December, 2025
We hold church services on Sundays. The order of worship is as follows: (1) thebridgeband plays, (2) Chuck shares scripture and a sermon, (3) audience members pick hymns that they want to sing with us,
We are so grateful for our audience. They are eager to share in God’s word and to sing His praises!
In December, we played 15 times at the following venues: Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Beavercreek Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living (twice), Shawnee Estates (twice), Kettering Heights Post Acute, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), The Patterson (twice), and Beavercreek Senior Living II.
We look forward to playing at Ashford of Beavercreek for the first time in January.
Les, our director of production, has been sick most of the month. Consequently, we didn’t get much done in the studio this month.
We hope that you had a blessed Christmas season and that the upcoming year will be a productive and satisfying time for you.
Thank you for your continued support!
Love,
John
November, 2025
We have a new venue starting next month thanks to the advocacy of a former member of our audience. One of the residents we knew before moved to Ashford of Beavercreek and they didn’t have much music there. They liked us, so the resident and her daughter lobbied to have us play there. We’ll be there January 5th at 2 pm.
In November, we played 16 times at the following venues: Friend’s Society church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, PACS of Beavercreek, Hearth and Home Vandalia, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living (twice), Shawnee Estates (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living, and Trustwell Living at Urbana Place. We were privileged to play for Homecoming at Friend’s Society Church. They are a wonderful group of people.
Next month we will be playing Christmas songs. Chuck gets better at playing them every year.
In the studio, we continued to work on the new Stephen Foster album. We are about ½ way finished now. Les’ new music studio is almost finished .6
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As the Christmas season launches, remember the importance of what Christ did for us during His time on earth. We are honored to serve Him and to try to make the world a more loving, compassionate place.
Love,
John
October, 2025
We finished up our Classic Country and Elvis programs this month.
If you get a chance, explore this website. You can access all of our music for free here!
In October, we played 17 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, PACS of Beavercreek, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Hidden Springs Senior Living Assisted Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living II Memory Care, Engaging Days, and Summit U.M. Church. Oak Creek Terrace was shut down with Covid this month.
It was fun playing at Summit U.M. Church this month. Summit was started last year by my son Stephen. They are doing great!
In the studio, we continued to download new background music for the Yamaha Genos Assembly Synthesizer. Les continues to work on setting up his studio. We now have written over 1000 songs. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to produce them all.
We hope that you will have a wonderful holiday season this year. We have much for which to be thankful. I have a close friend who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Life is fragile. It can change in a moment. We must make the most of it.
Love,
John
September, 2025
In September, we developed and played an Elvis Program, which consisted of playing songs that Elvis Presley had recorded. It seemed as though it was well received.
This month, we played 16 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, PACS of Beavercreek, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Hidden Springs Senior Living Assisted Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living II, and Trustwell Living at Urbana Place.
We played at Hidden Springs Senior Living, Assisted Living for the first time following our monthly concert at Hidden Springs.
Les and I purchased software that includes 1800 more background styles for the keyboard. We’ve been busy installing this in both our keyboards.
Give me a call at (937) 286-8418 if you would like to schedule a gig or book a house concert. Don’t forget that you can listen to all of thebridgeband’s songs on all the streaming platforms (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, UTube, etc.).
How about this weather? It’s still nice in Dayton as we enter October. It’s been great for tennis.
We hope you are well! Thanks for following us!
Love,
John
August, 2025
One of the hardest parts about playing at nursing homes is watching the people you get attached to go downhill, move from Assisted Living to Memory Care, and eventually pass away. Sometimes we see their decline, other times they just aren’t there when we return for our next visit.
In August, we played a special program called, “Classic Country,” featuring well-known old time country songs.
This month, we played 16 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, PACS of Beavercreek, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living II, and Engaging Days.
Next month, we will played another special program featuring the songs of the late Elvis Presley.
Les and I continue to work on the “New Stephen Foster” album. My good friend, Stephen Foster, who the album is named after, found out this week that he has pancreatic cancer. Stephen was Head Librarian and Director of International Studies at Wright State University until his retirement. Please pray for him!
We hope you enjoyed a refreshing and meaningful Labor Day!
Love,
John
July, 2025
In July, we played 17 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (two times), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, PACS of Beavercreek, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living II, Treadwell Living at Urbana Place, and Kauhale Centerville.
We returned to Kauhale Centerville (formerly Symphony Centerville) for National Cowboy Day (who knew?) and played a new set called, “Classic Country.” There was lots of food and fun, a pretend jail, and a dancing cowgirl!
Work with Les in the studio continues. Tammy, his wife, is successfully recovering from her surgery.
We hope you are having a wonderful summer despite the heat! Even in difficult times, we have so much for which to be thankful.
Love,
John
June, 2025
In June, we played 16 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (three times), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, PACS of Beavercreek, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), and Beavercreek Senior Living II.
Playing outside for family night at Shawnee Estates was a highlight of the month. Friend’s Society Church seems to be enjoying their new pastor.
We continue to grind away on our new album, “The New Stephen Foster.” We’re about halfway finished.
If you would like to order a CD ($10), just send me an email request at johnrudisill3@gmail.com. The. Website thebridgeband.live has all the albums listed and you can try them out as well.
Les’ wife, Tammy, had surgery this month. Keep her in your prayers.
In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, we have hope through our Lord Jesus.
Love,
John
May, 2025
In May, we played 16 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Beavercreek Senior Living II, Treadwell Living at Urbana Place, and Engaging Days Senior Enrichment Center.
We enjoyed playing in Englewood at the Engaging Days Senior Enrichment Center this month. It seems like a wonderful new service for the community.
We continue to work on our next album, “The Nee Stephen Foster.” We now have 5 of the 12 songs completed.
I’d like to highlight our other band member this month, Chuck Graf. Chuck plays the steel guitar and acts as our MC during our concerts. He has written some outstanding Christian songs and has contributed to our album collection as well. Chuck delivers the sermons or devotionals when we hold church services. Chuck is a retired professional house painter. He also attended Bible College and was ordained as a minister. Serving several church during his career. Chuck was an outstanding baseball player in college and considered a pitching career. He is mature, committed Christian and I often draw inspiration from his life and words. Chuck lives in Springfield and enjoys gardening and spending time with his two children and their families. When we are not playing he likes to play steel guitar at the Old Country Church. Needless to say, Chuck is a vital part of our band.
God bless you all!
John
April, 2025
In April, we played 15 times including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, PACS of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, and Treadwell Living at Urbana Place.
We’re looking forward to playing in Trotwood next month. One of the staff members at one of the nursing homes, Abbey Osborn, has started her own business for the elderly, Engaging Days Senior Enrichment Center, and has asked us to play for them.
I met with the new Director of Fairhaven Church’s Aftercare Program, Rev. Kirk Lithander, along with a supervising pastor, Dave Ringheser. It’s good to see this ministry expanding.
We continue to work on our next album, “The New Stephen Foster,” although our progress this month has been slow. We also continue to write new songs.
I’d like to highlight one of our band members this month, Les Bruggeman. Les is still working (he is employed by Kodak as a machinist) so he is not able to play on the gigs very often, although he is proficient on both the piano and the bass guitar. His role is writing songs and producing them. He has written many of the songs on our albums and has a real gift for arranging and production. We meet twice a week for several hours to create the next upcoming album. Les is married to Tammy and in his spare time is the Director of Music at Wayside Chapel in Beavercreek. We are very proud of him!
Love you all!
John
March, 2025
In March, we played 15 times including stops at Jamestown Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, PACS of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Traditions of Beavercreek, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, and The Patterson (twice).
If you would like to book us for a gig or a house concert just call me (John Rudisill) at 937-286-8418.
I just wrote a new song entitled, “Who shall separate us?” It is based on Romans 8:38-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Jesus. Nothing in creation, not death, life, angels, demons, the present, the future, powers, height, depth, not anything. What a wonderful assurance of God’s presence in our lives!
We received the CDs for our newly released album, “Do it in God’s name.” Let us know if you would like s copy.
We are hard at work on our next album, “The New Stephen Foster, ” having completed three songs so far.
Easter will soon be here. We certainly hope and pray that you will find its special meaning–Jesus’ sacrificial gift of dying for our sins and His conquest of death itself.
Love,
John
February, 2025
In February, we had some weather cancellations but still performed 14 times at Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, PACS of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Traditions of Beavercreek, The Suites at Walnut Creek, Hearth and Home Vandalia, and The Patterson (twice).
With the release of our new album, “Do it in God’s name,” we’ve started work on our next album, “The New Stephen Foster.” Dr. Stephen Foster is a friend I met when I was a Dean at Wright State. Stephen was Head Librarian and Director of International Studies. Stephen has written words for several songs that will be on the album. It’s a secular album that is a little wilder than our previous releases but it should be fun. We should receive the CDs for “Do it in God’s name, ” in March.
Fairhaven Church recently held a meeting of its Eldercare Program of which we are a part. Pastor Dave Ringheser hosted the meeting and introduced the new program leader–Pastor Kirk Lithander. There are lots of good visitation and Christian outreach to nursing home residents and home-bound folks going on.
We pray for you! That you would experience God’s wonderful love!
Love,
John
January, 2025
Our new album, “Do it in God’s name,” has finally been approved for release. We released it through CD Baby who puts in out for steaming on the following sutes: Amazon, 7 digital, AMI, Anghami, Apple ITunes, Audible Magic, AWA, Boomplay, Deezer, Hungama, IHeart, Claro Musica, In Prodicon, KDigital, KK Box, Kuack, Lissen, NetE Cloud, NuuDay, Pandora, Pellaton, Qobuz, Saavn, Slacker Radio, Spotify, TenCent Music, Tidal, Trebel, Tuned Global, and UTube. If you have access to any of these streaming sites, please take a listen to the album. If not, you can always listen to it on our website thebridgeband.live free of charge. We welcome any feedback. If you would like to purchase a CD ($10) give me a call at (937) 286-8418 or send me a text or e-mail (johnrudisill3@mail.com) and I’ll get it out to you.
Despite Covid and weather cancellations this month, we played 16 times including stops at PACS of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Kettering Heights Post Acute, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), Trustwell Living at Urbana Place, and Traditions of Beavercreek.
One of the staff members at one of our nursing homes told us a resident refused to take her shower because she didn’t want to miss our coming. As time goes on, we develop deeper ties with the various residents. We are blest!
We hope you are getting through the cold and wet weather OK. Thanks so much for your continuing support!
Love,
John
December, 2024
The bridgeband is part of Fairhaven Church’s eldercare ministry. Last month, I had a luncheon meeting with two Fairhaven staff members including the new director of the Eldercare program. Paul Seabold, the former director is now in the mission field in Malawi. There are exciting new plans ahead for this ministry. We are grateful we can play a role in this ministry.
This month we played Christmas programs at the various nursing homes. We played 15 times including stops at Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, PACS of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Legacy of Kettering, The Suites of Walnut Creek (twice), The Patterson (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, and Hearth and Home Vandalia. Legacy of Beavercreek has been bought out by PACS of Beavercreek.
We have been active in the studio despite some illness but no cigar: we still haven’t released the new contemporary Christian album, “Do it in God’s name.” Hopefully, we’ll get it out next month. We want it to be the best it can be.
We also placed the remainder of our music on Audiomack and people have begun playing some of our other songs.
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s holiday. Let’s make this a great year. One we can be proud of!
Love,
John
November, 2024
Several playlists have now picked up our recorded songs. We are excited that more people will be listening to our music!
We played 17 times in November: Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Fairborn Assisted Living, Legacy of Kettering, Traditions of Beavercreek, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), The Patterson (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, Treadwell Living at Urbana Place. We were happy to play for the family events at Hearth and Home and Treadwell Living this month. Treadwell has asked us to start playing every month instead of every other month.
Les and I had a productive month in the studio. All our songs for the Contemporary Christian album, called “Do it in God’s name,” are finished. These are all songs that we have written. We are looking forward to releasing the album in December. It will be our first album release this year. It will be on all the streaming platforms (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) as well as on our website. Let us know what you think of the album.
We sincerely hope that you had a meaningful Thanksgiving and we wish you a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah season!
Love,
John
October, 2024
One thing we’ve really come to appreciate is the visitation of nursing home residents by their loved ones. It means so much to the residents. You can see the joy and pride in their eyes as they introduce a son or daughter. Some of the residents seem forgotten. We don’t recognize and appreciate that the person who stares emptily into space was once a little girl who ran and laughed on the playground and dreamed of her future. As Christians, we are called to comfort the sick, aged, and lonely. Visitation can be a real gift.
We played 16 times in October: Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Hidden Springs Senior Living, Legacy of Kettering, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, The Patterson (twice), and Xenia Adult Recreational Services (XARS). We really enjoyed our return to XARS. We had a large, appreciative luncheon crowd.
Les and I had a productive month in the studio. We have finalized 5 of the 12 songs on the new album, “Do it in God’s name.”
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have a lot for which to be thankful. Pray for our country as we complete the election cycle.
Love,
John
September, 2024
We played 16 times in September: Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Symphony Centerville, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Hidden Springs Senior Living (new ownership and management), Legacy of Kettering, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Treadwell Living at Urbana Place. We’re excited to return to Xenia Adult Recreation Services next month.
Occasionally, we play requests from nursing home residents. You may find their recent requests of interest: God bless America, Free Fallin’, Sweet Caroline, Soon and Very Soon, The Rose, America the beautiful, It’s Impossible, American Pie, Harvest Home, and The Three Bells. That’s quite a variety of tunes!
We’ve been busy in the studio. We are polishing our Contemporary Christian album. We also continue writing songs. Here’s one we drafted today:
CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART
VERSE 1
Lord, I’m not a finished work.
I can be a jerk!
You know I want to please you.
