The happy grass and flowers and blue skies was really starting to bug me. As a result my blog became much more simple. I'm starting to like simple.
So on March the first I realized it was indeed March the first and not actually the 29th of February. So I've already sort of broken this whole pact of having four music blogs every month. It's the fifth of March and I still haven't put the last post up for February. I could now throw out a massive amount of excuses, but even though they are pretty valid excuses, I will refrain (I've been told I make too many excuses when I do something wrong. It's something I'm trying to work on).
Jeremy Larson just did an interview a couple of weeks ago that I think needs repeating. His philosophy on music is so pure and just... correct.
"When young kids think about making music, they may be in band or orchestra, but if they’re anything like me, they’re dreaming about being on stage, and playing in a band, or being a rapper. They’re thinking of it in terms of what it could lead to, and the money it could make, or the fame, I guess, and they lose focus of music for the sake of what it is, and how it makes you feel. It’s a struggle that I have. "Where is music taking me, because I want it to take me somewhere’. I think it’s an unhealthy perspective, and it’s a very unfortunate one; to think of music mainly as a vehicle to get you to another place.
I had a bass teacher who I took lessons from for a while. He was in his late 70′s. He was a great jazz musician. He used to tell me these stories about how he lived with six other guys growing up. They just loved to play together. No audience. No recording. Nothing to show anyone, they just lived in a house together. One of them would wake up every day and walk to the drum kit and start playing a little bit. The other guys would hear it in the house, and they’d wake up and play together. They’d do this for six hours, and take a break for lunch, and they’d get back into it. They’d keep playing. No audience, no reason to play, except for the fact that they loved playing music and they wanted to make music happen, and they wanted to create it, and for it to fill the space where they were sitting. I try to remind myself of that......
To be honest, music doesn’t pay. It’s in a different place now, and there are so many bands out there that it’s very expendable. Every band out there, even the biggest, most famous ones, they are replaceable. You know, you have Coldplay or Beyonce, who are at the top of their game, at the top of their careers, but, if they disappear, and their music doesn’t exist anymore, there are a thousand behind them, ready to take that spot. Especially on the lower level of being an independent artist, there’s no shortage of bands out there, no shortage of things for people to buy. Most bands are giving away their music for free anyway, just to get a little bit more exposure. So music as a career and a hobby is not going to be what kids think it’s going to be. They would probably be severely disappointed. But, you can look at music as something that is meaningful. It’s worth something. Not a dollar amount, because it means something in your life, because you’re able to create. Then, I think that life can have a little bit more magic to it, if I can use that word."
Music isn't a vehicle to get you places. Our music culture has missed that entirely, and so have I. I know I needed to hear this.
Anyway, so it's like the fifth and I haven't even posted anything for the end of February. At this point I'm not really sure how I feel about this four-songs-a-month blog thing. I'm starting to learn that music takes thought. Lots of though. To say that I'm going to write a song in a week and make it acceptable is starting to sound more and more preposterous. I'm not sure how I'll solve this. I might make this blog a bit more broad. I won't give up on it, but... well... oh, I don't know what to do.
I'm going to Springfield on the twelfth to see Jeremy Larson's opening concert (He's the guy that I just quoted above). This man has taught me so much about music and how it should be approached. He's an absolute genius. Don't believe me? Come to the concert with me.
There's a Midi controller at Musician's Pro for fifty bucks that I'll probably buy so that I won't have to go to Western Kentucky's campus to play piano. I'll have one all to myself. That'll be nice.
