Dear Readers,
There are seldom times where I come on this blog to allow access into my brain, or simply update the world with what is going on in the human aspect of my life. But that is the most important thing when it comes down to it, right?
I'll save the witty exposition and get right to the point...
2012 so far has been an amazingly hectic year. So far within the first one and a half months of this year's existence, my eyes have been opened a great deal and have led me to focus and reshift a lot of my priorities of musical and non-musical nature. The highlights of the year have been working, recording, and tour planning with my band Nostros, working as a sideman for a myriad of acts in a multitude of genres, getting my feet wet as a producer, arranger, and composer for music that is not my own, and learning how to be an effective bandleader when confronted with a plethera of obsticles varying in nature and severity. So... to the elaborate, yet hopefully informative point.
A lot of times as working musicians, we become so obsessed with idea that we are successful at what we do, we forget that we as human beings have our limits. While most of the time these limits are merely technical or scheduling issues, they are often easily fixable... ...there comes a point in time where we face the limitations that we may be too stretched thin. So I've spent many nights reflecting upon how busy the first two months of this year has been, and how I am mentally going to prepare for playing over two hundred dates this year. I've come to this conclusion.
We are only as stretched out as we allow ourselves to be. The minute we stop being a musician and start computing our next move is the minute that our brain has engaged in auto-pilot and we stop being valuable to our own music or the people that hired us. I recently faced this issue when scheduling rehearsals between an R&B group, Nostros, playing for a dinner theatre, mixing and producing new tracks, working as a session bassist, and trying to spend time with my dog and do maintenence on my new house. There simply weren't enough hours in the day to bear gracious commodity to each activity. So when this usually happens with me, the things that are non musical in nature tend to fall by the wayside, practicing can fall by the wayside, and just because you're playing, does not necessarily garuntee that you're becoming a better player, or a better musician. I have to remind myself of that often.
As I was sitting between numbers in this most recent musical that I am playing for, I couldn't help but take some mental inventory of all the positive things that I had going for me. I have a great band with musicians who I wouldn't trade for the world. I have a roof over my head and people that love and admire what I do. Not to mention those who support it and ecourage it's growth and exploration. I get to wake up every single day and log on to the world, promote my band, my story, my brand, and advice! For some strange reason, being that I am only twenty-three, people take it and use it.
So basically... what this all translates out to is... I love my job as a bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. All the other titles associated with my position. I mentally had to let go of my laundry list and just focus on backing up every single gig, person, or situation with the solidity and uniqueness of what it is I do. These people hired me for my fingerprint. Who was I to give them something different than what they wanted....?
Needless to say, the rest of that rehearsal went incredibly well, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of this year is going to bring. Anyway, now to go play with my dog.
As always, like, comment, tweet, and contact me!
www.twitter.com/andybowersbass
www.nostros.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/nostrosmusic
andrewbowers.bassist@gmail.com
PS. This website will be undergoing a massive facelift soon. Much more user friendly and will faciliate media, video lessons, and easier methods of contacting me and allowing me to get back to you faster and more efficiently!