I have a great life. I make music with exceptional musicians. This past week I had the great pleasure of playing on a few tracks for a new record by an artist from the Netherlands named Bart De Win. Walt is almost always producing a record for someone and whenever it’s appropriate, we Mystiqueros are the studio band. I never know what to expect when I walk into the studio on the first day, and when Walt said these sessions were for Bart, I really didn’t know what to think. I remember meeting Bart and his wife Arianne last year when they were visiting TX and Walt had met them in Holland. I had heard Bart’s last record and really liked it, so I figured it was bound to be a fun time in the studio. That was an understatement. I had a blast. Bart is an amazingly talented musician, singer, songwriter. He plays anything with keys, including but not limited to the nicest melodica I’ve ever seen, and even made his guitar debut. He also sings his ass off! He not only has a deep resonant voice that makes me feel like I sing like a teenager, he can also falsetto the high notes with the best of them. Bart was kind enough to join us at the Saxon Pub in Austin for our weekly show and below is a video of one of his songs, filmed by Arianne. For more Bart and the MQ’s go to the MQ Tribe Blog. I hope to see Bart again soon and make some more music.
I look forward to this show every year. The KVET Texas Music Series at Hill’s Cafe in Austin. We got rained out last year, so the boys were pumped to be back at Hill’s. The weather was beautiful and the crowd was great, as you can see. Ron Flynt joined us on keys and the young and mighty Bobby Duncan jumped up to add his voice to Walt’s song “Poetry”. We were having so much fun that we decided to keep the party going for a bit at my favorite close to home pub, Opal Divine’s, where a couple of pints of pecan porter, a fine Fuente 858 and much camaraderie and conversation led to a rather slow and painful morning for me. All I can say is it ain’t like it used to be…. I’m definitely getting older and going out with the young kids (yes I was the oldest at the table) can hurt! Even though I’m not exactly tip top this morning, it was a fun night and a great show. Thanks everyone for coming out and tuning in on the radio.
I feel like the anti-blogger. I actually like it, I just don’t have a habit around doing it. So I’m building a new website, releasing a new record, requiring my band mates to post on the new blog I”m setting up for the band, so I guess I better start creating the habit. So my blog has a new look and feel. I’m still liable to jump around on topics, but maybe that’ll keep it interesting……
So how much blogging is enough. I’ve told many people that they really need to add something daily so that their readers, assuming they have some, can count on new material. I don’t like it when I go to a musicians website and their news or blog posts are months, if not sometimes years, old. I generally don’t go back. And yet, I haven’t posted here in 6 months. What have I been doing you ask?
Making new records, playing (which means working ), living, loving, drinking and most decidedly not writing! It feels like it’s time now. So off I go. Maybe I’ll attract a reader or 2 along the way. We’ll see. The only thing there is to do is do it.
I’m back in Moonhouse Studio today putting the finishing touches on my new record with producer Chris Gage. It’s good to be getting it done! I know it’ll make my parents happy at least. I’ll keep you posted on the release date. It looks like I’ll have the support of the brand new Texas label, Blue Boot Records. Thanks for all the patience and support. Onward!
You know, sometimes I worry that my blog is a bit too serious. Music and creativity and all that stuff. So I’m adding a new component, funny dogs. I love dogs and they make me laugh which is a good thing to do. So here’s a little dog medicine……
A friend sent this video to us on Facebook and we laughed like crazy….
There’s more of these on YouTube. The pup kinda looks like Midas and seems real sweet. Too bad about the sleepwalking, but man it’s funny.
“It’s not the world’s fault you want to be an artist, now shut up and get back to work.”
First of all, watch this……
Creativity. If you haven’t noticed, it’s a subject I’m very interested in. I love this video with Elizabeth Gilbert. I read her book, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ several months agao and found it not only an enjoyable read, but it made a difference for me as well. Obviously I’m not alone in this as millions of people have read it. The book not only had me dreaming of world travel, but it did get me back doing some regular meditation for awhile and I found myself intrigued by the whole idea and writing style of the book.
So, it was extra cool to run across this video. I posted it on my Facebook page right after I watched it and some great responses. Beyond being a strong reminder for me to get on with it and do my work, I love the way Ms. Gilbert languages and thinks about creativity. In the first half of her talk, she talks about being afraid of the work and the mental health and well being of artists. The being afraid part really resonates with me. Who hasn’t been afraid that what they’re creating won’t be well received? I’ve had times where it was much easier to concentrate on getting more paying work or cleaning the house than to write a song or even a little old blog post.
And the whole suffering artist thing! I hate that. That kind of thinking has been screwing things up forever and gives a lot of artists a great cop out on success. But I never really looked at what the source of it might be. I find Ms. Gilbert’s explanation as plausible as anything else and it feels good to think that you can change the way you look at your own creative power.
