So the Bings have been asked to learn a particular song for an upcoming wedding – actually, a bunch of songs. And one in particular is a song that I have absolutely no history with – no memory of ever hearing it, no strong sense of its form, no love for the genre (which is how I missed it), and honestly, now that I’m learning it, I kind of think it’s garbage.

BUT – one thing I’ve always been excellent at as a performer is finding a way to love things I kind of hate. To me, that’s part of your job as a musician who gets paid for music – pretend to love what you’re doing even when you kind of don’t – after all, you have to do what OTHER people want you to do sometimes, and that’s totally okay.

I’m not going to say which song it is, because I don’t really want to get into it about it or its genre, but a quick perusal of my past Museday Mumblings might clue you in to the genre, especially if you start from the beginning.

In a matter of days, I’ve managed to go from hating the song so much that I didn’t truly believe I could ever learn it to having it completely down musically and almost down for the vocal parts that aren’t lead vocals (jury is still out on how much I’ll be singing, but I’m learning it all). The beauty part of having learned songs for cover bands on bass for about 30 years is that I’ve gotten rather good at getting the parts pretty much immediately. So locking down the musical changes was actually pretty easy once I figured out the sections and then their arrangement. There are a few parts where I don’t have the bass part down well enough to sing the vocals I anticipate having to sing, so I’ve been working on that, but the whole process of “finding the fun” has reminded me how much I really love learning things and knowing how much my efforts will make someone happy (in this case, the bride).

And, shocker, I’m actually starting to kind of like the song after learning it. Not because it’s good – it’s still chaotic nonsense at times – but because I can tell how much heart these guys put into creating it, and I want to honor their efforts and really kick ass on it.

That’s the trick – finding a way in to the creative process to own the song for yourself. Even when it seems there’s no way in, you have to try and find a way to relate, whether musically, lyrically, or just “general vibe”-y. Like many of the songs I’ve performed as though they were my own but I sort of hated over the years, I think when I play it, no one’s going to have a clue how I really feel about the song, and that, to me, is a great accomplishment as a musician and performer – finding a way to love something you kind of hate, and honoring it for what it is and how much your audience loves it.

It’s a lesson to remember for every working, paid musician who can’t seem to get past their taste where it concerns material to perform for their audiences. Remember – it’s not about YOU*.

*-(I mean, until it is, and it’s your own music or your own specific artistic statement, but this isn’t one of those situations – we’re playing a damn wedding…)

Take care, have a wonderful weekend to kick off the summer, honor those who gave everything for this country on Monday (and NOT ALL VETERANS – that holiday is in November), and get your damn shot.

Peace be the journey!
TMS