Kevin Wyglad: News

Keep up with me on facebook and twitter. They both have been awesome tools of reconnecting as well as informative communication venues. I am connected 24/7 via my Droid.

Guess what!? I'm back to recording the acoustic drums in my studio. If you've been following me on this journey, you'll know that I have explored many roads to getting a great recorded drum sound. I started with my own acoustic kit in my personal studio. Then I tried the electronic route at a friends studio. Then I tried the electronic route in my studio. Then I went to a friends studio where he has had incredible success with acoustic drum recordings. The recordings sounded good but I thought my performance suffered in his studio. It was weird. So, I went back to my studio and tried a hybrid acoustic/electric combination. With that combination, I had the most success. So I sent some tracks to my mix guy on this project, Brandon. I know, I usually do the mixing. But, I wanted some fresh ears on this project. This project is going to be very different from my typical vibe. So Brandon made a comment that made me go back to the all-acoustic drawing board. I did some research on mic-ing techniques. See some hilarious mic stand configurations on my facebook page. I bought a real nice Magstar snare drum and switched to a different kind of drum head on all drums. And tweaked for almost a week. What a world of difference. Brandon Swafford is an award winning mix engineer that's working on this project with me. What a challenge this project has been to take it to the next level. But, I now see light at the end of the tunnel. Please stay informed to this website or my facebook page for the continuing progress of this project. Prayers are helpful too.

Every once in a while, I do a solo show at a local and public venue. January 9, I will be making a return visit to Chicago's in Marietta, GA. I play lead and acoustic guitar to fully produced background tracks I created in my recording studio. I did this act for over 15 years for a living. These days, I still do the act every once in blue moon, just to keep up the chops and to get out a little. Chicago's is managed by a memeber of the church in which I work. She great to work for and the venue is warm and cozy, not to mention great food. If you live in the area, I recommend the steak and house merlot.

My next focus is my own solo project. I've actually been working on this project for almost a year. I will be setting all other projects aside until this one is totally completed. Three other full CD projects await on the back burner. When I mention this project being solo, it's truly solo. All instruments and vocals is your truly. I've also decided to record and produce this project on my own as well. I may consider another mix guy to have some fresh ears on it, and another friend helped in the control room while I was playing drums. Oddly enough, every song so far seems to have a theme of conversion. This was not purposeful. I beleive the Holy Spirit had this in mine. I will absolutely follow His lead. Stay tuned for more details on this project.

I finally finished mixing down my friend Graham's live concert from back in August of 09. This project turned out far better than I expected, I must admit. The trick was to bring the tracks into my personal studio and start over. When I did that, things started just flowing a lot quicker. I was far more satisfied with the final mixes. This will actually turn out to be a very cool project. Check out Graham's website (linked by this site - click on Links) for the continued progress of this project. Did I mention I played lead guitar and vocals on this project too.

Recently I've had to change some priorities on the current recording projects that I am working on. My friend's live project is still simmering on the back burning. I work on it when time allows. I am trying to find just 2-3 days solid that I can knock it out. Well....that's how've busy I've been. Another friend's project is on hold for a couple months. I need to get past the holidays and upcoming season around the church to continue that project. My personal project, I work on it a couple nights a week after the kids go to bed. I am really taking my time on this project and exploring different avenues. I have been talking with a couple heavy hitters about mixing my project. It's something I would normally do, but I want to get some fresh ears on it. Going that route, I hit some speed bumps on the finance road. The other issue is that I am at the mercy of their tour schedule. I am confident the process will begin in December. So I am working hard to get the tracks laid down so they'll be ready when he has time to mix them. Keep posted here for more details as they progress. Prayers are always helpful.

For a few years I've been compiling songs I've written and determining which ones I want to use for the new CD project. I recorded several to get a feel of the songs and how they will sound on a compilation. Out of about 25-30 songs, I've figured out 10 songs that will work well togther. These songs I will start recording something more serious than scratch/demo tracks. This project will lean more towards a straight forward pop rock sound than the typical funky thing I do. For several reasons, I feel I am being nudged to lean into a different sound for this project. I know expressed a few months back that I was gonna dig into the funk thing some more, but I have 3 really strong tunes that are pop rock oriented. So, I thought the best idea was to base the entire project around that vibe. I am excited to jump into it with God leading the way. Prayers are helpful.

This fall I've been blessed to work with a dear friend on her first CD project. Adrienne has a great neo soul vibe with her original music to go along with her incredible voice. Her gift to formulate really catchy melodies in her head is extremely noteworthy. I am recording and engineering the project in my personal studio. We've laid down scratch tracks to the first tune. Just the scratch track is wowing people. You'll hear more from about this later towards the early winter.

My good friend Graham recorded a live concert back in August. I played guitar in the show and the audio was captured on a cool little Roland 2480. I've been searching high and low to find time to mix down the audio. The concert was also captured on video to be released as a DVD. The old saying "praying for time" has been popular in my life again. You'll hear more from me about this project in the near future.

I just finished a weekend retreat with a bunch of 9th graders. I put together a little worship band with some high school seniors and a friend from the southside of town. The weekend started a little slow, but ended on an incredible high. Most of the attendees experienced a weekend retreat for the first time. Par for the course, the majority of them had no idea what to expect and weren't sure they really wanted to be there. But the 12th graders motivated them to explore a deeper relationship with Christ. What an inspiration the seniors were, and an inspiration the freshman became. I wrote a theme song for the weekend entitled Come Holy Spirit Now. Everyone seem to embraced the song based on surrender, purity, holy fire, discipleship, and God's call. I was honored to be a part of weekend that was so Christ-centered and transforming.

