This is in response to Wally's show on total axxess (Way FM Christian Radio talk show) that I heard tonight. Wally read a letter from a "seasoned" listener that was a response to the Building 429 interview where Wally "embarrassed" the band members and was rude. Wally defended himself brilliantly (as always... I think he should've been a lawyer) and made his statement about his show being that somewhat edgy type where toes will get stepped on. However, at the heart of it, Wally's heart is about ministry and changing people's lives, but with a certain degree of, well... Wally.

As I listened to this writer rant about Wally's style, I found myself in role-play dialogue with that person.

"Hey, stuffy, why don't you turn the dial to K-Love, crank it up real soft, and listen to THE CHAMPION while performing your Human Video SOLO in front of your bathroom mirror! We live in an edgy world where we need edgy Christians that are willing to stir it up a bit in order to change things, so take your SPM (Sandi Patti Mentality) and go teach BIble stories to your neighbors using a felt board and paper cutouts..."

That's the gist of what played out in my head, though not necessarily "nice" or "right." But then I cracked up laughing, cause knowing the radio world like I do and the types of people that listen to "edgy" shows, these type of listeners are actually fans of these kind of shows. In the letter, the writer went on to say something like it had been some time now (months, years??? - I don't remember) that they had this problem with Wally.

TRANSLATION: long-time listener and more-than-likely FAN of the show. These "negative nellies" are probably bigger fans than most and write such comments to do what Wally is know for doing: stirring things up. OXY!!!

Oh, and the writer said something about Wally's obsession with Toby Mac (which is true yet incurable), and I think Wally's motto should just be HUG A MAC (HAM for short) for many reasons:

1. He loves Toby Mac.

2. He loves his iPhone (made by Mac).

3. He is a radio-pimp-daddy (Radio Mac).

And the list could go on and on, but my oatmeal is getting cold. So, in closing, check out totalaxxess.com radio show if you want your world rocked for the good!!!

And be sure to check out some of my friend's blog sites:

Deo's Blog

and

Ashlee's Blog

Keep dreamin’ …

Last night I enjoyed my birthday gift from Mademoiselle Mary: two tickets to see Sandi Patty at the Old Orchard Beach Pavilion. As some of you may know, I am a bit of a Sandi Patty freak (see here and here. Oh, and here.  And here.  And yes, here). I have all of her albums and one that she didn't actually release and lots of "lost" recordings. She is my hobby.

I have loved her since forever, and have yet to meet her, a fact that I was determined to rectify. So, at 7 last night, Sabrina and I were in the second row, 10 feet from where Sandi would soon be singing. But first? First we got the opening act.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure that this is a very nice gentleman and I understand that it is hard to be an opening act when the people in the audience came there for someone else. I get that. And he sounded nice and he played the guitar very well. All that to say: When he hit minute 11 of his song about a childhood friend that died crossing the street it was so absurd that Sabrina and I started "church giggling". You know - when you try to stop the laughter from escaping and it just multiplies inside you, and you glance at your friend and she is doing the same thing and that makes it worse and you are shaking and hoping that the people around you think that you are having a seizure instead of laughing at this nice man? Yeah, that. So - sorry, guy!

Then, Sandi came out. She sang. I smiled. She sang for two hours. I smiled for two hours. She sang new songs and she sang old songs. She sang "Via Dolorosa" and "Make His Praise Glorious" and "We Shall Behold Him".  She sang "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art". She sang "How Majestic Is Your Name" and "Let There Be Praise" and "In The Name of the Lord". She sang "Praise To The Lord, the Almighty" and "Operator" and "Step Into The Joy". She sang "My Tribute" and "Through It All". She sang "Upon This Rock" and "Who Will Call Him King Of Kings?". And she sang them all perfectly.

Sandi is the Queen of high notes. It peaked on her albums around the late eighties. After that, she didn't go so high in her recordings, anymore. However. Let me tell you that it has not peaked when she sings live. She hits all of the high notes and then goes a fifth above them all. She sings notes that make angels weep. And, she has fun when she sings. She had a giant smile on her face and it is obvious that she loves what she does. As well she should.

So, after the amazing concert Sabrina and I waited by the stage for her to come out. A few minutes later she did, and I asked Anna (Sandi's daughter and handler) for a picture. Sandi met a couple other people first, and then took a photo with me. I couldn't get over how small she was, and I think I said "You're so tiny!". She said "Say it louder, Honey". So I did. "Miss Sandi, You're so tiny!". She laughed. Then she said "It was so nice seeing your smiling face in the second row. You made my night." And then she was gone, in a swirl of perfume and silk.

It was a perfect night.

Sandi's Concert Slideshow 

_____

Since this is a relatively "anonymous" blog, if you want to see my picture with Sandi just email me, and I will send it on!

PS - Sabrina had me take a picture of her shoes, which are pretty awesome...

Apparently so.

Once, when Jonathan was very young, I used to sing him to sleep. He'd watch my mouth move as he nursed, seeming very comforted and maybe even entranced with my amazing singing voice.

Now, if I try to sing while I'm trying to encourage him to sleep, he reaches up, slaps my chest, grunts and glares at me.

