The Perfect Paradox Years: Every Show from 2004-2007

From 2004 to 2007, I kept text document “diaries” of every show I played, whether with my band or by myself. I’m not quite sure why I did it other than a desire to keep a record and track how many shows I played in a year. Tonight, I opened those text files for the first time in years, and I was struck by a) how many shows I played back then, and b) how many of these shows included post-performance commentary!

Instead of letting these memories fade away on an old hard drive, I thought I’d share them with you. These dates represent my musical endeavors as a college student as well as the entirety of The Perfect Paradox’s career. Maybe you were at one or two of these shows, or maybe you even played the show with me! Let me know if you remember any of them 🙂

Note: I have highlighted the performances with strong personal significance in red. I have also added new comments in [brackets].

January 2, 2004 – Perk Ave
With April In Andalusia, Bellaluna, and Chris Cantoya

January 7, 2004 – Oleaver’s
With Mint Pink and Rebecca Wolfson

January 16, 2004 – The Rock
Remedy Magnify CD Release Show (Sleepy Jacks Debut)
The first Mike Harvat & The Sleepy Jacks performance! We did alright for only having 2 weeks of experience under our belts. Thanks to Remedy for having us play, we had a great time.

January 17, 2004 – The Pizza Shoppe
With Tess Eidem, Cay Combs, Aaron Nigro, and Sonus

January 23, 2004 – Perk Ave
With Lindsay Donovan and Andrea Penka

January 31, 2004 – Rebels
With The Shooting Star Chronicles and A Hiding Place

February 6th, 2004 – Community Covenant Church
Not Yet CD Release Show

With Chris Cantoya
Finally, I released my CD on the 6th of February – more than half a year after I started the project. Thank you so much to everyone who came to the show or has bought the CD since then.

February 7th, 2004 – The Anchor Inn (Sleepy Jacks Performance)
Sam Stiehl Benefit Show

With Snatch, 3 Day Meat Sale, Working Class Heroes, Lovetap, Vago, Lower Case i, Sonic Diversion, Shiver, Liquid Static, Names Without Numbers, and Anchondo

February 17th, 2004 – Old Chicago (78th & Cass)
With Joe Ranne and Andrea Penka
JJ Tiziou was with us this night taking some snapshots of the performance. I had a good time, and we actually made some dough on the night.

February 19th, 2004 – Rebels Acoustic Night
Due to poor promotion, I played this show for Ben Eberly and a guy that kept falling asleep. Hopefully Rebels got their acoustic night off the ground; this was their first crack at it.

February 27th, 2004 – The Pizza Shoppe
With Tess Eidem

March 12th, 2004 – Rebels (Sleepy Jacks Performance)
With Officially Terminated and Libido

March 26th, 2004 – Christ Community Church (Sleepy Jacks Performance)
Relay for Life

With Social Anxiety and Beef Of The Sea

March 31st, 2004 – Oleaver’s
With Roxanne Redd, Miraj, And Luv Luv

April 13th, 2004 – UNO (Sleepy Jacks Performance)
Campus Crusade for Christ Outdoor Concert

April 16th, 2004 – Perk Ave
With Chris Cantoya

April 24th, 2004 – Rebels (Sleepy Jacks are no more…Perfect Paradox Performance)
With Tonedeaf Mime and Maybe Next Year
I want to thank all of the folks who came out to this show and bought a CD when they hadn’t even heard of us. The guys in Maybe Next Year are great people; they made the night fun. [If I recall correctly, we played this show as “Mike Harvat and the Ninja Robots” because we hadn’t settled on a name yet.]

May 15th, 2004 – Mick’s Music & Bar
Omaha Songwriters’ Festival

With Sarah Benck, Kyle Harvey, Landon Hedges, Reagan Roeder, Greg Loftis, Chris Cantoya, Justin Lamoureux and Jennie Lee, Adam Johnsen and Matt McLarney, Mike Friedman and Korey Anderson, Joe Ranne, Lindsay Donovan, Paul Luxon, Ryan Fought, Adam Weaver, and Michael Campbell
Justin Lamoureux is a great guy and I was proud to be a part of this event. I look forward to the Omaha Songwriter’s Festival each year.