I am honored to say that I will be producing some great projects this spring and summer. Andrienne Reynolds is a fantastic vocalist in the Atlanta area with whom I've performed with in a couple of "corporate" dance bands. We are still in the dugout discussing strategies for the game plan regarding her new CD. My good friend Graham Kuhn has asked me to produce his second solo record. This project is also in the coaches room, discussing the game plans. Graham will be doing a solo concert in the Summer which means this recording project needs to be done by then. My third and fourth projects are recording of some my material. Our band Chasing Grace will do one project, and I'll do another with my good friend Scott Lavelle in his studio. Please keep your ears and eyes open for more details regarding these projects.

I am blessed to be surrounded by such great people and musicians/singers at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Marietta, GA. I am honored to have the title of Music Director. This April, our entire music ministry will perform a great variety of music - the children's choir, the adult choir, the spanish choir, our contemporary groups, the Chasing Grace band, and solo performances by other talented music ministers. We'll include our new technology using video and cameras. It will be a night that all will remember. Check the calendar on this website for more details.

This is typically the season we focus on music at our church. The average corporate gigs will arise during this time of year, but since most of us in the band are musicians at our church, and I the music director, the church takes a lot of our attention musically. We are staff music ministers at a very contemporary Catholic church in Marietta, GA (nice sound system, lyrics projected, cameras, everything of a mega church). The church does 7 services every weekend. The Nave holds about 1200 people. Learn more at www.st-ann.org. Please keep posted at this website for future performance dates and news updates. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

Three years ago, Chasing Grace played a music festival on a little stage in the middle of a field on a farm in the sticks of north Gwinnett County, GA. We were the first band to play the all-day music festival. The sound company on the show had troubles getting things working properly. We eventually started about 30 minutes late. But to stay on schedule, we only played a 15 minute set. But those 15 minutes were powerful with a fantastic response from the early attendees, other musicians, and festival organizers. This year, Amigo's For Christ called us to play again, but offered a very generous performance time in front of a couple large national acts. The entire day will be filled with incredible and Godly talent. Chasing Grace plays at 4pm right in front of Matt Maher, and two bands in front of Caedmon's Call and The Afters - all very respectful names in contemporary Christian music. Check out www.AmigosForChrist.com for all bands that will perform, and other entertainment and activities during the day. Also consider supporting the ministry - it is a free festival.

The church that Chasing Grace ministers has been under renovation for about 1 year. The sanctuary and narthex have taken on a major face lift. The community of St. Ann has been worshipping in the gymnasium and fellowship hall during the renovation. The community will return to worship in the sanctuary on September 27 weekend, with a state-of-the-art digial audio and video system. The congregation will return to a high fidelity sound and drop down screens for song lyrics. Myself and Chasing Grace are excited to minister the music in the new worship space, that will have a greater sacred atmosphere. Come visit our community at 4905 Roswell Road in Marietta, GA. It is an incredible Catholic church - one like you've never experienced.

The beginning stages are set to record a new CD that include theme songs from Sonfest and songs written for worship. The CD will include musicians from Chasing Grace. The projected finish date of the CD is TBA. I have been speaking with Scotty Wilbanks of Third Day to produce the CD. Pray for that relationship to bloom. The second project in the works is a compilation of songs written for worship. This project will include the co-engineering and producing from long time friend and drummer, Scott Lavelle (formerly of the St. Ann's music ministry). Please stay tuned to this website for more details regarding both projects.

Kevin and Graham Kuhn of DeltaWav, Independent Christian Music Radio, does the first remote show ever for DeltaWav. The show was live in Ft. Walton Beach, FL on June 3 at the Ramada Inn poolside. The show was live for the youth that attended the Sonfest beach retreat. Listen to the show on the DeltaWav website at www.deltawav.com. It will only be on the website for a short time, so listen today. Kevin & Chasing Grace were the house band for the retreat held at the Emerald Coast Conference Center.

We have set all-time high records for DeltaWav. Our live FM radio audience is growing, but our internet audience has gone through the roof. We have more than tripled our number of monthly hits to our website. DeltaWav is on the move. For those who know nothing about the radio show, DeltaWav is an FM radio show that plays Independent Christian Music from around the world. Hosted by Kevin Wyglad and Rick Cupoli, the DeltaWav show airs in 5 states weekly and every show is recorded and posted to the website where over 30 countries hear the show via the internet. Other than performing music, Kevin loves to spin great music on the radio show. Check out a show sometime. For more info visit www.DeltaWav.com. Even better, get involved. The show is for everyone that loves great Christian contemporary music. So, if you listen and love the music, your support is crucial. Our government representatives are trying to kill independent radio shows and stations. They are in favor or corporate programming. This does not constitute the use of our term "A Free America." So, write to your officials and congressmen, expressing your demand to keep independent radio stations and shows on the air. Do it today, for the love of God!!

Video producer and good friend, Robby Heisner of Van Gogh, Inc. won 2 Telly Awards from his work on the 2004 release of Kevin Wyglad - A Music Ministry DVD. One award was for BEST EDITING of the year and the other was for BEST MUSIC VIDEO of the year. These awards are listed under "non-televised" video productions. Check out more information about Robby Heisner and Van Gogh Inc. at www.vangoghmusic.com. Also learn more about the international organization of the Telly Awards at www.tellyawards.com. See a photo (coming soon) of the awards on the Photos page of this website. Check out a short 9 minute version of the 35 minute award winning video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6450422651591909177&q=kevin+wyglad. The DVD is available for purchase at http://www.filmbaby.com/films;search?film%5Bsearch_param%5D=kevin+wyglad.