Time to exert my authority here as an amateur historian!! Just recently, I purchased an excellent documentary series on DVD produced by the History Channel and entitled Rome - Rise and Fall of an Empire. Starting at the period just before Julius Caesar's ascendancy, the series chronicles Rome from its transformation from a Republic to an Empire until its eventual demise in the West at around the year 476 AD. It is the latter part of this series that caught my interest, starting with the reign of Emperor Constantine, and it educated me a lot as to the ending of the Western Roman Empire. After watching this, I started reading up more on this period of history, and as I study it I have come to the conclusion that the Western Empire did not fall as much as it just faded away, transforming into something else totally unique to what it was. That is not to say a decline didn't happen, but rather as a whole the Roman legacy was transformed as it slowly morphed from antiquity into the Middle Ages. That being said, I have a couple of observations.
First, the "old order" of imperial Rome did decline, becoming more German and less Roman (except in the East, which became more Greek in identity). This seems to be evident from the 4th century onwards, as several foederati (foreign-born mercenaries) legions gained numbers and influence in Roman political circles. The first of these of note was a half-Vandal/half-Roman general, Stilicho, who by all accounts was actually a man of great integrity and honor - for a supposed "barbarian," Stilicho was chronicled as being a humble leader and a gentleman in all aspects. Ironically, he was more honorable than his emperor, Honorius, who later had him assassinated. A generation later, another powerful "barbarian" consul, Ricimer, came onto the scene and Ricimer was almost the diametric opposite of Stilicho - a brilliant and capable commander, he was also very ambitious and stopped at nothing to control or manipulate the emperor, thus earning him the reputation of being "The Puppetmaster." In many cases, the emperor was at this point a mere figurehead, and Ricimer all but in name ruled the Western Empire. The third major "barbarian" of note was the man who also brought the Western Empire to its official end in 476, Odoacer. Odoacer possessed both the ambition of Ricimer and the sense of honor of Stilicho, and this strange combination served him well later when he became the first "King of Italy" after deposing Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Emperor and son of his main rival, Flavius Orestes. Although all of these men were of proported "barbarian" stock, all of them displayed a shrewd, tactful, and intellegence of personality that resulted in a level of bureaucratic sophistication that rivaled classical Rome's best. In many ways, the apparent "barbarian" was often more civilized and intelligent than those who called them "barbarians." That is something I have noted with interest personally too.
A second thing about the latter Roman period as it slowly morphed into the Middle Ages is that a lot of its history mirrors our own, and in studying Rome I have to ponder if America may be headed on a similar path. As a prophecy student, I find that intriguing also because little is alluded to America in the Bible as far as prophetic reference is concerned. Yet, we see these parallels - a decline in moral integrity, being taken over by outsiders, and a laxity in the American Church, just to note a few. No doubt things are destined for change in America, one way or another, and it seems like the current political/social/economic climate indicates change is afoot. The question is not if change will happen, but how we will deal with it when it does. That being said, we need to make sure the best of our American legacy is preserved at all costs - unfortunately forces are trying to discredit and destroy it even now with historical revisionism based on "political correctness" as well as booting out any reference to Judeo-Christian foundations in our society. The corporate world too is diminishing our nation as it disrupts the natural beauty and the encouragement of entrepreneurship of our past in order to do away with it to make a fast buck. Those of us who appreciate the good in our culture and the "old ways" need to do our part to preserve it.
Anyway, those are just some random thoughts on history as I see it, and hope you enjoyed and learned something from it until we visit again.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Need For Change
I have often tried to keep my stuff here sort of light-hearted, saving my weightier issues for my other website postings, but today I wanted to address some things I have been ruminating on regarding the current state of our nation, as the need to get back to simpler ways of doing things is something we need to seriously consider. What I feel is the problem in this nation now involves a combination of bureaucratic fat cats, corrupt politicians, greedy corporations, and agendas that do not adequately address the true views of many of us. These things are killing the US as a national entity, and a majority of people seem to go on, wearing their colored lenses, not realizing or carying about that fact. And, while many of our people remain blissfully ignorant, politicians and their corporate czar puppet-masters are too stupid and blinded by their own agendas to see the real problem - they are out to serve their own interests only and to hell with the rest of us. Therefore, it is my conclusion that we can neither trust nor rely upon them anymore and need to take matters into our own hands. I have a few ideas as to how to facilitate that.
First, and foremost, we need a major reformation in our government. The Feds are too powerful, too self-serving, and have lost touch with the rest of us. Therefore, I believe the time has come for us, the taxpayers who allot them their salary, to downsize and fire them. Government needs to be channeled back into local hands and way from the I-95 Beltway. If we reduce Washington's hold on us, we will begin to see a difference in our society almost immediately.
Secondly, we need to go after these big corporations, who seem to think they have a carte blanche to muscle out competition and swallow up small businesses in order to build yet another Wal-Mart, Starbuck's, CVS, or McDonalds on yet another street corner where 5 of them exist within a 1-mile radius. The small business is the one that needs our patronage and support, and some ridiculously restrictive regulations need to be lifted so small business can thrive again. One very excellent organization that has proven itself in advancing this cause is the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, VA. The IJ has for about 20 years striven to help the struggling entrepreneurs and cottage industries be able to freely and productively contribute quality service to their respective communities, and in doing so, some decisive blows have been dealt to abusive laws and cartels of bureaucrats who seek to destroy people's homes and livelihoods in order to fatten their own bank accounts. Be sure to check out their website at www.ij.org. Give them and other good organizations like them your support,because these are the people in the trenches fighting for your rights.
Another thing also that needs to happen is that we, who are of like mind and outlook, need to work together. I fully believe that things such as community commercial gardens, medical co-ops, and community foodshare distributions are good things that can benefit all people of a community, regardless of social strata. Examples of these type of projects include Patchwork Farms in the Chicago area, Angel Food Ministries, and Foodshare (the latter both being nationwide), as well as other similar programs. The way these institutions and others similar work is that a certain part of the community contributes to the project, and the participants then all reap the benefits. Also, it provides food for the less-fortunate, the elderly, and others as well at a rate that is either affordable or charitable if the recipient cannot afford it. Medical co-ops are another good idea, and to offset this Obamacare mess. More local communities should think about and consider co-ops for medical care to make it more affordable for all people. It would take a lot of research and more space than allowed here for me to really line-out this idea, but I feel it would be something many could benefit from.
The main elements missing from our society can be summarized as follows:
1. Self-sufficiency
2. Biblical patterns
3. Community cooperation
4. Local citizen-based government
All of these are important elements our society sorely lacks, as we have been mauled over by huge corporations and an invasive government bureaucracy that promotes the interests of an elitist class of special-interests over the general welfare of the people, and these corporate money-grubbers and government bureaucrats advance their agendas through intimidation, ponderous and redundant legislation, and stepping into places they don't belong. Until we understand that, we will continue to regress as an oppressed nation until our ultimate demise as a result, and we really need to take control back from these elitist scum and get the vision that our survival depends upon getting back to our fundamental core values. That being said, I will conclude for today but hope to share more in the near future.
