The Aragon Project

Report from Jasper & Mt. Calvary Baptist

2009-10-08T14:02:00.001-05:00

Thanks so much for praying. This week has consisted of leading worship at Celebrate Recovery at Texas Avenue Baptist, as well as leading worship at a revival with the whole band at Mt. Calvary Baptist in Marysee, Tx. As a result, I’m just now able to report from last weekend.

Jasper

I took this picture to show the setting. The blue tent in the middle of this pic is Hillcrest Baptist church's booth. Hillcrest has been setting up this booth for several years now. They collect books and Bibles throughout the year, and they give them away as a ministry to the town. (Brilliant idea!)
While they do this, they also get names & phone numbers for give-aways. This has been a great ministry, but they felt they could do more and be more intentional. I was working with Jeff, the youth pastor, with some other outreach stuff, when Benny, then chairman of the outreach team, caught us witnessing to people using the 10 commandments, and giving away frisbees. He thought this approach would be perfect at the Jasper Fall Festival.
What this looked like, was some people handing out books, coffee, cookies, and directing the kids at the fishing pond (for prizes). All were ready to share their faith, equipped with Gospel tracts. Some handed out soccer balls with the wordless book colors on them. As they handed these out, they shared what each color meant. They handed out 300 balls!
Some did surveys. A group of about 5 young girls surveyed many people, and made them think about eternity using questions.
Some worked with me and roamed around to have 1 on 1 conversations with people all over. We mostly worked beside the booth with million dollar bills, and the 10 commandment test. Many people were taken to the foot of the cross. We called people to repentance and faith in Christ, and invited them to be a part of the body of Christ at Hillcrest Baptist Church.
Another praise was how much God provided for my family. Many of you know that Sara and I take a "whole family" approach to nistry. Ministry is not my job, but rather, family's calling. They often travel with me on over night trips, even though our family is young (ages 8 months - 7 years). This helps us get in the habit of fighting the spiritual battles that come with this kind Gospel ministry work. God protected us there and back. Sara did an amazing job, with a Christ-like attitude.
To God be the glory for all the people who heard the Gospel, for it is the "power of God unto salvation."

Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Revival

On Wednesday, October 7, 2009, we were invited to lead worship at Mt. Calvary Baptist in Marysee, TX. There were about 50-75 young men and women there, as well as 25-50 children. Many adults came to support their young people.
Cliff & Matthew played with me, and Cody ran sound. Bro. Russ Hortman from Hardin Baptist Church gave the message, and challenged everyone to live the the life that God wants for them, starting with obedience to the Gospel. The response was tremendous, and there were 3 professions of faith, as well as many at the alter seeking God.
When you think about it, pray for the ministry of this church. There are so many young people coming on Wednesday nights to their programs, but their parents have little to do with the things of God. Pray that whole families will be won.

I can't thank you enough for all your support. For those of you that brought this mission to the throne room of heaven, no that God received glory as you participated in His kingdom. He indeed answered prayers, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Stay faithful! THE LAMB IS WORTHY!

Freedom Tabernacle

2009-07-06T07:50:00.001-05:00

So this July 4, we had the opportunity to minister to the Freedom Tabernacle church in Kountze, TX. The most kind-hearted church that we go to all year. Dahlton and Lisa Smith are the Pastor's there, and they are always such gracious, Christ-like hosts.

There are 3 things to point our from this trip.

Flexibility of Matthew, Cliff, and Carlos! - Not that I'm the most organized person, but when we leave our families to go serve the Lord, you can guarantee we've got a plan of attack. This time, we had a very loose plan, and under the leadership of Pastor Dahlton, we were instructed to follow the Holy Spirit. As a result, timing and setlist go out of the window, and each person has to be responsive to the Holy Spirit, as well as ready to follow me as a leader. Everyone accomplished this. We changed the set up time, sound check time, setlist, and even keys to the songs within the set list. The group wanted to worship. We let God lead, and we served the church that was gathered by communicating with them (did our best), and the Aragon crew was ready and flexible. Credit it to Christ growing us together.
Tent analogy - This year, they went out and found a flat bed trailer for us to play on. That got us off the ground, and gave us line-of-sight for everyone that was there. The Aragon Project is about encouraging people to go share their faith. As we moved to songs like "Shine On," and "Bringing Beautiful Feet," this analogy came to me. Because we were in the tent and up on the trailer, our vision beyond the skirt of the tent was limited. I cannot see who is driving by, who is observing from a distance, and am from the most part hidden from them. As the church, we can't wall ourselves off to the rest of the world, and only see what's "inside the tent." We must be obedient to the Great Commission, and "Go!"
Witnessed to someone I've wanted to witness to for about 15 years - As we walked up and were saying hello to everyone, a familiar face was there. He knew exactly who we were, but I could not place him. As we talked, I remembered who he was. This man was someone I watched my dad witnessed to as soon as we moved to Saratoga. There were certain places in downtown Saratoga that my dad wanted to win to the Lord, and this guy owned a business on the main road. I remember dad befriending, and witnessing to him. He wanted nothing to do with it back then. Oh how he loved his sin..... oh how we loved our sin. I talked to him for a brief moment, and turns out that he was there with his chopper and had entered the bike competition earlier. He shared with me that he had a horrible wreck a few years earlier, and the person in the ambulance told him he was going to die. That lead into the conversation that my dad has carried on for years. With all my heart and with tears in my eyes and in my voice, I explained as best I could of what Jesus did for him. Though we worked for 30 min., he was still cloudy on the understanding, but I believe that the fog will soon lift, and he will be a testimony of the MERCY OF CHRIST!

