A Lounge Called Leopard

Back in 2009 I was blessed with an incredible opportunity.  I had been on the hunt for a fun songwriting competition to take part in and came across Facebook Idol, which was sponsored by Sweatshop Studios.  I submitted one of my tunes and pretty much forgot about it for a while.  With online competitions I had, at that point, pretty much decided that most of them were a load of junk.

Well I soon found out that I had made it in to the top 15 of the contestants.  To make a long story short, while I didn't win the competition I was contacted by Sweatshop and offered a contract.
In a matter of months I found myself behind the mic in Katona, New York, at the incredible facilities of Sweatshop Studios, recording my own songs.  It was a dream come true.

After spending an amazing eternity in studio, we ventured out to a venue on the east side of NYC called the Sinsin Leopard Lounge (no, I don't know who named the place).  I was honored to perform there for a packed house alongside a couple of the other Facebook Idol finalists.  Such an amazing evening that was!!!

Here is a little snip from the trip.  The song you'll here I actually ended up re-writing with gospel lyrics, but i still like going back and listening to the old version every now and then.  This is "Cut Down" live in New York City.

Let It Die: Rebirth

To say that my God is good, would be the understatement of all eternity.  He has poured out SO much, not to mention salvation.  My desire is to be like Him, to love like Him, to see like Him…  But where does that start?

God has poured out great vision in my life.  There are HUGE things that have been on my heart for years and I’m sure things that I have yet to realize.  But something I am learning, is that as I grow, as I learn how to hear the voice of God, as I pour in to the vision that I think is right in front of me, my vision needs to die and be re-born.

Years ago I was given the opportunity to travel to NYC and perform at the IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators) jazz festival.  There I met and listened to some of my favorite jazz singers and players.  I remember listening to Kevin Mohoganey do his thing, and then our group from Bellevue College was set to go up.  My nerves were shot just knowing that it was possible for one of these artists to hear us… to hear me…

Well the performance went amazing, and I was approached by two young ladies who handed me a card.  They proceeded to tell me about a scholarship offered by Berklee College of Music.  This scholarship would have completely paid for my schooling and housing at Berklee.  If you don’t know already, Berklee is probably one of the absolute best schools any musician could hope to attend.  Of course, I about passed out after getting this information.  I was invited to come meet one of their scouts at their booth a little ways down the hall.  I began speaking with more people involved at Berklee, and set up the audition, which would have taken place in LA.  Every person I had talked with had heard samples of my work, and basically had told me that I was going to get the scholarship.  I all but had it in the bag, and was flying high with vision for my musical career as a singer/songwriter.

During this time, I had also been attending The Rock Church in Monroe, WA.  I was approached by some of the leadership there who began telling me about the internship program called The Quarry, which would take a year out of my life.  This program would require me to focus almost 100% of my time in to serving at the church, studying for bible classes, as well as various other challenges.  Logically, with Berklee knocking down my door, I was thinking, “No Way!”
I began praying and moving forward towards Berklee, but something felt disjointed.  something wasnt right at all.

What I was feeling, was my vision dying, and my first reaction was to fight for it and try to revive what was left.  But that’s not what God had in mind.

I remember sitting down one morning at the computer, coffee in hand of course, reading about Berklee again for the umpteenth time, and weeping.  Every word I was getting from the Lord was telling me that Berklee was not His plan for me, and that The Quarry internship program is where He wanted me.  So against all logic, and many family and friends opinions, I turned Berklee down to step into a year of serving and growing.  My vision had officially been pronounced dead at the scene.
But out of that death came a year of my life that would ultimately change me from the inside out.  From the death of one vision, life burst forth and new vision was birthed!  Or rather, there was a rebirth of my old vision.

You see, for life to truly begin, our vision needs to die inside of us.  It’s at that moment that the seed from that vision is buried in the ground ultimately bursts forth in new life!  So be encouraged!
You feel that your vision has died, and you havent seen it come back from the dirt.  Well maybe you need to pray about the rebirth of that vision!  Maybe you need to pray that God would open your eyes to see the vision HE has for your life!  We need to die, in order to live.  So give it up and let it happen!  hat doesn’t mean that its going to be exciting and all warm and fuzzy.  In fact, to be frank, its gong to SUCK!  But the life that God raises out of that ground with that seed will completely overtake you!!!

My Funny Valentine featuring Edan Dover

Back in 2009 Sweatshop Studios snagged me and flew me out to their AMAZING facility in Katonah New York.  Seriously folks, this place is GORGEOUS.  I had been a part of the Facebook Idol competition they hosted and, while I was not the official winner, Sweatshop liked my music enough to pursue making some more of it and thus the adventure began (I've included an extra video below the first one.  Its an excerpt from my 'Zach Trandum Takes New York' DVD. Watch it to learn more about the trip!)
After a long day in studio, we skittered down (skittered!?) to the Sinsin Leopard Lounge in Eastside New York City and played an amazing show for an incredible and loving crowd.  Edan was kind enough to join me on stage for a couple songs, one of those being a great old jazz standard. Enjoy!

I'll Be Your Friend

As a songwriter, I think many of us pull from our own experiences and emotions.  But I also believe that many songwriters have developed the ability to put themselves in the shoes of another and write from a totally different perspective.

While I was waiting for the train, headed to the airport in New York from Sweatshop Studios, I started a conversation with a young Hip-Hop artist who really had some great creativity going!  He threw down a few lines of his most recent song right there.  The song was written from the perspective of the hat, tie, and shoes, of the aspiring, hard working, starving artist as they observed him pouring his blood sweat and tears in to his dreams.  Loved it!

Well, this song, I'll Be Your Friend, has absolutely nothing to do with hats, ties, or even shoes, but I did write it from the perspective of one reaching out to a friend in the midst of extreme pain, though I wasn't experiencing anything like that at the time.

I hope you enjoy the tune!