Today kicks off the start of the holiday season. Lots of us are either hosting or traveling to be with friends & family.
Hosts in particular are stressing over minute details hoping to achieve that "perfect" holiday dinner in the perfectly clean home. New couples are meeting their significant other's family for perhaps the first time and obsessing over their clothes and hair. Older couples may be stressed over dealing with fragile in-law relationships and the cursory wild children & grandchildren that seem to populate these events. Dads will get white knuckles & knots between keeping the kids in line and fighting parade traffic.
I used to have a sister-in-law who made photography the focus of our get togethers. The entire holiday was lost in her zeal to document every detail on film.
Don't let the the quest for a slice of Norman Rockwell Americana get in the way of the celebration and enjoying the fellowship today. Lighten up and relax, and focus on what you have instead of the imperfections that make us all human.
This time last year I was getting ready for cancer surgery and was truly blessed to be in a loving relationship with plenty of moral support. I was thankful to have folks over and was beyond caring about the minor details of whether there were grease stains behind the trashcan that sits next to the stove.
About 20 years ago I found myself out of work and way behind on bills. I took a job making way less money in order to go back to nursing school. One day I left work and found that my car had been repossessed.
I called a friend to give me a ride home and he offered to hit the Wendy's drive thru and get me a sandwich.
As I was sitting there in the passenger seat feeling all sorry for myself, he pointed to a man sifting through the dumpster looking for food. That was a life changing moment for me and opened my eyes to the fact that no matter what life throws at us, there's always someone somewhere worse off than we are.
Spend less time today sweating the small stuff (and believe me; it's ALL small stuff) and more time in fellowship with the people you love. Happy Thanksgiving!
Peace until later. Tim
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Ode to the studio musician
Mom was a musician, educated at Appalachian State Teacher's College in the 40s so music has always been a big part of my life. I think most of us tend to catalog the major events of our lives through the music playing on the radio at the time it happened. That's why us old farts tend to stick with stuff from younger days before responsibility hit us like a piano dropped from an upper floor apartment.
I played in high school band (sax) and then learned crude keyboard in my early twenties when synthesizers were really getting popular. I can read music, but I can't really sight read though I can learn a piece bar-by-bar through rote memorization. I suspect it's not a lack of talent so much as laziness about the couple of hours a day it would take to master these skills. I play occasionally strictly for my own enjoyment.
A couple years ago, I saw a documentary "Standing In The Shadows of Motown" about a group of session musicians who backed most of the vocal groups from the early days when Barry Gordy's label was actually located in Motor City.
These guys weren't stars and made their living playing the seedy joints around the Detroit area at night after playing on some of the greatest music ever released during their daylight hours for poor money, and no recognition. The average listener has never heard of James Jamerson, or Robert White; but if you've ever listened to a Supremes or Temptations song you've heard them play. Robert White is responsible for the guitar riff intro to "My Girl" and James Jamerson is arguably the best bass player of all time yet he died penniless from liver failure.
Los Angeles had its' own powerhouse session band known as "The Wrecking Crew", all A-list musicians who were first called whenever a studio needed a tight backup band. Most of you have never heard of Carol Kaye but she is the most recorded bass guitar player of all time with an estimated 10,000 recordings from all genres. "Wichta Lineman" "I'm A Believer" and a whole bunch of stuff you've heard featured her on bass.
Only a few studio musicians ever reach the limelight. Glen Campbell, Dr. John, and Leon Russell are Wrecking Crew alumni. Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, and Boots Randolph all were members of the Nashville A-Listers.
The vast majority of session musicians quietly live their lives doing what they love and enriching the lives of the rest of us. Next time you listen to that song you just downloaded, remember the nameless musician who is probably headed to their next paying gig.
I played in high school band (sax) and then learned crude keyboard in my early twenties when synthesizers were really getting popular. I can read music, but I can't really sight read though I can learn a piece bar-by-bar through rote memorization. I suspect it's not a lack of talent so much as laziness about the couple of hours a day it would take to master these skills. I play occasionally strictly for my own enjoyment.
A couple years ago, I saw a documentary "Standing In The Shadows of Motown" about a group of session musicians who backed most of the vocal groups from the early days when Barry Gordy's label was actually located in Motor City.
These guys weren't stars and made their living playing the seedy joints around the Detroit area at night after playing on some of the greatest music ever released during their daylight hours for poor money, and no recognition. The average listener has never heard of James Jamerson, or Robert White; but if you've ever listened to a Supremes or Temptations song you've heard them play. Robert White is responsible for the guitar riff intro to "My Girl" and James Jamerson is arguably the best bass player of all time yet he died penniless from liver failure.
Los Angeles had its' own powerhouse session band known as "The Wrecking Crew", all A-list musicians who were first called whenever a studio needed a tight backup band. Most of you have never heard of Carol Kaye but she is the most recorded bass guitar player of all time with an estimated 10,000 recordings from all genres. "Wichta Lineman" "I'm A Believer" and a whole bunch of stuff you've heard featured her on bass.
Only a few studio musicians ever reach the limelight. Glen Campbell, Dr. John, and Leon Russell are Wrecking Crew alumni. Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, and Boots Randolph all were members of the Nashville A-Listers.
The vast majority of session musicians quietly live their lives doing what they love and enriching the lives of the rest of us. Next time you listen to that song you just downloaded, remember the nameless musician who is probably headed to their next paying gig.
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