Here is the other ordinary neighbor page....except this one is plural to include Susanna. We're getting everything all synced up between our sites and with bandcamp where you can purchase our record and her books. You can also find us on facebook....yada...yada...yada..... Internet marketing blitzzzz on this release because we have two boys and won't be able to get out to play and support the record properly.

I don't know if I've been more stoked about anything I've worked on. The goal was to make a record I would want to listen to and hopefully that love will be interesting to others. We'll see. If you do take a listen and enjoy it, please spread the word and help us find some more listeners a fb post, a tweet etc.

I'll share more later. Right now Casper, Shepherd and I are all sick. Sus is healthy thankfully.

Peace

Here We Go - Ordinary Neighbors

Here We Go - Ordinary Neighbors from Joshua Banner on Vimeo.

New Song 1 Peter 6:6-8

Sus and I wrote a little piece based on 1 Peter 5:6-8 for the Verses Project that Joel Limpic and others have put together. The challenge was to write a song without any changes in the original bible passage. We fudged in one little place. Even though the arrangement and mix was done really quickly, this song can give you a glimpse into the sound of The Necessary Dark even though it isn't necessarily worship or devotional in nature.

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Kickstarter Soon For The Necessary Dark

It is six years this summer that we've been in Michigan and six years total that we began work in earnest working on a full length recording. I'll be putting up a kickstarter page soon, so you can help us get the funds together for mastering, artwork and manufacturing. It'll include links to early digital downloads and most likely options for CDs and vinyl along with other things like copies of one or both of Susanna's books, a signed broadside of the title track (originally one of Susanna's poems), a house concert and things like that.

Please check back soon or email me your contact info so I can keep you updated. 

Some factoids/reflections regarding the record:

Record Title: The Necessary Dark

Artwork is being done by Chris Cox

Most of the songs were started on analog tape, my 8 track 1/2 inch Otari 5050. I then transferred all that to the computer. Most of the mixing was done at home. Final mixes have been tweaked at the school studio.

Many great thanks are due to John K. Erskine, my hero.

I apart from Susanna though, I owe many, many more thanks to Dustin Ragland. He plays all the drums, some synths and synth bass lines. He also contributed some sequencing.

The shape of most of these song was established during that week of recording at my house in Oklahoma before we left. We were packing boxes and leaving the drums and mics up all over the place. It was a mess. I think working on those tracks was a way for me to cope with the pain of leaving. Justin Rice, Dustin, Susanna and Judson Thompkins all contributed various arrangement ideas. 

As soon as the basic tracks were in place, I had Brian Bergman add some synth from his Roland poly and a bit from Reason.

The record substantially took on a whole new life with these basic tracks and with Dustin's drum parts. I didn't know what these songs were becoming. It's taken me these years since to come to terms with what each song is wanting to become. It's not like I've been working on it each week for six years. It's been little bursts every few months for a few days or a week.

After our first year here, I flew Dustin and DM Stith (Asthmatic Kitty) to our new home. David arrived a day or so early and Dustin stayed a day later. We had drums in the dining room. The main control was setup in the basement. David had a little rig setup in his room upstairs. Dustin had his MPC and other gear in the breakfast nook. Susanna might be working on vocal craziness with David in the basement while I was in the nook with Dustin working on sequencing. I was so glad that David later asked Dustin to add some drums to a few songs for his (then) forthcoming record, Heavy Ghost. The song that made the cut is "Creekmouth." Check it! 

Once again, after that week in Michigan, I was left with an even larger sense that the songs had taken on a new life of their own.

Most of what Dustin added remains on the record. I usually would 'screw' his sounds up by adding distortion or filters or slowing the drums down.

Much of the time spent bringing the songs together is due to my insecurities of my mixing abilities but even more to do with the enormity of the sounds and layers of sounds.

Justin Rice played added some guitars on a visit back to OKC. Dustin also added some more synths and scant drum parts. Then Justin added more guitars and a little bass when he and Dustin were visiting back here in Michigan last winter.

Judson has a little vocal part on "It's the First Thing." I needed him somewhere.

A few students have added bits: Larry Figueroa (he probably doesn't remember...he was just messing around and I kept it) and Michael Reynolds (vibraphone and a small Rhodes part).

