weeks thoughts

Last week I got sick so didn’t post a weekly update. I had a nasty cold.... it’s been lingering all week. I tried resting the whole Monday and Tuesday, but it had to stay a while. The Chinese medicine was getting me depressed too. Just kept having thoughts about what it’s like to die and how I don’t want to be a musician anymore.... I’m feeling a lot better today, but not 100 percent. I think getting sick is a small insight into dying.

So to make something positive out of it, I thought it would be a good thing to give up caffeine after the pain this week. Coffee is so addictive... I like it, but I also see that it makes me edgy, and I feel like I need it to wake up. We’ll see... it’s not really a big problem, but I’m better without it.

.......

The band is starting to come together and we're having some great moments here and there. We had another rehearsal and have more material now which is nice. Don’t want to get bored playing the same stuff all the time.

Probably won’t have time to get bored as it’s only one more month to go. Also we are mixing up a few different styles like jazz, funk, soul and blues. It’s been fun so far!

I’ve come to realise Selim and Guillaume are very serious about music. I like being in this kind of company, and really makes me want to push it a bit more. I don't want to be the weakest member up there.

Mario has the most experience out of all of us and I’m glad he lets us know some things that we need to. It’s always a little awkward when you would like a fellow musician to do (or stop doing) something that irritates you. There’s a way to say it without hurting anyone’s feelings. I haven’t figured that out yet. But it’s still better to come across as a dick that to keep it in and avoid those feelings.

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My practice got put on hold this week, pretty much I mean. I only went to the studio a couple of times as I thought rest was more important. Friday and Saturday we play 3 hour sets, so you need to take it easy on yourself. Except for Selim who has too much energy!

Now that I'm almost recovered I’d like to get back into a full practice routine, but taking with me what I learned from being sick this week. I want to practice many different things in small doses, mindfully, and without any stress. I also want to keep notes and reflect on the progress each evening before bed.

After this month I won’t be playing 6 nights like I am now so I’ll have more time to create or transcribe. But the daily practice needs to continue while I’m in Shanghai. We plan to move back to Australia in a few years so I want to take advantage of this lifestyle here. It’s going to be a lot tougher in Sydney or Melbourne.

Practice should continue regardless of where you are, but it would be ideal to get it to a higher level, then use those skills for creating, and also being able to play with musicians on another level.

I do see in a lot of high level players some dissatisfaction, so it’s always good to keep yourself in check and make sure you are still having fun. I think really it’s about developing a relationship with music to go deeper into the listening, and into the moment where thoughts fly above but don’t interrupt the stream.

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I'm almost out of debt and have some plans about dividing up what I make every week. It's generally 50% goes towards rent and fiat savings (as my wife isn't convinced about any other investment than saving up for property). 20% goes into BTC, 20% for living and stuff that I need like strings or shoes, and 10% give away.

I was planing to give away that 10% to red cross projects, but after just listing to Robert Kiyosaki on youtube these last few days, I'm questioning whether giving money away cement people into poverty.

I need to look into it deeper, but the other idea I had was to use that 10% and buy more BTC to share with the community of musicians that I work with here. As a way to get them into this opportunity. When I tell them about it, they might be interested, but they (most musicians anyway) are pretty useless with money. Even some that work a lot more than me, never seem to have any money.

So my plan is just say I earn $100 on a gig, 10% of that is $10 and divide that with the other band members. Which is only a few dollars, but it adds up. It also is like a token of appreciation. That I was able to share a musical experience with this person, and next time when they need someone for a gig they might think of me.

On the other hand do people severely disadvantaged without food or health care need my dollars more?

Probably....

Maybe I can do 15% for living and stuff, then divide the other 15% up between the red cross and BTC for musicians...

I'll think more about it next week.