"Isn't That a Daisy?" - RVCSongster
The Introduction
This is a new show - an interview styled program. I will be showcasing the good people on Minds - the creators and the bright lights. This will NOT be a podcast, but a well written BLOG to promote the brightest channels on Minds. A positive reflection to showcase and promote the goodness of people and an open endorsement of the creators, authors, and artists on Minds.
This is the second of twelve interview style episodes called "Isn't that a Daisy?" This phrase originated from the film "Tombstone" and is quoted from the character Doc Holliday that was played by Val Kilmer. The term 'daisy' was often used towards anyone that provoked challenge towards him. Whether he was playing cards or battling in a gun fight it was a common term used during the 1870's and used several times in the movie.
A daisy is a plain, but pretty flower. The phrase itself meant 'marvelous' or the 'cream of the crop'. These interviews will showcase the 'cream of the crop' and the most marvelous channels on Minds.
Special Guest: RVCSongster
The world of Minds holds many daisies. Beautiful creators, artists, and writers. This month I am showcasing a very intriguing musician and artist. You may know him on Minds as @RVCSongster. RVCSongster is one of those artists. He is a musician and music writer that has spent decades perfecting his art. Let me introduce you to this Daisy. You should subscribe to his channel!
This is a gracious man with a secret past, yet he has chosen to reveal some of his secrets for this interview. He has his reasons for privacy as much as the next person. While he still clings to a semblance of anonymity, he desires some disclosure because his life story is one of tragedy and redemption. His story is about God's grace and blessings.
RVCSongster is a musician and music composer. He has spent the last three decades composing music, but until recently did not have the means to publish. Like many creators, writers, and artists there are often unforeseen circumstances that prevent our ability to publish. For this man his reasons are fully justifiable. This did not stop him from dreaming or writing.
In 2002 he began composing a 17-page score called Amend. It was 2007 before the score was fully fleshed out. He is in the process of recording it, but not until he completes the training required for this score.
He is a musician & a vocalist. He plays the following instruments: Bass guitar, guitar, keyboard, and drums. He used to be proficient in playing flute, clarinet, ukulele, violin, mandolin, banjo, kalimba, a bit of trombone, but unfortunate circumstances ended his ability to practice those instruments.
Last month he began using SoundCloud to record his music. He is still very new into the technology, but he is making great progress. Prior to Soundcloud and for over two decades he wrote everything long-hand and on paper, so you can understand the difficulty of the switch.
Three and a half years ago his nephew gave him a special gift - an iPhone. His nephew is also a recording artist and this gift equipped RVCSongster with the means to start recording music. Since then, he has recorded many songs from his past and present. He has also written well over 300 songs, many of which are written out, and several of which are recorded up to a decent level of production. Currently he is writing new music, and he is prepared to record anything, new or old, as he breaks into whatever music “market” God has prepared for him.
RVCSongster began recording music at the age of eight with two of his older brothers. They recorded a song titled: "Big Old Mister Elephant" in 1968. He also had a few recordings from the 1980's on a cassette tape. There are reasons why he has not recorded much during a three-decade time frame.
He also recorded some jingles for the @ladyred and Madzness Podcast, so you can imagine how Chris' death hit him. He was another person that was very close to Chris and Chris loved his music. Here are samples of those jingles: ONE, TWO, THREE.
Originally, he came to Minds at the request from one of his older brothers. That brother is a libertarian. Now RVCSongster is also a libertarian and found a lot of freedom on Minds. He has found community here amongst many like-minded individuals and a platform where he can thrive.
His advice to other aspiring musical artists? There are thousands of musicians, vocalists, and song writers trying to hit it rich. He wrote: Huey Lewis said something like, “If you are getting into the music business to become a big success, you are a fool." RVCSongster does not think people are fools, but there is a lot of competition. Artists need to realize that fact.
RVCSongster has dedicated most his life composing music and now he will spend the rest recording it. No amount of discouragement will prevent him from pursuing his purpose in life. His purpose? I believe it is to glorify God through his life and music.
