Things that fill ones soul

Life can be somewhat full of trivial nonsense. Things that while fun and exciting sometimes don’t necessarily have the most substance in the world. And for the most part these little things, make us happy sometimes, and there’s nothing bad about that. However every once in a awhile something as simple as meeting someone, can be…. well…. totally worth it.

This past month i have had some random brushes with fame, through film festival parties and some other events along the way. In most cases i act a little bit below my years and indulge in the act of drooling over certain people, weather its because i admire their talents, or because the celebrity factor gets the better of me. But when i think about it, its all trivial, the oggeling and the groveling over some of these people. I mean seriously they are just people.

THAT IS UNTIL you meet the people that matter. I saw a young man perform tonight, and he put on a great show, with a crowd that not only had not heard any of his music, but was there to see the follow up act ( one i totally bailed on so i could drive home in order to wake up for a 9AM meeting tomorrow). He tried his bestest to get this crowd going, but it was unfortunately small and lacking the attention span to appreciate  what they had before them.

Most people will laugh at me for posting some of this, if anything simply because ive been known to have the musical taste of well a 12 year old, but my sense music and eclectic mix of likes and dislikes has meant i hear just about everything you put in front of me and for the most part can identify things i like in almost anything from country to rap. I am a true connoisseur of movie soundtrack and perhaps the only area i will be extremely knowledgeable on, but with the rest of the music out there, i simply listen to things and find the ones i like and carry them with me until the end.

Needless to say as i heard Mr. Eric Hutchinson this evening, at the Catalys in Santa Cruz, i felt that combination of slight starstruck and giddyness, but also a sense of respect and admiration for someone who writes music i not only love listening too, but ADORE singing. Its music that connects with me at a much deeper level. If today in that room of people who simply don’t know who Eric is and who will maybe just maybe scratch their heads for 2 seconds and listen closer to figure out what it is they’ve just heard and how catchy it is…. then i can safely say Eric has done his job, and I can be happy that more people can marvel in the melodic goodness that is his music.

The stage is like a little bit of playhouse for him, you see his moves clearly without hesitation, which are very controlled and calculated. but he comes of fresh as a butterfly, and can be as self deprecating as the rest of us, particularly the comment made just before the last song of his set were he kindly reminded those folks who where just stepping in the room that they had just “missed his entire set…thanks”. The snarky tone and the cool delivery make him so enjoyable to watch, that i kept hoping he would do the JT skit simply because in those few moment of folly, people can start to appreciate the skill it takes to sing as he sings and to carry the soulful tunes he carries so well and not be too serious or too full of himself! He did the best he could with the crowd that he got and that is a tough gig to do in the first place…..

I met him after the show, he signed the sheet music to one of his singles, and he let me take a picture of himself with me.

Of all my encounters with fame, this is perhaps the one that’s meant the most, not because it was status quo to be in admiration of the person on stage, but because I love the craftsmanship of his music, i love the way it makes me feel and i love the way it makes the trivial things kind of matter, because put simply that photo and that signature represent a true artist, and I have a lot of respect to have a little piece of that!

it also makes me want to sit at my piano and properly record the crap that i write, hahah cause for better or for worse that also makes me happy !

when bernadette comes I get lost on her time
she’s much too sweet and she’s always gonna be
when i return to her arms and her eyes
it might not be the same but it’s alright with me

Ok its all right with me - Sounds like this

went to a party on the side of a hill
met three latinas who had gotten their fill.
they told me “nobody ever gets us down on our knees
simply to help us take a load off our feet.”

Oh! - Sounds like this

If you get anything out of this, its that you need to listen to his music… and thats about as much PR as i can do for the man!!!!