In this week's podcast episode (#66, "Through the Frame of Faith"), musicians Derek Webb and Josh Garrels share how their spiritual convictions inform how they write music. Other topics you will enjoy include how to understand the new face of the music industry, how music is impacted by the setting in which it is written, connecting to the divine through nature, understanding the role of the artist, and more.
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Josh Garrels has spent the past seven years moving around the country while recording his own albums in spare bedrooms, space heated garages and old attics. He experiments with a unique fusion of folk, breakbeats, and soul music by layering elements of electronic sampling and organic accompaniment. Lost Animals, Josh's latest album of B-sides, collaborations and singles, comes off the heels of 2008's critically acclaimed Jacaranda, which Paste Magazine chief editor Andy Whitman calls "quietly uplifting, sorrowful, real, and transcendently hopeful music."
Featured Track: "All Creatures"
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"'All Creatures' derives it's chorus from an old hymn written by St. Francis of Assisi. He had found a deep connection with nature in relation to God, as he would address 'brother sun, and sister moon' while communing with the birds and animals of fields. Much like St Francis, I've found serenity in worshipping the Creator of all things by delighting myself in his creation. Yet at the same time, when I see the perversion, destruction, and exploitation of his creatures, great and small, I find myself lifting up a cry for mercy, justice, and redemption of all things.' (Josh)
I had some musical gear to unload from my car so I drove from my garage around to the front of the house to bring everything in the front door. In the amount of time it took me to circle the block, my dog had waylaid my office, peppering the Berber with... well, I'll spare you the details.
As you can imagine this started my day off on a sour note. I left for the office frustrated and in a mental funk. My brow was furrowed; my muscles, tense; my mind was like an angry jackrabbit on speed. In a moment, however, music would come to the rescue.
I decided to help the chilling process by popping in an album RockOm is reviewing by the kirtan band Shantala (watch for their feature in the next couple of weeks). As the first track slowly blossomed like a springtime flower, my mind and mood began a similar unfolding. My breathing deepened, my shoulders dropped and my thoughts began to decelerate.
This in itself was a powerful enough experience - observing music's power to open and release oneself from contraction. But this is not where the story ends.
You see, the coastal Lowcountry is rather gray, cloudy and gloomy today. The fall season is turning the palmetto trees brown and the landscape into a bland, monotone wash. And in any other day my 30-minute commute to Savannah would be inwardly-focused anyway, thinking about what I had to do that day instead of enjoying the world around me. Today, however, the same piece of music that helped me to open did something quite magical to my senses, namely my eyes.
The drab countryside started to come alive. Vibrant, yellow wildflowers popped out alongside the road. The trees swayed in rhythm to the beat of the tabla. The overcast sky became interesting, providing a curious color contrast to everything else in my peripheral. I saw that there was life and color out there, but I had simply not seen it.
And the people. The drivers in the other cars transformed from obstacles and non-entities to being viewed as manifestations of the divine, children of God, sparks of divinity. The hustle and bustle of commuting cars was being observed as a cosmic dance. In a few words, everything became glorious and connected. Creation, as it turns out, was singing.
This is not the first time music has done this for me. On a number of occasions I have put on earbuds during nature walks. And sometimes the sounds of nature itself is the "music" you need during a walk or hike, but at other times playing music actually changes and enhances the experience. In listening to certain kinds of music, you actually begin to perceive and see things in a totally different manner than you would otherwise.
I write all of this mainly as an observation today, but also to encourage you to experiment with this yourself.
Firstly, that since music is certainly a tool for opening, see if you can use it this week to help transform your mood and contraction when it arises. And secondly, experiment with using music to "doctor your eyes." Take a walk through an art gallery, a mall or the woods both without a musical soundtrack and with one. Observe the difference and, if you're so moved to do so, give thanks for music's awesome power and influence.
Lord, the air smells good today,
straight from the mysteries
within the inner courts of God.
A grace like new clothes thrown
across the garden, free medicine for everybody.
The trees in their prayer, the birds in praise,
the first blue violets kneeling.
Whatever came from Being is caught up in being, drunkenly
forgetting the way back.
