When you listen to the album “Unbound At Last” by Milwaukee indie-pop group Sulek your mind becomes a bit hypnotized — like staring into a campfire. The soothing blend of singers Patrick and Ruthie Hoctor can put the listener in a trance. And the accompanying instrumental and drumming by Chris Winberg is a great complement to the vocals.
They’re not a Christian band and I myself am not a fan of the Christian music genre, but the lyrics in these songs are thought-provoking and have a subliminal effect that’s similarly felt through prayer and faith.
Admittedly, I had not heard of the band Sulek (see Page 5 for their story) until I was handed a bulletin from Holy Family Parish, Whitefish Bay, from my co-editor Tracy Rusch, who mentioned they were performing.
The bulletin also mentioned some of the recent successes this band has had, such as being nominated for “band of the year” in 2012 by 88.9 RadioMilwaukee Music Awards.
As I’ve written about before, I have an incredible love for music. As a teenager I tried starting bands with my friends, but that never worked out well. We were focused on the fame and the idea of becoming rock ‘n’ roll legends. But when I talked to the members of Sulek, I realized what I did wrong.
Too many of us are so focused on the future, be it in our professional lives or personal lives, we forget how to live in the present. Sulek came together as a way for friends to play music and have fun. It worked so well that love began to blossom and two of the members — Patrick and Ruthie — got married and started a family.
As much as we’re worried about our plans for the future, we can’t forget about who we are now and with whom we are.
This also extends to anyone who enjoys live music. There are some great groups like Sulek that don’t have the large fan bases that some other groups have. We have to appreciate each other’s talents instead of trying to ride the popularity wave of some musicians just so we can contribute to a conversation at a party. We should support our local artists and maybe we’ll find more stories like this.
This year, let’s try to put down the cellphones more and capture some treasured moments with mental pictures. Let’s enjoy the company we have while we have it. Let’s invest our own time and money to the artists in our area. We’re all members of this community together.
One of my favorite movie quotes, which sums the idea of living in the present, comes from the film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”; “Life moves pretty fast; if you don’t stop and look around once in a while … you could miss it.”
