November 2008

Winter So Soon?

           We awoke this morning to find a white dusting of snow and frost on the windows; reminders of the impending season, with holiday festivities and celebrations to enjoy.  It also marks the end of our busy singing schedule.  We have had a fun year; marked by Jacob’s rapid improvement and involvement, a new presentation technique (Single Mic), careful planning for optimal fuel use, new challenges and blessings in our work and several new songs and styles to present.

           We fully intend to produce a couple of recordings during the off-season but I have stopped making promises…

           Though our world is struggling with huge challenges, we continue to find hope and promise in the eternal truths to which we hold—God will prevail.  Our music is cathartic, therapeutic and uplifting—at least that’s what it does for us and we hope it is helpful to others as well.  There is joy in singing the stories of life and living in relationship with our Savior.

           We think there are new and exciting things in the future for Common Ground and its members.  We will let you know more as these things develop. 

           We wish you a blessed holiday season—thankful and ready to celebrate Christ’s birthday. 

 

Bye,  Rod

 

September 2008

Awesome Autumn

         The heat of summer is giving way to cool, dewy nights and warm, sunny days as Autumn falls.  The rustle of the corn and changing colors of the foliage signals a time for seasonal transformation.  Our Lord is about to put on a magnificent display of color and texture.

           We had a great summer but missed out on some of our regular events.  We were unable to make the trip to Iowa this August due to busy schedules and unexpected complications.  We missed seeing all of our friends there.  But we had a great time at the Earl Park Festival and several other new venues.

           We are utilizing the “single mic” style almost exclusively now and we really enjoy the response we are receiving.  We feel much more connected and many feel our sound is tighter and harmonies even more smooth.  It is a lot of fun to “dance” around the stage to be in position for the next song or break.  However, I don’t think anyone is looking to add us to “Dancing With The Stars” yet.  Maybe, “Stumbling With The Band”...

           Jacob continues to develop his musical presentation and add to the Common Ground sound with his harmony and lead breaks.  He also highlights our shows when he sings the lead.

           Come out and see us as we enjoy our Autumn season at churches, festivals and parties.

         We look forward to seeing you all out there!!

 

July 2008

The summer is heating up!

 

           We just returned from a great trip to Viroqua, Wisconsin and a mad dash home to play at the Wells County Fair.  What fun it is to see old friends and meet new ones.  It was great to see friends from Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.  The Bluegrass Gospel Festival in Viroqua was a lot of fun.

           We are busy with our summer schedule— call us for more information about any of our dates. 

           We are enjoying Jacob’s addition to Common Ground as he brings his own unique impact on the sound and presentation.  He is learning new songs and often gives us new harmony parts.  He is also adding a great deal to the instrumentation as he continues to develop on his tenor guitars and Bouzouki.

           The high fuel prices have been a concern and probably has curtailed some of our travel this summer;  but we are getting out there as much as we can around our busy lives.

           We hope to see you all around the area this summer and fall.  We are adding some great songs to our repertoire and we think you will like the new sounds and harmonies.  I always try to add a few new stories and jokes to the mix like, “Did you hear the one about the three-legged puppy…”— sorry, you’ll have to come to a show to hear that one.

           I’ll get some new pictures on the site soon from this summer.

 

Bye, Rod

          

 

January 2008

 

It’s Winter in Indiana  (At least according to the date…)

          

           Greetings.  The winter weather has proven once again to be unpredictable in Indiana.  We had temperatures in the upper 60’s and set new all time highs for a few days.  But then we can have sub-zero in a few days also.  We have watched as many of our friends around the nation have had difficult weather, and we hope you are all thriving despite the weather.         

 

           We are busy recording a new Gospel Favorites CD and a secular CD of Bluegrass, Country, Instrumental and Comedy songs.  Jacob is going to be on the new recordings playing his new Resophonic Tenor Guitar and Bouzouki.  He also will be playing a Mandola soon.  He really likes the unique sounds of the Octave instruments.  Listen for his addition to the Common Ground sounds.

 

           We are going to have some new promotional pictures made soon and I will post them here when they are complete.  We will also have new Posters, Bios and Products with the new pictures as well. 

 

           Our schedule is beginning to fill in for the coming year and I will get the updates posted soon.  We are planning out the major trips for this year and we would love to see as many of you as possible.

 

           Let me know what you would like to see here

on the website.

 

           Bye for now,

                      Rod

 

 

                                                      

 

                                                        

                                                                  Jacob with Reso-Tenor on Christmas Day

 

December 2007

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year                                         

 

              We had a great year sharing music with friends and crowds all over the Midwest this year.  I have struggled to keep a quality web connection this year so the website has been updated sporadically.  I hope I have a dependable connection now.

 

           We had a good year of travel even though we could not get out as much as we had hoped.  With job changes and family responsibilities, we had to limit the out-of-state trips.  But we still had a pretty full schedule and played a lot of music for a lot of people. 

 

           Rod’s son, Jacob has joined us full-time now and he adds a new element of excitement.  He has developed a great tenor guitar technique in both rhythm and lead.  He also adds some great harmony to the mix.  He is all business on stage and his intensity shows on his face.  His stage presence has been likened to the great Bluegrass band, The Dillard Family, made famous on the Andy Griffith Show as the “Darling’s.”  We want to thank Harley Phipps for the generous use of his vintage Gibson Archtop Tenor guitar this past year.  Jacob has brought this rare and unique instrument back to life as he strums and picks his way through Gospel, Bluegrass, Country and Old-time songs with Common Ground.

 

           We are trying to get our Christmas CD done even though it will not be available before Christmas and we hope to complete another Gospel CD as well as a new Bluegrass CD.  We love to provide a way for you to have a little Common Ground with you at all times.

 

           You can hear us regularly on WJPB  99.1FM in Muncie Indiana and radio stations in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma.  We also will be heard on some Internet stations soon.  I’ll give you their locations soon.

 

           We hope you had a good year and we will be singing around the area this coming year, with a lot of new songs and stories of life in the right lane. 

 

           May God richly bless you and yours,

 

                                            Common Ground

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