Nothing else will do.
CHORUS
Create in me a clean heart,
Give me a new start.
God, renew a right spirit
Inside of my soul.
Cleanse my evil thoughts.
Pull out all the stops.
Create in me a clean heart.
Give me a new start.
VERSE 2
Lord, You are perfect, I’m flawed,
a fake and a fraud.
I hide behind a facade.
Change my ways, O God.
CHORUS
Create in me a clean heart,
Give me a new start.
God, renew a right spirit
Inside of my soul.
Cleanse my evil thoughts.
Pull out all the stops.
Create in me a clean heart.
Give me a new start.
I hope you are not overwhelmed by all the politics of the season. It’s a lot!
As we approach the holidays, I hope you’ll take time to acknowledge your blessings and the greatness of our God!
Love,
John
August, 2024
The trend of nursing homes being sold and taken over by new ownership continued this month with two of the places where we play regularly. The “BeeHive Homes of Springboro” became “Hidden Springs Senior Living” and “HarborChase of Beavercreek” became “The Paterson.”
We played just 14 times in August: Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Hidden Springs Senior Living (formerly BeeHive Homes of Springboro), Legacy of Kettering, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), and the Patterson (formerly HarborChase of Beavercreek) (twice).
Les and I started back working in the studio this month. It was great to get back at it after a 9 month hiatus. We are working on finishing two albums, a contemporary Christian album and a country album. We continue to improve musically and I think you will enjoy some of the new songs.
We are also working on writing devotionals which will each feature one of our songs. These devotionals will hopefully be posted at some point on line. The intent is to provide additional material for spiritual growth and guidance.
Our prayers are with you! Please pray that we will make the right decisions regarding our music. We want to be used by God!
Love,
John
July, 2024
I continue to convalesce from my hip replacement surgery. Today, I gave up my cane for the first time.
We were able to return to the circuit at the beginning of the month. Poor Chuck has to carry not only all his equipment but mine too for the time being.
We ended up playing 16 times in July: Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Legacy of Kettering, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), and Treadwell Living at Urbana Place. It was nice to get back to business.
Still no activity in the studio yet. Maybe next month. We were very active in songwriting this month though (30 new songs). We were fortunate to have over 2000 views of our website last year.
Just a reminder that our seven albums are on all of the streaming platforms, e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, U Tube, Amazon. Just look for thebridgeband.
We’ve been having such a good time with our nursing home residents. They are the best audiences! (Although there was one resident last month who kept saying, “Aren’t you guys tired yet?”)
We hope you are having a wonderful summer! We greatly value you and appreciate you following us.
Love, John
June, 2024
As anticipated with my total hip replacement surgery, we had to cancel lots of gigs this month (everybody from June 12th to the end of the month). We did perform seven times at Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates, Carlyle House, and BeeHive Homes of Springboro prior to my surgery. Chuck also filled in on Family Night at Shawnee Estates with a band of his own creation.
My convalescence is going well and I hope to resume our gigs at the beginning of July. I received a very warm get-well card from The Suites at Walnut Creek. The residents there are wonderful!
Les and I are planning to resume the recording and production side of the operation as soon as I am able.
Here are the words of a song I wrote today I’ve got lots of time on my hands). I hope you enjoy it!
The Journey Through
Music and lyrics by John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman
Verse1
We are all on a jour-ney.
That jour-ney can be so hard.
The good times and bad, the ups and downs.
Don’t try it a-lone, just know that our God knows no bounds.
Verse2
It’s ea-sy to quit, give up.
Set-backs come, trou-bles close by.
He’ll take your hand, and guide your jour-ney.
With God by your side, there is just no need to wor-ry.
Chorus
The jour-ney through with You be-side me, Lord.
You are my strength and You keep me safe.
I’ll stay close to You as You guide my path, dear Lord.
And at the end, I will see the smile on Your face.
Copyright @ John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman, June, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Love,
John
May, 2024
My computer went out this month. I didn’t realize how dependent i am on it. I was afraid I couldn’t get my information off of the old computer–all our songs and billings! Fortunately, with the help of a computer specialist, it all worked out in the end.
Here are the words of our latest song:
Walking in His power
Music and lyrics by John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman
Verse1
What a joy to love you.
To seek to do your will.
To do what I can do,
The ul-ti-mate thrill.
Verse 2
I’m walking on a cloud.
What a great life this is.
Just walk-ing tall and proud.
I love be-ing His.
Bridge
My Lord lifts me up!
He gives me pow-er.
Helps no mat-ter what.
Lord, you build me up!
Chorus
Walk-ing in His power-er.
Walk-ing a-long life’s way,
eve-ry hour on the hour.
Chas-ing those clouds a-way.
I love be-ing His child.
I’ve got a rea-son to smile.
Copyright © John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman, May, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
We performed 23 times this month. That’s a new record for us! Those stops included gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Carlyle House, Friend’s Church, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, Traditions of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Summit UM Church (twice), Garden Court (twice), Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Trustwell Living at Urbana Place, Legacy of Kettering, Walnut Creek Nursing Center, Village Green, and Fairborn Assisted Living. We had the privilege of returning to Walnut Creek Nursing Center after a long absence. Next month will be abbreviated due to my impending hip replacement surgery. Hopefully, I won’t be out too long. Pray fir me.
Nothing is going on in the studio yet. I’m gradually getting back into songwriting. I’m going to be working on a song from a staff member at Carlyle House. This is a song she wrote as a child that has stuck with her!
Let us know if you would like us to play at your church service, wedding, party, house concert, or event. It would be great to meet you in person.
Love,
John.
April, 2024
I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to provide a lot of the music for my son, Stephen’s new start-up church in Lebanon, Ohio called Summit UM Church. I’m so proud of him! He is charismatic and has become a wonderful preacher and a servant leader. God is blessing this young congregation with remarkable growth. It is ironic because growing up everyone expected me to become a pastor. I gave sermons as early as 12 years of age. Despite this being others life script for me, God had other plans. My true calling was to become a clinical psychologist rather than a minister. I thoroughly enjoyed this career and always felt God’s leading as I counseled or consulted with others. Stephen becoming a minister and our daughter Alisha’s service as a Family and Child ministry director has fulfilled that missed calling. My Mother would be ecstatic!
We performed 19 times this month. Those stops included gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Friend’s Society Church, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, Traditions of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Summit UM Church (twice), Garden Court (twice), Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Legacy of Kettering, and Fairborn Assisted Living.
Nothing is going on in the studio yet. We have been given some lyrics to put some music to by Mark Evans and, of course, we still have two nearly complete albums to work in. I’ve taken most if the month off from Songwriting . My first break in several years. It just makes me eager to get back to it. We now have about 800 original songs.
I appreciate each one on you! Thanks for your support!
Love,
John
March, 2024
We played at The Suites at Walnut Creek today. Walnut Creek is one of our many favorite places to go. The residents are warm and appreciative while the staff is caring and engaged. We arrived to find out that one of the residents had died. This is not unusual but this resident was almost 102 years old. During her last years, staff would tell us that she was largely uncommunicative. But when she would come to one of our church services things changed dramatically. When we would play a familiar hymn, she would burst into song! She was so inspiring! But now she’s gone. We also found out that one of our favorite residents broke her hip and is not doing well.
One of the most striking and difficult aspects of the nursing home ministry is watching people go downhill. We often watch a vibrant and fun person start to withdraw and look increasingly ill and vulnerable. It’s hard to watch. But it’s the nature of the human experience.
In my own life, I’ve had a couple of recent reminders of my own mortality. I did the eulogy for my oldest brother’s burial service last week. I also just found out this week that I need a hip replacement. Years of running have taken a toll. At 77, I shouldn’t complain since the average life expectancy for men in the US is 73. My friends and I talk about how quickly our lives have gone by and increasingly so as we have gotten older.
Where am I going with all this? Our lives here on planet earth are fleeting. In the words of one of our songs, “We are like a flower. We bloom and quickly die.” Because of this reality, we must look to eternity. We need to embrace God’s promise that we can live with Him eternally in a perfect state that doesn’t deteriorate. This should be the highest priority for each of us.
We performed 22 times this month after completing our cataract surgery. These stops included gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Friend’s Church, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, St. Leonard’s Health and Rehab, Traditions of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Summit UM Church (three times), Garden Court, Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Legacy of Kettering, Trustwell Living at Urbana Place, and Village Green. This was our first trip to Greenville to play at Village Green. We enjoyed our time there.
There is still not much going on in the studio. We hope to get going soon!
Thank you for your wonderful support! It is our privilege to sing and play for you!
Love,
John
February, 2024
We dodged tornadoes this month. The one at Wright-Patterson AF Base (Les and I) and the one in Clark County (Chuck). Chuck’s tornado was only one mile away! Life is often unpredictable. Our only solace is that we don’t walk alone.
Chuck and I had successful cataract surgery and things are finally back to normal, although we had several cancellations this month. We performed 17 times this month including gigs at Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, Singing Hills/Singing Woods, Friend’s Church (sermon only), BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Suites at Walnut Creek, Hearth and Home Vandalia, St. Leonard’s Health and Rehab, Traditions of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek, Summit UM Church (three times), and Garden Court. We enjoyed returning to St. Leonard’s and Singing Hills this month. We also made our first trip to Garden Court in Trotwood who was referred by Fairhaven Church.
No activity in the studio this month as Les continues to make the transition to his new home. We’ll finish the two albums we’ve been working on when he returns.
Our puppy, Bear, turned one year old this month. He’s been such a joy.
If you would like to schedule a music program or a church service call me at (937) 286-8418. Don’t forget to check out our music on the website (thebridgeband.live) or on any of the streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube. Just look up “Thebridgeband.”
We wish you all the best and hope that you are thriving and running the good race.
2nd Timothy 4:7-8. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
All our love,
John
January, 2024
I’m late with this update. A lot of our month was taken up with cataract surgery for both Chuck and me. Then my wife, Terry, fell and broke her foot in three places. This resulted in a number of cancellations. We performed 12 times including stops at Clark Memorial Home, Legacy of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Church (sermon only), Oak Creek Terrace, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Springfield Masonic Community, Legacy of Kettering, Trinity Community (John only), HarborChase of Beavercreek Memory Unit, and Urbana Place. In addition, Chuck continued to play at the Lil Country Church on most Sundays, Les plays and directs music each Sunday at Wayside Chapel, while I continue to play at my son’s start-up church in Lebanon, Summit United Methodist Church, whenever possible. We enjoyed returning to the Masonic Home this month–great audience!
We had a little bit of activity in the studio this month. Les continues to work hard on his new house snd is attempting to set up his new studio.
We are thinking about adding a devotional section to the website. It would feature one of our recorded songs, followed by a devotional with scripture and prayer. Let me know what you think about the idea.
Hopefully, we’ll be back on track by the end of next month.
We appreciate you!
Love,
John
December, 2023
We just completed another enjoyable, rewarding year. In 2023, we performed 209 gigs and church services. In 2022, we performed 171 gigs and church services. Whereas in 2021, we played 51 times compared to 38 times in 2020, and 104 times in 2019 (Covid being the major determining factor). Clearly, this year has been our busiest year ever. We have released 7 albums and written 769 original songs. God is good!
We are back in the studio at least part–time. Les is in the middle of a move which takes considerable time and energy. He has purchased some new software which will give us more production potential. We are working to finish two new albums.
We performed 14 times this month including performances at Friend’s Society Church, Clark Memorial Home, Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, Legacy of Kettering, Shawnee Estates (twice), BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), and Traditions of Beavercreek. We had a Covid cancellation at Hearth and Home Vandalia. We will be returning to the Springfield Masonic Community again next monthmonth. It’s a great place to play.
Our son, Stephen, has been charged with starting a new United Methodist Church in Lebanon, Ohio. He has asked me to pinch hit next month with the music. It will be great to get to work withhim and his wife Tina.
Both Chuck and I are scheduled for cataract surgery on January 15 (me) and January 18 (Chuck). That will reduce the number of gigs we’ll have to cancel but we’ll still be limited next month. Please pray that all goes well.
Love,
John
November, 2023
Next month we will be playing mostly Christmas songs (not Chuck’s favorite). But what a blessing to celebrate Christ’s arrival on earth. Our bridgeband’s slogan (see thebridgeband.live) is “Singing God’s praises.” We are so blessed to be able to. “Sing God’s praises.” His goodness defies all explanation. We love developing relationships with the various nursing home residents. Their faith is an inspiration to us.
Still no activity in the studio although we are hoping to get started again this month. We are close to finishing two new albums. If you want to get a glimpse of several of the songs they are in the “Under Construction” section of the website (go to thebridgeband.live then press menu-music-under construction). All of our music is available there free of charge and many people have downloaded the songs.
We performed 15 times this month including performances at Friend’s Society Church, Clark Memorial Home, Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, Legacy of Kettering, Shawnee Estates (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Urbana Place, and Traditions of Beavercreek. We had a Covid cancellation at BeeHive Homes of Springboro,. The Suites at Walnut Creek also had Covid but we were still able to play. We were scheduled to play at Wickshire of Fairborn but they are now permanently closed. Carlyle House has a new activities director, Dana. She seems really engaged. Unfortunately, several nursing home residents passed away this last month. They will be missed.
Thanks for your continuing support! Pray that we will be used by God.Love,
Love,
Love,Love,
T
N
October, 2023
As you probably know, we are not doing this for the money and we don’t depend on it for our living. It is increasingly difficult for musicians and songwriters to make a living with the advent of streaming. It takes thousands of “listens” to make any money at all. We have been informed by CD Baby that next month we will receive our first check from streaming. We also passed 5000 streams for our album, “Traditional Songs of the Church II” on the Audiomack platform.
