Praise Pride and Rock 'N Soul!
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Praise, Pride & Rock 'N' Soul
By MICHELLE BEARDEN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Dec 12, 2006
The...Praise, Pride & Rock 'N' Soul
By MICHELLE BEARDEN The Tampa Tribune
Published: Dec 12, 2006
There were many lonely nights, too many to count, when Melanie Wilkinson would drive with no particular destination in mind. Alone in her car, she prayed.
I really miss you, God, she'd cry out. I want to talk to you again. Where are you?
She was the wife of an Air Force sergeant, a mother of two children and an accomplished Christian composer and musician, giving solo concerts and playing in churches. The daughter of an associate pastor, she was raised a Southern Baptist in Lakeland, the buckle of Florida's Bible belt.
She also knew, without question, she was a lesbian.
"I kept secretly falling in love with the girls in my Bible study," recalls Wilkinson, 50, a regional director of a staffing management company in Tampa. She chuckles at the memory. It's funny now. It wasn't funny back then.
Nine years ago, she finally put an end to her internal struggle and came clean. She wasn't going to live a duplicitous life anymore. She turned her back on the church that she knew would condemn her. She got divorced, broke her father's heart and found unexpected support from her son and daughter
For a while, she "lived like hell," figuring that's where she was going to end up anyway. But in those alone moments, a seven-year stretch she calls her "wilderness period," she wanted to take God out of the box she had put him in and hold him close to her heart. Now that her secret was out and her shame subsiding, she wanted her soul back.
Canaan brought her back home.
In the Bible, Canaan is the Promised Land of the Israelites, a land of milk and honey for those escaping bondage in Egypt.
It's also the name of the band Wilkinson and two friends formed in late 2004, becoming the first gay Christian performing group in the Tampa Bay area and one of only a few in the country. The five-member rock-'n'-soul ensemble is a popular concert fixture at gay venues around the state.
The members make their homes in Brandon and Riverview. On Sundays when they're in town, they lead praise and worship at Rainbow Promise Metropolitan Community Church in Lakeland.
In September, the group released "Serious," its first CD of original music, on an independent label. In January, Canaan will head to Seattle to perform at the Gay Christian Network conference. It will be the band's second consecutive appearance at the annual gathering.
"They've got a real unique niche," says Justin Lee, founder and executive director of the Raleigh, N.C.-based nonprofit organization, which ministers to the gay and lesbian community. "You've got Christian bands and you've got gay bands, but you rarely see a band that goes after both audiences at once. It puts them in a controversial position."
Lee calls Canaan's music "energetic, inspirational and a fun blend of musical styles." But its most important role is ministering to a population that feels disenfranchised by the mainstream Christian community.
"Most of our members grew up in conservative churches. Their faith is very important to them, which is why they struggled with being gay," says Lee, who was raised a Southern Baptist. "Now they're out, and they need support, prayer and fellowship. Canaan's music is a powerful testimony for us."
Canaan's songs - such as "I Am Free!" and "Undying Mercy" - deal with anguish and shame, finding freedom in truth and building a relationship with a loving God. The lyrics reflect the members' personal journeys and parallel the lives of many in their audiences.
Vocalist James Blanchard, 25, used to work as a music director at a Lakeland Pentecostal church. After being outed by an acquaintance who had grown suspicious, he quit church and music completely.
"I didn't have a choice," says Blanchard, who works in health insurance claims for a Tampa firm. For a few years, his singing outlet was karaoke. But that was all about entertainment. What he wanted was the spiritual experience of singing for God.
He got that back with Canaan.
"It's all about the message. When people get the message in the songs, they can see that it's not just a gay thing. It's not just a straight thing. It's a God thing," he says.
Their quick ascension to the national gay-Christian scene has caught even the band members off-guard. It started modestly at Lakeland's Rainbow Promise when Wilkinson, a longtime solo artist, got up to sing with music director David Lee and Blanchard. They harmonized beautifully.
"We felt a strong connection from the moment we sang together," says Lee, 39, who works in information security for a Tampa financial institution. "We knew something was there, and we couldn't walk away from it."
Lee, a vocalist and songwriter, plays piano, guitar, percussion and saxophone. The son of a Pentecostal preacher from Oklahoma, he grew up playing music and singing in the church choir. But inside, he was tormented about his sexuality. At age 18, he finally accepted the truth, though he kept it secret, even as he went off to study music at Florida Southern in Lakeland, a Christian college.
His mother found out a short time later, after coming across a letter in his suitcase while he was home visiting.
