美国国家公共电台 NPR The Curious Tale Of The Band Luxury, Who Escaped Tragedy And Embraced Faith

 

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The band Luxury started out as college kids in the 1990s who just wanted to rock.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLAMING YOUTH FLAMES ON")

LUXURY: (Singing) Please don't be so mysterious. There isn't time.

MONTAGNE: Hailing from a small town in Georgia, the band was on the rise in the punk rock scene. That's until a tragic¹ event changed their lives. Today, the band is still making music. Three members are now also Eastern Orthodox priests. Their story is captured in the new documentary, "Parallel Love: The Story Of A Band Called Luxury." We spoke² with the filmmaker Matt Hinton, who later joined the band, plus Father Christopher Foley, the bassist. I started by asking why they were on a Christian³ music label when they first started out.

MATT HINTON: You know, we didn't feel particularly comfortable with the Christian label. We were on a record label that was from the Christian music scene, but they really felt like they were trying to, you know, sell to both markets, trying to get some college radio airplay. But certainly when we would play Christian venues⁴, you know, I think people didn't know quite how to take us. We were maybe a little bit too edgy⁵.

MONTAGNE: Let me play a song from your first album. It's called "Bitter, Once Again."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BITTER, ONCE AGAIN")

LUXURY: (Singing) He's cursing the chastity belt, hoping love could be bought.

MONTAGNE: OK. Well, cursing the chastity belt; other songs, by the way, not just this one, sexually suggestive lyrics⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BITTER, ONCE AGAIN")

LUXURY: (Singing) Never look down a boy's shirt 'cause nature will let you down.

MONTAGNE: How did this go down in a very evangelical Christian milieu⁷?

HINTON: This is Matt. Records that were distributed to Christian bookstores and places like that, you know, would get returned because of lyrical content. But I think that from the outset, the idea was that that label had reach within the so-called general market, not necessarily the Christian market.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BITTER, ONCE AGAIN")

LUXURY: (Singing) Oh, isn't that what they say?

MONTAGNE: For listeners who aren't familiar with the band Luxury, it had a very captivating - one could even say hot - frontman, Lee Bozeman, whose brother was a guitarist who shredded⁸ until his fingers bled - that was Jamie Bozeman - and a gifted, extremely intense drummer, Glenn Black. Let's take a listen from some fans in your documentary.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "PARALLEL LOVE: THE STORY OF A BAND CALLED LUXURY")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I've been mildly obsessed⁹ with Luxury since I was 14.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: It let you know who the sensitive guys were (laughter) or weren't if they would dress up with you and go to a Luxury show.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: And I thought, God, I can't believe these guys are from Georgia.

MONTAGNE: How quickly did Luxury really hit, Father Christopher?

CHRISTOPHER FOLEY: You know, the '90s was such a unique time in the music world, you know, after Nirvana broke and all these underground bands then all of a sudden became on the forefront. So we were touring around the southeast doing a lot of weekend gigs. We were starting to get bigger shows in Atlanta and Athens. After the first album came out, you know, there was this trajectory¹⁰ of, you know, we're going to play larger venues, maybe start touring in other parts of the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF LUXURY SONG)

MONTAGNE: And right at that moment, the band is leaving a festival, and something terrible happens.

FOLEY: Yeah, correct. I was in the car following the van that had - I don't know - nine folks maybe in the van. The driver lost control and tried to overcompensate and wound up going into the median and landed after flipping¹¹ a few times. A few of the members got thrown out of the van. It was just an awful, tragic accident.

MONTAGNE: Potentially deadly.

FOLEY: Right. Yeah. Our singer, Lee - I mean, there was a few days where he was in ICU, and, you know, they didn't know quite if he was going to make it.

MONTAGNE: In the documentary, you actually see Lee Bozeman talking about this.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "PARALLEL LOVE: THE STORY OF A BAND CALLED LUXURY")

LEE BOZEMAN: They had to open me up and found that my bladder had burst, my urethra had been severed¹² and then a lot of broken things. So my pelvis had been flattened¹³, basically.