First, and foremost, we need a major reformation in our government. The Feds are too powerful, too self-serving, and have lost touch with the rest of us. Therefore, I believe the time has come for us, the taxpayers who allot them their salary, to downsize and fire them. Government needs to be channeled back into local hands and way from the I-95 Beltway. If we reduce Washington's hold on us, we will begin to see a difference in our society almost immediately.
Secondly, we need to go after these big corporations, who seem to think they have a carte blanche to muscle out competition and swallow up small businesses in order to build yet another Wal-Mart, Starbuck's, CVS, or McDonalds on yet another street corner where 5 of them exist within a 1-mile radius. The small business is the one that needs our patronage and support, and some ridiculously restrictive regulations need to be lifted so small business can thrive again. One very excellent organization that has proven itself in advancing this cause is the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, VA. The IJ has for about 20 years striven to help the struggling entrepreneurs and cottage industries be able to freely and productively contribute quality service to their respective communities, and in doing so, some decisive blows have been dealt to abusive laws and cartels of bureaucrats who seek to destroy people's homes and livelihoods in order to fatten their own bank accounts. Be sure to check out their website at www.ij.org. Give them and other good organizations like them your support,because these are the people in the trenches fighting for your rights.
Another thing also that needs to happen is that we, who are of like mind and outlook, need to work together. I fully believe that things such as community commercial gardens, medical co-ops, and community foodshare distributions are good things that can benefit all people of a community, regardless of social strata. Examples of these type of projects include Patchwork Farms in the Chicago area, Angel Food Ministries, and Foodshare (the latter both being nationwide), as well as other similar programs. The way these institutions and others similar work is that a certain part of the community contributes to the project, and the participants then all reap the benefits. Also, it provides food for the less-fortunate, the elderly, and others as well at a rate that is either affordable or charitable if the recipient cannot afford it. Medical co-ops are another good idea, and to offset this Obamacare mess. More local communities should think about and consider co-ops for medical care to make it more affordable for all people. It would take a lot of research and more space than allowed here for me to really line-out this idea, but I feel it would be something many could benefit from.
The main elements missing from our society can be summarized as follows:
1. Self-sufficiency
2. Biblical patterns
3. Community cooperation
4. Local citizen-based government
All of these are important elements our society sorely lacks, as we have been mauled over by huge corporations and an invasive government bureaucracy that promotes the interests of an elitist class of special-interests over the general welfare of the people, and these corporate money-grubbers and government bureaucrats advance their agendas through intimidation, ponderous and redundant legislation, and stepping into places they don't belong. Until we understand that, we will continue to regress as an oppressed nation until our ultimate demise as a result, and we really need to take control back from these elitist scum and get the vision that our survival depends upon getting back to our fundamental core values. That being said, I will conclude for today but hope to share more in the near future.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Pet Peeves and Personal Protocols
I wanted to write this being that all of us are created by God as individuals, and as such there are certain ways we perceive as acceptable and unacceptable, based on our individuality. Much of that is based on our individual likes and dislikes, but some is also indicative of our culturation, upbringing, etc. What I want to do today is to share a few of my unique pet peeves, idiosyncracies, and protocols, of which some of you may think I am absolutely off the beam, but that is OK too. So, let's get started!
As mentioned, over the years culture and personal taste have shaped some of my own behaviors and mannerisms, and these are some of my various quirks I have I will share now:
1. One very strong conviction I have is that I will not go barefoot in public - it is uncomfortable to do so, and I have had that conviction since I was very young.
2. My eating regimen has a strict protocol as well. I like eating certain things separately, and although I may like both food items separately, I will not eat them together. I also don't eat overcooked vegetables, undercooked french-fried potatoes, or broccoli with pasta. I also will eat ground beef patties, but not at cookouts or other gatherings and not as a hamburger sandwich. I also love block cheese, but will only eat it if I cut it myself. Additionally, I am picky about eating out of potato chip bags anyone else eats out of, and I eat little at company dinners or church potlucks due to the fact something I don't like often sits too close to something I do like, and people tend to get sloppy when serving themselves.
3. When at work, I have a very strict policy about having my breaks interrupted. If someone does that, they cross a fine line with me and it often causes me to like that particular individual less as a result.
4. If I am reading a book, writing something, or am engaged in any other activity, I don't appreciate people asking me about it. I don't like sharing aspects of my life with strangers or people whom I personally don't care for very much. For a person to do that comes across rude to me and it is something I don't even consider doing to anyone else. If I want someone to know my business, I will tell them myself if I feel they are trustworthy enough.
5. When I am at a store - in particular thrift stores, where I often hunt for vintage LP records for my collection - I don't like people crowding me when I am engaged in a search for something. Related to that, I don't like store clerks that bug you every five seconds either. That same protocol goes for bus stops and other venues.
6. I HATE - I repeat HATE - having to repeat myself to people.
7. I have a BIG taboo about micromanagement by co-workers, supervisors, etc.
8. If I don't particularly care for someone or don't know them, I don't share personal information with them. My mechanism for dealing with this is giving them cryptic answers.
9. Name-dropping and patronizing don't impress me at all, and I definitely don't feel comfortable engaging in it either. Pseudo-intellectual showboating nauseates me more, in particular if the subject matter is something I know more about anyway.
10. Being the creature of habit and routine that I am, it is very upsetting to me when a routine I have is interrupted. Deviation is not an option on such things.
11. Religious talk for the sake of talking is not something I appreciate either. If you truly serve God and believe in him, then it is not necessary to insert gratuitous "God," "Jesus," "Hallelujah!" "Praise The Lord," and other references into a conversation every breath. If the person is truly of the faith, the other party should have the spiritual discernment to see it, and therefore no impressive "sanctified" language is necessary. I also am upset by panhandlers and con-men using religious references to prey on the emotions of others for the same reason, and honestly it makes me want to vomit. This to me is "taking the Lord's name in vain" in the truest sense.
12. I am proud of who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for, and take very serious issue with anyone who would have the stupidity to belittle it within my hearing. That is one reason why I have little tolerance or patience for those clods who belittle our Appalachian people and culture, Christians, Jews, or others. I grew up humbly, am proud and believe I am blessed of God by what I have accomplished, and therefore strangers have no right nor place to belittle either my roots or the people I belong to. Try it, and risk suffering the consequences!!
There are probably more of these I could share but won't because it would take way too much time to catalog all my idiosyncracies. Any rate, these are some of my more notable ones. Hope you enjoy.
As mentioned, over the years culture and personal taste have shaped some of my own behaviors and mannerisms, and these are some of my various quirks I have I will share now:
1. One very strong conviction I have is that I will not go barefoot in public - it is uncomfortable to do so, and I have had that conviction since I was very young.
2. My eating regimen has a strict protocol as well. I like eating certain things separately, and although I may like both food items separately, I will not eat them together. I also don't eat overcooked vegetables, undercooked french-fried potatoes, or broccoli with pasta. I also will eat ground beef patties, but not at cookouts or other gatherings and not as a hamburger sandwich. I also love block cheese, but will only eat it if I cut it myself. Additionally, I am picky about eating out of potato chip bags anyone else eats out of, and I eat little at company dinners or church potlucks due to the fact something I don't like often sits too close to something I do like, and people tend to get sloppy when serving themselves.
3. When at work, I have a very strict policy about having my breaks interrupted. If someone does that, they cross a fine line with me and it often causes me to like that particular individual less as a result.