********************
www.FrankAragon.com
Oh Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise. Psalm 51:13

Wild Week 2009

2009-06-24T10:23:00.004-05:00

Nassau Bay Baptist Church never ceases to amaze me. Not only do they do things Christ centered, but they are so kind to us. Wild Week goes from Mon - Thurs the same week they have VBS for the children. Many of the students that participated were leaders in VBS during the morning. We ate together, worshiped together, and played together.

We also got to meet Nate, their new Student Pastor. Really neat guy that preached the word with a Christ centered message. I pray that his ministry at NBBC is fruitful.

Woodlands United Methodist 6th Grade Confirmation

2009-02-02T16:41:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to quickly give an update to the weekend. Anytime Matthew, Cliff, and I get to play, we always have fun. It was a different setting for us, but we had a lot of communication on Sat. night especially, and really expressed a lot of heart. I could hear Cliff singing above the monitors, and he didn't have a mic! Matthew (as long as he's my brother, I'm not calling him Matt.) never ceases to amaze me with his talent. He owns the rhythm. He almost exclusively practices guitar now, and still does so many creative things on the drums.

God has blessed me with a new guitar. The person that gave it to me was lead by Christ to do so. It truly was a gift to the kingdom, for it will be used to sing the praises of the One that died to save me. I could go on about that, but another time.

It was also a pleasure getting to work with Kris Rives. He played electric on Sat. night, and helped us out with the digital Yamaha board. He added a lot of heart and energy to our sound, even though he was stuck behind the speaker ;)

Eric Albert, the children's pastor at WUMC was a blast to be around. I'm very grateful that he trusted us to lead worship. Hope we can hang out again soon.

We have a few weeks off, and hope to be doing some writing. If you know of anywhere 3 scrubs can play, please let us know.

********************
www.FrankAragon.com
Oh Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise. Psalm 51:13

Good News Club & Common Grounds

2008-12-03T08:18:00.001-06:00

So after my family gets to see Azariah on the ultrasound (sweet), I get to sing for the 3, 4, & 5 graders. It's gonna be FUN!!!

SETLIST:
Sing, Sing, Sing
Praise Ye the Lord
I Just wanna be a sheep
Zacchaeus
If you tell 2 people
Away in a Manger

Then, I get to lead worship with Chris Lanig at Common Grounds tonight! Looking forward to being back.

God, whatever you have for today, may it be for Your glory!!!!

********************
Frank Aragon
www.AragonBand.com

Blessed Week

2008-11-23T00:13:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately, the band is not getting to play together much. We've seen each other once in the last 12 weeks! However, I'll share in another post what has been going on in our lives individually.

However, the ministry is thriving! I, Frank, had the opportunity to be in front of about 350 people throughout the week to sing, and share the message of hope in Christ! The last one was for a group called upwards which was a flag football league. Read a funny story about that one.

Here are all the things we done this year. Please cont. to pray that God uses us in whatever was is best for His kingdom.

GNC & CG

2008-10-15T23:17:00.001-05:00

Good News Club
It is Incredible watching all the kids return. So many of the students were ready for Good News Club! There had to be 100 kids there today. Many of them wearing their Good News Club T-shirt. Not only that, but we got to do an opening assembly in the middle of the school atrium. When you first walk into the school, there's a place with a fountain, really tall ceilings, some coffee shop style tables and chairs. We gathered there and sang "My Redeemer Lives, I've got Joy, and You are Worthy of My Praise!" It was kinda crazy, but they sounded great. After that, they broke up into smaller groups by grade, and heard the story of how God used Elijah to provide for the widow and her son. Dawn gave the Gospel at the beginning, and it was very clear. She didn't invite them to come to Christ so they could have a better life, but because they'd sinned against God, and he died for them on the cross. THE LAMB IS WORTHY!!!!

Common Grounds
There were fewer students there tonight, but seemed ready to worship. This was our 5th time to worship together with me leading, and we're moving past the newness. Now, they seem to trust me to run to Christ. During the music time, there was a focus that was there that has not been. We prayed God would help us move to that place. Not a big emotional high, mind you, but a sincerity of heart. Praise the Lord.

