Like sands through the hourglass

A few days ago, I was driving between our shop and a customer's business, and for no apparent reason, I started thinking of time. Maybe it was because suddenly I realized how quickly 2011 is passing by; maybe I was trying to remember the morning which seemed years ago (you know, one of THOSE days); maybe I was just thinking about what I was going to do once I got off of work that day- not really sure what spurred it, but anyway I was thinking of time. Time is the most valuable and fleeting asset we have. Kinda that here today, gone tomorrow kinda thing.... no for real, it's here today and gone tomorrow.

I started thinking about how much had changed in my life in a very short time, relatively speaking. In three short years I experienced the joy of a marriage, the pain of a divorce, the loss of my brother, a tragedy involving one of my best friends, and the joy of finding my true love. That's alot in a few years... at least for me it was. Also in those three years, I've seen great friends have huge changes in their lives as well. From divorces to marriages to babies- it seems like everyone's world has the tendency to be turned upside down in an instant. there are lots of "instants" in a three year period. Many chances for lives to be upside downed, and right side up'd again. I guess I keep using the 3 year thing because I just realize how much has happened in my own life in these past few years. But my point is, as Ferris says,"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Don't miss out on what happens in your life and don't take for granted that you'll have 3 years to turn it around. Enjoy your instants and realize how precious they are!

All the same but totally unique...

Hey guys! I know that all 2 of you have been dying for a post and here it is!! I got married on April 30, so it's been kinda crazy.



Diversity- 1. the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness. 2. variety; multiformity. 3. a point of difference.


One of the modern plagues of humanity is ignorance. (Yes I know it's not defined here.) We have a tendency to dwell only where we are, and not realize there is anyone else or any other way. It's actually quite boring to live life this way. Routine, routine, routine. Same ole people, same ole places. Not wanting out of this cycle is a little depressing. Plus, we miss out on some really awesome experiences when we're afraid to leave that bubble that we inhabit so diligently. In this way, we stay ignorant. To other people, other cultures or sub cultures, other ideas. It's hard to really know what you believe, if you haven't talked to other people about what they believe, and shared with them what and why YOU believe WHAT you believe. It's easy to be what you are when there is nothing to weigh it against. But more than that, it's easier to understand why people live a certain way, or act a certain way, if you are open enough to talk to other folks and be in uncomfortable circumstances in order to separate you from the ignorant masses.

It's the old adage," How boring would life be if we all _______ alike," mentality. We are not alike. We differ. In color, in opinion, in collective social interaction, in beliefs. And, yes, we feel comfortable in our community, or in our bubble, but staying in that sterile environment for so long can lead to problems of its own. Ignorance for one. Knowledge is power, they say. And, while I know it's cliche, it's true. Knowledge leads to wisdom and wisdom eradicates ignorance. In other words, it makes you a stronger person to actively open yourself to other cultures, people, or ideas. It will help you confirm your own beliefs, understand others, and get rid of some ridiculous preconceived notions you may have grown up with.

We are unique. Individually and collectively. It's what makes life so awesome. To know that there is so much to see and understand, and everywhere and everyone you meet is unique. Even your neighbor. Maybe even your family members. Different races. Different people. Different Cultures. So my challenge for you is this: Step outside your own skin; pop the bubble you live in and breathe the air that others breathe. Kill the ignorance that kills us daily and remember that knowledge truly is power.

Always on the search....

Amp after amp after amp after amp...... neverending cycle for me.

I've been playing guitar since I was 17. Since then I don't know what all equipment I have used. From my mom's genuine vintage Fender Mustang and Princeton Reverb combo to Crate, to Peavey, back to Fender stuff, Mesa, Bogner, Fender again, and again. It's rediculous!! Along with countless effects that I have purchased and shortly thereafter sold (Thank you eBay!!!). My quest for "the sound" is not unlike that of any other musician I would guess, but man does it get excessive!!! Musiciand know these pangs for new technologically advanced audio nirvana!!! Then we seem to always gravitate back to the good ole tube amp in it's many forms and fashions!!!

Why is it this way?

I was talking to my dad about this the other day. He, of course, didn't get it. "Son, I just don't know why you buy these amps and sell them almost immediately! I don't think they make the one you're looking for!!" A completely understandable response!! I don't understand it sometimes either. But as I look over my dad's property and see several projects strewn about, I think to myself," Self, he just doesn't get it in musical equipment terms. He DEFINITELY knows what it is to search for the right parts. The quest for that particular something." And then I started thinking... I know... always dangerous for me....