May 22nd, 2004 – Mike’s Place (Perfect Paradox Performance)
With Working Class Heroes, Special People Club, and And Casanatra
If the pitch for this show was, “Hey, do you want to do a show on the stormiest night yet this year at a Bar with an easily-flooding loading area and bands that think you’re just an acoustic act so they’ll be unprepared for your band to show up and then you can leave as soon as you’re done playing because you’re under 21?” I would have probably turned it down.

May 29th, 2004 – Ben Eberly & Ben Richmond’s Grad Party

June 4th, 2004 – Caffeine Dreams
With Midwest Dilemma, Chris Cantoya, and Adam Weaver

June 11th, 2004 – The Rock (Perfect Paradox Performance)
With Ancient Soul, Matt Banta Band, and David Potter Band
Our friend Chris Spurgin filled in on guitar for us at this show. Thanks, Chris.

June 12th, 2004 – The Rock (Perfect Paradox Performance)
Lifelight Battle of the Bands

With Fortress, Seven, Thirty Pieces of Silver, Kaotic Order, Riding Shotgun, Voice of Reason, Unknown Prophecy, Jason Hinze Band, Ali Lawler, and Greyskyblue
Everything clicked this night. It was by far our best performance to date, even better than the amazing chemistry we experienced at the Relay for Life earlier in the year. Seeing Seven for the first time in several years was pleasing, and Greyskyblue was a great worship band out of Missouri (I think). Thank you so much to everyone who came; you made it worth our time. Though we didn’t win the battle, we were still invited to come out and play at Life Light!

June 19th, 2004 – The Rock
With Casting Pearls, Remedy, The Livingstons, Names Without Numbers, From Dust, Sommer Waite, and The Few and Far Between

July 9th, 2004 – The Rock
With Far From Lost, Trust Fund Kids, and Your Face
We dressed up in formal attire for this gig. ‘Twas our first performance with Your Face, and it was amazing. These guys have talent. I look forward to playing shows with them in the future!

July 17th, 2004 – Rebels
“Raise The Roof” – Benefit Show For A New Roof

With Shooting Star Chronicles, Nameless Theory, Libido, Tone-deaf Mime, West of Reality, Bagshot Row, Amarthatic, Trippin Default, Voice of Reason, Forever in Her Eyes, The Livingstons, and White Collar Mercy

July 23rd, 2004 – Caffeine Dreams
With David Potter

July 30th, 2004 – Rebels
With Nameless Theory and Epiphany

August 13th, 2004 – The Rock
With Nicholas Peterson and the Vintage, The Few And Far Between, and Fortress
This was our first time playing with The Vintage and Nicholas Peterson and we loved it! He’s a great guy; we left looking forward to the upcoming show on the 27th.

August 27th, 2004 – Kingsway Christian Church
Back To School Event

With Remedy and Nicholas Peterson And The Vintage
Thanks so much to all of the hard work put in not only by the other bands, but the people who put the event together. Especially to Cassie and everyone else over at Kingsway.

September 2nd, 2004 – LifeLight Music Festival
Lifelight was wonderful. Although we didn’t take first place, it was a blast. The guys from Remedy were out there that weekend and did the sound for us. If you haven’t heard their stuff yet, you NEED to. www.oneremedy.net

September 17th, 2004 – The Rock
With Aloha Something, Quarter To Seven, and Event Staff
Acoustic set. We left early to go play at The Foundry. Two shows in one night!

September 17th, 2004 – Kingsway Christian Church
Coffee Shop Performance @ The Foundry

This place is great. I plan on coming back in the near future. Thanks to Jeff Spiehs for having us and being a great guy in general. I especially had fun playing acoustic for the first time in quie a while.

