Independence Day and face melting

This week was perhaps the most intense yet here at Camp of the Woods. The concerts over Independence Day weekend are some of the most anticipated events of the summer from the Camp of the Woods orchestra. I’ve got to admit, I was pretty moved to be a part of it. We had a color guard of four soldiers from the 10th Mountain division at Fort Drum come to present the flag and perform a flag folding ceremony. All of these young men had been in direct contact with terrorist elements in Afghanistan and had engaged in fighting at altitudes of 10,000 feet. We also had a Brigadier General, who is the father of one of the singers on the music staff, come to read the Declaration of Independence. This guy has been a test pilot for many years, has logged over 3000 hours of flight time, and oversaw the F-22 fighter jet project. He was just promoted to a position at the Pentagon where he will oversee all Naval covert operations.

The concert itself contained 16 separate pieces of music. I played for every one of them. The concert was divided into essentially three acts. The first contained some traditional patriotic songs (including “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Copland and “The Star-Spangled Banner”). The second act was a mock radio show from the ‘40s, with a bunch of Glenn Miller big band stuff. The third act contained more modern patriotic songs, my favorite of which was “Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams, from the Saving Private Ryan soundtrack. During this piece, there were pictures of members of the armed forces from WWII to the present shown on a projection screen. It was powerful. (By the way, if you haven’t heard “Hymn to the Fallen,” definitely check it out.) And, of course, we closed with "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Although I am grateful to be here and to be a part of the most professional music ensemble I have yet experienced, I miss rock. My reading is getting way better, and my tempo has been honed further. My jazz playing is improving remarkably quickly. But I want to rock. I play in a music ensemble where my default volume level is AT LEAST two dynamic markings below what is indicated by the music, and I wanna rock out. For chapels, we play songs by Lincoln Brewster and Israel Houghton that need to be so hot they melt peoples faces, but we aren’t even getting them warm. Chord progressions that you find in popular worship music today don’t sound interesting when the brass or the strings or the woodwinds or even piano take the lead on everything. Give me some freakin’ guitar!!!! I am getting exceptionally good at playing softly, but sometimes I just wanna unload. I am so looking forward to getting back to Visible and playing some Spirit-led, spontaneous and prophetic, passion-filled, unleash-the-rock worship. I’m already planning on bathing myself in rock during the drive back to Memphis. In the meantime, I’ll have to continue practicing putting the music first and yielding to Dr. John, even if I think the music could use some more rock and the director does not.

(By the way, Dr. John is fantastic and always encouraging me, and we get along great. We just come from very different backgrounds. I’ve got all the respect in the world for him.)