4. If I am reading a book, writing something, or am engaged in any other activity, I don't appreciate people asking me about it. I don't like sharing aspects of my life with strangers or people whom I personally don't care for very much. For a person to do that comes across rude to me and it is something I don't even consider doing to anyone else. If I want someone to know my business, I will tell them myself if I feel they are trustworthy enough.
5. When I am at a store - in particular thrift stores, where I often hunt for vintage LP records for my collection - I don't like people crowding me when I am engaged in a search for something. Related to that, I don't like store clerks that bug you every five seconds either. That same protocol goes for bus stops and other venues.
6. I HATE - I repeat HATE - having to repeat myself to people.
7. I have a BIG taboo about micromanagement by co-workers, supervisors, etc.
8. If I don't particularly care for someone or don't know them, I don't share personal information with them. My mechanism for dealing with this is giving them cryptic answers.
9. Name-dropping and patronizing don't impress me at all, and I definitely don't feel comfortable engaging in it either. Pseudo-intellectual showboating nauseates me more, in particular if the subject matter is something I know more about anyway.
10. Being the creature of habit and routine that I am, it is very upsetting to me when a routine I have is interrupted. Deviation is not an option on such things.
11. Religious talk for the sake of talking is not something I appreciate either. If you truly serve God and believe in him, then it is not necessary to insert gratuitous "God," "Jesus," "Hallelujah!" "Praise The Lord," and other references into a conversation every breath. If the person is truly of the faith, the other party should have the spiritual discernment to see it, and therefore no impressive "sanctified" language is necessary. I also am upset by panhandlers and con-men using religious references to prey on the emotions of others for the same reason, and honestly it makes me want to vomit. This to me is "taking the Lord's name in vain" in the truest sense.
12. I am proud of who I am, where I come from, and what I stand for, and take very serious issue with anyone who would have the stupidity to belittle it within my hearing. That is one reason why I have little tolerance or patience for those clods who belittle our Appalachian people and culture, Christians, Jews, or others. I grew up humbly, am proud and believe I am blessed of God by what I have accomplished, and therefore strangers have no right nor place to belittle either my roots or the people I belong to. Try it, and risk suffering the consequences!!
There are probably more of these I could share but won't because it would take way too much time to catalog all my idiosyncracies. Any rate, these are some of my more notable ones. Hope you enjoy.
Longing For The Homestead
As Barb and I are on the cusp of a move to a new home in just a few weeks, I have renewed a lifelong interest I have had in homesteading and self-sufficiency. Being we live in the concrete-and-asphalt wilderness known as Tampa Bay, farming, wildcrafting, and other such disciplines are not that widely practiced, and a lot of these corporate-bound yuppies wouldn't know what to do anyway. Therefore, I have had to spend time reading up on the subject until we can get to the place where we can put the knowledge into practice. Being it is a part of my heritage anyway - I grew up small-town, so know something about gardening, hunting, and gathering - I consider this a rediscovery of a repressed aspect of my upbringing provided I get the opportunity to practice these arts again.
As many of you may already know, I grew up in West Virginia, and the luxuries of city life were often not that easily accessed. Therefore, when I was a kid, gardening and gathering was pretty much a part of normal life for me. It carried a certain appeal to be able to forage for or grow your own produce, different types of berries, morel mushrooms, and other bounty of the earth. And, to witness the tiny seed of a tomato plant or a cucumber vine producing a large quantity of harvest in the course of time cannot be overestimated. Additionally, there was always fishing, canning, hunting, and a number of other cottage industries that could provide an adequate supply of food and thus saving quite a bit of money at the grocery store. And, to know you did all that gave a certain amount of satisfaction too, and that was a feeling that made one proud and gave a sense of accomplishment. Oftentimes today in the corporate world, it is as if you work your butt off for practically nothing, for an employer who couldn't give a rat's behind about you or your talents as long as the bossman's stock goes up a point. Therefore, agrarian life provides a way to channel creative energy in a way that makes the people who really count - you, your folks, and the good Lord - appreciate you better.
Many of my old friends from my grade school and high school years still live back home and carry on the tradition, and one of them, a childhood classmate named Cindy Twigg, has proven to be quite resourceful. I mean, seriously, not many people can get that creative with a lowly zucchini, yet Cindy manages to make good and unexpected recipes such as brownies out of it - who'd had thought that a lowly vegetable that resembles a huge cucumber could produce such good dessert recipes (Cindy, we gave that brownie recipe a try, by the way - they were as delicious as you said they were! Thanks for sharing that)?? However, that is the way and tradition of our West Virginian spirit - we can take the meager and turn it into a gourmet masterpiece. My friend Cindy and so many others of our native sons and daughters do a great service by preserving a precious legacy, and as a fellow West Virginian, they make me proud because they are indeed brilliant people. Yet, thinking about it makes me somewhat melancholy, because I sure do miss a lot of that too.
One of my aunts, Angie McDaniel who lives just outside the town of Hambleton, WV, some 3 miles from where I was born, is equally gifted in these skills, and she could make all sorts of stuff that you wouldn't normally consider - one of her specialties were these homemade peanut butter cups which could rival Reese's any day! Our Appalachian women in particular were genius in their own right, and many of them - our aunts, grandmothers, etc. - taught some of us men a thing or two as well! God bless them.
Upon our move, it is our objective to get back into doing a little planting and growing ourselves, and with the harvest of the bounty of our labors I plan on doing a little experimentation myself (see my food blog, www.davidskitchen-david.blogspot.com, in the future for more about that, as I plan on posting a lot there too!). It will feel great to have that level of self-sufficiency again, and hopefully it will inspire others. I have also picked up a thing or two from the local Florida Cracker culture here as well, and plan on utilizing that in the future by eventually stocking our freezer with our own freshly-caught seafood and such - I learned the arts of shrimping and crabbing years ago from my Southern-born father and grandfather, and would like to get back into doing that again as well. Even foraging for wild produce here in Florida is not totally out of the question either, but rather a matter of being in the right place to look for it. All of this collectively will be a process that will require time and patience, as it takes time to build a greenhouse, grow the plants, etc. However, in the end, the rewards will pay for themselves. Throw in a small goat for milk and a couple of hens for eggs, and that essentially is a rudimentary backyard homestead ready to roll!
So concludes my thoughts on the subject for the time being, but I am hoping to update progress as this new experiment rolls forward, and for those who have similar aspirations, happy homesteading to you as well, and feel free to share tips and ideas. See you all next time.
As many of you may already know, I grew up in West Virginia, and the luxuries of city life were often not that easily accessed. Therefore, when I was a kid, gardening and gathering was pretty much a part of normal life for me. It carried a certain appeal to be able to forage for or grow your own produce, different types of berries, morel mushrooms, and other bounty of the earth. And, to witness the tiny seed of a tomato plant or a cucumber vine producing a large quantity of harvest in the course of time cannot be overestimated. Additionally, there was always fishing, canning, hunting, and a number of other cottage industries that could provide an adequate supply of food and thus saving quite a bit of money at the grocery store. And, to know you did all that gave a certain amount of satisfaction too, and that was a feeling that made one proud and gave a sense of accomplishment. Oftentimes today in the corporate world, it is as if you work your butt off for practically nothing, for an employer who couldn't give a rat's behind about you or your talents as long as the bossman's stock goes up a point. Therefore, agrarian life provides a way to channel creative energy in a way that makes the people who really count - you, your folks, and the good Lord - appreciate you better.
