The Troubadour

I'm the troubadour/not the man you're lookin' for/I know where the gettin's good/that is why I came back here for more...

It's from one of my newest songs titled "the Troubadour". I'm pretty much i love with it. The same way I fall in love with most of my songs. The others don't get jealous. The only feeling or emotion they have is whatever I give them at the time I sing them. It makes it very easy for me to pursue other songs. Now I don't treat humans this way. No way. My wife is number one. Whether I'm around her or not. She will always retain that spot. But with songs it's different.

Yesterday I had my guitar case out, singing and playing for the crowd at the farmers market. It's a great time. It reminds me of the montage i the movie Once where you see Glenn Hansard playing throughout the different days and the people hanging around and dancing and throwing money in his case. That was me yesterday. People hanging around, dancing and throwing money in my case. People do that because they like what they hear and it makes them happy, triggering a physical response which is dancing. Followed by smiling and laughing and throwing money in the case. It's great when people are happy.

People respond favorably to music when there is a good variety. A set list is very important just as a script is to a good movie. It tells a story. It establishes a character, it develops the character and the it brings the character through different challenges and triumphs. Up and down goes the tempo of the set. Drawing in the attention, getting the listeners to fall in love with the character and then taking them through the highs and lows. The fast songs to the slow songs. How will this movie end??? The suspense is riveting!

But if that movie only had one speed and never deviated from it, if the character was never challenged in any way or faced adversity of any kind, it would be a BORE!If the radio station only played songs of the same meter and cadence over and over again, if there was only a high tide or a low tide...

There would be no growth in the person, no excitement in the play list and no waves in the ocean. It would take the DYNAMICS completely out of it. It would be rendered undynamic. Not dynamic. Dynamicless. Adynamic. One of those is the word. Not sure which one until I hit spell check)

PART II: YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE

I am a troubadour. I don't have a boss. I don't go to meetings. I don't have clients. I don't wear suits, unless I feel like it. I don't do karaoke and am not looking to take direction in what and how I play. I spend enough time going over my arsenal of songs and strategically placing songs in certain positions for the purposes of story telling. It is designed to have an Ebb and Flow. A up and down. A dramatic build up to make it more memorable. It's entertainment. The people paying for the entertainment don't always see it that way. Most of the times at certain locations they want the music to be upbeat the ENTIRE time. They are the ones paying for it so they're entitled to that opinion. But this is my blog and I'm entitled to mine. As they're saying this, basically saying they aren't happy with the fluctuation in music, the people that are listening-the shoppers, patrons, drinkers and eaters- are more than happy with the selection, the time changes, the meter changes, the variation in song styles. It comes back to this; variety is the spice of life. Without spice, there is no flavor.

Flavor is good, it tastes better than money...

photo by Tommy Bryant