Photo: Dan Treanor | I think my days of being in a band, slamming out three high energy sets in some joint or gin house might be over. I did it for really a long time. I started playing in a band when I was 16 years old. That was a long time ago. In the last 60 years I’ve probably played 10,000 gigs, for real. To tell the truth, I loved every beer soaked, lit joint, ‘Jack’ fused, crazed minute of it. In the beginning, I loved the basic, three chord journey. It was simple, rough but real. I have the recordings to document it. Painfully real, but it was real. As I became more polished, refined, music knowledgeable, the pure love of just making music became blurry. The drive to become successful, to advance in the game, play better gigs, gain recognition, find financial gain became the objective, the goal. I became a better musician, a showman, a pro, but lately I feel like I’ve been lacking something. Actually, I’ve been feeling like this for awhile. Playing music for the basic, pure love of it.
For a while now I’ve been hitting some Open Mics — they are different then ‘jams’. Most of the performers are what I would categorize as ‘amateurs’. That’s not a bad thing. I realized that they are up there, behind that mic, playing their instruments and singing their songs for the love of music. I forgot about that, they have reminded me. The music I hear at these open mics may be rough in parts, maybe not well arranged or presented, but it is real. Their songs are real. Their voice is real. To be honest, I find it quite refreshing.
I don’t know how many times I have left to stand on a stage, make music. My dear friend David showed me that there will be a ‘last gig’. He kept it ‘real’ until the end. I do know that from now on, when I have the privilege to take a stage, I will do it for the love of the music.
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Photo of Dan Treanor by Tarry Underwood, 10/11/2015
Thoughts from Dan Treanor on Facebook
