Christians Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burnin'

I love this...simply phenomenal!!! The depth of faith and passion in this song/video are incredibly moving!

Where Classical Meets Urban

This video is sooo amazing to me, check it out:

Free Capo Converter Software (By Pisteuomen)

As any well-rounded guitarist knows, a capo is not only a handy tool to have but using it is also a resource needed for learning how to become a better musician. A capo is a handy tool for changing the pitch and key of a guitar. Think of it this way: If you play an "A-chord" without a capo (e.g. in the "open" position) you get an "A-sound". However, if you were to put a capo on the first fret and play an "A-chord", no longer would you have an "A-sound", now you would have a "G#-sound". Pretty cool eh? Or, is it confusing? Well, whichever it is to you, take note that I have created a capo converting program and am offering it for free here on Pisteuomen. It's very user-friendly and helpful. It's called the "Pisteuomen Capo Converter 1.0". You can download the program by clicking the package icon below. Enjoy!!! Oh, and if you use it, why not let me know what you think? I'll try to add this to the "free software" browsing tool soon.

Need Help Finding A Song

I've been hunting for a song for a few weeks now and I have yet to find it in audio, tab or even lyrical format. It's a praise chorus from a few years back that begins like this:

We have come to worship You
We have come to worship You
Yes, we have come to worship You
Look deep into our hearts
And You will see that
We have come to worship You

etc...

Anybody know this song?

How To Build A Guitar Pedal Board, Pt. 1: Creating An All-In-One Power Supply

With a renewed interest in all things guitar, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and ideas on guitars and guitar equipment on Pisteuomen. So, I'm going to start another series that I'm calling "How To Build A Guitar Pedal Board". In each of these installments, I'm going to show you, how, as a guitarist, you can save lots of money by having a little creativity. In this first post, I want to show you how to save upwards of $200-300 by saving yourself from having to buy the plug that fits each pedal you purchase or a "one source power supply" such as the T-Rex "Fuel Tank" unit or the less expenisive, "Godlyke Power Supply". I'm going to show you how to save by teaching you how to make your own in 10 easy steps. I came up with the idea on my own and did it in less than an hour. When you're done, you will have saved tons of money and given yourself a great sense of accomplishment. So, what follows is a slideshow that will guide you through the process of building your own guitar pedal board's "one plug power supply". Because the slideshow moves quite fast and because the in-depth, explanatory captions are not included, you will need to click the "Tutorial" link below the slideshow and once that page opens, follow the instructions "step-by-step" w/each pic and its caption. Use the "next" button in the top, right of the page to proceed to the next pic or the "back" button to refer to the previous one. Enjoy!

(*Note: While there are 10 Steps, there are more than 10 photos. Some steps required a number of illustrative pictures. Thus, some pics may be labeled 1.5, etc. "1.5" is still representative of "Step 1" and so on and so forth! Also, there is no "sound/volume" because this is a pictoral/reading tutorial!)

Click the following link for the tutorial: Creating A Guitar Pedal Board’s "All-In-One" Power Supply Tutorial




Sample of a professional "daisy chain":







Pedal board, power supply, daisy chain, make your own, how to, guitar, amp, etc.

Ibanez Artcore AS73 / Boss AC-3 / Rocktek "S.O.A.P."

So, with the sale of other (really, really good!!!) music equipment, I thought I'd purchase a new guitar that was easier on my fingers. The Ibanez Artcore AS73, which has recieved great reviews, is just that guitar. I got the Transparent Cherry Red one; as you can see in the photo, it's a good lookin' six string. Because I'm a sucker for acoustic, I had to pick up Boss's AC-3, Acoustic Simulator Pedal. I've found that acoustics just kill/shred my fingers and that electrics are so much easier on them. The AC-3 allows me to make my electric sound just like an acoustic (brilliant, I say, brilliant!). I got a nice case out of the deal too. I talked the guy down about $30-40 on the guitar, case and pedal. That's not bad for a chain retail store. I also purchased the Rocktek "Son of a Pitch" guitar tuner pedal on Ebay. Anyway, I'm excited to play!!! I've missed guitar playing over the last few years.

Wings Of Angels Video - The Musical Michael Halcomb, Pt. 5

Here's a video of me about 6 years ago perfoming a song I wrote titled "Wings of Angels"; this was during a Church gathering on a Sunday morning. Fun stuff.

"Hey Night" : The Musical Michael Halcomb, Pt. 4

It is hard to believe that next month my wife and I will celebrate our 5-year anniversary. Time flies!!! We met each other while working at a youth camp in Indiana (Springhill/In-Pursuit). When I first approached her, she wasn't hearin' me at all. Later in the summer, though, I won a date with her and the rest is history. This is a song I wrote shortly after that when I was traveling around with my buddy playing lots of shows. The title of the song is "Hey Night" and basically, it just talks about the first night we hung out and how it was just perfect; I wanted time to stop. While traveling, this quickly became a crowd favorite; it was one of my favorites to perform as well. This particular recording is from a show done in Baltimore, MD. Enjoy.

Josiah Leming: I Love This Kid

For those of you who watch American Idol, you're probably familiar with Josiah Lemming. It was crazy that he didn't make the top 24 (especially after seeing how awful 9 of the 12 who did make it performed last night). But this Lemming kid isn't just a good singer, he's an incredible song writer too. I'm a writer myself and I know a good one when I see and hear one. I uploaded a video of him to YouTube where he is performing one of his originals (as seen on the Ellen talk show yesterday). Great stuff. It's only a matter of time before this kid is big, mark my words!!!

The Musical Michael Halcomb (Pt. 2)

Here is some audio of me performing one of my songs live in Baltimore back in 2003. The title of the song is "Wings of Angels". I wrote it while sitting in a hotel room in Maryland. I was reflecting on my life up to that point and with guitar in hand, I came up with a nice little tune.

The Musical Michael Halcomb (Pt. 1)

So, apart from the biblical/pastoral/theological side of me, I have a musical side too. In fact, I spent my last year of college touring all over the country playing music. Me and my friend Mike Holt had an acoustic duo; we wrote, performed and recorded our own stuff. I found some of that stuff today and enjoyed listening to it. I thought I'd do a few posts and share some of it. Oh...nostalgia! (Oh yeah, I also rap but what's posted here is totally different.)

Here's one of the album songs. It's just me, performing a song titled "From Atlanta". I penned the song while riding the team soccer bus from Georgia back home to Kentucky. I was missing my girl quite a bit at that time, so, I guess this was a way of handling it. Click the following button to listen:

Top 10 Albums of My Lifetime

Here are "MY" top 10 favorite albums of "MY" lifetime (I'm not attempting to speak for everyone). Of course, these are records I grew up on or listened to through high-school and college. I judged them by 1 criterion: I could put them in my stereo and listen to them over and over without ever getting sick of them, that is, I could leave them in the cd player for months on end and never wear them out. I listed them in order:


1. Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy Up The Girl
2. Dashboard Confessional: MTV Unplugged 2.0
3. Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American
4. Matt Wertz: Somedays
5. John Mellencamp: The Best That I Could Do
6. Third Eye Blind: Success
7. Everclear: So Much For The Afterglow
8. Bob Seger: Greatest Hits
9. Chris Tomlin: Not To Us
10. The Get Up Kids: Four-Minute Mile

Runner-Up:
11. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony: E 1999 Eternal