4: #9 White Stone

     After we had finished writing save me it was winter break and we took about 2 months off from meeting and writing. We already knew that the next song we wanted to write would have Megan singing! Which now that you have heard the album, and her voice, you definitely know why! So Kevin had written a melody for a hook and a little bit of music for a 6/8 timing rhythm. When we came together as a band we did as usual and started with the music. It took a real turn towards deep blues/Adele sounding music. Which at the time fit Megan's vocal so well!

     We then broke it down and began writing our lyrics. This time we pulled from the 3rd letter in Revelation to the church at Pergamum(Revelation 2:12-17). This letter was warning them of the compromises they were making that was allowing the world to pull them away from the Lord. We really grabbed a hold of the promise the Lord give in verse 17.

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the on who receives it. 

     We took the perspective of the sinner who has chosen the Lord fully! The one who has repented and is now ready for that intimate place the Lord has for them!

Chorus

He will call out my name, take me to his place

Where He washes my stains, He makes me new

Now I call out His name, in His arms I am safe

I look to Him for strength, He makes me new

I am never the same

     Though we loved the message of this song. The real blues sound we originally had did not support the message fully. We put the song away for a few weeks as we worked on others, and planned to revisit it. Which when we finally did, it came together as you hear it now. A soft intimate sound, that will take you to that intimate place with the Lord. The Lord desires intimacy which each and every one of us. But the truth is, with the busyness of life, it gets hard to slow down and allow the Lord to speak to us in those places. Our prayer is that this song, allows you to do that. To soak in the love of God and allow him to pour His blessings and comfort over you! 

     On a few musical notes we owe a couple of props to some people outside of Wolverton. The night before we tracked the vocals in the studio, we worked on completing a second verse for this song at Kevin's parents' home in Nashville. We were totally stuck for finding lyrics for the final line of the second verse, and Justin Robison, Kevin's older brother jumped in and contributed the sentence we were totally looking for! "I will keep my faith renewed." As well in the studio, our producer Brett contributed heavily to the feel of that solo. He worked for quite a while with Jeremy on how that solo should feel in the context of the song, and it turned out beautifully! 

We hope you enjoy this song and that the Lord speaks to you through it! 

Love you guys! 

Wolverton

3: #8 Save Me

     Week three came to meet, and we really were skeptical that we wouldn't be able to write a 3rd song in three weeks. It seemed way to good to be true! We were already blown away at the two that had already happened so quickly. So that night we met, not sure what to expect and Jeremy actually brought an idea to the table. He had a very eery but cool chord progression along with a very honest chorus. This would be the first slow song we wrote, and really took on the shape of a very honest confessional.

     We did like usual again and gathered the band first to write the music and flow we wanted for the song. Because of where this song comes from, we left a lot of room at the end for a instrumental so that people can reflect and pray and worship from their own honest places. We assure you, that if you listen to the album in whole, as a ten song story, when you reach this song and the instrumental, you will be moved way more than if you just listen to the individual song. Once we got our music together we stepped into the lobby and collectively wrote some of our favorite lyrics on the album... Every single band member contributed heavily. There's no good way to describe this song until you hear it, other than to let you know Jeremy sings it and sounds INCREDIBLE. We will write the lyrics out for you below, we seriously are so pumped for you guys to hear this song!

Search my heart
Search my soul
Father, I am letting go

Take my hands
Take my feet
Father, I am incomplete

I am wrath
I am hate
Father, You alone are great

In my sin
In my shame
I am crying out Your name

Oh God please save me from myself
Take my power I need Your help
The tide is rising above the gate
Lord rescue me before it's too late

I will bend
I will break
Your the potter I'm the clay

You are grace
You are truth
Teach me how to be like You

With Your strength
With Your might
Pierce my darkness with Your light

In my sin
In my shame
I am crying out Your name


Oh God please save me from myself
Take my power I need Your help
The tide is rising above the gate
Lord rescue me before it's too late


Wolverton

2: #2 Breaking Free

     So week 2 arrived for writing! This time we had every band member present! Which really made Nothing He Can't Do come to completion. Walking in to this night Kevin brought a hook for a chorus for us to build upon. The hook totally has a late 90's early 2000's summertime rock feel! We weren't quite sure how it would work building a worship song around it, but we proceeded and we're so glad we did. Again we started with our full band jamming on the material and building a feel for the song. The verses took a really cool jazz direction, do yourself a favor and pay attention to the bass guitar line when you hear it. We also made some room for Jeremy to take a guitar solo later in the song. Then we headed to chairs with acoustics again to work on our vocals and lyrics.

