Spontaneous Combustion

At rehearsal last night, we ran through a song that just didn't work. So we tried it again. I still didn't think it worked.

This thought was confirmed when the sound engineer pantomimed sticking his head in a noose to end his misery.

We ditched the song. I thought for a minute...waited for inspiration...only once since I've been in my current role at PCC have I pulled a song out of thin air. We plan pretty specifically and we generally stick to the plan.

But not this week.

An old song came roaring into my head that would fit the moment. I've got gratitude on my mind, which is odd, because these days are filled with sorrow (I hate cancer. I hate cancer. I hate cancer.) But gratitude is the theme for this part of the worship set.

And so we improvised. I shouted out some chords, said, "Just follow me - you'll get it."

And they did.

It's moments like that when the joy and privilege of making music is most evident. Starting from scratch - no recording, no charts - nothing but our ears to hear and our imaginations to create.

It was a great band, and we had a great time. Because the song came out of the past - like I think the last time I played it was about a decade ago - and I don't have a recording, I made a scratch track. Which is me using a midi keyboard, wearing a cheap pair of headphones and yelling "PLEASE TURN IT DOWN!!! I'M TRYING TO RECORD SOMETHING!!!!" It's just past midnight and I just finished. I sent it off to the band so they'll feel more comfortable for Sunday.

And the magic will happen.

By the way, all this will take place at the Westchester Campus. I'm heading east this week for a little movie theatre church. Undoubtedly, the Powhatan band nailed the song that we killed and they'll have it all together. They're going to be awesome. At the movie theatre, we'll be making it up as we go along.

Well, not really. But it might be a very good day to check out Westchester...9:30 AM...comfortable seats...and great music...and YOU know the rest of the story!

Grin.