inaugural gig

experiencing life through a child's eyes is an exercise in humanity. momentarily detached from the grindstone, attending to a young mind's desires offers a chance to reconnect with our innate sense of wonder and imagination. literally lowering oneself to a little one's level gives unique perspective, often overlooked discoveries, such as crawling through thick grass and happening upon an ant colony, for instance. following an insect through its instinctual patterns can be wildly fascinating, something above which we'd otherwise walk. bear with me; the clichés serve as context.

this morning, our neighbours' one-and-a-half-year-old stumbled through our living space, exploring attractive objects in his path. most items, like a kleenex box or ring of keys, provided minimal entertainment. then, drawing his attention, almost exclusively lit as if in a museum, stood an acoustic guitar. wide-eyed, the curious toddler approached the instrument tentatively, reminiscent of kubrick's monkeys' reaction to the monolith. he looked back as if to ask, 'can i check this out?' i nodded, and accompanied him to worship the wooden icon.

i reached toward the strings, and strummed across them with one finger. the recognizable disharmony of standard tuning without chording had immediate impact: my one-man audience was delighted by the musicality. laughing, he mimicked my action, and recreated the discord. i felt blessed to be privy to his first acquaintance with rocking out. all at once, i was keenly aware of how impressionable he was, and how this simple creation of sound would encourage a lifetime of music appreciation.

equally excited, i cradled the guitar and improvised a tune, inserting his name as the chorus. he seemed amazed that the strange stringed gadget could emit an instant concert. inspired by his wonderment, i switched gears and played a rousing bass line rendition of the breeders' cannonball. his eyebrows furrowed and he pulled my hand off the neck. point taken. everyone's a critic. besides, that was so '93.

although there are three decades between us, we did share something significant: music is magic, and the sweetest melodies are lurking in cavities, beneath taut wires. we just have to feel it.