[Jenacen]

Journal Index (go here for particular entries and details)

Hey all! Welcome to my journal!

I’ll start by introducing myself; my actual name is Jake, and I am 19 years of age, about 4 months short of being 20. I currently reside in MI, I have lived in that general area all my life, and thus far, I do not see that coming to change. My church is a magnificent one called Grand Rapids First, which is one that I know I can be absolutely proud of. If you ever come to the Grand Rapids area, please be sure to come for a visit. As of right now, I am a youth leader there, playing electric guitar on the praise and worship team.

A little about me as a Christian
There’s one word that I know describes me, although nowadays it is given such a negative connotation; conservative. When many people think conservative now, they think of the anti-rock preachers who would just as soon bury their congregation alive as look at them, or the legalistic types who are seen as being worshippers without a heart, lawmakers without lovingness. At other times, they associate conservative Christians with a political party called the Republicans which they consider in their own minds to be bad. Others, when they think “conservative,” like to patch it down to a word called “fundamentalism,” which means to follow the very basics of a teaching, but what I don’t like about this word is that it is used to lump conservative Christians and conservative Muslims (violent, and sadly, completely right by their own books) into the same category. In addition to that, it is always the “fundamentalists” who get the bad rep in the news nowadays, so naturally, people are beginning to think fundamentalism is an evil in itself. There are so many ugly connotations to both words that maybe I shouldn’t try to define myself with one of the two words, so here’s a little bit about what I believe…
I take Scripture as being God-breathed, like clearly stated in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). I do not believe in twisting the Bible to fit evolutionary doctrine. I believe in Jesus Christ as being the one and only begotten son of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one being able to come to God except through Him and Him alone. Against all modern wisdom and philosophy, I believe that, if you want an answer to a question, God (Jesus Christ as His son) is the only one with all the answers (even though He’s certainly not going to give them all to you).
Actually, let me reword that…
He is The Answer.
In essence, I believe the Bible to be 100% true.

Me as an educated civilian
At the basic level, I have graduated high school, and I didn’t do too badly. My cumulative was about a 3.625, and I did enjoy the process of learning. My favorite classes were Science and English (especially loved English!). If I could go back and do it again, I’d probably try just a bit harder. School wasn’t too hard for me.
I currently attend Grand Rapids, Davenport University here in Michigan, and what a first year it has been! My Winter 2007 term GPA was a 3.83 (earned 4.0s in three of my classes, and a 3.3 in Diversity in Society *BLECH* which I would have done better on if I wasn’t so new to online classes (long story)), and cumulative stands at a 3.78. So far, I have only taken business classes, but I am looking at getting into Health Services Administration. I did very well in Management class, so it probably wouldn’t be too tough, and I especially enjoyed Marketing. I think I want to avoid marketing though, because the last thing I really want to have to do is learn how to twist the truth to draw customers. I know that doesn’t happen in every business, but it is a common practice.