There are certain things that human beings (not just musicians) go through or experience in one form or another. There are two things at work here IMO, that we all go through.

1- Greed-

That's right greed; envy; jealousy. This is definitely the darker of the two things I think play a role in this "search" for that certain something. Let's be honest: we all go through this feeling at least once and it usually strikes us in the area we care the most about, or at least in an area that we show particular interest. I mean, it's hard for me to be jealous or envious of a television repairman's job or whatever. I'm just not interested in it. But, when I go see a hoppin' (or whatever you kids say these days) band perform, I can't help but want to be up there on stage!!! I always size up the gear and take notes on what/how they are playing. Then later I sell all my amps and buy the one they were playing only to realize that AIN'T the sound I want! :) But I think there is something more important at work when we realize that we're looking for something. Please.... continue..... to number 2

2- We're all searching.... (ok I know it's not parallel, but I couldn't think of one word to describe)

Inside each one of us there is a desire to search; to know; to learn. It's just there. Whether you are that TV repairman seeking a deeper understanding of the LCD or LED or old tube type television sets, or if you're a musician trying to find a "sound". It all boils down to that innate desire to know. to KNOW things about ourselves; about our world, about our environment. Maybe even about why we're here. Doesn't it make sense that all this can be connected? I think it does. I think that it is something that is woven into the fiber of the human thread. Something we can't separate because it defines us. Maybe this is too deep of a though coming strictly from acquiring gear as a musician, but it seems like actually looking at these things in our lives can help us to understand things a little better. Have you ever thought about what you search for? Or why you search for it? Or if it has any bearing on the way you look at life? Next time you just have to have a certain car, or a certain guitar or amp, or a certain house, or etc etc etc, ask yourself why? Think about how that plays into you being YOU. And then tell me it's coincidence that we all feel that way about things.

In the beginning there was....

So, this will probably be a short post, but I just got back from hanging out with one of my best friends, who happens to be an artist. We talked very little about art, but I thought about it alot on the way home. I thought about our fascination in one form or another of art and creation. Some like to create.... art, music, sculpture, cars, computers, programs, and the list goes on.... Some enjoy and appreciate and admire those creations. We thrive on creativity. You say," I'm not a creative soul," well I have to differ with you there. Maybe you haven't really thought of yourself that way. Maybe you haven't found your creative ability. Maybe you have been ok with drafting on others creative juices. All of these are possible scenarios for all of us at one time or another.

Here's the deal:

Creativity gives you several things that are necessary for your life: makes you use your mind and imagination, keeps your eyes and heart open to new things, allows you to look at all situations in a variety of ways. These are all things that will help you get through the good days and the bad. Will it always make it easy? Nope. Not gonna happen. No magic bullet there. But it will let you see bad circumstances in different ways. It will give you personal satisfaction to be able to accomplish a challenge. It will open doors to new adventures. Musician? Artist? Photographer? Bloggist? :) Poet? Woodworker? Arts/Craftsy person? Inventor? Designer? There are so many things you can be creative with in your life!!!

Ever here the phrase "trying to find myself"? Force yourself to EXPRESS YOURSELF in creative ways and you may just understand what that means! Don't be afraid of what people think! Don't worry too much about how you appear and who you impress. Express yourself however you need to BE you. You'll find that life is more satisfying when you can actually take some pride and fulfillment out of doing something your own way and helping the world, as well as yourself, to know YOU.

Hey, dude, let's start a band!

I have been very fortunate, in my limited little music career, to have been involved in a number of groups; either as guitarist, guitarist/singer, or singer. I love performing. I love the feeling it brings me to be on stage and feel emotion and energy from stage to audience collide. It really is a unique experience. I enjoy (nearly) every performance. It's like a gift that you not only give, but receive at the same time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees it this way. :) And so, being part of a musical group has been a large part of that experience. Over the years (wow that makes me sound like a middle aged rocker), I have discovered a few things about bands, and what IMHO really MAKES a band a band.

When I was 17 and had been playing guitar for a very short time (seemed like a couple of hours), I got together with a good friend of mine who was a drummer. We decided we needed a band. We didn't know who. We didn't even know where to find who. In fact, we didn't know that there would ever be a who. But there WAS a who! (Sorry for the Suessisms here) Kinda out of the blue, the right musicians just appeared to us. A brother/sister guitar/keyboard asset, and a rathe interesting fellow I once saw play bass in a hardcore band stepped up to play bass. We had a band! We played music together for a good while, and in our own rite, were very successful. We never sold out arenas or sold millions of copies of albums, but we played good music and had fun. It was this band, the very first experience as a beginning musician, that I have judged every other band. Why? We were friends. We cared for each other. We enjoyed hanging out after practice more than we enjoyed practice. We melded well as a band because of that I think. See, in a real band, (again IMHO) your relationship determines how good your musicianship will be. As in all things, this band moved on. But our friendships survived and thrived. That's better than going platinum, take that to the bank! So, point one, a real band will employ true friendship to enhance the music.

