Enjoying the last few days of my winter break with cats & fire.
Guitarist John McLaughlin - that amazing guitarist, founder of Mahavishnu & Shakti - recently turned 70. A little Facebook page was set up, called "Happy Birthday John McLaughlin". I took the time to write him a note. So did a lot of other folks... And he wrote back to all of us. I feel this is worth sharing, because it peaks about the porwer of Love, Music, and our connections with eachother.
Namaste'.
A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM JOHN:
Dearest friends. Today I wish to write to all of you who have written to me, or written on Facebook to celebrate my 70th birthday. By the time one gets to be 70 years old, you are supposed to have learned something about life, and today, I'd like to write a few words on the arrival of my 70th birthday which I celebrated in Mumbai India.
My life is a continuous miracle: That I am. There is another miracle, that the Infinite Universe also, is.There is yet another miracle: That we are given the most marvelous gift of love: That we have this capacity to love and be loved. Sometimes I am in awe of love, for it seems to me that love is Infinite and Cosmic in origin, and since love can only be experienced here and now, to love, is to live in the infinite here and now. This is what all the sages of old have recommended as a cure for everything!And then there is music: what we all love, there's that word again, and in reality this is what brings all of us together. I am humbled and thrilled at the same time, by the numerous messages from you to celebrate my birthday, and without doubt, it is the work of music. This has to be yet another kind of miracle: That we can make bumps and scrapes, booms, bangs, oohs and aahs, twangs and grinds, and out comes beauty........ And we all love this improbable beauty that comes out of all of these sounds, and that it can be so surprising, so different, and at the same time, so right. Music has this power to speak directly to the depths of our souls, and reminds us that this is where we all belong, and that in music as in love, we truly are one.With Love and Blessings to all,
john
track: "Power Of Love" from the album "Apocolypse" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Just read this book. I'm tempted to go buy 10,000 copies to give to EVERYONE. Really great storytelling - the story being the current financial clime here in the good ol' US of A. HIGHLY recommended. :)
It's another Friday Night here in Newburgh, the land of old forgotten homes...
Not all of them are forgotten of course. Some folk have done, and are still doing, beautiful amazing things fixing up these homes. Inspiring. Someday perhaps a photo study will be in order! Meanwhile, if you're interested check out the Newburgh Restoration blog.
We've lived in our 1920's era house for 12 1/2 years. The one thing I've learned about working on these places is that you need either Time, or Money, or Both. Sadly, I have niether... but sometimes things just need to be done, and we make do.
For our friday night this week, my wife & I took down another piece of our crumbling 90 year old plaster ceiling (leaving a big hole for all the lovely cold air to get in). We covered with plastic for now; we'll have to get someone in to sheet rock it as I am inept in such things.
Frankly, its bad condition had me worried it was going to fall & hurt someone. A big plaster chunk fell out of our kitchen ceiling 2 years ago. If my wife had been standing there she would have been seriously injured. All of the ceilings in our house are damaged from water, primarily because we have a flat roof. Another thing I've learned: don't buy a house with a flat roof. If you do, be prepared to deal with it. Here's a Pic:
So remember folks, older homes are awesome - if you've got the wherewithall to dive and and fix stuff. Honestly, not my forte. Trying to adapt.
More music coming soon, promise! :)
I've been in this biz of music for a really long time now. I've worked with some great peeps, played in a few different countries, and developed my sound and style into a very individual approach.Some of those absolutely amazing folk I've got to work with include Tony Smith, Steve Lawson, Gregg Bendian, Zack Brock, Bob Meyer, Thierry Arpino, Francis Benitas, Charlie Kniceley, Steve Rust, Dean Sharp, Todd isler, Erik Lawrence, Fred Jacobs, Jim Cammack, Nadav Zelniker, Robert Kopec, & Ryan Ball - to name a few. (I'm not going to post a list of everyone I've ever worked with; it would be 20 pages long and only be meaningful to me.) I have met gobs of Great Players on the interwebz - from all over the globe - and these new friendships include the very real possibility of doing work together as time & tide allow.
But I've yet to work with - or even meet - practically any of the people I count as influences, people who have influenced or been significant to my musical developement. There's something in me that feels like I NEED to connect with these folk on some level, even just to thanks them. Some of them are gone already (like Tony Williams); life on earth is a finite affair. Perhaps I am looking for some kind of validation for a musical life spent in the trenches... In any case, I'm putting this out there.
Today I am putting forth this (partial) list of the musicians (whom I am aware of) with whom I desire to befriend, record and/or perform. (I remain open to those I am not yet aware of.)
Last night I did something - finally did something - that I had begun to think might not actually happen: I mixed a solo piano record. The fact that I had the guts to even record in the first place is amazing enough to me. I had set very high technical standards for myself as a keyboard player, of which the piano undoubtedly plays a big part. But piano by itself? I had to fundamentally change the way I thought about doing this, and treat it more as a very individual personal kind of thing - abandoning the idea of technical perfection in favor of musicality.
Having wrapped my head around that, I got myself in front of a piano with some good mics for 2 days back in January. My schedule has been so nuts I was starting to think I was never going to finish this long long overdue project.
Bit here we are: morning coffee and mix files. It's what's for breakfast. Look for a release... well, sometime relatively soon. No need to rush things!
Another truly amazing performance by our friend Ms. Heap. As my daughter says, "she wins the interwebs". I'm familiar with each musical technique - reverb wet/dry balance, overdrive, filtering etc - but to put it into a seamlessly controlled package they way she does is jaw-dropping. Enjoy. :)
