Happy Ho Ho Ho To You!

So it is almost Christmas...for some reason this year, I ain't feeling it. I have no idea why. To me it feels like Christmas is still weeks away. Wish I could figure that one out. Maybe it is the busyness, or the tons of other things going on. I feel like there are tons of distractions in my life right now that can keep me unfocused on almost everything. My brain may also be numb from the stretch of cold we had that was so bitter. Hopefully next week I will be feeling very "Christmas-y". I have to say I am really looking forward to the New Year. I think it is going to be an amazing year ahead for me and my family. I do believe it will be a year of opportunity. I am not one for New Year's Resolutions. I try and make "Life Resolutions" throughout the year and actually change myself for the better if I can. I am always wanting to change and become a better person. My wife and I are constantly pushing each other to do this. That is awesome. Lately as in my last post, I have been really feeling the need to be less self-centered and not so self absorbed. I am going to keep challenging myself on this. In every situation I keep telling myself "It isn't about me, it is about those around me. How can I affect those around my in a positive light?" My goal is to be selfless. Here's hoping! I also want to kill these last 40-50 lbs. and get as fit as I can. That would be awesome. Gym/pool membership time and a lot of self discipline. That will be awesome. Other then that I am pretty good! I am planning on taking a trip down to North Carolina to see a friend and learn a bunch of recording techniques/info/know-how a month or so....I cannot wait. I think this could unlock my future some what! Anyway, life is good and Merry Ho Ho!! Hope everyone has a great holiday and gets to spend some quality time with friends and family. I am looking forward to hanging with my kids on their break from school. God Bless you all and thank-you God that You are the reason we can celebrate together. Peace out!!
- Vaughno Claus

Snow Shoes and Self Absorption

Man is it cold now. After a very decent November we have been smacked with some winter that literally takes your breath away...but not in the good way. In the I can't breath because my lungs have started to instantaneously freeze! I am amazed at the amount of people that have no idea how to drive in winter. I think unless you have have 10 years experience driving in winter conditions you should have to take a course on winter driving living in cities like Edmonton. Brutal! I have also become increasingly aware of how self absorbed so many people are. I don't think I talk that much about myself but now I am going to be even more aware of it! I honestly don't understand why everyone thinks other people care that much about every little detail of their lives. Do you not think that they have their own lives? Do you think that their lives are so boring that your trivial information about you is much more interesting then thinking about what is going on in their world? Don't get me wrong, I like hearing about the big things that go on in people's lives like "Hey I just got a promotion at work!" or "Dude, you should gotta hear this hilarious thing my kid did yesterday!"...that is all good! But leave it at the good stuff. So many times I have witnessed people interrupting someone talking and start talking about themselves....what the heck is that?! Seriously!! You are NOT that interesting!! I appreciate the people I share life together with but it really is a two way street...try and make it a one way street and I will be taking the nearest off ramp!! How is that for a metaphor? I just wish people would think about what they are talking about more and put themselves in others shoes. Really people, it ISN'T all about you. Maybe it is the tabloid era we live in now (which I despise!) where we are bombarded with insignificant details about "celebrities" and their lives. I DON'T CARE!!! So if you feel you are so important then everyone should know everything about you and only talk about you? I am going to try my darndest to only talk about me when someone ASKS me about myself. And will probably only actually listen to people when I ASK them about themselves. So just a heads up...if you are going on and on about yourself and I have asked you to do so...that blank look on my face is probably there for a reason. Again, I am open to talking about life, what is going on, current events, sports, music, whatever...just remember it is a dialogue not a monologue!! Until next time...in the words of Red Green....keep your stick on the ice!

Change is in the wind...

