Four train days, get me back to New Orleans

Spiritual music. Think about that term for a moment and what comes to mind? It could be African spirituals from the times of slavery. It could be that station on the radio that exclusively plays Christian music, or the choir that sings in a church. It could be a lot of different things to different people.

For me, Spiritual music is just that music you feel deep inside your soul. The kind of music that makes your soul wanna move! Makes your spirit smile. My example is only this: Seeing your favorite band, at your favorite venue. The weather is beautiful and the people are strangers but oh so familiar. It's your first show, it's your fifth show, it's your tenth show, it's your fifteenth. It can be your eightieth show but it doesn't matter because this band, this band is IT. The music starts and 1x1 the crowd stands and cheers (ya dig?) and guess what, the show has begun. Around you, all your brothers and sisters dance around you, shouting the lyrics and having a great time. This, this is life. This is it.

I go see a certain band at least once a year. Of course the more I see them, the better. However, at least one show a year is mandatory. Going to the show is like a well deserved soul cleansing. I emerge from the show feeling like the music has baptized me and now, my opportunities are vast and unlimited. During the four hour show I dance, I sing, I get down but it's much deeper than that. I think. I think about my life. I think about where I want to go, where I need to go. I think about what step comes next and by the time I drive out of the venue parking lot, I've got it all figured out. That's spiritual music. That's music that makes you wanna have a soul shakedown party. Tonight.

Quite a few years ago I used to go to this bar and hear local punk and metal bands play. One night I was standing at the ticket booth talking to a friend and starting talking to this guy who called himself "Race". We got started talking about how neither one of us really listened to music like this. I was there to chill with friends and he was there to drink. Anyways, our short conversation came to my mind the other day when I was pondering this blog entry. It's amazing how sometimes the most poetic and relevant things can slip your mind and only after several years can it suddenly pop up and cause you to think. This is how it went:

I said to him, "I'm really into this band called Widespread Panic. Ya heard of em?" At the time, no one I was friends with appreciated my musical choices - no one had heard of them. Not in this small town. I remember he took a sip of beer and smiled a big grin at me. Then he says to me,

"Widespread Panic." he just nodded, and you could just tell he knew. "Widespread Panic, that's Gods music."

To this day the thought of that moment makes me smile. Yeah, Gods music. Spiritual music. I remember seeing a picture once of one of those boards outside a church - you know, where they display all those witty sayings about God. Anyways, I remember seeing a picture of one that said, "God wants you to know that Grateful Dead is Christian Music."

Just think about this for today. What kind of music reaches into the depth of your souls and brings out the good inside you?

Here's a video from one of those soul cleansings I mentioned before:

Watch all 10 minutes and you'll see what I mean.

You're either on the bus, or off the bus.

Can a DJ be a one person jam band? Some in the scene might argue that one person pumping out computer-made beats from a set of speakers can’t possibly be classified as a jam band. Jam bands are all about improvising – you never see the same show twice, no matter how often you see the band. The music has created an entire subculture that of course was first cultivated by The Grateful Dead, but is still alive to this very day. It’s a beautiful thing.

Let’s see where I can go with this.

If you’ve ever bought a CD put out by a fairly established DJ with a lot of discography and such, it could be a CD in one of two styles. Either it has songs completely separate and unrelated to each other, or the entire CD is just one song that morphs and changes into different tracks. I like both but there’s nothing like being to put one CD on and listen to how the musician changes from a track to another track. It could be subtle as changing the hi-hat rhythm to something different or it could be as intense as a wind-up. The same thing goes for when a DJ is playing live.

If you go to see a jam band, generally the entire show has maybe about.. 8 songs. However, the show is about three hours long, four hours if the band doesn’t have an opening band. That means that songs can be as long as twenty minutes. This leaves room for intense improvising. Another thing is that songs go into other songs, like song one will go directly into song two without any kind of pause and it can be as subtle as the guitarist speeding up to as epic as the entire band starting to crescendo. Can you see the similarities already? If your friend the taper or the band puts out a recording of the show, you know your CD is going to be like one big song rather than a bunch of individual songs. I mean, they are individual songs but.. if you’re in the scene you know what I mean, ya digg?

I know that when I see a band live, especially my favorite band – I go to get down. I dance, I sing, I’ll shout and laugh with my fellow fans because like most bands with a large following of devoted fans – I feel like the band really gets me. When they do that intense crescendo into an epic shouting sing along to a song that the real fans know – all you can do is smile. These people are like your family. Complete strangers of course, but family. You’re all the collective vibe and we all get it, and we all get each other.

It’s kind of like, you’re either on the bus or off the bus.

Do DJs not have a similar following? The rave subculture is still alive and well just the same. They go to a rave and experience the the same feelings. This DJ really gets me. This is my family, we all get it – we all get each other. More and more there is starting to be a merging of cultures, though. Bands like Lotus, Boombox and STS9 bring these two cultures together from the usual jam band with traditional instruments to the usual jam band with traditional instruments and a DJ. It’s a nice fusion. Then you have the individual DJs who play heady music like Bassnectar that doesn’t need a band to wiggle into the subculture because his music gets us too.
We’re not really all that different from one another. We all just wanna get down.

