Heidi and Jim: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
(And Gone)
Heidi Clark was a name I had heard, both of us being Episcopalians in the Diocese of Missouri. In 2006 Heidi told a mutual friend that she was looking for a piano player, and asked if he was that person. He wasn't, he said, but that would be Jim Andris. And so we met. This was a musical match made in a place very close to Heaven (which is about as close as many Episcopalians ever get to that good place). Musically, it was love at first sight. However, since Heidi is married and Jim is gay (and also married), and Heidi is not unfamiliar with the likes of gay men, we decided we could just be soulmates. And soulmates it is.
For two or three years, we practiced hard, although often times, one of us would say, "Do you know . . .?" and five minutes later, we had our arrangement and very few mistakes, to boot. Heidi and I are just very musical to our cores. She is the second perfect female vocalist that God has dropped right into my lap. What is so amazing to me about Heidi and Jim is that we are a true duo, rather than a vocalist and an accompanist. We both understand each side of this equation, and support each other lyrically and harmonically.
Heidi's dream was for our duo to be somewhere towards the back of a very dark bar, just singing and playing our little hearts out. But due to my age and general laziness, and Heidi's many family and professional demands, as it turns out, we just had a really good time practicing for that dark, mysterious debut that never came. Fortunately, once I realized we were not destined for American Idol, we got busy and made some fairly good recordings. We are sharing them here with you, and hope you have half the fun listening to them as we did making them.