Free? Back? Freaky? Flying? Into a tailspin? Maybe the truth will set you all those things.... I think I met my truth telling doppelganger, and she's a 5 foot tall (maybe), Chinese/Thai mix. M is one of the most truthful people I've ever met, and there's something going on that feels revelatory on some kinda level. Because the idea of 'truth' seems to be at the heart of it, and that is endlessly interesting to me, me being one who has always aspired to be a truthful person.
Not that I've succeeded, mind you; I've got guile and self-preservation and all of those little manipulators that we employ so effortlessly in the day to day. But at my core, I aim to be straight on truthful, and when the slings and arrows come, which they do, I try and hold on to the simple reality of what is true.
I had a lousy parting of the ways with the local synagogue a couple of years ago, and when I described it to my rabbi buddy in LA, he was anything but surprised. He pointed out that people like me don't tend to thrive in an institutional setting where there is a certain communication style, a certain non-confrontational consensus that serves to perpetuate the institution. Theyve got to get rid of percieved threats like myself. It upsets the apple cart. Trust me, I'm no Jesus, but I'd have probably been there turning over that temple too...
Speaking of Jesus, there is a line in a Dan Bern song, (one of my alltime favorite singer/songwriters) that was running in my brain this morning as I was thinking of what to say about the current reality. The tune is called 'One thing real', and it's about cutting through the bullshit that envelops seemingly everywhere.
Jesus he comes up to me, Jesus he sits down
He says, 'take this fucking cross off my back
I'm going downtown'
I say, 'Hey, but ain't that your uniform?'
and he offers me a toke
He says 'two thousand years is long enough
For this particular joke
I'm looking for one thing real tonight'
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And as this trip unfolds, as I spend more time away from televised sproting events, (a weakness when they're available, oy), no dance classes, no knocking out the sunday Crossword at the Jiffy Market, none of the little time fillers that grease me through the day, oh yeah, work too, I nearly forgot :-). Anyway, as I was saying, without all of the conventional tricks that I've adopted as my base line reality, I've been finding myself slipping into a more thoughtful, meditative place from which to understand the world.
I keep referring to the Camino de Santiago in this blog, because that was the last time I had a long stretch of reflective time. Then it was about finding a rhythm, my own rhythm for walking down the road 'hacia el horizonte, y poco mas adelante') toward the horizon, and then just a little bit more... This time it seems to be more about stillness, as I have no route to traverse, except for the inner one. So the journey goes inward, looking in, looking out, looking in.
But I'm in a foreign place, witness me trying to find a towel at the sprawling marketplace a few days ago. I had left mine somewhere during last week's trek, and I was getting sick of drying myself with a sweatshirt after taking a shower, so I set off to find a little shop that had towels. There are thousands of stalls all over the market area, fashion, gems, singing bowls, tee shirts, buddha sculptures, dried fish, dried fish, dried fish, dresses, strawberries, I need a freakin' towel. I asked someone who pointed round the corner to the 'market', which made no sense to me as the whole thing seemed like a market that stretched forever. Finally a guy walked me to the right building (which seemed identical to all the other places I had just been, but what do I know, this was the market. And voila! a place that had towels. (What's the opposite of 'plush?' Maybe threadbare? but hey I picked a golden/yellow threadbare towel, and hey, it packs up small. Road towel...
Back to my doppelganger, likely the most honest person I've ever met. I've never caught a whiff of anything other than stright up truth, and wow, what an opportunity for a window into the culture. I can see whatever I can see as an outsider, all the while knowing that I'm not seeing a tenth of what's going on. Now I have a friend who says, 'ask me a question' as part of our interaction. And I know that the answer comes back true. That is worth it's weight in gold. (like a golden towel?)
