WARNING: Listening to this music doesn't require parental approval. It's a bit of clean rebellion. It keeps your outlook up and your hope alive. It's got strong drums and screaming guitars. It pumps you up and drives your life. It's a hunger for exploration. It chooses the right and returns with honor. It's music you don't have to confess to your bishop.
In the last few days, I’ve had a little bit of fun listening to my LDS Rock Music CD’s. I’ve got them ripped to mp3’s, on my cell phone. They sound pretty good in my car stereo, cheap as it is, but they really sound incredible in my ears with the buds. Especially the kind with the rubbery ear tips. Those trap the bass the best!
It’s been quite a while since I spun these tunes, and even longer since I recorded them. Sometimes, I get to feeling down about the whole thing and I think that they’re not any good. Then I listen again, and remember how much fun it was to make them and I think, “Wow, these are actually really good!”
Some of them, I like more than others, of course. Let me tell you about my favorites from each disc.
From “One United Generation”, I especially like the first track, “Here in Me”. It was funny, but once, long after that song was done, I had a powerful testimony-building experience. I was sitting in my studio, listening to tunes, and it came up. I just got washed over with the Spirit and it felt soo good. I was sitting there, listening to this driving rocker, with tears in my eyes. What a feeling.
“The Taker” is another one that really grabs me. I love absorbing the harmonies at the end, especially in headphones. It’s funny, though. I was trying to get this sort of Urban, R&B, borderline hiphop kinda vibe. My musician friends who heard it said, “Wow, Mark, you really nailed that Pink Floyd sound! Great job!”
I love the orchestral arrangements on “Millstones”. My friend John Newman wrote those parts, and he really took the song to new places. We tried to record live musicians, but with no budget, it just didn’t work out. In the end, I used sampled strings. I’ve always dreamed of performing it with a real string orchestra.
There are more, but those are the LDS Rock tunes that really catch me from the first CD.
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
Mark's Other Blog Posts: name post, name post, name post,
A long time ago, I took a poetry writing class that had a really big impact on my ability to write LDS music.
For the time being, by the way, we’re going to set aside the debate as to whether or not songwriting and poetry are equatable. I’ll make a note to do that one later.
We talked a lot about imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyming, meter, form, metaphor, similie, personification, and about a million other traditional literary devices. The really cool thing about this class above all other writing classes I ever took, however, was that we really delved deep into the source of the poetry, and how to truly express the most impact using the fewest words possible.
We got right down into the nature of art as a means of expression and self-discovery. To that end, the instructor taught us a model called the Johari Window. This is a pretty famous model, and it’s used in a myriad of situations, from psychological studies to business and communications training. This instructor taught it to us as a way of becoming more and more self-aware.
Anyway, here it is:
There are four panes to the window. The top two panes represent the things about us that are known to others around us. The bottom two panes represent all those things around us that others can’t see. Meanwhile, the left two panes are things we know about ourselves, and the right panes are those that are parts of ourselves that we don’t know.
So, that makes for four parts:
The first pane, then, is full of things about us that others can see, and that we also know about. These things are usually good things, the sort of things that we put out in front of the world. This is labeled the “open” pane
The second pane, is our “blind spot”. These are things about us that others can see, but we, ourselves, don’t know, don’t get, or (often) don’t want to see. Our character flaws and blemishes often are in this category. Good things we do, but often overlook or discount can also be here.
The “hidden” part of ourselves is full of things that we know about, but the rest of the world doesn’t. We usually try to keep it that way. These are the skeletons in our closet, that we don’t want anyone to see.
The final pane in the window is the “unknown” area. This is what we don’t see, and what the world doesn’t see, either. This is the area of the subconscious, and it’s often thought of as a scary place. It’s also where the best songs you will ever write come from.
As we went through the class, the instructor gave us many assignments to write and rewrite, and much of them were geared toward shining light into this dark and confusing area of our souls.
As the years have gone by, I’ve continued to search that area. I’ve discovered that not every song I write comes wholly from that space. Some are well in the first pane, and some from the second. I’ve also learned that there’s a little bit of the unknown pane in almost every creative endeavor you do.
I’ve explored it a lot with prayer as well as effort. As an LDS musician, I’ve found that, with God as my guide, it’s not as scary as you might think. Each new thing that I’ve discovered about myself has only helped me to know the real me better. And after I get through the weirdness of that discovery, I’ve always found that I like me a little better each time. Even though the instructor was as areligious as you could get, even a bit anti-religious, she helped me to be a better member of the church, and helped me, in the long run, to make better LDS music.
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
First, do you want to know what’s happening in the world of LDS Rock Music? There’s an app for that! That’s right, I have an app, now! Currently, it’s only available for Droid, but as soon as the app application process on iTunes is complete, it will launch as well for the iPhone format.
