production

Gallop Amps

20 May ’13 by Christopher Hopper Leave a Comment

I was at a friend’s 50th birthday Saturday night in PA, and one of his best friends flew in and surprised him from Las Vegas.

Nice friend.

Don Gallop is a church planter, something I respect highly. And as his tent making, he builds custom, one-off amps. As we talked more, I realized this guy can model any board out there, or build to whatever idea you hear. What a gift! From super quiet circuits, to fat and dirty, he can dial it in.

I was totally amped(!), and thought – shoot, if we’re going to buy amps anyway, why not buy a custom build at a fair price, and support a guy who’s planting a church in Vegas?

Now that’s money well spent.

gallopamps.com

Pass it along.

ch:

Filed Under: art, creativity, culture, music, production, travel Tagged With: amplifiers, amps, guitar, music

Sprig Dreams Coming True

16 May ’13 by Christopher Hopper 11 Comments

Listening to my dad dream inside Sprig Studios is pretty amazing. Watching it coming to life in real time is even more so.

We’re right in the middle of build out again, this time with the end in sight. Lights getting ordered, flooring finishes being assigned, and new equipment getting ready for purchase.

ch:

Filed Under: art, creativity, music, news, production Tagged With: construction, Recording, Sprig Studios

Redline Conference 2013

21 Apr ’13 by Christopher Hopper 6 Comments

Here are a few images captured during Redline Conference this weekend. For those of us fortunate enough to have been there, our lives will never be the same because of King Jesus.

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Filed Under: creativity, culture, kingdom, leadership, music, news, production, speaking, theology, video, worship Tagged With: conferences, Redline, teens, youth

Behind Every Soul

31 Mar ’13 by Christopher Hopper 15 Comments

Behind every soul is a person. And behind every person coming to the moment of surrendering their heart to the lordship of Jesus is someone who’s prepared the ground.

I’m so proud of this team pictured above.

Today at New Life, we had 1,300 people come through our doors, and more people flooding the front during the altar calls for salvation and renewal than I could count [below].

Behind every life that was effected, I’m sure there have been years of prayer and multiple God-instances that brought them to this day.

But there was also this group of people. This group of actors, musicians, tech team, and department heads. And there are even more people not even shown here; this small group is a cross-section of 280 volunteers!

The point is that whenever any of our lives are touched in some way, including my own, there are people behind the scenes, who may not get any glory this side of heaven, who are responsible.

Volunteer in your church: from café worker to usher to cleaner to signer, you’ll be serving countless lives into eternal life.

Happy Easter. He is risen!

All for King Jesus,

ch:

[Photo by Tony Hayner]

Filed Under: creativity, culture, kingdom, leadership, production, theology Tagged With: evangelism, ministry, production, souls, tech team, work

Two New TV Ads from New Life Media

28 Mar ’13 by Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

Very proud of two new television ads that New Life Media just put together for two of our clients. I love being able to make beautiful things for our clients, and change peoples’ perception of our region. Second-rate is not acceptable, and cultures that value beauty value life. If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing with excellence, and such simple, Kingdom fundamentals should show in everything we do, whether we’re serving the Church or serving secular companies.

Craftsmanship counts.

A big thanks to Jason Clement, Clarissa Collins, David Seaman and all our support staff. Great job, team!

ch:

Filed Under: art, business, creativity, culture, leadership, marketing, perspective, production, video Tagged With: ads, advertising, CiCi's Pizza, Clayton Distillery, commercials, marketing, New Life Media, TV

Vinyl’s Ongoing Legacy

23 Jan ’13 by Christopher Hopper 18 Comments

About ten years ago I reported to my father, veteran record producer and industry specialist Peter Hopper, that vinyl records were coming back, to which he famously replied, “Son, they never went anywhere.”

And boy am I glad they didn’t. Just today I was moving some of my collection here to my office, when my father forwarded me a piece by USA Today on a studio out of California that is still licensing and making “records” the “old fashioned way.”

If you already understand why vinyl sounds so much better than MP3s and CDs, you’ll appreciate this piece (and the quirky man behind it all); if you don’t, then you’re about to get an education.

I’m excited for the grand opening of Sprig Records later this year, and our use of a prized Studer Mk. IV, 24-track, 2″ tape machine, which I personally plan to record with in the hopes of turning those masters into vinyl records for my family, friends, and maybe even some fans.

So here’s to all the audiophiles out there. Get groovy, baby.

ch:

phill keaggy emerging ted sandquist courts of the king peter hopper
[Two of the records I moved to my office today, both with my father's imprint on their production.]

Filed Under: creativity, culture, music, production Tagged With: analog, Courts of the King, Emerging, mastering, Mobile Fidelity, peter hopper, Phil Keaggy, record players, records, Shawn Britton, Sprig Records, tape, Ted Sandquist, USA Today, vinyl

How Real Heroes Fight

30 Oct ’12 by Christopher Hopper 13 Comments

Following a jump-start to our van on Sunday morning (some may remember the Tweet), I got in an interesting email-conversation with my friend, Steve Byers. It was so interesting – and inspiring – that I asked him permission to pass it on as I knew my readers would share my sentiments.

Steve was a Sergeant in the US Army with 2/15 FA, stationed with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq when this picture was taken. I know, rather humorous.

Until you get the details:

Funny story about this. I was sound a sleep in my bunk when we came under attack at the little outpost we were at in Baghdad. I jumped out of bed barefoot and grabbed my gun.

After 10-minutes in the firefight, the shell caseings were burning my feet, so I ran in and grabbed my gear.

About 5-minutes later we got a radio call from two guys that were pinned down and they needed some fire support. As soon as I heard it, I grabbed one of my soldiers and ran to help them.