I can smell it...things feel like they are shifting. To what extent? I am not sure. But I know it is for the better. Some days I feel like I need to participate in a polar bear swim. Ya know, where the group of people go jump in the ocean in the middle of winter and give there system a shock...they say it makes them feel alive. I want to give my life a shock. Shake things up a bit. Start living life to the fullest. Seizing ever opportunity and running with it. Get out of my comfort zone and push the envelope and see stuff happen as a result of the work of my hands! I want to walk up to that cliff and take the plunge! And I think I have run out of metaphors. I feel I/we are on the edge of something big and going to start walking into it. How it will look, I have no idea. Now it will work, I have no idea. How it will all unfold I have no idea. All I know is if I perservere and am relentless it WILL happen. Time to walk in some faith. And now it is time for bed. Until next time....peace out y'all!!

Monday, Monday...

Yesterday I was talking with my friends about the future and how a few of us have no idea what is actually in store for us. We kinda think we know what we are supposed to be doing with our lives but nothing is for sure or set in stone. I call it feeling like a leaf dangling in the wind. I hate it. I would like to know everything a stick to the plan but that is not the way it works. Epecially when you want to to things that most people would say are outside the box. I would like to spend my life doing music. Recording, producing, arranging, music director at a church, leading, even a little teaching...I wouldn't mind a side record deal either to help with some income. That is a lot easier said then it is to come by. But the bottom line is "who knows?". Well, God knows but He ain't telling me everything right now! Probably because if I knew I would find some way to screw it up or I wouldn't enjoy he journey and only focus on the goal. I have a hard enough time doing that anyway. O.C.D. much? Anyway, I will keep chugging along and keep trying to open doors where I can and see what becomes of everything. I am happy with the TFW demos and the overall reaction to them. I am going to start recording the F.O.G. ep right away and hope to have that released by next spring. Things are moving. Today we are going to go get our flu shots. Seem like common sense to me. Lots of stuff going on...must be a Monday because I feel like I am staring up at a very large hill I have to climb. That is o.k. though...as long as I make it up! Until next time!

Life can be so confusing...

Do you ever feel like you are a bystander watching your life like a movie? Do you ever get that feeling like a piece of driftwood floating in the ocean? Do you ever feel like you are going foward in reverse? Do you feel like your life may be an oxymoron? I do...sometimes I don't get it. I can feel like a ball of confusion sometimes. I could put together a pretty good soundtrack for my life...it would probably look like this:
1. Ball of Confusion - The Temptations
2. Place in this World - Michael W. Smith
3. Leave Me Alone - Extreme
4. Sailing Away - Styx
5. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2

I guess it would only be an ep...atleast that is all I could think of off the top of my head. Sometimes it is hard. You think you know what you want, then you think maybe you were wrong. You think you should go left, but you should have went right. You zigged when you should have zagged and now you are gun shy to try zagging at this point. All this and I am really tired all the time now. But things could be a lot worse. My cousin's friend just passed away and she was in high school. She died of cancer. How does a high school girl die from cancer. Talk about not even getting a chance to live. That is brutal. I read a couple of their notes her friends posted on facebook last night. I was moved. I can't imagine having to deal with that at such a young age. It is one thing when someone close to you dies but they have atleast lived their life even if it was cut a little short. But something seems so wrong about a high school girl dying from cancer. So what they heck? I don't know. Right now I can't tell up from down and left from right. But I know it will get better. I know this too shall pass. I know I will get my bearings back and my compass will point north again....until then...I just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

Sanctuary...

We want to buy a new house. We are looking outside the city. Somewhere we can breathe a little easier. Some place we can feel a little safer. Some place where hopefully you can leave something outside for more then 2 minutes and it won't be stolen. Some place our kids can play more freely without us feeling they have to be arms reach from us at all times. Some place we can walk our dog and not be looking over our shoulder every five seconds to see who is behind us and why are they there? Some place I can start building VB Music Studios the proper way and actually have room to work on and produce the projects I am working on. Some place with some aspect of solitude and sanctuary where we can create, flourish, find peace, get away from the hectic pace of the city and find the lifestyle we are craving. So we are looking. There a couple places we are interested but we will have to wait and see. I like being in the city but I don't love living in the city. I like working in the city but I wish I had my refuge to retreat back to when I am done. I need my inspirational space where I can create my art and feel secure there. It will come. It will be good. Our friends will want to come visit lots because it will end up be a great place to be. The coffee will be on, the deck set up to hang out, the conversation flowing and the laughter contageous. I can't wait!

