Chad Watkins:

Well June was an awesome, busy month! I have been going non-stop, but I love every minute of the work!  My school year was officially over on June 2nd, and I was in the studio on the 3rd working on a track. Life is good. I always love working on my music!

I spent the first weeks of summer completing the hymn project. I had been recording songs, or at least ideas of the arrangements, as time permitted, over the last few months, but June was crunch time.

When working on a project, I usually record more songs than will actually make the final CD cut. Sometimes the selections are tough, but usually based on the general flow of the CD, and of course variety in style and tempo is paramount. 

I made the decision to not include one of my favorite hymns, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," and recorded two new songs at the last minute, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" and "Blessed be the Name."  I am very pleased with the end result.  Perhaps "Great is Thy Faithfulness" will be included on a future work.

I spent the end of the second week in June up in Norfolk, Virginia where I played two events for an "I DO" celebration weekend honoring Frank and Sherry Powell. Their family is like a second family to me – such great people, such a great time!

Once back home, I began working with Karen Nickel and Anna Sanders on the artwork for the project. I had some ideas, and the final project was everything I envisioned and more. If you ever need photos or graphic art design, Karen Nickel Photography is the place to call.  You can visit her website at www.karennickelphotography.com.

While working on all the fine details for the CD--graphics, mixing, editing, I was also preparing to start rehearsals for Smoke On the Mountain.  The show is produced by the Georgia Mountain Players in Gainesville, Georgia and will run for three weeks beginning August 12th.  This will be the 18th year that GMP has produced this show!  I am truly excited to work alongside this awesome cast in a fun show that has become a time honored tradition.  You can visit www.georgiamountainplayers.org for information on showtimes.

At present, the artwork for the CD is complete as well as the long and tedious editing process.  Despite a few glitches in proof editing with the recording company and a holiday weekend delay, the CD is now in production!  I look forward to having them in hand towards the end of the month.

In the meantime, I am back to work on a project I had started before the hymn project. It is all original compostion and should be coming out late fall. It is coming along nicely, but now I think it is time take a break before the summer is over.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer. I'm loving mine!

Chad