Earlier in the week I spent the day in great company as they retold some shared memories. I love stories. Great and well told stories.
Later, in the same day I chatted to another friend about music and being part of a band. I shared some stories around about that from my younger days. I have some great memories.
From here I reminisce loudly…
I played a little of the music I had from a demo I still had; a tsunami of memories. Nostalgia. Every now and then we all think about parts of our lives and wonder how differently they would have turned out if we had continued going down some paths.
I’m glad I don’t live in regrets. I am very happy where I am in life. I’m married to the very best person that ever happened to me. I serve the greatest enterprise on the planet, making a difference in many people’s lives.
Back to my old bands and music we made…
In my younger days I was part of many bands. (“Many is relative”… I think nothing less than three…) Connecting with others and making music with them was never a flippant endeavour. I, with my friends, poured myself into what we did.
I don’t regret any of the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours I spent song writing and practising. Nor do I regret getting stuck in a part of town we were unfamiliar with. Because it was the only place we could find “affordable” studio time. We used ‘hacked’ studios.
Getting home at three in the morning after walking ten kilometres was a breeze. It was one of the greatest pleasures I had. I loved the music we were doing and friends just as much.
I can’t confidently say, at least for myself, that I was completely sold out to pursuing that kind of lifestyle for the rest of my life. I loved music (still do) and basically just lived in the moment; nothing to change even if I could. I was fully present; completely given. (I’m not one to do things in half-measures. When I commit, I commit).
I remember sleeping in a mosquito infested office, belonging to one of my friends because we didn’t have cab fare, after spending time in studio.
Once a drunk guy threw a brick through the back windscreen of a taxi we were in. (A long story of its own…)
Many times I jumped into a cab, told the driver to stop when the meter got to a particular amount, because that is all the money I had. Some drivers were kind enough to turn the meter off and take me the rest of the way. Others just dropped me off. I didn’t care.
In those moments, part of me wished things would just stay the way they were. Messy. Beautiful. I wished this especially in the times we wrote songs we never thought we could. Magic. When some things worked better than we thought they would.
We embellished each other’s works. It was in bands I discovered the importance of making your work, everyone’s.
Every time we did that our music got better. It was in bands that I discovered how passionate I was. I saw how resolute I could be.
We all loved music. All music. We experimented with all sorts of sounds. We were stupid and hadn’t been messed up by people telling us what we couldn’t do. For that I’m grateful.
For a couple of months I lived with a friend helping him piece back a project that had got messed up in studio. Imagine looking for the right cymbal or high hat for a song out of files enough for a full album… Been there, done that.
At another time I arrived home from studio in the morning, with barely enough time to shower and head to work. Giving a lift to a friend who was almost two metres tall a lift on a 125cc motorcycle after seven hours of studio work…
I understand musicians’ passion, pains, hustle and joys. There’s nothing like people loving your music as you share it with them. A shared discovery. Sometimes it felt like we were only discovering our own music as we saw it touch and inspire others.
We made music how we felt in the best way we could. Grit. Love.
Today I’m not part of any band, but I’m still in love with music. Different sounds. Music fills me up. I can’t explain why or how. It just fills me up. I could never imagine a world without music. Never. I thank God for this gift He’s given humanity.
I want to thank everyone who shares their gift. Takes risks of all sorts. I salute every artist willing to be vulnerable and sharing gifts with the world.
I’ve haven’t been very systematic in this post (not that I perfectly do that) but I just reminisced loudly. I’m grateful for many experiences. Both good and bad. I wouldn’t change a thing about my journey…
One of the most defining things ever, was more than the music we made. But the memories we also created. Nostalgia on my old bands and music we made…
What have you been nostalgic about recently?