Surprisingly, I played most of the synth and rhodes parts on the record, but I couldn't remember how to play each one if I tried. But I could learn them since they're so simple.

The first song Susanna and I ever wrote together was "Here We Go." We wrote it over the phone. I was in OKC. She was still in Tallahassee.  We weren't married yet. I would strap the cordless phone to my head/ear with a scarf so I could play the guitar. I used a second phone as a mic in front of the guitar so she could hear.

I wrote the lyrics for four of the songs. 3-4 other songs are originals written together. The rest are adaptations of Susanna's poetry and one short story. 

I write the music but she is usually near or within reach to give me direction/encouragement. She can tell me quickly if something isn't working. There are lots of ideas between the two of us. Making music with her is a gift.

We can get into a fight while writing or while recording. You will probably hear/feel that tension in some songs. Even though the mixes have been worked over, I tried to avoid much editing. I often rely on 'scratch' takes especially for vocals. Those alway seem more real and immediate. With all the parts, I tried to keep a real performance in the core of the song.

Yes, I believe I'm in great debt to Boards of Canada. I don't think most people (even those familiar with BOC) would immediate suspect that, but I owe those two much...not just for the songs, but for a way to experience the world. I mention this mostly because I hope you'll go listen to them soon. 

I also owe much to DM Stith. His early, unreleased home recordings, The Ichabod & The Apple, has also had a great affect on me. He had borrowed a little interface from Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) because she didn't know how to work it yet and he had the time and a computer to hook it up to. He'd never fully completed a song before and was working on other projects...a novel and a children's book I believe. In less than two weeks he'd written and recorded something that is much better and haunting than what I've been working on for six years. I hope The Necessary Dark somehow does honor to that precious record and I hope somehow David will release it.

I initially conceived of the Ordinary Neighbors as a way to invite a long list of friends to contribute but I've not had the confidence to add many more 'voices.' The contributors already have left such enormous parts that it's been enough pleasure/work to not add any more people.

DM Stith recently added some of his signature vocal, choir-like textures and bass to "Ontario" [working title]. The fact that he would take time so late in the process means many good things to us. 

I'm elated and also sad to be finishing this big project. My main goal was to put together a record that I will want to listen to. And I will want to listen to this record especially after it is mastered, but I won't be able to listen to it in the same way once its finished. 

We won fourth place in Calvin College's FFM, band spotting contest. That little bit of love helped me want to finish this record. We'd hoped to have it done before June 15, 2012, Shepherd's due date. He came five weeks early, so that plan didn't work out. I'm now building a fence to keep Casper, our two year old, in. I also have work to do for the college, and I'm the head of the board for an urban farm. I really will get this finished. I will. I'm too excited not to.

I'm thinking about ending this blog once the record is out so that it isn't confused with the music.

This is a photo from http://www.thecameracoact.com (friends of Chris Cox) that inspired me to go with The Necessary Dark as a title. It will not be the cover though.

Post FFM - Bandspotting etc.

I guess I didn't post the news on the blog here. Maybe I did. Can't remember. Ordinary Neighbors placed in the top five for Calvin's Festival of Faith and Music this year. That meant that we got two tracks on the festival's compilation disc and we played an 'Around the Town' concert last evening in East Town Grand Rapids. Check it out HERE.

Despite a somewhat cranky business owner and a small venue, our performance went well considering we don't get out to play often. It was a risk to try and cram in rehearsals with Larry (synths/nord) and Jacob (electric) but having them join us helped me feel like we were leaning the performance toward something that sounds more like the forthcoming record. Such great guys and intuitive musicians. The concert was well attended by Hope College students, church friends, GR friends, festival attendees and one big families' birthday party for their toddler. We got a free pizza. The business owner ended up being quite nice and and gave us some free pizza, which was amazing.

Please take a second and check out Jacob Bullard. He's graduating this Spring and going to try to make a go with his own music.  It is a joy and sadness to get to play with students like Jacob. As Trygve said last weekend, when you work at a college you fall in love often and get your heart broken often.  I love Jacob and his music and you should too...his music at least.

One great surprise and kind gift that the FFM offered me was a chance to finally meet Wen Regan. Wen discovered my earlier recordings way back when and has been one of the good people who has sent me encouraging and generous words about my music over the years. He is now a PhD student at Duke and was presenting an academic paper at the festival. Wen is a talented songwriter, singer and home recordist. You can get his album for free at noise trade.