I always ‘kind-of’ liked dance music. Even as a little kid I might throw down some of that hard earned Christmas money and buy a random dance album from the shelf. Over time my musical preferences changed dramatically and I’ve pretty much got a taste for anything these days. However, I still can’t stand to listen to the radio and the music on most channels so I guess I havn’t changed too much, huh? Well, I’ve only been DJing seriously for about a year an a half. Seriously: investing my money into equipment and building my skills as much as possible. I saw my first DJ in the summer of 2008, and I had been experimenting with creating dance music before that and even created a track called “Lightning Strikes The DJ” that I played for a friend of mine but lost when my computer erased all the tracks. Anyways, I went to All Good Music festival in 2008 to see a plethora of good live music and had been listening to this DJ named Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar. I had been listening to some of his stuff and was digging it so right before he went on I pulled my friend into the crowd and we found a nice spot in front of the stage. I’ll spare your time and just say this : Face melting. The bass was intense, the DJ was intense, the glowsticks were flying everywhere, there was crazy stuff on the screens behind him, the crowd was crazy and it was one of the greatest shows of my life. I walked away from that show knowing what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life. I was actually excited about leaving so I could go home and start to mix new music and look at DJ equipment. Nine months later, like giving birth to a child, I put out my first album. I had and still have no band mates to hold me back, no label telling me what I need to do, and no one telling me what kind of music I need to create or play. It’s a beautiful thing, and I’m happier with my music than ever before. I played drums and the djembe before I started to DJ and I still play the djembe but my drum set collects dust. I feel like it’s what I’m meant to do. Even before I even thought about being a DJ I used to always make mixed CDs because loved the variety and the ability to set the mood. I made killer party CDs. Now, I’m not making a CD for the party, I’m rocking the house myself.

Life is Beautiful, With The Right Set Of Eyes

This blog is about aspiration. Aspiring to be a better person and aspiring to be the greatest person you can be. Is it true, we can be great all on our own? It's hard to say because every person has had a blue print to look at, a model that is the kind of person they want to be. Sometimes that blue print was the kind of person that they DIDN'T want to be, as well. When I was growing up, I didn't have any real everyday heroes that could sit down and talk with me about the kind of person I should be. Of course I had my parents who raised me right and instilled morals into me. Sometimes that's a good enough reason for a child to see their parents as their heroes. Of course I was just a child so I didn't see much good in this. It wasn't until I was older that I appreciated that. However, as a child the only heroes I ever had were musicians. I thought, how awesome are these guys? I want to be just like them. My parents were just blue collar working stiffs but look at these guys! They're rocking out, staying up all night - that's what I want to be when I grow up.

To me, a hero is like a blue print. You want to make yourself into that person. Some people exercise to get that 'perfect' body that is part of their mental blueprint of the person they need to be. Some people change their attitudes and even their morals to fit into that mold. Sometimes it's a very positive thing, but it can also be a destructive thing if the hero is a degenerate. I never felt the need to look just like anyone, but I have molds for other reasons. For instance, I want to think free and beautiful like some of the best free thinkers of the grassroots subcultures like John Lennon, Timothy Leary and even Gandhi. I want to be a great performer and DJ as great as Lorin Ashton and Caspa. I want to always stand up for what I believe in like every protester that was beaten at Berkeley in the 1960s. Those are just a few but you can see where i'm going with this.

My point is this: You should always aspire to be a better you. No one is perfect, and you shouldn't strive to be perfect. However, you should always aspire to be a just a little greater than you were yesterday. In mind, in body and in spirit. Learn from your mistakes of yesterday and strive to make them a blessing today. No mistake that has been learned from is still a mistake - it becomes a lesson. Learn your lessons well, and use them to your advantage. Be vulnerable enough to see the faults within yourself and strive to make them better. Be happy and confident with who you are, no matter what. However, always strive to be a little better. Not better than everyone else, just a little better than you were yesterday. Follow your dreams and become the person you've always wanted to be.

Quotes for today

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing -- then we truly live life."

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

All who read this blog must have an open mind.

The opinions in this blog are merely that, opinions. The daily bit of wisdom I hope to share with you might not even be wisdom - in fact it could be all wrong. This blog will be the world as I see it, the thoughts that fly around my brain everyday as I ponder life's meaning and seek true enlightenment. I don't claim to be smart. I only offer the things I've learned and observed during my short time on this earth. It might not make a difference, but I hope it reaches at least one person. One person, and I would be happy.

The only things I have to offer is my opinion on the world around me. I'm a professional free thinker. My views are liberal, and grassroots. Down to earth and honest. Not everyone will be able to agree with them or see where I might be coming from - but regardless, I hope it makes them think.

Ultimately that's what this blog is for : To make people think. Stop for second, put the day on hold. Read a few words from a passionate writer, and think. Think deep and think hard - but must importantly, think FREE.