Category: Uncategorized (Page 80 of 96)

I had wanted to write a little more on confidence, specifically on overcoming adversity. We all face it from time to time. Some people have to contend with it every day. As you can see from the title, I also wanted to use one of Kyle’s favorite songs from “The Sound of Music” to drive home the point, but this really says it better than I ever could. In the face of adversity, just be true to who you are and stride confidently forward. “Everything will turn out fine.”

Isn’t “I did my best” just a worn out cliché? Can’t we always do better? Doesn’t creativity make our human potential limitless? Doesn’t fear hold us back? Whether it’s reaching for that perfect apple out on the limb or making a relationship work, fear lurks and tugs us back from the unexplored edge of our potential. This week I watched “Wings from Wheels: The Making of Born to Run.” It’s a DVD documentary of how Bruce Springsteen wrote and composed “Born to Run.” It was fascinating to hear some of the early versions of now classic songs as they evolved during the tedious process toward epic status. The record took six months of sometimes 20 hour days to complete. The songwriting process was equally arduous. While flipping through a tattered notebook, Bruce explained that a song would begin on a page and maybe 50 pages later it might be finished. He wanted every word perfect and no waste. At the end of the process when the writing, recording, editing, overdubbing, mixing and mastering were complete, he froze. He worried the record might not be perfect and delayed approving the master for release. “I was paralyzed with fear,” he recalled. At the time, friend Jon Landau told him that years later, maybe they’d look back and think of changes they would have made, but “that’s life.” After a short time, the 24 year old surrendered and signed off on a record that would make or break his career. The way he recalls it, he had no choice. “I had nothing left.” The result of his complete and exhaustive effort is now considered a masterpiece.

What might any of us accomplish if we really “did our best?”

Early in “Walk the Line” the older brother of “JR” Cash explained why he spent so much time reading the Bible. The elder Cash died young, but Johnny Cash went on to tell some stories of his own.

While the film celebrates Cash’s music, its heart is the relationship between “the man in black” and June Carter. From the first time he saw her backstage before one of his earliest live shows, he was hooked. Cash would eventually shed an addiction to amphetamines, but he’d never get over her. When they met, both were married, and for years he pined for her, but she kept him at arms length for a long ten of them.

There are moments of intense emotional pain both endure. With his marriage crumbling and his wife realizing why, she lashes out and a violent fight ends on the kitchen floor with the couples 3 young children looking on in horror. June suffers her own penance of judgment and indignity. In a general store, she smiles at a woman she thinks is a fan only to be scolded that her own recent divorce was “an abomination.” “I’m sorry I let you down, ma’am,” was her humble reply.

Maybe it’s that deep pain that fuels the intensity of a relationship like theirs. Cash desperately hangs on to her like she’s a life preserver in a drowning ring of fire. She rescued him, then Johnny Cash made “Ring of Fire” famous. For he sang it with the same fire he had for the woman who wrote it: June Carter Cash.

Ring of Fire
Love is a burning thing
and it makes a fiery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire…

I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
when hearts like our’s meet
I fell for you like a child
oh, but the fire went wild.

dim, cold and pale…

she lies sleeping

a kiss of light…

awake she smiles

There are moments when disappointment morphs into unbounded joy. Sometimes it’s a good attitude that lays down the right karma for joy to walk in, but occasionally the transformation is simple fate. On March 20, 1999 Dave and I walked into Austin’s Liberty Lunch, a live music club at 405 2nd Street. Liberty lunch was a dank venue that probably would have smelled like 25 years of spilled beer if not for the fact that it had only a partial roof and year round ventilation. From the front door, the 40 foot wide room sloped down slightly about 100 feet to the stage so no matter where you were, the sightline was pretty decent. Access to the bar was decent too. It ran down the left side nearly the entire length of the club. Just to the left of the stage was sort of an open-air market where local artists would sell their work. I’d browse out there between sets, but I never bought anything.

By the time the Bottle Rockets came on, it had to be midnight and we were fired up, ready to rock out to all the familiar songs from the bands first three records. Then head Bottle Rocket Brian Henneman announced, “We’re only playing new stuff tonight.” I actually didn’t have much time to be disappointed because the band immediately punched the gas pedal, ripping into “Nancy Sinatra,” quaking the tin roof, and not letting up till crashing into the end of “I’ve Been Dying.” It was just balls to the wall rock and roll; one of those rare exhilarating shows when music I’d never heard before just blew me away. One of the songs from their then-upcoming “Brand New Year” was “The Bar’s on Fire.” It was. In spite of public outcry that it was an historic landmark, Liberty Lunch was razed a few months later to build a new downtown home for Computer Sciences Corporation.

