Archangel Records

We are excited to announce our NEW WEBSITE!!! Archangel Records is a new music production company which we (Garry and Victoria) have just formed. Our current project is a new Christmas CD for 2011, as well as some great concerts featuring all of the performers from the CD in December. We are very excited about the great music we can create through this venture, and we hope that you will want to be part of it. Feel free to continue to enjoy all the posts on this site, but for all the current events please visit us at Archangel Records. All of the music found on this site is available at Archangel, either to listen to individual songs, or click on the playlist at the bottom of the website to enjoy a stream of all the music. Please be sure to enter your e-mail there on the website so that we can keep you up-to-date on our new CD due out later this year, as well as the opportunity to receive free concert tickets. As always, you may comment here, but for fastest response use the contact form on Archangel Records. We hope you love the new website and visit often.

It’s All About Me

Just kidding with the title… a little inside joke ☺. Anyway, who says Garry doesn’t read the blog? I love this album, and I am happy to answer some questions.





Garry, what are your thoughts about the songs you recorded?

I will start with “The Gate.” This song is magic to me. It was written at a time in my mission when I needed a boost. I didn’t feel I was successful and I was really discouraged. Victoria wrote this song and I still remember coming home and having her call me over to the piano to hear the recording of the piano accompaniment. I sat on the floor by the piano and listened and remember crying as the music played. I don’t normally get emotional over music that has no words but there was something different about this one. As soon as I heard the words I knew that this song was a gift from Heavenly Father sent through a righteous mother and friend to help a weary missionary. Recording it was a process. It went from a bright cheery sound to a quieter breathy sound. The change was new to me. I didn’t normally sing breathy but I am really pleased with the way it turned out and Victoria made the right choice to change the style.

Then there is “Did You Know?” Victoria first introduced this song to me when I was serving in Oceanside, California. She was nice enough to come down and play for me at a ward Christmas party, along with the whole family. She brought this song along to see if I would like it. She played and I did my best to follow along. I loved it instantly. I loved the simplicity of it, but more importantly I loved the spirit of it. We recorded it this summer and after I left I listened to it a couple of times and realized that I wanted to change a few things to make it sound more professional and fun. When I returned in October I wasn’t planning on us rerecording that song but with some time left over we decided to try it. I made a few changes and Victoria helped me add some things and correct some things that made the song come more alive. I know this song has a deep heritage, having been sung long before anyone ever knew me. I just hope that those people who knew it before are satisfied with how it turned out.

Lastly, “Will You Hold Me on Christmas Eve?” I love love love this song. I didn’t think I was going to get the opportunity to sing it. For the longest time I wanted to do a duet with Rachel and the chance never came up. Well, when Victoria told me that she was looking for a different sound than what she had heard and asked if I was interested in doing it I had to say yes. I listened to the song because I wanted to make sure I could actually do it justice and not just say yes to be selfish so I could sing a stellar song with a superior vocalist. Well, I got those things anyway and decided to tell Victoria that I would love to do it. Recording it without Rachel there was a trick, but a necessary one. I’m grateful that I was given that chance.

What was recording like? Were there any surprises?

Recording was a mixed experience. I always said that if I got the chance to record some music I would do it. Never did I realize the amount of time and commitment it would require. I wouldn’t change it though. During the process I realized that my voice is very untrained. Only after a couple of hours my throat would start to hurt and I would have to rest. Suddenly it hit me that professional vocalists spend tons of time singing to keep up that stamina. Overall, however, it was fun. It was fun to hear the end result. It was fun to hear the outtakes from all the recordings.. Victoria and I would go back and listen to the outtakes and just laugh because of our conversations. That was a blast.

What is your favorite song on the CD, and why?

I know I might be a bit biased but I really do like “Will You Hold Me on Christmas Eve?” I like how it has a country element. I love the power of Rachel’s voice. I love the jazzy piano. The writing on this song is ingenious. It should be on the radio being sung by someone like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. It has a special feeling.

Would you record again, if you had the opportunity?

Hands down I would, and hopefully will record again!

Tell us something about Victoria that we might not know.

Vic really is a jokester. We had so many inside jokes that they seemed to come up every single hour. From Harry Potter jokes, to jokes about missionary work, to pokes at my personality. I love that about her.







This whole experience has been very surreal for me. I am so appreciative to the McDaniel family for letting me live with them for upwards of eight months now, collectively. They are wonderful people who will do anything for anyone. Victoria doesn’t even realize fully that she fulfilled a dream for me by inviting me to record. I would never have gotten this opportunity anywhere else. My hope is that everyone who listens to the CD will enjoy the music, get into the Christmas spirit, and feel closer to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know he is the Son of God and it is truly an honor to sing about his birth and life. I love him with all my heart.

What the…What’s What? More Questions...

Tandy, Rachel and Garry were fired some questions in the comments from the last post. I really can’t answer for them, except to point out that none of them have stepped forward to dispute the fact that they were tortured… made to work under duress, and that I did my best to make them all cry. Beyond that, I can’t speak for them, and honestly, I don’t know that they really look at the blog all that often, if at all.