      All we had lyric wise for the song was the phrase "Breaking Free, letting go." So we again looked at the seven letters in revelation and zero'd in on the letter we would write from. We chose the first letter, to the church at Ephesus. You can check it out, Revelation 2:1-7. In this letter Jesus praises Ephesus for the works in the faith, but calls them out for forgetting about having a relationship with Him. "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." So we wanted to write from a perspective of repentance.

Part of the chorus is:

Breaking free, letting go
Of everything that takes my heart away

     Then we began working on our verse. With the jazz feel musically, we went a direction in kind of camp fire sing along melody. (We don't know what that means either, but it sounds good) We will share the lyrics of the verse with you and let the song do the rest when you get it!

After all the running, after all that I've been through
Chasing all the things that, never could compare to You
Now my eyes are opened, I can see the work You do
Even at my furthest, Lord you draw me back to You

Now I offer all I have, never turning back!

Breaking Free! Letting Go!....ect.

Can't wait for you to hear it!

Wolverton

1: #7 Nothing He Can't Do

     We weren't quite sure what the structure for writing songs would look like as we were preparing to begin this whole process. We knew God had gifted each of us, and that we could cover worship songs together, but what would writing look like? Some of the band had writing experience, but not all of us. Right before this process our Young Adult group in Toccoa had walked through a series in the seven letters in Revelation. These are love letters that were written by Jesus through John. Jesus, called out some of these churches for their sin, and ultimately encouraged them on their journey with Christ. Originally we planned to write the entire album surrounding these letters, although as time went on we evolved to other sections of scripture as you will see later.

     So the first Thursday to meet and write arrived. About two hours prior to the meeting, Kevin wrote a guitar riff and a melody to a chorus. No lyrics were with the melody besides the phrase "Nothing He Can't Do." So all we had walking in, was a guitar riff and a concept to build something around. As anyone who writes music knows, there are times where a song will piece together, and other times when it could take months to complete a concept. We didn't really know what to expect. In fact our first night we were short handed as a band. We did not have Jeremy our lead guitar player present, or Megan our female vocalist.

     So to begin the whole process we started by building our music as a band. We quickly came up with a flow and feel for the song and got an order together. Then we came off stage, grabbed some chairs and an acoustic guitar and began working on our lyrics and melodies. Looking at the seven letters we decided to pull from the second letter, this was to the church in Smyrna. You can check it out, Revelation 2:8-11. Jesus was preparing this church for suffering that they were getting ready to face. He wanted them to know some important things as they were getting ready for that:

1. He is first and last. That means that He was before anything they were about to face, and He will be after it. So, if they would keep their eyes set on Him, He would pull them through. There's Nothing He Can't Do!

2. He was dead but is now alive. Jesus conquered death! What could they have to fear if God was on their side! Even DEATH couldn't hold him down! There's Nothing He Can't Do!

3. Those who remained faithful would receive the crown of life. He assures them that He will grant them the crown of life if they remained in Him!

     These were all important concepts for them to be encouraged by, and truths they could hold on to as they prepared for the suffering ahead. He knew that without the hope He had for them, they wouldn't make it. But if they would place their faith in Him through it, they would conquer! This wasn't just true for the church in smyrna in that time, but is also true in our lives. We will face suffering in our lives, their will be very tough and trying times. But guess what! With the hope of Christ we can know, that there's nothing He can't handle. We finished our lyrics and got back to the instruments to finalize everything. This song continued to take shape all the way into the studio. Musically it is one of our favorites, and has a lot of really cool dynamics. Stephen and Zach both played huge parts in the outro which we love!

Can't wait for you to be able to worship to this tune and be encouraged by it!

Wolverton

The album releases...

So...

As most of you know, some of our worship band members at our Toccoa campus of Foothills began writing a worship album. We got started in October of last year and spent 6 months writing and practicing. Then in April we went up to Nashville to record the album! We decided to name our group Wolverton, which you can see that story on our first blog post! You can also follow the journey and experience of the studio from the perspective of each band member in our blog as well.

Since April the album has gone through the process of being mixed and tweaked to perfection. Then came the mastering process. And then getting the artwork of the CD and production set up. We have walked through all of these steps and are in the FINAL touches of everything! We are so excited to announce for you the release date that you have been patiently waiting for!

