Listen to Everlasting Arms

Many years in the making, Rev. James Martin & Edward Jerlin are collaborating on what for James, has been a life-long endeavor called "Rapture", an epic poem by James, set to music by Edward. It is, in a nutshell, a unique look at the story of man's ongoing relationship with God, the Creator.

It begins with the story of Creation told in Genesis 1. It continues through the perfection that man once fleetingly knew in Eden; to man's fall from Grace. It tells of the various ways that man has attempted to replace God, or alternately, get back into a relationship with and be close to God, and of man's failures to do so.

It takes the reader on quite a few twists & turns, fits & stops, weaving its way through a number of tangents. It gets quite personal in one section, where James evaluates his own relationship with the Lord, & his need for salvation. There is a brilliant section on the concept of time. It takes the reader through a faith journey like no other, eventually focusing on the Return of Christ to gather his flock of believers.

It is ultimately the story of God's Saving Light and Lamb,
Jesus Christ, who's saving Grace provides what no man can.

"Rapture" spans 10 movements of greatly varying lengths. The poetry is laid out as prose, rather than having any kind of verse/chorus or rhyming scheme. In fact, there is hardly any rhyming in the entire poem. The reason for this is that James never imagined that "Rapture" would someday be set to music...

Edward writes:
"During one of our many 'midnight' conversations about a whole range of topics, Jim mentioned to me that he had been working on an epic poem for a majority of his life and was close to completing it. I had never heard this before, and asked him if I could read it in the hopes of someday setting it to music, as I had done with many of his lyrics. He resisted the idea at first, as he had never shown this poetry to anyone, including his wife! He also had doubts that such a thing could be set to music, as that was not his intention for it, although he hoped to someday publish it if he could ever complete it to his satisfaction. Maybe because I was so persistent, maybe because Jim and I have a high level of trust, but Jim finally showed me what he had.

To put it mildly, I was totally blown away by what I read! This was nothing like the songs Jim had written. This was a whole new level of depth and creativity, the likes of which I had never seen before. In a weird kind of way, I felt honored to be the first one to read it. I immediately threw myself into putting parts of it to music. I then played some of it for Jim, which in turn inspired him to complete his poem. We seem to have come to a tacit agreement to let me finish the music on my own (enthusiastically showing it all to Jim as each section gets completed.)"

The music for the first seven movements is now written, is well into the recording process, and is roughly 70-75 minutes in duration. The entire production, when completed, will probably end up being somewhere around 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. It may be many years before this project is completed, although the current plan is to release the first seven movements early next year.

A sampling of what is to come can be found on the recently released Christian Progressive Rock Collection called CPR Volume One, which includes "In The Beginning".

Slated for a 2010 release,
"Rapture" is a work in progress,
and a labor of love.

Regarding the album cover artwork:
The purple motif represents the "majesty" of God. The hazy blackish part towards the left represents the wall -- the chasm if you will -- between man & God, caused by man's sin. On the right are the heavens & the Light. On the left, you have God's rainbow as part of His promise to us while we're still here on Earth. You also have the World Trade Center buildings on their side, representing towers of Babel, or man's attempts to earn his way to God, or to reach God, or exalt himself above God. But the buildings can only go horizontally; they are not capable of going vertically. In fact, the top of towers only reach as far as the cross in the Everlasting Arms logo! It is only through the cross that one can break through the barrier & the separation from God.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
"Two are better than one,
because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:
but woe to him that is alone when he falls;
for he has no one to help him up!
Again, if two lie together, they will have warmth;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

"Strands Of Life Suite" is dedicated to those who have had an affect on our lives for a season, or for a lifetime. Currently in the planning stages, the idea of the suite is to take the listener on a poignant journey through various stages/stations in one's life.

The suite began as a pairing of a song Pastor Jim had written for a wedding ("The Marriage Dream") , and a song Edward wrote for his bride for their wedding day ("For My Bride") . It then expanded to include an ode that Pastor Jim had written about how he felt about his wife early in their courtship ("Walls"), in addition to a few instrumentals Edward has written over the years which represent parts of what would be a relationship between two people ("First Date" & "Courtship").

