Wednesday, November 28, 2012

PRISON BREAK - SEASON 5

If you're a fan of Prison Break, then you already know that no new episodes have been created since 2009's "The Final Break". I don't know if the producers are going to continue the story - it appears they aren't -- so, I'm taking charge!

Prison Break-ers....welcome to Season 5!

EPISODE 1

Season 5 opens with LJ Burrows, now 22, free and working for Blue Viper Records in Vancouver as the A&R rep. In the first scene, LJ is at a concert in L.A. with the hiphop artist he discovered - Jelly Bean. At the show LJ meets Taylor Mahone (daughter of FBI agent Alex) who is a professional photographer. We fast forward through a building relationship to present day when LJ and Taylor hook up and quickly move in together.

We meet a new character - Slade Johnson and learn that he was convicted of dealing drugs and previously imprisoned for two years at White Rock Penitentiary in B.C.  Slade is now president of Blue Viper Records - and LJ’s boss.

Sucre and Maricruz Delgado are happily married, living in Chicago and have adopted two twin boys from an orphanage in Puerto Rico. Sucre is enjoying life as a model citizen and working in construction.

Flashback five years - Sara Tancredi is making her prison escape from Miami-Dade State Penitentiary and her husband Michael Scofield is left behind as a sacrifice to enable her escape.

Now, present day, Sara lives in Panama in order to evade American incarceration. Sara, pregnant, is still grieving over the loss Michael whom she was married to for only 3 weeks at the time of his passing. Sara is seen cuddling with Mikey (their son) who is talking on the phone with uncle Lincoln Burrows.

Lincoln and his wife Sophia Lugo (whom he met in Panama) are at a party in Chicago, along with now-friend Alex Mahone and his love interest Agent Felicia Lang.  The party is hosted by Sucre and Maricruz Delgado who celebrate the arrival of their two boys whom they adopted from a Puerto Rico orphanage. Email greetings arrive from LJ, C-Note (former Fox River inmate) and former Fox River Prison Warden Henry Pope when suddenly there is a shoot-out next door; one of Sucre’s boys dies from a deflected shot, and in the chaos, Mikey is kidnapped.

THE CAST
Lincoln Burrows
Sophia Lugo
LJ Burrows
Taylor Mahone
Slade Johnson
Jelly Bean
Sara Tancredi Scofield
Mikey Scofield
Fernando Sucre
Maricruz Delgado
Alex Mahone
Agent Felicia Lang
Needles
Chris Cole
C Note
T-Bag
Paul Kellerman
Henry Pope
Caroline Reynolds

(Fan fiction by Scott Jackson)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

2012 - LET ME PICK THE HITS!

In about 30 days, LIFE 100.3 will be presenting the Top 50 songs of the year. In fact we have two versions - the daytime (adult) version and the slammin' Christian hits version.

I love both formats so, in a combined list of 2012 Christian hits, here are the 20 best songs, which still burn in my iPod.

Group 1 Crew/He Said
Samestate/Hurricane

Anthem For Today/Inside Out
Dead/House of Heroes
House of Heroes/Touch This Light
Innocent/Anberlin
Heartbeat In Melody/The Wedding

Holly Star/Don't Have Love
KJ-52/Brand New Day
Abandon/New Year's Day (cool in studio version)
To Tell/Be Ok
Tenth Avenue North/Losing
TobyMac/Me Without You
Laura Story/Blessings
House of Heroes/Lovesick Zombie
Dan Bremnes/Hear Your Voice
Flame/Let Go
Pioneer/Treason
Starfield/The Kingdom
Halle/We Alright

Thursday, November 15, 2012

THE BIBLE MAKES ME WONDER

The more I pursue the Bible, the more I am amazed. And, if I'm honest, it raises a whole slew of new questions. The Bible is a multi-complex book covering such a wide variety of topics, that, Christianity aside, I'm amazing by the logic and wisdom. You don't have to be a Christian to read the Bible to learn about life.

