Sean Gallagher

I finally have a few pictures from a few sessions we did...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:08:36 -0500

I finally have a few pictures from a few sessions we did previously in the studio. I hope you enjoy browsing the photos courtesy of Cody Jensen of Cody Jensen Photography and Design I actually went back to the studio this past Friday. Eight straight hours playing my guitar. I loved every minute of it! I had a lot of fun, even though it was tiring and my fingers were tender at the end of the day. I was laying down the lead parts and a few more rhythm parts too. I should be able to go back in the studio in a few weeks and lay down the vocals and background vocals and the rest is up to Chris, our co-producer at The Music Group. I get excited when I think about finishing this project. It has been a long time coming and I just want to first, thank God; His hand has been on this from the beginning. I have to thank my beautiful wife for putting up with me and allowing me to pursue my dreams at such a significant cost; thanks babe, you’re awesome and I love you! I also want to thank Hector and Eric for believing in me enough to move 550 miles from their home to be a part of the vision God has given me to fulfill. I’m very grateful and humbled looking back on this past year as it comes to an end. Things haven’t gone the way I envisioned or expected them to go but all in all God has been faithful and now I just have to trust Him that as I enter the next phase of this project He is still in control of everything. To everyone who encouraged us to produce this album, thank you and please keep us in your prayers as we end the recording phase and begin the production phase in January. I’ll write soon!

So, I’m at Starbucks in OKC and we are waiting to get our...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:31:34 -0500

So, I’m at Starbucks in OKC and we are waiting to get our coffee; actually in my case a peppermint hot chocolate. Two ladies come up to me said, “has anyone ever told you that you look like Gary Allan?” I said, “yes, actually.” Eric Castillo, my guitar player was there and was laughing because in New Mexico, he and a few others got together and put a picture of him on my office desktop. I do have to admit that he looks a lot like me or rather I look a lot like him. In either case, she ended up pulling her phone out and showing me pictures of Mr. Allan. I like his music and I think this might be an advantage for me in the long run. I could probably be his stand in if I ever needed a job. I could play everything he does on the guitar and lip-sync his songs like Brittany or Ashley at their concerts. No big deal. Well, I wanted to give an update about the recording and the process we are experiencing. I’m writing this blog while Eric lays down some rhythm tracks. He is trying to get his guitar and amp to stop buzzing. He’s getting a 60 cycle hum from the lights or something. It’s annoying but fixable. Hector, our drummer is sitting next to me, critiquing everything Eric is playing, of course. His critique shouldn’t really bother Eric cause he’s just tired. He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night cause he drove an hour and thirty minutes to OKC from Enid the night before to see the midnight showing, of all movies, New Moon. Needless to say, when the movie was over he didn’t get home until 4:30 am and we left this morning at 7:30 am. What the crap!! “Why,” you ask? I don’t know. Chalk it up to quirkiness, I guess. I think he’s caught up in the continuing saga of Bella, Edward and now Jacob. Enough of that. The song we are working on at this very moment is Change Me. I’m really liking the way it’s coming together. The groove is really tight. I can’t wait for our fans and everyone else to hear the finished product. I think it’s gonna be really good.

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:24:18 -0500

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I never really experienced that until tonight, October 31st, Halloween night. You know, when all the crazy people get the chance to flaunt their insanity as if they’ve been penned up waiting all year for this one night. Every Halloween our church hosts a community outreach called trunk or treat. Hundreds of kids and parents from the glenwood community come out and enjoy the decorated car trunks, costumes, games and free candy. During this event our church also adds a little incentive to those decorating their vehicles with a trunk decorating contest. First prize; a gift card to Chili’s. Well, this year a few of our college students, armed with a brilliant idea, teamed up to create the greatest decorated trunk in the history of trunk or treat! These three girls became the Sean Gallagher Band. It was brilliant! They made t-shirts, set up drums and guitars inside a trailer, played our music through loud speakers they rigged and each one of them dressed like us too with wigs that matched each one of our hair styles! It was hilarious! Oh, and they won first place too. Not only did they pull that off but somehow they attained our business cards and handed them out in addition to the candy to all the kids and parents during the event. I couldn’t have paid for better advertising. It was really cool! I even got to keep one of the t-shirts they made. I want to say thank you to Brittny, Lyndsay and Susan- the girls who became the Sean Gallagher Band. They did an awesome job and I loved it! Check out the slide show and enjoy!