--
www.AragonBand.com

Common Grounds

2008-10-02T09:45:00.004-05:00

Been having a blast at Common Grounds at Nassau Bay. After working so hard with Matthew and Cliff, it's really different w/out them for this, but it's allowed for a different feel of music. Kinda quiet, you know.

Get to play there on Wed. for the rest of Oct, and some in Nov. I'm praying that we will all learn to worship as brothers and sisters in Christ, in Spirit and in Truth.

Quick Update

2008-09-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Just to let everyone know, Aragon is doing good. We all still have our homes, with min. damage. As of today, Cliff still does not have power or water, so pray for him and Lynn as they help his mom w/ a tree on her house.

There will be many schedule changes due to Ike.

--
www.FrankAragon.com
www.AragonBand.com

FBC La Porte

2008-08-25T08:01:00.001-05:00

The coolest thing about the evening was the relationships that were built b/t us and the leaders of the student ministry. Bryan, the youth pastor, Micah and Mark, who were lay leaders in the church as well as leaders in the FCA. We have never experienced this type of fellowship from a group of men. They set up lights, pulled down speakers, set up a stage, set up a back drop, setup a greenroom, arranged drinks and a couple of fruit baskets to be delivered. They hung up a cross, helped with our PA setup, helped w/ sound check, and helped setup all the media stuff. You guys, if you read this, thank you for showing us the love of Christ. We're just a small band that's only on the 4th concert of the tour and all ready feeling the weight of all the travel stuff. Thanks for the encouragement.

Had a really good time in the concert.....I think Cliff was really feeling it....did some pretty crazy fast stuff towards the end. Of course, Matthew did great, even w/ glass in his foot! I'm still struggling to find the sound and volume from the amp. I picked up a Fender deluxe on the way there, and it was certainly plenty loud enough, though way too jangly. I still need to work w/ the settings.

For the students at FBC LaPorte, I applaud you for bringing your friends to hear the Gospel. Sometimes, as we grow in our faith, it's hard to muster up the courage to teach our friends. It's even hard to give them something to watch or read. Bringing them to church is the next best thing (as long as they don't die while they're waiting for the event!) Keep growing in Christ! Stick your nose in the Bible everyday and obey what you read.

Answered prayers

Matthew found a really nice drum kit, at a really nice price! That's something we've been praying for.
We're up on itunes now....thought that would never happen.

Prayer request

I can find the right sound and settings on the amp so our sound will come together.
CD Sales to pick up (especially on-line)
October dates to begin to fill up
More opp. to share the Gospel each place we go.

Freedom Tabernacle

2008-08-21T01:04:00.000-05:00

Wow!!! Another great night! I know bands say this kinda thing all the time, but it is an honor to get to be part of big moments in church family life. We had a wonderful night of celebration.....the Gospel was proclaimed....and taught about how scripture teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. (Titus 3:11-15) We celebrated together. It was a very powerful time, with Jesus at the center.

Some have asked how I feel about those kinds of services with many tears and emotions. It's those that feel as if they could go forever, and no one would mind. God created emotions, and there were many emotions when people encountered God in scripture....usually fear.....in the NT we see rejoicing along w/ fear.

In those emotional service, I allow truth to guide me. God's word won't let your mind stray to crazy things. And the proof of the "power" of the service, is proved in the "fruit of repentance." In other words, how we submit to Christ in our day to day lives.

For the future, remember that God wants us to worship in "Spirit and in Truth." The Spirit of Christ abides w/ us to lead us to all truth, and we know His Word is true. A good equation is: Truth + Faith=Emotion + Action. If you get it backwards, you will end up very confused.

Continue to pray for:

Drums for Matthew
Our floor monitors (speakers) are fixed
I find the right guitar amp at the right price
We are fully prayed up and prepared for FBC La Porte "Smash!"

Coffee Oasis

2008-08-12T23:15:00.005-05:00

This turned out a lot more fun than work. Pulling off acoustic sets can sometimes be tricky, but it seemed to turn out well.

Like the previous night, we started with adversity. Matthew couldn't make it, and the PA was making an awful crackling noise. The noise worked itself out, and Ed showed up to put some percussion in. Ed and Alicia are such great friends. For that matter, all of Canopy.

Several friends showed up, and hung out. Anytime the Gospel is proclaimed in a passionate but yet matter-of-fact kinda way, it's always exciting. Think about the song, "We Remember" where Frank is howling "Thank you, Jesus!" How great it is to hear Christ magnified in that setting. Gotta lot o respect for Coffee Oasis for bringing us in. Btw, their brewed coffee is much more diverse than Starbucks. I mean, burnt taste burnt!

Cliff played beautifully, including the old tunes that I threw on him during the set. We also had a great moment of song writing live. Too bad we didn't record it. I think it was the best song we ever wrote.....but can't remember! Ha!! That's the way it goes.

