It seems obvious to me that artists of all stripes (players, poets, even visual artists) need to take the recent conflict-driven events (I’m talking about the election, of course, but it could be any other stress providers) and “make the most of them”. A recent blog post I read regarding the broad subject of “creativity” stated that “Creativity is nourished by conflict.” In other words, my fellow players, the coming four years (and probably many more than that) will NEED your most creative efforts to keep us all on track and moving forward!
I’ve no doubt you’ve seen similar writings, too… even from antiquity… the times that are the most difficult, in a societal sense, are the times that should render fresh and new insights into how to “move on”… not just whining and bellyaching, but reaching down into your “inner player” (or your “inner poet) and catching the vibrations that will wrap your mind (and your instrument) around the problems we have in society. Additionally, that doesn’t mean creating words/music that intentionally inflame; in other words, not a whole opus of “bad language”… of course, I do understand that a few raw words, inserted in the right place & at the right time, can be a part of the “solution”; but USE your creative ability to suggest better things… better results… & ultimately “solutions”, instead of just bitching about the problem!
The power of healing music is inestimable, and I review a lot of albums that fall in that category; all well and good, but I believe it’s necessary for artists to dig a little deeper, focus on what they believe the problems are and create “hooks” that will stick in people’s head (no matter what part of the globe they reside in), and urge them to move past the idiocies we see in cultures across the world! NOW is the time to get that message out… if you “wait on inspiration”, you may never write the poem… create the song… or even pen that blog post! The coming years are not going to get better unless the folks with the real POWER – those who understand that well-crafted artistry can help us normal folks step up to the plate and DO IT! NOW!!!
This is a short post in what I expect will become a (somewhat) “regular” series of them – & if you took the time to read these 300 or so words – PASS it ON!!!!
My pal Tony (Roc) Adamo just CAN’T STOP putting together live raps that are KILLER! He’s done just that on one of the songs from his upcoming album, titled “Sonic Henderson”, & shared the YOUTUBE video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDuYuYf-v2w) with me a couple weeks back… this thing just RAWKS, folks, and the recording is flawless… I can hardly wait for the full album to review… besides his own “hip/spoken word”, Tony has stellar players with him – Mike Clark Drums/ Mike LeDonne Organ. Jack Wilkins Guitar, and they KICK IT – be sure & check it out, folks!”