The FFM overall was again a good time. I'm incredibly thankful for Ken Hefner, his vision and the years of his persistence in not only bringing good music to W. Michigan but hosting thoughtful, discerning conversations about music and culture. He introduced many of us to Pedro the Lion in 2000 at the Festival of Faith and Writing (when the two fests were one). I was thinking this weekend that much of what I've been trying to do with the arts was largely defined by what I experienced at that event. I'm not a huge fan of what's become of David Bazan, but thanks to Ken, in 2000 I witnessed in that festival a faith community giving one of the best songwriters of our time a platform and an 'amen.' I later gave Susanna Pedro's Control as an example of the kind of truth telling art that the church needs as a witness, such a revealing mirror to hold up to itself and our society:

The impact, the aftershave, the european cigarettes
The taxi, the alcohol that lingers on your breath
The lipstick, the street lamp, the woolen overcoat
The front desk, you tell yourself, it isn't over yet

Second best, oh second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus I really need a rest
After all what's wrong with second best
What's wrong with second best

Some of my favorite moments of the festival were simply hearing Ken muse about previous concerts Calvin has hosted, their meaningfulness and their intersection with faith...Ben Harper, Sigur Ros et al.  Oh geesh, I still ache for the frustration he felt over losing the chance to host the New Pornographers last Fall. I also really, really enjoyed Matisyahu even though he didn't perform with a full band. I would have appreciated if he'd come out with an established set list. The cat calls for this and that song wore me out, but nevertheless it was a magical event.

IN OTHER NEWS....

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Susanna and I and Hope College in regard to my last post. It is awkward trying to figure out how much to share on a blog. While things can get frightfully dark and scary there is a greater strength to draw upon. Grace is always abundant in times of suffering because Christ is by definition gracious.

This past week we received a final print draft of Susanna's manuscript of Entering the House of Awe to be published by New Issues press out of Western Michigan. They make really beautiful books and have proven to be very supportive.

Three more Gathering services for the '10-'11...tonight, the 17th and then May 1st. Tonight will be the last time Team Y plays together. Next week the last for Team X and then the graduating seniors join for final service. Wow.

We are also in the middle of auditioning the new recruits for next year...nine new spots. When it is all said and done, we will have auditioned close to 50 people. Wow again. It is intimidating to think of how much turnover we are going to have, but it is also pretty exciting too. Each new recruit is like a new present we open and see what happens. It is always an experience of goodness.

Our Two Songs for Calvin's FFM Band Spoting

As per my last post and the two songs we submitted for the competition, you can listen to the songs HERE.

The top five bands get included in this year's Festival of Faith and Music compilation that all festival attendees receive. The top winner gets to play a concert. It's a pretty fun thing overall and I'm thankful that Calvin does things like this. You should all check out the fest and consider coming.

FRIENDS & BABIES! Catching Up On Some Blogging

Weekend before last, we had a couple groups of friends come through Holland. To the left is our good friends Jason and Amiee Shattuck and their kids, Aidan, Micah and Clara. It was our first chance to meet Micah, and wow...Clara is a little girl now. We miss them so much! They moved to western Washington state last summer and left a void. Heaven will partly be getting to hang with all our closest friends and never having to say goodbye!

And these monkeys to the right are my good buddies from Oklahoma City, Brian Bergman and Dustin Ragland. They are in Charlie Hall's band and had played at Mars Hill Sunday morning. Charlie and the whole band with Kendall and Quint and the sound man, Paul Colley came out to Holland after the service to have lunch. I was able to show them around campus quickly. It was especially fun to show the studio to Paul because he used to help me out when I was first starting into recording. He'd give me ideas on what to buy and loan me microphones. Paul also mixed the first record I ever tracked, Like a Little Girl for Shannon Horn (Jurrens). It was also fun to show the space to Kendall because he produced my first record, Come And Reason way back in 2000. My what can happen in a decade!

Dustin and Brian stayed Sunday and Monday nights to both catch up and also to help me with the Ordinary Neighbors record. We spent most of Monday (April 19) listening to each track and taking notes on what is left to be done. Really, they just held my hand and made me feel good about the record--helped convince me that I haven't lost my mind and wasted my time. It has been a deep joy to have them collaborate on this project off and on over four years. I'd like to think that I'll have everything finished by the end of the summer.