A casual interview with neo-reggae band Passafire on their new album, connecting with nature and "being in the zone" By Trevor Harden and Tom Crenshaw
When you think of the South, one thing that usually doesn't come to mind is reggae music. Even still one of the hottest bands rising up the charts today (including being prominently featured in the iTunes store and newsletter this week) is Savannah, Georgia's Passafire. Their latest album, Everyone on Everynight (out this week on LAW Records), pushes the boundaries of reggae music, giving the genre a "hard rock meets pop" edge that few (if any) other bands have attempted. In other words, though you will certainly hear musical influences in the parts of Passafire's music, the whole is something quite unique and noteworthy.
RockOm met up with keyboardist Adam Willis and drummer Nick Kubley before their show in downtown Savannah, GA to discuss the new album, seeing signs, their thoughts on God and how it feels to connect with an audience.
Trevor: How is Everyone on Everynight different than past records?
Adam: On the last record we had a year and a half while on the road to write the songs, put them together, try them live on the road and all that. For this record, we didn’t test any of these songs on the road. We got together after touring and had all this inspiration from traveling and locked ourselves up and wrote.
Nick: There was a lot of pressure to come up with a new record fairly quickly, but I think it was good. We all thought, “This has to be done quickly and it has to be really good.”
Trevor: The album's title comes from the lyrics in your song “Prelectricity" [one of RockOm's Featured Tracks this week]. This song talks about light pollution and the loss of connection with the stars, which used to guide people for many centuries. What was the inspiration for this track?
Adam: The song is about civilization and modern societies and how with the way we live now, the cities are so far removed from the natural world that you kind of forget about it. To us as a band it’s really important to reconnect when we’re somewhere, like when we’re out West we’ll go camping. We just hope to stay in touch with that because it’s really easy to forget about the world we live in and the natural beauty, especially when you’re in a vehicle all day traveling and playing in big cities.
Nick: You really don’t notice it until you’re out West in the middle of nowhere, driving in the middle of Wyoming for example. There are a million more stars that you see.
Adam: We just can’t forget about who we are, the people in the world around us and the world we’re living in. It’s very easy to do that nowadays and that’s what this song is about: distractions.
Trevor: Your song “Here in Front of Me” [the other RockOm Featured Track this week] talks about looking for signs and coincidences and even being disturbed or upset when we do see them. Was there a story behind these lyrics?
Adam: I think it came from when we were out West on our last trip. To me – and I didn’t write the lyrics, [guitarist/vocalist] Ted did – it always felt like this cryptic description of our band, all the good and bad we’ve been through, and our drive to keep going.
Nick: Yes, like the part that says, “It’s actually happening.” Is that what you’re talking about?
Adam: I don’t know if that’s actually what he means by that.
Nick: Ya, I don’t know either. [Laughter]
Adam: I think on this one we wanted to create a visual in the listener's mind and then they do whatever they want with it. But we are a people who think about the signs and notice things. I feel like personally I’m destined to do this and the signs are there.
Trevor: Let's look back to one of your older songs, “Feel It." There’s some language in there about “recognizing the eternal fire within.” What does that mean to you personally?
Nick: It’s taking notice that you have an energy inside you, a flame that needs to be kept going.
Adam: For me it’s definitely symbolic of God or a higher being. That’s how I always interpreted it.
Nick: “Feel It” doesn’t necessarily have to be about God. Ted says that in the song – “whether or not you think there is a God above.”
Adam: For me it does, though.
Nick: I’m not sure I believe in God completely, but I do think there’s something else there.
Trevor: And the way Ted has structured it, he’s left it open for interpretation.
Adam: Yes, I think we try to do that with all the songs. When you try to cram a message down someone’s throat, that doesn’t seem to work too well. If you leave it open for interpretation, people can understand it in their own way so they can use it to be better and go forth.
Nick: That’s the song we get written to about the most. A lot of people write us and say how that song in particular got them through tough times in their lives – crazy shit like that. This one kid was saying that he was thinking about killing himself and then he didn’t because of this song. That’s heavy.
Adam: It’s rock and roll, it’s a good time, but if there’s something in there that can uplift people or change them for the better or help them, that means we’re doing something right I think. It’s so easy to wield the weapon of music in a negative way. You can influence people to do just about anything.
Trevor: Reggae music usually carries with it this kind of positivity, spirituality and activism. Do you hope that you’re performances and songs are a little more than just “music” for people?