The other day the staff at Enid First Assembly had an...

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:47:00 -0400

The other day the staff at Enid First Assembly had an impromptu discussion about how many christians aren’t very honest and the fact that we have trained people to think of the altar as the place you go if there are problems in your life. People don’t want to respond to an altar call at the end of a service because of the stigma that’s attached. The “church” in the past has beaten people into submission thinking that we have to be done with all our problems or issues, not giving any leeway for continued growth as a follower of Christ. I have been video taping “life change” videos for our church and I have found that people really are not comfortable being who they are with the issues they face everyday. It seems that when people get in front of a camera, knowing that the video will be played in front of the congregation they become religiously censored. Not by me or anyone in the room but by their training in the church. We’ve learned to pretend really well. I say this not to gripe or complain about the church, because we are trying to change that stigma here at Enid First Assembly. So what does this have to do with rock band? I’m glad you asked! I was thinking about all of this while a bunch of the college students were playing rock band in my living room. Understand, I’m a guitar player, so I’m not keen on playing a fake instrument when I could just go play the real thing. All of this triggered a thought. What if Jesus was a musician, a guitar player, mind you. Would he like rock band? The reason I pose this question is, Jesus told the pharisees that they looked good on the outside but were dead on the inside. He said they weren’t real, they had no substance. I believe we have become experts at rock band in the church. What I mean by that is we are great at faking a lot of things, going through the motions and pretending we are musicians when really we are only good at following things we see from others and doing what we are told to do instead of taking the time to develop the discipline of learning the real thing and becoming a real artist who shows uniqueness and creativity in the way they play. We, as followers of Christ, need to live the way God told us to live. Search the scriptures, be honest about who we are and what God has truly asked of us. We need to quit following what everyone and everything around us is saying we should live. We are ultimately accountable to God, not to brother and sister so & so. I know this is a bit of a stretch, and no I’m not against playing rock band, it was a quick thought that I wanted to write out. Let me know what you think about this quick analogy. By the way, I’m not against playing rock band. However, I will admit that I’m not very good at any video games but rock band doesn’t appeal to my sense of wanting to play the real thing.

So Busy!

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:18:43 -0400

Well, like the title says, I have been really busy! I think that technically I have the...

In Desperate Need!!

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:45:55 -0400

Wow!! It’s been two months since my last post. I apologize to my many fans; all ten of you....

Well, it’s definitely been awhile since my last blog post....

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:43:12 -0400

Well, it’s definitely been awhile since my last blog post. Not sure anyone really missed it but I got busy with work and other things that I put it off way too long. That’s actually what I’m blogging about, really; what I’ve been up to the last month. I’m in the process of looking for a bass player and I think I might have found one. It looks promising, just keep your fingers crossed for me. I’m excited to say, I signed a distribution and marketing deal with Tate Music Group recently. I really believe this will open doors that I wouldn’t be able to open on my own and that’s a huge motivation me and the band. I also spoke to my pastor about this opportunity and quite surprisingly, he was very supportive about it. He said that he would help me develop a fan-base within the church and start promoting my name and as you can see from the picture I was the head-liner for Enid First Assembly’s “Night of Praise”. That was cool but a little awkward too. It’s weird when your name is up on the marquee and people are kinda teasing you about it. I’m not complaining by any means. I am extremely thrilled that my pastor is behind my efforts and wants to see me succeed. That’s really cool. He’s actually been talking to me about marketing myself to different demographics so that the more people I can connect with the more success I will have. I totally agree and say, “Thanks” to him and his support. My wife and I really appreciate it and it means a lot to both of us. Well, that’s what’s been happening on the music front and on the job front it’s been hectic as well. We are on the downhill slide of a staff over-haul and our annual “Dad-Fest” is finally behind us and now we work on rebuilding our Saturday Night Service and getting ready for our annual community block party. It’s definitely been busy but I think by the end of the year I will be able to look back and see that it was a turning point and a profitable year in terms of accomplishment. Not many people can say that. Can you? Until next time….

Dilemma!!

Sat, 02 May 2009 02:25:29 -0400

No joke: Eric Castillo, one of the guitar players in my band, works for a company here in Enid....

Gospel Explosion!!

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:28:00 -0400

Ok, so last night was a little nerve racking for me, to say the least. Not only was I performing...

Inspiration!!

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:11:00 -0400

So, I’ve been trying really hard the last couple of weeks to finish writing the songs that...

Exciting News!!!

