Point Of Purchase

Our new band, Point Of Purchase, played at our former church Sunday, the 24th and had a really great time. We are a 4 piece and are still getting used to playing together in this configuration. I’m on vocals and rhythm guitar (mostly acoustic), George (normally a drummer or bassist) is on lead guitar, Jeffrey (usually on percussion) is on drums, and Dennis is on bass. Jeffrey is also doing vocals and we’re both doing harmonies for each other. I love having someone else doing vocals too because I like to do harmonies and my voice doesn’t hold up as well as it used to. Jeffrey has a great voice and a lot of experience in the sort of thing we’re doing, so he is great to work with.

Sunday was our first engagement in our present form and we were a bit nervous even though we were in friendly and familiar surroundings. We did songs we all know fairly well, but still felt a little uneasy for some reason. I was my usual addled brain self and forgot some of the lyrics but I think everyone is used to that by now. This cancer medication is making it worse and I struggle a good deal trying to remember the most familiar stuff sometimes. But, it’s a small price to pay for keeping the cancer at bay.

We set up in a line across the stage with me on the far left (viewing the stage from the audience), George, Jeffrey and Dennis. Jeffrey was on his kit and, since he was doing some of the vocals, we wanted him out front with us. He did such a good job on the drums, adding just the right amount of fill and keeping a steady beat. Dennis was his usual steady and colorful self on the bass and George, of course, was superb on lead guitar. I can never understand how George can play so clean while not using a pick. And he is very creative and inventive while he’s playing live.

We intro’d and closed with a little instrumental I had written, which also blended right into the first song. We were a little shaky on it but it came across all right I think. It’s always more fun to do your own music when you can, and although it was just a short instrumental, it was still fulfilling in a way playing other stuff isn’t.

We built the band in order to play restaurants and such and are still working on pop/rock/blues music, but we’re also at our very core a Christian band that plays worship and special music (of our own). It’s been a big job for us to get the pop stuff off the ground because only one of us has experience with that. We also are struggling with work schedules and deer season, but we’re still committed to that goal.

This is our current lineup (stuff we can do pretty well):
1. Ain’t No Sunshine
2. Anyway The Wind Blows
3. Authority Song
4. Lyin’ Eyes
5. Mellow Yellow
6. Oh, Pretty Woman
7. Peaceful Easy Feeling
8. Seven Bridges Road
9. Take It Easy
10. Tequila Sunrise
11. Blackbird
12. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
13. Free Fallin’
14. Good Love Is On The Way
15. I Love A Rainy Night
16. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Christian
1. Awesome Is The Lord Most High
2. Beautiful One
3. He Reigns
4. Surrender
5. Your Love Never Fails
6. It Is You
7. For The Lord Our God Reigns