Me as a guitar player
What makes me unique as a guitar player is that I can play both left-handed and right-handed. I started out on a left-handed guitar, and played that way for about 2 ½ years until I developed tendonitis and decided to switch to a right-handed. My initial thoughts were to see how I liked playing right-handed whilst I awaited the recovery of my right arm (which I used for the fretboard). As it turns out, I didn’t mind it that much. It felt a bit awkward, but decided that I wanted to stick with it. Since then, I have rarely touched my lefty Washburn X-20.
As far as my playing preferences go, I love lead playing. My two greatest inspirations have always been Karl Messner of ApologetiX and Joe Satriani. I love Karl’s playing because he plays such a heavy mix of songs (I suppose that if you do parodies, you would have to), and Joe Satriani because he writes such great-sounding music, and the beauty in his music isn’t just in his speed (though those parts are great nonetheless). My hope is to one day be able to play his “Surfing With the Alien,” album, although I’ll settle for any one of his songs.
I have a selection of books that I like to practice from as well. I have three primary books; “Metal Lead Volume 1” and “Speed Mechanics” by Troy Stetina, and “The Complete Guide to Rhythm,” and that’s probably their order of importance to me as well. As soon as I complete the Metal Lead book, I will most likely pick up Volume 2 and continue the speed-playing experience.
Might as well throw this in; what do I think of speed? Yes, I know the importance of a good melody, and that you can’t expect to excel off of pure mechanics, but I can say this; playing fast sure is fun! Myself, I don’t see feeling and speed as having too much incompatibility (though yes, speed can be used cheaply sometimes). Ever since I used to play clarinet, I liked playing fast (or at least the idea), and I hadn’t lost that when I started guitar. In band, I liked having the hardest pieces for some reason, whether or not I could play them. Since then, I have learned the necessities of correct practice and playing correctly, but the desire for speed has always stuck with me since I was a kid.
Though, I do know the value of playing slow as well. I am at the understanding that one instrument is not more important than the whole. On the praise and worship team, I do know when to play and when not to play, and I enjoy the process of creating beautiful music. Whilst I do like to throw in my own style a little bit, I do believe in good musicianship.
Plain and simple though, I really enjoy dynamicity.


Musical inspirations
I already mentioned ApologetiX and Joe Satriani, though who else really inspires me?
For as long as I can remember, I have always liked Carman. When I was a little kid, I had one CD by him that I really liked and loved to listen to, and even to this day I still like him. I’ve always admired his ministry and his messages, and it’s sad that he’s starting to go out a little bit, but I think that he has done well with the time and success that he has been given.
I enjoy Skillet as well. When I first started getting into more rock-styled music, I think “Invincible” was the first CD that I really got into. Some consider it their worst CD, but I thought it was pretty good, and still do. A few songs by them that really get me are “Will You Be There,” “The Thirst is Taking Over,” and “Angels Fall Down.” I am not sure that I enjoy their newest stuff quite as much as their old stuff, but it is still very good, including the songs “Comatose” and “Rebirthing.”
I cannot neglect Rebecca St. James. For some reason one day I decided to pick up the “Transform” album, and I loved it! From end to end, it’s just plain good. Favorite songs by her include “Reborn,” “Wait For Me,” “You Are Loved,” and “Shadowlands.”
Relient K belongs in here too. I don’t quite get why many people think they’re no good, but I think they do an excellent job. I guess it’s all a matter of taste, but I love them. So far, “Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek” is probably my favorite, with “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right” following in second, then the self-titled premiere album. Favorite songs include “For the Moments I Feel Faint,” “Pressing On,” “My Girlfriend,” “Must’ve Done Something Right,” “Forgiven,” “Falling Out,” and “Chapstick, Chapped Lips and Things Like Chemistry.”
Those are probably all the main ones right there. I have well over 100 different artists on my iPod, so I get a healthy dose of several things, but those would be a few of the biggest.

In This Journal
If you want to know more about me, there’s a few things to try out. What I’ll be doing is I’ll be writing special entries that give interesting details about me, and the link at the top of this page goes to that index. You’ll find things there such as, for example, “Top Favorite Songs,” “My Repertoire of Songs,” etc. Basically, it’ll be an easy way to navigate key entries in this blog. I hope to make this a real fun journal to read, so I’ll be sure to throw a little effort into making it that way.

Or if you don't feel like scrolling up right now to get to it, here ya go

Journal Index

So with all of that, God bless you, and good reading! May you be blessed by the materials you find here!

PS--Some of you may have been to my journal before. I had a previous journal right before this one, but I decided that it was time to let that one go. I had written many things in that one that I didn’t care to have read anymore. Adding to that, renaming the people in my journal was a terrible pain. So this time around, I’ll probably avoid less dramatic details.

[Jenacen]

Hey everyone This is where you will find links to all my entries in here. Some are daily chronicles, others are special posts, expounding on particular subjects or details concerning myself. Just click one of the links to go there.

