Seems like people always ask me if I come from a musical family. Until recently, the answer has been no. Except for occasional harmonica jam sessions with my Pappaw, I really don’t have a musical heritage.

Then this surfaced.

This is my dad in 1957. Clearly there was talent waiting to be discovered. Who knows how many songs would have been written (and muskrat lives spared) if Dad had only pursued this obvious passion instead of hunting or trapping.

I love you Dad. Happy Father’s Day!

Popularity: 30% [?]

Okay, I hate to post another item about the GMA Awards, but I just found this online. It’s a performance I’ve tried to describe to a few people by the David Crowder Band of the song “Everything Glorious.” Don’t know if it will have the impact that it had live, but I thought what they did here was a pretty artful addition to a great song.

Popularity: unranked [?]

…Or maybe it’s just that this guy is so freaking good at it. I can’t stop watching this. As someone said over on Boing Boing, it’s not as trippy with the music off, but I find the whole video just beautiful.

Popularity: 42% [?]

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any update on the new music.

Last week, I was fortunate to get some time in Randy Rubsamen’s studio with Jon Collins and Don McCaleb, my good friends and amazing musicians. We cut drums and bass parts for 9 songs that will appear on my next CD. The working title is What Birds Dream. I also recorded vocals for 5 songs on Sunday and will continue to track vocals this coming week. I’m sending at least 3 more songs to the very talented Gavin Harrison who will handle production duties on those tracks. After everything is said and done, I hope to release What Birds Dream in the fall or early winter with 14 or 15 songs.

My first CD has enjoyed a good bit of favor in several media outlets. I’ve gotten spoiled. And I’ve gotten a little nervous about putting out a follow up. However, I can say that this CD is full of songs that elevate the quality of what I released this time last year. The feel will probably be a little more keyboard-heavy and I think there are a lot more upbeat songs here.

Many of the songs were written during FAWM in February. I know I said I would have some tracks to release for remixing in May. Well, now it’s June. Sorry if I’ve kept you waiting on that. I still would like to post some/most of these songs in the lab as multi-track files, but I need to get a bit more production done before I do that.

Lots more news coming this month. Stay tuned…

Popularity: 44% [?]

Here’s a clay-tastic take on my song Almost Flew. It’s my first ever music video and it’s my first attempt at claymation. Maybe the last. The video took about 40-50 hours of shooting and editing. It’s not perfect, but all in all, I’m pretty happy with the result. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and have a great Memorial Day weekend!

UPDATE: A couple behind the scenes photos from the shoot at Flickr:

Popularity: 35% [?]

Had a fine time Saturday night at Pikes Perk. Thanks to everyone who came out to show support and those who tuned in online. Sorry for the lousy audio on the live webcam feed. Need to get that sorted before the next time.

If you’re subscribed to the mailing list, then you already know that I gave away 2 copies of the Andrew Peterson novel to Jeff Hyatt and Jay Sluyter.

And, if you’re subscribed to my mailing list, you are also aware of the fact that I’ve been asked to present a Dove Award to someone this Wednesday evening in Nashville. I was asked by the Pre-show producer to be a presenter at this year’s festivities. Should be a kick. I’ll try to post an update here with the time I’ll be on stage. Keep an eye on my twitter feed as well for updates.

The pre-show (where they hand out most of the awards) isn’t televised like the main show on the Gospel Music Channel (check local cable listings) but it will be broadcast on Godtube.com. Hopefully they’ll offer an embeddable player that I can put here on my blog Wednesday morning. The pre-show begins at 4:30pm ET.

For the early scoop on big news, subscribe to my mailing list.

UPDATE: I’m presenting with Need to Breathe and I’ll be doing 4 Dove Awards about 1/4 into the pre-show. I’m guessing it will be around 5:30pm CT. If I do any more current updates, they’ll be at twitter.com/jeffcaylor.

Popularity: 48% [?]