#1349: Friday, January 16 - Snowstorm thunderbolt

Post 1349, Day 16 of 2015
- 1,477 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

First of all, I saw something new (to me) this morning. I thought, having seen the Aurora Borealis, hurricanes, all kinds of weather (thankfully, only TV shots of tornadoes), a few earthquakes, and one (dormant) volcano, after sixty-almost-five years, I'd seen what there was to see, weather-wise.

Pure hubris. There is infinite variety, and this morning I was treated to a blinding flash of blue lightning followed by a huge thunderclap - in a snowstorm! I didn't even know that was a thing that could happen.

Live and learn, right?

Next, I'm reflecting on a Facebook post about the last remaining 'original' Mississippi blues men - not the article that was linked, but a comment which gave me a shout-out for "keeping the past alive" by playing music every night. I know what the person making the comment meant, and his intentions were certainly good and kind.

But uninformed. He hasn't heard me play live in at least thirty-five years, maybe longer, maybe never. He is going by some recordings.

My band-mates would do spit-takes if they read that I was honoring the past. I continually fight against copying arrangements of songs we cover written and performed by someone else (both bands are vehicles for original music - there has never been any bass line but mine).

I honor the past by leaving it in the past. I use existing material - especially historic material - as a point of departure on my own personal musical journey, and I take everyone with me - or if someone has a creative idea for a version of someone else's recording, I follow that.

The way I continue the tradition when playing other people's music is to personalize it, do it my way.

I am also not, as my friend who wrote the comment believes (evidence of many posts), a real 'blues man' myself. I have played my share of blues gigs and jams, but they are a small percentage of my playing, which has encompassed almost every musical genre, but is dominated by R&B and rock.

When I hear a musical piece that I like, my mind automatically starts to personalize it. I might just imagine myself performing it (typically enhancing that imaginary performance with skill I don't have). I might take the emotion of a song and pair it with an (arbitrary) recollection. But if I decide to actually play that piece of work myself, what I play will come out (no matter what my intention) like me, not like the original. While I might have the technique to reproduce another player's bass line, I don't have the mind-set.

Musically, I am what I am. I accept my limitations, and, when I exceed them, it is not by intent. It happens when I want to play something that requires stepping beyond existing limitations. So it is organic growth. My consciousness needs something more than I have 'on hand' to make the music happen. This doesn't make for big technical or stylistic leaps - it's evolutionary.

When I back someone up on bass (and backing up is all I do), they get me, just me, and all of me. Sometimes, that's more than anyone knew was there. Those are the good times.

What keeps me coming back.

Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:                   204.8 lbs

Previous Weight (1/12):           204.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:                + 0.4 lbs

Diet Comment

Late night snacks - oh, you so own me.

Food Log

Breakfast
A couple of Quest bars.

Lunch

Roasted turkey breast chopped salad: baby kale, baby spinach, chard, cole slaw mix, black beans and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
A Quest bar.

Dinner
A portion of pepper steak and a quarter-pound of mixed nuts (from the buffet at Wegman's).

Snack
A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake
   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 100+ oz. 

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