MAY/JUNE 2001 NEWSLETTER


So, back in the 70's, the rock group KISS was at the height of their popularity. They decided that they were so great that what the world wanted and needed was for each of them to make a solo album. It is universally agreed that this was a bad idea. Why do I mention this? Hmmm . . .how to say it? I know, "Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." No, that's not quite right. How about, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?" Well, that's not quite it either. I guess I just mean to say, "Be careful out there, fellows." But enough of my Christian-music commentary.

Tall Dood! Roast Little Pigs Durable Uniformity

Did you miss us? Seems like I haven't written a newsletter in so long. I'm probably a little rusty, so bear with me. As I recall, we left off in search of a great festival called Ichthus. We found it right where we left it, in Wilmore, Kentucky. As always, it was a raucous event, filled with great moments in costuming. Right away we noticed Dave, whom we named "Tall Dood." As you can see from the photo, he's tall. However, when he stood in the back he looked immensely tall because his friends were holding him up by his kneecaps. Tall Dood wasn't very warm in person, seeming a little stiff in fact, so we were put in mind of the controversial events of last fall's election month. But that's a Whole Nuther Story, as they say. Other interesting folks included two fellows who dressed up as roast pig. (I'm not making this up.) As you can see, they even thought to bring apples. Assumedly, the missing pig was the one who lives in the brick house. We also were honored to have a few fashion designers in the home. (House?) They seemed to be leaning toward durability, and uniformity of color. I'd guess that probably makes them republicans, eh? And speaking of durability, some young people brought a tie-dyed sign making reference to a newsletter wherein I hinted that the Ramones were responsible for the death of tie-dye. Wow, for a moment I felt like an author being referenced by leaders of a movement or something. However, I wisely backed off that kind of thinking, fearing it might lead me to make a solo album, or some artistic-expression direction like that.

MDB & TKD Ska-Dance Team Egyptian Volleyball

Whoa, I'm back. After our lunchtime slots at the Ichthus festival (well, actually it was between them), we zipped on over to Anderson, Indiana where we played the first of a summer full of Christ In Youth events. This particular one was most excellent and we felt like we're off to a good start. (As I mentioned in the parentheses up there, we fit the Anderson event in between the two Ichthus shows, but that's just sort of deep chronological background.) Following the C.I.Y. excitement (read: after second Ichthus gig), we drove on back to my house. From there, it was just a hop skip and a jump over to Fort Wayne, Indiana (which I only recently learned was named for the same General Wayne who left his name on a bunch of street signs around Maumee). At the church in Ft. Wayne, I got to ride my bike around the gymnasium a lot because we got there early, and nobody was around to stop me. The opening band was an old friend and musical/theological mentor of ours, the Rev. Terry K. Ditmer. Terry has written some great songs over the years, and we were pleased as punch to see and hear him again. During the evening, I realized there were some interesting silhouettes on the wall. It seems that this school fields two unusual sporting teams: men's Varsity Ska-Dance team, and the women's Egyptian Volleyball squad. Must be quite an eyeful when the season is in mid-stride.

Fashion man! "Ya' trespassers!"

Anyway, we finished there, and both went home. My daughter insisted that I get dressed up one day, and she loaned me her Barbie necklace. Another day, Lily was pretending to do some gardening in the house. I realized that she was going all out when she decided to also don the toddlers version of the hat men wear when they yell "You kids get off my lawn!"

big game speakers Busting moves

After that little break, Michael and I flew to the Rocky Mountain state to play a couple of concerts. The first was in Loveland, Colorado, where we had a fine showing, including our pal Tracy Howe, whose picture I neglected to snap. At that same church, we found that the organist was quite a hunter, and kept speakers as trophies of the many big kills. The next morning, we played a few tunes at Peace With Christ Church in Aurora, Colorado. Our long-time friend John Elmshauser was on hand, and it was good to get reacquainted. That evening, we played a concert out at the Colorado Community Church. Some young folks (whose group name I left with the photo of Tracy Howe in my forgetfulness box) opened the show with some energetic dancing and unbelievable singing. It was a hard act to follow, especially the dance moves, so we tried to stick to the music stuff. Interestingly, this church puts its name on all the speakers. Different approach than mounting them on the wall. It was a nice touch, but perhaps a bit extravagant if you ask me (which you didn't).

Yuck! Mediatrice and her Mom Mediatrice's school

Having flown home, Michael settled in for a long spring's nap, while I unpacked and repacked in preparation for a little trip over to Africa. Yep, I said Africa. Cris and I went to visit a child we sponsor through Compassion International. If you'd like to read my reflections about the journey, there'll be a link down at the bottom of this newsletter. Cris and I met our friends Justin and Kim Vetrano (remember Justin, of Office Guy fame?) in Ethiopia. When we got there Justin was sick. However, he recovered just in time to go to the park with us where he promptly got bit by a wild monkey and returned to the United States the next day. Great huh? I got a little photographic evidence, though it's a little gross. While in Ethiopia, I'm not sure we ever went to the National Restaurant, if you catch my meaning. However, once we got to Rwanda, we finally met Mediatrice and her mother. Before that, we went to her school and had a festive time signing songs—well, mostly listening to songs; our group's singing wasn't very good. While in Africa, we went to many of Compassion's projects, and were always impressed by what we saw. Visually, I found the school uniforms to be stunning, almost always made out of the same blue material. But much more than that, it was such a touch of heaven to see the children smiling and singing and dancing. Compassion's simple work brings life back into hopeless communities. It is a wonderful thing to see firsthand.

