one authority

Seasons of Change: The Transformation

2005-09-07T00:32:00.000+08:00

In two days, i'll be going to The Island. To some it may sound like a dreaded, lonely journey. However to me, it's not such. I'm actually looking forward to this new season of my life. Nothing odd or perculiar. Just looking ahead to this much anticipated time of intensive moulding, and seeing something really good come out of it. I guess this is it. A turning point, a milestone, a personal monument that carries 20 years of my history. 20 years of youth have past, a young lad of potential will now become a steadfast man of greatness for next 50 odd years of his life. Alas...

Growing up is a really delicate and rather painful experience. The time of adolesence is that of a snake shedding its skin. Is it that painful to flake off old skin? Not really. Nonetheless it does get harder as we age along this time of youth. Our skin has already started to take form after the infant stage. It gets harder as we start to form firm ideologies and opinions. This is who i am, Me. I like the way i think, the way i act, talk, dress. I'm going after my dreams. Don't you dare change me. Because this is me.

Achtung...

The day I think I know it all, is the mark of my greatest fall. How can I, a dynamic lifeform, a work in progress, ever see the light of absolution? It is humanly impossible. Human...ly. In my 20 years of living, I've come to conclude that Pride is indeed the deadliest pestilence of them all. A caterpillar would have never known it would be able to fly someday. A seedling could never see itself to become a colossal Oak. There is one such similar story that strikes me harder.

The Eagle, majestic King of Birds. Oh how high it soars. Such a beautiful display of strength and grace. I've always adored the eagle. If I were an animal, an eagle is definitely what I want to be. But what makes the eagle so great? If only the outward matters, the eagle is no better than a "jock" or "himbo". What a disgust! Little did I know, the eagle's greatness is in its transformation. At a point in time, as the eagle matures, it will face it's greatest challenge. Due to its maturity, the eagle has become "worn out". Its beak and claws have become blunt and its feathers no longer able to help it soar the distance. For once in its life, the eagle is no longer a hunter. The time has come. There's only two options the eagle have. One, to await death. Two, to rebirth. Of course dying is the easy way out. To rebirth, the eagle has to go through a tremendously painful process. To become greater, the eagle has to pick out its talons, shed its feathers, and break its beak. Then it waits. In time, a new coat of feathers will form. Its razor sharp talons will grow. And its deadly beak will be restored. The pain was worth it. The eagle is now greater than it ever was. It has finally attained its place as King.

I see a beautiful insight through this analogy. Never ever lift my chin up high that I don't see the cracks in the pavement. Pride is my downfall. Since I can never see further than now, what makes me so sure I know the best? To stay this way is to meet the end of the road. Just like the eagle, I'd be taking option One, death. So I will make the choice of rebirth. The most painful choice, because that means I'm leaving all behind. It means forgetting all that I know. It means surrender. It means being helpless. In my faith, now I tell God, "Break me... I'm now totally vulnerable in Your hands. Make me the man I am called to be."

So now it is my time to go through this crucial transformation. Its really interesting, because together with this comes the fear of disconnection. As a friend puts it, "like a rite of passage". Will I be forgotten, lost, misplaced? All I know is that God is my only form of security in this everchanging society. Only the Creator can ever be the sole constance in this dynamic universe. Like the sun, as the planets revolve around. He stays the same.

To all my friends, Kevin, Tom, Gerald, Ken. Take care ok? I won't really be around for a while, but just know that I love you and care for you. Know...

- Joshua, one authority

2005-08-23T11:53:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone,
We're currently busy in the recording studios, laying down our tracks. Juggling between our daily life and slotting in recording time. There's definately a lot of favour from God throughout this project. From FocalPro Studios to DrumsResources. As a band, One Authority would like to thank everyone for their support over the years. Yes, we have our ups and our downs. We've even evolved in between, changing our line ups. However, one thing to be sure is that whatever we've started in OA, has gotten more defined.