And it's not such a pretty picture, which makes the truthful aspect that much more profound. She shared some of her fears about 'what happens if I get sick and can't work?' (and she is having some pain in her liver area which is sending her to the clinic today, a year after having an appendectomy that really set her back financially). She's got no insurance. She kept up the payments for awhile, but she just couldn't survive while shelling out $50 a month for insurance, so she had to let it lapse. Scary stuff, especially when you're in pain and there's no one to take care of you except you.
Incidentally, and I'm sure any readers will be thinking the same way I'd be thinking if I were reading about a guy connecting with a Thai woman. 'Careful, Rich, she wants to hook you up as her sugar daddy'. That story gets played out thousands of times daily all over the country. It's a convenient way for a woman to get that economic boost which would be hard to duplicate any other way in this economy. Hook the guy, then he's suddenly paying a few hundred a month to help her family, That vibe permeates the air here, and you hear story after story after story. But I'd lay money that it's not this particular story. It just isn't. (famous last words?) No, it just isn't, I can tell.
Maybe it's because she is a fiercely independent, ambitious woman, whose identity seems to be wrapped up in being truthful. When talking about the last guy she was dating (American), she was annoyed that he was a jealous type who was always asking 'where were you'. 'I'don't ask him where he is, why he always ask me where I am?' 'Double standard' is a phrase that I taught her to add to her English lexicon.
She shared some of the confusion about not being sure who she is anymore, straddling the Thai and Farang world, the Thais sometimes think she's crossed over into the foreign world. The first time we got together, she said something that really caught my ear. 'I'm bad'. I said, why are you bad? She said you'll find out, so I asked her again, and again she gave the same answer. My mind went to places like, 'was she abused?', Is she bad because she dates guys, because she smokes and drinks? Was she ever in the 'Hi Handsome Man' bar circuit?
Last night, Saturday, I went by the bar late to find out if we were going to get together today as we had talked about earlier in the week. Sunday is her one day off, so if we were ever going to get to have a time to hang out some, it would be today. I actually had reservations about going over there, I wasn't sure if she was into it, into me, it's also hard to have a conversation while someone is working, so a part of my brain went into 'forget about it' mode, and I considered the idea of just staying in and going to bed. But then again, I had suggested the Sunday get-together, so come on, dude, at least follow through with your end of things, so I went.
She seemed pretty non-descript about seeing me walk in, I couldn't get a read on it, but I hung out as the last of the musicians finished singing some drunken songs around the table. There is this Norwegian dude named Roy with a big voice who loves johnny Cash of all people, imitates him great, and is quite something to hear. He was holding forth for the last remnants of the Saturday night crowd, and it was pretty funny hearing drunken French people singing 'Because you're mine, I walk ze line'. Guess you had to be there.
I checked in with M and once the bar was closed down, she invited me to go have a drink with her at the bar next door, which we did. We sat in the corner and had a great conversation that featured, 'ask me a question, you have a question, ask me a question' 'Why are you bad?' Because i drink and smoke and go out with men... She talked about how usually if a guy asks her about how many other people she has been with, they get upset if she tells them the truth. (double standard again, eh). We talked about a lot of stuff, mostly about her, she seems more comfortable talking about herself than wanting to know anything about me, but that's cool.
I wanted to put a nagging suspicion to rest, so I asked her if she ever worked in the bars where the girls try to take the customers home for money. She said a long time ago, she did. A wave of compassion welled up in me, as it seems like such a crushing way to earn a livelihood. I just wanted to hug her. She said that at the time, she literally had nothing to eat, and a friend suggested that she could earn money that way. I think she was working a day job at that time also, but she just wasn't making it, so that was the alternative. Sad stuff, at least to my ears, but the fact that she would be willing to tell me the truth of that made my respect for her grow a lot. How easy it would have been to say, 'No I never did that'. Wouldn't that be the normal move to make when talking to a guy you were interested in? Just a little lie and what's the harm? But she's not oriented like that, she's a straight up truth teller, and wow, am I grateful for that.