It’s pretty simple, nuthin’ fancy, but I’ve had a lot of fun putting it together, and I think it’s cool! It’s like a mini-magazine. I write up a featured artist, with links to sample tunes, show off some of my own tunes, spout off a little opinion column, and share a bunch of great links. All of it is focused on promoting LDS rock and alternative musicians.
The cool thing is that it went live on May 6th, and since then, I’ve had over 500 downloads. It’s a free app, too, by the way.
Here are some easy ways to get it on your phone: One is to simply go to the Droid Market on your phone and search for “LDS Rock Music”, or even just “LDS Music”. Then download and install the app.
Another is to point your phone at this QR code (if you’ve got a reader app), and scan it. You’ll jump straight to the Droid Market page.
And, finally, you can point your Droid phone browser at this address: market://details?id=com.appclaimer.ldsRockMusic, and it will take you there as well.
If you like it, please go back and leave some pleasant comments!
LDS Music Today
My song, “Long Long Time” was featured in the LDS Music Today podcast, in episode 108. That’s not too out-of-the-ordinary, in and of itself. I’ve been lucky to be included several times in the past.
This time, however, was unique, in that it was an entire episode centered around LDS guys that rock. I was surrounded by great musicians like Bill Dent, Michael Dowdle (his new CD is incredible!), Bill Williams, and Kirk Bullough. There’s a lot of screamin’ guitar goin’ on this time!
I really appreciate all that Steve Larsen does to promote LDS music.
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
Right now, I’m facing two problems that you, dear reader, can actually help me with.
My Problems: Job Certification
One of them is that my job (which is all about internet marketing) is requiring us all to prove our worth by going out and making some money on the ‘net. There are all kinds of details, but basically it’s simple. By May 15th, we have to each show that we’ve made a certain amount of money on the ‘net or our jobs are in jeopardy. I'm not complaining about the requirement, I just have to fill it.
My Studio
The other problem is that the computer I’ve been running in my studio has died, and because of a lot of other details, I can’t install it on any of our other family computers (the old version I’ve been running is incompatible with the newer computers). So, my studio is down, and I can’t afford to upgrade the software.
This Is Me, Begging
So, here’s where I get really shameless... If I can sell 45 copies of my CD’s (along with all of my other affiliates and ebay efforts), I’ll have enough money to satisfy my job requirements, AND get my studio up and running again, making more tunes and CD’s for you to enjoy.
Two For the Price of One
If you help me out, I’ll be willing to help you out, too. So, here’s the deal:
Between now and May 15th: Anyone that buys at least one CD, at the normal price, will receive the mp3’s of another one of my CD’s (buyer’s choice) - FREE. That’s mp3’s of all of the songs of the other CD, sweetly mastered, without the annoying voiceover tags at the end, all FREE.
Final Plea
So, if you’ve ever thought, “Hey, it would be cool to have a copy of ‘Lost and Found’”, or “My brother would love a copy of ‘The Third Time’ for his birthday...” Now is your chance.
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
A very, very long time ago, I was feeling sorry for myself, and being really mopey and emo. I started questioning the point of doing music and wondering if I should keep working at it. There was this overwhelming sense that if I were to quietly stop doing music, nobody would really notice.
In recent months, I went through a similar existential meltdown. I wasn’t sure what I was doing nor what I was doing it for. In the end, it all kinda sorted out. Obviously, I feel the need to keep making music, and I don’t see that ever changing. I’m not really sure what the purpose of it all is, but then, who really does, right? We’ll just see where it goes.
Anyway, even though I wrote the lyrics many years ago, I still felt them. And I finally set them to chords and melody tonight. Anyway, here’s the words:
My Dreams By Mark Hansen Lyrics: 1/22/2006, Music: 3/30/2011
Last night I dreamed two dreams…
I could hear the music playing And I stepped onto the stage I was blinded by the spotlight I couldn’t see beyond the cage
And the words that I was singing Sounded through the air Echoed off the ceiling And fell down on the chairs
And when the song was over And I listened for the applause I saw the house lights flicker Lighting up the empty hall
Chorus: Is there anybody out there That is hearing what I say Is there anybody listening Listening anyway
I dreamed I saw a distant forest In its depths there was a tree Its limbs were growing, stretching, reaching But there was no one there to see
It could feel the seasons changing And the trunk and roots grew old Its leaves flew in the new wind The limbs too tired to hold
And in the end it tired of fighting And fell broken to the ground Since there was no one there to listen It died without a sound
Chorus
Bridge: So why isn’t it enough To sing it just for me Why can’t I just sing it out And let the music set me free
Chorus
Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
