#1401, Wednesday, April 8: Warning: So-so singer approaching

Post 1401, Day 98 of 2015
- 1,559 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

My first musical instrument was guitar.

I was inspired by my Aunt Dorothy (RIP) when I was very, very young. Her guitar playing and singing was the very first music I ever heard made live. At least, the first I remember, and my recollection is entirely of my delight.

And she inspired me (along with Roy Rogers, who I used to imitate) to take up guitar, at around age 8.

The thing is, playing guitar for me was all about supporting my singing. I never much cared for playing it, except as an accompaniment, and never really cared whether or not I became a good guitarist. In fact, I never really enjoyed or appreciated guitar work back then - it seemed other, and magic. Not something I would do.

I really enjoyed singing, though. I thought I was a good singer. When I first joined a band that played out (or aspired to), it was as a singer who played little or no guitar. I've never owned an electric guitar, and that is what was required to play in a band (back then). My classical guitar, restrung with metal strings and an add-on pickup never cut it.

But in my early teens, I was in demand as a singer, not a player.

Then I discovered bass. It was like someone threw a switch. Suddenly, the demand for my singing just stopped. Despite the fact that I barely knew how a bass was supposed to function (and only had a borrowed bass, and never a bass amp), it was bass that attracted me, and my singing 'career' was put on the back burner.

In my late teens, bass (as I slowly figured out which part of bass playing was ass, which elbow) became all that anyone wanted from me. I listened with some envy at singer-guitarists who got a lot of attention (and admiration), but couldn't get any when I tried that. Not as mature a singer, and definitely no more than a passable guitarist, I couldn't attract anything positive to myself, so I retreated to bass. Actually, that turned out to be a good choice.

I pretty much stopped singing.

But I didn't stop enjoying singing. However, I lost confidence in it. I knew I wasn't as good as I had thought I was, or maybe just not as good as I'd been. My vocal performances, when I exposed myself to the public, were often criticized.

Now, I don't care. I like to sing, and people are either going to get behind it or just have to endure it. I don't imagine myself starting a new career as a singer, but when I go out to open mics from now on, I'm going to bring a guitar, and only maybe a bass, too. Except for the ones where I am needed as a bass player. That is still what I am, first, these days.

But I won't deny myself the pleasure I get from singing, going forward.

World, you've been warned.

Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:                   208.4 lbs

Previous Weight (4/7):            210.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:                - 1.6 lbs

Diet Comment

More better. Below the trend line.
 

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
At Ling-Ling's Chinese Buffet and Grill:

Brussels sprouts, kimchee, and, from the "Mongolian Grill", my go-to dish: pork and chicken with cabbage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli.

Dinner
Cheeseburger with sauteed peppers and onions and cole slaw.

Liquid Intake
   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 96+ oz. A shot of Jameson's.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!