Crossinator

Last night we had the privilege to join Karin Berquist for her birthday. If that name doesn't sound familiar maybe you'll recognize the band that she sings with: Over the Rhine. Her and husband Linford Detweiler, are the very core of the group.

OTR has a strong and dedicated following to music that is written from their Christian perspective but more often gets played in bars and clubs! We attended their concert last night at the Music Mill in Indianapolis and were treated to an awesome show with front row seats! (I think the show would have been awesome from any spot in the 250 seat crowd) We also ran into a good friend from Anderson, another Anderson Road Runner, some friends of Christy's from IWU and spotted Jon McLaughlin.

Using an upright bass, cello, ukulele, guitar, drum kit, piano, and even a cookie sheet, they provide an awesome sound that is evocative. They also have a sometime hilarious, sometimes serious, but always fun stage presence. At one point I thought the drummer was going to leap from behind the drum set into the audience, but he was only dramatically grabbing the cymbals!

You should check out some of their music. To me one of their funniest and most appropriate songs for 2007-2008 is If a Song Could be President.

If a song could be president
We’d hum on Election Day
The gospel choir would start to sway
And we’d all have a part to play

The first lady would free her hips
Pull a microphone to her lips
Break our hearts with Rhythm and Blues
Steve Earle would anchor the news

We’d vote for a melody
Pass it around on an MP3
All our best foreign policy
Would be built on harmony

If a song could be president
We’d fly a jukebox to the moon
All our founding fathers’ 45’s
Lightnin’ Hopkins and Patsy Cline
If a song could be president

If a song could be president
We could all add another verse
Life would teach us to rehearse
Till we found a key change

Break out of this minor key
Half-truths and hypocrisy
We wouldn’t need an underachiever-in-chief
If a song could be president

We’d make Neil Young a Senator
Even though he came from Canada
Emmylou would be Ambassador
World leaders would listen to her

They would show us where our country went wrong
Strum their guitars on the White House lawn
John Prine would run the FBI
All the criminals would laugh and cry
If a song could be president

Thank you Sarah for the tickets!