Guitarmegedden

We have a whole host of guitar playing buddies. Not many of whom are much good, including myself, but we all enjoy getting together to drink wine, and play songs...and of course plenty of women. Wine, women and song...enjoyment hasn't changed much in the last few millennium. (I guess according to spell check millennia is not the plural of millennium...but not a bad guess).

Pleasure? To pursue or follow the pleasure principal in some religions...like Christianity, Islam, or Judaism...is pretty much throwing in the towel in the fight against temptation. Or that huckster, the ol' nick, Satan himself. I'm not so sure? If that's the case...it's hellfire for me. But as long as there's a song accompanying the sizzle of burning flesh and some wine to quench the thirst that certainly must follow, perhaps it's worth it?

On the other hand Lao Tzu and Buddha pretty much teach the notion of living in the moment. Now They don't advocate a life of debauched salaciousness only...but I'm pretty sure Lao would dabble a bit now and then with the ladies and the rice wine. Dabble yes...trifle...no way. And Buddha...if we're to believe Herman Hesse had a good long fling with the hottest woman in town. But he still eventually heard the river's voices.

It's hard to be in a lousy mood when you're doing music. That is to say singing or playing. Even, or I should say, especially the Blues are extremely cathartic, for the creator and the listener.

So this Saturday we will all gather at my buddy's home in the Pacific Palisades. Legions of guitars and good intentions, way too much wine and barbecued meat galore. We'll sit around taking turns playing our best stuff poorly and try to play along with other songs stepping on lyrics and chords left and right, and everybody will have a good time.

And so it goes.

I emphatically suggest every human being should in some way engage in making music from time to time. Learn an instrument. Develop the voice. Beat a drum, scratch a turntable (is that the correct expression) ... or the ol' one two's as Mo would call them. It takes a long time and quite a bit of practice to learn an instrument...a lifetime...but after all...it enriches every moment of that life. Not a bad trade. A little effort for a lot of bliss?

Aloha, Tiny Bubbles...