...i put off forming my own band until i was fifty-five. i wish i knew why. fear? fear of what, exactly? from the time i started playing shows, at age sixteen, i have been in a steady succession of bands. all through this, virtually every night of my life, i went to bed with this persistent vision of playing my own music. finally, after my umpteenth band floundered, the coin finally dropped. from the first moment that i made that decision to operate under my own name, my entire life suddenly made sense. it still does.
concurrent with that decision were two other life changes.
first of all, i finally“admitted” that i am an artist. many of my peers tell me that’s arrogant. i’m not sure why. i don’t claim to be a good artist. its entirely conceivable that i’m a poor artist. in any case, that’s not for me to decide. good or bad, great or mediocre, compelling or insignificant, an artist i am. its what i do. its how i define myself. secondly, i promised myself that i would never again apologize for who i am (or, conversely, who i am not). never again, for example, would i apologize for my singing. its a long and painful story, but i am the last person who should be calling himself a singer. no matter. i am the ONLY person i can trust 100% to do justice to my songs, to show up on time for rehearsals and gigs, and to never, ever whine.
the best thing about having your own band is that you get to make the rules. so, in my band, i only have one rule, and this is it: no rules.
Throughout my musical career, I have had the privilege of working with and listening to some talented musicians. One thing I recognized was a common thread between all was a dedication to music in all its genres, and a great work ethic. Opening one's awareness to the many genres of music that exist on the planet is something I feel every musician should always do. Every musician and every style of music has something to offer. Music from all points of the globe brings with it a unique background of culture and ethnicity. Melody, science of time and rhythm bring the cultural pot to a boil, be it mixed or on its own, to life. A lot of the music we hear today has many different influences and cross sections of different styles, which can make for a very appetizing sonic buffet.
The power of music is well known to most people. Even those who've never stopped to think of it have experienced music's ability to alter emotions, set a mood, or move you to embrace a loved one. Another phenomenon of music is it's ability to transport the listener's thoughts to another time and place. The speed at which music can move your thoughts far outpaces the speed of light. Think about it for a moment. How long does it take your mind to move from thinking in the present to reliving a moment in your past? This rapid transportation can be triggered by the association between the song you are listing to and a past relationship, a childhood memory, a high-school dance, your first band or a sunny afternoon at the pool during summer vacation. How does this work? We hear tens of thousands of songs during our lifetime. How is it that certain songs whisk us back to another time? I suppose everyone experiences this in their own way. I am frequently taken back to my adolescence. Summers seemed longer. Life seemed simpler, in retrospect, and everyone seemed to be engaged in some sort of recreation. How music does this and why I'm taken back to certain times is really not for me to question, but to savour in the moment of the song I'm listening to and get some travelling in at the same time. The song fades to it's conclusion. I'm now back here with good friends and family. A few moments go by and I forget all about the trip I just took. The smile is still on my face. Music has not only given me a creative outlet with which to entertain myself and others, it has allowed me to reconnect with the events of my past - which have formed who I am now.