Devotionals
Arrogant Speech and Lying Rulers

Guitar:
My repertoire of songs *NEW SONGS ADDED*

Special Experiences:
Seeing the Space Shuttle and Int'l Space Station
New Amplifier!
Star-Spangled Banner--First Solo Performance of my Life

Thoughts:
Speed vs. Feel

Other:
Website Favorites
Mental Exercise
Verses to Memorize

[Jenacen]

I decided to create a list of all the songs that I know by memory. I have a long list of songs that I want to learn, and I thought keeping a record of these songs would be a good idea.
Oh, and if you have any great ideas for songs that I could learn, lemme know.

*Recorded

Learned:
1. "All the Stalls Stink" by ApologetiX*
2. "Open Fire" by Troy Stetina*
3. "Smells Like Thirtysomething Spirit" by ApologetiX*
4. "Armageddon" by Me*
5. "No Escape (1984)" by Me*
6. "Vertigo" by U2* (5/11/07)
7. "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot (5/4/07)
8. "Corinthians" by ApologetiX (5/6/07)
9. "To the Stage" by Troy Stetina (6/2/07)*
10. "Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key (my own rendition)
11. "Evermore" by Hillsong (my own rendition)
12. "Christmas Canon Rock" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (improv'd tapping solo, the live recording sounds cool but very screwed up at the end lol)*
13. "From the Inside Out" by Hillsong (1/12/08)(basic chord version)
14. "Hosanna" by Hillsong (1/12/08)(basic chord version with solo)
15. "Winter (2nd Movement)" by Antonio Vivaldi (2/23/08)
16. "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong (7/25/08)
17. "Shout Unto God" by Hillsong
18. "So Blessed" Hillsong? (7/25/08)
19. "Amazed" (7/25/08)
20. "There is Nothing Like" (7/25/08)
21. "Lift Up Your Eyes" (7/25/08)
TOTAL: 21
RECORDED: 7

Learning:
"Enter Samson" by ApologetiX (taking longer than I thought, lol)
"Fishing on a Pier" by ApologetiX (rhythm parts halfway learned)
"Lonely Nation" by Switchfoot

Prospective:
"?" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"All ApologetiX" by ApologetiX
"Always With Me, Always With You" by Joe Satriani
"Appassionata: III. Allegro ma non troppo" by Beethoven
"Babylona" by ApologetiX
"Back Intact" by ApologetiX
"Be My Escape" by Relient K
"Bethlehemian Rhapsody" by ApologetiX
"Caprice No. 5" by Nicolo Paganini
"Caprice No. 10" by Nicolo Paganini
"Caprice No. 24" by Nicolo Paganini (holy cow hard!!!)
"Caprices (all 21 others)" by Nicolo Paganini (eventually, though not preferred)
"The 24 Caprices" Pierre Rode
"Carpe Diem" by Andy Timmons
"Cheap Birds" by ApologetiX
"Chem 6A" by Switchfoot
"City of Blinding Lights" by U2
"Comatose" by Skillet
"Crushing Day" by Joe Satriani
"Cry For You" by Andy Timmons
"Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot
"Eine Klein Nachtmusik" by Mozart
"Every Little Thing" by Hawk Nelson
"Everything About You" by Sanctus Real
"Extreme Days" by tobyMac
"Falling Out" by Relient K
"The Fight Song" by Sanctus Real
"Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nicolai-Rimsky Korsakov
"Fly Away From Hell" by ApologetiX
"Flying in a Blue Dream" by Joe Satriani
"Good Enough" by Whitecross
"Good Guys, Bad Guys" by ApologetiX
"The Great Adventure" by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Heaven in the Real World" by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Here I Am To Worship" by Me
"Hotel Can't Afford Ya" by ApologetiX
"How to Save a Life" by the Fray
"Ice 9" by Joe Satriani
"Into Jesus" by DC Talk
"In the Secret" by Sonicflood
"Irene" by tobyMac
"It Is You" by the Newsboys
"Jesus Freak" by DC Talk
"Kick in the Wall" by ApologetiX
"Kill Me, Heal Me" by Skillet
"Lonely Nation" by Switchfoot
"Moonlight: I. Adagio Sostenuto" by Beethoven
"Nagasaki" by Whitecross
"Narrow Way to Heaven" by ApologetiX
"No Boundaries" by Michael Angelo Batio
"The One I'm Waiting For" by Relient K
"Open Your Eyes" by Alter Bridge
"Over My Head (Cable Car)" by the Fray
"Paper Thin Hymn" by Anberlin
"Prelude in D" by J.S. Bach
"Rocky's Now My Name" by ApologetiX
"Rebirthing" by Skillet
"The Scottish National Anthem"
"Shine" by the Newsboys
"Stars" by Switchfoot
"Super Colossal" by Joe Satriani
"Surfing With the Alien" by Joe Satriani
"This Is Your Life" by Switchfoot
"Tonight" by Kutless
"Verynice City" by ApologetiX
"Walk His Way" by ApologetiX
"We Are One Tonight" by Switchfoot
"Welcome to the Judges" by ApologetiX
"Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2
"Wrongview" by ApologetiX
"Yer Maker" by ApologetiX
"Your Touch" by Kutless
"Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D.
TOTAL: 114

