Rejection

Sorry kids. This is not the kind of rejection you are thinking about.

I am a huge fan of Freddy Mercury. For those of you who don’t know who this legend is, I highly recommend you keep it that way. He was the lead singer of the band Queen. I am equally inspired by his music and his energy. He worked hard to get to the top. He had the ability to influence people just by talking to them. I wish I had his influencing skills. The rest of this post will explain why.

It was one of those weekends where I was struggling to keep myself busy so that I don’t get bored and fall into an endless pit of depression. I decided to attend a small gig. It turned out to be an arena for beginner bands to showcase their talent to the world. The only problem was that the place was filled with college students and I was the odd 25 year old with no friends. However, all that feeling of embarrassment faded away when one particular band took the stage. These guys were my age. They sounded unbelievably great. They were a trio. One played the acoustic guitar, one played keyboards and one vocalist sat on a chair playing just a bass drum with the foot pedal. They performed few covers and originals. Need less to say, they took me on a musical journey. I could feel that special sparkle in their music.

I am at the moment desperately trying to form a band. So I approached them after the show and thanked them for playing here. They seemed like very nice people. I also hinted that they need a full drum kit rather than just a base drum(I am a drummer). They seemed to pay little attention to me and stressed that they were a “Trio”. However, they thanked me for the feedback and asked me to follow them on Facebook for tour dates. I went back home and did just that. I also sent two of them a friend request(because three friend requests would be like super begging ha ha). I came back home and listened to the original songs that they covered that day. Believe me, their version sounded much better. It was when they covered this song that I realised that they were exceptionally talented:

I soo want to be in this band. They are the whole package! I wouldn’t have to go hunting for individual members. All I have to do is get in!

And then the waiting began. A week passed. None of my friend requests were accepted. Then one day to my surprise I received a notification saying that the vocalist had accepted my request. I did not waste much time with chit chat. I asked if I could come see one of their jamming sessions. To my surprise, he replied that they preferred to keep their jamming sessions private. I told him that I totally respect his decision and thanked him for his time. This is my first time being rejected to my face. So I felt very bad. However, a glimmer of hope shone soon after. He said he’ll speak with the other guys and let me know. Looks like he felt a little bit of my pain! :-). So now I am back to waiting. Hope something good comes out of all this.

So I talked to the universe yesterday

First of all, I would like to apologize to all those of you who clicked the play button thinking its a video. Oh! The agony! Its a screenshot of a video. Make no mistake. I have not used any filter or special effects. Apparently this is what happens when a stage light beams directly onto your camera lens. Interestingly, the picture sort of portrays my emotions at the time. I was having fun. The picture was taken at a concert. So what does the universe have to do with this?

Well, as I have mentioned in my previous posts, the universe speaks to me in mysterious ways. This time, it was through one of my all time favourite drummers, my man, Marco Minnemann. Shortly after this picture was taken, I managed to tiptoe through all hulk-bodied security guys to talk face to face with this legend. He was awesome. He was the reason why I attended the concert. It was an extraordinary experience.

Something even more extraordinary happened that day. I made friends. My dear friends, that bright light in the picture is the universe whispering to me, “Look around you. These are all people you could be friends with. I have literally brought them all together in the same spot. Don’t fuck it up”.

Creativity

I restarted drum lessons the other day. I think it was the best thing I did after moving here. After all, the loneliness has really started to take a toll on me. To top it all off, I’ve began to get more gay attention. I have nothing against gay people but it just doesn’t feel good. What’s even worse is that I’ve become even more scared of talking to girls. Enough about my boring life.
After the drum lesson ended, I had this thought about creativity. I thought about how musicians composed music. Every musician has influencers. I used to think no one can make something completely new without utilising ideas from their heroes. Everyone builds on what they have learnt. Isn’t that the only way to go about it? I mean, you cannot be born with all the knowledge. You have to learn from somewhere. You might be born with the talent but you still need to get some kind of input before you can make your own stuff.

I wonder if there are people capable of doing something entirely new without depending on anything else. That would be like breaking a law of the universe. It would be like making a colour you haven’t seen yet. Or a sound you haven’t heard. Totally next dimension stuff. What would it be like to see a colour you have never seen? Will your brain be able to process it?
I remember watching a you tube video about imagination. In it, the host speaks about how the tools we make are an extension of ourselves. We make the tools and the tools in turn help us grow. I think our purpose in life is to use these ‘tools’ to do something extraordinary. It doesn’t have to be huge. You can start just by HELPING SOMEONE!
When people go beyond their capabilities and do something completely new, a whole new dimension opens up and thus creats a so called ‘dent’ in the universe. It is hard to explain but you might even feel the new dimension opening up in your mind. It usually happens right after you make someone really happy. Let us all strive to make dents in the universe! DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY! DO IT NOW! DO IT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US18sczUnTk

I want to be a drummer

Be warned. I am bad at writing. Most of it wont make sense unless our brains could somehow sync with each other.

Like many of us, I’ve often wondered what to do with my life. Do I make my life meaningful by helping others or do I just enjoy my life to the fullest? My life at times gets so depressing that I have to struggle to keep myself happy. However, I have a strong feeling that I am here for a purpose. I have absolutely no reason to believe so. Its just a feeling. I think I am here to make people happy. I like to make people happy! Although I am not a very people person, I do not waste chances I get to be useful. Be it fixing electronics or just cheering people up, I wish I could do it more often. The happy face you get to see after you fix someone’s computer is simply priceless.

So I gave it some thought. What do I like to do the most that would also be meaningful? I know that music makes everyone happy. Even during the worst of times, a little music can cheer you up. I love to make music and especially to play drums. Using these skills, I believe I can make people happy someday. The universe will show me the how. The universe talks to me very rarely but in powerful ways. The universe has been very quiet of late!

So I think I would be happy to be a drummer. I never thought that would be my ultimate aim in life but that’s what it looks like now. No matter what job I do or what course I study I have a feeling of unfulfillment. I initially thought I wanted to compose background scores for movies but upon giving it some deep thought I realised that I would run out of ideas pretty soon. However, when I play in a band, beats just pop up like magic. When I sit on the drum throne I feel like I an actual king! ‘Throne’ is a very apt name for the drum seat.

Is it just me or do great ideas pop up in your mind when you shower? or take a walk? Brilliant guitar riffs pop up in my mind when I go for long walks. Especially after work! My mind plays extraordinary music when I go for walks. I wish I could record them! I am happy that my mind is creative enough to play its own music instead of playing pre-existing songs!

I have not played in that  many bands but I certainly know how it feels when a bus labelled with your band’s name comes to pick you up for a show! I think of a real band as a family where everyone can read each others mind. Although I have never been in such a band, I hope I will some day. Here’s the problem. I am afraid to choose drumming as a career path. I do not know if I can make a living off it. Not only do I don’t vibe with people, but I also only like to play for genres that people don’t usually like. I also know that it is hard work. I am amazed to see really old bands still kicking ass. I am happy for them. If you are in a mood for some ‘feel good’ talk, I suggest you watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M