Human soundtracks

Annnnnd a Happy Belated Birthday to the one and only Mr. Stevie Ray Vaughan!

I hope you folks listened to some of the late, great Mr. Vaughan yesterday! Wait - this blog has taken a few days. It was last week.

Anyway, got a cool thought for you today. But to get to it, first the story...

I was doing some busking (street music) this weekend. I'm very fortunate to have access to such a great pitch. It's in historic Alexandria, Virginia (USA), right on the waterfront. Setting up with an acoustic guitar, I can jam to my heart's content as the breeze blows in off the river, and entertain the people who stroll along.

Early October is a peculiar time on the docks. The days get shorter, and the wind runs up the river with a melancholy warning for the revelers. It tells the man who makes the balloon animals first, and seems to make his brightly colored shirt fade a little, like the leaves clinging to the trees in anticipation of the Winter. It must be a cousin of whatever agent makes the carnival music slightly out of tune as it echos through the chilly and empty fairground. The party is almost over.

I was standing and strumming, playing Stormy Monday, and a little dust devil wandered up and made the leaves whirl in the corner next to the cold concrete walls. I stood in it and played the blues. Winter was certainly on it's way. I decided that it would be my last gig on the waterfront until the spring. A few hours later, and the random drunk shooed away from my set, I addressed the night and the lights sparkling on the water, stood up a little straighter, and after a little consideration as to what was a good season's end song, I started to softly play Tears in Heaven.

It was way cool...All of a sudden, I felt like I was in a movie with a soundtrack! I was the soundtrack! The lights took on a softer glow, and the docks looked downright cinematic.

Here's the thought:

We are the soundtrack. We are the nightlife.

Choose what you play with great care and thought.

Rock on!

- Josh