Artist description Three Educators who banded together to fill a perceived need for fun children's music that also educated and expressed spiritual values.

Music Style Children's Religious

Musical Influences Peter, Paul & Mary; Julie Andrews, Captain Kangaroo

Similar Artists We have a distinctly unique sound, like no one else.

Artist History (From Cindy's perspective...)The Friend Ship and How it Started...There’s always a story behind the beginning and evolution of any group and the Friend Ship is no exception. The group really started when Rodger and I tried to come up with ways to make music at weekly mass interesting for children from grades kindergarten through eighth grade. For some time it had been one of my responsibilities to play the guitar and sing at mass. Rodger came to Immaculate Conception School (known as I.C. to most people who live in Columbus) in the fall of 1998. Somehow I learned that Rodger could play the guitar and sing so I enlisted his“ help” with mass. I immediately learned that Rodger is a great guitarist and singer! As the year went on, I eventually learned that Rodger is also a professional musician! He played and sang in a band called the Mojo Men for around fifteen years. Besides singing and playing guitar, he plays sax, keyboard, guitar, drums, harmonica, and flute. As the year went on, we continued to provide the music at school masses, but we became frustrated with the lack of new children’s spiritual music available. We decided to start writing our own. Dave Kromer also played in the Mojo Men with Rodger. They had known each other for about five years. Rodger told Dave about our need to write children’s music. Dave and Rodger had always challenged each other to write songs. As a result of this challenge, Dave wrote “Smile” and “The Good Night Prayer”. At this time, I had not met Dave. Rodger was the go-between. We sent tapes back and forth with songs and sent lyric sheets to one another, as well as communicating via e-mail. In fact, the first time I met Dave was at my first recording session! Talk about pressure! Since last September, I have learned so much about songwriting. Most of my songs come from my experiences with my own children and my life experiences. I have two young sons. They continue to inspire me daily. “Can You Tell Me?” happened as a result of one of these inspirations. My oldest son has constantly asked me “why” since he first learned to talk. One day I gave Rodger a sheet with some poetry containing my son’s questions on it and not long after Rodger came back with the melody to “ Can You Tell Me?”. “The Grouchies” came from my family’s way of dealing with grumpy feelings. In addition to being a wife and mother, I teach fifth graders and preschoolers. Rodger wrote “Let the Son Shine In” last fall. He writes songs very quickly. Amazing! He is usually inspired and works until he gets it right. He wrote “Follow the Way” (coming soon to the web site) and “God Speaks” not long after. Rodger is in charge of a lot of the technological aspects of our group and can often be found at his computer working on our music. He knows a lot about music and how to put things together. He keeps us all on track! On top of all of this, Rodger also teaches junior high students everyday . And he’s a Dad. Dave is the one in our group known for his sense of humor. He can really relate to children and to people in general. Dave knows everyone. He always has a contact somewhere. He also is our “Producer”. He is at the controls while some of the vocals are sung. Dave spends an incredible amount of time finalizing our music. He wrote “Noah and the Ark”,“Smile”, and “The Good Night Prayer”. Dave also takes the lead vocal on some of our songs and is our lead guitarist. It takes Dave a while to write his songs, but they are always worth waiting for. On a daily basis, Dave owns his own dog grooming business. Did I tell you that he also teaches music to preschoolers? And he’s a Dad. The name “Friend Ship” came from a brainstorming session. We wanted a name that was friendly and all-inclusive. “Friend Ship” seemed to meet those requirements and it seemed to be a name that children would like. All children seem to love boats and friends! The Friend Ship hopes to continue its voyage to supply music for those who teach children of all ages about God’s love! With divine inspiration,and support from family and friends, we are sailing full speed ahead!*The cover for our CD was designed by Zachary Hupp, age 8.

Group Members Rodger Waite, Dave Kromer, Cindy Butchko

Instruments Guitar, Sax, Synthesizer, Voices

Albums soon available

Location Lewis Center, OH - USA

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