Today, I am finally writing the intro for the new issue. Everything is done except linking in the files and writing this one last piece. It’s almost done. I’m almost there. This has been a rough issue to get done. One of the biggest reasons was the birth of my son last month. Eric Scott Richardson is now 10 lbs and 23 inches long. I can’t believe he’s here. We’ve waited so long for him and we weren’t even expecting him. He truly is a gift from God and with that gift comes the challenge of balancing work, Tastyfresh, my music, my family and well… my video game addiction. All of that combined with the fact that this issue is DOUBLE in size meant I was in for a rough time getting it out. But… it’s here now. Let the celebration begin while I step out and take a 5 min. breather.

In This Issue

So, what’s in this issue? Tons. The big stories are Andy Hunter’s new CD Life and Cornerstone ’05. Let me save you the time reading the review of Life and just say it rocks. You can’t get it until May 25th, but it will be worth the wait. Andy also took some time out to talk with us about the new album and some aspects of where Christian dance is going or should be going.

Cornerstone ’05 is just around the corner; well… it’s at the end of June to be exact. There have been some major changes from the past year. Scott Blackwell and MYX Records will not be in charge of the Dance Barn. Neither will Phillip Kim and N*Soul Records. For what I think is a first time, two of the leading club promoters in the Christian scene have control of the Dance Barn. Chris Human and Cindy Tucker have been working their rears off planning this event and it looks like it may out do everything that has been done in the past. We caught up with them and had a nice chat about the changes you can expect to find this year.

The Dance Barn won’t be the only source for dance music at Cstone this year though. There is a new player this year who has acquired one of the famous generator stages and has put together a daytime lineup that will give you a reason to wake up before 4 pm and get back to the festival. Like the Dance Barn, there will be a solid line-up of DJ’s and Live PA artists throughout the afternoons. We sat down with this new player and got the info you will want to have. Get ready for the One Life Radio/Gospel for Asia stage.

Oh… did I mention that we have about 13 mini-interviews and profiles of the DJ’s and Live PA’s performing on both of these stages.

If that wasn’t enough, Brandon continues his series on various live PA techniques and Cindy Tucker of the Underground gives some advice on how to make a demo that will land you a gig. In the reviews department we have reviews for the new Sheltershed release, Digweed’s newest mix CD (which is sure to start a heated debate), Hernan Cattaneo’s new mix CD and the review of VNV Nation – Matter + Form. As promised, Ms. Cocolove delivered Frankie Vibe for her Sho Ya Love column and DJ Adidax is featured for our Drop of the Month.

We Made It A Year

Ok… there is one last item to discuss. We are celebrating both a landmark and an anniversary this issue. This issue marks the first anniversary of the Tastyfresh Ezine. It is hard to believe that I have been publishing it for an entire year now, but it has been. May of 2004 was the launch of the new site and the return of all of the historical articles from Jamey Wright’s first iteration of this site. June marked the first issue with new material.

The road has been long, rough and sometimes stirred up more fights than it seemed worth. I suspect the next year will be the same, but the Tastyfresh ezine will keep on keeping on. Because I haven’t said it enough and because I may have never actually said it, I truly appreciate all of the hard work that the various writers have put into this effort over the past year. So, much love and thanks to the following people: Doug Jones, Bill Sikes, Stryke, Guy Cross, Gerwin Koudijs, Mattijs Kneppers, Timo Rozendal, Brian Babinec, Carey Jarvis, Andy Hunter, Gabriel Cox, Eric Dunne, Greg Young, DJ Mike Sunglider, Steve Jeffery, DJ Rish, Brandon Sweet, Darren Alexander, Matthew Lokot, Joel Armstrong, Ethan Bliss, Cindy Tucker, Chris Human, Andrew Turner, Ms. Cocolove, Craig Willers, dj404, Kevin Coffman, Protech, Suzi Star, Terrance Parker, DJ Himmel / Du Nord, DJ Mint, all of the people who took the time to submit their opinions to the opinion questions, all of the performers for Cornerstone this year who supplied their profiles, you the readers and anybody that I might have forgotten about in this long list. Year two will be something very special.

Love in Christ,
Dave Richardson