Mercy

I love seeing how people consciously turn to the arts, especially music, to cope. Even more, I appreciate all of the artists who step up to help others in whatever way they feel called to serve… whether they donate time, money, or goods… give away one of their works… or host an online concert.

27 March 2020, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (RCPM) hosted a solo-Roger show (i.e. sin los Peacemakers) on StageIt.com, and as much as I missed seeing P.H., Jim, and Nick, Mr. Clyne easily holds his own in what felt reminiscent of the VH1 Storytellers series.

From the backyard of his home, he was interacting with the audience in their hundreds of respective locations (I was in Puerto Backyardo myself, hahaha) as though we were right there with him, and when he asked questions or said something that normally gets a “Woooooooooooooooo” from the audience, the audio response was near-silence, except for typical backyard sounds. It felt different… some crazy realization of expected and unexpected but not awkward… Acceptance, perhaps? We’re in a time of social distancing to “slow ya Rona” and I can’t imagine that Mr. Clyne himself who began using his own iPhone seven years ago would ever envision himself needing social media to perform live for his fans.

I ran across a video of an interview with Roger Clyne from 28 March 2013 – exactly seven years ago today. [Note: If my use of tonight/today gets screwy in this post, lemme help you understand – it’s 0326 on 28 March as I type this sentence.] Around the 19:28 mark, the interviewer asks him about DIY, social media, and technology after addressing how Mr. Clyne is a fan-friendly artist. I LOVE how he speaks about making THE HUMAN CONNECTION through technology and social media applications, and look what he relied on tonight to bring people together. (PLEASE watch the interview. His thoughts on putting the phones down remains important.)

I swear… several hundred people participating as Mr. Clyne led others in raising the vibration through music… even HE said he could feel the energy. Between songs, he spoke of kindness… gratitude… he SHOWED gratitude… Again, he raised the vibration the whole time. I know I was here in my home, doing just as I would have been doing in person when he stops singing, and we continue: “And I could forget the words here one more time, and hope that no one notices“. When that many of us around the world do the same positive thing at the same time, imagine the difference it’s making. I’ve been all smiles since this little show tonight.

Music is magic. Thanks to Roger Clyne and all the artists shining in the most beautiful, healing way they can for all of us now. SIDE NOTE! Mr. Clyne had a minor mishap with his bar stool that seemed like it had a mind of its own to take over for P.H. in percussion. He humorously acknowledged what happened, and it was beautiful.

I put in my request to hear Easy because it’s one of my favorite RCMP/The Refreshments songs that I haven’t heard in person… yet… 😉 However, in line with how things have been going for me lately, the universe delivered to me what I needed to hear in a way that it knew I would listen.

Mercy. This song is a track on the 2008 album, Turbo Ocho. Please click the link to get the story about this album. All I can say is when you work in an environment that’s conducive to your line of work, the outcome has a great chance of being nothing less than amazing.

I may have listened to Mercy a hundred or so times in 12 years, but I didn’t h e a r it until tonight. As I mentioned in my previous post, Peacemakers, I have been chasing instead of allowing, and since July 2019, I have been mostly-consciously aligning my life, trying to understand my deepest calling, and allow the rest to take shape in the form of a business/service. In the earlier-mentioned interview, Mr. Clyne talks about how he finished college but felt his calling in music instead of using his degree. This may be a little bit of Roger Trivia that I didn’t already know! Therefore, I didn’t know I have been following his lead albeit much later than he did with answering his call to lead. I admire him even more for trusting his gut, learning to play guitar, being an independent artist who can remain authentic in his work because now, here we are…

Tonight I finally heard the lyrics and their repetition to emphasize a point, speaking to me and reminding me that I’m on the right path:

You are surrounded

Already aglow

You already shine

You already shine

You already shine

Mercy, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

I feel honored and privileged (which is why I respectfully write of him as Mr. Clyne here even though he feels like “my old buddy, Roger” whenever I’ve been able to go to show) to have met RCPM (click for pics on Instagram) after a handful of shows, taken pictures with them, and received their autographs. I even have Mr. Clyne’s copy of a set list from the last show I saw at The State Theatre (Falls Church,VA). 🙂 RCPM’s fan appreciation keeps us following them, which is one of the things I love about artists who play smaller venues. This is the intimacy every fan wants with their favorite musicians, and RCPM fans are lucky to have. <3

When Mr. Clyne spoke tonight about feeling our energy, I believed him because the vibration was high. I felt a little sad for him not being able to see all of our happy faces, happy-hour drinks in hand (well, except for me because I’m on another alcohol-free streak even though I haven’t been counting the days) or hearing us yell, “YEAH, LET’S GO!” But he could go on the fact that we showed up and know we were out there. Just like the second mantra of true presence, “I know you are there, and I am very happy.”

I visited Merriam-Webster.com to get an actual definition of “mercy” and the common thread between most of the definitions is compassion/compassionate. This is the part where I scratched my head for a moment, thinking about mercy, grace, compassion, kindness… I took a little break to catch up on Facebook which included its feature of Memories, the user’s past posts from the same date in previous years, and this was the first one:

Honestly, I have no fucking clue what is still taking shape and is coming to me so I can do my part… I set my new moon intentions earlier this week, and it’s been a beautiful week of signs and support continuing to steer me.

“Give away what you want to receive” is an RCPM lyric in the song, Lemons. “To receive much, you must give much” is something we say in Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, Inc. I’m giggling at the moment because of how this is coming together right now… this moment… realizing I was listening to Roger Clyne as the leader of The Refreshments while I was finishing college and understanding why his music has a hold of me and has not lost me… heading towards three decades. 🙂 Also, checking the Tri-Sigma “quote” led me to this 2016 post by The Happy Arkansan, Amanda Cross. Serendipity again, but I needed to hear her speaking from around the age I was when I first started listening to Roger Clyne’s music. It’s all falling into place… and I am so happy to feel the glow.

Thank you for being here… whoever you are… wherever you are… Thank you for finding me… thank you for spreading my light by way of sharing my posts… Thank you for sharing your light… So much more I want to say, but sleep calls…

And by the way, the colors of Tri Sigma are purple and white. 😉

Luceat lux vestra.

P.S. Coincidences do not exist. 😉