Our little onramp to the information superhighway...news about recordings, appearances and reflections about what gave rise to our project.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Travelling Cokesburys Dwell in Beulah Land With Recording Project
Here's an article that's to run in an upcoming edition of THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER:
The idea sparked in the midst of a conversation between John Kilzer and me. As he and I had come to know each other in recent years, we recognized a resonance in our spirits for the Church, music, and all things “theological,” from which the blessing of a friendship was blooming. Reflecting upon the differences between being a pastor in a rural setting and an urban setting, which both of us have been, I asked John what he noticed and what he thought those differences meant about the practice of ministry.
John shared how moved he was by the folks he had served in Crockett County
“Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength.”
Recognizing that John was referring to The Cokesbury Hymnal, I started naming hymns and their number in the hymnal. He seemed surprised that I knew it so well. I told him that for many of us who grew up Methodist, the songs in this hymnal are as fertilizer tilled into the soil from which our faiths emerged. And even now, when sadly, what style of hymn to sing can be contentious, be it from the forebears of our faith to the latest contemporary hit, singing these hymns, especially in a congregation, is a means of grace—an assuring thing.
The thought of doing a project together quickly bubbled up. We sought to do something that celebrated not only these hymns, but the congregations who sing their faith through them. For me, it was an opportunity to remember well some of those churches I grew up in and honor their contribution to who I am.
And so, The Travelling Cokesburys were born. The name? Well, as it is with most things John and I do, there are multi-layers of meaning. The rock-n-roll side of us tips a hat to the collaboration of musical giants known as The Travelling Wilburys. The United Methodist side of us knows that travelling and the itineracy go hand in hand. The Cokesbury part is pretty obvious. Other than that, we thought it sounded cool, which is always among primary importance when naming a band, so there you go.
We spent most of the last half of 2010 recording the hymns in a collection we’ve titled, “A Church Singing Tonight.” We tried to record it in such a way that we hope elicits a listener’s desire to jump in and sing along. Several tracks have us singing multiple parts (hearing yourself sing lead, alto and bass at the same time is a little surreal), but there’s always at least one “open” part—one unsung. We found that those with whom we shared the project in advance, without telling them what we’d done, tended to fill the open part with their voice, which is what we were after; to invite listeners to join “the Church singing” (or “sanging” depending on where you’re from).
“A Church Singing Tonight” is available on CD for $15ea. It can be purchased at the Artisan Store at Saint John’s in Memphis
All proceeds beyond expenses will go to ministries of justice and peace in The Memphis Annual Conference.
We hope you find it the blessing we did of producing it. And if you like it enough, there’s plenty more from that little brown hymnal to be shared!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Funny Thing Happened....
Ha ha ha.
Oh, we'll laugh about it....later. Maybe much later.
With great excitement I went to pick up the CD from AudioGraphic Masterworks, a local company we really wanted to support. It was February 16, the appointed date for the fruit of John's and my collective efforts - a project called "A Church Singing Tonight," and we? As an homage to the wonderful collaboration of rock legends in the late 80's and to the hymnal from which we drew our material (all of which in the public domain...just to get that out there), John thought up the name "The Travelling Cokesburys." The uniquely "Methodist" subtext of travelling and intineracy was not lost on us either.
On the loading dock of AGMW, our boxes of CD's were loaded in my truck, with one CD sitting apart. "We always do that because we know you're going to want to bust into the boxes first thing to have a listen."
Very thoughtful, and correct.
So, I hopped in the truck, looking at the wonderful artwork that Collins Dillard had done for us, peeled away the shrink wrap, and place the CD in my player.
Ahh, first track, "Church in the Wildwood." And I'm remembering when we laid that one down. Except for my bass voicing (something that tickles me still to consider) and harmonica, the guitar, percussion and lead vocal were done in one take, live. We did a couple of tunes like that, with others having more stacked voicing done later.
Sounded great.
Next...."Higher Ground." Great song, with interpretation of tempo and style coming from Richard "Trance" Ford, who engineered the project and contributed mightily with banjo and lap steel.
So glad I had gone back in and redone the lead vocal on this one. It was the first song we put down. I was a bit excited and it sounded like it in my voicing. And although we had put that one down live, and my old lead was coming through the guitar mic, adding a new, more free form lead over it gave it a doubling sound that was actually pretty cool.
Except...as I'm listening, I'm not hearing the doubling sound. I pulled over....adjusted the EQ on my stereo...listened again...not there.