[Jenacen]

NOTE: I realize that all the links were broken, so I went through and fixed them. NOW you may enjoy!

These are websites that I love to visit, or I find very useful and resourceful. Hope you can find something here that is helpful to you

Apologetics:
Answering Islam
Apologetical Resources

Artwork:
Digital Blasphemy

Christianity:
Boundless Magazine
Lay Hands
Sermon Audio
Study Light
Way of the Master

Educational:
DHMO Research Division
Ludwig von Mises Institute
NARTH
Using English
Vocabulary Workshop

Entertainment:
Eye Tricks
Homestar Runner
YouTube

Games:
Addicting Games
Flash Flash Revolution

Guitar:
Christian Guitar Resources
Cyber Fret
Guitar Principles
PowerTab Archive
PowerTab Program
Online Guitar Lessons
The Scalculator
Ultimate Guitar

Informative:
Fox News
World Net Daily

Miscellaneous:
Dave Ramsey

Music:
iTunes Music Player
Miles Ear Training
Ruckus Music Player (Free DLs for college students)
The Mozart Project *NEW*

Music Artists:
Andy Timmons
ApologetiX
Joe Satriani
Forever Joe (Satriani Fansite)
Relient K
"Weird Al" Yankovic

Political:
Ben Stein
Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity

Scientific:
Answers in Genesis

Shopping:
Amazon
Music 123
Musician's Friend
New Egg (Electronics)

[Jenacen]

I heard on the news yesterday that at about 10:30 that night, the NASA space shuttle and International Space Station should both be visible from my home city of Grand Rapids, MI. It was about 10:12, and I couldn't really sleep, and I felt that I wouldn't be asleep for quite a little bit. At that thought, it occured to me that I would be able to see the shuttle and space station tonight, so I rushed outside as fast as I could, and took my cell phone with me (I hoped to get some kind of picture, but it was way too dark).

Thankfully, it was a clear night, the sun was long set, and the last bits of twilight were fading out. For about 20 minutes, I watched and waited, nerves on end, hoping that the street lights and trees wouldn't blot out the shuttle and station. For a bit, I didn't really see anything. I saw a plane flying overhad (thinking maybe that was the shuttle), but decided that wasn't either. There was a shooting star... way too fast for a shuttle, or an idle space station for that matter. Checked my phone. 10:30. Nothing yet. I would wait out a few minutes.

Then I saw them. 10:33 PM. They were immediately obvious. Two very bright dots traveling a bit fast right across the sky. Had I held a ruler out at arm's length, they would probably be about 7 inches apart. For the next two moments, I was locked in a mental state of complete fascination. The was the International Space Station and this was the NASA space shuttle Atlantis. For a moment, I tried to get a picture, but when I saw it wasn't working, I quit. The moment was too awesome to me. I just soaked it in until the two dots sailed over to the horizon, then disappeared into thin air before me. I believe I was so excited that my eyes watered up a little bit.

