Last evening a group of folks gathered at Victory Church in Omaha to hear some of the songs from the long-awaited CD Are You Ready?

During the course of the evening Joe also shared the CD journey – from concept, writing songs, gathering musicians, and the recording process.  Joe reminded us that a whole team of people had worked together and supported this effort including his own church body.  About half of the artists who performed on the recording were on stage with Joe and so the songs sounded much like the disc.  It was a privilege to attend with my friend Allyn (who assisted in the CD mastering process) and enjoy a nice spread of goodies and conversation with others afterward.

Tesco Productions again thanks Joe for choosing to record here and congratulations on seeing this dream become reality.  I’ve listened to part of the disc again today and it was refreshing.  You can get more information about Joe, the music team and where to obtain the disc or song downloads at Joe’s website.  The compilation of Joe’s CD can be heard in our audio gallery.

Last Thursday found the Omaha Double Tree Hotel bustling with buses and vans as over 300 residents of retirement and assisted living facilities made their way into the beautifully decorated ball room.  They were all there to enjoy hearing again the story of Christmas, old favorite songs along with some newer tunes, and to share a smile.  Paul Falkowski and the staff of Desert Ministries for the past 14 years has gathered singers and other presenters to share some cheer with those who may find very little this time of year.  Tesco Productions was again called upon to provide sound equipment along with gear use donated by Midwest Sound & Lighting, and I engineered the presentation.  I’m always reminded to count my blessings of health, friends and family, and faith.  May we each share some of that first love gift this Christmas season.

The long-awaited CD written nearly entirely by Joe Laughlin has reached its finish line.  The various players and singers have come to Tesco Producitons, or in the case of the keyboardist who dropped his parts off on DVD, over a period of 3 1/2 years – making this project kind of a cross-country run of sorts but all the endurance and patience has paid off.  Tesco Productions (along with the assistance of Allyn Noradki) mastered the mixes and gave Joe his long-awaited prize for the final listen.  I happened to miss his return phone call a short while later but his message, along with other exclamations of joy and excitement, included the word “WOW!”.

I think you will have the same response when you get the opportunity to hear this musical treat.  All the songs exalt his Redeemer as they reflect Joe’s spiritual journey.  There are 14 songs providing over 50 minutes of style twists and turns which are often quite unexpected.  The only constant in all the songs is Joe’s acoustic guitar and vocal, but I wouldn’t describe the CD as being “acoustic”.  There are a few songs which primarily would have that feel, but the styles vary greatly.

Joe is planning a CD release concert at the church he pastors on Sunday evening December 11 at 6pm.  Victory Church is located at 6330 N. 56th St. (56th & Sorensen Prkwy) in Omaha.