About 20-min after the firefight, I radioed down to my Platoon Sergeant and asked him if I could come down because I was cold (it was December), and he started chewing me out saying, “This is no time to be worried about the cold! We are under attack!”

So I said, “Well, if I dont come down and at least put some pants on, these white legs will give away our position.”

Needless to say, I was allowed to come and get dressed. My Platoon Sergeant told me later that he thought he was losing his mind because someone ran by him going to the fight in their underwear.

I actually got an award for it! They took a picture and sent it to our Commander.

I’ll admit, I love my Jason Bourne, James Bond, and Mission Impossible films. But true heroes drop everything when lives are at stake; the last thing they think about are themselves. Or their pants.

And ladies, he’s single.

ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership, news, production Tagged With: 10th Mountain Division, Afghanistan, battle, Byers, clothing, courage, guns, leadership, pants, Steve, underwear, us army, war

Ignite: Musicians Conference

4 Oct ’12 by Christopher Hopper Leave a Comment

My home church, New Life, hosted the first Ignite: Musicians Conference on our campus in Watertown earlier this week on Tuesday. The heart was to invest into the training and betterment of artists and engineers in our county by bringing in high-end, Christian teachers and coaches at no expense to attendees.

The night consisted of two parts: breakout clinics for individual disciplines, and a group clinic on the main stage with the entire team.

We also asked the teachers to come in early so they could offer private lessons to people in the community (*the only paid portion of the event, with payment going directly to the teachers).

I think the event was a win-win, allowing musicians in our region free access to quality training, and giving teachers a chance to impart their skills to willing players along with giving them a revenue stream.

Here are some pics from the event that I posted on Instagram. Enjoy!

ch:

Filed Under: culture, geek, leadership, music, production, worship Tagged With: audio engineering, Ignite Musicians Conference, learning, music, training

Sing Hallelujah

25 Sep ’12 by Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

Mike Kim and Nate Cronk performing “Sing Hallelujah” at Red Booth Studios

My buddies Mike Kim and Nate Cronk just released their new single together, Sing Hallelujah. Go snag the track on iTunes, and watch the music video on YouTube. (You may or may not see a crazy bald white guy in the video). The video was shot on-location at Red Booth Studios in Rochester, NY – shout out to the notoriously good-looking Brian & Kim Moore.

Hope it blesses you and all those you know.

ch:

Filed Under: music, news, production, video, worship Tagged With: mike kim, music, nate cronk, Red Booth Studios, The New Collective, worship

Behind The Scenes

5 May ’12 by Christopher Hopper 9 Comments

Yet another of my dad’s (Peter Hopper) fantastic sayings growing up was about touring in the music industry:

It’s 90% grunge and 10% glory.

And about sound engineers and production staff:

If it all goes wrong, you get all the blame. And if it all goes right, you get none of the glory.

And while some of my favorite jobs in both music and church ministry go largely unnoticed, they remain the most rewarding. There’s simply something extremely gratifying about knowing you had a part to play in making an atmosphere beautiful.

The Christian Musician Summit that Jennifer and I recently attended was a perfect example of this. The main sessions were held in The Chapel’s worship center (aka “sanctuary”). The scene people walked into each morning and evening – with anyone from Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown to David Crowder and Christy Nockles leading worship – was what you see pictured above. Nothing short of spectacular. And seemingly effortless.

But being the associate pastor production junky that I am, I snuck in for all the sound checks and asked to poke around the stage. (Geeks are only happy to oblige other geeks). What I saw were the “guts” of these main session events: 5 audio staff, 3 camera operators, 1 lighting director, and at least 4 people in the video command booth up top. Not to mention that the physical framework for any set looks more like a sound stage for Mad Max Beyond the Thunder Dome than a gorgeous worship setting.

The most beautiful parts of our lives are those that have the most people behind them and, if all the lights are shining on them, are actually the ugliest.

So here’s to all the people – parents, pastors, mentors and friends – that know the most unattractive elements of our lives can be quite beautiful when set in the right context.

ch:

Filed Under: leadership, production Tagged With: #cmsny, behind the scenes, Brenton Brown, Buffalo NY, Christian Musicians Summit, conferences, lighting, music, production, sets, stages, The Chapel

It’s Just a House

27 Apr ’12 by Christopher Hopper 4 Comments

I flip the lights on early this morning and I see that people have been hard at work.

It’s under construction.

Someone’s been in the house.

Preparing. Thinking ahead.

Working with others in mind.

Tonight in this house, hundreds of young people will gather to worship Jesus. Some for the very first time.

Their arrival was planned for.

Intentional.

Deliberate.

The sacrifice of many for the freedom of a few.

Tonight we’ll meet with God. And turn a house into a hall of homes. Where the Holy Spirit can reside.

It’s just a house. Full of miracles.

ch:

Filed Under: leadership, production, worship Tagged With: Church, conferences, Events, heart, homes, production, Redline, redline conference, sanctuary, volunteers, work

Building Sprig Records Studio: Log Entry 6

12 Apr ’12 by Christopher Hopper 7 Comments

One of the coolest little features about the new studio is something my father is particularly proud of: a set of Jefferson Stairs.

Invented by the late President Thomas Jefferson in order to conserve space, Sprig’s variation uses a central laminated beam with incremental steps on either side. The effect is a surprisingly natural climb into The Loft that overlooks the Control Room and Main Studio A.

Bob Brola and his son Mike have taken the lead on this and thrown their hearts into the project. While the final steps will be more elaborate and include galvanized piping throughout the architecture, yesterday’s mock-up had all of us climbing on it like boys on a jungle gym.

Boys will be boys.

ch:

Filed Under: art, geek, production Tagged With: Billy, Bob Brola, build out, building, construction, Jefferson Stairs, Mike Brola, peter hopper, Problem solving, Sprig Records, Sprig Studios