God

Beyond The Sky

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The_Burning_Sky

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. – 1 Corinthians 15:31

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh, and just like the river I’ve been running ever since

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes it will

You can run, but you cannot hide. Sooner or later, we all get to a point in life where we begin to question what it’s all about. For some, perhaps due to unusual life circumstances or events, this question raises itself early in life. For others like myself, it comes later.

All the things you were once so sure of; you no longer are. All those things that once seemed so important; they no longer are. You begin to feel this vacuum, this emptiness, a chasm that seems so deep and wide. You don’t know what to grab onto. All the confidence of youth is lost.

It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die
Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky

And you get to the point where you say “this is hard, it’s just too hard”. Why can’t it be easy, like it was back in your younger days? So carefree, so open, so optimistic…and so, so, very naive. And what is the alternative?

Then I go to my brother
And I say, “Brother, help me please.”
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees

And those friends you thought you had? Like family? I was told by my father when I was young that if, at the end of my life, I had more true friends than I could count on one hand, I would be an extremely fortunate man. I still hope I can prove him wrong, but I’m no longer sure.

There been times when I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on

But the very good news is this; a change is indeed gonna come. I no longer care as much about who is  going to be a friend to me, but rather to whom can I become a friend. And that all starts with a relationship that we all have right in our hands, all along.

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes it will

Mike Farris’ story is one of coming to what I call “that shining moment of clarity” earlier, rather than later in life. If there ever was an artist’s story that was perfectly crafted to fit into what this blog is all about, it’s Mike’s.

Mike’s troubled childhood led to early problems with drugs and alcohol, resulting in his almost dying from an overdose before he was 21 years old. I first picked up on his music in 1994 via the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies with their self-titled release that included the smoking hot single “Shakin’ The Blues”. If you are a fan of the 70’s “southern boogie” style of music made popular by groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd,  The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, etc., you should definitely check it out.

Jon Stewart famously said of Bruce Springsteen at his Kennedy Centers Honors tribute: “I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby. They abandoned this child on the side of the road between the exit interchanges of 8A and 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike. That child is Bruce Springsteen.”

I’d like to make a similar speculation. I’m not sure where Mike was born and who his real parents are, but if Al Green and Eric Clapton somehow had a child and abandoned him in La Grange, Texas to be fostered by Stevie Ray Vaughan, well he would probably sound a lot like Mike Farris.

The SCW’s enjoyed a fair level of success with seven album releases between 1994 and 2004 and  five Top 30 charting singles. But it wasn’t until 2005 that Mike really had a personal breakthrough, becoming clean and sober for the first time since he was 15 years old. From this newfound state of clarity came his 2007 release, Salvation In Lights, which featured the Sam Cooke classic “Change Is Gonna Come”.

At this point, Mike’s career and accolades really began to take off. His achievements included an Americana Music Award for New/Emerging Artist in 2008 and a Dove Award in 2010. And his live performances at Bonnaroo and SxSW – among others – were all getting rave reviews.

But like the song said, just as it seemed he was beginning to stand solidly on terra firma, something knocked him back down again. This time it was an addiction to painkillers resulting from ruptured discs, back surgery and the death of his manager, Rose McGarthy, along with other personal issues. This time around Mike sought help in rehab.

Proving you can’t keep a good man down, Mike has re-emerged in 2014 with the release of what I think is his greatest work ever on Shine For All The People. The album includes a wide range of sounds and emotions with cuts like Blind Willie McTell’s “River Jordan”, J.B. Lenoir’s “Jonah And The Whale”, the heartfelt “Mercy Now” written by Mary Gauthier and my personal favorite “Power Of Love”. If listening to SFATP doesn’t make you want to take a front row seat for a blistering hot Wednesday night Pentecostal tent revival…well, nothing ever will.

As Mike said in a recent mini documentary for the album, “I sing because I have to sing.” and “(Gospel) it belongs to the people who had to go up the rough side of the mountain”. And as Rodney Crowell said: “It  (the music spirit or muse) must have some kind of intelligence behind it, because it chooses a vessel that’s the perfect delivery system for inspiration.” But Ashley Cleveland probably sums it up best, saying: “I would say he’s a gospel singer for the people…and I mean ALL the people.”

So, you can close your eyes and picture Sam Cooke’s original while listening here to Mike. And while you’re at it, take time to reflect and consider all the changes that are surely gonna come.

Oh and as an added bonus, be sure to check out the two cuts from Shine, as well.

