Cross Rhythms - Rimmerama

Last night was a great experience on Rimmerama with Mike Rimmer. It was fantasic to see the inside of a radio station and I felt priviledged to have been invited to share with the Cross Rhythms audience. It was funny talking about gardens and cats, but brilliant to be able to share my testimony with so many people. I even got to sing three of my songs live. I performed Design For Life, Why? and I Believe in Love. I was accompanied by my good friend Nigel Halliday on Bodhran. Nigel was a brick all day and a real encouragement throughout the interview. Of course, I am so grateful to God for providing me with this marvellous opportunity. God is so good.

i-tunes digital delivery

Wow! All this still seems bizarre. First I get airplay on internet radio with Windy City Radio, then local radio with BBC Radio Lincolnshire..... and now..... i-tunes. You can now get Design For Life on i-tunes store. So if you're into downloading albums, follow the link in title of this blog entry.

Preparing for The States

Last week was an amazing week with the visit of J. Brian Hill and Kurt (the bouncer) Hermes to my home town Skegness. We had a fantastic time with gigs, family get togethers, songwriting, recording, workshops and generally getting to know each other, whilst sharing the Lord together. God has truly blessed us with this blossoming friendship. Now we are left quiet and missing our new friends, but I'm eagerly awaiting the return visit in May.Preparation begins in earnest now for the trip to Chicago. I've been busy preparing an official merchandise shop http://www.cafepress.com/stevelowndes so please check out the products, and let me know if you have any suggestions (I like the cuddly teddy bear) and I'm practicing like mad on new material and old. Dates to look out for in May if you live near the Chicago area are:Saturday, May 20th, 2006Ragamuffin Coffee House - http://www.ragamuffincoffee.com/Acoustic Session - 8:00pm1 W. Illinois St.,St. Charles, IL 60174US(630)377-7174A chance to see Steve live and acoustic. View mapandSunday, May 21st, 2006Sanctuary AoG Church - http://sanctuaryag.comConcert on the Hill - 18:001S430 Wenmoth Rd.Batavia, IL 60510United States630-879-0785Outdoor celebration. in the beautiful grounds of Sanctuary Church, Batavia, Illinois. USAI can't wait to visit Brain and Kurt in their home church.

Race For Life

Tamara (my wife) & Steph (her sister) are doing Race for Life to help raise awareness for Cancer Research UK. In 2003 Steph was given 6 months max after being diagnosed with Skin Cancer. By the grace of God she is still with us. She is now wheelchair bound. She not only had herself to fight for but her 3 year old son Jack. They are both aware of the traumas this disease can cause. So please pray for them & if you are able to, please contribute to help them raise awareness, awareness not just for people like them but for the thousands of other sufferers. The link to their fundraising site is http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/pages/?pid=306766

J. Brian Hill in the UK update

J. Brian Hill arrived in the UK Saturday and there's been a whirlwind of activity since. Still jet lagged, he joined me, Geoff Howlitt and Living Hope at the Good Fellowship Inn for my debut performance. The night went very well, despite the expected nerves and general chaos of getting four performers to have a sound they're happy with. Geoff Howlitt opened the proceedings with a blend of his own songs in a variety of styles, including country and rock 'n' roll. Then came my set in which I played some of my older songs in addition to songs form Design For Life. Brian then treated us to a few songs and stories. The evening was completed with an enchanting set from Living Hope. It was an enjoyable evening all round.

Since then we had a fabulous meeting at my church, Holy Trinity, Boston. Simon Dowson the vicar invited Brian to share at an informal evening service which was not only well attended but a blessing to all who participated. I am grateful to Simon for trusting my word and taking a chance.

Brian is currently in Hull having spent the day at UCB and appeared on UCB Europe. I am eager to welcome him back to Skegness on Thursday.

Getting close

Preparations are becoming frantic for J. Brian Hill and Kurt Hermes forthcoming visit. That coupled with an inspection at school has left me very pressed for time. To say I'm excited is and understatement. Saturday 25th also sees my debut gig with Living Hope along with Geoff Howlitt and a guest appearance of J. Brian. Then follows a whirlwind of a week including recording and performances and concert organising (and maybe even an interview for a new job).

The concert schedule for J. Brian Hill's UK tour is:

Sunday 26th March6:30 pm Holy Trinity Church, Spilsby Road, Boston, Lincs - Evening Service

Tuesday 28th March8:00 pm St Leonard's Church, Molescroft, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire - Prayer Concert

Wednesday 29th March12:30 pm University of Hull Chapel, Cottingham Road, Hull - Communion Service and Worship Concert

7:30 pm Clowes Methodist Church, Greenwod Avenue, Hull - Worship Concert

Thursday 30th March3:20 pm St Clement's College Hall, Skegness, Lincolnshire - School Assembly/Mini Concert*7:30 pm To Be Announced

Friday 31st March3:20 pm St Clement's College Hall, Skegness, Lincolnshire - School Assembly/Mini Concert*

7:30 pm St Clement's College Hall, Skegness, Lincolnshire - Worship Concert (with live band)

Entrance to all events is FREE of charge. A freewill offering will be taken to support the music ministry of J. Brian Hill

For more info visit http://www.jbrianhill.com/ or http://www.locustmusic.co.uk/

Busy days

It's been a while since I've posted on here so I thought I ought to make the time. Much has been happening most of which is centred around the fast approaching visit of J. Brian Hill. I have been visiting many different churches to promote Brian and have met with a varied response. Some have been open and willing to participate, others paid lip service. I suppose I shouldn't worry about getting enough support, but I do. If you're reading this and you've got nothing planned on Friday 31st March 2006 then come along to my school, St. Clement's College, Burgh Road, Skegness, Lincs. to see Brian perform with a live band backing him. It promising to be an event that will bless many people, including me! Brian is staying with us, so that'll be cosy.