His parents prayed fervently for their son. Lee felt he disappointed them and the church he grew up in.
"I quit going altogether because I figured I couldn't be Christian and gay," he says.
Years passed. Lee took a year off to travel the world. He found what he was seeking in Prague when he passed an old church and heard the faint sounds of glorious choir music. He went inside.
'"Something spoke to me. It was calling me home, back to the church and Christian music," Lee recalls. "I knew then this is what I was supposed to be doing."
He envisions a day when Canaan members can quit their day jobs and tour fulltime. Their occasional weekend gigs aren't enough to reach the scores of gays and lesbians who feel abandoned and spiritually lost. Wherever they go, they hear the stories. He knows there are so many more out there.
"I make it my personal mission to live exactly who I am with no excuses and show people I'm OK. Being gay is only a small part of who I am," Lee says.
Being a part of Canaan doesn't mean full disclosure for everyone. Sax player Dave, 22, didn't want his last name used or to be photographed for fear of reprisal in his workplace. And although percussionist Cathy Taylor, 47, came out 20 years ago and toured as a Christian comedian, she worries that her employer, the Hillsborough County school district, may not relish her openness.
But she's not hiding anymore.
"I hid in the church for 12 years, playing drums for the church band. I can tell you that living two lives eats you up," says Taylor, a high school English resource teacher.
"Now I'm the happiest I've ever been. But sometimes, being honest comes with a heavy price. That's why so many keep their true sexuality a secret."
Wilkinson also dreams of a bigger audience for Canaan. She's only half-joking when she says she'd love an appearance on "Oprah." She looks forward to the day when the group is referred to not as a gay Christian band but as a rock-'n'-soul band.
"It's not like we're waving rainbow flags at our appearances," she says. "We're producing good music, not using our platform to promote gay causes."
Like the Israelites, she views Canaan as a destination. They're still on the journey, but she believes they're heading to a better place.
"Maybe it won't happen in my lifetime," Wilkinson says wistfully. "But I see a day when the mainstream church, whatever church, will be accepting and loving toward all people. That's the God I know and love."
IN CONCERT
Canaan
WHEN: 7 p.m. Jan. 20
WHERE: Spirit of Life Metropolitan Community Church, 4133 Thys Road, New Port Richey
INFORMATION: 1-866-587-8635
ONLINE: To hear clips of Canaan's music, go to
canaanband.com
Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at mbearden@tampatrib.com or at (813) 259-7613.
Beyond "We Are Family"
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by published in issue #1412
St. Petersburg
Beyond “We Are Family”
_____________________________...by published in issue #1412
St. Petersburg
Beyond “We Are Family”
________________________________________
By:
Steve Blanchard
There is no such thing as a gay niche when it comes to music. That’s proven by the diverse lineup of entertainers scheduled to take the stage at St. Pete Pride June 30.
Everything from drag kings and queens to a gay Christian rock band will keep the estimated 70,000 people attending the festival in high spirits throughout the day.
“I think most entertainers approach gay Pride events differently than regular gigs,” says St. Pete resident and entertainer Ricky Wilcox. “This gives me a chance to let my hair down a little, and at Pride there aren’t as many rules. You can truly be who you are.”
Wilcox is working on his second solo album and has performed with bands for almost two decades. Last year, he performed a song about then-Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms and her apparent hatred toward the GLBT community.
“It’s complicated to describe my music,” Wilcox says. “It’s me and the acoustic guitar up there. I know playing in front of a bunch of gay men who want to see drag queens can be difficult, but my sound can captivate people. I’m not folk music, but I’m not dance music either. I’m somewhere in between.”
Julie Schurr wants to make it clear she’s not a folk singer either, even though she is a lesbian with a guitar.
“I don’t do hardcore rock, but I guess my sound is more rock than anything,” says Schurr, who calls St. Louis home. “I rarely include the word ‘folk’ when I describe my style, because that’s not my sound."
Schurr only recently began touring full time, but she has performed at several Pride events across the country. Before coming to St. Pete Pride this year, she made a stop at Daytona Pride on June 24.
“Everyone is so excited at Pride, and it is our day,” Schurr enthuses while taking a tour break in Jacksonville. “It’s great to have the whole community out there being who they are.”
And it’s okay to be whoever you are, according to David Lee of the Christian contemporary rock group Canaan Band. The Tampa Bay quartet is working on its second album and will release a brand-new single the day of St. Pete Pride.
Their message is simple: You can be gay and a Christian, despite what mainstream churches preach.
“We have all had our own sort of bad experiences [with religious groups] but we want to remind people that God loves you no matter what,” Lee explains. “That’s why it’s so important for us to be involved in Pride events.”