Listen to Mike’s version of “Change Is Gonna Come” here:

From his new release: Shine For All The People:

And one more:

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Sources:

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Farris_%28musician%29) and           (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamin%27_Cheetah_Wheelies)

Compass Records (http://compassrecords.com/mike-farris)

Mike Farris website (www.mikefarrismusic.com)

 

Let’s Do It Again

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wave_03

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.- Ecclesiastes 1:9

It’s automatic when I
Talk with old friends
The conversation turns to
Girls we knew when their
Hair was soft and long and the
Beach was the place to go

As we slide towards the end of summer (odd how summer’s end seems nearer just because the kids are back in school) even though the weather gives us no such indication, one turns nostalgic and yearns for just one more tango with the ocean.

And as we think of the ocean, the mind tends to trip lightly through memories of beaches past. We can see them clearly in our minds and the summer sun is never the one of harsh heat and burning white sand, but that of softened and shadow cast late afternoons and early evenings.

Suntanned bodies and
Waves of sunshine the
California girls and a
Beautiful coastline
Warmed up weather
Let’s get together and
Do it again

We all love to reminisce, basking in the memories of what has been and what once was. I think even more so as we get older and begin to realize that the years ahead of us are probably fewer than those behind. And as the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun. Surely not to God’s eyes.

What a beautiful portrait this song painted, when I first heard it splashing off the airwaves in 1968. It was in stark contrast and a welcome diversion to much of the music coming out that summer with the Vietnam war still smoldering after the Tet offensive.

As a youngster living in Winter Park, Florida – just a short 45 minute drive to the beach – this was a home grown vision. You knew the Beach Boys were the choirboys of the West Coast, but that didn’t stop Floridians from claiming them as first cousins.

The brothers Wilson (Brian, Dennis and Carl) along with cousin Mike Love and pal Al Jardine had perfected a sound and harmony like no other before them. They truly were “America’s Band” and created a culture way beyond just music.  Every guy I knew was wearing Levi’s cords, desert boots sans socks, and super cool Hang Ten shirts.

hangtenshirt

And their conjured images of suntanned young ladies with silky hair and tiny bikinis made all of us guys apply another coat of wax to our ‘boards – surf, boogie or skim – and seek out rides from older kids to get back to the beach.

Well I’ve been thinking ’bout
All the places we’ve surfed and danced and
All the faces we’ve missed so let’s get
Back together and do it again

“Do It Again” was at the bridge between the Beach Boys early 60’s surf sound – which I think ended with their 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds – and their more progressive “Beatle-esqe” works of the early 1970’s (“Sail On, Sailor”).

It lived in the thin air between what they used to sound like and what they would sound like in years to come. Critics panned the single as a sellout – they really had given up the pure “surf” sound by 1965 and had suffered a resultant drop in popularity – but to those of us who had grown up on that sound and their standard themes (the beach, the girls and the cars) the return was triumphant.

It starts out with this low driving beat and bass line that led you to believe this was going to be just another in the style of most of their newer material.  But then it builds and crests magnificently into that trademark 5-part harmony and “Help Me Rhonda” hand claps. It literally makes my neck hair stand up to hear it even today.

The Boys were doing a bit of reminiscing of their own here; not simply hit-seeking, but perhaps just a bit nostalgic for the way things used to be. As Carl Wilson noted in Melody Maker magazine:

“Yes, I suppose it has got the old Beach Boys surfing sound. It’s back to that surfing idea with the voice harmony and the simple, direct melody and lyrics. We didn’t plan the record as a return to the surf or anything. We just did it one day round a piano in the studio. Brian had the idea and played it over to us. We improved on that and recorded it very quickly, in about five minutes. It’s certainly not an old track of ours; in fact it was recorded only a few weeks before it was released. We liked how it turned out and decided to release it.”

“Do It Again” was co-written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson shortly after a trip to the beach by Mike to go surfing with an old friend. He came back inspired with the main lyrics and sat down with Brian to flesh it out.

According to Keith Badman’s book The Beach Boys. The Definitive Diary of America’s Greatest Band: On Stage and in the Studio, Brian Wilson said the song was probably the best collaboration he and Mike had ever worked on.

So, while there’s still a bit of heat in the air, crank up the Woody, strap on the boards, grab your huarache sandals and get ready to take a trip to the beach.

Even if only in your mind.

Listen to the masters here in this fantastic 50th anniversary version. It’s 2:45 of made-in-the-USA pop perfection:

Compare to the original studio version here:

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A Pauper To A Pawn

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pawn

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. – Philippians 4:12

If there was ever a song and artist that was tailor made for these posts, it has to be the one and only, Sir Elton John and “Levon”.