September 25th, 2004 – Rebels
With Nicholas Peterson And The Vintage, Luke Mills of After The Order, and The Livingstons
This show was a benefit for Tanya Schiller’s medical expenses, whom I am always happy to help out – she’s a wonderful woman of God. The Livingstons were also very supportive and they even could pick up the Brian McSweeney influence. With that said, they are my new best friends.

October 9th, 2004 – The Warehouse (Willmar, MN)
With Names Without Numbers
Our first real out of town show. Thank you to Names Without Numbers, The Warehouse, and the kind people who let us sleep in their basement (though I can’t remember their names!). We’d love to come back any time, and hopefully do a little better.

October 30th, 2004 – The Rock
“Kenya Spare A Dollar” Tour
With Roper and For Higher
Opening for Roper was a blast! We had a lot of support for the show; thank you to everyone who came out.

November 21st, 2004 – First United Methodist Church

December 17th and 18th, 2004 – Community Covenant Church
Do It For Marco! Benefit Concert

Thank you to everyone who came to these shows! Though we had our technical difficulties and a somewhat less than desirable turnout due to the holiday season, bad promotion, finals, and the fact that we have a very small fanbase, we still managed to raise enough money to fund 4 months’ worth of support for Marco.

December 31st, 2004 – Covenant Cedars Bible Camp
New Year’s Eve Show

With Names Without Numbers & The Livingstons

January 17th, 2005 – UNL
Seven Live CD Recording
With Seven

January 21st, 2005 – The Rock

February 11th, 2005 – The Foundry

February 12th, 2005 – Steam’n Koffee

April 1st, 2005 – Brookside Church
Battle of The Bands

With Your Face, Barter The Trigger, April In Andalusia, & Others…

April 2nd, 2005 – Fremont, NE
For His Sake Music Festival
With Sanctus Real & Remedy Drive
[I believe this may have been the first time Remedy played in Nebraska as “Remedy Drive.”]

April 7th, 2005 – The Rock
With Roper and Edison Glass

April 15th, 2005 – The Foundry

April 22nd, 2005 – The Rock

May 6th, 2005 – Turning Point

June 17th, 2005 – Community Covenant Church
Mexico Mission Trip Benefit

With The Livingstons, Nicholas Petersen, & Common Jones

June 26th, 2005 – The Rock
Worship Night

With Nicholas Petersen & The Fuel Band

August 6th, 2005 – Sioux Falls, SD
Lifelight Battle Of The Bands
[The BOTB took place on a loading dock outside of the Firehouse Coffee Shop in downtown Sioux Falls. Their sound system was poorly grounded, which was a problem because I attempted to do the sound check barefoot…I took the worst shock of my life – to my lips – when I first talked into the microphone. This was also the first time I ever saw Children 18:3; I thought their lead singer was just a homeless dude checking out the music all day until they took the stage.]

September 3rd, 2005 – Sioux Falls, SD
Lifelight Festival

October 1st, 2005 – The Foundry

October 14th, 2005 – The Rock

December 3rd, 2005 – Steam’n Koffee
With Names Without Numbers and Brad Hoshaw

December 16th, 2005 – Community Covenant Church
Undivided CD Release
[While the original text document didn’t have a note attached to it, I remember what happened after this show well. I received a phone call from Nicholas Petersen telling me that he genuinely enjoyed the songs from Undivided. To receive a compliment like that from someone I respect (both as a person and a songwriter) meant a lot to me!]

December 31st, 2005 – Western Bowl
Terra Nova New Year’s Celebration

January 13th, 2006 – Caffeine Dreams
With Zach Perkins and Aaron Hadenfeldt

January 27th, 2006 – Crossroads Christian Center
With Names Without Numbers, Life’s Last Breath, and Your Face

February 2nd, 2006 – South Sioux City, NE
First Thursdays
With Nothing Between
[This was an event put on by the amazing Les and Angie Lutter! I believe their son Tucker played his first song for us in the back room that night. Also, our trip to South Sioux City was a journey that will live in infamy: Our Mapquest directions blew out the window at one point, and John didn’t realize that his gas gauge was faulty…so we ran out of gas in the middle of the interstate. Thankfully, we were able to coast to a gas station in the nick of time. If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because I am describing the real-life events that inspired the song I-29.]

