Hi, Larry: Sorry you feel under such duress. As for band members not being comfortable singing some of the stronger songs that you write, you might give them credit for treating music with honesty. I wrote a song for my group that one member was uncomfortable with. He didn't feel that he could honestly sing it, because he didn't believe it. And good for him. I told him that I didn't want to pressure him to sing a song with a point of view he disagreed with, and said we'd do it without him. When he said that he wouldn't be comfortable if we did it without him and just excused him for that song, I understood how he felt. It would have been a public recognition that he was in opposition to the beliefs in the song. If you don't believe what you sing, you shouldn't sing it. You certainly know that, Larry.

As it turned out, we had a couple of long discussions about the song, and the person who refused to sing it became it's greatest champion. The song, in part, is:

Publicans, Harlots, beggars and thieves
Jesus was a friend to them all
He ate at their tables, and walked on their streets
And he comforted their weary souls

Chorus:

"Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel?
Didn't my Lord deliver Paul?
Didn't He deliver them Hebrew Children?
Didn't my Jesus die for all?

the verse he had a problem with was:

Lutherans, Baptists, Catholics and Jews
Whether they are black or white
Buddhists and Muslims, Methodists too :-)
All are precious in his sight

He felt that people would take offense at that verse until he thought about it, and realized that it is not offensive. Or at least not meant to be. 'Cept for Methodists, maybe (I had a beloved Uncle who was a Methodist Minister, and I were one too, for many years.)

People not wanting to sing something that you feel strongly about shouldn't be offensive to you, Larry. Any more than how you feel is offensive to me.

All the best, kid...

Jerry