Then the idea of expanding the suite further to include various stations in life, and/or music dedicated to a person or people in our lives took hold. At one time this suite was to be incorporated into the CD "On Broken Wings" . It has now become its own CD project.

In addition to "The Marriage Dream" , Pastor Jim has written songs for a baby dedication ("Dedicated"), a song of Thanksgiving ("From The Heart") , & an ode honoring fallen soldiers ("In Memoriam"). Over the years, Edward has written music dedicated to his parents ("For All You've Done For Me") , one dedicated to all of his friends past, present & future ("Friends") , a fun, whimsical & personal look back on his days growing up as a child which he co-wrote with his late sister Susan & their mutual friend Mark LoSacco ("Margaretta"), & a wistful look back at his high school days ("Alma Mater") .

Throughout the journey,
the One who tacitly remains part of it all is
our Creator God ("G-FORCE") .

Slated for a 2010 or 2011 release,
"Strands Of Life Suite" remains a work in progress,
and a labor of love.

During the process of going through all of my old tapes & archives, I came across a collection of tapes of piano music I'd written between the ages of 16 & 20, enough to fill over 3 CDs worth (or five-plus LPs in the days of vinyl.) Rediscovering these tapes & getting reacquainted with them was a bit of a revelation for me, because I'd long since set aside this material which almost nobody has ever heard before because I was painfully shy about sharing them with anyone.

As I listened to these, loads of memories came flooding back,
and a number of things struck me about them:

There was pure joy in nearly all of these pieces, even the quiet, contemplative ones.
As I listened to them chronologically, I found it interesting hearing the extent to which my "musical vocabulary" expanded between the ages of 16 & 20, as I developed from what might be the literary equivalent of "Dr. Seuss" to "Shakespeare" (a bit of hyperbole in both directions, but you get the idea. I'm a big fan of Dr. Seuss, by the way.) Each new "discovery" was fresh & new to my ears back then.
Most of these piano solos were note-for-note renderings. There was very little improvisation if any, much like a piece of classical music. I could transcribe these pieces note-for-note if I were so inclined.
Some "EJ signature" riffs came & went, & others remained. Some I still use to this day; others I'd long forgotten about & were instructive for me.
When one is playing to four walls rather than with a band, the piano kind of becomes the drummer, the rhythm section, the bass player, the lead singer... Suffice to say, I played a *lot* of notes in those days.
The "musical structure" of many of these pieces of music is not unlike a tree, where I would try an idea, go with it, vary it, go back down the branch, re-state the idea, & go up another branch, then another, then up yet another branch, then back down to the trunk (the original idea) & up yet another branch. Verse-chorus-verse was out the window. These were more like long classical pieces of symphonic music where various musical themes & variations of those themes weave in & around each other.
What might be the most mind-boggling part for me was that after not listening to these for (in some cases) nearly 20 years, it was almost as if at times I was listening to somebody *else* playing. In some respects, perhaps that's true; I'm not really the same person I was when I first wrote these.
Some of this music I'd truly forgotten. As I listened to the tapes of songs I'd forgotten, there would be the points where I had no idea what was going to be played next & then with a turn of a chord, or a phrase, the next 3 minutes of the piece would come flooding back to me. Or even weirder still, I'd be literally humming along with the tape (even the really crazy complicated bits), but if I stopped the tape, I had no idea what was coming next. Then I'd restart the tape & be humming along again -- which is an amazing testament to the workings of the human brain & how much we remember to forget to remember to forget. ;-) Or maybe that's just my brain...
I was probably a better (certainly a more precise) piano player from a pure technique standpoint back then, especially around the age of 20-22, when I was playing for two to six or more hours a day. I'm a much better *musician* now, of course, but I was a better player then.
I've probably just shared a bunch of thoughts that have little or no interest for anyone but me, but there you go... :-)

There was/is some amazing material in here, mixed in with some really forgettable and/or unoriginal material. Some of it is recorded well; others not too well. The tapes have held up rather nicely. What do with that?
- Do I present them as is?
- Edit them?
- Hide them?
- Re-record them? (Can I still play this stuff?)
- Add drums and/or bass and other instruments to them?
- Do I add/include new piano-based instrumentals I've written since then?
- Cannibalize the good parts & use them in some new material (which has actually been done a couple of times over the years!)

