the wayne quartet: It's only me
COVER ART
Released Jan 1, 2020
The album art was inspired by the 1975 Bert Bennys III album cover. I had originally used that album cover, removing the title, and replacing their faces with my own, but the production company thought it was too close to copyright infringement, so they wouldn't let me use it (being a parody, it wasn't, but oh well). So I got some wigs, a fancy disco shirt, and took several pictures of myself in similar poses. Not only did that pass copyright muster, but the production company thought it was one of the best covers they had seen, and that everyone in the office thought it was hilarious. I'm always glad to bring a smile to peoples' faces!
With the front cover looking like a 1970's album one might find in a thrift store record bin, I designed the back cover accordingly.
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Our Pastor was preaching from Exodus 6 when this chorus started singing in my head, so I went home and finished this song, a juxtaposition of God's redemptive prophecy to Israel and the Gospel, applied to our present condition.
A friend on Facebook, Duane Zimmerman, posted what I thought was too funny to not capture: "I think I have an inferiority complex; but it's not a very good one." So I wrapped it up in a more redemptive context, while hopefully keeping the self-deprecating irony and humor intact.
Reflecting on where I was before Jesus vs since, and what a great deal it was to let go of all my crap in exchange for life, hope and joy, further inspired by a certain television game show.
Inspired by John 6:22-29, the disciple responds to Jesus’ challenge. After many of his disciples left him, having taught some very difficult lessons in their Jewish minds, he turned to the 12 and asked if they, too, were going to leave. Peter, representing the 12, responded with, "Where else can we go? You're the only one with the words of eternal life." I interpret that as, "We don't get it either, Jesus. But we have nowhere else to go, so we'll stick it out."
Our pastor often responded to a remark with, "It's all good!" After saying that during a conversation, his wife turned to me and said, "You should write a song with that," and this chorus immediatey came to me, including another phrase he'd often say: "All in." So I went home and finished the song.
This political dance has taken the world by storm! My commentary on typical social media activity.
Ruffling through my files, I came upon this song I wrote back in the 80's and thought it would be fun to record. I had only played it on my 12-string, so added bass, drums, and electric guitar. As I was listening to it, I thought, "this needs a ukulele." That was the finishing touch. It's extra special to me, as it's the last song I played for my mother before she passed away of pancreatic and liver cancer.
I was thinking about being children of the light and wrote this song around it. Recording it, I played around with the slide a little for about the second time in my life. I've been told that it gave the song a bit of a George Harrison vibe.
Okay. I'll take that.
2 Corinthians 11:3 says, "I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
Too many Christians struggle to find the "perfect" will of God for their lives, like it was an elusive mystery, worried that they'll be harshly judged if they don't follow what they have so much difficulty discovering. So afraid of "missing God," they make finding his will far more complicated than it need be. It doesn't make sense to me that God would hold us accountable to fulfill something that's so evasive. I don't believe God wants us to struggle with finding his will for our lives. I believe it's simple and clear. This song is about that simplicity, and how the Scriptures guide us into knowing God's will.
Clue: We're more concerned with what God wants us to do; God's more concerned about who he wants us to be.
Drawing inspiration from the Psalms where David is crying out to God in times of despair, this speaks to the common human experiences of hopelessness and sorrow, and how the cross restores perspective in those times when life throws its junk at us, or when we reap the consequences of our own dumb choices. The video is more intense than I usually post.
Reflecting on Philippians 1:21 while commuting from work, this song started playing in my mind. By the time I got home, the song was pretty much written. I later added the introductory narrative to give the song context, as some people were so startled by the hook that they didn't hear the rest of the lyric.
Chicago News Radio Personality Cisco Cotto posted what I found inspiring in its simplicity, raw honesty, transparency and vulnerability. So I wrote a song around it to capture it, using his words (with a little tweaking for rhyme and cadence) as the chorus.