Many of my old friends from my grade school and high school years still live back home and carry on the tradition, and one of them, a childhood classmate named Cindy Twigg, has proven to be quite resourceful. I mean, seriously, not many people can get that creative with a lowly zucchini, yet Cindy manages to make good and unexpected recipes such as brownies out of it - who'd had thought that a lowly vegetable that resembles a huge cucumber could produce such good dessert recipes (Cindy, we gave that brownie recipe a try, by the way - they were as delicious as you said they were! Thanks for sharing that)?? However, that is the way and tradition of our West Virginian spirit - we can take the meager and turn it into a gourmet masterpiece. My friend Cindy and so many others of our native sons and daughters do a great service by preserving a precious legacy, and as a fellow West Virginian, they make me proud because they are indeed brilliant people. Yet, thinking about it makes me somewhat melancholy, because I sure do miss a lot of that too.
One of my aunts, Angie McDaniel who lives just outside the town of Hambleton, WV, some 3 miles from where I was born, is equally gifted in these skills, and she could make all sorts of stuff that you wouldn't normally consider - one of her specialties were these homemade peanut butter cups which could rival Reese's any day! Our Appalachian women in particular were genius in their own right, and many of them - our aunts, grandmothers, etc. - taught some of us men a thing or two as well! God bless them.
Upon our move, it is our objective to get back into doing a little planting and growing ourselves, and with the harvest of the bounty of our labors I plan on doing a little experimentation myself (see my food blog, www.davidskitchen-david.blogspot.com, in the future for more about that, as I plan on posting a lot there too!). It will feel great to have that level of self-sufficiency again, and hopefully it will inspire others. I have also picked up a thing or two from the local Florida Cracker culture here as well, and plan on utilizing that in the future by eventually stocking our freezer with our own freshly-caught seafood and such - I learned the arts of shrimping and crabbing years ago from my Southern-born father and grandfather, and would like to get back into doing that again as well. Even foraging for wild produce here in Florida is not totally out of the question either, but rather a matter of being in the right place to look for it. All of this collectively will be a process that will require time and patience, as it takes time to build a greenhouse, grow the plants, etc. However, in the end, the rewards will pay for themselves. Throw in a small goat for milk and a couple of hens for eggs, and that essentially is a rudimentary backyard homestead ready to roll!
So concludes my thoughts on the subject for the time being, but I am hoping to update progress as this new experiment rolls forward, and for those who have similar aspirations, happy homesteading to you as well, and feel free to share tips and ideas. See you all next time.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Big Bands And the Gospel - A Good Pairing!
This little sharing of thought today is going to be a might different as it basically involves a synthesis of my biggest hobby and my personal faith, and I find it fascinating as I uncover so much that they are extremely compatible. What you are about to read is a unique perspective, but an enlightening one nonetheless.
As I was shopping on Amazon one particular day this week, I came across something I found quite interesting - a rare recording (CD reissue) of legendary bandleader Russ Morgan consisting of classic hymns of the faith! And, they were beautifully done. Intrigued by this, I ordered it and am expecting it to get here next week. But, that got me to thinking about my own testimony and how it relates to my personal tastes and interests, and as I have said before, it is no accident I like the type of music I listen to and I have always felt like God gave me that particular interest as a way of protecting me from some bad influences of my peers and sort of setting me aside for a particular reason, and I stand by that today. As I have been collecting and listening to vintage big bands for over 30 years now, I have learned much and as I do, I uncover surprises every so often that reinforce the fact God created my tastes different for a specific plan that only He knows the full details of. And, over the years, my extensive collection of big band recordings have a lot of songs of faith interspersed among them, and that in itself says something. So, what I wish to do today is talk some about that, and then give a couple of closing thoughts. Bear with me, as we start that little virtual jaunt now.
Anyone who knows anything about Dixieland jazz knows that one of the most famous tunes associated with it is "When the Saints Go Marching In." It was the theme song of two great New Orleans-born trumpet-playing bandleaders, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, and whenever one thinks of vintage Dixieland jazz, this song comes to mind. But, think a minute about that - a GOSPEL SONG, a spiritual, is a Dixieland jazz classic!! Another example involves an obscure territory dance band led by Black trumpeter Sam Morgan, who in 1927 recorded a song called "Just Over In The Glory Land." Growing up in the West Virginia hills and attending little Appalachian Holiness/Pentecostal churches when I was little with my folks, I know this tune well - it is an old Pentecostal campmeeting song that many old-time churches sang out of a shaped-note hymnal we called then the "red-back" that interesting enough has the same melody as a polka song called "Lappland Polka." This is one of many examples I could cite, but you get my point.
Jazz and the Church have shared a sort of love/hate relationship since its early days, as on one hand jazz musicians respected Christianity and drew from it yet on the other hand the Church often blamed jazz for moral decay in society too - jazz, however, never had the influence in that regard that rock music had later though. In their later years many jazz greats - notably Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams - composed Jazz Masses and other sacred works that, although at times theologically a little weak, nonetheless reflected a deep conviction of faith of the composer. Duke Ellington, in particular, devoted most of the last years of his life to composing music that exalted God, and his rationale behind it was that since God gave him such success and blessing throughout his life, he wanted to give something back to God. Duke composed for instance a piece that is based on the Psalms entitled "Praise God and Dance" that honestly brings the Psalms to life - it is intense, beautiful, and most of all, Scriptural. The unfortunate thing about this, however, is that many sacred jazz works were often taken more seriously by liberal churches than they were by people of more conservative convictions, and that is tragic because many conservatives missed out on something very unique and expressive of the love of God testifying through the works of talented musicians - the liberal churches only used it as a means of advancing their socialistic agendas, which to be honest probably grieved the hearts of the composers. Ironically, some of these same supposed "conservative" churches today have no problem with BAD rock music masqerading as "Christian" because it has a "Jesus" or two thrown into it, but they cringe at the thought that Duke Ellington praised God in his latter works. I have a lot more to say on that later, believe you me!
Many bandleaders from the "sweet" side of the music (Lombardo, Sammy Kaye, Freddy Martin) also recorded many hymns and songs of faith, and these were an integral part of the repertoire often of these particular orchestras, as their audiences were more from the conservative parts of the country and appreciated songs of faith better than the jazzmen often did. Fred Waring and Phil Spitalny's "Hour of Charm" All-Girl Orchestra, for instance, were recording hymns as far back as the early 1930's, and the legacy of Lawrence Welk featuring songs of faith on his TV shows for decades are well-documented. And of course you have Russ Morgan and other leaders recording very beautiful albums of traditional hymns. This speaks something also I want to briefly touch on here. The major difference between big bands recording albums of faith and hymns as compared to much of modern "Contemporary Christian Music" is quite fundamental - the bandleaders like Welk, Morgan, and Ellington were influenced by the Gospel, while many so-called "Christian" music acts today are compromised with the world. In another way of putting it, at one time faith influenced culture, but now culture dictates faith. Think about that for a moment. That is why, personally, I believe that a beautiful album of traditional hymns by bandleader Russ Morgan blesses my spirit more than does something by the latest Dove Award winner today because the spirit is different. Thing is - and I have said this many times! - I never had anything to do with rock music before I was a Christian, so why would I want to accept it in church of all places now?? The concept of it is crazy, to be honest. And, it has little to do with stylistics either, but rather with attitude and worldly influence. Any person with keen spiritual discernment should note the difference right off.