Typically, I would share a brief overview of this man's life followed by some Q/A, but this interview with RVCSongster requires a bit of finesse and he desired some real disclosure. What better way is there for a man to tell his story, than for him to speak for himself?
His Words, His Testimony
This is the story of RVCSongster from his own words:
"You have this fellow on Minds calling himself RVCSongster, but for years he posts none of his music. There’s a good reason for this; very little of it has been recorded, mixed, and mastered, to say nothing of it yet having been released. In fact, I only just began posting my music to SoundCloud last month, and privately to my mixing and mastering coach.
How is it then that I’ve written hundreds of songs, but only a tiny number of them are available? There’s a good explanation to this; I only began making “scratch” recordings on my phone in 2018. Before that, I only wrote them out longhand on staff paper, a practice that I kept up for twenty-six years. Such an archaic, anachronistic practice! It was hard, sometimes even grueling, to keep pen to paper during those years.
My wife reminded me of the old saying, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
Being born in Harris County, Texas didn’t mean much to me as a young man traveling the world and the states with my Air Force Dad. I was proud of being a Texan, but our family settled in Florida for my dad’s retirement. I came back to Texas to go to college, but I ended up with the kind of education nobody would give money for.
The irony of it is, Harris County, Texas seems to be the “feeder county” for the Texas prison system. There I was - back in Texas, and I found myself joining my fellow Texans from Harris County and all over in the penitentiary. Naturally, large metroplexes put more people in prison by virtue of having concentrated populations, but Houston seemed to be a special training ground (jokingly) for future prisoners.
My hopes and goals were to be among the great singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalists: Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Phil Keaggy, Sting, and many others. I went to two of the best music schools in the world, pursuing excellence in my main instruments and composing and arranging. I nearly finished my bachelor’s degree in Music Theory. Then, I got sidelined - put away from society with a 70-year aggravated sentence and sent to the Texas penitentiary. So much for all of my hopes, my dreams, my plans, my preparations: all gone with the bang of a gavel.
In prison, I learned the consistency of God and his faithfulness. He said, "Give, to him who asks of you, and him who would borrow of you, turn not away. Give, not expecting to receive it again" - I’m paraphrasing (Luke 6:38). Needless to say, if someone demanded my eyeglasses or my body, they weren’t getting them. Most everything else was subject to my believing that God would provide for me, even if I gave my last item or last money to someone that asked.
I’m here to tell you that when you do things God’s way, and do it while asking his help, he shows up consistently and faithfully. I never really did without, even though many people asked me for things. I learned by experience that God really was watching over me.
In a similar way, I learned that it really mattered to God that I wasn’t guilty of the big charge that I did time for - including parole. He knows and it matters. He used that conviction to try my heart, bring me to continually turn to him, and to rely on him for the little things and big things. There were so many ways that God made himself evident to me during my prison time.
I have been out of prison for four years, and I am the most prospered and established that I have ever been. For the first time in my life, I am poised to put my music out there and be heard. That is a testimony of God’s faithfulness.
I’d have to say that the single most important lesson was my identity in Christ. I am not primarily an American white male of Scots-Irish descent (plus quite a mix of other ethnicities); I am primarily alive in Christ. That is my race. That is my identity. My family is everyone else who is alive in Christ.
I look for Christ in others. I often find him. Everyone should be born into a family this good, to be of the bloodline, the true bloodline of Jesus Christ. So, here I am, four years after my release from prison. I am at the very height of my life, even at age 63. I suspect that my career as a musician hasn’t come near to peaking yet; I’m only just getting started.
The two greatest practical takeaways from prison are Thanksgiving and Rejoicing. When I practice them daily, and I mean REALLY practice thanksgiving and rejoicing, I walk in the Spirit and in the character of Christ. His joy truly is my strength."
Thank You, RVCSongster
Thank you RVCSongster for spending the last few weeks sharing your secret past and powerful testimony of faithfulness, thanksgiving, and joy. Your story - your journey - was one of shattered dreams, but also about a blessed hope that few find behind locked doors and metal bars. Your journey is also far from over. I hope that your message is heard by those God intended.
For my readers: Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this great man and his inspiring testimony. Subscribe to @RVCSongster. You're a daisy if you do.