In college, I played in another group with some friends. It was not, again, a big time group, but nevertheless, I feel it was successful. We had a blast and played for fun. We really pushed the limits of what we could do, or what we have actually done. In other words, this was new and different. We used different instruments than I had ever been involved with. We had a horn section, 3 singers, keyboard, and full rhythm section. It was MASSIVE!!! Obviously, we never really got paid for anything. Who can afford a million piece band! We played to see if we could, and to attempt something new. I loved this band. LOVED it!!! But I learned two big lessons in this band. The first one was obviously "try new things." That was the easy one. At some point in the band's development, it changed from being about new things and fun, to being professional or "trying to make it." In this case, I think it was a bad idea. That is in retrospect. Notice as you drive away sometimes, that when you look in your rear view, you can actually see more than you could in the moment. I thought it was going to go somewhere. Really did. IT didn't. And I had to fire two good friends from this band, in my attempt to "make it." So points two, and three, try something different, and don't try to "make it." It's either gonna happen or not, and you could make bad decisions trying to force it to happen. Be professional about what you do and have fun.

My last band example is probably the one I put the most of myself in. I spent, by far, the most time in it, and had the most visible success. I was literally, pulled into this group without knowing anyone in it. All I knew was that it was a band playing the kind of music I liked, and I needed an outlet. Turned out to be the band that gave me the most experience on almost every level of being a musician. We played a ton. Had a weekly gig. played almost every weekend. Sometimes two or three times!! It was awesome!!! We played for us and not the crowd. But we had fun, so the crowd had fun. It worked. We joked on stage and loved being there. Even when there were only 4 or 5 in attendance. We played together, in total, about 5 or 6 years. (please don't hold me accountable for my year math) We played parties, clubs, festivals, weddings. It was a blast!! After one of my best friends, who was also the manager of sorts, left the group, I stepped up and ran the band. The problem with this band? We all got to the point where we realized that we were making decent money for what we did. Then it seemed that everytime we had something scheduled, at least one of us would say, "how much we gettin?" And at some point, we didn't want to play where we weren't getting paid anymore. We wanted remuneration for what we did. It didn't change the chemistry on stage really, just made it more cumbersome to book gigs and make sure we were getting enough. I don't want this to sound too dramatic, we were and are still great friends. It is really a natural thing as a musician to want ot get paid for your service. It was just a turning point for us. We went from fun loving college band, into the transition of semi-professional musician, and that, for better or worse, changes things. So the last point I'll leave you with, keep in tune to what is important in music; fun, enjoyment, excitement.

It's really interesting to look back at the things you've done in life and see how you've grown.... even in a short time. I look forward to learning more and being more as a musician each time I play. If you're not a musician, these points still apply. Develop friendships, try something different, be professional but don't force things, and remember why you do what you love to do. I promise it will make you better and more appreciative of what you do.

Get fawnky, fawnky, fawnky!!

As I sit here listening to Ivan Neville and his props to The Meters, I can only think of one thing: MAN, I love great music!!! Talk about your soul! All day today I have been Pandora-ing (yes that's a word.... look it up in Websters... ok seriously, don't!) my favorite New Orleans artists and some I've never heard of. It is truly amazing how music affects us.

I also just read an article in Relevant, more of a blurb really, about the importance of the historical "record store" and the magic it evoked. All these wonderful artists all gathered in one spot, rubbing elbows, sharing stories, until one gets taken in order to share these tells with a new owner. Taking the music somewhere new. Ever see that movie Crossroads?

Not the Brittani one, so don't get your ho

pes up. The one with Ralph Macchio where he plays guitar?! My favorite movie probably! Anyway, there is a scene towards the end where Joe Seneca, the karate kid's mentor in the film, says to him," You got to take the music somewhere new." It is that magic of music that is so intriguing. If it ever was good music, it always will be, and will continue to go new places.

