On Sunday December 22nd,
I turn 60 years old. This birthday
seems hard. I am not sure whether to be grateful that I have made it thus
far or cheesed off that parts of my body including the bones in my spine are
apparently falling apart right in front of my eyes, so to speak.
Having said that, there is
one thing that being 60 allows you to feel you can do and that is to say what
you mean and mean what you say.
I have become a recent disciple
of the Bob Lefsetz Letters and now get them delivered to my in box on and off
all week.
He writes largely about the
music industry and can be scathing and near the knuckle. I do not agree with everything he writes, but
why should I? I do not agree with some things my best friends say or
write. But, how he writes is what inspires me. He is succinct, opinionated, and
intelligent and often writes what I wish I had thought in the first place.
So, now I feel that if I made
it to 60 I can at least allow myself the privilege of getting a few things off
my chest.
The creation of ‘The Manhattan
Blues Project’ was very hard work, by that I mean the logistics and the
feeling of obligation to give people what they had not only contributed to, but
what they expected from a man they admired. We intended to produce the best
possible end result, an album to be really proud of. An album that took blood,
sweat and tears to create, an album that allowed Steve to move forward not
backwards with both his playing and his production skills.
Some of the most rewarding
things that have being said about that album is how good the audio quality is.
How it is one experience to hear it through speakers and another to hear it
through headphones. That is because Steve intended it that way. There are
swirls and subtle shifts in the ambient experience that cannot be heard on most
speakers but can be heard through headphones. It took years of dedication to
the art of playing, arranging, composing and recording to reach that standard.
Nobody wants
to put their corporate hand in their pockets anymore.
We are being nagged to
death by requests for help, this charity, that charity, but how can one
complain, it is so tough out there to be noticed, unless you are a cute, risqué
young popstar. I am cynical in my old
age, I watch very carefully whom I give my offerings to. As best as I can, I make sure that all the
money I give goes to the needy and does not inadvertently line the pocket of
yet another abuser of trust.
I am happier, more content,
more creative and wackier than I remember being when I was 20 years old and
that is perfect. I am a person who will
listen more than talk and that takes a lifetime of practice.
So, bring it on 60! Here I am
standing headlong into the winds of the future. Firm and strong despite my aches and pains, it could be far far worse. I would quite like to grow old rather disgracefully and will go down kicking and
screaming that life is too short to be inattentive to the details, that is what
makes being alive and creating art worthwhile.