Getting there...

The knee is coming along...still pretty sore to bend it but after a few months of rehab it should be good. It will be great to be able to drive a car normally, walk normally, take stairs normally, etc... So life is puttering along nicely. Got lots of work ahead of me with the F.O.G. ep and TFW demos. Today I bought U2 tickets online. I had a hard time with it and still have a hard time with it. The first set of tickets that came up were beside the stage and they wanted $250 per ticket...ARE YOU INSANE? I like U2 but unless Jesus is playing lead guitar for them and it is a one night only show and Bono is going to be giving me a massage after the show I WILL NOT pay $500 for two tickets so my wife and I can take in the show. I had a hard enough time paying the $95 per ticket price. I hate it when it is all about the money. Think of how rich U2 is...do they really need to charge that much to see them play for a couple hours. I can't really wrap my mind around it. Makes me appreciate bands like Pearl Jam more that try and keep their ticket prices down. I saw that Bon Jovi is coming the month after U2 and playing Commonwealth Stadium as well. Their ticket prices range from $36-$136...that is much more reasonable in my opinion. Sure Bon Jovi is less popular now then U2 but in my mind they are fairly comparable for what they have done and hit songs...I guess they aren't as cool or as marketable so they can't charge what U2 does...or is it they just don't want to? I may take my wife and kids and have a good time the 4 of us for less then what we pay for the 2 of us to go to U2. My kids like Bon Jovi better anyway! Ha ha...oh well, I will see you all there at the U2 concert next June and will be shaking my head at those that were willing to spend that much money on those seats. There are so many things I would rather spend $500 on the one concert! You think Bono would be saying "Don't come to our concert...give that money to feed the world!" I guess he wants his lavish bills paid too...he would rather have my use the Bon Jovi money to feed the world instead. Whatever...do what you will. Maybe that is why I love the metal scene...it is still about the music for the most part....BWAAAAAA!!!

Hit Remove Button Now!

So I don't have a lot of patience for religious condescending jerks. I have grown up in the church, I have read the Bible, I have sat in many life changing sermons and services, I have had countless experiences with God...but I try to be as real, honest and unreligious as possible. This might sound weird to someone who says "but you go to church or have a faith belief system so you are religious". Ya kinda... I am talking about the rules and regulations that man has developed to dictate how Christians should act. Don't do this, say this, act like this, have your hair like this, tattoo that, pierce that, listen to that, watch that, etc... Sure there is some wisdom in some of those things but I can truly say with my whole heart that I KNOW that God doesn't give to craps about a lot of that stuff especially when it comes to appearance, style, genre of music, art, etc... Man has made things moral/immoral according to their preference and what they like or dislike...that is wrong. I can't stand it. I also can't stand this attitude that makes people act self righteous, condescending, judgemental and end up being hypocritical. I posted a status on my facebook telling how I hit a Starbucks drive thru to grab a coffee on the way to work and ended up sitting at the window for almost 10 minutes and was happy that the girl just apologized but instead also got a $10 gift card as she felt so bad...I was like COOL! One guy responded by telling me "do you know that 2/3 of the world will only have 1 meal a day". Why would you do that? He doesn't know me personally except we went to bible college together for one year. I never hung out with him. He has know idea about anything about me. Yet he feels he needs to do the Holy Spirit's job and convict me? Guess what dude, you don't have the authority in my life to speak into it! I have amazing pastor's and friends that have that place and know me day in and day out and walk along with me doing life. THEY can speak into my life. The other thing that cracks me up about it is unless you have taken a vow to live among the unfortunate and serve them like Mother Theresa or sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, or give all your wealth to the needy and live a very humble lifestyle (which I would bet my left arm he isn't), don't preach and be self righteous with me. Don't try and do the Holy Spirit's job for him...that is not your place. As The Rock would say "Know your role!" These are the kind of people that a lot of people don't want to go to church. So they probably won't get to have an encounter with God and know Him personally. Our role is to love people and each other not judge, ridicule and act like the Pharisees of the Bible. This is why I love my friends, love my church, love my pastor's, love the C3 Church movement we are a part of and love God. He is just but He is patience and loving. So needless to say I hit the old "Remove From Friends" button from my Facebook. I want people to challenge me by what they are doing not by what they are saying. Everyone is welcome to come to my church (C3 Church Edmonton) and we can do life together...cause that is awesome! Anyway, now I'm done! L8R!

