ABOUT: STONETREE
In 2002 I was living, learning, fellowshipping, and working with a solid group of brothers and sisters in the Lord. I had committed my time to an internship in which we studied the scriptures in the morning and ran a coffee micro-roasting business in the afternoon (Alliance World Coffees). I lived in a house in downtown Muncie Indiana with a group of about 10 other guys, all of us choosing to live together intentionally for the purpose of learning to hear and follow “the call”. It’s within this house that I began to record some songs in a little closet sized room on the second story. With a sampler, guitar, and some second rate half broken instruments I began to layer tracks, sounds, and harmonies. This new life was to have a soundtrack, and I was consumed by the desire to explore the limitless possibilities of enfleshing this spiritual freedom into sound and praise. An album began to from which was heavily beat influenced, with elements of folk, spirituals, hip-hop, and spoken word.
Over a span of months I worked, track-by-track and layer-by-layer, until I had a body of work to present. I called the project “Stonetree”, and this would be my first homemade album made available to a broader audience than just my family and close friends. I designed the cover art and started burning copies one by one at home to sell at local shows. After burning and selling over 700 copies, and also burning up a CD burner or two, I had enough money saved to get the album re-mastered, pressed, and professionally manufactured. This was foundational work in my journey, not only in making music from the soul, but also in connecting with a willing and appreciative audience. The reception to these songs has left me amazed and with much gratitude, as I have had no control over the path, influence, and spread of this little album. I also did not know the path that this music would place my feet upon, and it’s turned out to be an interesting adventure. Thank you all for traveling with me. |
