This year I celebrated being in some form of a band for over twenty years. ,When I was nineteen I bought a guitar. I was tremendously shy around girls but a girl I knew played guitar and was willing to teach me. I picked up a few chords and learned some basic fingerpicking. I would hang out with other guitarists gathering together to play music. When we gathered together I would stop them as they were playing and ask them to show me a particular chord transition they had just played. It wasn't so much the chord itself but how they went from one chord to another with some fill. I wanted to play the fill between chords. I practiced but had no self-confidence. I ended up playing here and there always with someone else. I remembe rliving in the dorms and playing one Sunday with another girl. We did "Country Roads" because everyone did!
In the 1980's we hung around with a group of people who played. We decided to put together a band. All of us were in our forties except for the lead guitarist who was nineteen and could really play. Our band only learned three songs but we were very ambitious. We had the lead guitar, a rhythm guitar, a bass player and a full 'Tower of Power/Chicago' type horn section. The horn section had a trombone, a trumpet, and sax. In addition we had three of the wives as back-up singers with choreographed dance moves. We had a lead singer who thought he was Mick Jagger and preened just as much as Mick.
We only played one gig in our time together at a Halloweed party. Since we only knew three songs, that is what we played - over and over again. Nobody noticed.
But in the few times I performed in front of people I realized I loved putting together music with other people. I realized I might be a musician.
Then came the new century. Since 2000, I have been playing music with a couple people and our band has gone through name changes and personneel changes - but the band has continued to play. We've performed over 300 gigs including five years playing at the California State Fair. At one point we were scheduled to open for Glenn Yarborough.
I realied what a fragile framework a band forms when they perform. We didn't always make it in a straight line from the beginning of a song to the end. This only meant we became proficient at adapting and ad-libbing our songs. Our fans would show up whenever we played. At one point, the fans became so enthusiastic that the band was fired from one gig. The fans got a tad over enthusiastic and took over the restaurant/bar a few nights.
There is a symbiotic relationship between each of the members of our band. We've spent so many hours playing in front of people. It has been said that one hour of actuall performance equeals five hours of rehearsal. It is the real thing.
The fascinating thing is that with all the times we performed our set list over and over again, there always came the night when it turned magical.
One of the songs we play is "My Back Pages." It is a song written by Bob Dylan and re-released as a hit by The Byrds. This is the magic of music. In the midst of my kidneys failing and my lack of mobility, I lost all my energy. My body was shutting down. But I could not miss playing music with my mates. We soo discovered if we started the rehearsal with "My BackPages" everything changed. I was the lead singer on the song. The moment I started singing it was as if I was totally healthy and filled with energy - in some way I plugged into the enthusiasm and energy and zest of the universe. Singing the song provided me with enough energy to play the entire rehearsal. Of course after the rehearsal I had no energy and off I went to bed. But for one precious few minutes I was in full health and full voice singing the joys of music. That is the magic of passion; it is the wonder of it all.
I write this because now I am regaining the road to health. We will be rehearsing this coming Sunday. We will start with "My Back Pages." Suddenly I will again be in full strength and singing with my fellow musicians.
So it must be in our lives. Find the place and situation in your life when you plug iinto that magic energy socket and drink deeply the energy of the universe. It will astonish you!!! If you haven't found it, keep looking. Try all the electrical outlets until you find the one meant for you. When you find it, plug in. Plug in often and enjoy yourself - play in the simple joy in the field of wonder.............
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