I write as a new member, who joined OA slightly more than a year ago. I came in with aspirations and goals. However, after 2 months of jamming together, somehow, all that aspirations and goals were lost in the sea of technicality of music. Once again, we sat down and discussed the purpose for OA. We want to challenge the existence of OA. I remember vividly, it started at NYDC, on Gerald's birthday. That was when we really sat down and discussed serious issues. Our focus was the band. Our intention was internal ministry. Our goal is to get Ken to know the Lord and pray for Jesus Christ to reveal Himself to Ken. Indeed, it was not an overnight change. Rome was not built in one day. We didn't tell this straight to Ken's face at that time, however, among the 3 of us, Gerald, Joshua and I, we made it a point to pray for Christ's revelation. The spiritual climate changed. Our jamming were no longer just going to the studios to practice, but we agreed to meet to have fellowship (or hang out, to Ken) at either Gerald's or Joshua's house. With acoustic jam as a cover front, we started to meet to build on our friendship. That was when we had this mantra, "Music is secondary, brotherhood comes first". It's not that we no longer seek excellence in our music, but our focus is brotherly love.

The break came when we were planning to write our new song, "Blood on the sycamore". The unison of ideas allowed us to speak Jesus more blatently with Ken. We decided to express what our Lord Jesus Christ was experiencing throughout the journey to the Calvary. We took out bibles, cross-referenced it between different Books of the Gospels and even different versions of the bible. For about 2 months, that was how we jammed. We met up, instead of jamming, we worshipped Jesus Christ together, as One body. It was more like cell group than a band jam session.

On one occasion, we met up at the shop to have our acoustic jam, we went over to Church of Our Saviour, just sat on the floor and did our usual, worshipped and prayed. However, this time round, there was a stirring in the spiritual realm. We felt something different. Christ's pressence was tangible. That was when Jesus prompted Joshua to ask Ken if he wishes to accept Christ into his life as his personal saviour. He agreed! Praises be to God Almighty! I kindly asked for Ken's permission to lead him in the Sinner's Prayer and he followed on after me. Yes, after being a christian for as long as 8 years, this is the first time I'm leading my own buddy to Christ. It was really refreshing. I was at my spiritual desert that period of time and I was praying to God to quench my thirst. And He did! Not only did He refreshed me, He has also strenghtened the faith of the rest.

From then on, the band had never been tighter than before. For now, we are truly One under His Authority. This was the birthing of "Blood on the sycamore", the true story of One Man coming in the name of Love.

With that testimony, I wish to also annouce officially that One Authority has closed its chapters. We've achieved our purpose, we've fufilled what we've been called. Just to keep all of you updated, Gerald and Ken will be moving on in their lives respectively. Gerald will be committing himself to his church band more and Ken will be concentrating on his studies, while he attends church with his friend. We've prayed together and God has given all of us the peace. Joshua and I gave our blessings to Gerald and Ken. True to itself, the band no longer exist. However, the brotherhood of love lives on. We're all united in Christ.

Joshua and I will be teaming up with Iain and another Joshua for something new. No, we'll no longer be called One Authority. We currently do not have a name yet. However, please do not relate us as One Authority. Some things remain for sure, God is in the midst and our primary objective is to love and glorify His name.

We'll update all of you again once we're done with our recording, mixing and hopefully mastering. In the mean time, God be with ye...

"...for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as Childrean of Light..." Eph 5:8

-Kevin,One Authority

We're in the Studios

2005-08-17T17:36:00.000+08:00

Finally it has begun. The favour of the Lord is really upon us. And we really want to just thank Him for that. Catch us if u can to find out more. Do pray for us during this recording season, its been awesome so far. And we're eager to expect only great things to come out of this endeavor. Thanks for the the prayers and support.

God speed...