Prayer needs:

Matthew a set of drums,
PA is fixed before Kountze,
More online CD sales

FBC Seabrook

2008-08-12T10:32:00.001-05:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you, FBC Seabrook, for having us at your lock-in on Friday. We had a blast. I pray that you enjoy the songs on the CD, and that you will continue to work for the Lord.

Friday night was late, but a great eye opener for the first stop on the TAP tour. The 3 of us realized that it's time to get in shape. We were dragging by the last of the set. It's also time to get our PA ready to go. Set up and sound check lasted well over 3 hours, and we were never really satisfied at the end of the sound check. Of course, Carlos bailed us out as usual. He is a faithful friend and brother. The FBC Seabrook crew were very patient as we struggled through sound check, and tied into their system. Thanks, John!

The whole band was using different gear. We are getting used to our new stuff. Matthew is still unsettled about the drums he's using on this tour, so that's certainly a prayer concern. Overall, our individual sound was a level up. As Cliff likes to sing,

"Praises loud above the crowd to yeild first place, with a 'high-end sound.'"

Speaking of prayer, an answered prayer is that God helped us find the drum mics we lost. We' thought we going to have to spend serious cash on a new set, but they were at another church all along. Praise the Lord!!!

I'll post a couple of more request soon.

Hilcrest Baptist in Jasper Tx

2008-08-04T10:52:00.003-05:00

Had a wonderful time with Hilcrest Baptist in Jasper. We actually went to San Rayburn lake and did ministry. This crew worked and played hard. Worship was sweet on Sunday morning. One can easily tell that Jeff, their worship pastor, sets an example of the love of Christ.

Galveston West End VBS July 21-25

2008-07-28T12:46:00.003-05:00

Got to be involved at West End Baptist church this week. I started off slow, then picked up as the week progressed. Bro. Noel was so kind and caring, and the Anchor Baptist team that brought people to teach, do music, and snacks were amazing. Thank you Lord for this oppurtunity to serve on the island.

Anchor VBS July 7-11

2008-07-28T09:52:00.004-05:00

Just an update..... We had a wonderful week at the Anchor VBS. This wasn't so much a band thing, but it's part of the ministry that God has given me. Children's music is very difficult for me to endure, but it ministers to children for all of eternity.

It was the first VBS that we've done in our current location at Anders, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you would've thought we had done it a hundred times.

I got to work with Cathrine and Cara Blankenhorn with the music, and they were terrific. I've decided that I'm too old to remember all the motions to the songs. It's a sad admission, but I'll get over it!

Some forgotten relationships were restored this week, and that's always a delight to see how God will work those out. During the testimony time on Sunday, a thought came to my head about Anchor.

"We might be few, but we love LOUD!"

Walked in on someone.....

2008-07-22T06:36:00.001-05:00

We are working at West End Baptist Church in Galveston this week, and the enemy is already against us. I'll write more about that later unless I don't.........

Walked in to a room where they were jammin' TAP, and it was very flattering. I pray that wherever the thing is spinning, sees are sown!

--
www.FrankAragon.com
www.AragonBand.com
Prov. 30:12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

TAP Has Arrived!

2008-07-16T23:22:00.003-05:00

It's finally here! It's finally here! I realize that many of the steps were skipped in this blog, so it doesn't do the manufacturing process justice. Just know that there were many decisions to be made. However, they've finally arrived. The Aragon Project came in 10 boxes, and it looks great.

My prayer is that God now takes and uses this like He wants. Lord, these are your tools. Just a simple staff. A foul creature that you transformed offers a feeble offering to You, and I pray that you will call it good because of the cross!

We Remember is all that's left!

2008-04-14T22:28:00.001-05:00

:-D saturday, I got to spend most of the day working on vocals. The
last lead vocal I have is for We Remember. I had to do taxes today,
and somehow hurt my back. I can barely move! I'm stuck in my bed,
and this is from my phone.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the
place where the Lord lay.

I was Glad Vox Finished

2008-04-12T01:04:00.001-05:00

Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I finished up the Lead for "I Was Glad," and I think it sounds pretty good. There are enough "pitchy" places that it would be good to try to get my hands on Auto-tune some how, but I don't think digidesign rents it out. You've got to buy it for $299.00.

Shine on Lead Vox are done, and of course, all along trying to get a good mix. I made another cymbal track, and squashed 'em pretty hard, as well as cranked the highs, and it really seem to open the kit up.

Tomorrow afternoon, Sara is taking the kids, and that'll give me the chance to finish up BG Vox for Shine on, and hopefully finish another lead part. I'd still like to write another verse to above the crowd.

There's light!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Little behind, but ok

2008-04-09T10:00:00.004-05:00

I'm still a song away from finishing the electric work. That means, I'm a little behind schedule.
I would've like to have started vocals already, but what ya gonna do? Never know how vocals will go. They might be finished this weekend.