I'm gonna see her later today for that English/Thai interchange, and then she asked if I'd go with her to the clinic at 5. Beyond that there is the famous Sunday walking street, where they close off one of the main drags, and artisans, food vendors and tons of people get together for the weekly market. Sounds like a date, who knew?
Keep it really simple
I love it. I'm down to a couple of changes of clothes, a towel, toilet kit, guitar, good books to read, a place to hang out, and 24 hours in the day. It totally fits my psyche, and reminds me of when I was walking on the camino and hearing from people how hard it was to leave all their stuff behind. It always struck me the opposite way. The stuff is a burden, takes up too much time, energy, focus. I don't think I've ever been happier than on that walk. Freedom....
I'm feeling that kind of groove lately, and part of it has to do with not having a travel partner. Any time I've ever traveled with someone,(except for my son), it's been the end of the relationship. You want to break up with me? let's take a trip, that'll do it. It's as though there is something encoded in my soul which is a serious 'loner'. I look around at all the couples who are having meals together, poring over maps, checking into the guest house, and rather than feel envious, I feel really glad that it ain't me in that duet.
I reckon I'm not alone in that comfort zone, uh let's see... there's the Unabomber, and I don't know, Rip Van Winkle, and I'm sure a few more examples. But this period of time in which I wake up when I want, go where I want, talk to who I want, think a lot, write a lot, make a lot of music, read a lot, it's just delightful. And if I have to choose between loneliness and being burdened, give me the loneliness any time. Don't know why it's like that, just is.
I've been in Thailand about a week and a half, and pretty soon, (day after tomorrow, most likely), I'm gonna grab a little mini-bus up to Pai, for a couple of days in the hills near the Myanmar (Burma) border. I hear it's a cool spot, great for trekking, with a hip and musical vibe to boot. Sounds like about a 2 day stay up there with some hiking and hanging out on the agenda. After that, I'm planning on coming back to Chiang Mai and starting a trip into Laos and then Vietnam.
I'm feeling that kind of groove lately, and part of it has to do with not having a travel partner. Any time I've ever traveled with someone,(except for my son), it's been the end of the relationship. You want to break up with me? let's take a trip, that'll do it. It's as though there is something encoded in my soul which is a serious 'loner'. I look around at all the couples who are having meals together, poring over maps, checking into the guest house, and rather than feel envious, I feel really glad that it ain't me in that duet.
I reckon I'm not alone in that comfort zone, uh let's see... there's the Unabomber, and I don't know, Rip Van Winkle, and I'm sure a few more examples. But this period of time in which I wake up when I want, go where I want, talk to who I want, think a lot, write a lot, make a lot of music, read a lot, it's just delightful. And if I have to choose between loneliness and being burdened, give me the loneliness any time. Don't know why it's like that, just is.
I've been in Thailand about a week and a half, and pretty soon, (day after tomorrow, most likely), I'm gonna grab a little mini-bus up to Pai, for a couple of days in the hills near the Myanmar (Burma) border. I hear it's a cool spot, great for trekking, with a hip and musical vibe to boot. Sounds like about a 2 day stay up there with some hiking and hanging out on the agenda. After that, I'm planning on coming back to Chiang Mai and starting a trip into Laos and then Vietnam.
Last one Stateside
It's hard to get out of town, especially for your friendly adult ADD space cadet. How to consolidate one's possessions into a small backpack and then beat it out of town. It's so easy to get bogged down in the miasma of stuff that we engorge ourselves with. Speaking of my asthma, it's very under control these days, just about a non-factor, which bodes well.
But back to the stuff.... there's something really positive about doing without. It's cliche to opine that we've got wayyyyy too much crap in our lives, I think we all know this, but it's another thing to disconnect from the cell phone, and strip a few months down to some simple clothing, a pair of walking shoes, pair of sandals, something to read, something to make music with, and then see what happens with that freedom to simply experience the world.
I remember 10 years ago when I walked the Camino de Santiago across Spain, it felt like the most natural thing to be doing, wake up, put on the pack, hit the road, repeat. Have I ever been happier, probably not. Simple joy of walking on the earth.
