One of the great joys of my life is playing music. I consider it a great blessing in the ways that I am allowed to make fun music with fun people. My fellow musicians and band mates are seldom just co-workers. These folks are my friends. We have played 100’s (in some cases 1000’s) of shows together all over the country. We travel, share meals, share laughs and memories AND we share music together.
This month, I’ve been so lucky to play with so many of these great friends and wonderful musicians.
Earlier this month, I was even reunited for a couple of nights of music making with my very best friends from my earliest days of playing. Eddie, Chris, Mike and I had a band before we even had instruments! We learned and practiced together from the very beginning. We grew together, encouraged and befuddled one another. We made memories playing music (lots of it bad but we had to start from the beginning).
I like to joke that we used to get kicked out of rehearsal spaces A LOT. We were noisy, loud, brash, messy and sometimes, ornery. Our families kicked us out and accepted us back. Several places invited us in and then moved us along. I’m so grateful to all the people who gave us space (for a little or a long while) to get this music thing together and work it out.
To meet these guys years later and still be able to play music together is what it is all about. Some of us became professional musicians, some write songs, some just play for fun. These days, we all have families and do all kinds of work. We are cops, preachers, teachers, care-takers, gardeners AND players.
In our lives, music has truly been the tie that binds. No matter how long we are apart or whatever might happen, we always pick up where we left off. Great friends who can pick up there instruments and make more music together.
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