3/18/04 - "There are a billion people in China. It's not easy to be an individual in a crowd of more than a billion people. Think of it. More than a BILLION people. That means even if you're a one-in-a-million type of guy, there are still a thousand guys exactly like you." A. Whitney Brown, The Big Picture. I'm sorry, this quote just makes me smile! I guess when you consider there are less than half a billion people in the USA, that means there are only several hundred guys "just like me"!
2/17/04 - "Arrange the alphabet into words that are true in the sense that they are true to what you experience to be true. If you have to choose between words that mean more than what you have experienced and words that mean less, choose the ones that mean less because that way you leave room for your hearers to move around in and for yourself to move around in too." - F. Buechner. There are things that people speak of that seem true to them but that I have not experienced as true for me. This quote seems to validate that. Yet, I am concerned that by accepting this statement, I may be restricting truth to only what I experience. I do not want to limit myself to only those thing that I experience as truth, yet I often hear and read of things that just don't ring true in my life. Is it possible that what is true for you may not be true for me? That's a scarey concept!
2/3/04 - “Defining Christianity is portrayed not in the first mile of service, but in the second.” - Oswald Chambers. I was challenged by this statement through both words and music last weekend at a retreat with the men from Saddleback Church. It's easy to get high on retreat. It's easy to agree with the words of a sermon. It's easy to be inspired by music. But it's a whole different thing to come home and make it work. The first step may be a big one, but the second step is often hugh!
1/28/04 - "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G.K. Chesterton. I wonder how many adventures I've missed out on in my life due to wrong consideration?
1/23/04 - I recently heard a quote from the Viet Nam era that said, "Rather than with bombs or napalm, we should be fighting this war with a knife. We need to know who we are killing. Killing the wrong person can be very costly." Isn't that true in our personal lives as well? In fact, we need to do battle with a scalpal and the skill of a surgeon, carefully examining each person, each situation, each special circumstance, rendering judgement with precision and care. A poorly chosen word, statement or action is so hard to retract. Jesus said "be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Hard to do with a sub-machine gun!
11/21/03 - A recent "Soapbox" article in "Bass Player Magazine" (12/03) said, "it is the effort that is the enlightenment. If it makes you feel good and alive, and if you have a passion for it, continue with your efforts and you will have already succeeded." This reminded me of a quote from John Lennon. "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans". It also reminds me of another quote (I can't recall right now...I'll look it up) "Writing a novel is like going on a car trip at night. You know where you'll end up but through the whole trip you can only see as far as your headlight shine". These are all good reminders that the "means" are at least as important as the "ends". Crossing the finish line only counts as a victory if you ran the whole course as set out. I've been processing a lot lately about my "Calling" or my "Dream" or what ever you want to call it and I'm coming to the realization that I may never achieve my dream but the process of pursuing it can be quite an achievement in itself.
10/4/03 - Why is this recall good for California? Two reasons. First, it sends a message to the political parties that they are responsible for governing the WHOLE state, not just those who their party represents. Like C.E. Koop said when he was US Surgeon General, "I'm the Surgeon General, not the Chaplin General". If they don't fairly represent the interests of all the people, they run the risk of being asked to leave in a not too gentle way. Second, it sends a message to the people that they don't have to just sit around and complain. They have the power (within limits) to encourage and enable change. This recall is one of the most amazing political developments ever to occur in California. In a few days, we'll see if it will move us to the next step.
9/25/03 - Finished a great book by Hugh Hewitt. "In, But Not Of" is a must read for Christian young people who want to make a difference in the world. I am challenged by much of what he says in this book and have bought several copies to give to my kids and friends. The two biggest things I read were, 1) DO NOT HAVE ANY CREDIT CARD DEBT! I wish my kids could grow up knowing the freedom of no credit card debt. 2) Review the core principles of your life on a regular basis. I just returned from a retreat in New Mexico and brought back a lot of enthusiasm for change in my life. Where will I be in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year? I need to committ to reviewing that enthusiasm and renewing the energy to act on things that need action.
