Every once in a while I wish I hadn't sold my guitars. I couldn't play them, I mean I could play them, but not really. Just going through the motions. I liked picking out songs, which I was good at, but after that, there was not a lot of - soul. Feeling it. Musical understanding.
I understand music intellectually, but certainly not intuitively, as far as playing it. Intuitively, when I hear something, I know if it's good or dog shit or played bad or whatever comes before you apply your own musical taste to a situation. I can wax on and on about "quality," "ingenuity" and "genius." And I'm always right (same as anyone). I once got paid to be a "music critic" although I preferred to think of myself as a "music enabler" - if I could turn one of my readers onto something that I thought was cool, then that made it all the more worthwhile to receive CDs for free in the mail and to get comped into shows.
But PLAYING, is something else entirely.
I have surrounded myself with many, many musician friends throughout my life. Mostly out of being enamored but also probably out of jealously. The good kind. Maybe some of their "talent" would rub off on me. After all, I was born to be a lead guitarist that would drown the world in my noise.
Yeah, not so much.
So, one day about a year and a half ago, I thought to myself - what do you do best? And making music was not in the top five.
I put an ad on Craigslist for my three guitars, the four track recorder, the Shure microphone and all the cables, manuals and miscellaneous shit that you need to make sound. Dude answered my ad, talked me down $200 and took the whole lot to his van. I helped him carry it.
I'm happier now without all of that clutter in my life. The half-baked notion that maybe one day, I might just "break through."
I know what I do best. I make noise photographically. Or at least I try to. It's much more satisfying, as I feel intuitive with my instruments.
I'm going to try to do more of that.
Without all of the gossip.
The Virgin Mary is tired of it and so am I.
Listen...
Cover Star: Sarah
Headlining Band: Bow House covering the bass player from the Velvet Underbelly's rare and hard to find a digital copy of song. Thank god I got it on vinyl though...
5 comments:
Make your noise photographically. I love it.
Gossip~ hate it. For the simple minded.
i just sold my canvases and easel. Forever the artist, never the painter. The noise is only loud if you listen...and even louder if you feel it.
Cluttered with lots of noise making items here (photographic and music wise). Still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. But since I refuse to grow up, I guess I'll always be trying to figure it out.
You are in good company.
bt
i still have my first tascam 4 track from hmmm....1981. If you come over, I'll let you touch it...and maybe just look at the 78 SG.
Look...it's still got the ol tagger on it. Can you hear the sustain?
I really have nothing to say about this except that you referenced one of my favorite Bauhaus songs. To this day, I am still not sure if the song was meant to be funny or it just was.
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