March 2nd, 2006 – The Rock
With An Angle, Flyover Country, and O Lovelle

March 3rd, 2006 – Mosaic Community Development
Homeless Benefit Concert

With Flyover Country and O Lovelle

March 11th, 2006 – The Foundry

March 30th, 2006 – Wayne Sate College (Wayne, NE)
With Aaron Hadenfeldt
[We strategically drove to avoid a tornado on the way to this show. I also remember listening to Aaron’s Falling Up CD and being appalled by the prices at the student union’s Taco Bell.]

March 31st, 2006 – Oleavers
With Skybox and Tie These Hands

April 14th, 2006 – Westwood Church
Remedy Drive’s Rip Open the Skies CD Release Concert

With Remedy Drive and Quarter to Seven

April 29th, 2006 – Shea Riley’s (1000 Wells Benefit)
With Crack Team Of Scientists, Iris Pattern, and Civicminded
[This must be the first time I met Phil Reno! It’s hard to remember, because I was “star struck” by him for a while before I felt comfortable interacting with him. This was also the only time I remember seeing my brother’s band live, which is a shame because I really liked it. Oh, also there was a drunk lady throwing our Blood:Water pamphlets everywhere at the end of the show. I was pissed.]

May 10th, 2006 – Watertown, SD
Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer
[We got paid $150 to play this show, which we were excited about until we borrowed the church van and spent over $100 on gas. Also, our sound engineer was a formerly deaf woman who told us we were much too loud.]

May 20th, 2006 – The Rock
Lifelight Festival Audition

June 25th, 2006 – Perk Ave Coffee Shop
With Flyover Country and The Campaign 1984

June 2nd, 2006 – Music Plex
With The Livingstons

June 13th, 2006 – York, NE
With Sequel To Adam
[While I don’t remember much about the show itself, I remember the guys in Sequel to Adam being super hospitable to us. I also was and still am a huge fan of their music.]

June 23rd, 2006 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic w/ John Moessner)
With Jason Hinze and Jamey Holiday

June 25th, 2006 – Perk Ave
With Flyover Country and The Campaign 1984

June 26th, 2006 – The Foundry
With Midwest Dilemma and The Honored Guests

July 6th, 2006 – Mosaic Community Center
Homeless Benefit
With The Livingstons, Nicholas Petersen, Bartlett,O Lovelle, Curbside Motel, and Tim Wildsmith

July 29th, 2006 – Pit Crew
With O Lovelle, Curbside Motel, & Of Military And Mathematics

August 4th, 2006 – The Foundry
Mali Project Benefit

With David Potter, Ben Shafer, etc.

August 12-13th, 2006 – Pella Church (Pella, NE)
Concert / Worship Event with Kevin Pringle (Speaker)
[There are so many memories attached to this event, from playing softball with the youth group to pretending to enjoy the undercooked bacon that our hosts made for breakfast the next day. I’ll never forget when they showed us to our quarters for the evening…I was terrified to be staying in their 18-year-old daughter’s (unoccupied) room. When I went to go check on John, he was stripped down to his boxers in their son’s bed, reading said son’s Harry Potter book. Ha!]

August 18th, 2006 – Lincoln, NE
EDGE64

[I forgot to bring my guitar to this show, so I had to borrow one from another band. EDGE64 was a sweet space, though. Kind of a proto version of The Bay with an indoor skate park, coffee shop, hangout space, etc.]

August 19th, 2006 – Downtown Benson
Benson Nite
With Remedy Drive, Chris Saub Trio, Kill Bosby, Brent Crampton, Breathless, David Potter, Danny Sabra, etc.
[I’m pretty sure this was the night I met Danny Sabra. I also remember my mom thinking David Potter’s comments about his “poofy hair” while he performed were hilarious.]

