You’ve inspired me, Vaughn.
That’s exactly what keeps popping up in my musical life that keeps the fire burning. You’ve inspired me so much, I’ll share something personal that I wasn’t going to publicize...
This was posted in another private forum to protect people’s privacy, so I’ll sanitize it enough to share.
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Last month, my band had had a long period of quiet; so much so that Mike the Drummer and I needed to get something together to keep the musical muscles in shape. Mike went after a bassist that we both know and figure we could do the power trio thing during our band hiatus. Very cool!
The monster bassist wasn't available, so Mike made a visit down the street from his house to a childhood friend of his, Chris, who apparently also plays bass. "Why didn't you mention him before?" instantly came out of my mouth. Mike proceeded to explain that Chris had a hard time with keeping time - kind of essential for a bassist - but could keep up for just jamming. So we invited him over.
Before the jam day, Mike called and explained Chris' back story because he wanted me to know what to expect and allow me to gracefully back out, if I wanted. Chris had been the victim of a mugging when he was about 18. He was beaten severely, nearly killed him. It took him months to physically recover, which he did, but mentally, he still carried scars. He suffered severe brain injuries that impact much of his life. He's slow to communicate and to process normal things that we take for granted. Before the incident, he loved playing bass. After, it remained one of the few pieces of his previously normal life that he can cling to. Once I heard the story, there was no way we couldn't meet! Music is the element that brings everyone together.
We played the first time for about 2 hours and Chris was pretty nervous. Talking and joking and playing was the best way to break the ice and get him comfortable to play to his potential. So we got together the next weekend. I learned how to set the pace, give him lots of lead-in to a progression, let him follow my hands and listen to how Mike and I interacted. At first, he's a little lost at every new song, but when you listen to the recordings, he gels with us then starts to let go and do his own thing. While playing, I noticed this to a degree and had a blast, as did both of the others, but it was listening to one particular song that put a lump in my throat. This particular track is NOT about me, so try to block out my playing (trust me, it’s forgettable)...pay attention to the bass. In the beginning, it's all over the place. We quickly reviewed the progression before the recording starts, but it was maybe 60 seconds of showing him the chords and basically the rhythm. I kept it to 2 chords to make is simple and worked with a practice progression I've noodled with for a a few months. I had never played anything but the basic chords, rhythm and 2 riffs before and never with anyone else, the rest spawned from the jam.
The FULL Order Please
You can almost hear when his damaged line of thought syncs with us. He struggles with staying consistent, causing a big struggle for both Mike and myself, which is evident by the numerous rhythmic F-ups on my part. We'd lock eyes and reestablish a solid lock on 1 a few times, which is also apparent. At the time, I was pleased with everyones' teamwork but we had no idea that Chris was working so hard to play his part until we listened to the results.
The music we played aligned something between us that I never realized was possible. Earlier in my life, I worked on product research involving sound therapy for many brain-related issues, but I hadn't experienced something as complex and definitive as this. I'm stunned and amazed.
