The BEST Concert EVER!

Concert Review
Collective Soul
With Black Stone Cherry
House of Blues, Dallas
Sept 2, 2009


How does one review the BEST concert they've ever attended? Well, I'll give it a shot.
So you know, I'm no concert novice. I tried to count how many I've been to and got lost somewhere over 120...so I've seen some great shows! Name a great live classic rock band, and I've probably seen them, same with Contemporary Christian music and even some more current bands like Seether, Three Days Grace, and local favorites The Leo Project, etc.

Now, I know it sounds rather crazy to drive from Kansas City to Dallas for a concert. We'd seen Collective Soul in Herrin, IL and in KC already this year. But when we heard they were doing a few shows with Black Stone Cherry, we really hoped they would announce one nearby. But Dallas was as close as the two bands would be together, so we thought "why not?"

My son is 17 and a guitar player, and he LOVES BSC. I'm a Gospel singer (much older than 17 LOL) and have been a huge Collective Soul fan since the first time I heard "Shine" back in 1994. I'd seen them in 1996 and 2000, and then hadn't been to many concerts for several years due to an injury. So this trip was a huge leap of faith on my part, that I'd even be able to withstand the drive to Dallas and back.

The show opened with Ryan Star. Grandma always told me if I didn't have something nice to say not to say anything at all...so moving on.

Black Stone Cherry opened their set with "Rain Wizard" and it was electrifying!!! We knew BSC were great musicians, but we weren't aware how very well they draw the crowd into the music! And it was an unbelievably high-energy show! They were fantastic! "Blind Man" and "Lonely Train" were also almost musically perfect, and were a load of FUN to watch. Ben Wells' blond hair was all over the place! lol
And I was so very impressed with Chris Robertson's ability to "work the crowd". Jon Lawhon and John Fred Young were amazing musicians to watch as well. They even did an excellent cover of "Just Got Paid" by ZZ Top.

When Collective Soul came out, we knew they'd be opening with "Welcome All Again" from their new CD. Since we saw them in June, they'd seriously upgraded their light show and now had a huge banner with the CD cover on it. This added some to the show, but again, it was their amazing ENERGY that drew the crowd in! CS followed their opener with "Tremble for My Beloved", "Heavy", "Listen"...they included "Needs" which in four previous shows I'd attended, I'd never seen them do live! It was AWESOME!!! Joel Kosche, lead guitar, covered the orchestral part beautifully!

Next they got into some of the new songs, featuring "Dig" (probably my fave from the new CD), "You" and "Lighten Up" before going back to some of their older songs. Drummer Cheney Brannon brought a fresh rock energy to the band that really helped build the crowd’s excitement. As always, Ed and Dean Roland are masterful musicians and a load of fun to watch. Also, a new addition to the set list, Joel sang his song from "Afterwords" "I Really Don't Need Any More Friends" and it was great. "Better Now" ended the first part of the show. When CS came back out, Ed was wearing a BSC shirt (which I thought was great!) and they did another new song "Staring Down". Then Ed shared about his and Dean's dad having been a minister. Told how when he'd written this next song, he re-read the words and thought, "I sound just like my dad!" Then he proceeded to recite the lyrics, doing an impression of his late father, before going into "Gel". How wonderful for an artist to feel like he can share things like that with his audience!

CS closed the set with "Run" and the band slowly walked off stage, leaving Ed and his acoustic guitar to finish the song. It was beautiful, and I didn't want it to end!

I can say without a doubt this was the BEST concert I've ever attended! I hope to see both these bands again as soon as possible, and I strongly recommend anyone reading this to watch for the next visit by Collective Soul and Black Stone Cherry…these guys put on one heck of a show!

Political Matters

Political Matters

As you all know, I’m conservative politically. If you don’t agree with me on these matters, I understand, and that’s what democracy is all about. The things I’m about to say, apply no matter what your political beliefs.

Healthcare reform

Out of the 535 members of both houses of Congress, as of today (July 31, 2009) only 104 have pledged to read the proposed bill before voting on it. I am outraged that the drafters of this bill have made it so overwhelmingly complex that even their colleagues won’t read it! That being said, it is truly unacceptable that any member of Congress would vote on any bill without reading it. If they haven’t read it, their votes are clearly either because they “owe” someone a favor or they are voting along straight party lines. Neither of those excuses is reasonable! We have a responsibility to monitor what our elected officials do in Washington, and IF they aren’t fairly representing the wishes of their constituents, they NEED to be voted out!!! Let’s take this responsibility seriously and pay attention to how our Congressional leaders vote. Our apathy is exactly how things in Washington have gotten so far from what the founding fathers agreed to when drafting the Constitution.