In addition to all that I'm still attempting to lay down the basis of the background tracks for Brian's new album, I'll be preparing two songs for the album. I've recently made an extremely useful purchase. Digidesign Mbox2 complete with Protools LE. It's already made an outstanding difference. I'm still exploring the programme at the moment so you'll have to wait for the goodies.

That's enough for now....

American Dates

If I told you would you believe me?

This has been a facinating 6 months. Way back a friend reintroduced me to Michael Card's music (thanks Nigel) and so God hauled me back into the fold after wandering for a while. I joined the Michael Card forum and immediately got friendly with TJ Draper amongst others. It's funny how you are more likely to trust people you have contact with than strangers. On the MC board I was introduced to Jadon Lavik, who had a myspace. Then another artist who also had a myspace. So upon further investigation I created my own myspace and stuck some rough recordings on. Soon four people were to enter my life and turn it around like I had never imagined. Living Hope, an acoustic duo from Hull (Robin & Squil) and J. Brian Hill soon became my confidents and mentors and best of all friends. Mikael Nordin introduced me to the joys of my guitar again. And all of them helped me to complete 'Design For Life'.

So what's happened since?

Well coming up I'm in Hull assisting in worship leading with Living Hope and again in March for a joint gig. J. Brian is coming to the UK for a solo tour and is doing dates in Hull and Skegness as part of his itinery. But to top it all off, as if that wasn't enough, Brian's invited us all over to Chicago to perform at his church. I'll be going in May 19th-22nd and will be participating in worship as well as the Concert on the Hill at Sanctuary Church Batavia, Chicago. To say I'm excited is the understatement of the decade. I only wish Tamara were coming with me. God has blessed me greatly and I am in awe of His wonderful presence in my life. He has brought me from the depths of despair into His marvellous light.

Design For Life - Steve's debut album release

It's finally happened after much soul searching and many hours of advice and sitting in front of recording equipment. I have mixed, re-mixed and re-mixed again until I was persuaded to leave them alone. So now you can hear it and if you so desire, buy it. CD Baby is truly a fantastic site who offer great advice and an excellent service for clients. When I bought J. Brian's CD from them their emails throughout the delivery process had me in fits of laughter.

I am so grateful to my God for giving me the songs and opportunities to share them. Our God is an awesome God. I am also indebted to J. Brian Hill, Robin & Helen Thompson (Living Hope), Mikael Nordin and of course Tamara my beautiful wife, for their advice and support throughout the recording process. Pots&Pans is born and I can't wait to begin the next project.

More of You and less of me

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
—Romans 12:2

One of the most difficult steps of faith is summed in these few words. It's like walking on water to us. Yet in reality it is similar to the faith we put in ou rcars everytime we venture onto a busy road. We trust that if we need to stop our car has the ability to stop us. The problems arise when we don't take time to know our car and it's limitations. Or we decide we know the road better than we actually do. That's when it all goes pear-shaped.

Our trust in God has to be like the simple faith a child exhibits when he jumps into our arms from the fifth step of the stairs. There is no doubt in the mind of that child that we will allow him to be hurt. It may seem scary, but he jumps regardless. Are we allowing our decisions to be guided by the doubts and questions or do we trust God to guide us and keep us safe.

We don't have blind faith in our cars. Equally God wants us to be informed in our faith. He has given us the Bible to outline His mighty works. His attributes are there for us to discover daily. Our faith will grow as our understanding of God grows. We will never know all there is to know about God whilst we walk this earth. But there's nothing stopping us trying to find out more. When our minds are receptive to God's word speaking to us through scripture and daily life, then and only then are we allowing God to transform us. To make us into what he desired us to be from the beginning of creation.

A Busy New Year Ahead

Happy New Year everyone. I know it's a bit late, but better late than never. It's been an eventful end to last year. I've met some great friends through the latter part of last year and am looking ahead to working with them in sharing the gospel this year. Future gigs include:

• 29th Jan - Victoria Dock Church - Hull - 10:30am
• 5th Feb - Victoria Dock Church - Hull - 10:30am
• 25th Mar - The Goodfellowship Inn - Hull 7:30pm
• 31st Mar - St. Clement's College Hall - Skegness - 7:30pm

There are recording plans for Easter and Pots&Pans is branching out. Started as a silly production label name for the Design For Life album, it may have it's first experience at producing a professional recording. I've gone into partnership with Mark Humphries of Faithful Sounds in Skegness (my sound maestro). So that may be something to look for in the future. I intend to release simple beginnings properly, which will be entirely an acoustic album. The original recordings were done with poor quality equipment in far from suitable conditions. So it'll be great to re-record them.

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas to anyone who happens upon this little blog. I pray you will find peace and love at this rather hectic festive season. I hope you enjoy the sharing of family and friends quality time. But most of all, I hope you find Jesus in the heart of all the tradition and celebration.

Abundant Blessings

What a fortnight!

What a fortnight!

Panto! Carol Service! Radio Interview! Inspection! Wow! It's been a whirlwind of highs and lows.

The schools panto that I helped to organise went well despite some SCARY rehearsals. The kids did themselves proud and produced another successful show.

In the midst of the preparation for the panto I did the interview for Sue Edwards' "Sounds Like Faith" on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. I felt so much at peace during the interview that when it went to air last Sunday I didn't recognise myself. I thank God for giving me the words to say and pray that someone out there received hope or that someone will come to recognise Jesus as their Saviour.

If anyone reads this before tonight - I'll finish off the blog later.

And there's more........