This month we performed 14 times including performances at Friend’s Society Church, Clark Memorial Home, Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Legacy of Kettering, Shawnee Estates (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), and Traditions of Beavercreek. We had a Covid cancellation at the Hearth and Home Vandalia.
Les is still taking a break from studio work but will resume during the winter. We continue to work on getting songs ready for recording in the studio.
The Lord is good! We are so thankful for His many blessings. We have wonderful places to play, our music is heard worldwide, and we have wonderful supporters like you!
Love,
John
September, 2023
We were touched by several nursing home residents this month. When we arrived at the Suites at Walnut Creek we saw a 100 year old woman sleeping in a wheelchair in the corner. We were told she rarely speaks. When we started singing hymns, she awoke and raised her beautiful voice in song. Afterwords, Chuck came up to her and told her how she inspired him. She simply took his hand and kissed it! Another resident at Legacy of Kettering should be mentioned here. She is friendly person who takes great care about her appearance. After every gig, she awards me some kind of gift. Whether it is a piece of candy or a small cloth cross, she never forgets. At Urbana Place, I was privileged to see an old high school classmate from Graham High School. After 60 years, he looked a lot different from that small, mischievous vocational agriculture student I once knew but the twinkle in his eye is the same.
This month, we performed 16 times including performances at Friend’s Society Church, Clark Memorial Home, Oak Creek Terrace, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Legacy of Kettering, Shawnee Estates, (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Hearth and Home Vandalia, and Urbana Place. We had a Covid cancellation at the Laurels of Kettering and Shawnee Estates had to cancel their family event because of Covid.
The studio and recording work is still on a hiatus but should resume by the end of fall. Songwriting continues, however, with now 729 songs written.
We really appreciate that you take time to follow our activities. Life is short and only what’s done for Christ will last. We hope that you experience great joy and thanksgiving as we approach the holiday season.
Love,
John
August, 2023 booking agent has just started a new newsletter. Krissy O’Malley, the owner, has decided to feature thebridgeband in the 2nd edition of the newsletter.
booking agent has just started a new newsletter. Krissy O’Malley, the owner, has decided to feature thebridgeband in the 2nd edition of the newsletter.
Our booking agent has just started a new newsletter. Krissy O’Malley, the owner, has decided to feature thebridgeband in the 2nd edition of the newsletter.
This month we performed 16 times including performances at Friend’s Society Church, Clark Memorial Home, Singing Hills/Singing Woods, Legacy of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Legacy of Kettering, Shawnee Estates (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (three times), Traditions of Beavercreek, and Hearth and Home Vandalia. It was nice to return to Singing Hills/Singing Woods after a few months hiatus. We also enjoyed playing at a large family event at HarborChase of Beavercreek. We have another family event at Shawnee Estates next month where we plan to do an all Elvis show.
We were exposed to a staff member who came down with Covid at Clark Memorial Home. We also had Covid cancellations at both Oak Creek Terrace and the Laurel’s of Kettering this month.
In terms of studio work, we only have one or two more songs to complete our next contemporary Christian album. Les has a lot of home projects to catch up on so we will take a short break following the release of this next album. The song we are currently working on is called, “The day my new life began.” It will be in the “Under Construction” section of the website (thebridgeband.live) soon. Here are the words (I like the chorus):
The Day My New Life Began
Verse 1
It’s a choice we all have. Should I take a new Path? Give myself to serve Him? I jumped at the chance.
Verse 2
Now I walk with my Lord. I’m finally on board. His love has transformed me, the big change you see.
Bridge
He did it all for me. Changed my life, set me free. Such love He has for me. I just climbed up on board.
Chorus
It was the day that my new life began. You remade me a new man according to your plan. I was heading nowhere fast. Now I’m at home with my Lord at last.
On a personal level, I lost a good friend this week: Clay Mathile, former owner of the Iams Company. He had an enormous impact on the community. He was working on a product to nutritiously feed the world’s children. It was sad that he didn’t live long enough to see his dream fulfilled but his family will continue to work on the project. He is one “rich man” who will take up residence in heaven. I hope you are well! We love you!John
I hope you are well! We love you! John
JohnJohn
July, 2023
We finished a new song the month titled, “We will never be the same.” Most of our songs are written by members of thebridgeband. Y In this case, one of Les’ church friends, David Kish brought us a worship song that he had written. We really liked the song. I changed a few of the lyrics and Les led the production effort. We are looking forward to you hearing it on our next album. Here are the words:
Verse 1
The blood that Jesus shed,
Oh, so long ago,
Washes sin away,
Washes white as snow.
Verse 2
The path’s not always clear.
Sometimes we go astray,
but Christ is always there
to guide us on our way.
Verse 3
Lift up holy hands.
Call the Savior’s name.
Worship Him in truth.
Worship Him with praise.
Chorus
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Praise His holy name.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
We will never be the same.
This month we performed 18 times including performances at Legacy of Beavercreek, Laurelwood Assisted Living, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Legacy Kettering, Shawnee Estate (twice), The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Hearth and Home (twice), WickShire of Fairborn, Laurels of Kettering, Urbana Place, and Symphony Centerville. This was our first time at Laurelwood Assisted Living. It is a nice place. We were honored to play for Hearth and Home’s Family event. It was an outdoor event that was a lot of fun!
Between travel and other responsibilities, we had a low level of productivity in the studio this month. We are still plugging away at the New Stephen Foster album and the original contemporary Christian album.
We hope you’re having a great summer! We appreciate you!
God bless,
John
June, 2023
One of the things we like to do when we go to nursing homes is to feature one of the residents performing. We have had three soloists (unfortunately two have passed away). We still have a retired nun soloist at Carlyle House with a lovely voice.
Brady has placed several new songs in the “Under Construction” section of the website (thebridgeband.live). Take a listen and tell us what you think. We are now about 50% complete with the “New Stephen Foster” album and 80% complete with the new contemporary Christian album.album.
This month we performed 19 times including stops at Legacy (formerly ProMedica) Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (three times), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home (twice), Legacy (formerly ProMedica) Kettering, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Beavercreek Senior Citizens, and Laurels of Kettering. We created a new pop and country oldies program for the Beavercreek Seniors at Gilbert Party Barn. We’ll do the rounds with that program this month. Another highlight of the month was playing at the Shawnee Estates Family Night. It was nice to meet the families of the residents we have come to love.I drafted a new song today while staying with my family and visiting my Grandson in San Francisco. The words are rough but based on a wonderful scriptural promise. Let me share just the chorus:
For the spirit God gave us
does not make us frightened,
timid, or weak but gives us
power, love, self-discipline.
Be bold, my friend!
Love,
John
Lov
May, 2023
We are privileged to be part of the Fairhaven Church Eldercare program. Pastor Paul Seabold recently held a meeting and I served on a panel regarding nursing home ministry. Lots of good points were made including but not limited to the following: 1) Go with the flow. Some nursing home staffs are much more effective and involved than others. Try not to get frustrated or strike out. You’re a guest visiting someone’s home. Sometimes particularly demented residents are unpredictable such as the time a resident decided play my keyboard while I was performingor residents that request a song that has just been played. 2) Your visit is an opportunity to support both staff and residents who are often dealing with difficult circumstances. It is your opportunity to model the love of Christ and be an encouragement. 3) Facilitate and encourage conversation with open-ended questions and by being attentive and listening carefully. Some residents are isolated and your relationship with them can be very helpful (both to you and them). 4) Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Make good on your commitments so you don’t disappoint a resident. The relationship is paramount.
We had 19 gigs this month with a nice vacation at the end of the month. We played at Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Legacy, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of of Kettering, Urbana Place, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek, Traditions of Beavercreek, Vienna Springs, Laurels of Kettering, Trinity Community, and Hearth and Home Vandalia. We returned to Trinity Community and Laurels of Kettering for the first time this year. Preserve of Beavercreek changed owners and fired its vendors including us. Although the Alzheimer population can be challenging, it has been rewarding and we hope to be invited back once the management sorts things out. ProMedica of Beavercreek was also bought by Legacy but they have retained our services.
In the studio, we are making considerable progress on the two albums we are working on. The original Christian album is about 2/3 completed. Brady will be adding songs to the “Under Construction” section of the website soon. We had 19 gigs this month with a nice vacation at the end of the month. We played at Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Legacy, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Carlyle House, Beehive Homes of Springboro, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Urbana Place, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek, Traditions of Beavercreek, Vienna Springs, Laurels of Kettering, Trinity Community, and Hearth and Home Vandalia. We returned to Trinity Community and Laurels of Kettering for the first time this year. Preserve of Beavercreek changed owners and fired its vendors including
!We hope you are all well! Love you all!JohnWe had 19 gigs this month with a nice vacation at the end of the month. We played at Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Legacy, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Carlyle House, Beehive Homes of Springboro, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Urbana Place, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek, Traditions of Beavercreek, Vienna Springs, Laurels of Kettering, Trinity Community, and Hearth and Home Vandalia. We returned to Trinity Community and Laurels of Kettering for the first time this year. Preserve of Beavercreek changed owners and fired its vendors including
We hope you are all well! Love you all!
W
April, 2023
We celebrated the 100th birthday of a woman at the Preserve of Beavercreek yesterday. At first, she seemed confused but then seemed to enjoy the cake and the singing of “Happy Birthday.” What a milestone!
Our website has been getting an incrasing amount of traffic lately. This month Facebook named us “Rising Creator.” In April, we had 44 visitors to the website and 173 views. Many people are downloading the free music on the website (thebridgeband.live).
We have been busy working in the studio on our “New Stephen Foster” album and on another original contemporary Christian album. We have now written 686 songs including 603 Christian songs. Les’ studio continues to develop.
We offer two types of programs, (1) a general musical program which includes pop, country, gospel, and folk music, and (2) a church service which features gospel music, a message from Chuck including scripture and prayer, and a hymn sing in which residents choose their favorite hymns out of our large print songbooks. We now have 6 Sunday services.
We had 17 gigs this month with a nice vacation at the end of the month. We played at Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Urbana Place, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek, Cypress Point Englewood, Traditions of Beavercreek, Hearth and Home Vandalia. Our new gig manager booked us our first trip to Cypress Point which we really enjoyed. We performed the last of our “Oldies Concerts” this month which was a lot of fun for us.
Thanks for your continued support! We are so blessed to continue to share our music with various audiences, especially nursing home residents. If you would like us to play for your event or at your venue just send me a text or phone call at 937-286-8418. We love you!
John
March
We had 20 gigs this month including ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Vienna Springs, Clark Memorial Home, XeniaAdult Recreation Services Center, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Urbana Place, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Hearth and Home Vandalia, ProMedica of Miamisburg. It was good to return to the Xenia Senior Citizens. We had a very large luncheon audience. We had a Covid cancellation at the Laurels of Kettering and were forced to move to another building because of Covid at Carlyle House.
Les and I have been working with Dale Oakley, a talented country singer. He is working on performing some of our songs and we have been helping him with his compositions. I’ll keep you posted on what becomes of the collaboration.
Brady has added several new songs that we have been working on to the “Under Construction” section of the website (thebridgeband.live). Just go to music and press the + sign to get there.
I am very thankful to have two wonderful partners in this music business. Chuck performs with me (steel guitar) and serves as M.C. at the concerts and brings the message during the church services. Les is a remarkable sound producer with a wonderful ear and an ability to contribute both original music as well as creative new arrangements. They are both committed Christians and wonderful friends. I am blest.
One of the residents at the Suites at Walnut Creek gave us a cross that she handmade. She enclosed a poem written by a soldier who carried a cross throughout World War II and returned safely home. Here’s his poem:
The Cross in my pocket
I carry a cross in my pocket
a simple reminder to me
Of the fact that I am a Christian
No matter where I may be
This little cross is not magic
Nor is it a good luck charm
It isn’t meant to protect me
From every physical harm
It’s not for identification
For all the world to see
It’s simply an understanding
Between my Savior and me
When I put my hand in my pocket
To bring out a coin or key
The Cross is there to remind me
Of the price He paid for me
It reminds me too, to be thankful
For my blessings day to day
And to strive to serve Him better
In all that I do and say
It’s also a daily reminder
Of the peace and comfort I share
With all those who know my master
And give themselves to His care
So, I carry a Cross in my pocket
Reminding no one but me
That Jesus Christ is Lord of my life
If only I’ll let Him be.
God bless and keep you!
John
February
The residents of the various nursing homes are a constant source of interest and enjoyment. Sometimes you see emptiness in their gaze only for it to give way to light and life when they hear a familiar song. There is a 103 year old woman who is still giving out Bible verses to anyone she encounters. Another resident gives us a gift when she sees us (the latest, a candy bar). Sometimes it’s frustrating when we ask residents to pick their favorite hymn and they choose the same hymn we sang five minutes ago. Then I remember that sometimes I can’t remember why I entered a room and I become more tolerant. Then there’s comedy. One of the residents from ProMedica of Kettering asked, “When are the blues brothers coming back,” referring to us. And, of course, sadness. A lady from ProMedica of Beavercreek would walk up to us, ask for the mic, and sing a solo every month, has now entered Hospice. In her younger days she was a professional singer.
We are now clients of a nursing home booking agency, “Music Connection.”. They have already booked us a gig for next month. They seem like nice folks
This month we played 16 times including stops at ProMedica of Beavercreek (twice), Shawnee Estates (twice), Friend’s Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Suites of Walnut Creek (twice), Hearth and Home Vandalia, Traditions of Beavercreek, and ProMedica of Miamisburg. Covid is still a thing; we had a cancellation at Laurels of Kettering this month. This was our first month back at Hearth and Home. We were honored to be asked to play for the Easter Service at the Friend’s Society Church in Jamestown next month.
