Playlist for Show: OUTSpoken

 

I grew up in a family for whom music was always THE event—the occasion, shared language and ultimate reason to come together. It remains today the single most important way we’re connect and share time. Needless to say, music, and my very musical family, made a profound impression on me early on.

In my dad’s family, every gathering revolved around the family band: my uncles, my aunt, sometimes their friends—with instruments, guitars mostly—and, always at the center, my dad intuitively influencing the music. That is his natural superpower. He deftly guided the tone, the pace, and the mood. The music always followed. “Martha My Dear”, “Classical Gas”, “Blackbird”, “Norwegian Wood” and “Judy Blue Eyes” were the soundtrack of my childhood. Throw in the sounds of The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Talking Heads, Bessie Smith and Albert King and you get the idea.

I found my spark when I was 13 and decided I wanted to play guitar. I remember my finger tips screaming and continually colored green from the copper strings. But mostly i remember the thrill of a chord progression. That when it changed, your heart changed with it. That each step moved emotion and desire and could make you feel like the world was magical, and that you knew it’s secret. I played for hours, one or two or three chords over and over again, envisioning myself on a stage sharing my new-found secret with others.

Years ago I told a friend that if I were to be really honest, music was the only thing I could actually imagine doing. It felt like it was the only part of my life that was true. I was too young then to employ the kind of action that is required to commit to one’s art. I’ve spent years dabbling—starting then stopping, trying and then losing my steam in self-doubt. In all of that time I’ve learned that the secret of truly being an artist has to do with understanding and appreciating the opportunity itself. That creating via writing, singing, or whatever, is only as good as it is both generous and genuine.
Once i got that, the music has never stopped coming.

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