Missed The Message Video

Hi folks, a long winded Bud here:

Three years ago this month Tom (Tommyad) posted the audio production of this gospel song that he and Janice wrote. As I mentioned in a review of Tom’s current posting, The Dash, he has a way of profound lyric expression with relatively few words. This song has come to mind many times over the last few years. And more so as I get older and see more friends cross over.

In addition to writing the lyric Tom produced/arranged the song and played both pedal steel and guitar on it. Janice contributed the vocal and melody.

I’ve often considered a video for it but I would fail to find images that I thought supported the lyric without distracting. Recently I revisited the notion and saw it though to completion and hope that it works for you. BTW, I asked Tom what inspired “the old Big Muddy” and he explained that it was a river in Illinois where he went to college. The second verse incorporates a photo I located of that river.

The use of steel in gospel music may initially seem unusual (as it did for me). However Tom introduced me to the tradition of the “sacred steel.” Starting in the 1930’s some African-American Pentecostal churches in Florida began to substitute a lap steel for the organ and later brought the pedal steel into their music. The Robert Randolph Family Band, a blues rock group, is an off spring of this tradition as Robert was brought up in churches that played this form of gospel. I think Tom’s over driven wah wah steel really captures the excitement of the sacred steel which you can see in this short film: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SOmZhhNNElM Things really start cooking around 2:30 in. And it is fascinating to hear the ministers and practitioners talk about how the steel "talks."

What a wonderful example of the richness and diversity of American music traditions - gospel oriented pedal steel with roots in Florida African-American Pentecostal churches.


Guitar & Pedal Steel by Tom Adams
Vocal by Janice Merritt

Choir loops from Logic Pro 9

RealTracks in song: 1418:Bass, Electric, SouthernRock Ev16 085
RealTracks in song: 1602:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Pop16 Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: ~368:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~688:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1600:Guitar, High-Strung Acoustic, Rhythm Pop16ths Ev16 065
RealDrums: RealDrums in Song: NashvilleEven16^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

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