NO MORE APATHY!!! If we don’t turn away from the path we’re on as a nation, there will be serious consequences to pay. This is not some televangelist rambling and “fear-mongering”…this is an ordinary woman who simply wants to see some Common Sense in our government!


What Needs to Change?

The very first “change” we need in this country is to STOP giving a free ride to illegal aliens! I am NOT anti-immigration by any means…but if you are not in this country through legal means, you need to go back where you came from and file the appropriate papers and come here legally. Our government is spending literally hundreds of billions of dollars a year providing for the medical, educational, housing and grocery needs of people who have never paid one cent into the public coffers! That is the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard!!!

When an illegal shows up at the Emergency Room, IF they are truly in a medical emergency, of course we must provide appropriate care for them, BEFORE SENDING THEM BACK TO THEIR HOMELAND. If it is not truly a medical emergency, they need to be sent back IMMEDIATELY. No excuses, no patting them on the head and saying, “I know you didn’t mean to break the law”. BULL!!! They made a conscious choice to come here outside the law, and if you or I make a conscious choice to break the law, WE face consequences…they must do the same.

When an illegal alien has a baby in this country, the baby is considered a US citizen, and the parents are allowed to remain here to raise them. That’s outrageous too! Give the baby dual citizenship with the country of the parents origin and the US…but with the stipulation that they can ONLY remain here IF their parents are willing to do whatever is necessary to be here legally! No more free public education to children whose parents have never paid a penny of taxes in the US. NO MORE, I say!!!

No more food stamps or WIC or section 8 housing for illegal immigrants! Enough is enough! We (as a nation) could easily meet the legitimate needs of American poor families if we stopped throwing billions of dollars at providing for people who aren’t here legally. If you want to be an American, fine…fill out the papers and wait your turn. We offer a home to millions of people who’ve come here legally, and I embrace them as Americans. But those who come here illegally are criminals plain and simple…and I don’t mean we should pay to support them while they’re incarcerated here…send them back home!!! Period. End of discussion.

Anything Else? (You’re afraid to ask, huh?)

Why are we rushing to throw out what is recognized worldwide as the BEST healthcare system in existence???

Yes, there are many Americans without insurance. Keep in mind, though, that many of those people are without insurance because they CHOOSE to be. Not because they can’t afford it. So, for those who have no health coverage & WANT it…

Why not simply expand the qualifications for Medicaid programs, which are already in place, to include the currently uninsured, for a discounted rate (as opposed to paying full premiums for regular insurance)? That wouldn’t change the coverage you or I have, and it wouldn’t create a whole new bureaucracy that we truly do NOT need. It would address the problem that exists without destroying the best system of healthcare in the world.

Another thought on the healthcare debate:

Students come from all over the globe to study in our medical schools. We have the most advanced medical diagnostic systems available anywhere. We have more money going into medical research and testing, to find new and better ways to improve and extend our lives. The current healthcare reforms proposed would change the structure of our medical schools and could severely reduce the amount of innovation & research happening in this country. Is THAT a change we want? I don’t think so!!! Yes, we should provide incentives to doctors and nurses who are willing to serve in currently understaffed areas of the country, but not by making it mandatory.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject…We MUST provide medical professionals the option refusing to participate in procedures they feel are morally wrong! Going back to the Constitution again…Freedom of Religion! If I say that I believe abortion to be morally wrong, the Constitution says I have the right to not take part in it. Let’s go back to respecting the document this nation was built upon.

I guess I’ve ranted long enough now…and I hope you’ve found some food for thought in my comments. As I said, if you disagree, that’s your right. The greatest thing about America is that we ALL have the right to express our ideas and our elected officials are SUPPOSED to listen, and act based on what the majority of their constituents want. If they don’t, let’s remember that when they come up for re-election!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Have a great day and Be Blessed!
Jennifer Phillips
phillipsjennie@hotmail.com

My Interesting Day!
By Jennifer Phillips
July 13, 2009

Now I just have to figure out where to begin LOL.