We have a meeting scheduled for next month with Dale Oakley, the county singer. Dale likes some of our songs and is willing to record and perform them. Les and I continue to work on both the “New Stephen Foster” country album and another original Contemporary Christian album. Chuck and Les are planning a new project in which they will play duets of classic hymns. Of course, Chuck plays a mean steel guitar and Les plays a very engaging and unique Southern gospel style piano. It should be a memorable recording.
We love you guys and can’t tell you how much we appreciate your prayers and support!
John
“.
February, 2023
January, 2023
We met several times at Les’ new studio this month. It is going to be very nice.
One of Les’ friends, Dave Kish, has written a new praise and worship song. After making some changes, we produced the song. It seems very promising.
Another of Les’ friends is helping us to connect with an established country singer who will listen to one of our songs and consider recording it.
We continue to work on a new original CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) album as well as the more country oriented “New Stephen Foster” album.
We had 19 gigs in January including a special “Elvis” program at Shawnee Estates. This month, we visited Friend’s Society Church, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Suites at Walnut Creek (2 times), Shawnee Estates (2 times), Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Miller Farm Place, Laurels of Huber Heights, Preserve of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek (2 times), Traditions of Beavercreek, St. Leonard’s (2 times), and ProMedica of Kettering.
One of our favorite activity directors left ProMedica of Miamisburg a few months ago and has ended up at Hearth and Home in Vandalia. She has arranged for us to play there monthly.
In addition to our regular music programs, we now provide church services (1 or 2) each Sunday. Chuck does a great job reading the scripture and delivering the message.
Thank you for your wonderful support! We love you guys!
John
December, 2022
We just completed a fun, rewarding year. In 2022, we performed 171 gigs and church services, 51 in the first 6 months and 120 in the last 6 months of the year because the pandemic was easing. In 2021, we played 61 times, compared to 38 times in 2020, and 104 times in 2019, Covid being the determining factor. Clearly this year has been our busiest ever. We have now released 7 albums and written 642 original songs. We have been blest!
We had 17 gigs in December including lots of Christmas programs (much to Chuck’s chagrin). In December, we visited ProMedica of Beavercreek and Kettering, The Suites of Walnut Creek (4 times), Shawnee Estates (2 times), Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, Trinity Community, Preserve of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek (2 times), and Traditions of Beavercreek.
Several of our favorite activity directors moved this month with changes occurring at Laurels of Huber Heights, HarborChase of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Miamisburg, and The Suites of Walnut Creek.
Les continued to develop his new studio. We continued to work on a new original Christian album and the new Stephen Foster album. More about that next month. You might check the “Under Construction” section of the website (thebridgeband.live) at the end of next month because Brady will be adding some of the new songs we’ve been working on.
We hope you had a wonderful year! We pray continued blessings for you this upcoming year!
Love,
John
November, 2022
We continue to enjoy our nursing home ministry. We’ve now played at 35 different nursing homes. They are all different and the staff support varies from incredible to marginal. Crazy things occasionally happen like one of the residents walking off with my music stand and another trying to unplug us (maybe we were playing that bad). Last week, I noticed a resident that seemed especially into the music so I spoke with her after the concert. After a brief conversation, she introduced me to her son sitting beside her (a 90 year old female resident). We still have occasional Covid shutdowns as we had Beehive Homes of Springboro this past month.
This month we played 22 times including visits to Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), WickShire Fairborn (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Symphony Centerville, Miller Farm Place, Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Laurels of Huber Heights (twice), Carlyle House, The Sanctuary at Wilmington Place, The Suites of Walnut Creek (twice), HarborChase of Beavercreek, Vienna Springs, Traditions of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Miamisburg, and Laurels of Kettering. We enjoyed our first visits to Vienna Springs, the Symphony Centerville, and the Sanctuary at Wilmington Place.
In the studio, we just completed a new song called, “He saw Jesus over there,” which tells the story of a young boy who sees Jesus in a near death experience. We continue to work on multiple projects, allowing ourselves to follow our interests.
We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season!
Love,
John
October, 2022
The website (thebridgeband.live) now has 573 followers. We are planning, with Brady’s help, on adding a new section to the website titled, “Devotionals.” It will consist of one of our songs followed by a related devotional including prayer, scripture, and a brief commentary. We hope you will find it helpful.
This month we had 21 gigs including visits to the The Suites at Walnut Creek (twice), WickShire Fairborn, Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Masonic Home, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Trinity Community, The Laurels of Huber Heights (twice), and ProMedica of Miamisburg. We were privileged to perform “Homecoming” at the Friend’s church. We returned to the Masonic Home in Springfield for the first time since the pandemic. We also visited The Laurels of Huber Heights for the first time. The residents were very welcoming. Next month (November) we will visit Vienna Springs, the Symphony Centerville, and The Sanctuary at Wilmington Place for the first time. Ironically, The Sanctuary at Wilmington Place used to be the Dayton Mental Health Center, the large state mental hospital for the area. When I first came to Dayton in 1976, I took a job there as Chief Psychologist and Program Coordinator.
Our new album, “Country Musings,” was reviewed by a music critic. Here’s what he had to say:
Favorites=”Country Life,” “I’m coming back,” and “Man of God.” Kinda like “What a shame.” All could use more steel guitar and violins if you’re shooting for the country theme with the album. Hmmm, the vocals sound so much like David Gilmore of Pink Floyd that it’s like listening to their Division Bell album. Overall, good tunes, brother. He could be a Pink Floyd cover singer on so many songs. Wow.
We are working on a variety of projects in the studio. Les moved to the day shift and is furnishing a studio at his house so we’ve had some adjustments. We have now written more than 600 songs.
We hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving! If you’re like me you have much for which to be thankful!
Love,
John
September, 2022
We finished publishing our “Country Musings” album, a collection of original old-time country songs. I’ll be interested in your feedback. I think Les wrote some good songs and Brady’s art work is very impressive. Brady has placed the album and lyrics on the website for your review. And, of course, it is available on all the streaming platforms such as Spotify and ITunes. Our next project is to help a friend, Stephen Foster, produce an EP featuring his original lyrics and music. The EP will be off-beat and fun.
We met with the pastors in charge of the Eldercare ministry at Fairhaven church this month. They have exciting plans to expand and deepen the ministry of which we are a major part. They hope to add participants to our services and to support the visitation of the residents. There is a great need.
We continued to have a busy performing schedule this month. We performed 23 times (a new record for us) including gigs at ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), WickShire Fairborn (twice), Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, ProMedica of Kettering, The Suites of Walnut Creek (twice), Carlyle House, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Preserve of Beavercreek, Wright Place, HarborChase of Beavercreek (twice), Traditions of Beavercreek, Maria Joseph, The Laurels of Kettering, Singing Hills Singing Woods, and ProMedica of Miamisburg. It was our first time at Maria Joseph. They have a dynamic Christian activities director and our program ended up being an Holy Ghost meeting. We also had a great time visiting Singing Hills Singing Woods for the first time. We hope both sites will become part of our rotation. Next month we look forward to visiting the Laurels of Huber Heights for the first time.
Chuck gave an impactful sermon this week at our church services The theme was “I must be about my Father’s business.” This was, of course, what an adolescent Jesus said when his worried mother found him confounding the scholars in the temple. We all must be about our Father’s business.
We trust that you are healthy and prosperous.
Love,
John
August, 2022
August was a busy and rewarding month for Chuck and me. We had 21 performances during the month, probably our busiest month ever. This included programs at Clark Memorial Home, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates, Wickshire of Fairborn, Friend’s Society Church, Oak Creek Terrace, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, The Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, Friendship Village, The Suites of Walnut Creek, HarborChase of Beavercreek, Miller Farm Place, St. Leonard’s, ProMedica of Miamisburg, and the Laurel’s of Kettering. Next month promises to be just as busy.
This was our first program at Friendship Village in Trotwood. Interestingly, my wife, Terry, who graduated from Trotwood worked there as a teenager.
We also started a new series of general programs at the Suites of Walnut Creek beyond the Fairhaven church service we do there.
We had a Covid cancellation at Trinity Community. Our good friend, Michele Faulkner, the Activities Director, even got it.
A staff member at Carlyle House wrote a gospel song when she was 11 and performed it when we were last there. She asked us to work on the song, so we are engaged in that process.
We bought 14 more songbooks this month to accommodate larger crowds at our church services.
In the studio, we finished the country album and we will release it as soon as Brady completes the art work for the album. The CD, called “Country Musings” features original “old country” music and definitely shows off Les’ command of the genre.
God is good and has blessed our ministry. We enjoy wonderful audiences filled with devoted Christians. The various workers at the homes have been extremely gracious and helpful. Our website (thebridgeband.live) is being viewed and our CDs heard across the globe.
We pray that you are in good health and have enjoyed your summer!
Love,
John
July, 2022
We love performing at nursing homes and we believe in the value of this ministry. The residents are generally warm and receptive and express a lot of appreciation for our music (such as it is). Sometimes it is an adventure though. This month at one home, an elderly lady got up in the middle of our concert, requested the microphone, and started singing, “I can’t stop loving you.” She was pretty good and it turns out she was a touring musician for 17 years earlier in her life. Of course, you have those incidents during the hymn sing when someone requests the same hymn we just sang three minutes ago. More dramatically this month, we encountered a man who persisted on pounding my piano repeatedly, only to be ushered off by staff.
There are also heartwarming moments such as after we played, “Please come to Boston,” an older lady shared that she and her boyfriend danced all night to that song. That boyfriend became her husband and died this year after 61 years of marriage. That was “our song. “
We met with the Fairhaven minister in charge of the long term residential care ministry of which we are a part. They have plans to add volunteers to our efforts including student pastors and visitation staff. It should enhance the impact of our ministry.
We added a new nursing home this month, BeeHive Homes of Springboro, the 28th home we have visited. It seems like a fun place to be with a warm, responsive staff. They even have a dog that likes music.
This month was our busiest since before the pandemic with 16 programs. We visited Shawnee Estates (twice), WickShire of Fairborn, Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Carlyle House, BeeHives Homes of Springboro, The Preserve of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Kettering, The Suites at Walnut Creek, HarborChase of Beavercreek, ProMedica of Miamisburg, Miller Farm Place, and The Laurel’s of Kettering.
We received a wonderfully supportive letter from an old friend of Chuck’s this month. I won’t reveal her identity but I will share her thoughts.
Dear John,
We’ve never met but I stumbled across your band a few years back, and enjoyed listening to your music then. Returning to it once again now, these past two months, I must say that it’s still a joy to my heart. So I merely want to thank you and the band for the hymns especially. I’ve added some to my quiet times, and to my long, pretty hills miles of walking, preparing for Senior Olympic sprints.
Thank you for following your calling, and honoring God’s grace and gifts to you. May Providence continue to provide myriad means to express those wondrous gifts He chose for you (and Chuck). And what an especially precious ministry: to the dear folks at the nursing homes. Bless you! So good sir, keep on running with your good band. You bless God by it. Have fun!
This month in the studio, we finished the 11th song on the new country album. Les continues to come up with new song ideas. Brady has placed a number of the new songs in the “Under Construction” section of the website (thebridgeband.live) if you would like to hear a preview of the album.
We love you all and continue to appreciate your prayers and support!
John
June, 2022
Since my latest update (May) an important development has occurred. Dr. Stephen Foster, a colleague of mine at Wright State University, has started writing lyrics for us. Stephen was Head of the University library as well as head of International while I served as Dean of Professional Psychology. Stephen writes mostly country lyrics. His words are hilarious although sometimes irreverent and controversial. He’s a great friend. If I can sanitize his lyrics you’ll be hearing them soon.
In June, we played 8 times (ProMedica of Beavercreek, Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates (twice), The Preserve of Beavercreek, The Suites at Walnut Creek, HarborChase of Beavercreek, and ProMedica of Miamisburg.) The Laurels of Kettering cancelled due to a Covid outbreak. With everyone feeling better it looks like July will be our busiest month since before the pandemic.
In the studio, Les has added a number of programmed sounds to our studio capabilities. We continue to work on our first country album. We are certainly not losing our Christian focus but Les has written some good songs that deserve airtime. We’ll get back to our original Christian songs after this album. We have written about 560 songs now.
If you would like us to come play for your event, don’t hesitate to call me at (937) 286-8418. We love meeting new people and seeing new places.
We hope you are enjoying God’s many blessings. I wrote a song today called, “You are God’s masterpiece.” I believe that. You are a unique creation and God has a plan for your life. Never doubt your importance!
Love,
John
May, 2022
Terry (my wife) and I got Covid this month which definitely cramped our style. We were still able to take a nice vacation to Santa Fe, a city we hadn’t visited before. It is a sunny setting nestled in the southern Rockies. It is quite an artistic center and houses tourist attractions such as the oldest church in North America.
We are on the mend again and have returned to playing gigs. This month we played at Oak Creek Terrace, Clark Memorial Home, Shawnee Estates, Carlyle House, Traditions of Beavercreek, The Preserve of Beavercreek and took our annual trip to 1000 Trails Campgrounds which is always a lot of fun.
Our latest CD, “Traditional Songs of the Church II, ” is now available and released on the various streaming platforms. New music easily gets lost in the shuffle with 60,000 daily releases to Spotify alone but we keep plugging along. Since churches have moved away from playing traditional hymns, I think it is important to preserve them in our memory even if we have to introduce more contemporary Christian arrangements to appeal to modern audiences. Les did a great job on the production of this album. Check it out at Thebridgeband.live or search “Thebridgeband” on any of the streaming platforms. We are now working on our new Country CD which features a lot of Les’ compositions.
Chuck has got his boat going and his garden is humming. Les’ health concerns are a little better as well. Life is full of uncertainties, especially as we age, but we have a solid foundation with Christ at our side. Since we “look through a glass darkly, ” there is much we don’t understand about life and why things happen the way we do. It is wonderful that we can trust the infinite wisdom of the Lord to lead us through these mysteries.
