Over the years I have learned that being a local musician means belonging to a musicians’ network. Now, I’m not talking about membership in the official American Federation of Musicians Local # 3, which is a fine organization. No, the network to which I refer has no dues or meetings; we wear no special hats, carry no ID cards nor do we utilize secret handshakes. The only requirement is that you should like playing and sharing songs with others.
This network is an informal thing. It is created when musicians meet musicians through other musicians. We usually gather at someone’s house, the people who haven’t met are introduced and then we all jam together. It is a pleasure for me to play with and learn from different musicians. Mostly it’s for fun, but occasionally something comes of it. In fact, jamming with new mutual musical friends whom I met through old ones is how I wound up playing at an upcoming gig this Saturday night.
Some of us Musicians’ Network members are playing at an event called “Peace, Love and Brownies 1974.” It is a worship ministry fundraiser for the Impact Christian Church in Franklin where it will be conducted. The theme of the event is the year 1974, and the challenge is that all of the songs performed must be from that year. Dustin, the guitar player who is the prime mover for this gig, did a similar fundraising event last year except it was focused on the music of 1969. I’ll bet that was fun.
I was really excited to learn that the theme of the evening will be music from 1974. That was a great year for music. We are scheduled to play six or seven songs. Considering how many great songs were on the charts that year, it was tough to narrow it down. It is interesting that our singer, Laura, wasn’t born when these songs were on the radio and yet she is familiar with most of them. When I first started teaching middle school, I was surprised that my students were familiar with the songs I listened to when I was their age. I am not so surprised anymore. Although most pop songs from any one particular era are easily forgotten over time, a handful remain for one reason or another in our public consciousness.
When I hear songs from another era, I go back in my mind to those times. I picture where I was on my life journey up to that point. I thought I was so old, but I was so young. I remember the social and political events that dominated the news and the issues that colored public life. America seemed so divided back then. One side wanted this and the other side insisted on that. Lines were drawn. “Sweet Home, Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is a song from1974. It has a line “Now Watergate does not bother me/Does your conscious bother you?” Those lines remind me 1974 was the year Richard Nixon resigned. The Senate hearings dominated the news. It was a constitutional crisis, some worried. “How can our country survive this?” they asked. I see similar lines drawn today. I hear similar worries. Politics as a big circle.
But that was then, and “Peace, Love and Brownies 1974” is now. Impact Christian Church’s doors open for the event at 5 p.m. Our Musicians’ Network group will be entertaining, along with other performers, starting at 6. Tickets are $5 with kids 5 and under free. I am certain it will be a fun time because these kinds of events always are.
If we are asked to play an encore, we will probably do “Sweet Home, Alabama.”
