The road:
As I type this on a bus, somewhere between kamloops and vernon, I realize a few things……that I travel a hell of a lot, I’m guessing between 40 and 50 thousand kilometers in the past year, which is mostly on other people’s dime. Meaning, I do a lot of work related traveling, and my business is ART! But I also do a lot of personal traveling, and the more I do, the more I realize that I love the road, and that I finally feel like I’m doing what I want with my life. Being on the road endlessly, for a restless spirit like me, is good for my soul. You see a lot different places, faces, stages, galleries, cities and personalities. You also realize people live in the weirdest places, that make you wonder why the hell they are there in the first place.
I love watching people, the struggle, the joy, the challenges, the tragedy, the triumphs, the heartache, the love, the longing, the steadfast determination and everything in between. I also realize I have been slowing down a lot, in many ways, which is a good thing, because I was living and traveling really hard, and could feel myself doing two things: slipping away and burning out. On the road, people sometimes take more than they can give back to you, it’s not their fault, it’s just the nature of people. I don’t think we have a lot of healthy role models in our lives, and too often we turn to the idiot box for answers.
The rejuvenating part for me, was being onstage, in front of an audicnce, because that almost always fed my soul. Once you become a performing musician, or actively touring author, you can probably never get it out of your soul. That interaction is hard to describe and impossible to emulate, you just have to get up there and experience it for yourself. I’ve been performing on stages for nearly twenty years, and can still remember my first gig! Everything else is a blur, but there are stand-out moments definitely that I’ll try to remember until I leave.
I haven’t been doing as much art for the past month, because I needed to explore new styles, do research, and adjust to moving to Kelowna for my gig at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art. I’ve also been completing my own first personal film project in quite sometime, one that I’m reasonably happy with at last. There’s always more to learn, see and do, so I’ll keep following that progression, it works for me. I’ve got some cool ideas for shows at the Alternator, and will keep you posted on that, as well, I might post my new film “Jesus Coyote TeeVee” online somewhere, but this is an immersive film project, and it works much, much better when projected on a large screen with a decent, loud sound system.
I’m going to do some more work on it this week, but for the most part, it’s done, and will screen this Friday in Kelowna, BC at the Kelowna Art Gallery during the Reel Roots Festival. I’m also trying to find more musicians to jam with, as there’s some songs to be written and stages to rock on. As well, I’ve got my latest manuscript ready, and need to get that off to my publisher to see if they’re interested in doing anything with it. Life is busy, hell, it’s even hectic, but I love it this way, I spent a long time trying to get here, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts, coz god knows how long it will right? Well, I gotta go, the bus is getting bumpy, and I think I’m feeling car sick from typing this! Ha ha!
Until next time lovers,
cb
No comments:
Post a Comment