The answer is turning out to be "All of the above".

I'm still tinkering with the tentative track listing, but this little side project/series (yet another one) is starting to come together & I've got a good idea of how to present it. Hopefully, time-permitting, I'll be able to release one CD of these a year beginning near the end of 2009, perhaps in time for Christmas, or beginning in 2010.

Greetings & welcome to our "Offering of the Month" page!

"And behold, the Lord spoketh to me saying, 'Before the last
sabbath of the month, thou shalt upload not less than one new
work of thine own hands, as an offering unto thy brethren,
so that the Lord shall be glorified.'"
-EJ 12:6

What is the "Offering of the Month"?

It's a new paradigm for sharing our music with you. :-)
In a nutshell, we're making it available as free mp3 downloads in the form of a "monthly offering".

Why are you doing this?

There are a number of reasons. :-)

The main reason is that I (EJ) have spent a lot of time in prayer about this over the past year seeking the Lord's will and have come to the conclusion that this is what the Lord wants me to do with my music.

While Everlasting Arms was originally intended to be a "profitable venture", I've never been able to reconcile the dichotomy between the clear calling and mandate I've felt from the Lord for a long time that my music should be a ministry, and the idea that I should profit from it. The Lord has always provided well for my family via my full-time job, even in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, something for which I'm truly grateful.

After years of good intentions about getting Everlasting Arms' music off the ground, my family, church, and job have always come first, frankly leaving very little precious *time* for what it would take to make Everlasting Arms' music everything I feel it could and should be.

As any musician or recording artist can attest, seeing a full CD project to completion is an extremely time-consuming process, involving writing, arranging, recording, mixing, mastering, artwork, layout, lyrics, printing, pressing, copyrighting, UPC codes, publishing, royalties, and all kinds of decisions to be made, both creative and mundane, many of which have little to do with the music, including the promotion that inevitably must ensue, which is something I have little talent for and certainly no time for.

I'm just a musician. ;-)
I'd love to be able to stick to the writing, recording and mixing parts of the process.

Unfortunately, the "CD process" also leaves very little (if any) time for any musical projects outside of the task at hand, and I'm often "side-tracked" by small one-shot musical endeavors, both in church and out of church -- which is what initially got me thinking...

After 30+ years of making music, I've got a boatload of eclectic musical material that could be placed in any number of "buckets", some of which are awfully small buckets. Most of this music is "valid" to my ears and deserves an audience, yet none would mesh within the context of a CD project; certainly many of them would never fit within the framework of Everlasting Arms, or even a real "Eddie J Solo" CD. In fact, my wife Kirsten suggested that I call this endeavor "Eddie J and Friends" because there have been so many collaborations over the years with so many different talented musicians. :-)

Giving each piece of music its own "spotlight" once a month will allow each to be considered on its own merits. This will also allow me (or Pastor Jim) to describe in detail each month what it is you're listening to, which is something that probably couldn't be done in the liner notes of a proper CD release.

Before I move on, I do wish to be clear on one issue:
I greatly respect anyone who can make a living solely from music and I certainly believe that they should be supported financially, even if their music is primarily a ministry. The decision I'm making is a highly personal one and something I've wrestled with for a long, long time. It should not be considered a judgement of any sorts on music ministers who are worthy of our support.

Why monthly? Anything special about that?

Nothing special, no. But it accomplishes two things, both personal:

1. It will allow me to break up my many musical projects into small and achievable goals.
2. It will force a deadline on me. ;-)

Given your time constraints and the fact that it's been nearly a decade since Everlasting Arms' first CD,
are you really going to come out with something new every month?

