VIRB

News

Alright so here is some news for you. I am recording a new cd. Well not really new. I am re-recording about 5 songs from my album "Still Frame", and making them full band arrangements. Plus we are adding 3 songs into the mix. Notice I said "we". I now have a band. The members include Mark Lago on bass, and JJ Clark on drums, both of whom played with me in the rock band we had called RedHandRevolt. Also joining in is none other than Andy Ferris. Andy is the band on the radio version of "Lift Up Your Eyes". These guys are easily among the most talented musicians I know and I am very honored to have them playing with me. I am hoping that the new cd will be done within the next month. I will keep this updated as to how you can get your hands on that when its ready.

On that note, I am thinking of doing some sort of fundraising/contributing to help cover the cost of producing, duplicating this new cd, and I'm also looking for help in coming up with ideas for artwork and whatnot. I had a hard time coming up with the cash to do my acoustic album which is why I went with the very basic packaging and simple art work. For this new cd I would really like to get it packaged up nicely with artwork throughout portraying ideas behind the songs and whatnot. I haven't thought it completely through yet, but if you want to donate some cash to help me cover the cost of getting this done, or if you have some slick ideas you want to throw past me, shoot me an email. The email address is on the right side of this page. If you donate I will make sure you get a copy of the finished product. The songs are turning out really well and I am very excited for it to be finished.

Oh yeah, and I may be redoing this website soon. I may pull it off of Virb and actually have a site that I made. We'll see. Either way you will probably start to see some changes soon.

All right thats all for now.

Billboard

Interviews
I posted links to both the WCSG interview and the Hollywood Pastor interview in the Quick Links section in the right pane. Take a listen when you get bored. Hopefully I didn't sound too dumb in the interviews. Let me know what you think.

Purchase:
If you want to purchase the cd, click the "Buy Now" link in the Albums section in the right pane, or you can go to Baker Book House in Grand Rapids. They have it available for sale there as well. Another option is to go to http://amiestreet.com/rickhopkins and get it for really cheap right now. I think the whole album is at a $4.69.

Still Frame Album Description
Quite a while back I wrote a blog entry on the meaning and purpose behind writing the album "Still Frame". I decided now that it is getting more attention that it may be cool to post a link to that original blog post. If you are interested click here.

Mailing List:
Get on the mailing list, or just send me a message for the fun of it! Scroll down to see the form. It's a cheap form, but hey it works.

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How Going To Cornerstone University Changed My Life (this is not a plug) Yesterday

Lately I have been reminded over and over again of a decision I made in 1997. I had just graduated from high school, I was newly engaged to my then girlfriend Nicole Barrett, and I was all set to go to Cornerstone University to further my education. There was only one small problem. I had no money. My parents weren't particularly well off, but they were helping as much as possible, and Cornerstone was really, really expensive. So I made a very difficult decision. I decided not to go to Cornerstone.
I had to tell this to Nicole, which very nearly ended our relationship because we had both been planning to go to Cornerstone for quite some time and she was very excited about the prospect of us being together more often and going to the same school. Oh yeah, did I mention that I decided to break this news to her the day before we left for college. My timing was impeccable.
On the day we were both supposed to leave for college I decided to go along with Nicole. Mainly to see her off, but also to tell the student development I had decided not to go because I didn't have enough money. The response I got kinda shocked me. When I told Josh Williams, the head student development guy, that I wasn't coming he said, "What if we could get you more money?" I responded by saying that it would really have to be a lot of money. In the ball park of $5000 dollars. He said to stay right where I was at... he'd be right back. He came back about 20 minutes later with the money I needed to make going to Cornerstone a possibility. I changed my decision.
I can only conclude that God orchestrated that whole scenario. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, about my life right now would be the way it is if God had not gotten me that extra money to go to college there. I would not be married to Nicole because there is no way we could have survived that whole issue and stayed together. Thus I wouldn't have the 3 beautiful children I have now.
I wouldn't have the job I have that supports my whole family and allows us to live and level of comfort that I don't deserve. Especially in a failing economy. Especially when I know lots of people struggling financially who don't deserve to be.
I wouldn't have met all the people that I now call my best friends, and who have impacted, influenced, and encouraged me to become who I am. I wouldn't have stayed involved with music because it was my friends who encouraged and brought that out of me.
I wouldn't have searched all around Grand Rapids for a vibrant church to attend that would offer the opportunities for growth and development that Ada Bible Church has given me. Ada has an amazing worship team that has been a huge impact on me musically, and with the growth that Ada experienced at the time the opportunity opened up for me to start leading worship. If I hadn't started singing and leading worship, I would never have had the guts to start writing and performing my own songs.
If I hadn't started writing and performing my own stuff, nothing that has happened in the last few months would have happened. That decision to go to Cornerstone after God provided a means of getting there set so many things in motion for me that to try and lay it all out here would take way too long and no one would want to stick around and read it all.
One decision, that at the time just seemed like a cool blessing because I got to go to the college I wanted to go to, turned into a decision that completely changed who I am.
It's hard for me to see God moving in my future because it hasn't happened yet. I have no idea what He is going to do. All I know is that I can trust Him for my future because I can look at my past and see the amazing things He did for me. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. Certainly doesn't take away the anxiousness to know whats next though.
I can only assume that if I hadn't gone to Cornerstone, I would still be living in my parents basement, drinking a lot of beer, listening to a lot of Metallica, and probably still working the grill at Wendy's. Actually I still do those last three... hmm, well I don't live in my parents basement anyway so thats good. And really, after the St. Anger album, who listens to Metallica? If you held on to Metallica long enough to hear that album, you let go immediately upon hearing it. And don't get all hung up on the drinking beer part... the one thing I couldn't hear enough of at Cornerstone was discernment. I know when to stop. Finally, I don't specifically work the grill at Wendy's anymore, but I do work a mean grill at home with all the training I got from Wendy's. Thank you Wendy. Thank you.

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Quick Links

• WCSG 91.3 Interview 05/29/2008
• Hollywood Pastor Interview 05/27/2008

Albums

Still Frame

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