I recorded my latest CD entitled “Shadow of the Steeple” with 12 time Grammy winner and CMA entertainer of the year Ricky Skaggs, as well as several other award winning Nashville session players. My wife Linda is a graphic designer and she did a marvelous job on the cover art. The entire project was completed and ready to print at Disc Makers when hurricane Katrina hit. You see, I was born and live in New Orleans and saw firsthand the complete and total devastation, I was inspired to rewrite the title track using lyrics that told the story of the disaster. In between the lyric phases, I mixed in audio from news reports, and then shot a video to it, as well.
There is a historic church in Gulfport Mississippi that was utterly destroyed with one exception – the tall steeple and cross were intact (a photo of it is included on the design). The ‘Shadow’ represents disappointments, loss, brokenness, regret – in life we all experience these things. However, ‘the light of God still shines’ and he is there with us through the ‘Storms’ of life.
I had to tell Disc Makers to hold up until I could get them a new version. There was no problem, simply first class treatment. They dropped shipped my entire completed project one week after the disaster! Unbelievable as it was with all of the National Guard, no gasoline, electricity, even bottled water was scarce!
The team of pros at Disc Makers were the most hospitable and caring organization, not only about my CD project, but for the whole Gulf coast region and what their final work would represent. This music was used by scores of different TV and radio stations that had converged on my town (they were staying at a local emergency shelter, so I simply distributed my CDs to them. The BBC and German networks aired the song! You see, Hurricane Katrina was America’s worst natural disaster and “The Shadow of the Steeple” was used to help restore hope and healing to untold thousands along the coast.
Although time has passed and we are recovering, the flexibility of Disc Makers delivered an inspirational message of hope during a critical time along the Gulf Coast. When you deal with the folks at Disc Makers, think of it as checking into the Ritz Carlton – on a Motel 6 budget.