Good question. ;-)
I will certainly try my best.
If anything, I do have quite a backlog of material to fall back on.
But if I'm late once in a while, it's free, right? ;-)

Seriously, there is a tremendous difference time-wise between what it takes to bring forth a fully-completed and polished recording, and a very good acceptable and fun demo-quality recording of the same material.

What kind of music should I expect to hear every month?

Oh dear, it could be anything from a fully-completed and polished recording, to a live recording, to a demo, to a jam session. There may be multiple offerings some months. My "vision", if one can call it that, is to try to offer at least one "finished" track (short of mastering) per month, along with a "bonus curio" of sorts. The recording quality will vary greatly, but hopefully, it's all fun. The songs could range in length from a minute to over 20 minutes.

The first offering (January 2007) is a fully-completed/realized 12-minute Christmas song with three movements.

Is the material copyrighted? Can I share this music with other people?

All of the music is copyrighted either by us or whoever wrote it (whether it's a collaboration or written entirely by someone else.) If it's not ours, we got permission to share it with others via this site. Feel free to share it with others, preferrably by referring them to this site! We'd also greatly prefer it if you share all the "liner notes" and/or lyric/comments we offer each month so as to give the listener some context. Of course, you may not sell the material or profit from it.

If you wish to sing any of these songs in your church, we have printed choir arrangements with the piano parts & chord charts available for a few of them. We could also provide kerioke-type tracks if you wish.

If you wish to play any of these tracks on any radio stations (over the internet or over the airwaves), feel free, that would be wonderful. We'd really appreciate it if at all possible if you could let us know when & where the song(s) may air.

If for any reason (in the case of some silly demos & the like) we prefer this not be done, we'll make it clear that month. Otherwise, feel free & many thanks!

Is Everlasting Arms still selling CDs? If so, why?

Yes, we are.
To offer the CD for free wouldn't be fair to all those over the years who have paid for it (though we have admitedly given away quite a few). Also, when it comes to the CPR discs, we have an obligation to our brothers & sisters on the compilation not to undermine their work, especially since we all entered into a good faith agreement to all offer the CDs at the same price on the web. In addition to these considerations, the fact is that Everlasting Arms is a legal partnership that pays taxes. The IRS kind of sees us as more than just a ministry. ;-)

Besides, there are many advantages to keeping the legal business intact, especially since the long-range plans have always included publishing other artists besides ourselves.

Will Everlasting Arms be releasing any new CDs for sale in the future?

That is still the plan, yes.
In fact, some of the "monthly offerings" will be demos, or final mixes of material that we intend to put on a future CD. "On Broken Wings" very much continues to be a work-in-progress. Also, work continues on the full-length version of "Rapture". God willing, both could see a 2008 release. At the very least, I hope to make demos of them as a "work in progress" available periodically throughout the year. :-)

What's with this question & answer format?
Aren't you just asking yourself questions & answering them?

D'OH! Actually, the few people I've shared this "monthly offering" idea with have asked me these questions, and I found myself answering them multiple times. Besides, I think it's more fun to read it this way than just a long essay. Next question... ;-)

I forgot to check in last month. Can I still download it?

We intend to archive as much as our ISP will allow.
Click here to access the archives

What if I like some of these songs?
Can I get them on a CD?

We'll be happy to make custom CDRs of any/all material of your choosing.
Certainly CDs sound better than mp3s.
Click here to email us a request.

We would ask for a suggested $10 donation to cover shipping & media, but wouldn't require it.
We might consider adding an option for this on the Store Page in the future if we receive enough requests for it. We might even consider mastering & releasing a "Best Of The Monthlies" compilation CD at the end of each year. Not sure where this is going. We're still making it up as we go along...

Thanks for asking. Oh wait, you're me... never mind...

Is there anything else you want to tell me that I'm not asking about?

Yes.

Er, what do you want to tell me?

THANK YOU, for reading & for listening.
Also, we welcome any/all constructive feedback/criticism.

God bless,

Thank you.

You're welcome. :-)

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