July 20, 2005

  • we are going to be posting some information regarding the new cd on our website occasionally, leading up to the release, and i thought it would be fun to post stuff here first. you know, keep it among friends for a bit. so here is the first installment titled “the making of a collision”. hope it is enlightening and enjoyable…

    the making of a collision or (3 + 4 = 7)

    it all started with a book from the early 60′s acquired by my wife from an antique shop in downtown chicago. that, and a conversation with a very intelligent acquaintance of mine who is currently finishing his phd work in super string theory, and who happened to mention in very whimsical tone one sunny texas afternoon that we were, and i quote, “…walking around in the sky…” he said this while pointing to nothing in particular, “…you see, there is ground and there is sky and we are somewhere in between. we’re walking around in it. our feet are on the ground but….” wait. i’m getting ahead of myself. like i said, it started with a book; “the story of atomic energy” by laura fermi (decd. 1977) who was peace activist and wife of famed physicist enrico fermi, (decd. 1954) with whom the atomic age arrived. the fermi national accelerator laboratory, which is home to the most powerful atom collider in the world, is located just outside of chicago. i found it fascinating that my wife would procure this particular book from a shop in this particular city. the book’s cover is pale green, definitive 60s green if you ask me, with what one would assume to be the representation of an atom in a complimentary 60’s pale yellow set against it. it is the familiar depiction of a nucleus and some number of electrons swirling about. i was immediately enthused by this icon as i have an affinity toward semiotics and symbols and iconography and drew satisfaction that a book about energy had a representation symbolizing energy on it’s cover. no words, just pale yellow on pale green and through symbol i understood that energy was inside. and here is why this simple thing would inspire a collection of songs: this model is improper in it’s depiction of particle matter. we know in fact that electrons do not circle in elliptical paths around a nucleus. and this is the difficulty with symbols. they are never quite proper. they are always a bit broken. and as i held this book in my hands, frozen in the middle of an intersection in downtown chicago, while this inadequate drawing roused simultaneously both hope of discovery and reminiscence of destruction in my chest i thought, “this is the essence of art. we are creating broken containers.” ¶ then came the eschatology of bluegrass. one evening, after hearing our band play in Dallas Texas, the grandfather of one of our guitar players stated, and i quote, “you boys should do a bluegrass number as it is the superior variety of music!” and so it was that we stumbled into this vast genre of song, written, in a religious sense, almost exclusively in regards to the ever after, the sweet-by-and-by, or flying away to glory. i was at first troubled by what seemed a glaringly unbalanced doctrinal depiction of the kingdom of heaven as i have the fear that this approach to christian living has lead many a person’s head into the clouds and allowed for justifications of neglect in bringing the kingdom of heaven into the here and now. then a close friend of mine was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. it had spread. it was everywhere. liver. brain. lymph nodes… everybody wants to go to heaven. ¶ we settled on “i saw the light” by hank williams. by way of johnny cash. ¶ what i am about to relate is nothing short of miraculous. we met the fabulous marty stuart at the dove awards a year ago. at age thirteen, mandolin protégé marty stuart found himself on the road with bluegrass legend lester flatts and peers in the likes of roy acuff, ernest tubb, bill monroe and grandpa jones. after lester’s death in 1979 the next band he would join was johnny cash’s (decd. 2003). marty is a living history of country music. and there he was backstage wearing a black suit, aglow in rhinestones, sparkling down both sleeves and spanning the back of the jacket in the shape of a very large cross. his hair was flawless and bigger than mine. he wore shades. none of this would have been entirely strange if not for the fact our guitar player, who’s grandfather’s fault this whole bluegrass thing was, had suggested exactly one day prior, “we should get marty stuart to help us with the bluegrass number.” we gathered around a microphone in johnny cash’s cabin and recorded the song with marty just outside of hendersonville tennessee; two of hank’s verses, the one of johnny’s and one of mine. ¶ the rest of “a collision” was recorded in waco texas in the barn behind my house. the barn was built in 1885 by the then waco corner drugstore owner and local alchemist wade morrison. it’s color is the most perfect of faded barn reds, very close in color to that of a dr. pepper can holding the delectable beverage whose origins are mr. morrison’s corner store. local lore has it that this barn was home to morrison’s horse, incidentally named pepper. ¶ we documented the whole process online with weblogs and four (a significant number for us) webcams running 24 hours a day for four weeks. near the end of our tracking i posted an invitation, to all who were tuning in, to join us in the barn for a hoedown and some group singing. and our friends came in cars and planes, from california, tennessee, arkansas, georgia, colorado, and more extraordinary places far and near. i wish you could have been there! there was a bbq smoker in the shape of a pistol 10 feet tall. (the meat goes in the chamber and the smoke comes out of the barrel.) it was true texas culinary indulgence met with ocular and aromatic stimulation. we ate. we laughed. we shook our heads at the distances traveled. and we sang. we sang at the top of our lungs. these good folks sang like they meant it. ¶ for the past two years i have ended most nights in concert with the following statement: “when our depravity meets his divinity it is a beautiful collision.” this recording is about that collision. it is the collision of our fallen state and our maker’s transcendence. it is a rendering of our mortality and eternal life. it is about the tension that exists in the living of life, here, where the sky meets the broken earth. it is about a tsunami in east asia. it is about a sunrise over hiroshima. it is about too many who know intensely what pain the word cancer holds and the words of my friend whispered in my ear, “it’s ok. none of us are getting out of here alive you know.” it is about victory. it is about the joy that comes when blood tests come back and a miracle is announced. it is the hope in a rescue that has come. the hope in a rescue that has found us. and the relentless hope in a greater rescue that is still coming. one that has not yet arrived but is no less present. this music, broken, improper and inadequate in its response is rooted in that hope. the kingdom of heaven is here and now and coming. ¶ “…here it comes, a beautiful collision is happening now.”

