We’ve made some decisions in the last couple weeks I thought you might like to hear about…

For starters, we’ve decided to take Brent Milligan up on his offer to produce a full-length record with us in the fall. Timeline is still a bit fuzzy, but, it looks like October will mark the beginning of that process.

Brent’s production of ‘My Savior Lord’ served to convince us all that fresh ears will bring a new level of artistry to our sound. You will be able to find that song on itunes on July 27th. We’ll post something to remind you, of course!

Some of you may know that I have been recording a radio show with Dana, Justin Adams, and Jonathan Madrid called: “Living in the Moment with Richie Fike”. I have had the privelege of interviewing some incredible people on that show. (Jennie Riddle, Brian Doerkson, Jonathan Lee, Chris Eaton, Don Poythress, Matt Brouwer… and the list goes on) You’ll have a chance to start listening to it VERY SOON. Keep an ear or an eye open and we’ll inform you of where to find it.

Also, plans are in the works to do a Spring Tour with our friend Jared Anderson. This idea has been in process for quite a while, and it’s just starting to come to fruition. So, hopefully, we’ll come to your city and bring our new album with us!

I mentioned it in passing for a reason… we are leading worship at Integrity’s Staff Chapel services. The reason I want to highlight this opportunity is because, once again, I find myself searching for a piece of land that has eluded me forever. I live on an island that boasts of a hidden corner of contentment that I have yet to find. I can best describe that piece of land by telling you what it isn’t.

In my life, I vacillate violently back and forth between defeat, insecurity and control, ditches all. One side of this haunted island is filled with a hunger for control… a deep, faithless desire to make of my life what I believe it ought to be. When I find myself living on this side of the island, I can not relent my life to God’s leading. He is not to be trusted, I tell myself. For, I may not ‘get’ what I think ought to be coming to me. When I come to the end of that season, I run towards defeatedness… wallowing in my inability to control anything. I sit still and doubt God all the more. I compare my life not against the example Christ set, but against magazine articles and website campaigns. I grow insatiably idolatrous.

All the while, all I want is to live in that prized corner of the Kingdom where I am walking in obedience to God’s call on my life, and whatever comes of it is just a bonus prize for the ultimate reward: relationship with Jesus.

I can’t seem to land the plane in that corner of the Kingdom.

I say all that to say this: I need you to pray for us (FDB) as we go on this trip. There may well be countless temptations to turn our time at Integrity into a mountain top experience, to FORCE our way into the fulfillment of our dreams. The challenge of ‘living in the moment’ for me is not to let go of the past, (though I understand that, for many, that challenge is seemingly insurmountable), but to release control of the future.

I’m convinced that in this next season of my life, the lesson God is attempting to teach me is to be present in the present. If I approach every moment of my life with open, emptied hands, God will supply all my needs, lead me towards HIS agenda, and protect me from the lies of the enemy. If I live in the now with tomorrow in my mind, I may miss it altogether. God is asking me to trust him completely, serve him unswervingly and release to him any expectation of what I might get in return.

That’s a piece of real estate worth investing in. That’s the land I need to live on. And, I promise you, I have no idea how to get there.

Do you know the way? How have you wrestled with this idea? What have you learned? Am I the only crazy one?

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We (FDB) all really sense your love and care for us. We hope our music continues to bless, challenge, fortify and encourage your faith in Christ. God bless you… and I hope we get to see you real soon!

Peace, hope, love & stillness…

Fike

Actually, we’re betting it all on ‘Brent’ as in Brent Milligan.

That’s a bit dramatic, but I promise you, that’s exactly how I feel this week. I’m writing this blog, under the express consent of FAA regulations, on Southwest Airlines flight 1244, Denver to Nashville, on Sunday night, May 23rd, 2010. I’m writing with specificity because I want to be able to come back to this post one day years from now and smile at how much my mind wars with my heart. And, I want you to know, because I believe you care, what we’re ‘betting’ on this week.

