Essential to Keep Our Heads, Hearts & Spirits Nurtured & Alive...

My long-time partner and co-conspirator are lucky. We write songs together. We have a band. We get to play our original songs with a group of extraordinary Human Beings and Musicians. We do it often. Our rehearsal studio is just few blocks away. We usually conduct rehearsals on Wednesdays & Saturdays. "The Band," is actually just an idea. For longest time I used to think it meant these people, now, in this room, but really, "our band," has always been a loose, and open collective of creative souls. Folks come & go. We have played with some of these folks for years, but then, if I peruse the historical record, the only constants within our band is my partner and I. You know, always be morphing, evolving, growing. Even the band concept is long-form improv. That is not to say, we are a "jam-band," we really are not. We don't jam. We always start with a song that we bring to the band pretty much fleshed-out and structured. Then we float it into room and let everyone contribute. It is a powerful, organic, method of creation. Everyone has a buy-in to the process. There is something otherworldly, and profoundly gratifying about being in a roomful of musicians all working together on one thing, at the top of their games. We give it our all, always. Our rehearsals can be an incredibly healing activity; losing ourselves in the moment of creation. There is a certain "transendence" that occurs when you no longer are conscious of your surroundings, you are lost in the vibrations of creation & collaboration. We did again yesterday, just three of us. We walked in to the room feeling a bit down, tired, frazzled  & fractured from the madness swirling around in the world, and we ended up dropping all that, once we started playing together. Instant Karma. Hard to explain. Words can't really convey the magic of it all. We almost always "get there." Drop the ego, lose consciouseness, emerge alive in the moment to moment. Just doing it. That is extraordinary. Sure, we then take our work out into the world, play shows for other folks. But it all starts & comes together in our rehearsals. Life-affirming. Healing. Really, the essential good work. I can't imagine not doing it. Keeps our heads, hearts & spirits, nurtured and alive.