"A good Session can make you forget about all the bad ones. I had a great Session recently with Will G. That got me real excited to do more. That's not how I feel necessarily after a Session that sucked." -- OBS
BEFORE PLAYING A note there is nothing. Just like a blank sheet of paper. Of course, just like everything, it’s not exactly that. In a room, say even with just three people, there is noise. They might be talking. If not, at least breathing. There is room tone. The louder sounds from outside find their way in. So, it’s more like a sheet of paper with a lot of stuff already drawn on it and you’re trying to add more to it. . .and not make it look like a mess.
The beautiful thing about the air is that everything in it moves around. When you add your sound to it, it makes way. It's always allowed in without any noticeable effort. The air wants to hear everything. It excepts everything.
The beautiful thing about people is that if they don’t want to hear you’re voice, they will find a way to let you know. If they let it stay, you’ve already received the best complement you could ever imagine. But, people can go so much further. They can add to your conversation. They can agree. Or disagree. They make it interesting.
The thing about life is it is always beautiful.
WHEN IT ALL ends, it’s going to be an absence of sound. No visuals. No memories. No thing at all. So, before that time hits you have the option to pack it all full with all that stuff. Sounds, thoughts, ideas, adventures, chances taken, goals achieved, others attempted and unfulfilled, a whole life lived. Sometimes we stuff it too full, but as I said, 'when it all ends'. . . I’m of the opinion that too full is better than not full enough. So fill it up. Spill some. Who cares? Try to shave it down to just the right amount. That’s the fun part. So just fill it. Fill it up now. Then have a freaking blast shaving that shit down. Hey, in short...Enjoy Yourselves!
“Take this lesson:” a Greek Yogart told me, “Get someone, a professional to teach you. Even if it’s to learn one new thing. Even if it’s to tell you a bad habit that you have and show you how to fix it. Get someone to give you proper instruction before you keep moving in this direction.”
I thought it was good advice. They actually always say that Greek Yogurt is good for you.
So, now it’s time to do something with that advice. The lesson is to get a lesson. Who could I go to? Who would not waste my money? Who would not steal away my time? How do you find someone like that? Does the internet have a yellow pages?
You find yourself sitting at a desk making notes. Lists even. A diagram showing you the possibilities. You’re piecing things together and they’re starting to fit. You thought you were only working when in fact you were also. . .listening. . .
[Sounds of a restaurant]
THE RESTAURANT WAS busy but not packed. Our table was loud. Everyone was talking. Everyone except me and the kid on the other end sitting at a corner seat. He was eating. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the “adult” conversations being shouted in all directions. Topics like stocks, health insurance, what food everyone has and exactly how it tastes. Also, talk of movies, sports and traffic. “How dull,” he should be thinking. But he isn’t. He is deeply concentrating on a phone screen hiding in his hand under the table. He scrolls through defensive plays with his thumb. He’s right in the middle of a game of Madden with a kid from school. A win could give him enough points to move up to Number One in the league. He was good enough operating the game with one hand, so he could still eat his dinner. He didn’t think about the food or healthcare or any of that stuff. Well, sports. But it wasn’t boring like the sports conversation at the table ‘cause that was about golf.
TAKE GOLF LESSONS
I was...thinking about getting a new album by a new somewhat upcoming artist. It seemed like a lot of money to spend, but I was curious. I first thought about all of the content I could get from him for free. You Tube Videos, Spotify, Copy Shit from Friends. But that would take some time. I could pay the $14.99 and get everything now and I could listen to it whenever. But, then I would probably never listen to it. Then it would be a waste of money. So, I could just check out a You Tube Clip.
Then I click the play button on a clip and I’m like, “Ehh, whatever. This is lame. I’m going to go drink more beer.” Then I can’t even find where I put my beer so I go back up to the You Tube page. I’m like, “If I start watching that clip I’ll remember why I was watching it, then I’ll remember what I was doing before I started watching it, then I’ll remember where I put my beer. . . and I should give that dude on You Tube another chance anyway ‘cause I was kind of trying to cheat him out of his hard earned money and I just blew him off. Perhaps, the video was good and he’s a talented musician. Perhaps, I was being a complaining doont.
So, I check out the video and it’s great. It’s great enough that I pay the $14.99 for the entire album because of this whole ordeal: Him having thoughts and ideas, turning them into songs, teaching other musicians to play the songs, learning to perform them, renting out a production space, recording an album, mixing and editing the album, giving it a title, then producing it, packaging it, sell it and promoting it. That whole ordeal to still have free content making it’s way to me and, I can watch that and dismiss it without giving it a fair chance for nothing. No. That’s worth something. I don’t know exactly what but, $14.99 sounds like more than a fair price.