I went to the next track "Near the Cross" where John leads out and Richard plays a mean guitar on for flavor, and where I had added a tenor line in post production to complement the alto line I had originally put down.
Wasn't there....
What the?
And then it hit me. What I have is 1000 copies of the first mix---not the final mix.
How did that happen? I called John, left a message. We phone tagged for about an hour before finally getting together and we acknowledged that there had been a major league boo boo.
What's the difference between our first mix and our final? Quite a bit actually.
Two completely new lead vocals on two tunes - "Higher Ground" and "Sweet By and By." I was not in good voice for either of those...the original is really only a little better than a scratch vocal.
Addition of guitar on all piano led songs.
A tenor line on "Near the Cross."
Richard's banjo on "Down by the Riverside" that really gives it "come up out the delta" feeling.
About five hours of additional studio work.
So, what to do?
John's so upset he can hardly speak. I'm shocked, a bit angry and very disappointed. I was also aware that this was going to be the first time John will have seen me angry. It's something that only those who love me can handle and understand (or at least they tolerate it). My friendship with him means more than my upset about the mistake.
My first thought was..."only we know about it...let's just sell these like they're the best thing we've ever done."
Last night, at Church, my staff, in their zeal, sold 15 without even trying. I was being asked to sign the cover...an odd thing. What do I say? "Enjoy!" I don't know.
Anyway, the more I signed it, the more I was aware that it is often the case that my face will speak the truth my mouth won't. Lora Jean kept looking at me as if "smile!" ( I had told her earlier in the day).
And it occurred to me. I can't do this. We'd both listen to it, look at each other and know what happened.
Isn't it the best stewardship of resources to just suck it up and go with what I have in hand? That's the question I lived with through the night.
This morning a sense of peace came as I concluded that the best stewardship is not the product to sell as it is in the most faithful sharing of what this project means. And that can only be known by sharing our best effort.
I wrote John. Told him I think we ought to redo it. It would mean we'd need to sell an additional 50 CD's to make up the additional money expended. If it sells like we expect it will, there will be plenty of funds that we'll be able to share with ministries around the Conference. He readily agreed.
So, back to AGM this morning. I had already given them a heads up. I took the final mix CD. Placed in their hands. And they're going to try to turn it around in 8 days rather than 12.
This collaboration is full of stories. Ones we plan on sharing about the songs we picked, the experience of working together...we just didn't expect this would be among the first we bring.
So there it is. Hang on for one more week or so. And while what we'll have available is not perfect, it is the truest, best effort we brought to this, and we can be at peace about this.
And what of the CD's taken out of circulation? Well, any good ideas?
I know that in some third world country folks run around wearing Memphis Tigers - National Champions, 2009 shirts. Maybe we can ship them somewhere...far, far away.
Ha ha ha.
Oh, we'll laugh about it....later. Maybe much later.
With great excitement I went to pick up the CD from AudioGraphic Masterworks, a local company we really wanted to support. It was February 16, the appointed date for the fruit of John's and my collective efforts - a project called "A Church Singing Tonight," and we? As an homage to the wonderful collaboration of rock legends in the late 80's and to the hymnal from which we drew our material (all of which in the public domain...just to get that out there), John thought up the name "The Travelling Cokesburys." The uniquely "Methodist" subtext of travelling and intineracy was not lost on us either.
On the loading dock of AGMW, our boxes of CD's were loaded in my truck, with one CD sitting apart. "We always do that because we know you're going to want to bust into the boxes first thing to have a listen."
Very thoughtful, and correct.
So, I hopped in the truck, looking at the wonderful artwork that Collins Dillard had done for us, peeled away the shrink wrap, and place the CD in my player.
Ahh, first track, "Church in the Wildwood." And I'm remembering when we laid that one down. Except for my bass voicing (something that tickles me still to consider) and harmonica, the guitar, percussion and lead vocal were done in one take, live. We did a couple of tunes like that, with others having more stacked voicing done later.
Sounded great.
Next...."Higher Ground." Great song, with interpretation of tempo and style coming from Richard "Trance" Ford, who engineered the project and contributed mightily with banjo and lap steel.
So glad I had gone back in and redone the lead vocal on this one. It was the first song we put down. I was a bit excited and it sounded like it in my voicing. And although we had put that one down live, and my old lead was coming through the guitar mic, adding a new, more free form lead over it gave it a doubling sound that was actually pretty cool.
Except...as I'm listening, I'm not hearing the doubling sound. I pulled over....adjusted the EQ on my stereo...listened again...not there.
