Thursday, June 23, 2005

When life gets topsy-turvy, find your solace in a slide trombone!


Hello all! I'd like to dedicate the first part of this blog to a driving force in my life. MUSIC. I have a vague recollection of writing an entry like this before, but its spinning around in my mind again, so I shall blog about it again! Plus, I wanted a good reason to post this fabulous picture of Jesse.
Music is an addiction...my drug of choice. I've never been high, but I've listened to some amazing music, and I imagine that's what it feels like. (I also took 200mg of caffeine pills on a long drive once...an experience I have never done before and will never do again. I imagine that's like being high too. With a hangover afterwards. Music is a healthier high. Back to the subject on hand!) Something happens to me when I hear good music. When I hear a powerful opera, I can't help but close my eyes and let it wash over me, tasting and feeling the music in every part of me. When I hear a good rock solo on an electric guitar, its like I'm in a Baptist church, and I can't help it, something in me starts to go a little bit crazy and I start dancing or smiling or both! I'm in love with music. The best part is that there's so much of it in the world! You could discover a new group or singer every single day of your life, and still never get through them all if you lived to be 103 years old. Ah, music!
I'd like to dedicate the 2nd part of this blog to a person. This is a little weird, because he is one of the dozens of amazing people in my life, but since he's not around this summer I've been having withdrawals. He also doesn't know that I'm writing this.
James Devin Robert Lee Taylor is one of the funnest, most considerate, greatest people I know. More fondly known by his friends and acquaintances as JD, that kid inspires me more than he knows. He's so much fun to be around...I haven't had a good JD fix in a while, and I didn't realize how much I needed those until I don't get them anymore.
I have this memory from "Our Town" rehearsals...it's one of those memories that doesn't seem very significant but sticks with you for a long time. It was a Saturday morning, and we were getting near opening. Everyone was running around doing tech stuff...trying on costumes, moving set peices, running lines. Our sound guy, Jeff, was trying to adjust levels on the system, and so he had me stand in the center of the stage and talk. After a little while, JD jumped onstage with me, a half-eaten sandwich in hand, and the two of us started singing and rapping and talking for Jeff. It was all of it complete nonsense and I don't remember much of it now, but it was genius. A lot of it was an ode to Jeff in song form. He's such a whacky guy, and follows whatever instincts hit him, which means he's totally spontaneous, and that he climbs things a lot. The guy's an amazing performer, but if you tell him so, he'll thank you graciously but deny that he's anywhere near as talented as you claim. I love hanging out with him, and working with him onstage is a ton of fun and really fulfilling. What an amazing person. He's definitely in the top ten percent of humanity in my book. JD, wherever you are and whatever you're doing (which I'm 99% sure is in West Yellowstone doing a show for Playmill), I miss you and think you're the cream of the crop. I have one thing to say to you: "I wanta hear da proposition from the duck-pant boy!" ("Tiki tiki!")

1 comment:

Beckah said...

Yay! JD is cool, from what I met of him. I don't know his feet as well.....wow that was a really bad joke.....and I know EXACTLY what you mean about music, I feel exactly the same way.