Our album will be available at each of our Foothills Community Church locations, as well as online in various places like iTunes...on....Sunday, July 6th.

That's only 16 days away!!!

That means in 16 days you will get to finally hear what God has been building in and through us!

Starting 10 days before the album release we will post a blog each day describing each of our songs. We will tell you the process of writing it, where you can find the inspiration for the song in scripture, what transformed about the song over time, the process of recording it in the studio, and how the band worked to piece each song together. We will also share the album artwork with you on our facebook page over the next few days!

Below is the tracking list, be sure and begin helping us promote this album release as we are praying these songs and messages hit the ears of people who need to be encouraged with the love of Jesus! We are believing that God is going to use this album to change lives! He gets ALL the glory!

1. Shout

2. Breaking free

3. We won't give up

4. Battle cry

5. Heal me Lord

6. Bite your tongue

7. Nothing He can't do

8. Save me

9. White stone

10. Christ is Lord

Love you guys!

In Christ,

Kevin

Faith

Hey guys, it's Tanner! I'm so glad you all are still following along with us! We have some exciting news! Last night we received our first mix from our producer, Brett, for our song "Battle Cry," and it sounds amazing. Keep prayers up for Brett as he is going through this whole process.

I want to share with you a subject that has been on my mind a lot recently, and that's the topic of faith. I feel like so often when asked if we have faith in God our immediate response is "Yes!," but that is such a loaded question. To have faith in God doesn't simply mean to believe that he is real or that he came and died for us. Faith in God means you trust him in the little things: in your finances, relationships, job situations,etc.

Let me specify that simply having faith is not enough. In James 2 he is saying how faith without works is dead, and nothing has ever been more true. We have to have a balance between faith and action. If we only have faith that things will happen, without works, then nothing will ever happen. On the other hand if we only have works, even if they are good works, but don't have faith, then we aren't relying on God, and we are doing it by our own strength.

As humans, and especially as a guy, we want to do everything ourselves and by our own power. It seems counter intuitive to ask for help on something we can do "on our own." This is where faith comes in. Faith that God can take you farther than you could ever take yourself on your own. Another reason it's hard to have faith is because many times it will seem counterintuitive. Story time! About 2 years ago I was working 2 jobs: U.P.S and Osborne Wood Products. During this time I felt God tugging on my heart to work with the youth at my local church, Foothills Community Church, but that would take sacrifice. Through prayer I decided that it was time to drop the job at U.P.S and help with youth worship. This was going great until 3 weeks later I got laid off from Osborne's. My faith was being tested, and I knew it! So I was looking for a job and got an interview at a textile company. They asked what shifts I could work, and the only shift I told them I couldn't was second shift. I got a call back later offering me a position, and you guessed it, it was second shift! I was distraught! It would seem foolish not to take this job! I have bills! But I felt God telling me not to take it, so I didn't. That was one of the hardest things I've had to do because it took faith that God had my best interest in mind. Now fast forward a year and I see that God was right. I am now employed as the worship leader at my church and also have an additional job! God is good!

I hope through all my rambling you got to see a glimpse of my heart on faith. None of us get it right all the time, but we strive to. If you're having trouble in your faith, or just don't understand it, let one of our band members know. We have a prayer team at church that would love to join you in prayer on your journey of faith!

-Tanner 

Behind the Music: B Side Stories About the Band

Hello everyone! 

So now you have had the chance to hear something incredible from each one of our band members! Following what they have shared I really don't know what I can say. Last week was a dream come true being in the studio and recording a full length album for my God! While it was challenging, it was also such a fun experience, and so amazing to hear our music begin to shape into life as the week came along! Guitar day was SUPER fun for me, and vocal day was definitely the hardest. I am just so thankful we completed everything. But let me tell you my favorite part of the week and even the last 6 months writing and preparing…

The amazing impact  each of these 6 brothers and sisters had on my life. Did God bless us with musical talent and songs? Absolutely. But I was blessed even more by the beautiful people he placed in my life to do this with. And I believe instead of hearing about me, you need to hear about what these other people have meant to me. 

Zach - This dude is outrageous! He is either 150% energy, or just plain passed out sleeping through anything as loud as a nascar stadium! Zach has reminded me how much fun music is supposed to be! It's so easy to get into the tasks of what needs to be accomplished, and forget that this is what we love doing! He is always having so much fun every time he plays! He also has such a huge heart  and that shows in the way he plays, but it also shows in the way he cares for the other band members. Zach, you are a brother to me and I thank you so much for being you! I love you dude! 

