john watilo

The Seven Deadly Sins of Pastors

John — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:06:29 +0000

It is with a heavy heart that I feel I must share this link with any PASTORS and other church leadership out there who may be listening.

Countless numbers of you have hijacked Christianity under the guise of your ‘programs’ and your need for power and control. It’s no wonder that so many in the modern world think religion is foolish. They are not experiencing the REAL THING through your ‘institutions’. You’re content with having a FORM of Godliness, but you live in denial of the TRUE power of God.

So please take a look at this article and see if maybe some of it may apply to you. Then, repent and get some HELP before there’s nothing left of THE CHURCH to salvage.

Thank you.

Recording Magazine Spotlight Review

John — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:56:14 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Recording Magazine recently picked my song “Stewards” out of the gazillion submissions they receive on a monthly basis to feature in one of their a spotlight reviews.

I have to admit that I didn’t read it right away. Sure, I was excited that the tune was getting some attention. On the other hand, I wasn’t quite ready for the criticisms of the recording process that I expected to read. Eventually, however, I gave in – and was rewarded to find an amazingly positive review.

Since they didn’t rip me to shreds, I feel okay about sharing it with y’all. You can find the full review at their website, right here:

http://www.recordingmag.com/tapereviews/2010/01/93.html

What’s also cool is that I’ve been getting a lot of emails from folks with encouraging words as a result of this exposure. Awesome!

Hello, New Friend

John — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:55:21 +0000

Well, it wasn’t long after the departure of the beloved SQ|80 that my keyboard stand’s upper tier began calling out for me to fill the void. Something a bit more modern, that could reproduce the bread & butter sounds needed for live gigs. Enter the Korg M50.

This ‘board has turned out to be a great bang for the buck. It sounds great and has already become quite useful.

The Regis & Kelly Theme Song That Should Have Been…

John — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:31:37 +0000

Here, for your listening pleasure, is a little ditty I composed for the Regis & Kelly theme song search late last year.

This was a fun little project that was actually my first attempt at scoring to video (the clip you see here was supplied by the show).

Sadly, my composition wasn’t chosen. Too bad – that $100,000 payoff could have come in REAL handy. But hey – their loss is YOUR gain! If you’re in the market for some bumper music, a jingle, or a theme song, contact me for licensing details.

Goodbye, Old Friend

John — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:11:15 +0000

Yesterday, I said farewell to a loyal, faithful companion of twenty years: my Ensoniq SQ|80 Cross Wave Synthesizer. For years, this was the centerpiece of my project studio, from which I sketched out and recorded musical ideas too numerous to mention.

Now, two decades later, computers have long since become the platform of choice for my recording endeavors. Over the years, as recording technology advanced and virtual instruments became commonplace, I found that I was using this magnificent analog/digital hybrid beast less and less until finally it sat alone and untouched, day in and day out, making me feel guilty for ignoring its simple pleasures. Sigh. It was time to let go.

Luckily, thanks to God and a little help from Ebay, I found a home for my baby. I am confident that galaxiesmerge will provide the loving and nurturing environment that it deserves. After watching Arun’s video demonstration of the Yamaha CS-80 (another classic synth), it became obvious that this was a person who truly appreciates vintage gear like this and will take good care of it. I look forward to hearing how galaxiesmerge integrates this into their unique soundscapes…

So goodbye, old friend.

(sniffle)