Nick: I always wanted my being in a band to be something more than just playing for people. If we can make them forget about their problems for an hour and a half then I think we’ve done our job. Yes, I’m in a band but why am I really here? I’m good at playing music and I need to use that for something positive. I think we all feel like that.
Adam: If you have a skill or an ability --
Nick: -- you should use it for good.
Adam: I think there's an obligation to do that.
Nick: Not everyone can play music or get to the level that we’ve been able to get to. Once you’re there you should do something with it.
Tom: You’re playing for a home crowd [in Savannah, GA] tonight and you’ve previously been out playing across the country. How do you know you’re connecting with the audience when you’re in a new setting, other than them rocking out? What do you feel?
Adam: That’s a hard thing to describe but it’s definitely real.
Nick: It’s not a tangible thing. It’s either there or it’s not. I think that time we played in Minneapolis, opening for 311, there were like a thousand people there and they were all just standing there with their arms crossed. But that night was one of the nights where we sold the most CDs. We sold a shit-load of CDs after thinking, “Oh my God, these people hate us.” [Laughs]
Adam: Aside from the obvious stuff – like people dancing or singing the lyrics – I think when you’re on stage you can feel positive energy when you’re reaching people. There is this invisible connection that can happen. Without running the risk of sounding cheesy, I firmly believe that. And there are some times when you walk off stage that you know something really magical just happened. It goes from us being on stage and them being out in the crowd, to us all participating in this thing together.
Nick: It’s like everyone’s in on this unspoken... agreement.
Adam: That’s good. That’s a good way to describe it.
Nick: It’s still not that good of a way to describe it. [Laughs] But I don’t know how else to say it.
Trevor: Moving on, let’s close with…
Nick: It would be like being in the Zone… in sports. [Long pause] Sorry. [Laughter]
Trevor: One more plug for the new album, what’s your personal favorite track on the disc?
Nick: My favorite is “Queen of Spades” because to me it’s the Southern Rock song on the album and I’m really proud of it. I feel like that embodies where we’re from – Savannah – and being in the South. It’s got this twang to it and crazy slide solo.
Adam: It’s tough to say a favorite but the one I keep going back to is “You’re Here.” I just feel like it’s really upbeat and positive and the lyrics are just cryptic to me. In listening over and over again it seems different every time. I feels like I hear new things in it each time.
There are only six musicians in the world whose email signature includes the iconic lips and tongue logo of The Rolling Stones. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell is one of those six. As a member of the Rolling Stones for the past twenty-seven years Chuck Leavell has played an integral part in shaping the music of the Stones since joining the band (on suggestion to The Stones by Bill Graham) on the 1982 European tour for the album Tattoo You. He has since gone on to contribute to the songwriting team of Jagger-Richards and in assisting in the arranging of their last umpteen albums since 1983’s album Under Cover.
Chuck Leavell may be a Rolling Stone but he’s getting used to playing a role much more influential and rewarding than being a member of the world’s greatest rock band through his work as a conservationist, environmentalist and founding board member (and Director of Environmental Affairs) of the Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com). In addition, he and his wife Rose Lane were named National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 1999 for their management of Charlane Plantation in Macon, GA. He is also a board member of the U.S. Endowment for Forest Communities and was the keynote speaker at The Presidential Seminar and Fortune Magazine’s Green Summit.
Chuck Leavell is one of the most sought-after keyboard players in all of rock and roll. Before joining the Rolling Stones, Chuck was a member of the Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level. He has performed and recorded with the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, The Black Crowes, Widespread Panic, The Indigo Girls, Blues Traveler, Train, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Seal, Robert Palmer, Chaka Kahn, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Montgomery Gentry, Lee Ann Womack... (ok, you get the drift here - who HASN’T Chuck collaborated with?) He has recorded and released four solo albums with his latest double disc release being 2008’s Live in Germany. Chuck has also authored several books including an autobiography entitled Between a Rock and a Home Place and a children’s book on environmentalism entitled The Tree Farmer.
Chuck Leavell has carved a legacy for himself that few could ever imagine creating. His contributions to the annuals of music and to the preservation of our world for future generations aren’t fully appreciated at this moment in time. But that’s probably just fine for Chuck Leavell. After all, as you'll soon learn, he’s got a grandbaby to play with now. One must remember to tend to the truly important things in life.