I can answer the questions that were addressed to me.

Q. Can I sing on your next CD?

A. Not a chance. ☺ Haha!


Q. Will there be a next CD?

A. Let me consult my Magic 8 Ball… it says try again later.


Q. How did you soundproof your “studio?”

A. I didn’t. My nod to acoustics was to throw a rug on the floor and add a shelf with books opposite the recording area to break up sound.








Q. What is your favorite song on the CD?

A. That is actually a complicated question, because many of the songs have great meaning for me, either because of how they came about (The Gate), or experiences performing them (Evening Lullaby, Hush, Joseph’s Song). Some of them I love just because they were fun to play (O Holy Night)… but just for sheer listening satisfaction I love the last track, Will You Hold Me on Christmas Eve? As far as meaning goes, that song has a lot attached to it as well. I originally wrote it to be performed at a Christmas concert by Ric Starnes and Casey Vongsawad Stolze. I loved Casey with her big beautiful voice and her loving, humble personality, and she passed away quite suddenly earlier this year from cancer. I can still remember her singing that song, and how many people begged for a recording of it. She was as great a performer as she was a lovely person, and we miss her. I was not at all sure I would be able to translate that amazing experience into a suitable recording.

I think that the great job Rachel did on that song would have made Casey very happy, and it certainly made me happy. Then, as you can read in earlier posts, Garry swept in to the rescue at a very crucial time to help finish the song. I thought several times along the way that it would probably not be on the album, because it was a very difficult song to perform and record well. I think the way it came together a single week before the CDs had to be duplicated was no accident, and it made me realize once again that I was being watched over in so many ways.

Who’s Who? The Six-Month Houseguest

I met Garry in a pretty unique way. He just showed up at my house one night, with luggage… and then stayed for six months! Garry is from Montana, and he served an LDS church mission here in Southern California from 2007 to 2009, based out of Carlsbad, California. We were hosting the missionaries in Rancho Santa Margarita, and in April of 2009 he transferred to our area, and moved into our home. We knew immediately that he was a great missionary and leader, and quickly learned that he had a love of music, and a unique and special voice that touches people when they hear it. Many evenings after family prayer we would enjoy a few minutes of men’s choir music around the piano, as my husband and boys loved to sing as much as Elder Pfile, and they sounded so awesome together.

When Elder Pfile transferred to Oceanside after six months, he assured us he would be back, and even left a box of his belongings in an upstairs closet to prove it. I was sure I would be mailing that box to Montana, but when Elder Pfile was released from his mission this last July, he made good on that promise and came out to record music during the summer. Unfortunately, I had lost my direction for the CD, and I wasted so much of his time that he was here. I regretted that mistake in September, when I committed again to make my CD of Christmas music, and realized that it had to be completed by the first part of November.

Maybe my favorite song on the CD is the last track… Will You Hold Me on Christmas Eve? As I have explained in a previous post, Rachel had already recorded the song, and I tried three other male vocalists to sing the other half of the duet, with no good match-ups. I was fast coming to the realization that the song would have to be left off the CD. I called Garry one morning, very discouraged, and told him about my dilemma. He asked if there was a way for him to sing it. I only had about two weeks left to finish the CD, so I couldn’t really imagine a way that could happen, but I sent him the music and told him to try it, and to give me his honest opinion of whether he could pull it off. I don’t know why, but it actually made me feel better just that he wanted to try it, after the time he had in the summer. I just had such a peaceful, unworried feeling after we talked. Three days later he called and told me he knew he could rock that song. You have to understand that Garry is a music critic… especially of himself. So when he told me that he could really do it, I believed him. Then he dropped everything to come out from Montana to do the recording. It gave me the boost I needed to push through and finish the CD. And when he sang the song, he just blew me away… it completely exceeded my expectations. It took us about eight hours to record his part of that song, because he had to work one part at a time to match everything that Rachel had already recorded. I love the way the song turned out, and even more, I love that Garry went to so much trouble to do it.

Meeting Garry is proof that God works in mysterious ways. The thought that this 21-year-old guy from Montana was sent right to our house… well, certainly there are no coincidences. I don’t know how else I would ever have met him, and if I hadn’t, I’m not sure how I would have figured out I needed to make a CD this year. This music experience has been made up of a thousand different miracles, and Garry is not only one of those, but also a true friend.

Duet... by Remote Access?

Rachel came out two weeks ago, and recorded “Will You Hold Me On Christmas Eve?” (not a love song, despite the title). The only problem is, it is a duet. I tried a couple of different guys to sing the other part, and while they were great singers, it is hard to match the brightness and power of Rachel’s voice. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.




But then... Garry came down from Montana this week. He had listened to the song, and told me that he could pull this off. I trust Garry’s ears like I trust my own, so of course I believed him. But the finished product was... wow! So much better than I expected! It was a lot of hard work on Garry’s part to match everything up. Don’t you think that is pretty crazy? Singing across time and space? Remember... these two have never even met! I was slightly tempted to put the song up for you to listen to. It is my favorite. I have listened to it now about a hundred times, I think. But there have to be a few surprises, and this is going to be one of them. As the old saying goes, we have to save a little something for the honeymoon. So please enjoy the other songs that are posted below, and wish me luck... in the next six days I will be finished!