I'm running to guitar center to buy an I-Loc to download some other amp pluggins to see how they'll do with some of the songs. Hopefully the electric will be finished tonight, and I'll be setting up for vocals tonight as well.

I'm also looking for some Mastering software that will allow me to put the songs in whatever order I want, as well as space them how I want. Any feed back on how to do that would be good.

Surely Rhythm

2008-04-03T23:19:00.001-05:00

Finished all the Rhythm for Surely. I took a stab at the lead parts, and I like what came out. We'll listen to it for the next couple of weeks, and see if it's a keeper. I was concerned with Electric and vocals because the Vampire can only do so great, and my little MXL is great, but wasn't sure how it was going to act.

I sent Lowell Ballew an email asking if he had any mics. He told me to come by and let me borrow an SE Electronics Microphone, as well as a VOX head and cab!

Early in the morning, and tomorrow I'll be working on "We Remember," By tomorrow evening, I'm hoping to have the electric rig setup and ready to record, so that on Saurday, I can get it done! On Monday, I'll be putting whatever final touches on electric, and get ready to record vocals by Monday night!!!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Downpours

2008-04-03T01:01:00.001-05:00

I worked on Downpours all day today, and it's turning out great. Making the acoustic guitar part sound like I wanted it to was a bit of a challenge, but I really like the way it sounds in the end. I want this to be a rocking song, so I'm leaving plenty of room for a rhythm and lead electric.

Speaking of which, the electric rig that I thought I was going to be able to get my hands on didn't work out. :( Just couldn't time it right. Therefore, the Vampire is sitting here, waiting to be used. I still have to restring the acoustic, record Surely and We Remember before I get to electric work. In other words, I'll be doing electric all weekend.

I've also got a lead for another vocal mic for next week that I'll exlplore tomorrow.

Glory to God!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Finished all Instrument Tracks for Shine On

2008-04-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

It's a big deal to me. All I have left to do for "Shine On" is Vox. Wait 'till you hear it!

Here in the studio

2008-03-30T15:39:00.005-05:00

Drums & Bass are finished

2008-03-30T15:08:00.002-05:00

Cliff came in on Thursday, and knocked a few songs out. We got started about noon on Friday, and were finished by about 8 pm. It sounds great!

The foundation to the music has been set. Before I get started on the guitar work, I need to get a good mix down on the drums and bass. I'm currently about half way through that, and hopefully can finish tonight, and get started with acoustic work in the morning.

Drums & Bass

2008-03-28T07:33:00.006-05:00

I realized that I've taken some time off of doing this, but there's reasons. Don't yell at me.

As of today, Matthew has finished the drum tracks! He came in Sunday eveing, and set up, and even knocked a few song out. We ended up purchasing the DIGI003, and it worked out beautifully!

We worked all day Monday, then knocked out the last 2 on Tuesday morning, and had him on the road back to Saratoga right after lunch! There's some great stuff in these songs, and lots of ear candy for everyone that likes to really disect the music.

Happy Resurrection Day

2008-03-23T20:04:00.001-05:00

I know every Sunday we celebrate the Lord's Day, but this one is always special. Being in the middle of a recording project is always crazy, but I pray that it refocuses us.

Yesterday, I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and get the 003. The 410 driver would not work with Vista. Cliff worked hard with me to figure out what the best thing would be. I took the chance of the restocking fee. I didn't have long when I got home cause i told Sara I'd only be in the studio in the morning. I plugged it in, fired up the computer (praying the whole time), and the pc immediately recognized the 003. I fired up protools, and it came on, with the IO in the settings. I had to press the "default" button to update the IO screen. that took me a little while, but I finally figured it out. I record enabled 4 tracks, and pressed record to see how it would react, and it worked great!

Matthew got here today about 7:00. We've got his drums in, and Sara is cooking us dinner while Matthew is setting up his Mii. Matthew and Simeon are playing Wii, and Simeon is beating Matthew! We're anxious to start setting up, and checking mics!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Maudio 410 & Behringer

2008-03-21T03:32:00.001-05:00

Well, Cliff and I went to GC today to see if we could solfe the multiple input problem. We came up with a solution to use a 410 linked up with a Fiberoptic Behringer rack with 8 chanels. The hope is that protools will recognize each channel.

I started at about 10:45, and it is currenly 3:30. I could not get the drivers to fully load, and it's driving me crazy. Maybe I'm just too tired. The blue light keeps blinking on the front of the 410.

Hopefully, Cliff is coming over tomorrow at about 3. He's good at this stuff, and I hope we can solve the problem. I gotta go ta bed.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Finished We Remember

2008-03-21T03:28:00.001-05:00

All the scratch tracks are officially done!!!! I finally finished this one up around midnight (3/20/08). I think it sounds great, but I hope the tempo change is not too drastic. Hopefully, it'll be a real sweet song. I'm so glad Sara is supporting me. I kiss the kiddos goodnight, then come and hide in here. She comes in the studio with me, though. If you listen closely to the scratch, you'll hear her clicking away at her laptop sending someone an email.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

We'll Work Till Jesus Comes

2008-03-19T23:35:00.004-05:00

I finished it today. The scratch for "We'll Work" is done. Glory to God! I think it would be fun to end this one with a lot of vocals. As many people as we can get in just having fun. Maybe even a party at the end of the "Extra" week. Sat. April 19! I know it's sappy, but we'll fade out on this one too.

