Josh and Caleigh singing

I listened tonight to Josh and Caleigh (another member of the team he sings with at school) sing together for the first time on Skype. They have a great opportunity to participate in a worship experience tomorrow (I guess it's tonight now). She regularly sings with a travelling team from the school and they are now placed together to sing.

They sound great together. They were having fun, laughing, singing just hanging out and we had the opportunity to hear them practice and sing together. It was fun.

Struck by beauty, drowning in tears

Have you ever been struck by beauty that you just couldn't shake it? I am sure that you have, I have recently been struck by the beauty of a piece of music that I cannot let it go. Amazing that an 8 minute or so piece of music can have such a strong hold on me. The song and its lyric content has had me in tears since Fathers day. My kids gave me an itunes card as a gift and I "discovered" the following song. It's a pain filled song of loss and penitence and hopefully redemption.

The one line that keeps coming back to me is "Lord, how long must this go on"? How many times has this been the cry of my own heart? One thing that struck me about the participants in this version of the song (including the incomparable Billy Preston on the organ) is the amount of emotion spent to play their parts, clearly Clapton wrote and sings the part, but his playing shows such raw emotion exuding the pain. The others, including the drummer, play with such abandon the speaks to their complete commitment to the presentation of this piece. Take a few moments and turn this up, watch and listen, maybe shed a tear for whatever has gone on too long for you.

Remember, at the  end we must move forward and not "drown in this river of tears".

     

Here is another version, I'll let you decide which one you like better, I can't.


Have a great day wherever you are listening to this. How long O lord has been asked by others and He will answer in His perfect timing, not yours or mine. Be patient, wait and persevere. It is this endurance that will have you smile through the tears.

I want to dream again

I like to listen to my ipod often (ok pretty much all the time). It's usually on at my desk and in the car and whenever I am on the computer at home something is playing. I love music and almost all kinds, but don't tell my kids, I have even begun to enjoy some contemporary country music.

I'm currently listening to "Once Chance" by Paul Potts. He won the "Britain's got Talent" competition a year or so ago. His life story was one of being bullied because he liked to sing and for other reasons. He's almost like a Mr. Tanner of sorts, except the critics liked him and he kept singing. What strikes me most is that he doesn't meet the pretty boy image that most people want and yet he won and he's good. Watch the following from one of his performances from "BGT". In the midst of all that is wrong with the world, someone like Paul comes out and blesses and encourages just by being himself.




Every time I watch this, I get tears in my eyes Even the normally caustic Simon Cowell is taken aback by the sheer joy of this man when he is singing.

This is not new, it is however a reminder that we need to dream and go for it. It is also the answer to bullies out there and there are lots: physical, emotional, verbal, spiritual and other kinds. The answer is this, you bullies will never win. Because inside the heart of a bully is a scared person afraid to show their own weaknesses for fear of being observed for your reality. Inside the heart of the one being bullied remains a tiny fire that when given enough oxygen will flame into brightness and expose the wrong for what it is.

Congratulations to Paul Potts for persevering. We are all called to persevere no matter what kind of pressure is placed upon us. Some day we will stand in triumph over the "bullies" of this world.

I will dream again.

Leningrad Cowboys and Red Army Chorus

After small group last night we were chatting about music, trivia and other obscure things and one of the group members asked if I have ever heard of the "Leningrad Cowboys and Red Army Chorus". Of course, I had not.

Now I have and wanted to share them with you. Please check out the video and let me know what you think and have a few laughs. Thanks Alan F.(you finally made it to the blog) for the info. What a hoot.

Have a great weekend. 

The Musical Box

I have been a fan of the band Genesis for a long time. I have enjoyed their music ever since I first heard the haunting strains of "Watcher of the Skies"and the multiple melodies of "Supper's Ready". I am a fan of their work that included the times when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer/front man and enjoyed one or two albums in the Phil Collins era, however have not purchased any of their music in years. 

