Quotebook: John McNamara speaks on Broken Reunion Gig
August 22, 2005
(The following are comments lead singer John McNamara shared after 4-4-1 played the Broken Records Reunion Concert at Mariner's Church in Irvine, California August 19, 2005.)
"It turned out to be a very well put together program in all aspects. The pre-gig activities were very well organized and the staff was extremely professional. The production during the concert was so top notch that even the most critical of my friends in the audience were very impressed.
“We received a very warm reception from the audience especially after our final song, “In His Presence,” where there was a standing ovation. It was a bitter sweet moment as the three of us took a bow since we were without our fourth band mate Glenn Holland who had surgery about one week prior. I almost couldn't sing on portions of “Mourning Into Dancing” since that was a song Glenn wrote and is a favorite of the fans and ours.
“We were inundated after our set was done by fans, friends and family that loved the performance. We sold out of our entire first album CDs so there was a great response there as well.
“Many people told me that they were surprised that they remembered all the words to the songs and were singing along the whole time. It was a great feeling to see that response during the concert as well as all the dancing (mostly my kids).
“We made some new musician friends including Ronnie Martin from Joy Electric who played keyboards for us. He has turned into a good friend and that may be the one of the best outcomes of the event for us. We also saw a lot of old friends including Harry Barnes who owned the record company that produced our first two albums.
“I had several people come up to me during the night and tell me that they were going through a very difficult time in their lives when our first two albums came out 20 years ago. They told me that the songs helped them to make it through those tough times and they came to thank me since those songs helped them to get through the difficulties a bit easier. It was very humbling to hear those words since I wrote those songs because of very difficult times that I had been through myself. I wrote those songs for the Lord and me so it was an extra blessing to find out that they helped others in a personal and meaningful way. I was very struck by the level of emotion that they shared with me since I had never met them before and those events happened such a long time ago. As I thought about it later it made me think that heaven may be a little bit like that experience. It made me feel that we were like brothers and sisters reuniting after a long time of separation and the gathering together again brought with it great joy and fellowship. I truly felt like I was In His Presence (Psalm 16:11).
“All in all I was very blessed and overwhelmed by the whole thing. My only regret is that I wish we could have played our music with our friend Glenn Holland. I hope that we can get another chance to do just that when he is recovered."