August 25th, 2006 – Seward High School
Fall Semester Kick-off Concert

[This show was supposed to be at Concordia University, but they moved it to Seward High School due to a bomb threat. Not joking.]

September 2nd, 2006 – Sioux Falls, SD
Lifelight Fest – Firehouse Stage

Scheduled for Main Stage but moved due to inclement weather. [I also missed Audio Adrenaline because I was sleeping in the van with bronchitis. I’ll never forget venturing out to go use the porta potty, feeling like garbage, wearing a trash bag as a poncho, and having a couple of girls ask me, “Aren’t you Mike Harvat?” as we stood in line to pee. Ugh.]

September 3rd, 2006 – Sioux Falls, SD
Lifelight Fest – Firehouse Stage

September 9th, 2006 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
With Jason Harwell

October 7th, 2006 – Sokol Underground
With Sleeping At Last, Lindsay Donovan, And O Lovelle

October 10th, 2006 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
With Bradley Hathaway

October 14th, 2006 – The Rock
With Meg and Dia, Good With Guns, and Once A Pawn

December 1st, 2006 – Mosaic Community Center
With The Spaghetti Bears, The Tax Men, Make Believe Bombs To Blow Up Make Believe Worlds, and Fetch

December 3rd, 2006 – Christ Community Church
Restored Hope Benefit

With Remedy Drive

December 8th, 2006 – Brookside Church
Your Face CD Release Show

With Your Face and Nifty 250

January 20th, 2007 – Pit Crew
Turkey Team Fundraiser

With Day & Hour Unknown, Bartlett, and Curbside Motel

January 26th, 2007 – Rebels (Mike Acoustic)
With Flawed Lojik, Nifty 250, Your Face, and Zach Short

February 9th, 2007 – The Foundry
The Perfect Paradox CD Release Show

With Leslie and Sequel To Adam

February 17th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
With Brandon Rogers

February 23rd, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
Blood:Water Mission Benefit Concert

12 Area Songwriters
Raised $6000 – Enough for 2 wells

February 25th, 2007 – Christ Community Church
With Perlend
SHOW CANCELLED due to weather

March 9th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic – Asia Benefit)
With Jared Strock and Aaron Hadenfeldt

March 16th, 2007 – Pit Crew
Worship Set

With Nicholas Petersen, Zach Perkins, and The Pit Crew Worship Band

April 27th, 2007 – Creighton University
With Remedy Drive
[I think this might be the first time I played an electric guitar at a Perfect Paradox show. Aka, the beginning of the end!]

May 1st, 2007 – Ozone Lounge (Mike Acoust9c)
Acoustic Roundtable

With Chris Saub, Monica Eby, Matt Whipkey, Acoustic Groove, Korey Anderson, Oxygen, Scott Severin, Stephanie Pilypaitis, etc.

May 5th, 2007 – Waterloo, NE
The Frequency

With Remedy Drive

May 12th, 2007 – The Foundry
Africa Missionary Benefit

With Brandon Rogers and friends

June 2nd, 2007 – Sokol Underground
The Perfect Paradox Farewell Show

With Sleeping At Last, O Lovelle, & Bartlett

July 2nd, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
With Sean Michel and John Moessner

July 13th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
Mav Aid

With Tea Ceremony, Scott Severin, and Goodbye Sunday

August 23rd, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
Nicholas Petersen Farewell Show

August 24th, 2007 – Pit Crew (Mike Acoustic)
Tanzania Benefit

With Micah Perkins

August 25th, 2007 – Caffeine Dreams (Mike Acoustic)
With Chris the Whale and Micah Perkins

August 31st, 2007 – Lifelight Festival (Last Official Perfect Paradox Show)
Coffeehouse Stage

[While the band broke up over the summer, we still wanted to play at Lifelight one last time. Craig Nashleanas joined us on guitar because John had already left for college.]

