music

Music is vital, music is important to live.
Music is in my family, but I never grasped onto the concept of learning anything. I like to think of my vocal chords as my instrument, and I love to sing.
I get it from my mother's mother. She sang. She sang loud and proud, she sang until the day she died. Literally. My Va sang Sweet Georgia Brown, she touched us with Silent Night, and every Willie Nelson song imaginable. She played piano and the banjo, too.
My mom plays the piano, she has her songs that she can manage her way through, and my daughter has picked up those songs, and can play others, too. Julie also plays guitar, electric and acoustic. Now that I am working, she can resume her guitar lessons.
I love listening to Julie play guitar, I love hearing her play songs that I can recognize. i also really enjoyed that when she met Abishai, he came over when I was out, and upon arrival of home, I could hear him playing on her keyboard. He had it on organ keys and he was playing this slow melodramatic song. I loved it, I believe people play what they feel in that moment, and what he was playing was beautiful.
The piano and the violin have spots in my heart. The piano because it reminds me of my mom, and the violin is from another life, I think. I like it, but I can't stand it, either. I like sad violin music.
I never took up any instrument. I had my Voo's guitar, but it stayed under my mom's bed, and it ended up getting sent to my Uncle Matt in Tennessee. I think I have no drive to learn something like that. I expressed interest once in learning the harmonica and my friend bought me a harmonica and a how to play it for dummies book, but I can't grasp making my mouth into a little "O" to hit one note. Plus I HATE "hot cross buns" so I didn't learn to play. I used it to talk like a robot. Well, that's talent, isn't it? I love singing, and I'll sing in front of you, one on one, but I get all worked up if I am in front of many people, and I get a little nervous to sing in front of Shannon, too heehee even tho I do. Screw it, you live only once. I have sung Karoke 2 times. The first time I was shitted and I sang good enough to amaze my co-workers. The second time I was sober, in front of my mom and I was way too nervous and vowed to never put myself through that again.
So be surprised to learn that until 2 years ago, I had never been in a relationship with a musician. That was Melissa's thing. She's ALWAYS had a boyfriend that was in a band, and all I saw was band drama. Oh. My. God. The drama. I just opted to stay away from all that. I also know girls go wild for guys in bands, and I wouldn't stand a chance anyway. I thought I'd be way too jealous for a guy in a band. All the girls swarming around, too much cheating, too much drugs and partying.
And then I met NJ, my little drummer. He was in a band, but I have no idea what that band name was. It was him on drums, his friend Rich on lead guitar and his other friend Adrian singing. Growling. making noise, whatever it is he did. They practiced on Tuesday nights in NJ's mom's basement. I was so excited to go... and then I was quickly deflated because it was boring. They had no bass player. Their songs lacked depth and soul. I said "get a bass player" and they said they would write the bass player in after their songs were completed. The wife and girlfriend of the other 2 never came to watch the practices. What lack of support. They were tired of it. So while the guys practiced, I would sit in NJ's moms living room and read Ladies Home Journal or sit at the table while his mom made us supper. That band lasted maybe 2 months, then Adrian flipped his lid, went apeshit on his wife and NJ & Rich shunned him. There was a hiatus, then Rich got bored at home and they started a new band with a new song, but it was just NJ on the drums and Rich on guitar.
*sigh*
That lasted a few months, and then it went on the back burner. NJ played pretty much the same 2 songs on drums over and over and over and over. I think if I sat behind a drum set, I could play those songs. I used to dance to them while he drummed in our bedroom. NJ never ever played out, not once in his life.
Sooo when Shannon and I started talking a lot, I suggested to NJ that Shannon is a bass player, maybe they can get their little band going again. I invited Shannon to come jam with NJ to see what they could come up with and so I could drool over Shannon from the doorway. Shannon came over twice (right?) and they jammed for a few hours each time. Ugh when Shannon left, he hugged me and I wanted to drip into a pool of desire on the floor right at the top of the stairs (oh, my!) but I held myself together hahaha...
Shannon told me about going to try out to be in Dark Ages because NJ could not get Rich nailed down to come jam. Shannon has musical drive, NJ does not. Aaand Shannon became the bass guitarist in Dark Ages, and he loves being in this band.
So Shannon is my second musician. When he gets home from work, we eat together, then he goes into the office, where he has all of his bass guitars and Julie's Ibanez in front of the fireplace. He puts his headphones on and he rocks out, practices and even makes himself learn new things. Since he has the amp speakers off to me, I can only really hear his fingers on the chords, and whatever makes its way out of the headphones. I go to almost every practice, and I love going because I made a friend there, Carrie. (Hi, Carrie!) I love sitting while the complete band plays, they are a fun group of guys, their music is really really good. I helped get them their first show in 9 years (Thanks, Craig!) and to me, that was a huge leap of faith on Craig's part. Thank you, for trusting my word that they rock! Last night at practice they were playing and I was really focusing on what Shannon was playing and I could pick it out from when he plays in the office... and in one song the band stops but Shannon carries the bass rhythm into the next wave of music, and I was so happy and he sounded so damn good... (you do good, lover!)
SO Dark Ages has a show on the 12th at KC's Tap in RI, and another on the 14th at Accu Billiards, and another 12/12 in Worcester at The Raven... if you're interested, please come. The more, the merrier...