A recommendation from YouTube has got me excited
I can’t wait to watch this movie
Guitar
Dear world
Enjoy this
Artist: JONATHAN HULTÉN
The hunt for bass, deep thunderous bass
What’s the problem with looking for musicians on the internet?
Well… lets put it this way. It’s just like using Tinder. You never know what you are going to get. This person might say something online and it might be a whole different story offline. Even if they have a video or audio clip in their bio, the reality is going to be very different. Because the recording on their profile is rehearsed. Real life is different. Real life is…I wouldn’t say ‘hell’ because I really like my life right now. Challenging, challenging is the right word. Real life is challenging, and exciting. Plus, people on the internet, you know, could kill you(no offence). Now, since ending up dead is not part of the plan, I stay away from online ‘friends’. I am in no way discouraging people who look for ‘people’ online. There is tons of talent out there on the internet. I hear miracles happen. In fact, so many people have found success this way. Its just that, I have oddly specific interests that I don’t think other people can relate to. The internet is supposed to make it easier, I know, but when it comes to music, its complicated. The internet is awesome. So you do you!
So I set sail tomorrow morning to meet the lord of bass. He was introduced to me by the bassist of my old band. It’s pretty ironic because the bassist of the old band was in a way, responsible for the band’s demise. Well, I guess he made up for his motherfuckery by giving me a bassist. Anyway, I meet the lord of bass tomorrow. He seemed like a nice dude over the phone. Hope it stays that way in real life. Well, I suppose my outgoing nature and general love of social interactions should take care of that(sarcasm).
Side note: I quit Tinder today. Fuck this shit. I don’t know what the moral is here. Real life is more exciting than virtual life? Deadpool will be in theatres 16th of May? I really don’t know. Here’s a sight from Kolkata from the waist-down (because filming people’s faces is a douchebag-move).
Hunt for the guitar hero begins
The epic quest to find the ultimate guitar god began yesterday. Over the weekend, I made a few calls to a few musician-friends to get some advice on how to go about this whole ‘starting a band’ thing. I got the best advice from a very good friend I met at a guitar-solo competition (read about it here) a while ago. He said, “if you have a clear idea of what exactly you want to do, then you don’t have to be afraid to do it by yourself. You might have to put some time, energy and money into it. But at the end you’ll know if you are on the right track. So if you can’t find people to play ‘with’ you, find people who can play ‘for’ you. Eventually, things will pan out and you’ll meet the right people along the way”. Kids, this is why you need to have friends.
So on Monday, after work, I took a bus to meet up with a friend who I met at a concert a while ago. Dude’s a videographer. I know. Not a guitarist. But I thought he could give me some tips. AND HE DID!!! This is what I learned from the long interaction I had with him. It’s one thing to have the ability to explain your idea to others and create enthusiasm and excite them (like that part in the movie Jobs, where Steve Jobs convinces the CEO of Pepsi to join his company. But it’s a whole other thing to actually show them some of your creations. And believe me when I tell you this. It creates a lasting impression on the person when you actually, physically show them what you are capable of. I realized this when the videographer showed me some of his work. I mean, he hadn’t done a lot of shoots or anything, but the clip he showed me was enough to give me an idea of what he was capable of. I understood that he’s not a big fan of the traditional music-video- camerawork(I am of the same mind-set). So an idea came up and I said, “maybe we should work together on a percussion-based project”. Boom! magic! So basically we talked and talked and talked while his girlfriend kept calling him mercilessly. At the end of the day, it went well. We spent about two hours eating the worst French fries in the world and talking about music, artists, video, cameras, dolly tracks, all that good stuff. So I can safely conclude by saying that yesterday was a success. I dunno. I feel like somewhere along the way I’ll be able to make use of this person’s skills.
winner of 2018 high definition picture award
Fly away with the music
I have a theory about concerts and movies in general. If at any point during the show, the rest of the audience disappears from your mind, then the artist has done their job. If the artist was able to take control of your mind and take it on a journey, the show is a success. I had my first such experience recently at a concert. I attended the concert by pure chance. It was like the universe sent me there. It was a Sunday afternoon. I was returning home after watching the movie ‘Lights out’. It was a good one. I saw a poster showing event details of a classical music concert. Earlier in the morning I had searched the internet for events, concerts, etc. Nothing interesting had come up. However, this poster caught my attention instantly as it showed details of a performance by a renowned artist on an instrument called the ‘Sarod’. It is a guitar-like instrument but sounds different. So I decided to go check it out. Long story short, it blew my mind. Everything around me disappeared during the show. I thoroughly enjoyed the music. It was extraordinary music that felt like it was from another world. It was like getting high! Unfortunately, there is no video for me to share here. The video I’ve posted above is of a different artist. I do not know much about her but have read that she is a talented upcoming artist.
After the show ended, people lined up to meet the Sarod player. As usual, they clicked photos with their hero. Some, went so far as to bow down and touch the artist’s feet. What bugged me is that he blessed his fans in return. That looked a little weird to me. I have never gone to meet the performers for any show. Maybe because I’m shy. But this time, I wanted to try it. I wanted to know how it would feel like to meet someone who made you very happy. I have heard people say that meeting your heroes isn’t always a good idea because they might not be the person who you thought they were. I shook his hand, thanked him for the show and told him that this was my first classical experience and that I am a rock music fan. He said he likes rock music too! However, he made a rant about how traditional music is ‘more important’. This slightly ruined the whole experience for me. Maye it is true what they say about meeting your heroes. Maybe it is a bad idea.
Random Thought Beam 