Songwriter Gives Back to Fire Company

Frances Drost song ‘Set of Wheels’ 
helps finance new engine for Newville firefighters

by Steve Kennedy

A Newville-area singer-songwriter is using her talents to raise funds for a community group that responded in her family’s hour of need 35 years ago. In 1986, when Frances Drost was 20, the barn on her family’s farm caught fire. Newville’s Friendship Hose Co. No. 1 responded to the blaze. Now, Drost will donate part of her winnings from the Global Rising Song Contest, a crowdfunding songwriting competition, toward the company’s purchase of a new fire engine.
In the contest, aspiring singer-songwriters submit a video of their original song, and winners are selected by music industry judges and fan votes. 

Drost, best known throughout south central Pennsylvania for her annual Portraits of White Christmas concert, submitted her song “Set of Wheels” to Super Round 2 of the competition, in which it will compete against winners of the past eight rounds. Fans can vote at globalrisingsong.com by making a donation of $1 or more, with funds intended to sustain the songwriters in their musical careers. Drost won the Fan Favorite award in a previous round with her song “Inside Things” and donated $1,500 to the Big Spring Area Food Bank. 

“It will be a wonderful way to pay tribute to our local fire company, especially since I’m a Newville native whose family needed their services,” Drost says. “It would only be fitting if my song ‘Set of Wheels’ could help our firefighters get a new ‘set of wheels.’ ” Friendship Hose Co. is purchasing a new $713,000 rescue unit to replace a 29-year-old vehicle. Drost, who attended kindergarten in the building that is now the Newville firehouse, hopes to be able to donate at least $2,500 to the fire company in this round of the contest. 

“This is a great support for us, as well as for Frances,” says Bradley Stouffer, fire chief at Friendship Hose Co. No. 1. “This is something that will benefit the fire company and the Newville community.”

Drost recounts another connection between the barn fire and her singing career: “One day as I was standing on the cement wall that was the entrance to what had been the barn, I began singing. I had my boombox with me and a cassette sound track of Sandi Patty’s beautiful arrangement of ‘A Mighty Fortress.’ I sang as loud as I could—my voice singing out over the charred remains. As I sang the song that day, I had a strange sensation that someday I’d stand in front of crowds of people and sing. In a moment, the sensation passed and I finished the song.”

Vote for Frances' song "Set of Wheels" by going to GlobalRisingSong.com. Click on the Cast Vote button under Set of Wheels and vote by Sunday, August 8, 9:00 CT.

Watch video here.

The News Chronicle

Making it Personal!

"I love Christmas! It's my favorite time of the year." 

I was sitting in the audience watching my favorite music artist when he said this from stage. I've been a life-time fan of his music and I still AM! But a shadow cast itself over me in that moment. Disconnect. 

I personally used to really struggle with Christmas. In fact, as a young woman, I used to dread it. If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that it took me years to figure out why. 

I sat in my seat processing my reaction to his statement. I was sorry to not have grown up sharing this artist's sentiment. It somehow detached me from him. Fortunately, before I let myself feel too sad and isolated, his next statement rescued me from my thoughts that were about to get overly analytical. 

"But I know that not everyone feels that way."  

Whew....I was relieved. 

"Perhaps you feel like you need a miracle tonight." He touched the piano keys and started to sing—a beautiful song about miracles. It was just the song for the moment. I felt hope. I started to reconnect with him. He had won my heart. 

He didn't apologize for his love for Christmas, yet he took a moment to acknowledge that others might not share his view. He created a "moment" for me that I'll never forget. And that's the kind of moments that I love about concerts. That's what makes a concert feel unique to me.

So when a fan of my own Christmas show asked, "How do you make the show personal? What is your thought process?" I had to first think about shows I've attended that have felt "personal" to me. What were the elements that made it feel that way? 

After making some notes in my journal, I realized that the connecting elements always took me beyond the music. There was always a sense of getting to know the artist. I don't want to just hear their music. I want my soul to connect with their soul.

I don't know the "thought process" of other musicians and how they create their shows, but here's how I approach mine....

Since I personally create the Portraits of White show from a blank canvas every year, that in itself makes it a very personal show. Like building a house, I lay the foundation, choose the songs, the players, the moments and then I create lots of blueprints for how each piece of the show will look. 

Once those plans are firmly in place, I can start practicing the show musically and creatively. I look for places to insert my own personality into the show, just like you'd choose your own paint colors and furniture for a house you designed.

Every great show includes moments that fit into various categories: intro, musical, fun, message, different, GREAT music, pin-drop, closing, etc....you get the idea. I try to make sure I've chosen music that prescribes moments just by the nature of the song itself. From there, I let creativity flow.

As I plan the show, I also allow for spontaneity—which means I take what happens in the moment and go with it. This started mainly because the strangest things would happen to me on stage and instead of getting uptight about it, I would just respond in a quirky kind of way. I found that people respond to my personality best when I am spontaneous. 

Over the years, I've started looking for ways, even in conversation off the stage, to be fun and engaging. It's good practice for when I'm on stage. I also love to find ways to interact with the other players on stage, bringing their personality into the show. This guarantees that even if you attended all of the shows in one weekend, you'd get a different experience every time!

My favorite concerts have been the ones where I felt like I got to know the artist—not just musically, but personally. I've been to shows where the music production was incredible, but I never got a glimpse into WHO the artist really is. 

I want my show to be more of a unique experience so I choose music that moves me and then I make it my own and insert my own personality into it. I also look for places to make the stories and songs more personal and real to those who are listening. I want people to enjoy a professionally produced show yet feel as if they've had coffee with me in my living room. 

As Tom Jackson says in his book, Live Music Method, "I [the audience] want to be led by someone who is confident, in control and is taking me somewhere interesting. I want them to have a charisma and a compelling attractiveness that inspires." 

I want to be that kind of performer.

This week's video.