February 28 2011

Cold open: the panhandling debate

• Do you give money to panhandlers?

The show opens mid-joke with the hosts debating whether to give money to panhandlers near the Roll Hay Road exit. One host jokes about a regular who 'hands out money left and right,' they riff on McDonald's gift cards, old bottles, and trash as alternatives, and nickname a generous regular 'Johnny King of the Saints.'

Show open: Eyes Wide Open in the studio, agenda set

• Should the church embrace the culture to meet people where they are, or keep fighting the culture because it's taking them the wrong direction?

A host opens the show (self-identifying as 'Ben Foos' in the audio) and introduces the night's guests, the band Eyes Wide Open, who will play and talk. He sets the agenda: a 'Name That Tune, Angel Edition' game using secular songs with the word angel in them (one host had sent a list of candidates that the host mostly ignored), a discussion of an article about the 'hipster church' trying to meet the culture, and a sermon one of them preached on the tone of what comes out of your mouth and how it represents Christ.

The congregational reading story

After joking that one of them says terrible things, a host tells the story of a recent service where the preaching host had a church member, Tony, lead a first-ever congregational reading of James 3 (about the tongue). The reading fell flat — the congregation murmured awkwardly like 'monks contemplating whether to eat the wafer' — and a table of six friends the host knew apparently left during it. The hosts debate whether congregational readings can ever work (choir director, metronome, or just not doing them) and rag on reading too slowly.

Chat banter, band introductions, and the LL Cool J claim

Reading the live chat, the hosts tease someone about eating Jotham's wedding cake and learn a band member is engaged and shopping for wedding cakes (wedding date given as August 6th). The band members are introduced by first name: Tyler, Jotham, Seth, and Luke; Christian couldn't make it and is dubbed 'Long Locks.' A riff on LL Cool J leads to the on-air claim that LL Cool J stands for 'Ladies Love Cool James,' and a host declares himself 'OL Mike' — One Lady Loves Mike.

How Eyes Wide Open formed and got its name

The band tells its origin story: it started with two of them jamming after church services (one had just left the band Firstborn Son), rehearsing at Open Bible in Pella, and booking their first concert with only one song written. About a hundred people showed up, three gave their lives to the Lord, and they discovered they were opening for John James, the original lead singer of the Newsboys, who turned out to be a motivational speaker rather than bringing a band. Rejected band names included The Wily Spider, Cheese Grater Deluxe, Blood Boots, and a wheel-within-a-wheel variant. The name came from reading a grandma's Bible: her note said 'Lord, open my eyes,' which they call profound — a call to open people's eyes to Christ, hope, and salvation.

'Rescue' — song story and performance

A band member explains the song 'Rescue,' written about two years earlier: one friend was going through cancer, another wasn't saved, and the song is a cry from his heart for someone to come to their rescue with salvation and Christ. The band then performs the song live, and the hosts react warmly, joking about singing the high parts.

Band plugs: gigs, recording, and the EP

After 'Rescue,' the hosts plug the band's online presence (Facebook, Twitter at EWO Music, a MySpace in progress) and upcoming shows: this Sunday at House of Freedom in Ames with Dark Horse ($2, 6 p.m.), an acoustic show the last Sunday in March at Cafe Diem in Ankeny (free), April 1st at Zeke's in Ames with Abandoned Kansas on their CD release tour plus Swim with Dolphins and Mike Manes and In the Branches, and a waitlist spot at the Spirit Midwest music festival. The band is re-recording 'Rescue' as a full-band version at Cornstalk Productions with Phil Beerman (guitarist for Senseless Beauty), aiming for a four-track EP by May. The hosts tease one member about his fire photo on Facebook and his daughter playing with flash paper.

'Maker of the Stars' — song story and performance

Asked about 'Maker of the Stars,' the band's self-described poet explains it's a soulful, slower song written for someone going through a rough time who can't find anything to make them happy — to let them know someone is out there and will see them through. The band performs it, and a host says he'd like to sing it to his kids before bed and jokes about ruining it by overdubbing his own third part in post.

