Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
WARNING: This post is nothing but me patting myself on the back, so feel free to move on ;~))
On Tuesday night, I crossed off some huge obligations that had been hounding me for a LONG time. The relief of being free from said obligations, at least for the next couple of months, gives my mind and emotions a lot of freedom that had been suppressed! So Wednesday, I had committed myself to spending most of my day on relaxation and music related activities. Come 3pm or so, I set up my gear and did a 2 hours set/session playing all my favorite stuff. About half covers and half originals.
I then went to the open mic where I have performed a few times previously. It went fabulous! For the first song I, in the words of that host bands leader "kicked the band off the stage" to do a solo performance of my song "Let Love Be Our Song" which is a healing song for the people of Maui and Lahaina based on the recent tragedy that changed their lives. I sat behind the house kit and played the kick drum while I played the guitar and sang the song. It was great to have the boom of a real kick drum as at home I am kicking a cajon, which of course does not have near the response and presence of a true kick drum. While playing, a family of 5 including three young girls and their parents, began swaying with their arms raised in the air. A couple of other tables followed suit and it was wonderful to see this song, which none of them had ever even heard before in their lives, move them to display such emotional response to what I was singing/playing!! Truly inspiring!!! The applause was great and I then invited the band back on stage to do a couple of cover songs.
First up was the Romantics "What I Like About You". Yes, the 3 chord wonder (maybe that should be my nickname). The band nailed it and we all had a great time playing it! Even the ending was spot on ;~)) I could tell by the smiles on the band members faces that they were enjoying it. Once again, really good crowd response both during song and after it was done. I then suggested we do Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower". I quickly explained to the band that this was NOT Hendrix's version and it was NOT Dylan's version but lay somewhere in between. After I started playing it, they all fell into place and once again, I think we collectively nailed it, and this is on a version/timing that none of them had heard before. So great to be able to have folk who are good enough to be able to just read what you are doing on material and fit in!! Again great crowd response and I then relinquished the stage to the regular leader and his mates who had helped me out. The best part for me was, being able to get on a stage with strangers and do things my way, but still have it sound pretty good and have them get it and be able to play along, a testament to those musicians for sure!
Then came the best part, what I feel is one of the coolest musical moments for me in my life (I would say in the top 5). When I got home, equipment was still set up so all I needed to do was plug in the guitar and power up. I settled in to playing my usual stuff and between the 3rd and 4th songs, I started thinking about my "Let Love Be Our Song" performance and the message of love that it delivers. I started singing a couple of lines and the original spur of the moment lyrics were just flowing, so I stopped and hit record for a new track. I then laid down a 5 1/2 minute long track with all original vocals and guitar and cajon. The only reason I am not posting it is because I was singing out of key in several places in part because it was being developed on the fly, and when I finished I got chills up my spine. The song is called "Make It" and it is about the concept of making love in this world when and where it does not already exist or when it is needed. I have had songs come to me like this before, and got riffs, lyrics, etc., but have never had an entire song with bridge, chorus, verses, effects changes, etc. all flow simultaneously and without any major errors IMO with the exception of my vocal tunings matching the guitar parts. One of the weirdest things for me is I now have to go back and transcribe the lyrics, normally my songs start with a lyrical development with a melody in my head, but this one happened simultaneously with the creation of the melodies and the adjoining music.
I am so thankful to have reached this kind of a point in my musical journey. As I have mentioned in other posts, I have written about 2,000 songs in my life and the hardest part for me was getting correct, the musical parts that the instruments were playing in my head. It now is starting to happen in real time after thousands of hours of practice over the past two years. Still cowboy chord stuff, but IDGAF, and neither did Bob Dylan, The Beatles and many of the other greatest artists of our lifetimes. We don't need to have jazz chords, shredding solos, complex orchestral compositions and obscure scales to make material the moves and reaches people (ourselves included). Music is the only thing in my life right now that keeps me smiling every day while the rest of my life is ripped apart by intersecting tornados (for which of course I wrote a song called "Tornado Trifecta")!
OK, that is my pat on the back, thanks for reading, kind of a diary entry for me! It is never too late to do what you have always wanted to do, but did not do for various reasons!! I hope I get to read about others personal stories of self fulfillment here and throughout the forum!
