I have a crushing headache. I'm sure it's a migraine. I had it yesterday, it was so bad this morning, I did nothing but sleep all day long. I got a call at 4pm from one of my students that is a stellar sax player. He wanted me to take his gig that started at 5:30.
I didn't want to do it because my head hurt so bad. I could hardly open my eyes and I wondered why I even bother to answer the phone. Then I thought maybe I would feel better if I got up and played music. It was a good paying gig $250 for 2 hours so I said yes.
As it turns out, this gig was just me and a "world famous" DJ. I didn't know there could be such a thing as a world famous DJ but apparently this guy was flown in from South Africa for this gig.
Being the only live musician is very interesting and playing with just a DJ is very challenging. We played mostly ehtnically oriented ambient, electronica and dance music. The Rhythms were tough enough to follow but then there are the contants key changes and chord changes. I can understand why my friend was called to do this gig.
Anyway, we played at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. They were having some special holiday deal and there were 1000s of people in the park. The park was set up so there were a couple of different musical groups and people would go around from station to station to listen or do whatever was being offered.
My job in this setting was to play along with the DJ. At first I thought it was impossible to have a musical connection with a DJ but I did. The music was great but we were in essence, background music for the skating rink that was a few yards from our stage.
Playing ambient music is a trip and you have to be on the ball. You also have to be aware that the harmonica is not appropriate for everything so for some reason, I started to sing. Yeah sing...
I had one of those moments where everything was in slow motion. Keep in mind, I still have a crushing headache and in fact have it has I am typing. I could hear how resonant my voice was, I could control the vibrato, the rasp in my voice, the pitch....everything. Somehow I was in complete control and all I had to do was be calm and listen to the universe.
As I am singing, I look up and see well over 400 people standing still. People of all ages from little children to blue hairs were stopped dead in their tracks and listening to me.
When I was finished, everybody applauded and cheered for me. That's quite remarkable considering we're supposed to be background music. Afterward, the DJ remarked about he and the entire audience was hypnotized by my vocals. It said it was like it was "from another world or another dimension" He said, he felt like I was "a God" while I was doing my thing and he was humbled.
I don't know what to say, I have this incredible headache and I don't remember much but I do know I could have sold 100 CDs if I had them. (only had five) I also know that was the greatest musicial moment of my life to date.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
Great story. I wonder if anyone caught it on a camera phone.
Most of the time I don't really like playing in front of people. I'd rather be sitting in a room with a couple other musicians jamming, but a couple of times I've felt that a little bit- once when the cute girl in a small crowd clapped...
But actually my best moment was in my friends basement. I consider myself a writer first, then an aspiring musician. For me, it's about the words more than the music. It was a really weird moment. We'd been working on a song for a few hours. A couple of his friends were over and had been listening. We were pretty happy with it. It was a song I'd written about some dark stuff that happened to me years ago. My friend had gone through similar stuff. It was kind of cathartic just to get it out there, but the real moment came when his mom came down to listen. She sat on the top steps for the first half of the song and got up and left real quick. She didn't come back. We were flummoxed, but eventually he went upstairs and talked to her. She was crying. The song got to her. It was a weird moment. It was hard to sing that song, and we didn't set out to make his mom cry but at the same time it felt good to create something that had an emotional impact beyond just ourselves.
Sounds like you should do it more often. If I sang in public, people would stop and stare also. Just before they started thowing things. ---------- The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
maybe it wasnt a headache. it was part or your brain growing rapidly giving you the power to sing like heavenly angels causing people to stop an stare.
Personally, my best moment with the harp came in college. I had finally begun to make the instrument sing...... One night, while hanging out my 5th story dorm room window, I was playing. My girl had left me and I was genuninely playing as bluesy as I ever had.
All of a sudden, I hear one of the girls in the window below me, say (half sobbing) "why you gotta play so sad like dat".
Damn, and to think that all I was doing last night was just twiddling around in Mesa, having a bowl of Pho, and sitting around with my thumb up my ass.... I wish I'd of known, I would SO have been there! Damn!
That is awesome Buddha! I like singing better than the harp actually. It is certainly hard to do well. My son has migranes and he gets these tablets and or nose drops called Immutrex and they seem to work ell (especially the nose drops).
Haha, I'm proud of you Buddha. Takes some stones to get up and sing. I think what happened means you should sing in front of people more often! the only thing (like any other facet of music): remember how you felt and what you did to get there but DON'T try and force it. Vocal tone and overall feel goes to shit quicker than any other instrument when you try and force it. Just let it flow...
