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Empty Stage
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A eulogy i wrote for Dan Fogelberg, an artist who greatly influenced my style and love for music.
indie acoustic folk christian ccm buried talents buried talents band
Contemporary Christian Music, light rock, folk. Acoustic with vocal harmonies like Phillips Craig and Dean. Imagine if John Denver, Keith Green, Rich Mullins, N
Joe, Steve, and Chris Solaas are three brothers, all Eagle Scouts, with a desire to give a message of Good News to the world, and the talents to do so. is a high tenor with a voice like Neil Young. Rhythm and Lead guitar, bass, drums. is a baritone something like Bing Crosby meets Burl Ives. Rhythm Guitar. is a tenor like John Denver meets Chris Rice. Chris is the principle songwriter for the band. Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocals, keyboards. Add to this mix Al English Jr., Sheila Zachary, and Mark Lucchessi is the bassist for the group. He also writes some material, and plays acoustic guitar and lead. He's a high tenor also, but has a huge range. Think 'Keith Green meets Phil Keagge'. is the female vocalist for the group. She has a voice like Nicole C Mullen with an attitude. is our drummer. He's been drumming all his life, and it shows. He's incredible. is our soundman and occasionally, keyboards.
Song Info
Genre
Pop • Dance-Pop
Charts
#5,012 in subgenre Peak #42
Charts
Peak #84
Author
Christopher M. Solaas
Rights
2009
Uploaded
August 04, 2009
Track Files
MP3
MP3 2.4 MB • 128 kbps • 2:39
Story behind the song
Dan Fogelberg's music hit our house as I was growing through my teen years, and his early clean acoustic sound was an easy style to fall in love with. I grew up listening to and playing songs from Souvenirs, Captured Angel, That Green Album whose title escapes me, Phoenix, and Innocent Age. I sat in the Mud Island Amphitheater in Memphis, listening to Dan sing his beautiful songs underneath a starry sky, with the lights of the city glowing behind him and the river flowing slowly by behind us. Just an incredible and poignant memory. I ran out of money before I ran out of albums to buy. He was just a really prolific and talented artist/songwriter, and I highly respected both his skill and his storytelling ability. I learned to play almost every song off his first four albums, and would sit and play through them, intermixed with old Jim Croce favorites and some Simon and Garfunkel. His later albums weren't that aligned with the style I'd chosen, so I didn't pick up the High Country, Windows and Walls, or the Dancing Shoes album. Dan went through a messy divorce and out of it came his Exiles album, which my wife bought for me, and we went to his Exiles concert, where I hoped to hear many of my favorite old tunes from him. But it was mainly cuts from the new album. I went away vaguely disappointed because I was fixed in his past music. No big. He still had it - the skill, the songwriting. He'd just moved on, and I hadn't. But regardless, when I heard he'd passed away recently from cancer, it still shocked me and I usually deal with the death of a friend or family member with a poem or song. And yes, though Dan never knew me, I certainly considered his albums dear friends to jam to in those turbulent teen and early adult years. So, here's my message to him, see if you can pick out some of my favorite titles from his early stuff...
Lyrics
Sitting in the 15th row just twenty years ago You were on the stage with your guitar Telling us your memories with every note you sang As we sat spellbound, underneath the stars. Chorus: And the souvenirs you left for us Were just part of the plan Just a trip beyond the reach With the leader of the band And we sat down by the river As the stars fell from the sky With the scent of sweet wysteria As the time, the time just passed us by... Exiles out of space and time, The phoenix from the flames Trying to reclaim its innocent age And I pray you've found a better place Along the road you've gone As we contemplate Before the Empty Stage... Chorus
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