From May 30th through June 2nd, members of the group, Jamie Page and a Band Called Jerusalem, descended on mid-Missouri for a reunion. On Friday night members gathered at the home of Sarah and Jamie Page for a BBQ, fellowship, and a night of revisiting dear memories and old songs.
After dinner, everyone gathered around the piano to sing some of the tunes off of the band’s first professional recording. It was thrilling to hear the familiar strains and harmonies of “Do You Really Know?” and “Thank You,” once again. It was also a blessing to hear Barb (Bastien) Elledge sing “When that Time Comes” with her Karen Carpenter stylings.
After the short song-fest, many made their way to Jamie’s home studio where they listened to some old recording of the band that dated back the late 70’s and early 80’s. Some of the sounds caused us to shake our heads wondering, what were we thinking, while others met with approval realizing our signature sound still holds up in today’s musical climate.
Throughout the evening, stories were told that made us laugh and cry; it was truly a gift for all of us to be together again.
On Saturday, we gathered at Midway Golf and Games where we enjoyed a round of miniature golf. From there we headed to Fayette for lunch at Miknan’s and then on to CMU to be photographed on the steps of the conservatory where many of us were educated. With the pictures completed, we made our way to Faith Family Church where some picked up their drumsticks, some plugged in the guitars, some set up their keyboards, and several grabbed their mics for a 3 hour jam session.
Jamie handed out charts for ten classic JPJ songs and it was determined the first song we’d play was “Welcome Home” (1980). Everyone was amazed at how quickly the tune came back to us. Some noted that they hadn’t played that song since since their last JPJ concert at the end of the 1980 summer tour.
After the Jam session, we made our way back into Fayette for a quiet dinner at Emmet’s. Following dinner, it was back to the Page’s house for coffee, dessert, more stories, more laughs, and more tears. It was noted by several, that our friendships simply picked back up where we left off those many years ago.
On Sunday morning we all went to church together at FFC and then headed to lunch at Dos Primos. After another round of band stories, we posed for a few more pictures and then said our goodbyes. It was everyone’s hope that we won’t wait another 39 years to see one another again.
I want to say “thanks” to Don James (sound and recording engineer) for taking so many great pictures which are available in the JPJ Reunion Gallery here on the website.
After returning to our normal routines in the days that followed, Sarah and I remarked on numerous occasions how blessed we have been and how blessed we are to have so many amazing life-long friends in our lives.
Until we meet again,
jamie