A Tale of Two Goodgames and the Little Concert that Could

When I was in college, I heard about this guy named Randall Goodgame. If his name alone wasn't enough to get your attention (or at least become the fodder for bad jokes), his songwriting certainly stopped traffic. His lyrics were insightful, lighthearted, and melodic. Catchy. Turns out he was an alumni of my alma mater, BSC, (located, of course, on Arkadelphia Road, not far from the laundromat). And so somehow (I don't remember exactly how it came to be), I got to pick him up from the airport when he came to play a concert at our school. I remember three things from that experience: hearing him play "John 11" in Yielding Chapel, how he helped me revise some of my poetry for Professor Sprayberry's class (he'd taken her class, too, and man he was really nice because I look back on some of those poems now and they were awful), and how he talked on and on about his lovely daughter, Livi, who had recently been born to him and his wife, Amy, also a BSC alum.

This weekend my experiences with Randall Goodgame came full circle. I got to see that beautiful daughter Livi all grown up into a gracious 6th grader, playing violin alongside her Daddy. And hear her sing along with his songs. In my friends' backyard. With about a million kids running around. Eucharisteo!

this is how I spent my Saturday night

Here's how it came to be: For the past few years, Randall has felt this calling to minister to children through his music. It began when he and his buddy Andrew created a kids' album with some silly (and some more spiritual songs) called Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies. There was, apparently, a show scheduled for this past Saturday in Atlanta. My friends and I and our brood of little ones had all been excited about it for ages -- we were needing a Slugs and Bugs concert fix. However, on Wednesday evening, we found out it was cancelled. "Egads!" we said. "This cannot be! Someone, please, think about the children!"

So, I wrote Randall and asked if he was still planning on coming to town and if we could find a place for him to play, would he come?! And he said yes!

There were lots of e-mails back and forth. A group of my mom friends had been planning a book group for that night (appropriately, on parenting), so many of us already had Saturday evening reserved. So we did the right thing, rescheduled book club, and had a Slugs and Bugs concert in the Sayler's backyard instead! (Thanks again, guys, for hosting and setting up and everything!) It was the shortest time I've ever promoted a concert, much simpler than anything I've ever done, a far cry from the concerts I used to book in the Cellar at BSC and not at all like the one I'm promoting for September 29. But it was fun!


One of the best parts about experiencing a Slugs and Bugs live event is seeing the lovely animated cartoons and watching Randall sing along with the background music and also lead the hand motions. It's like some kind of acrobatic act.

"I Wanna Help" -- the S&B version of "We Will Rock You"

Thankfully, we even found some folks with a projector and a screen, willing to bring them. The funny thing is that by Saturday morning, we had TWO different sets of folks willing to bring projectors and screens. All day I kept thinking that I needed to tell Ron that he didn't need to bring his set, but I was out running errands away from the internet and I forgot. However, it turns out that the other folks (Becky's parents) got stuck in traffic, so it was fortunate (providential, even) that Ron showed up early and ready to go with a projector and portable screen! So thanks, man!

Team Redd also got stuck in traffic. The news and the internets misled us about the extent of construction on I-285, and we thought it was only the eastbound lanes. Alas, we spent an hour and a half on the road, moving very slowly. On the bright side, two little Redds got naps and the parents got to chat. When we arrived, it was apparently perfect timing, as we sat down on a shared picnic blanket just as Randall began his first song, "God Made Me."

The concert itself was amazing. About ten families sitting on lawn chairs and picnic blankets in a shady yard on a perfect fall evening under a clear sky, enjoying one of our favorite musicians perform our kids' favorite songs. I found Randall even more entertaining in such a small setting, and cracked up a few times at his exaggerated expressions to entertain the kids. Livi is an excellent assistant for her Dad, reminding him of song lyrics and demonstrating song motions, as well as playing along on a few tunes on her violin and singing BGV's. She even played the foil in the "Under where?" song, stealing her poor father's favorite stuffed bunny.

