Earth Mama Builds Bridges and Brings Healing With ‘LovingKindness’

         INDEPENDENCE, Va. — Joyce Rouse is bringing "LovingKindness" to an aching, disconnected world with a new easy listening interfaith album for Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and indigenous peoples.

 

         Earth Mama’s 11-song effort, “LovingKindness,” comes at a crucial time when Americans are working for racial justice and peoples of the world are facing one of the most serious pandemics in recent times.

 

         “These songs are all part of the deepening of my own spiritual journey,” says Rouse, who began writing and recording songs for the project in 2015. “The origins of their words spring from the ancient wisdom of many faith traditions. Those traditions all spring from the ever-folding Universe visible in the light of sky.”

 

         The uplifting, soothing and diverse collection of gentle recordings include 10 original songs with lyrical contributions from Scottish poet Ann Palmer. Christian church-goers will recognize a breathtaking version of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Others will be deeply touched by songs that reflect the universal concepts of many of the world’s religious traditions.

 

         Music lovers, faith leaders, and others can download or order the “LovingKindness” album at www.EarthMama.org, www.Amazon.com, and a host of other online retailers. The project was recorded at Nashville’s County Q, with session performances by guitarist Rob Matson, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Catherine Marx, percussionist Paul Scholten, bassist Kyle Scholten, harmonicist Richard Rouse, and background vocalists Dee Moeller, Lisa Silver and Kim Parent. Rouse contributes lead vocals and acoustic piano. 

 

 

         “This is music created for feeding the heart and soul — a spiritual journey,” Rouse adds. “The songs were written and recorded to reach the listener with integrity, joy and beauty.”

 

         Like her other music and stage projects, Earth Mama is using “LovingKindness” to help heal planet Earth one song at a time. But in this case, it’s a wonderful vehicle for spiritual growth, building bridges between cultures, and bringing healing during a very fragile time in the planet’s history.

 

         The title track, “LovingKindness,” was inspired by an ancient Buddhist prayer.

 

         “I began with a version from Joyce Rupp’s Boundless Compassion program, which I reworded some and adapted to fit a musical form,” the artist continues. “I also was inspired over the years from interpretations by Fr. Richard Rohr and others.”

 

         Gently, Rouse sings, “May I abide in Lovingkindness… May I (you/we) be free from suffering… May I receive what I need… May I be at peace…”

 

         One listener, Spiritual Director Cindy Chicoine of Iowa, says she returned to the track again and again. “I feel the energy of the blessing beyond the structure of the words. This is a living word prayer. It seems to come alive in the mouth and ear, emanating beyond and beyond and beyond, the sound vibration reaching all. I easily trust its power.”

 

         Rouse says she has walked many different labyrinths in North America. Her song, “Labyrinth,” reflects her sense of hope and joy during those walks.

 

         “The labyrinth is an ancient art form for contemplation and meditation,” Earth Mama notes. “The photo of the beach labyrinth on the CD inner sleeve was taken by Scottie Pritchard, whose family labyrinth is listed on the World Labyrinth website at www.labyrinth locator.com.”

 

         “Life is like a Labyrinth spiraled on the ground,” Rouse sings in a lovely, down-to-earth, reassuring manner. “Circling to find new lessons each time around… A Circle! Ever widening the circle!… Spiral! Expanding compassion in a spiral!… Call it LOVE… Just call it LOVE… The Universe is unfathomable love…”

 

 

 

         The Rev. Laura M. George of The Oracle Institute proclaims: “The ‘Labyrinth’ song is amazing! This is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. It truly brought tears to my eyes.”

 

         Part of the album centers on helping build bridges between peoples on local, regional, national and international levels. Rouse calls her song, “One Stone,” a musical “palate cleanser” between courses.

 

         “It is a reminder that instead of walls, we would be wise to build bridges,” Earth Mama says in a delicate tone. “Each stone of kindness brings us closer to fixing a rough patch or relationship.”

 

         Other heartfelt songs or musical prayers on the album are ideal for spirituality centers, classrooms, personal meditation, yoga, and healing work. They include other originals such as “All In All,” “The Great Vision,” “Breathing Beauty,” “Children of the World,” “Welcome Angels,” and “What Is Mine to Do?” The track “Blissed” was written and recorded in memory of Karen Hirschowitz Engel, a noted Nashville artist who passed away in 2016.