We had to make a change of plans today. For the drums, we'll actually start on them on Sunday night! Woo Hoo! This will let Cliff get in here the whole weekend instead of just Saturday.

I'm still debating on getting a Digi003 to record the drums, and maybe to keep permanantly. I know that God can deliver $ to do this project with excellence.

Today is Elijah's birthday (the one in the middle), and I'm so thankful for that little kid. He's 4 today, and as rough and "go get'em" as he is, I'm glad he's got all his limbs :) Don't want to be morbid, but many people lose their children before the age of 4, and God has seen fit to use Elijah as a 4 year old as well. He's already growing so much in stature, spirit, and wisdom. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIJAH!

Disc Makers Check List

2008-03-18T15:57:00.000-05:00

I know this is more technical that what is usually found on Blogs, but here is our check off list of things we must get done before the 20 day turnaround begins.

1. Audio master

2. Audio master log (song list and running times)

3. Intellectual Property Rights form (IPR)

4. Customer design:

-Design on disk, (in Disc Makers templates.)

-Hard copy printout (paper printout of art design)

5.Design Studio:

-Photo(s) (if applicable)

-Text (credits, thank you's, etc., preferably on disk with

paper printout.)

-Mock-up (rough sketches and art ideas)

6.Quote form with signature

7.Payment (please specify 100% prepayment for free

overs, or 50% to start your job)

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Online distributors

2008-03-18T15:43:00.001-05:00

Doing some of the business end of the project, and wanted you guys to take a look at this page. Is this something we would like to do? It's a quick start to getting our music out on the internet for sales, as well as downloads.

http://www.discmakers.com/services/CDbaby.asp

BTW, like I've said before, I think Disc Makers is the company we'll go with due to the fact that they deal with independent folks like us. They have the packages that we need to get started.

I'm working through the preliminary quotes right now, and getting excited. I pray that God would be glorified every step of the way.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

I Was Glad

2008-03-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

I decided to get in and knock this one out this morning. It came together really quick. It's only going to be a 3 min. song, but that's ok. I don't think I'm going to write a second verse like I once thought.

I wrote in my notes how I think it would be cool to do a fade in on the 6- for the intro. When we record it, it'll be a full sound, and we'll fade it in the mix down.

I thought of a little problem that I haven't thought of before concerning playing music in the student center. If I remember, the air conditioner is really loud in there. I guess we'll have to get it cool, then turn it off to go to work. We can turn it on to take breaks! We should probably call Shannon and kinda make sure it's ok with him. I really haven't mentioned it to my dad either. hmmmm. I'll try to get on top of that :)

Lord willing, at some point this week we'll have a solid contact person for disckmakers to make sure we're jumping through all the right hoops.

And one more thought. The rush is at the end of April, and we're probably not going to have cds by then. I wonder if we can do a presale there. That would be cool. How do you do a presale? Anyone know? That also brings up the subject of sales tax. ugh.
--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

MP3

2008-03-14T13:28:00.001-05:00

Probably going to end the week after this session. If I come in tomorrow it'll be to clean up the studio, but probably gonna call it quits with the scratch tracts. It's been a good week, and I feel God was honored.

This morning, after preaching at Bobcat Bible Club, I got to share the Gospel with Carlos. He was a very humble and open guy that said he needed help getting on the straight and narrow. His friends always drug him down, and he didn't know if he could repent because of what his friends would say. I visited with him for about 10-15 min. outside the library, and others heard as well. I gave him my number, and told him that I was willing to help, but he had to call. He was 20, and said that his mom and dad were praying for him to get right. I told them that this was a divine apt. to answer his mom and dads prayers. I pray that God would give Carlos the faith to repent, and this Easter season, he would understand the cross.

As I got started in the studio (about 10:30), I needed to kinda close out the week. I told Matthew and Cliff that I would give them scratch tracts, so I decided to put what I had in mp3 format so they could begin exploring what they are going to add. Because this is a fairly new system, I didn't have the mp3 encoder, but I quickly was able to locate where I purchased it before, and God helped me get through all that quickly. I was kinda dreading it.

The mp3 encoding, and for that matter, all rendering is done in realtime with Protools. That means in order to do this, I had to set and listen to all the songs. That wasn't so bad, it just took most of the time I was in today.

I'm also looking for a quick and easy ftp program so I can just send the music to the website. CoffeeCup has a free one, but I'm not sure if it's any good. My computer may be infested once I install it.

