.

No matter where the path leads us, our findings are that we are different than we were before; forever changing, never to be the same again. To be led by something so powerful that only finding what’s in search as opposed to what’s directly in front of us makes our chosen route a great one. We falter and succeed. We move to be moved. We start something to watch it be controlled by letting go of what we behold.

Special shout out to Dave of Valaska. Awesome music of the solo acoustic rock persuasion.

I left off on the previous entry about stepping into choir as a sophomore, feeling the fuzz from singing. I still get it today, but it’s better. It’s always better. I recall Laurence Fishburne’s character in Boys N the Hood saying “I’m not getting old, I’m getting better…” Today, I feel that way looking in the mirror. I make these young mistakes, but there’s always a verse in a song like “Here I Am Alive” from Yellowcard’s fantastic Southern Air album…“They say you don’t grow up, you just grow old. It’s safe to say I haven’t done both.” Up and down, forward and back, is the road. My dad said to me that life is on a horizontal plane of forward and backward movement. He’s on, but I like to think I’m going up, getting better. ‘I jump, I fall,’ but I make it, and I’m always looking up at the end of the day – seeking guidance, wanting more, hoping for the best, planning for the worst, giving up my defeat, the fruit I bear.

So back in choir, I was quite regular. I stayed true to myself as a cheery-as-can-be kid who had big dreams and a liking for those who rubbed off a simliar vibe. I even got to rapping with my friend from choir and football, Steck, who was a cheery-as-can-be lineman, who memorably made it to my first acoustic set at home last year. I think we freestyled for a straight hour in lunch one time. I’m a terrible rapper. Guys like Steck, were easy to come by. My good friend, Clay, had really introduced me to several people. He got me into a mindset of not just wanting to meet people, but wanting to know many. He also got me really into music. I thought I was before I met him, which was the case, but he got me recreationally playing guitar – which meant dual jam sessions, playing at bonfires, and nervously playing in front of girls I liked. Nothing has changed.

I got Clay into choir when we were juniors. He was not down for it, but I figured for all the times he put me on the spot to sing for whoever, I could get him to do choir and get serious about our music. Looking back, it was real cool he did that. We always talked about doing the band for real, but it never happened. We just had a bunch of fun. This moment must be taken to pay homage to Clay, for putting up with my antics during our many hours hanging out. As we got older, I got more problematic. I had dealt with depression and there were times when he really had to pull himself together just to be there for me. To the day, I gladly owe him.

Through high school, I just starved for attention. Thank God, I don’t do the same things today. Yes, there’s still a part of me that craves it, but I continue to give it up. That same part of me bothers the idea of being a musician. I don’t want to go on stage for people to look at me. I want to go up there to be a messenger. I believe I have a say in this life; the same reason I support anyone’s dream. It’s always time to seize it. My father still is pushing his music, writing and advertising ideas. He inspires me all the time. I’m truly lucky to have him as a father. That is not to say, the rest of my family isn’t spectacular. Sure, I have some wild cats in the crew, but I’m just as bad, so whatever. We all got our quirks. Speaking of quirks, Zooey Deschanel has simply opened the door to so many things in the marketing/entertainment/fashionista world. I give her credit for being awesome.

New Girl aside, I must accrue some z’s. I pray Zooey isn’t the only one with her quirks tomorrow and that we all just be ourselves. If you’re not feeling that, then soothe yourself with some Matisyahu.

Happy Monday,

Luke

P.S. For any of you out there who enjoy reading, feel free to reach out.

I talked to a man while I was at work the other day, who showed me photography he’s done and talked about his love for restoring artifacts. The man had been a painter up until recently, which makes me feel good because I just started myself. His work was very good – he used the word “abstract.” I would say it was dark and uplifting. What was cool about this encounter was that he told me something I’ll remember. He said, “Don’t stop. You’ll watch your friends quit and you just keep going.” I had told him I did music. I never want to see anyone I know quit what they love. Sometimes though, things are done or they are put off out of necessity. Fortunately, I have been allowed to pursue my passion.

This last week, I was blessed to have been in a class where African artists came to learn about our endeavors in social media and how we apply our principles out there. I hope they took as much as I did. The internet brought us together. Part of my focus as a person of music has been about finding out the relationship between people offline and on the web. It might be something I’ll never understand, but I’m always learning. For now, I am simply a musician, working my way towards being heard.

The journey began when I was a boy. This now makes me think of Will Ferrell in Kicking and Screaming , “I was born…a baby.” On the serious, however, other than my dad throwing on some Tom Petty and my mom playing Donna Summer, the first CD my dad bought for me was Bringing Down The Horse by @TheWallflowers. I was eight years old, learning all about @JakobDylan and how much of an impact his father made on the social world. Soon, I would get into Americana by @TheOffspring followed by @Blink182‘s Enema of the State. I stuck with those sounds for years and as a preteen, I was forming my musical identity, constantly being rocked by my dad’s heavy metal sounds he had been recording since I was eight. His music was so violently conscious on a moral/social level, my best friend couldn’t hang out with me because his dad said I was from “an unstable household.”

In truth, what had happened in those early years, was that my father would sit my sisters and I down and we would talk about issues. We were conscious. Over time, I naturally crept away from my parents’ guidance and formed my own little planet. At the age of 12, my dad was watching one of our favorite movies called Vision Quest and asked me to sing the opening song “Only the Young,” by one, Journey. I refused to sing. My dad became furious since I would not obey and so he told me to go to my room. I was so shook, that I didn’t sing aloud for over two years.

