Qorban
Bob Neff - Flute
Don Pleskach - Bass/VocalsVince Peddle - Guitar/Vocals
Bill Graening - Keyboards/Vocals
Silvia Bryan - Violin
Chuck McInnes - Classical and Electric Guitar
In early 1976 I was invited one night to an informal concert in the basement of my church in Green, Ohio. Truth is that when I was invited I was initially reluctant to go. I was new to Ohio and that church, so I didn't know the kids there very well, and until that time the only Christian music I'd ever heard was from the Baptist Hymnal or Southern Gospel - neither of which, to put it in the mildest terms, appealed me in the least. At best I was envisioning some sort of lame Up With People kind of thing.
But Julie, the girl who'd called to invite me, assured me that this was nothing of the sort. I'd like it, she promised. And she was right. What I heard and the people I met were unlike any I'd encountered before. I was surrounded by young, joyful, outspoken Christians - both the band and the kids from the church - and they brought the gospel to me in a way I could hear for the first time. Later that night I encountered Christ personally. (whether that was my moment of salvation or if a seed was planted that would sprout 35 years later, I can't say. You can read about this in excruciating detail in "This Prodigal's Story" on this blogs header).
The band blew me away. I was a budding guitarist myself, and an intense lover of music. These guys were great musicians and song writers - very impressive - and a few of their tunes have stuck in my head right until current times. A couple of weeks later Julie, who was friends with band members, again invited me to hear the band - this time at a coffee house in Cleveland. We rode up with the keyboardist Bill Graening, and I can't begin to tell you how great an experience that was for the fifteen year old I was then. There was just no parallel to this movement of young Christians back in my native North Carolina, and for this misfit kid to find himself immersed in genuine Christian love like I experienced around these folks was, quite literally, a revelation.
So, fast forward a few decades to 2010. After a lifetime of walking outside of God's will, I finally submitted my life fully to Him. (!) This led me to remember back to that night in 1976 and the band Qorban. Wondering whatever became of them I googled the name to see if I might find some mention of them, but came up empty handed. But at the same time I also began to seek out my friend Julie on the net, and there I hit the mark. I found her and we exchanged a flurry of messages about the old times. Of course, our memories of the band were prominently featured. (Getting back in touch with Julie was huge! I counted her as my favorite Ohio friend, but I'd lost track of her after about 1978. I never stopped wondering where she was and what she was doing. So I was just overjoyed to find her again. I love that I've found lots of friends on the Internet that I would have never heard from again in the pre-WWW days.)
Well, turns out that Julie has kept in touch with band member Bob Neff and his wife Donna. The band had recorded an albums worth of original material back in 1980 when it became obvious that Qorban had run it's course and they were all planning to move on. Complaining that her original cassette of that album had become unplayable, Bob was good enough to digitize the cuts from old cassette tapes he had and sent her a CD. To my delight she promptly got a copy into my hands.
Popping it immediately into the CD player I was instantly flooded with memories. Some cuts, like Psalm 40, had stayed with me nearly intact over the years. Others I recognized after hearing them again, and others I'd never heard. Again, the musicianship - vocal and instrumental - and song writing were very impressive. These guys are pros. I recall a couple of covers they did: Larry Norman's The Outlaw, and Didn't He by Randy Matthews, and missed hearing those, but, like I said, this was all original stuff on the CD. There was another tune called Maranatha which is also missing here, so I assume it wasn't a Qorban original. But, it was a very pleasant experience to hear it all again after so long.
It's obvious, listening to the entire CD, that this was a diverse group of musicians. Sometimes they're jazzy, sometimes ethereal, and with Spiritual Railway and Eatin' Beats Pickin' even throw a little country into the mix. Sort of Sea Level (or Sweet Comfort Band) meets Dan Fogelberg meets Poco! But it's mainly just their own sound. And the arrangements are very impressively intricate.The flute and violin lend real uniqueness. (I remembered that these guys were good, but I didn't understand how good at the time!)
The more I listen to this collection the more I'm coming to appreciate it on purely musical merits rather than simply for my nostalgic connection to it. But I do feel connected to the music. I saw Qorban perform twice thirty-six years ago. But since God used them to speak to me, those two encounters have remained vivid in my memory all through the years, and the night I first met them, and Christ, stands out as the single most remarkable of my life. My gratitude toward my friend Julie and the members of this band for being there to plant the seed of salvation in my heart is incalculable.
If you've stumbled upon my humble blog and haven't yet come to know Christ yourself, I hope you will soon.
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