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:44:00 -0400

Listen, I’m pretty excited because I just found out my song, He’s Coming Back, that I...

Change Me Well, I got a lot more response to my last blog than I...

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:30:14 -0400

Change Me

Well, I got a lot more response to my last blog than I thought I would. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that feels the way I do at times. On the other hand, it’s sad to know that others feel that way about “being a christian” too. I don’t regret my decision to follow Christ and to love Him but I think everything apart from that is pointless. The thoughts and feelings that I’ve been having about all of this “stuff” kind of spurred me on to write a song. I’m four songs shy of finishing my CD so I started writing, Change Me. I wanted to write a song that simply talks honestly about our routines that we get into and how things become mundane and end up having no excitement or life to them because of the way we see things around us; stuck in a situation that we feel we can’t get out of or think that we are on the “treadmill of life”, always moving but not getting anywhere. I think the chorus sums it all up by saying, “change me”. It’s usually not the circumstances surrounding us that need to change it’s the way we see those circumstances; whether or not we see the opportunities around us to get off the “treadmill”. If we are the ones that change and get a different perspective, maybe see everything through God’s eyes, we would see the difference we could make in the world around us instead of just going through the motions. That’s what I want to avoid at all costs! This is a “first look” of the song, Change Me. I am getting ready to go in and record it for my publisher (so it isn’t a full blown recorded version; it’s really rough). Check it out and let me know what you think about the song and the commentary behind it as well. I hope it says something to you and anyone else you might share it with. Thanks for the feedback! Talk to you next week!!

For Love (of the Game?) Lately I’ve had this thought in the...

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:21:00 -0500

For Love (of the Game?)

Lately I’ve had this thought in the back of my head. It’s a recurring question being re-played, over and over, constantly. The question is simply this; Is what I do, church or ministry? Don’t get me wrong. I love leading worship and playing music. I love being able to play before God and forget about everything around me and just do what He created me to do; It’s my way of worshipping and grabbing hold of Him. What I’m talking about is the other stuff. You know what stuff; “church” stuff. I’ve been asking myself this question quite often over the last few days maybe even a couple of weeks. I’ve grown up in church all my life. I’ve been involved with worship teams, drama groups, youth groups and college groups and went on my share of missions trips too. I even went to a christian college for two years after high school. Anything that had to do with church I was on the proverbial “front pew” so-to-speak. I’ve even been on staff full time and part time at a few churches. I’ve learned to play the game; the church game. I know how to be a christian; which rules I can break, which ones I can’t; what makes the boss happy and what doesn’t; who’s important within the church and who’s not. When did this become normal to me? When did I become okay with this? Why is this easy for me? I don’t want to be comfortable with this. Music and worship have been a love of mine for so long and I find myself losing interest. I’m bored. I find myself becoming indifferent about church. I don’t hate it but it’s definitely not the same. I’m not blaming anyone at all. I understand my responsibility. I think I just don’t want to hear anymore “church-isms”. I don’t want to hear another sermon until I and others around me are doing what they already know to do. I’m ready to do something that has meaning and passion. Passion; now there’s a word that’s supposed to mean something but it’s honestly becoming a “christian-ese” phrase that’s thrown around more than the baseball in the previous movie clip. So where does that leave me? Nowhere really. I haven’t answered this question and until then I only know one thing; I want to do what I do because I love it. I want to do things out of love for God and love for people. I want to do it for love… NOT… for love of the “game”.

Karate Kid (I hope you enjoyed the montage of the Karate Kid...

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Karate Kid

(I hope you enjoyed the montage of the Karate Kid movies. I wanted to remind everyone that this was a great 80’s movie and bring to mind what happened so I can relate my life to… the karate kid? Who actually relates their life to the Karate Kid movie?)

