Merge Music! - An interview with Joe Longo and Jim Clarke

July 1983

Jim Clarke and Joe Longo had been members of the musical group Sunburst, part of the Performing Arts Department under Mr. Joon Hyung Pak, until the formation of Yu Band under Hyo Jin Nim on March 1, 1982.

When Hyo Jin Nim left for Korea to continue his education, Joe wanted to carry on their musical activities, so J. C. Chen was formed last September and has performed several times at the Down Home Inn of the World Mission Center. At first they played as a folk duet, and made a recording with acoustic guitars, without electric instruments. By God's Day, a tape called "The Foundation of Substance" was offered for sale. Then the group took on a new form with more permanent members, including Joe's wife Felicia Lloyd Longo.

Now the group is making promotional videotapes of live performances and interviews. This summer they plan performances supporting activities of the IOWC, CARP and the Washington, D.C., church community. Their ideal goal is to create a musical tribe under the guidance of Hyo Jin Nim.

Joe Longo (Chen): The initial purpose of our band was to learn to create unity from two extremes. Jim's idea of what music was and what life was, and my ideas about music and life were entirely different -- normally, a person like him could never understand and be friends with a person like me. Over the years of working together in performing arts, whenever we did merge with each other, God could work in a powerful way. We knew it was like making a foundation of substance between us.

Jim could be considered a musical genius, whereas you might not call me a musician at all; I just try to express a feeling, and a lot of my songs might have just two or three chords to them.

Jim Clarke: There is a seed of genius in the things Joe has created. Some great musical artists, after years and years of study, realize the value of simplicity -- to state something in the simplest fashion with the deepest emotional content is genius in art. And that comes very naturally to Chen.

Chen: Once when the two of us played at the Down Home Inn, members approached us and asked if they could play with us. We saw this as a great opportunity to get people from different departments to cooperate.

We started doing shows and drawing members into our spiritual tribe. To me the purpose of music is to create bridges between people. Father is teaching us to create a family feeling, by breaking down barriers and getting people to realize we are connected and we are responsible for each other. The kingdom of heaven is actually a family, or a tribe of people, who care about each other.

Actually our central figure and our spiritual connection is Hyo Jin, from our days of working together as Yu Band. Hyo Jin Nim is concerned about reaching young people through music. He wants to know how to take up his mission and fulfill his own responsibility, which is such an incredible one. He understands the power that rock music has on young people, because he grew up going to an American high school. Young people dress like the bands, think like the bands, and take what the bands take -- whether it is drugs or other things.

Since young people are always the future of any country, they're the people we must try to reach -- they're open to influence, and Satan has wasted time in influencing them.

Question: Has Father made any comments about rock music?

Chen: Father said rock is like the lowest realm in spirit world, it was "rock bottom." But he told us that we had to make it "rock top," by learning to merge rock music with other forms of music. For example we have used the Korean drums and drum beat in our music. Father also suggested incorporating classical tunes with our music. Just like the unification world of religions, the unification world of music will bring the kingdom of heaven. The different musical traditions will harmonize and enhance each other.

Question: The big theme of Western youth culture is "freedom." Can you talk a bit about freedom and music?

Chen: Young people are looking for freedom; there's a part of our original nature that wants and needs to be wild and free. They are looking for bands that are strong, confident and able to have a good time in a crazy world: they follow that kind of musicians.

However, most of the wild and free people have led others steeper and deeper into fallen versions of freedom. Furthermore, God's own people haven't been exciting enough, so young people tend to lean toward the villain, who usually isn't weak or lukewarm; villains are usually "all or nothing" people.

God's musicians have to be that wild, that crazy, that strong and that confident. But also they have to be connected with God -- and they ha N e to care enough about the people of the world not to do things that are detrimental to others. Rather than hurting others, their wildness should liberate others.

Question: Can you explain how wildness can be one with your original mind? What does that mean?

Chen: I think we have to be careful that religion does not become an oppressor rather than a liberator. We're trying to avoid doing things that are lies or propagate lies; but that doesn't mean we have to walk around in bond- age to what we should or shouldn't do. When you are sure of your relationship with God, you can do almost anything.

Jim: Based on our own relationship with God, we feel confident to act, with a consciousness that is not based on fear of doing evil, but rather on our own active relationship with Heavenly Father. Therefore, the things we do are creative and positive and developing in that sense.

Jim: the formula course is like an hourglass: through being exposed to the truth, and through understanding, we each must circumcise our heart, so there are a lot of "thou shalt nots."

We need to inherit the ability to discriminate between good and evil and to cut off from evil things through a continued relationship with God and True Parents. Then we can begin to really develop in the positive realm.

Chen: That's really the beauty and the power of the formula course. We can deny any comforts or pleasures, we can obey anyone, any direction -- because we love God. Eventually our relationship with God becomes so secure that we can also go forward and create for God.

Right now we want to go and show people who we are -- show that we're crazy, wild and we're happy, that somehow we dominate life without being dominated by it. And if guests ask the reason, then we can explain the formula course. If people want to attain the level we have attained, then they must go a formula course. I feel that now is the time for us to become ideal people. The expression of our life- style must show the victory of God's truth.

We feel that it is our responsibility to begin to manifest the truth of Divine Principle in our lives; we owe it to our children, we owe it to the new people who will come into our movement in the future. As the blessed children grow up, they need to be inspired by the people who came before them. Therefore, we have a strong desire to be an inspiration to the young children growing up in the movement.