Ahhh...turkey and making Ep's

Hey there. So Thanksgiving has come and gone. I am almost starting to freak out that the statement I just made is true. It is already the middle of October. That is scary. Soon it will be Christmas...also scary. The saying "So much to do, so little time" seems to keep rolling around in my head. Yes, I am thankful for so much including having a bunch of turkey leftovers, but I am feeling the pinch to buckle down and get a few things done that need to get done. This will be easier when I am out of my cast in a couple weeks but none the less still need to begin, plan and execute STARTING NOW! So here is what is on the agenda for the next bit. #1. Must organize and begin preparation for the church Christmas season including songs, arrangements, coordinating with the Kids Zone leaders to make sure everything is done and ready to go come Christmas time! #2. Start tracking the F.O.G. (Fire of God) debut Ep and do all the post production (mixing, mastering, etc...) so it can be released in the early next year hopefully! #3. Continue writing and recording demos for the Torment From Within project so it can begin tracking early next summer and have a late summer/early fall release fully mixed, mastered and all that jazz.
That might not sound like that much but it really is a ton of work which I am more then happy to roll up my sleeves and "Git 'er done!" as Larry the Cable Guy would say. Just means between that, work, family time, church life and all the other things that I invest my time in, I have a very busy many months ahead of me. Scares me and excites me all at the same time. But hey! I want to have a life worth living and this is all part of what I believe is my purpose and journey I am on. It is all good! Until the next time...keep your stick on the ice.

Don't Call Me Peg-leg!

Yes, 6 weeks in a cast from my upper thigh to my ankle...it has been utter bliss (I am sure you hear the sarcasm dripping off that rediculous statement). I am over half way through my misery however and all I can say is "Thank-you God!!" And considering the super annoyance of the situation I think I have done pretty well overall dealing with it. I have gone to Banff to a marriage retreat which required me to do a bit of walking to get lunch and dinner. I have had to drive myself in my "Crapmobile" (little 95 Firefly) to work everyday which is quite a site. I will break it down for you as it is pretty entertaining I am sure. I have to enter through the passenger side door, slide backwards across the seats raise myself up to get my left leg around the gearshift into the drivers area. Then position myself, grab my cane and hook the passenger door, pull it almost closed which quickly pulling in the cane and grabbing the door and closing it tight. My leg tends to be right up against the door (tight fit!) and then I proceed to start the car, and drive left footed. The funny thing is I am really good at driving with my left. Almost as good as with my right. I guess that is why they said "Necessity is the mother of invention". You do what you have to do. So in 2-1/2 weeks I will be hobbling around still with my cane being very careful as I am out of my cast. It will be so nice to gingerly bend my knee. To be able to comfortably roll over on my side while sleeping. To sing on a couch or chair without feeling like I am strectching before a gold medal gymnastics competition. I am hoping the the snow won't REALLY fly before I am out of this cast and I can wear pants and good shoes normally again. Trust me, shorts and sandals in -3c weather is not pleasant! Anyway, I have tough old Swede blood in me and I continue to survive and persevere through it all. I can't wait to see where my knee is a year from now after a long rehab process. I hope I am running, dunking a basketball and jumping around on the stage rocking out...wait...I don't hope...I BELIEVE I will be!! I know God will do that. He is awesome and faithful. Anyway, peace out homies or homie if that is all that reads this. Talk to you again soon.

A Metal Life...