Late December last year, I had the occasion to meet and connect with Chris Springer, A&R @ Integrity Records. He was very kind. We exchanged #’s, and soon after, I was sending him a copy of ‘Make a Sound’, with the hopes that he would flip out and offer us a record deal on the spot. Not so much. He spoke favorably about the CD, its songs, our hearts, and the musicianship. His one nagging reservation about that particular project was that the ‘sonic quality’ wasn’t as strong as it would need to be to be released under the auspices of Integrity’s fine record company. This was and is in no way a slight to Sean and his incredible production skills. 90% of people who listen to our album have been and continue to be blown away with the level of musicianship and arrangement that Sean and I come up with. However, we are recording in the basement of Sean’s home, and ‘experts’ can tell.

I asked Mr. Springer what I should do. He said I should put some feelers out to some of the top-notch producers in Nashville, and solicit that producer to work on our best radio song, and that I should utilize my good standing with Integrity Publishing to do so. So, Mike Murray, my good friend at Integrity Publishing helped me do just that. We were pleased with the responses that poured in. Almost all of the guys that we sent songs to responded with interest, but the one that made my heart beat really fast was Mr. Brent Milligan. He was excited about the songs we’d sent him, and was eager to work with us.

Google his name and read the list of incredible artists he’s worked with. It’s impressive. But, the thing that makes us love the idea of working with Brent was and is the fact that he grew up in our hometown, Baton Rouge, LA.

In all our travels, we’d never come across him, but of course we’d heard his work, and heard people talk about how much of a genius he is.

So, the plan was coming together. Great song: check. Great producer: check. Moderately talented Worship Leaders: check.

In one conversation with Brent, after he’d agreed to doing this experiment with us, he said to me: “Fike, I get what we’re doing… one song that will hopefully capture Chris’ attention, and put you in the front of the line for a record deal. That’s cool, man, and I’m down for that, but why don’t you just let me do a full-length album with you. I think we could make something special.”

Ok, I have to admit that though I talk a big game and convey confidence almost as a default, I had to pinch myself when I heard Brent say that. It’s incredible when you start to see God fill in the picture a bit. You dream and you pray and you sweat and you work, and you hope… and then moments like that are like beacons of God’s presence in your life. I was blown away by this moment.

He went on: “Why don’t you call Chris Springer and tell him I said, ‘I’m in… now It’s time for you to be in’… and the needle ought to move.”

We talked tennis and Tiger football a while longer and when the phone hung up, I worshipped God with tears in my eyes… “You are who you say you are” came out of this interchange.

So, I called Chris, told him what Brent had said, and half-way expected him to say, “Right on, Richie! I’m in!”

But, it’s never that easy. He said, “Tell Brent I said ‘prove it’.”

So, that’s what we’re flying to Nashville to do. To prove it.

Everyone seems to believe that ‘MY SAVIOR LORD’ is the song that is best-suited for both radio and the church. So, tomorrow, in some swanky professional studio in Nashville, we’ll spend the day re-recording that song with Brent at the helm.

I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m terrified. It’s one thing to have a dream. It’s another to put your neck on the line to try to achieve it.

But, I mean it, I know that I know that I know that this is what God is asking of us. We’re dropping several thousand dollars to do this. The check I will write to cover this experiment will be felt. And, I think that’s how God wants it. This is the most dangerous fleece I’ve ever put out there.

Dana, Sean and I would humbly ask you to be praying earnestly for the Lord’s hand of favor to be upon us in the days, weeks and months ahead. We’re also asking the Lord to wake Chris Springer up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with the names, “Fike & Dana” in his heart. (Not in a horror movie kind of way, but in a ‘lightbulb/Eureka’ moment… like, “I know what I must do” kind of thing)

You may wonder why. Why would we want to pursue a record deal? Why isn’t what we’re already doing enough? Why do we have to get the validation of another company to do what we’re called to do? I would answer all those questions with one word: INFLUENCE. Neither Dana, Sean nor I am interested in fame or accolades. We want to follow the Lord’s call on our lives to be a healing, helping, encouraging voice in the hearts of worshippers world-wide. We feel our calling deeply to share the music and ministry He has entrusted to us. I say that with great humility, I promise you.

So, thanks for your love, support and encouragement to us through the years. We don’t think of any of you as fans, but as friends.

God bless you. We love you. Peace & Stillness…

Fike & Dana

Thanks for your support!
http://www.myspace.com/fikeanddanamusic

But, the stress and angst of all of those conversations weighed on our hearts like a lead balloon.

