I have stated in earlier posts that I really enjoy music. I love listen to live performances more than listen to recorded music. I have an affection for small house concerts and Acoustic Cafe’s but have seen some awesome large venue concerts. I have also paid for a few concerts and left thinking I should have spent the money on something of value, say a haircut. Yes they were that bad, the concerts not the haircut. I can say I have seen almost everyone I have wanted to see in concert except Tom Petty. But there are a few things I still want to do musically and those are to be on a CD ( I almost said album….really) and write a few songs.

Do you know what you call a song a drummer writes?  A poem! Really as a drummer who does not read music this is sometimes how I feel. The biggest challenge for me as a drummer is how do I convey what I want musically from others in the songwriting process. I hope that will move along in a more forward direction as I grow as a musician.

Part of that process is the bride and I have been ask to be part of the team collaborating on a friends new upcoming CD. This is what I have learned so far: Number one: You bring something to the table or you would not have been asked in the first place. I realize I have “dumbed” my self down because I cannot read music. What I have is the ability to process how a song should feel based on the flow of all the instruments. Vocally I do not have much but how a song should feel is pretty cool gift.

There are a few things I am learning in this and one is there are no dumb questions. Really. If I am not getting something I simply ask. Talking over flow and getting the writers vision for a song comes from verbal engagement. Simple. Who knew? And a bonus to this is, even if I am not on the CD, I get to listen and drink in of the knowledge and abilities of others. For me that is priceless.

In this and other journeys I have found one of the most convicting aspects of our human nature. That is we tend to look ahead so far you miss the in-between-things. The right-under-our-nose-things. For me at first it was the possibility I would fulfill a dream and be on a CD. That lasted about ten seconds and I was humbled just by the offer being extended. I decide to learn, to drink in of the life stories being talked out through the music and words. I decide to enjoy the journey period.

I don’t know where this will end but I love that I am learning about the conception and eventual birth of a song. More so I am loving the community of musicians and friends who have zero egos and allow others along on this  journey. I want to thank Lyndsay Taylor for allowing us in on her stories and words that make up part of her life. I hope to figure out how to link a few of her songs here shortly but till then in all life’s craziness and jaggedness enjoy the journey.