I’ve been thinking about which conference talks really resonated with me this time around, and wanted to hear from you about which ones were your favorites as well.
There were many that made me think or that made me feel a great connection to the speaker or to the spirit but there was one that stood out for me: Elder Holland’s talk about the Book of Mormon. It seemed to be a talk out of the past. It’s the kind of talk we don’t hear very often now because it is not a comfortable or warm and inviting talk.

Some were a bit offended by it or felt it ignored the very real historicity problems that they themselves feel about the Book of Mormon. But Elder Holland did not give the talk for the purpose of explaining how to deal with whatever problems you might have with the Book of Mormon. He gave the talk to simply testify of his knowledge that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. How did he say that he knows this? Did he say that he had sifted through all the potential scientific and historical objections that had been raised by the critics of the Book of Mormon? No, though Elder Holland may at times have explored those issues, he did not discuss the issues or their potential answers, he simply testified of his knowledge of the Book of Mormon’s truth by personal revelation. He also testified that the actions of Joseph and Hyrum just prior to their deaths provide an additional testimony of its truth, as well as the fact that no satisfactory explanations for the Book’s origin have ever been found, other than the story of divine origin given by Joseph .

Tellingly, he quoted Nephi’s final testimony, one of the most moving and powerful testimonies of God ever recorded, to my mind:

10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.
11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.
12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.
13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.
14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.
15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen.

Elder Holland’s testimony quoted Nephi’s because the two are similar in tone and purpose. They stand as a warning to those who fail to understand or appreciate the significance and importance of the Book of Mormon, and who therefore attempt to dismiss it. He compared the Book of Mormon to Christ, about whom it testifies, calling it “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” to those who would like to believe God does not exist, or that Christ is not his son, or that God does not speak to his prophets.
Throughout the talk, Elder Holland was animated, even heated, as he testified with all the energy he had of the truth he knows. It wasn’t comfortable to watch or to listen to. It wasn’t peaceful of inviting. There is nothing peaceful or comfortable about the fact that the words of the Book of Mormon may condemn you before God. It just happens to be the truth.

For better or worse, it ain’t Come, Come Ye Saints.

What’s yours?

It Might Get Loud is a rockumentary about the electric guitar, as seen through the eyes of three iconic artists from three different generations: Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. During the course of the movie we find out how each of these amazing performers approaches the craft of creating music, their philosophies concerning the guitar as an instrument (some of which turn out to be in direct conflict with each other), and their personal histories and attitudes concerning their various bands and landmark careers. In a word, it’s fascinating.

Three moments stand out for me. One, Jimmy Page’senraptured expression as he takes us through his personal music collection and plays some of his most favorite guitar recordings from the deep past; two, Jack White’s blood smeared all over his guitar as he obsessively plays riffs until his fingers bleed; and three, The Edge explaining the genesis of the intro to “Where The Streets Have No Name.”

One odd moment that I still haven’t figured out completely is a segment where Jack White is seen hanging out with a nine year old kid that looks and dresses exactly like him. I’m not sure if that kid is Jack’s son, or related to him in some way or if we’re supposed to think that this is Jack as a nine year old being taught and counseled by his future self. It’s just strange and somehow disconcerting.

My takeaway from the movie is just that I really loved learning more about these three guys as individuals and artists. Guitarists are in some ways in an anonymous and underappreciated role in any band: unless they also operate as the front man (as Jack White sometimes does) they are often relegated to the background, while the singer gets most of the spotlight and speaks for the band. This movie let’s us hear them without their frontman filters.

Whatever your feelings about these three artists and their music going in, it seems impossible to come out of this movie without a renewed respect and increased appreciation for each of them. These are not only three very influential and accomplished guitarists and songwriters, they are three very interesting and likeable people. I’m glad I got the chance to know them a little better.

You know, it’s really nice to see a band that is just genuinely having a good time playing music and is just flat great at what they do. That’s Better than Ezra.

Just One Day


Hello Park City, Salt Lake City, and surrounding Mormon Townships. Tonight, in your honor, we are all wearing undergarments. Undergarments of black leather…. It’s a little hot.

-Kevin Griffin, BTE frontman, October 1, 2009

BTE rocked the Star Bar in Park City tonight and absolutely killed. It was Kevin’s birthday, so there was cake on the pool table and Howie Day joined the set as a birthday present. Howie sang “Live Again” from BTE (above), then a song from his own new album then his hit song “Collide” (below).

If you haven’t seen this band live you are absolutely missing out on one of the best things in life. If you have a chance to see them (especially if that opportunity happens to be in New Orleans), do not pass go, do not collect $200, just go. Now.

There are times, just a few as a rule, where a great band gets slated to play in a venue where it really has no business playing.  You know, Nirvana gets contractually obligated to play the Puyallup fair, or U2 ends up playing at Kilby Court because no one in Utah has heard The Unforgettable Fire yet.  To a lesser degree, such was the case on Friday night when Band of Skulls (we discussed their album here) played the small room (it’s really small) at the Murray Theater in Murray, Utah with just shy of twenty people in attendance (the room probably could not have held many more, anyway.  It was just so small).

