Michael Lauren
Jazz / Funk
Shelley grew up immersed in music. With a choir directing mother and a father who sang and played cello, sibs and cousins and aunts, and grandma- there was always music playing. Shelley’s first experience in a “band” was with her friend Kelly atop a ping pong table- Kelly on pots and pans (drums) with “cymbals” hanging from the rafters, and Shelley on lead vocals. Though the table nearly collapsed under them- the dream lived on! Playing was always easier by ear- so after a few years of piano and guitar lessons- a good faith effort on the part of her parents- Shelley continued on playing and experimenting on her own rather than in formal training. Shelley played piano behind the scenes, only playing the first song she’d written in front of people after coming home on a weekend from college to play in her home church. During her college years, Shelley began to experiment with leading worship and playing youth retreats and other venues. She took her one and only music class (as her majors were in Psychology and Sociology) focusing on recording and experimenting with layering sounds. These late night hours in the recording lab opened a whole new world and she began attempting to capture what she heard in her head. After college she began leading worship regularly in church settings and began writing more songs. She dabbled some with recording, but was frustrated, never able to capture what she heard in her head. Several years and a few worship leading experiences later, Shelley arrived at Jamestown Church through a pretty amazing spiritual journey where she sat- after losing her voice due to sickness- wondering if she would ever sing again. During this time, God began to rework His plans for her- removing years of performance that had begun to take root. During this time she surrendered all of her musical abilities to God- desiring His will and design for her life. After sitting for six months, God opened the door for her to begin playing, and later singing and leading worship again. Songs began pouring out with little to no effort- reflecting a collective and individual journey with God for Shelley and for her church family. She met Scott Rozanski- and they began playing together, along with Scott Heckman and Toby Lepper. Soon after, Scott approached her about recording the songs that God was downloading. He was confident and direct about his belief that God was leading him to use his production gifting to capture the songs. Shelley was hesitant- ok, she actually wanted to run… the other direction. Scott’s tenacity and conviction won out and the recording process started. It was amazing to listen as the layers and layers of sound took form finally capturing- and then exceeding- what Shelley heard in her head as the songs tumbled out. This was, so obviously, God’s design- and He had created this partnership! To God be every ounce of glory! And as we move forward- This is YOUR story!
Scott has been a musician since he was 17 years old (he won't disclose how long that's been). His father purchased his first drum set for him (a brown sparkle Gretch set) and without a lesson Scott played his first song ("Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones) flawlessly - well, nearly flawlessly. He played in cover bands during his short college stint at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Leaving college early, Scott joined the U.S. Navy as an Intelligence Specialist and while crossing the Atlantic Ocean aboard the USS Independence aircraft carrier he learned to play guitar. After a 4 year stint with VF-32 (a fighter air wing) in Oceana, Virginia Scott set out for Columbus, Ohio to attend culinary school. While going to culinary school, Scott joined The Wake, a Gothic rock band based out of Columbus, Ohio. After playing with them for a couple of years, Scott left the band and returned to his home town of Toledo, Ohio to finish up his undergraduate degree in Environmental Management and to study recording. He joined forces with Michael Zigmond and went on to co-write and record a multitude of songs. Michael left the duo to continue his painting career and Scott went off to pursue his master's degree at the University of Findlay in Environmental Management and to continue writing, playing and recording music. In 2000, after a brief couple of years in the environmental field, Scott bought a private-duty home care franchise called Home Instead Senior Care (Let's just say that the environmental field was very disappointing to Scott due to the fact that no one seemed to care about preserving the environment, rather how they might be able to get around the EPA and their waste disposal regulations). Scott came to the LORD in 2011. One fateful Sunday, Scott and his wife Lisa decided to try a new church located near their lake home in Indiana. The church was Jamestown and it was very different than what Scott had EVER been exposed to, as he was raised Catholic. Scott swore that day to his wife that he would NEVER be playing on the worship team because he was just getting used to being saved and now getting used to this new church and the new way to worship and to be preached to. A few years after attending Jamestown, Shelley Hawver took over as the new worship leader and the minute Scott heard Shelley sing and play he had a very strong prompting from the LORD to approach her to work with her musically. Shelley declined Scott's offers for a couple of months due to being nervous about whether or not Scott would represent her in the audio realm. Finally, Shelley agreed to give it a try and laid down her piano part and her vocal parts for Freedom. Shelley put down her piano parts and her vocal tracks and left Scott to create the rest. Shelley trusted God to work through Scott to create the sound that is now Jamestown. Every song on this album was created this way; with Shelley putting down her vocal and keyboard tracks and then trusting God to use Scott as HIS instrument to create all of the other sounds/instruments/arrangements. At times putting this CD together was a very cathartic experience for Scott as he got to experience first-hand God working through him. Scott thanks God each and every day for the the Christian rock music that God has decided to make using him and the rest of the band. All the glory to God!
Scott Heckman started his relationship with Jesus at a young age while attending church in Battle Creek, MI as a child. It was then years later when Scott was drawn back to church in Coldwater, MI. While attending the Gospel Lighthouse Church the Lord placed it on Scott's heart to join the Praise Team and start playing to drums. In 2010 Scott was lead to Jamestown Church in Fremont, IN where he was given the opportunity to introduce the wonderful sound of drums. Then the Lord placed it on his heart to transition to the bass guitar. When Scott is playing the bass, the Lord just takes over and brings a sweet sound. Scott resides in Coldwater, MI with his wife Marcene Heckman of 21 years. Scott and Marcene have 2 beautiful daughters, Rochelle and Neely. Psalm 57:7: My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
New EP by Jessica Ann releasing soon. A three tracks EP called "Blue Cascades". Tracks: 1. Blue Cascades 2. Hair Clips 3. Past Incarnation Releasing everywhere, Spotify, Apple music, iTunes, YouTube, and more. Stay tuned!
This song causes a reflection in the mirror.
#title
#text
#title
#text