Greetings. By the time you get to see this blurb we will have a new president, or the same accident, I mean president. Whatever the outcome of this election is, strive for tone, say something supportive to someone, and do the right thing.

In my constant persuit towards trying to play less and mean more I have discovered a few things. One is, if you pull yourself up out of auto-pilot zone for a minute while playing with a band, you may be able to objectively change some components of you playing. By listening acutely to the players around you and trying to respond to them in a way that leaves space between your phrases ,I have found some other things to play in other ways than my usual routine.

Of course, sometimes it is appropriate to flail away, playing with fire and intensity, generally with lots of notes. But other times it is cool to work with short phrases that can be framed by considerate silence in which other band members can add to the conversation. I'm finding that this approach allows me to develop an idea to its fruition, and to create a nice terrain with my solo. If you try to function as a separate listener (to yourself and the band) as you play, you can redirect your playing in real time, and try things that might not normally emerge. I guess what this all means is: trying to stay vigilant while you are playing, to yourself and the environment in general. If you practice doing this a little it begins to happen naturally.

On Yellowjackets gigs lately I feel almost like someone else is playing. We have such an unspoken, sub-concious-like way of relating that things happen as if it's not us doing them. There is no concious thought involved per se. Rather it is an innate trust in one another that enables the music to move foward as one on its own. A pretty amazing feeling!

But in order to get to this place, you have to play alot, know the repertoire inside and out, play you instrument like it is one of your limbs, and be emotionally and physically in good shape. This is a tall order, but a noble undertaking to persue. I look foward to working on this for the rest of my days.