FredMcKinnon.Com

Anyone who follows my thoughts in this big cyberspace is quite familiar with my affection for Apple.  I love Apple products and have been a faithful Apple user since college.  (for those who are counting, that would be nearly 20 years)!  Despite my passion for Apple, I blogged a while back about “Why I’m Not Getting a Verizon iPhone” and “How This Apple Addict Fell in Love with the DroidX“.  Google stepped in and started changing the way my life was surrounded by Apple products.

With the recent announcement of the “Amazon Cloud Drive” and the “Amazon Cloud Player” I can’t help but wonder if Amazon is about to join Google in assaulting the massive market share of Apple’s dominance in the digital media world.

One of the most frustrating issues in dealing with my iTunes libraries across multiple computers is the lack of sync.  Sure, there are products out there that supposedly help you sync your iTunes libraries together across multiple computers.  I’ve tried some of this software and didn’t have a lot of success.

I have 2 primary iTunes accounts.  One account is for personal purchases and the other is for purchases I make through my Church account.  These get all mixed up and in my eagerness to get a new song over the weekend on my home computer I later find that it’s not on my church laptop.  Now, with the addition of a new studio computer at SSCC I have a 3rd location where I want to hear my music.  Having iTunes libraries from two separate accounts on 3-4 different computers is a real hassle … not to mention the issues of iPod syncing.

With thew new Amazon Cloud Drive I can begin uploading all of my music to the “cloud”.  (Travis, those quotes were JUST for you).  This gives me access to my music via web and the Android-based Amazon Player on my DroidX.

Granted, you only get 5 GB of free online storage but that’s quite a bit of storage and the price to increase storage is minimal.  To make things even better, if you purchase your music from Amazon.Com instead of via iTunes (the pricing is typically the same with less sync/copy restrictions) the music can be stored in your Amazon Cloud without using your storage space.

Want that new album?

Buy it on iTunes and it’s restricted to a few places.  Even to get the music on a different computer at all requires physically copying the files.
Buy it on Amazon and it’s available on your computer, on your phone, and in the cloud – accessible from any computer, any time, with web access.

I could be wrong but I think this will pose a serious challenge to the way Apple manages our media purchases and storage.  In the end, it’s all about access and convenience.  By the looks of this new Amazon Cloud, they have a promising product.

For me, I’m uploading music RIGHT NOW to the cloud.

What about you?

Hey Gang,

Monday I posted on our “Worship Confessional” video that we’d introduced the new song by Chris Tomlin, Nathan and Christy Nockels & Company from the Passion 2011 CD, “All My Fountains”.

Although I wasn’t there for the live recording of Passion 2011, I was present at the “Lift” event last month and experienced this song for the first time and loved it.

Our debut of this song at SSCC was extremely well-received.  I’d like to share the click-track and loop that I made for this song with you.  Enjoy!

Details:
Our Arrangement in Key of D.

*acapella Chorus intro – then start loop
*Segue, VS1, Chorus, Segue, VS2, Chorus, Segue, Bridge (4x), Chorus, Acapella Chorus, Tag

Instruments we used “LIVE” that are NOT on the click:  Acoustic (open tuned to D), 2nd Acoustic, Mandolin and Hammer Dulcimer, Bass, and Live Drums.

Instruments in the Loop:
Click
Spoken Guide
Stylus RMX Loops
Tambourine Loops
Clap Track
Organ Track
Piano Pad Guide Track

CLICK and SPOKEN GUIDE:  Panned Left
INSTRUMENTS:  Panned Right

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the loop.

If you use it, let me know how you like it!

Hey Gang,

So, as of sometime last night or this morning … we’ve moved up.  Up to a new server.  Our own, private one.  Seems as if our sites were getting too much traffic so our web host needed us to kindly “move servers”.

The site has been sluggish and slow, I’ve been waking up to tons of mySQL database connection error warnings in my email box, etc … so I decided to take the plunge and get a private server.

So here we are.  Hopefully, this blog, TheWorshipCommunity.Com, and our other sites will be loading faster-than-ever.

So, can you hear me now?
Leave a comment and let me know!

Hey Gang,

I need your help.  We are updating our website demographics for our advertisers and have a quick survey.  This helps us establish our audience, reach, and gives important information for our advertisers.

We’ll be giving away $100 in iTunes Gift Cards so please take the survey!  Also, all responses are strictly confidential.  You are not required to enter your name (unless you want to be in the iTunes giveaway).

Would you take the survey and consider RT (retweeting) this, sharing the link on Facebook or your blog?
Thanks a ton!

There are some items in my digital toolbox that are qualified as “must haves”.  You know – the kind where you get a new hard drive or computer and after booting it up, this is one of the first things you install?

“Evernote” is one of those tools for me.  I use it to take notes during sermons, keep up with tasks, ideas, Bible Study thoughts, and blog ideas.  That’s fairly typical usage but I’ve surprised quite a few people when I tell them that Evernote is one of my primary tools in songwriting.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve had a song idea pass through my mind.  Usually, those ideas can leave my mind about as quickly as they came in!  That’s where Evernote comes in handy.

Because Evernote is installed on ALL of my Mac computers and on my Android-based Motorola DroidX phone, I have a digital “notebook” at my disposal all the time.  Since the notes sync automatically, my ideas are always available.

Case in point:

Village Creek Landing, St. Simons Island GA

The other day I was sitting in one of my favorite “solitude spots”.  (aka “Village Creek Landing” on St. Simons Island, GA).  I was reading in Titus and was inspired by the text.  I immediately had a catchy “hook” in my mind … “Glorious Grace Appear”.

Keep in mind, I’m sitting in my 1996 Ford Explorer with the windows down and moon roof open – soaking in the morning sun – studying the Word, praying, and meditating on what I’m reading.  I’m not in the studio.  I don’t have a moleskin handy (OK, I don’t OWN a moleskin) and I don’t think there is a pen in my truck at all.

I pick up my phone, launch the Evernote App, open my “Song Ideas” folder and tap “new note”.  Jot down the Scripture reference, a few phrases, and save the note.

Then, the most powerful feature yet – the voice memo!  I’ve lost more hooks than I’ve kept, so I edit the note, click the voice memo button, and start singing away.

Now I have my idea captured so that I can revisit it while in the studio or at the piano.

Here’s a peek at my “Songs” notebook in Evernote:

So, that’s my songwriting usage of Evernote.  You’ve seen a glimpse into my vault … and now, I’ve got to discipline myself to take these ideas to the next level – actually writing the song!

UPDATE:
The night before this blog entry was scheduled to be published, I had an interesting twitter exchange with one of my favorite bloggers, Michael Hyatt.  He’d just had a blog post about Evernote featured.  I replied and told him about my pending article and others chimed in about their Evernote usage.  So check out their articles as well!

Michael Hyatt:  “A Better Filing System for Public Speakers and Writers”
David Santistevan:  “Use Evernote To Help You Write Songs”