Nine things I ponder about the Church

I spent a lot of years despising the church and wishing she would just leave me alone. Now, I am an elder in Christ’s Church and do my best to serve the people God has placed under my care. Nevertheless, there are some things I wonder about the Church. Here are nine of the things I wonder about the Church. These are things I genuinely wonder about and some of these questions really do cause me to lose sleep. I’m not trying to be snarky so please don’t take offense.

9. What psychological triggers are at work that cause the overwhelming majority of people to raise their hands during “Awesome God” but not during “And Can It Be”?

8. When highly theological Reformed Presbyterian churches baptize their infants and then withhold the covenant meal for years and years until a “credible profession of faith” is made, aren’t they really setting children up to doubt rather than believe?

7. When two self-proclaimed infallible entities–let’s say Rome and Constantinople–both claim that they are the “true church” and that the other one is all wet, how can an individual determine which one is correct without the whole thing coming down to which liturgy, smells, bells, and iconography comport best with one’s personal preferences?

6. Singing words all together in worship is hunky dory. Saying words all together in worship is weird and cult-like. Why?

5. I wonder if anyone feels like I do when I say, “I have lots of other things that satisfy my warm fuzzy needs. I attend church weekly to satisfy other needs and experience other things.”

4. Evangelicals complain about Roman Catholic services where “the people up front do most of the work while the congregation observes.” Then evangelicals design worship services where the people up front do most of the work while the congregation observes. Why?

3. Why is it when a pastor talks about himself all of the time in the pulpit he is automatically seen as “humble” and “vulnerable” while the pastor who says “Thus says the Lord” is automatically seen as arrogant and hard-hearted?

2. If some modern praise & worship is an example of “the devil not having all the good music,” then I think the devil must have had lousy musical taste to begin with.

1. I have heard scads of sermons preaching about what 1 Peter 3:21 doesn’t mean. I have never heard one about what it does mean. Why?

Ten things I miss about being a bass player

For the better part of the 1990s I concentrated on being a bass player. I put down or sold all of my guitars and played only bass. Electric bass was my main instrument while pursuing my Bachelor of Music Ed degree at Wichita State University. I gigged a lot as a bass player, subscribed to Bass Player Magazine, learned to play some upright bass, and REALLY concentrated on learning the instrument from the ground up. I LOVED bass players and being one of them. The bass players that I hung out with were a funny, laid back, sarcastic lot that dug all kinds of music and were dependable and professional.

But three years ago, I pulled a 180 (or maybe came full circle) by putting down my basses and picking up the guitar again. I decided to do that for a myriad of reasons, but my love for bassists and bass playing still burns. My bass player friends are REALLY cool people and there are things about playing the bass that I miss. Here are ten of them (in no particular order):

10. Tuning issues

When I would get to a electric bass gig I would tune up my instruments and away we would go. I wouldn’t touch the tuners for the rest of the night. With guitars I am fussing with the tuners after every song. I had boutique basses that cost thousands of dollars and were extraordinarily reliable, but I’ve played with cheaper basses (monetarily speaking) that were just as reliable. Thinner strings, bent notes, whammy bars, and atmospheric conditions all conspire to make guitar tuning an adventure.

9. The ability to influence the groove AND the harmony at the same time

The primary function of most electric bass players is to find the groove and nail it. Country bassists need to have a specific feel. Jazz bass players have a “walking bass” groove that is unmistakable. Rock bassists are called upon to cover all sorts of things. But the best of all of those players know their role and fill it. At the same time, subtle shifts in the bass will often shift the tonality of the music. The master of this was Jaco Pastorius. His bass playing NEVER strayed from the groove and yet he spit out an immense amount of melodic material. Listen to the Weather Report tune “Palladium” from the album Heavy Weather (youtube here). Pastorius grooves like mad but continually changes the melodic shape of the music by adding in dissonance, slides, and extended harmonies…all in the bass. That is a magical thing and something that guitar players rarely get a chance to do.

8. Always knowing where you stand in the rhythm section

A guitar player can feel like a third wheel in a popular music rhythm section. He belongs there but the marriage of the bass player to the drummer is often so tight that the guitar player feels like the odd man out.

7. The beauty of boutique basses

I am a total sucker for the beauty of sunburst Les Paul Standards (espeically if they were made in 1959) but I am of the opinion that boutique electric guitars pale in comparison to their low-end boutique brethren. Google companies like Fodera, Ritter, Sadowsky, F Bass, Alembic, and Zon and take a look at their stunning instruments. Wow!

6. The easy camaraderie of bass players

As I said before, most of the bass players I know are an easy-going lot who usually enjoy each other’s company. Guitar players can be ultra-competitive and rarely hang out together. Why is that?

