What to write about? Very often when I sit down to write (which isn’t very often), I cant think of the right words to express my ideas. It isn't a problem with my ideas; it’s a problem finding the correct words and putting them in the right order. After that, I have to worry about grammar and punctuation, and then I have to go back and delete all the y’alls and aint’s. (Not really.) In the end, I am left with something that is hopefully comprehensible and probably not a true expression of my original idea.

     Music, however, is very different. When I sit down to write music, I start with an emotion (the one I am feeling at the moment), and then develop that into a melody or groove that truly represents that emotion better than any words ever could. The same emotion is provoked in the listener that I was feeling at the time of composition, or, as with improvised music, emotions are conveyed in the moment; everything happens instantaneously in the present. This is true and complete expression.

     Don’t think I am knocking written language. I love to read, and I love to write just as much, but I cannot truly express myself with words. Words conjure different meanings for different people, and can be interpreted in as many ways as there are people who can read them. A word is not a physical thing. It exists only as an idea in the human mind. One of the miracles of language is that there are so many people who have so many of the same ideas about so many of the same things, we can communicate with abstract sounds that have nothing to do with the things they represent. This in itself should be regarded as a great human accomplishment, but not taken for granted. Given the word “God,” for example, everyone in the world has a different meaning associated with it in their mind. Therefore, if I say “God” to someone, they are not understanding my idea, they are substituting their own. One person may associate that word with an old white man sitting on a throne in the clouds, while another may associate it with an expansive force that encompasses everything. Those are such different things that the word is almost useless as a method to convey ideas.

     Music, on the other hand, is very different. (I am somewhat partial to music). As a method of superficial communication, it is not as effective as language. It would be much harder, if not impossible, to tell someone that you would like to order fries with your cheeseburger using only music as a method of communication. That is where language is of greater value. Almost everyone who speaks English has the same idea about what a cheeseburger is, or at least close enough to place the order. Where music becomes more effective is when an individual is trying to express less concrete ideas, like “sad” or “ecstatic”. These words, when spoken, only give a very general idea about the true state of affairs. However, if I were to pick up a guitar and play “sad” or “ecstatic”, I could convey these emotions even better than the word “cheeseburger” could convey the idea of the thing. It is possible to actually bring forth the same emotions in another using music.

     Music is true, perfect communication, and it has no barriers. A musician can communicate the same thing in the same way to anyone in the world. One cannot lie with music. Music is truth, and played with true intentions, it is a force more powerful than any armies or governments. Music played with love can and will change the world in a very concrete way. People just need to listen.

-John

      I came to a conclusion a few years ago. Gravy tastes good on everything. Some thick, brown sausage gravy makes any food you can think of taste really, really great. It makes sushi taste just like gravy! It makes biscuits, pancakes, eggs, waffles and even gravy taste like gravy. The only problem with gravy is that you can’t get it everywhere. Only in the good ol’ southeast USA can you get real gravy. Sucks to be everybody else.
     Another thing you can only get here is real, quality, certified beach music. This is where beach music is from, and apparently, this is where it will stay. In The Embers’ fifty-two years on the scene, ‘Soul’ music has been copied, twisted and transformed into what is referred to today as Beach Music. This has defined an entire generation of people from a large region of the country.
     Arguably, gravy has done the same thing. What did Bobby Tomlinson, General Johnson, Jackie Gore, and all of the Spinners eat for breakfast countless mornings while on the road? Gravy. When this amount of gravy is consumed on a regular basis, it could have very real physiological and psychological effect. I believe that gravy played a large part in shaping the music that we now call ‘Beach Music,’ and the musicians who play it.
     Scientific studies have shown that an increased amount of gravy in the bloodstream actually helps to develop certain areas of the brain. A large and regular intake of gravy could allow the brain to more freely make all the complex calculations and react faster to more intense stimuli. Along with a genetic predisposition to be faster and more talented at an individual instrument, and having the physically larger brain required to play beach music, gravy might have shaped the American musical landscape and it’s musicians more than anyone could imagine.
     Clearly, more research needs to be done before any formal conclusions can be drawn, but one thing is for sure: with regular exercise, practice, and hard work, along with regular servings of thick, brown gravy, human beings are able to reach new heights and raise the bar for musicians throughout the whole world.

-John  Ray

 An interview with Embers guitarist David Dixon, conducted by master bass player and visionary John Ray.  Special thanks to Nigel Maidstone Gillingham III for producing this podcast at his studio in Brentwood, England.

This podcast contains new information, a request for fans and an interview with a band member!

