You Speak Music?

Many years ago my Dad (wise man, superman, mentor, best mate and all round hero) said to me that learning to play an instrument would be one of the best things that I'd ever do. I was six and generally not overly impressed with this point of view but went along with it on the basis that if the old man said it, it was a command from god rather than a mere request. So I learned to play the trumpet and along with that, how to read music and all that lovely theory that goes with it. Dad's rationale was that music, in any form, is a door opener, an icebreaker if you will and he was bang on as usual!

Over the years I've been in and out of love with music but always end up coming back to it like a prodigal son and music has always forgiven me. After the bands of my youth I never really thought that I'd get involved in the scene again but I did. It never really went away, it just bided it's time, waiting in the wings for me to rediscover it. How lucky am I that so many years on I get a second chance?

Anyone that's not involved will struggle sometimes to figure why we are the way we are about our craft. Nic has already alluded in his blogs to his somewhat late arrival into the circle and for a while he was enjoying what he was doing but maybe didn't realise why it's such an important thing. Then he wrote a song and heard the band play his work for the first time. The look on his face as we finished it was only topped by his words, "Now I get why you do this." And that's all it takes, one seemingly insignificant thing and you're hooked for life.

Does it work as an icebreaker, a connector of seemingly very different people? Hell yes! I've met a lot of really smart, funny and interesting people through it. You speak music? Yes? Then we're friends for life. As a consequence you get the chance to help the more inexperienced up the ladder a bit and sometimes, if you're very lucky, to play with really good musicians who just make you better simply by being with them and recently I've been that lucky.

Musicians often have connections with several bands often playing different genres. I'm very blessed with Short Tempus as our set is quite broad in terms of genre but one thing that I've always wanted to do is play in a pure blues band. That for me is the essence of everything we do as a rock band, that is our origin and without the Robert Johnsons, Muddy Waters, BB Kings of this world our music scene would probably be very different. So when a friend, colleague and damned good muso says "I really fancy starting a blues band" I'm there! A few calls to find a guitarist (as it happens he's the guitarist from one of my mates other bands) and a keyboard player (also a colleague) and the deeds done. Five tracks each from the huge collection of blues out there, an alcohol fueled meeting in a pub to firm the details and suddenly I'm in a blues band in Guernsey without much of a clue as to how I got there! The challenge, in the cold light of day, is a simple one; learn twenty tracks to a playable standard in four weeks and to a gigable standard in two rehearsals. Big ask? Yes, but I know the other guys are more than good enough to do it so I'd better be too! Game on!

In the meantime the work with ST continues, working up more original tracks and covers and playing as many gigs as we can get. One of the great things about personal side projects is that they can often add so much to the main thing going on by broadening your experience.

Anyway, the next gig's at the Essex Arms in Brentwood on Saturday 18th October. Doors at 8pm and, as usual, it's £4 on the door. See you there then!

TTFN

Dunc