BLOG 0001 - It’s all in your mind
It’s all in your mind.
Why we’re here in the first place
It’s all in your mind… The name of this blog post is my musical story in a nutshell. I’ll dig into that a bit.
I’ve always heard music in my mind - at least, as far back as I can remember. I’m not talking about an earworm, which is an interesting but different phenomenon. I hear things that have never existed outside me. Sometimes these are rhythms, chord progressions, or melodies. Sometimes, they’re complete pieces, or something close to it. The main way I create is to build on what I hear. I consider this a gift from God.
How did the music in my mind make the journey from my head to yours, you ask?…
Life, family, & influences
I was born in Birmingham, Alabama to a 15-year-old mom. I went directly into the care of the Salvation Army (send them some money) and was adopted at the ripe age of 3 months by my loving parents. They raised me in Mobile, AL, down on the steamy Gulf Coast. My mom worked on a cafeteria line pretty much her whole adult life. My dad was a factory worker. Both grew up in the country and neither finished high school. My dad did get his GED around age 40. He also received a kidney transplant when the procedure was still experimental and the rejection rate high. Complications eventually caught up with him, but he was a trailblazer. Everyone walking around today with a successful kidney transplant owes their condition, in part, to him and the others who took that risk.
We were financially poor growing up, but my childhood was very rich. Music was a big part of our lives. I was surrounded by it at home, in the car, and in church. When I wasn’t outside playing in the dirt, or melting Star Wars figures in the burn pit in my back yard, I listened. I absorbed Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, The Temptations, Merle Haggard, Dave Brubeck, Ralph Stanley, and countless others. I got heavy doses of Southern Gospel, Soul, Country, Blues, and Jazz. And when I wasn’t listening to music, new music was playing in my mind.
When I got older, I spent years working as a landscaper - first as a laborer and eventually as an entrepreneur (LandArt - catchy, right?). I eventually became bored with it, though. So, while I sweated, I learned. I listened to tons of music and audio books. I absorbed Hendrix, Medeski Martin & Wood, Sigur Ros, Paul Van Dyk, Albert King, The Beastie Boys, Ronnie Earl, Zero 7, and Pink Floyd. I also dissected the words of Aristotle, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, William James, and Jesus. But when I wasn’t taking something in, music was there, waiting to get out.
A Mindshift
Eventually, it became very clear that my mind needed something my job couldn’t give, so I went back to school. I dove headfirst into the inner space of mind and brain. What’s more interesting than that, right? I started off as a Philosophy and Psychology major, and I received (separate) Bachelor’s degrees in both. I followed that up with a PhD in Neuroscience.
An unexpected benefit of my neuroscience training was that I became a coder and all-around tech ninja. With the music still there in my mind, an opportunity to combine that with my love of the digital realm began to materialize. So, I got some freeware and started creating.
That brings us to a good stopping point.
Next up
I can’t be the only one who’s had music in their mind their whole life. So, in addition to sharing with everyone about me and my process, I want this blog to be helpful to those who need some inspiration. Maybe even a kick in the pants.
Thanks for reading.
Much love.
See you in the future.