I've been thinking about cameras and videos and expectations about how one 'should' travel. In this Facebook world, it's all about the images. And to go off to exotic places without a camera is absolutely ludicrous to most people. But my thought is that people have wandered for millenia, and it's only in the last few generations that a journey has become a chance to take a bunch of pictures to show to the folks back home.... or to upload....or to have as mementos for some later time. I just never could quite get to that definition. Part of it is technophobia, not wanting to learn new machines, buttons, cables, uploading etc, but part of it is also some kind of anachronistic streak of wanting to journey for its own sake. I definitely like to put words onto the stuff that happens... like people have been doing for centuries, so that's still my plan, facebook be damned! No Photos for You! (soup Nazi voice)
OK Craigslist dude, get here like you said you would. Time to split.
But back to the stuff.... there's something really positive about doing without. It's cliche to opine that we've got wayyyyy too much crap in our lives, I think we all know this, but it's another thing to disconnect from the cell phone, and strip a few months down to some simple clothing, a pair of walking shoes, pair of sandals, something to read, something to make music with, and then see what happens with that freedom to simply experience the world.
I remember 10 years ago when I walked the Camino de Santiago across Spain, it felt like the most natural thing to be doing, wake up, put on the pack, hit the road, repeat. Have I ever been happier, probably not. Simple joy of walking on the earth.
I've been thinking about cameras and videos and expectations about how one 'should' travel. In this Facebook world, it's all about the images. And to go off to exotic places without a camera is absolutely ludicrous to most people. But my thought is that people have wandered for millenia, and it's only in the last few generations that a journey has become a chance to take a bunch of pictures to show to the folks back home.... or to upload....or to have as mementos for some later time. I just never could quite get to that definition. Part of it is technophobia, not wanting to learn new machines, buttons, cables, uploading etc, but part of it is also some kind of anachronistic streak of wanting to journey for its own sake. I definitely like to put words onto the stuff that happens... like people have been doing for centuries, so that's still my plan, facebook be damned! No Photos for You! (soup Nazi voice)
OK Craigslist dude, get here like you said you would. Time to split.
Well Lookee Here...
A couple of free internet stations at the Hong Kong Airport and me with an hour or so to kill before hopping the plane to Bangkok. Seems fortuitous, not that I have any great thing to say, other than, holy fuckin' hell, it's hard to sit in the middle seat on a fourteen hour flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. I slept maybe twenty minutes total, so by the time I get to Thailand, I'll be pretty spaced.
Definitely had some 'what the hell am I doing?' fears realizing that I'll land in Bangkok without a clue as to how to proceed, but so it goes. I guess it adds to the 'charm'. It's often been the case that the more lost and hapless I begin, then the resolution is that much sweeter. So we're hoping for that sort of outcome.
The weather in Hong Kong is exactly the same as it was in San Francisco, 42 and raining. A certain symmetry in that, I suppose. I was happy to make it up to Portland with my Craigslist ride, who dropped me off at a Max station on the east side of town, where it was a convenient mass transit ride to the airport. It was freezing in Portland, with a biting north wind, and I sat and froze there for 20 minutes waiting for the streetcar to arrive. Since I didn't bring anything particularly warm to the tropics, it was a nice blast of icy chill that won't be repeated for a couple months, if then. Adios winter!
Sorry for the boring post, but nothing's happened yet, so I'm just checking in while the internet is free. Thank you Hong Kong Airport. Next stop Thailand. and hopefully a place to get some sleep, somehow. Ciao for now...
Definitely had some 'what the hell am I doing?' fears realizing that I'll land in Bangkok without a clue as to how to proceed, but so it goes. I guess it adds to the 'charm'. It's often been the case that the more lost and hapless I begin, then the resolution is that much sweeter. So we're hoping for that sort of outcome.
