music addiction

Lets see, music, I guess is today's topic. I got a new mandolin, made by a friend by hand, with skill and care and love in every piece of wood and bone. He builds instruments for a living but he mainly cares for the music, and the enhanced life that it gives to so many people. He knows it is his instruments that are the vehicle that carry the journey of tunes and songs. So what is that music relationship about, I certainly have devoted lots of time and money and effort towards it. It is not the notes, played alone in the living room, not the practice and the tuning and the shower before the gig. It's not the standard dream of fame and fortune, but it is standing in the circle of a band, counting off the tempo and sounding the first notes that are blended together that are the deal, the punch, the kick, the smile, the rush, of two or three or ten souls all bound together and going to the same musical place. This is the reality of the addiction for me. I can be as happy in my house as I can on stage, I don't want to record every note for posterity, but rather I believe that the notes being floated into the atmosphere are going to last for a long time moving to the air outside and eventually find a place to land and take root in someones musical garden and grow to become their own unique inspiration in someones fingers on some new strings. I can only hint at the pleasure that these sessions I have experienced have brought into my life. I am not any kind of a great player, or singer but I will practice and work hard to improve my contribution. I have been in bands since I was 16 years old and in countless sessions of different varieties in all environments, and it all blends together somehow. Sorry, I am rambling on and the essence is that if you can play music, savor every moment, because it will never be the same again no matter how hard you try. Live it only for the moment and only to feel the joy of creation.

For most of the past 20 years or so I have been the "go to" guy for a lot of my family and friends when it came to technology and computer related stuff. For that matter it is part of my job to be current on most of the machines and software we use daily. So it is a little weird to now find that my 20 yo daughter and 12 yo son are having to teach me new things about the digital world. So the point is that this blog is one of those things. I resisted the blog notion for a long time, but now that Megan is away from home and likely to be that way a lot, I can see the benefits of this communication. So be patient and let me find the direction this will take, and I will somehow try to make it worth a visit. Thanks for listening, I'll leave the light on for ya...
Craig