Well, it’s hard to believe that 2016 is here. 2015 was full of adventures and learning, heartache and pain, and plenty of joy and happiness. The second half of 2015 centered around music – I managed to fit in 4 multi-day festivals and 9 live shows. Not bad for a person that forgot about music for 18 years! I’ve made many new friends and discovered new interests, all because of music.
I joined a group of music enthusiasts whose purpose is to give the gift of music to those that cannot afford it. Our first act of kindness was to provide a guitar and guitar / vocal lessons for a young lady in San Francisco. Her home life is less than ideal, but she loves playing guitar and taught herself to play on her school’s guitars. We found someone willing to donate the lessons for the rest of the school year and gifted her with an acoustic guitar. Her school is providing the time and space for the lessons. We have already heard from her teachers that our gift has improved her confidence and self-esteem, and they are confident we have made a difference in her young life. This experience was so satisfying for me, even though I never met the girl; I decided I want to do more things like that. I don’t play music but I want to give music to those that don’t have it so they can experience the joy that it brings.
2015 was also a year of great frustration. The world, as reported in the news, is a terrifying place and I found myself pulling inward to try to protect myself and my family from the atrocities of violence and disaster. But in doing that I became angry and mean and that didn’t solve any of those problems, it only created real, tangible ones in my very own world and threatened my relationships with my family and friends.
So I decided to start finding ways to make a difference in my little world. I can’t solve the refugee crisis, but I can collect coats for the homeless and donate them to a non-profit that will distribute them in my community. I can find ways to be kind to strangers, from leaving free art around town to paying for someone’s cup of coffee. Even buying an extra ticket to a show just so I can give it away. I never realized how good it feels to do things for other people, with no expectation of getting anything in return. I was so caught up in how bad the big picture is that I couldn’t see the good that is all around me.
The lessons of last year are informing my decisions and plans for the new year. I am trying to work on art every weekend, (which is easier said than done!) so I can drop pieces whenever I see a good place for it. I plan on having enough pieces ready for next Black Friday so the kids and I can leave them in lots of places and spread the idea of kindness, not materialism, on that dreadful day.
My music calendar is already filling up, with early bird tickets purchased to High Sierra and volunteer commitments made for the Father’s Day fest. My favorite band will be touring Europe this summer, so I won’t be seeing them much at all this year :(, but there are many new bands on my radar that I will be filling my music cravings with, like The Brothers Comatose.
I got to see The Brothers recently at a tiny little venue in Auburn, CA. The place was hard to find, but the sound was excellent and the band was on fire! I definitely love me some strings! These guys play bluegrass instruments like they’re rock stars and it makes for a fun night of dancing. Watching the fiddle player shred his bow on a solo was pretty awesome! I look forward to seeing them again later this month, a little closer to home.
I hope everyone is as excited as I am about this new year. Maybe we’ll meet each other at a show. Counting down the days to the Father’s Day fest!
