How I Did It

“And I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball.”

It was July 1966 in Houston in my parents back yard. Red Rubber Ball by The Cyrkle was playing on my transistor radio next to the small plastic pool I splashed in as I and my brother, James, talked for hours imagining writing our songs and having them played on radios all over the world. We would ride our bikes for two miles to the Ben Franklin store where we would buy 45 rpm records. My brother’s first 45 was Lady Jane by The Rolling Stones. Mine was Batman Theme by Neil Hefti, as I was a huge fan of the Batman TV show.

My love for music came early. My father played records every night to put me and my five siblings to sleep. He played all kinds of music. Classical, pop, jazz, and more. I remember listening to Sing Along With Mitch, Andy Williams, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bach, and Mozart. One of my faves was Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a symphonic suite based on One Thousand Nights (a collection of Middle Eastern folktales also known as The Arabian Nights). I was caught up in the mystery of the Middle East, romanticized in the film Lawrence of Arabia and in pop music by the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood and Tomorrow Never Knows.

My love for music was well known to my family. Oftentimes, my brothers were outside playing catch and I would be in my bedroom listening to records and painting. I liked being outside, too, but, come on..priorities! I took trumpet lessons and played in my junior high and high school bands, eventually reaching first chair. In my freshman year of high school, the rented Bach trumpet my father had been paying for was repossessed in front of my classmates and teacher. It was humiliating, but I received the gift of a used Conn trumpet which sounded good and which I still have. When I was 11 or so, my parents divorced and, through the lack of almost any support from my father, my mother, myself,  and most of my siblings were forced into poverty. I took on part-time jobs cleaning schools and daycare facilities as I now had to buy my clothes and some food. It was all my little mother could do to keep a roof over our heads. The little frame house she rented had one small gas heater to heat the house and a plywood sliding door on the one bathroom. These were dark days, but my mom did the best she could and reminded us often that God was taking care of us.

My father, who had earlier promised to send me to the Julliard School, the most prestigious school for musical training in the country, bought me a second-hand acoustic-electric guitar. As my dream of attending Julliard was crushed, I guess buying me a guitar was at least something he could do for me, and, without a teacher, I did my best to pluck the out-of-tune strings in an attempt to play what I heard on the radio. Later, when the Jesus Movement was in full swing, I attended home gatherings where people sang songs mostly based on scripture. A friend who could play guitar showed me how to play two chords so I could accompany him.  That’s how I started playing music. I went on to teach myself many more chords and eventually bought my first guitar that would stay in tune. I had already been leading worship wherever people gathered in Christ’s name and loved doing it.

I met Kemper Crabb at United Saints Records and Tapes in Pasadena, TX, where he worked. We became fast friends and I eventually discovered that he was a recording artist for Star Song Records. He invited me to visit him in the studio when his Arkangel album was being recorded, which blew my mind with the possibilities that recording offered. I was fortunate to meet and get to know many artists there, which enhanced my life at the time greatly. During this period, I met and began performing with Glenn Berridge, another local artist in search of expanding his musical base. We performed our original songs along with some by others in coffee houses and BBQ restaurants in Houston. We recorded a demo at Star Song,  which although a great experience for us, was not picked up by the label. Glenn taught me much about arranging and songwriting.  I treasure those days. We also continued to lead worship, now in small churches, as we both loved serving God in doing so.

After the demo went nowhere, Kemper invited me to play a gig with him and Dave Marshall in support of his Vigil album. I didn’t do well, but Kemper saw something in me and decided to teach me what I lacked. He was tough on me, which I didn’t like much. I had a choice to continue to be taught or to drop out which I knew would likely be the end of my progress as an artist. I had seen other talented folk end their musical pursuits when the going got tough.  Encouraged by the Holy Spirit, I was determined not to let my dream go. Kemper was always kind but didn’t back down. I had to learn to put my feelings on a back burner to learn the skills I so badly desired. Looking back, Kemper and I were both motivated to please the Living God.  To accomplish this meant to perform the hard work required to develop the talents which God had loaned to each of us. In this case, Kemper was teacher, and I was student. This relationship between Kemper and I has continued to this day as we continue to write and perform music for God’s glory. My new project, Realitorium, like its predecessor Bright Portal, is only the latest collaboration between Kemper and myself and also incorporates the talents of several of our friends including Phil Keaggy and Fletch Wiley. It has been my great privilege and joy to make these albums and to perform for God, my King.

My advice to young people who want to pursue their artistry is to pursue it with your whole heart, mind, and body. If you believe that God has called you to the vocation of music, then do all you can to learn. If your calling is to play the drums, then pursue it with all your might and the resources God has loaned to you. If you find that you don’t have the same resources (time, money, opportunities) that others enjoy, stop comparing your perceived shortcomings as shortcomings and, instead, embrace them for what they truly are: God’s gifts, made uniquely by Him for you and only for you. Work hard to understand this.  Over time, your attitude will change to one of thankfulness to God. Only in the lifelong pursuit of excellence will you and I glorify God, which is our primary calling in all that we do.