In one of the forums of which I am a member, another member and fellow band leader shared the apparent snub he got from a Catholic event in favor of a contemporary Christian band. Apparently, the event organizer moved his band out of the prime time slot, placed the Christian band in that slot, and gave him slot where they knew it would practically be impossible for his band to play because it was during the week, during business hours. How’s that for a snub? In any case, his feeling was that his band was sacrificed in favor of ecumenism.
That started a huge debate and low-level outcry within the forum for the injustice we Catholic musicians often experience at the hands of ecumenism and other factors. What are the other factors? There are lots, but I’m only going to focus on a couple because in my mind, they’re the biggest contributors.
First, contemporary Catholic musicians like myself have to work against and around hundreds of years of inertia with respect to what is appropriate to perform in Mass. It’s an incredibly difficult challenge because a particular strength of the Catholic Church is its hundreds of years of tradition and ritual, but that tradition also leaves many with a closed mind to new ways to present music. I’ve made small in-roads over the years to introduce a more contemporary sound into the Mass, and it is finally starting to get a great following. But while the congregation loves it, the leadership still quietly frowns upon it. We still have a way to go.
Another, and I think more important issue is that the community of Catholic musicians who are trying to get a break somewhere just don’t really offer that much support. For instance, I joined what I thought was the premier Catholic artists forum ostensibly to exchange ideas and more importantly, to get honest critiques of my music. But that forum ended up being just another political discussion forum with a bunch of whiners. On the occasions where I requested some honest critique of my songs, I didn’t get a single reply! How’s that for support? I even mentioned that I would appreciate brutal honesty; that is, if you don’t like the song, please share why not. But I never even got that!
It’s really a shame because we Catholic musicians could really be helping each other out in these kinds of forums, but instead, those very forums that purport supporting Catholic musicians just end up being whining grounds. Such a shame!
