One of Those Times in a Life - Songs by the Campfire

It is something to be able to finally tell my whole story. I was quite emotional

when I was working on this Chronicle. There are so many things involved in

changing the course of a lifetime. I talked to my mom and my brothers about

what I am doing. They are each supportive. It means a lot. It also means

that I want to be respectful of who and where they are with their lives and

stories and journeys as I do this.It is important that people know how much

I love my dad, how proud I am of who he was and what he did. That means being

honest with myself as I tell this story and know as fully as I can why it

is so important to share it. What a journey! 

One of Those Times in a Life is truly underway. I shared the journey with a

live audience last week. The Trail Map will soon be ready to share. While

there is still so much to do it feels like things are beginning to slow down

a little. At the same time The Brothers Four are getting ready to leave for

Japan in three weeks for a month of performing. I remain grateful for the

great team of people who help make all this possible.

It is fun to begin the next stage of this journey. The Brothers Four videos

were recorded recently in the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden near Port Townsend.

I don’t think we have ever sat around and simply sung while the

cameras rolled. The videos should be a nice combination with the Campfire

Chronicles talking of my first years as one of The Brothers Four.The team

of people who are working on this project were all at the house for dinner.

It is the first time we have been in one place. It was truly a night of gratitude.

It continues to surprise me how long it takes to create a context while breathing

life into the content of this project and journey. I never assumed it would

be easy, but I didn’t appreciate how complicated and difficult

it would be at times. Part of that is continuing to imagine and see the bigger

picture while simultaneously organizing and giving life to the smallest of

details. Another thing is having a clear vision of where all this is going

while at the same time being open and prepared for surprises and detours

along the way.It has been important to put together a team of people who

have talents and expertise that help make this possible. They are good people

doing good work.There is a part of me that has always been a little anxious

and eager to please. While I need to remember and respect those parts of

myself it has been important to find ways and reasons to relax in all of

this and to be satisfied with both the process and the product no matter

what anyone else might say.

Much of the recent cultural conversation appears to reinforce the notion that

we are all in this alone. The social contract we began writing in the 1930’s

that includes things like Social Security, the GI Bill, the Interstate Highway

System, the Voting Rights Act, and Medicare, is now often described as too

expensive, unnecessary, or an intrusion on our individual liberty. While

this is not the place to talk about how we might choose to reweave fabric

of a society, I will say that I am one of those who believes whether we like

it or not that we are all in this together, there must be a greater good

we continue to define and refine, and there is something incredibly satisfying

when we, when I, am part of something bigger than myself.With that as an

introduction in Episode Six I would like to tell you a little bit more about

Mike McCoy and the role he played in my life and career.

A Moment to ReflectLately it seems that while life may take a long time that

it is over much too soon. It is hard to believe that I’ve been

singing with Mike McCoy for more than forty-six years and it’s

been forty-three years since I started singing with The Brothers Four. One

of the things that make this One of Those Times in a Life is that making

music and sharing the journey with McCoy and The Brothers Four is more satisfying

than ever and while it still feels like the best days might still be in front

of us I am also aware of how precious each day and performance is.The video

in Episode Five is called When I Was Young and This Old Guitar Was New. It

talks about the many things I didn’t know when this all began as

well as a sense of wonder and love I feel at this point in the journey. The

audio essay is called The Mourning Ryde. That’s the name of the

group McCoy and I were part of in college. The story in the essay talks mostly

about the group’s brief brush with fame and fortune.

From the British Invasion to the 1967 Monterey Pops FestivalIn 1963 it was

cool to call yourself a folk singer. By the time I turned seventeen in March

of 1964 The Beatles had appeared and folk music quickly lost its cool and

commercial appeal. Roger McGuinn known as Jim McGuinn during his folk days

as the accompanist for The Chad Mitchell Trio formed The Byrds that same

year. By the summer of 1965 Dylan plugged in at the Newport Folk Festival

and one-time folkies were soon experimenting with other sounds and genres.

Producer Tom Wilson added electric guitar, bass, and drums to the folk version

of The Sounds of Silence and Simon and Garfunkel soared. One time New Christie

Minstrel Barry McGuire had a smash pop hit called Eve of Destruction.By 1967

another New Christie Minstrel alum Kenny Rogers was finding success as the

bearded face of The First Edition before going on to super stardom in country

music. That same year long time folkie and Journeyman John Phillips found

his greatest fame as Papa John in the Mamas and Papas. That summer Phillips

helped organize the Monterey Pops Festival, the first heavily attended rock

festival. Besides the Mamas and Papas other performers included The Jefferson

Airplane, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Otis Redding, Laura Nyro,

Steve Miller, and Ravi Shankar.Before the year was out The Kingston Trio

had made their farewell tour. As rock music began building toward Woodstock

in the summer of 1969 folk music had for all practical purposes left the

building.