An article like this could not be complete without some mention of the Polka Mass. This was something that developed out of the work of two Slovenian/Croatian-American Catholic priests in the 1960's, Frs. Frank Perkovich of Minnesota and George Belasco of Cleveland, OH, and it ties into the faith traditions of the people who birthed it well. I was at one point a little iffy about the Polka Mass until I heard it, and its vibrance and beauty sold me. Polka of course has an integral part in the evolution of the big bands, and therefore that was worth mentioning as well.
Anyway, that is all my thoughts for today, as work calls me. So long until next time, and happy listening!
As I was shopping on Amazon one particular day this week, I came across something I found quite interesting - a rare recording (CD reissue) of legendary bandleader Russ Morgan consisting of classic hymns of the faith! And, they were beautifully done. Intrigued by this, I ordered it and am expecting it to get here next week. But, that got me to thinking about my own testimony and how it relates to my personal tastes and interests, and as I have said before, it is no accident I like the type of music I listen to and I have always felt like God gave me that particular interest as a way of protecting me from some bad influences of my peers and sort of setting me aside for a particular reason, and I stand by that today. As I have been collecting and listening to vintage big bands for over 30 years now, I have learned much and as I do, I uncover surprises every so often that reinforce the fact God created my tastes different for a specific plan that only He knows the full details of. And, over the years, my extensive collection of big band recordings have a lot of songs of faith interspersed among them, and that in itself says something. So, what I wish to do today is talk some about that, and then give a couple of closing thoughts. Bear with me, as we start that little virtual jaunt now.
Anyone who knows anything about Dixieland jazz knows that one of the most famous tunes associated with it is "When the Saints Go Marching In." It was the theme song of two great New Orleans-born trumpet-playing bandleaders, Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, and whenever one thinks of vintage Dixieland jazz, this song comes to mind. But, think a minute about that - a GOSPEL SONG, a spiritual, is a Dixieland jazz classic!! Another example involves an obscure territory dance band led by Black trumpeter Sam Morgan, who in 1927 recorded a song called "Just Over In The Glory Land." Growing up in the West Virginia hills and attending little Appalachian Holiness/Pentecostal churches when I was little with my folks, I know this tune well - it is an old Pentecostal campmeeting song that many old-time churches sang out of a shaped-note hymnal we called then the "red-back" that interesting enough has the same melody as a polka song called "Lappland Polka." This is one of many examples I could cite, but you get my point.
Jazz and the Church have shared a sort of love/hate relationship since its early days, as on one hand jazz musicians respected Christianity and drew from it yet on the other hand the Church often blamed jazz for moral decay in society too - jazz, however, never had the influence in that regard that rock music had later though. In their later years many jazz greats - notably Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams - composed Jazz Masses and other sacred works that, although at times theologically a little weak, nonetheless reflected a deep conviction of faith of the composer. Duke Ellington, in particular, devoted most of the last years of his life to composing music that exalted God, and his rationale behind it was that since God gave him such success and blessing throughout his life, he wanted to give something back to God. Duke composed for instance a piece that is based on the Psalms entitled "Praise God and Dance" that honestly brings the Psalms to life - it is intense, beautiful, and most of all, Scriptural. The unfortunate thing about this, however, is that many sacred jazz works were often taken more seriously by liberal churches than they were by people of more conservative convictions, and that is tragic because many conservatives missed out on something very unique and expressive of the love of God testifying through the works of talented musicians - the liberal churches only used it as a means of advancing their socialistic agendas, which to be honest probably grieved the hearts of the composers. Ironically, some of these same supposed "conservative" churches today have no problem with BAD rock music masqerading as "Christian" because it has a "Jesus" or two thrown into it, but they cringe at the thought that Duke Ellington praised God in his latter works. I have a lot more to say on that later, believe you me!
Many bandleaders from the "sweet" side of the music (Lombardo, Sammy Kaye, Freddy Martin) also recorded many hymns and songs of faith, and these were an integral part of the repertoire often of these particular orchestras, as their audiences were more from the conservative parts of the country and appreciated songs of faith better than the jazzmen often did. Fred Waring and Phil Spitalny's "Hour of Charm" All-Girl Orchestra, for instance, were recording hymns as far back as the early 1930's, and the legacy of Lawrence Welk featuring songs of faith on his TV shows for decades are well-documented. And of course you have Russ Morgan and other leaders recording very beautiful albums of traditional hymns. This speaks something also I want to briefly touch on here. The major difference between big bands recording albums of faith and hymns as compared to much of modern "Contemporary Christian Music" is quite fundamental - the bandleaders like Welk, Morgan, and Ellington were influenced by the Gospel, while many so-called "Christian" music acts today are compromised with the world. In another way of putting it, at one time faith influenced culture, but now culture dictates faith. Think about that for a moment. That is why, personally, I believe that a beautiful album of traditional hymns by bandleader Russ Morgan blesses my spirit more than does something by the latest Dove Award winner today because the spirit is different. Thing is - and I have said this many times! - I never had anything to do with rock music before I was a Christian, so why would I want to accept it in church of all places now?? The concept of it is crazy, to be honest. And, it has little to do with stylistics either, but rather with attitude and worldly influence. Any person with keen spiritual discernment should note the difference right off.
An article like this could not be complete without some mention of the Polka Mass. This was something that developed out of the work of two Slovenian/Croatian-American Catholic priests in the 1960's, Frs. Frank Perkovich of Minnesota and George Belasco of Cleveland, OH, and it ties into the faith traditions of the people who birthed it well. I was at one point a little iffy about the Polka Mass until I heard it, and its vibrance and beauty sold me. Polka of course has an integral part in the evolution of the big bands, and therefore that was worth mentioning as well.
Anyway, that is all my thoughts for today, as work calls me. So long until next time, and happy listening!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Ponderings from the RidgeRunner
The past few weeks have been a little chaotic - had a couple of financial challenges, work has been crazy, and we have a potential move back to Lakeland coming up soon as well. In addition, I have been involved in a couple of projects I have been working on, and those have required great investment of time as well. no rest for the weary, and a man's work is never done...but, who's complaining, and who would listen anyway, right?
Our move to Lakeland is an act of divine intervention, as both Barb and I feel it is something we need to do. Although I have been in Pinellas County now for 13 years, things have not gone as smoothly here as they should have, and the conclusion we have both gotten after much prayer and soul-searching is that we just don't belong here. Although Lakeland is a fairly large town (75,000, as I recall reading) it doesn't have all the drama and craziness of Pinellas County or Tampa, and it is also more affordable for us to move back there than to stay here. Of course, that leads to another objective: I have been trying to get my graduate studies done for a long time but with little success, and now my alma mater, Southeastern, is offering graduate programs, which fits perfectly into this whole picture. Granted, Southeastern is obviously not the school I graduated from in 1996 anymore - it has gotten fully on-board with the Rick Warren/"Emerging Church" agenda, things I have no part of personally - but its academics are unequalled, and there is still a spiritual covering over that area that we could use. In short, for the first time in a long time, I feel as if I have a clear directional signal, and that has galvanized me. As we make the move and get settled, I will either keep you abreast here or on my Facebook page.