The weather in Hong Kong is exactly the same as it was in San Francisco, 42 and raining. A certain symmetry in that, I suppose. I was happy to make it up to Portland with my Craigslist ride, who dropped me off at a Max station on the east side of town, where it was a convenient mass transit ride to the airport. It was freezing in Portland, with a biting north wind, and I sat and froze there for 20 minutes waiting for the streetcar to arrive. Since I didn't bring anything particularly warm to the tropics, it was a nice blast of icy chill that won't be repeated for a couple months, if then. Adios winter!
Sorry for the boring post, but nothing's happened yet, so I'm just checking in while the internet is free. Thank you Hong Kong Airport. Next stop Thailand. and hopefully a place to get some sleep, somehow. Ciao for now...
Signed Sealed Delivered....
I think I have it in me to keep my eyes open for half an hour to give some first impressions of my first day in Thailand. For starters, it was incredibly smooth sailing as I made a good and lucky choice to go ahead and try and book a flight up to Chiang Mai just as soon as I cleared Immigration and Passport Control. Turns out that there were a couple of seats left on a real convenient flight into Chiang Mai, and it went off without a hitch. The timing was perfect, and I've been able to carry on my guitar on all the flights which makes things that much easier.
So after a solid two days of travel, I've made it from Eugene to Chiang Mai, where I took a taxi into town with a cool driver, who took me to a nice and cheap guest house (where he gets a little cut from the owner for bringing in tourists). If I spend a week here (likely) I'll end up paying about $8.50/night for a decent room with a ceiling fan and a private bathroom with hot shower. It's a couple blocks from the action, and I'm on the 5th floor, so it's gonna be quiet and restful, which is exactly what I'm looking for here.
Chiang Mai seems to be a cross between a holy Buddhist city and a hip western playground. There are incredible majestic Golden Temples everywhere in the old city, many young monks dressed in bright orange are serving and praying. And in between the temples are thai massage places (by the hundreds), restaurants, cooking classes, bars, street vendors, and thousands of motorcycles swarming the streets and making it pretty hard to get across. Most signs are in English, offering meals, deals, treks in the mountains, all the tourist stuff that has become a huge part of the lifeblood of the city. We got the cash, and they aim to extract it. But it all seems quite safe and friendly, lots of western families are on the streets and there is little or no paranoia. Nice....
When I finally put my backpack down and stretched out on the bed upon my arrival, it was kinda blissful, especially after a huge amount of travel. Blitzed to blissed in an instant. But I had to move after days of forced inactivity, so I spent several hours wandering the streets, getting lost and found, checking out the river, the nighttime bazaar, the street food etc. It looks like a great place to land and dig in to a new country. Perfect choice, and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with Bangkok yet. This is much more my speed. But I'll need some Deet pretty quick, I'm getting bitten by mosquitos, and I didn't take any malaria meds, so those little critters are unwelcome. Tomorrow = Deet.
A final word on photography. It's definitely a hot topic for me at the moment, and after my last justification for not bringing a camera, I was feeling kinda lame and like, 'OK dude, learn how to use a camera, it ain't that hard, even a techno-tard like you can upload some images'. And then I saw several scenes of monks lighting candles, praying in the temples, chanting etc, and these westerners were snapping shot after shot, as if the monks were there for photo ops. Struck me real poorly, like that old story about stealing the soul by taking pictures. To all my friends who are great and soulful photographers, (and there are many of you), God bless you, I totally support what you do. (but leave the monks alone, right?). I heard a group of them chanting the evening prayers and it was so beautiful and spirited. It made my skin start to tingle as I tried to intone along.
Day one in the books. Time to sleep! zzzzzzzzzz
So after a solid two days of travel, I've made it from Eugene to Chiang Mai, where I took a taxi into town with a cool driver, who took me to a nice and cheap guest house (where he gets a little cut from the owner for bringing in tourists). If I spend a week here (likely) I'll end up paying about $8.50/night for a decent room with a ceiling fan and a private bathroom with hot shower. It's a couple blocks from the action, and I'm on the 5th floor, so it's gonna be quiet and restful, which is exactly what I'm looking for here.
