Brethren
tom&co’s first album was recorded at Phoenix Studios in 1999 – the site of the former Capricorn studio where Otis Redding and the Allman brothers recorded. It was recorded and mixed by Skip Slaughter. [Here’s a link about the studio plus some Pix.]
The goal of tom&co was to take traditional “church” music and turn it sideways so that those lyrics came alive in the listener’s head. The band on this album was Dennis Palmer [percussion], Dan Wallace and Russ Seney [bass], Jim Hutchins and Rod Seney [guitars], and Tom Rule [keyboards and sound design].
The band rehearsed over 100 hours to get ready for the sessions, and walked in absolutely prepared. The entire album was recorded in only 2 days. Every arrangement had been played before the services at Vineville Baptist – some of those arrangements caused a bit of a stir in church [This is My Father’s Jungle comes to mind when Dennis hit the drums as hard as he could to start the tune. Quite a few people jumped.]
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What’s the deal with the cover?
The whole idea of the band has been to take what are considered traditional tunes, and freshen them up – do some unusual things with them. The cover is a still life blending the old (hymnals and such) and the new (the gear, tuner, pedalboard controller). Larry the Cucumber is making a guest appearance from VeggieTales, because he was our unofficial mascot (and the official scapegoat when something goes wrong).
The chart at the bottom left is the actual chart from one of the tunes. The photos at the top left, covering up the white hymnal, are the test shots taken to get the exposure and layout right.
Thanks to Steve Shroeder Photography for the help!
| Title | Description | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Angels! | The first draft was written during Christmas on Tom’s in-law’s living room piano. A real rocker, this one. | 3:23 |
| Brethren, We Have Met | Yes, we played heavy metal guitars in church, along with a heavy dose of keyboards. No, no one complained! | 2:43 |
| Joyful, Joyful | The tune that you know – done new agey. | 3:24 |
| As the Deer | This praise song was big in the early 2000’s. We had a ball doing this pop/rock version. The chord progression is alarmingly similar to Pachelbel’s canon. | 2:12 |
| Holy, Holy | New age in style, definitely traditional in theology. | 6:07 |
| I Will Call Upon the Lord | Yes, it’s a Western version. Why? Because it just works | 2:29 |
| This is My Father’s Jungle | Tom’s favorite tune growing up was [and still is. A different version shows up on Seasons ] –> This is My Father’s World. We were loaned a genuine African wind instrument – a clay turtle. That started this arrangement. | 3:07 |
| JoyfulJoyfulJoyfulJoyful | This piece started life as an arrangement for Piano and 5 octave handbell choir. Then we started tom&co…….. | 1:19 |
| Jesus Loves Me | Another old favorite with some musical twists…..a bit o’ rock, a bit o’ jazz, a lot of tom&co. | 3:28 |
Interested in licensing these tunes for your media project?
MOST are available over on AudioSparx.
