The Reminders 

"Oh Johnny!"

The Reminders set out to record a version of the civil war era song, When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, as a piece to support the passionate work being done by Nina Gilberti on her documentary When Jane and Johnny Come Marching Homeless.

In my memory bank, I was familiar with most of the original lyrics and the strong feeling of longing these words from another era stirred in me. The haunting original melody was thought to be an 1820s Irish folk song, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye. In that version, Johnny returns from war blind and crippled. In 1863, an American band leader, Patrick Gilmore,  wrote a new set of lyrics that were filled with hope; he wrote them for his sister Annie, who yearned for the safe return of her fiancé, Union Light Artillery Captain John O'Rourke. Gilmore painted his image of the joyous return with words like, jubilee, hearty and gay. Both sides used the song to set their minds on home and the end of the war.

As I wrote the music bed, I had in mind the contrasts of the two songs: the despair and the hope. I added a plaintive "Oh Johnny" musical bridge to let the recording have an emotional release point, a place for the song to 'breathe'; for the listener to connect with the strong emotions that Nina's film will evoke.

At the end of the day, I pray people will act on what they've seen and heard... and help.

John Thompson

The Reminders

theGenetics

What Is A Man Without His Home

Christopher & Jonathan Reynolds, identical twins from Boston, wrote this spectacular song for this documentary.  I contacted them back in the early Spring of 2008 after hearing their cover of "For What It's Worth."They have been strong supporters of this project and wanted to be a part of it since day one.  This original song targets what this project is about, beautifully.

They are graduates from Boston's Berklee College of Music and were trained classically at the highly touted Boston Conservatory.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:  Steven J. Robinson (Drums), Alex Staley (Bass Guitar), Chris Gordon (Electric Guitar), Gaku Murata (Acoustic Guitar), and John Ellis (Mix Engineer).

http://www.thegenetics.com/

Louis deLise

Call To God

Composer, Louis deLise, is equally at home composing for the concert stage and making pop records. He arranged and conducted for Patti LaBelle’s hit album, The Gospel.  According to Patti LaBelle, and has arranged, conducted and or produced for Peter Nero, Robert Hazard, William DeVaughn, Bunny Sigler, John Gibbs, SPiN, FRUiT, and Halestorm. He co‐wrote the John Gibbs song, Trinidad, which was sampled for the ToriAmos million‐seller, Professional Widow.

His orchestral arrangements have been performed by The Delaware Symphony, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and The Philly Pops and are published by Musicians Publications and Warner Brothers Music.

Dr. deLise is on the faculty of the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia.

http://www.deliseStudios.com/

Rob Tomaro

The Call

Rob is a Music Director and Conductor of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra in Beloit, Wisconsin.  He is also a Professor of Music at Beloit College.

Rob wrote a piece of music entitled, "The Call", for the 2008 July 4th celebration for the orchestra, which featured a rock band and vocalist.  He re-wrote the lyrics to reflect the content and message of this documentary, and donated the song for this project.

He was honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for conducting the recording of the Emmy Award winning score for the Los Angeles Marathon, and in 2002, he was one of eight conductors chosen to study with world renowned conductor, Christoph Eschenbach.

http://www.roberttomaro.com/index.html