So, the other day I began what is sure to be a very long series of posts about some of the amazing people God has placed in my life. Let’s go ahead and visit another installment in that series, OK?

I met (THE) Shawn Skinner in April of 2008. My wife, Kristi and I flew from TX where I was pastoring, back to suburban Phoenix to have a vision-casting meeting for what would eventually become Church of the Cross. Shawn and I hit it off on many different levels and it wasn’t long before he began leading worship for our church family. And over the years, I have watched as God has gifted Shawn with his own musical voice.

Shawn recently played at Crescent Ballroom, one of my favorite Phoenix venues. I love seeing artists grow into themselves and this night was a prime example of just such a moment. And I’m not just saying that because Shawn is a good friend. If you’ll pardon my indulgence, I’d like to post three videos as proof of my claim that Shawn Skinner is certainly finding his musical voice.

Shawn opened up with a new song called “12 O’Clock Shuffle.” The parts that sound like he’s copying Tom Waits are actually supposed to be sung through this cool flask-o-phone (an actual flask that Shawn has turned into a microphone) that Shawn didn’t bring this night. So, he’s not just paying tribute to Waits, though that might not be a bad thing; he’s approximating the sound of the mic he didn’t bring. Anyway, watch right at around the 1:30 mark when Shawn offers an abrupt transition and a random crowd-goer shows his enthusiasm. You can see Shawn gain some confidence in that moment. And it never left him:

Next up is “You Better Not Miss,” a true story that Shawn turns into a haunting vignette:

Last up is a Shawn Skinner classic, “Charlie and William.” I love when the sound man adds some reverb to the refrain about three-quarters of the way through:

Watch for great things because I have no doubt Shawn can and will deliver.

I hope you can make it out to the Crescent Ballroom this Saturday night to support my friend Shawn Skinner as he opens up for The Cold Desert and others.

• More information here.

I used to do a podcast with a great friend of mine. It was called the Habañero Hour and we played a lot of music we liked and interviewed some of the people who made that music. We focused a lot on the relationship between Christian faith and artistic expression.

Then we stopped doing the podcast and started hosting house shows. If you’re not sure what a “house show” is; it’s exactly what it sounds like: we host concerts in homes. We’ve been able to meet lots of those people whose music we played and interviewed for the podcast but since then, the focus has become much broader. We want to help promote the arts in suburban Arizona. Good luck, right? Actually, we’ve been tremendously blessed to host some tremendous house shows (and we want to start partnering with all kinds of other artists as well but we’re not there yet).

In fact, we’re working on scheduling house shows for the Fall right now. We’ve already announced the return of David Ramirez and watch for more announcements soon. In the meantime, here are some great moments from past house shows:

Here is Seryn performing “So Within”

 

Shawn Skinner: “Charlie and William”

 

 

 
Chris Bathgate: “Big Ghost”

 

Aaron Spiro: “Are You Coming?”

 
What have been your favorite Habañero Collective house show moments?