There is a tribute band out there called "The Musical Box" who can be found at  www.themusicalbox.net I have seen them perform numerous times and they are now doing a tour based on the Genesis tour following the release of the album "A Trick of the Tail". They are now in Europe, I will try and see them when they return to Canada. They are awesome musicians and I am looking forward to seeing the latest iteration(that's for all my WSIB friends) of the group. Enjoy the following video.

I hope you like it, these are a bunch of Canadians who obviously love the music of Genesis. They have recreated all of the earlier tours including "The Lamb Lies down on Broadway". 

I sang with an awesome band yesterday

As I noted in a previous post, I had the privilege of singing a song called "Cinderella" on Sunday at church. We have two services and I sang the song in both services. The band was awesome, so here is my way to say thanks to all of them, I know that at least one of them reads this blog; thanks to Andrew, on piano, Dave, on drums, Rob G. on electric guitar, Rob M. on acoustic guitar, Don, on sax, Perry, on bass, and Loretta, on keys. A huge shout out to Rick and Don who were running sound yesterday and who worked real hard to make me sound good, especially since this was my first time singing in over three months.

You(they) sounded great, it is awesome to sing with such accomplished musicians, who love their craft. You help me to do my job. I used to love singing with tracks, it is so much better singing in front of live musicians.

From my house to yours, thank you for helping me get the message out clearly so that others would hear it and apply it.

Cinderella

I'm singing a song this week in church called "Cinderella". It's not only Thanksgiving Sunday, it's also family day. Our Pastor(Dan) is doing a series of messages on the family, marriage, singleness, children etc. You get the idea, right? We will also be having some baptisms, should be an awesome day.

Anyway, Andrew, our Pastor of Worship Arts(or whatever he calls himself) asked me to sing this song. It's really pretty and it's my kind of song, it's more like a ballad and I just love singing slow songs, like ballads. The song tells the story of the Dad being too busy to"dance" with his "Cinderella" but then relents when he realizes that "soon she'll be gone". I can be very emotional when it comes to my children and songs related to children, so look for the tears to flow. I practiced with the band tonight and they are awesome, we have piano, keys, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and sax, and I get to sing with them!

Little did Chapman know that his youngest child Maria (for whom he wrote this song) would die in a family tragedy. And so the reminder is there for all of us to cherish the time we have with our children (if we are blessed to have them) or with other loved ones as "soon they'll be gone".

In addition, the reminder is there that it is never too late to rebuild bridges that have been broken. It is possible to begin again in a relationship that has been strained or broken, especially with parents and children. I am so thankful that I have a great relationship with my wife and with my kids. I know that when we struggle, that there will always be an opportunity to forgive, restore and move forward again.

My daughter(Alex) advised me that when she marries, we will be dancing with me to this song at her wedding. I am also singing "Butterfly Kisses" at her wedding, I'll be a wreck,  I may even be one on Sunday, so if you are there, enjoy the song and be encouraged.

A new ipod (finally)

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the untimely passing of my ipod. It was really quite sad. As you will know, I love music and would have it playing all the time if I could. During a part of my recovery when I could do very little, I spent many hours reading and listening to my favourite tunes on my ipod. then one day, it wouldn't work.

Last week, the new one came in. I ordered a touch ipod. I saw one for the first time when I was in Cuba in January and was significantly impressed, but since I already had one, I certainly couldn't justify the expense. The money I received back from the warranty on the original ipod just about paid for it and they are even cheaper now(this is not a paid plug from Apple, I wish).

There's a silver lining to every cloud and this one is musical. I really like the "touch". It has lots of fun little things besides the music. It's basically an office the size of a small phone. It's a little bigger than my original 2 gig ipod and it holds tons of songs. When I first synced it, it loaded every song on my hard drive(even the country songs, yech) and after loading 1197 songs, there was more than a 1/4 of the 8 gig memory left, awesome.

So, if you want to check it out come and see me and I'll give you a tour. It is even wifi compatible for mail, internet and all kinds of other wonderful stuff. I can even view and work on my blog from it.

I found this awesome quote the other day, let me know what you think:

"never Bb, never B#, always Bnatural"

My ipod died, however :)

I miss my ipod. It died last week. I had to send it to Texas to see if they can fix it. If they can't then there is good news, that's the however. They will give me what it cost plus the taxes.