     I was walking my dogs near my house the other day, when I was stopped by a small group of swifts flying close over my head. I watched them as they flew towards a large flock not far from me. The place I was standing was overlooking a small valley with I-40 running right down the center, and houses all around as far as I could see. It was dusk, and people were all rushing to get home for dinner, and this flock of about a thousand birds was performing aerial acrobatics in the turbulent air above the interstate completely unnoticed by the human traffic on the ground.
     What these people were missing, listening to their radios and talking on their cell phones, unaware of anything but the cars in their immediate area, was one of the most beautiful, intricate dances I've ever witnessed. The immense group of participants wheeled around a large area of the sky, all turning in unison, different sections breaking off here, and rejoining there, and all of it coordinated perfectly and synced up so that the group moved as a single unit across the sky. More swifts were flying in and joining this mass of birds all the time, seemingly coming from all over the city to take part in this dance and then roost together when the daylight is finally gone. As soon as they reached the main flock, the small group of four or five would immediately fall into sync with the main flock, as if they were performing a three-dimensional dance that was rehearsed for months.
     It was not rehearsed in any way, though. Scientists have studied this flocking behavior, and have come to many conclusions about its purpose, but nobody can know for sure what these birds are thinking. When I look at this behavior, as a musician, it seems clear to me that regardless of the reason for it, what they are doing is dancing. They might be dancing as a way to determine the hierarchy of roosting or to scare predators, but the fact remains that they are all moving together as one using a form of instantaneous communication that is unknown to science, but very well known by musicians. It is this same form of communication that we use on stage every night when we improvise, when verbal communication and body language are not an option. The most that we can do on stage is yell out a word or two or give a look with an eye, but this is not in any way sufficient to communicate the intricacies of music. All the time we have to be aware fully of everything that is happening around us, while then figuring out how best to add our sound to this, and then listening to the whole of the group and make any changes that need to be made, at the same time we employ all of our years of accumulated theoretical knowledge about what notes to play, how to play them, and how to achieve this technically. It takes much more than lifetime of practice to master this, and I can say for myself that I am just beginning to learn how to dance this dance of music and artistic expression through group performance.
     These birds have mastered this dance. It is clear to me watching them that while there might be some underlying survival technique related to this dance, they are finished feeding for the day and are dancing as one; a whole society of swifts coming together for one last improvised salute to the fading daylight. This is something that we, as a different species of animal living in a much larger flock, should learn from, and something that we musicians should study very thoroughly, and try to imitate with our own dances.
-John Ray

Welcome to the Embers very first podcast! This is the first podcast in the history of the Embers and the first in a series to be aired throughout 2010! Join host Pat McCutcheason as he interviews band members and introduces fun and interesting segments throughout the series. You are invited to write in with your requests and suggestions for future podcasts!

This past weekend, we had the privilege of visiting a Veterans Hospital in Charleston, SC. It was an inspiring and humbling experience, to say the least. On Friday night we played a Veterans Valentines ball with our friends, The Tams. We both had a great time, and the large crowd was very appreciative. Thank you all that attended!
We were put up in a very nice hotel in downtown Charleston, and the next morning we made the trip to the VA Hospital. I don’t think any of us knew what to expect, or what we were even supposed to do, but we met with our contact there and she escorted us to a patient’s room. The first guy we met was from Conway, SC, and was very happy to see us! We just hung out with him for a few minutes, and moved on to the next room.
We visited with about 25 patients, and all of them were happy to see us, and just get a chance to talk to some people and be appreciated. Everyone in the hospital was a veteran, and some had obvious war injuries. We made sure all of them knew how much we appreciated their sacrifice, and I could tell that that made all of them happy.
The whole thing was a very surreal experience, and by the end of our 2 hour stay, I felt much smaller. We are entertainers, and our job is to make people happy; it seems to me that this should be part of our job requirement as well. Not just for veterans, but anyone who is in need of cheering up, for any reason. I got the impression from some of the people in there that they were not going to ever leave the hospital, and that they had almost given up on life. If we could make one person smile, just once, then I would say our trip was worthwhile. It was worthwhile.
-John Ray

It is way past time for another blog - Right!?!?!?

Here goes: Man the first of the year has been rough so far! Why you ask? The transmission crapped out in my van. I bought this van from the Chrysler Dealer here in Raleigh this past May. It was used with only 62K miles, leather interior and decked out to the max. The perfect family hauler. Well - I learned the hard way the history behind this model van and its transmission woes. This is a really long story........ fast forward - It broke down on I-95 south (with less than 80K miles) at about 10pm just after new years. We got the van back today after four garages and three tows. I won't talk about the expense, ongoing inconvenience or sitting on the side of the road for hours (at night) with the wife and kids. Far too sad - although, I did enjoy the time spent with them. It was nice considering the mandatory circumstance. I just want to send a special thanks to my really good friend that helped me through it all. His tireless drive to help us and get this taken care of accompanied by the same caring attitude from his wife saw our family through this mess. They even loaned us a cool old school Jeep to drive in the interim. Were it not for them, we would have been ran over or popped between the eyes by the 8-ball instead of just being behind it! Thankfully, our friendship has grown through this ordeal and for that our family is very thankful. They know who they are! I owe you one (or more)!!