I spend some time talking to Matthew to encourage him to play a lot, and get his chops ready. We're praying that he comes up with some good mics, and can get a good sound. To my knowledge, we're still planning on doing this in the Saratoga student center.

Theresa Bolling called, and has asked me to lead worship for the Sunrise service. I spent some time with her on the phone organizing that. Can't wait. That reminds me. I have a pretty heave song called "Clear Lake Shores." I need to record it.

I'll probably quit around 2, and spend the rest of the day with my extremely patient family. It's a gorgeous day.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
Mt. 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Here Are My Burdens

2008-03-13T23:48:00.001-05:00

Good news. I got the "Here are my Burdens" CD. Sounds really good. Too good! I'm not sure if I would have produced it the way Josh did, but maybe it'll grow on me. I did learn a couple of things though, and I'm not sure that they're good news.

As I heard the clarity in the drums, it makes me thing that we are going to have to rerecord this if we don't get some good quality mics.
When we recorded Bringing Beautiful Feet, we did it in 16 bit instead of 24, which is a considerable quality difference. In order to match the rest of the project, we'll have to rerecord. That's not horrible, though. I think we all thought there were parts of the song we could've done better.
The session they used to to "Here are my burdens" might be too complex and different to try and analyze. For consistency (and sanity sake) we may need to just use it as a scratch, and start over. hmmm.

FrankAragon.com

AnchorBaptist.net

NeedGod.com

ExamineYourself.com

myspace.com/thearagonproject

1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Downpours of His Plan

2008-03-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

I finished this one today. I'm looking forward to hearing the final product of this one. Of all the songs I've written, this is in the top 5. Since there's only like 7 songs, I guess that's not saying too much :).

Anyway, I changed the tempo to 105. 106 was too rushed, and the high school I went to was on Hwy 105! Go Oilers!

I hope the Selah is going to be overkill, but, whatever. It's our project.

I added a 6- at the end of the Selah for 4 beats to let it breath before the 3rd verse (sort of a payoff).

And finally, I think since we're doing the 4 5 6 5/7 progression at the end of this one, that maybe we'll really rock it, and just make it sound like we just tore the studio down! We'll eventually fade it out.

I included the music (Nashville) so Cliff could enjoy the # madness!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Surely

2008-03-12T22:02:00.001-05:00

Well, crazy. TUNING!!!!

I recorded the scratch track to "Surely" when we went to Willis. I think I used the pluggin that comes w/ protools to tune, and apparently, didn't go so well. The majority of today was trying to make everything match. Had to tune and detune previous tracts! Crazy. I stuck a piano part in there, but I'm not sure it's going to work.

Couple of questions:

I'd kinda like to use Simeon's verses in the middle of this one. Should we? During the turn around. I made the TA an extra 8 measures (only 11 seconds), but it might could be expanded to about 20 to try to get his verse in. BTW, the quickest way to expand is to select everything you want to expand in grid mode, then duplicate (ctrl + d) in shuffle mode. This makes adding sections in the scratch tract real easy.

And one last note. I went ahead and notated everything in 2/4 time, and put a twist in the intro.

1 4 5 5

That's the intro.

While I was working, Brandon called about 6:30, and said that his grandfather wasn't breathing on his own. They decided to taking him off the machine at 9pm. Just got a txt from Natasha that his Grandpa passed away soon after. Sin and death will soon be done away with.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Shine On Questions

2008-03-11T16:05:00.003-05:00

I'm working on shine on, and struggling with tempo. Got a few questions.

1. Who's gonna sing the echo?
2. It needs another verse
3. I think it would be cool if the 4th chorus varied a little. Maybe even was a payoff!?!

hadn't posted yet. Finished the Shine on, and . . . . .
wrote a second verse and a second chorus:

VERSE 2 (with a lisp)
Now with this love I know
There's a fire in my bones
Because I love you I'll go
Make mysteries known
Compassion and wisdom
snatching from the flames
Every tribe and every nation
Shout Glory to His name!

CHORUS 2
You said it loud, said it clear
That You have died for me
and I shine so bright cause Your blood washed me clean
Let me preach, let me live,
only for You
and when people see me,
let them see You!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Arise (Acts 8:26)

2008-03-11T14:19:00.007-05:00

I pray that this will be the heart beat of this entire project, as well as the Aragon ministry. As I was starting back up after lunch, I was distracted. Outside our house, they're working on the street. Not a great time for this to happen, but it's just scratch tracts.

The crew that was their left, and they left the guy that was running the machine. I saw him by himself, and I knew that this was indeed a God appointment. I grabbed a "Are you good enough to go to heaven" tract, and ran outside. (don't get me wrong, there was a lot of hestiation because of how busy I was, but, I remembered the story of the "good Samaritan" and the story of God calling Phillip to "Arise" in the middle of the revival in Samaria).