Juxtaposed against that angst, Sean, Dana and I had the best year of our musical career. It was incredible to see every goal and dream we had set forth in 2009 come to fruition. The Lord was so kind to us. I’ve written a lot about that in blogs past, so I won’t major on that now… sufficed to say that the two paradigms of my life, (Church life & Music life), were wildly paradoxical. Living in both worlds was a constant re-adjustment… perpetual whiplash.

I posted on my facebook account one day that 2009 wasn’t the easiest year for our Church, but 2010 has already been a different kind of hard.

You may or may not know about the saga of the Hames family, here in Colorado Springs. If you don’t, I would suggest you google ‘David Hames + Haiti’ and read about the season of VALLEY we’ve been walking through as a church. It hasn’t just been the Hames, though. A couple of young men in our church lost their Dad to cancer 4 months ago, and just last week, their mom was murdered in a robbery at their family-owned store, here in the Springs. A young couple from our church’s 2 year old daughter, Eleanor was diagnosed with a unique brand of cancer that overtook one of her kidneys. She’s 2.

It’s been a different kind of hard.

Never before in my ministry career have I felt the weight of shaping and cultivating an accurate view of God and theology from behind my microphone. It has been incumbent upon me to balance out the pain of our circumstances with the truth of our living hope in Christ. I pray I continue to do that well. I lay awake at night asking God really hard questions. I continue to perceive from Him that the answers aren’t near as important as the source of the answers. It matters more that I seek God in this season, than that he satisfy me with ‘all the right answers’. I’d still like some.

That hunger for answers to my questions persist in my music career. This year has been really interesting on that front. The good people at Integrity publishing have been so kind and encouraging towards us in the early stages of our contract with them. They’re super excited about songs like ‘Be Still’, ‘Jehovah’, ‘Outshout the lies’ and ‘That’s why I praise’. And, they’re pitching the songs like crazy to all sorts of talented artists. In fact, just today, we got a Nashville recorded demo of ‘Jehovah’ with Jonathan Lee and a singer named Charmaine singing our song.

I used to think that when you ‘made it’ in the music industry, you’d be on top of the world. Come to find out, ‘making it’ means something quite different that I thought it would. The truth is that Sean and I have ‘made it’ as writers with Integrity. And, listen, that aint nothin’. But, the next pivotal step for Fike & Dana is to figure out to how to crack the barrier on being recognized as artists and leaders.

There are conversations (always with the conversations…) about re-recording ‘My Savior Lord’ from the MAS album with a Nashville producer, and working in tandem with Integrity to saturate the market with that song.

I just found out officially that Worship Leader Magazine is going to print an article I wrote for them about leading our church in worship in the midst of the aftermath of the Hames family tragedy… it’s called ‘Aftershocks’. I am so excited about this. WL Mag has been such a source of encouragement and refinement for me throughout the years. So, to be a part of their efforts is a great honor for me.

We are currently in full-swing production mode on the new album, “The Moment”.
Here’s a song list so far:

Be Still
Outshout the Lies
That’s Why I Praise
Jehovah
The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For
Though You Slay Me
Chosen(God Has Spoken)
In This House
Glorious You Are
I Want Your Heart
Who You Say You Are
We Receive Your Love

There are several other ‘half-songs’ that we’re working on writing and crafting, but these 12 are sure-fire album songs.

So, I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but in the midst of this long season of unanswered questions, I would love it if you would pray for us to hear from the Lord and receive clarity and understanding as to what to do ‘next’.

To be clear, Dana, Sean and I are not chasing the dream of fame and fortune. We are trying to be obedient to the call we perceive from the Lord to pursue and embrace INFLUENCE. We don’t want to be ‘rock stars’. We feel called to be leaders.

So, now that we’ve got this ‘writer contract’ with Integrity, the next step is to either find a label home or get busy co-opting our efforts with Indie Extreme and Integrity to try to change the game from the inside out. This is where my heart is most at rest… in the pursuit of a revolutionary approach to national influence and impact with these songs and the inherent message of Christ.

We covet your prayers and counsel. Thanks for your love and support.

