Played a solo gig tonight in the hood with Ohioan and Ember Schrag. Really nice evening! Susan Alcorn played pedal steel with the 2 other acts, those of you who don't know her, she is what I consider a true master. Heavy player. Transcendent. Risk taker. Always an honor to share the stage with her. My man Ryan in Ohioan I've had the pleasure of seeing grow for almost 9 years now. He took some lessons from me back in the day and he's playing so beautifully now. Showing up every day for your vision makes you good at what you do! I'm really inspired by him. And of course my main man Bob Jones on the turntable and Iphone Deejay! I feel gooooood!
It's the first solo set I've done where I only played acoustic guitar, no pick, just my now blistered fingers and my trusty old guitars. I even.......sang. I want to do more of that. I'm writing more singy songs these days, it's the final frontier for me, voice, clarity, melody, connectedness.
My man Aaron said to me that he liked seeing my mistakes, my struggles with the instrument on stage. I really liked hearing that. For me making music is reaching to be the best you can be then reaching beyond that into the land of dis-comfort. I grew up on Billie Holiday and Jimi Hendrix. There is so much passion there it sounds like the music could simply explode into disaster. They knew their limits and explored well beyond those limits right there in front of you, a journey. Music only really does it for me if I feel that tension of "this could totally fail! HERE WE GO!!!!"
I've heard if there aren't any mistakes you ain't trying. I like to say if there aren't any mistakes you aren't exploring. That journey is hypnotic for the artist and the audience alike.
I've had perfect shows before on tour. Perfect meaning the perfect storm meaning: connectedness with audience, each other, selection of music, performance, chance, RISK! I could always predict the next show would be awful. There is something about the human way that needs to repeat. You have a great experience, see a lovely sunset, have a shag that blew your mind and heart to little pieces, and immediately the mind wants a repeat performance. Joy turns into pain through pleasure seeking. Next night would be an insult to the audience cause the audience is different, it's a new day, the molecules in your body are different, you feel different, it's an insult to the self to try and re-capture yesterday! And what made that performance yesterday so perfect? The imperfection of it. Hard to get the head around it but I say, see for yourself. What do you think? The moment is truth! Best not to try and turn it into religion! The next night is a continuation of the journey, please, just let it be no more or less than that.
So grateful to have wonderful people around me. Grateful to be able to make music with many of them and share with the rest. What a wonderful dream......
xoj
It's the first solo set I've done where I only played acoustic guitar, no pick, just my now blistered fingers and my trusty old guitars. I even.......sang. I want to do more of that. I'm writing more singy songs these days, it's the final frontier for me, voice, clarity, melody, connectedness.
My man Aaron said to me that he liked seeing my mistakes, my struggles with the instrument on stage. I really liked hearing that. For me making music is reaching to be the best you can be then reaching beyond that into the land of dis-comfort. I grew up on Billie Holiday and Jimi Hendrix. There is so much passion there it sounds like the music could simply explode into disaster. They knew their limits and explored well beyond those limits right there in front of you, a journey. Music only really does it for me if I feel that tension of "this could totally fail! HERE WE GO!!!!"
I've heard if there aren't any mistakes you ain't trying. I like to say if there aren't any mistakes you aren't exploring. That journey is hypnotic for the artist and the audience alike.
I've had perfect shows before on tour. Perfect meaning the perfect storm meaning: connectedness with audience, each other, selection of music, performance, chance, RISK! I could always predict the next show would be awful. There is something about the human way that needs to repeat. You have a great experience, see a lovely sunset, have a shag that blew your mind and heart to little pieces, and immediately the mind wants a repeat performance. Joy turns into pain through pleasure seeking. Next night would be an insult to the audience cause the audience is different, it's a new day, the molecules in your body are different, you feel different, it's an insult to the self to try and re-capture yesterday! And what made that performance yesterday so perfect? The imperfection of it. Hard to get the head around it but I say, see for yourself. What do you think? The moment is truth! Best not to try and turn it into religion! The next night is a continuation of the journey, please, just let it be no more or less than that.
So grateful to have wonderful people around me. Grateful to be able to make music with many of them and share with the rest. What a wonderful dream......
xoj