A band member studies medicine; YouTube growth talk

Between songs the hosts joke about pro metrics on their YouTube channel (said to be gaining over a thousand views a week) and learn a band member is studying at DMU (Des Moines University) in a dual program: a Master of Public Health plus becoming a licensed doctor. He is originally from South Africa and hopes to return to open clinics for AIDS patients, prompting a digression about gangs stealing AIDS medication in Africa and governments reselling it.

The 5.2 aortic-root aneurysm story and medical banter

• Should I have surgery for my 5.2 cm ascending-aortic-root aneurysm?

A host tells a personal health story: after going in for a cough, he was found to have an ascending-aortic-root aneurysm at '52 at the root'; the cardiologist recommended surgery while the surgeon said he was fine ('it's just big'), and the hosts jokingly ask the band member studying medicine whether he would 'cut Dan open' and get a second opinion. The thread spins into a gripe about an eye doctor refusing to release an eyeglass prescription (HIPAA invoked), ordering $16–$20 prescription glasses online instead, and a joke asking whether the med student could legally declare the host dead.

'I Will Not Be Shaken' by On This Rock, plus Jam and Java

The hosts play a song, 'I Will Not Be Shaken,' by On This Rock, the band that was in the studio the previous week, noting the hosts sang backup on it. They plug On This Rock's upcoming Friday appearance at Jam and Java at Smoky Row coffee house in Des Moines (put on by the Spirit Midwest ministry folks), and a host recounts going to Jam and Java last Friday to see Rich Casciato — good coffee, no food because it was expensive.

'Alive' — song story, performance, and the secret fourth track

Introducing their newest song, finished and rehearsed in the past week, a band member says 'Alive' came from a message their pastor preached about being holy and about temptations — it's a song addressed to the devil: we're not going to give in to temptation; we were dead until Christ came in and we came alive. A host praises 'old fist to the devil' songs, namechecks old-school Stryper and 'Days of Elijah.' After the performance the band admits the fourth song on the upcoming EP is written but still untitled — 'a secret.'

Facebook vs. the legitimate website

• Do bands still need a legitimate website in the Facebook era?

The band says tonight's clips will land on the show's YouTube channel, and the hosts debate web presence: a host calls himself an old fogey for liking 'a legitimate website,' arguing Facebook will fall out of vogue the way MySpace did (another recalls his little brother building him a terrible MySpace page — 'he defamed me').

The hipster church: meeting the culture or fighting it

The hosts work through an article about the 'hipster church' — churches holding services in nightclubs, playing secular-sounding music, trying to meet the culture — and the claim that it isn't building long-term sustainability because people come for the show and leave when nothing has roots. They argue it out: one side says you must recognize where the culture is (music changes; the organ wasn't around when Christ walked the earth) and cites seeing Christian metal bands As I Lay Dying and Demon Hunter in Des Moines, where tattooed fans said 'nobody wants me' at church. They land on three kinds of churches: the hipster church that softens faith to get people in, the insular church 'of the 99 sheep' that's too holy to make room, and the accepting church that looks at people's hearts and sees opportunity for grace. 'Mohair Baptist' gets a mention as the hypothetical church that looks weird just by being faithful.

Seeing people the way God sees them

• How does God see us — and do we see the people around us the same way?

Picking up the grace thread, a host tells a Red Lobster story: irritated at people crowding the door he was standing in front of, he realized he wasn't looking at them the way God does. The hosts share children's-Bible moments — one mangling the story of Jesus and the children ('He kicked them... sorry, I always mess that up'), a daughter fixated on the kid touching Jesus' beard in the illustrated Bible ('Jesus lets kids touch his beard'), and a three-year-old trying to command the rain with 'Be still' ('only Jesus can do it'). Then one host reads three verses on how God views people — 1 Peter 2:9 (chosen people, royal priesthood), Luke 12:24 (consider the ravens), Isaiah 43:4 (precious and honored) — and asks: if we are acceptable, valuable, and precious to God, do we treat the people around us the same way? The consensus: there's a gap, and remembering that Christ died for irritating people is a discipline.