Graduate school and moving have led me to initiate work on a couple of projects too that have been dormant for a while. As I was doing some packing up in my home office, I rearranged a whole box of large documents I have been wanting to organize, and the lawfirm I work in gave me an idea - I have undertaken a project to do a GBC binding on these docs to make them more accessible and readable. Essentially, the documents are largely the product of one special area of study, and that is the Catholic Apostolic Church movement of the 1830's (wrongly called "Irvingites," after a clergyman involved in the movement in Scotland by the name of Edward Irving). The CAC was a forerunner of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, and its importance to ecclesiastical history cannot be underestimated. However, for years resources on it were hard to obtain, but thankfully one of my good friends, a German bishop in the surviving remnant of the CAC by the name of Harald Scheffler, sent me a whole library of documents on a disc, and those are the focus of this project. I myself am one in doctrine personally with the CAC, as they believe much of what I believe, and Harald and I have been in discussion for several years now about my potential ordination into the CAC, something I am seriously taking into consideration. Should that happen, I would be the main American representitive of the movement, and it would be my responsibility to disseminate material on the CAC to American colleges and universities, particularly Pentecostal/charismatic institutions. That being said, the focus of my graduate work will be reading and research on the movement, which I will also be doing a series of articles on my other blog, "Sacramental Present Truths," in the coming months on the CAC and its history, beliefs, doctrines, and how they relate to today. It is something I am very excited about personally, and that along with my studies on Appalachian Holiness/Pentecostalism will be two specialty areas of my own teaching and study. More on that to come as well.
Our whole packing experience now - and mind you, this isn't my favorite job, as I hate dismantling my office like that - has been an excursion into some things that have brought back some long-forgotten memories and other things. Looking through old memorabilia has also been used by God, I feel, to bring us back into focus of where we need to be, and there is so much that can be elaborated on with that. Sometimes it is good to go back in order to move forward, because we often forget some of the best and most valuable parts of ourselves as the cares and snares of life get the best of us. Consider this to be God's little reminder to stay on track, and the message has gotten to me loud and clear.
I want to get back on this page with writing some personal history on myself too, speaking of which. There are a lot of amusing anecdotes and stories to share, and I want to begin sharing those with you here. For a couple of years, I did post a lot of those stories on my Facebook page, and they were generally well-received, and people have been asking for these again. So, once I am settled, be looking for more of those!
And, on that note, I bid you all adieu for today, and will visit with you again soon. Have a good week all of you, and hope and pray your needs are met and your lives stay fulfilled.
Our move to Lakeland is an act of divine intervention, as both Barb and I feel it is something we need to do. Although I have been in Pinellas County now for 13 years, things have not gone as smoothly here as they should have, and the conclusion we have both gotten after much prayer and soul-searching is that we just don't belong here. Although Lakeland is a fairly large town (75,000, as I recall reading) it doesn't have all the drama and craziness of Pinellas County or Tampa, and it is also more affordable for us to move back there than to stay here. Of course, that leads to another objective: I have been trying to get my graduate studies done for a long time but with little success, and now my alma mater, Southeastern, is offering graduate programs, which fits perfectly into this whole picture. Granted, Southeastern is obviously not the school I graduated from in 1996 anymore - it has gotten fully on-board with the Rick Warren/"Emerging Church" agenda, things I have no part of personally - but its academics are unequalled, and there is still a spiritual covering over that area that we could use. In short, for the first time in a long time, I feel as if I have a clear directional signal, and that has galvanized me. As we make the move and get settled, I will either keep you abreast here or on my Facebook page.
Graduate school and moving have led me to initiate work on a couple of projects too that have been dormant for a while. As I was doing some packing up in my home office, I rearranged a whole box of large documents I have been wanting to organize, and the lawfirm I work in gave me an idea - I have undertaken a project to do a GBC binding on these docs to make them more accessible and readable. Essentially, the documents are largely the product of one special area of study, and that is the Catholic Apostolic Church movement of the 1830's (wrongly called "Irvingites," after a clergyman involved in the movement in Scotland by the name of Edward Irving). The CAC was a forerunner of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, and its importance to ecclesiastical history cannot be underestimated. However, for years resources on it were hard to obtain, but thankfully one of my good friends, a German bishop in the surviving remnant of the CAC by the name of Harald Scheffler, sent me a whole library of documents on a disc, and those are the focus of this project. I myself am one in doctrine personally with the CAC, as they believe much of what I believe, and Harald and I have been in discussion for several years now about my potential ordination into the CAC, something I am seriously taking into consideration. Should that happen, I would be the main American representitive of the movement, and it would be my responsibility to disseminate material on the CAC to American colleges and universities, particularly Pentecostal/charismatic institutions. That being said, the focus of my graduate work will be reading and research on the movement, which I will also be doing a series of articles on my other blog, "Sacramental Present Truths," in the coming months on the CAC and its history, beliefs, doctrines, and how they relate to today. It is something I am very excited about personally, and that along with my studies on Appalachian Holiness/Pentecostalism will be two specialty areas of my own teaching and study. More on that to come as well.
Our whole packing experience now - and mind you, this isn't my favorite job, as I hate dismantling my office like that - has been an excursion into some things that have brought back some long-forgotten memories and other things. Looking through old memorabilia has also been used by God, I feel, to bring us back into focus of where we need to be, and there is so much that can be elaborated on with that. Sometimes it is good to go back in order to move forward, because we often forget some of the best and most valuable parts of ourselves as the cares and snares of life get the best of us. Consider this to be God's little reminder to stay on track, and the message has gotten to me loud and clear.
I want to get back on this page with writing some personal history on myself too, speaking of which. There are a lot of amusing anecdotes and stories to share, and I want to begin sharing those with you here. For a couple of years, I did post a lot of those stories on my Facebook page, and they were generally well-received, and people have been asking for these again. So, once I am settled, be looking for more of those!