- Joshua, one authority

Sonicfest 2005

2005-08-07T18:09:00.000+08:00

Another milestone for us this year. This time again, victorious. We had one purpose up on the Give Stage and we accomplished it no matter what. It was a glorious set... supernaturally intervened. A beautiful time of focus and reflection. You brought us all back to Yourself. Nothing really mattered. It was just You. You and I alone. No one else. There's nothing more real than to dance in Your Presence. I feel alive, my senses are revived, as if plunging into the deep vast ocean under the scorching sun. As I breathe You in, You are here indeed.

- Joshua, one authority

2005-06-07T12:26:00.000+08:00

"Before, we would write as we played live, then record," Simpson said. "Now the process is writing songs and making the record we want to make, then going home and figuring out how to represent it live." - Chris Simpson, The Gloria Record

I believe and hope we can move on in this direction as well...We'll be recording after Sonic Festival 2005 at Focal Pro. Hopefully we can finish it before Joshua gets enlisted on 080905.

All good things come to an end,
One way or another.
All good things must die,
So that better ones may come along.
Sailing with the winds
Pushing us beyond known navigation.
Apprehension, Desperation
Total dependency on the One.
Float on, drift away...
- Kevin, One Authority

2005-03-25T09:30:00.000+08:00

Frequenty Answered Questions.

1)No, we're not hardcore, we're not emo, we're not out, we're not in, we're not comfortable...hahahah..we're just being ourselves.

2)Our band has successfully attain our first 'single' after one of our brother's unfortunate event.

3)God is our focal point.

4)We're not a christian band,we're christians in a band in a secular scene.

5)We're not the best, but we're striving to give our best all the time.

6)Joshua is not gay!And neither is any of our members.We're straight but not edge.

7)Please stop asking our musical influence because we're very diverse ourselves.

8)PLEASE DO NOT FEED COKE TO JOSHUA!DON'T ASK WHY!!!

9)We're BK-iers,not Mac-satanist.

10)EMO IS DEAD AND YOU'RE NEXT!!!

We've got Friendster

2005-02-11T09:11:00.000+08:00

hello all...we jus got a friendster a/c. email is oneauthority@gmail.com ...and do also email us if u wanna get to know us or u want us to play for any gigs...thanks

Recording

2005-02-07T21:10:00.000+08:00

hey all...sorry for the lack of updates again....anyway alots been happening to the band lately.we just finshed recording waiting at sae...its part of symon's final term project...can't wait to hear the finished product....and also we've got a gig comin up come 20th feb at sentosa siliso beach...scheduled time slot is 12.15pm..so do come down and support us....okay thats all for now..ciaoz

some updates...

2004-12-26T23:34:00.000+08:00

well some updates for anyone visiting the blog...we've actually had our first full jam on christmas eve since the gig and i was pretty surprised we've actually sounded better and thats like 2 weeks plus of not jamming....and joshua's vocals kinda evolved that jam,we were all pretty impressed by the new vocal part he did in bitter butterfly....much higher than his usual range and we also tried a new key range for watching over you...which josh pulled it off pretty decently,still some work to do though......we also had a acoustic session at a christmas gathering during christmas day,sang watching over you and together....thought the actual set was not as good as the practice sessions...due to the heavy dinner...we've still had lotsa fun.and yea....merry christmas!!!! seeya when there are more updates

mailing list

2004-11-29T22:20:00.000+08:00

hey guys i've just put u a mailing list...so do join to keep updated on the happenings of the band

simply great

2004-11-27T23:52:00.000+08:00

had real fun on stage just now...was actually abit tense at first...but well the performance turned out real fine...most of all we know God's pressence was with the band...and the whole sonic edge service was great simply awesome..i could feel this sense of satisfaction...somthing i've never like experience before after playing any other gigs...todays set was just that special..this is the first time this new line up has performed since sonic festival's acoustic performace...and this is kevin's first time playing with us...so this is actually the first full band set one authority played since july 2003...thats nearly 1 and a half years...boy how time flies...new line up...new sound... will be writing and arranging more new stuff....and also look out for our new website...hopefully it'll be up soon...do continue to check out this blogspot for more information for the time being and btw...out performace at dec 4th will be cancelled due cos of other commitments...but we'll definately be gigging soon next year so once again do check back here often...i apologise for lack of updates...but do bear with me....i'll make sure this will never happen again....okay thats it for now...seeya

