Enter: Third World Sun

by Paul M. Carhart

So allow me to pull back the curtain and give you glimpse as to what has been going on regarding Launch Pad, the band's retirement and what is to rise from it's ashes.

The elephant in the room after Lori's passing and after giving ourselves some time to process her loss (although it is still felt deeply by all of us), we asked ourselves many questions.

Did we still want to play together?

Would Lori want us to stop?

Would Lori want her music to continue?

Is it still Launch Pad without Lori?

I think it was clear that Scott Johnson (long-time friend and Launch Pad guitarist) and I wanted to continue to play together. Neither of us thought that Lori would have wanted us to stop. We still have the same beliefs. We still have the same things to say. And, as Lori's husband, I'm pretty sure Lori would want her music and what SHE had to say to continue to live.

The remaining question was whether it was still Launch Pad without Lori. I asked myself, had Lori and I ever divorced or one of us left the band, would it have still been Launch Pad? If John, Paul or George (or even Ringo) had left The Beatles, would it still have been The Beatles? I decided that, without Lori, it was no longer Launch Pad. She was so integral to the mission of the group. Indeed, she was the heart of the band. Her voice defined our sound and our style. Without those things, we were not Launch Pad. We might be something else. But we aren't Launch Pad.

So that posed the question: What are we?

And the answer that came back was very liberating. We are whatever we want to be.

I will admit that the idea of retiring Launch Pad, a project that Lori and I put roughly six years (more than half of our marriage) into is heartbreaking. But so is losing Lori. And there's nothing I can do about that. She's with Jesus now. And all of the above questions and answers are still very valid. We must trudge onward.

As I mentioned in a previous post (I think), Scott Johnson and Launch Pad's remaining drummer, Randy Scott, and I got together and jammed and we did decide we wanted to continue to play together. However, as time passed, it became more clear that Randy didn't have the same level of interest in continuing. Randy also plays drums for Scott's band, Thunderbone. So it's possible the commitment to both projects was more than Randy was willing to make. When I think back on it, Randy never formally joined Launch Pad. He just sorta sat in when Linda left and never stopped sitting in. So, in retrospect, Randy's decision to step aside sorta makes sense.

This was the genesis of Third World Sun.

Scott came over to my house... the house where countless Launch Pad rehearsals and house concerts have been held over the years. The week before, I had showed him some material I had written and he seemed jazzed by it. The idea was just to jam... do whatever. Maybe go through those songs from the week prior. Maybe not. There was no set agenda. We went down into the basement and noodled around some. Not much came of it until Scott started with an infectious riff. Over the years, as Lori came more to the forefront as Launch Pad's vocalist, I've been working on improving my bass playing and so I wanted to give this piece a little more than the standard rolling root bass line. What we came up with was pretty cool. Scott was like, "This is pretty cool!" and I said, "Let's write some words right now. What should it be about?" And right then and there the first Third World Sun song was born, "Hostage."

We still didn't have a drummer.

I made a few calls while we ran out to the music store (I used the trip to upgrade the Underground's PA system). Out of all of the drummers we'd been in contact with and played with over the past eight years, I couldn't get anyone to jump at the chance to play with us. Everyone was unavailable in one way or another. We had all but decided to put out a Craigslist ad. It was either that or dig out the drum machine.

This is how God sometimes works. So we went back to the house and as I was piecing together the new pieces of the PA system, Scott got a call from Mike Driml. Mikey was Launch Pad's drummer for many years. In fact, Mike's drums are heard all throughout Launch Pad's first CD (Plug Into Some Power). Scott mentioned to Mike what we were doing. That we had just binge-written a song called Hostage that he was excited about. And that we had some other material I had written and we were probably going to port over some of the Launch Pad material as well. Mike couldn't make it over that Saturday and I wasn't convinced that he was interested. But as the following week progressed, Scott called me a couple times to let me know that he was pretty sure Mike was gonna come onboard. We set up a rehearsal for that Saturday. We went over some of the old Launch Pad songs, played Hostage for Mike and I played the guys my newest song, Lori's Gone. We didn't even touch upon those five songs I had originally showed Scott (which, I think, are still in the cards). I think we were all pleased at how easily things fell back together. Mike was onboard!

We chit-chatted about a name. There were some front-runners. I always wanted to name a band Tri-Pod Dog. It was in the pool. So was The Straightjackets, Planet Granite and Jam Sandwich. Scott came up with Third World Sons and part-way into the week I came up with  Paramortal (which to me sounds like a heavy metal band). We also cracked ourselves up at switching the letters around slightly and being Paunch Lad. Very funny! But I'm hoping to lose some weight, I argued. So, after pondering for the next week, at the next rehearsal we decided on Third World Sun, a slight variation on one of Scott's contributions. We also realized that we had roughly nine songs down pretty well (including Hostage, Lori's Gone and other previously Launch Pad material). That was after only two rehearsals! We're only going to get tighter!

So now we're Third World Sun. We're made up of all former Launch Pad members even doing some former Launch Pad songs (they'll evolve into Third World Sun songs now). Our style won't be a whole lot different musically other than that I'll probably be the primary vocalist now with Scott fronting some songs and even Mike maybe fronting some. Vocally, our style will be much different. But we still believe the same things and we still have a lot to say. And some of what we have to say, we'll also be saying for Lori. Without the sweetness of that female vocal and the keyboards she played, we'll probably have a little more of an edge. We're going to rock. But my pop sensibilities aren't going away either.

This weekend, we look at logo ideas. Look for a Reverbnation and Facebook page shortly. If we can capture some decent quality live recordings, we'll throw a couple demos up too. We plan on recording and we expect to start playing around Southern California this summer.

As for Launch Pad, no one can take away what it is. There are still two CDs out on Amazon.com with Lori fronting the band. As long as those recordings exist, that music will continue to exist. I hope people will continue to listen to it and get something from it. But in a real sense... in the everyday life, Launch Pad has now officially been retired. It's lifespan, it turns out, was ultimately intertwined with Lori's. Without her, it ceases to be much more than a glorious memory that a few of us can share. I'm not sure any of us would want it any other way. Retiring Launch Pad is a bittersweet thing for me to do. But I've always done what I had to do. And there is a season for all things.

Now is the season to make new memories moving forward. Please support Third World Sun with prayer, pats on the back and by coming to our shows starting this summer. Lori still shares co-writer credit on many of our songs. She'll be with us in spirit! And we'd love to see you!

More info will be forthcoming. Cheers and rock on!