Strike Up the Band!

Music is an unstoppable force. When venues shut down, bands play on. When tours get postponed, voices can still be heard. Creativity and technology are and orchestra of resiliency.

Some of my initial memories as a father are driven by music - singing to my first daughter on the rocking chair; pump-up music for a Saint Patrick's Day induction for Daughter #2; "Happy Birthday" choruses as those two girls have reached new heights.

Our "Animal of the Day" home school graduation led to "Music May". It was time to rock out some education. Throw out the lesson plans and let it rip. "Animal of the Day" academia was a rigorous and ambitious fatherly effort to provide learning and laughter. There was little planning to Music May, Volume 1. Like a Greatest Hits album, this is the soundtrack of our pandemic lives.

Day 1 - drums. We powered up with percussion from one of the greatest drummers of all-time - Animal. This muppet plays a mean drum. We watched a Youtube video of Animal battling Dave Grohl from Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame. Muppet and man got this party started.

In the mid-90s, children were blessed with The Animaniacs. I remember coming home from school and adventuring with Wakko, Yakko, and Dot. The theme song was pure brillance. Our school covered the saxophone and The Animaniacs theme song line, "Dot is cute and Yakko yaks, Wakko packs away the snacks, while Bill Clinton plays the sax, We're An-i-man-iacs!"

Deliverance is not a family film. The dueling banjo scene from 1972's Deliverance was wonderfully weird for our family. I have to be the first person on Earth to Youtube search for "Animaniacs theme song" and "Deliverance" in a 24-hour span..or maybe in a lifetime span. Banjo night ended with a video of dueling banjo skeletons. Even the dead duel with banjos!

Local Facebook live music has been integral to survival. The Evergreens, Lux and Company, and A Girl Named Tom have blessed our home with sounds and sights. The Evergreens have taken us on a musical tour through the decades. Lux and Company has provided a combination of comedy and melody. And A Girl Named Tom sang to us, from their living room to ours. But, it doesn't stop there.

I have heard my daughter's preschool teachers singing over Zoom to a choir of 4 and 5 year olds. On Sunday mornings we watch Our Mother of Sorrows mass and sing uplifting songs of salvation and faith. John Krasinki has captured the power of music on his show SGN - Some Good News - with musical scenes from across the country or adding music to pictures and videos of triumph over tragedy.

There is only one way to move - forward. So, as we do, strike up the band. Sing your heart out. Capture the moment in song. If you have a banjo, duel. In a recent small group spiritual discussion, again using technology to connect, we talked about the certainty of death and the uncertainty of it all.

I'm not sure if I will one day be a skeleton playing a banjo, but I am determined to live, love, and laugh my way forward. I am grateful for all the musicians who keep music alive.

Johnstown - fill your home with positive lyrics. World, please don't stop the music or in the words of Journey, "Don't Stop Believing" or in the words of Animal:

"YAHAYAHAYAHAYAHA me love the drums!"