And, on that note, I bid you all adieu for today, and will visit with you again soon. Have a good week all of you, and hope and pray your needs are met and your lives stay fulfilled.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Big Bands and Other Thoughts Of Interest
Yesterday in the mail I received Jack Behrens' recent book entitled America's Music Makers: Big Bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011, and it has been an interesting read so far. Mr. Behrens has written another book on the subject a couple of years earlier that I have in my library at home, and after reading the first book I got in touch with him. Behrens is a very thoughtful individual, and also has been a joy to talk to, being he both has good taste in music as well as being a fellow Christian as I am too. His books are by no means what you would call a scholarly discourse, but they are good reading and they are well-written, being that Mr. Behrens is also a professional writer. One of my other friends, Joe Enroughty, who has an orchestra in Richmond, VA, alerted me to the new book, and I had just purchased it recently. Reading Behrens' thoughts in the book sort of piqued my own interest in possibly making my interest in big band recordings a little more down-to-earth with a personal twist, which I have already done to some degree with some earlier articles I have written prior to this one. It is a daunting task, because how do you integrate something that you were too young to experience in its heyday into your own life as something that is meaningful? Not saying that it isn't or anything, because a lot of my personal identity is tied into the music I listen to, but putting into an expression by writing has proven to be more of a challenge. However, there are some facts we have established in previous articles about how this music has impacted me, and these are a couple of those:
Gene Beecher was an elderly gentleman I had the privelege of meeting back years ago when I was a security officer at Carpenter's Home in Lakeland, FL. Gene lived in what was called Carpenter's Estates, a large retirement condo adjacent to the old Carpenter's Home Church campus, and when he lived there he was well into his 80's. By the time Gene had moved to Carpenter's, he had more or less taken up a form of painting called "naive art," which was also the style that the late Grandma Moses painted. Although somewhat bizarre and odd pictures, they nevertheless have a following, and this type of painting to this day still has its afficianados. Gene gave me one of his originals a few years before he passed away, a picture of a creature vaguely resembling a cat. I still have that too, as it may be worth something one day. However, although Gene and I got to know each other well, and we spent evenings at the lobby desk talking about a number of topics - Gene was well-read, and although not college-degreed, he nonetheless qualified as an intellectual regardless - come to find out in his heyday (late 1930's) Gene led a dance band in the Cleveland area, and he shared a lot of that with me. Some years later, I actually found one of his old radio programs on CD from a guy in Missouri I purchase old vintage big band radio shows from, and upon listening to it I gathered that Gene, like so many Cleveland-based orchestras (Sammy Kaye, Freddy Martin, and Kay Kyser all come to mind here) was a sweet-oriented bandleader. Later, you wouldn't know that from talking to him, as his tastes were more preferable to Duke Ellington and Stan Kenton than they were toward Lawrence Welk and Guy Lombardo, but that was one of the many things that fascinated me about the man. He later passed away, I believe, in 2001 at the age of 93, and I miss the guy as he became a dear friend. But, his son "Inky" carries on his legacy today, as he manages his dad's artwork - some of those bizarre paintings can fetch as much as $1200 now, I found out!
In 2004, I met another famous icon of the era, more so than Mr. Beecher was. I was working on Clearwater Beach as an administrative assistant for a title company when I found out one of the residents at the condo we were conducting closings on was none other than Connie Haines. As some of my fellow big band afficianados will be aware, Connie Haines was the girl singer with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra back in the early 1940's, and she share vocal duties with Dorsey's then-youthful featured boy singer, one Francis Albert Sinatra of Hoboken, NJ. Meeting this great lady in person, who then was 84 years old and in declining health but still very active, was the highlight of my week. My boss, knowing my interest in the music, arranged for me to assist in her title closing, and we did that at her condo, which was a treat. Her place was like a museum, with all the gold records, pictures with celebs, and other memorabilia. It was good I got to see her then, because less than 3 years later she had passed away, but not before she blessed me with a copy of her biography, written by Richard Grudens and entitled Snooty Little Cutie. It was a fond experience though all the way around.
I have thought about doing my own history of the big dance bands, but to be honest it would be complicated. Reason is, it is just overwhelming the history and information I have learned from my 30-plus years of collecting this great stuff. I have read the "canonical" big band books, things such as George T. Simon's The Big Bands, Leo Walker's Wonderful Era of the Great Dance Bands, and Albert McCarthy's The Dance Band Era, all of which are part of my library as well as of course Brian Rust's monumental American Dance Band Discography, a valuable - albeit expensive! - but rare resource that chronicles practically every record of every big band that ever existed up to about 1942 or so. Recording-wise, I have in my possession the "Holy Grail" of big band collections too, the Franklin Mint Greatest Recordings of the Big Band Era, a monster collection that was released in the early 1980's consisting of 100 red-vinyl LP's featuring about 250 orchestras. Thank God for EBay with that one! That, along with my collection of around 900 other LP's and about 1100 CD's, gives me a rare perspective on the music. In all my listening and research, I have seen various theories as to who was the first actual dance band. Some writers say Art Hickman deserves the title, while others say Wilbur Sweatman, and still others say James Reese Europe. However, as it turns out, there were big dance bands long before any of these were making records, and the one person who sticks out to me is Will Marion Cook, an African-American composer/bandleader/playwright who had one of the first touring big bands back in the 1880's. It is quite unfortunate that he was around too early for recordings (although cylinders did exist, and that would be some find to have Will Marion Cook's original music on one!), but he is the guy I personally feel from whom evolved the whole big band genre. And, good reason for it - he groomed and developed the musicianship of both Sydney Bichet and Duke Ellington, which in itself is fascinating. I would go as far as to say that without a Will Marion Cook, there would have been no Duke Ellington. Cook's impact on the style that would later make Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Lawrence Welk (along with hundreds of others) household names is one of the most understated footnotes in American popular music, yet it is something that I feel is vital. Some may disagree with my hypothesis on that, and that is OK - we all appreciate good music enough to debate the fact, so that is cool - but it just makes sense to me to trace the evolution of big dance bands back to Will Marion Cook.
Another thing that I feel has been under-documented is the ethnic contribution to the big bands. Klezmer, polkas, etc., have contributed richly to the big band experience, and although purists on both sides of the fence differ with that somewhat, the fact cannot be denied. Polka, in particular, has been oft-overlooked, and this despite the fact that "Whoopie John" Wilfahrt and Harold Loeffelmacher's Six Fat Dutchmen, both of New Ulm, MN, had for all intents and purposes big bands that played polkas! Then, there is German-born Will Glahe, as well as my fellow Tucker County native Frankie Yankovic - not to mention modern "polka king" Jimmy Sturr, who has in my estimation done more to preserve big band music than many today have. Polkas have been an integral part of big bands for a long time (Lawrence Welk come to mind? Remember, he was a polka musician before he was a sweet bandleader!) and being polkas are a dance, and orchestras play them for dance music, it is only logical to conclude that polka bands - especially those of the 1920's-1950's - were big bands for all intents and purposes. And, personally, polka music is what introduced me to the big bands, and they have always been intertwined as far as I am concerned. Again, some may respectfully disagree, and that's fine - again, people can appreciate good music from different perspectives on it.
I honestly need to address something else too - I hate rock music, and to me anyone who has good taste and a discerning ear cannot take that crap seriously. I know some will disagree with that too, but in that case I don't give a rat's behind - it's chaotic noise with no form, no substance to it, and also is spiritually detrimental, and a person with the sense God gave a goose would have nothing to do with it, I am sorry. I have said many times that God gave me a love of the big bands to protect me, and seeing what rock music creates in the way of values, I feel very blessed to have been shielded from its influence. And now, they want to bring it in churches as "worship" music - please, if I didn't listen to it before I was a Christian, then why would I want my senses subjected to that garbage as a Christian?? I have dealt with the theological aspects of that on my other page, so I won't do that here. However, I will say this - I am too good for rock music, and am not ashamed to say it. God gave us better creativity and sensitivity to aesthetics, and we should have the good sense to exercise that gifting and tell rock music and its creators and performers to stick it where the sun don't shines. Just my humble opinion, so take it for what you want.
