We were stoked: It was 1993 and our band, Narrow Road, was gearing up for an out-of-town gig at Lake Nixon in Arkansas. We were still in our infancy stage as a band, only having recently transformed from a three-piece to a five-piece outfit. Our first "break-in" gig as a five-piece was at a park for a college friend's son's birthday party. Lake Nixon would be our first "real" gig as a complete band, and we were all set to rock that youth event.
Our drummer had also recently purchased a brand new drum kit, complete with roto-toms and a healthy array of hardware and cymbals. Compared to the old kit, this set up seemed like something Neil Peart from the band Rush would sit behind. The Lake Nixon gig would mark the first time the new drums would be displayed.
The band was also yearning to find its musical niche. At this point, we volleyed between driving rock originals, acoustic-oriented originals, and a smattering of praise and worship songs. But for all intents and purposes in '93 & '94, this five-member version of Narrow Road was a rock band with an unabashed Christian message.
So we headed up to Lake Nixon, more than ready to spread the Word at full volume.
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| 1993/1994 era Narrow Road performing in Ft. Smith, AR |
One of our guitarists had scored the gig for us; the youth group belonging to the particular church denomination our guitarist attended. We arrived and we set up our equipment, more than eager to hit that first power chord. We had the whole retreat room to ourselves as we locked and loaded; the youth group were elsewhere on the grounds.
The moment arrived for the youth to file in and they did: with eyes wide as saucers; their backs stiffened against the wall. I tried speaking with a few of them as they cautiously crept in, attempting to share the excitement of what was about to transpire, yet not one of them uttered a word. Their eyes remained wide and their posture registered "scared" of all things. I quickly surmised that something wasn't right.
It was only a moment or two later that the youth director requested to have a private word with us.
Uh-oh, here we go, I inwardly muttered, I've been through this before.
I was referencing the never ending debate regarding "Christian rock": I couldn't count the times I'd heard church leaders state, "Christian rock was of the devil," while the secular world exclaimed, "Keep God out of rock-and-roll!" As we walked outside with the youth leader, my hunch proved correct.
"Yes, sir..." I opened up the floor to the youth pastor.
He wasted no time in getting to the point. "My kids are scared, they've never seen drums before."
The band had no doubt he was telling the truth though we found it hard to believe. Then again, the Church as a whole typically seemed reluctant to accept modern music during that era - unlike today - and as the band would later discover, different denominations had a different way of doing things: Some church-going crowds would really get into our modern-edged music ministry, while others, such as this group, stood in a state of shock. Perhaps we should have incorporated a defibrillator among our band paraphernalia.
"They've never seen drums before?" I curiously inquired.
"No, they haven't. Would you guys mind not using them?" he countered.
Mixed emotions hit me hard: Agitation, sadness, disbelief... What to do? I thought for a second, trying hard to seek wisdom while not reacting negatively.
How could we not use drums? It would really mess up our whole sound and timing... What would our drummer do?
It's important to note that Narrow Road strove to keep ministry at the forefront. Our goal was to work in unison with youth leaders and their respective programs we believed they sought The Lord's guidance for.
"Sir, could we try this?" I asked. "Would you allow us to start out as a complete band with drums? Before we begin every song, we'll take a moment to speak about the message behind each song and share the scripture that the songs are based upon. If that doesn't seem agreeable after a few songs, we'll revert to a different format without the drums."
He mulled it over for a moment then agreed to the suggestion.
One of our guitarists had a penchant at the time for wearing a large, Hawaiian straw hat as he performed. And we did perform, full tilt, making good on our promise to the youth leader. Thankfully, things went over well: The youth loosened up a bit, seeing that the youth leader gave his approval, and we were able to finish out our set with the final cymbal crash and droning power chords.
The biggest shock of all at the end of our first bona fide - and almost disastrous - gig was given not by the band, and not by the youth, but rather by the youth leader, himself. After we'd finished our set of performing music and sharing scripture, the youth leader donned our guitarist's large Hawaiian hat, put on a pair of shades then sat down behind the drums upon the newly christened throne.
He opened up his Bible and read these words:
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. - Romans 8:1"
The Lord was there. All glory to Him.
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As iron sharpens iron,
- K -
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| Narrow Road: circa 1993/1994 |
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