It Was A Day Of Gratitude

Psalm 150:4
Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing.....
Praise Him with strings and flutes......

David Finlayson, his brother Brook, and yours truly.
We came together to lead worship yesterday at Gadsden Vineyard.
Been playing with these guys off an on for nigh on 33 years. So when I got the invite to saddle up one more time, I said, "You bet!".

We actually joined forces back in 1989. Went by the name of The Guise. I don't remember the reason, but we were at Brook's house bouncing songs and just playing. The evening took us to a song by a friend, Arnie Sanford...."Would You Play". There was this moment when our harmonies melded into this incredible sound. I remember it vividly, each of us with a "What was that" kind of look on our faces. We knew we had something. I still have cassettes (And they still play) of our early concerts at Christian Brothers which I wouldn't take anything for. What made the whole "GUISE" thing work, was that it was a combination of the Marx Brothers meet Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Lot of spontaneous back and forth jabbing and joking. My favorite was when we were singing at a local church, and had done our version of Amazing Grace, complete with Brook's slide guitar (El Cheapo...remember that one Brook?). Upon completion of the song, David proceeded to tell the congregation that "Mike wrote that one". See what I mean?

We arrived at church yesterday at 8:30 to set up and run through the worship set, talking and reliving some old times. First song..."Let the Redeemed"...with a Steve Miller Band grove to it. It felt just right to be on the stage with these guys. Brook on electric, David on Acoustic, and me on Bass, along with Jimmy Henderson on drums. Suddenly it was 1989 again. 

As we moved through the set, we encountered bumps and ditches. In other words, the music had its moments where we kind of lost our way. But the fire was still there in the hearts to worship God. I remember at one point, feeling this incredible sense of gratitude that God allowed me to be connected to these men. To have a shared history that gives us the ability to pick right up after not playing for months on end. Oh, we're all older, move a little slower, and our voice may have dropped an octave or two, but the magic is still there.

So thanks Brook and David....
Lets do it again....
God on you...
mbb