The Medicine

My new album "The Medicine" is scheduled to be mastered on Tuesday of next week. After 6 months of hard work, 2 years of writing, and about a gallon of my own blood we're almost finally done. During the process of this we've had many a life changing experience, including the birth of my beautiful son Jude and the untimely destruction of producer Elijah's house by a ginormous tree (both on the same night actually).

If its OK with you (I guess kind of has to be) I'm going to be incredibly honest here for a second. I'm both incredibly excited and incredibly nervous right now. Excited because, and again excuse my honesty, I believe the songs on this album are some of the best Ive ever written and I know that this is certainly some of the best music our team has ever made. There is not one song that I wouldn't listen to myself. I mean if I don't like it then why should I expect any one else to like it?

So, how come at the same time can I be so nervouse? My team and I have put much of ourselves into this project. It really becomes a personal thing with us. Seriously it's just the only way we know how to make music. My name is on the cover but this project belongs to them as much as it belongs to me. All this to say that whenever you present something to people I guess there is an opportunity for rejection. And it's especially difficult when the work we've done is so personal in nature and has cost so much time, money, energy, blood, first born children, eternal souls etc.... Still the truth is anything worth doing involves a risk and usually the greatest reward come from the greatest risk.

I guess you never really know what to expect out of people either. Trying to please the public is like trying to shoot a man on a moving train. By the time you take aim he's gone. People have ask me whether or not this album sounds much like the last one. I've been saying yes but then I recently took a listen to the "Song Inside the Sounds" for the first time in a year pr two and actually it sounds way different. But hey what's the use in recording the same album twice? I mean we're all changing. An album is like a photograph. I'm not the same person even one second before or after. By the time the flash clicks I'm at least one second older wiser and new. So is there another "How He Loves", "Closer" or "Ashes and Flames"? Nope. I already wrote those songs but I have some new ones that I think are better.

The album as a whole is bigger sounding. We purposely made the last one a bit "Low Fi". At the time I was tired of super "hyped" digital production. But this go around I really let Elijah mix like it was a commercial record. Its still not too polished and plenty loose. It's just sonically huge. We also incorporated a lot of "room" on this project. We used no digital reverbs or effects on any of the instruments but instead we created all effects by multiple microphone placement throughout the tracking room and creating reverb chambers like they did in the old days.

As far as the content goes I realized early on that we really were telling a story. The album opens with the foreshadowing lines of Reckoning Day: "would you come live everybody, get up out of bed for the sound of the song unsung" . This first song, in a subtile Mark Twain kind of way, ended up pleading for the attention of the listener and then continues to outline the events to be expected. The idea is that somewhere in the process a reckoning must take place. Though not chronologically you can see this progression in the body of the album. The Medicine is about a reckoning in oneself, with life, and with death. It's about blood on the promenade and the yawning of unlocked and unlatched graves. It's about worship in the context of life where the world is both immeasurably wonderful and cruel at the same time. This is the world we live in, this is the world we worship in and I want to depict worship where it really happens, in the context of a reality outside of Disneyland. At the same time these songs are full of hope and wonder like nothing I've written before.

Highlights:

Each song has a purpose for the album and a special place in my heart. If there was anything I wasn't excited about it wouldn't have made it on the record but I do have some favorites.

The Medicine (the song) has been one of my favorite songs to play live over the last couple of years. It's just a beautiful ruckus mess with definite elements of Springsteen and Southern Rock with a lil New York garage flavor. Skeleton Bones has this sweet gallup that's almost folky but with a massive sweeping chorus. Carbon Ribs began as a song called Culver City Blues. I wrote it after an evening at he pier in Santa Monica. Couldn't sleep so I just listened to the rhythm of the traffic outside my hotel room. It has this real 4 in the morning kind of charm to it. With Death in His Grave I was trying to write a song that sounded really old. There is an old folk tune about the death of the outlaw Jesse James. I took this idea and the theme of a poem by Steve Turner called The Day That Death Was Killed and wrote a story about the death of death. My wife Sarah and Molly Skaggs sang with me on this tune. One of my favorite moments on the album is the three part harmony on the bridge. Brings a tear to my eye. Belly of the Lion is a song about the treachery of mundane life and the pursuit of pacification. Ten Thousand is a song along the lines of older Dylan compositions like Desolation Row or Hard Rain. This song has a vivid imagery and tells like a story form an old revelator. Bringing the album to a close with the line "world, I have overcome you world".