MONTAGNE: What effect did this have on the band and the band's ambitions?

FOLEY: I think once everybody started healing up, I don't think we sat down and had a discussion. I think we just continued to start writing music again. I think it wasn't until maybe a few years later looking back we began to realize how deeply this affected¹⁴ us and how it started to change the trajectory of where we were headed. I guess the fame and fortune and the dream of living this rock star life, it just started to fade. And what became more important was our families. You know, many of us were married young and started having kids.

MONTAGNE: Well, in that moment - let me just put this in a little bit of perspective. In America's rhythm and blues¹⁵ tradition, musicians traditionally, in fact, come out of the church. But becoming priests in the Eastern Orthodox Church...

FOLEY: (Laughter).

MONTAGNE: I can hear you laughing - I mean, you know what I'm saying. It's very unusual.

FOLEY: Yes. I think what drew me to the punk rock scene initially¹⁶ was this authenticity¹⁸ of people coming together, reacting against the evils in this world and wanting to make a change. But the Christianity while in college I felt like was just, in a sense, playing a single note, and I was longing¹⁹ for a chord. I guess you can't get more countercultural than embracing an ancient Christian tradition. And so the more that I discovered about the ancient Eastern Christian faith, it just resonated on a deep level.

MONTAGNE: There is a tension in the fact that, generally speaking, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not use musical instruments.

FOLEY: Well, there certainly is a tension there. But, you know, we would never dream of having, you know, like a rock 'n' roll liturgy²⁰ or something like that. In a sense, that's what drew us to Orthodoxy was the fact that kind of transcended²¹ kind of a modern cultural expression of, you know, rock music. It was kind of the opposite of that. What I liked about Orthodoxy is it kind of blew away the distinctions and the dichotomies between sacred and secular²². You know, those that are in the world, you know, we try to find a way to bring whatever talents we have and just lift them up and to try to bring - I don't know - somehow God into the midst of our talents by using them and offering them up.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GATES OF PARADISE")

LUXURY: (Singing) The half-life is strange. Here, there is constant decay. Give praise where praise is due, I still say. Do I feel love where I used to feel hate?

MONTAGNE: This last question is to you, Matt Hinton. You are the filmmaker. What is Luxury a story of?

HINTON: So the film is called "Parallel Love." That gets at something there - that you have two different trajectories²³ that run parallel to one another. They're not exactly a story of bringing rock 'n' roll into Orthodoxy. It's people of faith living authentic¹⁷ lives and doing the things that they feel gifted to do.

MONTAGNE: That was Matt Hinton and Father Christopher Foley of the band Luxury. The documentary, "Parallel Love," is out in select theaters now. Thank you both for joining us.

HINTON: Thank you.

FOLEY: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GATES OF PARADISE")

LUXURY: (Singing) This side of paradise. When you close your eyes, do you ever pray?

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

5 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

6 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

7 milieu   

n.环境；出身背景；(个人所处的)社会环境

参考例句：

• Foods usually provide a good milieu for the persistence of viruses.食品通常为病毒存续提供了一个良好的栖身所。
• He was born in a social milieu where further education was a luxury.他生在一个受较高教育就被认为是奢侈的社会环境里。

8 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

10 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

11 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

12 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

16 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

17 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

18 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

19 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

20 liturgy   

n.礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• A clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.一名牧师照着祈祷书念祷文。
• The mass is the church a kind of liturgy.弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。

21 transcended   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。
• It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。

22 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

23 trajectories   

n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道

参考例句：

• To answer this question, we need to plot trajectories of principal stresses. 为了回答这个问题，我们尚须画出主应力迹线图。 来自辞典例句
• In the space program the theory is used to determine spaceship trajectories. 在空间计划中，这个理论用于确定飞船的轨道。 来自辞典例句