my previous post thanking daniel rowland
was not meant as a means for dissing anyone else,
but as a sincere thanks for daniel's help.
I would not want anyone to infer from my comment
about unnecessary drama that the comment reflects on
the man daniel is temporarily replacing my dear friend
and long time supporter andre cholmondeley.
in fact it was andre's sharp idea to do a one-man show
and it was even his title I am using (painting with guitar).
andre knows more about my history and my music than
just about anyone I know and has always been there
for me, but right now he has good work which is more
steady and long-term than I can offer. it's totally honorable
that he should chose that work over what I have to offer
and I believe we'll work together again in the near future.
the term unnecessary drama refers to a lot of things
and a lot of people you encounter in my business.
on a day to day basis you occasionally meet with bad attitudes,
ugly comments, misunderstandings, and even immaturity.
as a professional musician for gulp, dare I say it,
45 years! it does get a little tiring to deal with,
and sometimes it de-rails my creativity for days on end,
but my comment was a general not specific one.
Ade, you are SUCH a stand up guy, that is one of the things that we love about you !!
ReplyDeleteUnnecessary drama is exhausting and unproductive in any situation.
Glad you are all safe and sound and I hope to catch this wonderful tour soon.
Peace and love
How do you do it? Those situations in a supposedly professional creative context can drive most anyone to act reflexively...and usually usurp the entire process. Patience and discipline and trust are not requirements unique to music- they are requirements of life! It seems the creative individual often actively decides to sacrifice one or more of those qualities to gain a specific self-satisfying end. Im getting more than a little verbose, but thanks for ignoring the cynics, and allowing youre art to develop!
ReplyDeleteI can certainly relate to the "unneccesary drama". I did a gig last year with an old aquaintance. Upon preparation much of this drama was experienced. Due to these kinds of immature outbursts of vanity, there will be no more gigs or collaboration. This thing ruined many facets of the show, although we pulled it off. I've decided that life is too short and unpredictalbe to subscribe to such a black hole of vanity. Your disposition and body of work show that you're a total professional devoted to your craft. I just wish I could play like you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like someone wants a smacked bum! Why can't people just grow up a little bit, eh? I wouldn't worry about such stuff. Who needs the attitude?
ReplyDeleteAdrian, keep plugging old son. I've been in a few jobs (not nearly so creative or inspiring as yours) where I've wondered what side people are on - as if life doesn't throw up enough challenges, there just seem to be folks who are supposed to be helping but end up hindering for no readily apparent reason. As Billy Connolly says, "F*ck the begrudgers!"
ReplyDeleteARE YOU SURVIVING THE GREAT FLOOD. YOU GUYS GOT
ReplyDeleteNAILED
Hi Adrian, just wondering if you ever had the pleasure of living in downtown Brooklyn, NY, back in the late 70's, early 80's and working in downtown NYC for a while? It's a long shot, but thought I'd check. If you did I think we may have been friends for awhile, if not, well, you are way cool to an old fool like me and thank you for all your wonderful music..
ReplyDeleteJust love you! You'd be sitting right next to Julia Child in my dream dinner party. Come to NC soon.
ReplyDeleteAMD
....i must tell you that adrian lives by the same standards he appreciates in others. i had the honor of being the opening act for one of his shows in the Los Angeles area last year. Little did I know at the time, Mr. Belew was promised that there wouldn't be an opening act that night, so needless to say, the Power Trio was quite suprised (and likely unhappy) to see my band loading in during their soundcheck. Being a local talent, i suppose i was asked at the last minute to help ticket sales (I'm assuming). Having absolutely no clue that Mr. Belew did not want an opening act, i was only too happy and eager to accept a gig opening for my guitar hero when the promoter called me.
ReplyDeleteAnyway....as you can tell, this is exactly the time and place where unnecessary drama seizes days and chokes nights.
But what happened instead? Only the unthinkable! That's all. The Power Trio actually let my band use their very own gear just so that we could actually play a set without having to move the stage around. Talk about professionalism, class, and unnecessary drama! That's something i'll never forget. While my musical accomplishments are nowhere near Mr. Belew's, i can tell you indeed that unnecessary drama is unnecessarily oh too commonplace in almost every musical affair. It's enough sometimes to make me glad that i never "made it" to the next step. But i adore such personalities in the industry such as Mr. Belews. And i try to live that same way.
Anyway....just wanted to share that story with you all. Mr. Belew truly is a man of his word. and while I'm at it, if you even remember me or this occasion, thank you Mr. Belew for allowing us to play that night. It's a night i will never forget.