Saturday, September 03, 2005

Will Play for Relief

Last night ranked pretty high as one of the coolest concerts that I've played. I got to share the mic with Andy, Greg Adkins, Griffin Cavender, (Bob and Heather) Gray, and of course, Karen Reynolds. I came expecting the show to be something sort of small. I love Karen and her program Writer's Block, but there was a Jack Johnson concert that night, so I didn't expect the crowd of people to show that did. And, as if the people weren't enough, I found out when I got there that the whole thing had been turned into a benefit show for the hurricane victims. I felt truly blessed to be a part of something like that. My inborn love of country music was also revived. After hearing Gray play and listening to a bit of Julie Lee's cd in Greg's car, I think the old grunge hindrances are finally gone. Go away Nirvana-is-all-I-ever-wanted-to-be thoughts that still dripped around in my head from middle school. I think that the people who actually like good music and think that country sucks have simply been putting too much time in on the corporate radio. My horizons were certainly re-widened last night.

I also spent some good time talking with Greg. We spoke about Caedmon's Call and music business and several other things. But the thing that stuck with me was the fact that the folks in Caedmon's still have day jobs. Cliff's a pastor, Osenga and Josh produce and so forth. Anyways, the upcoming project is not what they're really interested in doing right now at all. Essential's making them do it because Share the Well didn't sell very many copies. And that show is a financial booger to put on (yes, quote me. I said booger in a public forum.) So please, go out and buy many copies of Share the Well very soon. Or at least buy one. Tell your friends. Have them buy some copies. And while you're at it, buy Andrew Peterson's latest cd The Far Country. This album brings me to remembrance of something that I always feel whenever I stare across a wide open vista or see the love in my wife's eyes or my friend's smile. It's something I remember when I taste the beauty and the depth of the life of the earth in wine or coffee, or even the clean coldness of water. That is, I am a foreigner in this land. Andy P calls on the gleam-in-the-eye style of CS Lewis and Tolkein and puts all sorts of little nuances in to suggest the hidden Life lying just behind the curtain of this farcicle world - everything from the rolling piano licks of Ben Shive and the other-worldly driving of Osenga's electric to the fading out of the whole project to a sort of heartbeat (that has quite a different tone than that of Dark Side of the Moon, mind you). This is one I can't help but dance to, so I shut the doors and crank the volume and stomp on the floor while God laughs and I am thankful that I'm on the bottom floor. Buy this album. Save your gas, get online (sort of like you are now), dust off the old MasterCard, and buy it. While you're at it, come to the New City Cafe cd release show on September 30th. Or another show in your area, it doesn't matter. Just come out and support this art.

1 Comments:

and Anonymous Anonymous addressed the Senate...

Bleh. Looks like you're getting spammers in here too. I deleted two yesterday.

Hey, I went and checked out your MySpace. I love your original stuff! Great word painting. :D

-Shana

5:32 PM, September 05, 2005  

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