We all go through dark times - because of a family death, or a disability, or rules we cannot bend, and all of that is described by people who experienced the same things.

Take the book of Proverbs - about wisdom. While most of it seems simply logical, the wording and depth of thought is quite profound. It isn't one page - it's dozens and dozens of pages of single thoughts, each one more enlightening than the last.

The crucifixion of Christ is of course well known with its own place in history but his last day became more clear to me from watching The Passion where the words became visual scenes of inhumanity. Did the Romans really kill people like that? Not just to Jesus, but to anyone outside the law? Wow...what a way to go!

The disciples called by Jesus were everyday people. If Jesus picked disciples today, they could be me and you. Jesus might have walked into the Christian bookstore and picked the guy behind the counter, or a secretary in an office, a vet, a farmer, maybe even a radio guy. An unconnected group of people.

The epistles books tell us about how to live a good life, how to raise our kids properly, how we can be a good companion to our spouse and how to manage our money.

The songs in the Psalms were written with such passion that for centuries, especially over the last 20 years, musicians have added music and rearranged the verses into lyrics, so we can sing them as songs and play them on the radio without losing the original message. Songs about our dreams, our troubles and our loves.

When I toy with the idea, just for a moment, that the Bible was fabricated, two things immediately justify it to me.

First, for 2,000 years it has been read, loved and held in the highest esteem. If it is fiction, as my Dad still thinks, it surely would have been exposed by now and forgotten. I mean, 2,000 years is a long time to be on the best sellers list! It is read by dumb and smart people who both come to the same conclusions.

And secondly, there is such a wide variety of ideas that I can't conceive that a small group of dumbos could write in detail, with as much passion, and wisdom, and variety about life and God, the past and future, so much so, that it converts the lifestyle of the reader.

When I think of some of my smarter Christian friends, or Christian rock stars, or big names in the history of the world who have all decided that the Bible is real - to me, that's quite the endorsement. It leaves me thinking, if these smart people all believe it's real, maybe it's real. Because if the Bible was fiction, it wouldn't have lasted this long.

I struggle with many verses that seem to contradict each other but because I've decided this is actually God's Word, it is very possible, and highly likely, that my confusion about contradiction comes from my own misunderstanding.

The Bible makes me wonder - about everything. The more I wonder, the more questions I have. It appears that my questions are interpreted as me losing faith. Ok, yes I have doubts about some Biblical concepts.

Like, how can a guy live in the belly of a whale for three days and not die?! Wouldn't the fluids or lack of oxygen kill the guy? I just shrug my shoulders.

Here's the irony; there isn't any real tangible evidence of anything I believe. Just stories and history - and faith. Hmmmm. All I have to do is look up and see creation around me and admit that somehow this all happened by a higher power.

If God made it all happen then the amazing Bible stories that have survived thousands of years are probably true, too.



Saturday, November 10, 2012

"THE WONDERDOG SHOW" - PHOTO SHOOT

We work really hard at producing great radio, at least our inteniton is that it would be great. So with processors and compressors and equalizers to enhance the music and our voices, we then use the same philosophy to create great visuals, for the website and Street Team banners. And that's where a professional photoshoot comes in.

We've used a few different photographers but our recent choice is Edward Ambrosius in Toronto. He does a lot of work for fashion magazines and modelling agencies so his eye for a great look is super tuned in. He coaches the models so each shot is flattering, making awesome use of multi-lights from various angles. A make-up artist is on hand for the entire shoot, doing touch-ups between scenes as needed.

There's a new morning show coming to LIFE 100.3. The Breakfast Club is gone, "The Wonderdog Show" is coming December 3rd! Thus the need for new photos.



We went through several scenes with varying wardrobes for winter, summer, and other fun things that we can make good use of over the long term.  With digital photography we're provided with 500 shots of AJ to choose from - so much better than loading a roll of film!



Maria Lopez joined us as another 500 or so shots were taken! She's a pro!


You'll see the final results in a few weeks on the LIFE 100.3 website and on Street Team banners when we're on location. Woo hoo!