I have to say "end" of the summer because our baby is due in less than three weeks, and yet still, I'll have to work on the record in small, short bursts.

Susanna moves home for good this next week. Our last Gathering service is this Sunday night, then Tuesday evening I drive down to help Sus pack up her apartment there and bring her home. MAY WE NEVER EVER LIVE IN DIFFERENT STATES AGAIN!

I've been busy getting the nursery ready. My parents purchased a crib for us. It arrives on Wednesday too. I picked out a comfy rocker for the nursery upstairs and Susanna wanted a Herman Miller rocker that we will put on the main floor. I was able to purchase the shell of the chair from Hope College for $25 and we'll order the rocker base off of ebay. It'll be about $100 total for a chair that costs $1k brand new. Hooray for not spending lots of money! I'm also making a paper lantern mobile to go above the crib. Sus has picked out some stencils. We just might actually get the room put together before the baby arrives. Susanna had wanted to work in the garden today, but it looks like there will be thunderstorms off and on. Maybe we'll do some stenciling and painting.

The baby has dropped, so Susanna is waddling around now. And our midwife told her on Monday that her cervix is 90% thinned already. That doesn't necessarily mean that the baby will come early, but it might mean a shorter labor. We appreciate your prayers for a healthy, safe delivery.

Four Months & Six Days...Dexter Review

I'm counting the days until I become a father. Typing the word 'father' sends my gut a twinge of electricity. It is not that I haven't wanted to be a father, it is that up until the last few years, I haven't given it much consideration. Having children has always seemed like an inevitability, but not something that I have ever taken time to literally imagine. Like marriage, I am told, there is no way to fully prepare for this life transition. I don't find myself really wanting to do much preparation to Susanna's consternation. I just want the dern kid to get here already. Nothing in my life has seemed so wild....I'm contributing to the birth of new life. Weird. Wacky.

Susanna has been doing all the reading, planning, and advanced purchasing. We've got two strollers. One is a traditional one with the removable bassinet. The other is one of those for joggers to push their kids in. And we have a bunch of cloth diapers. Something like 20 different packages have arrived. All purchased second hand. I've come home to several different sets of different styles of diapers. Funky colors. Some with snaps. Some made from wool. That set could double as really nice winter caps. Can't you just imagine a little baby butt in this? I know she would appreciate it if I'd work more on the learning curve. I was never a very good student when it came to prepping for exams, and now I feel like a slacker again--just in a much more significant way. I won't be getting a "B" on a test. I'll just be more useless to Susanna and the poor kid.

Nine months really does create a visceral sense of anticipation.

We had our first chapel of the semester yesterday. I was nervous. That is the downside of such long holiday breaks. I get pulled out of my rhythms. The re-entry is intense.

We have our Winter retreat Friday night. I found a cozy cabin to rent in Saugatuck a few years ago. This will be our third year using it. It's big enough to give most of the 25+ us beds.


Other exciting things: *I finished a review of the television series Dexter for the Cresset. Click HERE to. *We finished What Strength Remains last weekend and cried for a good ten minutes. *Susanna is a finalist for yet another major book prize. She has been a finalist with this manuscript so many times that I really hope this one is it for her. Her current title for the manuscript is Entering the House of Awe. I think its a better set of poems than her first book. *I did spend lots of time on the Ordinary Neighbors record over break. I'm starting to really like what I'm hearing and that is a huge relief. I don't know when it'll be finished, but I can better hear what this project as a whole is going to sound like. Some favorite moments from my time in the studio: playing electric with a small rock I brought back from the Olympic Penninsula, singing harmonies through my classical guitar and best of all...sampling a lecture of Reinhold Neihbur where he talks about Agustine being the father of both Catholicism and Protestantism.

Warm Fuzzy Christmas

We finished our final Gathering for the semester last night. Campus ministry is a huge blur. It is hard for me to really believe we are done. I do have a bit of grading to do and I will be meeting with students all week, hopefully. Paul and I will continue to tinker away on this next year's recordings. We're going to mix and edit in Pro Tools instead of Digital Performer this year. So, there is a bit of a learning curve there. There is the calendar or next semester to start working on too. So, there is still work, but it's just not all crammed in with planning and leading four services a week.