Comments (68)

  • wow first :D …beautiful. cant wait to hear it

    God bless

  • aahhhh, this is quite the poetic, quite.  i feel you i feel you.  i’m liking that quote about the beautiful collision

  • im ready to hear it…

  • my friend wrote a devotional about the collision in our lives when we are saved… it was great

    can’t wait for the cd!

  • 3 + 4 = 8.  duh

  • David, I can totally sense your excitement as I read your words, which makes me even more excited to hear the album!! What a beautiful thought about us “walking around in the sky”…love it!

  • amazing….!

  • David and band,

    Will you guys do me a favor? This is not a joke. I know that people do these things for attention, but this is serious. I and my family are in very serious distress and sadness due to the fact I may have a form of Cancer and I am very sick. The band is one of my most blessed and treasured things in my life. All of you have done so much through your music and reading your posts to speak real life into me. I am very scared and afraid. This is the third time I have contracted the disease and they tell me different things everyday that only leave me with chaotic thoughts. There is no peace right now in my life, because the doctors fool with me so much. At my last MRI, they scanned the wrong part of my leg, where the Cancer may be and I have to go again.

    I am only 33 years old and I have a 2 year old girl. Where is God right now? Why would He allow them to suffer under such worry and not knowing. They have not ruled anything out yet, but have not diagnosed anything. It is just scary I am in so much pain and my doctor is set on the fact I may be sick.

    I am not writing this for attention or pity. I am writing to you boys, because you have given me so much and I was wondering if it were possible you could pray for me and my family as a band. You guys also have the ability to ask lots of people to do this as well.

    Believe it or not, one of my gifts is healing, so I believe. I am faithful on God that He can do it all! You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Just pray for me. You may visit weblog anytime. Thank you. Sorry for bugging you.

    Mathew

  • Heh heh heh… you pointed out the cold Chicago weather… MAN… I hate it… but it’s good to have every once in a while.

  • Amazing, thanks for sharing. Have a great day. What could come next, first light, now collisions (by the way the superstring theory and particle accelerators is just amazing), what comes next? I can’t even fathom. God Bless you.

  • Oh my! I just started this blogging thing here and all of a sudden I lost everything! I dont know what happened but the above post under mathewnohalo is from me. This is my new name. So sorry.

    Mathew

  • i bought the cd… and the squirrel shirt

  • SW33T GL0RY!  Stoked I am.  Art + Science == BEAUTY

  • “it is the collision of our fallen state and our maker’s transcendence.”
    -so beautiful.

    “it is the hope in a rescue that has come. the hope in a rescue that has found us. and the relentless hope in a greater rescue that is still coming.”
    -also very beautiful.

    “www.growyourcrowder.com”
    -beautiful.

