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| he, she or it? |
Crazy day at work today...you wouldn't even believe me if I explained...so I won't bother, if you don't mind.
It did leave me short of a photo though, and whilst pondering this, I realised that I haven't really talked much about music on my blog. Given how significant music has been in my life, this seems a travesty, so I'm here to correct that.
It's fortunate that I'm a more competent musician than photographer. Well, not for you, as you're looking at a picture of mine, not listening to my music...sorry 'bout that.
But whilst I couldn't get a decent photo of this guitar, due to my bumbling amateurishness, this is, in fact, a fantastic work of art (I mean the instrument, not the image).
This is my #1 guitar. It's a Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe, made in the US in around 1993. I bought it new, just as I was getting serious about playing the guitar. It cost around £750 and is probably worth around the same now...not that I'd ever sell it.
It's been my faithful companion ever since the day I got it, over 20 years ago. And it's as good today as it was then, if not better for being well played in.
I keep saying it, and that feels a little wrong. Traditionally, it would be a she (check out the curves)...that doesn't feel quite right either - but it's closer than it.
She does feel organic to me, a living thing, not merely a dumb, lifeless object. Maybe if you heard her sing, you would be convinced...
She hasn't been out for a good few years now, but I'm hoping to take her out next week and show her a good time.
I've got a jam session lined up with my brother and a friend from work. We're going to have to take it in turns on bass, and we're hopefully just going to bash out some raw, noisy blues, with a hint of rock and funk thrown in.
At least, that's my agenda! We've not all played together before so we don't really have a plan...other than that both the other guitarist and I are into the blues, so that will underscore most of what we do.
If we gel and it's fun then we may try to put something more organised together, but for the moment, it's just for a good time making some noise with other people.
Making communal music is an amazing thing. It's one of those whole is greater than the sum of the parts things...it can be absolutely magical, other-worldly. And musicians feel flow in a similar way that athletes or sports-people do.
If you can close off your conscious mind and succumb to the vibe, you can reach a state where you simply relax and allow the music to flow through you into the world. Time slows and stops, your mind ceases to verbalise, and you are truly in the moment.
I think that pursuit of this state is fundamentally what drives me, musically. This is why I don't play the guitar at home on my own any more. I need other people in order to flow...without them it's almost impossible, it seems pointless, and I lose all motivation.
I now can sometimes get a similar state when moving over rock outdoors (particularly when soloing)...hence my avid pursuit of climbing adventures, since my musical options dried up.
Making music as a group is a far richer experience than playing alone, much more engaging and satisfying.
I have some plans to try to bring a hint of this experience to those who wouldn't ordinarily get the chance (which is most everyone). I'm developing this idea for group music sessions for non musicians, that take the form of a party where you have fun and make some music (and get drunk, if you like) under the direction of an experienced musician (me).
No, it's nothing like karaoke, before you ask...and nobody has to sing, and nobody has to do anything on their own.
However, if you are reading this, then you are hereby cordially invited to an early experiment of this idea, round at Chez Balogne and the spAnna's, sometime in the next couple of months.
You will, of course, have to let me know who you are, though...
Or just turn up...mi casa su casa...
S'all good.
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