…with a silent “h”
…with a silent “h”
Charlie got his start in church, singing in choirs in the 1970s, when he was a teenager. He attended a Christian college in Missouri from 1975 to 1978, where he sang in the choir for two years and in a men’s group for a year; that group traveled to other cities and even did two tours.
During the 1980s, Charlie played piano at a Baptist church in South Beloit, Illinois, where he also sang a number of solos. He recorded a song for his wedding in 1982; that song was released as “Wendi” on his album entitled Umm… in 2007. He wrote an original Christmas carol, “It’s Christmastide,” in 1987; he and his wife, Wendi, sang it that year in church, but it was never recorded (find sheet music here in JPG or PDF format).
During the next 20 years or so, Charlie wrote a few songs but never recorded them or sang them publicly. Around 2004, he began to write new, different material which would become the foundation for his later work.
Rehearsal 11 a.m. at 1 p.m. at Craig High School auditorium, for tomorrow's Easter Celebration Service sponsored by our church. Everything went very well. I was there because I am singing a song I composed myself, entitled “He's Not Here.” It's upbeat and celebratory, just right for an Easter celebration.
The Easter Celebration Service at Craig High School (10:00 to 11:30) was AWESOME! The music was energetic and upbeat, and my solo went off well. The sermon was on “The Empty Promises of Easter” with the idea that instead of promises full of emptiness, Christ's tomb displayed emptiness that is full of promise. ~ 532 people attended the service.
My song went over so well that I was told by several people that I should do my own record. Eventually, I did; the result was Umm…
Saturday, October 20, 2007
The 25th Anniversary Open House for Charlie and Wendi at the church was wonderful, and Charlie’s concert went off well. He performed 12 songs, including all 10 songs from his new CD, and two songs from the keyboard.
View the flyer advertising the open house and concert here (this will open in a new tab or window).
Charlie attended the Open Mic Night at Mocha Moment, for the first time, just to listen.
Wendi and I went to Mocha Moment for their Open Mic Night (6:15–8:30 p.m.). Wendi had a sugar-free caramel macchiato, but with whipped cream; I had a hazelnut latte. ~ Greg Winkler (who runs the show) started off from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Then a group from the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired performed until shortly after 7:30 (the kid on the bongos was amazing). Their group has a new name: HOTSPOTS, which is an acronym for “Helping Our Talented Students Perform Outside The School.”
Next I (Charlie) performed four songs, using the October 2007 accompaniment CD in my personal player: “He’s Not Here,” “Hopelessly in Love,” “Noxious Fumes,” and “Autumn Breeze.” Everyone loved the music; Greg described it as “Sinatra-esque.” Helen Golden and a friend, Melanie, were there; they like coming to Open Mic Night, finding it a relaxing outlet. Melanie braided Wendi’s hair as she listened to Greg sing earlier. Both Helen and Melanie want copies of my CD. ~ Melanie recorded my performances on her little cassette recorder and gave me the tape afterward.
After I was done, a guy named Kyle played his guitar, two songs. He was awesome. ~ Finally, Greg did a few more songs. ~ On the way out, as Wendi was saying goodbye to Helen and Melanie, she turned on her MP3 player. The first song to play happened to be my song, “I’m Not Stopping.” The ladies stopped to listen. “You’ve got groupies!” Helen noted.
Went to Mocha Moment for Open Mic Night (6:30–8:30). Wendi had a caramel macchiato, but I drank Earl Grey tea tonight so my voice wouldn’t mess up too badly. As it turned out, I was the only performer there besides Greg Winkler.
I signed up for 7:00 and did six songs by 7:30; then Greg took over. I did three more songs from about 8:00 until 8:15. I used the Yamaha keyboard tonight for the first time, and also did a cover song tonight for the first time. Interestingly, Greg finished the night with another song (“Big Yellow Taxi”) by the same artist.
First set (either done with keyboard, or with Umm… accompaniment track):
Second set:
Tonight was the last Open Mic Night at Mocha Moment for 2009. Wendi sang one song with me; this was her first time singing in public in quite a few years, and she did pretty well. ~ Other than Greg and us, the only other performer was Tom Harshman, a 53-year-old Christian blues man who was quite talented.
First set:
Second set, after Tom’s second set:
I didn’t play a ukulele at the Open Mic until May 16, 2012.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Charlie participated in a talent show at the Janesville Senior Center; it was open to anyone, not just seniors. His set of two songs (using soundtracks), “My Place” and “I’m the Umm,” won him third prize; the first place winner was two children who did a phenomenal job of tap dancing! Wendi appeared on stage as the Ummamum during Charlie’s second song.
See the Oo Kingdom Music Posts page for more background on the early years, including 2011, which isn’t covered here.