LIFE IS TIMING
I had a friend tell me recently – “life is timing”. Stepping out, stepping in. Time has its own plan. And so it seems, it’s my time to turn the music back up. Not unlike a sea of musicians who pay their dues and struggle to play for their supper, I spent most of my younger years wearing the singer, songwriter badge, following signs on the highway to wherever managers and booking agents pointed me. My cloth is cut from years of riding the road with players and crew who were like brothers. Playing venues that sometimes brought in the lone guy who nursed a beer all night looking for the ‘dancers’, to fully packed houses with all eyes forward. The phenomenal energy of stepping out onto the stage with the band – every note, light and flashpot striking in perfect unison. And, well, there were other nights too :-O Despite my romance with and confessed addiction to performing live, always at the heart of me, was my songwriting.
Fast forward. Album released, music career intentionally shelved, passion diverted, a family, a business, 3 dogs, 4 cats, lists of lyric lines, occasionally tuning my guitars. And now once again, the music is calling. Driven by a simple spark and ignited with the revised intention to write songs for other artists. Funny, this was something I used to balk at back when because I was writing “all the songs for me”. And without any aspiration to pack a bag and head back out on the road full time or ambition to promote myself as yet another re-emerging recording artist – I’m liberated. I look at the songwriter moniker on my homepage and feel calm. Crystal clear. To be back in the studio working with old and new friends / players is pure utopia. Absorbed in writing I watch mere moments slip away into hours (I love that). And, I’m Inspired in my new collaborations with the amazingly talented singer / songwriters I’m working with – something I’ll touch on more in future blogs.
As for playing live … who knows. Timing.
What I do know is – I’ve come back to the music – and it feels like home.
rbt