I experienced a fantastic performance on Black Friday. At the Tin Angel, I played my new song called Extraordinary. And the evening was extraordinary. Some friends attended the performance and shared their insight and inspiration.
The first line goes:
It’s the extraordinary that I find in the ordinary
One of the offered insights was that this song was directly correlated with the artist experience. Artists find the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Essentially an artist observes life and discovers it’s nature through their own direct experience with it. For example Da Vinci watched water in a stream, trying intently to capture what the movement of liquid looks like on a static page, amist discovering the water’s nature and disposition. Art comes out of observing and experiencing life and our own interpretation of it.
I paint with sound. I use a technique called looping. And like water in a stream, I discovered the nature of looping and layering my own voice. I added sound where it needed more color and body, and I also limited sound to add variety and simplicity.
Read Extraordinary Inspiration»
Flourishing, Nourishing
The Tea Grotto flourished last thursday night for KUER’s fall fundraiser. Rebecca Sheeran hosted delightful tea and chocolate parings. The cast of the radio show attended. I had the opportunity to meet the jazziest voice on the radio, Steve Williams.
The chocolates were crafted by Katie and Stephen Hatch of Hatch Family Chocolates, they were simple, yet decadent delights. Some of the Tea Pairings included ~
- Mint Chocolate Truffle with Jasmine Silver Tips Green Tea
- Thick Dark Chocolate Draping Fresh Raspberries with Strawberry-Lemon Tea
- Sliced Polenta Topped in Fresh Pesto, Pine Nuts, and Greens with Genmaicha
- Chocolate Rum Nut with Marsala Chai Tea
I entertained the guests for the evening. I played classic jazz and my original compositions.
Read Fundraiser at Tea Grotto for KUER»
Harvesting Wrath
Fall harvests something in me—warrior-ship. I trained hard for six months. And I have been training Fitness and Tai Chi for over two years, with a small community of warriors. I train with my partner and instructor Steven Smith, World Tai Chi Boxing Association Instructor.
I stood in a check-out line at Big Lots. I chatted with a lovely, yet sprightly Great-Grandma. She carried two items to purchase. She enchanted my son Ronan with tricks of her trade, she clicked her tongue, smiled and tried to grab his hand. Ronan bashfully declined the hand grab. She told me that she had three Great-Grandchildren.
The person ahead of her finished and before we knew it—a middle aged frizzy-haired, thin and slightly stooped guy hissed to his companion, a younger, friendly looking woman, hurry up and cut in line. She was old enough to know better. The man wedged a cart, stocked full and brimming, in front of Great-Grandma. Wow! (Wrath.)
Mid-afternoon, I sit at the table with my guitar, wandering through a song. My baby Ronan, in his playpen right by my side, reaches out and slaps my guitar. I say to him, “Be gentle with the guitar, Ronan, gentle.”
I play. I sing. I wander through rhyming words, making meaning in song. I sing:
You may find yourself new, and if you do, you may like it…
Ronan starts crabbing and carrying on, so I sing to him:
Please help me, all the way through, ’cause if you do, it may happen to you too.
He was receptive. Ronan is an intelligent being. I explained to him that I write and sing songs — if I do the work that is meaningful to me, I can enjoy being present and playful. We can enjoy being together a whole lot more by doing what we love. When we live in harmony and listen to each other, we can be together.
