I have mixed feelings about copyright law. In some ways, I think the laws are so strict we could be prosecuted for just about anything. I do think, however, that artists should be compensated for their art. I’d like to create some someday I could get paid for. On the other hand, I have a really hard time with copyright law as it pertains to church use. You’d be surprised at what church musicians are not allowed to do. Most churches purchase an annual blanket license that allows us to use just about any worship song and project the lyrics for congregational use. But that’s where our license ends.

A couple weeks ago I was intent on learning Harry Connick Jr.’s “Never Young” from his critically denounced Star Turtle (we love it, though), but I had to do without the usual online helps I make use of. On the Internet you can find chord charts for just about any [...]

I recently stumbled upon an author whose writing elicits such giddiness. The first book I read of Richard Russo’s I didn’t actually read but listened to. Those months I commuted from Toledo to the small town where we now live I needed something to make the 3-hour drive go by quickly. I perused lists of award-winning books available for purchase/download, and Russo’s 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner Empire Falls sounded interesting enough.

I don’t remember how I first discovered Jamie Cullum. I stumbled upon his Twentysomething CD about seven years ago before I started (legally) downloading music and forewent physical CDs. These days I log on to iTunes and Rhapsody on Tuesdays and check out the new releases. I’d been blown away by Twentysomething, but I think I might like his latest offering even more.