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RockOm: Thanks, Chuck for allowing RockOm the opportunity to spend some time with you. It’s a great honor. What are your earliest musical memories growing up and what first inspired you and made you aware that you wanted to be a professional musician?
Chuck Leavell: It was my mother that inspired me to play the piano. She played, just for family enjoyment, and I was the youngest of three siblings. So often it was just my mom and me in the house together, especially when I was just a child - five, six, seven years old. I would tug on her skirt and ask her to play and she would usually oblige if she wasn’t too busy. I loved hearing her play and watching her hands going up and down the keyboard. It was a huge thrill for me.
RockOm: Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that music would take you from Alabama to see the world and collaborate with the greatest musicians in the industry?
Chuck Leavell: No. All of that came in due course, but when I started, it was really just for the love of doing it. Although I must say that in my first band when I was 13, The Misfitz, we were doing quite well. We played the YMCA every Friday night and on Saturday mornings we had a TV show called Tuscaloosa Bandstand. Between those two gigs we were bringing down something like $45 each a week, which was pretty substantial for the mid 60’s. So it became an enterprise as well as a joy very early on for me.
RockOm: To say you’re a staunch conservationist is an understatement. You’re an avid environmentalist, preservationist, a board member on the U.S. Endowment for Forest Communities, author of several books, owner and operator of Charlane Plantation, which is a 2200 acre pine forest and farm outside Macon, GA. Now you’ve developed and launched a very exciting and important new project, the Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com) and are the project’s Director of Environmental Affairs. Some social and political leaders have stated recently that conservationism and environmentalism are indeed spiritual matters that the church and religious institutions need to address. Do you agree with their assessment?
Chuck Leavell: I think all of us have to address our environmental challenges. Our churches and spiritual institutions, sure, but also our government, businesses, schools, universities, nongovernmental organizations, non-profits and other groups - and of course as individuals. Theodore Roosevelt said over 100 years ago at a conference on water issues in Memphis, Tennessee that if we don’t address the challenges that face our natural lands we stand little chance of solving other problems. I think he was right then and he’s right now. I do think that now the “sleeping giant” (America) is finally awakening to these challenges. Maybe not everyone, but I think enough of us now see that it’s inevitable we make changes in our lives, our energy sources and energy consumption, our development models and methodologies and so forth if we want to have a beautiful and safe world to live in. I believe we also have to face some realities in population growth. It seems to me that the Europeans and some other countries have made more strides in all these matters than we have. But with the new Administration now in place, I’m confident that we will do better. Hey, I’m a grandparent now and I worry about the world our future generations will have to deal with.
RockOm: As a “Carolina boy” I grew up enjoying time in the woods, the countryside and mountains and understand it when you said that, “There's nothing like being next to nature and the feeling of spirituality that comes with that." When you’re out walking Charlane Plantation is there a “natural music” that you hear in the woods, the fields? How have you used your time in mother nature to help you be a better musician?
Chuck Leavell: I like to say that walking in my woods or any beautiful natural setting is, for me, like being in church. I think one can feel a connection to all things when in nature - a connection to wildlife, to plant life, to the Earth itself and even to the universe and beyond. Maybe that sounds a bit extreme or over the top, but it’s true, at least for me. I have a feeling of calm, connection, reverence and spirituality in nature. And yes, sometimes it inspires musical ideas.
RockOm: Why do you think music cuts so easily through cultural, social and religious barriers and has the ability to bring people together unlike any other medium?
Chuck Leavell: It’s simply THE universal language. We can all respond to it. It’s a means of cutting through words - although, of course lyrics can be equally important as melody and rhythm and getting to feeling. It can also be an expression of our culture. Food and music do a lot to define our heritage, who we are, our respective cultures. I think it’s also that music expresses emotions of all kinds: joy, sadness, loneliness, longing, fear, defiance, love and other emotions. It allows us to communicate in a way that sometimes spoken languages can’t.
RockOm: You’ve recorded some righteous gospel tunes and worked with spirited artists on many occasions including Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and the late George Harrison, all of whom have openly expressed their spirituality. Can you mention some other songs or artists you’ve written or worked on or with that have a quality that you would call spiritual but aren’t religious at all?