If they can't fix it, I'm gonna buy a new one, but this time I am buying a bigger, better one, maybe an 8 or 16 gig touch ipod with all kinds of bells and whistles.

I really like them because it will include a calendar (so long palm), google maps (so long gps) and lots of room for music, I can probably store all the cd's I own and then download new ones from albums I haven't seen or heard in so long. So once again a negative turns into a positive.

That's one of the lessons I've been learning over these past six weeks

The Power of Music

Ever since I was a child, which was a long time ago, music has had a powerful influence in my life. As a youngster I listened to classical music and the operatic stars of those days with my Dad. He was not a musician, but apparently he had a nice voice. It was a time of enjoyment and education. He inculcated in me the love and power of music. His teaching from all those years ago continues every time I hear a song or have the privilege to sing with the worship team at our church or especially when I have the opportunity to perform a solo. It is in those times that I feel the closest to God.

Music is an individual pursuit and an almost personal time for reflection, retreat and dream. Music is also a corporate undertaking. I remember when our family would gather at my Grannies house (interestingly it was always referred to as Grannies even though Grandad was still alive) for a session of singing old show tunes, ballads and rebel songs. Everyone was there, all my aunts, uncles, other relatives, friends and my innumerable cousins. Each one of us had a "party piece". A "party piece" is something that was prepared and sung at the family gatherings. Most of the songs were from the 20's and on and there would be recitations as well. My Dad would tell the story about Fontenoy and my Mom, with a small glass of sherry in her hand, would sing her song. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the title.

Mostly though, the songs were rebel songs. These were songs about how bad the British were and how good the local boys were in fighting for Ireland's freedom from the British, particularly at the Easter Rising in 1916. I inherited my Grandads party piece and I am still called upon at family gatherings (whenever they occur) to perform that song: The West's Awake by Thomas Davis. I was amazed to find that there are recordings on youtube if you would like to hear it, or you could purchase my CD as I recorded the song there also.

In the here and now, music brings both bitter and sweet memories, but more than that music has the ability to stir the heart to do great things. I find that depending on the music I am listening to I am either nudged towards a manic state of joy or the abject sadness that might if left alone to it's own devices lead towards depression. Music demands a response, no mater what it is, you must respond. It is in these memories that I think of the power of the music. Different songs or pieces of music stir my memory so that I recall events and people. Music also brings some accountability as memories trickle and flood I am reminded of that someone who I need to contact.

The problem with music today is this: most of us do not make the time to stop and listen anymore. It's just noise that fills the air, often referred to as "background music". Do we express the respect for the writers and musicians by listening to the music and dissecting the sounds to hear all of it? I have the great privilege to drive significant amounts of kilometers for my job. Besides listening to some teaching on my satellite radio, I spend much of the time listening to my ipod (through the car not via earphones, that would be unsafe). Often, the visual stimulus of seeing sunrises, whiffs of early morning fog, lonely hot air balloons, fields of grain swaying in the early morning breeze combined with the music in my car exhilarates me and prods me towards a feeling of euphoria at the opportunities that lay ahead of me that particular day.

It reminds me that the outside forces, both positive and negative, have an affect on my mood and can be a harbinger of what lies ahead in my day. Every day that I travel to work, I take the first few minutes after leaving the driveway and play music that is spiritually uplifting and this works to take the focus away from me and shifts my focus to Him who created all of this.

Wow, the power of music has taken me on a bit of a journey this morning. This is what I love about blogging, I really like starting somewhere and letting the keys take me where my thoughts (however loosely connected) want to go. I love music, it plays a huge part in my life. My ipod is broken right now, so I have some difficuly listening in private. I like the freedom of getting lost in between the earphones so I can let the daily stuff wash away and I can once again drift away (thank you Dobie Gray). I miss the solitude. It's not that I want to be away from anyone, I just want to be alone with my music and enjoy the power and majesty of the created and the Creator.

Let me know if you have similar or contradictory thoughts.

Rob