Or, My Six Months a Rock Star

If you didn’t know, the formal definition of Rumspringa is “a rite of passage during (male) adolescence, used in some Amish communities.” (Wikipedia elaborates here.) For these young men, Rumspringa normally begins at age 16 and ends between ages 17 and 21, when they choose either to be baptized in the Amish church or to leave the community. So…let me tell y’all about my previous six months or so since leaving the halfway house, falling back on the 5th Amendment where necessary.

Poets might agree that absence, or in my case abstinence, makes the heart grow fonder (and the liver grow smaller.) But I’ll say, without too much guilt and no overt tragedies to report, that for once in my six decades years I managed the opportunity to live out my rock star dreams. They say relapse is part of recovery, and without going into incriminating details, let’s just say I let it all hang out until just recently when, with God’s help, I landed (fairly) softly in a new sober house.

Relax, dear reader, it’s not nearly as insidious as you might think. Basically I ate, (deleted), (deleted) and made music until my savings (and court continuances) ran out. Songs and rhythms that had been in my head for years finally emerged into the light of studio recordings and music videos. And without knowing that God was along for the ride, I was truly blessed to connect with a legendary recording studio owner and engineer who, in turn, introduced me to some of the most accomplished musicians I’ll ever know, all way above my pay grade.

Still, I was on a mission (with some permission) and in six months, lo and behold, I had recorded the basis of a full album. Granted, the tracks still need final mixdown and some cohesive sequencing, but the heavy lifting (and playing) is already “in the can,” as we studio cats like to say…

And once again, as I focused on the sessions musically, God kept adding his two cents, sending me musicians and singers who I later found out were major players on the gospel and praise circuit. I hope they won’t mind me dropping their names, but vocalist Simone Brown, drummer Daviniel Nieves and Pastor Jonathan Dubose all appear in the videos linked below. Pastor Dubose especially is in demand nationwide for his unique mix of ministry and guitar mastery; please take a moment to spend a little time in his (and His) glory here.

So what’s the point of all this rap? I guess to remind us that God never gives up on Believers, and if we continue to turn it over to Him, he’ll always provide a new horizon, and maybe the right chord changes. Oh yeah, and that the musicians show up on time.

Speaking of new horizons, here’s a video we recorded earlier this year at Horizon Studios in West Haven, CT, recorded and mixed by owner/master engineer Vic Steffens (aka “Merlin”.) The track was co-written by the late Charlie Karp and my friend Rafe Klein, who also shot the video plus sings and plays guitar off-screen. (Shameless plug: please “Like” the vids and subscribe to Rafe’s YT page, many thanks in advance.)

“And the angels sing over one sinner who repents.” ~ Luke 15:10

Future post spoiler: Why horizons are the meeting place of Heaven and Earth.