Next day I got up to watch the news to see what they said about it. Sure enough, there were a few photos of it. In the news report, the anchor talked about an older couple that went out to watch it, and that it made them reminisce back to the time that they saw the Sputnik flying across the sky. I could only think to myself, "That must have been so interesting." First device ever successfully launched into space, and they had the chance to see it for themselves.

I don't think I'm going to forget this anytime soon.

[Jenacen]

Well, I have been waiting almost a year for it, but it finally came. I am now the proud owner of a Peavey Valveking 212 tube amplifier. 300 watts of power, both class A and class B tubular tones, clean/lead channels, 26 1/2" x 20 3/5" inches, and heavy beyond all reason (68 1/2 pounds!)! Sounds great too!

I am not kidding though when I say that this is a concert amplifier. I can't even turn up the volume knob a fraction of the way from off without it nearly blasting my ears out! And if you're sitting next to it when you don't realize the volume is at about 40% of the way up... watch out!!!! I think that's my only irritation about it.

But it was a most excellent deal. I called Firehouse Guitars to have them reserve a different model (the 112 model), and they said they would do it, but just as the manager got off the phone, someone bought the last Peavey. A shipment was supposed to come in, but 4 of the 12 Peaveys came in boxes with big holes in them, so they refused the shipment. To make up for it, the manager offered to give me the bigger one at a much lower price. Basically, we negotiated. I started at $500. It was way too low for him. I moved up to $520. That worked for him. So I ended up spending $100 more than I originally planned, but got $100 off something much better at the same time

I love the tone on this too! It has a nice, beautiful clean tone to it, and the overdrive is great. When I turn on the gain boost, it sounds like a professional lead guitar tone to me. If I want something a little more bluesy, I can get that. If I want some serious heavy metal, I can get that. It's true, this amp has some real versatility.

So what about the A/B texture control? What is that? Well, it's hard to explain a bit, but I'll try. I'm not sure I understand it completely myself.

The texture feature is supposed to fine-tune the power, sensitivity, response and "break up" inside the amplifier (as stated in my manual). There is one setting called class A/B, which is the normal, full power tone for this amp, and I'm guessing that it is supposed to be the "normal"sound of a regular tube amp. On the bottom picture, the dial is the one farthest right, next to the caution label. On the dial, the A/B setting is the full clockwise setting. As you rotate the dial counterclockwise towards the Class A setting, half of the power of the 6L6CG tubes is progressively subtracted from the circuit, or the effect thereof. At the same time the power is being subtracted, the gain in the driver is being increased, and the low frequency response is being altered. The result is a more "even-ordered harmonic distortion," as stated in the manual, even at softer volume. Rotated fully counterclockwise, you get the effect of a "true Class A power amp, driven by a real single-ended high-gain tube stage." At the same time, the unused power tubes--the ones not being used for the Class A setting--are at least drawing idle current, which allows the amp to perform with the efficiency of a Class A/B amp. Power output is also cut down approximately 60% as well, as compared to maximum power.

Hope that wasn't too complicated.

And for your viewing pleasure...

[Jenacen]

If you have ever played on stage, do you remember the first time? How thrilling was it? How excited were you? How did you feel as the music went on? What was it like when you finished?

For me, the first time was on the praise and worship team almost two years ago, but that's not what I'm talking about. I had my very first solo performance on electric guitar just yesterday at our church for the youth group. The song was "The Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key. I had figured out the melody by ear, I wrote out accompanying chords, I arranged the entire thing. Randy would play backing guitar, I would play the lead. This is the first time when the spotlight was mostly on me. I was nervous. Never before had I done a performance in any kind of public setting or in front of a large crowd where all eyes would be mostly on me. I had played for family members before, and recorded songs to show to people, but never this. Never on an actual stage in front of an actual crowd. A quick soundcheck and we were set. Brian told us, "Whenever you want to begin, begin." I looked around. Almost everyone was inside now. Time to begin.