Chiang Mai seems to be a cross between a holy Buddhist city and a hip western playground. There are incredible majestic Golden Temples everywhere in the old city, many young monks dressed in bright orange are serving and praying. And in between the temples are thai massage places (by the hundreds), restaurants, cooking classes, bars, street vendors, and thousands of motorcycles swarming the streets and making it pretty hard to get across. Most signs are in English, offering meals, deals, treks in the mountains, all the tourist stuff that has become a huge part of the lifeblood of the city. We got the cash, and they aim to extract it. But it all seems quite safe and friendly, lots of western families are on the streets and there is little or no paranoia. Nice....
When I finally put my backpack down and stretched out on the bed upon my arrival, it was kinda blissful, especially after a huge amount of travel. Blitzed to blissed in an instant. But I had to move after days of forced inactivity, so I spent several hours wandering the streets, getting lost and found, checking out the river, the nighttime bazaar, the street food etc. It looks like a great place to land and dig in to a new country. Perfect choice, and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with Bangkok yet. This is much more my speed. But I'll need some Deet pretty quick, I'm getting bitten by mosquitos, and I didn't take any malaria meds, so those little critters are unwelcome. Tomorrow = Deet.
A final word on photography. It's definitely a hot topic for me at the moment, and after my last justification for not bringing a camera, I was feeling kinda lame and like, 'OK dude, learn how to use a camera, it ain't that hard, even a techno-tard like you can upload some images'. And then I saw several scenes of monks lighting candles, praying in the temples, chanting etc, and these westerners were snapping shot after shot, as if the monks were there for photo ops. Struck me real poorly, like that old story about stealing the soul by taking pictures. To all my friends who are great and soulful photographers, (and there are many of you), God bless you, I totally support what you do. (but leave the monks alone, right?). I heard a group of them chanting the evening prayers and it was so beautiful and spirited. It made my skin start to tingle as I tried to intone along.
Day one in the books. Time to sleep! zzzzzzzzzz
Re re re re spect
'Respect' seems to be built into the culture here, and I find it very appealing. This morning I heard some amplified music coming from the technical school across the street so I went down the hall, looked out from the 5th floor balcony and saw the young teenagers gathering for their school day. There is a security guard who greets then at the end of the driveway, and each child would put their hands in prayer position as they walked past, hundreds of kids, and he returned each greeting with a jovial salute. The kids were in uniform, black shoes, black pants, burgundy shirts and they gathered for a flag raising ceremony at the beginning of the school day. The music switched to what I assume was the national anthem, as the colors were raised.
On my morning walk, I heard more music being piped in to an elementary school playground where upwards of 500 kids were sitting in formation, each class with their own colored shirts over black pants or skirts. I believe that it was the first day of school, and there was a ceremony in which they came up to the front of the assemblage and made offerings to a group of monks who were collecting the food and putting it into large baskets. The backdrop to this activity was a 15 century stone wat, some 50 feet in height, which is just outside of the school gate. So there they were, a group of orange clad monks, sitting in front of an ancient monument, and receiving gifts from each child of the school. It was tradition and history and a sense of belonging to something greater. Very lovely scene for this solo traveler.
That's right, solo, but not lonely. I have a strange contentment in simply being here in the moment. No great desires, no need to connect, I think I'm in some kind of trance, actually. Even though I'm aware of the buzzing city, the signs, the motorcycles, the hustles, I'm not feeling any judgment about it, which for those of you who know me, is kind of weird, me being one of the more judgmental people that I know. (not that I'm making a judgment about it, of course). But maybe there is something in this place that is way way deeper than this year's 'high season' when the town is full of tourists. It's a holy city after all, and the temples and monuments speak to a vibe that easily transcends the rushing around, the search for the next day trip to the zip line, or minibus to the elephant rides.