Experiencing failure in sports and a steady decline in academics, I found myself and my younger sister transferring to a new school (our older sister had just graduated). I found out the men’s choral instructor was someone I had known. He performed backup vocals on my dad’s second and third CD’s. I knew his voice very well. I also knew this new opportunity at a new school was leading me to want to change. Ultimately, I was making a choice that I would never live down. The choice was to try music. I had to see if I fit in it. Once that first class had me singing warmups – I was hooked.

The title is my today’s version of saying I’m purely speaking from the heart here. My musical motivation comes from a lot of things, and when I’m conscious, they come from God. I’ve really gone up and down in my life, but I’ve always had hope. Something that I feel is a part of all music is truly that – hope. I love gaudy, honest music because often times, no matter how intensely worded, or aggressively arranged musically; the song brings light. Hope is never lost. Yesterday, I was killing a little time on Twitter riding the bus, and I caught Anthony Robles on the feed. He has one of the more inspirational stories of recent memory, being a wrestling champion at 125 lbs., even though he was born with one leg. Hey Anthony, we have the same birthday. Feel free to follow this great motivational speaker @ARobles125. Anthony’s story is not like many others, but everyone has one. My friend, Jason, and I were talking and praying yesterday. He asked me why I prayed for him about being blessed in his dancing (he’s a pretty solid dancer of the Asian persuasion – I gave up trying that in high school when my friend, Kou tried showing me). I reminded him that even though he’s caught up with work, his dancing is part of his calling. This particular friend brought me closer to God some months back. Since Jason happens to be spiritually gifted and he happens to have the ability to entertain, he needs to be reminded that even when he has all the faith in the world, he cannot get lost in the fog of forgetting just who he is and what he can do. I would challenge anyone to remember that. Today, I’m where I want to be. The only true reason I know is because I believe that God led me here. So here I am and here, I have hope.

A special congratulations to my friend, Kacey, for moving to New York City after just graduating with a B.M. in Performance and Theater. She told me she wanted to be on Broadway. In time, she will be known in that community.

Getting lost in music is key for a creative. Whether you paint, play or photograph, you tend to get lost in work. I’m drowning out to more Yellowcard right now because I’ve lazily not updated my iPod since snagging a little new music this weekend. My sister got me The Rocket Summer’s new album, Life Will Write The Words, also my new friends, The Silver Comet’s new material, My Fear Of Flying, and I bought The Vans Warped Tour 2012 Compilation. I thought the Warped Tour yesterday was phenomenal. There was an evident electricity in the air between the music and fans.The simple dynamic was that everyone in the crowd seemed be totally with it and those on stage were appreciated, which I believe all of them fed off of. My favorite element of yesterday was the love of punk and roll. I felt it. I felt at home.

Yes, The Vans Warped Tour in Shakopee is a day away. I just got done with work about an hour ago, so I’ve been sitting up, eating grapes, listening to Yellowcard, and checking on my homework for next week. To get this out of the way, I haven’t blogged on the regular since Xanga way back in the day (I listened to Green Day at the time – American Idiot was key for my punk influences) and it’s fun getting back into it.

I’m really circling the pop/alt arena here, since I have to admit that I have been listening to some Coldplay the last couple days. “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you…” It’s hard not to play that song after you keep singing it. Chris Martin (their lead singer extraodinaire for those of you who don’t know) is one of the more talented musicians I listen to. Gladly, I used to perform “The Scientist” and had I had more stage presence, it would’ve been a hit every time. The band I was in really had all the pieces. I felt I dragged the group down, which none of them told me, but I could feel it in the atmosphere when we practiced and performed. My voice was there, my body wasn’t.

In all, those guys really helped me musically. They were all really good at what they did and I was lucky to join them. It wasn’t too long after that during my freshman year of college where I really felt like I could play guitar in any situation. What I lacked was consistency as I do today. The difference now, is that I don’t fret (there was not any pun intended there) when I am not practicing like I should be. Rather, I make a mental note and move on with my day.

Now is an exception. I’m supposed to be getting up in five hours for work. It is a rough draft writing on lack of sleep, but any writing creative knows about that all too well. “The point of writing is to write,” said famously by Sean Connery’s character, William Forrester, in the movie, Finding Forrester. So now, restless with the mind a brewing, I had to do this for the psyche.

I’m sitting in the library at McNally Smith College of Music reminiscing about old times while I’m listening to Corinne Bailey Rae Pandora. I started with “Let Me Love You” Radio (which I created today) so you know I’m in quite a different mood. More than anything, I always listen to pop punk or something very smilar, probably more acoustic-based, so I needed something more soulful. I started listening to Corinne when I was a junior in high school after I watched a concert of hers on Fuse. I thought . . . I’ve never seen someone sing and smile the entire time! 16 year-old me would’ve said I was in love with her, well, a little over six years later, things have changed (although I would probably momentarily get lost if I saw her live). She’s got an amazing voice, wonderful stage presence and does her thing on the guitar. Adele has showed up on this station too. What a voice as well. You wanna talk about someone who could kill you with a voice? Fortunately for the fella she wrote those songs about (the ones that made her famous), she now gets along with him (allegedly) – I don’t keep up with press like that, but hey, at the time I was watching some serious TMZ! Listen, for those of you who have a digital local channel receiver, you know what I’m talking about! Not to mention, I live right next to a railroad, and those trains mess up the signal when they come by! My roommate and I learned to laugh it off by the first month when we tried to watch the Packers on fantastic football Sundays. Speaking of Sundays, I’m getting re-baptized this Sunday! I’m excited! My pastor told me he has no question that I’m ready. I’m not going to disagree, I’m going to run faster for the Lord than ever before!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)