NOEL 2011

For about 8 years, I’ve been doing live looping, which is using a pedal to record a guitar part, then playing that part back while adding new layers of music on top of it.  It’s essentially bringing the studio to the stage.  (Here’s a video of one of my very first loop arrangements:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EQob_DGAh0&ob=av2n )  In 2009, I decided to add a few more instruments to my looping setup and do a Christmas tour.  I set up 8 instruments in a circle and stood in the middle of them to record Christmas carols for audiences in a handful of cities.  I had such a great time that I did it again the next year, adding to the stage 8 more instruments and fellow singer/songwriter Wes Pickering.

We hit the road again last month for the third year of the NOEL Christmas tour, adding about 8 instruments (that’s around 24 total for those counting) and playing a total of 19 concerts.  We had an incredible time traveling the country, playing music, and meeting everyone who came to the shows.  What a privilege it was to sing about God’s grace in sending Jesus to live among us and bring hope to a hopeless world.

I can’t say thanks enough to everyone who came to a concert during this tour.  I so appreciate you taking time out of your busy holiday schedule to listen to us sing and play.  It was a privilege to hear your stories and get to know you after shows.  I’m always encouraged to learn how God is working in His church no matter where I go.

Thanks also (times 1.563 million) to the incredible team we had on the road this year.

-- Becca – my beautiful, out-of-my-league wife.  Becca not only helped setup and tear down our merchandise every day, but she made 1,400 ornaments to help raise money for a wonderful organization/orphanage called “Father’s House” (check them out and give them lots of money at www.fathershouseghana.org).

-- Wes Pickering – We started working on this tour in October.  Wes put in countless hours practicing and arranging these songs, and I couldn’t have played this tour without him.  He’s a fantastic artist, and you should buy 76 of his albums right now.  Go here: www.wespickering.com

-- James Tealy – James was our road manager, meaning he is responsible and organized so we can be creative and forgetful.  Without James, we would have been late to every show, and likely would have been in the wrong city about once a week.  James is also a great singer/songwriter, and you should buy 76 of his albums as well to go with your Wes Pickering collection.  www.jamestealy.com

-- Hannah Pickering – Hannah helped with all kinds of things, including everything visual during the night (video, lyric presentation), loading in and out, running the merchandise table, and making ornaments for Father’s House.  Hannah and Wes met two years ago on this Christmas tour and were married a year after that.  Thanks, Hannah, for coming along this year!

Many of you have asked about the technical details of the NOEL live looping setup, so I wanted to share them with those who are interested.  (Commence nerd speak!)

Instruments:

Taylor 314kce acoustic guitar

Taylor 714ce acoustic guitar

NMI acoustic guitar

Tom Anderson Stratocaster electric guitar

Breedlove classical guitar

Gold Tone 6 string banjo

Luna electric ukulele

Fender Jazz Bass

Jerry Jones Shorty 12 string mandolin

Kentucky acoustic mandolin

Trinity Collins mandola

Gold Tone Irish bouzouki

Sofia Mari accordion

MalletKat mallet instrument (celeste, glockenspiel, marimba)

Elloree baritone guitar (http://elloreeguitars.com/)

Kick drum

Crash cymbal

Yamaha CP33 stage piano

Novation SL MKII midi controller

Logic Mainstage (Rhodes, pizzicato strings, pads, B3 organ)

Autoharp

Meinl Cajon

Assorted percussion (shaker, tambourine, sleigh bells)

Roland SPD-S Sampler

TC Helicon Voice Live Touch vocal effects processor

iPod touch with “tempo” app for click track

Looping/Audio gear:

SooperLooper (It’s free!  Get it here: http://www.essej.net/sooperlooper/ )

JackPilot audio router (Also free: http://www.jackosx.com/about.html )

Midi Patchbay (Guess what. It’s free: http://notahat.com/midi_patchbay )

Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 mixer (Unbelievably cool)

iPad 2 (front of house mixer, synced with StudioLive via SL Remote app)

MacBook Pro (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, OSX 10.6.8)

3 KORG nanopad midi triggers

Roland FC300 midi pedal

--- Here's a photo Wes took at our concert in Buford, GA:

I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start, and I hope to see you soon at a concert.  Happy 2012!

-Josh