The moment I struck those two first notes, listening to them blaring through the stage monitors loud, clearly, and ever so strongly, combined with the very best soloing tone my GNX4 workstation had to offer, I could only think to myself, "This is going to be good!"

I continued on with the melody, and listened as Randy's rhythm part blended perfectly with every note I played. There was power. When I did the vibrato, I really did vibrato, and it made every note where applied sound so strong and alive. When it felt right, I did a quick hammering trill to add to the effect of the song (unplanned). I'm absolutely certain that it took no more than three seconds to turn every head in that room. In various points, I could hear the crowd cheering over the volume in my front monitors (which were the loudest I've ever heard them). The song came to its climax (and the rocket's red glare...), and that's when they really cut loose. Every moment of the performance is still fresh and alive in my mind.

Then it came to the song's end. I originally planned to just have a simple fade-out ending, but everyone was so excited and yelling so loudly, I thew in my own Satch-style improv ending to follow the energy. And at just the right moment, Randy and I cut out.

We were so excited, him and I. The performance sounded great. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about it. I couldn't find anyone who thought it wasn't good. There was everything between "that was pretty sweet" to "oh, that rocked!" Mike commented to me, "You know, you and Randy sound so great together." And I realized, we do. We both love guitar playing, we love some of the same kind of guitar music, so we do have a particular language between us. Who knows? Maybe more of the same is to come.

And that, my friends, was my very first solo performance.

[Jenacen]

Today is Independence Day! Let freedom ring, people!!

231 Years

[Jenacen]

Well, I bought two new CDs last night; "Oh! Gravity." by Switchfoot and "Five Score and Seven Years Ago" by Relient K. Both are very great! I didn't really like O!G the first time I heard it a while ago, but for some reason, this time it sounds very good. My top favorites from "Oh! Gravity" are the title track (Oh! Gravity), Dirty Second Hands, Awakening, and American Dream. I don't really have a set opinion on the other ones, but the entire CD is very listenable to me. What I note most about Oh! Gravity are the lyrics; non-cliche, catchy, and original. All the wordplay that Jon does on American Dream is the best example of what I mean.

"Five Score and Seven Years Ago," I had heard the CD before, and thought it was pretty cool, but not something to spend my money on (probably because I was working on homework at the same time). However, this time around I can't believe how much I like it. My two favorites, which I had purchased on iTunes before, were "Forgiven" and "Must Have Done Something Right," but there are plenty of gems on this one. These would include Up and Up, Devastation and Deform, Faking My Own Suicide, Pleading the Fifth, Give, Deathbed (I love this one!), and Sloop John B. The songs that I didn't mention are still very good, but these are just my favorites. This is such a far cry from their first album, I can't believe how good they have gotten over the years! What stands out to me most is Matt Theissen's love for vocal harmonies, similar to the Beach Boys. Wherever he decides to do them, they always sound fantastic. All things considered, they have great musicianship and creativity here, and I doubt that I'll be done listening to this for a while.

[Rainer.]

So, no one else posts in here?

[Jenacen]

Kinda hoping that someone will. Maybe I should start posting in their's lol

[Rainer.]

Well, I remember playing the good ol' SSB in front of a crowd for the first time. My arrangement rawked, I threw in snippets of different patriotic songs. It was cool.

[Jenacen]

I'm thinking about next time doing a rendition of Battle Hymn of the Republic. I kinda have in mind already how I want it to sounds... but you did a medley of songs? I would've liked to have heard that!

[Rainer.]

I think I made a recording somewhere in my blog...

[Jenacen]

Three more days until I leave for Fine Arts Nationals! I am so excited about the drama group I've been coaching, I am so proud of the job they've been doing I'm hoping for Merit, but if we make it to second round, I'll be happy enough because I have never made it to second round before in Fine Arts. Pray for us please!