I was, or I should say I am not much of a musician. Yes, I love music, life would be incomplete or at least, less enjoyable without it.
Yes I can play the guitar. My own preference is a 12-string that can produce all sorts of sweet music to compensate for my lack of dexterity with my left hand, and the apparent ineptitude with the chord chart. I can also sing.
But enough about me.
Instead let’s talk about the artists I enjoyed assisting with our nightly gigs where I work. Best part of the job, actually. It’s when I get to see them live, hear them play, feel the songs. Stomp with the beat.
There’s this duo, The Komradze, whom I met quite recently, and an instant favorite of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of them. Every night is a different sort of musical trip, but Thursdays is when the guys sing my generation. Imagine, if you will, songs from British bands that came out in the 80s, all beautifully rendered with two voices, prolific drumming, guitar work that works, and a few snippets of harmonica sprinkled where it should be. I am talking about taking a song and making it their own. Then, there’s The Institute, with Jowi at the helm, a guitar virtuoso (he wouldn’t admit to it) that has been surrounded by musicians all his life, and wields a mean Strat. My musical preferences sit snugly with these guys, a bit of jazz and funk, pop and ballads, hell, they can play most of the songs I grew up with. And, perks of the job, I got dibs with the band, so once in a while I do get to sing with them.
That’s not the half of it.
Jazz and Benjie, and Allot when he has to fill in, are the sort of musicians who have been a round the circuit for a while. I’ll tell you more about them. Then there’s Mia & Paul, whom I get to enjoy every Saturday. Rain and Red, Odie, Lady Mae, Creative Minds, Viola, Roland, Walking-Waling these artists are what makes me groove with the music, a testament to the choice of entertainment we have.
I like music.
To hear it live makes it more raw and personal. With musicians like them, makes the experience more relevant, more guttural.
Politics bore me, so why talk about it. Local movies stink, that is putting it mildly. But the music circuit, keeps the beating heart of the city alive. My love for books is only superseded by music, which is a very tiny margin, If I should say so myself.
So I guess from here on in, this will be a a series of blog post of my nightly foray into live music.
#whatsthepoint 
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