That being said, I will stop rambling for today, and hopefully will see you all again soon. Take care and God bless.
- I view it as an important part of my personal testimony, because I feel God has given me a taste for this great music to protect me from some of the ills and mindsets of my generation
- My record collection has provided me with a lot of memorable stories too, as certain items in it have proven to stimulate certain memories for me
Gene Beecher was an elderly gentleman I had the privelege of meeting back years ago when I was a security officer at Carpenter's Home in Lakeland, FL. Gene lived in what was called Carpenter's Estates, a large retirement condo adjacent to the old Carpenter's Home Church campus, and when he lived there he was well into his 80's. By the time Gene had moved to Carpenter's, he had more or less taken up a form of painting called "naive art," which was also the style that the late Grandma Moses painted. Although somewhat bizarre and odd pictures, they nevertheless have a following, and this type of painting to this day still has its afficianados. Gene gave me one of his originals a few years before he passed away, a picture of a creature vaguely resembling a cat. I still have that too, as it may be worth something one day. However, although Gene and I got to know each other well, and we spent evenings at the lobby desk talking about a number of topics - Gene was well-read, and although not college-degreed, he nonetheless qualified as an intellectual regardless - come to find out in his heyday (late 1930's) Gene led a dance band in the Cleveland area, and he shared a lot of that with me. Some years later, I actually found one of his old radio programs on CD from a guy in Missouri I purchase old vintage big band radio shows from, and upon listening to it I gathered that Gene, like so many Cleveland-based orchestras (Sammy Kaye, Freddy Martin, and Kay Kyser all come to mind here) was a sweet-oriented bandleader. Later, you wouldn't know that from talking to him, as his tastes were more preferable to Duke Ellington and Stan Kenton than they were toward Lawrence Welk and Guy Lombardo, but that was one of the many things that fascinated me about the man. He later passed away, I believe, in 2001 at the age of 93, and I miss the guy as he became a dear friend. But, his son "Inky" carries on his legacy today, as he manages his dad's artwork - some of those bizarre paintings can fetch as much as $1200 now, I found out!
In 2004, I met another famous icon of the era, more so than Mr. Beecher was. I was working on Clearwater Beach as an administrative assistant for a title company when I found out one of the residents at the condo we were conducting closings on was none other than Connie Haines. As some of my fellow big band afficianados will be aware, Connie Haines was the girl singer with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra back in the early 1940's, and she share vocal duties with Dorsey's then-youthful featured boy singer, one Francis Albert Sinatra of Hoboken, NJ. Meeting this great lady in person, who then was 84 years old and in declining health but still very active, was the highlight of my week. My boss, knowing my interest in the music, arranged for me to assist in her title closing, and we did that at her condo, which was a treat. Her place was like a museum, with all the gold records, pictures with celebs, and other memorabilia. It was good I got to see her then, because less than 3 years later she had passed away, but not before she blessed me with a copy of her biography, written by Richard Grudens and entitled Snooty Little Cutie. It was a fond experience though all the way around.
I have thought about doing my own history of the big dance bands, but to be honest it would be complicated. Reason is, it is just overwhelming the history and information I have learned from my 30-plus years of collecting this great stuff. I have read the "canonical" big band books, things such as George T. Simon's The Big Bands, Leo Walker's Wonderful Era of the Great Dance Bands, and Albert McCarthy's The Dance Band Era, all of which are part of my library as well as of course Brian Rust's monumental American Dance Band Discography, a valuable - albeit expensive! - but rare resource that chronicles practically every record of every big band that ever existed up to about 1942 or so. Recording-wise, I have in my possession the "Holy Grail" of big band collections too, the Franklin Mint Greatest Recordings of the Big Band Era, a monster collection that was released in the early 1980's consisting of 100 red-vinyl LP's featuring about 250 orchestras. Thank God for EBay with that one! That, along with my collection of around 900 other LP's and about 1100 CD's, gives me a rare perspective on the music. In all my listening and research, I have seen various theories as to who was the first actual dance band. Some writers say Art Hickman deserves the title, while others say Wilbur Sweatman, and still others say James Reese Europe. However, as it turns out, there were big dance bands long before any of these were making records, and the one person who sticks out to me is Will Marion Cook, an African-American composer/bandleader/playwright who had one of the first touring big bands back in the 1880's. It is quite unfortunate that he was around too early for recordings (although cylinders did exist, and that would be some find to have Will Marion Cook's original music on one!), but he is the guy I personally feel from whom evolved the whole big band genre. And, good reason for it - he groomed and developed the musicianship of both Sydney Bichet and Duke Ellington, which in itself is fascinating. I would go as far as to say that without a Will Marion Cook, there would have been no Duke Ellington. Cook's impact on the style that would later make Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Lawrence Welk (along with hundreds of others) household names is one of the most understated footnotes in American popular music, yet it is something that I feel is vital. Some may disagree with my hypothesis on that, and that is OK - we all appreciate good music enough to debate the fact, so that is cool - but it just makes sense to me to trace the evolution of big dance bands back to Will Marion Cook.
Another thing that I feel has been under-documented is the ethnic contribution to the big bands. Klezmer, polkas, etc., have contributed richly to the big band experience, and although purists on both sides of the fence differ with that somewhat, the fact cannot be denied. Polka, in particular, has been oft-overlooked, and this despite the fact that "Whoopie John" Wilfahrt and Harold Loeffelmacher's Six Fat Dutchmen, both of New Ulm, MN, had for all intents and purposes big bands that played polkas! Then, there is German-born Will Glahe, as well as my fellow Tucker County native Frankie Yankovic - not to mention modern "polka king" Jimmy Sturr, who has in my estimation done more to preserve big band music than many today have. Polkas have been an integral part of big bands for a long time (Lawrence Welk come to mind? Remember, he was a polka musician before he was a sweet bandleader!) and being polkas are a dance, and orchestras play them for dance music, it is only logical to conclude that polka bands - especially those of the 1920's-1950's - were big bands for all intents and purposes. And, personally, polka music is what introduced me to the big bands, and they have always been intertwined as far as I am concerned. Again, some may respectfully disagree, and that's fine - again, people can appreciate good music from different perspectives on it.
I honestly need to address something else too - I hate rock music, and to me anyone who has good taste and a discerning ear cannot take that crap seriously. I know some will disagree with that too, but in that case I don't give a rat's behind - it's chaotic noise with no form, no substance to it, and also is spiritually detrimental, and a person with the sense God gave a goose would have nothing to do with it, I am sorry. I have said many times that God gave me a love of the big bands to protect me, and seeing what rock music creates in the way of values, I feel very blessed to have been shielded from its influence. And now, they want to bring it in churches as "worship" music - please, if I didn't listen to it before I was a Christian, then why would I want my senses subjected to that garbage as a Christian?? I have dealt with the theological aspects of that on my other page, so I won't do that here. However, I will say this - I am too good for rock music, and am not ashamed to say it. God gave us better creativity and sensitivity to aesthetics, and we should have the good sense to exercise that gifting and tell rock music and its creators and performers to stick it where the sun don't shines. Just my humble opinion, so take it for what you want.
That being said, I will stop rambling for today, and hopefully will see you all again soon. Take care and God bless.
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