9/14/03 - Rick Warren from Saddleback church announced in his sermon today that his book "The Purpose Driven Life" has sold over 7 million copies. As a result of this financial windfall, he and wife Kay have decided to make the following steps. 1) Committ to no change in their lifestyle. No new house, new car, no change. 2) As of July 2003, he stopped taking a salary from the church. 3) A foundation was being set up to handle the distribution of this new income in a responsible manner. 4) Rick added up all the money he had been paid in the last 25 years at Saddleback and he gave it all back to the church. Additionally, he challenged Saddleback church to give a billion dollars to the work of God in the world. I don't know if that was a billion per year or over 10 years or what, but I found his attitude to his new found wealth to be very refreshing. After all, how much money does it take to make someone happy? Personally, I don't believe you can buy happiness with money. I'm with you Rick. Way to go!
Quotes
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. It's almost scary. The road ahead of you gets longer, not shorter.
Take your passion and love and try to play with as much class and originality as your modest endowment will allow.
I like bass players with feel, pocket, precision and tone. Only precision and tone are quantifiable; the others make up the ten percent difference between being a really good player and being a joy to play with.
The keys are attitude, simplicity, sound, taste, time and versatility.
Play a song on the bass rather than just play bass. How can I enhance the song?
In the context of a song, listeners shouldn't necessarily know they're listening to the bass, but they should know it's moving them. Not "Wow, that's a great bass part"; instead, "Wow, that feels great but I don't know why. There's something on the bottom that's making me go crazy."
IMITATE, ASSIMILATE, INNOVATE
Nobody notices me until I'm not there.
I basically try to make the other musicians sound as good as possible. I try not to get in their way, and I try to lay a good bed for them so they can do whatever they want on top of it.
It's not how many notes you play; it's the feel you create.
The bass player is the house into which all the other players come to find shelter and have a good time. If you forget that responsibility, you're leaving everybody without shelter.
Some things that I feel are boring or uninspired, really sound great on tape.
The music that makes me think, "Gee-I'm so talented" usually bores the living **** out of others.
The weird thing about bass is that the more notes you play, the more it hurts you. You've got to find the right notes.
Our goal is to encourage people to be excellent. There's always a tendency for us to say, "That's good enough." Not only is "good enough" not good enough, we can offer the whole world the very best there is to offer.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Cor 4:7)
"The one thing all of us must never lose sight of is what we are called to -- worship. Musical style, personal expression, playing style, singing style, effects, everything has to be run through the grid of "does this help or hinder people from entering the presence of God and worshiping Him for who He is."
"If we get up on Sunday morning and play awesome music and I rip on my bass, and the lead guitarist and drummer and all of us are just spectacular as musicians, but the people leave thinking "Wow, what an awesome band." We have failed miserably. The people should be saying "Wow, what an awesome worship time!"
"Doing music you don't like or find inspiring...that's the price we pay for the rare occasions when it's magical."
"Remember that a bass player has to make everyone else sound good, and sometimes your only reward is the satisfaction of knowing you achieved that goal."
"There lies a challenge in every bass performance. The pocket, the phrasing, giving each note its proper value and execution... the heart and soul of the performance."
"When I'm hiring for a show I look for someone who is a superb reader, plays impeccably in tune, follows the conductor, fits the style of music, has a great attitude, and is a pleasure to work with."
"Music is a deep thing that can always get deeper. None of us has ever walked off the bandstand thinking we've played the show the best it can be played."
"I have found that though the ways in which I can make myself useful are few, yet the work open to me is endless...I long to accomplish a great and noble task. But it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moving along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker."
"It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in the mean streets, among the mean people, and that is not learned in five minutes."
"All music is divided between the oom and the papa. Bass is the oom. If you're not comfortable beeing the oom, don't feel embarrassed to go find another instrument."
"When you play even the simplest bass line, you reveal something about yourself. What story are you telling?"
"There's a right way and a wrong way to play...the right way is clearly defined, and the wrong way is everything else."
"Rather than 'worship leaders', we are to be 'lead worshipers', not pushing people into the Holy of Holies, but going in first and drawing others to follow us in."
"A good bass player needs to have an uncanny grasp of the completely obvious."
"No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint; therefore we must be saved by forgiveness."
"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights extend, but you can make the whole trip that way."
Matt 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Rom 12:4-5 "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
Matt 7:3-5 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
John 10:12-13 "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. (NKJ)
Eccl 10:10 "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." (NIV)
Luke 11:52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." (NIV) "Blessings to you experts in the law, because you possess the key to knowledge. You yourselves have entered, and you have encouraged those who were entering."
