Shekina Glory

Shekina Glory was a midwest Jesus Music (Christian Rock) band, started in 1975 by Al Ruechel and Brent Larson after they met in a Telecommunicative Arts class at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The band performed together in local venues and road trip tours throughout the midwest region through the latter part of 1976. Their debut album, Have You Considered? (1976) was a "very impressive custom obscurity from five-guy two-girl outfit scoring high with their mix of dreamy mysterious folk/psych, hard rock and west-coast rural rock." [1][2]

Shekina Glory
OriginIowa, U.S.
GenresChristian rock
Years active1975 (1975)- 1976
Past members
  • Al Ruechel
  • Russ Musilek
  • Dan DoBell
  • Joannie Whipple
  • Laurie Musilek
  • Brent Larson
  • Jim Crowder

History

Shekina Glory was formed in 1975 by Al Ruechel (guitar, main vocals) and Brent Larson (bass). Ruechel and Larson were students attending Iowa State University at the time, both being enrolled in the schools Telecommunicative Arts program. WOI TV Channel 5, the ABC affiliate in Central Iowa, was operated by ISU at this time and was closely associated with the TCA program. Ruechel acted as one of the "weathermen" for WOI for a period of time. He was also involved in youth counselling and ministry at Riverside Bible camp which is located in nearby Story City, Iowa. At the time of formation both Ruechel and Larson had been active in folk oriented Christian groups. Ruechel had been a member of "Crossfire" and "New Dawn" while Larson had been a member of "Jesus is Life".[3]

To fill out the lineup, other musicians known to the pair were asked to join. Larson had a connection with Joan Whipple (keyboards) with whom he had performed with in local coffee houses. Russ Musilek (guitar) and Laurie Hoifeldt (flute) were friends from Larson's high school days with whom he had played in high school band at Boone High School located in Boone, Iowa. While in different groups at the time, Musilek and Larson had been involved with local garage bands also.[4] Dan Dobell (drums) was brought in by Ruechel whom he had met at youth camp. All members with the exception of Dobell contributed vocally to the group's performances.

The group decided to move in a more rock direction in their presentation being influenced by various artists of the day, Larry Norman being the most notable. This "heavier" approach was not readily accepted by many church bodies at the time. Many of their performances occurred at youth rallies, Christian coffee houses and college venues as a result. The material the band performed was a mix of original songs along with covers of other Christian artists. The group eventually recorded an album of original songs at the IGL Recording Studios located in Milford, Iowa. The resulting album, "Have You Considered?", has come to be considered a Christian garage band classic.[5]

In 1976, as part of Ruechel's post graduate work, the group participated in a half hour television presentation which aired on WOI-TV entitled "Those Old Sacred Cows". At some point in 1976 Ruechel accepted a job offer which took him out of the central Iowa area. The group continued on in one form or another, eventually morphing into Lion of Judah and then Second Chance, with various new and old members coming and going, before disbanding entirely in 1992. These last two iterations recorded an album each entitled "Time Out" and "Fingerprints" respectively.[6]

Shekina Glory personnel
  • Al Ruechel - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter, producer
  • Russ Musilek - lead guitar, conga, vocals
  • Dan DoBell - drums, percussion
  • Joannie Whipple - keyboards, vocals
  • Laurie Musilek - flute, percussion, vocals
  • Brent Larson - bass, vocals
  • Jim Crowder - sound engineer

Discography
  • Have You Considered? (1976) Iowa Great Lakes Recording Company; Milford, Iowa

Television
  • Those Old Sacred Cows (1976) WOI-TV; Ames, Iowa

Notes
  1. Scott, Ken (2003). "A Collector's Guide to Vintage Vinyl Jesus Music 1965-1980" Archivist 3rd Edition p.123
  3. "Shekina Glory". Classic Christian Rock Zine. Independent. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  4. Carlson, Ron. "Garage". Garage. Purple Sneaker Graphics. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  5. Scott, Ken (2003). "A Collector's Guide to Vintage Vinyl Jesus Music 1965-1980" Archivist 3rd Edition p.123
  6. Carlson, Ron. "Liberty". Garage. Purple Sneaker Graphics. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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