so much changes

2004-11-20T23:17:00.000+08:00

hi all...anyone who actually reads our blog...its been a while since the last entry...more than a month i think...well anyway we've put our recording plans on hold for some reasons...but we've got like 2 or even 3 gigs coming up the following weeks...the first one is the monthly sonic edge 27 Nov..its held at Touch Community Theatre Bukit Merah..click here for more info....then the following week which is 4th Dec we will be performing in the evening somewhere in orchard road...the exact time and location is yet to be confirmed... the 3rd gig is still in the talks....so do check back for more information...so thats it for now folks.

some updates...

2004-10-12T23:03:00.000+08:00

alright finally here's some updates on our progress so far.firstly we would like to give it up to the big man up there for really working in our lives and really blessing us with so much....first things first...we've more or less managed to borrow like 70 % of the equipments we needed...a big big thank you to jon helms for providing most of it....and also to bryan for agreeing to lend us some really expensive equpiment too...and mostly like to thank God for bringin us all closer to each other.....been really hangin out alot lately and we would like to introduce to u guys the lastest addition to our band...tom...well he isn't like playin any instrument...but officially he's part of us...he's the president of the fan club,band photographer ...etc etc....well we really love this brother of ours ..thanks for hangin out with us...and also to the former members of oa...abel,vincent and xavier...althought the lineup has changed and u guys have moved on .... we would like to say u guys will forever be a part of oa...all the best to ur endevours....may God bless u guys greatly ....well thats all for now...more updates to come real soon...

approval

2004-09-26T22:48:00.000+08:00

well had a talk wif my rev in church today.....he's approved us of using church to record the drum tracks...and i can't believe how easily he's actally approved it...he was like " okay..jus as long it does not clashes with any church activities...u can use the place" Praise the LORD! also we had a jam today at the wake me up studio....we did not exactly have the best of jams...but like wad kevin prayed today...its not the music thats is important...it's the presence of God in this band and the bonding that is the most important" well todays lessons jus teaches us we should really do our homework before we JAM....guess everyone's jus too pre occupied this week...well we'll do better next time.

great jam !!!

2004-09-18T01:46:00.000+08:00

we really had a great jam jus now ...and its even better considering the fact that its only our 2nd time jammin wif this current line up........we more or less tighten up one song already....and currently workin on the 2nd song...and hopefully we'll be able to settle this 2 songs by the next jam....would really like to give this jammin session to our one authority above us...if not for him things would not have progress to this stage in such a short period of time....just really shows the works of God in this band,now we'll just like to say a big thank you to the great man above.....we love u !!!!!!

we are jammin on Friday

2004-09-15T01:10:00.000+08:00

Thank God for the JAM!!!! finally we could fixed a date and time where all of us are free....kinda booked the studio at 8.30pm on friday.......but still one minor problem...i've got BO duty that day,but should be able to come out by then...anyway jus pray and trust that nothing crops up and that the jam can go on smoothly.....praise God!!!!

the recording saga - stage 1

2004-09-13T22:53:00.000+08:00

we've decided on doin our own DIY recording instead of goin to a professional studio.....but now is the hard part...where are we gonna get all the equipment????? but well not to worry too much.....even without the money we trust that God will provide .....we've been lookin ard of offers and also for ppl who can lend us their expensive equpment....for now we're hopin we can do the drum tracks in my church....though i have not ask my Rev.but things looks positive...jus will have to pray about that.....well thats all for now....will update more....but meantime.we really really need to jam man!!!! this week josh can't make it for the weekend...and ken is occupied on thurs and friday...and that leaves us only tues and wed....on wed theres cell....and lastes news...kevin has got driving lessons on tues.!!!!arghhhwhen can we ever jam!!!!...well just have to pray hard about that........thats all folks