Misdirection happens to all of us at some point in life. I’m betting the older you get the more times you get to feel it. Obviously I’ve had some misdirection lately, provided you’ve been keeping up with the posts. (If you’re new to this ongoing musical story and journey, you might wish to go through the archives and catch up.) Last night I spent some time with a guitar in my hands for the first time since being under-the-weather with ill. Wait, back up a little…
I was chatting with an old family friend who for some reason loves to air shit out with me. I haven’t figured that one out yet, but hey I roll with it cause we’ve known each other a long time. Seems said person was feeling like something wasn’t going right in life and had to pull the plug on a new found relationship. Which given the circumstances I was told, was the correct thing to do. All they really wanted was assurance that it was the right thing to do.
Ok after that chat I cleared my mind by watching of all things, the movie Rockstar. There are a few movies about music that when I watch them it clears me out musically and makes me feel like I’ve been recharged. That’s one of them. I guess it doesn’t hurt that my old buddy Jeff Soto is one of the voices you hear singing in the movie. I get a kick out of hearing one of my better friends in things like that.
There I am feeling content from watching the movie. Additionally having had a couple of slices of homemade pizza for dinner. It strikes me to grab the Taylor off the wall and start to play a song. I started with playing through Ordinary by Train. I don’t know what it was, but it felt great to just sit, sing and play. I followed that up with several of my songs for good measure then I called it a night.
I came across Chris Pureka yesterday afternoon. I was having a lull in the music choices so I started searching out more artists. The first song on her CD struck me immediately. There’s something going there that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I think it was the wispy, smokey voice that came in over the hopping acoustic that hooked into me. There’s an intimacy and feeling in there that is allowing me to forget about overproduced ProTools recordings.
It’s not often I’m able to overlook that. The songwriting, the voice, the playing, the vibe really have to be powerful for me to connect. Sometimes the sum of those parts cry out for autotuned time-corrected machine manipulations. This isn’t one of those times. There’s several gems on the CD beyond this song. I recommend exploring the whole thing.
I think part of the allure is that Chris feels like a female version of my friend Shandy Lawson. They both have an intense way of telling a story with a musical backup that doesn’t hinder, but rather enhances the mood. I believe that it was Chris Pureka’s Compass that got me pointed back toward a happy direction to sit with guitar and just play. A good thing at the right time to help reset what was missing. Get it and let her help you find your way when you need it.
p.s. – in my studio I have a page, or rather a letter that my dad (Kim Whitesides) wrote some time before I was born. On or in it he wrote about living in New York City being an up-and-coming top notch commercial illustrator. The dialect of it is funny. I’m facinated with the fact that he drew on the page before he wrote the letter and the art is perfectly placed based on the words (or is it visa versa?). In the end he explains why a New Yorker would want to wear rose colored glasses to live in the City. The artwork is of glasses and they have Rose colored lenses. It’s probably one of the best things I have that he created – there’s my connection with Rose from the song to something in my life. I hope you understand the Compass part. Digg It?