His name was Adan (u-dan') and he had a multi denominational background. As he shared a little of who he was, the other guys were coming back. Wanting to get out of his way, I told him that I was in the middle of a recording project (cuz it makes me sound like a rock star), and that his machine was in the wrong key:)

Turns out, he's a bass player that signed with a couple of bands, and is currently in his uncles band. He's looking for a church, and said he would come to find us.

I pray that God would help us to know when to get busy with this project, and when to stop what we're doing, and share the Gospel with the lost world. I hope Adan is saved, and if not, that he would come to know the Savior. God, please let him read that tract.

Bringing Beautiful Feet Transfered

2008-03-11T14:13:00.001-05:00

I've spend about an hour getting Bringing Beautiful feet to transfer from the church computer to the studio. I'm in the middle of registering these pluggins, which has been a nightmare. Long story that I'll explain later.

Anyway, I think I got the song ready to edit at least. For some reason, one of the scratch tracts didn't copy over. Don't need those anyway.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Beautiful Righteous King Scratch

2008-03-10T23:48:00.001-05:00

I picked it back up around 4:30 and plugged until about 7 pm. My incredible wife wrestled with the rest of the Aragon crew while I tinkered around in the studio trying to get things done.

I finished the scratch for Beautiful Righteous King. It's gonna be one of those where I'll have to act it out in front of Matthew while he records the drums, because it was hard to be creative on this type of drum and bass driven song.

We had to make a Walmart run, and then we went to Mcds. I talked to Sara about how this song was more of a live song than one to be recorded. I mean the words, but there were 3-5th graders in mind when I wrote it. You know, with the motions and all. I was trying to figure out how long the bridge needed to be, and as I thought about it, I'm going to chisel out 20 measures instead of 12. We'll have more time build a musical moment, and it will push us to be natural in the studio.

So, I cranked back up at about 10:30 after listening to a group called Newworldson, and was inspired to add in the extra 8 measures. It gave me some problems, but I put it in. I think we'll have fun with it. It's 11:45, and I've gotta quit for the day. Two tracts done on my day off! I know God will use this for his glory. Bonnie said that she may try to plug this at Awana's, which would be really neat to have that group of kids dig in to how much I've tried to display the Gospel! God, please use this project for Your own glory, and point out the pride that comes from this kinda project. You will be strong where we are weak!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Above the Crowd scratch!

2008-03-10T17:33:00.001-05:00

Finished "Above the Crowd" scratch. This is going to be a punchy 4 min song, and I'm hearing reverse guitar stuff. (hehehehe). My setup for the scratch starting at measure 10.

8 measure intro and TA

Psychodelic last chorus with the ending we've practiced

When Matthew records, guitar is probably going to have to be turned down. Youcan still hear it coming through the mic.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Tempos

2008-03-10T16:33:00.005-05:00

FYI - Got the Tempos

E Above The Crowd - 120, Maybe 119 on chorus
Em Beautiful Righteous King - 115
E Shine On - 90 (we'll need lots of tempo work)
Bb Downpours Of His Plan - 106
E Mighty One - 86
G Surely
E I Was Glad - 107
A Here Are My Burdens (Ps.55)
C Bringing Beautiful Feet
B We Remember - 82
E We'll Work Till Jesus Comes - 108

And since I'm doing this project at home, you've gotta see my help! We were using Sara's keyboard in the classroom (yes, she's a home school teacher. Amazing!) It has a tap tempo button. The little ones danced, and I tried to figure out what the best tempo would be. SEE!

Problems with Bringing Beautiful Feet Transfer

2008-03-10T09:55:00.001-05:00

I could only find part of the data that I saved from Bringing Beautiful Feet. I've gotta get it from the church's computer I guess.

Got all the sessions built, with click and a couple of audio tracts for scratch.

I left another message for Josh, and hopefully he'll give us instructions on how to get "Here Are My Burdens" off his hard drive, onto another one.

The next step, which is kinda important, is getting the main tempos for these songs. I'll probably use Sara's keyboard and a guitar to hack out the tempos. Then I'll communicate them to Aragon to see if they like them.

It's school time. Simeon starts his classes when he wakes up, and on my days off, I take Elijah and Moriah to do something. This temp makes it diff. to get a lot done, but is worth staying with my family. (Duet. 6)

Oh, and Josh just called and is sending the session on DVD! Way to go Josh!

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

Kick it off

2008-03-10T09:02:00.001-05:00

It's 8:50 AM on Friday morning March 10, 2008. I am in the studio, just starting the groundwork for "The Aragon Project." We're piecing this thing together from home, so I'm going to try to keep track of how much I get done, (or don't).

We're pretty close on the playlist, we'll see what comes out.

I pray that this whole process gives God glory, and he teaches all of us something through it. Not just the ends, but the means would be an offering itself.

--
FrankAragon.com
AnchorBaptist.net
NeedGod.com
ExamineYourself.com
myspace.com/thearagonproject
1 Sam. 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"