Chuck Leavell: Well, certainly the ones you’ve mentioned were very spiritual, and it was an honor to work with them. My friend Randall Bramblett, who worked with me in Sea Level and who I still work with from time to time is a very interesting spiritual person without necessarily being religious. His music and especially his lyrics reflect that. He goes deep into social issues, moral issues, love, forgiveness, conflict and more. I think he’s one of the greatest songwriters in our country now and much overlooked. I just did a CD with Bonnie Bramblett, a gospel record. I love gospel music, and gospel has been a huge influence on my playing. When you think about it, most rock piano comes from the church; Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha and others all started playing in church settings. It’s a stylistic thing, but also a certain feel, a groove. I can think of some bands that have inspired me that come from a spiritual place like The Mahavishnu Orchestra, for instance. Very spiritual. Ravi Shankar is another example in a completely different genre. Keith Jarrett moves me in that way. McCoy Tyner. So do players no longer with us like John Coltrane and Miles Davis. U2 writes about social issues that get into a degree of spirituality, I think. Joni Mitchell strikes me as spiritual in some of her songs. Certainly not all music has to be “spiritual”, but I think a lot of those that attempt to be spiritual through their songs and interpretations can be moving and inspiring. It’s part of the magic of music.
RockOm: Would it be fair to say that music is something spiritual for you and if so, can you elaborate, as much as you’re comfortable doing so?
Chuck Leavell: For me, music is sometimes a spiritual exercise, but also an intellectual one, as well as a physical one. I think it’s possible sometimes to reach new heights musically if you are somehow inspired spiritually. As a musician, sometimes when I take a risk, trying to do something that perhaps I have not practiced enough to be confident in doing, yet am willing to try at a certain moment when a certain “spirit” is within me, the spirit seems to take over and make it possible. I guess in part spirituality gives you faith in yourself to go beyond what you may be comfortable trying. It’s sort of like calling on a universal connection that exists between all of us and gaining strength from that to try things you may have some fear or trepidation trying. It’s perhaps a bit like when the adrenaline takes over in an accident and gives someone extraordinary strength to lift a heavy object or perform some other physical feat that you would normally say is impossible or beyond your normal means in order to save a child, or a loved one. Spirituality gives us hope, power, possibility that may not have existed a moment before.
RockOm: What moves you as a songwriter and musician into that space where inspiration flows easiest? How do you best create music?
Chuck Leavell: Well, I have to first of all admit that I am not a prolific songwriter. I enjoy writing, but for whatever reasons, I am more of a player than a writer. As far as inspiration goes, it can come from just about any source. I suppose a good example for me was my Southscape CD. I wanted to pay tribute to my southern heritage. To do a project that expressed musically what the South means to me - the places, the people, even the food. So songs like “Cherokee Wind” pays homage to the Native American influence and heritage of the South. “Tomato Jam” is a nod to a sweet yet spicy condiment that is southern. In “Altamaha”, I try to paint a picture of that very important river in Georgia. I guess I like having a purpose to write music but sometimes things just pop out of the fingers or out of the mind. I’m not so good with lyrics but once in a great while I’ll write them. However, I don’t have near the confidence in my lyrics as I do in my playing.
RockOm: Your style of playing the piano and your contributions to Rock ’n Roll are historic and are still evolving, placing you right there alongside the greats in the industry. How do you maintain the humbleness you’re been noted for? What keeps you grounded and your name out of negative press when many of your peers have had such difficult times adjusting to fame and fortune?
Chuck Leavell: I’m not sure I really know the answer to that. I certainly don’t think I have any special gift that makes me in any way better than anyone else. I am just so grateful for the life I’ve been able to lead, for what talents I’ve been offered. I’m so blessed to get to play music with others, to have a wonderful family, to be able to work in nature and hopefully to appreciate it and help the health of our natural lands, our wildlife and all the bio-diversity that exists in our world. My parents were certainly an influence on me. My dad told me things like, “You make your own luck” and “there is an art to everything.” My mom was such a loving individual and had deep faith. She was also an inspiration in that she had one of the worst cases of rheumatoid arthritis you could imagine, yet hardly ever complained. She lived through a tremendous amount of pain and suffering because of it, yet was grateful for her life, her opportunities, her family, her friends. When I think of any of the problems or challenges I face, I think of her and I think of what she taught all three of her children... to be grateful for what you have, to try and overcome obstacles, to try and make a positive difference in the world, to love your fellow man, to be willing to forgive wrongdoings and to get beyond things like hate, revenge and vengeance. Carrying around excess baggage can drag you down. Not that we need forget things that happen but it’s more about moving forward and trying to help induce positive change.
