I started learning guitar in the early seventies. I'd never thought that Christ would have much use for me, in that traditional hymns was the only style of Christian music I'd known and I was tired of it. Hearing 'Jesus music' for the first time changed my life and opened my eyes to what a personal relationship with God, and His Church, could be. Personal.

For several years after high school I had several jobs, all geared toward supporting the music habit. I was a Christian rock 'n' roll singer!! I didn't need a good job (or a haircut), or higher education because I was gonna be a singer, whether God liked it or not! Thank God for His patience and forgiveness.

I did concerts for churches, youth groups, banquets etc... all denominations... prisons, festivals, retreats, concert warm-ups for people such as Mike Warnke, Randy Matthews, David Meece, John Fischer and others. Did lots of volunteer work at the Dandelion coffeehouse, with Ken Canfield. Sang with a duet/trio band called 'Fools for Christ' for a year and a half. Recorded a 45 rpm record featuring Tom Green, Newt Graber, and Cliff Major.

A joke about the seventies goes like this:

Q: Elvie, have you ever done any recording?
A: Why, yes I have, but it's been so long ago that some of the details have gotten fuzzy. We recorded either a '45 back in '78, or a '78 back in '45, I don't remember which. (sound effect drums: bu-dump-tsss)

Take a few moments to recover....

Without a job to plant my feet down, I slowly ended up in debt to friends and family and did what anyone in that situation would do, I joined the army, the U.S. one. Then I got out of debt, saved some money, separated from the army (honorably), attended an audio tech school in NY, NY on military benefits, got married, ran sound for a big church in a big NY theater, dad had his first heart attack, I separated from my wife, spent a summer in KS, returned to NYC, moved upstate NY, move back to KS, did stage mix for a Rich Mullins tour, and got divorced. WHEW!!

I just hit the highlights because reading the details would be like picking through tornado rubble.

Since returning to Kansas, I've been attending Hope Community Church, in Andover. This has been a time of spiritual recovery and renewal, limiting my involvement in music to various ministries inside Hope Church. I got a real job worth retiring from (Raytheon), started clipping my own hair ('ten bucks is ten bucks'), and I even like playing hymns, well some of them anyway.

This is the point where you begin thinking, "Gee, Elvie has finally settled down". Well, perhaps, or, perhaps not. Right. The 'perfect' job at Raytheon was outsourced in the spring of '05. Here I am now at Hope Music Works. I would never have guessed that singing for the disabled could be so rewarding. Maybe I've found my new 'perfect' job?

Your prayers are appreciated,

Elvie Malcom