The Canaan Band’s new single, “Red Solid Line,” is about HIV testing in the GLBT community; it is the new anthem for the AIDS Services Association of Pinellas and will debut on stage at the festival.
“We all put our minds and musical talents together when it comes to writing songs,” Lee says. “We work with the words, or someone will suggest a different melody at a point in the song, and it eventually just falls together.” Songwriting collaborations usually take anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours, Lee notes.
Schurr also writes her own songs, which she started out of necessity, as she tired of replacing pronouns in cover songs.
“It got to be such a pain to change the ‘hes’ to ‘shes,’” Schurr says. “There aren’t many performers out there who write exactly what lesbians want to hear and what we’re feeling.”
Schurr’s knows her fans are mostly lesbians, and she’s proud of that fact. She says she has nothing against gay men, but she admits the lesbian community is her heart, and that’s where she wants to stay.
“But Pride events are great to cross over into the gay male audience,” Schurr says. “This day is about the community; it’s about accepting who we are and that we deserve basic rights.”
That’s also what inspires Wilcox to perform—even at events other than Pride. Wilcox has taken his guitar to several fundraisers, including one for Equality Florida and the Human Rights Campaign.
“I’m proud to be involved in any way I can,” Wilcox says. “I don’t define myself as a gay person who plays the guitar, but as a gay man, I understand the importance and the need for equality.”
Julie Schurr was raised in a very religious family. Her parents were so religious that they wouldn’t play any secular music on the family stereo, unless you count Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
“I was always interested in music, and I’d always mimic the sounds of classical music with my voice,” Schurr says. “It wasn’t until much later that I heard music that truly expressed what people were thinking and feeling.”
In college, a friend loaned a guitar to Schurr and eventually encouraged her to perform at an open mic night. At first she was hesitant.
“I was terrified to go on stage,” Schurr remembers. “But I was more terrified that she’d kick my ass if I didn’t do it. I was so shy then, and it’s such a drastic change now as to how I perform.”
Soon, the poetry Schurr was writing became songs. She has toured full time for almost a year.
Wilcox was never considered a musical prodigy either. He performed in school plays and choirs, but his parents weren’t musicians.
“But they appreciated music, which helped me develop my interest in it,” he says. “They were very cool and loved to let us listen to the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix and other sounds of that time. They may not have understood it, but they let me discover it.”
Wilcox, who has been partnered for seven years, says he takes those styles he admired at a young age and uses them in his music today.
“If I had my preference I’d be playing all the time with a whole rock band,” Wilcox says. “But playing solo is fun too, and it allows me to put my own feel and touch on the performance.”
But what happens when you have four unique perspectives on one performance, like when The Canaan Band performs?
It’s easy, according to Lee. The band works together and each member adds his or her own musical observations.
“All of us were raised in the church and performed in the church as kids and young adults,” Lee explains. “When I met James [Blanchard] at a karaoke night, we were talking about our pasts. He had been kicked out of a position as a church choir director because he was gay. I had a similar experience.”
After the pair struck up a friendship, they decided to perform together at the Lakeland Metropolitan Community Church. Soon they met Melanie Wilkinson, and the three realized their harmonies were perfectly in synch.
“We added Cathy [Taylor] more than a year ago, and she just rounds out our sound,” Lee says. “We’re all passionate about what we’re doing, and we know we have a message to relay. That’s what music is all about, isn’t it?”
The Canaan Band, Julie Schurr and Ricky Wilcox are scheduled to perform at 12:30 p.m., 1:05 p.m. and 2:15 p.m., respectively, June 30 on the St. Pete Pride stage. For more information on the performers, visit www.MySpace.com/TheCanaanBand, MySpace.com/JulieShurr and www.RickyWilcox.com.
St. Pete Pride Entertainment Lineup
(Schedule subject to change)
11: 30 a.m. Side Track
11:50 a.m. Crescendo: The Tampa Bay Women’s Chorus
12:10 p.m. Alicia Markstone and Coco Montrese
12:30 p.m. Canaan
12:50 p.m. Una Voce: The Florida Men’s Chorale
1:05 p.m. Julie Schurr
1:30 p.m Keynote Speaker Ricc Rollins
1:40 p.m. The Reading of the Proclamation
1:50 p.m. Deb Hunseder
2:15 p.m. Ricky Wilcox
2:40 p.m. Kelly Neff
3:05 p.m. Jeremy Gloff
3:30 p.m. Drag Kings & More
3:55 p.m. Omar
