Okay, so last night we made some history...a lot of "1st's" :) For one, last night was the first time my band, The CarbonAudio Effect had played out as a whole group in over a year...second, it was the first time I had played out with my band on guitar and also the first time Eileen had played with the band on keyboard and vocals...and actually the first time Eileen had ever played in any band on stage ever!
There's also the awesomeness of last night being the first time that a choral group from Stratford High School had ever performed with a rock band...and it's also the first time that a choral group has ever performed with a rock band in the Charleston, SC area! I'm guessing it probably has never been done before in the Lowcountry...at any rate, it was a monumental moment for me as a songwriter and for our band!
After a wonderful night of choral music from The Stratford Singers, The Men's Glee Club, The Stratford Knight Edition & then a few combined choir songs, which included a compilation of highlights from The Phantom of the Opera, all the choirs combined to sing "Homeward Bound" - with numerous solos and group sections performed by the graduating seniors from Stratford High School that were part of the choral program.
The 8 pieces that were performed prior to The CarbonAudio Effect taking the stage were fantastic, and really showcased the time, talent & dedication that all of the choral students, and their director, Joshua Radecke had given to the pursuit of musical knowledge and skill.
Above all though, throughout the entire concert, much more was communicated than mere notes and words on a page...the passion that each person on stage had for the art of music was so clearly evident as you listened to them and watched them as they performed.
After enjoying the incredible talent displayed throughout the evening, it was finally time to finish out the night by rocking out! My band, The CarbonAudio Effect took the stage as The Stratford Knight Chorale got a little more comfortable and casual with the guys loosening their bowties and taking off their tux jackets :)
I said a few words about the piece we were premiering, "Worth Dying For" - mainly talking about my going to the Marine Corps in October and how the inspiration came from that to write the song, which talks about having a purpose and a goal that is worth living for & worth dying for.
Then it was performance time...we hit the opening synth/drum loop on the computer and the choir began to sing...after making a few quick sound adjustments on the fly, we started rockin' out! The crowd was extremely responsive and people were clapping and a number of screams came from the audience...a few times I turned around to the wonderful choir singing behind me and was amazed at what was taking place at that moment...I mouthed "thank you" to the choir who were singing their hearts out...and then I turned around and started singing myself...
Towards the end of the song, all the instruments dropped out except for the drums, leaving only my vocals, Eileen's vocals and the sounds of the amazing Stratford Knight Chorale...the audience cheered as we sang our hearts out and then slammed back into one final chorus to end the song...
Words cannot describe what it felt like to be on a stage performing with SO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE...last night's performance will go down as one of my most memorable and favorite musical experiences of my entire life...
To everyone who helped make this possible, THANK YOU! I know I would inevitably forget someone if I tried to list all the names off the top of my head, so I won't try right now, but I will get all the names of everyone involved and edit this post once I have them...for now though, thank you to:
Joshua Radecke - Stratford Choral Director
Joe Swisher - Audio Equipment
The CarbonAudio Effect - Eileen DeLisle, Jesse Snider, Gary Turner (also special thanks to Jason Tucker, bass player for local rock band, Virgil Kain who was an absolute pleasure to work with!)
The Stratford Knight Chorale (all the names of the students who performed last night will be listed here)
If anyone has any pictures of last night's performance, or any video footage from last night, we would LOVE to have it! It's really easy to get it to us...go to http://box.net/chorus & click on the top right hand button "Join This Folder" - enter your email, a password & your name and you will be given access to view and upload files to the folder that everyone else can see...please pass this link on to anyone you know that has pictures or video from last night!
Noel