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.
This is a collection of things that I’ve been enjoying, doing, or thinking about through the week. Since it’s been a little while since my last gratitude post, I thought this would be an opportune time to share some things that I am thankful for right now.
Please note that some obvious things (family, food, shelter, etc.) aren’t going to be on the list below. It’s not that I’m not grateful for them, it’s that there wouldn’t be room for anything else if that’s all I focused on. So let’s just take those as a given, okay?
If you’ve enjoyed any of this, I’m glad. Feel like sticking around for a bit? Check out some of my more recent posts below.
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.
Here’s a collection of some of the things from this week that I’ve enjoyed, been inspired by, want to share, or are grateful for.
Like what you read? Good! Maybe you’d like to check out some of the other stuff I’ve written lately.
Here’s a collection of some of the things from this week that I’ve enjoyed, been inspired by, want to share, or are grateful for.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this. If you’re new around these parts, here’s some of my most recent posts to check out.
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.
Here’s a collection of some of the things from this week that I’ve enjoyed, been inspired by, want to share, or are grateful for.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this. If you’re new around these parts, check out some of my most recent posts below.
As we get to the end of week 2 of stay at home living, I wanted to reflect a little bit on what I’ve been grateful for this week. I’ve read a lot of people saying something along the lines of “things are going to be different after this is over”. I hope that’s true in the best sense of things, but I think there’s a danger that, just like after finishing up a diet, everything slides back to the way it was before in a rush of celebration.
In the meantime, I think one way to keep perspective is to concentrate on what we’re grateful for in this moment.
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.
The human mind is a weird, wonderful, and ultimately, terrifying place to live. I don’t recommend it, but since nobody consulted me prior to the urban planning, it seems we’re all stuck here anyways. It’s a place where we can simultaneously have an overly-inflated sense of ourselves and our place in the world while also having thoughts like “Gee, I hope people aren’t disappointed reading my blog“.
Yup, that’s seriously a thought that ran through my head while deciding what to write about this morning. Somewhere inside this three pounds of spongy thing called the brain, that thought sprouted and was deemed important information to communicate to my conscious self.
Perfect. Because I don’t have enough to worry about.