  • you should write a book……….that was a lame joke, my bad

    tell your violin player I love his playing

    thanks for letting God mold you into the complex person you are David

    we’ll have to hook up in heaven one day

    see you at youth specialties

    and btw, somebody should make little DCB and Chris Tomlin action figures for kids to fight with

  • Wow!  That’s amazing, I really cant think of anything else to say!  I cant wait until I can buy it!  I love your view on art, broken containers, that’s a perfect way to describe it!  Oh, and Mathew, I’ll be praying for you.

  • nothing short of awe inspiring each time i read your stuff… God has blessed you sir.

    I already have my tickets for the UBC CD Release… sadly I dont think Ill be attending with Aric Harding this year… Such sadness…

    My prayers go up for you and the guys, and the UBC staff/family.

    –bryan martisek

  • Wow…I am stunned by your writing. God has given you such a gift. Cannot wait till we all get to be in heaven together worshiping HIm but in the mean time I am thankful of the time that we get to share Christ. thanks for sharing HIM with so many and for the beautiful gift of poetry and song for us to enjoy Him more. God be with you my friend.
    justine

  • hank williams…awesome…lol

    what genre can we expect next from the dcb? reggae? heavy metal? rap?

  • It was great seeing you guys (second row!) at Cornerstone – definitely swing through Houston, I have yet to see you in Texas ;)

    Thanks for updating, its amazing to see the backbone of the new record is so strong and glorious. Rock on :)

  • Wow, I can’t wait to hear the CD!  It sounds like Christ’s light will be beaming through my speakers with this one, lol!  Serioiusly, wow, God inspires in amazing ways, glad to hear how he’s inspired you.  God is nothing short of mind-blowing when he works through us!  God bless!

  • dude, i can’t wait till your new cd comes out. it is going to be awesome.

  • hey i love your music, but who doesn’t i guess. I’m downloading my favorite song now( o praise him ). i like the old one better, but the new one is really kool too! Your newest CD is pretty kool too, kinda techno. hey visit my site sometime, it would be really kool if you left a comment, that would be awesome. Maybe just say thanks or something.

    god bless!

    ~montana~

  • that was both enlightening and enjoyable

  • Well said. Wish I had know about the party- been itching for a road trip ;0)

    An eprop for the wonderful writing ;)

  • I had a collision with the Lord 21 years ago.  At the time I thought what is He doing?  But as I have held on to Him because of what I’d been through the journey has been ever so glorious.  I won’t say it hasn’t been tough.  In fact most of the journey has been tough.  Matthew, you will be in more prayers than you could imagine.

  • Can’t wait to hear the new album, guys. God has definitely spoken to me through your music in the past, and I’m looking forward to how He will again. Keep on using the gifts He’s given you for His kingdom!

    God bless:)

  • Awwwww David Crowder…….is so awesome…….i like your music………and your hair…its SO cool! uhhh i think that’s about it……ROCK ON!
    Ace128
    p.s. (note: this comment written in a weirdo song-like format……please do not be alarmed or judge me)
    p.s.s YOUR HIP!
    that is all

  • your writing is genius
    how you connect things
    is absolutely crazy
    it makes me all cold
    yet warm inside.

    JKHFHDJKLDHDSHKFJHDSKHFDJKSH!!

    A COLLLSION IS COMING!

    HASDJKFHKAJSHDFKHDSA!!!

  • Dear Mr. Crowder,

    I just came from a worhip expierence and I’d like to say that I thank God for your talent and for your leadership. I thank God for the songs he puts in your heart, I thank him because you get to share it with the world. I think that’s really amazing. A true Beautiful Collission indeed. There are few groups that have helped me view the christian exierence in a real and wholesome way Shane Benard, Enter the Worship Circle, and The David Crowder Band, I’m sure there are many other artist that do the same but I think you guys just hit it right on the head for me.

    God Bless and I loved your post.

  • Good stuff, man. I really enjoyed that. I can’t wait until I can afford to buy the cd!

    Ahh, the joys of being broke and in college…

  • is it wrong that i’m in tears again???

    david, good sir, you have me in tears again

  • it is more than becoming to know we are between
    the first and second comings.
    and how near we are to both!
    your writings surely raise a voice inside me.

  • i am preparing for impact….

    Grace and peace
    Eugene
    ssr2005

  • Thanks for the post David. It’s so freaking cool to read about the direction, influnces, and fears that formed the new record. I will pray about the release :) God Bless.

  • Wow that is really awesome……and that fact that this all started in Chicago is pretty cool too!!