Who's here?

Anyway, after returning from Africa, we had some more time off so Michael could finish planting a veritable winter garden in his front lawn. When he was done, he flew out to Detroit so that we could go on over to Montague, Michigan to play an outdoor set at the local band shell. Opening the show was a local worship band who rocked the house . . . er, lawn. Following them was our old pals Outside The Lines, who get better every time we see them. They went heavy on the crowd participation and that's a style we happen to enjoy. (You can contact them through www.churchnoise.com. As the sun began to set, the folks over to the right tried to block it with their hands. (Icharus calling, line one.) I thought they were saluting, and kept looking behind me for generals and stuff.


The next day (or so), we drove the short distance up to Adrian, Michigan (home of Sound Specialist Studios, where we often record) to play at our next Christ In Youth event. We had a grand new time, though I lost a pair of sneakers by leaving them under the table. (More on this moron move next month.) Anyway, we eased on down the road to Milligan College, Tennessee. Don't bother looking for that town in the index of your atlas, because it ain't there. Though Milligan College was playing hard to get to, we did find it and prepared for another CIY event. Surprisingly, there's a college in that town, so we ended up playing at Milligan College, Milligan College, Tennessee. One young lady brought a pink stuffed cow that spun in circles. What else does one say after that?


After that, we drove on over to Asheville, North Carolina for a day off. We began the day by touring the insanely extravagant Biltmore House. In the evening we went to Brevard to catch one of our favorite artists, David Wilcox. He was wonderful, but since he was the opening act he only played about five songs. Following Mr. Wilcox was the "star" of the evening, Art Garfunkel.


Oh my goodness.


Remember back in the day when Simon and Garfunkel were all the rage? Yeah, and then remember how Paul Simon went on to make some great albums? Yeah, and remember how you haven't heard much about Art Garfunkel since that time? That's because he's been striking out on his own, recording solo albums. As in the case of KISS, it can be universally agreed that this has been a bad idea. We escaped after about 5 or 6 songs, recalling fondly how great David Wilcox had been.

AFFIRM rocks

The next day, we headed for Florence, Alabama to play one of our all-time favorite events: AFFIRM. As always, AFFIRM amazed and delighted us. Incredibly moving worship times at night, excellent classroom activities all day. No gathering is quite like it. Sadly, we had to leave before it was over.

All set on the water, thanks B=Boy, G=Girl MrLarryNorman

Happily, we were on our way to the Alive Festival, in Canal Fulton, Ohio. Once more, we were asked to MC the event, and had a swell time doing so. On the very first night, the heavens opened up and the listeners got drenched. This prevented the bands from having to participate in their bizarre ritual of squirting water on the folks down front. Michael and I have noticed that there aren't many women in the lineup at these festivals, so we kept score this time. Including the speakers, here's a photo of our daily breakdown of the numbers. And our numbers are a little light on boys, since we didn't count backing bands and road crew. Not once, but twice at the Alive Festival we got to hear our hero, Mr. Larry Norman play some tunes. He is amazing and has written some of the best songs in all of music.

Outside the cage I see my brother John

We visited a group from the Cleveland area and, for reasons we didn't want to pursue, they kept some of the young people in a cage. All in all, Alive rocked and it was great to get the opportunity to become reacquainted with some of the other bands.

Crosseyed rocks on

As always, we left Alive on the last night and drove to my house to catch a plane out of Detroit the next day. This year, the plane took us to Minneapolis so that we could play under the Clackity Clack Clack roller coaster at Valley Fair Amusement Park. The temperature that day was approximately 150 degrees, but the hot wind made it feel considerably warmer. Not many folks could stand the heat, so most stayed out of the kitchen, as it were. You have to figure, when your blood is used to keeping you warm when it's well below zero outside, the sun is not your best friend. When we arrived, our pals Crosseyed www.crosseyedmusic.com were playing their set, so we got to hear some of their newer stuff, fully decked out with conga gear and little things that make noises I don't recognize. As you can see, I captured the roller-coaster crowd in mid-plunge. We're very popular among the roller-coaster crowd. I could tell because every time they went by the stage they put their hands in the air like they just don't care.


And even after that informal survey, I think I'll put my solo career on hold for a while. After all, there's just too much of that kind of thing going on at the moment. Plus, our concerts would have to include a half hour solo set by each of us, and that would make them nearly as long as Bruce Springsteen's gigs.


If you'd like to see what I saw from the stage, you can click on the Photo Phrenzy.


If you'd like to read my reflections on the African trip, you can click on Rwanda.


And don't forget to check out www.churchnoise.com at some point in your ever-shortening lifespan.


Meantime, be as good as you can, and come see us play sometime.

george

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