Name That Tune, Heaven Edition: the rounds

The game begins — 'the fastest-growing game show in Christian internet radio' — though the on-air title is 'Name That Tune, Heaven Edition' rather than the 'Angel Edition' announced earlier. Rules: one point for the artist, one for the song title, 15 clips for 30 possible points, winner gets a show t-shirt after a $50 surcharge. The clips play with everyone guessing and hinting: Bob Seger, Sarah McLachlan, Johnny Cash, a country artist guessed as Barney, an oldies artist, a rocker 'married to a supermodel,' a 90s alternative rock group, a band 'with a birdish name,' a 50s tune popularized in an 80s Michael J. Fox movie, John Cougar Mellencamp, an MTV Unplugged recording, an 80s song, a 90s rock group, an American Idol hint, and a Paul Simon tune whose video featured Chevy Chase.

Name That Tune: answers, scores, and game history

The answers are revealed: Bob Seger's 'Shame on the Moon,' Sarah McLachlan's 'In the Arms of the Angels,' Johnny Cash ('The Man Comes Around' lyrics), Dixie Chicks' cover of a Fleetwood Mac tune (given as 'Godspeed'), Elvis Presley, Billy Joel's 'Lullaby,' Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Under the Bridge,' the Black Crowes' 'She Talks to Angels,' 'Earth Angel' via Marvin Berry and the Starlights from Back to the Future, the J. Geils Band's 'Centerfold,' Nirvana's MTV Unplugged 'Lake of Fire' (a Meat Puppets cover), Journey's 'City of the Angels,' Foo Fighters' 'Learn to Fly,' James Blunt, and Paul Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al.' Scoring: 'Supportive Wife' had 12 points, Colin beat one host with 3, and the hosts did poorly overall. They note the 'Jesus Edition' went great but the Heaven Edition with Jesse Anderson bombed like this one — 'it may not be the fastest growing' — and plan a 'Faith' edition next.

Broadcast notes, radio plugs, and winding down

Wrapping up, the hosts plug the show's regulars: live every Monday 10 p.m. to midnight, the podcast, and the archive at livefromthepath.org. They announce the show will air on Praise 940 the first Sunday of every month at 5 p.m., thanking the 'Moving Iowa' radio show — J.C. Walker of iRealty and Luke Landis of Heartland Mortgage Group — for donating the airtime. They recap the band's Sunday show at House of Freedom in Ames (6 p.m., room for ~125), joke about chewing tobacco ('that better not be the grizzly'), compare the show to a Jerry Springer car wreck you can't look away from, and riff on a sudden bromance with band member Tyler.

The 24-7 prayer room and the National Atheist Convention

With about 15 minutes left, the hosts announce the church's twice-yearly 24-7 prayer room: April 10th through the 24th (ending on Easter), two weeks of round-the-clock prayer with paper on the walls for prayer requests, music, instruments, and snacks; the show will broadcast from the prayer room for two of those weeks. One host tells how signing up for hour blocks (and late-night slots like 2–4 a.m.) flies by, and recalls getting fired up about the 'God is for me' psalm at 3:30 a.m. with no one around. Then the plan: the National Atheist Convention is in Des Moines April 21–24, and they'll run a prayer room on site, incognito — quietly praying that God implodes false thinking rather than protesting. Hotel rooms are sold out, which becomes its own bit.

Final plugs and sign-off

The sign-off round: the show's YouTube channel (youtube user livefromthepath) will carry tonight's performances and the full episode will post within 24 hours; listeners can sign up for the podcast and newsletter. Gig reminders: On This Rock at Jam and Java on Friday, Syndrome of Fire at the 504 Club Thursday (21+, 10 p.m.), and Eyes Wide Open Sunday at House of Freedom in Ames (2202 Lincoln Way, by the Hendrix sign). The band plugs a free download of the re-recorded 'Rescue' on their Facebook within a couple of weeks via Cornstalk Productions. After a JC Penney's doorbuster-sales joke, the band walks off to the 'chapel area,' and the hosts sign off from Live from the Path with Eyes Wide Open.