This past Sunday marked a significant music-making legacy as the Great Plains Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association commemorated 50 years of making/promoting Bluegrass and Old-Time music. The Jubilee was held at Danish Vennelyst Park on N. 31st Street in Omaha. A nice lunch was provided during which an open mic featured various musicians. The final group to perform has multiple members in it that are on the board of the GPBOTMA and who have largely helmed the club for a number of years. I was reminded as I entered the meeting hall that we had all been there for the same event 10 years earlier, when the Kopsa Family performed at the 40th celebration.

Of course no club meeting is complete without jam sessions, and three such groups formed both inside and outside to enjoy each other’s company and make some music. The club exists to provide a setting for learning an instrument and how to listen and perform both individually and in a group, and along the way to encourage the preservation and promotion of Bluegrass and Old-Time music. It’s always encouraging to see some younger attendees appreciating the same interests and valuing learning and preserving these genres. Many friendships have been made and maintained over the years through this association.

The GPBOTMA has monthly shows/jams the 1st Sunday afternoon of each month October through May which are held at The American Legion Post #1, 78th & Davenport in Omaha. Club dues are a nominal annual amount and entitle you to $2 off the admission price. There’s always multiple jams following a varied group performance or open mic opportunity – depending on that month’s schedule. More information can be found here on facebook. Congrats on 50 years!

This month a new out-of-state client was able to work out his schedule and came by to restore some old band archives. He had been in a rock band for a number of years and they had made various recordings – some of which had been transferred onto digital media and others were still just on reel-to-reel tapes. There’s always the mystery of what condition a reel has transitioned into as the years have passed. Interestingly, consumer grade tape generally survives the passing of time better than many pro-formulated spools. Over time it’s not uncommon for certain brands of studio quality magnetic tape to become sticky. This is caused when the glue which adheres the plastic backing to the oxide layer (which actually holds the audio information) leaches through the oxide. When it becomes bad enough the wraps of tape become “glued” to each other making it almost (or actually) impossible to play, and at a minimum the glue builds up on the tape path resulting in slow play or the tape just stopping.

After delving into the various flash drives of previously transferred material and identifying what he had/didn’t have it was determined 3 songs were missing. He had been informed they didn’t exist anymore, but “let’s try this reel and see what’s on there.” Fortunately, the client’s tape we loaded (yes, I still remember how to thread a tape machine) did not suffer from any of those symptoms. As my 40-year-old Otari reel machine spun the reels and the VU meters bounced to the music he was delighted to hear those songs. I asked him how long it had been since he heard them, to which he replied “40 years.” He was pretty ecstatic they were there and in good shape. So, having now copied the tunes over to computer I looked for software versions of processors that would have been popular in music production at the time. I found a couple (we both knew/and or used the hardware versions) and we put some polish on those old recordings and set up a master CD with the other songs from that original album.

It was a lot of fun actually. I had been forced to get my reel machine back into working order. Old lubricants used in the play mechanisms had dried out and needed to be cleaned and replaced with new. It had also been some time since I cleaned and demagnetized a tape path. I honestly don’t miss all the mechanical maintenance and electrical alignment/calibration of tape machines, but I also have to say I miss seeing spinning reels and active mechanical meters. Somehow, it just seems like you’re doing something more “tangible”. And in addition, I had a musician in the studio who was delighted to have an old project updated into a current usable form as we reminisced about old recording methods and tools. Somehow, it just felt real comfortable. Would I want to go back to the old recording methods? No, but there was a simplicity in that afternoon session and a warmth in the sounds and friendship that ensued.

This month Tesco Productions recorded another audiobook for ONE Audiobooks which probes likely the most important question we can ever ask ourselves, “What if Jesus is right?” After all, Jesus is presented as a very unique person and he made some audacious claims about himself. What are we to make of it all?

Co-authors Douglas Grouthuis and Lindsey Medenwaldt in their book What If Jesus Is Right? Examining Jesus’ Claims About Himself in a World Full of Falsehoods, probe the answer to this question from a number of perspectives. The first 5 chapters, which compile Part 1 look extensively at the battle over this question. They open by asking if it really matters today? This section then includes an in depth examination of false claims made about Jesus and fake Jesuses we may encounter. Part 2, which encompasses chapters 6 through 13 looks into the serious invitation Jesus presented during his lifetime and is still presenting today. This section begins by asking if we can trust Jesus? This leads into his claims of being divine, which he made in his teachings as well as through his miracles. His death and resurrection are the culminating proclamation of his divine/human union, and we’re called to discern the truth. The book concludes by circling back to what call the person and teaching of Jesus has on us, with the personal invitation to consider and respond accordingly. There’s a concluding, very touching chapter reflecting on Douglas’s and his first wife’s journey with a life-taking illness, and how the truth of Jesus walked with them through it all.

This audio recording caused me to reflect back on a prior audiobook we recorded for Grant Garwood, which presented a condensed overview of issues pertaining to this same question. We find the evidence all points to the same person – Jesus. What if Jesus is right?