#1483, Wednesday, August 5: Don't kill the groove

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Post 1483, Day 217 of 2015
- 1,678 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I sometimes get frustrated when other people don't execute to my expectations. Especially when it comes to A) myself and 2. other musicians.

These days I usually have the wherewithal to catch myself, and realize that my expectations are meaningless, antagonistic, and maybe even hostile. There are few better recipes for disappointment, it is future-tripping, it is not conducive to being happy, being present.

Still, I am human, I do the best I can, but I have some sensitive areas where things I take for granted, expectations that are 'ingrained' are violated.

In myself, when this happens, I have to step back and 'forgive' myself. When its about the music, my main sensitivity is to the groove. If another musician blows the groove in a song that has one, I get a little rattled. If it a lot, it detracts from my experience, whose goodness comes from that very groove.

I play often with guitarists whose main experience is as solo performers. As such, they have never had to develop a strong sense of rhythm and timing. I know this sounds racist, but they are also all white men. They don't dance. They haven't grown up listening to music with a strong rhythm component. They come, largely, from a pop/folk background.

They don't dance, in contrast with the live music audience that goes to bars. This is a dancing, grooving audience.

So, Bradshaw Blues, which is a good danceable band, is frequently thrown off-track by the lead singer and only guitarist's lack in the rhythm department. He has written at least one song he cannot perform without butchering the rhythm. Consistently.

Tonight, it happened again. Bradshaw Blues has a very good rhythm section (if I do say so myself). In a short gig, on a couple of tunes, he just lost it, singing and guitar playing out of time with each other, and neither in time with the rhythm section.

Luckily, it was a dinner gig, no dancing, and most of the audience more involved in their dinner companions and food than the music.

But the occasions take me out of my 'joy' of playing, disturbs my 'zone', kills my groove - not in the sense of actually disturbing the rhythm section, buy the feeling I have when playing.

I need to be more imperturbable.

Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:                   207.4 lbs

Previous Weight (8/4):            207.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:                - 0.0 lbs

Diet Comment

There you go - nothing. Yesterday's eating didn't change my weight at all. Huh? I blame the cheese and sprouted grain bread. Or that last Quest bar at 1am. And give myself the credit, LOL.

Food Log

Breakfast
A Quest bar.

Lunch
At Core:

Chicken Cobb salad (shredded kale and romaine, grilled chicken, avocado, bacon, hard-cooked egg, broccoli, mushrooms and bleu cheese dressing).

Snack
London Broil.

Dinner
At the Ridge: An 'Ode to Arby's' burger: on a bun with roast beef, horseradish mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato, with a side of bacon and french fries. Yes, that's a big fail.

Liquid Intake
   Espressos: 2;  Coffee: 24 oz.; Water: 56+ oz. A shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey

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