This past month I competed in the West Coast Songwriter’s monthly songwriting competition… I won!

I played two songs that I’ve been working on for my second album.  The song that won is called “Jonny Know”.  In August I will compete against all of the monthly winners from Sacramento.  If I win our region, I go on to compete against all of the other regional winners.  Wish me luck!

I recently started working on my second album again…

I know I know… I’ve been pretty bad at working on it.

Luckily this year I made a goal to finish it.  So far I’ve written a few new songs and compiled a list of over 30 songs that I’ve been working on and cutting down.  That’s obviously way too many songs for one album, but it gives me the ability to pick and choose my best songs and make sure the album has a cohesive theme and songs that have different styles.

I will continue to update you on my progress

I recently posted on YouTube my cover of “Only Hope” from “A Walk to Remember.” My version is similar to the version originally in the movie performed by Mandy Moore. Switchfoot also has a version of the song.

Look closely and you’ll see me in this film… by Finally Famous Films.

View it on YouTube.

UPDATE:

See the outtakes…

or watch them on YouTube.

This is an acoustic version of track #3 from my debut Album “When We Started”.  The song itself is entitled “The Cure”.  Enjoy!

Live Acoustic Version of The Cure by Jon Pinney

Ok so I had to post this.  It has got to be one of the most random (and hilarious) ads I have ever seen.  It made me slightly uncomfortable, especially towards the end, though I still laughed throughout the whole thing.  And I’m not really sure what it has to do with Diesel’s new shoes, but oh well… at least it’s getting them attention.  Enjoy! 

My new favorite artist:  Florence + the Machine.  I’m not actually sure if it’s a band or just a singer, but I do know that I love the album and style.

The first time I heard Florence + the Machine was from the Eclipse soundtrack.  She has a song called “Heavy In Your Arms” that was featured in that movie.  It’s pretty awesome–very emotional, powerful, and raw (plus great singing and pretty unique).  So I figured I’d try out the album Lungs, aptly named because the lead singer Florence Welch has a nice pair that’s very apparent in her singing.  As singing goes, she is amazing.

My favorite songs on the album are: #4 Howl; #2 Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up); and #7 Drumming Song.  Below are links to the videos for #2 and #7.  Also, if you get a chance, listen to #4 Howl in your car with the music blasting, windows rolled down, while driving really fast.  It’s a great feeling

#2 Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) Official Music Video
#7 Drumming Song Official Music Video

While I was on my date with The Mormon Bachelorette, she asked me to play her a song.  So I played her a new song I recently wrote, entitled More.  This is currently the only recording of this song, and I didn’t actually realize they’d be posting it on YouTube.  So since they did, I figured I’d post it here as well so you could see some of the new music I’ve been working on.

You’ll notice that the camera work is a little crazy (that’s because they weren’t planning on posting it either, and Larry the camera guy was just trying to get a couple shots to include in the highlight video of the date).  Also, I may have messed up slightly, but just pretend like you didn’t hear it lol.  You’ll also get to see a couple shots from the date itself.  Anyway, I’d love to know what you think of the song – it will most likely end up on my new album.  Enjoy! 

Some of you may know that I am participating in The Mormon Bachelorette.  Yep, you read that right

If you are familiar with the ABC TV show “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette“, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what it’s like (though a much tamer version lol).

The Mormon Bachelorette is a woman named Aubrey Messick.  She’s from southern California, and her and her friends got together and decided to put on their own version of the Bachelorette (no connection to the original show).  She’s going on 22 dates before she narrows it down to eight, and then one.  This past Saturday I had the opportunity to take her out.  I was date #3.  To see how the date went, check out the official blog of The Mormon Bachelorette.

I’m not going to blog much about how it went here (or anywhere), but I will say that I had a great time and hope I get another chance to take her out.

UPDATE…

Ok, so I found another blog tied to The Mormon Bachelorette.  It’s pretty funny, and the “Reality Nephi” has some funny stuff to say about each date.  Go here to see what he has to say about mine.  Whoever writes for the blog does a good job.

Also, they talk about me on This Week In Mormon (a podcast about what’s happening each week in the Mormon world).  If you do listen (at the 8 minute mark), they don’t really say anything nice about me.  It’s interesting to have people who have never met me before giving their opinions of me.

So I realize I’m not a good blogger lol

Life just moves so fast and I don’t always find the time to catch up here.  I will try to do better…

Anyway, I did have an awesome time in D.C., and in my last post I mentioned that on my second day we saw one of my favorite monuments of all.  It was way bigger than I expected, and was just beautiful.  It’s always been one of my favorites, and having my brother there to explain it’s significance and the story behind what it depicts made it even more special.  The monument I’m talking about was the Iwo Jima Memorial – the memorial of the Marine Corp.  If you ever go to D.C. and have an opportunity to see this monument up close, I think you should.

Here's me and my brother and sister at the memorial

My favorite picture of the memorial... beautiful

I loved the following view.  You can see the Memorial in the foreground of the picture, and the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building in the distance.

And I loved the quote on the back of the monument by Admiral Chester A. Nimitz, when describing the soldiers on Iwo Jima island:  “Uncommon valor was a common virtue”.

Anyway, I loved the trip.  Can’t wait to go back and visit again