It was a celebration of Aretha's genius and a testimony to the universal language of music and the power of community.
We had no rehearsal. None. That is, unless you consider the countless hours that each of us has dedicated to our craft, often alone, sometimes together. A couple of these tunes had never even been attempted by us before. For example, this tune in the video below. I had never even thought of doing this song, but Austin accidentally assigned me this tune, and I was ready for a challenge, so I hunkered down for a couple of days to try to get the notes and the nuance. We thought about taking it a step down, but I wanted to pay tribute in the original key. It just felt better there.
Thanks to:
Caroline De Lone
Austin De Lone
April Grisman
Ryann Morris
Amber Morris
Tal Morris
Eric McCann
Kevin Hayes
Jimmy Dillon
Kelli Hill
Doug Rowan
Mike Rinta
Lippy Michael Lipman (Tequila Whisperer)
Chuck Wilson
...and last, but not least, the Sweetwater staff and the people who showed up to share in the moment and sing along.
Hope I didn't forget anyone!
We will no doubt be seeing tributes from many people from all walks of life and from all over the world for many months (years?) to come. I guess we will share them as we discover them.
Until then, may we all remain grateful, kind and giving.
ox,
Mari
p.s. Please pardon the wonky cell phone video. Something is always better than nothing, and if we keep waiting around for perfect, we'll be waiting a long time. The important thing is to start somewhere.
There are a few more video snippets circling around facebook. I shared them on my original facebook profile.
Not Related, Yet Worth A Mention:
Long Time Trump CFO is granted immunity:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/allen-weisselberg-longtime-trump-organization-cfo-is-granted-immunity-by-federal-prosecutors-in-michael-cohen-investigation-1535121992