So many of Elton’s songs have Biblical or religious references even as Elton has openly decried organized religion as “hateful”, declared that Jesus was just a “compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems” and stated that he would “ban religion completely”.

Why then do so many of Elton’s songs have these religious overtones? Is it Bernie Taupin’s fault? Was he simply trying to be ironic? Or is it just a glimpse into Elton’s own conflicted soul?

Levon wears his war wound like a crown
He calls his child Jesus
‘Cause he likes the name
And he sends him to the finest school in town

Some say that Levon was chosen as the father’s name because it is NOVEL spelled backwards and that Elton believed the Bible to be simply another “good book”.

Levon likes his money
He makes a lot they say
Spend his days counting
In a garage by the motorway

One could even say that Levon (and Elton) were preoccupied with storing up treasures here on earth…as so many of us are.  At this point in his career in 1972, “Madman Across The Water” was peaking on the American charts and certainly with this third album release, Elton was beginning to see considerable commercial success.

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
When the New York Times said God is dead and the war’s begun
Alvin Tostig has a son today

And he shall be Levon
And he shall be a good man
And he shall be Levon
In tradition with the family plan

Ah yes, Levon shall be a good man. Unlike his father. Just as Elton wanted to rebel against his own father’s Royal Air Force regimentation. Elton’s dad wanted him to go into banking. Imagine that!

Levon sells cartoon balloons in town
His family business thrives
Jesus blows up balloons all day
Sits on the porch swing watching them fly

It’s funny though, it’s been said that when Bernie Taupin was asked about the deeper meaning to “Levon”, he claimed to have had no idea at all when writing it. He said it was “just lines that came out that were interesting”.

And doesn’t this all speak to the ironies and inconsistencies in our own lives. I love Elton’s work immensely, though I disagree with many of the things he says and does. And the very religious beliefs I hold dear, clearly spell out a dim view of the gay lifestyle.

Elton disparages religion yet many of his songs are clearly influenced by religious beliefs and teachings. Could it be just another internal conflict? Elton’s life and sexuality certainly seem to be riddled with conflicts. In the 1960’s he was engaged to his record company secretary, Linda Woodrow. In 1976, he declared himself bisexual. In 1984, he married German recording engineer Renate Blauel and finally would up in civil union with his current partner, David Furnish.

Elton and David became the proud parents to a son (by surrogate) on Christmas day in 2010. And you guessed it…they named him Levon. (Actually his full name is Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John).

And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus
Leaving Levon far behind
Take a balloon and go sailing
While Levon, Levon slowly dies  

No matter what Elton thinks about God, he has certainly been blessed with a talent beyond compare. His five decade long recording career has seen him sell over 300 million records, making him one of the best selling recording artists of all time. Such great abundance and yet suffering need are all tied up together in his life.

Ultimately, I think Elton is perfect proof of God’s perfect love. And Jesus may have died, but he died for all our sins and all mankind, including Elton. Even if he is a non-believer.

Well, it’s no big deal…Jesus is no stranger to a little “religious rejection”.

Watch the classic here:

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Why I want to share this blog with you!

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

Come let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.– Psalm 95:1 

I have been a music lover all my life. I can’t ever remember life without it. I can’t imagine what life would be without it.

I’m a baby boomer, born in the 1950’s…the same decade that birthed rock-n-roll. An Elvis man all the way. From Presley to Costello.

Throughout the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, music ruled pop culture. During that time I was fortunate enough to spend over 18 years working in the “music biz”, predominately on the retail side. Those years gave me an unprecedented opportunity to listen to a plethora of music, artists, and styles.

If Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hour Rule” holds true, then surely I could be considered an expert on listening to music!

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than sharing music with others. Seeing friends and acquaintances light up in appreciation of a good song is all the gratification one could want. When I was working in the biz, nothing was better than being asked for a recommendation…and the joy of being able to deliver one. I can’t tell you how many times someone would walk up to me and say “I’m looking for something new…something good. Can you suggest something I’ll like?” Music to my ears!

Music is the soundtrack of our lives. But it goes much deeper than that. If you look closer and listen a little harder, you’ll catch it.

I believe songwriters and musicians have been given a gift from God.

I believe their music comes from a place inspired by God.

Don’t worry, I’m not gonna get all “holy-roll-y” with you 🙂

I’m not gonna preach.

I’m just looking forward to sharing and exchanging thoughts on the deeper meaning of music with you.

Will you join me?