It's not real secret that I am a fan of New Orleans style funk. Not Boogie Shoes, not Play That Funky Music, or Brick House. I'm talking about FAWNK!!! As I sit now and listen to The Bamboos (God Bless Pandora) and hear the rhythms and grooves that are coming from my new iMac speakers (:) ) it inspires me to write this. To tell you to listen to more music. To take it somewhere new. To let it inspire you. We're not all funk fans. But maybe jazz, rock, pop, celtic, polka, country, western swing, or whatever that it is that drives you, find it. Let it inspire you to write, to think, to talk, to "take the music somewhere new."

Hope this wasn't too random, but I was feeling the need to share. :) Have a good one!!!

Lamp unto my feet...

I'm not a churchy guy. In fact, I really don't like being around people who use churchy lingo or say things in such a way ALL THE TIME so that you know they go to church. It's just not me. I like to think that my approach to walking the walk, so to speak, is much more natural. I mess up a lot. I do the wrong things. Speak the wrong words. You know... I'm just a dumb guy ;). So the rest of this post I want you to weigh for yourself, knowing that a flawed, imperfect human being wrote this to challenge you and give you something to think about.
I have grown up in church; Baptist boy through to the core. I was taught through my whole life about Christ, God, the Bible. I've heard most of the Bible stories at least twice and, most, I can tell you a good deal of background on and we could have good conversation about them. I am NOT a Bible scholar and I know there is a ton of things I DON'T know. But I tell you all of this so I can let you know how my thinking has evolved over the years. When I was a kid (and for a good majority of my teenage years) I thought of the Bible as a set of rules and some good stories. Not that I didn't believe them, I just didn't understand all there is to what the Bible has to say.... I guess I still don't, but I have a better understanding, and hopefully I can share this with you and you can benefit as well.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path"-Psalms 119:105

It wasn't until today that I actually put this verse of scripture to my philosophy about the Bible. Now I really understand this verse. "A lamp for my feet and a light for my path." The Bible is not a set of rules written so that our life can be carefully watched for any mistakes we make. Not a way others can look into our lives and see where we screw up so they can feel better. It's not something to be scared of, or find daunting to live out. That's not it. We miss this so easily.

It's an instruction manual.

I know you've probably heard it before, because it is one of the, all too used, Christian cliches. But it IS your instruction manual. The definition of instruction manual is simply "a manual usually accompanying a technical device and explaining how to install or operate it." This is what the Bible is for you. Think of all the "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots" that you may have read or encountered in the Bible. Or Christians rebuking you for doing some simple "misdemeanor" because they don't understand what it means either. An instruction manual is written, or at least inspired, by the manufacturer or inventor. They know what a product is supposed to do; what it's not supposed to do. They don't write," Don't stick this microwave" because they want to ruin your fun, they just don't want you to cause a mushroom cloud of an explosion right there i your kitchen! God doesn't say,"Don't get drunk!," because He hates to see you have a good time, He hates to see you give something control of your body and reactions! He doesn't say," Don't cheat on your wife!," because he wants you too miss out on an opportunity that you think you have, He doesn't want you to ruin your life and hurt you AND your wife! I could go on and on and on with different do's and don't's in the Bible, but maybe it's best if you look for yourself and weigh them against what I'm telling you. It's a manual that tells you how your body, mind, soul, and spirit are DESIGNED to work! He's the manufacturer, he should know. The most important thing He tells you that you are designed NOT to be able to live without is," Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." You're not designed to work without this. Now, understand that I have not mastered this skill, but I know it to be true. You're not designed to work without God. But the Bible is NOT just a manual.... read on... please...

I am a proud graduate of Louisiana Tech University, where I graduated in Marketing. GO DAWGS!! I digress... In my Marketing classes we looked at tons of case studies. We looked at businesses that succeeded. We looked at businesses that failed. Inventors. Innovators. Flops. We looked at all these to see what worked and what didn't. When you want to do something the right way, it helps if you see how others did it both right AND wrong.

Joseph, Mary, David, Goliath, Pharisees, Moses, Isaac, Abraham, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. On and on and on the Bible tells of these "case studies" where folks did things right and succeeded. Where folks failed miserably. Some learned from their mistakes. Some just kept on experiencing failure and destruction. The most prominent and successful life chronicled in the bible, is of the One person whom we can model our life after: Jesus Christ. The perfect example. He was rejected. He was beaten. He was killed. Through his life, though, He succeeded. He showed us how we are designed to "work." He knew the manufacturer intimately. This was the key to his success. He had read the case studies; the manual. He would have been a great business man, but He was only concerned with His Father's business.

Check out the Bible sometime. It's been a best seller for years. Look at it with fresh eyes. I will too. Maybe we can both understand how we are designed, and we can set ourselves up for success. Let this manual be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path.