I have no idea how this came about.  I’m sure there’s a juicy story somewhere which tells us why the band was not even headlining in this tiny little venue (when you close the door, the light automatically goes off.  It’s very very small).  I’m sure there’s a publicist or a booking agent somewhere who probably still has no idea what a weird twilight zone evening he or she created.  When asked about the bizarre situation, lead guitarist and vocalist Russell Marsden only smiled and rolled his eyes.  But it’s best not to inquire too deeply into such things.  Partly because you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, and that’s what these evenings are: a perfect little gift that a fan can unwrap and enjoy.  We enjoyed standing at the edge of a very small stage (if the band sat down on it, they would have had room on the stage for only one butt cheek each.  It was, you know, small) and listening to this band play more than I can possibly express.

The words, “virtuoso performance” spring to mind, but even that seems to fall short.  The band makes wonderful, innovative music, but to see them live is like seeing a rocket launch after only hearing rumors about it before.  It was just a brilliant, incendiary performance that made their legitimately awesome recorded hits seem pedestrian by comparison.  My head is still ringing with the chords from their set-ending performance of “Impossible” which just about blew the walls out of the room (The walls were pretty close, cause the place was so dang small).  At the end, Russell actually laid down his Fender Jaguar and let it keep ringing out while he sculpted the amazing reverberations of sound with his pedal.  He’s not the first to do this, of course, but it’s one of the coolest things to see live and he pulled it off as well as anyone I’ve ever seen.  The only thing that would have made the evening better is if they had played “Cold Fame,” but that’s a minor quibble, as the set was darn near perfect as is.

The next time we see them, this band will probably be on a big stage with thousands of people in attendance, and they will deserve it, but it’s nice to be there when, whether it was through someon’e silly mistake or what, we get to actually hang out with them and see them perform as if they were standing in our living room (it was actually smaller than our living room.  Our couch wouldn’t have fit in there.  It was pretty freakin’ small).

[Cross-posted at Kulturblog]

1.  On a sunny day in May, I’m moving office furniture and computers and artwork into my new office with my friends and partners.  This is without a doubt the best office I have ever had:  two minutes from home, in a beautiful building with hardwood floors, TVs in every room, a sub zero in the kitchen and a barbecue with a wedding-reception-worthy duckpond out back.  More importantly, I’m in this office with people I have always wanted to work with.  Now if we can just make enough money to keep up on the rent… 

2.  On an evening in June I’m running down the road from Snowbasin to Mountain Green under a mother-of-pearl sky and after 8.5 miles I’m going flat out, full speed.  My heart’s trying to bang a hole through my ribs but I feel on top of the world as I hand the  wristband to my buddy Paul in the Wasatch Back Relay.  It has become a yearly tradition for a dozen or so of my best friends to do this crazy race, but it seems to go by faster every year.  Not because we are running faster (the opposite is more likely) but maybe because when you’ve done something before it’s harder to focus on the miniscule parts that newness accentuates the first time around.  Maybe we’ll do something different next year, but it probably won’t be any better than this.  It’s hard to top 12 or so sweaty, smelly, aging guys in 2 vans for 2 days.  No, really.

3.  My wife wears the dress I bought her (I got style, baby!) as we walk into the Tree Room at Sundance to celebrate our 19th anniversary on a rainy evening in June.  I’ve been with her for over twenty years now and she has never looked more amazing.  I can’t take my eyes off her.  We sit on the same side of the table and intertwine our legs scandalously during dinner.  We unintentionally ignore the waiter and everyone else in the room, but the food is so good we are compelled to pay attention to dinner at least.  We finish eating and run through a torrent to the car and drive through the lessening storm higher into the mountains as the stars peek through the clouds.  We end the perfect night in Midway and decide to stay the night at the condo and go home tomorrow.  Everything else can wait.  Tonight, we’re busy.

4.  As the sun sets on a blazing day in July, it’s obvious to everyone, including even the most stubborn holdout (me) that the time has come when we have to say good-bye to our beloved family member and best friend, Blaise, the best damn Bernese Mountain Dog (and thus, best dog) to ever walk the planet.  We hold him tight and stroke his luxurious fur, but he’s not able to move much more than his eyes in response.  He lays his broad head on our hands and in our laps as we touch him and kiss him for our last times.  Then he looks up longingly at Robin with big brown eyes that slowly shut and sink away with his life as the vet administers the final injection.  We cannot miss anything more than we miss his fierce, tail wagging love at the door every time we come home.  It is not home anymore without him.

5.  In Hanalei, Kauai, just before dawn on an August morning my son and I paddle a double kayak into the waves and toward the Na Pali coast with ten other foolhardy souls and two guides.  After 18 miles of sea caves, heavy waves, spotty rain, heavenly scenery, remote beaches, various sea creatures and overturning twice (once on the rocks–don’t ask) we pull the kayak up the beach at Polihale (”House of the Spirits” and, yeah, it looks like it).  We’re exausted and a little beat up but we paddled the length of Na Pali and it was beautiful and wild beyond description. 

Cross-posted at Nine Moons

Please see my post on Third Eye Blind here.

Baby Blaise

Please see my post on Blaise here.

Band of Skulls

Band of Skulls is a new 3-piece british band that has recently released its debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.  You can listen to the whole album on their website.  This band is getting a lot of attention right out of the gate and for good reason.  Bassist/vocalist Emma Richardson looks and sounds like a young Chrissy Hynde (but hotter).  Guitarist/vocalist Russell Marsden sounds like a cross between Caleb Followill and Jack White (but hotter).  Drummer Matt Hayward is intense without being overwhelming (but he’s not quite so hot).  This is definitely a new band you will want to check out and will keep listening to for a long time to come.  They are going to be huge (remember, you heard it here first).