On Tuesday night, I crossed off some huge obligations that had been hounding me for a LONG time. The relief of being free from said obligations, at least for the next couple of months, gives my mind and emotions a lot of freedom that had been suppressed! So Wednesday, I had committed myself to spending most of my day on relaxation and music related activities. Come 3pm or so, I set up my gear and did a 2 hours set/session playing all my favorite stuff. About half covers and half originals.
I then went to the open mic where I have performed a few times previously. It went fabulous! For the first song I, in the words of that host bands leader "kicked the band off the stage" to do a solo performance of my song "Let Love Be Our Song" which is a healing song for the people of Maui and Lahaina based on the recent tragedy that changed their lives. I sat behind the house kit and played the kick drum while I played the guitar and sang the song. It was great to have the boom of a real kick drum as at home I am kicking a cajon, which of course does not have near the response and presence of a true kick drum. While playing, a family of 5 including three young girls and their parents, began swaying with their arms raised in the air. A couple of other tables followed suit and it was wonderful to see this song, which none of them had ever even heard before in their lives, move them to display such emotional response to what I was singing/playing!! Truly inspiring!!! The applause was great and I then invited the band back on stage to do a couple of cover songs.
First up was the Romantics "What I Like About You". Yes, the 3 chord wonder (maybe that should be my nickname). The band nailed it and we all had a great time playing it! Even the ending was spot on ;~)) I could tell by the smiles on the band members faces that they were enjoying it. Once again, really good crowd response both during song and after it was done. I then suggested we do Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower". I quickly explained to the band that this was NOT Hendrix's version and it was NOT Dylan's version but lay somewhere in between. After I started playing it, they all fell into place and once again, I think we collectively nailed it, and this is on a version/timing that none of them had heard before. So great to be able to have folk who are good enough to be able to just read what you are doing on material and fit in!! Again great crowd response and I then relinquished the stage to the regular leader and his mates who had helped me out. The best part for me was, being able to get on a stage with strangers and do things my way, but still have it sound pretty good and have them get it and be able to play along, a testament to those musicians for sure!
Then came the best part, what I feel is one of the coolest musical moments for me in my life (I would say in the top 5). When I got home, equipment was still set up so all I needed to do was plug in the guitar and power up. I settled in to playing my usual stuff and between the 3rd and 4th songs, I started thinking about my "Let Love Be Our Song" performance and the message of love that it delivers. I started singing a couple of lines and the original spur of the moment lyrics were just flowing, so I stopped and hit record for a new track. I then laid down a 5 1/2 minute long track with all original vocals and guitar and cajon. The only reason I am not posting it is because I was singing out of key in several places in part because it was being developed on the fly, and when I finished I got chills up my spine. The song is called "Make It" and it is about the concept of making love in this world when and where it does not already exist or when it is needed. I have had songs come to me like this before, and got riffs, lyrics, etc., but have never had an entire song with bridge, chorus, verses, effects changes, etc. all flow simultaneously and without any major errors IMO with the exception of my vocal tunings matching the guitar parts. One of the weirdest things for me is I now have to go back and transcribe the lyrics, normally my songs start with a lyrical development with a melody in my head, but this one happened simultaneously with the creation of the melodies and the adjoining music.
I am so thankful to have reached this kind of a point in my musical journey. As I have mentioned in other posts, I have written about 2,000 songs in my life and the hardest part for me was getting correct, the musical parts that the instruments were playing in my head. It now is starting to happen in real time after thousands of hours of practice over the past two years. Still cowboy chord stuff, but IDGAF, and neither did Bob Dylan, The Beatles and many of the other greatest artists of our lifetimes. We don't need to have jazz chords, shredding solos, complex orchestral compositions and obscure scales to make material the moves and reaches people (ourselves included). Music is the only thing in my life right now that keeps me smiling every day while the rest of my life is ripped apart by intersecting tornados (for which of course I wrote a song called "Tornado Trifecta")!
OK, that is my pat on the back, thanks for reading, kind of a diary entry for me! It is never too late to do what you have always wanted to do, but did not do for various reasons!! I hope I get to read about others personal stories of self fulfillment here and throughout the forum!
It's good to hear positive things, especially when it meant to uplift those who may be concerned about the tragedy in Maui. This is what music is supposed to be about. You did well, MDW. Pay it forward.