We hope you are prospering and pray God’s blessings upon you. May you grow closer to Him each day and fulfill His great purpose for you!
Love, John
May/April, 2022
We finally sent off the material for our new CD, “The Traditional Songs of the Church II” to DiscMakers for reproduction. The songs are on the website (thebridgeband.live), thanks to Brady, so we hope that you’ll get to hear them. They include great hymns of the church such as”Blessed Assurance,” “What a friend we have in Jesus, ” and “Holy, Holy, Holy,”. Through CD Baby and other outlets the album will be streamed all over the workd (e.g., Spotify, ITunes, Pandora, Tic-Tok, etc.)
Now we’ll continue our work on our first secular album. Keep Les in your prayers, his health problems continue with surgeries scheduled for April and May.
In March, we played 14 times. In April, we played 10 times. We played at Gospel Night for the Xenia Adult Recreation Center. We also returned to Miller Farm Place for the first time since the pandemic started and added a new venue, ProMedica of Miamisburg. The Laurels of Kettering continues to be closed due to a Covid outbreak.
We continue to do lots of songwriting with a new song each day in April. Here are the words of today’s song:
In the House of the Lord
Music and lyrics by John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman
Verse 1
This house is not home. This world is not my own.
I long for a place of angelic grace.
A place of beauty, where there is no more cruelty.
A place where love reigns, where j
We continue to do lots of songwriting with a new song each day in April. Here are the wordsotoday’s song: In the House of the LordMusic and lyrics by John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman Verse 1This house is not home. This world is not my own.I long for a place of angelic grace.A place of beauty, wgere there is no more cruelty.
We continue to do lots of songwriting with a new song each day in April. Here are the wordsof today’s song: In
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February, 2022
February was a better month. We welcomed back Shawnee Estates and ProMedica of Beavercreek back after Covid shutdowns. We received a warm welcome from the residents. ProMedica gave us a nice note. “With gratitude, thanks for visiting us again. Really enjoy your music. “. Despite some Covid restrictions, we played seven times (Clark Memorial Home, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Oak Creek Terrace, Trinity Community, Carlyle House, The Suites of Walnut Creek, and HarborChase of Beavercreek. Unfortunately, The Laurels of Kettering will be closed next month because of Covid.
Yesterday, when I was greeting residents following the gig, a resident said, “I love your music. It helped me recall so many wonderful memories. “That’s why we do it!”
Les found out he may have to have another surgery in addition to getting a kidney sone out. Despite his health struggles, in the studio, we completed “The Traditional Songs of the Church,” album. I think you’ll enjoy some of out unique arrangements of these great hymns of the church. It will be released soon. The music and lyrics are availabke on the website (thebridgeband.live), You can listen to the album fir free. Brady did his typically wonderful job on the cover art as well. Now we will pursue the country album.
We had a nice upsurge in views of the website (thebridgeband.live) this month. Much of our media interest continues to come from overseas. Next month, we return to the Xenia Adult Recreation & Services ( Senior Citizens) for Gospel Night. It will be good to be with those folks after a long absence.
Let us know (937-286-8418) if you would like us to come to your church for a service (Chuck is an ordained minister and can deliver sermons or devotionals), special music, or wedding. We also do house concerts.
I hope your month has gone well. You have our prayers. Thanks for following us!
Love,
John
January, 2022
Disaster struck this month. Chuck’s long term significant other, Mary, contracted Covid and died. Mary had co-existing health problems including rheumatoid arthritis. Mary was a wonderful person who had served as a missionary in South America. Highly supportive of thebridgeband, she attended all of our gigs until her health failed. Chuck misses her but knows that Mary is with Jesus and all her pains are gone. When I think of Mary, I’m reminded of a song sung by the late B.J. Thomas that we often include in our programs. Later in his life, after the enormous success of his song “Raindrops keep failin’ on my head,” he became a Christian and turned to Christian music.
Home where I belong
They say that heaven’s pretty, and living here is too, but if they said that I would have to choose between the two, I’d go home, goin’ home, where I belong.
Sometimes when I’m dreamin’, it comes as no surprise that if you’ll look, you’ll see the homesick feelin’ in my eyes. I’m goin’ home, I’ll be home, where I belong.
One day I’ll be sleepin’ when death knocks on my door, and I’ll awake to find that I’m not homesick anymore ’cause I’ll be home, I’ll be home, where I belong.
While I’m here I’ll serve Him gladly, sing Him all these songs, I’m here, but not for long.
When I’m feeling lonely, when I’m feeling blue, such a joy to know that I am just passing through, headin’ home, headin’ home, where I belong.
In the studio, Les continued to battle health problems but we continued work on the albums, “The Traditional Songs of the Church II”, and the country album.
We hope you are well and comforted by the realization that whatever adversity you are facing here, there is a better life ahead with Jesus.
Love,
John
December, 2021
We were blessed to play 13 times in December including stops at Fairhaven Church, Oak Creek Terrace, ProMedica of Beavercreek, Shawnee Estates (twice), Clark Memorial Home, Jamestown Presbyterian, Carlyle House, St. Leonard’s (twice), The Preserve of Beavercreek, HarborChase of Beavercreek, and Laural of Kettering.
Both Shawnee Estates and Oak Creek Terrace are now on a Covid shutdown and other may soon be restricted with the spread of the Omicron varient.
Most of the programs this month were Christmas celebrations with carols and other Christmas songs.
We played at the Laural of Kettering for the first time. One of the residents, a 92 year old African American woman, really displayed the presence of the Holy Spirit with robust singing. At the end, she said to me, “I’ll be seeing you, if not next month then in heaven.”
We now have church services scheduled for each Sunday of the month. We perform our songs, Chuck shares the Word and a brief sermon, then we hand out songbooks and the residents pick out songs that they want to sing.
Les continues to recover from his surgery. His convalescence has been difficult and his return to the studio and recording is still not on the horizon. Despite that, I have spent considerable time writing new songs.
This month we had around 500 visits to the website, mostly by people from India and the Middle east (Hindu and Moslem regions respectively). What a blessing!
This year we played 61 times compared to 38 times in 2020 and 104 in 2019, Covid being the major determining factor.
I celebrated my 75th birthday with my family this week. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful wife and family, good health, and two fulfilling careers (the first as a psychologist and now, the second, as a musician). God loves us so much! It is our responsibility to love others in any way we can!
We hope you had a wonderful set of holidays! We’d love to see you again (our upcoming performances are listed on the website thebridgeband.live).
God bless you this coming year,
John
November, 2021
Another difficult month with cancellations due to Covid. We did get to play at several nursing homes: Clark Memorial Home, Elmcroft of Xenia (now called Shawnee Estates), Carlyle House, The Preserve of Beavercreek, and HarborChase of Beavercreek. It was great to go back to The Preserve. They really have sick patients taken care of by a wonderful, warm staff.
Next month we go back to Heartland of Beavercreek (now called ProMedica) after an almost two year Covid break. Covid has been really hard on most of the homes with a number of residents dying and their census typically considerably lower. A number of owners have sold out. We will also be at Fairhaven Church on Dec. 3rd and Jamestown Presbyterian Church on Dec. 12th.
Illness has stalled our progress in the studio. We had hoped to release our fifth studio album before Christmas but it will be delayed. Pray for Les’ recovery from a gastr-intestinal disorder.
One of the nursing home residents talked about being moved to tears when we performed, “It is well with my soul. ” She recalled that the author, Horatio Spatford, penned this song despite suffering several traumatic events in his life. Horatio was in an enviable position. He was a weathy and successful attorney who owned several properties in Chicago. He had a beautiful family with four daughters and a son. The first round of catastrophes involved the death of his four year old son and the Great Chicago fire that damaged his successful legal practice and destroyed his investment properties. He decided to go to Europe to help with D.L. Moody’s evangelistic champaigns. In a late change of plans, he sent his family ahead while he was delayed dealing with zoning problems related to the Great Chicago fire. While crossing the Altantic, his family’s ship sank after a collision with a sea vessel. All four of his daughters died. His wife survived and sent him the telegram, “Survived alone.” When he traveled to meet his wife, he was inspired to write, “It is well with my soul, ” when his ship passed near where his daughters died. In the midst of his grief, he wrote the words:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well it is well with my soul.
Refrain: It is well with my soul, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
My sin–oh, the bliss of this glorios thought!–my sinnot in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it hence to live: if Jordan abive me shall roll, no pang shall be mine, for in death as if life thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, the sky, not the grave, is our goal; oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sute, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! As we head into the Christmas season, let us remember to be thankful for our Savior’s supreme sacrifice.
The Lord bless and keep you!
John
October, 2021
We continue to polish “The Traditional Songs of the Church II” album. Our lead song (to hear it go to the website thebridgeband.live menu-music-+-Under Construction.) is “Blessed Assurance”. Its famous lyrics were penned by Fanny Crosby, a blind woman who lived to age 94. She wrote almost 9,000 hymns and gospel songs with more than 100 million copies printed. She was never rich, however, being paid $2 a hymn. Since publishers were hesitant to have multiple songs by the same author in their hymnals, she used over 200 pseudonyms during her lifetime. She once said, “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank Him for the dispensation. If perfect early sight were offered me, I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.” She also said that when she got to heaven the first person she wanted to see was her Savior. By the time she was 15 she had memorized over 11 books of the Bible including the four gospels. In addition to her missionary work, she testified before Congress on behalf of educating the blind. What a remarkable person!
We had seven gigs in October including nursing home stops at Clark Memorial Home, Carlyle House, St. Leonard’s, Elmcroft of Xenia, HarborChase of Beavercreek, and Liberty Nursing Centers. We had some Covid shut-downs early in the month. Speaking of which, ProMedica of Beavercreek and The Preserve of Beavercreek are opening up next month after shut-downs. We will also be back at Wickshire of Fairborn next month. Chuck and I are reaching out to several churches for additional appearances. If your church needs special music let me know (937-286-8418).
We hope that you are well and have lots to be thankful for this holiday season. Let’s use this time to glorify God and get closer to Him.
All our love,
John
September, 2021
Everything was going well this month with gigs at Elmcroft of Xenia, Oak Creek Terrace (our first engagement there), Clark Memorial Home, and Carlyle House. Then Covid-19 reared its ugly head again. Eight of the next nine outings were cancelled. Only our gig at Wickshire of Fairborn happened. Outbreaks of Covid led to lockdowns and quarantines. Who knows what programs will occur next month?
Our progress in the studio this month was slowed when Les came down with Covid. Since he was vaccinated, his symptoms were mild but he still had to take some time out.
Chuck came into the studio this month to add his steel guitar parts to the new CD, “The Traditional Songs of the Church II”. Now, Les will do the final mix and Brady will complete the cover art and then the next CD will hit the airwaves.
Of all our CDs, the original “Traditional Songs of the Church,” is our most popular. It is hard to beat the classic hymns for moving Christian music. The songs are in the “Under Construction” section of this website if you want to listen to them.
90% of our streams continue to be from individuals from other countries, particularly India. We really appreciate the modern technology that makes all this possible.
The hymns on the new album are as follows:
Blessed Assurance
My Task
He keeps Me Singing
Wherever He Leads I’ll Go
He Hideth My Soul
His Eye Is On The Sparrow
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Be Thou my Vision
Holy, Holy, Holy
The Trust Medley (Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Only Trust Him)
Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross Evening Prayer.
It was very difficult to limit our selections to these few. There are so many wonderful hymns. In many cases there are 40 or more recordings of these hymns. Because of that we tried to take a slightly different approach to many of the hymns.
Thanks for your continuing support. We love you! May God shower His blessings upon you!!
John
August, 2021
We also enjoyed a return visit to the Friend’s Society where Chuck gave the Sunday sermon. Their new pastor arrives soon. We now have three Sundays each month where we stage a church service for nursing home residents and their visitors with music and a devotional message from Chuck.
In the studio, we continue to make progress on the second edition of the Traditional Songs of the Church. We are working on “My Task” and “Jesus, keep me near the cross.” Several drafts of songs have been added by Brady to the website in the “Under Construction” section of the website. Please check them out and give us your feedback. Reminder: all our recorded songs and lyrics are available free on the website (thebridgeband.live).
Speaking of the website, we are extremely grateful for all the views from South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan. It is especially admirable to see Christians persist in their faith even when they are a cultural minority.
We are blessed that Chuck recovered completely from Covid and my wife, Terry is now rapidly on the mend from her two back surgeries.
We trust that you are well and pray God’s blessings upon you.
John
July, 2021
We had a rewarding month until health issues set in. We had a wonderful time at the Friends’ Society and several nursing homes.
First, we found out my wife, Terry, needed a second back surgery at the Cleveland Clinic for another herniated disc. Then Chuck was exposed to Covid by a member of another band he was playing in. The person who exposed Chuck almost died of it but Chuck seems to have a mild case. All in all, we had to cancel five gigs including our first appearance at Oak Creek Terrace nursing home, representing Fairhaven Church. Thankfully, both Terry and Chuck are recovering. Life has its twists and turns but GOD IS GOOD!
In the studio, Les and I continue to hammer out the Traditional Songs of the Church II. Who knew there were a zillion recordings of “Holy, holy, holy?” Really good ones too!
Hopefully, we will be back to our calling soon. We are scheduled to return to the Xenia Senior Citizens next week. We haven’t been with those good folks since before the pandemic.
Stay safe and God bless you!
John
June, 2021
We are blessed to have reached 5,000 visitors to our website this week. Brady has done such a good job keeping it inviting and current.