I overslept (ugh) so had to rush big time to give Bill a ride to the studio before I went to sing in Liberty. While singing, the Lord changed my program several times (usually He either leads me to set it up specifically for that visit OR will change maybe one song). One of the changes was the song the praise team did yesterday, that I hadn't previously known "Send the Light". Pretty cool song with a very fun bluegrass instrumental track. Another change was for me to do "Warriors". Now, for any who don't know that song...it's not what I normally do at nursing homes! Here's a link if you'd like to hear it: http://www.soundclick.com/jenniferphillips

Anyway, so I finished singing and this man wheeled over to me and asked if I had any CDs for sale. So, I sold a copy of "Lightning Strikes" to a nursing home resident because he liked "Warriors" and the great blues arrangement Bill did of "He Leadeth Me". Ok, that was pretty weird, but sure made me glad I listened when the Lord told me to do that song!

So from there I went to the studio to hear what Bill had been working on. This time it was kind of a (white) mellow jazz groove. In my head, I know there's a hymn that will work with that groove, but can't think of what it is. (Hate when that happens. Chris tells me I spend too much time with Alzheimer’s' patients LOL)

Here's where things start getting really weird.

So after we talk about our CD project for a bit, Bill tells me he has something else he wants me to hear. Next thing I know, I'm hearing the original 4 track recording of some of the tracks from The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album!!!! This is exactly what the band recorded, before any mixing or production stuff was done to it!!!!!! Kind of similar to "Let It Be (Naked)" if you've heard that, but this stuff has never been released that way! I have no clue where the studio got it or anything, so don't ask LOL. It was amazing to hear each individual part. Like the harmony part on "She's Leaving Home" that got removed in production. And on "A Day in the Life" to hear each individual chord the orchestra played, rather than the "muddy" thing on the album.

Then he played the original 16-track recording of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". OMGOSH!!!! That man is the most amazing thing ever!!!! He played every instrument on that track. It was just Stevie!!! And hearing the way it was all recorded, one layer at a time was fantastic!!! I can't begin to imagine how he knew "if I do this here, it'll add to the song". My mind is just baffled by "real" musicians!!!

Bill also told me that the studio has a client they want Bill to help with their project (this is why they hired him, after all, to do for clients what he's doing for me LOL). So that's exciting too.

Then I came home and checked Twitter...it seems Collective Soul was involved in a bar fight last night, and they've subsequently been banned from the city of Myrtle Beach, SC for one YEAR. This is SOOOOOOO out of character for these guys! LOL I won't go into the details...feel free to read about it here:
http://buzzedition.net/2009/07/13/collective-soul-gavin-degraw-billy-norris--the-myrtle-beach-bar-fight.aspx

So then, I went back to twitter and scrolled a bit. That's when I saw that I won a prize in another contest! lol Now, this one wasn't cash, but it's a copy of the upcoming CD by Collective Soul and a t-shirt from the fan group Collective Souldiers. You can check it out too if you're interested:
http://www.collectivesouldiers.com/

Rather fascinating that God allows us to have days like today. He knows we need a little encouragement from time to time, but He doesn't over-do it, as that wouldn't be good for us either. But I sure thank Him for these unusual events!!

Ok, guess that's about it...time to check e-mail now LOL. Thanks for taking the time to read this!!

Have a great day and Be Blessed!

Jenn

New CD!!!

Here’s the news, my brother and I have started work on another CD. The first disk “Lightning Strikes” was produced with truly minimal cost. Artistically, it makes some of the statements I’d hoped it would, but the production was by far the weakest part of the project.

Bill Heeter (my brother) had given guitar lessons in and around Blue Springs, Mo for years, in addition to being a respected player who is able to just jump into anything you might be playing. A couple of years ago, one of his former students (making us feel old now, ya know LOL) opened a recording studio in Blue Springs. Recently, Bill has been invited to work at the studio, doing production and engineering as well as playing on customer’s projects. I’m really excited to say that he’s decided we should do another CD! And this one will be produced in the professional studio, rather than Bill’s living room!

So we’re in the planning stages here. I’ve always said I prefer artists who do “albums” rather than just a number of songs on the same disk. Examples would be Collective Soul’s “Disciplined Breakdown” and Janis Ian’s “Between the Lines”. Those songs, while they don’t all sound the same; all seem to fit as pieces of a whole. That’s what I prefer to listen to. That being said…at this point I doubt I’ll be able to put together an actual “album” this time. There are too many songs I want to do and too many styles I want to explore!