Sunday, November 4, 2012

AIR RAID 21 - REFLECTIONS

Air Raid 21 Poster
With 21 Air Raid shows under my belt, I have lots to reflect on. Each has its own stories of surprises, trouble and blessings. My staff knows this already but listeners likely don't - Air Raid is a pet project for me. I learned a long time ago that Christian concerts are not money-makers but there are two wonderful things about them. First, they are a promotional tool for LIFE. And secondly, we provide an alternative concert - a fun night of music with Christ woven throughout.  It is for these two reasons that Air Raid is a pet project.

Abandon/Anthem Lights/Finding Favour - it was a show already on the road. We bought this date and added Unlikely Heroes as the local opening act. Previous Air Raids are often put together by us at LIFE - we select all the bands, we hire the production company, etc. But this time, it was a package deal that was too good to pass up.

LIFE 100.3 - Evan Duran emcee.
Going into each Air Raid, (and probably all events) we pray for success.

We pray for a break-even number so we don't lose money but recently I've changed my prayers asking God to bless the event and that it would be fun for everyone, regardless of the number of tickets sold. That prayer was answered for Air Raid 21. From the day we confirmed the bands and signed the deal, everything went smoothly.


We made a couple of expense changes a week before because of the slow ticket sales but otherwise, it appeared that everyone had a great time and enjoyed the bands.

Me, in middle with Unlikely Heroes who opened the show.

Blake NeeSmith - Finding Favour
The tour traveled from some small tour near Pittsburg so it was about an 8 hour drive to Barrie. They arrived at 9am at Mapleview and LIFE provided a crew of guys to help unload the gear. Everything was inside and set-up by Noon or so. They didn't stay overnight but traveled overnight to Indiana. Luckily they have a bus driver who just drives.

I don't like buying shows already on tour because we have less control over the show agenda. Often the Nashville guys - the manager and sound engineer - are truly difficult to work with.  It's better for us and the artists if we hire a local sound guy who isn't playing favourites on the sound board.  Because of that Unlikely Heroes didn't get any show lighting and only a basic mix, but the band pulled off their 2-song mini-set well.


Anthem Lights - Caleb Grimm
 
The fans!

Promoting this show required an air-time value of $20,000. That's what it takes to promote a big show with an artist line-up that is not instantly recognizable. LIFE plays Abandon and Anthem Lights regularly, (and more so in the last two months!) but Finding Favour were total unknowns to our audience. They brought the sound and lights to the tour and, in my opinion, were the dark horse performer - and they were awesome! FF led by Blake NeeSmith, are a modern worship act, who posted the lyrics on the screen, drawing the audience in, instantly. And, they were super-nice. It would be a pleasure to have them return to an Air Raid, or another future event.

Me in middle with Anthem Lights Caleb Grimm and Chad Graham


Before the show, I introduced myself to the performers in the band room. Usually at Air Raids there is one or two guys who I hang with and get to know a bit better. This time the bands just hung together. The tour manager "Brett" was great to work with, unlike most Nashville managers who have been to LIFE shows and act like a defense zone.

 You may have noticed "The Red Man" entertaining the crowd, with glow sticks and puzzling dancing. Something new we'll probably do again. The mystery man was definitely goofy!

Anthem Lights took us by surprise. While we know their songs "Outta My Mind" and "I Wanna Know You Like That" we didn't know they are a boy band!

Drums and guitar were the only live instruments during their set - the rest of the music was tracked, allowing the four guys to all be lead singers.

I have many great memories of 21 but perhaps the second best (Finding Favour being the best) is seeing almost the entire LIFE staff helping out at food and LIFE concessions, or taking tickets, or pouring hot chocolate, lifting gear, managing the stage, shooting video - we've done alot of shows and it's cool when the team comes together as a group.


Abandon - the headline performers at Air Raid 21 - November 3, 2012 at Mapleview Church in Barrie.
AWE-some!  Thanks to Andrew Hamilton and Tony Thompson for the photos.