There's something about the monks that tells me that they are the protectors of spirit here. And the fact that there is an organized ritual in which the school children support the monks, strikes me as a very very good thing. It bespeaks (sorry for that word) a culture that values history, spirit and respect.
posted by Rich Glauber at 8:36 PM
On my morning walk, I heard more music being piped in to an elementary school playground where upwards of 500 kids were sitting in formation, each class with their own colored shirts over black pants or skirts. I believe that it was the first day of school, and there was a ceremony in which they came up to the front of the assemblage and made offerings to a group of monks who were collecting the food and putting it into large baskets. The backdrop to this activity was a 15 century stone wat, some 50 feet in height, which is just outside of the school gate. So there they were, a group of orange clad monks, sitting in front of an ancient monument, and receiving gifts from each child of the school. It was tradition and history and a sense of belonging to something greater. Very lovely scene for this solo traveler.
That's right, solo, but not lonely. I have a strange contentment in simply being here in the moment. No great desires, no need to connect, I think I'm in some kind of trance, actually. Even though I'm aware of the buzzing city, the signs, the motorcycles, the hustles, I'm not feeling any judgment about it, which for those of you who know me, is kind of weird, me being one of the more judgmental people that I know. (not that I'm making a judgment about it, of course). But maybe there is something in this place that is way way deeper than this year's 'high season' when the town is full of tourists. It's a holy city after all, and the temples and monuments speak to a vibe that easily transcends the rushing around, the search for the next day trip to the zip line, or minibus to the elephant rides.
There's something about the monks that tells me that they are the protectors of spirit here. And the fact that there is an organized ritual in which the school children support the monks, strikes me as a very very good thing. It bespeaks (sorry for that word) a culture that values history, spirit and respect.
posted by Rich Glauber at 8:36 PM
A Friend in Music
Spent a great hour or two sitting on a park bench in a little grassy area above the river this afternoon, me and my guitar. I wasn't planning on the guitar being my 'friend' on this trip, but rather a key to making connections with the folks in my vicinity. That will likely happen a lot, it's happened to some small degree already, like when I was knocking out some tunes in the airport waiting for the flight to Chiang Mai and some Kiwis and Italians came close to listen and enjoy. I love a little audience, it brings out the performer/shtick meister in me, and it's usually a lot of laughts.
But today I was on my own, and in need of some kind of anchor, so it was a perfect time to find a quiet spot and let the music out. I haven't written much lately, and that's been bugging me, so I made a conscious attempt to dig in and see what I could find. One of my strategies is to take songs that I really like, and analyze what it is specifically that appeals to me, and then borrow that concept as a starting point for exploring. Take the song 'Yesterday' for example. The first three notes of the song set it up beautifully.... a second, dropping down to the root, giving it a sense of elegance, of landing. There are a bunch of songs that do the same thing, and I'm drawn to that little figure. So I messed around with that concept for awhile, and then a few others as well, figuring that it's a nice way to build something.
That's how I tend to work when I'm searching for a new song; I'd liken it to flipping through a rolo-dex of ideas, putting them together in different ways to see if anything sticks, if anything triggers. I suppose it's a structured approach, kind of like carpentry, which is the way I describe my musical process. Here's how things fit together, here's a way to build something, here are some of the choices that have worked for different songwriters, so let's construct something out of the elements that I most enjoy.
It felt good to make a concerted effort, and hell, it's a good way to practice and gain mastery, even though nothing memorable emerged. But then I kept at it until I found something in the key of E (a place I almost never write in) and that 'thing' happened. It's like there is a little bell that goes 'ding' when I come upon a seed of an idea that wants to develop. It could be a pairing of words, could be a concept that strikes my funny bone, could be a new guitar trick that I stumble upon, that makes me want to tend it, water it and let it grow. Today's seed was something about sitting by a muddy river, but I don't mind.... when the light hits it just right, all the diamonds shine. Tune is on the way, I'm guessing. Better hit it again tomorrow so there is a strong enough impression in my brain.