RockOm: After almost 30 years as a member of The Rolling Stones is it still exciting when you get the call that it’s time to record and tour again?
Chuck Leavell: Absolutely! I love working with the Stones, love all the individuals involved - not just the band, but all the folks that are attached to it. It’s quite a large family and most of the members have been there a long time. It gets in your blood. It’s part of me, of us. I wish we would work more often, record more, try different approaches to touring. But it’s all up to the guys that are in charge, mainly Mick, Keith and Charlie. We’ve been off now since August of 2007, almost two years. We haven’t played in the U.S. Since February of 2006, three years. It’s great for me and all the others to have different things to do, different settings to play music in, but the Stones are, well THE STONES!
RockOm: Who would you most like to collaborate with musically if you had the opportunity?
Chuck Leavell: There are a lot of artists I admire and would love to play with - some established, some new. I like the works of Joni Mitchell, Sting, Ben Harper, U2, Macy Gray, Alison Krauss, Bob Dylan and others. I’ve enjoyed working in the Country genre from time to time. I have worked with Montgomery-Gentry, Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, and David Nail. I like Taylor Swift’s voice and have never worked with her. I’m sure there are lots of others. Send me a list and I’ll tell you!!
RockOm: What’s next for you? Any projects in the near future that you care to mention?
Chuck Leavell: My next CD will be a tribute to pioneering piano players. Mostly from the 40’s and 50’s, but I’m trying not to be too restrictive. I don’t really want to go past the 50’s era, though. There have been a lot of tributes to guitar players of the era, but very little has been done to pay homage to these piano players such as Little Brother Montgomery, Lee Roy Carr, Amos Milburn, early Ray Charles, Cow Cow Davenport and the like. I want to concentrate mainly on blues players, but maybe a little stride and boogie will edge their way in. I’ve started research for it and I believe it will be a fun project. I don’t know what the Stones have in mind. They have had some meetings, but I don’t think any decisions have been made yet. Of course if the call comes, I want to be there. I mentioned the Bonnie Bramblett sessions and have one coming up with Montgomery-Gentry. I love doing session work and hope there will be more coming my way this year. I’ve started a new book called Smart, Strong and Sustainable that will deal with growth and development issues. And of course I’ll be working quite a bit on The Mother Nature Network project. I’ll certainly be working on Charlane Plantation as much as possible, too. I love working on our land. I’m also involved in some interesting Boards... the U. S. Endowment for Forests and Communities, The American Forest Foundation, The Georgia Land Conservation Council, The Dell Re-Generation Board and some others. These are all wonderful opportunities, and I hope to do them justice.
To learn more about Chuck Leavell please follow these links:
There is new evidence that our world’s youngest and brightest are redefining their spiritual lives according to new and exciting research conducted by the Minneapolis-based Search Institute. The Search Institute's Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence recently conducted a vast survey, believed to be the first of its kind, and uncovered some surprising finds. Some 55 percent of youths and young adults (ages 12 to 25) indicated they are more spiritual now than two years ago. But, surprisingly, nearly one-third of those responding don't trust organized religion. Most youth surveyed believe there is a spiritual dimension to life, and about one-third of youth surveyed see themselves as "very" or "pretty" spiritual.
The survey included 6,853 youth and young adults throughout the world who, when asked if they don’t feel spiritual in places of worship, where do they? Their responses, "Spending time in nature,” (top answer) and "Listening to or playing music," (number 2). “Attending religious services" was ninth on the list of the top 12 most-frequent answers.
Nature. I wonder if we “adults” are wise enough to grasp the implications of this youthful response where nature is concerned. Sure, what can be seen and felt in nature empirically holds spiritual significance, but how does what can be seen compare with what can be heard in nature? Nature is a realm of the purist and most honest music to be heard. As Emerson said, "Nature makes no noise. The howling storms, the rustling leaf, the pattering rain, are no disturbance; there is an essential and unexplored harmony in them... Every sound is music now... Each tree is a harp which resounds all night-though some have but a few leaves left to flutter & hum."
