Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It’s simply a perfect commemoration in my opinion.  We’re thanking God for all the blessings in our lives and we’re doing it together with family and friends, with traditional American foods, and lots of laughter.  At least, that’s what Thanksgiving has always been for me in the past.  I hope your Thanksgiving was a great one!

This year, I sacrificed my Thanksgiving to serve as entertainment to the annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Desert Rose Baha’i Institute in Eloy, AZ.  There weren’t nearly as many people there this year as I have seen in the past.  Perhaps it was the rain that made those dirt roads slick as snot on a porcelain doorknob.  My car is a mess.  It now looks “Adobe”.  I hope the folks that came and stayed for my part of the show enjoyed it at least as much as the “opening act”.  For those of you that have never seen a geriatric belly-dance review (I kid you not), well you just missed it…

Hey!  I just received the approval of the “Review Office” at our Baha’i National Center for the new CD “Each One Teach One – Songs for the Army of Light”.  That means I got the quotation correct on “Shores of Paradise” and haven’t violated anyone’s sense of dignity I suppose.  But, this takes a way a cool marketing ploy. I was considering hawking this CD as “unauthorized Baha’i music” as a humorous way of appealing to the rebellious side of our nature.  Oh well, now I’m just another selection in the growing list of Baha’i-oriented music being reviewed for dignity and accuracy by our national administration.  Now I need to get hooked up with an MP3 download site (likely CD baby) and start promoting it to the Baha’i Community.

I’ll be at the Colorado Springs Baha’i Center this Sunday.  That is, if snow storms or other weather and airline phenomena don’t prevent me.

///Darrell

Darrell Rodgers                                             

Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist

http://darrellsongs.com  

Devon Gundry’s FANTASTIC Video!

Please dear friends, have a look at Devon Gundry’s new video. This could be the most powerfully moving video I have seen in years.  It’s a rendition of a quote from the Baha’i Writings “Armed with the Power of Thy Name…”  It’s a prayer for protection.

Devon’s video brought tears to my eyes, not just for the sentiment but for the pride I felt for Devon.  I first heard him sing this tune a few years ago at the Music Industry Weekend at Bosch Baha’i School.  That’s where Devon met his producer, Kelly Snook.  I called Kelly today to congratulate her on the fine sound mix and she told me they have an even better one ready to marry up to the video.  Even so, the one you’ll hear is great. 

CLICK HERE>> Devon Gundry’s “ARMED” video on vimeo 

You’ll see some very talented Baha’is in this video (Like the famous Alex Rocco and Red Grammer) but please note also the video Director/Producer, Justin Baldoni, and Cinematographer, Reuben Steinberg.  These two deserve some special acclaim.

I am in awe.

///Darrell

 

Darrell Rodgers                                             

Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist

http://darrellsongs.com   

 

 

What a Weekend! Home from Music Industry Weekend

Well, we did it again!  Another FANTASTIC weekend of music in the Redwoods of Bosch Baha’i School. It was a wet, wet, wet weekend – 3-inches of rainfall in two and a half days.  Still not enough to dampen our spirits or slow us down at all.  By Sunday morning the sun reappeared and all was well for our trip home. 
It was really great to see my musical comrades once again and play music with them.  Of all the Baha’i events I attend each year, the Music Industry Weekend stands out as the best.  Check out the website for links to pictures of this year’s event.
I took along a box of my New CD “Each One Teach One – Songs for the Army of Light”  I managed to sell or trade a bunch of them and came home with CDs from some of my friends.  If you have not yet heard The Bohnoff’s new CD “Mobius Street”, I encourage you to check it out. What a finely produced CD! 

Jeff & Maya Bohnoff

 Jeff Bohnoff presented a workshop on digital recording and humbly prefaced his remarks by saying “I’m not a recording Engineer, just a guy who has learned some things”.  Well Jeff, there’s no greater proof of that than your new CD.  Besides, we know what you do for a living at Apple.  You’re the guy Recording Engineers call when they need help.  We could not have asked for a better presenter.

Ali Youssefi

Kudos also to Ali Youssefi – a fine musician.  I once commented that Ali’s music “had a simple elegance that masked its sophistication”. He showed some of that sophistication this weekend quite clearly.  And since Ali has a degree in “Music Therapy”  I might just have to call on him to straighten out my head from time to time!

Now it’s time to re-group here in Tucson and get my “studio” set-up to record some “secular” tunes to submit to the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association annual Folk festival selection committee.  This should be fun.

///Darrell

 

Darrell Rodgers                                             

Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Humorist

http://darrellsongs.com