September 21st, 2007 – Chili’s on 132nd & Maple (Mike Acoustic)
St. Jude Children’s Hospital Benefit

October 16th, 2007 – Ozone Lounge (Mike Acoustic)
Acoustic Roundtable

With Chris Saub, Monica Eby, Chalee, Matt Whipkey, Sarah Benck, Oxygen, Leslie, Brad Hoshaw, Stephanie Pilypaitis, etc.

October 18th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
The Gathering

October 26th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
With Adam Trabold and Taylor Burkum

December 1st, 2007 – The Foundry (The Redemption Show)
With Adam Trabold and Taylor Burkum

December 7th, 2007 – The Foundry (Mike Acoustic)
Simple Way Benefit (Worship Night)

With Aaron Hadenfeldt, Jared Kliewer, Jason Hinze, David Eberly, and Zach Perkins

December 16th – The Waiting Room (Flight Metaphor Debut)
With Tim Wildsmith, The Wildbirds, and Skypiper

Song Explanation: You’re There

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
– Psalm 139

I am terrible at writing worship songs. Allow me to explain:

Part of my job at Community Covenant Church is evaluating and selecting appropriate music for our worship services, and it’s something I take very seriously. There’s a (dated) saying that goes, “If you want to know what’s important to a person, look at their checkbook.” Well, it’s kind of like that with a church’s theology: if you want to know what they believe, look at their songbook.

Consider these words from Constance Cherry in her book, The Worship Architect:

The persons responsible for song selection are accountable to God for what they ask the community to sing. Selecting music is a holy duty that carries the weight of great spiritual responsibility. The implications for our choices are enormous because…song selection wields tremendous influence on singers…Selecting song texts, then, is one of the most significant things that worship architects do because they are shaping their congregations’ theology (and therefore worldview) by the texts they select. It is an awesome responsibility. (182)

This is a very high standard! If I’m responsible for putting words in the collective mouth of the congregation I serve, then I want to be sure that I’m selecting songs consistent with our theology. The music that’s popular on Christian radio or churned out by mega churches isn’t always a good fit for us. If I’m not careful, I can inadvertently use songs that confuse people or lead them to believe the wrong things about God. I need to be careful, mindful, and most of all, faithful.

Of course, when evaluating a song I’m also mindful of practical concerns: is the song congregationally-friendly? Is it easy to pick up on the melody? Is it in a singable key? What’s the melodic range? Is it in a style or genre that works for my church, and if not, can I adjust it? Does the instrumentation make sense for our team? Is it worth pushing musical boundaries for the sake of good theology? Etcetera, etcetera.

So what does this have to do with You’re There? Well, You’re There is a worship song, and it’s one of the only worship songs I’ve written that I actually like. Most of the time, I overthink it. If I sit down with the goal to write a worship song, I get bogged down asking all of the questions listed above before I write a single note or lyric. What comes out is something clunky, or too heady, or so mind-numbingly simple that it sounds like a poorly written Tomlin knockoff.

So what was the difference this time? I threw my “worship rules” out the window, and, instead, tried to write an honest song that doesn’t suck. Does this mean that my concerns about congregational worship don’t matter? Hardly! But what I realized is that if I’m a follower of Jesus and I care about good theology already, it will naturally be reflected in the songs that I write. Will I always hit a homerun? No, but not every song that I write needs to be sung by my church. I just need to keep trying to write good songs, and once they’re complete I can evaluate them based on the criteria that’s important to me.

I recognize that this entry is more about my philosophy of songwriting, but I figure some of you might appreciate having the curtain drawn back a bit. This is the kind of stuff that worship leaders and songwriters are thinking about all the time!

Fun Fact: You’re There is used as the opening music for the Husker Football Fan Podcast. It’s the kind of thing that happens when one of the co-hosts is in a band 🙂

Lyrics:
When I’m surrounded by friends, you’re there
When I’m alone in my bed, you’re there
Through the night and the day
When asleep or awake
I will not be afraid, ‘cause you’re there

Oh, you’re everywhere
And you’ve made my heart your home
Yeah, you’re always there
And I will never be alone

When I’ve figured it out, you’re there
When I’m scared by my doubts, you’re there
When the world’s crashing down
And there’s no one around
Still your mercy abounds, ‘cause you’re there

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify.

