Tempo in a Praise Band

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:43 am

Sing along with me:

"I'm being followed by a Dept. of Homeland Security shadow..."

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:48 am

My first reaction is, that hymn was around LONG before Cat(Yusef) and I discovered it, and it will be around a LONG time after we're gone. My guess is, it wasn't the hymn that put the feds on his trail.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:59 am

Nah, yer right...fer sure it was 'Peace Train"...

One of the funny things that happened this weekend was the arrival of a throng of African Americans at the same hotel, all wearing matching blue t-shirts with the name of their family reunion on the back and "TRUE BELIEVERS IN CHRIST" in really large letters on the front. They gathered in a large group in front of the entrance, while hundreds of Muslim passed them, coming and going through the doors...and there was not one incident! Everyone kept their cool...only in America, I say...that wacky country that was the first in the world to try the crazy 'No National Religion' thing! My heart swelled with relief, if not pride.

Then, when I saw the black folks bringing a pickup truck with a 55-gallon-drum barbecue in the bed into the parking lot, I offered up a prayer to every god an Agnostic can think of that they were not planning to cook a pig...

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:02 am

He's long been off the hook for that misunderstanding. Back in something like 2004, he was coming to the US to work on a project with Dolly Parton. (She recorded "Where Do the Children Play?" and he played guitar on the track.) His plane was diverted to Maine and he was deported back to the UK. After a lot of back and forth by the likes of Jack Straw and Colin Powell, it came to light that Cat (Yusuf Islam) shares a similar name to a "known terrorist" named Youssef Islam.

So be careful with the guesses... Like many of us, Cat Stevens is devoted to his religion and also spends most of his time promoting this weird concept of Peace on Earth. Since this isn't really a Cat Stevens thread, I'll get off my jousting horse, but first, before we write him off as some sort of terrorist flake, check out how he responded to the September 11th tragedy:

From Wikipedia:

Yusuf Islam immediately and vehemently spoke out against the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, saying:

"I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action: The Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment."[26]

He appeared on videotape on a VH-1 pre-show for the October 2001 Concert for New York City, condemning the attacks and singing his song "Peace Train" for the first time in public in more than 20 years--an a cappella version. He also donated half of his box-set royalties to the September 11 Fund for victims' families, and the other half to orphans in underdeveloped countries.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:20 am

Mark, I was only kiddin' with the 'Peace Train' guess...I would hope it apparent that I wouldn't write him off as a 'flake', or anything else. I don't care where he got it, he has "the right idea".

I s'pose if you were flying into Saudi Arabia with a name like 'Joe Christian', you might have a similar problem...especially if you were carrying a guitar and going on about peace...you'll make yourself a lot of enemies everywhere with that kind of behavior, no matter what your name is...that's all I'm saying.

I'm sure Tommy Chong really was busted for glass, not his ideology or views on the War.
(I gotta get an emoticon that denotes sarcasm, or I'm just gonna dig myself in deeper...)

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:03 pm

Nor am I Yusuf's #1 fan...it's just very easy to ride the train of Foregone Conclusion. Cat's a weird cat and no longer even a cat...but a threat to our society? Naw.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:08 pm

No more than Tommy Chong is...or Dolly Parton, for that matter...

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:20 pm

I have as much fun as the next guy making light of Cat, but this song means a whole lot to me, any way you slice it.

Father
Its not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
Youre still young, thats your fault,
Theres so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but Im happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that its not easy,
To be calm when youve found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything youve got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

Son
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
Its always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

Father
Its not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
Youre still young, thats your fault,
Theres so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but Im happy.
Son
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
Its hard, but its harder to ignore it.
If they were right, Id agree, but its them you know not me.
Now theres a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:22 pm

Oh, but Dolly Parton IS dangerous.

Parton says, "When I have sex with my husband these days, I fantasize I am with someone like Keith Urban or a petite, hot young woman." And the candid conversations don't end there - Parton told a British magazine her first crush was on a Tennessee hooker. She explains, "I thought she was beautiful. She had more hair, more color, more everything."

So there. Don't judge a book by its bosoms.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:23 pm

Charly, that is one of many all-time greats by Cat. As songwriters go, he was one of the best. I'm really not hearing it with his newer stuff, though.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:54 pm

I dunno, Mark...your Dolly stories sound somewhat inflated...

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:32 pm

Ok, here's what fixed our tempo problems.

1. Switched from SVT Classic to B2RE
2. Cranked for max mids.
3. Play very close to bridge on fast songs
4. Stand next to guitarist/singer

It's been two weeks in a row of good tempo!!!

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:35 am

Congrats, Charlie...it gets a lot more fun once the band's 'together'.

When playing bass, I find a good, stout pair of steel-toed combat boots can help to emphasize the quarter-note pulse when applied in time to the front of the drum riser.

ajish4 · Post by **ajish4** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:43 am

"So there. Don't judge a book by its bosoms."

Hmmm, I wouldn't mind READING that book!

Sorry, my bad...

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:58 am

Ha! Tony you make me raff!

Charly, very glad to hear that. What a cool resource this is!