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9am

Yesterday was a cool day. We spent all afternoon at a photoshoot at a Hacienda. David Dobson, the photographer, got some amazing pictures. At one point I was helping with the photoshoot (holding a lens) when Andy O decided to stealth-disco me. (when someone dances behind you in a picture and you aren’t aware)

Andy Osenga stealth-discoing me at a photo shoot

The pics he got as the sun was setting on an old church were some of the best I have ever seen and will surely find their way into the CD liner. (it did, in fact, and here it is)

And right after that picture was taken, this one was:

The Entire Compassion Trip Ensemble

David has also been videotaping footage of everything we’re doing for a DVD that is supposed to come out 8 months after the release of the CD (Editor’s note: never happened). Right now the CD is slated for an early October release. The brothers said goodbye to us at the Hacienda with a song and we all stated our wishes of seeing each other again. Somehow I think it will happen.

We checked back into the Hotel Quito last evening and had dinner. Andy O got stuck rooming with me the last night, but it turned out to be pretty cool. Ignoring our bodies’ pleas to go to bed, we chatted about tons of different things for a few hours before crashing. I’m glad we were able to connect like that. This morning we are headed for a church service, tonight we fly out.

1am

I am seconds from nodding off, hopefully for the next 5 hours of this flight. Church was interesting today. Very Americanized, but still cool to praise God in Spanish. After church we went to Fernando and Liceth’s house for lunch. My stomach had been iffy all morning so I only had a few bites. Christie and Mel (Jeff’s wife) were up all night sick the night before and were still recovering. The steak and shrimp were unbelievably good, but I could only stomach a few bites of each. I finally started to feel better in the afternoon watching the Master’s golf tournament. Cliff and I watched the final two hours rooting hard for Mickelson. When that birdie putt dropped on 18, we both went crazy. It was a great moment. We both decided to put it in our top 5 sports moments of all time. But I digress.

So the trip was wonderful. Seeing Ecuador was a treat. The mountainous landscape was very inspiring. Hanging out with the band was a lot of fun as well. They are all smart and funny, so it’s almost all nonstop laughing. The best part of the trip was probably the Compassion work. Seeing those kids’ faces light up from a hug or a smile made the whole trip worthwhile. Definitely something I would do again. And since Cliff mentioned to me the possibility of that happening next year, I’ll keep my options open.

Tags: caedmon's call, Ecuador, Share The Well

Apparently Cliff was up sick all night last night in every imaginable way. Thankfully he is feeling good enough now to make the trek back to Quito. We went into the famous Otavalo Market today for a couple hours. Tons of vendors and everything was priced really well. The merchants were easy to bargain with. I only had 20 bucks on me, but thankfully there was an ATM on the street that actually gave me money. Ah the wonders of technology.

Andy and Todd at the market in Otavalo

Andy O came pretty close to buying a beautiful electric guitar but ended up with a nice Charango. The sun was out most of the time we were in the market and it got pretty warm. But suprisingly, even though we were right near the equator, it never got above 85 degrees. Up in the mountains it felt like it was in the 40s or 50s at times. I got some little stuff to bring home to the family at the market, and we headed back to check out of Puerto Lago.

(–> Day 5)

Tags: caedmon's call, Ecuador, Share The Well

1pm

This morning we visited the village where the brothers live. Their mother prepared a meal for us: corn, guinea pig, and cheese we couldn’t eat (not pasteurized, would have made us sick).

I am still startled by the poverty level in many of the villages of the Andes mountains. I see their circumstances and I see hopelessness. Yet, to hear David, Umberto, Ephraim, and Samuel talk about they hope they have in Christ, it makes me feel like a total fraud. Seeing their situation makes me understand what it’s like to have Christ be your source of joy, hope, and even the means to get by day to day. I wonder how much I rely on Christ for those things. It seems I feel like I can take care of myself most of the time and just let Him fill in the gaps.

Eating guinea pig with Cliff at the house of the brothers

After we left the house, Randall and I ran back to the van as it had started to rain. We talked about how meeting that mother had impacted us. As it turned out, Randall wrote a song about the experience that made it on to the record called “Did Not Catch Her Name”. Randall later told me that he finished the song after the conversation we had, so that was quite a thrill for me. And it’s a great song too.

Financially it is easy to see that our country is much more well off than Ecuador. But spiritually, I wonder if it’s just the opposite. Has all that we have as Americans numbed our need for God? It might be the one thought that I take with me after I return home.