The Perfect Paradox: 10 Years

Ten years ago today, The Perfect Paradox released our self-titled album. Ten years! This is the first record I ever made that I was truly proud of, and I’m still not embarrassed to share it with people today. Sure, our youth and inexperience show through on pretty much every track, but these songs meant a lot to me and they still do. I could play That Edge at a show next week and still mean what I was singing.

The project was recorded in the summer of 2006 at Empty House Studio (otherwise known as Matt Tobias’ basement).  The band was at the height of our short-lived existence – several memories come to mind:

  • Playing the Pella Church youth group overnighter (soggy french toast)
  • John screaming in pain from dry sockets during our show at Pit Crew the day after he had his wisdom teeth removed
  • Driving to York for a show with Sequel to Adam and learning about the “Mugician”
  • Forgetting my guitar when we played at Edge 64
  • Playing with Sleeping at Last and O Lovelle at the Sokol Underground (Ben still owes me the forbidden EP with “Better Off” on it)
  • Having our one legitimate invitation to play on the main stage at Lifelight get rained out (and getting bumped to a muddy tent)

The CD release show for The Perfect Paradox was held on February 9th, 2007 at The Foundry in Benson. Within a matter of months the band would break up, which means that I still have unopened boxes of CDs in my parent’s basement. Nevertheless, I’m incredibly grateful for the time that we had together, and I’m happy to say that I still consider Ben, Cherron, and John my friends.

Instead of inundating you with additional trivia about the band, here’s a collection of photos from 2004-2007:

2004 – One of our earliest performances as “Mike Harvat and the Sleepy Jacks” at the Anchor Inn. The original lineup was me, Cherron on upright, Ben on drums, and Mike on piano. We were going for an organic “folk rock” sound at first, but that started to change when we brought in Ben to play electric.
2004 – Cherron hanging out before an outdoor performance at UNO
2004 – The band after one of our many performances at The Rock
2004 – Ben laying down some licks on the back of my car at Lifelight
2005 – Our second audition for Lifelight. Nothing was grounded, so I couldn’t perform barefoot like I wanted to (I’d be shocked by the microphone otherwise)
2005 – Playing the main stage at Lifelight…at noon. We told everyone we opened for the Newsboys nine hours early. We’re also wearing t-shirts that we got for free because we promised to wear them on stage.
2005 – The first and only “Do It for Marco” show. We briefly sponsored a child through Compassion International, but they lost him. Apparently this was one of John’s first shows with us.
2006 – We thought it would be funny to wear sweaters when we played at UNL. It wasn’t funny.
2006 – Playing the Lutters’ “First Thursdays” event in Sioux City. The stage was like a tiny cave that threw all the sound back at us…thanks to Ben’s cymbals I experienced significant hearing loss that night.
2006 – Playing at Benson Nite next to The Foundry. Our friend Aaron was filling in on bass. I met Danny Sabra that night.
2006 – Recording the album, part one
2006 – Recording the album, part two
2006 – Recording the album, part three
2006 – Recording the album, part four
Our friend Telia created the artwork for the album. The original canvas hangs in my office at work.
Artwork sketch, part one
Art sketch, part two
2007 – Our CD release show at The Foundry

Last but not least, I’ve uploaded the album to Noisetrade, and you can download it for free right here:

If you ever came to a Perfect Paradox show, listened to The Perfect Paradox on Myspace, bought a Perfect Paradox t-shirt or CD, or were in one of the various incarnations of The Perfect Paradox, thank you!