I went to the next track "Near the Cross" where John leads out and Richard plays a mean guitar on for flavor, and where I had added a tenor line in post production to complement the alto line I had originally put down.
Wasn't there....
What the?
And then it hit me. What I have is 1000 copies of the first mix---not the final mix.
How did that happen? I called John, left a message. We phone tagged for about an hour before finally getting together and we acknowledged that there had been a major league boo boo.
What's the difference between our first mix and our final? Quite a bit actually.
Two completely new lead vocals on two tunes - "Higher Ground" and "Sweet By and By." I was not in good voice for either of those...the original is really only a little better than a scratch vocal.
Addition of guitar on all piano led songs.
A tenor line on "Near the Cross."
Richard's banjo on "Down by the Riverside" that really gives it "come up out the delta" feeling.
About five hours of additional studio work.
So, what to do?
John's so upset he can hardly speak. I'm shocked, a bit angry and very disappointed. I was also aware that this was going to be the first time John will have seen me angry. It's something that only those who love me can handle and understand (or at least they tolerate it). My friendship with him means more than my upset about the mistake.
My first thought was..."only we know about it...let's just sell these like they're the best thing we've ever done."
Last night, at Church, my staff, in their zeal, sold 15 without even trying. I was being asked to sign the cover...an odd thing. What do I say? "Enjoy!" I don't know.
Anyway, the more I signed it, the more I was aware that it is often the case that my face will speak the truth my mouth won't. Lora Jean kept looking at me as if "smile!" ( I had told her earlier in the day).
And it occurred to me. I can't do this. We'd both listen to it, look at each other and know what happened.
Isn't it the best stewardship of resources to just suck it up and go with what I have in hand? That's the question I lived with through the night.
This morning a sense of peace came as I concluded that the best stewardship is not the product to sell as it is in the most faithful sharing of what this project means. And that can only be known by sharing our best effort.
I wrote John. Told him I think we ought to redo it. It would mean we'd need to sell an additional 50 CD's to make up the additional money expended. If it sells like we expect it will, there will be plenty of funds that we'll be able to share with ministries around the Conference. He readily agreed.
So, back to AGM this morning. I had already given them a heads up. I took the final mix CD. Placed in their hands. And they're going to try to turn it around in 8 days rather than 12.
This collaboration is full of stories. Ones we plan on sharing about the songs we picked, the experience of working together...we just didn't expect this would be among the first we bring.
So there it is. Hang on for one more week or so. And while what we'll have available is not perfect, it is the truest, best effort we brought to this, and we can be at peace about this.
And what of the CD's taken out of circulation? Well, any good ideas?
I know that in some third world country folks run around wearing Memphis Tigers - National Champions, 2009 shirts. Maybe we can ship them somewhere...far, far away.
Ha ha ha.
Friday, February 4, 2011
First Post
John and I welcome you to our little corner of the blogosphere. Our goal is to communicate some of the story of how this project came to be, our experience of working together, celebrate the contributions of our special guests on "A Church Singing Tonight," and let you know how, when and were to secure your very own copy of the CD.
Speaking of which, "A Church Singing Tonight" will be available in mid February. The price is $15 each. You'll be able to let us know how many you want and where to send it very soon. We have an email address, thetravellingcokesburys@gmail.com. You can also let us know through our Facebook page.
Once we determine what it costs to ship, we'll add that into the total. Checks to be made out to COVENANT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH and notate Travelling Cokesburys in the memo line. Beyond expenses, all proceeds will be given to support ministries of justice and peace in The Memphis Annual Conference. We'll post on this blog who we support with those proceeds and why with hope that you'll consider lending your support their way, too.
I think we'd both proclaim this experience as a means of grace in far more ways than any of us could have imagined. But that is the nature of grace, isn't it? If you think you can quantify it then it sorta loses it's "amazing" nature, doesn't it?
Stay tuned...and thanks for showing up.
Once we determine what it costs to ship, we'll add that into the total. Checks to be made out to COVENANT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH and notate Travelling Cokesburys in the memo line. Beyond expenses, all proceeds will be given to support ministries of justice and peace in The Memphis Annual Conference. We'll post on this blog who we support with those proceeds and why with hope that you'll consider lending your support their way, too.
I think we'd both proclaim this experience as a means of grace in far more ways than any of us could have imagined. But that is the nature of grace, isn't it? If you think you can quantify it then it sorta loses it's "amazing" nature, doesn't it?
Stay tuned...and thanks for showing up.
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