Hey folks,

 AOC is fresh off a pair of Workplay dates. One with Michael Warren, and the other with the Lovell Sisters. (the guitar player in the Lovell’s is fantastic) We shot some video and hope to have it on the myspace soon. We also updated pics. with Corey Nolen and have a website due in Feb.

Last week I went to Nashville and got to cut a session with some serious players. They had all played with top name folks. I had never been in a one take situation where the producer ask,”does anyone have any fixes?” and then moves on to the next song. We cut 10 tracks in 2 days. It was a learning experience to say the least.

I’m planning a 10 question artist interview section, coming soon. I hope it gives some insight to players set-up, mindset, etc…

The Metro Music Academy is underway for it’s spring semester. Check out our website in the links section.

Peace 

New songs are up on the www.myspace.com/actofcongress website. We are really pleased with the sound. There is one more song left to finish up, and we will put some sort of packaging together. Jason Elgin at syncromesh has done a great job and totally made it possible for us. We also enlisted one of our good friends Antwane McMullin to play percussion on the tracks. Check out the track titled “The Bear” for a sample.

AOC has played some great gigs in the last few months. We played the Vip area for John Mayer, Toby Keith, Allan Jackson, and Brooks and Dunn. Upcoming gigs include Workplay, and the B&A Warehouse.

We are almost finished putting our P.A. system together. It includes A 16 channel Allen and Heath board, Jbl speakers, a 16 channel snake, and in ear monitors.  

The Lynn Deshazo project has finished up. Gary Sadler In Franklin Tn did a great production and playing job.

Upcoming projects include worship leader C.J. Blount.

Also check out www.metromusiclessons.com This is our new sign up website, for the music academy I run at metro church.

Tons of new stuff……ActOC is in the studio at Synchromesh with “talent on loan from God” producer Jason Elgin. We are doing a four song demo that is going great! So far all the tracking has been really quick. Everyone is really stoked about the project.

We also have a DVD shot by my good friend and great drummer Antwane McMullin. All this should be hitting the myspace and Actofcongressmusic.com sites by the middle of July. 

There has been a ton of good gigs lately that I have failed to put on the calender. We played the Vip booth at the Toby Keith concert. We are excited about our new found relationship with Live Nation. They run Vip areas at many large concert venues. Last night we played the M. Jordan Ballroom at the Hoover Met. It was cool to watch baseball while we played. Other notable gigs included playing for Mr. Harbert of the Harbert Center, and lots of good weddings and other private parties.

On the tech side, we are now using in-ear monitors. This has opened up a whole new level of tightness with the group. Three of the four of us are using Avalon D.I. boxes. This has changed the quality of sound quite a bit.

There are a bunch of new songs that sound great! Every one is working on harmony singing and our chops. There is a new instrumental that is Killer…It clocks in at 150bpm on the old metronome. Be looking for it on the new demo.

Other news….I have quite a few dobro tracks on the upcoming Lynn Deshazo album. Gary Sadler made me feel right at home in his Nashville studio. Were also almost finished tracking Lee University’s Micah Massey. He is a up and coming worship leader with a great sound.

I was baggage guy for the day with Corey Nolen. He shot the upcoming pictures for Michael Warren’s new album. The pics are winners.

Hello all six of you who read this! it’s been a while. Quick Highlights…..1. AOC re-tooling….Brad and Jenny McConnell have stepped down to pursue other interest. I’m going to miss Brad’s great songwriting and playing, and Jenny’s booking skills. Check out his myspace stuff and indiecommunity.com to get their updates.

Tim Carroll on upright bass has off. joined. Tim brings a lot to the group with his playing and leadership. Also Bethany Borg is joining on Fiddle and vocals. She is a human highlight reel. Check links section for more info on her. I’m very excited about the new sound. Lots of dates coming up. Also look for us on the 90.3 radio show Tapestries in the coming week. Keith Harrelson of the former Moonlight Music Cafe, is going to help with booking and managment. We are teaming up with McWane Center and various other organizations to promote a series of community shows. Dates TBA. Currently working hard on a grant proposal from the Cultural Alliance of Birmingham. Just finished a photo shoot with Corey Nolen photography. Will have myspace pics soon. 

2. Went to Best Buy and bought the new Maylene and the sons of disaster disk II. I have some playing on the last two tracks. pretty cool….

3. In May I’m going to Franklin TN with Lynn Deshazo to watch tracking with producer Gary Sadler. Maybe play a bit.

4. My one night Candlefuse bass gig was fun. They will be rock stars soon!

Check it out! www.myspace.com/griffinstrings

The New semester of the Metro Music Academy is off and rolling. We have over 50 students this semester. Drums and Upright Bass are new additions for the semester. Antwane McMullin (myspace.com/Antwane McMullin) is teaching drums. He has played and toured with a who’s who of christian music. I have enrolled myself in his class. Tim Carrol is also a well know classical and jazz bass player in B’ham. I’m very excited to have these great players teaching at the academy.

ActOC is has played the last two weekends. We are working on some press packs and new tunes. Brad has recorded a new demo at Synchromesh. Anything out of that studio is great. I can’t wait to hear it.

I am playing two dates with Candlefuse in March. They are one of my favorite bands. I’ve got to get my bass chops up to par for the gigs.

As always, I’m on the pedal hunt. I’ve sold five and bought two, recently on ebay. The Line 6 mm4, and the Boss ls-2 line selector are the new ones.

The documentary “A Bluegrass Journey” has been in the dvd player non stop. It has all my favorites; Nickel Creek, Jerry Douglas, etc. I’m a visual learner, so it’s great to take in all the picking via dvd.

I stumbled on The “Absolute Pitch” ear training game. I added it in the links section. It supp. improves your recognition of chords and intervals. I’m playing 20 min. a day or so. In a period of months I hope to get better.

I also purchased a DVD from Doug Seven. He is a great country picker. I highly recommend checking out his instructional stuff.

The Metro Music Academy finished up it’s fall semester. We had a recital last week. I am blessed to be with such great students and teachers!

ActOC played on the Birmingham Nights television show. The highlight was our stage was next to the Richard Scrushy show. We also played at Ross Bridge Country Club this weekend. The gig was great, but the house Jazz band playing upstairs was unbelievable

Lot of playin on the old strings lately. I had a great session with a band called “Maylene and the sons of disaster.” I didn’t really know what to expect. My metal days are just a memory, but I gave it a shot. We tracked acoustic, dobro, and on a whim I took my 2 string lap steel to the gig. Jason Elgin (Synchromesh) ran it through some monster tube amps. I hope they liked it. Their new stuff sounds awesome. Can’t wait to get the C.D. for mom’s Christmas present.

Act Of Congress finally cut a demo. It’s a live five song deal we cut last week. Chris Garmon has some nice equipment and we begged him to track us. I hope to have the tunes on our myspace site in a week or so.

The band has been playing weekly for a while now. Last weekend was at Mountain top church. This weekend, in-between Metro’s 25th anniversary Friday and Sunday services(which were playing as well) were driving south to play a wedding.

Last night I saw RENT at the BJCC. I didn’t pay much attention to the musical bc the musicians were so fantastic. Super tight.