As a coach I do a lot of work with people around their creativity. One of the biggest points of Ms. Gilbert’s talk is the age old idea that our creativity is more of a conduit than some magical ability that come soley from the individual. That when you are in the creative “flow” you are receiving information from the universe, the divine, the source, God, or “Genius” as the Romans put it. Not only does that take the pressure off of the modern day tortured artist, but isn’t that state something that anyone would want to be in. To be in the creative flow of life?
To put it in energetic terms, when you are in the creative flow you are in the energy of abundance. You are connected to the source of abundance. So the more you are in that energy, the more you will attract things in your life that line up with it. So rather than spending time trying to figure out how to get wherever it is you want to go, create! Whether it’s a fine meal, a song, a picture, a job, a relationship, a clean house, you can create it. Creativity knows no limits. So create, create, create!
I’m in a coffee shop doing some work with my friend and marketing guru Bryant Jones and I’m writing this post…. on my phone!!
I love this stuff. Bryant and I are putting the finishing touches on the web page for my new seminar, The Artistry of Life. Alan Ray and I will be conducting this 6 week tele seminar on creativity and creating your life just like a painter paints and a writer writes.
I’ll have a link for the page up soon, but I couldn’t resist trying out the phone blog!
I wrote an article a few days ago that’s now lost on my dead hard drive. (yes the hard drive in my macbook took a powder and it doesn’t look like it’s coming back) The article was about art in the schools or the continuing decline thereof. But as I’ve been thinking about it, it’s not so much art programs missing from schools that’s so disturbing to me. Although I do find it disturbing. But it’s that lack of creativity in our education system that’s really scary. We don’t nurture creative thinking. We teach kids to use the left hemisphere of their brain and take tests well.
As I’ve been thinking along these lines for the past several days, I ran across this TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson. If you don’t know about TED, go here: http://www.TED.com
As a creativity coach I work with people to expand their creative abilities in any and every area of life. I think Sir Robinson may be my new favorite person. Here’s why:
originally posted at http://www.bassplayersclub.com
this is kind of a random musing from the van. part of an ongoing series about the “glamour” of the road……
It’s noon and I’ve been in the Van for just about two hours. I stayed up a little too late with my friend Jimmy Davis and probably had one more beer than was really necessary. Up at 8:30, which I don’t do when I’m home, and up from the couch I slept on at G’s house. A trip to the Starbucks for an iced tea, I’m off the glorious coffee bean for awhile due to over productive stomach acid tearing up my esophagus and making it very difficult to eat, (feeling really old as I write this) and a 20 minute wait at the customer service counter at Walmart to return the sunglass clip-ons that I bought that were the wrong size for my glasses.
Need to hurry up and meet the van, get loaded up and go. Now we’ll spend the rest of the day and into the night driving. We have no “routing gig” on the way to New Mexico this time. No show to pass the time and put gas in the van. Just the road for 14 hours or so. Then we get to play 3 shows in New Mexico. It’s the first time we’ve played any of these venues so the money’s not so good and we have no idea if there’ll be anyone there or not. Hopefully, it being summer and all, we’ll have good crowds and sell enough t-shirts to make a little extra cash.
Now don’t mistake me, I love to play music. I wouldn’t be in this van at all if I didn’t. And if I’m going to travel in a van with a bunch of guys, this bunch of guys are it. For the hour to hour and a half we get to do our thing on show days it will be pure pleasure. If the stars align and we find our footing in might even be existential. It’s the other 22 and a half hours a day that people don’t talk about much.
When we were younger we could just drink all day to pass the time. But I don’t recover like I used to and the older I get the more I long to be at least somewhat productive as I hurl myself across the country. Especially if I’m not driving. (hence the blog post) And I really do want to play well tomorrow and through the weekend and I won’t if I get plowed on beer all day long.
So we ride. And ride. Small towns fly by. I know what I can get in any roadside convenience store. I look forward to the stops to stretch my legs. An I wait. Wait to arrive, wait to play, wait to sleep, wait to go again, to arrive to play to sleep and I wait for home…..
p.s. after a long drive, we had a GREAT time in NM. The shows were great, the people were great, we made the spirits move…
Ok, I’ve been re-doing all things web in my world and I managed to lose a few blog posts. I’ve replaced the ones I could find and if I remember anything else I’ll post it. So let’s call it a clean slate and we’ll start anew. It’s still the beginning of a new year.
I know I had recent posts that included a link to my new coaching program:
And a link to my CD pre-sale page which I have also LOST! arrrrgh. I’ll be working on it and have things back together soon. It was fun to revisit some of my old posts. I invite you to do the same.
