After one year and two weeks, nine countries, an untold number of sessions and gigs, and days of flight time, I’ve landed back in Seattle. The journey doesn’t end here. This past year of travel and music is a beginning if anything. Stay tuned!
On my way home from Japan—the final project country—I stopped briefly in Honolulu, HI for some well deserved R&R. More importantly, I was able to reconnect with old friends and play a nice gig at Wards Rafters—which has one of the best complementary views of any venue anywhere. Honestly, my entire journey began on this small island of Oahu, where exactly two years ago, amidst daytime research at the University of Hawaii and late night sessions in Chinatown, my mind gave birth to a humble idea that one might travel the world with his instrument to converse and connect with people all over the world.
Thank you to everyone who followed and supported the wild year. I’m frankly amazed as I glance at a WordPress summary—an extraordinary amount of views from the US, Nepal, South Africa, Brazil, Japan, India, Germany, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Norway, France, Russia, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, Denmark, Mongolia, Argentina, Spain, Korea, Italy, Greece, Taiwan, New Zealand, Belgium, Turkey…the list goes on and on, including views from Bhutan, Faroe Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cyprus and Oman.
Each country I visited boasts an expansive global network, with meaningful musical dialogue between people of vastly different backgrounds. Our differences become our point of interest. Borders blur, lose focus. Exotic presumptions and generalizations subside, replaced by real substance and form. We are all just people, sharing one world and one predicament—life. Music links all of our differences by means of our fundamental similarities. Music is but one means to this end, but what an extraordinary one. The universal language is no myth… but it is not music. It’s goes even deeper than music. Though, music is far deeper than any conventional language.
To all the musos—keep on. To all the listeners and enthusiasts—keep on.
This blog will continue to share beautiful music from around the world, while introducing new themes and inspirations. And I ensure that I will most definitely be keepin’ on.
Welcome Home, Just in time for a Seattle summer. Congratulations on a fabulous year of experience and Reporting. It is fun to look in from the outside and see true growth in your vision and ability to see and report. Do you now report back to Watson? Love to see/hear that as well.