Things are brighter today. We got the van back late last night and drove it to Virginia today (we made it there and back with no issues) to get another car. This vehicle is a family heirloom that has been in our family for years and was once owned by my father-in-law, then his brother. We have it now and needless to say, my wife is tickled as she will be the principle driver. She has always loved the car and has very fond memories if it. My little red car, that I bought new several years ago for cheapo band travel, will be handed down to my nephew Stenson - a first time driver this year! The only draw back to all this - I'm now mini-van guy. Anything for my family. I love them very much! These are our cars as they set in our driveway tonight…



This is Tracie's new ride.



This is my nephews new ride minus the cool tag of course.



Finally - this is my new ride. At least I know the transmission is good and it has a killer stereo. Not to mention the automatic doors and liftgate! Just look for the old guy cruising the mall wearing a cape and providing car care tips and rides to the less fortunate…


-free

      My friends, I’m here today to tell you about a brand new organization I am founding. It’s called the Rick Sanders Save the World Federation (RSSTWF). With my plan I will:
1. Solve the gasoline crisis
2. Reduce work related stress by half or more
3. End world hunger and possibly the need for food altogether
4. Cure all deadly diseases
5. Reduce traffic accidents and save millions of lives.

     Today I will tackle three of the problems I have mentioned.
1. Curing deadly diseases.
     Think tanks! Now wait a minute! Hasn’t that been tried before, you ask? Yes, and with less than satisfactory results. However, they are GOING ABOUT IT THE WRONG WAY! Have you ever noticed how amazing the new video games are? These people who design these are brilliant, witty, clever, innovative people! And computer geeks do research better than anyone! Put these guys in the same room with the top surgeons and medical researchers in the country. The computer guys will look at the problems from a completely different angle. Ideas will bounce around and sooner or later solutions for a cure of all deadly diseases will be found! You could throw in brilliant architects, engineers, professors and philosophers! And maybe a Beach Music musician or two?
     Ok, we’ve solved the disease problem, on to the gas crisis and saving lives on the highway.
     Pass a law – maximum 35 mph speed limit. Whoa! Before you organize a posse to do me bodily harm, hear me out. Due to reduced speeds the world would need half the gas it uses. Prices would plummet to well under a dollar a gallon leaving more money to spend on you and your loved ones. Of course we would need a special lane or two at the regular speed limit for emergency vehicles and people with the important job of spreading joy and beauty to the world, such as actors, clowns, jugglers, and Beach Music musicians. And what would you do with that extra time it takes to get to work? Well, for starters, I would suggest you purchase the entire Embers CD collection because nothing reduces stress better than good old Beach Music. As a by-product, reduced speeds would save not thousands, not millions, but BILLIONS of lives in traffic mishaps!
     If everyone in the entire world donates a quarter (more if you have it!) to my foundation we can save the world! The Embers could embark on a world tour to promote my plan and spread the happiness and joy that beach music brings!
     Next up - - solving world hunger and work related stress. Till then, your friendly guru, philosopher, soothsayer visionary and all around good-guy Ricky Paul Sanders will be working tirelessly to SAVE THE WORLD!!

  Day three in Korea: after going out and playing at “Woodstock,” getting up at 9:30 was a little more difficult than usual. I’m still not adjusted to Korea time, and my schedule is still a little out of whack. We hopped on our bus and headed to the Seoul Station, to get on a bullet train to take us to Daegu. I tried to sleep on the way there, but was too interested in watching the scenery. The train went 300 kph, or about 190 mph. On land, that is by far the fastest I’ve ever been! It was surprising to see how developed Korea is. As we passed through the countryside, it seemed tha even the small towns all have high rise condominiums, and the towns are all very compact, leaving all of the factories and farms outside of the cities. We passed through tall mountains which reminded me of the cascade mountains in Washington, except much older and covered with trees. All of the vegetation I saw was basically identical to North Carolina, and none of it felt very foreign.
We arrived at the base to find our crew had already set up for the show, and the stage looked amazing! Those guys are good. Our sound crew consists of nine guys, who make quick work of setting up and tearing down, leaving us to worry about music and sound checking. The show was great, and the sound was awesome, even though we played in a gym with high metal ceilings and concrete walls (about as bad as it gets for acoustics). It was nice to do a show with our costumes and tuxes, and all of the skits tha go in the show. The audience was very appreciative as well.
Nothing eventful happened after the show, this time. We took the train back to Seoul, and went to the hotel and to sleep! It was nice to get a full night’s sleep for a change!
-John Ray