#tearwallsdown

[permanentlyradical]

Women’s March Minnesota

[biscuitbrigade]

We put up walls that don't exist. I guess it's survival or something, or maybe it's just America and our fucked up culture here. I love this land don't get me wrong but seriously folks, we got some learnin' to do. I've not got it all figured out by any means but I think some things in life are just simple. We should allow ourselves to be open and free of so many shackles we put on ourselves. I'm not even talking like, let's not wear clothes and free love or any of that which is all fine and good. I'm talking about connections with people and deep conversations and dancing and going to a job that you don't completely despise. I find that music really helps to tear these walls down that we put up and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful that I get to be a part of this crazy thing. Music is basically responsible for the following things: Meeting my amazing girlfriend Becky who came to ASB shows and danced and then eventually I was playing fiddle at Dick's Den and we reconnected there, taking me to Europe when I toured with a country band in 2009 I went to 7 different countries, making me more confident having to be on stage and pour my heart out to random strangers almost daily, helping my relationship with my brother..we used to fight WHILE we were playing sets..now we get along better than ever, I get to see my dad a lot and spend quality time with him, forcing me to organize my life better and prioritize the things that matter...well, like music! I've met amazing people which is too big of a list to even put on here. Doors have been open to certain places that maybe they wouldn't have before..or maybe they'd have been too uncomfortable for me to even try to open but music just made it all easy. It really gives an "excuse" to be able to talk to people and just open up. 

Last night my friends Joey and Anna put on a house concert in their home. They had never done it before and my friend Heather Lloyd was coming through from Baltimore and needed a place to play. I asked Joey because I just figured he was the right type to have a concert as he is a huge music fan. I was right, he put on a KILLER house concert with great food, great ambience, and great great people. I hadn't seen Heather play for a while and she was great. Her lyrics are great and her voice is just killer. The environment was perfect for her songs because people listened. They were very respectful and her songs were given the perfect light to shine in. I got to meet a ton of people that never probably would have heard our music before. This music thing opened ALL those doors and everyone had a great time. Heather was introduced to so many new people in C-Bus and I heard multiple people say "hey Heather you have a place to stay next time you come through" and things of this nature. Music puts faith and trust into people enough where they will open up their homes to people that were complete strangers the night before.

After the house concert, which I made sure was over by around 10:30p I went to Brothers Drake to sit in on violin with Talisha Holmes. Talisha and I met through Evan Oberla of EOP and who also plays trombone with OAR from time to time. She was singing back up in his band for a bit and I had heard her play at Ruby Tuesday way back with a band called the Northwood Project. Her voice just filled that room up and I hadn't really connected with her much through the years, we must have gone with different crowds or whatever. Evan gave me her number so I cold called her asking to sing with my new group (Biscuit Brigade). She didn't really get back to me so I figured I'd continue the search. I got an email like a week or so later explaining she was on vacation or something, I forget. We ended up meeting up and singing with Abby Dorn and it was just great. Sooo flash forward to last night at Bros Drake..sorry got off track there. Talisha has an amazing roster of musicians playing with her and we rehearsed the other day, me sitting in on violin. The rehearsal went ok but the stage is where this band shines for sure. I couldn't believe how great everything sounded especially after a kind of lack luster rehearsal. Rehearsals can be very much like that too, not any fault to the band. Often everyone is tired, it's late, people are getting off gigs or what not and they don't want to be there. Again, not a fault to these amazing musicians. Plus, it was more of a "this song is like this, ok go home and shed" and everyone did just that. The show was kind of transcendent, for lack of better term. I was taken to a place while enveloped in that sound and it was pretty great. Playing with such great musicians is really an honor and you can really go to this higher place, and I'm religious but if anything makes you believe in some higher power it's music, especially when it takes you there while you're playing. Talisha puts everything into her songs and when she gets on that stage you can feel it moving through her and man, it's a sight to see. No wonder that place is packed every time I see her play. 

I saw a documentary that Jay-Z put out called Made in America. I think it's at the end where Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC says something to the extent of "music does what religion and politics can't". That about sums it up.