Got Norm?

This is Kris at the keyboard. The week has had a lot of developments in our part of the woods. The songs I've been working on are coming out great. One of them that I'm very excited about is Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers. I'm now sort of jealous of Nick; I asked him to sing it and I would play it on the guitar. I've had so much fun with it that it's fun to play and sing. Yet, having given it more thought, I am happy to just play the guitar and allow Nick to reveal his soul through the mic.

One thing we have decided recently is that we can alternate breaks, that way one of us can recharge while the other keeps the crowd entertained. Obviously, this means some solo work will need to be worked on. Although I have some old solos ready to go, I'd like to learn some new ones. I'll open up my collection to Nick so he can decide if he wants to do any of them.

On the business side of this adventure, The Normies are starting to get the word out. Yesterday, I participated in the meeting of the NC Synod's Global Mission and World Hunger Committee. It was a pleasant meeting and I was given the opportunity to speak about the endeavors Nick and I are setting out upon. The committee seemed very receptive of our plans and quite supportive of them. This coming week I'll be out of town a few days for the NC Synod Convocation. This convo is open to any NC Lutheran congregation's staff members. Not all of the congregations are represented, but a vast majority are. I hope to pass out more information there as well.

Soon I'll have prepared and uploaded to this page a document that will provide the instructions for individuals/congregations/communities on how they can get their donation supplemented by Thrivent Financial. It will also include a step by step guide for planning a performance with us.

Nick is working with his connections on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus to see if the Campus Activities Board can host us as performers. Instead of paying us like they would a normal act, we would ask that the same amount of money would be donated for the World Hunger Appeal. This is news to Nick, but today I discussed the same possibilities with my connections at Belmont Abbey College. BAC hosts a Hunger Week every year in November, and it may work out that we perform during the campus party. This is all still in discussion, but it is an exciting prospect and will likely be a great kick off for our touring.

~ Make a joyful noise to the Lord.

Behind the Music

Ok, enough about hurdles; let's talk about the fun stuff: the music. When Kris performed at the Well House in June, he was very specific about the music he chose. I got involved when he decided that he wanted to perform a duet (If I Had a Million Dollars) and a song that involved rapping (Waterfalls by TLC). We then added another song (Let her Cry, with an interlude of Every Rose Has Its Thorn) to our set, which supplemented the other two sets Kris performed. We learned that we needed to expand our repetoir that night. The manager asked us to keep playing, but we only had so many songs that we both knew (all listed above).

So, we set out to select some new music (to add to the above list). This involved the creation of three CDs and a supplementary list to choose from. We then narrowed those CDs down to about 30 songs. Currently, we are working on eliminating songs from this list that may be too complicated or not as good a fit as we thought.

To give you an idea: We will probably perform Stuck in a Moment by U2. It is an upbeat song, but has a good message and is fairly recognizable because of radio airplay in 2001. We'd like to play Closing Time by Semisonic, but we will have to work at some things to do the song justice. Then there are some songs we'd love to do, but our talent only extends so far.

We're working on songs like Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman, The Promise by When in Rome, and I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers, but one thing we are try to be careful about is playing to the right crowd. At the Well House, we played some great music, but we were more focused on what we wanted to play than they would enjoy hearing. This made for awkward references and a ranging interest from the crowd. We won't make that mistake again.
After we narrow these 30 songs down, we'll go back to the drawing board and add songs that we feel confident about (including songs from the last performance) and begin to work on set lists for the variety of shows we hope to have. The same sets won't work on a college campus and retirement community. It's even a stretch to think that we can play the same sets at a church and a coffee house. So we will work to find the right blend of songs that will uplift the crowd and entertain them enough to support our cause.

And you all thought we just got up there and rocked out.

~Make a joyful noise unto the Lord