The first CD included a Santana-esque original song “Warriors” (which, for a limited time, you can download for free if you sign up for my mailing list at http://jenniferphillips.yolasite.com/music.php ), an original blues number “The Lonely Road” which is my personal testimony, and “Isaiah” which in my mind is reminiscent of the romantic era of classical music. We also did original arrangements of 9 old public domain hymns. Some are well known – “Amazing Grace”, “When We All Get To Heaven”, “Revive Us Again”, “To God Be The Glory” and “Blessed Assurance”. Additionally, we included “A Charge to Keep, I Have” which is an old Methodist hymn (the only one on the CD that doesn’t appear in my old Baptist Hymnal!) and “Steal Away to Jesus” which would best be described as a spiritual.

For the new CD, I’m completely out of original lyrics (unless the Lord gives me some, that is), so looking for more obscure hymns. Looking to see if some of the lesser-known songs by Fanny Crosby (she wrote over 8000 hymns in her lifetime – with probably 400 that are extremely well known) might be worth revisiting. I’ve already presented two well-known songs to Bill with arrangement ideas “Near the Cross” and “Nothing But the Blood”. Now, if he is able to grab hold of what I am hearing in my head, “Nothing But the Blood” will be quite an attention grabber! But I’m not going to share the details just yet!!

I’ve also asked the praise team from Cross Creek Baptist Mission to sing with me on some songs for the new CD. Every week I listen to our music and feel so very blessed to be able to sing with such gifted musicians! Pastor Ray Gurney is one of the best singers I know (and that’s saying something!) and his daughter; Chrissy Gurney-Long is a truly gifted worship leader. Kathy Ricker-Paine has a lovely voice, though she’s not comfortable yet doing any solos (maybe someday!). All in all, I feel that for the small church we are, we have a fantastic praise team. And the praise team would be worthless without our wonderfully talented sound director, Annie Lang.

If you’re in or near Kansas City on a Sunday morning, please feel free to drop in at Cross Creek! We love to have visitors and we love to serve the Lord!

Ok, going to wrap this up, as I’m afraid I’m starting to ramble (I don’t want to be THAT kind of blogger LOL). Thank you for taking the time to read my blog…please check back often for more updates.

Have a great day and Be Blessed!

Jennifer Phillips

http://jenniferphillips.yolasite.com/music.php

My Own "Disciplined Breakdown"

Mid-July, 1997, Collective Soul was to play a show in Kansas City. I was so very excited about it…I LOVED their first two CDs and got tickets for the concert. Since they were scheduled to play one of the worst possible venues in KC (in my opinion), I wasn’t sure what to expect…but was hopeful. When the night came, I was truly blown away!

The band took the stage and Ed was having trouble with his earpiece (monitor) and they had to re-start a song, but the sound crew still couldn’t get it to work right. After a minute or so trying, Ed just tossed it and said the show was going on anyway. Now, I’m a singer, and I KNOW how hard it is to sing without a monitor (not to mention in a venue with HORRIBLE acoustics anyway!). So the fact that he not only attempted it, but also got the job done with NO sour notes at all (again, if there had been mistakes, I would have heard them, cause I have a pretty precisely trained ear)! In addition to Ed’s amazing vocal performance, I was impressed with the band’s overall musicianship! It was one of the best concerts I had ever attended (and yes, I’ve attended quite a few!).

The morning after the concert, I left KC at 6 am to see my (then) hubby in Kentucky. I actually stopped at a Kmart in St Louis to buy “Disciplined Breakdown” on the way!!! My kids and I were singing along with the tape before we reached our destination!

Sadly, shortly after, my cousin committed suicide. The entire family was devastated. So many questions about “what could I have done?” and all that. What a difficult time for us all! I was especially bothered by this loss, as I didn’t know for sure if he had made peace with God, though I had tried on several occasions to lead him to the cross.

Over the next year or so, I went through a deep depression. The only comfort I could find was “Disciplined Breakdown” and specifically the song “Maybe”. That tape was in the player in my van almost constantly for a year. I can’t begin to tell you what that album meant to me…and it’s still my favorite Collective Soul CD (and one of my all time favorite albums period!).

I could have written about other stories that have involved CS music, but this one really means a lot to me…and I just want the band to know that their work made a difference in my life!

If anyone reading this isn’t familiar with Collective Soul, I urge you to check them out on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/collective_soul

Or the official band website:

http://www.collectivesoul.com/news/

And if you are within 500 miles of someplace they’re playing this summer, you GOTTA check out CS in concert! If you enjoy great music performed live, these guys will not disappoint you!

http://www.collectivesoul.com/live/

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Have a great day and Be Blessed!

Jennifer Phillips

phillipsjennie@hotmail.com