On Friday each member of the staff gave a brief testimony of what we are thankful for. We framed the service as a live Christmas card and even gave a student a camera to take our picture.

Here are a few that Kate took from the stage of the gathered students:

It was a good week. I used to be so frustrated with the challenge of coming up with Christmas music so suddenly at the end of the semester, but these last two weeks were really enjoyable. A large part of the joy was changing the instrumentation for a few services: four girls singing, a real piano, drums light (kick, snare, hat played w/ brushes), vibes and a full concert glockenspiel, two acoustics, an electric mostly playing ambient swells, two violins, a cello and an upright bass. I'm a dork for not getting a photo of that group last night. On Monday I had a student organ major lead two carols with the chapel choir. Wednesday was the strings et al. Friday was standard rock core, and then last night was the strings based team again.

After much banging of the head and gnashing of the teeth, I've finally found some inspiration to keep working on the Ordinary Neighbors recordings. Some of my fears have settled. I've accepted my limitations as a mixing engineer and started hearingthe things I'm good at instead of the things I'm bad at. I've got the 'studio' set up again in the guest room and am pretty excited about working intensively on these old songs...rediscovering them. After working for the last 3+ years to get the school to give me the money to make major improvements on the Dimnent studio, the irony is that it is hard to get good extended time in there with all the others who want to use the space too. So this is where I'm working now:

I'll have to post some pics of the new mix room at Dimnent so that you can see the contrast--why this is not quite as ideal. One thing I am excited about is this:

It is a two track tape machine my grand poppa used for years with his music students. I've got a box of tapes of him instructing his students. The deck barely works, but it's got this nice sound of another age with all the crackles and hiss. Even better, I can hear poppa speaking. I'll be using samples on different songs.

Already a nuance....Artistry vs. Corporate Worship

My friend Kara who is now living in NYC far away from our beloved home church in Oklahoma City, emailed me a good thought that is worth responding to here. I need to nuance, or finesse my statement about private worship. What I am getting at is that I personally don't find much of worship music artistically interesting in and of itself. That is why I don't listen to it on my own very often. But now I'm speaking as a snobby artist/song writer/recording engineer instead of a pastor.

Here is a good place for me to introduce Hope College to my own musical side project, Ordinary Neighbors. If you are interested, I've got a few roughs of some of our songs on myspace.com/ordinaryneighbors. This is the culmination of several years of working with independent artists at home. I recorded several small records for friends so that I could learn how to use microphones. My ultimate goal was to be able to record myself, but I kept putting off my own music. In some ways I do enjoy helping others develop their creative ideas more than working on my own songs. It is the pastoral part of me that loves to see others flourish and discover more about their gifts, but in another sense it has always been a cop out, a way of hiding from myself and my own unreasonable expectations for myself. It is easier to dream about something. To talk about it and never actually attempt it because once it is attempted it becomes real and may fall short of your dreamy ideal.

Fortunately, I got married. Along came Susanna Childress and her poetry. We started writing songs together over the phone when she lived in Tallahassee and I was in Oklahoma. I'd lay one phone on the sofa near my guitar and then sing into the other on my shoulder. Putting her poems to music has been a delight. With her companionship, I've found the desire and urge to make some recordings. They are growing and changing, and now it is time, not fear, that is holding me back. It might still be another year before I can imagine the record being completed. Until then, myspace will have to do.

I've been hesitant to make these songs well-known amongst the Hope community because they are so different than the kind of music I do for chapels. I haven't wanted anyone to suppose that my intention has been to take our corporate worship music in that severe of an artistic direction. I very much want the sound of our music to be shaped by the talents and interests of the students who play with me. I see now that all of my experience doing home recordings with friends has taught me to work with these students at Hope College. If someone were to ask me what the sound of our music is or should be, I would want to say that first and foremost the sound will be worshipful. What that exactly means depends on who is playing that day. My job is not to impose my own particular musical interests on the body of Christ. Will my taste influence our worship? Of course, but I work really hard to hand much of the creativity, song selection, and overall sound of the music over to the students.

