Why Music Is The Most Important Thing On The Face Of This Planet

Alright, so something happened to me this weekend that affected me deeply. While at work on Saturday I received a text from an old friend, Leif, about an underground Hip Hop show later that night at the Lakeview Castle. Since I had no solid plans for the evening I decided to check it out. It sounded like a good time, but it also sounded different from what I had been used to as of late, and a nice change was what I was in the mood for. Who knew, maybe I’d be motivated enough to write something! So, at 6 I got off work and started getting ready for the evening’s events.

Now look, in order to understand where I’m going with this you have to understand this about the contents of my Zune (yes, a Zune, not an IPod. I took a gamble and lost). Besides the entire Beck discography and “The Best of Cat Stevens,” my Zune is filled with nothing but the most obscure Acid Jazz, Electronica, Trip Hop, Neo Soul and Lo-fi artists around. You have Lady Gaga, I have Clara Hill. Your “top 20” is my Röyksopp. Your Justice is my Jimpster. And no, I’m not saying I have better taste by any means. Hell, I love me my Gaga! What I am saying is that in my constant quest to find the next life changing album, somewhere (around the discovery of Jazzanova, to be exact) I entered a whole new world of musical obscurity and I can’t (nor do I want to) find a way out. It’s the epitome of a double-edged sword; in the past 3 years I have discovered music that has influenced and affected me on a deeper level than anything preceding it, yet I have virtually no one to discuss it with. Gracie and the Mouse is the product of my “college playlists,” and to try and make it with a band that has been inspired by a bunch of groups no one has ever heard of around here is intimidating, to say the least.

But I digress. Come 7 I began my trek to the Lakeview Castle to catch “The Castle Classic,” a 21+ show featuring the Unknown Prophets, Carnage the Executioner, Cannon All American, and Jabrjaw & DJ Dee Dubbs. I must confess, though I have heard of a couple of the acts, I would be a liar if I were to say I was familiar with their sound. I was aware that some pretty big collaborations had taken place between the RhymeSayers all-stars and Unknown Prophets, but that doesn’t make me any more legit with the scene in any way. To put it bluntly, I was going to this show a solo outsider looking in. I was hoping that I’d run into a familiar face at some point during the evening, but soon after arriving and sitting down at the bar I realized this wouldn’t be the case. . .

And I’ve never felt more at home in my life. Ok, maybe that’s pushing it, but seriously, the atmosphere was one of the chillest, most accommodating I’ve ever experienced at a show. The beats that came from the stage above the bar instantly put me in a good mood, and I found myself traveling deeper into my “happy place” with every scratch and scribble of the turntable. I knew no one there but it didn’t take long for someone to approach me about my Volcom jacket, and the next thing I knew I was talking freestyle with a long-haired professional snowboarder whose buddy was performing that evening. Every smile and nod I shot in someone’s direction was returned with equal vigor, and a couple of beers later I realized there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

And then it happened. As they began setting up for Cannon All American to take the stage, one of the DJ’s began playing “It’s a Love Thing” by DJ Mark Farina off of his “Mushroom Jazz vol. 5” album. I won’t get into how the “Mushroom Jazz” series changed the way I would listen to music forever, because that’s not the point here. For the first time in my life the contents of my Zune and the music being played at a local show were one in the same. In that moment of realization every doubt I’ve ever had about my music career, every feeling of isolation and separation from my peers, every single concern I’ve had with Gracie and the Mouse, was swept up in the melody and out of my consciousness. I could feel my soul being lifted to a state of nirvana that no drug-induced trance could ever begin to achieve, and in that moment I knew I was unstoppable, untamable, and surely destined for greatness.

I wish I could tell you more about the show. I wish I could tell you more about the groups themselves, who was doing what at any point throughout the evening, and exactly which group was performing and when. Hell, I wish I could tell you the names of the people I met that night. What I can tell you, however, is this: if music is made to impact lives, then it served its purpose Saturday. Because of this show I remembered why I am who I am, what I want to do with my life, and why I’m even bothering to write these blogs. Music is as inseparable from our daily lives as the act of breathing; every experience we have, every memory we make–there is a song to go with it. It comforts us, inspires us, and has the ability to speak for us where mere words fail. And yes, maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic here, but I’m g*ddamn happy to admit it. I can say I know what it’s like to feel a passion so great for something that it's made my life worth living. I hope that you, my beloved readers, feel the same way I do, but then again I don’t care. I’m the Captain, and watch out world—I’m going to change you with my music.