Stephen - I am sure at some point you will have the opportunity to hear Stephen's testimony. It's amazing!!! I don't want to steal his opportunity to share it, but I will say, if you knew Stephen a year and a half ago, you would have no reason to believe he would have been in Wolverton, or even in church. Stephen and I actually grew up in church together, we made great strides spiritually in high school, and also had downfalls spiritually together. But as life moved on we went two separate directions. Watching how Stephen allowed God to transform his life a year and half ago has done so much for me spiritually. You see, Stephen didn't just allow God to help him with the big ticket items, instead he has continually over the last year and a half allowed God to infiltrate every corner of his heart and be transformed into an amazing man of God. That has translated in his bass playing abilities as well. Stephen, A) I'm glad we're doing ministry together again. B) You have reminded me that I need to continually allow God to transform my life daily. That this process never stops. Love you bro! 

Tanner - Wow, where do I start with this guy… Bro the way you have grown as a leader in the last 6 months is unbelievable! Like Stephen, Tanner has allowed God to begin infiltrating every corner of his heart! And what rules is that Tanner has a group of people who are following him to do the same! He is our Worship Leader at the church and has been so amazing in overcoming all the difficulties of leadership and leading our team to a place of genuinely authentic worship! He works harder than anyone I know, and is willing to sacrifice anything to build the Kingdom of God! You push my work ethic dude, and remind me to keep my heart focused! What Tanner's actions tell me is: Who cares if I can't, because God can! Thanks for being the leader you are! Love you dude! 

Jeremy -  One quick great thing that comes to mind with Jeremy being a part, is that like me he is also married! This makes it nice to be able to laugh together about the married life and share some of the struggles and blessings that come along with that! Jeremy is also probably our most talented musician, and creative as well! Jeremy always takes us outside of the box. Every thought we start, Jeremy jumps to another planet and says, "Hey guys look at this idea!" And immediately my mind is blown and we have ourselves an AMAZING song! Jeremy is so confident and secure as a person because of this trait, it doesn't matter if things go bad, because there is always another option, and always another way of doing things! Dude, thanks for being exactly who God made you, you remind me to not be narrow minded, and to stay confident! So thankful for you man! Love you! 

Okay thats everyone! ….oh wait yeah, we do have 2 girls in the band… 

Christa - Christa is definitely the maturity we need in the band! We can all get pretty crazy and so far off point with stupidity or acting like kids, but Christa's maturity always brings it back together! Aside from being a solid keyboard player, she is also very good with our lyrics. She is able to quickly spit out what we are trying to say, and make each lyric very impactful. She told you herself, but a lot of her opportunities have been her taking a risk and stepping out of her comfort zone. Our sound has a lot of Rock influences, which I would assume isn't her comfort zone or first choice of music, yet she not only is a part, but takes our band to a whole new level! Her heart for God is felt in every note she plays or sings! Christa you have taught me to take risk, trust God, and just go for it! Because from there, God takes over! Thank you so much for being a part of this, and for being a sister to me! Love you! 

Megan - Okay take Zach's energy and fun loudness, plug that into an amp and turn it all the way up….and you have MEGAN! She is loud in every good way possible! Her voice has so much strength and character! Her laugh is so loud and contagious! Her heart bursts out of her chest! Her joy is so loud that she immediately brings joy to everything she is a part of! This whole experience just simply would not have been what it is without Megan's involvement! Megan it is so evident that you care for Jesus intimately, and that you also care for people intimately! Thank you for being a reminder to not sit quietly on what I believe or feel, but instead share it with every thing in me! Thank you for making every thing we do so much fun! I am so glad God put you in Toccoa and in this band! Love you! 

Wow… okay now that you have read my book you're finally done! But I hope you enjoyed reading about these amazing people as much as I enjoyed writing about them. I literally laughed and almost cried as I was thinking of each one! Hopefully you will get a glimpse of all of these great people through each of the songs that end up on this amazing record! 

Let me end with this… None of these people would be who they were if it wasn't for God. He has shaped each of us individually, gifted us, molded us, and we get to be amazing instruments used for His kingdom. This album is no way about us, but all about glorifying the one who gifted us! I know that each person reading this has an amazing story, and has probably impacted someone just like these people have impacted me. Make sure you thank God for that. And also Thank God for the people He gives you! 

God thank you for my brothers and sisters in this band! 

I love you first! 

Stay tuned for release dates… 

Love you guys! 

Kevin