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Zach Winters - There for You

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Zach Winters - These Are The Days - Halfway House Sessions - SXSW

Today I realized I’m ten days away from the one-year anniversary of leaving full-time ministry to pursue my own healing and formal training in natural medicine. It has been a year marked, I hope, by some growth in humility, faith and trust; time spent feeling out the edges of things and trying different doors. Summer has brought with it new developments and direction and I am thankful. Thankful for time to pause and reflect on each bursts of color that’s come in life’s organic, gradual unfolding. I know what blossoms, seemingly suddenly, has been quietly taking root and all along...

And so I find myself finalizing plans to begin studies in Manhattan, appreciating the familiar and savoring the slow pace of a hot, humid July. And these words from Winters, Lewis and Levertov speak a sentiment worth pausing over, knowing the heat will lift and tempo quicken in the days and weeks ahead.

/ / /

“Once Only”

by denise levertov

All which, because it was

flame and song and granted us

joy, we thought we’d do, be revist,

turns out to have been what it was

that once, only; every initiation

did not begin

a series, a build-up: the marvelous

did happened in our lives, our stories

are not drab with its absence: but don’t

expect now to return for more. Whatever more

there will be will be

unique as those were unique. Try

to acknowledge the next

song in its body-halo of flames as utterly

present, as now or never.

/ / /

“I am beginning to feel that we need a preliminary act of submission not only towards possible future afflictions but also toward possible future blessings. I know it sounds fantastic; but think it over. It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good. Do you know what I mean? On every level of our life—in our religious experience, in our gastronomic, erotic, aesthetic and social experience—we are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as a norm, and depreciating all other occasions by comparison. But these other occasions, I now suspect, are often full of their own new blessing, if only we would lay ourselves open to it. God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we’re still looking for the old one. And of course we don’t get that. You can’t, at the twentieth reading, get again the experience of reading Lycidas for the first time. But what you do get can be in its own way as good.

This applies especially to the devotional life. Many religious people lament that the first fervours of their conversion have died away. They think—sometime rightly, but not, I believe, always—that their sins account for this. They may even try by pitiable efforts of will to revive what now seem to have been the golden days. But were those fervours—the operative word is those—ever intended to last?

It would be rash to say that there is any prayer which God never grants. But the strongest candidate is the prayer we might express in the single word encore. And how should the Infinite repeat Himself? All space and time are too little for Him to utter Himself in them once.

And the joke, or tragedy, of it all is that these golden moment in the past, which are so tormenting is we erect them into a norm, are entirely nourishing, wholesome and enchanting if we are content to accept them for what they are, for memories. Properly bedded down in a past which we do not miserably try to conjure back, they will send up exquisite growth. Leave the bulbs alone, and the new flowers will come up. Grub them up and hope, by fondling and sniffing, to get last year’s blooms, and you will get nothing. “Unless a seed die…”

--excerpt from Letters to Malcolm, Chapter 5, C.S. Lewis

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When They Sound Better Live

So, a couple days ago I went to a concert and saw Zach Winters, A Boy and His Kite, and Josh Garrels. I have to say it was the most worthwhile concert I’ve ever attended. I have this issue with seeing artists live. I’ll listen to their music for hours on end; running, climbing, working, playing, sleeping, etc. and I learn their songs like the back of my hand. Every word and every instrument becomes familiar to me, and being human I do love the familiar. The issue arises when I get to a show and suddenly the artist sings differently they play everything with “embellishments” and the song slowly becomes far from familiar. this bumms me out.

Zach Winters and Crew Let me tell you though: Zach Winters is incredible. He walks out in a t-shirt and jeans, an acoustic guitar, and a friendly ‘Hello!’ and immediately the audience was enthralled. He was then joined by his wife and a violin player. So in total the band held three people and two instruments. That was it. Somehow that tiny ensemble filled the room, and every song felt full and complete. I had listened to his album Monarch before and hadn't really gotten into it, but hearing him live was spectacular. his songs were a little bit different than on the recording, more raw as live music should be, but the quality of sound and the feeling blew me away. In short, I was pleasantly impressed.

Then there was A Boy and His Kite. First off, cool name, great imagery. I had never heard of this guy before, and I’m still figuring out what I think. He had a nice group of musicians with him, all that was lacking were some drums. Apparently he had gotten one of his songs ‘Cover Your Tracks’ into the last Twilight movie, which for a local Colorado guy is pretty spectacular. His music was nice, well-rounded, and thoughtful. There wasn’t much that was new, but I think he’s got a good start to things.

Now, on to the main event Josh Garrels. He is a man among men and a musician that is worthy of respect.

When Josh came out I finally got the drums I had been waiting for! This artist is the perfectly example of a true musician who sounds just as good live as he does in his recordings. The quality of his voice and the cohesive and passionate nature of his songs is just astounding. My favorite songs sounded almost exactly the same as the studio versions, which tells me that they really don’t have to do much mastering on his records. The talent was magnificent, and the truth of the lyrics absolute. I have never had this much fun with a concert.

All three of these artists sing like there’s no tomorrow, and play with blood. Not only that, but they were some of the most humble and respectful people I’ve met. I was able to talk with both Zach Winters, and A Boy and His Kite. Really great people, really great music, and a fantastic start to spring. Check ‘em out it’s worth your time.

Enjoy the sun!