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February 1, 2011Thursday, Feb. 3
February 3, 2011Watching Janis Joplin wail on stage, John Michael Talbot’s life changed.
It wasn’t her performance; rather, her lifestyle – swigging Southern Comfort like soda and following it with a drug chaser. At age 18, the then-Mason Proffit member was forced to rethink his career path.
The band Mason Proffit was a hit in the early 1970s as a frontrunner to the country rock venue. Talbot and his cohorts had opened for some heavy hitters: The Byrds, Poco, Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead.
But standing on the empty stage after the show, Talbot stared at the sea of discarded bottles, beer cans and drug paraphernalia, longing for something more.
“Suddenly, the rock star life seemed empty and sad,” the singer told his biographer Bernard Baur. “It wasn’t at all what I wanted my life to stand for.”
In 1973, after a gig at the Ozark Mountain Folk Fair in Eureka Springs, Ark., Talbot had an epiphany. He left Mason Proffit and set out on a spiritual journey.
The four-year trek – through everything from Native American beliefs to Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity – ended peacefully and harmoniously with Talbot settling on the Catholic faith.
“I asked God what I was supposed to do,” Baur quotes Talbot as saying. “God said, ‘Play your music and I will open and shut the doors.'”
Doors did open in the Christian music scene. John Michael Talbot released “Reborn” in 1976 on Warner Brothers Records. Fifty-two more CDs would follow, as would the accolades: Dove Awards, the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and a listing as the No. 1 Christian Artist in 1988 by Billboard magazine.
Talbot’s reflective, meditative style teamed with his tenor vocals and classical guitar playing has hit a note with believers – crossing denominations beyond the Catholic Church. In his 36 years in Christian music ministry, Talbot has sold more than 4 million CDs and has works published in hymnals.
This year, a new album and a book – “The Universal Monk: The Way of the New Monastics” – are being released.
In an age when people are seeking to fill the void in their lives, the musician/writer/motivational speaker says people “need hope, joy and love.”
“I think this culture is spiritual, but not necessarily religious,” Talbot told the Gumbo Entertainment Guide. Modern society often prefers to separate the two. “But religion without spirituality is flightless. You need both. It’s like a bird’s wings – you need both to fly.”
Retreats and motivational events such as the St. Joseph Co-Cathedral Church appearance provide the forum worshipers need. “People want to worship. They want to sing and express their faith. They want to go deeper into meditation and prayer,” Talbot said.
Normally, his performances are three-night affairs. But because of a scheduling conflict, the Thibodaux shows were trimmed to two nights. However, Talbot said, “Both nights are a lot of fun.”
The first evening focuses on Talbot’s testimony, music and spirituality.
Crowds will hear of his decision to sell all of his material possessions and retreat into the woods, later to found the Brothers and Sisters of Charity and the Little Portion Hermitage, a house of prayer. The recipient of numerous humanitarian honors – including the Mother Teresa award – Talbot’s is a holy rags-to-riches story.
“The primary mission is love,” Talbot says of his ministry. The Catholic-based covenant community, in part through their leader’s book and CD sales, provided more than $93 million in emergency and humanitarian aid to the needy in 24 developing countries in 1999 alone.
The second night includes a walk through the liturgy. Believers will go deeper into the Mass and other Catholic traditions, Talbot said.
Admission both nights is free; however, a free-will love offering will be collected.
“It’s free to get in, but you have to pay to get out,” Talbot joked.
