We’re actually (gasp!) a band now

When I started putting songs together and thinking about recording last year, I really just thought it would be a fun project. I played most of the instruments myself, had a lot of fun, and got a little lonely. It’s way more fun to do music with other people. So I pulled in a few friends to contribute. Suddenly the project had a life of its own, and I could see that this was going to be more than a small project for me.

So now with the album out in all the major online retailers and live shows being played and whatnot, three of my good friends have agreed to join me as official band-mates in The Penny Jar: Brandi Jo Magee (who played violin on Nothing and Down Alone on the album), Scott Deloney (who played bass on Down Alone, formerly of The Rocketboys), and Dion Fink on drums (formerly of Nobody Famous).

The Penny Jar at Monks Coffee Shop in Abilene TX

I am beyond excited to be joined by such a talented crew of musicians!  Now it appears we have work to do:  new photo shoot, band bio to re-write, new press kit, and gigs to book.

–JC

Get our album FREE while you can

We will pull our album from NoiseTrade at the end of the week. You can get it free right now, though, by recommending the album to friends!

http://www.noisetrade.com/thepennyjar

Enjoy!

We’re on eMusic!

You can now download Let The Record Slow in full or in part from eMusic!

Now on Amazon.com!

You can now purchase our songs on Amazon.com!  50% of money spent on music from this album will still benefit World Vision regardless of how it’s purchased.

Acoustic in Abilene

Got a couple small acoustic gigs lined up in Abilene. Keep an eye on the Shows Page as more dates will be posted soon!

1. ArtWalk This Thursday (Sept. 10), 7:00 PM, at Minter Park across from The Center
2. Starbucks on Buffalo Gap Rd. on Friday, Sept. 18, 8:00 PM

Good News, Bad News

So I guess it’s been one of those days. I’ll start with the bad news:

• I got a ticket for expired state inspection
• The bone in my arm is not reattaching and healing as hoped.
• We found another random piece of bone floating around in my elbow and the doc has no idea where it came from

But there’s good news too:

• The cop only gave me warning for speeding, and didn’t ask for my proof of insurance (which I couldn’t find)
• The doc doesn’t want to do surgery, and thinks my arm will heal ok whether or not the broken piece ever reattaches. 2 more weeks in a splint, then physical therapy!
• Apparently the random bone fragment isn’t bothering anything.
• The new album hit the front page of NoiseTrade

Had its downs, but the ups win. Overall, not a terrible day!

A Disc In The Tree Is Worth…

My brother says I should make up a better story; say I pushed a kid out of the way of a train or something. But truth is that I broke my left arm Saturday practicing disc golf. It went something like this:

Disc in tree. Me in tree. Limb broken. Broken limb.

Go ahead and laugh. I know it’s funny.

Long story short, I’m in a splint for a while. If the bone sets itself as the swelling subsides, that’s all I’ll need. If it moves, there will be surgery and probably no gigs for a while. I should know more next week.

In the meantime, I’m compiling a list on Twitter of all the everyday activities that have suddenly become adventures now that I’m down to one good arm.

Here are a couple photos of the damage:

“Let The Record Slow” Is Here!

Well, the day has finally come!

After lots of hard work, the debut album from The Penny Jar has finally been released! I hope you all love it as much as I do. Please download it and spread the word to your friends on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

As you’ll see, I’ve chosen to work with two great organizations: NoiseTrade and WorldVision. If you haven’t already, please check out both of them. NoiseTrade is a great place to find new music and support artists you love. WorldVision is one of the leading charities making a difference world wide in the fight against poverty. I would highly recommend saving a few pennies each day and considering becoming a sponsor to a child.

Special thanks to my beautiful wife and daughter for being patient with me throughout this process; to Brett Stewart, Brandi Jo Magee, Scott Deloney, and Brenton Dowdy for contributing their musical skills to the album; to Sherry Young for creating such incredible album art; to Heather Turner for her photography; to Paul Matta for listening to me and helping me get the best of out of my songs; to Leighton Lockett and Jeremy Kirles for their guidance and wisdom; and to all of you who have listened, tweeted, blipped, and otherwise encouraged me along the way.

Enjoy the music!