5. The ability to disappear into the background

As long as the groove is happening bass players can stand back by the drummer and become nearly invisible. Guitar players have solos to take, pedal boards to fool with, guitars to be switched out, etc. The guitar player is rarely invisible in a popular music setting.

4. Being able to make one’s pant leg flap in the wind by playing the low B string on a 5-string bass

‘Nuff said about this one.

3. Not having to worry (for the most part) about picks

Unless they are playing certain types of rock or country music, bass players don’t usually have to show up with picks. The fingers on their picking hand are all that are needed. Most electric guitar players need to worry about picks. I sweat profusely and my picks slip constantly. Gorilla Snot has come in really handy since I went back to playing guitar but it would be nice not to have to worry about it at all.

2. The beauty of the acoustic bass

The acoustic bass is a daunting, harsh mistress that defies a bass player’s every effort to play her. She resists easy cuddling and is awkward to hold. She is difficult to play in tune. She demands that the bow be held just right before she yields any sort of usable tone. She is bulky and not easily transported. And yet many, MANY electric bass players are wooed by her siren song and cannot resist the urge to try doubling on the acoustic bass. I know. I was one of those that fell under her spell and I don’t know that I’ve ever awakened. In my hands the acoustic bass was a worthless hunk of wood. In the hands of a master (like Edgar Meyer…see here) the acoustic bass is a pillowy mistress that beckons to electric bassists to give her a try.

1. Not having to go deaf in order to get a good tone

It is a fact of life…plugging an electric guitar into a tube amp and turning the amp up loud makes a very beautiful and musical noise. The problem is this: Plugging an electric guitar into a tube amp and turning the amp up loud makes a very beautiful and musical AND LOUD noise. There all sorts of ways to try to circumvent this but none of them sound quite as good as plugging in and turning things up. Bass players don’t have nearly as much trouble. A great bass played at a moderate level through an amp is usually all that is needed for getting a great bass sound.

Of course there are drawbacks to being a bass player. The amps are usually heavier. Carrying around an acoustic bass is no picnic. Electric bass strings cost a LOT more than guitar strings, not to mention the cost of replacement acoustic bass strings. However, being a bass player is a great thing and I love and admire my low-end brothas and sistahs.

Alleva

Top 10 albums of 2009

Below are my Top 10 CD purchases of 2009 (in no particular order). What this means is that of all of the CDs I purchased last year, these are my faves. Note that the some of the discs were released way before 2009. In this case, for whatever reason, I purchased the disc in 2009.

10. No Line on the Horizon – U2
The big blockbuster album of the year and, for the most part, it did not disappoint. U2, Eno, and Lanois unleashed No Line on the Horizon in late February and embarked on a world tour later in the year. U2 fans are apt to compare the latest album to what came before and I am of the opinion that No Line sounds a lot like Achtung Baby. The lyrical content is some of the most blatantly Christian of the band’s career (“Magnificent” being a great example) and the music is outstanding. The band has stated their disappointment with sales of the album but, in the age of downloading single tracks, I’m not sure albums are even a valid concept anymore.

9. The Ballad of John Henry – Joe Bonamassa
The Ballad of John Henry is guitarist Joe Bonamassa’s finest studio album to date. It is an album full of blues rock goodness that finally showcases equal amounts of songcraft and stunning musicianship. Bonamassa has always impressed with his audacious guitar skills. His songs, however, have always been somewhat uneven. The album is full of slower songs about broken hearts, pain, and despair. Bonamassa has said that all of this is autobiographical as he wrote most of the album following a bad breakup. The inclusion of Ike & Tina Turner’s “Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” and Tom Waits’ “Jockey Full of Bourbon” are huge surprises. The highlight of the album is the slow burn of “Stop!” where Bonmassa implores “You better stop before you tear me all apart.” And when he sings it, you feel it down in your bones.

8. O How the Mighty Have Fallen – The Choir
After a five year hiatus, The Choir put out some new music in 2005 with O How The Mighty Have Fallen. The album continues on with the leitmotif of every Choir album, Christian faith in the midst of life’s struggles. Fortuantely the band continues to excel both lyrically and musically and there is a lightness and joy even in the midst of the serious subject matter.. It is interesting to hear how Steve Hindalong’s feelings about parenting have changed from a daughter who was full of “wide-eyed wonder” to one of concern for a daughter who is struggling in the song “She’s Alright.” Also, who else but The Choir could compose a pop song that manages to cover plastic swordplay, covenant succession, and Hüsker Dü in 3 1/2 minutes (“Fine Fun Time”)? This is a deeply great album created by a deeply great band.