 (Thanks, Hwangs, for sharing your blanket with us!)

Still waking up from naptime in the car.

At one point, Randall took requests, and Jacob got to hear his favorite S&B song, "Who's got the ball?!" I don't know why he likes it so much, but it is memorable, and the song involves the names of Andrew and Randall's kids, and the acutal Livi was in attendance, so that was kind of cool. And the video is fun, with all the kids acting out the ball game and running around like crazy. About halfway through, though, Randall remarked, "I forgot how long this song is!" while strumming along on his guitar as Andrew's voice narrated the action. Good time for a water break!


During the concert, the kids learned new hand motions, and got to parade around the backyard, sing and dance and clap their hands. Or they could just sit and listen, if they so desired, like mine. And where else but at a backyard show can you bring your picnic dinner with you and enjoy it while you sing? We were also treated to two brand-new animated videos from the latest Slugs and Bugs record.

Last night was a lovely evening full of lovely people. As my friend Becky mused, "It felt like we won some kind of contest!" I'm pretty sure a "backyard house show" was one of the upper levels in the latest Slugs and Bugs Kickstarter campaign, so yeah, it was quite the special experience! We are just going to have to do this again sometime -- in fact, I suggest if there's another Kickstarter offer, that we all pool our money to get them to play another backyard show. Jacob asked me if we could get Randall to come to our neighborhood. We shall see.

Ethan also had a request. At the very end of the evening, when everyone was leaving, I asked Randall to play Ethan's favorite song. It's not from the Slugs and Bugs albums, but he requests it every time we ask him what he would like to hear from our music collection. Though Jacob wasn't feeling well and I had to take him to the van during part of the song, I was able to hear Randall finish playing "Bluebird" as the sky darkened and the evening came to a close. His daughter joined in and she sounded so much like her mother! I hope I never forget the look on Ethan's face as he watched them play and sing. What a beautiful way to end the night. We sang that song and talked about the show all the way home. "Bluebird, bluebird, don't you fly away..."

Here are the rest of my photos from the concert. I tried to actually just enjoy the show and the moment instead of cataloging it all through the camera (in this case, my ipod), and I think, in that, I succeeded.

Mesmerized, I tell you.

 

  

delightful daddy-daughter duo

All things Randy G

Remember way back when I actually posted semi-regularly to this blog and wrote about a Randall Goodgame concert? Well, me neither.

But, I would direct you over to the Rabbit Room, where the song that made me cry, "California," is the song of the day. Which means you can listen to it for free!

Go on, check it out. Plus, as a bonus, you get an interview with the G-man himself. If you want more Randall, here's his blog. And he also sometimes updates their adoption blog, which is pretty nice.

|

Free Randall Goodgame Song

Just in case you haven't heard, Randall Goodgame has a track ("All The Years") from his upcoming EP available for free download at his site. The new album is called Bluebird and releases November 4. As Allison noted, we heard some of Randall's new songs live a few weeks back, and we're very excited about the album.

Download "All The Years" here.

|

Randall Goodgame Concert Review

On Saturday night, we drove up to Duluth to see our old friend Randall Goodgame play and talk about his songwriting as part of Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church's Alethia Forum. We hadn't seen him play a solo show in many, many years so we were looking forward to this opporunity! Besides, they offered free nursery care and who are we to pass up a chance like that?

Jacob even got to meet Randall briefly before the show. That makes the second Square Peg he's met in his short life so far (Eric Peters being the first!). We've got to indoctrinate him into a love of quality indie music early, ya know?

Randall always puts on a good show and we were not disappointed. He opened with "Bluebird," a song we first heard in 2006 at Andrew Peterson's Christmas show at the Ryman. He told us afterward that it will (finally) be on the new record, and it's the only guitar-driven song on the album. The rest are all piano tunes! Yahoo! We couldn't be more delighted. I love all of Randall's songwriting, but someohow I just feel he's in his element on the ivories.

