Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The best things in life aren't things to a fugitive

As I sat a week or two ago in a small church in suburban Dallas, listening to a Japanese virtuoso flying over notes on a Stradivarius, I could help but think how lucky I've been in my life. Not only that, but all of the things I've been priviledged enough to experience have been through the generosity of others. A few short highlights of my fortune, just in the past year or two:
  • Played Augusta National (every golfer's dream), and a handful of other Top 100 courses
  • Traveled Scandanavia
  • Got to be on stage (and back stage) at Warped Tour, watching a sea of people screaming lyrics back at the bands on stage
  • Visited (at least) 13 different states in one year
  • Sat 5th row at an NHL game
  • Graduated from a top 10 liberal arts college

And the list goes on. Now, as I work to make TechJam 2007 a success, I find myself dependent on other people more than ever--but not for physical generosity; rather, for their stories and brains. In many ways, I think that's even more valuable. What we can learn from people and their experiences can often trump what experiences they can give us--not only do we get the lessons of the experience, but we learn more about that person as well. In that sense, I'm extremely excited to hear from the wide variety of folks participating in the forum--to facilitate their telling of their own tales, and subsequently creating an amalgam of ideas from those diverse experiences and opinions with an eye towards the future.

I can't offer them much in return, other than the opportunity to hear each other's tales and ideas and grow themselves from that. If I ever do have the opportunity to offer more (the forum's purpose is to create a concept for the future of music that will benefit both artists and listeners), however, I absolutely will do so. In the meantime, I can only ask that you check out some of their music, and if you like it, please support them in any way you can:

Ben Karis-Nix: http://www.myspace.com/benkarisnix

Feable Weiner: http://www.myspace.com/feableweiner

Limbeck: http://www.limbeck.net

Kaddisfly: http://www.myspace.com/kaddisfly

Manchester Orchestra: http://www.themanchesterorchestra.com

Ludo: http://www.ludorock.com

No comments: