Whistling Past the Graveyard with Dennis Michaelis

The Song: “Whistling Past the Graveyard”“ written by Tom Adamson from the 2012 Whistle Stop 7” by Tom Adamson and the Texarkana Two. The tune of this song came about when I was counseling summer camp for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. The students wanted me to write a theme song for the volley-ball like game of “Nuke ‘Em.” So it was born under a tree next to the sand volleyball pit at Camp Mack. I took the tune home, gave it more “sophisticated” words, the band loved it, and the rest is history.
(The Texarkana Two: Steve Trathen bass guitar, Jason Monroe drums)

The Friend: Dennis is a staff pastor at Bayside Family Church in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. But for a dozen plus years, he and his brother Jeremy co-founded the band Red Umbrella. For some of those years they were based in the U.S.; more specifically in Valparaiso, Indiana, where I lived at the same time. We became part of the same friend group and over time began to help each other in the recording studio. He and “J” engineered several sessions for me and Dennis really expanded my knowledge of guitar tech.