So there are a few things I seem to forget about. People don't like what they don't understand for the most part. I am finding that with TFW. I am suprised by some people's reaction but when I think about it harder, I am not really that suprised. Not a lot of people like extreme metal. That is cool...I don't expect them too. It is a small group of people that are into that kind of music. It IS extreme. I love it. I know people that love it. I know a lot of people that cannot stomach it....actually that is most people. But just because you don't like it, doesn't mean you can't support it. Just because you don't really understand it, doesn't mean you have to dismiss those involved in it. That is one of those glaring flaws in human nature that really bugs me. You are different so I want nothing to do with you...I may redicule you, ostracise you, persecute you, label you, discriminate against you, call you names, lie about you, slander you, stereotype you, etc... You see it with race, sex, religion, sexuality, style, lifestyle, fashion...but really we are all just people...flawed, imperfect, hopefully good. So why the fear of what you don't understand or don't like? My name is Vaughn...I love extreme metal...I am a metalhead...do you still like me? Will support me and my band even though you don't like it? Or does that even matter? Vaughnarchy out!!

Torment From Within

So I have a new metal band called Torment From Within. Good metal name. Some people would probably think it was a negative name. I don't. I deal with a lot of torment from within...struggles, selfishness, lust, bad attitudes, jealousy, and I could go on and on. I have friends and family that deal with depression and anxiety. I believe you can have to deal oppression at times. But I also know that you don't have to stay tormented. There is victory over it if you believe it and walk it out. I think of the apostle Paul when he said (and I paraphrase) that he knows what he should do and that is what he wants to do but he found himself doing the things he didn't want to do instead. Sounds like my life! I even put that in the first song we wrote. I am getting a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from writing and recording this brutal heavy music. It is like therapy for me. Metal rules! I never would have thought I would be laying down some serious black metal style vocals and it would sound pretty good. So anyone who likes the heavy check us out...it rules!

A bit about me...

So I was thinking, how many people REALLY know that much about me...even my friends? Probably not that many. So here are some tidbits of information that you may find interesting or find really trivial and boring....

1. I really love metal music. Crazy extreme heavy as all get out...the screaming, fast, double-kicking "broo-tall" metal that makes most people cry. I love it! I have totally been into metalcore and some black metal too. I find when it comes to metal I only really listen to "Christian" or very positive bands as the lyrical content can leave much to be desired. I love As I Lay Dying" and "Extol" especially. I also love other music so I don't have the "metal-head" label I think...

2. I love tattoos. If I could I would have tons. Probably have my whole arms sleeved (must be the metalhead thing) and others...they do cost a lot so they are very low on my list of things to get. Maybe some day...

3. I am a Sci-Fi nerd...love the Stargate series, Star Wars, Star Trek, and most Sci-Fi

4. I LOVE UFC and watch almost every PPV and catch as much on t.v. as I can...love it..it is like watching chess and combat at the same time. I love the technical aspect of it. Most people can't see that part of it.

5. I really dig guns...I love shooting at the range. My grandfather had an incredible collection and I would like to start my own some day.

6. I hope to be a music producer some day. I am working presently on a couple different projects.

7. I love cheesy t.v. shows...especially older Canadian shows like The Beachcombers, Degrassi Junior High, North of 60, Danger Bay, Neon Rider as well as others like MacGyver, Dragnet, M*A*S*H, etc...

8. When I was very young I thought it would be cool to be a figure skater...that is not cool!

9. Some day I want to live in another country for a bit to see what that would be like....my first preference is the U.K.

10. I like to think I am not very complicated. I like to wear my heart on my sleeve. I like to be frank but am learning to use discretion when it is wise.

There are 10 things about me you may not know. Hope that was interesting for ya. If not you can have your money back. Peace OUT!!

Here I go...

So I have thought about making a blog...seemed like a cool idea. Not sure how many people will read it. Oh well, atleast it is a place where I can bang out my thoughts and speak my mind. If you are reading this, you probably already know me somewhat if not very well. That is great. If you don't that is even more great and I hope some way I get to know you. So this is me breaking the ice. My first post of many I am sure. Thanks for reading and I have thoughts brewing so I will share them soon. Peace OUT!!