Testify! The Primal Defining Moment

When I went into the recording studio on October 6th to record my first songs — original songs I wrote and was going to sing and play guitar to for the first time ever — I was nervous.

I was about to perform with two music legends: Glenn Fukunaga on bass (who just came off tour with Robert Plant) and the other Joe Vitale on drums (who’s played with virtually every rock star since Neil Young). I didn’t need any coffee that morning. I was already buzzing.

Neither Glenn or Joe had heard my music before. They didn’t know me, my songs, my style, my voice, my playing, or anything else. Joe met me the night before. Glenn met me at the studio. They loved the idea of creating music with positive messages. But we were all new to each other.

And this was my first time to sing and play with anyone.

The night before, I told the other Joe Vitale that I was nervous. He said,  “Nervous? That’s perfect! You don’t want to go in there feeling dead. You can use that energy.”

I realized he was right. My nervousness was excitement.  I also knew I needed all the help I could get. So I asked drummer Joe for advice. Since he has five decades worth of experience in the studio and on stage, I knew he’d offer something useful. He did.

Recording "Strut!" in studio

“I don’t know your songs, but you wrote them for a reason,” Joe began. “They stand for something you believe in. I say go in there and TESTIFY, man. There are popular singers who can’t sing, but we love their energy. I say let it rip and TESTIFY.”

That word “testify” stayed with me.

It meant passion and purpose and commitment and energy and a lot more. According to Merriam-Webster, “testify” means —

a : to make a statement based on personal knowledge or belief : bear witness

b : to serve as evidence or proof to express a personal conviction.

I was going to bear witness that my songs are evidence of my personal conviction about life, choice, risk, Law of Attraction, and more.

I wrote the word “testify” down on a green index card and took it with me into the studio. I placed it on my music stand, right beside my sheet music and a photo of Johnny Cash, so I could see it. It became my code word for greatness.

What happened?

When we recorded the first tune, a song called Three Months, I ended it spontaneously singing out one of the longest sung single words. I wanted to sing the word, “Strut,” but I belted it out with full energy, raw power, and long distance breath control that even surprised me. The entire word lasted a roaring 15 seconds. That may be nothing for Stephen Tyler, but we’re talking about me.

I testified.

Daniel Barrett, who is producing my CD, later said that one word primal singing was a defining moment.

“When you hung on that word and let it rip, everyone knew you were committed to the project,” Daniel explained. “It was spine tingling. You communicated that you were going for it.”

I hadn’t thought about that moment as the defining moment, but I can see it now. I declared, with my action, that I was going to succeed.

So here’s what you might think about:

Are you giving it your all in whatever your project happens to be right now?

I mean, look at this with ruthless honestly.

Are you giving it your all?

Decades ago in Houston, when I taught writing and publishing classes, I used to tell the story of Henry Kissinger and an aide he assigned the task of writing a special report.

He wrote the report and placed it on Kissinger’s desk.

But the next morning the report was back on the aide’s desk with a note saying, “You can do better.”

The aide rewrote the report, and turned it in again.

But the next morning the report was back on his desk with yet another note from Kissinger saying, “You can do better.”

The aide at that point pulled out all the stops. He rewrote the report, added to it, polished it, and perfected it. He then hand delivered it to Kissinger and said, “Sir, this is the best I can do.”

Kissinger replied, “In that case, I’ll read it.”

Kissinger hadn’t read the earlier drafts because he knew most of us won’t do our best. We’ll do just enough to “get by.” Well, that’s not good enough. You need commitment to succeed.

When I went into the studio and — with no warm up or rehearsal or warning — belted out, “STRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!”, I showed my commitment to my album.

Are you fully committed to your success?

Are you ready to testify for what you believe in?

Ao Akua,

joe

PS — I know you’re curious. You can hear my 15 second unedited primal testify at http://www.youtube.com/joemrfire or by clicking on the below image:

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