7. Performing this Week…Live at Ronnie Scott’s – Jeff Beck
Fans who took in the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival raved about Jeff Beck and his band. Beck, evidently sensing the power of the unit, scheduled a series of concerts at London’s fabled Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and recorded a live album and DVD. Beck is accompanied by drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, keyboardist Jason Rebello, and bassist Tal Wilkenfeld. Although each member stretches out at various points (Wilkenfeld’s bass solo on “‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” is a show-stopper) the focus is squarely on Beck as he tears through his back catalog with a vengeance. The album ends with the haunting instrumental “Where Were You.” Here Beck sings, cries, moans, and shouts with as much emotion as a vocalist, showing that an electric guitar can sing as effectively as a human being, but only in the right hands.

6. Black Clouds & Silver Linings – Dream Theater
This is a 2009 release and it surely go down as one of the high points in Dream Theater history. The album manages to seamlessly combine the two different sides of the band’s personality: their experimental, proggy side with their überheavy metallic side. The term “progressive metal” is finally a good descriptor of the band’s music. They are progressive and metallic all at the same time. “A Nightmare to Remember” is a daring 16 minute opening track. “Wither” is perhaps the best ballad the band has written. “The Shattered Fortress” is a fitting end to drummer Mike Portnoy’s “AA saga.” And “The Best of Times” is a moving tribute to Portnoy’s deceased father and features some of guitarist John Petrucci’s most heartfelt soloing. Black Clouds and Silver Linings is as as dense and challenging as any album in Dream Theater’s impressive discography.

5. By A Thread – Gov’t Mule
Gov’t Mule produces some of the biggest, fattest, and nastiest blues-rock this side of the Pecos. The band’s sound is what ZZ Top would sound like had that little ol’ band from Texas not discovered synthesizers and sequencers. Warren Haynes is Gov’t Mule’s guitarist and lead vocalist and his voice and guitar are right up front on this album. By a Thread proves that there is still music out there that feels like it was recorded like a live band in the studio. It is a throaty masterpiece of an album that should delight Mule-heads and bring many more new fans into the fold.

4. Fahrenheit [Remaster] – Toto
This album was originally released in 1986 in the heyday of pristine, brittle CD transfers. In other words, it has needed a remaster for a very long time. It finally received one in 2009 thanks to the fine folks at Friday Music. Thankfully the Friday Music folks get how to do remasters. Fahrenheit does not receive the squashed, over-compressed treatment. Rather, this is a legit remaster job with a modest volume boost and a huge improvement in clarity. The percussion tracks and Mike Porcaro’s bass all benefit from the better sonics. This album contains two hits (“I’ll Be Over You” and “Without Your Love”) and listening to them on this edition is like hearing them for the first time. If you liked this album when it was released the first time, you will LOVE this remastered edition.

3. The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition – Les Paul with Mary Ford
When Les Paul died on August 12, 2009, the music industry lost one of the last of their giants. Paul was responsible for so many innovations history has probably lost count. His two major innovations were the invention of multi-track recording (the ability to record multiple tracks onto a tape machine) and the popularization of the solidbody electric guitar. Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford were pop music icons in the 1950s and had a number of beautiful hit songs. Most of those hits are gathered together into The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition. All of trademarks are here: Mary’s beautifully layered vocals, Les’ shimmering guitar work, and great songs. How interesting that the Gibson Les Paul would go on to obtain a reputation (when paired with a Marshall amplifier) as a distortion monster of a guitar. Les Paul’s guitar work never even imagines the world of distortion, as Les uses crystal clear tones to weave his magic.

2. Out Standing in Their Field - Steve Morse Band
Steve Morse had not released a Steve Morse Band album since 2002′s Split Decision. In 2009 he decided to rectify that situation by reuniting with his trusty rhythm section of bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Van Romaine and release Out Standing in Their Field. The album does nothing to change Morse’s template over his past album. The songs include several Led Zep-esque rockers, a chicken-pickin’ tune, a mellow song, and a quasi-classical piece with a title containing a cornball play on word “baroque” (this time it is “Baroque ‘N Dreams”). Fans of Morse’s guitar music will most certainly rejoice as the man has lost none of his legendary technique and his compositional prowess continues to shine.

1. Live & Live Some More: Dallas ’94 - King’s X
This disc captures one of King’s X’s most legendary performances, a 1994 gig in Dallas, Texas during the “Dogman” Tour. There are 16 songs here all performed beautifully by a band firing on a cylinders. The live versions of “Pillow,” “Fool You,” and “We Were Born to be Loved” are some of the best versions of the tunes that I have ever heard. Long a favorite among King’s X bootleg traders, Live & Live Some More is a welcome treat to the band’s die-hard fans.