I’m on another bit of a music kick, but with a little deeper meaning, here is a link https://vimeo.com/421925022 to an old video of a live performance of Topaz, my old band from 20 years ago for your entertainment. It was shot on the spur of the moment in an open-air night club called Coral Bay on the Indian River in Melbourne, Florida. It was live; the temperature was about 90 and the humidity about the same on a summer evening in sunny Florida. We were sweating and dehydrated, fighting off heatstroke, but we soldiered on through the night. The horns and percussion were great, and the vocals not so much, especially when a white guy from Nebraska is trying to sound like Barry White on the Maynard Ferguson version of the Theme from the motion picture “Shaft.” I’m posting here not to show off or embarrass but to illustrate that we, especially musicians can create a legend in our own minds of how great we were until like most musicians are humbled when they hear the playback.
However, the moment does count, and it is special because nuances are overlooked when the audience and the performer knit it into one experience. And the music and genre go by too fast for anyone to analyze or care when you are having a great time as I said it is from the heart in the moment. To illustrate what I’m saying, the other night, I was enjoying our church service on Livestream with just the pastor and the worship team due to the pandemic craziness. The worship leader is an accomplished musician of the first order, but he was singing a noticeable flat. Only a hand full of anal types like me would notice it because he was so in the moment and worshipping from the heart that the nuances didn’t matter until you heard the playback. While sometimes embarrassing and ego shrinking the moment, live is what matters. He was in earnest worshipping, creating a moment without an audience. That takes extraordinary talent and blessing I believe that is why it may require many takes or chemistry to lay down tracks in a studio. There is no substitute for interactive live performance, and it is scary as hell for the performer because you are letting people look into your heart, and that is a place we seldom let people see.
Sometimes especially in vocals, some people are not gifted but want to put their all into it. In one of my praise groups as part of the vocal ensemble, there was a stunningly handsome Jamaican Girl who knew all the right moves, maintain a wonderful expression, worshipped with extraordinary grace and heart. The only problem is that she sang anywhere from a minor 3rd to a perfect 2nd flat, and no matter how much we coached and worked with her about half the time, she couldn’t stay on key. With a little discreet help from the sound engineer and the tolerance of those next to her, keeping the key and a worship leader(that be me) would find a way to bring out the beauty and genuineness of her worship from the heart and make it the moment that it was. To this day, ten years later, we pray for each other and have only been in the same room maybe once or twice and at my house for the 4th of July. Tana, you WERE the holy moment. Just don’t listen to the playback LOL.
What am I saying here? God isn’t interested in the imperfect playback, He already knew what it sounded like before you did, but when it comes from the heart, it is in perfect tune and beautiful music to an audience of One. The band, most of the time had that heart. For example, Topaz usually had audiences that ranged from 21 to 70. In that mix, it was always a special challenge to keep everyone involved, especially when you had a large dance floor. I would occasionally call up a “40’s medley that included four tunes from the big band era. We were playing current dance music and occasional novelty tunes so that the floor would pack up with the 20 somethings. When I saw that there were a few older folks (the best-paying customers by the way) sitting out the tunes, I’d call a contemporary slow tune (ballad for you old musicians). The floor would pack up with couples especially since a slug-like me can dance to that when my wife drags me out there. When the slow tune ended, the drummer would start a Hi-hat (a funny looking cymbal that when played properly is used as an anchor for swing tunes). We would break into a rendition to the Glen Miller tune “In The Mood”). The people who knew all the steps from the era, especially the “Jitterbug,” would break into that right away, but what was surprising is that virtually NO ONE left the floor, and before you knew it, the floor stayed full. Everyone young and old was crossing generations of time and were dancing together to big band swing. Those are what I call moments.
As an aside, we would ask the audience to write down all four tunes on a cocktail napkin, we did in the medley, and if anyone got all four right, I bought them a drink. Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Bill Black Combo, and Count Basie were the composers. If you get this right, I’m NOT buying drinks.
While we were mostly a party dance and novelty band, I would during a set grab my soprano sax walk out and go to the nearest table that had some older couple sitting pull up a chair and sit across from the gal and played the tune by Kenny G “Havana.” It starts slowly with old Cuba romantic flair, and even though I’m not exactly a women’s fantasy date, I would play the slow part and look into her eyes and see her gently take her date’s hand and hold it. The tune then goes into a quick Rhumba, I would retreat to the stage, and the couple would come on the floor and show everyone how it was done in old pre-Castro Havana. After some applause, the impromptu “dancing With the Stars “display the floor would begin to fill with people who mostly didn’t know a Rhumba from a tuba and just wanted to have what this couple had. Another moment tucked away in someone’s “Remember When” file.
The message for today is enjoy reminiscing (we did that song too by Little River Band), it’s a good place to visit but don’t live there.
In my depression battle, it’s a little oasis in the desert I’m taken to. I can’t say I’m winning the battle, but I am holding my own. Every now and then, I feel maybe Jesus’ hand on my shoulder ever so slightly, and He comes when I call when I’m terrified by the evil one. Thank you, Jesus.
Tales from Depression and Dealing with it. 