 

         Author Joyce Rupp sums up praise for Earth Mama’s “LovingKindness” CD this way: “Our planet and people are so in need of this compassionate energy. Joyce Rouse’s meaningful messages and comforting melodies encourage our hearts. Her songs remind us to believe in love and to keep hope alive.”

Country Artist Scott Coner Releases 'When The Angels Cry' Video on Domestic Violence

By Chuck Whiting

MCAU Editor

            NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 2015) – Hit country artist Scott Coner has released a new song and accompanying video that reveal the often unspoken but devastating impact of domestic violence on married women.

            Scott says he was inspired to write his latest single, "When The Angels Cry", after his wife Cyndi recounted some heartbreaking incidents that happened to her mother more than 20 years ago. Scott recorded the song with top-tier session players in Nashville, and the couple teamed up to shoot a stirring video on their rural farm near Franklin, Ind. The artist hopes the song and video will be a meaningful tool for organizations that are helping abused women realize their own potential while encouraging men to overcome a lifestyle of abuse.

            To download "When The Angels Cry" song or video, visit the artist's website at www.ScottConer.com, his Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or You Tube at https://youtu.be/SXUUgLl43TA .

            The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that one in five women have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Startling statistics show that on a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.

            "I think I am passionate about the issue in part because of my own wife having to live in an abusive situation as a teenager," said Scott, who has recorded songs with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker and T. Graham Brown. "But there is more to it than that. I hate to see anyone lose her self-worth and identity because of someone else. We all deserve a voice, and we all deserve respect."

            Scott wrote the song late one afternoon while he wife was preparing dinner. It tells the story of a woman who is abused by her husband night after night. In the lyric, the woman pleads with her spouse to stop. "You've taken all that I am... There's nothing left of me but this broken wedding band... Please don't hit me again... Please don't take my life... Look into these eyes for God's sake... That's your wife."

            Stylistically, "When The Angel's Cry" was a departure for Scott, who loves to rock the house with high-energy country tunes. Given its dark topic and overall feel, he decided to keep the recording simple and bare. For the recording session, he was joined at Nashville's 515 Studio by Clint Black keyboardist Dane Bryant, Martina McBride guitarist Mike Waldren, and veteran engineer Logan Schlegel. A special console was loaned to Scott by Rob Royer, a member of the legendary 1970s pop band Bread. The resulting sound is organic, tender and heartfelt.

            "So often in my writing process, I record new music pretty quickly," Scott added. "'Angels' was a song that lived with me for years. I recognize that this song isn't a 'feel-good' piece, but I felt I had to record it. I don't know how it will be received. But if the song and video help one person, it will be worth doing a thousand times over."

            Cyndi, who runs the family's Cynnamae Media Productions, brought the black and white video to life with realistic scenes of a Southern woman battered by an intoxicated, uncaring husband. In the end, the victim finally decides to run away. But when she opens a closet door to get her suitcase, a Bible falls out onto the floor. Listeners/viewers can hear Scott singing the chorus. "When the angels cry... You can almost taste the tears... Flowing like a river... It's been dammed up for years...."

            "To me, the Bible signifies hope and resolve in knowing there is a better life out there for her," continued Scott, who noted that the video features performances by a local couple and Scott and Cyndi's youngest daughter, Taylor. "One of the things I wanted to point out is that abuse happens in all parts of society."

 

            Scott Coner has recorded songs with a who's who of country legends including Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown, and Charlie Daniels. Scott's single "Maybe She Lied", a duet with Tucker on Reedy's Dream Records, hit number one on the United Kingdom's Hot Disk Top 40. Other songs, including "Sanibel" (a duet with Brown) and "Reedy's Dream" (with vocal and instrumental contributions from Daniels) have been heard on terrestrial and online radio stations around the world. Also an emerging author, Scott recently penned the book "Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant and Me" with Gene Odom, a survivor of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash.

            To learn more about Scott Coner or to download his songs and videos, visit www.ScottConer.com.

(Photos by Cyndi Coner)