Jerry Rauser
Guitarist/Organizer
Jerry’s love of performing music, and his atheist worldview got their start the same year in high school. Little Richard and Fats Domino began singing a totally new and electrifying style of music; music for teenagers only. Jerry was soon the proud owner of a $20 Stella guitar. That was five guitars ago.
Jerry made the transition from agnostic to atheist when a friend questioned the existence of Jesus. That challenge to think for oneself was liberating, and too valuable to ever give up. Simple reasoning provided the answer to the questions: “How can religion be true when so many religions exist which contradict each other?”, and “How can Bible stories be believed when they all sound like fairy tales?”. The obvious answer was: “that god stuff just ain’t true”.
Those two loves, music and freethought, came together when The Freethought Band formed in January of 2000. The band’s purpose is to help develop a true freethought community in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. We do this by bringing the performing arts of music and theatre to local atheist and Humanist events. Jerry hopes many other similar bands will form across the country, and invites freethinking musicians to contact him.
Paul Hefron
Pianist/Song Writer/Singer
Paul was attracted to a church as a youngster in the l950s. It tied in with his interests in sports and music (He had taken piano lessons and become a jazz fan) and his need for friendship and fellowship. Having decided on becoming a minister and going to seminary, he went to college and majored in English and philosophy and expanded his interests in music. In 1967, he left the church and the ministry after ceasing to believe or wanting to believe in Christianty. He completed a PhD in American Studies at the U. of Minn. There were no opportunities for him to teach in a college, so he turned to his interest in music and led a dance band, playing electronic keyboard and singing. Eventually he also did solo and duo performances. In 1980, he connected with Humanism and Freethought. So, being in the Freethought Band brings together my artistic and intellectual interests.
Jodin Morey
Electric/Upright Bass Player/Singer/Webmaster Jodin’s a creative force in the band and solves many arrangement problems. Does a C minor 7 flat 5 chord contain an E flat minor 6? Just ask Jodin.
Musically, Jodin started as a violin player and choir member in 4th grade. Throughout the years he’s been involved in musical theater, orchestra, and everything in between. Jodin has had the opportunity to play instruments from every major instrument group (woodwind, brass, percussion, etc.). But, he’s always had a deep love for the bass (electric or acoustic). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance, and is always looking for more free time to compose/arrange music.
Jodin’s most notable accomplishment is co-founding and running a successful business, a limousine company. Starting this company was not always easy, but he was able to persist past the lean and difficult years. Luckily for us, a recent acquisition by his company has afforded Jodin more opportunity to pursue music.
Jodin’s favorite performance would have to be performing “Christian’s & The Pagans.” To him, the song presented a keen observation of what most out-of-the-closet atheist must contend with during the holidays. This reflects well on how Jodin thinks of humanism in general. Mainly, he seems to promote a sense of community that so many with a secular world-view loose when they become non-religious. He believes that we as secularists, too often focus on what we aren’t, namely religious. And that instead, we should focus more on celebrating what we are, and through that celebration regain community. Obviously for Jodin, music is one avenue for that celebration, and a great start. Jodin believes there are many other voids yet to be filled; visual art, theater, and other social needs that hold potential for contributions by our community. Ultimately he speaks of these activities culminating in some community center that we could call our own, here we could all meet for life’s celebrations and events. Who knows, maybe when his vision becomes reality, listening to “Christians & The Pagans” can become a way of reminiscing the way it was during the holidays before we had our own place, as opposed to consoling us on the way it currently is.