11/07/2017
An article for you eye balls. Hope you enjoy.
Last night I took some drums i've made to the neighborhood bar to #1 show off my work a bit and #2 to hang out and jam. I had invited a couple of people, and a couple came through. We sat around for a bit as the other key players(guitarists, percussionists) canceled out. So it was just I, and two others. "F**k it, let's jam then" and so it began. Mind you, I'm not the greatest percussionist (probably not giving myself enough credit) equivalent to a two trick pony as my skills a fairly limited. And my friend on the other drum..well, about the same. But, somehow we manage to produce decent grooves right out of the gate that slowly grew into something special, and things got interesting. I'd describe it as some bangin ass hip hop/funk jungle vibe music, but It was the universal language of rhythm and were speaking it with fluency. In a matter of no time we had people coming in excited about the noises they heard. Smiling, pulling up chairs and introducing them selves happy to share who they were, what they knew and the craft they practiced. they were all welcomed, They were all heard. None were challenged, just accepted in the circle as family. what I feel prompted their willingness to share openly, was our willingness to share ourselves openly with them through the music. That universal speak, mans original song. Now I said earlier we were limited in our percussive skill sets, but it must have been pretty good by looks on the faces of those who joined. the bobbing of the heads, the tapping of the feet and the smiles on their faces.."Damn good"we could feel it, hear it, speak it. After a bit of rocking and knocking on the cajons, we saw a girl walking toward the patio with a shiny black acoustic guitar. She was almost skipping as she came through the gate, a smile like a kid in the candy shop. She came to the bar, happened to have a guitar and ended up stumbling upon her people. she was welcomed warmly. I noticed her Sitting for a bit quietly, she lightly strummed her guitar as if couldn't quite get the break beats we were bangin. So I asked her "what's your music?" She said "metal, but it's not going to sound good on this guitar" we all paused for a moment..."what the hell? Play that s**t girl!" Came out of the group and we all joined in with encouragement. In no time she was shredding, and that s**t sounded beautiful on the acoustic guitar. We shifted gears in our patterns to accommodate her style the best we could..and it worked for the most part. again, It was magic...the song of people being humans, communicating with so much more then words all the while tolerant and excepting of the different styles. There were no rules last night on that patio. No expectations, no challenges, no judgment. Just open minds, welcoming hearts and listening ears. People continued to drop in sharing themselves, there ideas and experiences within music and art. One kid joined us just paying respect, sharing what he was experiencing from the music he was hearing. We asked him what he did "me? Awe I don't do anything, I just like the way it sounds and feels" voice from group speaks out " Bulls**t man, you do something lay it on us" "well" he responded "I used to want to be a comedian" the group cheered a bit and started in "jokes! Let's hear it!" He reluctantly agreed and began telling us funny stories..we suddenly had stand up act happening on this patio without rules. Everybody who sat in last night seemed compelled to contribute a piece of there own magic to the pot..a piece of them selves for the human stew we were cooking. And everybody ate it up, everybody passed the plate, every body took, everybody gave. There is reason I'm sharing this story. As I'm growing older, I'm growing more wise and seeing things differently. And something that's become more evident on my journey is that, if we as people can speak honestly, freely and openly without fear of harsh judgment or resistance...if we accept the person standing in front of us with open arms..and treat them as if we know they have something to offer, chances are they do..by existing freely, we let our fellow man and woman do the same....we set them free
~Toby Brown
