Two Highways

I woke up with an ol' Ricky Skaggs tune playing in my head:

Two highways lay before me
Which one would I choose?
Down one lane I'd find happiness
And down the other I would lose
There is no one that I can trust
I must decide alone
My decision is an awful one
Which road will take me home?

There has been a change in the wind, I guess for a while, and that wind has whipped up a storm. I've never really asked a musician why they play music. I just always assumed I would get a different, personal answer. After so many years I could give 50 answers myself and they would all be true. I love music, I love the creativity, I love the challenge, etc. But in playing in a band I love how each part fits together to fill up a rich blend of sound. It's like having a thoroughly meaning full conversation, when each participant is in sync and all walk away feeling fulfilled... like it mattered and the universe is a better place because of it. Selfishly, I have also desired to be apart of a brotherhood, and band of rogues who live and love and laugh because we are a part of something special. OK, I'm a little slow and I live in a fantasy land.

Let me just say that as musicians, Henry and Bob are two of the finest I ever played with. They understand the structure and foundation of music and are accomplished craftsman. In all honestly, I am probably the weak link in the band when it comes to musicianship. I tend to live in the moment and play what I feel; but there again, for me that is the fun of the creative process. But a band is more then that; its a a group of people behind the instruments, human beings; each with their own personality, thoughts and feelings. A band is a relationship and relationships need healthy boundaries to thrive or they die.

So as I was saying, I'm a little slow. Over the years I've come to realize that all things come with a price. Like a heroin addict, I am chasing that great high that I'll never catch. The only thing that doesn't change is change and the wind blows as much on a stormy day as a sunny day. I don't know what the weather will be tomorrow, but let's see what comes in on the breeze...