The Blind Man Society

Mine was a simple, kind of crazy formula.  Keep drinking whisky and cokes and play better.  All I had to do was monitor my intake – but I was too busy making noise and going farther and seeing more, and picturing somebody coming up after my sixth drink saying: Jonathan!  You’re partied out man – AGAIN.

Well, enough of secret inner fears.  We had a jam session the other night and it was so much fun that I had to write a blog about it.  There are six people in the jam group I am a part of.  A couple guitars, the Bass Babes, and occasionally keyboards and drums.  My old Ibanez Artcore AF-55 guitar and Supro Delta King 12 amplifier pictured below.

And, these colors on the musical palette combined to make one heck of a lot of good music every month.  We play Waylon Jennings, Credence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash (Folsom Prison Blues), Howlin Wolf and a fun version of Killing Floor, the list goes on.

When we sit down in our circle, its like we have found the Chi.  We all trade off with singing, and playing rhythm and solos and its like a car driving on the freeway when we get going.  Our collective jam is interconnected, and always results in being in the zone.  People drink at the bar and then come into hear us every time.  This last time, we had near 50 people in there dancing and singing and clapping.  It was phenomenal. 

I always wanted to play for people growing up.  Some people suggested I should be playing jazz at a coffee shop.  But, after playing my first show for 120 people I realized that if you could bottle and cork the sensations you get from playing in front of people – music that makes them feel and move, clap and sing…if we turned around and sold this feeling we’d be rich. 

Somebody asked me about getting started up the other day with music.  And, in my opinion, you buy the instrument, get the books, take the lessons, and learn other people’s music in addition to your own.  In this way, you will play music that they know and like, and you can sprinkle in your own stuff too.  If you put your mind to it, you start to be up and making good music in a week or two.

Hourglass time.  There are three ways of playing.  Other people’s music, the same few things over and over when you just need to zone out –  producing a Zen-like state that allows you to meditate and think, and your own original music as well for the third part.  Its almost like when you play the same things repetitively, you are in a circle.  And, it leads to a revolution of a kind, because you come up with new things in addition to having one of the best and calming cogitation sessions there is.

Music puts time on your life.  Creative types, and mathematic types as well.  Music is expression, creativity and math – though I was never a math guy – but just about everyone can figure these mathematics out – regardless of which instrument you choose to play. 

Thank you for reading, and have a great day everyone wherever you may be out there! As always, please feel free to leave a comment in the box below!