Here is the interesting thing I have discovered after returning to worship leading: I find some of the artists and records that I love hard to listen to. The artistry, while interesting and exciting, is often heavy. Take Elliot Smith for example. I don't know if I've been more influenced by any other song writer. Sometimes when my itunes is on random and one of his songs comes up, I find myself absolutely giddy. There is so much about the sound and feel of his music that is right and good. His is a beautiful lament, sometimes angry, often sad, sometimes generous but always honest, always reliable. His music is consistent and steady. Unfortunately there isn't any of the final gladness, the bold hope of my faith in his music though. Now that I'm singing with Hope students regularly, my taste and hunger for God is more vibrant and tangible. There is something very helpful about doing this now instead of teaching that has awakened my faith. In this season I find that I miss something even in my beloved Elliot Smith.

It is tough. There is not much that I am aware of that combines something that is artistically interesting and also spiritually compelling in a way that I could categorize it as worship. I know that here I'm rubbing up against the unfortunate delineation between the secular and the sacred that is so harmful, but I can't tackle that today. Let me say for now that I don't distinguish between secular and sacred, but I do draw a distinction between "devotional" or "liturgical" as genres of art just like I make a distinction between action, comedy and drama in film. Charlie Hall, Brad Kilman, and Joel Limpic's latest records are exceptions in the way they are creative and devotional, but then again I'm biased because they are friends. I find myself wanting to say something that might be troubling to me in the future. This may come back to bite me some time soon, but here it is: I'm not sure if the corporate gathering of worshipers should even have the most progressive forms of musical art incorporated in its singing. Often the most progressive music is appreciated by a smaller group of listeners. It can often be elitist and even exclusive. What I mean is that you might need to acquire a taste for it. It might take time for you to understand its originality by comparing and contrasting it to other music. Art is mostly a conversation between artists and society, and not everyone can physically participate in the same conversation at the same time. So, these artists don't need to try to be elite and exclusive; the exclusivity is only part and parcel to the limitations of the artistic conversation. That is why we have regional art forms, particular crafts that are unique to a particular people. And I believe this is what is ultimately interesting to me about independent music, its various conversations and possibilities.

There is the quaint stereotype of the indie music fan. Have you seen the button that reads, "cheer up emo kid"? When you consider indie music as a scene and try to stereotype it as the kids that wear plastic rim glasses, wear clothes from the thrift store and have long bangs that wag over their eyes, you can probably find a lot of music that sounds the same. However, I would like to protest that this stereotype is only the facade of what is really happening in the independent music world. There are thousands of artists across the world who now have home recording equipment (like me) who are finding their own voice and their own expression. Of course much of this is not worth listening to, but nevertheless, do the math. The potential for newer and more original music to be discovered is greatly increased today.

The point is not that corporate worship shouldn't be creative and grow in its creativity. The point is that creativity is not an end in itself for a worship leader. God is our purpose and drawing the attention of all mankind to him. I want to be creative in so far as it serves the building up of the body of believers that I am leading. Now I'm talking like a pastor. For example, so many in the church are stuck on a controversy between hymns and contemporary praise choruses. These people are not thinking pastorally. The question cannot be solved in an abstract cultural war. It can only be answered in the particular application of music to a particular body of believers. The pastor's question is always, what will truly serve my congregation in their pursuit of becoming like Christ and witnessing him to the world? This is no acquiescence to popular culture here either. Perhaps the best thing for a particular group of young worshipers is learning the great hymns of the church. Or perhaps the best thing for a mature group of worshipers is learning to sing a simple praise chorus; perhaps they need to re-frame their understanding of worship by simplifying their singing. Thus you can now see why I wouldn't want to impose my own artistic interests on a group of believers. If they can profit from my own style and taste, then so be it. I'll implement that creativity, but at the same time I make myself accountable to the other musicians and our ministry staff to help me discern if my artistry should ever become distracting and unhelpful.

So, Kara, my friend, we all are called to both private and public worship. Yes. I am just using a lot of words to explain why I don't personally enjoy much worship music on my own but still enjoy it corporately. Some might call it contradictory, but as a pastor I call it love. I can share in a particular kind of music meaningfully with a body of believers because our experience together in the singing of the song, in the communion of the saints, is what gives it life and meaning. On its own, the same song played in my car doesn't carry the same meaning. Plus, more often than not the worship CD has been recorded in such a polished and annoying way that I get frustrated. But now I'm talking like an artist/snob/recording engineer again, and that is a whole other conversation. Thanks for being the first to reply!