He began with a few familiar favorites and talked about the stories behind the songs, including "Susan Coates' Pants" and the ENTIRE Peanuts trilogy, which he wrote after hearing about the death of Charles Schultz. I think we might've heard all three songs live only once before, so this was a treat.

Randall then gladdened our hearts by playing some new tunes on the piano, including "Reverie," a song for his wife Amy, and "Heaven Waits," a response to hearing all the stories from survivors of Hurrican Katrina. That particular song reminded me of a blend of New Orleans jazz and an old-time gospel hymn, which seemed fitting.

Somewhere in the set he played "Bears," a song he wrote for his son Jonah. It's from Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies, an album he co-wrote with Andrew Peterson and a Team Redd favorite. Apparently, that album is the favorite of many, because Randall said they have sold more copies of Slugs and Bugs than all of their other albums. He acknowledged, "I guess we've found our niche. We always needed a niche!" By the way, if you didn't already know, Randall and Andy have written the Silly Songs for the last three Veggietales videos. A niche, indeed! They're hilarious!

I'm sure he played some more songs, but I can't remember them all. I think one of the piano tunes was called "42 Dollars," and it was fun! At one point, he stopped to take requests, and so of course I shouted out "Laundromat!" (Any BSC grad just can't help but like a song that begins "There's a laundromat on Arkadelphia Road...") He responded "But I thought you guys wanted to hear NEW songs?!" Heheheh. He hadn't played it in a long while and at one point he got so into the music that we had to help him out a bit with the lyrics. I didn't mind. :-)

Randall stayed at the piano (joy!) and played another new song, "California," which recounts the tragedy of a young unwed mother who, in 1968, was sent across the country to a girls' home and forced to give her baby up for adoption. My friend Sarah and I were bawling. I swore I'd never be one of those people who cried in public because of a song, but this one was just too powerful. (It probably also had something to do with being a mom and also swirling with pregnancy hormones.) Still, even if you're not a mom and not pregnant, when you hear this song, I dare you not to cry!

From that tear-jerker he moved on to "Jerusalem," which helped to remind me of the One who holds our hearts. I can't remember what he ended on, but the organizer (Thanks, Dan!) had included some time for Q&A at the end. I missed part of that, but I did return with Jacob in tow to hear him play a hymn off of his church's new worship album called "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say." Apparently, it was originaly a children's song, and he fell in love with the simple gospel announcement, but the lyrics are so much richer than any children's song written today.

So, if you read my rambling review and are wondering what all these songs sound like, you can buy most of Randall's albums at his website. His new six-song EP is set to be released in October (I think they are mixing it this week)! His church's new worship project, The Midtown Project Vol. 1, can be found here. And you should definitely pick up a copy of Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies, even if you're not a parent.

(By the way, that church has some great discussion forums coming up so be sure to check out their calendar. Who knew that local newscaster Tony Thomas was a Christian? He's going to be speaking about Christianity and Journalism next March along with Joel Belz, founder of World Magazine.)

Next up, a review of our Sunday afternoon trip to see MPJ. It was an action-packed weekend of free live music!

|

If you are in Atlanta this weekend...

You should know that this is the concert weekend of the month! Two FREE shows in one weekend! (Though you may have to drive a bit, depending on where you live...)

Randall Goodgame (a fellow BSC alumni and fantastic songwriter) is playing on Saturday, Sept. 20th at 7pm in Duluth, GA at the Alethia Forum (Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church). Free! And to top it off, for parents, the church is providing child care for infants and toddlers! Woot! Just call or e-mail and let 'em know you're coming! (We already did! We can't wait!)

Also, the next day, former Atlantan Matthew Perryman Jones will be kicking off Dave FM's Acoustic Sunset Concert Series in Smyrna Market Village at 4pm, Sunday, Sept. 21st. Free! And since it'll be outside, we're planning to make a picnic out of it! Why don't you join us?

By the way, if you haven't gotten MPJ's new CD "Swallow the Sea," you should. It rocks my face off. Also, apparently Randall will have a new EP available this month, hopefully at this weekend's show. Yay!

|