Here's a pic of me and the boys playing at Sam Bond's last Friday as the closing act for Hot Drama's cd release. We had a great time, although our set was a little on the sloppy side - I guess that's what happens when you have to wait all night until your slot comes up, killing time by drinking too many beers (at least that was my case.) I think I've finally figured out at this stage of my life that music, for me, is not about wowing the fans with perfection but rather the joy of playing music, period. I try to always have fun at any show I'm lucky enough to be a part of because life is too short to worry about miserable shit, like missed notes or dropped breaks or sorry-ass solos that don't really go anywhere. Every night is different, just like going to work - every day is different with the same old shit, so why not enjoy?
I guess the converse side of that mode of thinking is that if you are too comfortable with life and several layers of your illusions have been stripped away from decades of living, you kind of lose that youthful ambition and drive that propels so many musicians and artists. What would Iggy pop have turned out like if he never became popular? Can you imagine him working in an office or selling you a used car? Or Jim Morrison, what if he'd gone through AA and became a volunteer at his local church pancake breakfast and drove his kids to school in a mini van? That's the story that no one wants to read - people much prefer our heroes to have sordid ups and downs, both in life and in the sack. Drugs, sex, violence, drunken misbehavior - these things contribute to our cultural mythology. Growing up, having the family and behaving nicely never seem to make it into the encyclopedia of rock, but I think there are a lot of us in that camp - maybe tens of thousands more of us than any occurrence of a Jim Morrison or an Iggy Pop or a Rick James. I guess that is why legends are legends - because a legend is a story that doesn't seem to happen in everyday life.
But life is so damn good, who's complaining? Fuck politics, war and negative thinking - up with coffee, family, vans, guitars, sex, wine, food, music and friends. That is the stuff I live for ;)