Will you hold me on Christmas Eve?
Can we sit by the fire, underneath our big tree?
Will you tell me the story of baby Jesus in the manger?
Will you hold me on Christmas Eve?

Wise men and shepherds; angels so fair
Don’t leave out anything... make me feel like I’m there.
I know I’m getting older, but I still believe
When you hold me on Christmas Eve.

Did You Know?

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
~Matthew 16:15-16

“…He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come….”

From “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”

Did you know when Jesus was a baby

That his mother laid him in the hay?

Did you know he slept among the oxen

Safe and warm until the break of day?

Did you know he was the promised Savior,

Born to bring us love and show the way?

Did you know that Jesus was a shepherd?

That his lambs were people just like me?

Did you know that Jesus blessed the children?

Did you know he held them one by one?

Did you know that Jesus came to save us?

Did you know that he was God’s own son?

Did you know that Jesus healed the blind man?

Did you know he made the lame to walk?

Did you know he walked upon the water?

Did you know he calmed the troubled sea?

Did you know that Jesus loves the children?

That is how I know that he loves me.

That is how I know that he loves me.

...And Now For Something a Little Different

Some things are never finished, it seems. I thought I put “The Gate” to bed weeks and weeks ago. But it was not quite right somehow. So this week I have taken it apart and changed the accompaniment entirely. If you want to listen to the original version, you will find it in the playlist over at the Welcome Mat. But this is how I wanted to hear this song. No… it is not, strictly speaking, a Christmas song. But it will be on the Christmas CD just the same.

The painting is “Gardens Beyond Autumn Gate” by Thomas Kinkade. It is what I picture when I listen.

Following are the words, inspired by Matt. 7:13-14 in the New Testament, as well as this beautiful chapter in the Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 31.


The Gate

I am just a wayward child
I wander in winding paths
Through dark and danger.
There is one who calls me
To walk in the way of truth and love.

Lost,
But I am not alone.
The Savior lights my way,
Leads me through the narrow gate
To everlasting day.

I am not the only one
To struggle in unbelief,
To blindly roam.
Jesus bids me find his sheep
And to bring them safely back home.

Lost, but we are not alone
The Savior lights our way.
Leads us through the narrow gate
To everlasting day.

Few there be that find the gate;
For narrow is the road.
I will walk the path that’s straight,
Then he’ll welcome me into his fold.

Lost, but I am not alone.
The Savior lights my way.
Leads me through the narrow gate
To everlasting day.

I am found,
I’m freed from worldly cares,
The Savior lights my way.
Leads me through the narrow gate
To everlasting day.

Turning Simple Beauty Into Pure Magic

Friday I held a rehearsal for my “choir.” It is actually six people: Dillon, Drew, Michael, Tandy, Stephanie and Cambria. They are singing on three of the songs, and it was so, so fun! Love those guys, and they sound amazing. So I am recording them this week. I am also recording Ric, who is coming out from Utah, Rachel, and possibly Michelle. Crazy, crazy week.

I just wanted to tell you a little story. One of the songs my “choir” is recording is backups for “Did You Know?” You can listen to it over on my other blog, The Welcome Mat. When Garry was here last summer, he recorded it in between some other numbers that we were working very hard on. It was almost an afterthought, but somehow he made it so pure and beautiful that it is my favorite thing he recorded. I have listened to it practically every day since then.

But I have had a special vision for that song ever since last December. I was asked to put together a musical number for a baptism for a very dear friend, Ruth. She was a young mother who found the true gospel of Jesus Christ and wanted to be baptized. I had originally written “Did You Know” for my son Dillon’s baptism, and then a year later added the first verse to make it a Christmas song. So I got my “choir” together (pretty much the same people a year ago, except that Ethan was still here, and he sang, too) and we rehearsed “Did You Know?”

It came time for that musical number, and the small group stood in front of Ruth, who was all dressed in her white clothes and holding her little baby, and they began to sing. By the third verse, several of them were singing in harmony. It built from a very tender beginning to a very powerful third verse, and I don’t even know how to describe the spirit there… it truly felt magical. Everyone shed tears that day. The next day in church was the Christmas program. Bishop Gregson stood up right before the last song, and asked that in place of the closing congregational number, that we perform that musical number again. I figured that in that much-larger setting it would not be the same, but they all stood around the microphone in the chapel, and gave it their best. And by the time we got to the third verse, it felt like an electrical current was going through my body. The spirit was so strong there, that I looked out at the congregation, and again, they were all moved to tears. So what we are doing this week is recapturing the magic. We are adding vocals and strings to the already breathtaking performance that Garry laid down two months ago. And I promise I will give you a sneak preview by the end of the week. Meanwhile, you can read the words here, and enjoy Garry’s performance on the Welcome Mat. Merry Christmas! Are you feeling the love? I’m sending it out there…

Photos are 1:Garry recording and 2:Ruth; gorgeous painting by Joseph Brickey.