Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is "Element-O.P."?
  Element-O.P. is the name I've given to a dream of mine. I'm a guitar player, and I really like hard-edged, guitar driven music with electronic beats and rythms, sort of like Filter, Stabbing Westward or Nine Inch Nails, for fans of secular music, or like Mortal and Circle of Dust for fans of Christian music. I play bass and electric guitar at my church, and I decided it was time to write some of my own music--songs with a little more of an edge than what we play on Sunday mornings :)
• Where does the name come from?
  Actually, the name was first a joke. I was singing the "Alphabet Song" with my daughter, and when we got to the part that goes "...L-M-N-O-P...", I sang "element-o-p" instead. I thought it sounded cool, so I decided that if I ever started a band, I'd call it "Element-O.P." After I started playing bass and guitar at my church, the meaning behind the name me: "Element of Praise". I'm singing songs about religion, praising God, and encouraging others to do likewise, so the name fits.
• Tell us about the music...
  "Vanity" is probably my favorite. It's taken from that line in Ecclesiastes, "Vanity, vanity. All is vanity..." It's about the pointlessness in putting your emphasis on the physical life. On the surface, it's a somewhat depressing song, but if you pay attention to the chorus, it really isn't--"my hope lies far above..." Once you understand God's plan for mankind, you realize that there is hope, even though nothing on earth is permanent. "Why" explores what philosophers call "the problem of suffering"--if there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, and loving God, why does he allow suffering on earth? This is something that many Christians--myself included--have wrestled with at one time or another. The conclusion I have come to, although it's not stated in the song, is that while God can eliminate suffering, He wants us to take responsibility for our actions and for our world. He wants us to be His hands, and He has tasked us with helping others. It is because of our greed and selfishness that some starve while others indulge themselves with more than they need. "In Your Image" is a statement of purpose--I want to remake myself in God's image. This is the first song I ever played live -- at my church -- and it's an easy song to get carried away with. The first time I played it, I was awed and humbled by the reaction the song received. There was so much energy in the room while we were playing, it was amazing. "Liar", like "Vanity" and "Why" is a secular-friendly song--there is a Christian message, but it isn't blatant. I'm basically calling Satan a liar and making a resolution that I won't listen to him any more. It was a fun song to record, because I chose to do things a little differently. The primary instrument on this song is a bass guitar. Once I added the Electribe for a little texture, I decided it really didn't need anything else, so there's no electric guitar, except for the slide-guitar solos--bass is the lead instrument. "Fear No Evil" was inspired by a sermon one of the pastors at my church gave recently. In this song, I am arguing that since God is with me, I have nothing to fear. "Meditation" is a statement of my faith and dedication. It's the most bizarre, least musical song that I've written yet, but I like it :) "Transcend" is a very emotional song. I wrote it one night while I was in a bad state of mind. I was really angry about a number of things, and couldn't sleep. All of a sudden, I realized that, while I had a reason to be irritated, my anger was way out of proportion to what was happening, and I just started wondering "What is wrong with me? Where is all of this anger inside coming from?" "Jesus' Feet" I wrote in about twenty minutes after church one day. I was packing up my gear after playing one morning, and just started noodling around with my guitar. I started jamming on this riff, and next thing I knew, I had a new song. I've got a few more songs in progress, but these are the only ones that are far enough along to discuss yet.
• Where can we see Element-O.P. play live?
  If I can get everything lined up, Element-O.P. will be playing at a music festival at the beginning of June (2007), here in Anchorage. That will be EOP's first real live performance. I'll update the events page with more info once everything is settled.
• Who were your influences?
  I've just recently started listening to Christian music, so most of my influences are secular. I really like Stabbing Westward--they had, in my mind, the perfect blend of guitars and sequencers. I've loved Pink Floyd since I was about six or seven years old--I love the way David Gilmour plays guitar, and in particular, I love the way he uses his effects to get the right sound for each song. Both Rush and Yes have greatly influenced the way I play guitar and bass. Although this may raise eyebrows in the Christian community, I really like Nine Inch Nails' music--although I pick and choose very carefully because of Trent Reznor's lyrics. He's such a great song writer, but I often don't like his message very much. Still, he's probably the biggest influence on my sound--I just hope I can use this style of music to bring a better message to the world.
  
  Of Christian artists, Mortal is probably my favorite, and I really like Circle of Dust, as well. I like some of Sonic Flood's rowdier stuff, like "I Have Come to Worship" and "This Generation". When I lead worship at my (okay, not my church, but the church I attend), I play a lot of David Crowder Band ("Deliver Me", "Revolutionary Love"), Newsboys ("Shine", "Joy", "He Reigns", "It Is You") and Audio Adrenaline ("Rejoice", "Beautiful", "Ocean Floor", "Losing Control"). I have seen Newsboys and Audio A. live here in Anchorage, and both of them put on a phenomenal stage show.
• What kind of equipment do you use?
  I'm a tone freak; I love guitar gadgets. Here are the tools I use almost all of the time:
  1. Two Fender Strats, one with Fender American Series pickups in the neck and middle positions, and a Seymour-Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge position and the other with Fender Hot Noiseless Pickups;
  2. Fender Squire MB-4 bass, stock (for now);
  3. Korg Electribe-A Mk. II synth/sequencer;
  4. Roland JV-880 Synth;
  5. Alesis SR-16 drum machine;
  6. Carvin X100B vintage tube amp;
  7. ProCo Vintage Rat distortion;
  8. Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive;
  9. Boss DS-1 distortion;
  10. Dunlop Crybaby Wah pedal;
  11. Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus and Small Stone phaser pedals;
  12. Digitech BP-50 bass modeling effects processor;
  13. Digitech Vocal 300 vocal effects processor;
  
  I also use the Rosegarden software sequencer and Audacity multi-track recording software on my computer.
  
  I learned a lot from reading "Howtos" on other people's effects settings. Maybe I'll build a page to show the settings I use on my effects processors.