This is a small clip of an upcoming documentary on the Heartbeat for Worship.
Other than being a virtuoso percussionist Luis Conte is a great guy with a huge heart. More importantly is his humility and desire to know God on a deeper level. He, like all of us is not perfect but does not let his imperfections get in the way of the opportunity to grow in his craft both spiritually and naturally. What I really love about Luis is that he does not allow his great accomplishments to cause him to be arrogant. Unfortunately when many artists reach a certain level their is a great potential to fall into this area of sin. We are honored to have Luis as a part of the Heartbeat for Worship team!
To learn more about Luis Conte visit www.luisconte.com
In this clip Lou Santiago Jr. speaks on prayer and preparation prior to an event/ministering. The interview was shot by videographer Adam C. Erickson during a rehearsal for the Heartbeat for Worship 2010. The Heartbeat for Worship 2012 planning is underway! Details coming soon!
Lou Santiago Jr. Bio from Sabian Cymbals Website:
Thirty-two year old drummer Louis Santiago Jr. has already had a remarkable musical career that is the stuff urban legends are made of. Born in New York City in 1976, Lou did not purchase his first drum set until he was eighteen. After two years of eight to twelve hours of daily practice, he quit playing and joined the Navy – intent on earning tuition money to attend the Drummer’s Collective in New York City.
Five years later, during his last year of enlistment, Lou finally picked up his sticks again and, incredibly, after eight months of practicing, won the 2001 Guitar Center South East Regional Drum-Off, placing him 7th in the nation. Two years later, in 2003, he won the over 18 age division of Modern Drummer’s “Undiscovered Drummer” contest and then toured with legendary trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band. “Louis is without a doubt one of the most exciting new young drummers on the scene. He is dedicated to his craft and I look forward to watching the progress of his career!” – Maynard Ferguson. Since then, Lou has gone on to work with some of the industry’s finest artists, such as afro-cuban/jazz bassist, John Benitez, Composer/Bassist Adam Nitti, German bassist, Martin Engelien, Worship Leader/Pastor Marco Barrientos, Raul Sanchez, Lamar Boschman, Seventh Day Slumber, Jeff Deyo and Natalie Grant, this is just to name a few!
In addition to performance ministry, Lou has a passion for teaching. He is part of the faculty at the following worship/music schools and conferences: IWI (International Worship Institute), PWI (Pure Worship Institute), DFJ (Drummers for Jesus), and Thunder School Nashville. Lou has also been very successful as a secular clinician, inspiring and influencing drummers of all ages both in Europe and the United States. Highlighted in Modern Drummer Magazine, Lou says his goal is, “To become a better person and drummer than I was yesterday. I sincerely believe that music both inspires and speaks to people. I pray that my drumming does the same. This isn’t just a job or hobby for me. I understand fully that it is a gifting given to me from GOD to further his kingdom.” After playing for little more than 4 years, Lou’s prodigious talents have earned him endorsements from Spaun custom drums, SABIAN cymbals, Evans drumheads, Vic Firth drumsticks, Gibraltar hardware, Toca Percussion, Shure Microphones, and Souldog clothing.
Darius Fentress speaks about the benefits of being and utilizing a percussionist.
A percussion staple in the gospel entertainment industry, Darius Fentress started performing with Grammy Award Winning Gospel artist, Fred Hammond at the age of eighteen.
Darius has worked since 1998 as a live percussionist as well as a studio musician for artists such as Fred Hammond, Kenny Latimore, Chante’ Moore-Latimore, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, and Commissioned, just to name a few. Darius has also been a part of traveling stage plays, multi-media productions and films.
Darius is a multi-talented musician who has also evolved into a recording engineer. He has recorded numerous records including the Grammy Award-Winning album, Free To Worship where he earned credits as an engineer and also being noted for his skillful percussion work.
I had the privelege to interview Toca artist Darius Fentress several months ago in Dallas, Texas. We had some wonderful discussions about God, worship, percussion, etc. In this video Darius answers a question about some pitfalls musicians encounter while traveling, and touring. Below is Darius’s official biography.
A percussion staple in the gospel entertainment industry, Darius Fentress started performing with Grammy Award Winning Gospel artist, Fred Hammond at the age of eighteen.
Darius has worked since 1998 as a live percussionist as well as a studio musician for artists such as Fred Hammond, Kenny Latimore, Chante’ Moore-Latimore, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, and Commissioned, just to name a few. Darius has also been a part of traveling stage plays, multi-media productions and films.
Darius is a multi-talented musician who has also evolved into a recording engineer. He has recorded numerous records including the Grammy Award-Winning album, Free To Worship where he earned credits as an engineer and also being noted for his skillful percussion work.
New acoustic/guitar music worship project by Derek Bishop
I recently had the privilege of catching up with Derek Lee Bishop; a worship leader for Rockfish Church in Raeford, North Carolina. We sat down for lunch to talk about his project “Better Days”, which I was also involved in ( I recorded some percussion for one of the tracks on the album. The song is titled “In the Shade) and had a great conversation about ministry and the use of music to reach people where they are. While there comes a point when certain business practices are necessary to utilize in order to propel a mission, Derek is an artist who seems determined to find the balance of not letting that overwhelm his motivation. In person Derek is a very soft-spoken yet passionate individual who has a deep concern for using his gift of music in a positive manner.
The Heartbeat for Worship is about using different types of music and art forms as a bridge to deliver the ultimate message of reconciliation. Culture, nationality, ethnicity, etc. are sacred to us. Their must be a balance of respect and love yet the boldness of expressing our beliefs so that our passion is sincere and effective. All over the world people experience both joy and pain. I decided to write a blog about Derek’s new project Better Days because I believe his mission for this project falls right in line with the heart of HBFW. All of the proceeds for “Better Days” will go to two non-profit organizations that help prostituted children of India. The organizations are Project Red Light Rescue, and gospel for Asia. These are two organizations that are focused upon the country of India. If you have ever attended a HBFW concert then you know that this a region of the world we are passionate about. Also, anytime an artist dedicates his gift to the awareness of child prostitution and fighting against it is an honorable and noble thing.
As far as the music is concerned, Bishop melds the sound of indie folk, funk, and spanish guitar effortlessly to deliver a message of hope for a better day. If you love warm soothing vocals and classic singer songwriter poetry you will not be disappointed. You can learn more about Derek Lee Bishop and the project at www.derekleebishop.com
100% of the proceeds for the album Better Days will go to these charitable organizations.
Hello friends,
I have some exciting news! Heartbeat for Worship founder William Johnson will be releasing his new CD “Flor de Vida” later this month! You can learn more at www.williamjohnsonmusic.com and www.theflorproject.com
Be on the lookout for details about the CD release concert possibly this October. Concerning the Heartbeat for Worship concert we regretfully inform you that there will not be one this year. The next HBFW will be the 5th annual concert however we have decided to postpone this year’s concert to 2012. Currently the team is working on a full feature film documentary centered around the event. This will be available also in 2012.
A new percussion teaching series will be available next week! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter as one will be sent out for the month of July next week as well.
Thank you and God bless you!
HBFW Team
This is the first part of a new series where I will be uploading videos of playing with other instrumentation to show some ideas of how to apply the congas, cajon, djembe, shakers, etc. to modern styles and genres of music. Notice here towards the end that I use a “tumbao” shortly to show how Latin or other actual patterns can be applied to contemporary styles. The song is actually Revelation song and can be found by searching for Phillips Craig and Dean as well as Kari Jobe. ;The next video upload for this podcast will be a series to further explain practice methods as it pertains to the rudiments found in Lawrence Stone’s famous book stick control.