Here is the track listing for: "The Medicine"

Reckoning Day
The Medicine
Skeleton Bones
Carbon Ribs
Dress Us Up
Death in His Grave
Belly of the Lion
Philadelphia
Out Of The Ground
Ten Thousand


The Medicine releases September 2008
Pre-order a copy at thejohnmark.com and download a free bonus track.
Or come pick one up at the CD Release Show Sept 6
The Visulite Theatre
1615 Elizabeth Ave.
Charlotte, NC, 28205

Quite A Ride

We've been on quite a ride the last couple of weeks. The CD is so close to being finished. Our deadline to master is next week! We should have the final product just in time for our CD release event (September 6 in Charlotte at the Visulite Theatre). At the same time we have also finished the long awaited Zao Water benefit album! We haven't established and exact release date for this project but we should be announcing a date in the very near future. I'm extremely proud of both of these projects and I can't wait to share this music with you. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about them and are ready to hear them. Well here you go. (I've posted some of the music below.)

Last night we had the privilege of leading worship with Leonard Jones at a Todd Bentley meeting in Fort Mill SC. It was great to worship with several thousand people in the open air. I love playing outside. Apparently we were on God TV. I haven't heard (and usually don't) if or when they'll re-run it but If I were a betting man...

Little Jude is healthy and happy. He's adjusting to life on the planet earth nicely. He enjoys eating, sleeping and late night conversation. He seems to respond well to music (shocker). I'm glad he likes it. He's going to hear a lot of it. He doesn't seem to like baths or diaper changes, however he doesn't like to be dirty or have dirty diapers either. He is, as we all are, a beautiful contradiction. He doesn't want to be the way he is but he doesn't always enjoy the process of change (the changing of diapers especially). Hey, I've already learned something from the little guy.

Hey Jude

Several months ago I ran into a friend from Switzerland. He recently had a dream that briefly brought him back to our area. In this dream he prayed for a couple of specific MorningStar worship leaders in the basement of Heritage International Ministries and a new sound was released into the world from these leaders. During a church meeting he saw Sarah and I and told us that he believed he also was supposed to pray for us. He proceeded to pray and began to prophesy that when our new baby was born, a new praise would also be born. Little did he know that we were planning to name our son Jude: a modern form of the name Judah that means "praise".

On July 23, 2008 at 1:07 PM a new praise, weighing in at just under 9 pounds and stretching just under 22 inches, was indeed born to Sarah and I! Significantly enough the first sound that little Jude heard on earth was the chorus of Kevin Prosch's anthem "Praise the Lord Oh My Soul". This was only one song of a large mix that I created the day before. We brought the music in to help the mood during the possible hours of labor. I had no clue what exact song would be playing when Jude made his grand entrance (or exit depending on how you look at it). It just blows me away that the first words a boy named "praise" hears as he enters the world is "praise the Lord oh my soul, praise the Lord"! I can hardly contain myself when I think about it!

Jude Williams McMillan is a healthy, glorious creature and is already incredibly loved by many people. He is a sign and a wonder and more than that, just a really great guy to hang with.

Exciting Things

Well, we are at home. We've spent a lot of time in North Carolina these last several months. This is mostly due to the forthcoming arrival of our new baby and our work on a new CD. The second of which has been the primary reason for my lack of blogging as I've found I have little passion for discussing preamps, power converters, and how many times I had to sing "Out'a the ground" before I realized it was out'a of my range. Please forgive my silence, but I do believe I may have spared you quite a few minutes of your life by leaving out these mundane details.

On the other hand we did spend some good time worshiping with and performing for many great friends in San Francisco, Nebraska, and Kansas. We also spent some good time teaching in Toronto and co-hosting a worship intensive in Fort Mill, SC. These details would have been interesting. I'm sorry.

The baby is due tomorrow! We have yet no sign of when exactly he will arrive, but it could be any day now. Sarah is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and our anticipation for meeting the little dude is growing exponentially.

The new album has progressed quite well. Elijah (our producer) is currently in the editing and mixing process. I like to avoid the studio during these stages for three reasons: 1) Editing is by far the most tedious and uninspiring aspect of the recording process 2) I want to stay out of Elijah's hair as to not distract him from his work and 3) I want to come in after the process to approve of the final product with fresh ears. I have no doubt that Elijah will give me no less than his absolute best work. He never does anything half-heartedly (to a fault).

