BS: Wish Us Luck!

Subject: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 03:17 PM

Normally I wouldn't start a thread over a one-song gig, but that song is pretty well-loved around here: McGrath of Harlow's "White Snow of the Springtime," which is really as much an Easter song as a Peace-for-Ireland song. Works as both simultaneously for me, and might even work on Earth Day, since it's also such a nice Spring song.

Anyway, a little impromptu five-member folk ensemble--two guitars, one bass, one fiddle, 3 of us singing--will be performing "White Snow" tonight at the Vermillion, SD UCC church--the fiddler is our minister!--at tonight's Tenebrae communion service to celebrate Maundy Thursday (see the Holy Cow, etc. thread).

Frankly, we started rehearsing together Tuesday night, but we've played together before, and it's really coming together nicely. Helps to have good material.

So, as the title says: wish us luck! Think of us about 7:00 CDT tonight if it so happens....

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: jeffp
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 03:20 PM

I know you'll do just fine. Have fun, relax, and enjoy yourselves. That way, the congregation will do likewise. Best of fortune to you all.

jeffp

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: late 'n short
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 03:28 PM

Just remember that "Wherever two or more of you are gathered..." Do it for Him and it'll be exactly as He wants it.

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Áine
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 03:32 PM

Dear Chris,

Well, I won't say "break a leg", since it really doesn't fit the venue *BG* -- But, you know that I wish you the best of luck with this beautiful song! Please be sure and let us know how it is received by the folks there, OK?

-- Áine

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Banjoman_CO
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 03:35 PM

let your music be for Him and everything will go GREAT. I too am preparing for a Maundy Thursday Service tonight. The whole service is for His Glory and Honor. Good luck, but who needs luck when they have the Lord!

Banjoman

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Bert
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 04:01 PM

Go for it Chris!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 06:04 PM

Thanks to all for the encouragement! I'm really getting pretty excited about it.

Banjoman & late 'n short, I know what you mean. One of the guys I'm playing with tonight was part of an almost-as-impromptu trio that played a short set at the Sunday morning gospel sing at last year's Sioux River Folk Festival, and that morning, I just prayed and meditated and gave it over to God, and I wasn't the least bit nervous! Everything went beatifully! Amazing the power of remembering what it's all for....

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Caitrin
Date: 20 Apr 00 - 06:15 PM

Have fun, Chris! Our fingers are crossed.

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Áine
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 09:44 AM

Chris -- How did it go last night? We're anxious to hear about it!

-- Áine

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 11:11 AM

It was marvelous! We were, as you might expect on two days' rehearsal of this particular number, a touch rough around the edges, but my good pal Bruce the bass player who recorded it with his fancy-pants digital recording equipment that I don't even pretend to understand brought the recording over this morning, and it really sounds pretty good.

But more than that, it really was perfect for the service in the sense that Banjoman & late 'n short allude to above. The purpose was a remembrance of the events of another Passover week, so long ago, and the song was part and parcel of a service that really brought that home to those gathered in a lovely, unifying way. It really was blessed. Afterwards, the church organist, who is a retired music professor, and one of the very best musicians (and especialy organists) I've ever heard, had high praise for the song, and especially singled out the text as powerful. Which it is.

It's different, when it's more "sharing of gifts" than "gig."

Funny thing. The Tenebrae service is supposed to happen after dark. The minister lights seven candles as he briefly tells seven vignettes from the story of Jesus up to the Lord's Supper. Then there is Holy Communion, and then he puts out each candle as he tells a vignette leading from the Upper Room to the Cross.

And then, in the darkness he lights a single candle for the vigil we keep til Easter morning.

Well, Easter came awfully darned late this year, and after the time change. So it was still clear daylight when the service started at 7:00. But the responsive reading was from Psalm 139: "for darkness is as light to you." So in the end, the timing of the light didn't even matter.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: jeffp
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 11:38 AM

Beautiful, Chris. Isn't it wonderful when the song, the setting, and the purpose of it all come together like that? Have a marvelous Easter weekend.

jeffp

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Áine
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 11:58 AM

Dear Chris,

It sounds like you had a wonderful service, and I'm so glad that everything went well for you! I hope that you'll be sharing the recording of Kevin's song with us very soon.