Cool story, Chris. I hope someone recorded it so you can re-live it(without the migraine). Congrats on a well-received first time on the mic, too! Hopefully you can repeat this without being in pain! Your mention of playing with a dj is intriguing, as well. That would be fun, and challenging. ---------- ~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
A more common term for flow might be meditation or the act of being in a meditative state. For those of you interested in what B is talking about, check out Effortless Mastery. The book talks about harnessing this ability. It was written by the keys player from this clip (harp content...Toots!)
A buddy of mine plays keys and has flown out to meet Kenny. He had a day long lesson with him. He was skeptical about the whole "Effortless Mastery" thing, but was interested in his playing. I guess they played keys for like ten minutes and spent the rest of the day talking about "flow". ---------- Mike Fugazzi http://www.myspace.com/niterailband http://www.youtube.com/user/NiteRail http://www.twitter.com/NiteRail http://www.facebook.com/mike.fugazzi
We used to call it cookin'.You get in the zone and you're in someplace else.The instrument just plays itself. A confession here,i used to smoke a little weed a long time ago.A jamaican guy in the band smoked the stuff all the time.I'd smoke it when playing a gig. There was the odd time when all 5 of us would just drop in the same zone and there's nothing like it. i think i know how buddha is feeling.great isn't it.
I was calling around to figure out who the DJ was. They call him The Bodhisattva how interesting is that? ---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
How fitting that you played w/him and became 'fully awake' in your music. ---------- "Take out your false teeth, momma, I want to suck on your gums."-P. Wolf
I never felt like a God on stage but i did play with a god or more like a king. Every year B.B. plays in his hometown of Indianola for the Medgar Evers weekend festivities. Which is my part of the world. Now this was way back in the eighties. Not to mention way back in my most wildest days. So if there are any tapes floating around,i would need to screen them first. I was told i sounded good. Anyway it was an impromtu invite and i played through the vocal mic.for three songs. We shuffled and rocked the blues and B.B was happy and thats all that matterd with me. Got a couple of photos with him and me playing and of course a story that lives on.
Buddha > When it happens it happens! It must be very gratifying the fact that your performance was so great and that your singing was really appreciated in what must have been trying circumstances for you. I have a theory though that most really good musicians should also be capable singers. The timing, phrasing, music is in you.
There are many great musos who know how to sing. They may not have a nice sounding voice but some can even growl, grunt, groan and shout, in tune, in time, and really make a difference. Some of the blues & jazz greats eg like Louis Armstrong a fabulous singer but not what one would call a nice sounding voice.
Re your headaches, I used to cop migraines once or twice a week for close on 30 years. I never went anywhere without strong painkilling tablets which mostly never worked. But I ate them like lollies & always had a large supply on hand. Now I would need to search the house to try and locate one pill as I have not needed one for over 15 years ie how long it is since I last had a headache.
I always had at times mildly elevated blood pressure which was untreated other than a rigorous exercise regime. 15 years ago I gave into pressure from my doctor and he put me onto blood pressure tablets (Norvasc 5mg) which I take daily. The migraine headaches immediately ceased. Foods which I knew most certainly triggered migraines in me were red wine, chocolate & some citrus fruits. Now I enjoy them all. I have not had a headache for 15 years but only this last week I copped an ear infection from swimming and could not find anything in the house to relieve the pain wheras once I had a pharmacy in my cupboard.
"The big question is, could you have done what you did if you DIDN'T have the migraine? "- Adam
I remember hearing a story about baseball great Steve Carlton. One day he showed up at the park with a bad case of the flu. He had a fever and felt weak. He almost didn't start. He threw a no-hitter. Maybe you have to suffer for your art.
well it have to be my 2nd or 3rd gig out my 5,we were on a smoke break and the band leader sugested to turn me up a little louder,I was doing allright that night.I was chocked full of pride LoL cut 2 weeks later the roller coaster ride of sucess
Last Edited by on Dec 21, 2009 9:26 PM
That's great stuff Chris! That Boddhisattva thing is just great, it was like a sermon on the eagle mountain.. One thing that I was thinking about is that when you are in the flow it is you who can feel it and perhaps take the advantage of it in whatever you are doing, but in this case it wasn't just you but the whole audience skating there.
From what you described, the point of focus was in you but it seems to me that you all created it / allowed it to happen together.. Btw, did you sing words or melodies?
This is one of the most inspirational stories I've heard about music and I think about this every now and then.
Yesterday I watched a movie about the early days of Beatles. One of the early members, Stu Sutcliffe had severe headaches now and then and later died of a brain hemorrhage. It made me think about this story from Chris about a year before he was gone...