We had several Thebridgeband outings this month as some of our pre-pandemic sites returned. This month we were back at Elmcroft of Xenia, HarborChase Beavercreek, Clark Memorial Home, St. Leonard’s, and Wickshire Fairborn. Next month Harmony House returns. We were also privileged to play at the Friends’ Meeting in Jamestown. What a wonderful group of worshipers!
Our work in the studio resumed as Les recovered from his illness. Brady added, “Be thou my vision” to the “Under Construction” section of the website. We are about half-way to completion of the “Traditional Songs of Church II” album. If you are inclined, listen and give us feedback on the new songs in the “Under Construction” section of the website (go to music, click on the “+” sign, and then click on “Under Construction”). If you would like to purchase any of our CDs just send me an email at johnrudisill3@gmail.com.
We are hoping that you are enjoying your new freedom as much as we are. We have much for which to be thankful!
God bless you!
John
May, 2021
At one of our nursing home visits, a 97 year old resident heard our music and was deeply touched as she was reminded of her father, an orchestral musician. Reminiscence is such an important process for us as we get older.
May was a better month in terms of gigs and six performances are scheduled for June. Things are starting to open up, although we are often playing outside battling the wind and the sun. We returned to 1000 Trails Campgrounds for the seventh year and had a wonderful time with the campers.
Clark Memorial Home, Elmcroft of Xenia, Wickshire Fairborn, St.Leonard’s, The Preserve of Beavercreek, and HarborChase of Beavercreek have all returned to the schedule. We are now performing at a new nursing home, Trinity
Community at Beavercreek. Greenewood Manor where Chuck faithfully provided weekly church services for many years has announced that they are closing. The various residents we came to treasure there will be transferred to new settings. We may soon be filling in at Oak Creek Terrace Nursing and Rehab Center (Kettering) as a part of Fairhaven’s Sunshiners ministry.
Progress in the studio was slow in May as a result of my wife Terry’s back surgery and Les’ (our producer) kidney stone. They are both in the process of recovery. On the positive side, Les was able to create another home studio during the month enhancing our already active songwriting program.
We are mainly focused on a new album of hymns and traditional songs of the church. This is a labor of love with such iconic hymns as “Wherever He leads I will go,” “He keeps me singing,” “He hideth my soul,” “His eye is on the sparrow,” “Be thou my vision,” and several others. As we draft these songs, Brady will put them on the “Under Construction” section of the website for your review. Don’t hesitate to provide your feedback or make requests.
As we re-engage in our ministry, we hope for your prayers. Older Americans are often isolated and have higher rates of depression and hopelessness. It is our privilege to spend time with these wonderful people with their wealth of experiences. We love to encourage and support their faith and help them look forward to their reunion with Jesus.
We hope that you are well and are enjoying coming out of the pandemic as we are.
Love,
John
April, 2021
We now have gigs planned with four nursing homes. They are still closed to visitors but we have been playing outside. Michelle Faulkner moved from HarborChase to Trinity in Beavercreek as Activities Director so we will be playing there at the end of the month. We are also scheduled to play at 1000 Trails Campgrounds for their church service over Memorial Day weekend. We’ve done that in the past and it is a great group of campers.
Our new album is out now but it is a real challenge to get it heard. Spotify, e.g., releases 60,000 new songs every day! We are getting a lot of traffic to our website, thebridgeband.live, particularly from our friends in other countries. It is wonderful to think about Christians praising Christ from around the world. By the way, if any of you want to perform our songs in your local churches just let me know (johnrudisill3@gmail.com) and I’ll send you the chord sheet and lyrics for the song that you are interested in. We are excited to share our music with others.
In the studio, we continue to work on another album of traditional church songs, a country album, and another contemporary Christian album. We’ve now written over 400 songs to chose from. We’ll have some drafts of the new songs in the “Under Construction” section of the website later this month.
We hope you are enjoying increased freedom to experience life and to hug your loved ones again as the growth of the virus wanes.
God bless you, all our love!
John
March, 2021
Most of the nursing homes are still locked up and prohibiting outside music (vendors as they call us). We did get to play at Clark Memorial Home in Springfield. We had a great time and will be playing there monthly. We’re also scheduled to play at Wickshire of Fairborn (they bought out Elmcroft of Fairborn) and HarborChase of Beavercreek for monthly outdoor church services. Chuck and I have our vaccines and are ready to “Rock and Roll”.
The new album, “Here is the Good News” is now available for streaming on the various services (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, Amazon Music, Tik Tok, Tidal, Deezer, Napster, Music Time, iHeart Radio, Medianet, Vervelife, Gracenote, Shazam, 7digital, KKBox, Afghanistan, Spinlet, Neurotic Media, Yandex Music, TargetMusic, Clarimusica, Abooq, JioSaavn, 8Tracks, Q.Sic, Kuack, Boomplay, PlayNetwork, TouchTunes, Music Island, Tencent, JOOX, Netease Cloud Music, TIMMMUSIC, Soundtrack your brand, Boom, Zed+, Resso, Gaana Hungarma Music, Wynk, and Triller). Our streams continue to be from all over the world. We used Tunecore rather than CD Baby for distribution this time around. As you can see they have an extensive distribution network. We also have CDs available both on the website and when we perform. You can also listen to the new CD on this website thebridgeband.live for free. Brady has put up a lyrics section on the website so you can also read the lyrics.
We continue to work with Les in the studio on a second “Traditional Songs of the Church” album and a country album. It is remarkable how many great old hymns there are to choose from. Many people, especially older folks, really miss hearing the great hymns of the church. I enjoy “Praise & Worship Music” too but the classic hymns are matchless for their timeless message. Les has written the majority of the songs for the new country album. It should be a fun album.
We hope you are well and that we will get to see you soon!
God bless!
John
February, 2021
Chuck and I are scheduled to complete our two COVID vaccine shots by the end of the month. It will be great to be able to sing and play the good news again. We look forward to more events like Fairhaven’s “Drop Inn” this month. We’ll start calling and reminding nursing homes and churches we are still around this month.
By We had a moving experience after the Fairhaven Church concert. A person in the audience bought a CD at the concert to give to her friend who was unable to attend. Later, that person contacted me and shared how moved she was listening to the CD. She played one of our old hymns over the phone to her sister and they cried together. She wanted 10 CDs for family and friends!
The new album, “Here is the good news,” is finished. We feel like the quality of the music has improved significantly thanks to Les’ improving production skills. You’ll enjoy Brady’s design work on the album as well. My friend, Rick Innis is featured on the electric guitar on one of the tracks. We will be working on creating CDs, getting the songs on streaming platforms and onto our website this month. It will be available on the website thebridgeband.live soon as well as on streaming platforms such as Spotify, UTube, ITunes, etc.
The next albums will be another CD of classic hymns and our first country CD. If you have a favorite hymn, let us know and we’ll consider putting it on our next album.
My email is johnrudisill3@gmail.com or text me at (937) 286-8418 if you want to get ahold of me.
Since we had to register our new songs with our pro, ASCAP, I looked at the streams for our music. Very little money has been accumulated because it takes thousands of streams to generate even modest amounts of income. We had very few streams last year but the amount doubled in January, then the amount of money more than doubled again in February. Interestingly, 82% of the streams were generated outside of the USA, from countries such as India. People from France, Canada, and Poland have viewed our website. What a blessing! This world of technology is amazing!
We are looking forward to seeing you again soon! God bless you and keep you!
John
January, 2021
No performances this month as we wait to take the vaccine for COVID. As I write this, we have just completed our February event at Fairhaven church for the “Drop Inn” event. We had a wonderful time there. There was a surprisingly large crowd, especially for such a cold day and the concert was on Zoom as well. My friends Stephen and Barbara Foster attended and several members of the Sonshiners ministry (which we participate in) were there as well. This included Marge Shaver, the Director of the program, on Zoom.
We’ve been busy preparing our next contemporary Christian album. We hope to finish it in February. Drafts of the songs are available to listen to for free on the “Under Construction” section of the website (just go to the website thebridgeband.live then click on “menu” then the “+” sign next to “Music” then click on “Under Construction”. Brady and Tate continue to work on the artwork for the new CD.
We purchased a software program for the studio this month called Melodyne. It checks and corrects any errant pitches in our instruments and voices. It takes time to implement but Les is quick study and it does make our productions sound better.
One of the songs on the new album we are excited about is titled, “Safe in His arms”. If you get a chance, listen to it on “Under Construction”. Here are the words:
SAFE IN HIS ARMS
Music and lyrics by John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman
Verse 1
Going the wrong way, clearly gone astray, not sure which way to turn. Safe in Jesus’ arms, nothing I have earned. He will deliver me.
Verse 2
Sheltered by His cross, washed in blood He lost, oh, how He rescued me. Safe in Jesus’ arms, I will fear no harm. He will take care of me.
Bridge
Safe in His arms, safe and secure, He takes my fears and reassures. His love for me, keeps me unharmed, I know I’m safe in His arms.
Chorus
Safe in His arms, I know my God will keep me safe in His arms. Safe in His arms, I know that He will keep me from any harm. Even in death, He’ll guide me through the darkest days of my life, for I am safe in His arms! And I will praise Him for ever!
John R. Rudisill and Leslie E. Bruggeman, March, 2020.
December, 2020
Another slow month from a performance perspective with the COVID pandemic. Nursing home residents are starting to take the vaccines, so hopefully we’ll be playing again by springtime.
We have been completing songs for our next contemporary Christian album. Chuck came in to the studio and laid down tracks to complete his parts for the album. Brady and Tate are working on the artwork, With Les’ production work, we’ll soon have a new album. I asked Brady to go through the prospective songs on the album and suggest a title. He said, “I’ve seen a commonality of good news/uplifting nature. So I think the title should reflect that. A sense of comfort/safety.” So we came up with the title, “Here is the good news.” Here are the words of the title song (if you want to listen to it, it is in the “Under construction” section of the website):
Here is the good news
Verse 1
He watched as his life passed before his eyes, as those tears blurred his sight, was this it? He saw the pictures of a broken life, a pain-filled, empty life was this all?
Verse 2
He heard the beeping, nurses scurrying, I must be dying, this is it! He wondered if his daughter thought of him. He hadn’t talked to her for ten years.
Verse 3
If he could live his life all over, live it with a new twist, thanks to Him. He’d live his life for God and love much more. Yes, he would love much more, love more, Lord.
Chorus
Here is the good news! Christ to the rescue! He came to save you, to ease all your blues. Listen to His truth. You’ve nothing to lose. Come here the good news. He will come back soon.
The song speaks to the way Christ rescues us from the mess we often make of our lives.
We hope you had a wonderful holiday, especially given our current circumstances. Can’t wait to see again! God bless you!
November, 2020
We played twice at Clark Memorial Home last month. They have a wonderful outdoor space which allows social distancing for residents. We’ll be playing there again in November. We also played at the Goshen Church of God, the home church of Chuck’s sister, Judy. We had a wonderful time with a nice sized crowd who staged a carry-in lunch for us following the concert. We also visited Judy and her husband at their home following the lunch.
From a production standpoint, Brady added three songs to the website “Under Construction” section. We should be able to add another three songs this month. We also hosted my friend, Rick Innis, for an improvisational session with his guitar to enhance the quality of our recordings. Les and I submitted two of our songs to a “Play for the Publisher” session. The publisher is looking for Christian and country songs so we submitted, “At my worship house,” and “He’s my only One.” Both of these Christian songs have a country vibe. They are both on the website, so take a listen and we’ll let you know if we make the cut to be heard.
Pray for our country as we go through this election and it’s aftermath. We really hope this finds you healthy and well. We wish you God’s blessings! All our love!
John
October, 2020
We played at the Preserve of Beavercreek outside last month and are scheduled to play twice at the Springfield Memorial Home this month. We’ll also be playing at the Goshen Womenn’s Bible Study this month (rescheduled from last month). The Governor is now allowing visitors to the nursing homes so we expect to soon be back in action (although the fall weather changes make is increasingly difficult to play outside). We’ve really missed our trips to the various nursing homes and being able to interact with the residents.
We continue to work on getting out a new Christian album. We now have 12 original Christian songs on the website (go to the “Under Construction” section of the website after clicking the plus sign on Music) and one country song. Brady will add three more songs this month (one traditional hymn, one of our Christian compositions, and one more country song.). Let us know what songs you like and don’t like to help us put the CD together. A friend, who plays a mean guitar, is going to add some licks to our latest recordings next week. We’re excited about his potential contributions.
I’ve recently been in touch with an old college friend who ran on the cross country with me. I shared with him that my retirement hobby has been songwriting and referred him to our website (thebridgeband.live). He writes, “Wanted to share with you , once again, how much I am enjoying your “bridgeband music”. I frequently include, “How big is your God?” into my daily devotions. I also enjoy very much your rendition of “How great Thou art.” That is my favorite hymn.
If you have a chance, listen to”Leave it to the Lord” in the “Under Construction” section of the website. This is a song we wrote after the death of our son, Matthew, from leukemia. It’s not the greatest song but it is very personal, sharing the experience of his death and my hopes for his future in heaven.
Thanks so much for following us! We wish you God’s blessings!
John
September, 2020
The Governor is now allowing music to be played outdoors at nursing homes, so we have one of our old nursing home partners back, i.e., The Preserve of Beavercreek, located behind the Fairfield Mall. The Preserve has hired a new activities director, Ms. Cathrenee Waters. She is very welcoming and we are looking forward to meeting her when we play there on September 17th. We are also playing for the Women’s Prayer Group at Goshen Church of God ( Southern Ohio) on September 29th. The is Chuck’s sister’s group. They feature a lively, fun group of Christian women.
