Now this might sound more like a sermon or something of that nature. It's not. It's still a blogpost but with an extraordinary story. Two weeks ago I was wondering how I could get back out there on stage in front of an audience. I've been away from the live stage for a year due to life really. Nothing was looking very promising on musician classified sites and I didn't have any decent musician connections that were viable. I prayed about finding the right people to hook up with and start back into the rock and roll. After totally giving it to God in prayer I had the idea to look on Craigslist. Now this is not the place I would normally think to find musicians but I was running out of ideas. I saw an ad mentioning a great U2 tribute band that I had seen many years earlier. They were looking for a new Bono. I've sung Bono parts professionally before in the past and been accused of sounding a bit much like U2 on my earlier CD's. This was worth a shot, at least to contact these guys. I've pretty much studied the band for 30 years and Bono was really my main inspiration as a singer.
I reached U2Zoo by email and literally heard from Brian the guitar player within a half hour. Talk about the power of prayer. Later that afternoon Brian called and we talked for a bit. He said that he went to www.timkorry.com, listened to about 4 seconds of a song, and called the bass player. The next thing I know he's asking me if I want to play Summerfest 2016 in front of around 6,000 people. Whoa... dude. I know my U2 songs quite well but not every word. He was talking about 90 minute set. There was a few things to think about but I was feeling the pull to say yes. We practiced once just to get a feel for things and I decided to just go for it. Jesus said that with God anything is possible. Well, that's what went through my head and I said let's do it. Why start doing things normal at this point in my life. First show as a lead singer singing Bono in front of thousands? OK, that's rock and roll right. Crazy... a day later I developed a wicked sinus infection. There went my voice. Crap. I started taking every medication I could think of, tea, honey, etc. We were able to have one more semi practice where I was singing kind of quietly. Still no voice. I was starting to get nervous but kept the faith regardless. I was not able to make a 3rd practice with the guys due to my vocal situation but got an appointment with my ENT. This guy is great. He's worked with Skillet as far as the same kind of problem and he trained under Celine Dion's ENT. Heavy meds for a couple days seemed to really help. Not 100% but way better. I had purchased some singer's throat spray and lozenges. I was ready to walk out in faith and give this one to God. You can do that without being in church. It's still praise man. We hung out in the dressing room for a bit and prepared for the show.
The crowd was huge and I'm glad that Mike brought a few libations. It was a great feeling to see such a crowd and responsive at that. The guitar for I Will Follow kicked in and we were off. All my gears switched into Bono mode. This felt good despite my slight vocal handicap. I was able to bring it pretty good thanks to the my faith and God's power. I was so super thankful for the opportunity and the experience and felt renewed both spiritually and performance-wise. To top it off, our new adopted son was able to see dad on stage do his thing. This will be the start of a new chapter in my musical career. Who saw this one coming? Two weeks and what a change. #Thankful. Stay tuned for the new adventure!