So, I’m really trying hard to keep my head in the game. It’s like I’m split into two parts; Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san. One part of me wants to just let things go when I get overwhelmed which is the “Daniel-san” part of me. The other part of me is “Mr. Miyagi” who has to continually say, “Focus Daniel-san”. Funny but true. I want to do what I have in my heart to do but when I think about it all at once I get overwhelmed and I become “unbalanced”. I find myself getting a little too comfortable with my surroundings. I’m getting comfortable with my job, my friends (which is a good thing), my paycheck, house and whatever else I have that contributes to my status quo attitude. I don’t want a “Johnny” to come along and shake things up and force me to do everything on a higher level to compete and be who I could be. I don’t want anything to disrupt the world I am living in because it’s working. Learning “karate from a book” is working for me right now; not a good thing. It’s like I think I could actually be happy learning “karate from a book” (the book being my current career) instead of from a martial arts master (which is what I really want to be doing)! What the CRAP!! That is messed up right there. I’m learning karate from a book; that’s where I’m at in my life and career. It’s pseudo training instead of the actual thing. I want to change all of that. I guess all I’m doing is just reminding myself that I can’t lose focus on what I need to do. I want to get this project up and running by the end of this year. I’ve decided that I’m going to finish four more songs and not put out an EP. I want to go ahead and produce a full album. I also want to get my songs published under my publishing company, David Blake Publishing. I don’t know what that will entail. I’m still learning. I have so many things that I need to do that I get overwhelmed with it all. So many details and so little time when you have a family, job and other responsibilities in life. I just can’t lose focus or lose heart. I want to be “balanced”. The karate kid is truly a metaphor for my life. Awesome!!

igeneration Well, I’m back!! t’s been a couple of weeks but I...

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

igeneration

Well, I’m back!! t’s been a couple of weeks but I was on vacation and have been playing catch-up at work since we got back. In case you are wondering what we did while on vacation, we went on a cruise. My wife and I were cruise-virgins prior to this trip and it was a blast!!! Our church paid for the pastoral staff to go on this particular cruise and my wife and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of a church that has a senior pastor, board and a congregation that would do that for their pastors. So, before I proceed with this blog, I have to say thank you to them for allowing us the opportunity to go on the cruise. It was awesome!! Ok, now I have to say, I want to blog about so many things but I don’t want this to be too long. Just know that in the next few weeks I have some interesting things to blog about and I want you to subscribe so I can share these things with all of you! Ok I’ve been saving money since Christmas to buy a laptop. My endeavor has been pointless really. So many things have come up within the last few weeks that I needed money for, I have depleted my computer fund. So I took a chance and went ahead and financed it. I hated doing that because I don’t like to put myself or my family in debt. I recommend that everyone try their darnedest to stay out of that trap. Anyway, I hate Vista software. It’s slow and takes up too much memory and hard-drive space. It’s inefficient and I just don’t like it so I bought a macbook!!! I love it. Not only does it look good but it has everything I would ever need to do anything. It even makes me a sandwich when I ask it too! LOL! Just kidding. However, I am very excited to be initiated into the igeneration now that I have a macbook and an ipod. Although I’ve had my ipod for a while it isn’t the same as having an apple computer. I feel as though I have made a huge break through and somehow my life will be different…..ok probably not but I am apart of the igeneration now and that is an accomplishment in and of itself! Hear from me next week!!

Surreal Life

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Well, a week or so has gone by since my last verbal outburst about our mediocre media in...

Worth 1K Words? I’m back from the holidays and all the...

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Worth 1K Words?

I’m back from the holidays and all the things that they entail. It was fun and enjoyable and I hope yours was as good or better than mine. I’m ready for all the things this new year holds and can’t wait for Christmas, again! So, you are probably wondering to yourself about this picture. Well, wonder no more! The reason I’m sharing this is not necessarily because I’m in it, although this is my blog. The reason I’m sharing this is because there was nothing else. There wasn’t an article on me, the church, service times or any information on why the Enid News and Eagle took the picture and then put it in the paper. I’m happy to say, with much sarcasm, that I did make the front page, along with my cohorts, and it was a large picture too. Of course my family got wind of it and wanted me to buy papers for my grand parents and aunts and uncles and send it to them. I gotta say that it’s a little embarrassing that all they are gonna get is a picture. They won’t have anything to read. You know how guys say, “I read playboy for the articles!” Maybe, since I’m new to Enid people here read the paper for the pictures. Who knows. Many people told me about it the morning the paper came out and people are still mentioning seeing my picture in the paper which isn’t a bad thing but I’m not sure if it is a good thing either. Does it help me? The jury is still out on that. Still, I wish there was some kind of article to elaborate on this random picture used to take up quite a bit of space in the newspaper. Maybe this will help in the months to come. I will call the paper and other local news sources to generate local buzz about my upcoming cd but until then… they say a picture is worth a thousand words but evidently not this one!

Week 52

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Well, it’s week 52 of 2008 and it’s been a few days since my last blog. I know I need a little more...

First Blog

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

So, I’ve been working on this website now for a few days and I’m getting html’d...