Song Explanation: Redirection

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
– 2 Corinthians 5:17

2012 was a watershed year for Flight Metaphor, and it started with Redirection. I recorded an acoustic demo of the song in December of the previous year, but it wasn’t until we started working on it as a band that things really came together. The result is one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written, and I think it’s the best representation that exists of Flight Metaphor 2.0 (Me, Bill, Cody, and Brad). Bill’s drumming plays off of Brad’s bass line, and they carry the song as Cody’s lead guitar dances on top of everything. What I’m playing on rhythm guitar takes a backseat to what the band is doing, which really isn’t something I could say about our earlier work.

We started playing the song at shows the following spring, and it was incredibly well-received – more so than any new song we’ve ever introduced. We had just started planning for a full-length album, but when people started asking us how they could get ahold of Redirection, we knew it couldn’t wait. We changed our plans and recorded the Redirection EP right away.

Lyrically, Redirection is a snapshot of who I was five years ago. I look back on those days and see a lonely, clingy mess; someone who was unwilling to accept change, someone who kept coming back to the same wells long after they’d run dry. By the grace of God I can sing this song in hindsight, but I think one of the reasons I still enjoy it is because throughout my life I’ve found myself asking God for mini resurrections. The joy of knowing Christ isn’t that I was “saved” only when I first asked Jesus into my heart – his salvation is as real and as necessary for me today as it was over 20 years ago. His Holy Spirit continually works in and on me, redirecting and sanctifying me all the days of my life. I may mess up from time to time, but my hope is in Jesus’ resurrection. The old has gone; the new is here!

BONUS: Listen to and download the original demo of Redirection below.

Lyrics:
Where did I go wrong?
I’m off the beaten path once again
I need a redirection
A tiny resurrection in my soul
‘Cause I get so distracted
I find myself attracted to what I
know will never pay off
But still, I always come back to it

Redirect my heart
Resurrect my soul

Give me better vision
Help me see what matters in this life
‘Cause there is no division
Between the so-called sacred and profane
I need to learn to let go
But man, I’m used to holding on so tight
When everything is changing
But you have never left me to myself

And I know that every empty feeling passes
In time you’ll do your healing
And I’ve put my hope in who I know is steadfast

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify.

Song Explanation: Echoes

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
– Isaiah 59:1

Echoes is a simple song of devotion that I wrote in one sitting on January 18th, 2013 (I only remember the date because I originally posted the demo to soundcloud with the title “New Song 20130118” 🙂 ). I had observed that whenever I sit down to write a song, I’m generally drawn to more melancholy themes and lyrics – I blame all the emo and indie music I listened to in high school! This time though, I intentionally chose to write something a little more hopeful.

Sometimes life can feel like a steady progression of disillusionment, but I like to believe that innocence and youthful optimism are still locked away in our souls somewhere – and they’re actually accessible. Echoes is a song about reclaiming that innocence. There are plenty of reasons to be cynical or jaded towards the world, but all of it is conquered by the blood of Jesus. In this world we will have trouble, but take heart, for Jesus has overcome the world! Where, o death, is your sting? With these themes in mind, Echoes acknowledges the pain and struggles of life, but like any good Psalm it ends by proclaiming hope and confidence in what God has promised.

Recording the song was a dream come true. Charlie Lowell of Jars of Clay lent his talents by contributing a subtly tasteful Wurlitzer piano to the piece. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been a hardcore Jars fan for nearly 20 years, so I’ll openly admit that I had tears in my eyes the first time I heard the keyboard track – before it was even added to the mix!

By the way, Charlie has a new project of musical collaborations called Hollow // Hum. If you like the work he did on Echoes, you’ll love what he’s doing now. Click here to check it out.

Lyrics:
Somewhere in the corners of my wildest dreams
I hear your whispers and their lingerings
The echoes of your voice still calling me
Return to my first love
Remember what it was

Hope, she calls,
cutting through the noise
of every lie I once believed
Promising a reason
and a purpose for my days
And so I sing

There’s such a loneliness that sticks around
So many things that could have brought me down
But I’m not giving up, I’m not far from
Your saving arm’s reach
This broken heart still beats

(I still hear you; I still hear you, Lord)

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify.