LA in August

Yesterday was fun! I arrived in LA late Saturday night, and went straight to bed. I got up late on Sunday morning (9:30am), went for a walk and then met my fabulous friend Lexie at church, and then enjoyed a delicious brunch that her mom made. Later, I visited my brilliant friend John and was inspired by his musical knowledge, accomplishment, and lovely company. We watched videos of amazing performers such as Errol Garner, Les McCann and Ralph Moore, and the music of a genius young musician named Rick James. This guy plays bass, piano, sax, drums, and who knows what else, with incredible mastery, and the recordings were made when he was still a teen. I was astonished at the musical beauty and maturity of his playing. Apparently, he's not sharing his music with the world in this moment, and I railed for a while about how the world needs beautiful talent like his, and how could he keep it to himself, blah, blah, blah. After a while, I realized that I (admitted with head bowed in shame) have a terrible habit of procrastinating in my own musical growth, and creativity. Why, I ask you, why have I not completed my project yet? Why do I let days go by without practicing in the way that I KNOW will lead to my goal of complete musical freedom? Why do I let the minutiae of daily life distract my from my goal? I may be no musical savant with multi-instrumental prowess, but I have my own gifts to offer...and I DON'T DO IT. 'nuf said. I'm gonna shut up complaining about someone else's lack of motivation and get my own act together... I ended the night hanging out with some of my favorite people after watching some of them play a killer set on their gig. Paris is a young pianist/composer/singer (yes, I'm claiming it for you!) who is simply phenomenal. Kyle is my guitar heart, and Brandon was holding it all together, making everything connect with some lovely bass. I'm so proud of, and impressed by all of them! They were joined by Amber and Anita, both tremendous singers. It was a good start to my LA trip.