If we were to model our houses of worship and our religious and spiritual rituals on nature’s “unexplored harmony” instead of man-made dogma, allowing for only unfiltered light to shine on us all, what would the implications be and would our young people find refuge again, instead of doubt and hypocrisy? Our very brightest and best don’t trust what we’ve created, what we’ve insisted is sacrosanct and love-bound. What if we listened to our younger minds and allowed them to witness to us and embrace with them the natural elements of light and love?
Music. Are we, who are setting the agendas of our spiritual institutions, willing to finally listen to our young people? Listen to them and their music- not our music, but theirs? What are we saying to those young musicians and music lovers when we tell them certain music is or isn’t acceptable? What gives us the right to deny them music’s inherently spiritual nature just because we may find it not to our liking or not acceptable to what we’ve been told is some standard? We’ve shut ourselves off from our youth and music’s very sacredness itself through sheer audacity and a forgotten halcyon bravado from long ago (our own youths, maybe?) that’s long needed a jolt of veracity and which can put a jump back into the frailest of steps- if we simply give up our insistence that we know what’s best.
If we were to fashion our celebrations of enthusiasm (the word enthusiasm originates from the two words, "enthios" and "iasm", which translates to "the God within") and be reminded that “the kingdom is within” not without, how would our music be different and how would our spirituality be made richer? We are afraid to celebrate ourselves and “God within” because of all we’ve been taught through the ages by religious intuitions. Isn’t it time for music itself to be an institution in which we all can come, face to face again with the truth?
Our young people are leading the way, showing us the way, and we would be served wisely to listen to them, nurture them and what they have to say and sing instead of continuing to bury our heads in the sand or think we’re really making a difference with our, “yes, but….” approach to religious and spiritual instruction. How long will we ignore studies such as the one conducted by The Search Institute with overwhelming evidence we’re abandoning our children and young adults by ignoring their desires and appeals for meetings of the heart, not minds.
This should be a call to every musician and music lover joining us here at RockOm and at other such groups and associations exploring the bonds between music and spirituality to look again at the roles we play and the obligations owed to those we influence. We shouldn’t shrink from what our young people are asking from us and of us. They ask to hear what we have to offer and for us to hear them, and all the gifts they, too, have to share. Perhaps in listening more deeply and with more sincerity we can all grow in concert, both young and old, into a field where age, color and creed disappear altogether.
In a yet to be published RockOm interview with Zakir Hussain, the world-renowned tabla master says, "The tempos of the songs that have become hits are the tempos that either you walk in, you breathe in, or you make love in." Zakir is referring to life's natural rhythms - those human and cosmic tempos that we find ourselves interacting with every day.
Some forms of music are even based on such natural rhythms. According to the V. Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary, "The [Italian] barcarola is typically in 6/8 or 12/8 meter to simulate the motion of the boat moving through the waves of the water with the rhythmic rowing of the gondolier."
This week pay attention to the natural rhythms around you. See how and when your footsteps fall in beat with the songs on your iPod. Hum a tune to the rhythm of the ocean waves or breathe in tempo with your favorite ballad. Hear how the coffee grinder, the clinking of silverware and the patrons' coughs all fit together to form one giant, interconnected drum beat. Perhaps in doing so we will experience life's larger patterns and underlying order.
Or we won't. Try it and see what happens as an experiment in experiencing and hearing life in a new way.
in typical rhythmic random style, the drops begin falling only sparse and spare, an orchestra warming up before the symphony. all begin taking their places in the pit; the occasional augural drops hinting at imminent deluge. wistful virginal moans of brass, wood, and strings, all finding their breath and the right notes - tuning in, settling upon my soul, preparing me for the show. not many, just a taste.
then a short pause - only a few moments - the tweaking of knobs, dialing in adjustments; more clouds building.
another breath, deeper than the first, and again to the lips, hands, bellies go the instruments, ever-building crescendo teasing my bristling senses.
