Musical Black Men and Wawa (subtitle: things that I love)
Where to begin. Let me deal with the easy stuff first. As you can see by the post date and time I'm writing this puppy pretty late and the day has been incredibly long. This includes class (that I almost missed), Ensemble with 6 upright bass players (it is indeed as crazy and bizarre as it sounds) a masterclass that went way over it's project time and tonight crowning achievement which I'll talk about soon. So after that much stimulus, driving, and stress I needed a good unwinding album. As I write this to you, Johnny Hartman and John Coletrane serenade me with lush ballads and at this moment, all is right with the world. Thanks fellas.
Next. Wawa! It's been a minute since I visited my favorite convenience/food store. Tonight I hit them hard: Lemonade Iced Tea, Kiwi Strawberry, Lemonade. and some 1% milk. Just for good measure I had to check out that new hot turkey hoagie (super good, by the way) and sumpthin' sweet. Yummy in truth's tummy.
Okay, enough formalities. Indulge me and think about this question (don't be afraid to leave comments either!!!). Have you ever gone to see a band and thought "Man, I'd love to be a part of that?" Have you ever been somewhere and been completely engulfed and immersed in something so much bigger than yourself and been uncontrollably moved? I had one of those experiences a few weeks ago. I went to go see Will Brock (singer, songwriter, pianist and all around creative arts badass.) The band was killin'. Ridiculously funky, each player pouring out heart and soul and the crowd put out cups glasses, buckets and bathtubs to catch it. If that wasn't enough, Will's heartfelt writing totally demands that one be affected by the stories he's telling. Every human being in the place was on another plane. That collective higher consciousness is a very moving thing to me.
Through a series of events, Will (uncle will, as I call him) invited me to be apart of his band for the next two shows the first of which was tonight. Leading up to this gig, I was anxious and really excited but also nervous. You see, to make music on that high a level, Will demands a lot from the band as a unit and from each player individually. Having had only one rehearsal with just will, I felt ready but not as ready as I'd like to be. PLUS he's got giants in the band. GIANTS people. Guitarist and mentor Jef Lee Johnson is the guy. I call him the wizard of oz. I remember after seeing him play with Will the first time, I was explaining his playing to Molly. Actual conversation: "Yo that guy is a the wizard of oz. You need a heart, courage, a brain or to get to Kansas? He can find it in that guitar." Hence my calling him the wizard. And on drums, a great, great player James Rouse. I didn't give him a nickname but apparently they call him biscuit. Fair enough.
The gig was incredible. Listening to what was happening on stage and trying to remember all the stuff Will and I talked about and making it all happened might of driven some people mad. I stopped at mad during the first tune and then drove straight toward euphoria. The view there is spectacular. The amount of space between this sentence and the last one is no typo. It symbolizes my pausing to reflect on tonight's events. All me to use food (yay foodies!) as an analogy. The groove sits in your chest like a big greasy cheeseburger. Will's vocals and piano are a main source of substance like the beef but it's got a little rough around the edges thing happening. Like a burger topped with 57 sauce, not ketchup. Then with all that going on, the wizard puts this guitar stuff in there that comes out of no where but totally belongs. Like a sip of your favorite drink of choice. (coke for me... perhaps bourbon for some. Grey goose for others. Holla at me uncle will!)
I digress.
People, I'm not going to keep you much longer but I sincerely hope that whatever endeavors life leads you to pursue, you have a chance to do it on the level I visited briefly tonight. The best part is I'll get to do it again! To those that came to hang and check it out thanks. To those that didn't you just read what you missed and I hope you stuck with the sudden craving for cheeseburgers and Wawa juices. Thanks for reading.
-Truth, the burger, the fries, and supersized order of funk and hot apple pie
Next. Wawa! It's been a minute since I visited my favorite convenience/food store. Tonight I hit them hard: Lemonade Iced Tea, Kiwi Strawberry, Lemonade. and some 1% milk. Just for good measure I had to check out that new hot turkey hoagie (super good, by the way) and sumpthin' sweet. Yummy in truth's tummy.
Okay, enough formalities. Indulge me and think about this question (don't be afraid to leave comments either!!!). Have you ever gone to see a band and thought "Man, I'd love to be a part of that?" Have you ever been somewhere and been completely engulfed and immersed in something so much bigger than yourself and been uncontrollably moved? I had one of those experiences a few weeks ago. I went to go see Will Brock (singer, songwriter, pianist and all around creative arts badass.) The band was killin'. Ridiculously funky, each player pouring out heart and soul and the crowd put out cups glasses, buckets and bathtubs to catch it. If that wasn't enough, Will's heartfelt writing totally demands that one be affected by the stories he's telling. Every human being in the place was on another plane. That collective higher consciousness is a very moving thing to me.
Through a series of events, Will (uncle will, as I call him) invited me to be apart of his band for the next two shows the first of which was tonight. Leading up to this gig, I was anxious and really excited but also nervous. You see, to make music on that high a level, Will demands a lot from the band as a unit and from each player individually. Having had only one rehearsal with just will, I felt ready but not as ready as I'd like to be. PLUS he's got giants in the band. GIANTS people. Guitarist and mentor Jef Lee Johnson is the guy. I call him the wizard of oz. I remember after seeing him play with Will the first time, I was explaining his playing to Molly. Actual conversation: "Yo that guy is a the wizard of oz. You need a heart, courage, a brain or to get to Kansas? He can find it in that guitar." Hence my calling him the wizard. And on drums, a great, great player James Rouse. I didn't give him a nickname but apparently they call him biscuit. Fair enough.
The gig was incredible. Listening to what was happening on stage and trying to remember all the stuff Will and I talked about and making it all happened might of driven some people mad. I stopped at mad during the first tune and then drove straight toward euphoria. The view there is spectacular. The amount of space between this sentence and the last one is no typo. It symbolizes my pausing to reflect on tonight's events. All me to use food (yay foodies!) as an analogy. The groove sits in your chest like a big greasy cheeseburger. Will's vocals and piano are a main source of substance like the beef but it's got a little rough around the edges thing happening. Like a burger topped with 57 sauce, not ketchup. Then with all that going on, the wizard puts this guitar stuff in there that comes out of no where but totally belongs. Like a sip of your favorite drink of choice. (coke for me... perhaps bourbon for some. Grey goose for others. Holla at me uncle will!)
I digress.
People, I'm not going to keep you much longer but I sincerely hope that whatever endeavors life leads you to pursue, you have a chance to do it on the level I visited briefly tonight. The best part is I'll get to do it again! To those that came to hang and check it out thanks. To those that didn't you just read what you missed and I hope you stuck with the sudden craving for cheeseburgers and Wawa juices. Thanks for reading.
-Truth, the burger, the fries, and supersized order of funk and hot apple pie
posted by thetruthspeaks at 3:12 AM
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