About this City

This is a copy of a message I sent to my band this week, I'm excited, I wanted to share it, I'm excited :)

So I spoke about a while a go of how an album was unfolding in my mind, I've kept quiet since then for lack of substance to my thoughts, but I've been noticing links and consitencies throughout the songs we've been writing and knew these were more than coincidences. For various reasons my mind hasn't had much space recently but this afternoon it breathed and breathed deep, the puzzle started to progress and I started to get excited. I'm currently in a library and have limited time so I can't choose my words as carefully as I'd like, I'm afraid you'll just have to deconstruct the mind bleed.

So I'd like to eventually put the songs we've been writing together to make an album called "About this City", if not the name the theme at least I'd like to stand.
About this City obviously could be interpereted in different ways, does it mean to go about this city or I'll tell you about this city, I like the ambiguity of this and wouldn't neccesarily want to answer it. That's very much the feel for the album I'd like to carry through. Imagery, poetry or expression that can be applied and interpereted personally to yourself.
Cities I like, I like the lights, I like the feel, I like the way so many different people gather together, but I also see a deeper meaning to using them as a concept. They're very much the opposite to Vineyards, Vineyards are quiet, peaceful and vacant, you'd presume a city to be loud, busy and bustling with people. If you remember I spoke about the Vineyard being a representation of the place we meet with G-d, the quiet place. Cities I guess are the opposite and in this case for me represent the world. A world of people searching for some sort of hope in the world where it can never be found. That's the idea of this album I think, a contrast, a presentation of the two.
Steve spoke on sunday about how we live in this life but live for the next life, how we walk in the temporary but the eternity is bleeding through, that just seems to fit really well for this. Very much like the vision for the band there's 2 types of people (in particular) that we're reaching out too. One, those who are searching for hope and probably looking in all the wrong places, the lost. We want to say here is a hope and I guess this album would really work for that. There's a song I've written lyrics for called "I placed my heart in a sinking ship", this would be a key theme, the ship representing the earth and the statement of it sinking suggesting its temporary state. This life is passing and if we place hope in it our hope will pass with it, that's a key message I think. The second target audience (if you like) would be those who are walking with G-d, people like you and me who have a faith but face the temptations of the world and the struggles of life, I know this reality and want to reach out to those who can empaphise. The idea is of pure expression and that's why the contrast presents itself, because even though I walk with G-d, the world has the power to steal the focus of my mind, this brings sadness, struggle and at times even loss of hope, but it's a reality and one I want to sing about in an honest way.
This album would only work in honesty, not just from me but from all of us, it would be an emalgemation of expression from all 3 of us and that's why I'm presenting this to you now, I see this unfolding and would like you guys on board as we work towards constructing it into something tangible and audible. It's already happening, Drifted is about an ending relationship, very much in theme with the idea that the things of this world don't last. Even though it's not finished the idea behind Sunset seemed to fit beautifully too and not only what we've written but the lives we've all been living, the things we've been through, the conversations we've had, there's been wonderful parallells within them all.
These are just the beginnings of ideas, please feedback and please throw in your own, if what I'm feeling is the right direction for us I'm excited to see it grow.
Obviously this doesn't mean much toward change or initiation yet, we keep writing as we write and we see how things join naturally but I wanted you guys to join me in this sense of direction and I wanted the thoughts to grow within all our minds.
There was so much more going round my head but that will do for now, sorry it's long but please try and understand it, I'm so excited about this, not just the concept but also its purpose. Any questions just ask, any thoughts just post, that's why I've started it in a discussion.
Peace friends.
Josh :)