more rain, stronger than the initial drizzle; not yet the full pounding symphony i await, yet certainly as important. can the perfect show exist without practice – and is practice not perfect within itself? i watch and listen in earnest. inspiration building, tempting my spirit to plunge in, join the drops from earth to clouds to earth. the beautiful cyclical song, made and played in unison. tempo increasing, sounds beginning to meld together to form familiar, calming patterns which ease my longing to certain point and measure.
then, again, silence. delicate mixture of the frustration of impatience and the peace of knowing what is to come.
a bit more tuning, only minor adjustments are necessary now.
then – finally – in walks the conductor, striding bright and tall, full of pomp and grace like none other. all the wisdom, innocence, and bliss of the universe in a single lightning strike – the maestro bowing to greet the audience.
solid, unyielding rain.
perfectly tuned, infinitely powerful symphony brought to life by the simple eternal boom of thunder.
earth and i are wetted to the core – soak us, mystery of the heavens!
let it rain – open, sky, and whisper to me your obscure secrets;
i will quietly listen, and i will only tell if you lend me a voice.
but always, let me hear first, and understand to the fullest before i speak for you.
the puddle is full. my face is mirrored in her glassy surface; yet simultaneously, easily i see all depth and space within the mere. colors most vivid, glare and uncertainty removed - purity in all, revealed when saturated with rain. oh, glorious rain!
clouds envelop my reflected outline, blending with dampened tresses, encompassing me to the point i no longer recognize where sky ends and i begin. as i sit and watch for hours on end, expectedly, cyclically, the erstwhile overcast sky begins to clear, the pool empties – some into the earth, the sky, plants, or thirsting beast passing nigh; the rest splashed on my face and hoisted to my parched mouth to quench ravenous thirst, revive, send me high. now i sit refreshed, renewed, drying – bidding adieu to the passing band of clouds, and awaiting the jazz of the sun.
tomorrow's forecast: more music, rain or shine.
[By Kevin Schnepp. Kevin is a photographer and poet from rural Indiana. His photography can be seen at www.peacefield.org and his writings at twokingdoms.blogspot.com .]
Not much goes with music more than dancing. As it is, enjoy the following poem written by RockOm staffer Tom Crenshaw. While reading through these words, one can almost hear the music playing...
When Shiva Dances
When Shiva dances with arms whirling
I sit in the fields watching the morning sun appear,
When Shiva bends gracefully touching hand to foot
I rise, tending to obligations appearing,
When Shiva arches, with head gazing high
I churn over thoughts while walking homeward,
When Shiva leaps, keeping solemn tempo
I sit in the fields watching the afternoon sun descend,
Morning-rise, from collapsing night
Dream death into dream life
All measures found sufficient
As twilight falls, as radiant day surrenders
In this week's podcast episode (#66, "Through the Frame of Faith"), musicians Derek Webb and Josh Garrels share how their spiritual convictions inform how they write music. Other topics you will enjoy include how to understand the new face of the music industry, how music is impacted by the setting in which it is written, connecting to the divine through nature, understanding the role of the artist, and more.
by Josh Garrels
You see, the coastal 
When you think of the South, one thing that usually doesn't come to mind is reggae music. Even still one of the hottest bands rising up the charts today (including being prominently featured in the iTunes store and newsletter this week) is Savannah, Georgia's Passafire. Their latest album, Everyone on Everynight (out this week on LAW Records), pushes the boundaries of reggae music, giving the genre a "hard rock meets pop" edge that few (if any) other bands have attempted. In other words, though you will certainly hear musical influences in the parts of Passafire's music, the whole is something quite unique and noteworthy.
Trevor: Reggae music usually carries with it this kind of positivity, spirituality and activism. Do you hope that you’re performances and songs are a little more than just “music” for people?
There are only six musicians in the world whose email signature includes the iconic lips and tongue logo of The Rolling Stones. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell is one of those six. As a member of the Rolling Stones for the past twenty-seven years Chuck Leavell has played an integral part in shaping the music of the Stones since joining the band (on suggestion to The Stones by Bill Graham) on the 1982 European tour for the album Tattoo You. He has since gone on to contribute to the songwriting team of Jagger-Richards and in assisting in the arranging of their last umpteen albums since 1983’s album Under Cover.
There is new evidence that our world’s youngest and brightest are redefining their spiritual lives according to 
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