VINE CD (PART II): BEHIND THE SCENES
May 28 Sunday 2006

Considering that a significant portion (if not the majority) of the night was spent back stage, I figure it’s something worth writing about.

I never appreciated how much work goes on behind the scenes, especially on “preparing” the sound, (excuse my poor grasp of terminology). Firstly there’s a mix for the musicians and singers on stage. Then there’s another mix for “front of house” which is what the crowd hears. Then there’s the sound desk (or should I say entire room), for the recording of the actual Live CD.

As you can imagine, the sound check took hours and involved long periods of waiting. Whereas I don’t usually enjoy hanging around, the long stretches in this case were welcome. With all the excitement (much of which was taking place in my head), I simply needed time to be still so that I could absorb what was going on around me. Even now, I get shivers thinking about it.

At one point I was a little awe struck. I think I've said this before, but just looking around at the team really blew me away; incredible talent, incredible gifting and incredible hearts. Seeing everyone come together, dancers as well as musicians, for the sole purpose of glorifying God really challenged me. I felt the need to check my own heart and motives again... to get back to the heart of worship. It wasn't always easy, but I'm ever so grateful for all the waiting around.

I also enjoyed the long breaks, because it gave me a chance to spend some time with my friends. As well as having the freedom to mill around off-stage, the venue provided us with a series of dressing rooms. Whether having make-up applied, eating pizza or playing cards, the atmosphere was pretty chilled, and the fellowship was wonderful.

But instead of me rambling on about what happened behind the scenes, I've made a collage of some of the photos taken by Nic and Derek, who are awesome photographers. So please take the time to click on their names and checkout their websites for more stunning photography.