The blue agave haze did nothing to dissipate the smoky cilantro hanging in the air. In fact the two were obviously made for each other. In early March of 1996 the early evening was still in Cabo San Lucas. Dinner was winding down on day two of a five-day company outing. Four sixty-ish Mariachi musicians looking like they were cast in Hollywood with outfits of black, red and blazing orange, moved from table to table playing the same songs requested by “Yahn-kee” tourists night after night after night. The seating arrangements were random, but I was a little pissy because I wasn’t seated exactly where I wanted to be. Other than Tom Kimmel, who I’d recently been boring to death about my new obsession with alternative-country music, there wasn’t anyone at the table I was really close to. I made the best of it with the usual chitchat, but I just didn’t want to be there.

In an effort to move closer to where I wanted to be, I got up and made some excuse about going to say hello to a guy and his wife two tables over. I paused to let the Mariachi band pass. They had just finished “Guadalajara” at our table and were moving to another where it inevitably would be requested again. Poor bastards. To them, “Guadalajara” must have been like “Freebird.” They’d rather eat at Taco Bell than play it, but every night some clown would always request it. “Hey Leo, ask ‘em if they know any Son Volt” bellowed Tom, followed by a hearty laugh and a full body shake only possible from man of his size. Suddenly I heard, “you know Son Volt?” Tar Hut Records was beginning to take shape. Dave Klug was a Sales weasel, who on a good day was the spitting image of Elvis Presley…

The rest of my social time that trip was spent talking with my new pal Dave about music. Well, I mostly listened because Dave was a freakin walking history of rock music. I raved and raved with a shit-eatin’ grin about bands like the Backsliders and Jason and the Scorchers. One night we were at an open air restaurant and Dave was talkin’ music while eating a fish that still had its head. It was as if no one else was there. Just us talking about music. I glanced to my right and smiled. One of our senior management team was sitting at the head of the table and being forced to listen to this rant of “Obscure Music 101.” Neil was looking at us like we were Martians discussing fusion propulsion. I’d been listening long enough to know Dave lived for music with the same need as he drew breath. Finally, I had to spill it. “Hey, a buddy of mine and I are starting a label. You wanna join us?” “Fuck yeah, man.” Just like that, Tar Hut Records had a Chicago office.

The uh, roots of Tar Hut Records go back to the early 90’s when a summer intern named Jeff Copetas would occasionally meander by my NEC cubicle and leave me CD’s to spin. I’d usually pick the more commercially familiar bands like Nirvana, but more so he’d give me very obscure stuff to listen to, insisting, “you gotta check this stuff out.” Most of it was not very accessible to me and I’d usually take them but not listen past the first track or two. I was raised on radio and never ventured far from it, with the one exception being a fascination with the music of Berlin Airlift, an 80’s indie band from Boston. I bought both their records on vinyl and saw them a few times locally. Other than that, I happily consumed the radio and MTV driven crap for the masses. Then, in the summer of 1995, Jeff handed me a CD with a band name that just told me I wouldn’t like it… Uncle Tupelo.

“There’s a thin line between confidence and arrogance.” – From “Confidence,” the third, and perhaps final episode of Love Monkey

Michael Jordan missed 12,345 shots during NBA regular season games, yet one, taken during his days at the University of North Carolina, may be the reason he later attempted 24,537 shots and scored 32,292 points on the journey that made him arguably the games greatest player ever.

On March 29, 1982, Georgetown led North Carolina 62-61 in the NCAA Championship game. With 32 seconds left the Tar Heels call timeout. Legendary coach Dean Smith instructed his team to look inside for star James Worthy, and if that option wasn’t open, they’d swing the ball to a Freshman for a jump shot. When the ball landed in his hands, Michael Jordan was 16 feet from the hole. In one fluid, reflexive motion, he caught the pass, squared himself and arched the ball toward the basket till it snapped the twines he and his teammates would cut down in celebration minutes later.

I’ve always wondered,”what if Michael had missed?” Would he have had the self-confidence it took to become the NBA’s greatest player? I think that hitting that high-pressure shot at such an impressionable age made a huge difference. That moment crystallized his confidence and it never left him. He was never afraid to fail and as a result, he enjoyed unparalleled success. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career,” he once said. “I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Wikipedia describes self-confidence as having:
– the courage to talk in front of a large number of people
– the willingness to try something new
– the willingness to go against what others are thinking or doing
– the willingness to explore what has not been explored

I think the willingness to fail should be on that list… Are you willing to fail?

Recently I read a short Boston Globe piece on rock movies. Some of the best cited were “Stop Making Sense” (Talking Heads), “Gimme Shelter” (Stones) and “The Last Waltz,” which documented the last show ever by the band, um, The Band. Some of my favorites were not on the list.

Here’s my top 5 rock music movies:

5. Talking Heads “True Stories” – This quirky little story narrated by David Byrne is highlighted by a huge karaoke-like performance by a young john Goodman.

4. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” – with the late Bon Scott and the Young brothers, Malcolm and Angus.

3. Pink Floyd: “The Wall” – Bob “I Don’t Like Monday’s” Geldof stars in this in this twisted montage of MTV visuals and a screaming soundtrack of Floyd at their commercial apex.

2. Spinal Tap: “This is Spinal Tap” – Rob Reiner directs and portrays a rock documentary filmmaker in this genre spoof. My favorite scene involves the guitar player explaining that he has the loudest amp because the dials, “go to 11.”

1. Led Zeppelin: “The Song Remains the Same” – The monster, featuring a 1973 show at Madison Square Garden. That film was in regular “midnight show” rotation when I was in college. It always brought a tear to my eye when Jimmy Page’s eyes turn psychedelic.

On my “to see” list are Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” which I DVR’d last night, Springsteen’s 1975 show at Hammersmith Odeon in London, and Zep’s “How the West Was Won.”

What do you recommend?

“Clarence!” was the immediate almost reflexive response. Yeah, Megan knows Clarence because she’s seen Clarence and the other members of the legendary E Street Band. Tonight on the ride home from “Nana’s” house, she pulled “The Rising” out of my CD sleeve and requested her two favorite cuts; the title track and “Waitin’ for a Sunny Day.” I’ve tried to infuse some different music to my girls playlist of life, and to some degree I’ve succeeded. She loves Sloan and the Bottle Rockets, and she sides with Wilco over Son Volt. “Dad, can I get some of this stuff on my iPod?” Little does she know my entire online music collection resides on her computer.

It’s kind of a drag that many shows are 18+, because she can’t go to many of the good club shows some of my favorite bands play. However, she’s seen a few. Her first show with me was Lenny Kravitz and Pink at our Tweeter Center in 2002. In the summer of 2003 it was Sloan opening for Jet at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. Somewhere in there was KISS and Aerosmith… The Fall of 2003 was the high point… We ventured down to the Big Apple to see Bruce. After settling in at the Times Square Westin, we walked past the Ed Sullivan Theatre on our way to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. We got seated and like it was choreographed, “a live video of “Born to Run” flickered on all the big screens. “We’re going to see THAT,” I said proudly. I knew it was somewhat underwhelming for a kid of the hip-hop generation, but some artists and music are timeless, and I wanted to make sure she saw this one.

After seeing “Stomp,” shopping, and walking about 45 blocks to the Guggenheim, it was time for the main event. We jumped on the train and headed from Times Square to Shea Stadium in Queens. The Beatles played Shea, and the ball got by Buckner. Earlier in the summer, I scooped some infield dirt from Fenway Park when Jeff and I were there to see Bruce. At Shea, I walked over to first base and dropped some of it hoping to break a curse. I didn’t know it would take another year. We walked around the big yard as a soft rain fell. Then the lights did. It was the last show the band did that tour and they haven’t played since. Songs in bold were played only this show during the entire 2003 tour:

1. CODE OF SILENCE
2. The Rising
3. Lonesome Day
4. Roulette
5. Night
6. I WISH I WERE BLIND
7. Empty Sky
8. You’re Missing
9. Waitin on a Sunny Day
10. Johnny 99
11. Another Thin Line
12. Tunnel of Love
13. Because the Night
14. Badlands
15. Prove it all night
16. Mary’s place
17. BACK IN YOUR ARMS
18. Into the fire
19. LIGHT OF DAY
20. Bobby Jean
21. Born to Run
22. Seven nights to rock
23. HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED (w/ Bob Dylan)
24. My city of ruins
25. Land of Hopes and Dreams
26. Rosalita (w/ Willie Nile)
27. Dancing in the dark
28. Quarter to three
29. Twist and Shout (Soozie on lead)
30. BLOOD BROTHERS

At the end of the show the band held hands. Clarence was crying. I thought it was important to my daughter’s life that she see Bruce Springsteen and his band play. Even if just so she can say, someday, “Yeah, I saw Bruce.”

“Peter Pan” is one of Kyle’s favorite stories, although I’m not sure how deep he goes into the imagery of it. He really fears the tick-tock clock of the crocodile, but is it because of the bite or the symbolism that time is chasing all of us? “Finding Neverland” is the story of how playwright JM Barrie experienced “Peter Pan” through his relationship with a widow and her four young sons. The beautifully filmed story is about love, loss, and the inspiration of imagination. Words always get me, and the script is amazing. Here, Mr. Barrie, played by Johnny Depp, encourages the youngest member of the family to write:

J.M. Barrie: Write about anything. Write about your family, write about the talking whale!
Peter Llewelyn Davies: What whale?
J.M. Barrie: The one that’s trapped in your imagination and desperate to get out.

Many of the other memorable lines from “Finding Neverland” can be found in the Internet Movie Database.

If you haven’t yet, do see it. Go to Neverland.