I thought this might be a fluke, so a couple moments later I tried again. This time the slap left a good-sized-baby-shaped hand print on my chest.

Well, OK. Just not the day for singing I guess.

I tried a couple more times over the next few days. Same reaction, only this time the verbal protests were getting louder.

Yesterday, driving him home from the sitters, I started to sing the 'Farmer in the Dell' about the little farmer he has for his tractor.

"Uuuhhh!" he grunted and scowled at me.

"The farmer in the..." I looked in the rear view mirror to be sure he was grunting at me. "dell. The farmer in the —"

"Uuuuuuhhh!"

His disapproval was definately directed at me.

Nice. Real nice.

I suppose he thinks he can do better, which is why I often hear this from the back seat:

"Oooheeeooooheeeeoooooheeeeoooeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah" in a very loud, rather unnerving voice.

Fine, kid. You can sing so great. Then go ahead.

Apparently even your father thinks mommy's not such a great singer. In informed Hubby of this dilemma yesterday and Hubby replied, "Well.....can you blame him?"

WHAT?!

Oh. Well, hey, hon' thanks for the support. You're no Garth Brooks either, Sweet Cheeks, so you can stop crooning to "Friends in Low Places."

So, Madame Queen, your Pumpkin' may keep interrupting you with new animals to sing about, but at least she lets you sing!

Here are some other people who are allowed to sing. No matter how much they may suck.

Dial-The-Truth Ministries.

Oh yes. Get ready. Go.

• CHRISTIAN ROCK: Blessing or Blasphemy? Hehe. What cracks me up is who they go after. DC Talk? Carman? It's priceless. You don't get more in-your-face evangelical than Carman; it just doesn't happen. And then, when you think the article starts getting monotonous, they go after Sandi Patti.
• Warning: 666 is Coming. Barcodes all have one thing in common: the ever-so-secret, always-embedded "666". Snap.
• Are You Washed in His Blood? "Not according to the new Bible Per-Versions!"
• TO TATTOO OR NOT TO TATTOO. Ah, legalism. Quite lovely. My favorite page is the Bible one, where nothing is really proven.
• SANTA CLAUS: The Great Imposter. "Who, REALLY, is this man we affectionately call Santa Claus?" Guess what Santa anagrams to? Haha, look for some amazing clip art.
• The Refuel Bible. I actually still have one of these somewhere. I'm mostly including this one because it's a well-rounded example.

What's great is that they only use RealAudio for all their sound clips. I really, really feel like writing a page that shows that RealAudio is of the devil, just to see how quickly they change it all around :p. But that would be a tad sadistic, wouldn't it?

EDIT - I really wrote this a day or two ago, but I never posted because my computer messed up. Luckily, Wordpress saved it for me :D . I don't hate it anymore!

Sandi is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary music history, with 39 Dove Awards. She was inducted to Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and an Indiana Living Legend in 2007.  And while her 30-year career is heavily rooted in the gospel music industry, Sandi has had the opportunity in more recent years to extend her career outside the genre.   

One of Sandi’s dreams has always been to perform on Broadway, but the commitment of raising her family of eight children always came first. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra offered best of both worlds with “Sandi Patty’s Broadway.”  The relationship with ISO began in 2000 when Sandi first served as featured headliner for the annual “Yuletide Celebration. “  Since then, she has been asked to reprise her role three times as the most requested headliner in “Yuletide Celebration” history. 

Sandi once again brought success in “Sandi Patty’s Broadway.”  The Broadway revue featured some of the most memorable songs from classic musicals such as “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Music Man,” and many others.  Sung as only Sandi can sing, a highlight of the second act occurs when Sandi sings a compilation of songs performed by great male Broadway leads.

“It was such fun for me to perform all of the songs that I grew up singing,” says Sandi.  “When I was a little girl, I always dreamed, as I sang along with my record player in my bedroom, that I was Julie Andrews or Barbara Streisand singing all of the Broadway classics.  My dream came true through ‘Sandi Patty’s Broadway.’”

When her rendition of The Star Spangled Banner was used during the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986 and broadcast across America on ABC’s special “Liberty Weekend,” Sandi was introduced to the world.  Virtually overnight she became one of the country’s best-loved performers.  Her version of the National Anthem has become synomamous with patriotic celebration, with performances at “A Capitol Fourth” with the National Symphony, the Pan American Games, the Indianapolis 500, the Dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Dedication of Camp David Chapel, and the ABC Fourth of July Special. 

Sandi has performed with symphonies across the country for over 10 years including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and many more.  Her first Pops album, “An American Songbook,” was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and featured many favorites from her symphony performances.

In addition to her prolific musical career, Sandi is also an accomplished author.  She is the best-selling author of Broken on the Back Row, Life in the Blender, and Falling Forward.  Sandi received the 2006 Silver Angel Award for Broken on the Back Row.  Her fourth title, Layers, will be released in early 2008. 

“I am grateful for the many opportunities God has given in my life and for how he has allowed me to spread my wings,” says Sandi.  “Singing is my way to tell my story of hope, life, and love.”