I lost my mind, but found my heart at The Church of Lost Souls, on Sunday February 21st, 2021

 

Why have I ever wanted or needed religion? Why have any of us? That’s a tough question for me personally, but I'd like to try an answer, especially to provide context.  I was born and raised Jewish, which in my upbringing meant Talmud Torah, Saturday and Sunday School, and Bar Mitzvah training; all at the wonderful and historic Temple of Aaron in St. Paul. Still it went beyond that. We also celebrated Jewish holidays and cultural events in-the-home, attended and worked at Jewish summer camps like Camp Butwin and Camp Herzl; even took a pilgrimage to Israel with my youth group in the summer of 1989. It reached and still inhabits my soul in a meaningful way, but especially as a “cultural Jew”.      

As for dogma of any kind, I’ve found most religion’s been transmitted to most of humanity, through deceit, guilt, shame, fear and intimidation. Of course that’s not all experiences with Judaism or religion in general, and of course it’s not unique to any one religion, either. Religions get abused by their practitioners, yet despite these failings of our religious institutions, all people still need and crave love and understanding to connect to. We feel lost from that  spiritual connection, and so many of us yearn to connect with a community of accepting and compassionate individuals. A place we can talk about and seek acceptance and forgiveness of our flaws and foibles. And MUSIC; there MUST be music.

When I’ve been left wanting in the area of music at the religious experiences I’ve participated in, I find that the melody won’t reach me.  If there’s no funky groove to move me from my seat…well it ain’t happened unless I’ve attended my Auntie’s Baptist church, where they focus on moving your spirit; where soul music is elemental and spontaneous shouts and dances, and any other responses occur, as we humans can make when so moved.  Well that’s the deep feeling I received from Billy McLaughlin and his incredible band, at their now-weekly Sunday worship inside The Parkway Theatre in south Minneapolis; a fantastic project called “The Church of The Lost Souls”.  There’s a small allowance for in-person attendance where social-distancing and masks are at work for the safety of everyone involved, while the event is simultaneously live-streamed to a world-wide audience.

The superlative band, (it’s really an all-star reckoning from various styles of the #MnMusicScene), makes every secular song feel still somehow agnostically spiritual. I’d call it Americana and roots music, with all kinds of traditional flavors. “Gospel Plow” started the service, doing the yeoman’s work you’d expect of such obvious fare. I was instantly struck by the expertise of drummer and my new pal, Patrick Nelson. I had a perfect view of him, to appreciate the economy of his kit and his playing. I was amazed how the song had high-hat plus tambourine, but sometimes high-hat alone, despite the tambourine resting right on top the the high-hat...and I watched Patrick’s foot on that high-hat pedal and I’d swear in a court-of-law, that his foot didn’t change at all, despite the change in percussion where sometimes the tambourine played and sometimes it didn't. At least no change that could be discerned with the naked eye.

 

Then vocalist Kathleen Johnson brought us to that next, higher-level, with her soaring rendition of The Impressions’ “People Get Ready”. The band, acting as the “church choir” held down all kinds of harmonies and responses to her calls, while Johnson flowed so freely with extemporaneous vocal runs that soared over the choir’s own, soaring voices, among them, guitarist and harmony vocalist Luke Enyeart.

This delight from Ms. Johnson was followed by a deliciously executed selection by the Mamas and The Papa’s. It was their classic tune of a wistful, season of somber in “California Dreamin’”, beautifully and soulfully lead by vocalist, bassist and local-favorite, (and admitted proudly, a dearly beloved brother of mine), Dan Ristrom.  

Playing bass and singing, Dan gave so much soul and feel throughout the song, as I've ALWAYS known him to do form our many collaborations, but pure joy was the vibe I caught the most. In fact, if you watched that back right corner of the stage like I did, you not only got to appreciate tasteful and sublime “ornamental percussion” from Billy "O" Oehrlein on this tune and every other one, but you got a sense of what I know…making music on-stage with Dan Ristrom is just TOO much fun!!!

Following that, was a wistful “Hank to Hendrix” by Neil Young, reminding the parishioners that we were not in a conventional church. I must’ve been feeling musically the spiritual vapors or some such because here’s where my memory gets fuzzy. As I recall, Celtic music specialist Laura MacKenzie played the squeezebox, which she later confirmed was a concertina. But she left an impression in so many spots, that my facts might be blissful and blurry. This is also a song where I vaguely recall being struck by the bottom end of vocalist Amy Courts’ vocal range. I’m guessing a true alto with great power and control at that oh-so-difficult low-end…at least that’s my theory.

