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There’s a lot of noise right now about AI “making art.” And sure, AI can generate songs, images, videos, and entire productions faster than most of us can make coffee. But the thing I keep coming back to is this: art has never been only about the finished product. It’s about the human experience wrapped around it in the building, consuming and sharing. I’ve heard AI used well inside productions. But the best examples almost always have one thing in common: a human is still dr

By Joel Ivey/ collect.assembly I’ll say it! The music world is not what we were sold. People still talk like there’s this machine somewhere; a label, a manager, a “guy in the industry” who’s going to hear you, understand you, invest in you, and carry you to the top because you’re talented and “meant for this.” That world is gone. I’m convinced it never really existed the way people imagine it. We just hear the highlight reels. We hear, “This artist blew up overnight,” or, “T

By Morgan Groenewald / collect.as sembly I know there are a lot of opinions in the Christian world when it comes to Halloween. Some families completely avoid it, others embrace it for what it is, and then there are those of us somewhere in between just trying to walk in wisdom and peace. Side note:  It really saddens me when people call that “lukewarm,” because that implies you haven’t thought about it. However, I feel very strongly that this is right for me and my family, fo

I had an epiphany this week. Sometimes I struggle to connect with the rest of the band. We’ll finish practice, sit around making small talk, and I suddenly feel like the only person at a party who didn’t get the inside joke. And for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. No, no… it can’t possibly be because I’m autistic and miss a significant portion of the social cues and nuances. Definitely not that. The only logical conclusion is that I am a dog person … and they all

To preface this post, I'd like to say that every Christian artist has battled through this question before even beginning to release their art for others to hear. Don't think because Forrest makes his conviction known to the world that others haven't asked this question before. Forrest's actions in the way he presents himself sometimes speaks louder than his words. Honour Isn’t Idolatry: Why Community Awards Can Be Biblical When Christian artist Forrest Frank shared that he

There were a lot of thank-yous said last night, but one man was a bit left out and y’all noticed. 😉 I’m not great with words on the spot (which is why Joel does all the talking) and honestly, there wouldn’t have been enough time to thank this man properly anyway. So, without further ado, let’s fix that. Joel, you’ve dragged me along on a journey I fought every step of the way, a journey you could see the potential of long before I could even begin to comprehend how it might

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to actually  carry each other’s burdens. Not in the nice, “churchy” way where we say, “I’ll pray for you,”  and move on. I mean really see  each other, really sit with each other’s stuff. We constantly hear people preaching the need to bear one another’s burdens, hold each other accountable and be vulnerable with one another… but we don’t. And I’ve noticed something that’s been bothering me. Whenever someone opens up about w

Morgan recently asked a question that’s probably echoed in the hearts of more believers than we realize: “What is church, and where do I belong?” I think many of us have wrestled with that same question sometimes quietly, sometimes with guilt attached, especially when “church” doesn’t look or feel like what we’ve been told it should. For many, the modern rhythm of Sunday gatherings: busy lobbies, noise, and social energy, is life-giving. For others, it’s depleting. In Morgan’

No, that’s not a rhetorical question. I’m well over 20 years into my faith journey and I’m still genuinely asking that question. Disclaimer I do not claim to know everything there is to know about the Christian faith, nor do I think my writing should be taken with any sort of authority. I’m just another flawed (tiny in comparison) and utterly loved-by-the-King-of-the-universe human, walking this journey with God, learning and wrestling with new things every day. By now, I kno

It’s hard to know what to write for a blog post. Not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I wonder what people will actually connect with. Does the world really need one more opinion, one more reflection, one more piece of content floating around out there? Sometimes that thought alone can stop me before I even begin. And yet… I write songs. Somehow, without hesitation, I believe those are worth putting into the world. Why? Because it’s art. When we write music,

This past weekend we played shows in Edmonton and Calgary. Being autistic, concerts are definitely not easy for me on a sensory and social level and just general anxiety but this weekend was especially hard. On the drive there, I had a huge meltdown. It felt like I was drowning, suffocating, and about to throw up all at the same time. Our schedule was jam packed. I’m so grateful for the helpers who stepped in so I could try to pace myself. Even so, during the Edmonton concert