  • Awesome stuff. I am so excited to hear the new CD! I love the Collision quote and idea..deep, way cool!

  • Wow, this is beautiful. You are quite the artist of the written word. I suppose you should consider a second book. I’d buy it .

  • thanks for sharing.

  • thank you. that was extremely encouraging.

  • What a beautiful collision indeed. Joy from pain, laughter from sorrow. It’s only a matter of time really

  • will u comment on my xanga?

  • many props for the SUFJAN STEVENS cover. woohoooooooooooooo!

  • hey david! please come to south bend,in again- if you do i’ll definatly come to that concert! you are an amazing person- not just because of the crowder! but because your songs are so cool and they have brought me closer to christ. thank you. in Christ, nat9321

  • Its really exciting to me when just hearing you talk about it in your little post and the first thing I do is whisper to myself  “wow”… I’m excited to hear this album. Thats amazing how you twisted around the weird things about science(stuff I never could understand) and bring it back to the thing that not even stuff like science can figure out. God is doing some great things in this generation.
    Much Love. God Bless
    Tyler

  • do you smoothie?

  • Davey…(can i call ya davey?) i  agree with nat…..(we both live in south bend) so yeah i think you should come back! I started listenin to your music and i am in LOVE with it and the band of course! its awesome! pleez come to south bend…me and nat will be in the front! haha lata

  • ur songs ROCK!!!!!! seriouslyyy

    hahhahaha. one of ur songs..”OUR LOVE IS LOUD”

    IS IN MY XANGA!! i love it.. its sooo wonderful!!! fosho!

    <333 -soojin-

  • that was a lot of reading…

  • I am so excited about the cd!  Hi, my name is Traci and this is my first time to your site!  You guys so have the annointing all over you.  Feel free to come by my site sometime!

    Keep on praisin’

    Traci

  • so thats cool i love your music and i think your an awesome person that shows it great to be a christain

    Jared Linker

  • DAVID, THIS IS BLAKE LONG.I HAVE SOMETHING I REALLY WANT O TALK TO YOU ABOUT SO PLEASE COMMENT ME BACK IF THIS IS REALL YOU!!K THANK YOU..

     

                                                         –BLAKE–

  • HAHA OF COURSE THIS IS REALLY YOU!!BUT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ASK YOU A QUESTON..I KNOW ITS PROBLY HARD FOR YOU TO FIND TIME BUT I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD JUST COMMENT ME BACK!!!!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH.

                    –BLAKE–

  • doesn’t stink that the fake david crowder get’s like 550 comments and you only get like 55? ha. your book is so awesome and i’m definetly pre-ordering your new cd. thanks for the you know what. cough, cough, comment. haha. In Christ, nat9321

  • Thanks for sharing! Great writing!

    I can’t wait for YEC in less than 2 weeks!! I’m looking forward to it so much! And the CD!

    -Sara

  • you do have a very cool way of connecting things. your style of writing communicates so much love and happiness. so cool.

    i was driving through Waco today after visiting some family up in Dallas and thought about all the fun i had at the barn singing the songs and eating the pistol BBQ. i’m eagerly awaiting the new disc and the upcoming tour.

  • the story of the collision was sweet dave! ITS ME p Pat from new jersey. met you at JAMA for the umteenth time and thanks for singing THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME! THAT WAS SO SWEET…..i cant beleve you did a request song! your so sweet sauce~!

    collision of our depravity with His divinty is a beautiful thing…… i want to be smashed by HIM!

  • It’s a work of Art. 

    J.

  • i live down the street from the lester flatt memoral rv park in otto arkansas…and am related through about 3 twisty marriages to mr. cash…and i play mandolin…so in a strange way…i feel connected to this cd. ha.

  • …makes me cry happy tears

  • I LOVE YOU!!!!

  • i looooove your concerts!

  • this thing is gonna be SICK

  • 2 eprops, a can of pringles  and a thank you for being te tool that God used to show me how it is when”my depravity meets His divinity”. Shalom!

    Ryan

  • IM ON DAVID CROWDERZ XANGA OMG OMG WHEN U COMING TO CONCERT IN OKLAHOMA!!

    I LOVE DAVID CROWDER HES INSANE>>>>>>>MOOSHI-MOOSHI

  • didn’t read all of it because its really long, but the last part read like a poem. beautiful. can’t wait to hear the new cd!!

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