Several weeks ago, I went to a jam session and played with a couple of local musicians I’d not worked with before. It must have been OK, as they asked me to help out supporting the brilliant Hannah White last night.
Organised by the local hospital radio station, Sunshine Radio, the gig took place at one of my favourite local venues. Steve (piano), Paul (bass) and I (drums) played a 45-minute support slot where we were joined by guest musicians Annie – who gave a beautiful rendition of ‘Misty’ on her flute, and Ted who played ‘Georgia’ on the harmonica.
Then it was time for the main event … Hannah was joined on stage by her brilliant band – Kieron on guitar, Mike on bass, and Courtney on drums. They’ve been working together for a while – and it showed. Hannah likes to play with her arrangements, and even threw a brand new song into the set … but nothing seemed to phase them. And all the time, Hannah’s gorgeous voice sails over the top. But please don’t just take my word for it – listen yourself.
I probably never would have come across Hannah and her beautiful voice if it wasn’t for the boogie jam a few weeks ago. For me, this demonstrates that if you want to fill your days with stuff worth doing, you have to get out there and find them – they won’t often just drop in your lap. And when you do make the effort to try something new, you never know who you might meet, what connections you’ll make, and where it might take you.
Let’s go do it …
I don’t have any particularly specific advice for this one – I’m just hoping to demonstrate that when you make the effort to get out and about, seredipity will sometimes step in, and lead you somewhere unexpected. To me, that’s the fun of getting out there and seeing what’s happening in the world …
If you’re still stuck for ideas, maybe challenge yourself to go to a local venue tonight, no matter what they’ve got going on. It might mean you end up sitting through something you would never normally dream of attending … and who knows – perhaps that will lead you to a lifelong love of medieval lute music?!