Midnight

We spent close to 4 hours in the makeshift recording studio above the hotel dining room tonight capturing the sounds of the brothers. Josh and Andy had all their gear set up and worked them pretty hard, but they seemed to love every minute of it (the brothers as well as Josh and Andy). Chances are they recorded some great melodies to build songs around. That is probably what will end up happening to all the recordings that they are getting of indigenous music from India, Ecuador, and Brazil. They will pick a melody, an intro, or an instrumental solo and build a song around it. Interesting to note that their music was all in the same key, C. no sharps and no flats in the key of C, as most musicians know. At one point Andy said he played an E chord for them and they cringed. Tomorrow we are headed to the market, a photoshoot, and then back to Quito. Cliff got really sick tonight, hopefully he feels better by morning.

(–> Day 4)

Tags: caedmon's call, Ecuador, Share The Well

8am

Eight hours of flying yesterday wasn’t too bad. I met up with the band in Houston, and everyone welcomed me warmly. I sat next to Josh on the flight, but we didn’t talk too much. We both did our own thing to pass the time. Once into Ecuador, I immediately noticed the altitude. I was very lightheaded (Quito is about 8,000 feet above sea level). We checked into the Hotel Quito and had dinner at about 11:30pm. The view from the dining room on the 7th floor is amazing. Mountains and valleys all around. Such an incredible landscape.

This morning we are driving to Otavalo where we will spend 2 nights. I’m just trying to soak in everything I see. Hopefully I can get some good stuff for the website on this trip that will somehow benefit the band. The fact that I am living out every fan’s dream is not lost on me. Even though I am just as much a friend of the band as a fan now, this experience is still surreal.

Me, Cliff, and Randall Goodgame

9pm

What a great day. We did the 2-hour drive from Quito to Otavalo this morning. Cliff and I talked a lot along the way. His passion for this new record is infectious. This band is really encountering a paradigm shift right now. No longer are they concerned with how great they can be or how many accolades they can garner. They feel like now that they have a soapbox, that they better use it for something. No one exudes this sentiment more than Cliff. He’s tired of making music for self-serving purposes and is ready to do something worthwhile. This CD and subsequent tour will be about raising two things: money for specific projects and awareness of what’s going on in these countries, the latter being the more important to the band. To hear Cliff and the other guys talk about it, you get the feeling that it is really going to be something special.

We stopped at the equator for a photo op on the way to Otavalo. That was pretty cool.

At the Equator with Caedmon's Call (Todd's pointing us out)

Our cabins are on a lake at a place called Puerto Lago. The view is breathtaking.

View from my room at Puerto Lago

This afternoon we went to a Compassion Project and met with about 100 kids. They were so cute. We played games with them, took lots of pictures, gave them candy, and lots of hugs.

I'm a little winded after playing games with the Compassion Kids

We took a short walk to the home of Cliff and Danielle’s sponsored child, Gisella. I can’t get over the living conditions in those villages. They live on $20 a month in dirt floor houses. It really makes you question how you can ever be discontent with what we have here in the states.

Cliff and Danielle meet Gisela, their sponsored child

A few minutes ago Andy Osenga and Randall called us into their room to play us a song they had just finished called “Sarala”. It’s fantastic. It’s a true story about a girl who’s father was once one of the untouchable Dalits of India but escaped the Caste system to make a life for himself in the U.S. Musically and lyrically this song will be one of the best on the album methinks.

Lyrically, this album has a lot of promise. Josh Moore, Andy Osenga, and Randall Goodgame will be carrying the mantle of songwriting on the record and have decided to come at it with a different approach. Instead of guarding their in-progress songs and keeping songs to themselves until they are finished; the trio have gone out of their way to involve each other in their writing. Verses, choruses, and bridges are all open for scrutiny and honest opinions are being encouraged. This approach should lead to great songs, considering the ears that will be weighing each line. And of course, if getting a song onto a Caedmon’s Call record is like getting into a quality club, Cliff is still the head bouncer. He knows what he’s looking for and if any part of a song doesn’t make the grade, he’s not afraid to let you know. Between Cliff’s instincts and the clan of talented songwriters working on the project, this CD has a lot of potential.

1am

Tonight we brought in 4 brothers from a nearby village to play for us. They play guitars, charangos (like a mandolin), and various pan flutes. I was completely blown away by them. The sounds from their native instruments were so refreshing and they played very well together. Extremely tight. Not sure how they are going to get worked into the album, but it will be great. (Note: They can be heard as the intro to the song “Volcanoland” on Share The Well)

After dinner Cliff, Josh, Andy, Randall, and I were hanging out in one of the rooms. Cliff and I were talking baseball while the others were working on songs. Cliff and Andy eventually went to bed and I stayed up with Randall and Josh until 1 am watching them work on songs. It was an interesting experience. Josh and I have been rooming together since the first night and it is working out well. Neither of us snore or sleepwalk so it’s all good.

(–> Day 3)

Tags: caedmon's call, Ecuador, Share The Well