You are the reason Sean, Dana and I stay up until 3 in the morning recording, mixing and perfecting our songs. We have heard so many times from you how the songs have touched you, changed you, blessed you. None of us are interested in fame or fortune (though, paying the bills ain’t all bad)… we want to be a blessing to God’s people and we are praying that our music will compel you to praise the Father.

We love you!

Fike & Dana

I’ve talked about it a bunch… for 10+ years, I’ve been knocking on the door of Integrity Records, begging for an audience with their leadership, believing that our music belongs on their label. And, for 10 years, that effort had met no avail. 2009 has been the most surprising bless-ride of our lives. All of a sudden, God has opened the floodgates of his kindness to us and our music. It’s been a stunning experience.

The definition of the word SURREAL is this:

Having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.

That word took on a very real definition for us tonight, sitting at a large dinner table with the likes of Jared Anderson, Mike Murray, Steve Rice, Mia Fields, Chris Springer, Don Poytress, Jon Egan, Marty Sampson, Jonathan Stockstill, Jennie Riddle, Kari Jobe, Anthony Skinner… and the list goes on and on… but the word that kept ringing in my head & heart was: HUMBLED.

(Tonight was the Integrity Publishing Christmas Dinner Party. It was held in Downtown Franklin, TN at a great restaurant called SOL, where their guacamole is so good, that it is nationally distributed in Health Food Stores. No, I didn’t try it. If you know me, you already knew that. But, Dana loved it! )

I want to make it clear that I am not a worshipper of Christian celebrity, and that, in fact, there is incredible levity gained by spending time talking about poopy diapers and flat tires. But, to be seated at a table with leaders that wield that level of international influence and to feel welcome and respected in that bunch… that is incredibly humbling.

The best part, as I stated in my sermon at Vanguard a couple weeks ago is the fact that I am squarely positioned in the passenger seat. I truly am. And, God knows these roads better than I could ever hope to. He’s driven this route many times over. I will be still and know He is God.  That’s the comfort of serving a King. Thank God we’re not left to our own wisdom to figure this journey out. God is amazing. I promise you.

I had a chance today to co-write with a young artist named Evan Milby, and that was a very cool deal. He’s recording an album that’s being produced by Natalie Grant’s husband, Bernie. I shared ‘Be Still’, ‘I want your heart’, and ‘Jehovah’ with him. I felt a real connection with him. He’s a good dude. Later in the afternoon, Jennie Lee Riddle (writer of ‘Revelation Song’) spent some time helping Dana and I iron out some kinks in a couple songs: “All I really want” and “In This House”. I think we made some great strides with those two songs.  We teased Jennie that she’s like a Ginsu knife, the way she chops through lyric and melody. I promise you, she is incredibly sharp, in more ways than one. What an honor!

We’d love it if you would pray for those two, along with Jonathan Lee and Michael Farrins, who we’ll write with tomorrow. My favorite part of our sessions today was having a chance to pray for Evan. I really think he’s going to have a huge impact on his generation with his music. He’s 19, but gifted well beyond his years.

Anyway, we love you guys. I’m wiping tears away from my face as I think about the incredible level of love and support you have showered upon our family. We hope that our songs communicate to you, for you, with you the great, great love of God.

As I write this, a song came on my ipod that I think you should check out. It’s Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken’s song called “If not for you”

“If not for you, I’d be nowhere at all. Without your love, the sky would fall.”

Great stuff. The journey continues tomorrow…

Love, Grace, Hope, Peace. Stillness.

Fike & Dana

Announcing the Fike & Dana YouTube Video Contest!

Pick your favorite song off one of the 3 F&D CDs, or from the 7 recordings (Baton Rouge Live) found here: CLICK HERE FOR SONGS

…and make a YouTube video inspired by the music!  Try to stick to the themes of the songs, as you are creating your masterpiece.

Please title the video: Fike & Dana - Song Name or Fike & Dana - Song Name - Live in Baton Rouge (for the live recordings)

We will judge the videos on December 1, and the winner will receive 2 ROUND TRIP TICKETS from/to any major city in the continental US where Southwest offers service!  The travel dates will need to be 6 to 12 weeks after the winner is announced.

Good luck, and have fun getting creative!  Feel free to respond with questions.

Thanks!