Have a wonderful weekend, Áine

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 01:15 PM

Áine--

Can do. I already have it on My Docs for McGrath to get it, here.

It'll be there for seven days, and then be gone.

So, that works for whatever handful of us are reading a BS Luck thread, but I suppose I could submit it to Max for the Radio, too.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 01:19 PM

Okay, so I forgot the "/" there, it would seem. Uhm, Joe, if you're reading this...thanks.

But clicking on "here" up there should still work.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: Áine
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 01:53 PM

Dear Chris,

That is just lovely. Very, very nice! Please, please send this to Max for the radio show -- I know that a lot of the other 'Catters would love to hear it. The fiddle sounded so great!

-- Áine

(And if you don't mind, could you send it by MyDocs to me, too? I'd love to add this to my sound library. My email is: [e-mail])

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: catspaw49
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 01:57 PM

Chris....That is just great and I second Aine.....Sorry I missed wishing you luck, but you obviously don't need it.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SINSULL
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 02:05 PM

It plays in fits and starts. Am I doing something wrong?

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 02:09 PM

Done, Áine. And it's off to Max, too. Thanks for the kind words, folks. I'll pass along what you said to Pastor Steve, the fiddling minister, too.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 02:14 PM

You're probably not actually doing anything wrong, Sinsull. Normally, what happens when soemthing is linked like that, is the whole file gets downloaded and then your mp3 player will play it from a temporary copy in your windows temp directory. But if it's trying to stream it, you can get fits and starts.

Try right-clicking on the link and selecting "Save" or "Save Link" or whatever wording your browser uses. Save it to whatever directory you wish on your hard drive, and have your mp3 player load it from there. That might take care of it.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 06:18 PM

Great stuff - I haven't heard it yet, because it's still downloading.

I'd forgotten all about that MyDocs thing - but then I looked in my little list of passwords and I found I'd signed on for it some time, and I'd never used it. I keep getting amazed by some of the stuff we can do with this little magic box.

It's amazing to think of people far away whom I've never seen and who've never seen me, or even had a tape from me, singing a song I wrote. And I haven't the faintest notion where they are either, except somewhere across the ocean...

And as SDShad said, it's about Easter as much as Peace. But you can't think of war and peace in Ireland without thinking about Easter, and vice-versa. Good Friday and Easter Monday.

And as I've said before on another thread or two, a Happy Easter to everyone here. Even the anonymous ones.

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: MMario
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 09:10 PM

fantastic......well worth the hour it took me to download...

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 22 Apr 00 - 03:48 PM

Yow! Sorry it took you an hour to download, MMario--didn't even notice how big it was, I must admit--but I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 22 Apr 00 - 04:22 PM

But the handy thing with this MyDocs thing is that you are in charge of when to download it, and you know what it is - whereas with my email setup, if something is sent as an email attachment the stuff just comes trickling out, and you've no ready way of knowing what it is or how long it's going to be.

The sound quality of the video is a bit shaky, but I found with a bit of fingers I could get the MP3 file to more or less synchronise with it, and givev the video a proper sound track.

Incidentally, Shad, where was all this happening in this big Mudcat pond we call Planet Earth?

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 23 Apr 00 - 03:46 PM

Vermillion, South Dakota, McGrath--just down the road from the Armpit of the Universe. :-)

It's the town I grew up in, actually, and a nice little town. The little vids, BTW, really were just little poor-quality 15-second snippets so you could see what we and our church looked like. Don't know if I'd have the patience to synchronize them as you did, though. Neat trick.

Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Wish Us Luck!
From: SDShad
Date: 24 Apr 00 - 09:42 AM

I suppose from across the great waves, that begs a little more geographic description, as not everyone, even in the USA, knows where South Dakota is. As one songwriter I know puts it, it's "north of Texas, west of Maine, south of Canada" (to the tune of the "Bonanza" theme)...

But...we're one state south of the Canadian (Manitoba, namely) border (that other state being so-called "North" Dakota). Vermillion's about 5 miles north of Nebraska, 20 west of Iowa, in the southeast corner of South Dakota. It used to be right on the banks of the Missouri River until the great flood of, I think, 1881, moved the river to the other side of the valley and drove the town up onto the hills.

Chris