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July 01, 2004

July 1, 2004

So anyhoo... where was I? Oh yeah, I remember now - So there I was, knee-deep in hand grenade pins and shell casings, and I says to myself, "Self, go west young man, go west..." (it's kinda northwest from Houston but being as I'm GPS-less, I think we'll just go with west). On or around May 10th, I up and moved my sorry ass to Austin, Texas (is there another Austin that screams for clarification of that?) and I gotta say it was equal parts joy and fear and a whole bunch of "time to put up or shut up."

Let's fast forward a bit - recently at work (I work as a Consulting/Demonstration Chef for the Seafood market at Central Market at 38th and Lamar in Austin) I saw a very familiar face and couldn't quite place it. He was wearing a BMI hat and he seemed like I might know him as a musician or SOMETHING, hell... Turns out to to be good ol' Brendon Anthony who plays fiddle for Pat Green and has for the last 8 years. He was a cordial as always and we chatted for a bit and so on and so forth.

What in the name of all things that are holy does this have to do with anything you are asking yourself? Well sports fans, Brendon was the 1st person I ever saw in an RK hat. Way back when, at the now defunct Satellite Lounge. It might have been as early as '97 but I'm pretty sure it was pre-REK Uprising 1998 (back when yours truly was a dyed in the wool quaffer of double shots of chilled Tuaca and Shiner Bock longnecks). I was front and center at a Pat Green show at the Fab Sat with famous Camp Allen alumni Mikey "Highway" Wilcher and we were more f@#ked up than a snake in a lawn mover.

I remember looking at that handsome devil Brendon with my one good eye and thinking, "Huh, ya know? he'd be be only half as handsome if he wasn't wearing that snazzy hat. Uh... Reck... uh... Reckless? Reckless Kelly? Who the hell are they? Must be good if Pat's fiddle player is wearing the hat." I might also have fuzzily remembered that Robert Plant was wearing a Dread Zeppelin shirt at his shows but regardless, that must mean that RK = cool. What the hell? My math ain't so swell so if i need to carry the 9 or E=mc/RK then by all means correct this.

So, my long winded point (do I have any other kinds?) is this: I blame Brendon for me being where I am now and I think that makes me a pretty lucky chap. I work at a very laid back job and have made some good freinds fast. I have had a chance to see some of the best parts of Texas on my bike and from my car. I have reaquainted myself with old friends and touched base with some recent additions to all things Everlovin. And, it look like I might just get to play some music too...

Speaking of music, did you know that Austin is the Live music capital of the world? Someone down at the Chamber of Commerce 'ought to incoprate that into the city logo or something. By the way, as I write this, Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye" is playing on the store's PA. I work in a place that plays Jeff Buckley - not bad.

Since arriving in Austin I've had the INCREDIBLE luck of seeing:

I'm sure a ton more that I'm forgetting but needless to say I'm so happy here.
Plus, I started writing again - music & MY COLUMN. I have my drum kit set up in my house! How cool is that???? (thanks again JP Strong)

I have really found what I think will be my future and my life here and wherever I end up! This leads me to state this for those who feel tied to where they are and what they do vs. where they want to be and what they want to be doing: You can not measure a dream. It has no size or height requirement before you get on.
No one, and I MEAN no one, can tell you it's too big and I don't believe God allows for small dreams. My life changed significantly when I moved here and at the same time it became so much more simple. I know who I am and I know what I want. I know the sound in my heart and it is AMAZING. I hope I have the wherewithal to bring it to the surface and I think that maybe I have that ability for others too. Maybe not the tools, but that can be learned and I'm willing.

I've learned that sometimes "the style to which I've become accustomed" is not as lofty as it sounds. It can be a dungeon and not all dungeons are in the basement. Our hero WB wrote once, "I sat up in my tower while the whole world passed me by". "I'm not in it for the money" - I belive our hero MB wrote that one. I'm not even close to having any money in the bank and I have not set foot on a stage in a long time and my last outing was less than stellar BUT I'm gonna do it and I won't be stopped by too many things. I think the day will come when you will have to pry my guitar out of my cold dead hands to get me to stop playing and seeking that sound that we all search for. I hear it and I want to emulate it BUT I will make it my own and I will share it with those who found it before me and those who are seeking it still.

Its really not even about the music. You'll find that its about us. If I hadn't seen that hat or not seen RK or written a song or met you or vice versa then not much of this would matter would it? We'd be just be whisps of what could have been.
I can tell you this, I refuse to be a whisp of anything and most of you feel the same way I bet. I doesn't take much to do one thing, one time a day for yourself and even less to do it for someone else. Who knows, it might be the kickstart to a dream, or the nudge, or the everything you got, or the last straw, or the 1st light
but it'll be a day that will resonate in your soul and in those around you forever. Try it - I did and I find its a ton easier to be in there in the muck than it is to try not to get any on ya! What's the fun in that? God damn, it's pretty ok huh? It's not quite $145 million but i'll take it... and make mine to go. I've gotta get to a show. It might be my turn to play - heck, it might be yours...

THINGS THAT (FOR SURE) YOU SHOULD GIVE A SHOT

What a mystic sound ...








Posted by reh at July 1, 2004 11:01 PM

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