I was honored to take part in a different kind of Memorial Day event
yesterday. Fergie Frederiksen, a rock singer who had, at various points
in his career, been the lead singer for the rock bands LeRoux, Trillion,
and Toto, passed away from cancer in January.
My friend Jim Peterik, who had been best friends with Fergie for some 30
years, was unable to attend the funeral, and also, as he told me, "Tried
to be stoic, tried to tough it out. But a couple of months later, I
found the dvd with the video we did for the song Fergie recorded for his
son, a song that I had actually written for Colin [Jim's son]. I played
it, and at that point, something broke and I finally allowed myself to
feel. I sat there, staring at the screen, sobbing. Suddenly, a melody
came to me and I immediately went to the piano, started the iPhone
recording app, and in almost no time, through my tears, I had the music
for a song written. Didn't take long to come up with the words to
express how I felt about my friend and our loss."
Jim's currently producing an album for another rock singer, and he
brought him the song and asked if he'd consider recording it.
Yesterday's session was to put backing vocals on the track, and Jim
realized that those vocals needed to be done by the musicians who knew
Fergie, those he had touched. So those who could make it, plus Fergie's
girlfriend and his sister all gathered yesterday at Jim's rehearsal
space/multi-purpose building to share stories, to talk about Fergie, and
ultimately to record the vocals. One of Jim's videographers was there
to document the day, and I was there as part of the "family" but also as
the still photographer. Surrounded by some of my favorite people, in one
of my "happy places," remembering a man we all loved, was a damn fine
way to spend the day.
I brought the E-M5, the 12-50, the 14-54, the 20/1.7, and the venerable
OM 100/2.8. I also brought the FL-50 with the Fong salad bowl on top,
which came in handy for the group shot.
Lighting was more for creative video shooting, so it was rather harsh at
times for me, but I did the best I could. I shot 261 frames, and I'm
sorting and cleaning up the pile now. But I put some of my faves up for
your perusal. The top 9 in this gallery are from that day.
http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=5407
It was a pretty powerful day. I had the pleasure of meeting Fergie
about three years back, and was instantly taken with his personality -
he just sparkled and lit up a room. And that's the same thing I've
heard from anyone who's ever met or known him. Was truly a shame that
we lost him so young.
Oh - and his girlfriend, who drove down from Minneapolis, brought his
ashes with her, so his urn sat on the piano most of the day next to a
candle, and sat on top of a guitar amp during the main vocal session on
the stage. So, Fergie was with us in more than one way...
C&C welcomed.
--
Paul Braun
Certified Music Junkie
Valparaiso, IN
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever." - David St. Hubbins
"Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life" - Berthold Auerbach
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|