Now of course, it I were Mr technology, I'd have some kind of mobile recording device for these sorts of things, but I have a theory that people choose the level of technology they're comfortable with and then live that way. I have friends who don't use a computer cuz they don't want to. I'm a couple of steps up the ladder from that, but not too many. To each his own, I imagine. But yeah, I think I'll get some kind of device before too long. Too many good ideas might get lost in the noise....
On the way back from the river, I was approached by 4 teenage girls, one of whom asked me 'Do you have any tam?' I said, 'Do I have any what?' She repeated 'tam'. I said, 'Do I have any Time?' She said yes yes. I said, yes, I have time. They were doing a project for their English class in which they had to interview a foreigner and ask a few questions about 'what do you think of Chiang Mai?' What is your favorite thing here etc. Three of them were asking me the questions and the 4th was recording it (mobile recording device AHA!). It was a very sweet interlude, we were all delighted with the interaction, and it was a lovely moment in time, right in front of yet another incredible temple complex. The people here are very sweet and kind. They smile easily and there is much kindness in the air.
But today I was on my own, and in need of some kind of anchor, so it was a perfect time to find a quiet spot and let the music out. I haven't written much lately, and that's been bugging me, so I made a conscious attempt to dig in and see what I could find. One of my strategies is to take songs that I really like, and analyze what it is specifically that appeals to me, and then borrow that concept as a starting point for exploring. Take the song 'Yesterday' for example. The first three notes of the song set it up beautifully.... a second, dropping down to the root, giving it a sense of elegance, of landing. There are a bunch of songs that do the same thing, and I'm drawn to that little figure. So I messed around with that concept for awhile, and then a few others as well, figuring that it's a nice way to build something.
That's how I tend to work when I'm searching for a new song; I'd liken it to flipping through a rolo-dex of ideas, putting them together in different ways to see if anything sticks, if anything triggers. I suppose it's a structured approach, kind of like carpentry, which is the way I describe my musical process. Here's how things fit together, here's a way to build something, here are some of the choices that have worked for different songwriters, so let's construct something out of the elements that I most enjoy.
It felt good to make a concerted effort, and hell, it's a good way to practice and gain mastery, even though nothing memorable emerged. But then I kept at it until I found something in the key of E (a place I almost never write in) and that 'thing' happened. It's like there is a little bell that goes 'ding' when I come upon a seed of an idea that wants to develop. It could be a pairing of words, could be a concept that strikes my funny bone, could be a new guitar trick that I stumble upon, that makes me want to tend it, water it and let it grow. Today's seed was something about sitting by a muddy river, but I don't mind.... when the light hits it just right, all the diamonds shine. Tune is on the way, I'm guessing. Better hit it again tomorrow so there is a strong enough impression in my brain.
Now of course, it I were Mr technology, I'd have some kind of mobile recording device for these sorts of things, but I have a theory that people choose the level of technology they're comfortable with and then live that way. I have friends who don't use a computer cuz they don't want to. I'm a couple of steps up the ladder from that, but not too many. To each his own, I imagine. But yeah, I think I'll get some kind of device before too long. Too many good ideas might get lost in the noise....
On the way back from the river, I was approached by 4 teenage girls, one of whom asked me 'Do you have any tam?' I said, 'Do I have any what?' She repeated 'tam'. I said, 'Do I have any Time?' She said yes yes. I said, yes, I have time. They were doing a project for their English class in which they had to interview a foreigner and ask a few questions about 'what do you think of Chiang Mai?' What is your favorite thing here etc. Three of them were asking me the questions and the 4th was recording it (mobile recording device AHA!). It was a very sweet interlude, we were all delighted with the interaction, and it was a lovely moment in time, right in front of yet another incredible temple complex. The people here are very sweet and kind. They smile easily and there is much kindness in the air.
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