RussHutto.com

Wow. It’s been an amzingly busy 2 weeks. I’ve just finished up a very fun brochure/mailer project that has been beating me like a drum! Whew!

Anyways, it’s done. Sent to print. Complete. It is finished.

It’s kind of an eclectic piece, a hodgepodge. 3 in one kind of piece.

It’s a 25 inch by 5 inch tri-fold (with a 4″ inch tag). Each of the 3 main panels are 7″ w x 5″ h. (the tag is 4″ w x 5″ h)

Anyways, we’ll be using it as a community blast mailer (we do 1-2 of these per year).

It will also be used as a generic informational brochure/handout that will go in newcomers’ goodie bags and handed out at our booths at the festivals we participate in (almost every festival imaginable within 20 miles of here).

On the piece itself is:

1) Mail/Address/Contact Info
2) Our Story (the history of HOJ in a nutshell…”Help! I’m in a nutshell!”)
3) Quotes/Photos of 4 families and their involvement at HOJ

4) Sunday Morning Info
5) Children’s Clubhouse Info
6) Youth Ministry Info

The hard thing about this piece was creating some sense of continuity between the panels. We wanted to create a distinct look for each panel so that they were definitely viewable as different aspects of our church. That being said, even with the different colors popping out at you (especially on the inside), the borders and general overlays are roughly the same. Creating a subtle sense of flow. That was at least the idea behind it all.

It’s definitely a grunged/distressed piece, that has been working well with our target audience. Young families, College age, unchurched for the most part. I had fun.

So without further ado, here are some very small samples of the brochure itself. I wish I could make them bigger, but since they are 25 inches wide, it’s tough.

You gotta check out my brother’s handiwork. This is great!! Send him some props and tell him I sent ya!

Great music.

Congrats on the oscar nomination and win. I was so pulling for these guys!

http://www.myspace.com/theswellseason

From the indie movie “Once” – if you haven’t seen it you should.

It’s a quirky, irish film. I love it.

Not necessarily family friendly, but a great movie for musicians.

A friend of mine recommended a long time ago and I got around to seeing it a few months ago, and was blown away by it. Go now, rent, and enjoy.

Everything went swimmingly well.

Set list First Gathering:

1) I Know Who I Am (Houghton, Tomlin)
2) Not Forgotten (Houghton, Lindsey)
3) Jesus Is The Best Thing (Munizzi)

Second Gathering Set List:

1) Not Forgotten
2) Jesus Is the Best Thing
3) I Know Who I Am

The beauty of doing a short list and having 2 gatherings is being able to re-work the set list before the second gathering if need be.

This week there was definitely some need being :)

During the first gathering it became painfully obvious that “I Know Who I Am” was going to be our most upbeat and dynamic song. I knew right away that it would work better at the end of our set list. Hence, the change for the second gathering.

I Know Who I Am: I’m definitely going to have to recommend this song for congregational singing. It’s upbeat. It’s catchy and it’s singable. You might have to move the key a bit but it can be done. I love the truths in the lyrics. Simple yet profound. Try it out.

Not Forgotten: This has come to be one of our favorites. It’s got a middle eastern vibe to it, but almost a dance hall reggae feel at the same time. Definitely soulful.

Jesus Is The Best Thing: This has almost the same feel to it, but a little more “major” in it’s approach. We do it in the key of D. In the live version there is a great dance hall reggae-ish rap that we haven’t yet worked into our version, but we will, we will.

I was on the drums this Sunday. It was a blast. I play once a month. I actually sang some lead and did some backup tenor stuff. Surprised myself. Usually I can either do one of the two (sing or drum) but not really both at the same time. So it was fun doing both.

Musically, we hit on all cylinders. The team was right where I wanted them, and the vocals were on. Our vocal rehearsal tracks are paying off. I’ll definitely keep using them.

Graphic Design: I’ve just been handed a huge project for the church. We’re doing an info brochure that we’ll use as a mailer (we do one huge pre-easter mailer that goes out to 25000 folks). And we’ll also use it for festivals/events as a handout at our booths (we have booths at every seasonal festival with a Dance Dance Revolution station set up for kids). The brochure itself is more of a “postcard” but it measures 25 x 5 (four 7″ panels and one 4″ panel that folds to a finished 5 x 7 postcard). I’ll be having fun putting that together.

Did anyone else think it odd that Amy Winehouse took home so many grammy’s?

1) Her music is totally unoriginal.
2) She is a pretty messed up individual.
3) She just seems weird.

Ok, ok. I know. Not the most solid reasons for not winning grammy’s but I was pretty shocked.

I was glad that neither Kanye or Ms. Winehouse took home the Album of the Year nod. It went to jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Yay, real music for the win!!