 

        Despite my momentary lapse of reason and clarity, it’s hard not to call the next moment the stunner of the evening, when the band took up a tune called “20 Years” by Civil War. It was an evocative journey down into the valley of a sorrowful, but beautifully harmonic and lilting tale. Previously mentioned vocalist Amy Courts and vocalist Karen Paurus dueted together, blending their voices so perfectly, while multi-instrumentalists Nathan Wilson, and Laura Mackenzie again (but this time on a flute-like wind, that she later confirmed was a conical bore metal whistle), both somehow expertly walking that fine line between being a complimentary piece of the band, and standing-out for what they delivered, Nathan giving a heart-wrenching turn on the mandolin and Laura the conical bore metal whistle, respectively. I must confess I was deeply affected by the passion and precision and depth of collaborative beauty on display; I was brought to tears, almost on the verge of a good, long “ugly cry” (shrug). As an empath, I still wrestle with the reality that I’m often compelled to be openly weeping, from all the incredible highs & lows that life brings us through.

 

         Mr. McLaughlin then cleared the stage for a stripped down moment of he and Mr. Wilson, (this time on violin), to play an original Billy McLaughlin tune featuring some sensational fret-board, finger-tapping. It was a rhythmic duet, that kept me rapt with attention; like a wordless sermon that hit deeper than some verbose lecture, by some hypocrite in pastoral robes, standing behind a pulpit. You could feel McLaughlin’s desire to deliver, even despite such a unique and difficult piece. If there were any missteps, they were awash in sweat and devotion to the delivery of this original piece. I felt how deeply he cared about his art and the transmission of it.

 

        Then the most wonderful treat in the form of a “break” for Billy and the Lost Souls house band, where Pastor Billy gives way to “guest pastors” each week; this week specifically, it was the indomitable, local pair of vocalist/drummer Jennifer Grimm & guitarist Joe Cruz.  It’s the kind of treat where you want to hoard it for yourself AND share it with people you know and people you don’t. The kind of treat you want to keep secret AND shout from the mountain-tops about. These two are both supremely talented and expert at their craft. Their interplay is so authentic and natural, with a chemistry that makes you suspect they might even be married…and you’d be right. But charming enough, it’s not hammy and overplayed. This is just a couple that’s honest enough, to play for each other, in front of us. While their individual talent is awe-inspiring, their musical flirtations escalate the entire affair. It’s intense and romantic and I don’t want to see a pair perform, any other way, ever again! They gave us a smoldering rendition of "Besame Mucho", a captivating rendition of "Over The Rainbow" and an absolute tear-jerking version of "Hallelujah", where the female vocalists from McLaughlin's house band, rejoined the stage to lend some harmonies on this powerful tonic, for my aching soul. For your own taste, check out their recent Spotify  release.

    Finally, we’d come to the end of the service, and all the musicians worked together on Toots and the Maytal’s version of John Denver’s “Country Road”, with vocal harmonies soaring all over the theatre, glimmering on the lights made to look like a beautiful, stained-glass window.  Again, Grimm & Cruz remained on-stage after their mini-set, but Joe had switched to mandolin and Jennifer added harmonies and tremendous ad-libs at the song’s end.

Even if there’s not another soul that can understand me from all this, I wanted to share my experience, this past Sunday afternoon, as I attended the Parkway Theatre’s brand new, weekly, Sunday series from Billy McLaughlin called, “The Church of The Lost Souls”. I want to express how the experience made me feel, and how it felt to share it with people I care so deeply about. 

Look, I understand that my general premise might not be revelatory, because I know that the secular and the sacred have always collided with, and cross-pollinated/influenced each-other, so I wasn’t surprised about the music as the vehicle to deliver the “liturgy”. However, it’s among the chief reasons I’d go back to this “church”…and I suggest you check-it-out for yourselves. Especially if you’re “lost”. I believe deeply that attending these “services” will be like that  lighthouse on the rock, illuminating your way back to “shore”. I hope I’ll see you there so we can sing and make music together! Ultimately, that’s the root of my religious practices anyhow, so I guess I’ve found a home in the congregation, at The Chuch of Lost Souls.