Les and I continue to produce our original songs. Brady Rudisill, my grandson at U.C., loaded drafts of several of our newest songs onto the “Under Construction” section of this website. The new songs are as follows: “Be who you are; Hey, children; Scars; Winds and clouds;” and our first secular recording, a country song titled “We’d get lost.” Let us know what you think of them while they are still in development (negative feedback is welcomed). We’ll add Chuck’s steel guitar finishing touches and we’ll soon have the makings of a new Christian CD.
We really hope you are faring well. The isolation and forced togetherness from the Covid virus have resulted in a host of mental health problems for people. Depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence, and divorce have all spiked. Some people see this era as the end times. I’m more of the opinion that we don’t know the time of Jesus’ return. I do know that we all need Jesus in times like these. Bless you and hopefully we’ll reconnect sometime soon.
August, 2020
Another month with only one gig. We were able to play again at Clark Memorial Home in Springfield. Clark has a great set up with a nice outdoor pavilion so we can easily social distance. The residents there are warm and friendly and just a lot of fun. In light of the limited news, I’d like to give some background on one of the songs we have written.
TAKE Me TO THE CROSS—Les brought the chorus of this song to our collaborative songwriting session. We wrote the verse from the perspective of an innocent by-stander of the Crucifixion story. The objective observer just describes what is seen not knowing the significance of what is unfolding, i.e., the salvation of the world. The last verse then shifts to Christ on the cross. We hear His final words before His death. These words are some of the most powerful ever spoken. Take a listen to the song in the music section of the website.
Hopefully, we will be performing and recording again soon. We now have almost 300 songs to choose from that we have written. Fairhaven, my home church, had to close again after Pastor David Smith contracted the virus. Please pray for His recovery. Progress has been arduous but remember that God, in His wisdom, reigns! God bless!
July, 2020
Since I hadn’t heard from Patsy (see last month’s news) I called her but got no answer. I called the nursing home to check on her but they refused to give me information on her because of HIPPA regulations. I guess I won’t know how she’s doing until we are invited back to play.
We did get to play last month at Clark Memorial Home. We played outdoors while the residents sat in a pavilion about 30 feet away. The residents seemed to appreciate the concert and I almost forgot how much fun it is! We were touched to hear that they have been playing our CDs. I called several of our regular nursing homes and they are anxious to get us back but still shut down. We did get invited to play again at Fairhaven’s drop-in program in February. We also plan to play at Flyboy’s this month. Please keep safe! The virus is unfortunately alive and well.
June,2020
I received a phone call from a nursing home resident this week (I’ll call her Patsy, not her real name). Patsy said that she and other residents have missed thebridgeband visits (Chuck and me) to their nursing home each month. She said that her kidneys are failing and that she is being visited by Hospice now. She has been told that she has just a few weeks to live. She hopes that she will be able to see us again before she joins her loved ones in heaven. She has been trying to make amends for wrongdoing and to heal strained relationships before she goes. She is confined to her bed so we’ll need to visit her in her room. She wants to sing with us one more time.
The nursing homes remain closed to most visitors and no group gatherings such as were typical for us are allowed. The nursing homes have been hard hit and disproportionately affected by the virus. This vulnerable population has formed a significant percentage of the deaths from Covid 19. Keep them in your prayers. They, like the rest of us, are coping with social isolation and could use a hug now. Some churches have resumed live services and Chuck has played at a couple of them while Les has resumed playing at his church. The songwriting continues but Les, Chuck, and I have not been together yet to do recording. It looks like the worst is starting to be over for now. Maybe we’ll get to see you in a month or two. We hope you are well. God bless and keep you!
George Floyd’s tragic death and the nation’s response has been in the headlines lately. I wrote a song shortly before all this happened that I think is relevant to these concerns. Here are the words:
Hate
Different from me, that was his sin. He wasn’t part of my family. Where he came from, what he looked like, the clothes he wore, so unlike me.
I thought I just hated sin but the truth is I looked down on him. My righteousness kept me from him. My hate kept me from loving him.
Help me, dear God, to love not hate. Remind me that I’m mostly like him. Humble me, Lord, keep me from sin. Never let me hate him again.
Chorus—Love drives out hate. God lifts that weight. Let’s not give in to the power of sin. Cling to all that is worthy, love and forgive. Elevate and celebrate, Love drives out hate.
May, 2020
Not much happened in April. We had 10 cancelled events and the churches and nursing homes remain shut down. Chuck and I are hunkered down while Les had a short break before he returned to work machining life saving devices. Les and I have shut down production for the time being but Chuck and I have been practicing a lot on our own. We have written 30 songs in April (one per day). We can’t wait to see you all again and get back to work on our next CD. If you get a chance, listen to some of the songs “Under Construction” and give us your feedback regarding what you like and don’t like. Please continue to pray for the vulnerable who are suffering terrible isolation to stay protected. God bless you!
March, 2020
March started out like most recent months—seven gigs in the first eleven days. We played twice at the Ohio Masonic Home in Springfield, our first visits to that facility. Then the Corona virus necessitated a shutdown of the nursing homes and churches we were scheduled to play. In many of our nursing homes the residents are restricted to their rooms, not allowed to see any visitors even family. Their usual loneliness and isolation must be magnified under these conditions. Pray for them. All of Fairhaven nursing home ministry continues closed.
Our production also shut down shortly after the month started due to the social distance requirements. Of course, the songwriting continues but now in isolation. We pray that you stay well. We’ll see you when this is all over!
February, 2020
In February, we made our first visit to Hillside Assisted Living for their dinner meal. We have plans to return for a special event later in the year. We returned to St. Leonard’s and are going to become regular performers there. All in all, we played 14 times this month, a busy but rewarding month.
March looks like it will be the month of the corona virus. We’ve had three cancellations just today as nursing homes ban visitors and increase screening for outsiders. All the Fairhaven homes have stopped their services. We are looking to returning to Jamestown Presbyterian for a musical service at the worship hour on March 21th. You are all welcome to attend.
In the studio, Les and I finished the draft of “Hey, children” a contemporary Christian song about Christ’s return and the end of time. We are currently working on “Scars”. We also completed the draft of our first secular song, “We’d get lost.” Those songs will be on the “Under Construction” section of the website soon. Chuck’s girlfriend, Mary, and her daughter as well as Les’ wife, Tammy have been having some health issues. Please pray for them.
The Coronavirus crisis reminds me of how fleeting life on earth is and how vulnerable we are. In light of our vulnerability, it only makes sense to prepare for the next life. Spending this life as a disciple of Christ is not only rewarding now but in the vast eternity to follow. We hope you are well. We truly value your partnership! Keep running the good race.
January, 2020
We had an enjoyable month playing out. We played at St. Leonard’s for the first time in a couple of years. We are happy that they have already asked us back. We were also at Legacy and the Xenia Adult Recreation and Services. We started our new monthly programs at the Preserve of Beavercreek. In all, we played 14 times during January, including two times with our friends at Elmcroft of Xenia and four times at HarborChase. And, of course, Chuck plays and preaches every week at Greenewood Manor. In additions to our programs with diverse music, we are doing at least three church services each month. This week we saw our friends at Springfield Memorial Home. We had a good time as usual and were touched when we were told they are arranging to play our CDs the times we are not there.
We have been getting residents more involved in singing hymns with us, using the hymn books we got from Fairhaven church’s SonShiner’s program. Speaking of SonShiners, they have been incredibly supportive of us, especially Marge Shaver, the director. Marge leads a group of volunteers (including us) who provide church services at six nursing homes in the Dayton area. Marge does a marvelous job of modeling Christian service and love. Connie Jensen helps us at Carlyle House each month as a part of the SonShiner program as well. Connie is gentle and caring toward the residents and has a deep Christian faith.
In the studio, we finished “Leave it to the Lord,” (Brady placed it in the “Under construction” section of the website and also “Be who you are.”). Les got the idea for “Be who you are” watching parents boss their kids around at a church youth program. It’s kind of a Christian “free the children” song. Interesting . . .We are now working on our first secular recording, We’d get lost.” Another Les idea, it tells a story of the lost love of a couple. Our songwriting continues. We now have 221 original song compositions and counting.
God has blessed. We are grateful for good health. I just turned 73 and Church turned 70 this year but we are still able to carry and set up our heavy equipment to play. Les is the youngster and hopefully will be around for a long time. God bless you and thanks for being a part of this ministry!
December, 2019
December was another busy month and 2019 was a busy year with many wonderful memories. We did 13 shows in December and a lot of Christmas carols! For the year we did 122 shows up from 66 shows last year, almost double. We added a number of new nursing homes this year. This month “The Preserve of Beavercreek was added. We will be playing there monthly. We are now playing at three nursing homes where the residents are suffering from more severe cognitive impairment, usually Alzheimer’s. People who have experienced the dementia process have described feeling increasingly “empty”. On the surface, these folks are a less demonstrative and rewarding audience. However, when these people hear the old songs, especially the time honored hymns, a spark is often lit and old, restorative memories of church, family, and God’s love are ignited, What a priceless experience to share!
In the studio, Les and I have finished drafts of “There’s something about the Word” and “I’m going home”—a song I wrote after I was diagnosed with a life threatening melanoma. Brady will be adding them to the “Under Construction section of the website. Chuck will add his finishing touches on the steel guitar later. We are working on a song called “Leave it to the Lord” that Les and I wrote. This is a special song for me because it relates the story of my son Matt’s dying. I doubt that the song adequately captures his courage but we had to try. I miss him every day.
Thank you for your love and support! We look forward to seeing you soon, God bless!
November, 2019
We played today at Carlyle House, one our favorite places to play. Carlyle House specializes in working with people who have dementia. Many people who suffer from dementia experience an erosion of the inhibitory centers of the brain. In other words, they often don’t censor their thoughts and actions—they come out with what they think! In the middle of our performance, a 101 year old woman yelled out, “You guys need to keep practicing.” She was painfully right especially when it comes to Christmas music. As a staff member said, “When you get to be 101, you’re allowed to say whatever you think!” Keeps us humble and hungry! We played a record 15 times in November including four appearances at HarborChase. Next month will be lighter but feature lots of Christmas carols that challenge the best of steel guitar players.
It’s been a frustrating month from an equipment perspective. The new computer Les bought for the studio had to be returned delaying our ability to download software and to record new songs. On the performance side, Chuck bought a new, more streamlined speaker for smaller venues. So far, the sound quality is not working out.
Songwriting is going gangbusters. We are now over 200 original songs. Professional songwriters have said that you should throw away the first couple hundred songs you write. So I guess we can get started now. One of the problems with so many songs is that, using a chord sheet, you forget some of the nuances of the song. I’m going to try to master a notation software called Sibelius to overcome this problem. Wish me luck!
This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for you! God has given us so many blessings—wonderful families and friends and even a few fans! We hope you had a wonderful time with family. Never forget God’s goodness nor the joys of serving Him!
October, 2019
I’m grateful for the opportunity to sing God’s praises. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to reflect God’s love in the world. One of the threats to that reflection is our own ego/narcissism, our need to be important, to win the acclaim of others. This is not really about us—the CDs we sell or the number of songs we write. Those only matter as they reflect making an impact for Christ. We need to remind ourselves that our modest gifts, musical and otherwise are just that—gifts of God to glorify Him and testify to His wonders and goodness. Lord, help us keep our lives in perspective: the perspective that You are our proper perspective.
We had a busy month, a record 13 gigs for Chuck and me. We played at two new places: Wright Place Senior Community and Miller Farm Place, both terrific venues. We also had the experience of having two other musicians sit in with us. Dan Williamson, an excellent guitarist, played with us at The Heartland of Beavercreek and Garry Ocoh, bassist, at Wright Place Senior Community. Garry is a well known music producer and radio personality who retired after a successful career in Nashville. He continues to host a radio program locally. We also played at another Harold Preston benefit held at the Jamestown Presbyterian Church. We’ve also booked several dates for next year at the Springfield Masonic Home, a new venue for us.
Next month, we play a couple of times in Springboro, once with Cornetta, our motivational speaker and another time at Walnut Creek as a part of the Sunshiners Ministry of Fairhaven Church.
Les continues to upgrade the studio as we continue to work on our fifth album. We now have a large number of high quality virtual instruments and the computing power to use them.
Thanks for your love and support, we look forward to seeing you at an upcoming gig.
September, 2019
This nursing home ministry is really something. I can’t get the image out of my head of a 96 year old woman dancing, swaying, and singing to the music—loving every minute of it. It was easy to see how those songs of faith and praise had sustained her through her many years. Her 80 year old son (who looked 60) came up to me afterwards and said “How many people do you know that have an eighty year old son?” Not many and not many who blessed me the way she did.
Chuck and I played 12 times during the month. We played backup at St. Leonard’s for a motivational/inspirational speaker. HarborChase is doubling the number of church services at their facility starting in January.
Take a look at the “Under Construction” section of the website. It will give you an idea of what we are working on. Les bought a much more powerful computer and several cutting edge software packages which along with a redesigned studio will allow us to produce more sophisticated and exciting recordings.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We love you and pray God’s blessings upon you!
August, 2019
It’s been a busy month for us. Our new CD, “The Singles” is now available both in hard copy and as a download on the various streaming services such as ITunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, UTube, etc. You can also hear our music free of charge on our website “thebridgeband.live.” Thanks to Brady, we also have a section on the website that displays all the lyrics of our songs. Brady has also put up a new section under music called “Under Construction” that makes the songs we are currently working on available. Les put in a lot of effort on the production process and I think it shows! As usual, Tate and Brady did the artwork for the new album. Let us know what you think of the new album and what you would like us to work on next.
We are planning to post some photos to the website as well. We haven’t done that before because “Who wants to see old men playing music?” After Chuck and I played for the Prom at Elmcroft of Xenia it seemed like we needed to share some of these experiences. We are fortunate to have wonderful audiences who deserve to be seen!
