The Cricket and Seagull Fireside Chat

Her first CD, "Clay in His Hands," won 4 Pearl Awards and brought her to the attention of LDS listeners everywhere. "Better Than I" continued in the same vein, and now her third release, "Everything Speaks His Name" lets the strength of Jessie Clark Funk's voice sparkle in a wider variety of styles and settings than ever.

Still, as you'll hear in this interview, the themes of atonement, grace, and seeing God's hand in the world around us are constants throughout. After all, "Everything Speaks His Name."

That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

Inspirational Country? No, that's not an oxymoron, it's just the genre singer/songwriters Jeff Hinton and Quint Randle use to describe what they do when they write and perform together as the duo Joshua Creek.

In their sophomore release, they show that there is much more material to mine where "I Love You Son" and other past favorites came from.

From the opening "Sacred Ground" to the bouncy "Honey Do List" (which husbands may or may not want their wives to hear!) the themes of faith and family come through loud and clear in these touching and sometimes humorous musical observations.

That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...

This week: Help us create “Conference Minute? a new radio feature on-air and online.

LDS General Conference always dusts things off and leaves us motivated and ready to move ahead in our spiritual journey. Soon after, however, the dust of life can begin to settle and even our best resolves can begin to fade from memory.
President Hinckley ended the October 2007 conference with an admonition to study and discuss the talks in our homes and with our families.

To help with this, Utah's AM 820, which features LDS music 24/7 both on-air and online, will soon be presenting a "Conference Minute" several times a day, rotating through all of the speakers and presenting minute-long reminders of the wisdom and spirit available in those inspired and inspiring conference addresses. And, of course, we'll have links on the station website showing how listeners can read or hear the entire address from the official Church website.

Let’s start with a few examples -- giving first place, of course to our Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley...

PRESIDENT HINCKLEY

PRESIDENT PACKER

JULIE B. BECK

ELDER DIETER F. UCHTDORF

So, that’s the concept for “Conference Minute? coming soon to a radio near you if you live in Utah’s AM 820 listening area, or to a computer near you if you listen online.

Why not share with us your suggestions for more “Conference Minutes??  Which talk, paragraph, or even single sentence from the recent conference affected you, touched your heart, and influenced you the most for good?

Email your thoughts to SoftSundaySounds@utaham820.com. We can't wait to hear your comments!

London-born singer Alex Boyé may be the only member of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir to have had a record contract as a performer in a successful pop boy band in Europe, but one thing he shares with his fellow choir members is their passion for praising the Lord in song.

With his new solo release, "Spirit," Alex shares both originals and contemporary Christian favorites with a soulful style that shows why he just won Pearl Awards for Best Contemporary Recorded Song ("Build the World") and Performing Artist of the Year from the Faith Centered Music Association.

That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull...