In the Shadow of the Cross
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Here's a Press Release about the CD:
Pals produce heavenly music: New CD a good deal that's fit for the kids Bruce Bisland and John Tobias live "two or three songs on the radio" apart. That's time as told by a man who loves music, Tobias says.
Tobias, a Binghamton resident, has driven the familiar route to Bisland's Endwell home more times than he can count over the 20 years of their friendship. Many times, though, the music he hears isn't on the radio. It's in his head as he mentally blends lyrics and notes into their own perfect harmony.
Tobias, 44, and Bisland, 48, have written and performed dozens of songs together. They're part of the music ministry at Our Lady of Angels Roman Catholic Church in Endwell, where the two also began a children's choir years ago -- so long ago, says Bisland, that some of the kids from the early children's choir come back on college break now. Tobias and Bisland made their first recording in 1997, a cassette with songs geared to children. Welcome to the House of the Lord found a local audience that clamored for more from the two self-taught musicians. Earlier this year they teamed with four more friends to offer a CD called In the Shadow of the Cross, with songs for kids and adults.
It's only $5, says Tobias -- a good deal for a CD you don't have to edit for your children. Some of the lyrics are particularly powerful because they came out of the men's personal experiences. Profound events in life "seem to get the circuits firing," Tobias says. "Bruce and I have been through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times together," he says. "We've written our music after devastating circumstances or joyous occasions." The title song for their newest release came to Tobias one bleak Good Friday as he sat in the pew at church, where he serves as music director. Bisland had just suffered a loss in his family; Tobias had just buried a good friend. Tobias' mood was somber but serene as he noticed the shadow cast by the cross at the front of the church. He walked to his music stand, grabbed a pen and paper, and started to write, he says.He took the song over to Bisland, always the best sounding board for his budding creations, and Bisland said, "I don't think there's much we can do to improve that one." "That was a first," says Tobias, a zone analyst for Endicott Interconnect Technologies.
Their writing process has no set pattern, says Bisland, a quality assurance analyst for Nutri-Styles. An idea bounces into one of their heads, and that creative partner runs with it. Then he plinks out the evolving song on a guitar or piano, and the other partner offers "let's make that chord a D7" or whatever other tweaking is needed. They both have wives and families, but the music they make together has a special place in their lives. "It can be any time, day or night, and I can call him up and say, 'Hey, I've got something. Listen to this --'" Tobias says. Bisland sums up the fluid flow between the them in just three words. "We're best friends," he says.
ORDERING THE CD
In the Shadow of the Cross, the latest musical offering of John Tobias and Bruce Bisland, is available for $5. To order, call Our Lady of Angels Roman Catholic Church at 754-1266