Chuck and I had our busiest month performing yet (12 times). We played at our first rummage sale (St. Mark’s Episcopal Church)! We are blessed to have regular gigs now at Carlyle House, Elmcroft of Xenia, Harmony Center, Greenwood Manor, Harborchase, Heartland of Beavercreek, and Clark Memorial Home (our most recent addition). We now hold church services at Carlyle House, Greenwood Manor, and HarborChase (our most recent addition) where we share the gospel both through our songs and Chuck preaching the Word. Let us know if you would like us to play at your event or church.
We have now written 173 songs. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to produce them all but we are working on it. God is good!! We are so thankful for your prayers and support. God bless you!
July, 2019
This month saw an uptick in our on-line presence. We’ve had about 2000 visits to our website and about 80 subscribers to our YouTube account. My niece, Karen Ritter, has 36,000 subscribers to her Twitter account. She plans to send out one of our songs each day to her followers. We also have a Facebook presence now.
Les continues to work on getting out the new CD, “The Singles”. We have 12 tracks now but are refining the quality. Tate is working on the art work. Chuck completed all his tracks this week.
The writing continues—we have 160 original songs now. The next album is probably going to be another hymn collection since people seemed to like the first collection. We are thinking about doing “Blessed Assurance, His eye is on the sparrow, Jesus, keep me near the cross, We’ve a story to tell the nations, Does Jesus care?, Face to face, My task, He hide the my soul, He keeps me singing, Ivory palaces, I love to tell the story, Let the lower lights be burning, and Just as I am. If you have a favorite or another idea let us know. We are also starting to work on a devotional series for YouTube. It will feature one of our songs, a devotional with scripture and prayer and pretty scenery.
Chuck and I played out 9 times in July. The Levitt Pavilion venue was a cool place to play. We got to play with son, Stephen, at Carlyle House. We are beginning a monthly church service at HarborChase in August.
These are exciting times for us. We can’t wait to see what God has planned. In the meantime, we’ll continue to sing God’s praises. Love you!
June, 2019
During June, we played eight times. We played at a new assisted living facility, Hearth and Home in Vandalia. Unfortunately, our equipment went out but we soldiered on as best we could. Jim Rafferty joined us for that outing. We also played at the Coming Together Center where we met a person who wants to sing one of our songs. Kenny Shiveley’s son who was a long time producer at Warner Brother wants to set down with us and go over our music. He was very complementary about our songwriting. We also got to do a song with our old band mates—Donna and Brent. Also during the month, we arranged to start playing twice a month for our friends at Elmcroft of Xenia. They are a wonderful group of people.
We signed up with CDBaby who has put our music on various streaming platforms—iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, SoundCloud, Apple Music, YouTube, Google Play, and Facebook. If you listen to one of these subscription services please look us up and listen—Thebridgeband. There are three bridge bands so make sure you type our unique spelling. We also registered with SoundExchange which allows us to collect from downloads. We also now have a way for fans to download from our website and buy tracks or albums.
Les has now produced 9 more songs toward another album. We’ll probably produce 12 and do another album. Let us know what you think. We have a big month next month including playing at the Lovitt Pavillion in Dayton. We hope you are well. God bless!
May, 2019
During May we downloaded our songs to Soundcloud. We also put our three albums on CD Baby. CD Baby puts our music on all the streaming sites such as ITunes, Pandora, Spotify, and Amazon. This will make our music widely available all over the world for both streaming and downloading. This is the way most music is accessed today.
Les got married and returned to the studio for production. We are near completion on nine new songs. I wrote 10 new songs in May and we have many songs ready for production.
Chuck and I had ten gigs in May including our annual trip to 1000 Trails Campground. We started playing at a new, beautiful assisted living facility called Harborchase. Our friend, Michelle, moved from Heartland to a new position at HarborChase. We also formed a relationship with an inspirational motivational speaker and supported her at St. Leonard’s. We are planning a program with her at the Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton. We also presented with my son Stephen, pastor at Christ church for another program. Great fun!
Thanks for you prayers. In June, we will play at the CT Center and Brent and Donna, former members of TheBridgeband, are also on the program,
April, 2019
We played eight times in April and have eight gigs scheduled in May. We have renewed our relationship with Heartland of Beavercreek. We enjoyed seeing the residents again and playing for their monthly birthday party. We played at Fairfield/Trinity for the first time—great people!
We had a meeting with two local Christian artists to discuss our music. Our CDs will be distributed to serveral Christian artists to see if any of them want to record or play our music. We also did some collaborative songwriting with them.
We had a follow up meeting with the Fairhaven worship director.. He, very kindly, listened to all our music and made recommendations. We will keep in touch.
Lots of songwriting this month—10 new songs.
Congratulations to Les who got married this month! Les will return to the studio following his honeymoon.
Pray for God’s leading. We never want to lose sight of the reason we do this—to glorify God and help others draw closer to Him.
March, 2019
We played ten venues in March, a new record for us. We played at a new place, Village at the Greene. It’s been great meeting new people. We’ve been treated very warmly.
I met with the worship leader at Fairhaven, a large local church with multiple campus to see if they would be interested in playing our original songs.
We sent our original CDs to a local radio station. We are waiting to hear from them.
August, 2018
We upgraded our website thanks to Brady Rudisill.
Tate Rudisill created a new logo for the Bridge. We hope you like it.
The Bridge has been busy compiling our first album, “Traditional Songs of the Church.” We made new arrangements of old hymn favorites and Afro-American spirituals in the public domain. We also included one Appalachian Mountain song. Let us know if you want a copy.
The Bridge is now working on an album of original songs entitled, “Take me to the Cross”.
Much thanks to Les for his home recording expertise (Eprom Productions) and all three bridge members for performing the songs. Les also listed our demo on his Facebook page.
Chuck and John have been very busy doing gigs this summer. Several people have asked where Les is when we play out. Les is still working (not retired like Chuck and me) so he is focusing his time on producing our CDs and songwriting.
We have begun to try to get other people to hear and critique our music:
1. We sent the original song, “This is the Day” to Gospel Music Association for a
professional critique by an established Christian songwriter.
2. We sent the original song, “How Big is our God?” to Songwriting Pro for a
professional critique by a well-known publisher.
3. We sent the original song, “Take me to the Cross” to the Christian Songwriting Contest.
4. We uploaded our recorded demo to Soundcloud.
We hope to enter another couple of songwriting contests in September and November, 2018.
Thanks for all your support! We love singing God’s praises!
September, 2018
We sent the “The Traditional Songs of the Church” to the CD manufacturers. We’ll have CDs soon! Thanks to Les and Chuck for putting together the project. Brady Rudisill came up with the cover. We’ve got some good reviews from somewhat biased friends and family.
Les and John (mostly Les) have nearly completed the production of our second album “Take me to the Cross”. We are excited about the CD because all of the songs except “The Old Rugged Cross” are original compositions written by the three of us.
We continue to write new songs and now have in excess of 80 songs. Terry Rudisill wrote her first song (lyrics) “Pray and Pray” and has contributed to other songs. She is a talented poet and lyricist.
Brady Rudisill has added a music section to the website. He also has a lyrics section so you can read the most important part, the message. You can now hear all the songs we’ve produced on the site.
We joined ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. If we ever make any money on our music, they will collect it
We’re really excited that Charles Billingsley, an outstanding Christian vocalist, has agreed to listen to “Take me to the Cross”. With a higher key change, Charles would knock it out of the park!
This month we plan to send a demo to a Christian publishing company.
Chuck and John will be playing at Honey Creek Christian and three nursing homes this month Pray for Chuck’s Mary who continues to recover from surgery.
Thanks for your support as we continue to sing His praises!
October, 2018
Easydisc returned our first CD “Take me to the Cross” this month The CD features all original music centered on the crucifixion and Christ’s sacrificial love. The collection ends with “The Old Rugged Cross”. We hope to get the “Traditional Songs of the Church” CD back this month too We are about half way finished recording our second original CD “Between Jesus and Me”. This collection features songs that are dialogues with God. Prayer is such a privilege! Needless to say Les, our production engineer, is spending a lot of time at the house. Brady and Tate have also been a huge help in the production of the CDs.
We got back our professional critique on “This is the Day”. The feedback was mixed but gave us ideas on how to improve the track. We did not win the Songwriting Pro contest with “How Big is our God,” however, we were included in the feedback session.
We entered the International Songwriting Contest and sent a demo to a Christian publishing house this month.
Chuck and I continue to enjoy our nursing home ministry and had a great time at both Fairhaven and Xenia Senior Citizens.
We continue to write songs (we’re up to 85 now).
We wish God’s blessings on you!
November, 2018
We have now completed to two CDs and are nearing the completion of a third “Between Jesus and Me.” Thanks to Brady and Tate (my grandsons) for the art work and graphic design. This CD has a lot of our newer songs but also includes some songs we’ve been performing such as “I’ve been thinking about you Jesus” and “This is the Day.” Les is really getting skilled with production. This album clearly has the best production of the three CDs. We now have 90 original songs from which to choose..
Charles Billingsley’s assistant said that our song wasn’t ”something he had need for at this time.” Charles wrote “Thanks very much for thinking of me with your song. I encourage you to keep writing and recording. I believe you will bless many people through your efforts..” Thanks, Charles! We will try with God’s help!
We sent 5 songs for professional review and entered both the Great American Songwriting Contest and songdoor this month.
Chuck and I are playing at the usual nursing homes plus the Christian Church in Springfield (Jim Barnett will be playing the guitar with us), The Caring Place, and Xenia Senior Citizens this month. Our audiences have been a real blessing to us.
Chuck’s birthday was this month and we had a heart warming celebration at Greenewood Manor, Chuck’s church. Chucks son, Chip, played guitar with us (he plays beautifully) and his daughter and son-in-law were there with their beautiful family. His little grandsons sang with Chuck. They were terrific!
December, 2018
As the year comes to a close, we have a lot to be thankful for family, friends (including you), and health, God is good!
Les, Chuck, and I are almost finished with our third CD Les is getting better and better at production! The gap between what Chuck and I can do live and what we all are doing in the studio is growing dramatically! Our first two CDs are available now and we are getting encouraging reactions from the people who have heard them. The job Brady Rudisill did on the second album is remarkable! Tate Rudisill has drawn an album cover for the next album that is really cool! I think you’ll enjoy it. Don’t forget that all the music and lyrics are also available on this website.
Chuck and I are really enjoying performing live! We were so blessed to be asked back to play at all six venues we have played this month Let us know if you want us to come to your event. Cost is never a barrier!
We received professional feedback on two of our songs The feedback has allowed us to improve the songs. The reviewer saw a lot of promise in our writing team and suggested ways for us to get to the next level, We received a “no thanks” from the first publisher to whom we sent a demo.
Next month we would like to start meeting with a local church or two and a local radio station to encourage them to play our music.
Chuck has a son who is a great guitar player and I have a son who is a great singer (way better than his old man). We would like to get them together sometime and do some recording,
Let us know what kind of CD you’d like us to work on next—more original Christian, more traditional Christian favorites, an original country album, or a folk album.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
January, 2019
Chuck and I have decided to make a stronger commitment to “gigging” this year. We are looking for new places to play. We want to try to make sure that we have at one event scheduled every week this year (excluding vacations). The BridgeBand began in 2013 and played out nine times that first year. In 2014, we performed 14 times. In 2015, we performed 21 times. In 2016, we played 30 times. In 2017, we played at 45 events. This past year, 2018, Chuck and I played 66 times!
We are often touched by the response of people to our music (including the Nursing Home resident who said “Whoever told that guy he could sing!”), especially our gospel music. The residents are often moved to tears and seem to greatly appreciate the words of comfort both spoken and sung. Turning their thoughts to a better life with Jesus in heaven seems to lift their morale. So this month, we added two more nursing homes—Elmcroft and Harmony to our monthly schedule (Chuck is awesome at acquiring gigs). We had a great time and a wonderful reception at both places! This feels like an important and often neglected ministry. Pray for us that we can bring hope and comfort to others (and a little bit of fun, too).
In the studio, Les, Chuck, and I have finished recording our third C.D. (We are actually selling a few C.D.s now) and Brady and Tate have completed all the artwork and graphic design for the album. Hopefully, we’ll get it sent in to Easydisc next week and get our third C.D., “Between Jesus and me” in couple of weeks from now. We are really excited about this C.D. All of the songs are original compositions representing dialogues between God and woman/man. Brady is adding it to the website. We hope you like it!
Les is working on setting up a meeting with a local radio station to see if they will consider playing our music. Les and I continue to write songs (we’re up to 105 now) alternating with producing more songs for the BridgeBand,
February, 2019
Chuck and I continue to add more Nursing home venues to our schedule. This year we have added Elmcroft of Xenia, Elmcroft of Fairborn, Harmony Center, Springfield Memorial Home, and Traditions of Beavercreek (don’t you love these names). We’ve enjoyed these new audiences and have bee gratified by the response and reception we have been given.
We have received our 3rd CD from the manufacturer, “Between Jesus and Me”. The artwork and graphics that Brady and Tate did cane out great. Les and I art working on a number of original singles for the website. Brady has updated the website with all the lyrics and music from all three of our CDs.
We have completed uploading all our songs to ASCAP, our Performance Rights Organization (PRO). We also have uploaded our songs to Broadjam, a site that pursued licensing opportunities for the music of its members. We sent material and interacted with the GospelSongwriters.com this month. We decided not to go with them after considerable discussion. We have also been seeing if other Christian groups might be interested in our music.
Between gigging, writing, recording, and trying to get our music out, we’ve been really busy this month.
Hopefully, we’ll see you soon! Until then, may God bless and keep you!
John
Thebridgeband. Live 