After some extended time off, I am back writing monthly blogs on music, life, sailing and whatever else crosses my path. A working title for this exercise is “Real Music, Real People”. A very basic passion of mine is performing live music. This brings people together – both the listeners or dancers and the performers. I want to comment more on the importance of this phenomena – people coming together and sharing their gifts – especially in the increasingly polarized world we are living in.
I have included this lovely photo of a small golf course in the Berkshires as a simple reminder that these seemingly endless blizzards of March are not going to last forever. Spring is coming and there are boats to uncover and paint, and rounds of golf to play!
I consider my ability to perform in public a gift – a gift that I need to share and give back to the world. Arriving at that point of view was not the simple path that it seems. There were the early years of struggling to get noticed and the real anger when people seemed indifferent, or did not respectfully listen. There was the strain it put on family life, the difficulty in having any kind of financial security, and the seemingly impossible path to any kind of notoriety or visible success. With time and experience you evolve and how you see your role changes. I am going to explore this and other aspects of live music and perhaps pass on some reflections you might find useful and perhaps enlightening.
As a good friend of mine likes to say – “Keep Swingin'”.
Tom
