I miss making music with other people.
When I decided to step away from my last band, Tumbledown Saints, there was the consolation that it wouldn’t be the end of playing music. At the time, I as playing almost every week at church, so that lessened the sting. As much as I enjoyed playing blues with John, Dave, Jeff, and Marc, there was a degree of peace in the decision.
Now, as we hurtle through week ten of lockdown here in Maine, I’m really missing it.
It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted a Friday Five. I’d get into the reasons, but honestly, all I pretty much have to say is: pandemic. So let’s do something a little different and roll with five music videos that I’ve been digging on this week and spread a little joy today.
C’mon… we all need a little more Bernard Purdie in our lives, don’t we? Dig on David T. Walker and Chuck Rainey on bass.
Discovered Turkuaz a couple years back, but hadn’t run across their version of this Sly & The Family Stone classic before. So good.
What else can you say about Maceo Parker that hasn’t already been said a thousand times before? Dude played with James Brown, George Clinton, and Prince. This is a new version of an older tune, but does it ever groove.
I was lucky enough to play this one a bunch of times back in the day with Mama’s Boomshack, but this groove right here is next level. Fred Wesley is a baaaaaaad man.
The new Lettuce album, Resonate, is really good. This song? This one right here feels like a Tower of Power and Sly Stone mash up. Needless to say, I love this song almost as much as oxygen.
I vividly remember the first time listening to Tower of Power. It was in one of the practice rooms off my high school band room and a friend of mine who was a longtime ToP fan had brought in a cassette of Back To Oakland. What’s funny is that it was a similar experience to my first time listening to Stevie Wonder’s song “Uptight (Everything’s All Right)” – absolutely mind-blowing and life-altering. I was hooked and there was no going back.
I came across a video by Kinga Glyk which then led me down a YouTube rabbit hole of bass-centric videos. Not a bad way to spend 9 miles if you ask me, but I found myself thinking “Man, I’m never gonna sound that good” somewhere after my second Marcus Miller video.
It’s one of my greatest hits. That’s what I call the thoughts or things I’ll say repeatedly, usually in some kind of self-deprecating way or as an excuse for something. Usually, I don’t give them much thought because they’ve become like the “ums” and “uhs” of my brain life – conversational filler that for the most part goes unnoticed because it happens so often.
But today, I actually started to think about it.
Let’s finish up the week with a little gratitude and joy shall we?
I have the privilege of leading the worship team at my church. In a nuts-and-bolts manner of speaking, it means I wrangle the schedule, write charts, lead rehearsals, play bass guitar, and sing. In a broader sense, I make decisions about how we’ll play songs, communicate with various team members solely in movie quotes, encourage people, pray for them, and generally have a great time.
This week, I looked over the schedule and realized that my presence on stage was somewhat superfluous and decided to take the weekend off for my birthday.
I’m a firm believer that Luck is actually a combination of opportunity plus preparation – that you can only be “lucky” if you’ve done the requisite preparation when you’ve been presented with an opportunity. I believe that’s true in maybe 90% of our lives, which is why I keep working at the things I love – so that when opportunity comes knocking, I’m not stuck sitting in my undies munching on Cheetos without a clue as to where my pants or a napkin are.
This isn’t about that ninety percent. I’ll get to that at some point.
This about that other ten percent. When it seems like God just looks down and says “You know what? Let’s just see what happens when I drop this right HERE.” Those moments when you’re in the right place at the right time for no good reason. When dumb luck smiles in your direction and decides it’s your day.
I’m pretty sure it was my senior year of high school and I was walking down the band room hallway with my buddy Jayson. We had a substitute on this particular day, so the inmates were having the run of the asylum, but nothing too crazy. That was mostly because we knew our sub was a special person – a woman who actually requested to sub for band and just liked being around creative kids, even if they were a complete pain the ass. As long as the place didn’t get set on fire and someone was playing music, it seemed that everything was okay with her. An incredibly nice lady.
We were going past the band director’s office when this modern day saint of a substitute said “Hey, you two like jazz. You want tickets to this show tonight? My husband and I can’t go.”
Free? Free with a capital EFF? Sure! Who’s playing? Nevermind, doesn’t matter.
Except it did. My buddy and I wound up with prime seats to see Rebirth Brass Band at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH.
To say this was a “formative experience” would be underselling it. For a honky kid from New Hampshire with a burgeoning love of soul and funk, this was like mainlining music straight from the source. New Orleans became Nawlins and this was the moment I became hooked on live music. I’d never seen anything remotely like Rebirth. To say that our high school jazz band was like what they did was sort of like saying my Ford Escort was like a Ferrari – technically speaking, they’re both cars, but that’s about it. They blew the roof off that place and then some. By the end of the night, they were inviting the audience on stage with them to dance… and somehow, I wound up there dancing… in front of people… with nary a sip of alcohol involved.
Maybe I was spoiled, but to this day, I’m always excited the day of a gig – whether I’m playing or just in the audience. Because you never know what could happen. You might get pulled on stage. Some random guy might ask to sit in and slay it. The lead singer from the band might jump off stage and sing while dancing through the audience. Maybe nothing happens but a good night of music. Maybe the band is having an off night.
Whatever happens, it pays to be prepared. That’s where the other 90% comes in – because you have to say yes and then be ready for what happens.
And a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt either.
Bill McElaney is the type of person that I hope each of you has in their life. That person that you find yourself saying something along the lines of “If it wasn’t _______, I wouldn’t believe it.”
On more than one occasion, I heard Bill advise someone to learn to play guitar because it could take you around the world. This much I know is true. Bill traveled the world as a musician. And now that he’s passed away, he’s had memorials in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and more than likely in Ireland in the near future. If it wasn’t Bill, I wouldn’t believe that someone’s ashes could go on tour. But here we are.