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May 2005
Letter from Don Beuke
(songwriter and composer) to You, the Reader:
I would like
to say we started while studying music composition at
Oxford University where all of the band members received
their PhD in Music Composition and majored in guitar,
keyboards and vocals. Obviously, such credentials
would fully meet the approval of the listener, other
musicians, and even the media – ha, ha (another story).
However, we
were given the path less chosen and least impressive.
After, 30+ years of silent songwriting and composing
guitar folk ballads from Indy, Fayetteville, Pittsburgh,
LA, Houston and now Bartlesville, OK; I began looking in
2002 for someone to record my songs. Being both rhythm
and vocal challenged, I met a few obstacles; no duh! NO
ONE WAS INTERESTED in recording me. At the same time, an
acquaintance Ralph Howard Jesperson from Phoenix also
living in Bartlesville, OK, was recently divorced and
decided to take some of the profit in selling his house
and buy high quality Rolland recording equipment.
However, he had no one to record. So, this is how Ralph
and Don started by helping each other when no one else
would.
In 6 quick
months, I composed and Ralph recorded our first CD,
“Instrumental Vol. 1” in 2003. I performed rhythm
guitar and harmonica, Ralph lead and keyboards and Troy
Vincent bass and keyboards.
Troy, a
friend of both Ralph Howard and I, was interested in
learning bass and we needed a bass player. Troy’s
impressive credentials are but not limited to; Crones
disease, panic attacks, OCD, amazing bass player and
friend. In a few short months of playing bass, he was
on the first CD. He has been a solid contributor to our
music when he remembers practice.
From May
2003- Dec 2004, we began and completed a CD of folk
songs, “Still before the Storm”. After 6 months of
editing, the Lord said to introduce this CD prior to the
end of 2004. This is a prophetic allegory of our
relationship with friends, acquaintances and mostly the
Lord. The first song, “As the Water Rises”, released
weeks before the Tsunami hit Indonesia, gives us insight
into the relational side of this unprecedented disaster.
Russ Zora,
our drummer, showed up at church and we discovered he
“rocks” and has more than 2 decades of rock and R&B
experience from the Boston to Pawtucket corridor. He fit
perfect in what we were doing. Russ is the only cool
guy in our group. Maybe than is why he is the only one
married – ponder, ponder, ponder that.
In 2004, the
Holy Spirit downloaded more music to me, but He coined
this music:
“Seismic Blues”
for it shakes the soul.
From Oct 04 thru March 05, I composed a pilot CD of
these 10 R&B type songs. Now the band is learning and
improving their parts. This may be the only CD where
artists have engineered the vocals, guitar and keyboards
using both modeling and sampling. So, “hold on”, will
be released at the end of 2005. Some pilot samples are
available on our web site.
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Ralph Jesperson - Nickname:
"Howard" 
Troy Vincent
- Nickname: "Tony"