A Page Filled with Gratitude… One of the best parts of the last

year has been having a chance to work with an amazing group of talented people

while getting ready to share this journey of songs and stories. Here are

some of the people who are invaluable to the process and the journey: Al

Bergstein - Mountainstone Productions Al creates the videos for One of Those

Times in a Life. He brings a wonderful artistic and technical sensibility,

understanding in life and work that craft is important and art is essential.

Jonathan Henson - Oxbow Rising Jonathan’s official title is Web

& Systems Developer. Along with his partners, Michael Hayes and Alexa

Voyer, they are the ones who create a welcoming and comfortable place for

everyone to join in the journey. Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond – uniqueasyou.com

Renne describes her work this way: “…Encouraging connections

and creating community through supportive hands-on instruction with inspired

results.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Patti

Miles Van Beuzekom - The Paradise Theatre School Patti is the artistic director

for and co-producer of the audio essays. She brings a guiding hand and a

loving heart to whatever she does and makes everything and everyone around

her more and better. George Rezendes - Tool Shed Sound Lab George records

the audio for all the videos as well as the audio essays. As someone who

is important to both the concert and story aspects of the journey I have

to trust him completely. I do. Anna Quinn - The Writers' Workshoppe

Anna is a keeper of the faith. She has a love of language and an understanding

of all it can both conceal and reveal. Kathleen Purdy - [email protected]

Small Business Development Center at WSU Kathleen freely shares time and

information regarding setting up and sustaining a small business. Her insistence

that I “cross my t’s and dot my i’s”

continues to help and challenge me.This is an extremely talented group of

people. With the exception of Jonathan’s partners we all live or

work on the Olympic Peninsula. Sharing this journey with them helps make

this One of Those Times in a Life. Blessings to everyone at this special

time of the year.

The Seven Stages of a JourneyThis forty-nine week journey is divided into seven

stages of seven weeks each. The first seven weeks we will be spending time

at the “base camp” telling stories and singing songs.

It is also a chance to see how everything is working before we “set

out.”The second stage begins the journey. This stage chronicles

the years from 1969 to 1971 when I was first with The Brothers Four with

lots of music and stories from that time.The third stage includes the year

from 1971 to 1979. These were years of developing a personal style as a songwriter

and solo performer. At the end of this time I simply ran out of ideas and

energy and imagination of what a musical career might look. This stage ends

and the next one begins with The Brothers Four asking me to be part of an

extended Japanese tour in the summer of 1979.Stage four is made up of the

years between 1979 to1987. It was a time when performing mostly meant with

Mike McCoy and beginning in 1985 as one of The Brothers Four. These were

productive times for McCoy and me. Still by 1987 it was hard to figure out

where we were going with our career and important for me to get back on stage

as a solo performer.The fifth stage begins in 1987. These were productive

years for The Brothers Four including many tours of Japan and the Orient.

McCoy was going through a hard time in November of 1995, and when he opened

himself up to me our friendship changed in so many good ways. We talked every

day for 500 days. A concert in Spokane in 1997 was the only time I ever opened

for The Brothers Four. McCoy was a guest artist. It was Easter weekend. It

was the last time I saw my dad healthy. This stage ends at my dad’s

memorial service with McCoy sitting next to me in the family section.Stage

six were the ten years after my dad died. I spent a year writing a musical

memoir honoring my dad that I performed at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle

as well as my mother’s home in Spokane. The Brother Four continued

to travel lots including a number of trips to Japan. McCoy joined the group

in 2004. That fall The Brothers Four spent a season of touring with The Kingston

Trio and Glenn Yarbrough and his group that included original Brothers Four

member, Dick Foley. This stage ended with a career retrospective at Benaroya

Hall in Seattle.The final stage includes lots of small changes as a songwriter

and performer. The changes resulted in a new solo album as well as one with

McCoy where nearly 30 years after recording Between Friends we brought in

the same musicians in the same space with the same engineer and producer

and recorded a follow-up titled appropriately Between Old Friends. This last

stage will end a year from now when the songs are sung and the stories are

told. I am curious to find out what that’s going to look like.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

Welcome to the first of 49 weekly episodes to be posted on my website, MarkPearsonMusic.com,

as a way of sharing my life and career in songs and stories. Each episode

will offer a different song video that can be looked at individually or seen

as part of a larger yearlong concert while every new weekly audio essay can

be enjoyed independently or heard together as part of a chronological journey

through a lifetime of music.It is my hope that these songs and stories will

give light and life to yours and other’s imaginations and memories

and become part of a larger conversation on the Mark Pearson Music Facebook

Page and YouTube Channel.You can sign up to receive the videos and audios

as free Podcasts as well as a regular muse letter I am calling Musings, Music,

and More that will keep you informed about upcoming events, special deals,

news, and other things I hope may enhance our journey together.As a way of

providing a musical overview (and to help pay for all this) I am offering

The Virtual Essentials, a 23-song collection including a digital booklet

of lyrics and anecdotes available only on the Website for $12. Chosen from

decades of recordings and performances, this Soundtrack of a Life consists

of songs that remain most significant.Thank you for taking the time to read

and watch and listen. I look forward to sharing One of Those Times in a Life

with you.