So here we are in a season of waiting. Baby Jude and the new CD will both be arriving soon. Sarah will be taking a break in the coming weeks for obvious reasons. But I shall continue on with my crusade of worshiping, creating, and reviving. We're looking at events in Kentucky, California, and Washington State in the coming months. We're also looking into connecting with several large festivals next year and hosting several of our own functions right here in Charlotte, NC. The Zao benefit album has also been completed and we can't wait to share it with you. It should be released just before or just after my new project. Watch out for events related to the releasing of both.

Please don't give up on my bloging! I'm out of the cave and I plan to keep you ever updated as to the current state of our ministry. We're more excited than ever about the coming days and that isn't just something to say. I mean it. I really do.

Back To Charlotte

Our team is on the way back to Charlotte, NC today. We've had a pretty incredible experience in California. We helped raised over $25,000 for Sudan. That's just about enough to dig 4 fresh water wells that could possibly support more than 40,000 people with healthy water. I consider this in itself to be quite an accomplishment. Mothers will lose fewer children, families will walk fewer miles for their basic necessities, and people who were going to die will live because of this trip! Beyond that, we raised awareness of these issues in communities across the length of California, worshiped together recklessly for hours at a time.

It's honestly a little difficult to leave the people we partnered with on the Rock For Water Tour. We've become close to Aaron Strumpel, the Aiklens, the Armerdings and the whole Radiant Church community. I know that we have destiny with these people beyond this tour and we consider them to be close friends even after only a couple weeks together. Honestly, we probably had a years worth of experiences in two weeks. We ministered together in churches, clubs, schools and even garages. We worked together, ate together, slept together, sang together and played together from the massive metropolitan cities of Southern California, to quant beach towns and snow covered mountain passes in the central coast and the north. When I think back on this trip the thing that I will remember the most are these people and the adventures we had together. As cheesy as it sounds there is something incredibly powerful about people unifying for the greater good and we plan to do more of it.

Sarah and I love California. We'll be back in a few weeks to teach and worship at a seminar in the San Francisco area along with Ray Hughes, Sean Feacht, Brian and Jen Johnson and several others. If you're going to be n the area please check it out. (more info in our "events" section)

It's 11 PM. We're back in Visalia California staying with some friends. This has become home base for the tour as the main church we're working with is based here and we're central to all parts of California.

We played Redding, CA last night in a garage behind an office park. Quite a "Punk Rock" location. We had about 80 excited people who filled the room like sardines. They sang louder and danced harder at this event than any we've done on the tour so far. Sarah's songs were especially strong that evening. The people sang them so loud that she couldn't even hear herself! You could feel the power of God in every set and no one wanted to leave even after I'd lost my voice.

This tour has been absolutely life changing. We've raised more than enough money to dig 3 wells in South Sudan and with our last stop tomorrow in Fresno we may have enough to dig 4!

Next week we return home for a little down time and preparation before we go back into the studio. Thank you all for your support. Please keep us in your prayers!

Rock For Water Tour: Stop Number 4 - Bakersfield, CA

It's about 12:30 AM west coast time and we're driving an hour and a half to where we'll be staying for the next couple of days. We've just finished our fourth night in a row and we're all looking forward to a little rest.
We ended the show tonight with our whole crew on the stage singing "How He Loves US". I think there may have been over 20 people on the stage. We've been ending the shows with our whole crew together and Aaron Strumpel playing the theme of the song on the trumpet. Tonight we added a violin and jingle bells as well. It never sounds great in traditional terms but there is something pretty powerful about filling every corner of the stage with a human body and every crevice of the air with a screaming voice or clanging instrument.

I love the idea of regular people making music together. I'm a fan of excellence in art but not at the expense of sincerity (Elitism is self-defeating if you ask me). Some times the things that sound ridiculous by themselves, sound awesome when we do them together. And as cheesy as it sounds, often our insignificant things can be powerful when we combine them with other people's insignificant things. On this trip we learned that a couple of powerless dollars in our pocket or a cup of Starbucks can save a whole human being when combined with the resources and experience of other people. In our first four nights alone we've raised enough money to supply water to several thousand people. Many of them are children who have a high chance of dying with out it. And all we did was sing. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.